TRAINING WHEELS—
ROMEO AND JULIET OF HOGWARTS.

032

A couple of weeks passed and April had brought sunshine to Hogwarts, much to Amora's relief. Even though her friends were swamped with trying to get Hermione's name out of Rita Skeeter's mouth, Amora, in herself, was feeling brighter than she had before. She'd stopped taking the Dreamless Sleep Potions last week and so far she'd had nothing but dreams with their usual amount of bizarreness.

"Hermione, don't listen to them," Amora sighed, grabbing the brunette and pulling her away from some older Slytherin girls who'd taunted her in the corridors. "Everybody who's important knows you aren't dating Harry."

"I'm not worried about that!" Hermione huffed as Kathy furrowed her brows from the other side of her. "It's annoying, but I'm more focused on the fact that Rita Skeeter seems to know all of these secrets even though she's been banned from the school grounds."

"Harry and Ron said nobody else had been around when Hagrid told Madam Maxime he was a half-giant," Kathy recalled.

"Exactly," Hermione said, "Just like nobody had been around when Viktor asked me to visit him over the summer— which had somehow ended up in her stupid article too."

Amora frowned softly. "It must be some sort of magic we don't know about."

"Or they're bugging the school," Kathy suggested.

"Bugging?" Amora repeated. This was not a Muggle-term her mother had taught her.

It sounded pretty cool.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "For goodness sake, Kathy! You're just as bad as Harry and Ron. Hogwarts: A History clearly states that any sort of Muggle technology does not work on school grounds!"

"Well, I forgot," Kathy grumbled bashfully.

"She's listening somehow," Hermione said, "and I'll get to the bottom of this. One way or another."

Hermione's words stuck with Amora for the next few days. She stressed that perhaps Hermione was actually right and that somehow Rita Skeeter was listening to people inside the walls of Hogwarts, attempting to find the juiciest scoops and ruin lives. Just like she'd tried to do with Hagrid and now Hermione— an innocent teenage girl.

Hermione told her that she'd received numerous pieces of hate mail and some had been sent as Howlers to the Gryffindor table, embarrassing the poor Granger girl in front of everybody during mealtimes.

No doubt if Rita Skeeter caught a whiff of Draco and Amora would she exploit it. Normally, people wouldn't care about a silly teenage relationship, only Draco was a Malfoy, and he Amora was the daughter of a Muggle Studies teacher— and their relationship was a secret from everybody.

The thought sent shivers down her spine. Amora flicked through her book from where she sat in her Herbology lesson, trying to find the page that Professor Sprout had instructed them to open to. She was surprised when a paper crane swiftly flew through the air and gently landed on top of her pages, unfolding itself delicately.

ASTRONOMY TOWER. 11.
yours, DM.

He'd even gone to the effort of sketching out the tower, drawing some stars around the top. Amora found herself smiling as she folded it and secretly tucked it away into the pocket of her robe, making sure Neville didn't see from next to her. Luckily the boy was too entranced in his own work.

Amora waited until eleven that night. She was particularly frustrated when Susan seemed to be adamant on finishing some homework, her freckled nose stuck in her Charms work from that morning. Kathy was also awake still, silently reading for leisure under the dim light.

Thankfully, Susan called it a night pretty soon, nuzzling down into her pillow.

"I think I'm going to go study in the Common Room," Amora whispered to Kathy and anybody else who's ears may still be listening out. "I need to finish this Herbology assignment and I don't want to be a bother."

Kathy sent her a knowing look. "Of course, Amora. See you in a bit. Or not, if I'm already asleep."

Amora smiled mischievously back as she pulled her robe over her clothes and put her wand inside the pocket, stepping out. She moved down the hallway and into the Common Room, about to make it out of the door when she heard somebody clear their throat.

Leon stood there in his pyjamas, arms folded across his chest.

"Where are you going?" He demanded.

"Fresh air."

"It's ten to eleven."

"I'm well aware of that, thank you, Leon. Would you like to join me?" She figured the question would throw him off, stop him from assuming she was meeting somebody. Besides, he was in his pyjamas— no way would he accept.

Leon stared sceptically. "Where to?"

"Around."

"What's with the vague answers?"

"Nothing."

