Courtyard
This is the courtyard to the prestigious and established
wizard school known as Hogwarts.
Of interest besides the giant towering school is the
cabin of the Keeper of the Keys, Rubeus Hagrid, the
It's really late, but he's not too terribly concerned
about curfew at the moment. How often do the teachers patrol the outside of the
school, anyways? He had to get out, get some air before going to bed, being
cooped up in that castle all day just gets on his nerves. Sure, it's partially
his fault, because he went into the Forbidden Forest after Harry and Cho, but if Harry hadn't of decided to go in first and just
turned around and left, then this whole problem would be non-existent. Sigh, whatever. Draco sits on the
steps to the entrance, his knees drawn up, elbows upon them, chin cupped in his
hands, blue eyes staring off at absolutely nothing and everything around him at
once.
Conveniently forgetting who let the snitch go that caused
that fateful night, aren't we? And wouldn't you know it,
he's not the only one searching for air this night! Gasp! She's starting to
become quite the little rule breaker, isn't she? It's hanging out with Harry
that must be wearing off on her. Cho sneaks out of
the doors, looking behind her as she closes it carefully. She could swear that
Peeves had just flown by, but he must have been too distracted, cause no
crashing or yelling sounds. She lets out a relieved
breath and turns around, taking in the air through her nose, and then
immediately chokes; shoes scrapping against the ground. What's Draco doing out here!?
What's he doing out here, what are YOU doing out here?!
At the noise, a startled Draco whirls around...
literally, not figuratively... and ends up moving so much in fright that he
slips right off the edge of the step, unable to keep his balance from then on,
then winds up tumbling down a couple stairs with a bit of a yelp in a comical
fashion that one would expect to see on some sort of cartoon. When it's all
done and over with, the poor guy has sits, having managed to fall rather
painfully on his rear, white-blonde hair falling messily over his eyes.
"Do. Not. Sneak. Up. On. People.
Like. That!" >_<
Could have been worse. He could
have fallen on his head again! It wouldn't be as if that's the first time he's
done so. Does she just inspire his clumsiness or something? Is he going to fall
off his broom if they play Quidditch against each
other? Cho lets out a soft yelp as he starts to
tumble and darts forwards and down the stairs, a hand going up to her mouth
when he finally stops. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't know anyone
was out here!" She looks behind her, towards the doors. No one seems to be
coming, so hopefully his yelping and yelling wasn't heard. "Are you all
right?" she kneels down to get more on his current level. After what Harry
said to her she thought it would be harder to face the Slytherin,
but this isn't that bad... Of course she's a little distracted by his falling
down the stairs.
Does he even want to know what Harry has been saying
about him or is it perhaps better that he doesn't? No matter. As long as it
isn't being brought up, then it's unlikely that the conversation will head in
that direction. "Maybe you should be a bit more observant, then." He
huffs, hand reaching up to brush aside some of the light locks of hair. No,
surprisingly, he hasn't slicked it back this evening, figuring that he'd only
be out for a few minutes and wouldn't happen to run into anyone important. And
he hasn't. It's just Cho and she's seen him like
this, before. It doesn't really matter now. "I'm fine, don't worry about
it." Mutters Draco as he
climbs to his feet, hand brushing some of the dirt from the back of his cloak.
"I was more interested in the fact that I thought I
saw Peeves before I slipped out the doors," Cho
explains carefully, straightening as he does. She does smile as she gets a
better look at his hair. It's not exactly bright enough for a good image, but
with hair like that it was impossible to mistake him for someone else. Even if it wasn't slicked back. "Are you sure you're
fine?" She needs to learn to drop things once asked, doesn't she? She
can't help it! She's concerned. He fell down the stairs! That can't be easy on
him, especially considering his recent injury prone-ness.
It isn't his fault he's been a lot more accident-prone,
lately! There's an excuse for this one, though. He was snuck up on! Good 'nuff. "That stupid poltergeist's lurking around the
doors, somewhere? He didn't see you or anything did he?"
Because if he did, then there could be trouble... the thing delights in having
the rule breakers punished for breaking curfew. Although he hasn't experienced
it, Draco's heard enough stories to know. "And
I'm alright. Stop asking. I say I'm fine and that means I'm fine." He
brushes off the last of the dirt from his cloak, then
folds his arms across his chest. "What are you doing out here,
anyways?"
"All right, all right."
