Atelophobia (Draco Malfoy x Male OC)

Chapter Twelve

I've learnt three things about kissing in the six days between the kiss I shared with Draco and the date we had planned in Hogsmeade.

The first thing I learnt is that roughly after the second kiss, there's less hesitation around kissing and they happen a lot more often. Which is something I certainly wasn't going to complain about, secret kisses in empty hallways and rooms we didn't know existed just made up for lost time. Time we didn't have before and time we subconsciously knew we might not have later.

The second thing I learnt is that once you were comfortable, you start pushing boundaries. Around the forth kiss we didn't pull away till we were desperate for air, the seventh kiss resulted in a few undone buttons and perhaps it was the thirteenth (I stopped counting around the eighth) that left me needing to wear the collar of my shirt just a tad bit higher.

The third thing I learnt wasn't as pleasant as the other two lessons. I learnt that for every kiss and every second of attention I received from Draco, my sister Lyra got twice the amount. Of course it made sense as she was his fiancée and she did get less meaningful kisses as they were all for show. Even so, it got on my nerves knowing that she had more time with him and in a few years she'd have his attention all to herself.

I was so wrapped up in it all from enjoying the kisses, craving more and being jealous of Lyra, I almost forgot the trip to Hogsmeade. Key word there though was almost. Trust me, when the day came around I certainly did remember; hell I was bouncing off the walls will nerves, joy and excitement all morning.

While I was waiting outside the castle for Draco, I took a moment to breath, enjoying the smell and taste of fresh air. I didn't even notice the platinum blonde until his hand slyly slipped into my own.

"Hi" his voice was a soft whisper and his hands were colder than my own.

I smiled a little and looked up at him. "Hey. Ready to go?". Draco nodded slightly and we started heading towards Hogsmeade.

It felt odd, holding hands and being so close in public but we had already planned how to get away with it if anyone questioned us. We were close because we were friends, best friends to be exact and the hand holding was to prevent Draco losing me in a crowd as I have a habit of wandering off which all my siblings and my parents can back up.

It was a little cold outside and I had my green and silver scarf wrapped tightly around my neck in an effort to keep warm and stop my nose and cheeks from turning red from the chilly air.

"So do you want to go to Honeydukes or Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop first?" Draco asked "and we can go to the Three Broomsticks for a Butterbeer later".

I smiled "let's go to Honeydukes, I really want some sweets to restock the stash I keep under my bed... I swear Theo found it again".

Draco laughed a little with a nod and walked happily with me to Honeydukes, even offering to pay for any sweets I wanted despite the fact that I did have my own money.

It was sweet actually, no pun intended, holding Draco's cool hand in my own warm one as we laughed and tried sweets. It was everything I imagined it would be.

We left Honeydukes with bags of lollies, with bright smiles on our faces and my lips painted red by the lollipop I had been eating. We didn't realise we were being watched.

"Draco? Pluto?" The feminine voice made every muscle in my body tense as both Draco and myself turned around to see Lyra and her small pose of friends, including Pansy Parkinson standing behind us "what are you doing?".

My heart dropped down to my shoes, and probably even further into the ground as Draco let go of my hand. "We're just out for the day, taking a break and 'hanging out' as friends do" he said.

Lyra glanced at me, I saw three things in her eyes. Jealousy, anger and fear. "What about the hand holding?".

"You hold hands with your friends" Draco quipped "don't you?"

"Yes but that's different".

Draco shook his head "its not really" he sighed "look I was under the impression that we were taking a break today, so I'll see you tomorrow okay".

I felt sick to the stomach as the blonde lightly kissed her lips before walking back over to me and grabbing my arm leading me to the Three Broomsticks. We didn't hold hands, hell we kept a distance between us with Draco buying me a Butterbeer before disappearing into the bathrooms and leaving me alone.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Harry, Hermione and Ron sitting together at a table. I pulled my beanie lower and stood, walking over to sit with them, holding my mug in my hands.

"Hello" I spoke quietly, trying not to draw attention to the fact that I was talking to them. I didn't need more trouble but I needed to talk to them "have you heard anything from the Order... Aquarius has stopped telling me things".

They seemed a bit surprised to see me, we had only been together at the few Order meetings my cousin had taken me to. "No we've heard nothing" Hermione whispered back "what about you and...". The gesture to my arm was all that was needed.

"I don't know much... I don't get told much" it wasn't a full lie but then again I hadn't told anyone anything about Draco and his mission.

Slowly I stood back up, "I'll see you later" I said softly, going back to the table and sitting down just as Draco came back out of the loo. I was a tad surprised when he grabbed my hand, immediately leading me out.

"Draco what's wrong?" I was confused as to why we had to leave so soon but he gave me no response, leading me back to the castle and leaving me with a sense of dread as he left me in the corridor.

For the rest of the day something felt wrong, an unsettled feeling in my stomach. It wasn't until the next morning that Aquarius told me that not long after Draco and I got back to the castle, Katie Bell from Gryffindor was cursed by a necklace.