hiii bubs! just had like the best vacation of my life and it filled me with so much inspiration and motivation.

also! just wanted to let you guys know now so that it's not a super big shock that there will be one more chapter after this one and then chapter 100 will be an epilogue. :)

enjoy! <3

I knew that Draco kissing me in front of everyone after the quidditch game was going to be the way of our relationship becoming public, though I apparently hadn't taken the word everyone as seriously as I should've.

Obviously the Slytherins were physically the closest to us when it happened, so they were the first to witness the gesture. It became rather clear though through the last few days that the Slytherins weren't the only ones watching.

The day after it happened was the worst when it came to the stares and unconcealed glances. If these last few days have taught me anything, it's that I must be the only person in this whole school that was taught that plainly staring at people is highly impolite.

Now, nearly a week later from the quidditch game, the looks have calmed down. They still appear at times, especially whenever any affection is shown between Draco and I.

I won't lie, the stares had affected me the first day, as it was something I was entirely unused to. They stressed me out, and made me anxious of everything I was doing. Almost immediately though, Draco had taken notice of this and talked to me. The talk consisted of many "fuck them"'s, but also many sweet comments and lots of recognition on my own part.

Yes, people were staring, and yes, I hated it deeply, but that didn't change the overwhelming happiness I felt knowing that Draco and I could now publicly show our love. It didn't change the exciting feeling of his touch. It didn't change the pure joy of watching as Draco's own happiness clearly lifted. It didn't change us. And I had no intention of letting it.

As we walk down the corridor together, my books in one hand and Draco's fingers interlocked with my own in the other, I feel his thumb lightly run over my knuckles, pulling me from my thoughts as he slightly changes our direction.

He leads us to the side of the corridor, near the large pillars that create a slight wall between the bright courtyard and the less lit corridors. Today is a sunny day, every plant on campus flourishing from the season that is spring.

My head cocks to the side with curiosity as he leans up against one of the pillars, both of my feet standing in between his. "Look I don't mind most things, but I am not about to make out with you in a corridor with many students in it," I claim, briefly glancing at the students I had mentioned.

A grin tugs at the corners of his lips, his head ducking as he huffs humorously. "Hm, is that to say your decision would change if we found a more... empty corridor?" He asks, his eyebrow rising with a mixture of curiosity and flirtation.

My eyes narrow at him with annoyance, though the pull of my lips makes it obvious it's fake. "I'm not answering that."

His playful grin only grows at this, an amused chuckle leaving him. My eyes briefly glance down to the way his Adam's apple moves as the joyous sound leaves him, my mind instantly appreciating the process in which such a beautiful noise is made.

"I'll take that as a yes," he responds, quickly licking his lips and lightly clearing his throat. "Anyways, to get back on topic-"

"Topic?" I interrupt him, my brows furrowing teasingly. "There was a topic?"

His lips replicate my own in a small smirk, his head slightly lowering to level with mine. "If you let me talk there will be."

My smirk grows ever so slightly. "It's not in my personal beliefs but I suppose I'll let it slide this once."

A humorous huff leaves him at this. "How very kind of you," he starts, earning a nonchalant shrug from me. "I've been thinking for awhile now, in fact it's probably been a year at this point," he explains, humor playing in his voice. "Although now that we're official, and out publicly obviously-"

"Oh so that's what all the stares have been about," I interrupt again, feigning surprise.

His eyes playfully narrow at me. "I thought you said you'd let me talk?"

"Oh so now those 10 seconds have gone completely unnoticed and unappreciated?" My eyebrows lift, my head cocking to the side.

His eyebrow quirks up, his head shaking slowly. "You know I'd gladly kiss you to make you shut up but that would cancel my ability to talk as well."

I fake pout. "Too bad so sad."

A smirk tugs at his lips as he searches my eyes. "Will you go out on a date with me?"

The fake pout almost instantly disappears from my face, my lips parting slightly with surprise. "Oh wow," I say, swallowing. "That is not what I was expecting."

His smirk seems to grow, though his brows furrow slightly with confusion. "What were you expecting?" He questions, his voice low, curious.

