Chapter Text
The train whistle blows at platform nine and three quarters as you grab your luggage to move onto the last car of the Hogwarts Express. You usually sit with your fellow (NS/H)s on the long ride to Hogwarts, but you have other plans today. Today, you plan to sit with Draco Malfoy. You’ve liked him for a couple years now despite your friends’ disapproval. You didn’t even bother telling your friends what you were up to since they’d probably put an end to it even if it meant dragging you to their car. But you still walk down the narrow hallway on the last car of the train in search of Draco, since you know the Slytherins to take up the back.
You carry your duffle bag on your shoulder as you glance at each compartment. You don’t find him anywhere. The only thing you do find are snarky Slytherins who recognize you from (NS/H). They eye you up and down and talk about you with their friends, not bothering to whisper their rude comments. You ignore them and keep walking. You’re used to this kind of behavior since you’re not exactly shy about your feelings towards Draco. Whenever you get the chance, you try to talk to him, but you only get as far as saying ‘hi.’ Typically, he’d give you a confused look and open his mouth but never give a real response. Though you always thought you saw a spark in his eyes and desperately held on to that hope. Though the other Slytherins around him would completely ignore you and cut you off from the group, stopping your attempts to talk to him. The most time you enjoy with Draco is when you face each other in quidditch. Though your keeper and he’s seeker, so you actually never fly into each other even then. However, you have total confidence in your efforts today…because of what happened last year. Towards the end of term, you were on the fields by the quidditch pitch for some alone time when you spotted Draco, having the same idea it seemed. He was sitting in the fields with his broom.
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That’s when you picked up your old Nimbus and leisurely walked the 50 yards over to him, coming up from behind and sitting on his left. You dropped your broom to your side and rested your elbows on your knees. He was looking out at the view of the hills, but then turned his head to you as you sat down. You greeted him as you usually did, mesmerized by his blue eyes and angelic glow, and he responded with a hello. When neither of you spoke after that you turned forward and took in the massive green fields. It was beautiful. You were going to miss this open land over the summer. “It’s a nice view,” you observed.
There was a pause before he agreed softly, “Yes.” You were glad to hear his reply, glad you finally made it past a ‘hello’ after all your failed attempts to start up conversation.
“I’m (Y/N),” you stated, glancing his way and smiling slightly when you met his ocean blue eyes again.
“Draco,” he replied, holding your stare. You thought you saw that twinkling in his eye again, the one that gives you some hope.
“I know,” you confessed, and you almost laughed when you saw him open his mouth but hesitate to respond.
“I’ve seen you around, haven’t I?” he hesitated again, eyes squinting slightly.
Then you let out a breathy laugh. “Yes,” you nodded, “Your friends like to ignore me,” you continued, leaning back on your hands, “but you don’t seem to,” you stretched out the sentence, staring at him from beneath your lashes and cocking your head in a flirtatious manner. Of course you had no inclination whether he preferred to ignore you or not, but his reaction confirmed the latter and it allowed you to relax your nerves. You held back your laugh as best you could when he glanced at you and then quickly looked away to hide his flustered expression. That was a side to Draco Malfoy you’d never seen before and you liked it. Though you wanted to continue your prying to figure out exactly what he thought of you, you decided to cut him a break and changed the subject. “What were you thinking, before I so rudely interrupted?” you inquired in a more casual tone.
“You weren’t rudely interrupting,” he assured, looking out at the hills, and another surge of hope bloomed inside of you. He sighed before continuing, “I was thinking, that…I don’t want to leave Hogwarts yet,” he explained quieter, and your smile faded, feeling the seriousness of his statement.
You shifted back up, and sat holding your hands together. You could imagine why he didn’t want to leave Hogwarts and go back home for the summer. It’s no secret that he doesn’t have the best homelife. Though you were curious, you didn’t want to ask him too personal a question and make him put up his guard after finally conversing with you. You weren’t sure what to say, so you offered your own opinion, “I don’t want to leave yet either. I’d miss all this open land.” He didn’t say anything, so you turned the subject back to his thoughts and prompted, “Why don’t you want to go yet?” A general enough question that would let him answer however he felt comfortable.
You watched as he pressed his lips together, taking a deep breath through his nose, his chest rising. He opened his mouth to speak but fell short, shaking his head slightly and brushing his fingers lightly through the grass. “I just don’t want to go yet,” he repeated, and you saw his brows furrowing. You acted on instinct then, and slipped your hand into his with a gentle hold. The first thing you noticed was how smooth his skin was, and how his fingertips were cold. He looked at your hands together and then up at you. You began to lie down on the cool grass, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath.
