Draco smoothed out his robes before carefully running a hand through his hair, making sure that each strand sat where it was supposed to. He stared at his reflection in a mirror.
He knew he was handsome, but he had to admit that he looked particularly stunning this evening. He wore a brand new set of navy blue dress robes. His dragon hide boots gleamed, as though anticipating the ballroom dance floor.
“Don’t you look just terrible,” Blaise said with a chuckle.
Draco turned to stare at his friend. His classic black robes and the closely-cut dark curls that hung about his face gave him quite an impressive look.
Draco smirked. “Shall we?” He held out an arm for Blaise to take.
Blaise returned his smirk and shoved past him to exit their dormitory. They made their way into the Common Room to find Theo, Daphne, and Tracey waiting.
Everyone looked great, even Tracey, whom Draco had thought of as quite plain.
“Where’s Astoria?” Draco asked, wanting to sound impatient and not eager.
“She’s not quite ready yet,” Daphne answered. “And you said I was difficult.” She gave Draco a friendly wink.
No sooner had she said this, Astoria emerged wearing a dazzling set of ice-blue robes that trailed behind her. They were stylishly cut off the shoulder, revealing her porcelain white skin. Her blonde hair was partially piled atop her head, with loose tendrils framing her heart-shaped face. Her ghost of a smile eyed Draco appreciatively as she haughtily raised her head in pride at the gasps from the other girls.
She stood next to her sister, and Draco took a step towards Astoria, his eyes never leaving her gaze, and took her hand to his lips. She wore a diamond bracelet that slid up her wrist as she did so, the glint of the stones capturing his eyes. Draco had to admit that the young woman had impeccable taste.
“We should get going,” Theo said roughly. Daphne took his arm in agreement and the six of them left the dungeons.
Astoria’s hand held the crook of his arm tightly and he fought back a pleased smile. She appeared to be a sophisticated, classy witch with a respectable family. He thought that perhaps his mother would like her. They had the same grace and presence. He liked that.
The Great Hall had completely transformed. The entrance featured a sparkling arch sculpted out of ice. Real snowflakes hung suspended in midair to create a dazzling white glow across the room. Three feet of snow gleamed against the edges of the walls. There were ice sculptures, a life-size snow globe for couples to take their picture together, and icicles hanging from the ceiling.
Music filled the hall as the new wizarding band, Apollo’s Dream, performed on a stage on what would’ve been the location of the staff table.
You caught me by surprise
I just couldn't seem to realize
The spell you put on me
The spell you put on me
There were students dancing and enjoying refreshments and each others company, wearing fancy dress robes that Draco thought were a bit distasteful and subpar.
Their party claimed an available table and Draco held out a chair for Astoria. She blushed slightly as she took a seat.
“Some pumpkin juice, Astoria?” he asked politely.
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” she responded.
“You know,” Blaise said, tagging along with Draco to the refreshments, “you make the rest of us blokes look bad when you do that.”
“Do what?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Being a gentleman.” He smirked.
Draco shrugged. “It wouldn’t kill you to treat Tracey Davis like a lady.”
He poured two glasses of pumpkin juice and was about to make his way back to their table when he couldn’t help noticing Potty and Weasel entering the Hall.
It wasn’t their slightly acceptable robes that caught his attention. Nor was it Potter’s endless mass of unruly hair or Weasley’s slouched, insecure frame that ordinarily made Draco shudder. It was Ginny Weasley, who held Harry Potter’s hand as she trailed in after the rest of them.
His mouth dropped slightly and he had to steady the two glasses in his hand. She was beautiful.
She wore white, sleeveless dress robes reminiscent of the Roman goddesses, with her blazing red hair in a simple pony tail, its knot resting at the nape of her neck. She had a small smile on her face as she greeted other students, her eyes full of light as she took in the room around her. She let out an excited laugh as she tugged on Potter’s robes, pointing out the snow in the air. A simple gold bracelet on her wrist caught the reflecting light of the snowflakes. Potter smiled first at the snow, and then at her, his eyes taking in her presence next to him.
