Ron said, his robes brushing against my arm as we walked, "Harry has got to stop rubbing his cologne all over you."

We were making our way to the courtyard, our previous DADA lesson still lingering fresh on our minds. I tilted my head at the boy in confusion, taking the hem of my uniform shirt and bringing it up to my nose for a whiff of what was supposed to be 'Harry's cologne'.

Surprise! It wasn't.

I quickly shoved it away once I smelled the familiar scent of lemon-vanilla. Draco's cologne must have gotten stuck on me in the library when he...

Uh.

When he....

Oh, you know what happened, don't make me explain, because I can't think straight when I think about it.

"Right," I said, changing the subject, "do you think Hermione will mind if we ask her to write up the answers for the Charms quiz?"

Ron scrunched his nose, "oh, yeah, she'll mind."

"Even if we bribe her with parchment paper?"

"You've got to be joking if you think Hermione is going to fall for that," he said sheepishly, "I tried it once, and I ended up getting shoved down the stairs."

Before I could throw in a laugh, I heard my name shoot across the courtyard like an arrow. I didn't recognize the burly voice or the accent. Turning my head, I noticed a Durmstrang boy beginning to approach me, his group of friends striding up behind him.

"Do you know these guys?" Ron said, whispering nervously through his teeth, "because I don't know them, and I know everyone you know."

I blinked, confused, "never met them."

It was true. I had never seen these men in my life (I would have liked to call them boys, but they looked like they had outgrown the label), and they were so intimidating I almost wanted to sink into the ground.

No, wait, not almost. I did.

The one who called my name came to a stop in front of me, a smirk on his already bearded face. He had a maroon coat on, the Durmstrang logo embossed on the right sleeve, and his brown hair was slicked back with some shiny sort of gel.

He glanced at Ron, cocking his chin out as if to say 'scram'.

"Right, then," my friend gulped, nodding his head quickly, "I'll see you later, [y/n]."

Wow.

This wasn't terrifying at all.

"Um..." I said nervously, clinging to the strap of my satchel, "do I know you guys?"

The ringleader of the group shook his head, nudging his friends in blatant amusement. I felt very unsafe. Why did Ron leave me? Why? I mean, I know he was basically threatened, but still!

"Sergey Hritso," the man said, holding out his hand, "I've heard a lot about you, [y/n]."

I widened my eyes, slightly panicked and slightly confused. What the hell was he talking about?

"I'm sorry," I stammered, "from who?"

Sergey glanced at his friends, "your school likes to gossip, so we pick things up."

Yeah, of course I knew Hogwarts liked to gossip, but that wasn't the point. What inclined him to talk to me? And what rumors was he hearing? I could take a mean word every now and then, but the smirks on the boy's faces were giving me a kind of anxiety I couldn't describe.

"Heard you and that Potter-boy were together," he said, biting his lip, "the whole school talks about it, you know?"

I knew.

I could never escape it, really. Exhaling in annoyance, I took a step away from the group of boys surrounding me. I felt gated in, like a mouse in a trap, no where to run or to hide.

"I don't care if they talk about it," I frowned, "but it's none of your business."

One of Sergey's friends was looking me up and down. Ew.

"We only want to give you some advice," the man smirked, taking a step closer to me. He put his hand against my chin, squeezing it in between his two fingers harshly, "you shouldn't associate yourself with a cheat like him."

I narrowed my eyes, shoving his hand off of me, "Harry didn't put his name in the goblet, alright? He's not a cheat."

"That doesn't make him any better," Sergey grinned, his gaze flickering downwards, "someone as pretty as you has a lot of potential if you find the right man."

Excuse me?

I don't know why, and I don't know what I was thinking, but I felt my hand whip my wand out of the pocket of my robe in anger. The next thing I knew, I had it pressed up against Sergey's chin, my jaw clenched.

"Well I have the potential to obliviate you, you sexist oaf," I hissed, my cheeks burning with spite, "how dare you come to my school, insult my friend, and harass me, you pathetic—"

"Back off, you big slug," a familiar voice said, cutting me off, "she's not interested in you."

I lowered my wand, turning my head to see a glimpse of platinum blond hair pushing its way through the crowd of Durmstrang boys.

Draco.

Honestly, I wanted to evaporate from the earth. This was the epitome of embarrassment, the brink of bashfulness, and now it looked like I couldn't stand up for myself. Great timing, Slytherin.

"Who the hell are you?" Sergey hissed at the boy, "I wasn't talking to you."

Draco shrugged, "and?"

"You have five seconds to leave, before I—"

"Before you what?" Malfoy grinned, "punch me in the face?"

Draco glanced at me with a smirk when he said that, but it didn't amuse me. Why was he trying to play the hero here? I was perfectly capable of defending myself, and I didn't need him to—

"And besides," the boy said, "she's got a boyfriend already."

I've got a what now?

