the kiss list, adrian pucey
𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓, 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟐

chapter twenty-three
number 17: MALCOLM PREECE

✧ ━━━ · ✦ · ━━━ ✧

    TO EVERYONE ELSE AT HOGWARTS SCHOOL, Adrian and Bianca were an old married couple ─  they knew the best ways to infuriate the other but loved each other still the same.

     To Adrian and Bianca, they did not see themselves as a couple at all, let alone an old married one. They weren't dating, and as far as they were concerned, they never would be. Bianca couldn't think of anything worse.

     With her ear still causing her grief, ripe with pain and the blood still dripping ─ she didn't see the point in using the Episkey spell, because she knew full well her body should heal itself and that it would soon enough - the pair strolled the halls, en route to the dungeons for double potions.

     Bianca classed herself as walking alone. Adrian classed it as walking together.

     However you said it, or however it appeared, the two of them were walking side by side, not too close obviously, like the old and happily married in union couple people believed they were.

     The temperature of the castle dropped almost as soon as they began descending the eerie steps towards the dungeon classroom.

     On their way, or as Bianca would prefer to say, her way to down to their designated room, Oliver Wood was leaving the downstairs chamber, for his next period of Charms, when he passed Adrian and Bianca, about to take his place and enter the same classroom he had left.

     Oliver smiled at noticing Bianca strolling casually down the staircase, "Oh hey Bianca." his expression was full of comfort and charm, in the most delightful way possible. Bianca really hoped that Katie would stop being so oblivious because she knew that they deserved each other.

     "Hey Oliver," Bianca replied back, her resting expression forming a pleasant smile that she returned the boy.

     Once Oliver's cinnamon and salty caramel scent had well disappeared and was replaced by the dingy smell of moldering stone, Adrian knew he was gone. "Oh look, you made friends." he teased Bianca, leaning over to her ear as they entered the classroom and took their seats.

     Bianca saw no point in replying to him because she knew full well that is exactly what he wanted her to do: retaliate.

     "You're welcome," he added.

     As Snape returned from the back of the class to the front, to commence the start of the lesson, Bianca came to the realization that she had in fact had Adrian to thank for how pleasantly surprising and eventful her first three months of her sixth year had been.

     If it hadn't been for a stupid kiss list, one of which he created in hopes to improve their relationship, Bianca wouldn't have been so carefree as she usually would. She wouldn't have branched out and gone to parties. She wouldn't even have set foot in one, let alone drink a tonne.

     Bianca had always had Leo, and she knew she always would. She was never lonely as such, and never classed herself to have 'no friends', but this year made her truly realize what great people attend her school. Sure, she learned that some boys are the same pricks she had made them out to be, but some of the bonds she had created, ones that she was now very fond of and glad to have, were all thanks to Adrian fucking Pucey.

      "Dismissed," Snape droned, announcing the cessation of their potions class.

     Bianca was quick to collect her things into a single pile and slide them into her bag; Adrian followed her lead and gathered his together, a few seconds later.

     "What do you have next?" Adrian said, catching up to Bianca, who was a little further ahead, and running up to her side.

     "Muggle studies," she answered.

     "I still don't understand why you took that," Adrian said as they shuffled up the stairs, and onto the ground floor of the castle.

     "You don't need to," Bianca replied, glancing over at him, as they entered the very busy corridor, packed tight with a chaotic river flow of students.

     Adrian had Divination and would therefore be branching off and leaving her at the next corner. "You done the Astronomy homework?" he asked. Bianca didn't even have to say anything, and as soon as he had said it, he realized he didn't need to. "Course you have. Great. You can help me later. That way we can play actual chess this time." Adrian spoke very fast, but before the Gryffindor had the chance to reply, he had turned that corner and was heading in the opposite direction. "See you tonight!" he yelled back, not turning around for a second.

     Bianca stood for a moment, students brushing past her, and she watched as he turned the next corner, and up the ladder to the Divination classroom. With a sigh, she continued to Muggle Studies. An easy period, because she already knew it all.

     Before he returned from Washington state, Malcolm Preece was yet to chose his additional subjects. Three days before he was supposed to start school, Malcolm hastily chose his new classes almost at random, and he happened to chose Muggle Studies, along with Ancient Runes and Care for Magical Creatures.

