...rekindling...

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(contains strong language and mature themes)

    WEEKS HAD PASSED... and Kiernan made sure to stay away from the blonde haired boy, even if that meant taking the long way to her classes; which she did and ended up being late to Snape's class.

After being late several times, Professor Snape was tired of giving the girl a "new girl pass" and decided what to do.

"Late to class again I see, Miss Margaux." Snape snarled.

"Yes, my apologies sir." The girl's voice was unsteady; she was scared of him.

"Would you like to share your excuse with the class as to why you are tardy for the fifth time this week?" He said.

The girl's eyes made their way to Draco, who had been sitting on the other side of the classroom. It was only for a split second but it seemed as if the rest of the class, including him, noticed her short glance.

"I-" The girl was quickly cut off by the professor.

"I don't actually care for your excuses. Detention for 2 weeks." Snapes looked at the girl and then to Draco who was sitting at his desk, laughing. "You too, Malfoy."

The two students stayed silent after that and let the professor teach the lesson.

Kiernan had tried so hard to stay away from Draco after what he did to her; it was going to be hard to avoid him while they were in the same room but she was not going to give up that easily. More than anything, she knew that he did not deserve her attention.

After their class was over, Kiernan made her way to the dining hall for lunch. Although she had to sit with the other Slytherins, she made an effort to visit her friends, Ophelia and Tobi.

As the girls stood in the dining hall to catch up, Kiernan filled her friends in on her recent endeavors. They were shocked that she had gotten detention for as long as she had, but overall felt bad that she had to go through it with Draco.

Ever since the incident with him, Kiernan hadn't said a single word to him. There were times when he tried to speak to her and she would just ignore him. It was one thing to say awful things about her, but her mother had always been a very rough subject and to hear the nasty things that he called her made Kiernan sick. She still didn't understand how everyone knew her mother, but she was finally determined to figure it out.

"Can I talk to you guys about something after school?" Kiernan said; she was nervous.

"Of course, anything." Ophelia said.

"What is it Kie?" Tobi chimed in.

"Oh, um- It's about my mom..." The girl didn't know what to expect.

"We'll tell you everything, Later," said Tobi as she parted ways with the girls and made her way to the long table where the rest of the ravenclaws had been sitting.

Ophelia also left and went to sit with the rest of the hufflepuffs.

When Kiernan made her way to the slytherin table, the blonde haired boy took a step right in front of her. In his attempts of stopping the girl and getting her attention, the boy showed an expression of nervousness.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Get out of my way Malfoy."

"You can't avoid me forever. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you." He did not seem very bothered; it was as if he was teasing her.

The girl showed a small sign of sincerity until she realized what he was trying to do. "You know what you can do?" She said, strictly.

"Please, what is it?" Draco said, still playing with her.

"You can get the fuck out of my way so I can enjoy my food without having to look at you." She snarled. She knew what he was doing and she was not going to be fooled by him again.

The girl pushed past him and sat by herself at the end of the table, placing food onto her tray. She sat there in hopes that nobody would sit next to her. Unlucky enough for her, Draco was relentless that day and placed his tray right next to hers.

At first, she only noticed a pale white hand with a slytherin ring on it. When she looked up, she saw him standing over her with an apologetic look on his face and, for a split second, she made it seem as if she were going to forgive him. With the welcoming look she gave him, the boy sat down next to her. With that motion, Kiernan stood up, threw her food in the trash, glared at the boy, and made her way to the slytherin common room to read.

It seemed as if the girl could not get away from Draco to save her own life. Of course, he followed her into the common room and he looked desperate. He sat down next to her on the couch that was placed directly in front of the fireplace.

"Please, Draco, tell me what I can do to get the fuck away from you! What do you want?" The girl was frustrated at this point.

"In all honesty, I want you to forgive me. I promise, I will not spread rumors like that again, just... forgive me." Draco was desperate, but the girl didn't know why.

"I will, under one condition." She was demanding. "You have to tell me what you meant when you called my mother the Hogwarts whore."

Draco was embarrassed and his cheeks turned red. "Well, there was a rumor that your mother was dating another man here at Hogwarts at the same time she was involved with your dad in the muggle world. There were more than a few occasions where she had been seen with different boys around the castle, hence the nickname."

She was absolutely shocked; Kiernan didn't want to think of her mother as someone who would be unfaithful. "Does that mean that my father might not actually be my father?" Her heart skipped a beat. "My mother got pregnant with me when she was 18. She had just barely left Hogwarts."

"Well, I'm not sure about that. I could ask around if you want." He said; the boy wished he hadn't inflicted another wound upon her.

Tears lined the girl's eyes and a single tear fell down her warm brown skin. "No, that's okay. I will figure it out. Thanks for telling me." She tried to finish her sentence quickly and leave the room.

The girl tried to stand up and walk away, but Draco grabbed her hand; this time, it wasn't in an aggressive manner. He pulled the girl towards him and wiped the tear from her cheek. The two made direct eye contact and stayed that way for nearly a minute, their bodies almost pressed against each other.

"You can't keep doing this every time I cry." The girl stood there, still in his embrace.

"Then maybe you should cry less. This situation seems oddly familiar, don't you think?" Draco smiled, caressing the girl's lower lip with his thumb; oddly enough, she seemed very comfortable with that.

"Well, what should we do now?" The girl said, completely flustered beneath his touch.

The boy didn't waste any more time and pulled her in for a kiss. The kiss was gentle and intimate; it was something that they hadn't experienced together. The last time they had kissed, it was rough and filled with lust. But, this was something different. Draco didn't want to hold back anymore and neither did Kiernan. She was completely there with him and didn't think of what consequences there might be for falling for an emotionally unavailable guy. She wasn't experiencing that side of him; this side was kind and warm, which was something she had never understood before.

Their kiss was short lived as another slytherin entered the common room and made their way up the stone steps to the dorms.

"That was..." Draco said, at a loss for words.

"Yeah, it was." Kiernan said, knowing exactly what he meant. "I am not feeling well, I am going up to my dorm now."

The girl rushed to her room and laid down in her bed. Although she was terrified at the thought of her father not being her actual father, she couldn't stop thinking about that kiss.

As the girl pondered what she could do in regards to her father, Ember laid cuddled up to the her chest and purred like she was trying to comfort her as Kiernan wept.

The day went by quickly for Kiernan; she skipped her tutoring session with Ophelia because she could not handle anymore human interaction for the day. She knew that her friends were waiting for her, but she couldn't bring herself to get out of bed; it was an impossible task.

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THE NEXT MORNING... everyone was woken up bright and early for visiting day. This was the day in which all the student's parents would come to visit their children and see how their classes are going. Kiernan did not expect anyone to come, of course, but she was still not looking forward to all the adult attention.

The girl walked to the dining room when she noticed a familiar face waiting for her next to Dumbeldore.

Kiernan's face turned white. "W-what are you doing here?" The girl had an absolute terror wave over her, as she was stricken with fear.

Why did everything have to be so hard for Kiernan? All she ever wanted was to feel the warmth of someone's love and whatever it was that stood in her way of that, it needed to be stopped once and for all. But how?

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