Cho says, almost defensively. This is when she starts
to notice her off-handedness towards him. Is it an effect of what Harry told
her or...? She gives her head a shake. She can't let it bother her. It's not
like it's not something that Draco would say. It's
exactly something he would say! And its not as if she
can really hate him for it. He didn't really know Cedric at all, and even Harry
said he likely only said it to try and get a rise out of the Gryffindors. "I don't think he saw me. I'd probably
know if he did, he'd likely have started yelling." She's heard stories
herself, never been the victim of them yet. And she wants to keep it that way.
"I..uh.. just wanted to take a walk... What are /you/ doing out
here?"
Huh? "What am I..."
Wait a minute! He's asking the questions, here! "Who'd want to take a walk
in the middle of the night? Especially out here, all by themselves?" No,
that doesn't mean drag him along. "Are you
insane?" Might as well answer the question though,
before it seems like he's been avoiding the question. "I'm only out
here for a breath of fresh air." Sounding as arrogant as ever, but if he
didn't, then it just wouldn't be Draco.
Not alone!? What does she think she is, some kind of
little weakling? She plays Quidditch too, you know!
It's a dangerous sport, especially for a Seeker! If she was the glaring kind,
she might do that now, but she's not. And anyway, he has a point. The dementors are still rumored to be lurking some in the
forest... Instead Cho just hrmpts
lightly and says, "If it's so dangerous, and since you're already out
here, would you like to come with me?" Of course, he's the one who's continually
getting injured in her presence, so maybe it's a bad idea to invite him. And
honestly, did you think she wouldn't take the bait after he said that? Geez.
His jaw drops a little, and then, "Not really."
At least he's being totally and one hundred percent honest. He doesn't really
want to go with her, on a walk, especially at this time of night, knowing full
well what's running around just beyond the boundaries of Hogwarts. However. "But if you really want me to go with you,
fine. I will. Can't say I'll be wonderful company,
though." Draco smirks, then moves to
brush away some of the blonde hair once again. Man, he should've slicked it
back, but figured that he wouldn't be out here long enough. Looks
like he'll just have to regret it later.
Oh, like he's wonderful company usually... Not that Cho will ever say that outloud.
He isn't always that bad. He can occasionally be the semblance of a decent
human being. And other times he's extremely charming. Of course she's starting
to wonder if that's all an act, because other times he totally contradicts that
charm. "Just a short walk. I wouldn't mind the
company, but I'm not going to tie you to me or anything. Besides, if I really
did see Peeves in there, you might want to wait a bit longer, and the air is
just as fresh in that direction as it is here." She motions randomly,
towards the lake.
Draco is just one big mystery
when it comes to personality. He's everything all at once and yet, nothing at
all. No point trying to explain it, eventually, it just gets too complicated to
figure out. "All right, then." He agrees to the idea of a walk. It's
a lot better then just waiting here for Peeves to go away,
that is true. "I'm all yours, then..." Um.
Wait a minute! "Just... er.
Lead the way. Or something." u.u;
All yours? Cho
gives him an odd look for a second as he says that before shaking her head. She
won't ask for clarification. She draws her cloak tighter around her and starts
towards the lake, leading the way. Gasp! He's letting her lead! But then
walking is different from dancing, so... "So did you just need to get
outside? Feeling a bit cramped up with all these restrictions, I guess."
She knows how he feels. She honestly hopes they reopen Quidditch
very soon. She isn't sure she can handle another week without anything to do
besides study, do school work and gossip. And there's only so much help she can
do for Harry, especially since she lost all her notes...
Lost all her notes, you say? He knows where they are.
They're in his possession, after all. When the Slytherins
returned his belongings to him after that night in the library, they had
brought along Cho's as well. However, if she's not
going to ask about them, Draco won't bring them up,
won't offer to give them back or anything of the sort. That would just require
too much effort on his part. "I needed some fresh air, really. When your
common room is down in that stuffy dungeon, air from the outside is a nice
change."
Well, she doesn't know that, but if she thinks about her
notes when she's around him, she might just ask. As it is, she isn't thinking
about them, so asking about them has completely slipped her mind. Cho continues to walk, holding her cloak around her and
keeping her hands under the fabric as much as possible. It's still early enough
in the year to be cold. "I can imagine. I only have to be down there for
Potions." And she occasionally happens to show up down there for other
things lately. Sigh. Just coincidence! ... Okay, one time she was following
him, but big deal.
