Chapter 5: All Hallows Eve
The great hall was lit up with hundreds of jack o' lanterns. Every year there is a Hallowe'en feast and afterward a party to celebrate. This year the party was canceled, another one of Umbridge's Educational Decrees. Luckily, Fred and George were hosting a secret party in the room of requirement that evening.
Cedric and I dressed up as vampires. He was Dracula. I on the other hand was a modern-day vampire. We got ready in my room, taking firewhiskey shots to pregame and making a mess with fake blood.
"Alright, here's the plan, Cedric announced putting down his glass. "You are gonna help me make Cho jealous."
"NOOOooo" I threw my head back in annoyance. "You are going ruin Halloween."
"Listen, Listen, you are gonna be all over me. We're both vampires, she'll think we're doing a costume comple. comple costutme. COUSTUME COUPLE.
"COUPLES COSTUME Cedric!"
"Yes, anyways and she will be so jealous that she will ditch Potter and come over to me"
"Ced, that never works. Someones gonna get hurt. It's probably going to be you. This is a garbage idea. No."
"Sounds like you need more firewhiskey."
"And you definitely don't."
We arrived on the seventh floor and stood at the north wall. We double and triple checked our surroundings and whispered the secret password into the wall: I solemnly swear I'm up to no good. A door appeared leading us inside. The walls danced with purple and orange lights, spiders crawled along with them. Bats roaming the ceiling freely. I got chills. The music was blasting. I could feel it in my chest. They must have put a strong silencing spell on the room, I thought. I searched the room for my favorite blonde but it seemed that he wasn't there, none of the Slytherins were. I was disappointed not surprised. I spotted Luna leaning comfortably against the wall, dressed as a fairy, and observing her drunk classmates. She greeted us with a smile and a complemented our scary costumes. I felt a tap on my shoulder, I spun around to see Neville in a black wig, dressed as Snape. All three of us erupted with laughter, Neville just stood there proud of his creation.
"To not be afraid, you must become what you fear." He stated simply.
"Oh my, Neville you're amazing."
"Thank you." He bowed and performed imitations of snape.
As soon as Cedric saw Cho from across the room he draped his arm over me. I rolled my eyes and frowned. He pled with his puppy dog eyes and a lisp from his fangs. I hesitantly agreed to help but warned that there are limits. He kissed my forehead and said thank you. I wiped the lipstick off in displeasure. He informed me that he was going to get drinks and gave a goofy smile. He proceeded to walk over to the punch table where Cho was standing. Neville, Luna, and I continued to talk. Cedric interrupted without the drinks he promised.
"Hey, come over and dance with me. You guys don't mind, right."
I shook my head disapprovingly, "I'll be right back."
We danced in front of Cho who was trying to talk to Harry but was obviously distracted by the show. Cedric kept getting closer and pulling my body tighter to his. He grabbed my chin pulling me towards his face.
"Cedric" I warned.
"Just one kiss"
"Absolutely Not."
"Please" Cue the puppy dog eyes.
"Not a chance. And if you don't back off, I'll make it super clear in front of our audience." I threatened.
"Actually, that's a great idea. Slap me and then she'll feel bad and come over to comfort me."
"I actually hate you right now." I removed myself out of his grasp and left him standing there.
I found Neville and Luna whispering and giggling very close to one another. My heart swelled. I decided not to interrupt their moment and I figured it was time to call it a night. I made my way towards the door when my arm was pulled harshly.
"I'm sorry." He yelled over the music. It was Cedric. "Don't leave please."
"I don't like this game Ced. I gotta go."
"Do you actually hate me?"
I scrunched my face. "No, I don't. I just don't like this." I removed my arm from his grasp. "Enjoy the party."
I continued to the door, the bouncer was a 6th year Gryffindor boy responsible for making sure there was no one in the halls when someone wanted to leave. I made my way into the halls undetected.
It was pitch black in the halls, waves of anxiety hit me. I started to regret my impulsive action, leaving alone. I took out my wand to cast the dimmest Lumos possible to not draw any attention or disturb the paintings. I hoped that wouldn't I run into Filch. I started my descent from the 7th floor to the basement. I had made it to the 5th when the staircase came alive again. Offensive words flew out of my mouth. "Gosh, I must be damned," I whispered as I got off the cursed staircase on the top floor once again. I tried a different route this time and found myself at the astronomy tower. I whispered Nox before I entered knowing that the moonlight lit the tower well enough. The door creaked when I opened it, I cringed. I entered the room carefully, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the familiar mop of blonde hair and blue eyes staring at me.
"What the hell are you doing here, and why the fuck do you look like that?" He angry whispered.
"Nice to see you too, Draco and I'm a vampire, where's your Halloween spirit?" I teased walking past him to the edge of the tower.
"You shouldn't be here. You could get in serious trouble." He said once he was next to me looking out into the sky.
"Blame the stupid staircase."
"C'mon I'll escort you to back."
I grabbed his arm. "Wait, can we just stay a little bit longer, it so beautiful here."
"Only a little."
Draco led the way towards the Hufflepuff dorms with his illuminating wand in one hand and the other holding mine. I assured myself that it was only to make it easier to get through the castle. I tried to ignore how good I felt being with him and how safe I felt with him holding my hand. We had made it about halfway when we heard voices coming from the opposite corridor. He quickly pushed us into the nearest hidden space and shut off the light. My back pressed up against the wall and he pressed up against me. Feeling the warmth radiating from his chest, I let out a shaky breath. His face was centimeters from mine. His breath was minty. I was glad that it was dark so he couldn't see the redness of my cheeks. My stomach erupted with butterflies. I wondered if he could hear my heart pounding. He put his finger to my lips and dropped his forehead onto mine. I held my breath. We waited there for several moments listening to the voices fade. "Stay." He whispered when it went completely silent. He left for a few seconds to make sure that they were indeed gone. I could finally breathe again.
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