An unfamiliar sensation rippled through Draco. He felt a sharp pain and it took him a moment to realize that he’d broken one of the glasses in his hands. A first year Ravenclaw passing by yelped at the sight of his blood dripping into the snow, but Draco scowled at him, causing the student to jump and flee.
Draco calmly pulled out his wand and healed his hand. He filled a new glass with juice and headed back towards his table.
The table was in discussion, about what, Draco didn’t know. He stared at his lap thoughtfully. He had kissed Ginny Weasley on whim last week. It seemed like a brash and idiotic thing to do, but he’d been confused, and she was there, in a thin dressing gown not leaving a whole lot to the imagination. He’d told himself all week that it had been a disgusting, degrading thing to do, and that he should just forget about it.
But his mouth became dry every time he replayed the thought of her soft body sinking into his embrace, the way she moaned into his mouth, her hands gripping onto him tightly for support. It was flattery, really, to know that he’d that kind of reaction on a girl. But what of the reaction she’d had on him? Try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss, or rather, kissing.
He’d thought for sure it was merely lust. She was, after all, a rather attractive witch, considering the pathetic upbringing. Her red hair did things to him, as though he couldn’t see any other color. And she smelled of the flowers his mother kept in their gardens at the Manor.
But she was also nice to him. She’d spared his arse when he’d foolishly fumbled during their presentation. She’d also come to see if he was okay afterwards.
Don’t be such a dunderhead, his conscious reprimanded him sharply. She knows what you are. She just wants more information on you and your kind so she can tell the rest of her do-gooder friends.
The thing that haunted him the most were her eyes. The pools of brown seemed to go on for miles. He could see sincerity in them, but then again, he wasn’t sure what sincerity looked like. He hadn’t seen much of that recently. It could be an act. That’s how she baits you.
The sound of chairs scraping against the floor brought him back to reality. His housemates were going to dance. Right. He was at a ball and that required dancing.
He rose to his feet and offered Astoria his hand. She suddenly didn’t seem as stunning as she did before.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she breathed, accepting his hand. They danced to a slow song while he told himself over and over again that he should be having a good time. Astoria was a good dancer, clearly having had the same training Draco had had. He tried to look at her and smile, offering small talk as she placed her arms around his neck, pulling her body close to his.
He found Potter and Ginny dancing not too far from them, the two of them smiling at each other as Potter’s hands rested on her waist. Draco forced himself to look away. This is ridiculous.
After the song had ended the band picked up the beat and played something fast paced. There were students jumping around him, girls letting their hair fall down and boys smiling in appreciation at the change in the atmosphere.
“Come now, Draco, you’ve shown that you can certainly dance,” Astoria said, grinning at him mischievously. “Don’t hold back now, the music has ju-”
Whatever she was about to say was interrupted as a loud screech rang in Draco’s ears. His first thoughts were that some mail had arrived, but when this seemed ridiculous, he looked up to find Pansy Parkinson storming towards the two of them.
“You!” Pansy shrieked, pointing a finger at Astoria. Draco had never found Pansy very attractive, but this had to have been her worst moment. Her face was screwed up in anger, her cheeks a blotchy red, and a look in her eyes that could kill.
Astoria looked at Draco in confusion. He returned the puzzled expression.
“You harlot!” Pansy continued screaming, now a mere few feet away from the two of them.
Astoria raised an eyebrow. Draco thought it might fly right out of her head. “I beg your pardon?”
“Pansy, what do you think you are doing?” Draco asked, almost tiredly. A few students around them had stopped dancing to stare at the spectacle.
Pansy tore her gaze from Astoria to him, her breathing sharp and rigid. “How could you bring this…this…manipulating floozy…”
Draco groaned inwardly as Astoria’s eyes widened in fury.
“Why you grotty little pillock, how dare you-” Astoria tried, her fists balled up.
Pansy looked ready to explode.
