This one-shot is for Alice, 4TheLuvOfHorses. She has this amazing story called A Thousand Years. This one-shot is based off of that story, but could never do it any justice. So, I hope that she likes this twist I put in. Draco needs love too, and heck it is Valentine's Day. 

Draco had never been able to comprehend why he was such a coward. He had absolutely every opportunity to tell Mercy the way that he had felt ever since he had met her. He was in love with her, and it was killing him that he couldn’t tell her. With Mercy being extremely busy, he never really saw her for the past few weeks. He knew it had to do with her mission, but he could’ve sought her out and told her. But every time he thought about telling her, his fear of rejection always crept up on him. He could never understand why he didn’t have a right good back bone like any of his friends.

“What’s been up with you lately?” Ralph asked, grabbing Draco’s attention.

Draco looked at him and shrugged. “What do you mean?”

“It seems that ever since Mercy started disappearing on us you’ve kept to yourself. Is there something going on with you and Mercy? You two didn’t get into a fight or something, did you?”

“No, we didn’t have a fight,” he said with pursed lips. “She’s just been busy.”

“Well, today’s Valentine’s Day,” Ralph smirked as they walked up the stairs to the Great Hall. “What are you going to do for Mercy?”

Draco’s eyes widened at the question. He wasn’t expecting it in the least. He had been perfectly sure, up until that point, that he had kept his feelings for Mercy under wraps. Did he wear his feelings on his sleeves so much that other people had noticed? That Mercy had noticed? His heart beat sped up as the thought of Mercy knowing about him. Was she actually avoiding him? Did she not feel the same?

“H-how did you know?” Draco asked, finally able to use his voice.

Ralph chuckled. “It’s as plain as day to everyone how you feel. Well, everyone except Mercy.”

“You mean Mercy doesn’t know?”

He just kept thinking on how that was good news. Mecy didn’t suspect a thing…but has anyone mentioned it to her? Was that why she was avoiding him? Well, she did have a mission so it would be easy for her to avoid if needed, but she had never avoided him before. Well, not that he had noticed anyway.

“So, what are you doing?” he asked again as they walked into the hall.

At that moment, Draco made eye contact with Mercy at the Slytherin table and lost train of thought. Her eyes widened a bit as she turned back to Bailey, but he couldn’t take his eyes away. Ralph had walked ahead of him so that he could hurry and take the open seat next to Emery, who blushed with excitement. Draco’s focus was solely on Mercy and didn’t see that somebody had walked in front of him.

“Why don’t you watch where you’re going, jerk!” said a feminine voice that made him look away from the girl he had liked for such a long time. “I mean, come on. You’re not blind are you?”

The girl had long red hair and beautiful brown eyes, eyes that Draco couldn’t take his own from for some reason. She seemed different. She wasn’t like any of the girls that he usually hung out with. Mercy was pushy but not unkind. Bailey was rude and somewhat crude. Emery was sweet and shy. This girl seemed…different. As he looked down, he realized that she was wearing Ravenclaw robes and had Luna Lovegood standing nearby, who was trying to get her attention.

“Are you mute too, dumbass?” her beautiful, full lips said the curse word just perfectly.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, still transfixed by her.

She wasn’t the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen, but she was certainly the most assertive. Well, Bailey was plenty assertive, but he had never really been on her bad side. He could picture Bailey acting like she was. It must’ve been the red hair. He had heard somewhere that red-heads had terrible tempers. It was proving true right at that moment.

“You better be sorry,” she said, pushing a stray hair out of her freckled face. “You just ran me over for nothing.”

That’s when Luna approached us, smiled kindly at me, and grabbed her friend by the arm. “Come on, Riley. We need to meet Neville.”

Draco watched as they walked away before taking the seat across from Mercy, who looked oddly up at him. He just shrugged at her and took a glass of pumpkin juice from the trey in the center as well as a scone. He took a huge bite and chew for a moment before taking a sip of his drink and swallowing. He still felt eyes on him, so he looked up to see that Mercy and Bailey were staring him down.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he said, slowly.

Bailey rolled her eyes. “Don’t you have something to say to Mercy, Draco? You better do it quick or you’ll miss you’re opportunity,” she motioned towards her friend to quicken his answer.

He knew what she wanted him to say, and he opened his mouth to do so. It would’ve been the perfect opportunity to full out tell her how he had been in love with her for as long as he could remember. His mouth closed again as he set the scone down on his plate and wiped his hands on his pants. Brown eyes, red hair, and a flying temper penetrated his thoughts. Riley…Riley the Ravenclaw. She was definitely forbidden. The thought brought a smile to his face.