     Strolling alongside Cedric Diggory, who too had opted for the study of Muggles ─ his choice wasn't random, however ─ he spotted Bianca Larsson's yellow hair, and a very packed bag that he could only assume was extremely heavy. Malcolm excused himself from his fellow Hufflepuff, who strayed a little behind ─ Cedric had a habit of walking slowly anyway ─ to catch up with the Gryffindor not too far in front.

     "Morning, Bianca," he smiled.

     Bianca was slightly startled at his sudden appearance, but when she noticed it was him, her face formed a delighted smile back, "Good morning, Malcolm. Excited for your first day back?" she asked.

     "Oh yeah, definitely!" Malcolm grinned even wider, as they approached the Muggle Studies classroom. "Just glad these robes still fit," he laughed, gesturing to his dusty black robes, lined with yellow stitching and embellished with the badger symbol of arms.

     Bianca chuckled back, and the two of them entered the classroom. The girl took a seat at the back, and Malcolm followed her to an empty set of seats. He gestured to the one beside her as a way of asking if he could sit down, and she nodded encouragingly.

     Cedric followed not long after, and greeted the two of them, perching beside his Hufflepuff friend. Cedric was not best pleased that on his best friend's first day back, Malcolm had already become distracted by the girl he had been infatuated with when he was ten.

     Professor Burbage arrived not long after, and the commencement of the lesson followed shortly after. Now with his new seat sat beside his first real love, as he called it, Malcolm was very thankful for his last week self, who was so frantic and stressed to meet his fast-approaching deadline to submit his additional subjects, that he ended up choosing Muggle Studies at random.

     Despite knowing pretty close to everything there is to know that is involved in the Muggle Studies N.E.W.T exam, Bianca still very much enjoyed Muggle Studies.

     Malcolm was happy to be sat beside Bianca and all, but he felt as though he could be spending his time a lot more productively in his dorm. Asleep. The seating plan was, by all means, a bonus, but Malcolm thought he'd at least get a word in with Bianca, and yet most of the lesson was silent work, copying notes and questions from the chalkboard.

     Malcolm was still very determined to talk to her, so he leaned over, so she would hear his whisper, "You know last night?" he said.

     Bianca leaned a little closer, quill still in hand. She nodded her head in response.

     "Well, I'd really like to do that again. Catch up, I mean."

     A smile tugged on the corner of Bianca's mouth, and she eventually gave in and grinned broadly, "That would be great! When were you thinking?"

     "I'm free after school? Maybe we could take a walk outside. I heard it's due to snow again sometime soon."

     Bianca did love the snow. And she loved walks and the outside. Bianca thinks that he remembered that from when they were younger, which made her heart feel warm and want to agree more.

     She may not love Adrian, but she made a silent agreement to help him later, and, although she may not class teaching Adrian Pucey chess as a commitment, Adrian definitely did. And she thought she owed him at least that.

     Her shoulders drooped a bit, and her smile weakened, "Oh I can't do today. I agreed to help a friend with our Astronomy homework." Bianca replied.

     Bianca didn't want Malcolm to know that the same person he met the night before, was the person she was due to help later, instead of catch up with Malcolm, hence why she said 'our' instead of 'his'.

     "Is this the same friend as last night?" Malcolm asked, but he spoke sort of encouragingly like it wasn't a bad thing.

     "Yeah. He's a bit dense when it comes to doing things by himself," Bianca replied in a whisper. She did not class this statement as rude in any way, because she had now referred to Adrian as a 'friend' several times now, so the insult could surely pass.

     "Aha, right, okay then. Hmm,"Malcolm chuckled quietly, so Professor Burbage wouldn't notice them talking. He thought for a moment of what else they could do. "Ah, okay," his face formed to a smirk. "Meet me in the front courtyard at half seven tomorrow morning and don't wear your robes."

     "Didn't think you were much of a morning person, Preece," Bianca said, with slightly furrowed eyebrows and an angled head. She wasn't quite sure what he was planning, and why she wasn't allowed to wear her school uniform.

    Malcolm chuckled, "I'm not," he said. "But it'll be fun."

➼

     "YOU REALLY OUGHT TO LEARN SOME INDEPENDENCE, you know," Bianca said, as she approached the desk that Adrian was already settled at.

     Adrian glanced up at the sound of her voice, "Not everyone can learn chess by self-teaching, you know," he mocked her tone of voice, as she sat down opposite him.