He furrowed his brows, permitting a teasing smile from Amora. It was obvious that she was frustrating him, and whilst she did want him off of her back, she had come to realise that by being rude to him, she was simply giving him more reasons to be suspicious of her increasing nightly walks. Leon could be overprotective at times and right now was not a good time.

"Did you see the stuff Pansy Parkinson said about Hermione in Rita Skeeter's article?" Leon asked, watching as Amora's face fell a little and she nodded. "You're not still friends with her, are you?"

"I've yet to discuss that with Pansy, but I'm not happy with her, no," Amora replied somewhat bitterly, recalling how furious she had been when she'd seen her Slytherin friend's quote. "Anyway, I wasn't meeting her. I was getting fresh air, like I said."

"Let me change really quick," Leon said, not missing the way that Amora's eyes widened slightly.

He turned to head back down to his dormitory when Kathy appeared down the hall in her pyjamas. She smiled beamingly at Leon, leaning up to wrap her arms around his neck. Leon pecked her forehead.

"I'm going for a walk with Amora, Kath," he said softly.

"But Leon, I really want to just cuddle," Kathy sighed, pulling him in tighter and resting her head against his chest.

"But Amora--"

"It's okay, Leon," Amora cut in swiftly, "You should hang out with Kathy. Maybe tomorrow night we can go on that walk."

"Kathy--" Leon began, in a tone that suggested he was about to let her down.

"Leon," Kathy feined a small sniffle, "P-Please," she sucked in a breath, mimicking pulling herself together for a second. "Please. I've had a really bad day, and--"

Leon grasped her hands and pulled them gently away from her face she was now covering. "Kath... Kathy, what happened?"

"I'll leave you two to it, then," Amora murmured under her breath as she edged closer to the Common Room exit, sending Kathy a grateful smile as the door closed behind her.

She pulled her Hufflepuff robes closer to her body and headed for the Astronomy Tower where Draco had told her to meet him.

She was a mixture of excited and nervous; just as she always was to go and meet her boyfriend. It still felt odd calling him that, considering the years of rivalry they had shared beforehand.

He'd been going on for ages. Mocking Ron and Harry, embarrassing them in front of his Slytherin friends. As soon as Draco made a remark about them hanging around with "that Mudblood Granger", Amora swore all she could see was red. Her heart leapt in her chest and she didn't think much about her next moves, which was evident, because not many people would be brave enough to attack a Malfoy.

"Take that back!" Amora screeched, launching herself onto Draco.

The blond twelve-year-old looked horrified as he fell backwards into the snow, Amora grabbing him by the shoulders as she sat above him, face red with fury. Ron was trying hard not to laugh whilst Harry came up behind her, about to grab her off of Draco.

"You're a rude, horrible, disgusting little git, Draco Malfoy!" Amora yelled, shaking his shoulders.

"Hit 'er, Malfoy!" Crabbe cupped his hands over his mouth to yell.

"Don't let a girl beat you!" Someone called.

"Oh, punch him in the nose, 'Mora!" Ron cried.

But they weren't physically fighting-- not really. The two twelve-year-olds were wrestling for control over one another, Amora having the upper hand considering she had managed to pin him to the floor. Draco grabbed her arms, face scrunched up in horror. He refused to hit her though. His mother had raised him better than that.

"Get off of me, you stupid Blood-traitor!" Draco cried, voice slightly shaky as Amora grabbed snow from the ground next to them and threw it into his face. "Argh! Crabbe, Goyle, grab her off of me before she infects me or something!"

Before his two friends, who seemed far too large to be in the second year, could grab her, Harry and Ron moved forwards and grabbed her from underneath her arms, hauling her away. Amora huffed, puffing her hair out of her face as she watched Draco scramble back up onto his feet, glaring at the people laughing at him as his gelled back hair became less than perfect.

"You'll pay for that, Buckley," Draco spat.

"Oh, go cry to your father about it, Malfoy," Amora seethed back.

That had been the peak of their hatred for each other, and now, Amora looked back at it with a sort of fond smile as she found herself heading up the stairs of the Astronomy Tower. She pulled up the hatch and grinned when she saw Draco stood by the railing, his back to her but his distinct blond hair slightly flapping in the wind.

He clearly hadn't heard her come up, too busy staring at the stars to hear the soft click of the hatch door shutting behind her. Amora bit down on her lip to prevent her breaths from giving her away, tiptoeing closer. She was merely six feet behind him when she heard his low chuckle.

