Aftermath

Leaving the Yule Ball with Draco felt like slipping into a dream I didn't want to wake up from.

The night air was crisp, laced with the faint scent of snow, but I hardly noticed. Not when Draco was beside me, his hand casually resting at my waist like it belonged there. We were both lightheaded—whether from dancing, from the lingering magic of the night, or from each other, I couldn't tell.

"Admit it, I was the best-looking bloke in there," Draco said, completely serious, running a hand through his hair.

I scoffed. "Oh, absolutely. So handsome I could barely keep my eyes open from the sheer radiance."

He smirked. "I know sarcasm when I hear it, love."

I grinned, leaning into his warmth. "Oh? And what if I was being serious?"

Draco slowed his steps, turning to look at me with an unreadable expression. His fingers brushed against mine before he laced them together completely.

"Then I'd kiss you again," he murmured.

I arched a brow, feeling playful. "So you're admitting you want to kiss me again?"

Draco exhaled dramatically. "Selene, love of my life, future Madame Malfoy—"

I let out a laugh, but my stomach flipped at how easily he said it.

"—I always want to kiss you," he finished, his voice lower, rougher.

And just like that, he did.

It was different from before—no rushed desperation, no frenzied need to prove something. This was slower, sweeter. His hands rested at my waist, thumbs tracing circles into the fabric of my dress as he pulled me close. I felt my heart hammering against my ribs, but I didn't care.

I melted.

Draco pulled away, pressing one last feather-light kiss to the corner of my mouth before murmuring, "Mine."

And Merlin, if I wasn't already completely, hopelessly in love with this boy.

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

The Slytherin common room was dimly lit when we entered, the green glow from the lake outside casting strange shadows on the walls. The once-crowded space was now nearly deserted, save for a few upper-year students passed out on the couches.

I was still dazed from our moment outside, but before I could say anything, the common room door slammed open again.

"Oh, you won't believe—"

Kenny and Blaise burst in, looking like they had personally witnessed every scandal of the century.

I barely had time to react before Kenny grabbed my wrist, practically vibrating with gossip.

"WE HAVE TO TALK—"

"I just sat down—"

"I don't care."

Draco groaned and leaned back against the couch, but even he looked intrigued.

Blaise smirked, sinking into the armchair. "Ladies, shall we begin?"

I sighed dramatically. "Alright. Spill."

Kenny took a deep breath, eyes sparkling. "First of all—Ron Weasley? A certified disaster. Did you hear how he ruined Hermione's night?"

I nodded solemnly. "We saw the fight. It was brutal."

Kenny dramatically collapsed onto the couch. "My girl was glowing tonight, and that absolute buffoon just had to ruin it."

Draco, still in peak Slytherin mode, smirked. "Potter looked equally miserable. That's what happens when you wait until the last second to get a date."

"Exactly," Kenny clapped. "Ron was acting like Hermione personally betrayed him by existing in a dress."

Blaise chuckled. "And Pansy?"

I braced myself for another dramatic retelling of Pansy Parkinson's theatrics. But Kenny, smirking like she had tea hotter than dragon fire, leaned in.

"Oh, Pansy?" she drawled. "Was thriving. She had the time of her life. Didn't even look at Draco."

I gasped.

Draco blinked. "You're joking."

"Nope," Kenny said. "She was giggling. Smiling. Her date was actually decent. And guess what?"

We all leaned in.

"She doesn't want Draco anymore."

The room fell silent.

Then, Blaise threw his head back and howled with laughter.

"Oh, Merlin," I breathed, gripping Draco's arm. "Draco Malfoy has been officially abandoned by Pansy Parkinson. This is historic."

Draco scoffed. "Took her long enough." But there was no malice in his voice—only amusement.

"Honestly," Kenny sighed, shaking her head, "I almost miss the drama of her pining for you."

"You would," Blaise snorted.

"Oh, shut up, Zabini."

We sat there, laughing, talking, retelling every chaotic detail of the night until exhaustion finally caught up to us.

As I curled up next to Draco, my head resting against his shoulder, I realized something.

This—this—was happiness.

.............................................................

I jolted awake with the sudden, horrifying realization that we had all passed out in the common room. My head was pounding, my dress was still halfway undone at the back, and my legs were tangled with Draco's. Blaise was sprawled over the couch like he had been thrown there by some supernatural force, and Kenny was drooling onto one of the emerald pillows.

