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Draco´s head snapped around when he heard a familiar giggle only a few meters away from him. The Professor standing in front of the class long forgotten, he watched with widened eyes, how you nudged Pansy playfully, before the Slytherin girl whispered something into your ear, making you burst into laughter once more. Quickly, you brought a hand to your mouth, trying to stifle the sounds threatening to escape it. Once you had somewhat managed to calm down again, you straightened your back and took a deep breath, before you leant over to Pansy, apparently wanting to answer whatever she had just told you, but when your gaze caught something in front of you, you seemed to change your mind, because instead, you grabbed the quill that until now had been lying on your table uselessly and scribbled something on a piece of parchment, before you lowered your head, looking into the book in front of you. Draco watched in awe how you brought the tip of your quill to your lips as you got lost in the text you were reading. Even though he couldn’t be sure over the distance between the two of you, Draco strongly suspected, that by now there would be a faint stain of ink smudged over your lips. You narrowed your eyes, bringing your head even closer to the book, seemingly coming to a part of the text that was harder to understand than the one before. Or maybe just harder to decipher. The ink in the old books you were working with was from time to time almost fainted, and the curved font itself was already hard enough to read. But regardless of what had caused the shift in your posture, it made some strands of hair fall into your face. But while Draco couldn’t help but admire how perfectly they framed the shape of your face, only stressing your most beautiful – so pretty much every single one of your – features, you didn’t even seem to notice, too lost in the world of the book you were currently working with. Just like Draco got lost in you. Oh, how much he wanted to brush that hair out of your face, taking in every single detail of it, while he would twirl those strands of hair around his fingers. And he could brush away the ink that would stain your pretty lips with his thump tenderly or he could just press his lips on yours so it would faint just as well and then he would…
“Very well, Mr. Malfoy, since apparently you have already finished your task, would you mind sharing your results with the rest of the class?”
Draco snapped out of his trance and blinked up in irritation. Professor McGonagall was standing in front of him, looking at him with narrowed eyes, her lips pursed. Slowly, the Slytherin began to fade back into the world surrounding him. Because unlike it had felt for him only seconds ago, it wasn’t just you and him in this room, but instead, the entire transfiguration class, including the Professor. And every single one of those people was now looking at him. Draco felt their eyes lingering on him and cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid to let himself get distracted that easily simply by how absolutely effortlessly beautiful you looked? But now he would have to face the consequences. He glared up at the Professor, trying to give his face a humble look.
“Excuse me, Professor, but I´m not finished yet.”
“It looks more like you haven’t even started.”, Professor McGonagall returned with a disapproving look at his empty parchment.
“I was still reading. I´ll start the essay soon.”, Draco promised, trying to prevent his face from heating up.
“Well, I suggest next time you will open the book to do so.”
He heard his classmates snickering in the background. Draco clenched his jaw and had to try his hardest to not take an issue with Professor McGonagall. He knew this would only make things worse. If that was even possible right now. Because after all, he was not only being humiliated in front of the entire class but also you. And that was something Draco didn’t even dare to think about.
“At the end of the lesson I expect an entire role of parchment on my desk from you, Mr. Malfoy.”, the Professor spoke up again. “And if you won´t be able to finish it today, you will hand it in tomorrow. Is that clear?”
Draco nodded slowly, teeth gritted. Professor McGonagall knew very well that it was sheer impossible to finish the essay in this lesson and that this afternoon, Draco would have to be at the pitch for some Quidditch practice. He was certain that if he would have been one of the Professor´s precious Gryffindors, especially one of those of the Quidditch team, she wouldn’t have been that hard on him. He was sure of that. Still, he knew he wouldn’t win this argument, so he kept his mouth shut.
Professor McGonagall nodded.
“Very well then.”, she said, before turning around, shifting her focus to his classmates again.
Draco let out a small sigh, before letting his gaze wander around the classroom. He could see some of the Gryffindors shooting him some gleeful glances, but Draco just ignored them. It wasn’t until his gaze settled on you, that his haughty façade started to crumble. Because the moment his gaze settled on you, you looked up from your book as well, your gaze meeting his. Draco´s heart got stuck in his throat as you threw the boy a small compassionate smile, before breaking the eye contact and focusing on the book in front of you again.