“Then good thing we don’t need to leave just yet,” you breathed out, relaxing into the grass. You could feel the pull on your arm loosening as Draco held your hand more securely and leaned towards you. You heard the rustle of his clothes and the grass as he laid down next to you. The action made you feel giddy inside and you had to hold back your smile. He let out a slow sigh and you opened your right eye to peek at him. His eyes were closed and you saw his skin smooth over as he relaxed. You let yourself admire his profile, the angle of his jaw, the smoothness of his hair. You felt his hand shift gently in yours, his thumb gliding along your skin. Your thumb automatically curved over his hand as well and the feeling of his skin on yours made your chest feel tight, in a good way. You looked down at your hands and smiled as you angled your head back up, closing your eyes again and taking another deep breath. You hadn’t felt happiness like that all year.
You and Draco laid on the ground together for so long you caught yourself drifting off to sleep at one point. You weren’t sure how long you had been like that. When you both got up, you squinted at the brightness of the sky. You felt wonderfully refreshed and stretched your arms over your head. When you turned to meet Draco, he was doing the same thing and you saw that the back of his hair was a little amiss. You figured your hair was in a similar state, so you ran your fingers through it to neaten it up. Then Draco stood up and shook his fingers through his hair. From your position on the ground, the light shining behind him, he looked like a god. You couldn’t help yourself from staring for a few seconds or from smiling as you stood up and faced him. His skin seemed to glow and his shoulders were more slouched. You thought he looked lighter and more at ease. You were glad to have helped with that.
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You didn’t talk much after that and dragged your brooms along as you trekked back to the castle together. You held on to that memory all summer long and now you’re determined to act on it, using that moment to fuel your courage.
You walk through the last car of the train, no sign of Draco, and move on to the next car. When you open the door, the wind swirls your hair and the rhythm of the tracks explodes in your ears. You step into the next car and the door closes with a slam behind you. You begin searching for Draco in the compartments. The walkway is so narrow that when others pass, you have to flatten yourself against the wall. At the end of the car straight ahead of you, you can see the door opening. You stop your step and your breath catches in your throat as Draco Malfoy steps through the door, his platinum hair and pale skin a stark contrast to his all-black wardrobe. Black pants, black button-down, black jacket. Gosh, he’s a vision, you think. You force yourself out of your reverie before you make a fool of yourself. When he looks up, you notice he does a double take, also stopping at the end of the narrow pathway, holding your stare. “Hi,” you see him mouth more than hear him. You lift your hand in a small wave and mouth ‘hi’ back. Your insides flutter knowing that he remembers you still. You suddenly hear a sharp voice up ahead and Draco’s head snaps away from you. That must have been one of his friends calling him because he starts walking slowly to the closest compartment, yet he keeps glancing your way, to your delight. You don’t want to miss your chance, so you start walking straight ahead. He slides open the compartment door and steps halfway inside. When you reach the door, you can see two Slytherins that you recognize to be part of Draco’s group, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini. You’re relieved Goyle isn’t here because he’s really something to put up with. Blaise is more than tolerable, and Pansy, well Pansy you can handle.
“Hi, Draco,” you greet him gently with a small smile, unable to take your eyes off him.
“Hi, Y/N,” he says your name softly, setting his bag on a seat. Your insides flip at hearing your name on his lips, at him actually remembering your name.
You don’t want to be rude, so reluctantly you turn to Blaise and Pansy to introduce yourself. Blaise offers a hello, clearly confused as to why you're talking to them, and Pansy just lifts her brow, eyeing you up and down.
You hear Draco clear his throat and you turn your attention back to him. “Have you found a seat yet?” he hesitates, and you're mesmerized by his eyes again and his pleasant tone of voice.
“No,” you answer breathily, fixing your grip on your bag. You shift your weight onto one foot and hold your breath, hoping he'll ask you to join him and his friends for the train ride.
Draco opens his mouth to speak, but Pansy jumps up and draws both of your attention. “Well, you can’t sit here, our compartment is full,” she snaps, gripping the handle of the door to slide it closed if only Draco would get fully inside. You exhale quietly, not wanting to push it further and have an awkward train ride for the next three hours. You step back ever so slowly, looking at Draco and lingering, hoping he’ll stop you from leaving. He looks back and forth between you and Pansy and starts leaning down into the compartment. Your heart sinks for a moment, but he only leans down to reach for his bag. “I’ll go sit with Y/N, and you two can have this compartment,” he explains, glancing at Blaise and Pansy. You try to hide your shock and gleeful expression. Meanwhile, Pansy’s jaw drops to the floor.
“You sure, mate?” Blaise questions, but doesn't make any attempt to stop him.
“Yeah,” Draco confirms lightly stepping out of the sliding doorway, “I’ll see you guys at the castle,” his voice lilts up in a question and Blaise nods him off with a silent okay. Draco steps backwards into the narrow pathway once more and his jacket brushes your arm, sending a jolt of energy to your chest.
You glance once more at Blaise and Pansy. “Bye,” you breathe, unable to stop smiling. Blaise is a little confounded and Pansy is still gaping like an idiot. You will gladly hold onto that image of Pansy for the rest of your time at Hogwarts. When you face forward, Draco is smiling at you and saying hi again. You say hi back and feel your pulse pick up as you both walk towards the end of the car. Suddenly, Draco is asking you how your summer went and you two begin talking.