Draco found it hard but he went to class and saw Scarlet there. He sat in the back so inevitably Scarlet sat at the front, naturally wanting to avoid him. Draco smiled at her but she didn't see as she was steadfastly avoiding his gaze. It didn't bother him too much, in fact he had a little chuckle to himself. If only she knew. She was really the one with all the power here.

He would have done practically anything to have gotten her to like him... but now he knew this information and she did not, he had to enjoy it as he presumed for the rest of their relationship... and oh boy was there going to be a relationship (They'd be the bloody talk of the town... or rather school in this situation... when it all came out), for the rest of the relationship he felt she would have the one up on him because she couldn't possibly like him as much as he did her, and he couldn't imagine a world that he would ever want to leave her... so she would be getting the power soon enough, he wanted his short turn first.

At the end of class Draco slowly made his way up to Zilah's side at the front of class, who was of course sitting next to Scarlet. Scarlet noticing him, as he'd planned got up quickly and left without a word still not wanting to talk to him; but before Zilah could leave scurrying after her friend Draco called her name "Zilah, I need to talk to you". Zilah swiveled in her seat to face him and had a sort of sassy expression on her face, as if she already knew. "Yes we do need to talk Malfoy" she said menacingly.

Draco told her about what had actually happened the other day under the tree and Zilah seemed very satisfied as this made a whole lot more sense to her. She said as much to him as well to the tune of "I just knew you fancied her" and she repeated herself several times, very pleased with herself obviously... but then her countenance changed when she asked "but why the hell are you telling me this and not Scar?". "Well" Draco replied smoothly "I want to do this right. I need a good way to tell her and you need to help me" he said wearing the classic Malfoy smirk. Everything was finally going his way.

The two conspired together. Zilah was to get Scarlet in the right place at the right time as she'd hardly be around Draco at the moment by her own action. The right place was to be under her favourite tree. The right time was a little more difficult as it would be after curfew, he didn't want everyone watching and gawking.

Draco was going to bribe the Slytherin and Ravenclaw prefects to turn a blind eye as he knew both were the type to take such an offer, he'd done this a few times before when wanting to sneak out... but they'd have to divert from the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Although the Hufflepuff Ursula Broache could probably be distracted if needs be, she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed if you catch the lingo.

Zilah was to get her new sparkly ('probably sparkly from a bubbling over potion that had gotten to him' Draco quipped to himself) Gryffindork boyfriend to try and distract the Gryffindor prefect if needs be. And there were to be fairylights in the tree apparently... this was Zilah's suggestion, and by suggestion I mean insistence.

Draco would be there and the rest would be left up to him. It was soppy as hell but at least it was under his control for once. Scarlet normally making him feel completely out of control. This time she'd be the one following all his cues. It took the rest of the day to organise everything and so they planned to do it the following night.
____________

The day of the plan arrived with Draco not feeling so confident as he was just yesterday. He had a thought to just go up to Zilah and double check, wanting to hear it in very plain language that Scarlet had actually told her that she fancied him... right?... but he thought better of it. He'd practically heard it with his own ears.... but what if she had changed her mind? he thought futilely.
Changed her mind from yesterday? his mind quipped back at him sarcastically. He was acting like a fool. He had to pull himself together.

Classes weren't as fun as he thought either. Having Scarlet mad at him even if he knew it was from a misunderstanding didn't make him feel great, although he wavered from feeling cocky and pleased with himself that he knew she did actually like him... not just like him but fancy him... to insecure as all merlin.

Even with the ball in his court Draco's emotions felt manipulated by her. He scowled at himself and reminded himself that tonight was the night everything was finally going to work out. Scarlet would finally be his.... if she hadn't changed her mind from yesterday that is (his mind not so unhelpfully added).

Draco didn't eat much at dinner. Scarlet sat at the Gryffindor table with Neville the sodding bore, although he was pleased when she couldn't help but look over in his direction at one point in the night. He had to refrain himself from smiling at her but he waited for her to turn away first. He also smiled thinking about the Herbology nerd Longbottom probably thinking he still had a chance with Scarlet... the poor sod.

After dinner he took his second shower of the day, just to make the best impression possible. Theo asked him what was up with him but he wasn't going to divulge anything so as not to jinx it. Draco rolled his cuffs up and looked at himself in the mirror swishing back his blonde hair with his fingers to make it look just right.

Theo came up behind him and ruffled it all again. Draco swore at him as he left the room and tried to quickly make it look manageable once again. And then he was off. He'd payed the two prefects when he walked down the Ravenclaw and Slytherin watched over areas within the castle, and then fairly easily slipped passed the Ursula the Hufflepuff prefect as he didn't really have to go through her sector other than a few steps really, and then he saw the freaking Gryffindor.

His back was turned to Draco luckily and Draco darted quickly behind a poster. Why did the castle have to be so darn large. Would he ever get to his destination? He swung down to be leaning on the ground with his forefingers touching the cold stone. He looked around the edge of the column he was hiding behind. The Prefect turned and looked his way but Draco quickly swiveled to have his back on the column again.

After there seemed to be no movement from the Gryffindor for a while Draco chanced another glance. He was moving... but not towards him... he was moving towards Zilah's new boy toy, Seamus Finnegan! "Hey what are you doing up Seamus?" the prefect asked him. Seamus said "Oops you caught me, sorry about that pal. I just remembered I'd left this book just outside the library and I thought I ought to get it before class tomorrow. Sorry about that mate" he said in his rhythmic Irish accent.

The prefect grunted but he obviously didn't want to give anyone in his house a detention or really loss of house points. And then Draco saw Seamus not super subtly jerking his head as if to tell Draco to move on while he could to the tree.
That boyfriend of Zilah's might have been a bit more of a Slytherin than Draco had previously thought. He was bloody lying to help Draco with his love life. A very unexpected occurrence. Draco wasn't sure how he felt about being in his debt... but there was no time to think about that now. Draco quietly sprinted behind the two Gryffindors and made it outside to the tree.