“Pansy, this is ridiculous,” Draco tried to interject. “I cannot believe you would insult my-”
Pansy jerked her arm back sharply. Draco would’ve thought she was going to hit Astoria when he heard her elbow connect with something before she could do anything further.
“If it isn’t the filthy Weasley girl,” Pansy cackled, looking at who she’d just inadvertently socked.
Ginny Weasley stood with a hand pressed against her left eye, her mouth ajar in horror. Harry stood behind her, frozen in hesitance at the direction the situation had taken.
“You pug-faced, pretentious, bitch,” Ginny spat out, taking her wand out. Harry was suddenly on her, his hands grabbing a hold of her shoulders from behind.
“Ginny, just let it go,” he said quietly. “She’s not worth it.”
There was an even larger crowd around them. Draco could hear whispers among them.
What happened? Did Pansy hit Ginny?
I think Astoria hit Pansy first.
Are they fighting over Draco?
No, they’re fighting over Harry.
Charles Warrington came out of the crowd and gripped Pansy’s elbow. He bent down to whisper something in her ear, but she shook him off.
Astoria, who’d been standing by Draco’s side, suddenly let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, Weasley, that black eye will do just wonders for your complexion.”
Ginny sneered at Astoria, her wand pointing towards the girl.
“Astoria, what are you-” Draco started.
“Did you think I’d forgotten about you, harlot?” Pansy asked, turning towards Astoria once again. Charles snickered behind her.
“Witch fight!” someone yelled from the crowd, followed by laughter and cat calls.
This is absurd, Draco thought. His head was spinning.
“What’s going on?” Professor Snape’s voice bellowed from the crowd. The students frantically dispersed, moving as far away from the squabbling group as possible.
Harry hurriedly led Ginny away, who was glaring daggers at both of the Slytherin girls. Pansy stomped away with Charles at her heels.
“Mr. Malfoy, Miss Greengrass.” Snape nodded at the two of them suspiciously. “What seems to be the problem?”
“Nothing at all, Professor,” Astoria said sweetly, taking Draco’s hand in hers and giving it a rough squeeze.
Snape eyed them suspiciously before disappearing.
When they were alone Astoria laughed, the sound making his ears ring. “Oh, that was brilliant.”
Draco stared at her in disbelief.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said, rubbing his temples. He’d really wanted to say that her behavior had been unbecoming of a lady. Pansy had gone completely mad, but she didn’t need to lash out at Ginny. What those witches will say to each other when provoked…
“Attention, students!” the voice of McGonagall boomed across the hall. Draco found her standing on the stage next to the band. “I will now announce our Winter Beau and Belle.”
The room suddenly quieted down, with only the faint sounds of shuffling feet and rustling robes.
Astoria gripped Draco’s arm casually. She appeared calm and collected - a complete transformation from just a moment earlier.
The students stared at McGonagall in anticipation. Hagrid stood on her left holding a diamond studded crown and Flitwick to her right, holding an equally impressive tiara.
“Our Winter Beau is…” She undid a bound scroll. “Harry Potter!”
The room burst into cheering and a round of applause. Draco scowled.
“Our Winter Belle is Ginevra Weasley!”
The room continued to cheer, but Draco felt Astoria’s grip on him falter slightly.
Draco watched as Harry took Ginny’s hand and led her up to the stage. Hagrid placed the crown atop Potter’s head. He grinned at the crowd. Ginny had to lower her head for Flitwick to place the tiara on her. Her cheeks were tinged pink in embarrassment and she gave everyone a small smile. She looked uncomfortable and fidgeted with her ponytail.
Well, this is revolting, Draco thought, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, mate, we’re going back to the dungeons to get ready for the party,” Blaise said, tapping him on the shoulder.
“I need to get out of here,” Draco said. He was about to follow Blaise out of the Hall when he noticed something glinting by his feet. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a girl’s golden bracelet. He recognized it as the one Ginny was wearing. He pocketed it in his robes.
