Epiphany |Scorpius Malfoy|

Chapter Thirty-One

Their way to the courtyard was silent, but it was not tense in the slightest. The feeling of his hand holding hers was comforting and making her slightly nervous at the same time, brining her to feel something like excitement but also anxiety. It was a quite peculiar feeling and Isabelle couldn't name what it was, but still, she wouldn't wish to stop feeling it for a second. And as they got to the courtyard and he pulled her closer to his side, she could feel her face growing warm and suddenly, she felt like she could walk around in the snow with no scarf or heating charm.

She looked up at him from beneath her eyelashes, examined the sharp edge of his jaw and his thin lips, his eyes that seemed to be the same colour as the cloudy sky above. He was truly a wonderful sight, one that she could look at for days and certainly never get bored of seeing.

She was staring, though, and she knew it. Not wanting him to catch her, she forced herself to look away, only to miss him looking at her.

Scorpius looked down at her, a small smile forming on his lips as he took notice of her pink cheeks and nose that contrasted greatly against her pale skin. Even if that hadn't been his original intention, he couldn't help himself as he glanced down at her lips that were slightly open as she walked. He got the sudden thought that he should just stop her then and there and kiss her, but he knew, if he did that, there was a chance they would never get back to the way they used to be.

Managing to keep himself from doing something he could regret later, he forced himself to look away from her and back to the road they were taking to the carriages. He felt like he needed to break the silence somehow, as they hadn't talked at all since the moment they had left the Great Hall, but as he stole a glance at her and noticed that she seemed content with the silence, he abandoned the idea. If she was fine with it, then he wouldn't say anything.

Barely a minute later, though, as they had almost reached the carriages, she spoke up.

"Have you planned anything for us to do today?"

Scorpius didn't speak as they reached a carriage. He helped her get inside and followed suit, sitting down beside her. Only when it had started moving did he speak up.

"I was thinking we could go to Honeydukes to buy some sweets, spend some time in the Three Broomsticks and then just walk around in Hogsmeade," he told her as he bit his bottom lip, "I know it's not anything extraordinary-"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him softly as she gave his hand a light squeeze. "It's great, Scorpius, and we are going to have a great time. Before we do all that, though, I would like to ask you a favour."

That did get his attention immediately. He turned to face her completely, clearly intrigued as he could hardly remember the last time Isabelle had asked any kind of favour from him. He supposed it was something important, and since she was talking about it with him, he probably could help her.

So, he nodded. "Of course."

"It's Bernard's birthday this Tuesday," she explained, "unfortunately, I haven't bought him a present and I want to do it today. Would you mind if we bought Bernard's gift first and then continued our day the way you had planned for us?"

Scorpius felt weird after her request, for whatever reason. He knew, though, that Bernard was one of her oldest friends and he meant a lot to her. If he wanted their day to be as nice as possible, he would have to do as she wished.

So, he forced himself to smile as he looked at her. "I have no problem, we can go now."

"Thank you," she grinned as she reached up and pressed a kiss on his cheek, "I might need your opinion on what I am going to buy for him too."