     The library seemed to have become a common ground to Bianca and Adrian. There was an essence of deja vu sitting in the same two chairs, at the same desk where it all began. Where the Kiss List was proposed and where Adrian had found a new love for the library. How peaceful it was, the tranquility of pages turning and scribbling quills. He wished he had known sooner; it was annoying how much he had misjudged it because the Hogwarts' library was not at all lame. Marcus Flint had yet to come to this revelation.

     "I wasn't referring to the chess, I was referring to the fact that you can't do a single piece of homework without me looking over you the whole time," Bianca replied.

     Adrian gasped exaggeratingly, for dramatic effect, "That couldn't be further from the truth," he argued, with a tone of offense, "I just wanna make sure I'm doing it right that's all."

     Bianca narrowed her eyes, "Exactly. I have to watch over you," she repeated.

     Adrian briefly looked up from his essay, stared for a moment, then rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Would you be so kind as to help me write my conclusion? Please?"

     Bianca scoffed a little, "That's the easiest part."

     "Says who?" Adrian said, trying to cover up the fact he was a little embarrassed seen as he was the one struggling writing one.

     "Everyone?" Bianca said, inclining her head. "Just copy your introduction and change a few things," she shrugged.

     Adrian had turned his attention away from his paper now, "Doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of a conclusion?"

     "How?"

     "Well surely, since you've written a whole essay, something within the introduction should change?"

     "You're writing an essay on an equinox? There is no argument within your essay. This is Astronomy, not English Literature, Adrian." Bianca said her arms now crossed, and her body up against the chair's back.

     "Oh alright then, Miss Astronomer." he sulked.

     "Hey, you asked for my help." Bianca surrendered.

     "Wasn't very good help."

     "You want my advice or not?" she asked and he stayed silent, "Huh? Cause I have better places to be."

     "So why did you come here?"

     "Because you asked me to."

     "I thought you hated me," Adrian had now leaned forward, his arms folded and acting as a rest.

     "I don't hate you, Adrian," Bianca said, copying his movement. "I just like other people more."

     "I'm literally your only friend," Adrian chuckled dryly.

     "Now that couldn't be further from the truth."

     "Oh yeah?" Adrian smirked.

     "One, I don't consider you a friend," she said, and stopped him saying anything following her statement with a singular finger, "And before you say it, referring to you as a friend, is completely different to actually believing you to be one." at these words, Adrian relaxed more into his chair, unfolding his arms, knowing she had argued against exactly what he was going to say. "And two, I have lots of friends I'll have you know."

     Adrian traced the rim of his top row of teeth with his tongue, and shook his head in amusement, "Whatever you say Bi." he said, and Bianca grimaced a little at the shortened version of her first name, that he now had made into his nickname for her, that only people she was close with used. "Whatever you say," he repeated, minus the nickname. Bianca glared a little and rolled her eyes. "Oh and proofread my essay, will ya? I'm done."

➼

     BIANCA WAS YET TO DECIDE WHETHER SHE was a morning person or not. She never had to wake up particularly early, and when she did, she could never tell whether she was actually tired, or whether her body just didn't want to be out of bed.

     And yet, at seven o'clock the next morning, when she finally got out of bed, she didn't feel like that. As dawn broke, it became clear that her body did want to be out of bed, like it was excited for the feats ahead.

     Bianca did not expect Katie and Angelina to be awake when she left their dorm for the Gryffindor common room, and out of the portrait hole. She had never in fact seen the social area so quiet before. There were only three students who collectively sat, reading or completing homework due the same day.

     The halls of the castle were even quieter, as Bianca made her way to the outside courtyard, where the carriages for Hogsmeade would dock, and where the giant clock swayed in its tower.

     Mornings were even colder than the daytime during November. It wasn't snowing, but rather icy, and bitter. The winds weren't strong but still bit at her skin.

     At exactly half-seven, Bianca approached the clearing in the courtyard, where up against a tree that was closest to the castle, before masses behind it, Malcolm Preece was fiddling with the knitting and sewing that made up his woolen gloves.

     "Morning," Bianca grinned, as she walked over to where he was standing.

     Malcolm looked up at the sound of her voice, letting his hands drop to his sides, "Morning to you too," he smiled. Bianca was staring at the blonde hair that was spilling out of his hat, little icicles stuck to the ends.

     "So, what is it that you had planned? Breakfast starts in less than an hour."

     Malcolm chuckled, "Oh, we won't be back in time for breakfast. We might be able to have some at the village if you get hungry, and if we're sneaky."

