#mktwrites

Draco collapsed onto the floor of Snape’s office with a groan, his head screaming at him after failing to keep the man out of his head for the third time that hour.

“Your emotions are all over the place tonight, Draco,” Snape chided, whipping his robes back behind him as he crossed to the opposite side of the room. “Dwelling on a lover's spat or other trivial matters will be your end, you know this. You cannot waste your time getting pissed in Hogsmeade with Theodore Nott and scaring little Hufflepuffs when you can’t hold your liquor! Now, prepare your mind! You must concentrate.”

Swallowing, he began to lean down slowly until their cheeks were flush, his mouth at her ear.

“Would you have let him kiss you tonight?” he asked, dropping his voice to a low timber. It wasn’t until he’d said it that he realized he desperately needed the answer. He pulled back enough to see her again.

She turned her head ever so slightly, her eyelashes fluttering. This time, it was his turn to gulp. “Never,” she whispered.

Resilience by @kmd0107 and @the-og-mkt

AO3

“A body bind hex! Are you mad? No, Absolutely not.”

“Now, Granger. Think of it as…an exercise in patience.”

“How’s that then?”

“Teach him patience while he waits for someone to fetch him from the broom cupboard I’ve stuffed him in.”

“Oh, honestly, Draco. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Come on, Hermione. Cormac is a letch!”

“I know he is, but I’ve committed. It would be rude not to attend with him now. I’ll be fine.”

“I don’t like it.”

“I know you don’t. We’ll meet before you leave for the train?”

“Of course. I can’t leave without saying goodbye to Myrtle, now can I?”

He was determined not to let the Dark Lord in.

A tornado approached, its black and brown fury shoving against the stone walls of his garden. A gale wind whipped around the edges of Draco's mind, disturbing his garden but not entering. The gentle breeze Draco had been training to use as a distraction dispersed as a gust of wind slipped through the edge of Draco's mind.

The ground shook, but the roots held, and the leaves held. Blooms closed into tight buds. The peacocks screamed, and their white tail feathers quivered in the wind.

“It’s too dangerous. They’ll find out about us, and we’ll both be finished. I’ve already been too careless. If something happened to her because she was with me…”

“Then don’t let it,” Blaise said, rising from his chair as other students began to shuffle in through the portal. Chugging back the remainder of his flask, he signaled with a lift of his chin for Theo to follow. They rounded the couch, coming to a stop directly behind him. Blaise leaned down until he was level with Draco’s ear.

“Is she worth it?” Draco nodded once. “Then you know what you need to do.”