The
The Astronomy 'room' is actually more like an observatory
or a planetarium than anything else, with a wizardly twist. The large, half-circle shaped room contains
many interesting models of the universe, all dotted with glowing stars forming
the various constellations. When
students have classes during the day, the ceiling is bewitched to look like the
night sky. The classroom itself is quite
small, though, for most of the work done in Astronomy is done outside. A large balcony opens up before you, many
magically enhanced telescopes and star maps pasted up upon the wall, some
magically floating beside the telescopes.
In the day time, one would more than likely find the
Tsktsk. One should not daydreaming during any class, much
less Astronomy. It's such a lonely place, up in this tower all by yourself with
the instruments. Lonely. Which is one of the reason Cho has decided to sneak up
here to spend her birthday. She actually came out of her room and spent some
time with her Ravenclaw friends today, but nowhere near as much as they would
like. It was a change from the last week though, even if she has not once
mentioned what the cause of her... quiet time seeking was. She knows the
schedule of Astronomy classes, for the most part (besides the studies that have
to do with medical magics, it's her favorite class), or at least she knows
enough about them to know when it's empty. She has no idea which class was in
here last, nor does she really care. About ten minutes after the class filed
down, there comes a soft shuffling sound from the stair cases and she peeks
into the room, trying to see if it is empty or not. Alas, this is not the case.
She lets out a quick gasp and stands frozen at the doorway. Go back.. stay.. go
back.. stay.. Well, her body isn't seeming to listen to any real commands right
now, so stay seems to be the choice at the moment.
With a frown, he pulls his once discarded sheet of
parchment, decorated with a half-finished star chart, onto his lap and peers at
the telescope with dislike. Well. If he had been paying attention in class,
then perhaps he wouldn't have to stay behind and he could always just leave,
but then that would mean that his chart would look rather incomplete. Draco's
stuck here by circumstance, not choice. Yet, his attention still lingers on
things, looking for a distraction every once and a while, needing something to
take his eyes off the dull display of stars and the markings on the parchment
now and again. Let's just say that the gasp he hears from the direction of the
door makes for a good attention-snatcher. His head turns, he casts a look with
his blue eyes over his shoulder and then... does nothing, save for blink and
breathe. Oh, his mouth drops open a little as if to say something, too, but
there isn't anything that escapes.
After spending all that time in her room, she'd almost
managed to forget why she was avoiding this particular person. Cho didn't have
any classes with him to worry about, as a 6th year Ravenclaw, so she still
attended her classes of course, but she'd been skipping meals and spending
freetime in her room. Friends had been bringing her things to snack on, so it's
not like she was starving herself, but still, she was avoiding all possible
contact with a certain white-blonde Slytherin. Of course, the time she decides
to spend time outside of her dorm room and away from her curious friends...
well... She'd almost be tempted to scream about the unfairness, but she
restrains herself. Yelling won't help anything after all. Finally she takes a
breath and says softly, "Sorry. I didn't think anyone would be up here. I
wanted to.. finish up a project." That last part is a lie, but it's
truthful enough. She really could have worked on the project while she was up
here. Should she... make a run for it and leave him alone? She's quite tempted
(though, more like walking away than running) but she seems to decide against
that for the moment and takes a few steps into the room. "Do you
mind?" she asks before she gets too far in.
First, you feel sorry for him, then, you want to be his
friend, after that, you slap him, followed by crying on his shoulder, and now,
you're trying to avoid him. Women. Draco's mouth closes at that and so do his
eyes, but when he opens them again, his head is already turned back to the
star-gazing equipment, lowering himself to resume peering through the eye-piece
of the telescope. "Feel free." Said in his bored drawl. "I'm not
going to stop you or anything. I'll be out of here in a few minutes. I just
have to finish this chart, first." So, if you're going to come in, then
hurry up, if not, leave... he could care less, either way.
