Snow
word count: 3103

Tears were fighting to roll down Arden's cheek as she increasingly grew more and more frustrated with herself. Harry's hand was delicately placed on hers, giving her instructions on how to cast a simple defence spell that everyone had already begun to master in the DA. Arden was never one to exert her anger, and her bottling it up would result in her becoming tired, to the point where she would cry from the frustration. She shut her eyes tight, then looked up at the ceiling to dry out her eyes so the tears wouldn't fall. Harry didn't notice as he kept his eyes ahead, trying to make sure Arden held onto her wand properly.

"Do you think you can do that?" Harry finished, looking at Arden with his eyebrows raised, waiting for an answer. He noticed her quivering lips and bloodshot eyes, telling him that she was far from ready to cast the spell. Everything between them had been tense since the fight on the Quidditch pitch; for sure he believed that she would leave him, but she still found it in her to forgive him much to Fred and Cedric's dismay. Harry almost felt as if he didn't deserve Arden and her forgiving nature, he felt as if she was far too kind for him and wasn't worth her kindness.

She brought her wand down and shook her head quickly. She began to put her wand away, but Harry stopped her.

"Arden, you need to stop being afraid-"

"I can't help it," Arden said weakly. "Every time I try, nothing happens. Either nothing happens, or I cause chaos." She looked at him with defeated eyes, begging him to not let her continue.

Harry sighed and wrapped his arms around her. She held onto him tightly, muffling her quiet sobs into his chest. Harry gently ran his fingers through her curls, and kissed her forehead as he pulled away from her. He wanted to help Arden with defence magic, as she was the most important thing to him, he wanted to make sure if she were in danger she could fight. Although, ever since he accidentally hit her on the Quidditch field, he had done everything he could to ensure she was happy with him, so he decided to let her go instead of continuing with the DA meeting where she would just continue to be miserable.

"Alright, go rest up. I'll see you at dinner," he sighed, gently squeezing her hand as she kissed his cheek goodbye. Once Arden had left the Room of Requirement, she took a deep sigh and quickly wiped her eyes, before running towards the staircase that would take her to the astronomy tower.

Running up the steps, she stopped at the top and sighed of relief when she saw the familiar head of blond hair leaning over the rails of the astronomy tower.

Draco had heard her fast paced footsteps, but didn't turn around as he didn't want her to think he was eager. Slowly, he turned around to look at her, and the first thing he noticed was her bloodshot eyes and small droplets hanging on the end of her eyelashes.

Instantly, he stepped towards her, concern written all over his face.

"Have you been crying?" He asked, furrowing his brow as he noticed her cheeks were rosier than usual.

Arden shook her head, turning away to quickly wipe her eyes again with the sleeves of her sweater. "No, no," she insisted, "allergies."

"It's the middle of Winter-"

"Can you teach me Expelliarmus?" Arden interrupted, changing the subject.

Draco sighed, not wanting to press on about the issue. He and Arden were barely any more than acquaintances. Even though Arden felt as if she could trust him with anything since he kept her secret, the both of them knew that they could never be friends; they were worlds apart.

"You've been doing pretty well with that one, you don't need me to teach you anything else about it, you just need to keep practicing what I've already told you."

Arden hummed, and pointed her wand at Draco. Casting the spell the exact same way he taught her, she watched Draco's wand wriggle it's way out of Draco's pocket and land at his feet.

Draco grinned, "you're getting better," he praised, picking his wand up from the ground. His heart skipped a beat as he watched Arden's rosy cheeks grow even rosier from how hard she smiled. He regretted every moment he spent tormenting her for her poor magical abilities in previous years; seeing her trying, and the way she looked so full of glee when she managed to get a spell to slightly work made him realise the immense struggle she must have faced over the years, and his bullying definitely would have made her feel worse.

Arden was about to cast the spell again, but the guilty look on Draco's face stopped her. "Something the matter?" She asked.

He hesitated for a moment. He watched as she clutched onto the end of the sleeves of her Hogwarts sweater, covering her hands shaking from the cold. Her silver eyes were piercing into his, filled with curiosity and wonder. His eyes glanced over to the Hufflepuff crest on her chest; staring back at her wondering face, he wondered how it was possible for him to tolerate a Hufflepuff girl's presence, especially one he had been enemies with since their first day at Hogwarts.

His pride and ego were the last on his mind as he sighed, regretting everything he had ever done to Arden Diggory. While she never would show any reaction to his taunts or insults rather than brushing him off, telling him to be quiet, or defending others he bullied, he still felt guilt knowing the possibility that his tormenting had hurt her in any kind of way.

"Arden, I hope you know I'm sorry," he muttered, almost inaudible.

She raised an eyebrow, "Draco the fight on the Quidditch field happened a while ago you don't need to-"

"I'm sorry for every hurtful thing I ever said to you," he apologised. His voice was as soft as the sound of the light breeze that blew the season's first snowfall in towards the astronomy tower balcony that they stood on. Arden relaxed her shoulders, and a soft smile formed on her face. She tucked her curls behind both of her ears as she diverted her eyes towards the ground.

