Belong (D.M)

Part thirteen

January turned into February at Hogwarts, and Dumbledore's army was back in action. Harry seemed eager to teach everyone new things, and mostly everyone was improving. Outside of the school, the snow was melting slowly, leaving the trees bare.

She was walking through the corridors on the seventh floor, away from the room of requirements quickly to avoid Filch, when he came running up to her. His icy eyes danced along her face, and his cheeks were slightly flushed.

"Hey Draco" she said as he stopped right infront of her.

"Hey Ellie, do you know what day it is tomorrow?"

"Wednesday..." she said slowly, looking at the pale boy.

"Yes but what date?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Uhm..." she thought, feeling slightly confused "the fourteenth I think?"

"Yes..." he trailed, looking at her. 

Silence filled the corridor for a second as she stood dumbfounded, thinking about why he was asking her about the date of the next day if he clearly knew already. But then it hit her.

"Oh tomorrow is valentine's day"

"Yes" he laughed, looking at her with something kind glimmering in his bright eyes "do you have any plans?"

"Uhm no" she said, shaking her head "what about you?"

"I was kinda hoping to take you to Hogsmeade" 

His words took her by surprise, and she felt her breath get caught in her throat. She was unable to speak as a million thoughts spun around in her head. However she realized it was quite rude not to reply as she saw his smile fade more and more.

"Sure, sounds like a plan, let's go to Hogsmeade"

His smile grew once again, and he looked at her with adoration in his eyes as he let his arms fall to his sides. 

"Great, I'll meet you in the entrance hall at five"

She nodded and he flung his black leather book bag up on his shoulder before he walked off, leaving her standing in the cold seventh floor corridor alone and slightly shocked. But as she gathered herself to leave, she couldn't help but smile. And the smile never faltered until she got to her dormitory.

"Why do you look so very happy?"

She snapped back to reality as she heard a bubbly voice, her little sister was sitting with her legs crossed on her bed.

"What are you doing here Becka?" she asked, walking up to her "this isn't your bed"

"I know" the little girl shrugged "but I need help with my charms homework and I was looking for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere so I just figured I should wait here for you"

"Well you found me" 

"Where were you?" Rebecka questioned, smiling slightly "were you with the Slytherin boy? The one who gave me Ernie? Is that why you're smiling so widely?"

"Ernie?" she asked, sitting down on her bed "who's Ernie?"

"My fluffy dragon, the one that the Slytherin boy gave me for Christmas" the little girl said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh" 

"Were you with him? Is that why you're happy? Are you in love with him?" he little sister asked, wide eyed and curious.

"What? No Rebecka, we're friends"

She looked at her sister who leaned back slightly as she fiddled with her red notebook, probably the one notebook she used for charms class. 

"Lets look at your homework, what do you need help with?" she asked, nodding her head towards the notebook in her sister's hands.

"Just a charm..." she mumbled, clearly not as interested in her school work as she was in Ellie's private life "but why are you so happy?"

"Draco, the Slytherin boy that gave you Ernie, asked me to go with him to Hogsmeade tomorrow" she confessed, leaning against her bedpost.

"Tomorrow? Tomorrow is Valentine's day Ellie"

"I know Rebecka"

Rebecka jumped up on the bed, dropping her red charms notebook as she excitedly grinned widely. 

"And he is your friend? Are you going as friends? Cause that seems like something else"

"I don't know Rebecka" she laughed, laying down on her bed "but lets focus on your homework now, you don't want to flunk professor Flitwick's class"

Rebecka sat down on the bed once more, and got her quill out. Ellie helped her with the charms homework, but she could hardly focus for her mind kept replaying Draco's words over and over again. Were they going as friends?

....

The next day she rushed back to her dormitory after her last class had ended, and she slipped out of her Gryffindor robes to put on a pair of pants and a knitted sweater. She grabbed her wooly jacket, the grey scarf Luna had knitted for her along with a pair of mittens. Then she headed off to the entrance hall, a Valentine's card tucked in her left pocket.

"There you are" he said as she walked up to him. He was dressed in all black as usual, and he looked well put together.

"Hi Draco"

"Happy valentine's day" he said with a smile, handing her a box of chocolate pralines in a small heart shaped box.

"Wow thanks" she smiled, giving him the valentines card attached to a chocolate bar "Rebecka drew the card, I think she likes you"

"Thanks" he laughed, taking the gift from her before he looked at the hand drawn card "it's sweet"

The two of them walked out of the school, trekking through the melting snow towards the small pittoresque village of Hogsmeade. It was charming, with smoke coming out of the chimneys of small cottages and tall deep green fir trees. Honeydukes appeared in front of them, and in the distance she could see the three broomsticks with it's dusty windows. 

"Do you want to get a butterbeer?" he asked, looking between her and the Inn. 

"Yeah sounds great" 

Together they walked up to the wooden door, and he pulled it open for her.

"Thanks" she mumbled as she slipped into the warmth, brushing the snow off of her boots. He followed her closely behind, closing the door behind them. She carefully sneaked a look at him, and to her surprise he was already gazing down at her with a small smile. Her catching him looking made him quickly gather himself and look away.