He walks along side, hands stuffed into the front pockets
of the regulation pants. Every once and a while, he kicks a rock out of the way
and then continues to move forwards with her, as though there was no
disruption. "It's not the most ideal place for a common room. ..."
Yes, there's a bit of a pause before he happens to continue, "Are you cold
or anything?" He came to the conclusion that she at least looks it. And
with that, he's already starting to shrug out of the cloak, just in case she
is. He was raised to be a proper young man, especially when it comes to social
gatherings. It is the proper thing to do, to offer ones' cloak to a lady if she
happens to be cold. Although right now, it's not really needed, old habits die
hard and it just comes naturally to Draco.
"I'll have to take your word for it. I don't think
the Sorting Hat even considered putting me in Slytherin..."
Cho just doesn't have much of those qualities in her
blood. Just like any chance she would have been sorted into Gryffindor died
because she's not generally brave, not to that extent. As he offers over his
cloak, her mouth actually hangs open for a moment, then
she finally nods. "Just a little. I.. you don't have to. You must be cold yourself." She
isn't out to make him cold and miserable. But once again, he's struct that absolutely charming side and shoved it into
view. This Draco she'd like to show up more often,
but she has doubts that he ever will. He wouldn't be Draco
without his asshole-osity. She decides not to refuse;
to take the gesture, while it still happens to be offered, "Thank you."
"I'm warm enough. When you spend so long in a cold
dungeon, eventually, it doesn't get to you anymore. This is nothing, so don't
worry about it." And it honestly isn't. Well, it kinda
is, but he won't be admitting it. Draco slides his
arms out of the cloak and then, instead of just handing it to her, he moves to
do the proper thing... which is to actually slip it over her shoulders, if he's
allowed to do so. Of course, is she'd like to clobber him for trying, that's
alright, too. See if he'll ever offer you his robes, again.
She generally doesn't clobber him. Honestly, the only
time she did, he sort of seriously insulted one of her friends and herself at
the same time! He really deserved it that time! Giving over the cloak is hardly
a pummeling offense. Cho rearranges her hands to hold
the added cloak in place on her shoulders, offering him a kind smile as he
pulls away. He really can be an okay guy sometimes. Too bad they seem so few
and far between... She continues to walk towards the lake now and searches for
a topic.. A topic that doesn't make her feel ill or
sad is preferable, so she is not mentioning her conversation with Harry the
other day. "So did you ever find out what all was printed in that
article?" That subject is the best she could come up with? Heh.
Of course, the cloak is clean, save for the back now
being a little dusty due to his fall. It even smells that way, though there's a
bit of a cologne scent to it as well, but that can't be helped. After all, it
belongs to a boy the age of 15, soon to be 16. He resumes walking along side
the girl, again, looking... well... a lot thinner since he isn't wearing the
cloak, not that he looks much bigger while wearing it, either. "I got
around to reading it." Draco muses, of course,
with a sneer. "Got a way with words, she does, that Skeeter
cow. I'll give her that much. Hmph. Pansy Parkinson
looked as though she was going to put a hole through my head when I didn't deny
most of it." He snickers, finding that rather amusing.
Cho glances towards the small
(though still taller than her) Slytherin. "It
certainly was.. uh.. interesting. Besides the fact that it had some basis in fact
though it's mostly... exaggeration and mis-interpretation."
And she will say that until the time comes that she is able to admit anything
different. It wasn't as it appeared! The Skeeter pest
didn't know what she was seeing! But the last part makes her bite her lip for a
moment. "So you didn't deny it?" That's somewhat of a surprise. She
rather expected him to go into mad rages as soon as he saw the article, and
also to take back the fact that he finally answered her question in an
affirmative that very night in the Tower.
If he had simply read the article, first, that would have
been the end of everything. But he didn't. He was informed about it by the one
person whom he just can't possibly stand. Potter made an excellent outlet for
his anger, so by the time he got around to reading it, since he had vented
about it earlier, there was no reason for him to be irritated by it, anymore.
Still, Draco thought about it. He honestly did. But
then again, he's thought about that since the moment the words escaped him, so
it's nothing that really came from the article... it already existed.
"There's always some truth to her ramblings. She just takes it, adds in a bunch
of other factors or details and makes it sound like printed gossip. I should
know." A bit of a shrug. "I helped her get a
bit of dirt on Potter, last year, like his being a parselmouth."
