Work Text:
"What is your favorite color, Y/N?"
I looked up from the book I was reading a cracked a small grin to my friend, Mandy. I didn't respond right away, my lips pursed in thought. Finally settling on an answer, I said "Green."
"Green?" Padma asked, who was sitting next to Mandy. We were in the Ravenclaw common room, the both of them doing their homework, and I - having finished earlier was reading. "Yes, green." I said again, nodding.
"Why green? I've never seen you wear anything that color, or have anything with green on it much at all now that I think on it." Padma continued. I looked back down to my book and only gave a chuckle, "It's a soothing color, isn't it?" I asked, though that wasn't the reason at all. And while I had discovered a way to hide blushes from my two friends, who would very much pick on me should I allow them to see it, I couldn't stop my heart from picking up it's pace. The true reason for my fascination of the color green stemmed not from fashion, or because it was soothing, even though I did think that was true.
It was because every time he walked by I couldn't help but stare. His steely gray eyes were almost always in a glare, a sneer was often planted on his face, but I found him gorgeous. Like so many other girls in Hogwarts, sure. There was just something about him - the confidence that radiated from him was outstanding and contagious. I had grown fond of the Slytherin house colors solely because he wore them.
"You know what I think?" Mandy said, and judging from the tone of her voice she was about to say something about a boy. I glanced up, to humor her. "What do you think Mandy?"
"I think it's because it's the color of Potter's eyes!" She proclaimed and both she and Padma began to giggle. I rolled my eyes, for some reason the two thought I was simply smitten with the Gryffindor. The 'Boy who lived'. It wasn't true, though we were friends. And sure, he was an attractive young man, but we both well knew that our relationship as purely based on friendship alone. At least - I was certain of that.
"I think you're delusional, Mandy dear." I responded, fluttering my eyelashes innocently. She rolled her eyes and set down her parchment. "Oh come on, you're joking right? You guys totally have something going on in the background don't you?"
"Absolutely not." I said sternly, and pushed the brim of my glasses further up my nose. I wasn't amused by their gossiping, but they were two of my closer friends, so I let them with little complaints.
"Then who do you like?" Padma asked, seeming to abandon her school work as well. I shook my head, closing my book after dog earring the corner of my current page to save my place.
"The amount of time you two put into trying to pry into my love life could be well spent on your school work, you know." I said jokingly.
"What would be the fun in that?" Mandy asked and Padma nodded vigorously. "Come on then! Tell us!"
Setting my book down onto my lap, I closed my eyes. They would never drop it at this rate, and so once I opened my eyes I prepared to tell them - expecting their stunned looks and disbelief.
"I fancy Draco."
...
They deadpanned.
It took a few moments and Mandy was the first to talk. "Yeah right, Y/N. Very funny! You should really just tell us already, it's not like we would tease you for it!"
"Yeah really, as if we would believe that!" Padma agreed with Mandy.
I blinked a few times before giggling, shaking my head. Not the response I expected, but when I didn't say more on it the two girls picked up their parchments, "Oh fine, don't tell us!" Mandy said.
Padma laughed and added, "We'll just have to keep guessing!" She stuck out her tongue playfully.
I smiled to them and opened back up my book, though this time I found myself increasingly distracted, thinking of the color green and the certain boy of my fancy with the gray eyes.
A couple of days later we were on the trip to Hogsmeade. The first hour or so we spent shopping for candies at Honeydukes, and I picked out a rather tasty looking sucker pop that I planned on saving for later. It was Carmel apple flavored. We laughed and shopped through books and the other stores, without purchasing much. The little bit of freedom away from studies itself was nice.
But sometime along the line my two friends and I had split up. I had no clue where they went off too and didn't much want to brave the cold to look through each store to find them. Instead I made my way into the Three Broomsticks where I shook off extra snow and purchased a butter beer.
Sitting by myself at one of the corner tables I took out my newest book, which happened to be on Herbology - a class that had always interested me. Along with potions, they were my favorite. I even planned one day to have my own garden where I grew ingredients to use in my own potions. Who knows, maybe one day I will have a little buisness of my own. The thought made me smile.
I was so distracted by my reading and lost in my thoughts that I didn't notice the person staring at me from the other side of the pub.
I took a big sip of my butter beer, while flipping the page of my book. I heard someone come up beside me and pressed my thumb to where I was in my book to glance up "Where did you guys run off t-..." I began to ask while glancing up.
I froze. Standing beside me wasn't Padma, or even Mandy.
"Oh. Draco, hello." I spoke calmly, though my heart was racing. I felt a small sting of embarrassment, and quickly lifted my hand to wipe away foam from my drink.