"I don't know, an invite to snog in an empty classroom?" I respond, my thoughts too focused on his unexpected question to fully think about what I'm saying.

An amused huff leaves him at this. "Way to spoil my second question." He sighs dramatically before his smirk turns into a soft, gentle smile. "Well?" His voice is soft, his eyes searching mine.

"Which would you like me to answer first?" I quirk an eyebrow, my teasing attitude reappearing.

He leans his head back against the pillar, his eyes fluttering closed. "Merlin Y/n."

A quiet laugh leaves me at his frustration, my hand pulling our interlocked fingers up to my lips to place a gentle kiss upon his cold knuckles. "Yes, Draco, I'd love to go on a date with you."

His eyes quickly fly open at this, his head lifting off the pillar to look at me. He glances down at our hands as a smile grows on his lips. "Good."

"Good." I copy him, a smile growing on my own lips.

His thumb slowly runs over my own, both of our eyes now watching our interlocked fingers. I take a small step closer to him, our bodies only separated by inches. At my movement, his gaze moves up to me.

"And the second question?" He asks softly, his voice almost a whisper as his eyes look over my face.

My eyes find his at this, a small smile on my lips before I purse them, pretending to contemplate the offer. My head cocks to the side as a small hum leaves me. He waits, silently watching me with curiosity.

"Truly I'd love to, Malfoy, but I have a first date to freak out over." My teeth catch onto my bottom lip as I attempt to suppress my smile. I give his hand a quick squeeze before letting go, his eyebrow quirked curiously as he watches me slowly walk backwards. I give him a quick wink before turning around, now on my way to my next class.

_ - _ - _ - _ - _ - _ -_

DRACO'S POV

It took me a rather embarrassing amount of time after asking her to realize I never gave a specific date or time to our date. I suppose my mind was just a little too distracted with excitement.

Once I realized, I quickly wrote a small note suggesting that we meet Saturday night at 7:00pm and had my owl send it to her.

Within just a few minutes, I receive a small note in return, its contents consisting of "Who's this?" written out in her handwriting that I have well memorized at this point.

I huff at her sarcasm, my head shaking as a small smile grows on my lips. I rip out a small square of parchment from a journal, pulling my quill back out to write one word in response. "Hilarious."

I send the note out, sitting on my bed as I wait for a response. My fingers find the silver ring on my thumb, twirling it around the finger as my heel taps at the floor.

A few minutes later, my owl flies back with a note, dropping it onto my desk. I quickly stand up and reach for it, a smile once again finding its way onto my face as I open the note to find a simple smiley face drawn out.

I place each response into the drawer of my desk, both of them fitting in with all the things I've saved that Y/n has given me.

I have never been as grateful for anything as I am for every moment I am able to spend with Y/n. Saving these small memories is the least I can do to show that.

_ - _ - _ - _ - _ - _ -_
- - - - - -

"Where are you guys even going?" Blaise questions, sitting on his bed as he watches me get ready for my date.

The last few days had passed rather quickly, yet painfully slow when my mind wandered to the thought of this date. Excitement is not a feeling I can say I feel too often, though when I do, I feel it in a way in which it completely fills me.

Y/n and I have been able to have small moments of alone time since we became official, though they have never been nearly as long as I wish they would be. Which is the exact reason I have felt that rare excitement for a whole night just with her.

"That one fancy place in Hogsmeade," I respond, glancing at him through the mirror as I fix the collar of my suit jacket.

His eyebrows raise as he nods, though my attention is soon stolen as the boy from the other side of the room begins to talk.

"Sugar daddying her up, huh?" Theo asks grumpily, his arms crossed over his chest as he lazily lays on his bed.

I turn my head toward his direction, my hands now fixing the cuffs at the end of my sleeves. "Still salty about Y/n and I, huh?"

He dramatically squints his eyes as a way to show his annoyance. "I'm not mad about you and her, I'm just mad that I learned of it a year later."

"The only person you should be mad at is yourself for being too daft to realize there's been something between them," Blaise interferes, shrugging.

I laugh silently at this, turning away from them and back to facing the mirror.