Before I had a chance to shoot back, Draco wrapped his arm around me, flashing Sergey and his pals a cheeky grin. That smirk quickly faded. Rolling his eyes, he pulled me away from the courtyard, his arm still clung tightly around me.

Stupid move.

The boy dragged me out of the Durmstrang's line of sight, through the hallways, and into an empty corridor, all without changing his grip on me. I didn't know what to think. As soon as we came to a stop, I wriggled out of his arms, shoving him away from me.

"What the hell, Malfoy?" I exclaimed, taking a step away from him.

The boy narrowed his eyes, pushing his blonde hair out of his face. He could see how bothered I was by his little stunt, but he brushed it off like it was nothing.

It wasn't nothing.

"They were bothering you, weren't they?" He frowned, "don't get your knickers in a twist over it."

I narrowed my eyes, "I didn't need you to save me, Draco."

"I wasn't saving you, I was giving you a reason to leave."

"But you didn't have to pretend to be my boyfriend!"

"Me?" He scoffed, crossing his arms against his chest "why on earth do you think I was talking about me? I thought you and Potter were together."

Oh.

I guess I was too heated in the moment to process that he wasn't talking about him. Right. He was talking about Harry (per usual), and honestly, that's...embarrassing, but whatever.

I cleared my throat, "we aren't together."

Draco's eyebrows raised slightly in interest, "really?"

"It's none of your concern," I frowned, changing the subject, "but what the hell were you thinking? Putting your arm around me like that?"

He cocked a brow, his lips twitching into a smirk again, "I thought you liked it when I touched you."

Now was not the time for his jokes. It wasn't. I was annoyed, I was peeved, I was angry, I was mad, I was every single off-put word in the dictionary.

"Someone could have seen, you idiot!" I hissed, resisting the urge to whack him with my satchel, "we made a list of rules so we wouldn't get caught talking to each other, and not even a day later, you're whisking me away in the middle of the bloody courtyard!"

Draco clenched his jaw, "I don't care if someone sees."

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Honestly, yes!" He said, beginning to pace, "I didn't like seeing them bother you, okay? Is that what you want to hear?"

I paused, "what?"

"And you know what?" He said, coming to a stop. For a moment he leaned over me, the heat of his breath tingling against the tip of my nose, and his eyes stared straight into mine like daggers. He lowered his voice, "I didn't like seeing him touch you, [y/n]."

So that's what this was.

It wasn't an act of heroism, or a helpful hand; it was jealousy in its purest form. I could see it in his eyes now, that piercing look of complete envy, and the dripping bitterness.

I couldn't help but smirk, "jealous, Malfoy?"

That seemed to set him off.

"And what if I was?" He said, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer, "what would you do about it?"

I could feel his breath on my face, the warmth of it seeping into my skin as I stared deeper into his eyes. His silver-blue eyes. The eyes I thought were too vibrant to ever be real. I almost hesitated to speak, my mouth gaped open, even though I was usually never at a loss for words.

The boy paused for a second, his breath heavy, before a risky decision clicked in his brain. Bringing his hand up to my chin, I felt the cold metal of his ring sting against my skin as he placed his fingers around the bottom of my face. We were close now. The kind of close that breached the thin line between friendship and whatever comes after that.

But what was I going to do about it?

I didn't have an answer, honestly. All I wanted in the moment was something unheard of, something I couldn't say out loud, something that Draco looked like he wanted too.

I wanted to kiss him.

Just to feel it. Just to release the tension that was binding us together. Just to know what kissing Draco Malfoy felt like.

Yet, at that very moment, Penelope Clearwater decided to walk out of the Xylomancy classroom, her group of friends trailing behind her with a fit of giggles. Draco immediately dropped his hand to his side, a shadow falling over his face as he realized.

He broke our gaze.

Penelope stopped when she saw us, a small gasp escaping her pinched mouth when she saw how close we were standing by each other. Not even a second later, I heard her begin to whisper something to the girl on her right.

And that's when I knew.

That's when I knew that whatever Draco and I had, was dangerous, risky, and definitely unwelcome in Hogwarts. I couldn't stand alone in a corridor with him without someone throwing me a dirty look.

So I had to cover it up with something believable.

"I'd tell you to get over yourself," I said quickly, pushing Draco away gently, "Goodbye, Malfoy."

Grabbing my satchel, I brushed past the Ravenclaws, letting out a sigh of relief when they muttered in understanding. They thought Malfoy was trying to bully me again.

They didn't know he was trying to kiss me.

And they didn't know I wanted to kiss him back.

But this was the whole point of the rules, wasn't it? To stop people from knowing a secret that could damage my friendships, and set the school and it's standards off kilter? That wasn't even the worst of it. I was muggle-born, and the fact that Draco and I even thought about something other than hating me, was a problem. It wasn't like his house and his family to accept that.

But as I neared the edge of the corridor, I paused, turning back briefly to see if he was waiting to run after me.

But he had already left.