"Hello Y/N." He said, taking the seat beside me. I blinked, "Help yourself." I murmured politely, though found it odd. We hardly talked, being in separate houses he often stayed with his own group of friends in Slytherin. I didn't want to be rude, and a part of me felt a hopeful squeeze in my heart but I tried not to think on it too much. I looked at the scarf he wore around his neck and couldn't help the little smile that slipped over my lips. It was silver and green, the colors of his house.
"What can I do for you, Draco?" I asked, closing my book. He looked at the cover, "Herbology? Are you good in that class?"
I tilted my head - We had the class together. He knew that often the professor praised me which I took pride in. "I'd like to think so, yes." I chose my words carefully.
"I'm not the best at it myself," He admitted, with a small smile that I found rather adorable.
"I know." I said bluntly and when he rose an eyebrow I was quick to add, "We do have class together after all."
He nodded, "I know."
There was a pause of silence and I wasn't sure what to say "So why ask if I was any good?"
He hesitated a moment before saying "Honestly just an excuse to come talk to you."
I blinked. Did I hear that right? I felt heat rise to my cheeks and I did my best to not blush in front of him. "You could have done that anyway, you know."
He grinned cheekily, "I could have, but then I wouldn't be able to ask you to tutor me in Herbology."
I laughed softly, "You want me to tutor you?" I found this surprising, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't enjoy that.
"But of course, you are the smartest witch in our class, after all."
I couldn't keep the blush that formed on my cheeks from the compliment. "Oh... Well thank you. I would be happy to tutor you - in that case."
His gray eyes stared into my own, and before I registered what had happened he had leaned forward and brushed his lips over my cheek. He gave me a smile, and winked before swaggering off back to wherever he had come from.
The blush that I had done my best to hide, was now cherry red and spread up to my ears. I lifted my hand and touched the spot where his warm lips had touched. Did that really just happen?
When I had told Mandy and Padma what had happened, and what I agreed to do they couldn't believe me. I hardly believed it myself. It was that moment that they realized I was blushing when I told them, and they realized that I was not fibbing when I told them my crush. Following squeals of excitment, and after they made me promise to tell them what happened after every tutoring session - the first one came.
It was normal, there was no cheek kisses, nothing out of the ordinary other than the fact that I - A half-blood Ravenclaw was tutoring the Pureblood 'Prince of Slytherin' as Mandy had put it. But the more sessions we had, the more I learned of him and saw that beneath the sneers and glares he was a normal guy. He had never been really mean to me, mind you. But I was not blind to the way he treated others. But soon, I saw that perhaps he was only like that because he was expected to be.
Or perhaps my growing feelings for him were blinding me of any good judgment I had. Either way, I was enjoying my time with him and looked forward to Herbology even more than I already had. It didn't take long for rumors to start spreading. People saw us and assumed we were a secret couple. Some found it romantic, others were jealous. I couldn't help but wish those rumors were true.
On one particular rainy day Draco and I had taken our session underneath the shelter of outside corridors. The steady pounding of the rain calmed me, and though it was a little chilly, we stayed there perhaps sitting a little closer than normal which I noticed right away. The warmth of Draco close to me almost made it hard for me to focus on the book that we were reading a passage on that sat upon my lap. I could smell his cologne - even his shampoo that he used which I was delighted to find out it was apple scented.
"You've really improved since we started, Draco." I had said after we finished the passage. I noticed he had not leaned back from reading over my shoulder but I certainly wasn't going to complain.
"Think so?" He asked, grinning. I felt a sudden boost of confidence and before it slipped away I closed the book on my lap and turned to look up at him. "You have. But to me, it seems like you didn't really need my tutoring."
Draco's eyebrows lifted, "Is that what you think, Y/N?"
I nodded and this time turned my body to fully look at him. I could nearly feel his breath against my lips at our closeness and nodded. "I think so. Though that leaves the question as to why you asked me to tutor you in the first place."
His grey eyes met mine, and I felt a tingle go down my spine. "You're a smart witch, why don't you tell me?" He challenged.
Narrowing my eyes playfully I hummed, I mentally prepared for what I was about to do. For what I had wanted to do for ages now.
Leaning forward, without warning I pressed my lips over his. The warmth of his lips against my own made any chill from the rain simply vanish. I felt him melt into the kiss and he returned it with such eagerness it filled my heart with warmth and silly romantic feelings. Those feelings spread up and over my body and I pulled myself close to him. He welcomed it, wrapping his arms around my slender form, holding me close to his and I felt as if he didn't want to let me go. I knew I certainly didn't want to let him go.
The kiss only lasted a moment or two, but when it ended and he pulled away I was met with a beautiful smile. I returned one with my own and he reached down to take my hand in his. "Let's go prove those rumors true, shall we?" He offered with a hopeful glint in his wonderful eyes.
I giggled and nodded, standing up beside him as we walked back into the grand building. "We shall."
One thing was for sure. I absolutely loved the color green.