"Nice try," he said before he turned, leaning back and inspecting her. "Oh, don't look so disappointed to see me."

"You could have at least entertained me scaring you," Amora pouted, noticing that slowly but surely the night air was starting to get warmer with every meeting they held.

"You're five minutes late," Draco deadpanned, his expression not shifting.

For a few seconds, Amora believed that he was truly angry with her, the teasing smile fading from her lips as her brows furrowed. Then, Draco cracked one of the charming smiles that only a few people got to see. It made her smile too, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering as he extended his arm, his hand placing itself on her hip and pulling her closer.

Before he could lean down and connect their lips, Amora frowned, drifting away from him. Draco mimicked her reaction, icy eyes staring her down in a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"What?" Draco muttered, lifting his hand to run it across his jaw.

"Have you seen the article that Rita Skeeter wrote about Hermione?" Amora asked, watching as Draco nodded. "Well, that woman's finding things out about people in Hogwarts somehow, and she's exposing everybody, so I was just thinking that... Well, maybe we should stop meeting up until it all blows over."

Draco appeared taken aback for a few seconds, nearly stumbling away from her. "What?" He demanded.

"I just don't want our parents and the entire school to find out via a trashy Rita Skeeter article inside the Daily Prophet, do you?" Amora sent him a pointed look.

"We don't have to worry about Skeeter," Draco said, his voice hesitant as he avoided her eye.

"What? Why?" Amora frowned.

"I've already... blackmailed her, to put it bluntly," Draco admitted, watching Amora's face contort nebulously. "Skeeter suspected there was something going on between the two of us when she interviewed me about Potter before the first trial. She asked if he was dating you or Granger, and I may have said something along the lines of you being too good for Potter... I shut that down before her magic bloody quill could jot it down, though."

Amora frowned, listening intently. "How, though? Skeeter reports on whatever she wants to. She would have had a field day speculating that you were dating the daughter of a Muggle Studies teacher."

"Well, let's just say I found out something about her that could get her into a great deal of trouble," Draco smirked, "And so long as she keeps the Malfoy name out of her rubbish articles, I will keep her secret to myself."

"So she doesn't actually know... but she suspects?" The brunette summarised.

"As far as Skeeter's concerned, a suspicion to her is enough for an entire story. But that was months ago now. She knows better than to snoop around my business," Draco said, "Especially when I give her some rather unique quotes about Potter."

"Oh, yeah, I meant to mention that to you," Amora scoffed before she whacked his arm. "Do you really have to embarrass him all the time?"

"Why?" Draco's eyes darkened slightly. "Why do you care?"

"He's my friend," Amora replied matter of factly. "Why do you care?"

"Because you're mine," the blond boy practically growled, grabbing her hips again and pulling her closer than before.

Their chests brushed as he leant down and pressed his lips to hers. Amora didn't hesitate as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, working her lips against his like two puzzle pieces being slotted together.

He was warm and soft, a large palm leaving her hip to smooth up the small of her back and push her even closer to him-- if that was even possible. Amora was fairly certain you couldn't fit a sheet of paper between their bodies at this point, his thigh slotting between her legs.

"Wait," Amora pulled away breathlessly, making Draco groan, his silver eyes only staring at her lips, waiting for her to shut up so he could kiss her again. "What secret do you have over Rita Skeeter?"

"If I told you, her deal would be off, would it not?" Draco replied, his hand wrapping into the hair at the back of her head. "And then she would go printing 'Draco Malfoy and Amora Buckley: Hogwarts' very own Romeo and Juliet.'"

Amora awed, brown eyes shining. "You think we're like Romeo and Juliet?" She cooed.

"That play was not a romance, Amora. It was a tragedy," Draco stated, "Just like this story of ours would be if my father ever caught a whiff of what's going on between us. How much I... Well, you know."

Amora's smile faltered a little. "Our story isn't a tragedy, is it?" Her voice was soft, scared of what Draco's answer might be.

"Not if we don't let it be," Draco said, hand trailing from her hair to the back of her neck.

The brunette stared at the blond's eyes as they flickered across her face. When copper met silver, she pulled him by the robe so their lips met one more time. Amora was consumed by Draco, drinking in everything she could get.

She knew with all her heart that she wouldn't let their story be a tragedy. She could already feel herself falling deeper and deeper for him. Amora knew she was on the verge of saying that she loved Draco, which scared her a little because she'd, obviously, never been in a relationship before.