This may come in handy, he thought with a smirk.
He knew he was handsome, but he had to admit that he looked particularly stunning this evening. He wore a brand new set of navy blue dress robes. His dragon hide boots gleamed, as though anticipating the ballroom dance floor.
“Don’t you look just terrible,” Blaise said with a chuckle.
Draco turned to stare at his friend. His classic black robes and the closely-cut dark curls that hung about his face gave him quite an impressive look.
Draco smirked. “Shall we?” He held out an arm for Blaise to take.
Blaise returned his smirk and shoved past him to exit their dormitory. They made their way into the Common Room to find Theo, Daphne, and Tracey waiting.
Everyone looked great, even Tracey, whom Draco had thought of as quite plain.
“Where’s Astoria?” Draco asked, wanting to sound impatient and not eager.
“She’s not quite ready yet,” Daphne answered. “And you said I was difficult.” She gave Draco a friendly wink.
No sooner had she said this, Astoria emerged wearing a dazzling set of ice-blue robes that trailed behind her. They were stylishly cut off the shoulder, revealing her porcelain white skin. Her blonde hair was partially piled atop her head, with loose tendrils framing her heart-shaped face. Her ghost of a smile eyed Draco appreciatively as she haughtily raised her head in pride at the gasps from the other girls.
She stood next to her sister, and Draco took a step towards Astoria, his eyes never leaving her gaze, and took her hand to his lips. She wore a diamond bracelet that slid up her wrist as she did so, the glint of the stones capturing his eyes. Draco had to admit that the young woman had impeccable taste.
“We should get going,” Theo said roughly. Daphne took his arm in agreement and the six of them left the dungeons.
Astoria’s hand held the crook of his arm tightly and he fought back a pleased smile. She appeared to be a sophisticated, classy witch with a respectable family. He thought that perhaps his mother would like her. They had the same grace and presence. He liked that.
The Great Hall had completely transformed. The entrance featured a sparkling arch sculpted out of ice. Real snowflakes hung suspended in midair to create a dazzling white glow across the room. Three feet of snow gleamed against the edges of the walls. There were ice sculptures, a life-size snow globe for couples to take their picture together, and icicles hanging from the ceiling.
Music filled the hall as the new wizarding band, Apollo’s Dream, performed on a stage on what would’ve been the location of the staff table.
I just couldn't seem to realize
The spell you put on me
The spell you put on me
There were students dancing and enjoying refreshments and each others company, wearing fancy dress robes that Draco thought were a bit distasteful and subpar.
Their party claimed an available table and Draco held out a chair for Astoria. She blushed slightly as she took a seat.
“Some pumpkin juice, Astoria?” he asked politely.
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” she responded.
“You know,” Blaise said, tagging along with Draco to the refreshments, “you make the rest of us blokes look bad when you do that.”
“Do what?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Being a gentleman.” He smirked.
Draco shrugged. “It wouldn’t kill you to treat Tracey Davis like a lady.”
He poured two glasses of pumpkin juice and was about to make his way back to their table when he couldn’t help noticing Potty and Weasel entering the Hall.
It wasn’t their slightly acceptable robes that caught his attention. Nor was it Potter’s endless mass of unruly hair or Weasley’s slouched, insecure frame that ordinarily made Draco shudder. It was Ginny Weasley, who held Harry Potter’s hand as she trailed in after the rest of them.
His mouth dropped slightly and he had to steady the two glasses in his hand. She was beautiful.
She wore white, sleeveless dress robes reminiscent of the Roman goddesses, with her blazing red hair in a simple pony tail, its knot resting at the nape of her neck. She had a small smile on her face as she greeted other students, her eyes full of light as she took in the room around her. She let out an excited laugh as she tugged on Potter’s robes, pointing out the snow in the air. A simple gold bracelet on her wrist caught the reflecting light of the snowflakes. Potter smiled first at the snow, and then at her, his eyes taking in her presence next to him.