Then, his sneer transforms into a nice, big, arrogant smirk. He then begins to
laugh, reflecting back on the incident. "But I saw no reason to deny what
was true, at least. We did dance in the astronomy tower. That's all Pansy
needed to hear. Sure, the other stuff, I might have denied that, but she
stopped talking to me after I answered the first question."
"Well, I won't ask if it's a good thing that she
stopped talking to you or not." Cho isn't a big
fan of most of the Slytherin girls. They seem a
little... well... cruel. Of course, so are the Slytherin
boys, but that's hardly the point. The first part she's going to refrain from
commenting on. That was bad of Draco to spread dirt
on other students. Instead all she says is, "Well, I guess now I know how
Harry was feeling last year..." She won't say we, cause
she doubts that he would like to be associated with Harry. "I just wish
she wouldn't have gone into... all those other things. If it was just the dance
and... I could accept that..." She's honestly surprised the Hufflepuffs haven't stopped talking to her after the way
the article talked about Cedric and everything.
What would happen if he just started to insult Diggory, right here? He begins to open his mouth, actually
about to, but before anything happens to get out, Draco
thinks better of it and just simply nods his head in agreement. When in the
presence of Cho, he'll be better off /not/ doing
that. He does not fancy being slapped a second time, for one. "Um." Uh. "Yeah." Sure, okay, whatever. That's all he can
think of at the moment.
The noncommittal noise kinda
leaves a hole in the conversation. Cho bites her lip
and tries to think of something to fill it with. Finally she just starts
rambling, "It's just, adding all those things about Cedric and Aranea was just... cheap. It's like that's the only reason
we're even... 'friends'." Sorta friends at least.
"It's not. I spoke to you before that happened." True, the death of
his date to the Ball did spark a lot more of her sympathy and she had to shower
it on him no matter what he thought. "And talking about it like it was
more than just a dance..." she shakes her head, trailing off. All that
love talk. Certainly didn't make her feel comfortable.
And the conversation gains yet another hole as he doesn't
say anything in return. Once again, a thought to say something about Cedric
comes to mind but winds up being quickly pushed back into the dark recesses of
his mind. He's mean, but that's not called for at the moment, he'll just use it
later, like if she upsets him, insults him or gets him angry. "I
suppose." Then comes the answer from Draco, sounding a bit... offish, as though he were not
really paying any attention.
How is it that Draco can be
so... arg! Cho really
should be more upset with him after what she'd been told but she still can't seem
to bring herself to really be. She already had her good long cry in private
over it after all, and it's not as if she really expected him to be anything
other than an asshole. Still holding both cloaks tightly around her, she
continues to walk, not saying anything for a time. If he's not really paying
attention anyway, so why should she bother to try to carry on a civilized
conversation? ... Well, because silence is awkward. After the long silence she
finally says, "Do you still mean what you said up in the
Frustrating, isn't he? One moment, the conversation is
going along smoothly and the next, well, he isn't even paying any attention
anymore. Are we at the lake, yet? He looks at anything but the girl... It may
just make him a tinge of guilt for saying or thinking nasty things about Cedric
Diggory. Something which Draco has no desire to experience. However, it's
unfortunate that things don't seem to stay that way, because the conversation
comes to his attention, again, but at least there's not a different topic.
"I do. But if you want me not to, I can do that as well." And he
dawns an arrogant smirk. It wouldn't matter much to him either way. At least if
she told him not to, he could insult Cedric all he wants in her face, but when
there's a 'friendship' on the line and he's given his word, welp.
Originally, he wouldn't of done so, even with not
being one of her 'friends'. Draco never had anything
against Cho in the beginning. Things just developed
over time... like the whole sympathy bit. Grr.
Guilt!? Shock. At the moment Cho's not even sure he can feel that particular emotion,
but that's mainly because he never showed any remorse towards certain things in
the past. Then again, that same night in the Tower she told him that she was
about to give up trying to expect anything from him, since he seems to prove
her wrong constantly. "No, I still want to, I just thought maybe..."
She shakes her head. Again, she should stop trying to make assumptions at what
he's going to say or do. She always seems to be wrong. Of course as a Ravenclaw part of the reason she's so interested in
figuring him out is because he's so /impossible/ to figure out! It's an
intellectual challenge, as well as a friendship. She glances over and offers up
a genuine smile, letting it touch her eyes under the starlit sky, "I'm
glad." And finally they reach the edge of the lake and Cho
stops to peer out onto the surface, the sky reflecting on it, only obscured by
wind and inhabitant caused ripples.