     "What do you mean we won't be back in time for breakfast? Lessons start only fifteen minutes after breakfast ends, so how would we get to class on ti-"

     "What I mean is that we are skipping school, Bi," Malcolm interjected as casually as ever, just as Bianca became to ramble about the stresses of the school's schedule.

     Bianca furrowed her brows, and laughed thinking he was kidding, "What? No, we're not."

     "Yes, we are," Malcolm was still grinning, as he took her hands and began to steer her away from the courtyard and off of school grounds.

     "No, no, Malcolm, I don't think you understand," Bianca was shaking her head, still loosely holding onto Malcolm's gloves. "I'm not, I cannot just skip school. Look, I know you've been away and all, but I haven't changed that much. I may go to parties now, but skipping school?" she had stopped still now, and Malcolm had turned to face her, still amused, "No, no, that's a different story."

     Malcolm closed the gap between them, and took ahold of her hands again, "Bianca. We're skipping school and I won't take no for an answer. You have to do it at some point, you know."

     Bianca's expression changed to one of puzzlement, "What exactly do you mean by that?"

     "Well, you know, everyone has to skip some school at least once in their life, right? For the thrill?"

     "Er, no. No one has ever said that, so have a nice day. I'll be off-" Bianca had made it only an inch after turning away from him when Malcolm twisted her arm and turned her back around again.

     "As I said, I will not be taking no for an answer."

     Adrian Pucey wasn't much of a fan of Potions. He was okay, not nearly as good as Bianca, but she was probably the only aspect that made the lessons bearable.

     So when he followed Graham Montague down the steps to the dingy dungeons for their lesson, and she wasn't sat at her seat, his spirits were at a bit of a loss.

     It was second period. The early morning. And he didn't want this at this time of day.

     There was of course the possibility that she had overslept and would be late, or simply that he had gotten there before her. Except, these thoughts were exactly what made Adrian's morning mood so lethargic. Because Bianca Larsson did not sleep past her alarm, however late she went to bed the previous night. Besides however tired she was, she got up on time. And Bianca was always, without a doubt, no other option, there before Adrian, for every lesson. And she wasn't today.

     Adrian sat down at his desk, an empty seat beside him, a mix of confusion and disappointment. There was a practical today, and despite his okay potions skills, he wasn't sure how well he'd do, without Bianca looking over him, the entire time.

     Being one of the last days of November, the chill had reached its peak at midday.

     The pair were not permitted to be inside Hogsmeade Village and avoided as many people as they could. Not being dressed in their school clothes did however act to their advantage. Despite looking their age, they could pass as people simply visiting the village. Bianca hated the idea of not being in class, but she was impressed how he had thought it all out in such a short space of time.

     The woods just outside of the village itself, provided a sense of opportunity, with a touch of discretion, and the two of them were strolling through them, leaves and ice crackling under their shoes. Malcolm was walking over the trunk's fallen trees, and over every little natural obstacle, he could find. Bianca was not however in the mood for climbing anything.

     "It's 12:18," Bianca reminded Malcolm, "We've officially missed first and second period."

     "That reminds me," he jumped off of the ledge of the tree that he had clambered up to, and landed right in front of her, "Let's go have some lunch, shall we?"

     Malcolm walked past her, and towards the edge of the wooded area, where he knew to be a side entrance to a street within Hogsmeade Village. Bianca didn't follow him but turned on the spot to call out to the boy now three meters ahead of her.

     "How do you suppose we do that?" she asked. Not wearing their robes obviously helped their case in trying to cover up the fact that they weren't where they were supposed to, but they had still been trying to avoid any residents of the village so far. Going directly into it, sitting down, and ordering something from inside it, wasn't going to do much for their cover.

     "Well, I haven't been to Hogsmead in a year, so I doubt they'll recognize me, and as for you, well, you Bianca, are too pretty to only be sixteen." Malcolm smiled, casually, as they stood nine feet apart.

     "Flattering me won't convince me to go with you, you know," Bianca folded her arms into her chest.

     "I know," Malcolm grinned back. "But it's either you come with me now and we can enjoy a nice hot lunch at the Three Broomsticks, or you go back to school having missed two lessons and no explanation for it. Your choice."

     "I'm a Prefect."

     "It's your choice."

     "I'm supposed to be a model student."

     "Still your choice," he said again, continuing their chain of speech.

     Bianca gritted her teeth, staring into his eyes, "Fine you win, and only because I'm cold."