Well, it isn't as if she's going to want to dance around
in the presence of someone who suddenly kissed her with little provocation! Cho
hasn't been kissed enough to really just dismiss it as offhandedly as some
people might. And there are other reasons too, but those are better left in the
comfort of her own mind. She moves further into the room and starts to find the
telescope she uses in her class, but she doesn't get very far as she stops and
looks at him. "Um.. Draco? If you don't mind, could you tell me.. why
you-- did what you did?" Is it so difficult to say it? Well, yes, if she
wants to keep from flushing at all, she's not going to actually say it. As it
is she can just pretend it was something trivial if she doesn't actually say
it. And at times like this, wouldn't he prefer it if she /did/ avoid him?
It was nice to have a moment's peace from the one
pestering and upsetting him with offers of friendship, but... *o.O* It's not
her that goes red in the face, it's him, but even so, it's not even that much.
Just a little bit of pink graces the pale skin at his cheekbones, but other
then that, nothing. Even his expression is neutral and he keeps to his work,
pausing momentarily to jot down something else on the chart. "After six
years, one would think you'd know better. What if Filch had still been there?
Can you imagine how much trouble we would've been in?" Still, Draco sounds
bored, though. "I kissed you to surprise you. To get you to be
quiet." His shoulders move slightly in a shrug. Is the test over? He stops
again to mark something else down on the chart.
"Why didn't you just.. cover my mouth?" Pause.
This time her cheeks to flush a bit as she adds, "I mean, with your
hand." Cause technically, her mouth was covered, but... Cho takes a breath
and looks away. Seeing his own skintone pinkin doesn't help as much as she'd
like. She's used to seeing people blush around her (Harry, for example,
constantly resembles a beat in her presence) but this is somewhat different
(Harry certainly never kissed her). She steadies herself as she looks away and
adds, "It's just.. there are other ways you could have.. gone about
getting me to stay quiet..." But if that was his only reason for kissing
her, than perhaps she should feel relieved. That was why she was hiding away,
wasn't it? Because she thought he might have taken more from her attempts at
friendship than he originally intended.
"If I covered your mouth with my hand, there's
always that chance that you might have been a little slow on the uptake and
continued to mumble. It was quick, effective," Then Draco turns his head
with a faint smirk working its way across his thin lips, "And it didn't
kill you, so." That's it. He shrugs a second time, writes down a few more
things on his chart, then slips the piece of parchment onto the stack with the
others, placing his quill down beside it. However, he doesn't leave right away,
no... he adjusts the eye piece of the telescope and resumes looking through it,
almost as though still working on his assignment, but not. Truly only using it
to pass the time between comments.
"Oh.." Cho lets out after a few moments. Is she
relieved or not? She can't seem to decide. But whatever it is she decides to
sit down for a few moments and stare at the telescope she generally uses. Not
into it, just at it. It didn't kill her, no... But it did make her stop to
think about things, which is either for the best, or the worse, depending.
Finally, after a slow intake of breath she says, "I am sorry, that I only
seem to be making things worse for you. That was never my intention." She
keeps her mouth open for a few seconds, as if thinking to add something, but
then she lets it close and seems to let whatever it was wait a few moments.
A roll of the eyes and he finally straightens, slipping
off the seat and standing with a lazy stretch. "Back to apologies, then,
are we? What's next? Are you going to feel sorry for me, again? How about
another slap? Shall we start crying together, this time? I'm assuming this
cycle will probably repeat itself until you get the point." Bored in the
beginning, but upon finishing, Draco's voice ends up sounding along the lines
of 'cold as ice'. His hands move for the parchment, picking it up neatly in
one, the other taking his quill and giving it a bit of a twirl around the thin
digits.
All his words cause Cho to go between slight flushes and pale
faced expressions. In the end she seems to be bordering on quite pale and
Draco-pale. He is right though, they do seem to have some rather odd cycles of
events within each other's presence. Of course he forgot the head trauma bit
from the first few meetings with each other, but that trend seems to have ended
with the crazy Gryffindor cat. "Get to the point?" She whispers softly.
How is she supposed to get to a point when she isn't even sure what the point
is? She's quite tempted just to say something that will imply that he is
welcome to leave, but instead she takes a breath and pushes herself up from the
seat. "I'm going to ask you one question and as long as you answer it
truthfully and thoroughly.. I'll not bother you again."
That sounds too good to be true. Despite the words,
however, he's quite certain it probably won't happen, her leaving him alone,
that is. Lately, they've just been having this strange knack of running into
each other... who said it wouldn't continue even after this? "Well?"