Draco´s heart was pumping so loud in his ears that he feared you might hear it on the other side of the classroom, but you didn’t look up again. Still, just those few seconds Draco had been in your orbit, made the boy forget why he had been so upset only minutes ago. The Slytherin couldn’t help the small smile that made it to his face. Maybe all the trouble in this lesson had been worth it after all.
And when Draco heard Blaise´s amused voice mutter beside him: “You´ve got it bad, man.”, he couldn’t even argue with it.

Later that day you were sitting in the common room with Pansy, chatting about all the world and his wife. At some point, Draco´s strange behaviour earlier that day came up as well. But while Pansy was snickering over how absolutely dumbfounded Draco had looked when Professor McGonagall had pointed out that the boy hadn’t even opened the book he had claimed to read, you rather felt sorry for the fellow Slytherin.
“Don’t be so hard on him, Pansy, I´m sure there was a reason that he was so distracted in that lesson.”
“So? If we all wouldn’t have to work just because we have a reason not to do so, I wouldn´t be present in half of the classes.”
“Oh please, what good reason would you have to miss our lessons?”
“They bore me.”, Pansy sighed out dramatically. “And the people annoy me.”
“Even though I totally understand, I´m rather sure that this is not a valid reason.”, you giggled.
“And what do you think Draco´s oh-so-mysterious, understandable and totally important excuse was?”
You shrugged your shoulders. Because even though Draco and you already knew each other for several years and you were rather close – at least by Draco´s standards – and you were quite curious about what had been on the boy´s mind earlier, you had absolutely no idea what could have distracted him that much that he would forget absolutely everything around him.
“You really have no idea?”, Pansy asked, as she glanced at you, looking almost irritated. “Absolutely none?”
“Do you?”, you responded.
Now it was on Pansy to shrug her shoulders, while her gaze dropped down to her lap, and she started fiddling with her hands.
“But regardless of that,”, you continued, not even noticing how Pansy relaxed next to you when you dropped the topic, “I think McGonagall was too hard on him. I mean, we all zone out from time to time, don´t we? And she really didn’t need to give him that much of extra work. That´s just unfair. Especially because she knows for sure that Draco has training today. If she already wants to give him some extra work, she could at least have given him some more time, don’t you think?”
But before Pansy could open her mouth to agree with you, the door opened, and a rather annoyed-looking Draco entered the common room. The frown he held on his face, however, softened immediately, the second he spotted Pansy and you sitting on one of the couches. Quickly, he made his way over to you - not without barking at some first years, standing in his way – and let himself fall on the couch as well, directly next to you.
“For real? In your jersey?”, you frowned. Not that you actually had something against the blond boy wearing his Quidditch uniform, that looked unfairly good on him, actually it was quite the opposite, but the last thing you needed today was some mud smudged over the couches and – due to the fact Draco had by now wrapped an arm around your shoulder – also all over your clothes.
But Draco only gave you a smug grin.
“Relax, love. I already showered and put on a new one. Only for you obviously. I know how much you like to see me in it.”, he winked.
You cursed the moment you had admitted to the blond boy in a moment of weakness that you actually thought that he looked rather good in his jersey. This, however, had been in your second year at Hogwarts, when Draco had joined the team and had been really nervous about his first actual game. And even though you had only said it back then to calm him down – and because it was the truth after all – until this very day, several years later, Draco still loved to remind you of the fact that you had called him handsome back then at every chance.
“If you say so.”, you grumbled.
Still, you finally relaxed into his arms and shuffled a bit closer. You had to actively keep yourself from inhaling his scent deeply. You simply adored it. For you, it felt like home. Simple as that.
“I guess that´s my call.”, Pansy grinned, as she got on her feet. “Enjoy your time, you two.”
You looked at your friend with narrowed eyes.
“Why you wanna leave? We still got some time before dinner.”
“Yeah, but I really don’t want to disturb the two of you.”, she winked.
“You know you could never disturb us, Pansy.”, you laughed, while Draco muttered something incomprehensible under his breath.
