Entranced (Draco Malfoy)

•two•

The next day, Dove Taylor sat curled in her favorite green chair in the library, the same one tucked near the enchanted window that flickered with false sunlight no matter the weather. The book Draco had given her rested in her lap, opened near the final chapters. She was far into it, almost finished, but her focus slipped more than she liked to admit.

She kept looking up.

Every few paragraphs, her eyes wandered toward the entrance or the edges of the shelves. It was not a conscious choice. Her hands stayed on the book, her posture relaxed, but her attention was split. She tried to read, to disappear into the familiar comfort of the pages, yet a quiet voice in the back of her mind kept whispering one name.

That whisper became real.

"I'm assuming you like the book?"

Her head snapped up. "Draco," she breathed, his name leaving her lips before she could stop it. A quiet rush of relief flooded her chest. That was it. That was what had been missing. "You're here."

"You were expecting me?" His voice carried its usual smoothness, but something in his eyes hinted he wished he had phrased that differently.

Dove smiled, picking up on it instantly. She gave a small nod, her voice soft but steady.

"I wanted to see you."

For a moment, Draco didn't answer. He blinked, his expression almost unreadable, caught between pride and disbelief. Then he gestured toward the seat beside her.

"May I?"

She nodded again, her heart speeding up for reasons she didn't care to name. He moved the chair closer to hers, close enough that the arms touched. Then he sat, not looking at her just yet.

"I didn't expect you to come," Dove said quietly. "Last night felt like... I don't know. Like maybe it wasn't real."

Her words lingered in his mind. He turned to her, sharp and certain now, "It was real." 

Her breath caught. She couldn't respond. Not right away. She stared at him, trying to read between the lines, and something gentle passed through his expression. He understood her silence.

"Dove?"

Harry Potter's voice interrupted them, sudden and far too close. She jumped a little, startled. Draco's expression turned unreadable again in the blink of an eye.

She looked up and offered Harry a small smile, "Hello, Harry."

Harry looked between them, clearly thrown off by what he saw. "I didn't know you two were a couple."

Before Dove could say anything, Draco spoke, "Well, now you know."

Dove turned sharply to look at him. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted, but Draco didn't meet her gaze. Instead, his hand reached across the narrow space between their chairs and took hers, his fingers wrapping gently around the back of her hand. He rubbed slow, steady circles across her skin, and she nearly gasped.

She stared down at their joined hands, her face growing hot.

She knew this side of Draco. The part of him that became possessive when something he cared about felt threatened. Especially if Harry Potter was involved. Draco's voice might have been calm, but the tension in his posture betrayed him.

"Oh. Right then," Harry said awkwardly. He looked between the two again, then began to turn away.

"Harry, wait," Dove called after him. He paused and turned back. "Do you need me?"

"Yes."

At once, her mind flashed back to the promise. She could hear her mother's voice as clearly as if she were standing beside her.