An unfamiliar sensation rippled through Draco. He felt a sharp pain and it took him a moment to realize that he’d broken one of the glasses in his hands. A first year Ravenclaw passing by yelped at the sight of his blood dripping into the snow, but Draco scowled at him, causing the student to jump and flee.
Draco calmly pulled out his wand and healed his hand. He filled a new glass with juice and headed back towards his table.
The table was in discussion, about what, Draco didn’t know. He stared at his lap thoughtfully. He had kissed Ginny Weasley on whim last week. It seemed like a brash and idiotic thing to do, but he’d been confused, and she was there, in a thin dressing gown not leaving a whole lot to the imagination. He’d told himself all week that it had been a disgusting, degrading thing to do, and that he should just forget about it.
But his mouth became dry every time he replayed the thought of her soft body sinking into his embrace, the way she moaned into his mouth, her hands gripping onto him tightly for support. It was flattery, really, to know that he’d that kind of reaction on a girl. But what of the reaction she’d had on him? Try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss, or rather, kissing.
He’d thought for sure it was merely lust. She was, after all, a rather attractive witch, considering the pathetic upbringing. Her red hair did things to him, as though he couldn’t see any other color. And she smelled of the flowers his mother kept in their gardens at the Manor.
But she was also nice to him. She’d spared his arse when he’d foolishly fumbled during their presentation. She’d also come to see if he was okay afterwards.
Don’t be such a dunderhead, his conscious reprimanded him sharply. She knows what you are. She just wants more information on you and your kind so she can tell the rest of her do-gooder friends.
The thing that haunted him the most were her eyes. The pools of brown seemed to go on for miles. He could see sincerity in them, but then again, he wasn’t sure what sincerity looked like. He hadn’t seen much of that recently. It could be an act. That’s how she baits you.
The sound of chairs scraping against the floor brought him back to reality. His housemates were going to dance. Right. He was at a ball and that required dancing.
He rose to his feet and offered Astoria his hand. She suddenly didn’t seem as stunning as she did before.
“Would you care to dance?” he asked her.
“Of course,” she breathed, accepting his hand. They danced to a slow song while he told himself over and over again that he should be having a good time. Astoria was a good dancer, clearly having had the same training Draco had had. He tried to look at her and smile, offering small talk as she placed her arms around his neck, pulling her body close to his.
He found Potter and Ginny dancing not too far from them, the two of them smiling at each other as Potter’s hands rested on her waist. Draco forced himself to look away. This is ridiculous.
After the song had ended the band picked up the beat and played something fast paced. There were students jumping around him, girls letting their hair fall down and boys smiling in appreciation at the change in the atmosphere.
“Come now, Draco, you’ve shown that you can certainly dance,” Astoria said, grinning at him mischievously. “Don’t hold back now, the music has ju-”
Whatever she was about to say was interrupted as a loud screech rang in Draco’s ears. His first thoughts were that some mail had arrived, but when this seemed ridiculous, he looked up to find Pansy Parkinson storming towards the two of them.
“You!” Pansy shrieked, pointing a finger at Astoria. Draco had never found Pansy very attractive, but this had to have been her worst moment. Her face was screwed up in anger, her cheeks a blotchy red, and a look in her eyes that could kill.
Astoria looked at Draco in confusion. He returned the puzzled expression.
“You harlot!” Pansy continued screaming, now a mere few feet away from the two of them.
Astoria raised an eyebrow. Draco thought it might fly right out of her head. “I beg your pardon?”
“Pansy, what do you think you are doing?” Draco asked, almost tiredly. A few students around them had stopped dancing to stare at the spectacle.
Pansy tore her gaze from Astoria to him, her breathing sharp and rigid. “How could you bring this…this…manipulating floozy…”
Draco groaned inwardly as Astoria’s eyes widened in fury.
“Why you grotty little pillock, how dare you-” Astoria tried, her fists balled up.
Pansy looked ready to explode.