“Also, I am very sure that Blaise needs my help with… something. See you around.”
And with that, Pansy disappeared quickly, leaving Draco and you behind.
“That was strange, wasn’t it?”, you asked the boy next to you, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.
“It´s Pansy. What did you expect?”
You nudged him.
“Careful, that´s my friend you´re talking about. And yours too, by the way.”
“And that´s exactly why I´m allowed to say this. But even when it comes to my so-called friends, I´m thankful for every second that I´m able to steal you from them and have you all for myself.”
You felt the familiar blush creeping onto your cheeks that always appeared whenever Draco made some snarky remarks that could make you suspect that after all, you were something special to him. Just like he was to you. And that bastard was fully aware of the effect he had on you and used it to tease you endlessly about it. Just like he did now. And the only way you knew to answer this was with a just as big smirk as he always held on his face when he told you those things.
“Of course you do. Everyone does. I´m just adorable.”, you said, puffing your chest as much as it was possible now that you were trapped in Draco´s arms.
Said boy just sighed and placed a small kiss on the crown of your head, making you shiver.
“Oh, you have no idea, love.”
But just as you wanted to melt into Draco´s embrace, you felt him tense next to you and curse under his breath.
You sat up again slightly and turned your head to look at him.
“What is it?”
“Nothing.”, Draco sighed, but the lines of worries showed you differently. “Just that stupid homework from McGonagall. I still have to write almost half a role.” He let out another sigh before he pulled you close again. “But that can wait. Right now, I´m exactly where I want to be.”
Even though his words flattered you, you wiggled out of his arms and sat up straight.
“You might be where you want to be but not where you are supposed to. That woman will let you serve detention until the end of the year if you don´t hand in that essay until tomorrow. And I certainly won´t let you pull an all-nighter.”
“This is going to be an all-nighter anyway, love.”, Draco contradicted, but you shook your head in response.
“Not if I´ll help you.”
“(Y/n), no. You don’t have to.”
“But I want to.”, you pouted.
Draco let out a small laugh.
“Oh please! Nobody wants to work on Transfiguration voluntarily.”
“See what I´m willing to do just to spend some more time with you?”, you winked. “Now, c´mon. If we go to the library now we´ll still be able to work for an hour until dinner.”
And if you wouldn’t have been so determined to help Draco out and wouldn’t have strode away with long steps without even waiting for a response, you would have seen how Draco blushed vigorously at your words, justifying that he let you help him not with the fact that he was desperate to spend some more time with you, but reasoning that somehow this extra homework was your fault after all.

You had been wrong. Until it was time for dinner, several centimetres of the parchment were still empty, the blank space promising an all-nighter after all. Even though you might had even been able to finish the task completely, if it wouldn’t have been for Draco getting distracted by the very same thing that had gotten him into sitting here in the first place. Because just as it had been back in class, also here, in the dim light of the candles flickering on the walls, the Slytherin couldn’t help but notice how absolutely perfect you were. And because of that, the quill in Draco´s hand was hovering uselessly over the parchment most of the time, while its owner was busy staring at you, while you flicked through the pages of some books, providing Draco with some information you considered as potentially useful. Unfortunately, most of the words you were saying weren’t even processed by Draco´s mind. No, he was too busy staring at the movement of your lips when you spoke, the way your eyes mirrored the glimmering of the candlelight around you, the slight frown you held on your face when you tried to filter the most important information from the books in front of you, the way your fingers caressed the pages of the old books tenderly and how you…
“Draco? Draco are you even listening?”
The boy let out a quiet groan. Apparently, everything that could go wrong today would also proceed to do so. Because how should he explain to you that while you did your best to help him and sacrifice your free time to do so, he acted ungrateful and didn’t even listen to you without giving away the reason he simply couldn’t concentrate on anything at all as long as you were in the same room as him?
Draco ran a hand over his face before he nodded.
“Of course I am. Go ahead.”
But instead of doing so, you leaned back in your chair and eyed your friend closely.
“It was a tough day for you, wasn’t it?”, you asked, your voice sounding so much more compassionate than Draco thought he deserved.
