Periwinkle

Draco’s new favorite color is purple. Periwinkle, he thinks it's called. Whatever color is the closest to it is his new favorite color. It’s engulfed within his memory, filling every edge of his brain. It’s created its own area. He won’t take it away. He wants it to be there. He doesn’t want to forget that color and how it looks. Never. Especially when it moves so gracefully. Twirling, jumping up and down, moving back and forth slowly. Periwinkle is the perfect color to do that. Trapped within a sherry fabric, covering a caramel contrast that blends so perfectly. It stands out against the dark curls that are wrapped up, tied in a hairstyle he’s never seen before. Periwinkle is his new favorite color.

Draco’s been watching for whoever knows how long. He’s seen her dancing with multiple partners, her dark eyes glittering. She laughs and smiles with her partner and he can feel his heart skip. He’s never wanted to be her partner so badly. Just to see her laugh, to see her eyes light up that way. To be the one holding her hand as she twirls, as she twists and moves to the music. Draco wants her partner to drop dead and for him to replace him. Instead she’s dancing with that oaf of a man, Krum, enjoying her night. 

“Draco,” Pansy whines beside him. His attention is diverted. He remembers where he is and who he’s with. His date. 

“What?” he snaps. Pansy pouts, her hands gripping his sleeve. Draco is looking back at the floor, searching for that color again. Searching for her. Where is she?

“Dance with me?” 

“Sure,” he murmurs, looking around. Pansy is pulling his arm, dragging him to the dance floor. She moves around bodies, finding a good place. He moves his hands to her waist and she locks her arms around his neck, moving to the music. Draco looks past her to the other partners. Diggory with Chang, Lovegood with a Hufflepuff. No periwinkle. He sighs. Where did she go? Off to snog Krum? 

“Are you alright Draco?” 

He looks down at Pansy who’s staring at him with innocent eyes. He blinks and nods his head, moving with her. He didn’t realize he was so still until now. He shouldn’t focus on her, he should focus on Pansy. Loyal Pansy. His date. She tugs him closer and he lets her. Lets her put her head on his chest and tell him that she loves him. Draco says nothing. She smells like peppermint. It invades his nostrils and he turns away. He wishes it was cinnamon and cocoa. A scent he only caught briefly when she had punched him in the third year. A moment he would also never forget. 

A movement flashes in the corner of his eye and his eyes snap to it, finding the familiar color. 

There she is again. He waits for her eyes to light up. They aren’t this time. The corners of his mouth pull down. Her eyes are dark, her brows furrowed. He’s seen that look many times before. 

Draco watches as her mouth moves, her expression changing. She’s talking to Weasel and Potter. Yelling it looks like. He can’t hear her over the live music but it looks like the redhead is yelling at her as well. Her face grows a deeper shade and she points a finger at him before storming off.
Weasley sits back down, crossing his arms. Potter only sits there, unsure of what’s happening. 

Suddenly Draco’s pulling away. He’s moving towards the door. 

“Draco! Where are you going?” Pansy shouts after him. Draco looks at her before mentioning something about getting some air. A quick excuse. She doesn’t follow. Draco moves towards the Great Hall doors, dodging students moving back and forth. He could have sworn he saw her out here…

He sees a figure going up the stairs towards the common rooms. Flowy and purple. He quickly walks towards her, dodging students. She’s turning the corner. Draco hurries up the stairs, feeling his legs already start to burn. She’s ahead, heading down the hallway towards the stairs. What happened with Weasel? Why isn’t she with Krum right now? Does he need to silently hex the annoying ginger? Why does she look so beautiful tonight? He shakes his head at that thought and turns the corner after her. He can’t ask those things.

An object presses to his chest and he halts, eyes widening. He follows the wand, looking at the owner. 

“Why are you following me?” She demands. Draco swallows. She’s wearing makeup, he can see her shimmery lids and pink lips from here. It even looks like she’s wearing lipstick. Merlin…

“What?” 

“Why are you following me Malfoy?” she demands again. Her eyes narrow, her wand still extended. His mind blanks. What is she asking? 

“I..uh,” Draco stutters. He can’t stop looking at her. She looks so different and he can’t stop looking. 

“Is this some prank? Did Ronald send you up here to further mock me?” 

Draco scowls. 

“How dare you think that I would be talking to Weasel about anything,” He sneers. What an awful accusation. Draco wouldn’t talk to such filth. Her wand still doesn’t move. Her eyes narrow further. 

“Then why are you going this way? Slytherin common room isn’t this way,” she hisses. Draco can feel the wood pressing into his chest. He would much rather that she was pressed-

“I was following you.” 