"And why are you saying this now?" She asked, glancing up at him again.

Draco hated the fact that she was making him anxious. The feeling of his own hands shaking and heart racing in her presence made him feel weak. And although he hated it, at the same time it was exhilarating.

"I guess I just realised how much of an arsehole I've been to you. I don't have any hatred for you and never did really, so I guess while we're on decent terms, I should probably apologise."

Arden smirked; she couldn't believe the Draco Malfoy was admitting to his wrong doing and apologising for it.

"Awfully kind of you Malfoy; I never expected to hear any form of apology leave your proud lips," she teased. She watched Draco scowl, but before he could retort, she spoke up again. "I'm only kidding. Thank you, Draco."

He smiled softly. "Didn't you want to learn Protego?" He asked, regarding what she had written in the letter she sent him when discussing this meeting.

"Oh! Yeah I totally forgot," she exclaimed. "Are you sure we should do it up here though? I don't know what could happen..." she trailed off, staring at the clutter of astronomy based objects and the balcony railing that Draco was leaning on.

Draco turned to look out at the castle grounds that were now coated with crisp white snow. He rolled his eyes, not wanting to be out in the snow, but ultimately lead Arden down the steps and through the castle.

They travelled at reasonable distances. Arden trailed relatively far behind Draco so other students wouldn't suspect a thing. After all, rumours travelled fast, and Merlin forbid anyone saw Arden Diggory: Tri-Wizard Tournament Champion's little sister and the Boy Who Lived's girlfriend, walking around a near empty castle with Draco Malfoy.

They were out on the castle grounds, all alone as everyone was probably huddled up by a fire place in their common rooms. Draco walked a few feet away from Arden so he would be able to cast a spell for Arden to deflect.

"Right, I'm just going to use a simple stunning spell," he began. "It shouldn't hurt since I'm not going to make it hurt, but just let me know if it's too much."

Arden nodded, and held out her wand, waiting for Draco to cast the spell. "Make sure you concentrate, and keep the grip on your wand tight as the deflection may make you lose control."

Arden nodded at each of Draco's instructions, changing her grip and the height of her arm whenever he told her so. On the count of three, Draco cast the spell, but unfortunately, Arden was unable to cast the spell from her wand. Panicking, just before the spell hit her, she held out her hand and pushed the light of the spell away, saving her from a stun by only a millisecond.

Draco couldn't help but let his mouth hang open. "You didn't do it, but that was still incredible..."

Arden would have smiled, but she felt ashamed for not being able to cast the spell with her wand. "Just go again."

Draco nodded, and casted the spell again. This time, it was quicker, and hit Arden as she was too busy focusing on her wand. She stumbled back slightly, but resumed her previous stance. "Again."

"Arden you don't have to-"

"I said again! And don't half arse the spell, use it in full power," she demanded. Draco opened his mouth to respond, but quickly thinned his lips together as he noticed the determined frown on Arden's face. He'd never seen her so assertive and dominant before, it was almost frightening.

Draco was reluctant to use full power of a spell, but at the same time he didn't want her to snap at him for holding back. Draco took a deep breath and casted a stunning spell at full power.

Again, Arden panicked and used her bare hand to block the spell from her. Draco fumbled to the side as the spell rebounded towards him. Luckily, he dodged the spell, and instead caused it to hit the ground and cause a small explosion of snow.

Draco looked back at Arden with wide eyes. His mouth curved into a smile slightly as he was amazed by her power, completely ignoring him almost being hurt. However his smile dropped as he noticed Arden growing more frustrated, growling in anger as she muttered obscenities about herself under her breath.

"Go again," she ordered. Draco nodded, then uttered the incantation again.

Arden shouted out the incantation of her spell, but it didn't work. Her eyes widened at the realisation, but she had no time to react and use her hands. The spell hit her square in the chest, and sent her flying backwards. Draco swore as he ran over to Arden who landed right on her back against the snow, her head hitting a nearby rock.

Draco ran to her side, and unsurprisingly after that shocking fall, she wasn't conscious. However he still grabbed onto her shoulders and shook her body, trying to call her to wake up.  He cursed, not wanting to take yet another trip to the hospital wing since Hogwarts would send a letter home to her family for her frequent visits, and he knew she wouldn't want to deal with that. 

Draco ran his fingertips through her hair and long her scalp, feeling chills as her soft curls laced through his hands. The chills instead turned to a churning guilt in his abdomen when he felt a warm, liquid that he knew to be blood on her head. Draco held his breath and quickly looked up as tears began to well in his eyes and he refused to let them fall.

He shut his eyes tight and tried to think back to all of the extra reading he did over the summer to try and become the top of the grade. He remembered a spell that would bind wounds, and one that healed cuts, but never practicing them, he had no clue if it would work.