Theo mocks him in an overly high-pitched tone, shifting his position to sit up on his bed.

I walk a few steps over to my bedside table, reaching for the small container of hair gel, wanting to gel back just a few pieces of hair.

"Don't." Blaise interrupts my action, pointing a strict finger at me. "Trust me, they like it messy."

My brows furrow slightly with confusion at this before I glance down at the container and back up to him. "But-"

"No buts," he says quickly, walking over to me before gently grabbing the container from my hands. "It's time to say goodbye."

A humorous huff leaves me as he gives it two small pats in a caring manner.

"He's right about that." Theo points at Blaise, nodding his head in agreement.

My gaze switches to look at Theo before it changes to Blaise once again. "Alright... I guess." I shrug lightly.

A smile grows on Blaise's face as he leans over to Theo, both of them meeting to fist bump each other proudly.

A quiet huff leaves me at this, before I check myself in the mirror one time, my hand briefly running through the slight waves that form in my hair.

"We should do our secret handshake before you leave for good luck," Theo states, his attitude clearly changed from the grumpiness he had felt only minutes ago.

"We don't have a secret handshake you idiot," I mumble, shaking my head as I fix my suit jacket.

Theo stares blankly at me for a moment, a hint of a frown playing at his lips. "You don't even remember our secret handshake?"

My brows furrow, my body turning to face him. "What secret handshake?"

"Take a shot every time someone says 'secret handshake'," Blaise adds amusedly, his signature goofy grin upon his lips.

I briefly glance at him annoyedly before once again fixing my gaze at Theo.

"Yes dude, we made a secret handshake in first year," Theo explains, talking with his hands to show how shocked he is that I have no memory of this.

Blaise makes a fake slurping sound, leaning his head back as he makes his hand look like he has a drink in it.

Truthfully, I knew exactly what Theo was talking about. I remember the exact moment in which we thought we'd be the coolest guys in the school because of this handshake. And I also remember how extremely uncool it was.

"I am never doing that thing again," I state, my eyebrows raised.

His brows furrow angrily at my words, his lips slightly parting with shock.

I look down at my wrist, pretending as if I have a watch. "Look mate, it's really time for me to get going, thanks for all the help though," I say quickly, giving both of them pats on the back before walking out of the room.

A small smile plays on my lips as I make my over to the girls' dormitories, my hands subconsciously playing with the ring on my thumb.

Once I'm right in front of her dorm, I inhale deeply, my teeth gently biting on my bottom lip. I clear my throat lightly before placing a few knocks onto the door.

I hear a dramatic gasp from inside the room. "One second!" Pansy yells before I barely hear the two of them talking to each other in a way that sounds as if Pansy is telling her to have fun.

The corner of my lips tug up at this action, my head ducked down as I attempt to listen to their words. Quicker than I expect, the door flies open, earning my eyes to snap up to her.

My lips are slightly parted as I see her. Sure it was cliche for the guy to be completely awestruck of his girl, but Merlin was it impossible to not completely fall for her all over again every time I see her.

A shy smile forms on her lips as I take her all in, admiring the way the dress compliments her so well. It was completely black, simple in color, though the waist-up was almost entirely lace, hints of her skin showing under the thin fabric. The bottom half was a shiny silk, loose around her legs and ending at the end of her knees. She wears black Mary Jane's, partnered with rather adorable white ruffle ankle socks, my smile only growing at the sight.

"Hey," I say softly, my eyes finding their way back to hers.

Her hands are clasped behind her back with a hint of shyness to the position. "Hi."

Pansy suddenly pokes her head over Y/n's shoulder, pointing a stern finger in my direction. "Have her home by midnight."

My eyebrow quirks up at this, an amused huff exhaling from my lips. "Yes ma'am."

Y/n attempts to hide a smile by biting her bottom lip, a gesture I've learned to love. It was rather admirable that she thought the action would at all hide her growing smiles.

As my eyes briefly glance down to her lips, a smile of my own begins to grin. "May I?" I ask in the most manneristic voice I can muster, holding out my arm to her.