"Come on" he mumbled as he began to walk away. She followed without speaking another word. He ordered two butterbeers and paid for them before they sat down at a table in the back.

"Let me pay you back" she hummed, reaching for her wallet.

"No, don't" he said, stopping her "I took you to Hogsmeade, I'm paying"

She looked at him with furrowed eyebrows for a second before she put her wallet back into the pocket of her jacket, "alright, thank you Draco"

"You're welcome" he mumbled, taking a sip of his butterbeer.

Her eyes wandered from the pale boy to her drink, and she felt unsure what to think about all of this. He had asked her to go with him to Hogsmeade, he gave her a box of heart shaped chocolates and now he was paying for her drink, which she was more than able to pay for herself... on Valentine's day. The thoughts were spinning around in her head like crazy, almost making her feel dizzy, and she though is this a date? It can't be, right?

"Draco?"

"Yes Ellie?"

"I was just thinking..." she trailed, taking a sip of her butterbeer "what is this?"

He looked at her with confusion clear upon his pale face, then he reached over and slid his thumb along her upper lip.

"You had some... uhm froth there" 

"Thanks" she said, swallowing hard as he lingered his touch on her chin. Then he pulled away, and she sat up straighter.

"What were you saying?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Uhm nothing" 

She looked at him, and he looked right back at her, unable to tear his gaze away. Suddenly it felt like time had stopped, and everyone around them became a infinite blur. She could hear clinking of glasses, the crackling of the fire in the old fireplace and the buzz of people talking and laughing around them, but she only had eyes for him in the moment.

She felt like there was a hundred different reasons she shouldn't be here with him, but none of them mattered. She knew what her friends would think, but it didn't matter in this moment.

"Thank you for the butterbeer Draco" she managed to speak, her voice trembling as she looked at his mesmerizing eyes "it's nice of you"

....

She was walking away from the room of requirements on the seventh floor, and she had barely turned around the first corner when she bumped into him. Pale and smirking, as usual. But his eyes... they were still mesmerizing, drawing her in.

"What are you doing here Draco?"

"I could ask you the same thing" he said, laying his right hand on her upper arm.

She gazed down at his hand and then up at his pale smooth face. That was when she saw something, something shiny and silver hanging on his robe. 

"What's that?" she asked, looking closer.

"What?" he asked, stepping away.

"What's that on your chest?" she asked, grabbing the silver badge hung at bottom of a purple ribbon "is that a... are you in the inquisitorial squad?"

She let go off the badge quickly, almost like it had burned her skin. And she stepped back, feeling dizzy as he stared at her with bewildered eyes. 

"Ellie" he spoke, taking a step closer as he reached out to touch her arm. 

"No" she breathed, stepping away to avoid his touch "I can't believe you Draco, once again you go and do something stupid, I mean I know you're a Slytherin but come on... Umbridge? She's like the devil herself"

"Don't say that" he spat.

"She is Draco, she is!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in defense "that woman, that cockroach, is awful"

"Ellie shut up" he said, hushing her as he quickly stepped closer "you don't want her to hear you"

"Why? Cause I'm a Gryffindor? Oh boohoo, go ahead and report me, do your inquisitorial squad duty and drag me to her" 

"No Ellie" he whispered, looking around them as grabbed a hold of her "I don't want you to get hurt"

"I am hurt Draco" she said, pulling herself out of his grip "you are supposed to be my friend and still you go and part sides with that evil woman, even after all the students she has hurt and all she has done to destroy this school, but I guess you don't care about that do you? You think Hogwarts is a pathetic joke"

"No I don't" he said, his voice loud and stern "don't say that about me"

"That you think Hogwarts is a joke of a school? It's not my words Draco, I've heard you say it before"

"But I don't mean it okay?" he said in a hushed tone, stepping closer to her once more "I say a lot of stuff that I don't mean, and I might have talked bad about this place and it's headmaster before but I like it here, Hogwarts is a safe place for me"

She sighed loudly, glancing at the ugly badge pinned to his black and green robes. She could almost see Umbridge's nasty smile before her as she thought about him getting that badge.

"There are things that you don't understand Ellie"

His words made her gaze snap back to his pale face.

"No, you're the one who doesn't understand things Draco" 

She began to walk off, feeling betrayed and slightly dumb. She has been down this road before with him, he never change. He can't change. Maybe he is rotten to the core after all?

"Ellie!"

"Don't Draco, I don't want to talk to you"

"Ellie please" he called out as he ran after her, grabbing her arm to stop her "fine, I am in the inquisitorial squad, but I have my reasons"

"No reason is good enough Draco" she sighed, staring at him with stern eyes "and to think I ever liked you, crazy"

"Wait you like me?" he asked, releasing his firm grip on her arm as he looked at her with surprised eyes.

"Uhm y-yes..." she trailed, looking at his icy grey eyes "as a... uhm a f-friend of course"

"Oh yeah of course" he mumbled, looking down at his feet.

As a friend.