Date with Draco

"It just doesn't make sense," my friend said when I told her. "Draco Malfoy's favourite dream would probably be to feed all Muggle-borns to a dragon. Why the heck would he ask one out?"

"He must really like me! Like me so much he's gone against all his beliefs and his family to be with me."

"The day Draco Malfoy goes against his beliefs is the day I grow an extra eye on my forehead! And he's never going to risk his father finding out he's dating a Muggle-born for all the gold in Gringotts. Unless this is some weird form of suicide!"

"No one's ever liked me before," I said, not having heard a word of what my friend had said.

"For the love of Merlin! Why are you getting so worked up about this guy? He's an insufferable little git who wouldn't know a good deed if it walked up to him naked with a thong on its head and smacked him in the face with a trout."

"He is not!" I said obsinately, my temper rising. "Maybe he can be a bit out of order sometimes but so can Ron and you start drooling every time he walks in the room."

"I do not!"

She did, but I didn't want to continue the subject, as Ron's girlfriend, Hermione Granger, had just come into the dormatory. I muttered to my friend not to mention it to her, because she was sure to tell Harry and then I'd never hear the end of it. And Lavender and Parvati would go into annoying fits of insane giggles if they found out I was seeing any guy, let alone the hottest one in the school.

When the day of the next Hogsmede visit came about, I got my friend to do my hair up really nice, and put a lot of make-up on, in an effort not to look so plain.

"Just be careful, all right?" my friend warned me as we approached The Three Broomsticks, where Draco and I had arranged to meet. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

I ignored her. I was too busy thinking about my nerves. We parted company and I went inside and looked around. He was sitting in a corner with two butterbeers on the table in front of him. Oh God... I was going to screw up, I just knew it... I always screwed things up... then he'd seriously regret asking me out.

He'd spotted me. My knees shaking and my heart doing a drum roll in my chest, I went and sat down next to him.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," he said, giving me a smile that made me want to sweep the butterbeer off the table and throw him down onto it. It was a good thing I was sitting down or my knees would have given way.

We hardly said a word as we drank our butterbeers, but he kept looking at me out of the corner of his eyes and I could see his lips twitching as though he was trying to keep from smiling. To my uttmost surprise, he seemed nervous, too. He kept ringing his hands and avoiding my eyes as though he was shy. This was so uncharacteristicly sweet of him that it made me blush from my increased attraction to him. He noticed, and smiled again. I knew I was the colour of Weasley hair, because I could feel my face burning, and I looked back down at my drink. Then he reached over and put his hand on top of mine and held it. His very touch made my entire body turn to jelly. This couldn't be happening to me. I must be dreaming. Oh please don't wake up yet!

Then Draco's eyes suddenly moved to a spot a foot or two past my right ear, an apprehensive and somewhat annoyed look on his face. I didn't have time to turn around.

"What the...?"

I recognised the voice, and a slight forboding came over me as I turned around and looked into the face of Ron Weasley. He was looking at us like we had both sprouted scales on our eyeballs. I expected Draco to let go of my hand but he only tightened his grip on it.

"What the hell is going on?"

I wasn't sure what to say. I had only become friends with Ron, Harry and Hermione recently, though we'd known each other since we arrived, being in the same year. I knew how much he hated Draco. As it turned out, I didn't need to answer, because Draco spoke first.

"We're on a date, Weasley, do you mind?"

He hadn't said it like an insult, but Ron looked as though he'd called him something terrible. He looked at me, an expression of utter disbelief on his face, as though seeking confirmation. I nodded sheepishly.

"You two... on a date? You can't be."

"What part don't you understand? I asked her out and she said yes. Simple as that."

"You asked her out? Why?"

"Because I like her." Draco said it like it was a stupid question.

I stared at him. Had he really just said that? Ron snorted.

"Oh yeah right! You like her? Do you honestly think I'm going to believe that?"

His words stung me. I stood up and looked him in the face. I had to strain my neck because he was at least a head and shoulders taller than me.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, just that - "

"What, are you saying no one could ever like me?"

"No! I just meant because you're - "

"What? Plain? Boring? Ugly?"

"No! I - "

"Come on," said Draco, standing up and taking my hand. "Let's get out of here."

But Ron wasn't going to let us go that easy. He blocked our way and his gaze shot venom at Malfoy.

"What are you playing at Malfoy? What do you want? 'Cause I am not going to believe that you are going out with a Muggle-born because you like her. You hate Muggle-borns."

"Most Muggle-borns aren't like her," said Draco, staring straight back at him. Ron didn't seem convinced.

"If you hurt one hair on her head, Malfoy, I'll - "

"What?" said Draco threateningly, stepping right up close to Ron and staring him right in the eye. "You'll what?"

I could see a fight coming up so I quickly pulled Draco towards the door. Just before we left the pub, I heard Ron call after me, "Em, be careful, all right? You can't trust him!"

It was bitterly cold outside. The Christmas holidays had just started and most students had gone home, but since more people had stayed this year than usual (perhaps because they wanted to be wherever Dumbledore was in these times of darkness), an extra Hogsmede trip had been arranged for them. I turned back to Draco and said, "I'm so sorry."

"It's all right. Weasley doesn't like me, of course he's not going to trust me. But he's just going to have to get used to the idea of us being together."

He put his arm around me and we walked down the road towards the edge of the village. We passed the last building and wandered down the lane, towards the foot of the mountain. Neither of us said anything. Neither of us had to.

As we walked, I noticed a single flower growing by the side of the path. That's odd, I thought. I know the weather's all screwed up because of global warming and everything but what's a flower doing growing in December?

Draco bent down, picked it up and held it out to me.

That's so sweet, I thought soppily, as I reached out to take it. He seemed reluctant to let go of it himself, though. We both stood there, holding the flower, and he looked into my eyes for a moment. Then he leaned forward and kissed me. My whole body froze for a moment. Draco Malfoy was kissing me! Me! This was incredible! It was completely unbelieveable! It was wonderful! It...

I suddenly felt as if a hook had caught me behind the navel and felt myself being pulled forward. I was spinning very fast, Draco with me, faster and faster, everything rushing past in a swirl of colour and then...

My feet hit the ground and I crumpled. Draco was still standing but only just. Completely bewildered, I looked around. I just had time to register that we were in a dark, empty room when Draco grabbed my hands and held them behind my back with such forcefulness that it hurt.

"You should learn to listen to your friends, Emma," he hissed in my ear.

I was suddenly gripped by fear. What was going on?

The door to the room opened and a man stood on the threshold. He looked a lot like Draco: while blond hair and grey eyes. He was pointing a wand at me.

"Emma Green," he said, his voice full of malicious triumph. "We meet at last."

"Who are you?" I asked, and even I noticed the panic in my voice, though I had not intended it. "Where am I? What do you want?"

"I am Lucius Malfoy, I am not permitted to tell you where you are, and I believe you have some information I am rather interested in."

My confusion increased. What information could I possibly have that Lucius Malfoy would want?

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh I think you do," he said softly. "I think you know something concerning a certain Harry Potter."

Everything suddenly clicked into place. Why hadn't I realised it right away? I was so stupid! After his aunt had died in October in that road accident while out shopping, and he had lost the protection that he had got from her being a blood-relative, he had had to be moved to a new home. The only other way of protecting him away from Hogwarts was the Fidelius charm. The Secret Keeper had had to be someone unexpected. Someone You-Know Who would never have thought of them using. And since Harry and I had only become friends since the last term started and our friendship wasn't widely known, he had suggested me. And now he had gone there for the holidays.

I realised then, that I was in very real danger...

-fin-