     She trudged towards the boy, who took ahold of her hand and lead her to the outskirts of the village. There, as a pair holding hands, they strode into the village ─ Bianca slightly tense out of fear of being caught, and Malcolm in a totally relaxed manner. Bianca dreaded to think whether he had done this before.

     The sky was as grey as it had been, and Bianca was beginning to think that going to get lunch was the best solution right now. It wasn't the pretty kind of icy weather, but more bitter, and almost muddy. The unwelcoming part of winter.

     The Three Broomsticks was a Wizard's Pub and Inn, situated in an avenue in Hogsmeade.

     The sudden change in temperature had already improved Bianca's mood as Malcolm held the door open for her, and she took a step in, hit with a blow of warm air, and the mixed scent of oak and sweet Butterbeer. The pub was crowded, yet so homelike. Smokey, yet so clean. Noisy, yet so comforting.

     Malcolm stood behind Bianca and offered to hang up her coat. She slid it off her back, and he took it in his arms, hanging it up on a tall stand beside him. She thanked him, and he did the same with his own, before searching for a free booth, and leading her to it.

     Potions was dull. It was duller than usual. Duller than the room Adrian was in. Duller than the droning sound of Professor Snape's monotonal voice. Dull because Bianca wasn't there to bully him. To do the work and insult him about the fact he couldn't do it. Not even to talk to to make the lesson go by faster.

     But the lesson had gone by, how he didn't know, slower than ever before.

     With the dismissal of the Professor and the rummaging and bustling of students, the class was finally over. Snape had mentioned Bianca all but once and had rejected any other thought of her, because, now in her absence, it meant that Adrian could actually do some work for once - Snape had assumed due to the pair's previous success in potions, Bianca had done most of it.

     Adrian gathered his things and left the classroom. He immediately began searching for Leo Raywood, or one of Bianca's dormmates, seen as, if anyone knew where she was, it would be one of them.

     Leo was just at a loss of an idea to where Bianca was as well, but Adrian had to try and he didn't know that. He spotted the image of dark brunette hair, and yelled out to him, catching up to the Gryffindor, "Hey Raywood!" he yelled, catching the boy's attention as he met his side.

     Leo was quite taken aback, but continued walking up the steps for the Great Hall for lunch, "Er hi?"

     "Have you seen Bianca today?"

     "Er no. I dunno where she is. Maybe ask Katie or Angelina, they probably have a better idea." Leo said. He wasn't worried. Bianca probably wouldn't tell him if she was sick anyway, which, seeing as it was her, was the most plausible explanation.

     "She was gone when we woke up this morning," Katie Bell had walked up beside Alicia Spinnet, who was walking alongside Leo.

     Adrian stopped, as Katie shrugged, and the three Gryffindors walked away. A few people pushed past him, their shoulders digging into his own. Where was this girl?

     Malcolm took a last glance at his menu, and stood up, depositing it on the table, "Okay, I'll go up and order."

     Bianca could only glance up from her own, just as he was leaving for the bar, "No, wait, I haven't told you my order-" her voice trailed off, as she watched Malcolm walk out of earshot, and into the clumps of people towards the bar.

     Approximately two minutes later, the blonde boy returned to their table and settled back into his seat.

     "I didn't get a chance to tell you my order," she told him.

     "Oh don't worry, that's okay. I remember," he grinned. Bianca inclined her head, and her eyes narrowed at him, "Hunter's chicken, with no cheese and the barbeque sauce on the side; beans; and instead of mushy peas, chips." Bianca's mouth was open slightly with a pleasant surprise. "Oh and a pint of Butterbeer."

     Bianca and Malcolm's family had always been close. With two Muggle fathers, there was bound to be several family gatherings at Pubs and Inns, for lunches and dinners. Malcolm had just remembered that that is what she ordered every time.

     "You did remember." Bianca nodded her head at a slow pace. "So, how much do I owe you, I didn't get a chance to look at the prices on the-" she began rummaging for her wallet, which she had only gotten a chance to pull out of her bag before Malcolm stopped her.

     "Uh, uh," Malcolm said, shaking his head with a smirk, "I'm paying."

     Bianca stared at him for a moment. She knew him too well to know he would just give in and let her pay for her own food if she argued. Bianca sighed, "You're such a gentleman."

