"Where were you at breakfast?" Luna asked as you jogged up to walk beside her on your way to Care for Magical Creatures.
"Studying for Potions and DADA and...everything else," you puffed, attempting to comb your unruly hair with your fingers.
"You really should give yourself a break, Y/N," she warned, locking her shining eyes with your dark-ringed ones. "I've barely seen you at meals or even been able to catch up with you in the dorm for the last two weeks-"
You had to break eye contact. "It's just until exams are over, okay?"
Luna shook her head. "You really are a true Ravenclaw...but I don't want to have to worry about you all the time."
You rolled your eyes, though gave her a small grin. "I'm fine, please don't worry about me. I promise I'll be at the next meal."
She opened her mouth to attempt to protest again, but was interrupted by Hagrid.
"Right you lot, form a group over there." He gestured to the edge of the large clearing in the forest your class had gathered in. "Open yer books to page 49..."
Your head began to throb at the thought of more schoolwork, and your vision tilted wildly, sending you stumbling, knocked off kilter.
"You alright?" Luna asked, concern creasing her forehead. She grabbed your arm before you fell.
"Yeah just...the meal skipping must be getting to me a little," you said. Moments like this had been happening for a while now, and you had become so used to them you just tried to ignore it.
"Do you need me to take you to the nurse? You do look very pale-"
"I'm fine. Alright?" you snapped a little too harshly, and she immediately returned to her Care for Magical Creatures book, unmistakably hurt. Felling bad, you were about to apologise when someone grabbed you elbow.
A boy with bleach-blond hair and a sharp jawline was holding out a perfect, glistening apple to you. He gestured to it by nodding his head.
Draco Malfoy?
You'd talked to him a few times, though Slytherins mostly preferred to associate with their own kind, Especially the extremely stuck up type, as you had assumed he was. Now, you weren't so sure.
"Take it," he said, because you were still just staring at it, confused as to why he was even offering it to you. "You look like you need it more than me."
You sigh. "Malfoy-"
He cut you off by placing the apple in your hand wether you wanted it or not. When his fingers accidentally brushed yours, a charged shock burnt up your arm. It took all you had not to flinch.
"I'll be okay. You can have it," you said, trying to get Draco to take it back.
He clasped his hands behind his back playfully. "Sorry, all yours now Y/N." He smirked.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" you asked suspiciously, rolling the apple around your palm. "You do know I'm a muggle-born, right?" you added, much softer. Draco was well known for having a certain hate for non-magic blood families.
He nodded slowly and deliberately. "Yeah, and a gave you an apple to eat because you were dizzy from not turing up to meals. Your blood has nothing to do with it."
You finally gave him a genuine smile. "Draco Malfoy, you are not as bad as I thought."
He laughed at that. "Oi, I only ever treat people how I think they deserve to be treated." He winked at you and then turned forwards to survey the activity that was happening past the crowd.
You forced yourself to slide your eyes away from him, hesitating before taking a small bite out of the apple. The warm, sweet juice filled your mouth and you soon devoured half of it, realising how hungry you really were. When you rotated it to eat the other side, though, you noticed it had something scrawled on it.
'Will you go out with me? - D.M. (I'm not taking 'no' for an answer)'
Your cheeks flared scarlet, and suddenly you felt uncomfortably warm even though it wasn't a particularly hot day. Glancing up, you realised Draco had somehow vanished.
"Oh, Merlin..." you heard Luna mutter from your side.
"What is it?" you asked her. She pointed to Draco as he strutted over to Hagrid's Hippogryph he had been presenting to the class. He seemed to be taunting it. What was Draco doing? It reared up on its back legs in aggravation and struck him-he landed hard on the ground with a thump and a grunt.
"Draco!" you screamed, shoving your way through the students, not caring that all heads jerked your way. Collapsing beside him onto your knees, you repeated, "Draco! It's me, Y/N."
It might have seemed odd to anyone else that you cared about him so much all of a sudden, but he had helped you when you needed it. The least you could do now was this.
He composed himself as well as anyone can compose themselves while lying in a pile of leaves, clearly in immense pain considering the way he was clutching his arm. "Y/N?" he choked out. "Well? It's a yes, right?"
You paused, lost in thought, before you remembered what he was referencing to. It made you grin. "Wait, let me get this straight. You're probably badly injured and all you care about is whether I'll go out with you or not?"
"Please don't make me laugh," he groaned. "It hurts."
You shook your head in mock disappointment. "I guess it'll have to be a yes then-its probably the only way I can get you to shut up."
He managed to smirk. "I so wish I could kiss you right now," he said under his breath, so soft no one heard him but you.
