Redemption.

the Yule Ball

Draco's POV.

The sky was hidden behind a thick and ever-ending white cloud, but there was so much light outside it was hurting his eyes. He had to squint to see where Stiorra had hopped off to.

They were taking the loveliest walk outside on the castle grounds, walking hand-in-hand, when a few snowballs hit the back of their heads. Draco turned around, but no one was there. Stiorra was giggling, gathering snow into a ball in the palm of her hands, ready to throw it.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, his brows furrowed.

"That's Harry," she said, "i'm fighting back."

Draco was just confused. Another snowball was chucked at him, and suddenly he could see the tip of some shoes. That's when it hit him: Harry had an invisibility cloak, and he had totally forgotten about it. Stiorra chucked her ball in the air and ran for it. She pulled on the cloak and both Harry and Stiorra fell down into the snow with a laugh.

"How did you know I was here?" Harry asked.

"We can see your feet when you lift your arms."

They laughed it off, and Draco seized the occasion. He put up a snowball and threw it, hitting Harry in the face. Then, he gathered up some more snow and made up another ball that he threw at Stiorra.

She got up, laughing, and started towards him. There were snowballs here and there, and soon enough Draco's fingers were frozen. Stiorra was running towards him, but he stopped her and tackled her into the snow.

"You won't win this game," he told her with a grin.

"Are you sure about that?"

Draco tilted his head on the side, his brows knitted together, and the smile on Stiorra's face grew wide as something freezing splashed down his neck. She laughed, and it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard in his life.

He grabbed a handful of snow and shoved it under her scarf with a vengeful grin. She let out a cry of surprise, and laughed again. She was so beautiful, her brown eyes glistening under the bright light. He looked down at her lips, then back up to her eyes. The corners of his mouth curled up. He breathed in, and leaned in -pressing his lips on hers in a warm and soft touch.

"I can't wait to see just how beautiful you're going to be tonight," he said.

They smiled, and Draco planted a kiss on her forehead. He got up and helped her up, and together they walked to the castle. As soon as they walked through the doors, Hermione and Ginny snatched Stiorra up and back to the Gryffindor tower to get ready. Draco smiled, and got back to his common room, impatient.

•

His suit was neat, and entirely black. From his shirt down to his socks. Just as he liked it. He had spent the last few hours getting ready, even though he knew he didn't have to try so hard.

"Are you ready yet?" Blaise asked him from the dormitory.

"Yeah."

Draco walked back into the room, and found Blaise dressed up with a dark suit as well. However, the boy was wearing a white shirt instead of a black one as Draco did.

"I can feel your nervousness from here," Blaise said as he laid down on his bed.

"I'm not nervous."

But the truth was, he was nervous. He couldn't help but toying with his cravat as he tried to tie it around his neck. That was the one thing left. Draco didn't even know what he was nervous about. He was seeing Stiorra for a long time now, if you counted their sixth year, and they had gone through a lot.