Chapter 279: Hogsmeade for Two
While the outcry against Rita Skeeter was in full swing, Draco took Della's hand and went to Hogsmeade on the weekend for their first real date.
Fate had been very cruel to him in the past. On the day after Valentine's Day when he and Della confirmed their relationship, Della became a victim lying in the auditorium. After Della finally woke up, various factors completely separated them.
Draco still felt sad when he thought about being alone for the past year, but Della was back and treated him the same as before, and that was good enough.
Draco loves Della, but he doesn't know whether he is certain or avoiding it. He doesn't subconsciously ask Della to love him too. He just thinks "Della is back, and they are still the same as before."
As November approached, the weather gradually became colder, which was not a big deal for wizards who often wore airtight robes and cast warming spells. But Della had just recovered from a serious illness. Even after taking all the warming measures and using windproof spells, her hands were still cold. Whenever she saw objects around her being blown by the wind, the cold feeling seemed to be transmitted to her for no reason.
Although Draco beside her was not wearing much, he was very hot. As they walked, Della changed from holding his hand with one hand to hugging his arms with both hands, getting closer to this heat source.
"Is it too cold?" As Della approached, Draco's face, which was already red from the wind, turned even redder. While enjoying Della's closeness, he also asked worriedly, "Sure enough, your health is still not very good. You look much worse now than a year ago."
A year ago? Back then, I always stayed up late to make puppets, and my face was always pale and bloodless. It probably wasn't much better. Now it's even worse than it was then.
Della thought so in her heart with a slight smile on her face. She shook her head and signaled Draco not to worry. "My last checkup report was very good. I just have a little chill. It's nothing serious."
Besides, Cynthia, who had originally considered a very important matter, did not cause the worst result she thought - Harry collapsed because of it. From the last time he accidentally saw Harry and Cynthia politely greeting each other on the road, it seemed that he had become friends with Cynthia, and the impact he suffered was getting smaller and smaller.
But Snape...
Della couldn't say, she could only hope that the professor, who was still his nominal adoptive father, would wake up from his false illusions as soon as possible.
"Oh - you weren't this serious before," Draco said distressedly, holding Della's icy hands and covering them back and forth, "I hope you know that you can always rely on me, and I will pay attention to your health in the future."
Della looked at Draco in surprise. She didn't expect him to mention the 'future' because she had never thought about the future after Voldemort appeared.
"We will always be together." Draco's evasion and caution disappeared when facing Della. He said strongly and confidently, "No matter what happens in the future, I firmly believe this."
Compared with words, eyes can reveal emotions better. From Della's perspective, Draco's anxiety hidden behind his confidence is very obvious, but -
"I'm glad you're thinking about your future with me, Draco." Della touched Draco's face with her cold hand, leaned over and kissed him on the cheek near the corner of his lips, then quickly left, and her pale face finally showed a little blush.
Draco reached out and touched the soft spot that had just been touched, staring at Della in a daze. He was met with his girlfriend's shy smile, and he also smiled with his lips pursed. His body was hotter than ever before, and at the same time he felt regretful, restless and hesitant.
Unfortunately, he had never actively kissed Della before, and he didn't kiss her back when she took the initiative just now. He was agitated by all this, but was hesitant and didn't dare to do it.
He had never kissed a girl before, but at most he had hugged her. What if Della didn't want to? What if he didn't do it well?
Amid Draco's restlessness and hesitation, they arrived at their first stop, Honeydukes Candy Store, which was the store Della frequented most when she was not allowed to go to Hogsmeade in her first year. It had hundreds of delicious chocolates.
Draco was very tactful and took Della to buy chocolate first with a small basket, and then slowly turned to his favorite toffee and fizzing bees, mixing the honey and golden colors into the black in the basket.
"Would you like to try it?" After paying the bill and leaving the store, Draco handed Della a piece of honey candy. "I ate this a lot last year. It was delicious."
"Will it be sour?" Della took the candy in her hand and looked at the golden candy in the shape of a bee.
"It's so sweet, not sour at all!" Draco said, and felt sorry for Della again, because everyone in Hogwarts knew how sweet bee candy was. He felt that Della must have had little entertainment during the whole year she was stranded in a foreign land, and she didn't even enjoy the simplest sweetness of candy.
"Really?" Della put the candy into her mouth, and the sweetness and a wonderful buzzing sound of bees rushed into her senses, as if she was tasting the sweetest honey in a sweet beehive.
And the buzzing sound that brought her into another world also had another effect - it separated her from the world she was in. The buzzing sound interrupted her thoughts and her negative emotions. At that moment, you would only enjoy the sweetness the most.
Della understood why Draco had been eating this last year. The boyfriend she had left behind for the past year was using this to temporarily escape all the longing and suspicion.
"It's delicious, Draco." Della held the candy in her mouth and still smiled faintly at Draco, her eyes brightening a little.
Draco also laughed, and after Della hugged his arms again, he held both of her hands. The two of them walked stickyly on the road as if no one was around. However, there were many young couples like this in Hogsmeade. If Della hadn't been the daughter of the Dark Lord, no one would have paid too much attention to them.
Next they went to the Wenrenju Feather Shop, where Della bought a set of feather pens, various inks and several notebooks. Draco also bought a bottle of black ink to join Della in her shopping.
Then there was Davis Bangs, which was the store where Draco most often bought Quidditch protective gear. Although Quidditch was not held this year due to the Triwizard Tournament, he still bought a set of broomstick care tools. The top-notch rocket crossbow that Della gave him also needed to be well maintained.
They also visited Zonko's Joke Shop, where the dung balls and burp candies have always been popular among Hogwarts students, but can you imagine Della throwing dung balls? Draco couldn't. He silently added this item to his shopping list for the next time he came to Hogsmeade alone. Of course, it would be best if he could come with Della, because it was not a must-buy item anyway.
As for the burping candies and other candies and potions with strange functions, his girlfriend, who was an excellent student in Potions, thought those things were not safe enough and had always advised him not to take them. So Draco could only look at those fun things reluctantly and walked out of the joke shop empty-handed.
"Do you really want to buy it?" Della asked Draco with a smile after they walked out of Zonko's Joke Shop. It was obvious that she was not going to give in on this.
"No need," Draco said eagerly, "because I have a girlfriend with the highest magical attainments in the world!"
Della held her belly and laughed, then hugged Draco's arm again, with a rare bit of cuteness in her movements, "So where are we going next, my dear boyfriend?"
"Ahem—" Draco pretended to be deep and coughed twice, but he couldn't help laughing. Even though he knew it was a joke, he was quite happy with Della, who was so lovely and dependent on him. He raised his voice as if he was announcing an important international event, "Of course—Madam Puddifoot's Tea House!"
"Where most young couples go?" Della asked.
"The place where the sweetest young couples go." Draco replied, and the two looked at each other and laughed again.
Della's emotional threshold may have become higher, but long-lasting emotions can continue to warm a person's heart.
What Draco can give Della is not a momentary emotional catharsis, but long-term ordinary companionship. In a sense, this is more important to someone who lacks love.