“I gathered that much Malfoy. Why?” 

“I wanted to see if you were okay,” His cheeks immediately feel warm. Is he seriously admitting this? Why did he say that? He could have lied! It just slipped out! 

Her dark eyes move back and forth before her expression softens.

“Do you want to make fun of me? Call me a dirty Mudblood? Tell me how Viktor is stepping low to my level and staining his blood?” Her eyes are dark, her expression still firm. Her pink lips are pulled in a tight line.

“No Granger. I swear that I come with good intentions,” He sticks up his hands in defense. She slowly lowers her wand and steps back.

“Why do you care what happens to me?” She crosses her arms across her chest. Draco pauses before answering, lowering his hands. What is he going to say this time? 

“I don’t. I just noticed that you stormed out, leaving your date behind,” He half lies. 

“So did you.” 

“Pansy will be fine. Nott will no doubt keep her occupied,” Draco points out. Her expression doesn’t falter. Does she ever smile? She does, he noticed. She was smiling earlier. She was laughing. Now she’s too serious. Too angry. 

“Was Weasel being an idiot again?” He moves closer, leaning against the wall. She relaxes a little, her arms falling from her chest. 

“Ron was being difficult. Completely irrational,” her voice speeds in pace. Draco watches as a curl comes down from her hairstyle and falls to her shoulder. He fights back the urge to tuck it away. 

“What did he say? Was he making a valid point?” 

“Of course not! He assumed that I would do something as provocative as that, as if I would let Viktor touch me in such a way-” She gasps, her hands flying to her mouth. Her cheeks deepen in color. She steps back, shaking her head. 

She’s speaking quickly again. “I shouldn’t have told you that. I don’t know why I said that! I-”   

“Granger, calm down,” he steps off the wall, holding out his hands again. He grips her shoulders, trying to make her calm down. He can feel her body inhale and exhale at a fast pace. She’s acting too nervous, she just needs to calm down. Draco looks into her eyes, trying to get her to calm down. Calm down, he silently tells her. She only looks at him with a horrified expression. Eyes wide, cheeks a bright red. 

“I shouldn’t have told you that,” She’s still shaking her head and pulling away.

“Granger, I’m not going to tell anyone. Okay?” His grip tightens on her shoulders. 

She looks at him, her eyes wide. He watches her swallow and slowly nods her head. Her breathing evens out and her shoulders relax. Draco watches as her hands slowly lower from her mouth. Her head bobs, eyes still locked on him. 

Her eyes are dark brown. There are flecks of gold in them. Her eyelashes are so long and dark. Her nose has a small dip in it and her lips are a deep shade of pink. He didn’t realize how dark it was. It’s put on so well that he wonders if it will ever come off. If it has a taste, if it’s cinnamon or coconut. 

She looks down at his arms, his hands still gripping hers. Draco pulls away quickly. He touched her, he was close to her. He was staring at her lips. 

Draco clears his throat. He prays that she can’t tell that he’s blushing. That his face is so incredibly hot and he’s sure it’s gone to his ears now. He hopes she can’t tell. 

“Weasel was being a complete idiot by the sound of it. Even I know that you wouldn’t let a man, let alone a man you haven’t known for a long time touch you like that,” He explains. She nods along. 

“You would only let someone who you’ve known for years, no doubt someone you do not despise, touch you,” Draco continues. What the hell is he saying? She nods again. 

“That’s what I told him.” 

Draco nods and puts his hands in his pockets. What does he say now? He’s supposed to be making sure she’s okay, that she isn’t crying. Maybe she was. Maybe he just didn’t notice. Why would she cry over Weasel of all things? Such a waste of tears. Maybe he should teach him a lesson. Hex him with a nasty spell that makes him break out in a rash. That would certainly make things fair since he hinted that she would do something like that.

“I should head back,” She says, holding her forearms. Draco looks at her, his mouth opening. He should say it! Say it now. Tell her, just tell her now. Now’s the chance, it’s just the two of them. Instead, he nods. 

“Right. To bed.” 

She continues looking at him, searching for something. He hopes that she says something, that she asks him to walk her back. That they should keep talking. Something. Give me something. 

She walks past him and the scent fills his nose. It’s cinnamon and coffee with a hint of vanilla. It fills his lungs and surrounds his soul. He can smell her everywhere. He doesn’t remember her smelling her like that. It makes him lean towards her and want more. Please, more. 

Draco turns to do something, to reach out. There’s only empty air. He looks up and finds that she’s already walking up the stairs and to the Gryffindor common rooms. Her dress rises as she steps up, the material still as bright as it was. Periwinkle is his favorite color. Draco watches it as she goes up the stairs and disappears.