Chapter 6

✨Helena Lestrange✨

I woke up excited for the day ahead of me.  I was going on my first date with Harry!  As excited and nervous as I was, I couldn't help but feel guilty that I haven't told Draco about it.  He's my best friend and we've told each other everything since we were 9.  I got dressed and went down to eat breakfast.  As I ate my bowl of fruit, I thought about telling Draco.  This way, I wouldn't be thinking about it during the date.  As I picked up a grape, Draco sits next to me, clearly excited about something as well.

"Hey!" I say.

"Hey, what are you doing later today?" He asks, picking an apple slice from my bowl and eating it.

"Why do you ask?"

"Pansy, Blaise, and some others wanted to go to Hogsmeade.  You up for it?"

"Um, depends.  What time are we going?"

Draco seemed surprised from my response, but said, "We're leaving whenever we're all ready."

"Oh, sure let's go."  I smiled at him as we got up and went to the common room.

As we entered, I told Draco, "I'll be right back.  I'm just going to get my coat."

It was starting to get cold outside, especially for it only being September.  I grabbed a warm sweater and headed back down to the common room to find Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, and Draco all waiting for me.  We exited the common room and made our way to Hogsmeade.

We entered the Three Broomsticks first to get a cup of butterbeer and then went to Honeydukes.  After, we walked in and out of shops in hopes of finding some cute clothes.   Pansy and I were looking at some clothes in the women's section while Draco and Blaise sat on a bench nearby, bored out of their minds.  Crabbe and Goyle left to go mess with some first years.

"You guys said you wouldn't take long!  You've been staring at the same shirt for 5 minutes!"  Blaise whined.

"Yeah, hurry up!" Draco added.

"Relax, we still have to try stuff on." I replied as Pansy giggled and continued browsing.

"Well Draco and I will be in the men's section and we'll meet you back here when we're done." Blaise replied, standing up and taking Draco with him.

After looking and picking out some clothes, Pansy and I went to the dressing rooms to go try everything on.  We both got rooms opposite each other and opened it when we wanted to show each other our outfit.  We had a fun time trying on cute clothes and clothes that were hands down hideous.  10 minutes went by, and Draco and Blaise came back with shopping bags, clearly showing they had bought and paid for something while we were goofing off.  They caught both of us outside our dressing room looking at our terrible outfits.  Pansy was wearing some jeans that fit her too big with a shirt that looked like it was made for a kid.  I was wearing a skirt with shapes and colors that clashed and a matching top.

"What the hell is going here?  Don't tell me you're thinking of buying that?!" Blaise said, not taking his eyes off our outfits.  Pansy and I couldn't help but laugh at his response.

"No stupid, we're just having fun." Pansy replied.

"Well hurry up, will you?  We finished shopping already!" Draco said.

"Alright, alright.  We tried on everything we actually liked anyway." I told them.

Pansy and I went back into our dressing rooms and changed into the outfit we originally had on.  We got the clothes we wanted and paid for them.  It already 4 and I wanted to look nice for my date with Harry, so I said goodbye to everyone, telling them I was going to go study with Hermione.  Everyone seemed to believe it, everyone but Draco.

I headed back to my dorm and started to get dressed for my date.  I picked out a new outfit to wear while we were shopping without telling Pansy.  I was about to start my makeup when I heard a knock at the door.

"What are you doing here?!" I said.

"I just thought I'd help you get ready for your date tonight!" Hermione walked in and I shut the door behind her.

"I really appreciate it, Hermione.  So, what do you think of the outfit?" I asked, giving her a spin so she could see a full 360 of it.

"It looks wonderful El!  Harry's going to freak when he sees you in it."

"Thanks!  I figured this would be best since I don't even know where we're going."

Hermione had a look on her face which screamed, 'I know but I can't tell you where'.  Even though I noticed it, I thought better than to ask.  She would deny it and I wanted it to be a surprise anyway.  Hermione helped me continue to get ready as I talked about how nervous I was and maybe I shouldn't go, but she kept telling me I'll be fine and that it was the nerves talking.  After some serious debate, I was finally ready.

(Here's the fit- feel free to change it to your liking... I tried to soften her up since her date's with Harry:))

 Everyone was at Hogsmeade for the day, so when Harry knocked on the Slytherin common room door, both Hermione and I heard it.

"Oh no!  He's here!" I started pacing back and forth and started to crack my knuckles (It's something I do when I'm nervous).

"Relax El!  You'll be okay!  It's only Harry, after all."  Hermione told me, stopping me from my pacing.