And while with everyone else, Draco would have firmly denied that he had bad days at all, or would have blamed everyone else but him for everything that had gone wrong today, when it came to you, he simply couldn’t bring himself to argue. So instead, he just shrugged his shoulders in defeat.
But before you could answer, a boy walked up to your table, letting himself fall onto the chair next to you.
“Here you are.”, the Slytherin said, eyes fixed on Draco before he turned around to you. “Fancy to see you too, (Y/n).”
You smiled at him.
“Likewise, Adrian.”
Adrian Pucey mirrored your smile before his attention shifted to Draco again.
“Flint asked me to look for you. After the training today was… expendable, he wants us to meet up after dinner once more to talk about our tactic. At the pitch at nine.”
You saw the indecisiveness in Draco´s eyes as they flickered in between the parchment in front of him, still waiting to get filled by the words he so desperately needed to put down, and the older Slytherin. You knew Draco well enough to know that the boy was fully aware of where he had to set his priorities today, yet you also knew that he most likely wouldn’t dare to contradict Adrien and therefore Marcus Flint, who happened to be the Quidditch captain, himself.
So before Draco could even open his mouth, you quickly stepped in.
“Draco can´t join you tonight.”
The two boys looked at you with irritation, even though you liked to think that Draco looked also thankful at your words.
Adrien raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“So the two of you finally managed to get your act together and go on a date?”, he asked with a cheeky grin. “I´m sorry, (Y/n), but I´m afraid Marcus won´t let this slide as an excuse. Even if it´s a pretty girl like you.”
You let out a small laugh.
“Charming, Adrien, but Draco and I actually have a date tonight.” If you would have paid more attention to Draco than his teammate at that moment, you would have seen how the boy tensed in his chair, trying to hide all the emotion in his eyes at the mere thought of the two of you finally being together in a way, he had always wanted you to be. However, your gaze was fixed on Adrien, as you added: “Just the two of us and a dozen Transfiguration books. I guess you heard what Professor McGonagall did today?”
Adrien nodded, looking at Draco compassionately.
“And there´s no way you can delay the deadline?”
“Not if we want to make sure that dragon won´t let me serve detention during our next game against Gryffindor.”, Draco spit out through gritted teeth. “I bet she´s only been waiting for a chance like this.”
Adrien sighed in defeat.
“Screw it, we can´t risk that. And Flint´s gonna think the same. I´ll talk to him. Maybe you can meet up tomorrow before the next training to give you a summary. But for now, I´ll leave you alone so you can continue this.” He gestured at the books splattered on the table in front of you before he stood up. “Good luck with this. And (Y/n),” He turned around to you, a playful smirk playing around his lips. “Since what Draco and you are doing here is for strictly academic reasons, does that mean I still stand a chance?”
You couldn’t help the blush that crept on your cheeks at his words. It wasn’t like you were actually interested in the older boy, not at all, and you highly doubted that Adrien´s words were anything but a tease, still, his words flattered you.
“Keep on dreaming, Pucey.”, you giggled, not quite able to look him into the eyes, as you were still focused on trying to hide your blush.
“Maybe I will.”, he winked.
But before he could add something, Draco interrupted him.
“Now get lost, Pucey! We still got work to do.”, he barked, his eyes shimmering coldly as he stared at your housemate.
Adrien raised his hands in defence.
“Don´t worry. I´m already gone. She´s all yours.”, he said, before he actually turned around and walked away, leaving Draco and you finally alone again.
When the boy was gone, you slammed the book in front of you shut with a heavy sigh.
“I think we should leave it for now as well. We can continue after dinner in the common room. But now I need something to eat. And I think you do too.”
You looked at the Slytherin sitting on the other side of the table in expectation of a response, but it seemed like Draco hadn’t even heard what you had been saying. Blankly, he stared at the spot Adrien had stood only moments ago, with an intelligible expression on his face.
“Draco? Draco, did you hear me?”, you asked, your eyes flickering between the Slytherin and the blank spot next to you.
“Why did he say this?”, Draco suddenly asked, not even answering your question.
You narrowed your eyes in confusion.
“Who said what?”
