I cringed thinking about what I had said to Chloé a few days prior. I couldn't believe I got rejected even before I had the chance to finish my sentence. I had tried to ignore her for a while after, thinking she didn't want to pursue things any further. But she proved me wrong when she asked me out the previous day, wanting to go on a stroll through London the next day. A girl who didn't want you wouldn't do that, surely, right?

I met her near the grounds of King's College where she'd had a lesson to give earlier in the day. It was still snowing, which I was sure she would ramble on and on about as soon as she'd would get the opportunity to do so. I was leaning against a bench, staring out in the horizon towards the river Thames. London truly was pretty under the snow, I could see why Chloé would like it, had she not been used to it. I suddenly felt a slight nudge to my right arm.

"Hey, pretty boy." I turned to see her smiling at me. She looked different on her teaching days. Of course, she was still dressed in black, but it was more sophisticated. She would have fit well at the Manor, I thought to myself. "What's so funny now?" She tilted her head, noticing my smirk. I shook my head slightly. "Nothing worth saying really. So, where to now?" She looked around and pointed East. "I thought we could walk that way, along the riverside. Saint Paul must look beautiful under the snow." I chuckled "I knew you'd bring up the snow eventually."

We had walked and chatted for about fifteen minutes when I was once again surprised by her straight forwardness. "About the other day, my reply to Theo." I cut her off, feeling ashamed already, not needing a second rejection within the same week. "That's all good. I get it." She stopped dead in her tracks and I turned around to see her frowning. "Yeah no, I'm not into this whole British 'we shan't talk about things that upset us in order not to bother anyone' thing. That's not how we do things back home, it's toxic." I could see the cultural differences growing more and more every day. You wouldn't think two neighbouring countries would have such different social codes, but yet, here they were.

I nodded and she kept on walking, quickly catching up to me. "I didn't mean to say no. I was caught off-guard really. I'm not too sure on how to do things normally to be completely honest, it's been a while." I laughed breathlessly "Yeah, join the club. I only had one real girlfriend, and I was in school back then." She couldn't help but laugh in return "Yeah okay you're definitely worse than me then. But anyways, what I wanted to say was... I'm not seeing anyone else I suppose."

It was my turn to stop walking. I had to take a few seconds to process that. It was not what I had expected in the slightest. I didn't know if I could be in a relationship. I had been struggling to let go of the teachings I had received for the first eighteen years of my life. No emotions. Do not let anyone in. They might be a threat. I had even seen a therapist at St. Mungo's. Most of us, involved in the war that is, had done so. We all had scars now, maybe not on our foreheads, but still.

"Draco..? Did I completely misjudge what happened the other day?" I smiled at her and, after catching up with her, wrapped my arm around her shoulders. I felt her tensing a bit before relaxing on my side. "No, no, sorry. I'm not seeing anyone else either." She nodded "Well I guess we'll see where that leads us then." We both stopped in front of Saint Paul, and I could see her eyes glimmer with excitement. "Okay this is just too pretty." I smiled before cupping her face in my hands, leaning down to kiss her.