“Pansy, this is ridiculous,” Draco tried to interject. “I cannot believe you would insult my-”
Pansy jerked her arm back sharply. Draco would’ve thought she was going to hit Astoria when he heard her elbow connect with something before she could do anything further.
“If it isn’t the filthy Weasley girl,” Pansy cackled, looking at who she’d just inadvertently socked.
Ginny Weasley stood with a hand pressed against her left eye, her mouth ajar in horror. Harry stood behind her, frozen in hesitance at the direction the situation had taken.
“You pug-faced, pretentious, bitch,” Ginny spat out, taking her wand out. Harry was suddenly on her, his hands grabbing a hold of her shoulders from behind.
“Ginny, just let it go,” he said quietly. “She’s not worth it.”
There was an even larger crowd around them. Draco could hear whispers among them.
What happened? Did Pansy hit Ginny?
I think Astoria hit Pansy first.
Are they fighting over Draco?
No, they’re fighting over Harry.
Charles Warrington came out of the crowd and gripped Pansy’s elbow. He bent down to whisper something in her ear, but she shook him off.
Astoria, who’d been standing by Draco’s side, suddenly let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, Weasley, that black eye will do just wonders for your complexion.”
Ginny sneered at Astoria, her wand pointing towards the girl.
“Astoria, what are you-” Draco started.
“Did you think I’d forgotten about you, harlot?” Pansy asked, turning towards Astoria once again. Charles snickered behind her.
“Witch fight!” someone yelled from the crowd, followed by laughter and cat calls.
This is absurd, Draco thought. His head was spinning.
“What’s going on?” Professor Snape’s voice bellowed from the crowd. The students frantically dispersed, moving as far away from the squabbling group as possible.
Harry hurriedly led Ginny away, who was glaring daggers at both of the Slytherin girls. Pansy stomped away with Charles at her heels.
“Mr. Malfoy, Miss Greengrass.” Snape nodded at the two of them suspiciously. “What seems to be the problem?”
“Nothing at all, Professor,” Astoria said sweetly, taking Draco’s hand in hers and giving it a rough squeeze.
Snape eyed them suspiciously before disappearing.
When they were alone Astoria laughed, the sound making his ears ring. “Oh, that was brilliant.”
Draco stared at her in disbelief.
“What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said, rubbing his temples. He’d really wanted to say that her behavior had been unbecoming of a lady. Pansy had gone completely mad, but she didn’t need to lash out at Ginny. What those witches will say to each other when provoked…
“Attention, students!” the voice of McGonagall boomed across the hall. Draco found her standing on the stage next to the band. “I will now announce our Winter Beau and Belle.”
The room suddenly quieted down, with only the faint sounds of shuffling feet and rustling robes.
Astoria gripped Draco’s arm casually. She appeared calm and collected - a complete transformation from just a moment earlier.
The students stared at McGonagall in anticipation. Hagrid stood on her left holding a diamond studded crown and Flitwick to her right, holding an equally impressive tiara.
“Our Winter Beau is…” She undid a bound scroll. “Harry Potter!”
The room burst into cheering and a round of applause. Draco scowled.
“Our Winter Belle is Ginevra Weasley!”
The room continued to cheer, but Draco felt Astoria’s grip on him falter slightly.
Draco watched as Harry took Ginny’s hand and led her up to the stage. Hagrid placed the crown atop Potter’s head. He grinned at the crowd. Ginny had to lower her head for Flitwick to place the tiara on her. Her cheeks were tinged pink in embarrassment and she gave everyone a small smile. She looked uncomfortable and fidgeted with her ponytail.
Well, this is revolting, Draco thought, rolling his eyes.
“Hey, mate, we’re going back to the dungeons to get ready for the party,” Blaise said, tapping him on the shoulder.
“I need to get out of here,” Draco said. He was about to follow Blaise out of the Hall when he noticed something glinting by his feet. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was a girl’s golden bracelet. He recognized it as the one Ginny was wearing. He pocketed it in his robes.
This may come in handy, he thought with a smirk.
Leave a Review