“Pucey. This thing about standing a chance with you. Why did he say that?”
You let out an uncertain laugh, not sure why Draco was bringing this up now.
“I don´t know. He was just joking I guess.”, you shrugged.
Draco nodded, still not looking at you.
“Is there something going on between the two of you?”
The laugh that escaped you now, was genuine.
“Adrien and me? Salazar no! Why would you think that?”
“But you get along great, don´t you?”, Draco pressed.
“Yeah. Yeah, I suppose so. I wouldn’t say we are close or anything, but he´s nice. I like him.”
Finally, Draco tore his gaze apart from the blank spot and instead looked at you. You shifted uncomfortably in your seat as his grey eyes raked yours, nothing in his face giving away what he was thinking.
“You like him?”, he spat, stressing the second word as if it was something nasty lying on his tongue.
“Why are you so surprised about it? I mean, he´s everything a Slytherin is supposed to be. Smart and cunning. Plus, he´s a great Quidditch player and he´s actually quite nice, isn’t he?”
“So? Aren´t I all of those things too?”
There it was. After all, his strange behaviour could be once more explained by his pride. Obviously, Draco was all these things as well. Hell, he was so much more than this. And you loved every single part of him. However, his behaviour was from time to time rather… challenging. But you didn’t mind the slightest. Because, unlike many other people, you knew how to deal with it.
You smiled at the boy calmingly.
“Obviously you are. And that is why I like you as well. Well, at least to name a few things.”
Something in Draco´s eyes changed, his anger seemed to subside and made place for something else. Yet, once again, you weren’t quite sure how to read it. Because while Draco seemed to be soothed by your words, there was also a sadness lingering behind the small smile he threw you.
“So, that´s all there is?”, he asked.
You nodded.
“That´s all there is. No earth-shattering friendship. And “, you added after a moment of hesitation, “Also nothing else. No romantic interest or whatever you have been trying to imply.”
“I didn’t imply anything. That´s what you were construing, love.”, Draco answered, with a sly grin on his face, but you noticed how he visibly relaxed into his chair again. A reaction, that made your heart flutter in your chest, just as the stupid nickname he called you from time to time.
But before you could think about any potential deeper meaning behind his words, Draco stood up from his chair and stretched his stiff limbs, a view that made a small sigh leave your lips involuntarily.
“We should really leave for dinner now, don’t you think? I´m already starving.”
“Sure. Great idea, Draco. Why didn’t I think of that?”, you smiled, trying to fight the ironic undertone in your voice. You didn’t quite manage to, but Draco didn’t seem to notice, with his wand he already conducting all the books to their firm places.
“That´s what I´m here for. Always happy to help you, love.”
“What would I only do without you?”, you sighed dramatically.
“Your life would definitely be so much more miserable.”
“Well, I´m afraid I can never allow you to walk out of my life then.”, you smiled at him.
“As if I ever wanted you to.”, Draco muttered under his breath. Only a faint sound in your ears, like the whispering of the wind, and you weren’t quite sure if you had just imagined it. You just really hoped you didn’t.

After dinner, Draco and you were finally able to work on his essay effectively. This was mainly due to the fact that Draco strictly forbade himself to even look at you once until he would have finished the last stroke of his quill.
It was almost midnight when Draco finally set the last dot, ending exactly at the end of the final line. He dropped the quill next to the parchment and leant back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
“And McGonagall really thought this would be a challenge for me. I bet that crazy cat lady was only hoping I would fail so she could get me to serve detention for the rest of the year. But I´m a Malfoy after all. It takes more than a stupid essay to get me down. Don´t you think so too, (Y/n)?”
When you didn’t answer, Draco glanced to the side, where you were sitting. Even when Draco was done with the research you had helped him out with and only had to write the conclusion and had offered you that you could already go to bed, you had refused to do so, suggesting you could proofread the essay after he was done. And even though Draco had assured you that you didn’t have to and if you really wanted to, you could also do so the next morning, you had told him with a shrug of your shoulders that you would wait for him anyway. You were rather sure that you couldn’t fall asleep knowing that while you were lying in your cosy bed, Draco was still up and working on his homework. And that´s what you had told him too, even though you had had to suppress a yawn when you did so.