Draco would fold his arms if his hands weren't full, but he settles for smiling
like an arrogant bastard, lightly fanning his face a little with the parchment,
his stormy eyes glittering.
There's some pausing. What, is she trying to think of how
to word her question? Perhaps, perhaps... Finally she seems to nod to herself,
setting her face in a calm manner, as if she were about to step into Madam
Pomfrey's office to learn about a remedy that she hasn't yet figured out and
wants to know if it would work. With her mind set, she walks over to where the
arrogant little man happens to be fanning himself and reaches up to try to
catch his wrist with her own. Hey, that's not a question! Well, neither is what
she does next. Instead of asking a question, she leans forward and tries to
kiss him. Is she trying to shock him (hence, returning the favor?) or is this
part of her question? More likely the later. She's a Ravenclaw, after all.
Sometimes you have to put examples before your question. If it's allowed to
connect, it's a brief kiss with a little bit of pressure, but nothing too
drastic, just a light, simple, more than the last one if you count from her
side only, most likely (seeing as she didn't return the other at all). Let's
just hope the teacher doesn't decide to come check on Mr. Malfoy.
"H--he--" Is all he manages to get out before
his wrist is pushed aside, the light breeze coming to a dead halt, and then
being cut off by the presence of another's lips upon his own, much to his
surprise and dismay. He was expecting a question, not to be kissed! Despite
this, the idea of pushing her away is the last thing he thinks of. Like
numerous times before, when brought into a situation like this, Draco just
freezes to the spot, and, strangely, has the decency to close his eyes for it.
Way to mess with his head. At least the teacher doesn't walk in, however. The
professor probably didn't even realize that the white-blonde haired Slytherin
happened to stay behind... and good thing for that, too.
The kiss is broken not long after it begins, it was not
intended to be long after all, and Cho withdraws to look at his face, as if
trying to figure out some weird and unorthodox puzzle. What she says next must
be the question that she had intended on asking, but needed to give something
to ask about before she could say it. "Did you.. feel anything? And I'm
not talking physically, so don't.." she trails off, cheeks flushing a bit.
It was so easy to manage to do this when she insisted to herself that it was
just an experiment. Which it was! She couldn't just ask if he felt something
the first time, because he said it was just to shut her up. He'd probably deny
it anyway, but... she doesn't let go of his wrist at all while she asks this,
as if she's expecting him to run off, or maybe she's anchoring herself there...
The blue eyes reappear. "Besides confusion..."
He trails off. Brain liquefying. "I mean... What were you expecting?"
And don't blush! It doesn't help his position any! Oh shoot, never mind.
Draco's cheekbones begin to get a little pinkish, again. Being so pale
certainly doesn't help him hide it any. What's going on? Why is it his head
that has to get messed with? Why couldn't it be Potter's? He looks about to say
something else, but once again, it's like the words were stolen right before he
could even say them, leaving him in a state of speechlessness. He certainly has
been like this a lot around the Ravenclaw. ~.~ Argh.
What was she expecting? If she knew, she probably
wouldn't have asked. Cho opens her mouth and stops herself. She said she would
only ask one question, didn't she? Does his question give her license to ask
another? There's a pause, then she seems to opt for making a few statements.
"It's just.. I was wondering if there might have been some kind of motive
that.. you didn't realize. Do --" no questions. "I don't really know
what I'm expecting, but what happened made me think a lot. About a lot of
things." Finally she gives up on the question thing and just asks, he
wasn't thorough with his answer after all, so perhaps the whole thing is void.
"Did it make you think about anything at all? Or was it just a strange
night for you?"
Mouth open. Mouth closed. Mouth open. Mouth closed.
Draco'd do a pretty good fish imitation, if he made the face to go along with
it, which he certainly will not. The Slytherin takes a step back, this
conversation is getting a bit too strange for his tastes. "I don't know...
I mean, it was my first kis--" Argh. Shouldn't of said that, so he tries
to smooth it over with something else but winds up not being able to say
anything at all, again. He even actually attempts to wriggle his wrist away
from the girl's grip.
