the girl with all of the choices

e l e v e n

4877 words

christmas day- the astronomy tower

"Malfoy," I said, "where are you taking me?"

"We're almost there," he said. 

He stopped us in front of a staircase. It seemed to be one that led up to a tower. It was late at night and everything was dark so I couldn't figure out where we were. He looked back at me, his face eager to climb the stairs. Suddenly, my feet felt like they were jello. I hadn't realized how much I had been standing in those godforsaken heels until that moment. I breathed inward sharply and looked back at the stairs. 

"Don't tell me we're climbing all the way up there..." I said begrudgingly. He smiled weakly. "Fine," I said, "but you're carrying my shoes." He chuckled lightly as I slipped off my heels and handed them to him. His other hand intertwined itself with mine as we started to ascend the stairs. 

We climbed for what felt like forever. Eventually, we reached a landing, and Malfoy stopped. 

"Do you still trust me?" he asked quietly.

"Oh no," I mumbled. "What are we doing now?"

"I'm not telling you. Do you trust me?" he asked again, more intensely. I paused before nodding. "Close your eyes," he said.

"Are you mad? Do you want me to fall?" 

"You won't fall," he said. "I promise. Now close your eyes."

I looked at him wearily before closing my eyes. "Draco Malfoy if you let me fall I will kill you."

"You won't fall," he said again. I felt his free hand on my back. He gently guided me up a few more stairs until I could tell we were at another landing. "Keep your eyes closed, l/n." 

"They are closed, you idiot," I snapped back. 

He moved me around on the landing. "Stay here," he said. I felt his hand leave my back. 

"Malfoy if you leave me up here-" I started.

"I'm not leaving you. I just wanted to close the trapdoor so we don't fall down the stairs."

My eyes were still shut. I began to wonder what this surprise was, where we were, and why he was doing this. One thought quickly flew across my mind. Does he like me too? I quickly shut it down. He couldn't like me. I was me... and he was... well, he was him. It wouldn't work. I heard him move back towards me. 

"Are you ready for the surprise?" he asked. I nodded excitedly. "You can open your eyes now," he said. I could practically hear him smiling. 

I opened my eyes hesitantly. I looked around and I realized that we were in the abandoned astronomy tower. They were building a new one during my first year here, so I never had classes up here. 

The first things that my eyes saw were the lights. There were white Christmas lights strung up around the room. White Christmas lights were my favorite. They could be used for any occasion, and they always looked magical. 

As I continued to look around, I saw everything. There was a couch in the middle of the room. It was green, so I assumed it had come from the Slytherin common room. There was a table off to the side with a bunch of the sweets that were on the refreshment table down at the Ball. There was a radio and a pile of books on the table next to them. I took a breath and realized that I smelled coffee and peppermint. It was beautiful. I realized that I probably looked like a kid in a candy shop and decided to break the silence. 

"Malfoy," I said, "this is beautiful."

He looked at me and smiled. "I had hoped you would like it."