Redamancy || Draco Malfoy

OOTP // 08

O.W.L.s had arrived.

Every single fifth year was seated in the Great Hall.

I stared at my examination script which was laid out before me.

I had rushed through the first half of the paper, but now my mind was elsewhere.

♔  F L A S H B A C K  ♔

I was lying on the couch.

On the table in front of me, I had the essay Snape had given out lying there, incomplete.

I was deep in thought.

Everyone was either asleep or doing last-minute cramming sessions for O.W.L.s tomorrow.

My ears perked up as footsteps sounded. They stopped just a few feet from me.

I tilted my head backwards to see Draco standing at the head of the couch, looking down at me.

Perhaps it was the stress from the examination preparations, but I let out a soft giggle.

Draco was upside down from where I lay.

Then I remembered the hurt in his eyes when he had found me in the Room of Requirements, and I sobered up.

Not saying a word, the blonde boy invited himself to sit on the couch.

I lifted my head slightly so he had space to sit, before lying my head back down onto his lap.

"Hey." I greeted quietly, not knowing what to say.

How do I talk to him, after everything?

When I was sure Draco wasn't going to reply, he did.

"How are you?"

His voice was soft.

I missed his voice. I missed talking to him.

I let out a small sigh, "Freaking out."

A smile flitted onto his face. "Me too."

I met his gaze.

It was times like these that were dangerous. It made me want to give up everything for the boy who was sitting by me, playing with my dark hair gently.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

The inevitable question.

I averted my gaze, "What was I supposed to say?"

Prolonged silence confirmed that Draco wouldn't have known what to do if he was in my situation as well.

"You can be angry, you know," I told him. "It's scarier when you're not. It's like the calm before the storm. I never can predict you."

Draco shrugged, "And I can never stay mad at you."

"So you were previously mad?" I asked, before biting my lip at the idea that he was pissed. At me.

Draco's eyes shifted downwards to my lips for a split second, before he chuckled.

"Yeah. Very." He answered.

Suddenly, I grinned.

"Me? Aria Weasley, making the infamous Draco Malfoy angry? The world is ending." I gasped dramatically.

Draco barked a laugh, "And there you go, back to your impeccable self."

The grin never left my face.

Draco's eyes clouded over. "If you're insisting on staying here with the essay, I'm going back to sleep first." He informed.

I nodded, "Night, Malfoy."