     It made her think back to what you could call an 'afterparty' in the Kitchens, of which was interrupted by a few of Adrian's Slytherin friends, and how they admitted to going on dates with no intention of paying. Bianca didn't know whether she could class this as a date, but what she could tell, was that Malcolm Preece was already tonnes better than any of them could ever be. He was the perfect guy.

     "Well, I wanna hear more about America, so," she leaned forward, resting her weight on her elbows, "take it away."

     "No, we talked about me all night the other day. I wanna hear how you've been doing." Malcolm grinned, mirroring her movement.

     Bianca envied how sweet he was. She was also quite embarrassed that nothing had happened to her in the last year. She almost felt herself about to tell him about this bet she had going on with the boy that she introduced Malcolm to the other day. It also now became apparent that Bianca was guilty of using Malcolm. But that wasn't exactly true, right? She didn't exactly realize it till now.

     Malcolm was sweet. Malcolm was attractive; good-looking. And athletic. And probably the nicest guy at this school. It panged her that the two most charming boys at her school had now been written into a stupid bet, and deemed a boy that she had to use just to kiss them. Miles Bletchley was extremely likable, but she was just lucky that he didn't pursue their relationship any further. She liked Malcolm. Maybe even a little more.

     "Okay, so, where to begin," she faked a thoughtful expression, "Well I defeated the Wagga Wagga Werewolf. I then banished the Bandon Banshee, and I cursed a Vampire so that he could only eat lettuce for the rest of his life." Bianca finished.

     Malcolm stared into her eyes. A pause lingered, "Is your life really that boring?"

     "Hey!" Bianca almost yelled, with an offended tone.

     "No, but really. You have to stoop to the level of claiming credit for things that Gilderoy Lockhart has done?" Malcolm tutted.

     "You don't really believe anything he says, do you?"

     "Oh no. He's full of shit. Shame no one else can see it really." Malcolm said, causing Bianca to laugh.

     "This is literally what I've been trying to say." Bianca grinned.

     "But really, nothing has happened with you?"

     Bianca shrugged, shaking her head. Her life was actually quite dull.

     "I find that hard to believe," Malcolm said, just as Madam Rosmerta approached their table, a dark tray resting on her palm, holding up two pints of yellow Butterbeer.

     "For you," the landlady leaned down and placed a glass in front of both of them. "Enjoy." and with that, she had walked away, not before the two students could thank her.

     It only took one sip of his Butterbeer, for a foamy strip of froth to form on Malcolm's upper lip.

     Bianca couldn't help but snort putting down her own glass. Malcolm narrowed his eyes at her, "Er, you have a little-" she gestured to the foam still resting now on his chin as well.

     "Oh do I? Well so do you, Miss Larsson," he smirked, gesturing to her own.

     Bianca felt her cheeks warm up, as she became quickly embarrassed, despite Malcolm in the exact same situation as her own.

     "Here let me," Malcolm had picked up a nearby clean napkin, and had now leaned over the table, his arm out towards her.

     Bianca lifted her chin a little, so he had easier access to wipe it off, and in one clean sweep, he cleaned off the foam from her Butterbeer, folding up the napkin, and sitting back in his seat.

     Bianca may have been red from humiliation, but now she was blushing. Actually blushing. "Thank you, Malcolm."

     Ruining what once was a sweet and heartfelt moment, that was distracting Bianca from what she was really doing ─ skipping school ─ a tall, bearded man, with an apron tied around his waist, strode up to their table, "Oi, you two can't be here!"

     Bianca was startled, to say the least, and the pair looked up at the man, who was now beckoning over Madam Rosmerta, the landlady of the Three Broomsticks.

    "Who?" the owner asked, dropping a tea towel, and walking past the bar and over to their table. The pub hadn't gone completely quiet - there were a few wizards dotted around minding their own business, but a few had stopped to look. "These two? I just served them!"

     "Yeah, these two, they go to 'Ogwarts down the road!" the man pointed to the two of them.

     "Well, no, I-I think you've made a mistake, sir. We don't-" Bianca stuttered, unsure of how to get out of a situation like this one. Malcolm hadn't said a word, in fact, he was trying to hide his growing grin, and increasing urge to laugh.

     "Shouldn't you be in class?" Madam Rosmerta interjected.

     Bianca looked over to Malcolm for some kind of support, her eyes wide, and cheeks flushed. He still had a brilliant white strip of foam on his lips.

     The Hufflepuff hastily grabbed her arm from across the table and pulled her from her seat. Through crowds of bellowing witches and wizards, Bianca found herself laughing as she and Malcolm fought their way to the door.

