It was a pleasant Thursday night. Draco had a whirling few days. He had finally turned in his Arithmancy homework and essay for Charms. He was ready to sit back and relax.

Actually, not quite. At least not yet.

"Drake, what are you doing?" Pansy asked, already in pre-shriek mode.

"Eating," he replied, between mouthfuls of dinner.

"Mate, you're practically wolfing down the food. Slow down," Blaise said.

"Got a thing," Draco said thickly before swallowing his last bite of mashed potatoes, hurled up his bag, and rushed out of the Great Hall.

Casting a Bubble-head Charm on himself, he pushed open the owlery door, not minding the creak since it was not yet past curfew.

Some owls tilted their heads curiously at him, before going back to minding their own business. He spotted Acacia. The tawny owl peered down beadily at him.

"Here," Draco said to her as he approached her little landing of space. He dug out a whole pot of extra-meaty-flavored Willow's Premium Owl Treats as a peace offering, before heading the other way and tending to Harrison.

Acacia narrowed her pupils as Draco stroked Harrison's feathery head. Draco purposedly took out a salmon owl treat and fed it to him- Acacia despised the salmon-flavored ones.

Draco waited for a full five minutes before doing anything else. When Acacia didn't fly his way to attack him or circle around his head to plant some droppings in his hair, he figured the prepared peace offering was good enough for her. Sure enough, Acacia ruffled her feathers airily before nibbling on the bowl of meaty treats Draco had given her. No owl swooped down to ask for a share. He figured Acacia had already established her status in the owlery long ago.

Draco held out a finger and Harrison hopped onto it, hooting gracefully as Draco conjured a desk next to the window. With a strong enough Bubble-head Charm to block out the smell, the owlery was actually a pretty nice place for writing. It had a great view from the window, overlooking Hogwarts' grounds. It was a tiny little niche to him.

Draco fished out his admirer's letter from Tuesday.

Dear Draco,

Good evening :). Thank you so much for understanding yesterday. You're a really thoughtful and considerate person.

Today was a drag. Double Potions. You were there, but I figured you loved it. I watched you for a bit (I'm so sorry if this comes off as creepy, it's just regular staring, and only for a teeny tiny little while, I swear!). The way your eyebrows furrow just a tiny bit but not quite is really cute. Have you plucked your eyebrows recently? It certainly seems like you have.

Love,
Your Secret Admirer

He had been too busy to write and the guilt was getting under his skin. He finally got a free night and he hoped the admirer would understand for his late reply.

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

Evening :). Sincerest apologies for the late reply, I was too busy for the past two days. Hope you don't think I'm a jerk for doing so... I finally got a free night now, if you're up for it, we can chat for a while :D.

It's not creepy, I totally understand staring at crushes (I've got... quite some experience). It's actually kinda cute that you're telling me all this :).

Also, to answer your question, as a matter of fact, I did pluck my eyebrows just Monday night. An O for your keen observation!

If you have time, favorite current professor?

Draco

Dear Draco,

I literally just stepped into my common room when Harrison came. Thank Merlin, or then I would've been in the Great Hall and your housemates would've seen my owl.

It's okay for the late reply, I figured you were busy. Or maybe you were scared off by my staring at you in class. But now you're just making me blush by saying it was cute (my dormmates are not here this time!).

Your eyebrows looked very nice :). Is it totally stereotypical for me to assume you have some long-arse two-hour cleansing ritual morning and night?

Favorite professor, McGonagall.

Love,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

Damn! I missed you again. But no one to blame this time, bad timing.

To answer your question: First of all, yes, that is extremely stereotypical, and frankly, I'm offended. Secondly, you are totally right. Except that it's one hour each, morning and night (you must be smirking now so I'm just going to go ahead and tell you to wipe that stupid smug grin off your face). I bet you have one too, don't deny it. If you can recognize plucked eyebrows, you do too.

McGonagall? I thought you liked Defense best?

Draco

Dear Draco,

Aw, don't be offended! But unfortunately, I do not have long-arse cleansing rituals. Sorry to disappoint you :D (also sorry for still having a smug grin on my face). I simply recognize plucked eyebrows because I observe. I might be a bit oblivious sometimes, but I notice small details. It's mostly the most important things and the big picture I overlook, haha.

Also, I'm going to counter your point with this: Your favorite subject is Potions, but your favorite professor isn't Slughorn, is it?

Smirks,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous GryffinDORK,

How dare you, getting all cocky like that?! Even if you made two very fine and valid points in your previous letter, that still doesn't give you the right to gloat, let alone smirk so openly. Hmph.