Well. Psh. Excuse him for being
impossible. It's not his fault. He just turned out this way due to the things
that have happened around him. "Well then." Draco
mutters, moving to take a seat at the edge of the water, crossing his legs,
then reaching out to dip a few fingers into freezing cold lake. "I guess
what I said to you still stands as long as you want it too." Ooo. That
water's cold. How in hell could Viktor Krum stand swimming in it every morning?
He sure as hell wouldn't. He'd be frozen at the mere thought before even diving
in.
Skinny dipping is probably out of the question then,
isn't it? Kidding, kidding. Cho watches as he sits
down and then decides to join him, pulling off his cloak so she's only sitting
on top of her own. His cloak gets draped around her front and legs as a cover.
Nice that she's planning to keep it, but at least she's nice enough not to get
it even more stained. "You'd have to do a lot to make me change my mind
about that, Draco." She says softly. Is that a
threat almost? Well, she honestly means it. He'd have to do something really really bad to make her change her mind now. She just hopes
he doesn't plan to do anything that bad. Not to preserve her 'friendship' with
him, but more because something as bad as she means would have to be a horrible
thing for /anyone/ to do.
Maybe... just maybe... he may do something like that in
the future, but right now, it is relatively safe, for there is no reason,
nothing that's provoking him. One does not have to worry for quite some time
while he remains in this sort of mind frame. Of course, the terrible, horrible,
no good, very bad thing can always happen tomorrow, knowing Draco.
"Ah. That's all right, then, I suppose. Just to make sure, though, you
mean, this won't change your mind...?" He dips a little bit more of his
hand into the lake and then... Draco moves his hand
swiftly through it, the water marking a trail behind... only to splash some of
it up at the Ravenclaw rather... *GASP* playfully.
It's not a lot, but just enough to be noticed and if it soaks his robes, that's
okay, too.
And after all the trouble she went to make sure she
wasn't sitting on the previously offered cloak! Cho
lets out a quick gasp as she sees what he's doing and squeaks lightly as the
water hits her, getting mostly her hair, her face, and the cloak she has draped
over her front. She almost immediately breaks out in Goosebumps and lets out a
higher pitched, "That's /cold/!" before she smiles, eyes sparkling
with laughter. He is so strange sometimes. At times like this she almost thinks
he's human! Well, she knows he's human, but she's certainly not going to get
used to his quick changes in character. Especially when he's
around Harry. Sigh. If she has to break up another
fight... "But no, my mind isn't changed." Instead of trying to
wipe off her face though, she darts a hand into the water and tries to splash
some up at him. And man the water's almost cold enough that she reconsiders
doing so the second her fingers touch the surface, but she's gotta pay him back.
Like what was mentioned before. If it happens to soak his
robes, it's not really that big of a deal. He's not complaining about it and
probably won't, either, unless he happens to get cold. Draco
shields his face with the wet hand, but it doesn't seem to overly do him much
good, as the droplets still splatter against his pale cheeks and the
white-blonde hair. Some dot across the vest and his shirt, as well, of course.
"Hmph..." He begins to smirk just then, arm
lowering. "I suppose that's what I get for thinking that I could get rid
of you so easily," His damp hand slips back into the water, "Hm?" And... it's a splashing contest! And yet, not
much of one at the same time. Though he's not trying
to literally soak her or anything, just a few playful splashes. Honest.
As the splashing continues, Cho
lets out another few soft squeals, reaching her arms up to shield her face.
This time though, she doesn't splash back at first, turning the same smile on
him, laughter touching her eyes, "I thought you'd already figured that
part out." After all the times he tried to get rid of her, yelling at her,
making her cry, even times he doesn't know about, like when Harry told her
about the incident on the train last year, this is nothing. "A little
water won't get rid of me after all your other attempts." That's when she
reaches down again to stick her hand in the water. Instead
splashing him like before though, she pulls her hand out, water dripping from
it, and flicks her fingers towards his face, the water droplets springing off
towards him.
The smirk softens... somewhat... into one of his odd
looking little smiles where it just doesn't seem natural just because it simply
not practiced often. "Maybe I'll just have to try a bit more water next
time, then." No, he's not trying to be rid of her, but this is his way of
joking around, kinda. There's part of him which
seriously wants her to leave and begone, never to
return, but the other doesn't actually mind her company. It's a bit of a push,
but he may even actually be enjoying it. Scary. His
eyes close, then the dry hand moves this time, to rub the flecks of water from
his face.