"Right, just Harry.  It's just Harry."

We walked down stairs and opened to find Harry waiting there.

"Well, my job's done.  I'll be in the library."  And without another word, Hermione left.

"Hi." I said, trying to break the silence.

"Hi.  You look great Helena."

"Thanks."

"Are you ready to go then?" He asked.

"Yup."

As we walked, Harry and I continued talking.  It was a bit awkward at first, but then we both forgot we were on a date and started making jokes and laughing like we normally do.  I was so hung up on talking to him, I didn't even realize where we were when Harry stopped me.

"Well, here we are."

I looked around in astonishment at the picnic Harry had set up right in front of the Black Lake.  There was a perfect view of Hogwarts and the sun was just about to set, making the sky look like pink cotton candy.

I turned to Harry and said, "Harry, it's beautiful.  Thank you."

"I just wanted to make today special, that's all."

We sat down and Harry opened the picnic basket to reveal some freshly cut fruit, pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, some water, and warm butterbeer.

I picked up the bag of jelly beans as I said, "You got Bertie Bott's?  Can we play a game with them?"  

"Why not?" He said, smiling.

"Alright.  Close your eyes and pick one out of the bag.  You can either eat it and find out the flavour, or you have to tell me something you haven't told anyone."

"Alright, let's do it." He replied anxiously.

Harry closed his eyes and reached into the bag and pulled out a nice green one.

"This one doesn't look too bad-"

"But looks can be deceiving..." I cut him off.

"I'm trusting this one, though."  Harry started to chew to the jellybean and within seconds, a nasty look appeared on his face.  

I laughed till my stomach hurt and when he swallowed it, he told me, "Grass."

I laughed at his answer and replied, "I told you.  Alright, my turn."  Harry drank some water as I closed my eyes to pick a jellybean.  Before I could open my eyes though, Harry began to laugh.

I was going to ask what he found funny, but I got my answer when I opened my eyes to see a nasty gray jellybean laying in my hand.

"Oh no."

"Oh yes.  Now eat it or tell me something."  Harry said, still laughing.

I stared at the jellybean, hoping it would turn into a different color or at least be a good flavour.

"Looks can be deceiving, you know.  A good friend of mine told me so."  Harry said, smiling.

"Shut it."  And without another word, I ate it.  It didn't take long for the flavour to explode in my mouth.  Dirty laundry.  Delicious.  I rummaged through the picnic basket quickly in hopes of finding a water bottle.  I found one and practically chugged almost all of it.

Harry continued laughing and asked, "What was it?"

"Tasted like b.o and sweat! Ugh, I can't get the taste out of my mouth!  I'm drinking a butterbeer."  I carefully sipped the warm butterbeer, careful not to burn my tongue from it.  As I did this, Harry grabbed another jellybean.  He grabbed a brown one and sure enough, it was dirt.  I went after and pulled a red one out.  This one I was hopeful, and sure enough, strawberry.  Harry went again and got toothpaste.  I pulled out another and knew from the sight of it, it was vomit.  No way was I going to eat that, so I set it down, giving Harry a confused yet excited look.

"You're not going to eat it?" He asked.

"No way.  That's vomit for sure."

"Well, you know what you have to do."

"Alright, let me think of something."  We sat in silence while Harry was poking through the bag of jellybeans.

"Okay, I've got something." I paused before continuing, "This is the first date I've ever been on, so I really didn't know how to act or what to expect, but I'm glad that I'm here with you Harry."

He smiled and replied, "This is my first date too, El, and I couldn't think of anyone else I'd rather go with."

His response made me blush, which he noticed.  We stopped playing the game and ate some good food and drank our butterbeer.  It was 10 when we decided to head back to our dorms.

"I had a really good time tonight, El." Harry said, getting up from his spot.

"Me too, Harry."

"I just want to ask you a question before we go."

"Go for it."

"Would you be my girlfriend, El?"

I paused.  This is the question that I have been waiting for all night.

With no hesitation, I replied, "Well it's about time you asked!  Yes, Harry, I would love to be your girlfriend."

His smile grew from ear to ear as he hugged me.  We picked up our stuff and walked back to the castle.  

We said our goodbye's and walked our separate ways to our house, being careful not to be caught by prefect's since it was already past our curfew.

I made it back to my common room safely without being caught.  I was about to head upstairs to my dorm when all too familiar voice spoke up.

