star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

As she walked through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room, Arabella was greeted by Dean.

"There you are," he said. "I was beginning to think you had gone to bed early or something."

"No. I would never," she said. "I was just out with Draco."

"I should've known that. Did you tell him?"

Arabella gave him a questioning look. "Tell him what?"

"That your parents know about you two."

"Oh." She looked away from him. "No."

"Okay, so let me get this straight," Dean began, "you were just upset with him because he was lying to you while you're doing the same to him?"

"I'm not lying to him, I'm just... forgetting to tell him something slightly important."

"Sure. I'll let you call it that. The point is, you're withholding information from him but you're angry with him for doing the same to you."

"All right, fine! I'll tell him tonight."

"Tonight? You're sneaking out?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes," she said defiantly.

Dean sighed. "All right. Suit yourself, I guess. There's nothing I can do to stop you."

"That's right."

That night, Arabella went up to bed with Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati and changed into her pajamas just like every other night. She waited until they had all fallen asleep before getting back out of bed, changing back into her robes, and quietly leaving the dormitory.

However, not all of her roommates had fallen asleep.

"Oh, Bella," Hermione whispered, shaking her head.

Hiding behind a corner, in a broom cupboard, or in an empty classroom every time she heard a noise, Arabella carefully made her way down to the Entrance Hall where she and Draco had agreed on meeting. She had been waiting for just a few minutes when she heard approaching footsteps. Unsure if they were Draco's or not, she quickly and quietly hid in the nearby broom cupboard.

The footsteps came to a halt in the Entrance Hall and after a few moments, a whispered voice said, "Belle?"

Arabella opened the cupboard door and peered at Draco from behind it, giving him a smile and then stepping out of the cupboard, closing the door behind her. The two then made their way onto the grounds, coming to rest away from any windows that had light shining out of them.

"Ooh, there's Cassiopeia," Arabella said, pointing up to the blurry constellation as she lied next to Draco on the cool grass. "I can't believe how long it's been since I've seen her. And there's Andromeda!"

"I have an aunt named Andromeda," Draco said thoughtfully. "I've never met her, but Mother told me about her once."

"What happened to her?" she asked, noting that he spoke of his aunt as if she were dead.