My Damned Lover: Third Year

Chapter 22

After two hours of quidditch practice, Seraphina strapped the objects in place and shut the case tightly. It was her turn to put the supplies away. The older members had to attend an extra class, Harry had gone to meet Ron, and the twins had been called to McGonagall's office. 

I guess it's true that Fred hit Mrs. Norries with a bludger. She probably deserved it. Seraphina pulled out her wand and pointed it at the quidditch case. "Wingardium Leviosa." It surged upwards, and she guided it to the supply room. She was just about to set the case down when a branch snapped behind her. She saw a shadow and spun around, breaking the spell and causing the case to land with a loud thump. 

"D-Draco?" 

Her heart was still pumping a mile a minute. He saw the fear on her obvious and cursed himself for being stupid. "Yeah, it's just me." Despite his reassurance, her eyes flitted to the door. Once she checked for herself that no other Slytherin, particularly a certain bob-haired witch, was there, she put her wand back in her pocket. 

"What are you doing here? Do you guys have practice too?" 

"No, I came to check on you..." Draco said warily. 

"Oh..." 

For a moment, it was silent, and the awkwardness made her want to throw an invisibility cloak over her and run out of there. 

"Look..." It was Draco who broke the silence first. "I heard what Pansy told you yesterday. It's not true. I didn't make a bet-" 

"I know." 

"You... what?" He stared at her in bewilderment. 

Seraphina looked into his eyes and calmly said, "I said, I know. You didn't make a bet with Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle about making a Gryffindor mutt like me fall for you." 

For a minute, all he could do was stare at her. Least to say, he was shook. "What makes you have so sure?" Draco whispered as he searched her eyes. 

Without missing a beat, Seraphina said, "Because that's not something you could do." Her simple answer made his heart swell with unexplainable emotions, and he remembered feeling this when he saw her over the summer before third year started. That was probably when he decided... to call her Seraphina instead of Blakewood. 

"I have a question for you too. Hermione told me Pansy gave you a letter saying I never wanted to see you again. Supposedly, it was in my own writing. But how did you know that wasn't from me?" 

Draco's eyes softened. "Because... you never call me Malfoy." Her eyes rounded in surprise, and she realized it was true. She had never called him by his last name before, not even in first year when she called him a nasty name for being rude to Harry. 

"Oh. Well... that was easy." 

At that, Draco laughed, and Seraphina managed a smile. She winced and touched the cut on her lip. Draco softened and reached out to gently touch the bruise on her left cheek. "Are you okay?" The tip of his finger buzzed with energy, but she covered her panic with a lame comment, "That's probably the first question you should've asked me." 

Draco chuckled and nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah, you're right."

Seraphina smiled back and softly whispered, "I'm sorry for ruining our wizard's chess tournament..." 

"It's okay. We have plenty of time." His words tickled her for some reason, and she looked down to hide her growing smile. 

"But just so you know... I would've kicked your butt," Draco said, making her laugh. 

"Oh, I don't know about that. I have a tendency to flip the board when it just doesn't go in my favor."

-----

The next day, Seraphina hurried to potions class as she dug through her books to see if her homework was there. She came to an abrupt halt and reeled back at the sight of Pansy. The Slytherin witch paused by the door and smirked at her. "What's wrong, mutt? You look petrified," she snorted with laughter at her own clever joke. 

Seraphina narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to say something when Pansy's expression suddenly crumbled with devastation. 

Draco, who appeared behind Seraphina, shot Pansy a warning glare. Gently, he put a hand on Seraphina's waist and gave her a light push. "Go in, Seraphina," Draco whispered. "She's not worth it." 

Seraphina stayed for a second later before heading into the classroom. 

Pansy started, "Draco-" 

"Save it," he hissed and walked past her. He sat a couple tables behind Seraphina, and she glanced back at him. He gave her a smile, and she felt her insides melting with warmth. 

"You all right, Seraphina?" Harry asked. He glared at Pansy. "You want me to teach her a lesson?" 

Seraphina jerked her attention back to him and chuckled, "No... she's been taken care of... by multiple people already. I kind of feel bad for her actually." 

Harry laughed and patted her arm. "Good for you, Seraphina."