Love used to be just a word | Draco Malfoy

- EIGHTEEN -

Malfoy's words echoed through my head as I stared at his face. His mask was back on and it was hard to say what was going through his mind right now.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were asking me out on a date Malfoy," I half-jokingly said, subtly trying to get some clarity on the situation. "We're not those blue and bronze know-it-alls that enjoy studying so much to turn it into a date," he retorted, glancing at me for a few short seconds. "Said one of the smartest guys of our year." Malfoy was indeed quite smart, although I wouldn't have admitted it if you'd asked me a year ago. "Flatter me more and you can order seconds," the youngest Malfoy joked with a small smile on his face.

The weather was slowly getting colder and I shivered slightly as we stepped outside. Around this time of the year the changes of the weather were so random I usually forgot to put on warmer clothes. Definitely regret not getting them out of my trunk yet, but knowing myself it won't be the last time this happened either. Malfoy glanced at me sideways, the cold breeze reddened his cheeks slightly, giving more color to his usual pale face. The walk towards Hogsmeade was comfortably quiet, the first fallen leaves crunching underneath our feet and I took a deep breath. I loved the smell of autumn, it was one of the things I smelled in the Amortentia Potion, or more commonly known as "Love Potion".

"Out with it then. You're staring," Malfoy demanded with an annoyed tone in his voice. To be fair, I hadn't even noticed that I had been staring at him, but he was right. A little flustered I averted my eyes to the path in front of us, Hogsmeade wasn't too far anymore. "It's nothing." "You're a terrible liar," he stated matter-of-factly. "I was just thinking." "That's a first," I fell silent after Malfoy's last remark and I felt his gaze was burning on my face.

"Are you going to tell me what you were thinking about?" His voice was softer this time, perhaps realising the timing with his smart remarks weren't too great this time. Not that I expected anything else after the time we spend together. "Why?" "Because I'm interested," he replied while the wind picked up a little. I shivered due to the cold. I definitely should've brought my scarf. "Interested in what a Gryffindor is thinking about? That's a first," I threw back at him with a smile. "Interested what you are thinking," he corrected with a stern look on his face, but he sounded sincere enough. "It's silly anyway," I tried to stop him from asking any further, but he wasn't backing down this time. "That's not an answer," he retorted, finally glancing my way again. "Fine. I love the smell of autumn, which made me think of the Amortentia Potion..." my voice stopped, too embarrassed to say anything else.

He stopped walking and stood in front of me, preventing me from getting any further. Our eyes met and I could tell he was definitely enjoying my flustered state, the usual smirk back on his face. "Wondering what I smelled in the infamous love potion, are we Blackwood?" Malfoy mused as he stared down at me. "What if I did?" my voice was softer than I intended it to be and the question didn't have any of my usual power behind it. I hated feeling this way, it confused the hell out of me. "Perhaps I'll tell you mine if you let me know all of yours," Malfoy offered, his grey eyes were focused on mine and I could see he was telling the truth. I thought about it before answering "The smell of old books and the last one I'm not entirely sure about. It was kind of a warm, rich, woody fragrance with a citrusy undertone. It was a very pleasant smell, though."

The youngest Malfoy reached his hand out to my face from nowhere and my breath stuck in my throat as I flinched. Shit. Instead of backing away, what people usually did after my reaction, he paused his hand mid-air. It seemed like he was waiting for my approval, and I nodded slightly before he started moving his hand to my face again, slower this time. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and I felt his touch linger for a few seconds too long. "Sounds like you prefer warmer tones," he smiled a somewhat sad smile, which confused me a little. Why would he be sad about that? "I guess... So, what about yours?" "Green apples for starters." Now that Malfoy mentioned it, I've seen him eat green apples quite often. "Rain," he continued, but he must've noticed my confused look as he elaborated "You know, just before it starts raining there's this kind of earthy smell." I nodded in acknowledgement as I tried to remember the smell – it was indeed quite pleasant.

"What about the last one?" "Actually, I've got two more. Expensive leather..." Why does that make so much sense? Perhaps because the Malfoy family is mostly known for their wealth, they're from old money after all. "And the last one I didn't know until about a month ago. A combination of vanilla and irises," he concluded as he averted his eyes from mine towards Hogsmeade. "So how did you find out about it?" "My mother got a bouquet with irises," he replied just a tad too quick – almost as if he expected me to ask the question. Before I could say anything else he stepped away "Let's go."

xxxxx

A little while later we were settled into the Three Broomsticks, both enjoying a treacle tart. When ordering, the youngest Malfoy had looked at me like I was crazy. "Treacle tart is a dessert." "It's never too early for dessert, Malfoy." Eventually, he'd settled for the same thing and seemed to be enjoying it even more than I did. Upon ordering, I kind of forgot that it was Harry's favorite, something I wouldn't mention to Malfoy, for obvious reasons. Eating it without my best friend felt bittersweet and I couldn't stop the wave of sadness washing over me.

"I know I'm good company. So why the long face, Blackwood?" the young man sitting on opposite side of me asked, and I smiled at his usual self-confidence. "Sorry, I'm not at liberty to say." Malfoy scoffed at my answer before giving me a knowing look and waved Madam Rosmerta over. "What can I get you youngins?" she asked with a sweet voice. "A bottle of Firewisky and two glasses," he answered, and Madam Rosmerta scurried away before we could say anything else, probably very happy someone ordered a whole bottle in the current economy. "It's one p.m." I mentioned a little shocked and he smirked "It's never too early for a drink, Blackwood."

After half a bottle of Firewisky and most of my assignment done I decided it was time for a little break. I stretched out and felt the bones in my back cracking in relief. My eyes met Malfoy's and he seemed to be just sitting there, staring at me. He'd taken off the jacket from his suit when we started drinking the Firewisky (it's called Firewisky for a reason), but it was only now that I noticed how tightly the black turtleneck fitted against his body. Malfoy's figure was slender, but I could see his arms were quite muscular nonetheless.  When I looked back in his eyes, I could see a smirk spread across his lips. "Are you checking me out, Blackwood?" he teased.

"I could ask you the same thing, Malfoy. I wasn't the one who staring all the time."