That... that causes Cho's jaw to drop a bit. "That
was your.. really?" He used his first kiss to shut her up one day in a
library so as not to risk getting points taken off. She lets him have his wrist
back as soon as he starts to wriggle, she isn't trying to forcefully hold him
there after all. "I'm sorry." She apologizes, though she doesn't even
know what for. For making him waste his first kiss on her? Not really, but she
does feel sorry about /something/. He cheeks flush and she backs away a few
steps, as if to make him feel more comfortable. He /is/ so young, she suddenly
realizes. And somehow hearing that was his first kiss just makes him seem even
younger in her mind frame. "I guess I'll leave you alone now. If that's
what you want."
He's not /that/ young. Only a year behind... in age and
when it comes to grade but he's still taller then you! It seems as though some
of that fire comes back to his icy eyes, however, and Draco's not quite as bent
on leaving as he was before. "Before that happens, what do I look like?
I'm not the type of guy who goes around the hallways, actively perusing women,
you know. I've had my education to worry about," Not to mention other
things, like being a bully, "Not relationships." Unlike you, you
silly girl. His arms fold the best they possibly can across his chest.
"I'm not some sort of womanizer, you know." There are probably people
who claim differently, but, eh.
"I never thought that." Cho says, blinking. "I
just figured that you and.." She won't say Aranea. But that's who she
meant. "I just figured you would have some experience in that area. You
were such a good dancer.." That is hardly a judge of experience in kissing
though, but it was one thing that she took note of. He was a wonderful dancer.
Probably one of the best. Maybe even better in raw skill than Cedric. And since
Cedric was so tall, dancing with him could be a bit awkward at times, depending
on the style. "I didn't mean to insult you."
c_C Are you on drugs or something? If you aren't, you
sure as hell act like it, sometimes. "There's a difference between being
able to dance well and kissing, you know. I don't know how you came up with
that comparison." Draco clears his throat in a somewhat superior manner.
"But then again, since you mentioned it, I don't know how you'd be able to
judge my skill on the floor. We never did finish that dance at the Yule
Ball." And he smirks faintly. Perhaps it's an invitation, or not, but
he'll leave it up to her to draw her own conclusions.
Of course she's on drugs. Sleeping potions count, to an
extent. Ahem. Cho can't help but blush lightly at his accusations and superior
manner as he goes about it. She wishes he wasn't so... /Draco/ sometimes. Why
can't he be sweet and shy like Harry? But then again, is she seeking out Harry
like this? ... That's something she really won't ponder, probably best.
"Anytime you want to finish it, you just need to ask, but I somehow doubt
there will be another dance this year." Two girls turn up missing, one
turns up dead not long after. As far as Cho is concerned, Yule Balls are
cursed, and if they have one next year, she has no intention of going. "It
lasted long enough to make a fair assumption as to your skill in the matter
though."
They just have terrible luck when it comes to Yule Ball
dates, hm? But, onto other topics, he has his own ways of being sweet, but they
are far different from Harry's, and hardly are they used with innocent
intention. They are not the same person, for one, and they think quite
different, for which Draco is thankful. Blind-stupidity is just a trait that he
does not desire to obtain. The smirk widens. "Well, if you're going to be
leaving me alone from now on," He extends his hand towards the Ravenclaw.
"Then it looks like we'll just have to finish the dance tonight, just so
there aren't any loose ends, later. You don't need a social gathering to dance,
after all."
"You didn't fully answer my question though."
Cho says after a second, but it's said very softly, as if it's something she's
quite willing to drop. At the part about the dancing though her breath catches
a bit and she tries to think of something she can say to avoid this situation,
but the best she can come up with is, "There's no music." It's a
fairly lame excuse, they are a wizard and a witch after all. They could
probably get some music started, though they may not want to, for fear to draw
attention to the Tower. "But if you really want to..." She takes a
few steps closer to him and offers her hands. She'll let him lead and pick the
style and everything else, but she will certainly offer up her hands.
Of course, if she doesn't feel like dancing with him this
evening, all she would have to do is say so. He'd probably leave, but then she
wouldn't have to and that's what counts. The blonde Slytherin drops his
parchment and quill to the floor, not really overly concerned about the hardly
messy pile that it makes. "I'd sing, but it'd probably be too loud."