✨Harry Potter✨

I quietly went back to my dorm, almost getting caught by Percy on the way.  I couldn't stop thinking about the day I had.  I just couldn't get her out of my mind.  I had the best time with Helena- I mean, El today.  She's all you could want in a girl, honestly.  She's smart, funny, attractive.  And now, she's my girlfriend!  Crazy world.  I couldn't wait to go upstairs and tell Ron all about it (and give him all the food El and I didn't finish).

✨Helena Lestrange✨

"Where were you?  And don't lie to me."  I jumped a little at the sound of his voice.  Draco was sitting on one of the couches staring at the crackling fire.

"At the library with Hermione, I told you." I replied, turning around to face him.

"No you weren't.  I checked." Draco's voice didn't sound angry or rude, just plain, almost as if he was bored of the conversation.

"Why'd you do that?" I said, upset that he felt the need to check up on me.

"Why'd you lie to me?" And for the first time while talking, he looked at me.  That's when I noticed the hurt and angry look on his face.

"I asked you first."

"I don't give a damn who asked first Helena!" He stood up with anger, and continued.  "You lied to me.  You lied to me when we're supposed to tell each other everything!  You could've been hurt and I would've never known because I thought you were at the library this whole time!  I knew you were lying when you said you had to leave to go study, and sure enough when I went to the library, I saw Hermione by herself reading.  And don't try and give me an excuse because I waited for almost an hour and you never showed!  I just want to know why you lied and where you were Helena."

It was quiet for a bit.  I took a seat next to Draco as he was sitting back down.  I was hesitant to reply but spoke up and told him.

"I was on a date, alright."

"A date?" Draco seemed confused as to why I lied about something like that.

"It's not what you think, though."  I paused before saying the next line. "I went on a date with Harry."

The silence felt like it would never end.

"You went on a date with Harry?  Harry Potter?"

"Yes.  Look Draco, I wanted to tell you as soon as he asked me but-" He cut me off before I could continue explaining.

"Wait, he asked you on a date?" You could hear the anger in his voice start to build up again.

"Yes he did.  Listen, I wanted to tell you right away I just didn't know how alright?  No one knows except Hermione, Ron, and now you.  What's wrong with that anyway, I thought you were okay with me liking him?"

"Yeah, well that was before I knew he liked you back!  You can't like him Helena, you just can't!"

"And why not?!  You don't control my life!  I'll go on a date with whoever I want!"

"I'm not controlling your life Helena!  I just don't want you to go on dates with him!  I hope you enjoyed that date, because that's the last one you'll ever go on with Potter."

Thinking he got the last word of the argument, he stood up and walked off to his dorm, but me being who I am, I was not going to let him win.

"Well sorry to burst your bubble, but that won't be the last date I'm going on with Harry." A smirk appeared across my face, for I already knew what to say in order to get under his skin.

"And why is that?" He replied, standing by the stairs now.  Before responding, though, I walked up to him and got so close to his face that I could count every strand of hair in his face.

"Because, I'm his girlfriend now."  My smirk grew wider as he stood there in total disbelief.

"You're his what?" Draco asked, trying to keep his cool but obviously failing.

"You heard what I said.  Now, I'm going to bed.  I'm pretty tired from the long day I had.  Goodnight, Malfoy."  I never called him by his last name, it always felt weird to me.  And Draco always called me 'El' unless he was upset with me.  Draco never responded, he just stood there, not wanting to believe a single word that came out of my mouth.  I walked up the stairs and closed my door shut.  Usually, when Draco and I have an argument, he always wins.  But that's only because he's the one who starts the arguments in the first place.  Pansy was already asleep as I quietly dressed into some pajamas and went to bed.

✨Draco Malfoy✨

If words could kill, this was it.  My best friend, and my enemy, together.  I walked up the stairs after Helena shut her door.  I didn't know how to feel: I was angry, upset, and hurt.  Hurt that she had the nerve to date Potter.  I opened my dorm to find Blaise sleeping.  I got into some pajamas, laid in bed, and thought about a time when life was simple, when Helena and I didn't have crushes or arguments, it was just us.

Flashback

I woke up excited for the day. My mother has been telling me this past week that she's going to have a meeting in the dining room today.  My family always have those.  They invite a couple friends and they all sit and talk.  Usually, I be in my room trying to pass the time by, but today was going to be different.  My mother told me that today her friend, Bellatrix, would be at the meeting (as usual) and she's going to bring her daughter, Helena.  Mother says Helena and I have only met once before, but we were just babies then.  Now, we're both 9 and are going to see each other again.  I hope she's not weird.  I hope I actually get along with her.  Anyway, mother's been very anxious today and told me to dress nice.  As if anyone would see me but Helena.  I've been passing the time playing hide and seek with Dobby, my house elf.