"I won't," Draco murmured as he pulled away, earning a confused look from Amora. "I won't let it be."

D.M + A.B

May came around rapidly and the anticipation for the third task rose. Amora could feel the anxiety start to gnaw at her brain again, thoughts of Cedric or Harry being harmed bringing her genuine fear. Other than that and the end of year exams which were also happening, Amora was having quite a good time in general.

She met up with Draco two or three times a week, mostly at the Astronomy Tower, and she'd even gotten an apology out of Pansy for the things she said about Hermione to Rita Skeeter. On one of those nights, their evening had been inturrupted by Blaise and Theo, and whilst Draco was furious at first, he calmed after a while as he realised his girlfriend seemed to get along well with his best friends.

Leon continued being suspicious, but luckily, Kathy Redsoft was one of the best friends a girl could have. She distracted him with lies and kisses, helping Amora sneak out at night and covering whenever Leon invaded her privacy or Susan tried sticking her nose into things. Zena remained as oblivious as ever and Hannah had recently gotten into a relationship with Justin, so she couldn't care less.

"It's a maze," Cedric mumbled to Amora as he sat down next to her on one of the couches in the Common Room.

The brunette peered up, finding him staring at the fireplace in front of them with furrowed brows. "It's a maze," he repeated.

"What is?" Amora asked.

"The third task. Bagman just showed us all. The Quidditch field-- they're putting an entire maze on it, Amora. And they said we need to find the cup," Cedric huffed.

"That sounds too easy," Amora admitted with furrowed brows. "I'm assuming there will be... things inside the maze."

Cedric nodded.

"You're an amazing wizard, though, Cedric," Amora reassured him, squeezing his hand that rested on top of his lap. "You just need to practice all of the jinxes and hexes that you know, and you will be perfectly fine."

"I know." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just can't believe that this time next month... it will all be over. Just like that."

"Eternal glory means forever."

"Harry and I are tied first place. I doubt I'll beat him at this one," Cedric muttered, "he'll get Eternal Glory. I'll get second place, if I'm lucky."

"I believe in you, Cedric." She squeezed his hand again. "Don't tell Harry, but I'm rooting for you, okay?"

He managed a teasing grin. "I would hope so. I am your favourite cousin."

"You're also my only cousin, Cedric."

"Amora!" Kathy breathed as her eyes landed on the brunette, just having come from outside. She froze when she saw Cedric sitting beside her. "Um... someone is outside asking for you."

Amora blushed slightly, knowing exactly who that somebody was. She had let Draco know last month that Kathy knew about them, adding the blonde Hufflepuff to the very short list of people they could trust.

"Who?" Cedric frowned, confused. "Invite them in."

Hufflepuff weren't as strict as some of the other houses when it came to allowing other houses into their Common Rooms. Slytherin, for example, was the worst— the only way you could get in would be if you literally snuck in like Harry and Ron did in the second year. They'd made history in doing so.

"Oh, no, that's fine, Cedric," Amora blurted, scrambling to her feet. "I was heading out anyway."

Her cousin nodded. "All right. I'll talk to you later then."

"Yeah, see you later!"

Amora shot Kathy a look as she slid out of the Hufflepuff Common Room. Draco reached and grabbed her wrist, tugging her behind some barrels that were placed around.

"Just out of curiosity... how do you always remember exactly which barrel it is?" Draco questioned, recalling the way Kathy had nearly panicked when she'd gone to tap her wand against a different one.

Amora shrugged with a small smile. "Well, you just remember. If you do it wrong you get sprayed with vinegar, so there's that to motivate you to learn it."

Draco's brows rose. "That's... pretty cool."

He looked jealous for a few seconds, as if disappointed that Slytherin didn't have their own defenses. Amora lifted her finger to his lips when she heard the door slide open and people head down the corridor in the opposite direction. Luckily they were hidden behind the excessive amount of barrels. When they'd gone she removed her hand.

"What did you need?" She asked.

"I wanted to take you somewhere," Draco proposed.

"Where?"

"Well, it's a surprise."

Amora glanced at him suspiciously before she smiled. "Okay then."

Draco led Amora down some small slopes until they were on a patch of grass covered in daisies. Amora sighed in relief as she slumped down next to Draco on the slope, tucking her school skirt underneath her so the grass didn't tickle at her bare thighs. She tugged her knee socks up as Draco grabbed his tie, loosening it.