Draco shook his head and decided to risk it as he noticed a small crimson spot form in the snow when he moved Arden's head.

His hands shaking uncontrollably as he gripped his wand, he thought of the incantation before casting it, then spoke aloud and waved his wand toward's Arden.

Draco jumped back slightly as a flash of white light left his wand and temporarily blinded him until it quickly dimmed. Squinting his eyes shut from the light, he rubbed his eyes to ease the pain.

A small sneeze then caused Draco to immediately open his eyes despite his eyes still burning. His eyes widened as Arden sat herself up,

"Aren't you going to say bless you?" Arden teased. Rubbing her hand over the bandage that Draco's spell had bound around her head, she then grimaced. "Ew, I'm must look completely-" Arden's words were cut off by Draco throwing his arms around her tightly. She gasped, partially due to Draco's tight grip making her lose breath, but also because his action was so surprising and out of character. The warmth of his body made her feel numb. The feeling of his arms holding her body tightly, afraid to let go, was a feeling so foreign to her; never before has she been held on to for dear life, making her feel this loved before.

She frowned as Draco buried his face in her neck, apologising into her coat over and over again, despite his voice being completely muffled.

"I can't bloody hear you," she whined, gently pushing Draco off of her. His grey eyes were wide in shock, from being able to heal her wound but also at his impulsive decision. His mouth opened and closed, trying to form a sentence but he was just unable to. Somehow, the freezing cold was unable to make Draco shiver as his entire body was burning up, from embarrassment, but also from a feeling completely foreign to him that wasn't there before he held Arden in his arms for a brief few seconds.

"I'm uh- I'm-"

"Sorry?" Arden questioned, her mouth curving upwards slightly. "I should be sorry, for not being careful and making you go a bit too far," she chuckled. "I'm not sure why I'm amused, I don't really remember what happened after you casted the spell."

"You erm," Draco cleared his  throat, "you kind of flew backwards and hit your head on that rock there," Draco pointed towards the rock that caused her brief unconsciousness, causing Arden to shrug.

"Well, my head doesn't hurt, but blimey my chest where the spell hit me is absolutely killing me," she groaned.

Draco chuckled, "well at least you're alive. You really scared me if I'm honest." He stood up, reaching his hand out to help Arden off the ground. She took his hand, dusting off the snow off her clothes once she was on her feet again.

"And that's why you just couldn't resist to fling yourself onto me," she teased. "How cute."

Draco rolled his eyes as the two trekked back to the castle. "Shut it, Diggory, you secretly wished to be in my arms since we first met, huh?" He teased back. 

Arden let out a loud hah, causing Draco to frown. "Your ego is ridiculous, Malloy," she cackled. "I wouldn't say since we first met, no."

"But you've definitely thought about it recently haven't you?" He teased further. A part of him mentally kicked himself, he had no clue why his mouth was saying those things, why he was flirting, why he was teasing. He had no feelings for her, he couldn't, it was impossible.

"Again with that ego!"

"You're ignoring the question, Arden."

"And you're ignoring the hint!"

"The hint that you fancy me?" Draco smirked.

'What are you doing?' Malfoy thought, 'shut up!'

Arden scoffed and picked up the pace to increase her distance between her and Draco. She knew that she was definitely feeling something more towards him, but being blatantly teased about it only made her want to deny it, both vocally and mentally.

"In your dreams," she mumbled softly, not wanting to start a fight with the boy she had only just begun to become friends with after leaving behind years of hostility. "Just forget about it, pretend it never happened."

"But I don't want to forget-" Draco protested.

"Well I do," Arden interrupted, her silver eyes turning dark as she furrowed her brow, expressing her final thought. "I'm with Harry. I don't fancy anyone else but him. You and I are hardly friends. I'm only helping you with a talent I can barely control, and you're helping me with basic magic. That's what we are Draco, and it's what we always will be."

"Arden-"

"I don't care if you were just teasing!" She whined, completely missing the point Draco was about to make. "I won't ever feel anything more for you, and you won't feel more for me. To keep it like this way, don't ever hug me like that again," she demanded, her eyes far darker than before.

Draco was afraid to admit his feelings for her already, but seeing how she was seriously against the two being more than friends, he felt even more shame and guilt for feeling how he did. Even worse, he felt that Arden didn't feel the same way.

But she did, she was just too afraid to do anything about it, and the only way she ever learned to deal with Draco was to ignore him, so she did the same with her feelings towards him.

Draco sighed, and nodded in defeat. "Alright," he breathed out, his heart feeling slightly hurt.

"Good," Arden said bluntly, before turning on her heel and marching back towards the castle. Her dark curls bounced as she walked, some curly locks sticking oddly out from beneath the bandage wrapped around her head.

When watching her walk away from him, Draco knew that not having feelings for Arden Diggory was practically impossible.

~

School is whack, I'm sorry this took so long xx

Love you all xoxo