Yes, Draco certainly can sing, too. Lucius Malfoy made sure that his son was
well trained for social gatherings and formal events. From politics, to
dancing, to singing, he knows them all. Draco can even play a few pieces on the
piano. "But, I can hum, if you'd like." He shrugs a little, then
takes the hands into his own. He will certainly lead into the dance, but that's
just because it's what he's accustomed to. A woman never leads in dance. Hmph.
He can sing? Cho does her very best not to show off any
surprise at that bit of information. She has led in dances before (mainly with
much younger people, and Harry) but she's totally comfortable to let him take
the lead and choose the beat. "Humming would be good." She offers a
soft smile, her first genuine one of the evening. She's almost forgotten for a
time that this will quite likely be their last encounter on this level, if he
holds her up to her word. Hopefully it will be a pleasant one, it is her
birthday after all. She came up here for a nice, peaceful evening under the
stars. A dance (and an experimental kiss) was not what she had in mind, but
somehow it isn't all that bad.
Draco certainly is full of surprises, isn't he? Anyways,
any man who needs to be led in a dance should be ashamed of themselves. They're
a complete embarrassment to the party, itself, not just the hosts. Seeing Harry
trying to move gracefully on the floor almost resembled an elephant play
hop-scotch. It was terrible and an insult to all those who could dance, which,
there were very few. He begins to hum, though, as she agrees to it, the smirk
soon vanishing from his features and replaced with a more relaxed expression.
The song is of a soft tune, not too loud just in case, but pleasant sounding,
none the less. It's something that's rather easy to move around to, if the pace
is kept consistent. He, of course, can easily guide the dance to go with it,
but of course, he needs to be allowed to move, too, because stress against
stress just doesn’t work.
As the humming starts and the movement goes with it, Cho
allows him to lead her along gracefully, not fighting his movements at all.
She's just as graceful on the ground as she is up on her broom stick. If she
ever manages to get a better broom, the two boys may have some competition to
worry about! If Quidditch gets called back on again that is. After a few
moments she has to speak softly as they dance, though she's loathe to interrupt
the humming, she feels the need to speak if she can. "When's your
birthday, Draco?" What an odd question, hmm? Well, he probably doesn't
know today is hers, so she's not going to outright say it, but she is kind of
curious when he's going to turn sixteen. The whole first kiss thing made her
think how young he is, plus the fact that it /is/ her birthday gives her a subject.
Twitch. Why does she want to know his birthday, anyways?
Or is this just some completely random question? Oh well. Not that it honestly
matters, "February 14th." Draco replies, with a pause in his humming
that lasts only for a brief moment. Aw. Isn't that cute? He was born on
Valentine's day! Just don't tell anybody else, otherwise the questions about it
just may never end, and then he'd just have to hex you. The dance continues, as
does his humming, despite that interruption. Do you have anymore questions?
Should he just stop entirely if you feel like talking, now, instead?
That is cute! Cho's smile brightens for a moment, but
then she realizes that he's probably not going to find the fact that he was
born of Valentine's day very nice. Most young boys probably wouldn't, after
all. But she makes a mental note. That birthday is difficult to forget, either
way. She relaxes back into the dance for a few moments, listening to the
humming and following his movements easily. It's a whole verse or two before
she says anything else. "I just asked because today's my birthday. You
probably didn't know that though." She hopes that he doesn't stop dancing,
she's rather enjoying it. It's... rather odd, dancing all alone on the
He could be in his bed, asleep, dreaming of kicking the
stuffing out of Potter at the moment, but no, here he is with the Ravenclaw
again. It is rather odd. He pauses a second time. It really hurts to be nice.
It honestly does. "Happy birthday." And he doesn't know what else to
do about it, so he simply resumes his humming, leading the dance around the
Astronomy tower. Wouldn't this be quite the sight if a professor just happened
by, right now? Draco Malfoy dancing with Cho Chang, humming a little tune. They
would probably die with laughter. But it's not like they have the chance to
stumble in on it, now, because he draws the song to an end and brings the dance
to a halt.