"It's boiling," Amora stated, grabbing a hair band off of her wrist and pulling her dark locks behind her head into a loose bun. She left the fronts to frame her face.

"I thought you liked this weather," Draco said, squinting his eyes as he peered up at the heavy blue sky.

"I do," Amora replied, "Not so much when I'm in school uniform though. It's too... confining."

"I wouldn't complain if you wanted to strip naked—"

"Draco!" Amora laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "I don't think that will be necessary. Maybe when June rolls around."

"Remind me not to break up with you before June then."

"Ha ha." Amora rolled her eyes. "Has anybody ever told you that you're the funniest person at this entire school?"

"Hm..." Draco pretended to think for a moment. "I've heard most handsome, rich, clever... Oh, yes, I have heard funny too."

Amora continued to shake her head at him. She reached out and brushed some of his blond hair off of his forehead, planting a swift flick there. Draco recoiled and sent her a glare.

"Want me to kiss it better?" She teased.

"I wouldn't protest."

Amora planted a soft peck to the pale skin she had flicked before, wondering how he had managed to stay the colour of paper whilst her skin had reacted to the sun as soon as it rose on the first day of spring. Now, she looked as though she had more of a healthy glow to her.

"I bought you something," Draco said as he reached into his bag that had been flung on the other side of him.

Amora frowned. "Draco, you shouldn't have—"

"Hush, none of that," he warned, pulling out a leather-bound golden book with a small badger stitched into the bottom. "Open it."

The brunette skimmed her hand over the cover before she delicately opened her brand new present. The first page had '24.12.94' scribbled at the top, and taped to it was a small sketch. Amora gasped as she realised that it was her in her Yule Ball gown.

She flipped another page and Draco had written '23.03.95', followed by another sketch, but this time of the two of them kissing. That was the day that Amora had woken up in the Hospital Wing— also the day that Draco had officially told her that he was hers.

"It's cheesy," Draco blurted, "And I insisted you'd prefer a necklace or some other kind of jewel, but Blaise insisted you would like this better..."

Amora's cheeks were burning as she glanced back up at him. His pale skin was home to a similar blush as he bashfully scratched the back of his neck, avoiding her eyes.

"I do. I love this, Draco," Amora promised him, diving forwards and wrapping her arms around his neck.

She felt Draco smile against the nape of her neck as he landed on the soft grass behind him, Amora on top. His arms wrapped around her middle until she pulled back to give him a short, hard kiss on the lips.

"I..." Amora's eyes widened when she realised what she was going to say. "This is perfect," she finished instead, thankful that her brain had managed to catch up with her mouth just in time.

"I'm glad," Draco said, shifting to sit slightly behind Amora, his arm supporting his weight as he looked at the book from over her shoulder, peppering sweet kisses along her neck and shoulder.

He watched Amora grab a pencil that had rolled out of his open back and onto the ground, her neat handwriting scribbling out "18.05.96". It was only when he saw the date did he realise how much time had gone by. In a few months, it would be a whole year since he was locked in the library with Amora.

She plucked a daisy from the ground and grabbed her wand, enchanting the stem to stick to the paper. Draco watched curiously as she sketched trees at the bottom of the page, quickly realising that they were the same trees they were facing in their hill as his chin rested on her shoulder.

"Let me draw you," Amora insisted.

Draco's face scrunched up. "I don't know."

"Or let me take a picture of you."

"Do you even have a camera?"

"In my dorm room," Amora replied, "Only a small one. I'll remember to bring it next time. We can't be dating for nearly two months and have no photographic evidence of it."

"Fair enough," the blond-haired boy replied before he smirked. "Come to think of it, that is a rather good idea. I think a picture of me on your bedside table would look rather good, wouldn't it?"

"You're feeling awfully cocky today, aren't you, Malfoy?"

Their smiles were beaming as they moved in to connect their lips, but immediately wiped off and replaced with looks of complete and utter horror.

"Amora Elle Buckley!"

Cedric was storming down the fields, and he did not look one bit pleased.

...

whoops! they were starting to get a little too comfortable for my liking...

the next chapter is probably gonna be posted on Boxing Day :) if i complete it by then

thanks for reading <3333

dyiansobrien.