7 mins of Heaven

I had always been quite shy and withdrawn, too focused on my studies to have much of a social life. I had a few friends, but most of them were casual. Except for Luna; she was the only one willing to “bug” me enough to develop a deeper friendship with me and I was honestly incredibly grateful she did so. Still, I was at the start of my final year at Hogwarts and leaving with only a handful of friends. And I can forget about romance. I had never allowed myself the time to date; though I had always had quite a large crush on the Slytherin Prince, Draco Malfoy.

But all of this was about to change. I was tired of being invisible. Tired of blending in with the crowd. I wanted to make at least one more good friend before I left Hogwarts, but I was determined to have my first kiss before graduation. It may not be with Draco Malfoy, but I was really determined to make it happen with someone.

So, when I and Luna were miraculously invited to Blaise Zabini’s birthday party in the Room of Requirement I decided to take a risk and wear something a little more attention-grabbing. A short black dress with lace cutouts. I had found it over the summer, fell in love with it, and absolutely had to have it; but it hadn’t become exposed since I had bought it. I figured tonight was as good a night as any to break it in.

Me and Luna turned heads all around the party. I did not know how many times someone came up and asked if I was new to Hogwarts. They were always shocked when they figured out who I was. Even Pansy Parkinson took a double take before going back to her usual cold and indifferent expression.

As the party raged on, my eyes landed on Draco who was sitting with Blaise on a couch a little way away. He looked amazing as usual, wearing a leather jacket with his blonde hair slightly messy. His blue eyes locked with mine for a few seconds, giving me intense butterflies; but then he turned to Blaise and whispered something in his ear. You watched Blaise nod and get up, making his way towards Pansy.

A few seconds passed before Pansy had gotten up and stood on a table, shouting, “ATTENTION!”

Everybody froze and looked at her as she produced a small bag. “All the boys, come put something in the hat. We’ll be playing 7 Minutes in Heaven per the birthday boy’s request.” She barked. Nobody argued with her, they just did as they were told.

Then, every 7 minutes or so, she made her way around the room with the bag, holding it in front of each girl as they picked an item and got shoved into a closet with a boy. Over an hour had passed since the start of the game and I had forgotten about it until Pansy shoved the bag in my face.

“Pick,” she said shortly. I blinked at her rude tone, and she shook the hat, glaring at you. I sighed and reached into the hat, feeling around for something interesting. My fingers ran over something smooth and round, and my skin felt a sort of magnetic pull towards it. I took hold of it and pulled it out of the bag.

It was a ring.

A Slytherin signet ring.

I glanced around nervously, noticing how many Slytherins were at the party. It could be anyone’s ring.

Pansy snatched it from me, holding it up into the air and shouting, “WHO’S RING?”

I heard some shuffling and a voice say, “That’s mine.”

Both me and Pansy snapped our heads up in the direction of the unmistakable voice. I felt myself flush, all the confidence I had earlier immediately dissipated. Pansy had a brief look of shock pass over her face before going back to her usual disinterested manner.

Draco took the ring from Pansy, slid it onto his finger, and without so much as a glance in my direction, began walking towards the broom cupboard while I just stood there motionless and in shock. He paused when he got to the door, turning back to me and giving me an expectant look. Pansy gave me a shove and I stumbled forward.

I took a few more shaky steps towards Draco, following him into the dark closet. As soon as the door clicked shut the reality of what was happening dawned on me. “Look, Draco, I’m sure you loathe being in here with me, so we don’t need to do any- “

His lips were on mine before I could even finish my sentence, catching me off guard. I gasped against his lips but made no effort to pull away. My eyes fluttered closed, and I placed my hands on his shoulders as he shuffled the two of us backwards, pinning me gently against the wall.

“What makes you think that, Amelda?” He murmured against my lips.

I didn’t say anything for a few seconds, just let him kiss me, not even noticing the odd fact that he knew my name. The only thing I could think of was the fact that Draco Malfoy was kissing me. The kiss deepened when I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer to me, and knotting my fingers in his platinum-blonde hair.

He smirked against my lips, tugging on the hem of my dress. “This is new,” he said. “You’re always in trousers. But I see you haven’t abandoned your Chucks.”

That was when I pulled away, just slightly. How did he know what I usually wore? I always thought I’d been invisible to him. “How did you- “

“Oh, come on now, love. You really thought I never noticed you?” He asked, moving his lips to my neck.

I shivered at the new sensation, just barely able to respond. “Nobody ever really notices me.”

He chuckled against me. “Now that’s simply not true. Don’t you know how beautiful you are? How could anybody not notice you? Especially me?”

“Then why didn’t you ever say anything?” I asked, tilting my head so he could have better access.

“I tried.” He kissed my neck. “You were never available.” He kissed my jaw. “Always studying.” My cheek. “I’m sorry,” I whispered, silently cursing myself for being so oblivious. Now vaguely remembering a blonde-headed boy in my periphery on many occasions. “No need, love. We’re here now, aren’t we?” He met my lips again and I couldn’t help but let out a soft moan. His hand was dangerously close to sliding up my skirt when the door burst open.

“Time’s up,” Pansy barked; a sour look on her face at the sight of me and Draco.

Draco pulled away hesitantly, setting me back down on the ground. I was still a bit dazed, reaching down to fix my dress before turning to leave. He grabbed my hand before I left the closet, spinning me back over to him so we were face to face.

“You better not run away from me. Not when I’ve finally gotten a taste of you.” He said, lips ghosting mine.

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”