✨Narcissa Malfoy✨

Today's the day!  I've been talking to Draco about meeting Helena.  I've met Helena multiple times when I go over to the Lestrange Mansion, but Draco and Helena haven't seen each other since they were 2.  I really hope they get along.  Ever since I became friends with Bellatrix in first year, we've always dreamed about having our kids become good friends.  It's unfortunate that they're finally meeting now.  Every time there's a death eater meeting, Bella usually leaves Helena at home with their house elf to take care of her but this time, she's bringing her along!  I told Draco to dress nice and ordered Dobby to clean his room.  I just hope they become friends.

✨Helena Lestrange✨

My mother's been talking to me all week about this meeting she has to attend and I have to come along.  I really don't want to, but mother's been pretty excited about this meeting and I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings.  She's also mentioned that a boy my age will be there too.  Draco Malfoy, but I know him better as Narcissa's son.  I'm not too fond of meeting him, but mother's been telling me I'll like him.  We'll see about that.  My mother laid out a nice, black dress for me to wear.  I hate dresses, but mother wants me to dress nice.  At 1, I walked downstairs and waited for my mother.  A few moments later, she was ready as well, and we apparated to Malfoy Manor.

✨Draco Malfoy✨

"Draco!  They're here!" Mother called from inside the house.

"Coming!" I walked inside and bumped right into Dobby.

"Sorry Dobby, we'll play later.  Maybe with that girl." I told him.

"Dobby will be cleaning the backyard if you need him, Draco." Dobby walked outside to start the chore.

I went upstairs because my hair got messed up from hiding in the bushes for so long: Dobby really sucks at hide and seek.  I grabbed some hair gel and my comb and started to take out some leaves from my hair while smoothing it down.  Downstairs, I heard mother welcoming Bellatrix and Helena.  Then, I heard them start to talk about me, so I quickly left my room before they could talk bad about me.  Before I entered the room, though, I caught a glimpse of her.  Helena, I mean.  She had long black hair that curled at the ends.  She was wearing a black dress that looked nice on her.  Suddenly, I got a weird feeling in my stomach.  I ignored it and walked down the stairs.

"There he is!" Bellatrix said, noticing me.

Helena turned her gaze to me and we kept eye contact until I made my way to them.

"Hi."  She said to me with a smile.

"Hi." I said back, still staring at her hazel eyes.

We broke eye contact once Narcissa spoke up, "Well, you two should go up to Draco's room and get to know each other better.  We'll be in the dining room, alright?  If you need anything, just call our house elf, Dobby."

"Thank you, Narcissa." She said politely.

Bellatrix and mother walked to the dining room table and talked to the few other people there.

"So, do you want to go upstairs?" I asked, trying to make it less awkward now that it was just the two of us.

"Um, sure." She followed me up the stairs and to my room.  She walked in and sat on my bed, looking around the room.  She noticed the Holyhead Harpies poster on my wall and got up to look at it.

"No way!  You like the Holyhead Harpies too?!" She asked, excited.

"Yeah, I'm like their biggest fan!  Do you play at all?"

"Yeah, I'm a chaser.  Do you?"

"I'm more of a seeker."

"Cool."

We continued talking about Quidditch and then played hide and seek for a bit.  When we got tired of the game, we went back to my room and continued talking.  It was now 6.  Soon after, my mother knocked on the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Helena's leaving now.  Deary, your mother's downstairs when you're ready."

"Aww, okay.  I'll be down in a minute." Helena responded.

"Do you have to go?" I asked once mother left.

"Yeah, but I could ask to come over tomorrow." She replied, putting on her shoes.  "Maybe we could start to fix that spot we found."

"Yeah, I have some things in my room that we could put in there."

"Cool.  I'll see if I have anything.  Well, bye Draco." She said, giving me a hug which took me by surprise.

"Bye Helena."

"Call me El."

And with that, my new best friend left.

End of flashback

Since that day, I knew that I would do everything I could to protect her, care for her, and be there for her.  But sometimes, she makes it really hard to do that.  Usually with arguments, we ignore each other for a couple days before we forget about it and start talking again, but this one felt different.  I'm not sure how exactly, but it just did.  I knew we wouldn't just forget about it or start talking again, one of us was going to have to apologize.  Fine, both of us were.  I went to bed, thinking of what the next couple days are going to be like without her by my side.