     Bursting out of the wooden frame, in fits of laughter, grins plastered across their faces, Malcolm and Bianca were hit with the harsh cold from the outside. They could by no means go back in, but it sure was a lot warmer inside. And a lot more bearable.

     "See that was fun!" Malcolm said after he caught his breath. They had run for almost a minute, in a direction they hadn't yet concluded, to simply get away from the pub, and calling people.

     "We weren't supposed to get caught, Mal," Bianca said, now catching her breath, as the two hiked a hill just outside the village, and out of sight to anyone in it.

     "Well obviously not," he grinned, "but where's the fun in that?"

     "We didn't get to eat," she sighed, as they reached the top. "And we didn't pay."

     "Oh, who cares? I only had a sip of mine. And besides, we did have a laugh, and in my professional opinion, that's better." Malcolm had his hand on his heart and he sat down on the icy grass beneath him.

     "Your "professional opinion"?" Bianca repeated, furrowing her eyebrows at his choice to sit on the cold and wet floor. He patted the ground beside him, and she reluctantly sat beside him. "I'm not sure if I trust that. And speaking of drinking, you still have a little," she gestured again to the foam on his lips.

     "Oh er, aha." he chuckled sheepishly.

     "Here, let me," she mimicked his earlier words, with a sweet smile. She pulled the hem of her sleeve over her thumb, and carefully wiped the remaining foam, that hadn't fallen off, off of his face. She wiped it on the grass and looked back up, to see just how close the two of them were.

     Malcolm stared into her eyes, and swept a single strand of hair out of her eyes, and lifted her chin. There was an echoing silence of natural sounds, as they gazed at each other. Malcolm was sat a little lower than herself, and Bianca was almost looking down at the boy.

     Without a second thought, Malcolm used his thumb that was still under her chin to connect their lips in a soft kiss. He pulled away only an inch, to collect himself. She was kissing back. And with that, he reconnected their lips in a passionate, yet gentle kiss. It was like five years' worth of emotions, all bottled up into one longing kiss.

     The world went by around them. The snow beginning to trickle down from the now white and nott grey, clouds. And the village behind them was full of life with the eruption of a fast-approaching Christmas.

     She couldn't do this anymore.

➼

     BIANCA COULDN'T HELP BUT FEEL AWFUL about herself and her behaviour when she turned up a little earlier for Prefect duty that night. She felt wrong and that she didn't deserve to be there. Not to mention how guilty she felt about Malcolm.

     She knew detention would be the outcome of her 'rebellious' behaviour from earlier, and yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had committed some kind of crime and that she could never forgive herself. Maybe, making sure she was early for her duties, duties that were granted to her because she was such a model student, was her way to convince herself that she hadn't committed any crime and that she was still a very responsible student. She had just slipped up, let her feelings and a bet she had to complete to get in the way of her actual priorities. She wanted to make sure everyone knew that she was still very committed and that to remind herself she was very much worthy of self-given forgiveness for doing as little as missing a few lessons and that it wasn't at all the big deal her mind was making it out to be.

     Percy Weasley and Jeremy Stretton were the only two waiting at the meeting spot for all the prefects when Bianca had arrived, five minutes early.

     As they stood in awkward silence, Jeremy trying to constantly catch Bianca's attention as he smirked at her, Bianca was just hoping that everyone else would arrive within seconds; she couldn't take much longer of the uncomfortable, yet very loud reticent.

     Percy had sent Bianca quite a few scowls that oozed disappointment and shame. He was planning on waiting till it was just the two of them so he could address Bianca's full-day absence. If it were anyone else, Percy probably would have done it the first chance he got, but he trusted Bianca and believed she was one of the best students at Hogwarts - he assumed it was just a mistake, and that there were no kind of rebellious intentions behind her bunking off.

     Bianca was not planning on letting Percy have the chance to speak to her alone, or at all for that matter. She would rather share Prefect duty with Adrian, than with the one student that would loathe the idea that she missed school on purpose just to hang out with a boy. If it came to that, Bianca was planning on telling Percy it was a medical thing and had spent all day in bed, in her dorm. Then, if he asked her why she had come to Prefect duty the same day, she would tell him it was because she was a model student, and this was her main priority being a commitment of her academic life. She was simply trying to cover up what she had really done, with the complete opposite.

