The Healer- A Draco Malfoy Fanfiction

Chapter 7

 The girls were all abuzz with excitement for Adrian's toilet meade party. They had all been asked by a boy to attend, and it was all they could talk about after dinner. I was a bit distracted, however, secretly keeping my eyes peeled for Draco all day. It was rare for him to come to meals in the Great Hall lately. I would maybe see him once a day, at breakfast, where we would pretend like we didn't know each other. That was fine by me. As long as he kept my secret, I would keep his.

"Dimitri asked me to the party in potions class," Evelyn chirped from her bed. "Well, he was about to, until he spilled frog's blood on his sleeve."

Penny laughed, arranging her hair in a tight ponytail for the night. "Adrian said we could all come. I'm quite excited; this is going to be our first party as fifth years."

"It'll be my first time trying meade," Greta informed us with a twinge of nervousness. She always was nervous, that girl. "What's it like? Does it make you feel drunk right away?"

"It doesn't work that way," Penny said, as if it should be obvious. "You need to drink a lot at first. Get a good buzz going. And then you can just sip for the rest of the night and you'll get drunk. I know because I've had my parents' wine on multiple occasions. Not that they knew, as I charmed it to look clear as water."

I worked on my painting silently on my bed. I had nothing to contribute to the conversation; no past experience with booze, or boys. Penny picked up on my silence, and said to me, "How did Cade ask you to the party, Erica?"

I looked up from my painting, realizing I had already forgotten the exact details of the encounter. "He cornered me outside the hospital wing," I said with a twinge of annoyance. Greta's mouth popped open.

"Ugh, that's so romantic," Greta whined. "I thought Adrian would invite me personally, especially because we spent so much time snogging in the owlery last term. But Robbie was the one to tell me."

"Robbie is fit," Evelyn said to the distraught girl. "But if you don't fancy him, we can switch."

Greta and Evelyn started to hash out the pros and cons of each of their dates, debating whether they should switch boys or not. Penny adjusted to lay on her bed propped up on her elbows, looking at me with analytical eyes. "Erica, do you reckon Cade will kiss you?"

My paintbrush almost flew out of my hand. I uttered, "I have no idea."

"Have you ever been kissed by a boy?" Penny inquired, like it was a question on an exam that I had to pass. I shook my head.

Penny's eyes squeezed shut as her body shook with laughter. Greta and Evelyn looked over from their discussion to see what was so funny.

"Erica's never been kissed!" Penny chortled. "Oh, I shouldn't be surprised. If you had, you would have told us." I looked down at my lap, feeling embarrassed.

"That has to change," Greta chimed in excitedly. "At the party next weekend, for certain. You have to."

I shrugged. "I don't know if... if I want my first kiss to be with Cade."

"Who then?" Penny asked, continuing her inquisition. I began to suspect that this was not light-hearted friendly banter, but rather, fishing for the answer to which boy I harbored feelings for. Even if I did want to tell her the truth, what could I even say? That I rather like professional Quidditch players and the twenty-something man that works at the bookshop in Diagon Alley? What about Draco, who gives me that nauseous pixies-in-the-stomach feeling whenever I think of him restraining me in the Forbidden Forest? None of these were good answers. Especially not Draco. Admitting to them that I thought he was attractive was practically handing them an invitation to tease and berate me for all eternity.