Chapter 15

Stacy was taking her usual early morning walk. The mornings were getting colder and colder, seeing that it was already October. She was wearing sweatpants and a long-sleeved thermal, but even with a blanket drawn tightly across her shoulders, the chill still penetrated through her clothes. Soon, it would be too cold to enjoy the beauty of Hogwarts and watch the sunrise. She sighed contentedly. Stacy didn't mind the cold. She sat on a bench that was underneath a tree. The sun's first rays were starting to peek through the clouds. It was beautiful, and she barely noticed as someone sat down next to her on the cold bench. Glancing sideways, she was shocked to see that it was Draco.

"What do you want?" Stacy asked, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"I'm sorry for what happened with Pansy," Draco said after a long pause.

"Yeah, well I didn't see you rushing to stop her from talking about my parents." Stacy said, still not facing Draco. The two of them sat for a little while longer, silent and awkward. Then Stacy whipped around to face him.

"We've known each other for a long time. Long enough for you to know that I hate that my parents are Death Eaters. Long enough that even though I hate what they are, I still love them. And yet you just sit there while Pansy has the nerve to mention them. I know she didn't say what they are out loud, but... I mean, how does she even know?!" Stacy was furious by now. Draco didn't know what to say, so he stayed silent, looking at Stacy, who was visibly trying to calm down.

"After knowing each other since we were practically born, I actually considered us friends," Stacy said. She laughed, but there was no humor in it. She got up.

"I was so wrong to even think for one second that you were remotely close to being a friend to me," Stacy muttered, looking down at Draco. She turned and started to walk away.

"You were always there for me," Draco called after her. He stood up. "I realized that I'm so stupid because I never once helped you. And I'm so sorry for that." Stacy kept walking. She had heard enough. She could hear Draco walking behind her, no doubt trying to catch up to her. At that moment, Stacy realized that even though she had desperately tried to bury her feelings for Draco beneath anger and hatred, they'd always come back. It didn't help that he now seemed to be trying to fix their "friendship", or whatever it was that their relationship was called.

She reached the front of the castle and entered into the warm corridor. Draco caught up with her. He grabbed her wrist but she shook him off. Stacy didn't want anything to do with Draco. Not anymore. She was tired of him ignoring her whenever she was around. Tired of him never speaking to her. Tired of him only talking to her when he wanted to. No more.

Draco ran in front of her, forcing her to stop. She glared at him, looking into his gray eyes. Draco stared at her for a short moment. Then he pulled her in by the waist and kissed her. Stacy stood frozen on the spot. Her heart fluttered up into her throat and she could only stare at Draco as he kissed her.

He pulled away quickly, thinking that she didn't have feelings for him. He took a step back. Why would she? After the way he had treated her all this time... What was he thinking, kissing her? She'll hate me forever now...

After what seemed like an eternity, Stacy's face split into a radiant smile. She wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and kissed him, pulling him in close. His arms were back around her waist in no time, and the two of them stood in the middle of the corridor, finally able to express the feelings they had kept inside for several years. All too soon, they pulled away from each other, breathless and grinning. Draco closed his eyes and rested his head against Stacy's forehead. They stood in this embrace for a few moments.

"It's about time, Stacy said, softly. Draco opened his eyes and grinned.

"Sorry it took so long," he said, and drew her in for another kiss. This one was longer and sweeter. Their kiss was unfortunately interrupted by Peeves, who flew into the corridor, cackling and obnoxiously making fun of them. Stacy rolled her eyes.

"Get lost, Peeves," she said, although she was smiling. Draco took Stacy's hand and entwined his fingers through hers. Together, they went off in search of a more reclusive place in the castle to spend time with each other. No one was around to see them because it was still early enough that all the other students were only getting out of bed.

Half an hour later, Draco and Stacy finally left each other. They were both extremely reluctant to leave each other and spent ten minutes more, talking and laughing. They agreed to keep their romance a secret, but an exception for Sage was made. They parted ways with a final kiss, both of them happy beyond belief.

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Sage lost it when she found out. It was after breakfast when Stacy told her of all the morning's events. They were outside because Stacy knew Sage would scream when she told her. And she did. Very loudly.

"I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!' Sage practically shouted at the top of her lungs. Draco happened to walk by just as Sage finished giving Stacy a back-breaking hug. Stacy literally had to hold Sage back from approaching Draco and congratulating him on a job well done. He was with several Slytherins, so that wouldn't have been a smart thing to do.

Once Draco and his friends were out of earshot, Sage squealed and hugged Stacy again. Stacy just laughed. Then she sobered up quickly.

"Make sure you don't tell anyone," she said.

"No worries, Stace! Who've I got to tell?"

The two girls then linked arms and headed back inside, ready for classes to begin.