He'd have to drop the whole lake on her to make her even
consider leaving! But of course she's not going to say that out loud, because
he is a bit larger than she and he could probably throw her in if he took that
the wrong way. And she'd rather not spend the night in the infirmary with a
cold. Cho continues to smile, actually letting out a
soft chuckle as he rubs the drops of water of his face. He's actually quite pleasant
to be around when he's like this. It makes her remember why she wanted to
attempt to befriend him in the first place. Too bad it likely won't last.
"Whatever you throw at me, you'll get right back." She pokes a finger
against his chest (where his heart should be) as she says that before she pulls
her hand back.
Ut oh. Dunno if he should like the
sounds of that or not, but Draco blinks those stormy
at the finger which is poked into his chest and then back at the Ravenclaw, a bit confused at first, but that passes
quickly. "What if I threw a Grindylow? Cornish pixies?" He names off a number of magical
creatures in the wizarding world, but then stops and
chuckles, not reall expecting an answer. Draco leans back, uncrossing his legs, his elbows dropping
against the grass. He lounges there, comfortable, looking up towards the rather
clear night sky. "I wonder how long it's been since we came out here."
The smile and laughter in her eyes doesn't diminish as he
lists off all those creatures. Cho really doesn't
expect him to make good on those threats. The younger Slytherin
couldn't even hold onto a cat without getting scratched by it! She watches as
he leans back, tilting her head for a moment. After a few moments, she unfolds
her legs and instead draws her knees up to her chest, leaning forward to rest
her chin on them, his cloak still draped over her like a blanket. Her eyes
still stay on the surface of the water, watching the same sky as he is, just
reflected off of the rippling surface. "I dunno."
She answers when she gets comfortable. "A while.
You could probably get back in now. Peeves likely isn't laying in wait at the
door."
"I doubt that stupid poltergeist sticks around
anywhere for very long if he can't go around and start havoc somewhere
else." Draco closes his eyes then and just...
lays there for a few minutes, finding this particularly relaxing, more so than
when he sleeps at night, having to suffer with the loud and ever-so-annoying
snores of his two cronies. "But I think I'll stay here for a while.
It's... kinda nice, I suppose."
Cho tilts her head so that her
cheek rests against her knee and she can look over at him somewhat. He's still
earning that pleasant smile, though the laughter in her eyes has diminished. If
anything she looks oddly... content. Like she wouldn't rather be anywhere else
right at this moment, and that's something she's never particularly felt around
this young man before. Or outside of a Quidditch
practice. "It is nice..." A bit chilly, but under the two cloaks she
can hardly feel it except on her still slightly damp face and scalp. She
decides them to lay back as well, putting her hands
behind her head and using them as a support. She doesn't mind getting grass in
her hair at all, so that isn't an issue, just comfort.
It's a pleasant smile in which he can't happen to see at
the moment, as his eyes happen to be closed, the expression on his face
returning to its original neutral state, with a few minor differences... mostly
that it's just a bit more relaxed than before. It sounds last long, however,
because as she moves, it's bound to make noise and that means Draco certainly will notice. The blue eyes reappear, his
head turning to the side in order to look over, some of the light colored locks
of blonde sweeping past his eyes to spill over his pale forehead. Then an
eyebrow arches upwards, but he doesn't say anything... not a damn word...
mostly because he can't think of what he'd want to say, anyways.
Silence is sometimes not awkward. This is actually one of
those times. So instead of searching for a topic to break the
silence apart, Cho just breaths softly, glancing over
towards him. The pleasant smile remains, though less now, almost
passive. She's starting to get a little sleepy, but she won't admit to it. She
doesn't want to ruin the moment by saying they should go inside. He's being so pleasant;
so human. She rather likes being around him like this. And for once, she's not
holding back waiting for something to screw it up. She usually expects
something bad to happen, but right now, she doesn't even have that in her head.
She lifts up her head enough to free a hand and reaches over to brush the hair
out of his eyes.
A blink, followed by several
afterwards. That eyebrow climbs further upwards for a moment, but then
drops as he is no longer curious or confused. Draco's
icy blue eyes follow the hand, watching in silence as the last strands of hair
disappear from his vision entirely without any trace, only a feel of their
passing. Then, of course, just because, his cheeks start to go a little pink,
but it's a lot better than imitating a tomato, which Harry seems to do. He, of
course, isn't very sleepy, but eh. That's just the way things go.