     Adrian was still trying to come to a conclusion as to where Bianca had been earlier when she hadn't turned up to Potions; a lesson he would rather enjoy because she was his 'lab partner'. The explanation that made the most sense to him was that she was sick and had spent the day in bed, unable to go to classes, which is in fact what she was planning on telling Percy. No other explanation was like Bianca at all: forgetting she had a lesson for whatever reason; or sleeping in too late, but even then, that would mean she would only miss the first and maybe second period, not the whole day; and there was no way someone like her would deliberately miss a day full of lessons just for pleasure. Surely.

     As Adrian left the Slytherin common room, along with his fellow Slytherin Prefect, Mervyn Wynch, he felt determined to find Bianca as soon as he could and she could put an end to his confusion and get an explanation as to why she didn't turn up to classes.

     Bianca was quite lucky that Percy and Penelope Clearwater had grown increasingly close.

     When she suggested that it would be best if she and Adrian patrolled the Dungeons together again, so he could help her catch up and that it would be a "perfect opportunity" to briefly run through all the work she missed today, Percy's response was that he could help instead. He was only in very few of her classes, but he knew the syllabuses so well, he was prepared to assume what she was supposed to have learned that day in the remaining lessons and tell her so. He was also determined to get an answer addressing her absence in peace.

     But, when she threw in the "but why don't you patrol with Penelope?" card, he couldn't help but blush a little and agree with a slight stutter.

     "So where were you today?" Adrian asked as they strolled up and down the dimly lit corridors ─ their footsteps echoing against the walls, disrupting the stillness between them.

     Adrian didn't want to ask so early on and make him seem as eager as he was, but he couldn't help himself ─ he was dying to know. Not that it was any of his business, but if she was sick, that wasn't exactly private information right? She would tell him if the only reason she was off, was because she simply wasn't feeling great? Surely.

     Bianca shrugged, still deciding whether to tell Adrian anything. She enjoyed rubbing it in his face whenever she managed to cross one off of The Kiss List. But sometimes, teasing him with the information, and creating a sense of secrecy, like dangling a carrot over his head, was a lot more fun. She also hated herself for it.

     "Nowhere. Just didn't feel like going to class," she said, as casually as she could muster.

     Adrian let out a little laugh in disbelief, "You "didn't feel like it"?" he repeated. Bianca didn't verbalize her response, but shook her head, in order to remain as mellow as she could make herself seem. "That's bullshit. You mean, you're telling me that you bunked off lessons, on your own, because you, quote-unquote, "didn't feel like it"? I find that very hard to believe." he chuckled again, still in incredulity.

     "Who said I was alone?" she smirked. Her plan wasn't to tell him everything, but that didn't mean she couldn't leave him in the dark by teasing him with the truth.

     Adrian sighed, piecing what he needed together; he didn't need to hear it directly from her, but he could work it out; it wasn't hard. "Great. That's just . . ." he trailed off, nodding his head, which was now facing away from her, quicker and quicker. "Who was it?"

     "Who was what?" she asked.

     "Who were you with?"

     "That's classified." she smiled audaciously, looking up at him and he scoffed, still grinning slightly, amused, despite what he had found out.

     Adrian didn't know who she had spent her day with, nor did he think he would be finding out any time soon, and he could only assume whoever it was, whatever they were doing, it ended in a way that wasn't at all a good thing for him. The mood, to Adrian, had changed.

     "Classified, huh?" he tried his best to make his look as casual and unaffected by her news as possible. "Still won't pull this off," he said in an easygoing kind of way, still trying to convince himself that she wouldn't win this bet instead of him.

     Bianca wasn't even sure whether she wanted to continue it, let alone finish it. She had yet to decide, so for now, she played the cocky one.

     "Won't I?" Bianca smirked, "Let me just think. I believe I'm down-," she paused for a moment, stopping in the center of the corridor's width, imitating an expression of deep thinking. "-ten people now?" she continued walking, glancing over at Adrian, so he could confirm it for her, even though she was well aware she was right. And so did he.

     Adrian scoffed, shaking his head and relaxing his hands into his pockets with a chuckle.

     It may have been a joke to her, but it was only now, that Adrian was beginning to process how much further ahead in the bet she was. A lot further than he had planned.

     She may have been joking with him, but what Adrian didn't know is that all it would take for Bianca to be pushed off the edge is one more encounter with Malcolm Preece. The guilt would eat up her insides. Then, she knew, she would have to call it all off.