Thread: Harry Potter and What Really Happened After Voldemort (solvaris & darkangel76)

Ron smiled a special smile to Hermione. He loved when he could catch her off guard like this. For all of her wit and intelligence, he could still give her a few surprises. He felt it was probably the one advantage he had over the other boys why she fancied him. In that moment of seeing her defenses crack, Ron only had eyes for Hermione. He felt as though they were the only two people in the room. Hermione's glance at Luna brought Ron back to Earth, and he blushed slightly, embarrassed by getting lost in the moment while the others were still in the room. With Hermione agreeing to giving Ron some extra help his smile grew more broad. Yes! I might just get some snogging done tonight! Neville was too preoccupied with Luna to notice Ron and Hermione's moment. Luna's grip on Neville's hand was getting more and more intimate, with their fingers becoming entwined with one another. He did his best to keep his cool, but he wasn't sure if he was succeeding. He really was starting to feel hot, his heart seemed to be beating harder than ever. It was more about having the attention of a girl in general than the fact that it was Luna giving him the attention. If anything, he was nervous about what other people might think of him if he started snogging the strangest girl in school. Neville had to admit that Luna was pretty at times. Her long flowing blonde hair, her soft clear skin, those intense blue eyes. But if he had her attention, then it just might mean there was something wrong with him...something other than his usual social awkwardness. The decision to split up and look around was accepted by everyone. Both Neville and Ron were eager for the opportunity. Ron was looking forward to a chance to snog Hermione in private, and Neville thought the dungeons sounded like just the place to cool off for a bit, even if it meant being alone with Luna. Either way, neither of them were the least bit interested in actually exploring the mansion or learning about vampires. Ron offered his arm to Hermione in a courtly fashion. Shall we? Neville, however remained silent, giving Luna a smile and a gentle squeeze of her hand as though giving her permission to lead the way. Meanwhile, upstairs, Draco was in a bit of a bind. He had taken off his robes to find that none of his other robes were clean. Laundry was meant for house elves or women. Their house elf Dobby had been accidentally released years ago and they hadn't hired another house elf to replace him since. Draco's mother Narcissa had taken up the chore of doing the laundry, but she was gone now too. That left Draco to do his own laundry, which he had flat out refused to do. So Draco sat shirtless, pondering a solution to this problem when he went rigid. Someone was in the hallway just outside his room. His eyes fixed on the door, his enhanced senses telling him that the Weasley girl was coming closer. He slowly backed away, leaving the light of his open window to wrap himself in a cloak of darkness. Even with his pale skin, the shadows would hide him well enough. His unblinking predatory gaze focused on the twisting of the door knob. He stood still as a statue as his door swung open.