But now that Draco looked at you, he realized that for once in your life, you had actually been wrong. You could easily fall asleep while he was still working. Because here you were, proofing yourself wrong. A small smile crept on Draco´s lips as he watched you, your head bedded on your arms that you had crossed over the last book you had been reading. You faced Draco, but your eyes were closed, your lips slightly parted, as you breathed steadily. The boy felt a wave of affection washing over him, as he saw you sound asleep like this. Because even though you hadn’t stayed awake like you had promised, you had stayed with him. You had rather fought the sleep by his side until you had eventually lost the battle, than returning to your dorm, leaving him alone. And after all; how could he feel anything else but adoration when you were looking so perfect, even in your sleep. So beautiful and carefree, making Draco believe that even with all the bad things happening in this world, everything would turn out just fine, as long as you would just exist?
He could have sat there all night, watching you sleep, but eventually, the thought settled in, that if you would stay like this for hours, in a probably rather uncomfortable position, your shoulders crouched and your neck twisted, you would wake up in the morning with stiff limbs and probably in pain. And that was something he couldn’t bear to see. Not after everything that you had done for him today. Quickly, Draco considered his possibilities. He couldn’t leave you like this, especially not all by yourself, but he also couldn’t get you to your dorm, since if he would try carrying you up the stairs, he would probably fall and break both of your necks. The Slytherin´s gaze wandered through the by now completely abandoned common room, until it settled on one of the couches. It surely wasn’t perfect, not good enough for you, but it would do for a night.
Draco made his way through the room to the couch, fluffing up the pillows and got the cosiest blanket ready, before he walked back to you. Careful and anxious to wake you up, Draco picked you up, freezing when you slightly shifted in his arms, but you only let out a small sigh, before you melted into his touch, not opening your eyes once.
Finally, Draco reached the couch, laying you down, loosening the tie that you were still wearing around your neck in accordance with the dress code and tucking you in. When he had made sure that you were as comfortable as possible, Draco stopped in his tracks for a second to take in the sight of you. Carefully, he brushed some strands of your hair out of your face, having to resist the urge to press a kiss on your temple.
“Sweet dreams, love.”, he mumbled, before he went to one of the armchairs nearby, and sat down as well. He wouldn’t leave you alone tonight, not only because he just couldn’t bring himself to leave you yet, wanting to be in your presence for as long as possible, but also because he couldn’t bear the thought that you wake up, alone and irritated, confused on how you had gotten there, being all by yourself. No, Draco would be there when you would wake up. He would always be there for you, no matter what. That was the last thought on Draco´s mind before he slowly drifted off into sleep as well, the image of you sleeping angelically on the couch still in sight, even when his eyes were already closed.

When you woke up, you needed a moment to orientate yourself. Only when your eyes got used to the dim light surrounding you, you realised that you were not in your bed, but in the common room. Slowly, the memories of the last evening started to set in. But some parts were missing. You still remembered how you had been sitting at one of the desks with Draco and waiting for him to finish his essay. At some point, your eyes had gotten more and more heavy, but you had refused to close them. You were rather sure that at some point you had failed and fallen asleep.
This however didn’t explain why right now, you were lying on one of the couches, covered with a blanket, while the fire in the fireplace had almost burned down, the only source of light being the embers, still gleaming inside. You sat up and rubbed your eyes, before letting your gaze wander around the room. That´s when it settled on a figure sunken down in one of the armchairs not far away from you, their blond hair reflecting the shimmer of the ember.
You felt the warmth flushing through your body as you watched Draco sitting there, his head resting in one of his hands, a small frown on his face, even though he was sleeping. By now you could somewhat imagine what had happened after you had fallen asleep and the mere thought of Draco taking care of you, making sure you were comfortable, before he passed out in the chair himself, exhausted from the hard and long day, made your heart beating faster in a way only Draco could do. If that boy only knew what his random acts of kindness did to you.
But as you were watching him, mesmerized by the view and lost in your thoughts, arguing with yourself whether you should wake him up so Draco could actually get to bed or just let him sleep where he was right now, the boy stirred in his sleep, before slowly opening his eyes, and straightening up in his chair with a yawn.
