Rivals | D.M

63. The Cursed Necklace

A/N Just a reminder: this is AU. I have drawn certain events from the books but they may not be in order or accurate.

Aster's POV

The next few weeks were filled with lessons on Occlumency, continuing the laborious task of fixing the vanishing cabinet (this was coming on quite slowly to Draco's chagrin) and my ever most favourite, stolen moments in empty classrooms and in the Room of Requirement.

After that day in the empty classroom, Draco had taken upon himself to grab and pull me aside at any time I was alone. The quick rendezvous' were void of all talk about his task and my lessons in occlumency and instead were passionately filled with touches, moans and releases. I knew this was a way for Draco to relax amongst the building pressure of fixing the cabinet and I was totally okay with it.

The continuous lessons on Occlumency were exhausting at the best of times, most times I came away with blinding migraines; something Draco said shouldn't be happening.  Draco blamed this on my inability to control the depths of sheltering my emotions. His explanation made sense. I had always put those negative feelings into one side of my mind, barricading them in so they wouldn't spill out. My lessons were on acknowledging those feelings and thoughts but shutting those memories out from everyone else BUT me.

I had been improving however, and Draco had finally allowed himself to test my ability by attempting to use legilimency on me.

The first time he attempted to filter through my mind, he had come face to face with a memory of Harper and Blaise. It was a memory that had been brought up by Blaise that morning, a casual mentioning of a day in which Blaise and Harper had visited me on a hot summers day a few years ago. A moment that pictured all three of us swimming in the depths of the sea, laughing and squealing as we splashed each other. The feeling of Draco slipping through the cracks of my mind, made my body shiver with unease and after a few minutes I was able to push him out and create those shields he had been teaching me to use.

Draco was staring at me with an odd expression once I came to. It wasn't necessarily pity but it wasn't a comforting look. He didn't mention the memory, but instead criticised my slow movement with a harsh tone before slipping into a more stoic tone that he normally used for his teaching.

Our 'relationship' had somewhat become normal over the last few weeks. Normal in my terms at the very least. Something had switched in Draco that time after our meeting in the empty classroom. He was more attentive, and seemed calmer in class. He would steal small touches when we were seated next to each other in Potions and would insist on carrying my books when we had our usual library session to complete the assignment. He would still keep away from me when others were around but I understood why.

Draco and I had fooled around countless times in the weeks passing, especially after our laborious spell work on the cabinet at nights but it was just that, fooling around. I was itching to have him all, but he hadn't invited me up to his room since the start of the term. Whenever, I attempted to move onto more in the Room of Requirement, he had ultimately stopped and distracted me with something else.

No matter how many times he could give me my release with just his fingers or his mouth, I was determined for more.

I had sent Draco an owl that morning, asking him to meet me in the library at our usual spot that Saturday evening, on the pretence that we needed to finish the finer points in our assignment. It was when I was rushing towards the back of the library, to our little secluded spot, when I heard students whispering about Katie Bell.

Neville Longbottom was whispering rather loudly as I walked past his table, he was sitting next to Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood.

"Harry, Ron and Hermione found her!" he exclaimed before his eyes flicked over to me and he hastily shut up.