As planned Scarlet was there in all her adorable and quirky glory under the luminescent fairy lights that Zilah had strung up. Draco had advised her that this wasn't a bloody romance film she was shooting, but he thought it was a little amusing anyway. He waited in the shadows for Zilah to finish her side of the plan and get flipping out of there.

He heard her say. "See aren't they beautiful. I told you it was work sneaking out". "Hmm" Scarlet nodded in agreement but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. "Now I told you I wanted to do something to cheer you up" Zilah said eying Draco as Scarlet looked towards the tree. "Yes it's lovely" Scarlet said looking towards Zilah again.

"OK but that's not all. What you have to do is turn towards the tree close your eyes and count to 50" Zilah said allowing herself plenty of time. "To 50? what in merlin's name are you up to Zilah?" Scarlet asked amused. "Just do it for me wont you?! it's for you I promise" she said rolling her eyes at her friend. "Well fine" Scarlet said bemused.

She turned towards the tree away from Zilah and Zilah gave Draco the thumbs up running away as quickly and stealthily as she could. Draco walked up behind Scarlet as she was still counting her hands covering her eyes. It gave him a moment too long. All the nerves came back as he watched her and he realised he had not thought at all what to say exactly to alert her to the fact that he indeed fancied her... he'd spent all his thinking time up with getting them both here in the first place.

Her hair looked beautiful in this light. It cascaded down her back, and her soft voice slowly counting only revved up his anticipation. He couldn't wait any longer or he wouldn't be able to do it. "Scarlet" he said tapping her on her back.
She jumped with surprise and turned around hastily.

"Draco, what in Merlin's name are you doing here?" she asked rightfully affronted and confused. She looked as though she was searching for a way out but Draco was stood right in front of her and her curiosity would hardly allow her to leave such a strange situation.

"Well I'm here for the same reason you are, for the same reason I brought you here that is" he said smirking at alerting her to the fact that he had totally controlled this whole situation and she couldn't do anything about it. Scarlet silently cursed Zilah under her breathe. So not best friend behavior!

"You brought me here?" she asked trying to make sense of it all with only a few pieces of the puzzle to assemble. "Why Draco, so you can rub it in a little more?" she said peeved. "No I brought you here so we can finally be on the same page" Draco said stringing it out for his amusement. "Draco I freaking got it. Your not into me. I'm not an idiot. You don't have to tell me a million times... I'd very much appreciate it if you wouldn't actually!" she said turning away from him to face the tree again with her arms folded.

"Well I think you may be a little more of an idiot than you give yourself credit for then" Draco said quietly laughing, not able to keep the humour out of the situation. His stomach knotted and his voice got dry.
"Scarlet" he said before she could talk back at him again as she turned to face him for her retort.

He caught her eyes and she could see he was being serious and it took her aback a little, for enough time for him to say "look Scarlet I'm here to tell you, you got it wrong... I... well... I am into you... very into you in fact... an aggravating amount into you" he said laughing. It felt so so good to get that off his chest, he almost felt like laughing at the euphoria of it.

"I got it wrong" Scarlet repeated him after a few seconds looking very baffled. "You are into me?" she asked feeling very out of the loop and suspicious. "What do you mean?" she asked after another few seconds had passed still confused. "I mean exactly what I said. I like you ok. I fancy you... however you want to say it... I probably you know, more than like you" he said getting embarrassed but trying his best not to show it. He didn't think he'd ever been this openly gushy in his entire life and he didn't plan to continue being this way in the future.

"But" Scarlet said still confused.... "but before you, you rejected me! what was that all about?" she said more sternly, trying to point out the inaccuracies of his story. "No I didn't.... it was a mix up... we both just misunderstood" he said explaining himself and looking into her bewildered eyes.

She looked up at him as though he wasn't even really standing there. As though she must of been seeing things. "A mix up?" she said once again echoing his words. "But, but you said I should go out with Neville" she added again trying to logically explain to Draco why he didn't actually like her. "I said nothing of the sort" Draco said affronted. That was the last thing he wanted.

"Well I mean I guess I sort of did say that but I meant that if you weren't going to have me as you know... well a boyfriend or whatever" he stumbled across the word boyfriend awkwardly "then I guessed you should just still do what would make you happy as long as we'd still be friends... I said that because I really liked you... I care about you Scar... but then I found out that that actually wasn't what you wanted so..." Draco said swallowing the lump in his throat. Scarlet's eyes were wide.

He tried to pull all his courage together and walked forwards towards his intention, Scarlet. He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in close to him. "Scarlet. I've wanted you since practically the first time we met. I know we argue a lot... and I know you think I can be a bit of a git sometimes..." Scarlet nodded her head unhelpfully, but Draco went on "but do you think, that you might, want to go out with me?" he asked keeping his cool and steady voice on as he looked down at her big eyes and shocked expression.

"Well" Scarlet said still looking up at him. "Well this has been an unexpected turn of events" she said finally smiling. She walked in the tiniest bit closer that she could get to Draco, his chest plush against hers. "I suppose I wouldn't mind that" she said cheekily nonchalant. "Oh wouldn't you?" Draco asked smirking leaning down getting closer and closer to her face, to her lips.

Scarlet Looked up into his stormy grey eyes and suddenly he captured her in kiss. She closed her eyes as his mouth touched hers. They began to move together heavenly slow and tantalizingly sensitively. But that didn't last long. A flame of desire had been lit in Draco's stomach.
The two were like magnets. Drawn to each other from the day they met and finally there was connection. All seemed right in their new world together.

THE END.