And then it hit me.

I shot up, nearly tripping over Draco's legs.

"WAKE UP, FUCKERS, WE HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO GET TO CLASS, OR SNAPE IS GONNA KILL US!"

The reaction was instant.

Draco groaned, burying his face into the nearest cushion. "Five more minutes..."

"YOU DON'T HAVE FIVE MORE MINUTES, GET UP!" I smacked him.

Kenny sat up so fast she nearly headbutted Blaise, who yelped and fell off the couch.

"Wha—WHAT?!" Kenny looked around, her face still half-asleep.

"Class," I huffed, already attempting to untangle my dress. "We have class in fifteen minutes, and Snape is going to MURDER us if we don't get there on time."

Blaise blinked blearily. "...What class?"

"POTIONS."

"OH, SHIT."

Kenny was instantly awake. Blaise scrambled up, looking wildly around like reality had just hit him like a moving staircase.

Draco, however, was still unmoving.

"Draco, I swear to Salazar—GET UP." I started shaking him.

He let out a whiny groan, rolling onto his back. "Selene, I'm dying. Leave me."

I stared at him in disbelief. "DYING? DYING?! GET YOUR PUREBLOODED ASS UP, MALFOY."

Kenny was already sprinting up the dormitory stairs, her voice echoing as she yelled, "Blaise, IF YOU DON'T MOVE, I'M LEAVING YOU BEHIND."

Blaise let out a string of curses, scrambling up the stairs after her.

Draco, on the other hand, was still lying there, looking absolutely useless.

I climbed on top of him and grabbed his collar. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, if you do not move your entitled ass right now, I will tell Pansy Parkinson that you wrote me a love letter."

His eyes snapped open. "You wouldn't."

I smirked. "Try me."

He groaned, but FINALLY rolled over and started getting up. "I hate you."

"Love you too," I said sweetly, pressing a kiss to his cheek before jumping off him and running toward the dormitory stairs.

FIVE MINUTES LATER

Complete, absolute mayhem.

Kenny was practically levitating as she tried to tie her Slytherin tie while stuffing books into her bag. Blaise was still trying to find his left shoe, which for some reason was under the couch.

I was brushing my hair so aggressively I might as well have been trying to fight it. Draco had finally—FINALLY—put on his uniform, but he was standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie like we had an hour left.

"DRACO, STOP FLIRTING WITH YOUR REFLECTION." I yanked him away.

"I CAN'T GO TO CLASS LOOKING LIKE A SLOB, SELENE," he argued, smoothing his hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you want Snape to DEDUCT POINTS from HIS OWN HOUSE?" Kenny snapped as she shoved Blaise's shoe into his chest. "WE HAVE TO MOVE."

Blaise was muttering a string of complaints as he tried to pull on his shoe while walking.

We all BURST out of the common room, running like our lives depended on it.

POTIONS CLASS—TWO MINUTES LATE

We practically SKIDDED into the room, breathing heavily, looking like we had been through the Battle of Hogwarts a few years early.

Snape turned around slowly.

The room went dead silent.

His eyes narrowed. "You're late."

"We're sorry, Professor—"

"Sit down before I take points."

We RUSHED to our seats, trying not to look like the disasters we were.

Draco, still slightly panting, muttered under his breath, "You owe me for this."

I raised an eyebrow. "For what?"

"For surviving this morning."

I bit back a laugh. "You're unbelievable."

"You love it."

Maybe I did.

But for now, I focused on not falling asleep into my cauldron.

I looked around the Great Hall at lunch, my plate barely touched as I took in the absolute post-Yule Ball catastrophe that was Hogwarts. It was divided into two extreme groups—those who were still high on romance, and those who looked like they had suffered the most gut-wrenching, tear-inducing heartbreak of their lives.

On one end of the spectrum, we had the overly obnoxious couples who were basically inhaling each other's souls—case in point, Kenny and Blaise. Kenny was sitting sideways on the bench, practically on Blaise's lap, feeding him spoonfuls of pudding while giggling like they were in some sort of fairytale. Blaise, the absolute menace that he was, had an arm lazily slung around her waist, looking completely smug about his life choices.

"Merlin's beard, do you two want a private room?" Draco grumbled beside me, stabbing his steak with unnecessary force.