“Morning, sleepyhead.”, you smiled, and Draco´s head spun around, the confused look on his face giving place to a grin.
“Says you, love. An entire herd of trolls could have clumped through the room and you would have still slept like a baby.”
“Can you blame me?”, you yawned.
Draco shook his head, still smiling.
“Not at all. But that´s why you should really go to bed now. We need to get at least some hours of sleep.”
With a heavy sigh, you let yourself fall back onto the couch and looked at Draco with puppy eyes.
“But I´m so comfy right now.”
The Slytherin arched an eyebrow.
“More comfortable than your bed?”
“Warmer. And also,”, you cuddled yourself deeper into the blanket, “You are here.”
Oh, if you only knew what your words did to the poor boy´s heart. But instead of telling you, Draco only grinned cockily at you.
“But maybe I want to go to bed.”
“Or you could just join me here.”, you teased him even though you made your voice sound as innocent as possible before you added in a more serious voice: “Unless you actually want to leave. I get it. It was a long day and if you want to go to bed…”
But you hadn’t even finished the sentence before Draco stood up and walked up to you with long strides. Lucky for him, you didn’t even notice how wobbly his legs felt when he walked up to you, praying he wouldn’t stumble over his own feed, and how relieved he was when he finally sat down next to you. You huddled closer to Draco, who wrapped an arm around you and sighed.
“You know I just can´t turn you down, no matter what you ask from me, don´t you?”
You felt your cheeks heating.
“You´re just too good for me, Draco.”, you smiled.
And you meant it. You knew over all Draco surely wasn’t what people would describe as the good guy, but to you, he was just perfect. And the way he treated you was so much more than you could ever ask for. If you only knew what you did to deserve it.
“There´s nothing as too good when it comes to you, love.”, the Slytherin smiled, before placing a small kiss on the crown of your head, making chills run down your spine.
“No, I mean it. You are. You are perfect in every way. And I have absolutely no idea why you are doing all of this for me.”
A low chuckle rumbled in Draco´s chest.
“You really are that clueless, aren’t you?”
You sat up a bit straighter to look at Draco properly. There was amusement shimmering in his eyes, that were otherwise filled with so much adoration that it made you forget everything else around you. You narrowed your eyes, as you scanned his delicate features.
“Care to enlighten me then?”
If it wasn’t for your own blood swooshing in your ears, you would have probably heard Draco´s heart beating so strong he was afraid it might just jump out of his chest any second.
“Think about it, love.” He stressed the nickname in a way he had never done before. It had always rolled from his tongue so easily, but this time its weight was lying heavily on you. “For what reason do you think I am doing all of this?” Your breath got stuck in your throat as Draco raised his hand, his thumb brushing over your cheek, before he tucked some strands of hair behind your ear, his hand coming to a halt there, fingers tangled in your hair. “For what reason do you think I always want to be near you?” His gaze flickered over your face, scanning all your different features closely, as if he wanted to memorize them forever. “For what reason do you think I get so distracted in a goddamn class by how absolutely beautiful you are that I´m not even able to do my work and even when I have to face the consequences I still rather spend my time looking at you and listening to your voice than dealing with it, even if this will only get me into more trouble?” Was that what had happened? Had Draco actually been so distracted by your sheer existence that he just couldn’t bring himself to care about the class anymore? “And why do you think I got so upset when fucking Pucey had nothing better to do than flirt with you when all I wanted was to spend some time with you?” Draco let out a shaky laugh. “Do you have any idea how hard it was not to hex him then and there? Because trust me, it was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. Maybe the only thing harder than this…” His eyes finally came to a halt, meeting yours, so you could see all the raw emotions lying within them before his gaze dropped to your lips, where it stilled. “The only thing harder than this is to be around you every day, acting as if we are nothing but friends when all I want to do is to hold you and kiss you and to tell you how much I love you and continue to do so for the rest of my life.” Draco let out a breath he hadn’t even been aware he was holding, resting his forehead against yours. “Because it´s the hardest thing in the world, loving someone so much, who is just so oblivious to absolutely everything you say or do.”