The hand lingers for a minute, straightening the locks
and moving them behind his ear. Cho too stays silent,
though her smile does grow a bit, and the amused look returns for a moment as
she notices the light tinge of pink to his cheeks. It's not too easy to notice
with the lack of illumination at the moment, but she can see the difference in
the tone due to his usually pale skin. She pulls her hand back finally and
makes herself speak, not because it's awkward, but because she found something
to say, "Are you pleased you decided to walk with me now?" He had
started out kind of grudgedly after all.
Che. Stupid pale skin. Because of it,
whenever he blushes, even slightly, anyone can tell just because of how
brilliantly it shows up. If only he were a bit darker, then maybe it may of
just blended in naturally, but no. He has to have a tone of flesh that's almost
the same as freshly fallen snow, but not quite, because he's just a little
darker. "Perhaps." He mutters, rolling over
to his side, tucking one arm beneath his head, the other laying flat on the
ground before his chest. Of course, no evening with Draco
is complete without the sneer. "But I'll leave it up to you to decide
whatever you want."
Instead of wilting under the sneer, Cho
lets out a very soft chuckle that almost sounds more like a sudden exhale than
a chuckle. She lets her own hand come to rest on her stomach, her eyes going up
to the sky as she answers, "Oh, but I find if I try to figure out what's
going on in your head, I'm usually wrong. So my guess right now should be the
exact opposite of the obvious. So, I'd say you're actually enjoying yourself,
somewhat." There's that half chuckle again (at least she doesn't giggle).
"Of course, I still might be wrong." She often is where Draco is considered. Not something she really likes. Being wrong. But it's a challenge at least. Her jaw tightens
visibly as she fights back yawn. The very fact that she's actually /tired/ is
amazingly, though he likely won't realize that, and she isn't going to bring it
up.
No. He thinks the girl is an insomniac and therefore
needs assistance of sorts in order to get a good nights rest. She won't bring
up that she's tired. He won't bring up what he thinks of it all. Proof that it tends to work two ways because if nothing is said,
then in essence, he does not have to respond. Draco
is also not the type to start pleasant conversation or dribble. "Maybe. Maybe not." But
he doesn't bother to comment on which one is right. The blue eyes vanish,
again, his hand moving to rake through some of the white-blonde locks that
could almost be like spun silk and just as soft.
Laid back as she is, Cho shakes
her head, the same soft chuckle letting out. But instead of remaining
comfortable, she sits up and says, "Well, either way, I've enjoyed myself.
But we'd better get back inside. We can have the pleasure of another walk when
it's not quite so late, or so cold." Again, she offers a smile, even if
his eyes remain hidden and unable to see it. He can probably hear the smile in
the sound of her voice though. "Would you mind walking me at least as far
as the main doors so I can give you your cloak back then?" So she doesn't
have to return it now. And also, she rather wants to stay in his company a bit
longer... Even with the sneer and the non-committal-ness, he's still rather pleasant.
Aw! But that makes him all the more wonderful. At least
he doesn't just turn totally fuzzy and nice, otherwise, it just wouldn't be the
Draco that everyone's come to know, most to hate. "Alright, then." He agrees to it, running his hand
through the blonde hair one last time before moving to push himself up to his
feet, slowly but surely. "There's no point for me to stay out here,
anymore, anyways, so I see no reason not to." Of course, he has to come up
with a reason to do it so he isn't being, you know, all nice.
Ah, but he failed there, if that was his intention. The
mention of no point to stay out there means that he was only staying out there
for her. Cause that's really the only thing that is going to
change. The smile Cho gives him for a second
is extremely bright, before it tones down as she pushes herself up to stand
beside him, wrapping the cloak around her from behind now that she isn't
worried about laying on it anymore. Once again she starts towards the school
again before he has the chance to start and says, "Thank you." For being semi-pleasent? For staying out here with her? For walking her back? Take
your pick. Might even be all of the above and a couple extra!
"Fo--.."
Nevermind.
Perhaps he's better off not asking exactly what it is he's being thanked for.
What was that phrase people use after another thanks
them? Ah. That's right. He hasn't said it in a long time, probably why he had
forgotten it. "You're welcome." Draco
replies, simply, and then says nothing more, following along behind... but
since he's taller, it also means that he probably takes longer steps, so it
shouldn't take more than a few until he's caught up.