Alright, fine. I suppose that's true, Slughorn definitely isn't my top three favorites. Mine's Vector.

Why is your favorite McGonagall?

Huffs and pouts,
Draco

Dear Draco,

Please, please, please always stay this pouty when you write. It's beyond adorable, I love it.

Vector's nice, she teaches very well. As to why my favorite professor is McGonagall... she's just always been a motherly figure to me. She's my head of house, after all. Even though she can be very strict, she means well.

Not gloating anymore, I promise,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

...I can't even tell if it's a genuine compliment or you're just messing with me to make me blush anymore.

You know Vector? You take Arithmancy too? What a coincidence. I suppose McGonagall's okay. She might be my third favorite, I guess. She's really good at teaching, too.

Where are you right now?

You'd better not be gloating,
Draco

Dear Draco,

You should know by now that all compliments are a good blend of both purposes. I love complimenting and embarrassing you at the same time :).

I choose not to answer whether I take Arithmancy if that's okay with you. I'm sorry. But I do agree with you. McGonagall's a really good teacher, even if sometimes I'm pants at Transfiguration.

I'm currently in my dorm. I've built a little niche- a blanket fort (it's not juvenile, it's comforting and cozy). There are pillows, sheets, sweets, and drinks inside. I'm in there with two of my friends. They don't know exactly what's going on but figured I'm writing to someone since Harrison kept coming and going.

I'm not gloating, I'm warm and snuggly right now,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

Grr. Fine. I'm going to let that slide, but only because there's no one around me right now.

It's alright if you don't want to answer, you're not obligated to, though I'm still a bit keen on trying to figure out who you are.

A blanket fort? That... actually sounds tempting. I may or may not try it the next time my dormmates are out partying.

What drinks do you have in the fort?

Nice to hear your current situation
 and thanks for the marvelous blanket fort idea,
Draco

Dear Draco,

You're adorable :).

You still want to figure out who I am? I hope you're not trying too hard, I'm afraid my limited intellect couldn't keep up with covering my traces and identity.

Your dormmates are partying right now?! There's still class tomorrow! I thought they only partied on Friday to Sunday nights? How crazy can you Slytherins be?! Also, on a more serious note, do try the blanket fort. It's awesome, you'll fall in love with it.

We currently have Butterbeer, hot chocolate, and a wee bit of Firewhiskey. But I'm not drinking that now, or you might not be able to read my handwriting. Besides, I don't like Firewhiskey that much anyway.

Tell me when you try the fort,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

You're actually pretty cute yourself :).

I'm not trying that hard, don't be too alarmed. But don't slack off that much, either. I'm pretty damn brilliant.

No, they're not partying right now. They're just not around me at the moment. And I only said I'm going to try when they go partying.

I am so itching to build a fort now. Bloody hell, you make it sound fantastic. Also, my opinions on Firewhiskey are the same as yours.

Craziest thing you've ever done?

Will do,
Draco

Dear Draco,

Merlin, stop it! One of my friends thought I got drunk on Butterbeer, blushing that hard.

Oh, I'm sure you're brilliant. I'd probably wet myself if you ever do find out though.

Regardless, I still think your dormmates are pretty much the party animal. I can never in a thousand years fathom going skinny dipping at the very same place the giant squid lives.

Ah. Also a question I cannot answer, my apologies. But mark my words: the things I have done are beyond crazy.

Also, I recommend thinner sheets for the fort itself
and thicker sheets for the ground,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

Hey, I'm just repaying the favor ;).

Also, you wetting yourself might just be another even more inviting reason to find out who you are.

My dormmates are just really excited, last year and all, I guess. But your words were exactly what I told them before they went to the lake.

Hm, beyond crazy? Color me intrigued... I wonder what you've done. You're so mysterious.

Call it a night? We've both got classes tomorrow. Hope you get some proper rest.

Thanks for the advice,
Draco

Dear Draco,

Ahhhh. You're evil and cute at the same time, you're positively driving me mad :(.

I take mysterious as a compliment, that means at least I've done well enough so far to conceal my identity :).

Sure, call it a night. To be honest, since I've started talking to you, the nightmares have been much better. I've never properly thanked you for that, so... thank you. So much. I even managed to scrape four hours of sleep last night. Let's hope tonight I'll make five :D. Sweet dreams.

Love,
Your Secret Admirer

Dear Anonymous Gryffindork,

So glad I was able to help, I'm so happy for you! Sweet dreams :).

Draco