"Do you want a private room with Selene?" Kenny shot back sweetly.

I choked on my pumpkin juice, while Draco gave her a pointed glare. "Kenny."

"What?" She batted her lashes innocently, but there was an evil glint in her eyes. "You've been in a mood all day, Malfoy. What happened? Did someone insult your hair?"

Draco scowled, but before he could come up with a snarky reply, my eyes drifted to the other side of the Great Hall—the absolute land of devastation.

There were students who looked like they had just gone through the worst breakups of their lives, their faces pale, their eyes red-rimmed from either crying all night or realizing their dates had not, in fact, been their one true love. I spotted a poor Ravenclaw boy staring miserably at his soup while his date from last night sat two seats away, laughing at something another guy said.

Pansy Parkinson, who had made a whole show about how she was over Draco, was actually looking... content. She was chatting away with some sixth-year Slytherin, looking like she had actually enjoyed her night instead of crying about how Draco hadn't been her date. Good for her.

Meanwhile, Ron Weasley was on the verge of combusting at the Gryffindor table. I followed his line of vision, and there she was—Hermione Granger, looking absolutely radiant, sitting across from Viktor Krum.

"She actually went back to sit with him?" I muttered to Draco.

He smirked. "Gryffindor stubbornness. And pride. Weasley's in shambles."

Kenny, who had finally untangled herself from Blaise long enough to take a bite of food, snorted. "Oh, he deserves it. He threw the most unnecessary tantrum last night, practically humiliated her, and now he's mad that she's still talking to Krum?"

Blaise, ever the instigator, leaned in with amusement. "I saw him this morning—looked like he hadn't slept a wink. Meanwhile, Granger is out here thriving."

"She should be," I said, still watching her. "She looked gorgeous last night, and Krum actually asked her instead of treating her like an afterthought."

Draco groaned. "Please tell me this isn't turning into some 'girl support girl' moment."

I elbowed him. "Oh, shut up, Malfoy. You wouldn't understand because you actually have taste in dates."

His smirk returned immediately. "You're right, I do."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't fight the warmth creeping up my cheeks.

"Speaking of heartbreak," Kenny piped up, motioning her spoon toward the Hufflepuff table. "Look at Diggory."

I turned my head and—oh.

Cedric Diggory was not having a great time. He wasn't exactly miserable, but he looked distracted, absentmindedly poking at his food, eyes flitting around the room every few seconds. It took me exactly three seconds to figure out what—or who—he was looking for.

I turned back to my own table and caught Draco watching me closely.

"Oh no," I whispered, realization dawning.

"Oh yes," Kenny whispered back, eyes glinting with mischief.

"Here we go," Blaise sighed, leaning back like he was about to witness an entertaining disaster.

Draco's jaw twitched as he turned his full attention toward me. "Tell me something, Selene," he drawled, swirling his pumpkin juice like he was a villain in some dark drama. "How long exactly has Diggory been looking at you like that?"

I let out a very unconvincing laugh. "Don't be ridiculous. He's just—"

"—still in love with you?" Kenny cut in helpfully.

"Kenny."

"What?" she grinned. "It's true. Poor bloke still thinks he has a chance."

Draco put down his fork way too calmly. "Does he, now?"

"Oh no," I groaned, dropping my head into my hands.

"I could hex him," Draco offered, way too eagerly.

I lifted my head. "You absolutely will not."

Draco leaned in closer, his voice low and so smug. "You do know you're mine, right?"

I held his gaze, my lips twitching. "Am I?"

His smirk faltered for a split second before his fingers curled possessively around my wrist, tugging me just the slightest bit closer.

"Selene," he murmured, his lips almost brushing against my ear. "Don't play games you're not ready to lose."

A shiver ran down my spine, but I wasn't about to let him win this easily.

I tilted my head and whispered back, "Neither should you, Malfoy."

Kenny gasped dramatically. Blaise let out a low whistle.

Draco blinked once, his grip tightening for the briefest moment before he pulled back and smirked. "You're trouble, Blackthorn."

I grinned. "And you love it."

He sighed, all dramatics. "Unfortunately for me, yes."

I picked up my fork and took a bite of mashed potatoes, feeling very victorious.

Draco, however, was still watching me like he was plotting revenge—in the best way possible.