Wouldn't her friends just love to hear that. She spent
her birthday with Draco Malfoy, dancing up in the
Yes, he is. Don't think he's 'not all bad' because he is
as rotten and terrible as they come! GRR! "I suppose." He replies,
withdrawing his hands and taking a step back. "After all, they insisted
that I learn, just because." And Draco sounds as arrogant and stuck up as
ever, turning and kneeling against the flagstone floor in order to gather up
the parchment upon it, along with his quill. Looks like he's intending on
leaving, now, soon straightening, dusting the knees of his pant legs to remove
some of the dirt that managed to cling while he stood.
Oh, come on, he's only /mostly/ bad. He's still got a
charming side, somewhere under all that slim and muck. And the first time they
met in more than casual contact they actually joked for a few minutes! But Cho
doesn't try to defend her mental image of him that much. He's still got a lot
of problems, and she isn't sure if they'll ever go away. Or if she'd even want
to be around him if they did. He wouldn't be /Draco/ if he wasn't an arrogant
asshole. He'd just be... a Draco shell. She doesn't believe that people should
change who they are for others. Finally she clasps her hands behind her back
and says, "I'm sure they are, even if they haven't ever said so." She
mentions about his parents, not trying to make assumptions, but the off-handed
response made it sound like he wouldn't know, either way. Then she adds,
"Good night," expecting him to leave. For once, she makes no more at
all to stop him.
Well. This doesn't have to be goodbye or goodnight.
Remember that lame romance novel reference from a while ago? Playing off of
that, Draco could always step over and deliver a quick, stealthily kiss before
vanishing for the evening... but that would run the risk of getting slapped.
He's been hit enough, lately, in the past few months. The Slytherin tucks the
pieces of parchment, containing his star charts and observations, into an
inside pocket of his robes, then drops the quill in right beside them.
"I'll take your word for it. About my parents, that is." He says with
the bored drawl returning, "But before I leave. Since it is your birthday
and it's only proper to give something..." He'll probably be kicking
himself later for this. "The answer to your question, a long time ago, is
yes... but I'm warning you now that I can't guarantee anything."
First of all, hello? She kissed him not too long ago, if
she slapped him it would be hypocritical. So... well... anyway... If anything
could throw her for a loop right now, that very thing happens to do it. Cho
blinks once, very slowly, almost as if she's expecting to open her eyes and
find that part was just imagined. Instead of opening her mouth and risking
something stupid coming out, she nods her head. Her mouth does tumble out a few
words, but she tries to keep them to a minimal so they don't hurt anything
she's happen to be gaining. "I understand. I'm learning not to attempt to
expect anything from you." What she expects usually doesn't happen, and
what she doesn't, does. So she's just going to have to throw her expectations
out the window. "Thank you though." She offers a light friendly
smile. Maybe all her attempts weren't so awful after all. It might get rid of
some of the worries at least.
He smiles. A real smile. A real genuine smile. It's
crooked, though, like he hasn't had much experience with it, but still, it's a
start. It probably looks a bit strange for him, too, considering the amount of
time he spends smirking or sneering. "You're also not that bad of a
dancer, yourself." The best compliment he can think of, at the moment. Why
shouldn't he divulge a little in the world of 'niceness'? It's the girl's
birthday, after all! "Have a nice evening." Or whatever and stuff.
Then, Draco turns to leave, his robes sweeping out behind himself almost like a
cape. Of course, he will head off, too, unless stopped, but that's all up to
her because he certainly won't be the one to do so.
No, for once, Cho isn't going to push it. If she goes
after him, no matter how good her intentions, she may ruin the nice moment that
he just allowed her. It may be a birthday present, but it's the best one she's
got this year, that's for sure. Only thing better is if Professor McGonagall
had shown up at the Ravenclaw Dorms and give her her Comet back. She just
continues to smile, it touching her eyes rather quickly and nods to the
compliment, "Because of the partner mainly." It's hard to be a good
dancer when there's bad people leading you. She danced with Harry after all,
but she tried really hard not to make it look too bad. "And I will."
she responds to the evening wishes. She doesn't add in her own, because she
said that already, along with a ton of Thank yous, so she's trying not to
repeat herself more.
Draco leaves and heads back to his common room... and...
stuff. He also plots on how to use this against Potter because he's a complete
bastard. Ha ha ha.