Something in between a huff of air and a quiet laugh leaves her at this as she looks down at the gesture. "You may." her eyebrow quirks up while she lightly wraps her bare forearm around my clothed one.

I begin leading her away from their dorm, looking back behind us to give Pansy an innocent grin, to which she responds with the same stern finger and narrowed eyes.

We walk together out to the common room, which is completely empty as most students are at dinner. Once we reach the entrance of the common room, I motion for her to go first, my hand resting against her lower back as she walks in front of me and out to the dark corridors.

I barely see the way her lips part, her lungs inhaling as she prepares to talk before I quickly pull her to the side of the corridor. She stands only inches away from a large pillar as I tower over her, my hand rising to gently life her chin up so that our faces lined up.

"You look absolutely divine, darling," I breathe, the corner of my lips tugging up into a whisper of a smirk.

Her lips fight a smile, her eyebrow slightly quirking at my words. "Divine?"

I let my thumb ever so lightly run over her jawline, my eyes taking in every beauty that creates her. "Divine."

Her eyes begin to crinkle more as her smile grows. "I like that."

I smile in return, my eyes once again meeting hers. "I'm glad," I whisper, my grip growing tighter around her chin as I lean in to kiss her. She returns the action immediately, one of her hands lightly resting against my wrist as the other curls into my suit jacket.

My empty hand finds her hip, feeling as my cold hand meets the thin fabric that fails to hide her heated body.

She pushes me away ever so slightly, our lips breaking apart to hover over each other. "You look rather divine yourself, pretty boy," She whispers against my lips, her breath hot yet minty.

I can't help the grin that pulls my lips apart, a quiet chuckle leaving me as she leans back in to continue the kissing. Our lips move together for a moment, her hand only pulling my jacket tighter before I slowly lean away. She seems to be feeling a mixture of confusion and frustration as our eyes meet, a small smirk upon my lips as I see it.

"We do have a reservation to make," I explain, my hands dropping away from her as I begin to slowly walk backwards.

She huffs humorously at my words, her eyes trailing down my body before connecting back to mine. "Oh yeah, that."

Something between a scoff and a huff leaves me at her unexcited attitude. "Yeah, that."

She grins innocently at me as we begin, once again, walking down the corridor.

_ - _ - _ - _ - _ - _ -_
- - - - - -

I find it rather impossible to take my eyes off of her as she sits across from me, the both of us now seated down at the restaurant.

As I do so though, I can't help but notice the way she constantly twirls with the ring on her necklace as well as the small vibration I feel as her heel bounces rapidly under the table.

After a few minutes of this happening, I clear my throat to gain the attention of her quickly wandering eyes. Her eyes dart over to me, her eyebrows lifting ever so slightly with concern.

"Are you okay?" I ask quietly, though it's not necessarily very quiet seeing as the restaurant we were currently sat in was booming with conversations that partnered awfully with the loud music.

"Mhm," She responds, giving me an unbelievable nod. She reaches for her glass of water, taking a quick sip before setting it down on the table. My gaze moves down to the way her fingernails now tap anxiously against the glass.

I feel my lips turn into a small frown. "You're anxious, love."

Her eyes once again fly up to meet mine rather than the menu laying on the white-clothed table. "It's fine, Draco. It happens." She shrugs, now chewing on her cheek.

A quiet sigh leaves me as I watch her. There was nothing about her that didn't scream stressed out and anxious at the moment, and it pained me to continue watching it while doing nothing to fix it.

She avoids my eye contact, her eyes trained on the menu that I'm not even sure she's really reading.

A few moments later our waiter shows up to the table, his small pad of paper and quill ready to write. "Are you guys ready to order?"

It only takes a small glance at Y/n to realize she needs to get out of this place. "I think we're actually going to cut the night short and head out now," I say as politely as possible, giving him a friendly smile.

I don't look at her, though I can practically feel the confused expression that now takes its place on her face.

He nods in understanding, saying a few kind words before leaving us. I begin standing up from my seat, fixing any wrinkles in my suit shirt before pushing my chair into the table.

Y/n stays seated, her eyebrows lifted with concern