Until that very day, you had no idea that a heart could stop beating and hammering in your chest so fast at the same time, but this was exactly what was happening to you right now. All the emotions flushing through you were way too much but at the same time you knew it would never be enough. Not when it came to Draco. Your voice was only a whisper, but you were just relieved that you still had one at all, when you whispered: “Maybe you should just stop pretending then. Because maybe this is all that she is hoping for.”
Draco hummed in response.
“But maybe this is just so much more than I could ever hope for. So much more than I deserve.”
“You deserve to be happy, Draco. And when it comes to me – I´m willing to do whatever I need to just so you can be.”
“Stay with me, then.”, he whispered against your lips, his voice sounding husky. “That´s all I need.”
You nodded.
“I will.”

And when your lips finally met Draco´s all the doubts either of you had ever had just vanished into the air. Because you both were certain that this was right where you belonged. Nothing that felt as good as this kiss could ever be anything but just how things were supposed to be. Within seconds, the world fell into place for you, Draco asked himself how he could have ever doubted that you didn’t love him the same way he had loved you ever since he could remember and you wondered about how you could have ever mistaken Draco´s behaviour for anything but what it actually was. Love. A love that had built up over all those years the two of you had been friends, something you had always known had been there but had never acted on, something that had grown just so much stronger with every single thing the two of you had been through and a love that would continue to grow with everything that you would witness together from this very second on.

When finally, Draco pulled away from you and looked into your starstruck eyes, he couldn’t help the sly grin that made it to his face.
“And you really had no idea?”
You shook your head, the blush on your cheeks only deepened.
“Merlin, (Y/n), how oblivious can one be?”
“Maybe you should just stop beating around the bush from time to time and just tell me what´s going on, Malfoy.”, you returned.
Draco chuckled and placed a small kiss on your temple.
“Fair enough.”, he agreed.
You raised an eyebrow in response.
“Really? That´s it? No arguing? No distraction? No teasing? Merlin Draco, do I need to be worried?”
“Don’t get fooled by it. This is only for tonight. I have a lifetime to do all of those things now. Because I can promise you that now I have witnessed this once, I will never let you go again.”
You rolled your eyes and let out a dramatic sigh.
“What have I only gotten myself into?”, you groaned, but at the same time, you got more comfortable in Draco´s arms again, feeling the tiredness slowly sneaking back into your body that had been forgotten over everything that Draco had told you before.
“Don´t tell me you would want it any other way.”, Draco grinned, as he pulled you even closer.
And oh, he was so right with that.

“Don´t you dare, Blaise!”
“What? You want them to be late for class?”
“Just give them five more minutes.”
“What difference does that make?”
“It gives me time to fetch (Y/n)´s silly muggle camera and capture this moment for eternity. “
“You wouldn’t let them forget anyway.”
“Obviously I wouldn´t. I have to tease them about this for the rest of their lives.”
“Admit it, Pansy, you only want to do so because they look just adorable.”
“Well, maybe. A little bit. But that doesn’t mean I can´t use it against them.”
And Pansy and Blaise were right. Draco and you, cuddled up under a blanket on one of the couches in the common room, Draco´s arms wrapped around you, and your head resting on his chest, the morning sun shining through the window was a lovely sight indeed. And even though Draco would claim to hate his friends for showing around the pictures later everywhere, telling everyone an absolutely heartwarming and totally made-up story about how the two of you had ended up there, secretly he was thankful that they did. Because like that they showed everyone that you were finally his, just like he had always been yours. And maybe – just maybe – he would keep a copy of the picture in his nightstand and in the nights he didn’t sneak down to the common room to cuddle with you until the sun would rise again, he would pull it out, staring at the picture of you in his arms, both of you with a faint smile on your lips, until he would fall asleep. But honestly, he couldn’t wait for a time when he wouldn’t need a photo anymore to look at you, because you would fall asleep next to him every single night and he could just look at you instead. Because who needed a picture when the reality was just so much better than all the dreams he used to have about it, back when he hadn’t even had the faintest idea that not even the best ones would come close to the feeling of actually having you in his arms?