“Do you have something to tell me, Draco?” Mercy asked, and for some reason she seemed a bit pale.

He shrugged. “No.”

The answer came so easily, but he felt better that it wasn’t out of fear. He got up and left the table in order to relive himself in the loo, but there was two people standing in front of the doorway. One was Neville Longbottom and the other was Riley, the heated ginger. He felt a smile spread on his lips, but what was she doing with Neville?

“So, I’ll see you tonight at the meeting?” she smiled at the awkward boy, who just merely shrugged.

“I guess so,” he told her before walking into the loo.

Riley looked over and saw Draco standing there. She sighed and crossed her arms. “Gosh, stalk much?”

He shrugged. “What meeting?” he asked, raising an eyebrow up at her.

“The stalker also eavesdrops, what a surprise,” she smirked at me as she placed her hand on her hip. “I don’t see why I have to tell you anything, Death Eater.”

“And you’re not?” he asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

Her eyes widened and she shook her head violently. “I most certainly am not. You can’t just go around accusing people of being a Death Eater. These are very sensitive time, Malfoy.”

“And yet, this whole school is being run by them,” he smirked, feeling confident for the first time in a long time. “So, tell me, Riley. Why is it that you seem so persistent on keeping your identity a secret? I mean, I’m in no position to turn you in.”

“And what makes you think that I am one?” she asked, backing away from him as he slowly approached her. “I don’t give away any hints that would make someone think otherwise-“

“As a matter of fact, you do. First of all, you want to distance yourself away from me, thus preventing me from peeking at your arm, which you seem to have pretty well hidden. Secondly, you have a hostile attitude towards me, thus trying to keep me away from you,” he shook his head and chuckled as she backed into the wall behind her and put her arms behind her back. “You’re undercover, but for what reason?”

“Even if I was, I wouldn’t tell you,” she spat and flinched as he grabbed her arm. “You know, this count as harassment. I could turn you into the Carrows for such mistreatment.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “And they would laugh at you, Death Eater,” he pulled up her sleeve and found no marking what-so-ever, “or not.”

She jerked her arm away from him and rolled her sleeve back down. “I told you.”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized right away. “I shouldn’t have done that, but you gave me reason to believe it, so you’re at fault as well, Riley.”

She shook her head. “You’re an idiot, Draco.”

“It takes one to know one,” he smiled down at her. “Speaking of knowing people, how do you know me?”

She laughed out loud, her brown eyes sparking as she did so. “How could I not know you? Draco, you’re the most talked about person in the whole school. Every girl wants to be with you. Every guy wants to be you. It doesn’t matter that you’re the guy who let in all the Death Eaters last year. You’re still the shit, Draco.”

“Really?” he asked, not able to understand how that was at all possible. “I’m talked about around the other houses?”

“The only Slytherin that’s really talked about, other than Mercy Riddle of course and that’s for obvious reasons,” she shrugged. “You’re not going to get a big head now that I told you this, are you?”

Draco chuckled slightly. “I don’t think so.”

“Good,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Now, let me-“

She was cut off by Draco’s lips, which came crashing down on hers as fast as they were pulled away. She reached up and touched her lips, tuning him out completely as he apologized feverishly. She had never been kissed by a guy before in her entire life. The fact that the very handsome Draco Malfoy had stolen her first kiss was unfathomable. Looking up, she found his grey eyes penetrating hers apologetically.

“It’s okay, Draco.”

“Not it’s not. I mean, I don’t know anything about you. I don’t even know you’re last name for Merlin’s sake,” he said, backing away from her. “I’m in love with someone else.”

His breath caught in his throat. He had never spoken the words out loud. He had never said that he remotely even liked anyone out loud, but for some odd reason, he wished that he hadn’t said that to Riley. Sadness penetrated her eyes, but she didn’t cry. She wouldn’t allow herself to cry.

“Oh, it’s okay, Draco,” she shrugged. “And it’s McHale by the way.”

He looked at her oddly.

“My last name is McHale.” She repeated slowly this time.

He nodded before waving and turning away from her. He stood there for a moment before heading off back in the direction that he had came. She watched him walk away, the moisture in her eyes getting to her. He didn’t know it, but when he walked away, he was taking her heart with him. Just as he was completely unaware that he was leaving his own heart behind.