January.
Such a dull time of year.
Draco sighed, misting the bay window with his breath, absently drawing patterns he began to daydream.
Christmas was over, thankfully he had escaped his mothers dreadful ball and New Years he had been too drunk to even register all the mind numbing small talk.
Unfortunately now he just had to wait until he went back to Hogwarts to escape his overbearing father and simpering mother, he couldn't even see his friends because of his father's esteemed "guest" AKA Voldemort.
He was dragged from his musings as the door to the music room creaked slowly open on its old brass hinges. A blonde head poked around and peered into the darkness of the room, she adjusted the thick beanie that was falling down over her eyes and in a loud whisper called his name.
"Draco, are you in here?"
Quickly shaking off his shock he stepped out of the shadows and cocked his head to the left,
"Aria is that you? What are you doing here?"
His childhood friend pushed her way into the room and rushed to stand in front of him.
"I wanted to see you, it has been too long!"
She wrapped long thin arms around his waist and hugged him tightly, blonde head nestled against his chest highlighting their height difference. Letting out a startled "oomph" at the impact he wrapped his own arms around her in return.
"Why weren't you at the New Years Ball? You left me to suffer alone" he pouted, usually they spent the boring event providing comic relief for the other commentating on the lords and ladies conversations from afar.
She pulled back and flushed, "I'm sorry Draco, I... I wasn't invited this year"
"You weren't? But you're always invited, I told mother to send the invitation!" he growled lowly, "are you sure it didn't get lost in the post?"
"Absolutely positive, I honestly don't mind though it was a relief to avoid those stuffy lords and ladies!" she giggled and took a seat at the piano in the room, pressing keys randomly and filling the cavernous room with noise.
"But you should mind, you always come you're my best friend!" shaking his head he took a seat next to her "my mother must be meddling again, you know she's trying to get me to pick a wife" he snorted self deprecatingly.
Pale slender fingers began to flow across the keys and the notes of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata filtered throughout the room, Aria sighed and leant her head on top of the grand piano and just listened to Draco play.
The door to the music room slammed open and an imposing figure with long platinum hair and flowing dress robes stood illuminated in the doorway, an uncomfortable shriek resounded through the room as Draco faltered and pressed the wrong key.
"Mother" Draco enquired in confusion "what is it?"
"Why is that harpy in here Draco, you are meant to be entertaining Astoria tonight" Narcissa questioned coldly flickering a glance towards Aria at the piano. "you need to marry and a union with the Greengrass family would be auspicious at a time like this"
"Mother! How could you talk to Aria like that!" he was enraged and shot to his feet, knocking the piano stool over with a loud crash that split the atmosphere of the room like a gunshot.
"Draco it's fine" she muttered, gently laying a hand on his arm in an attempt to hold him back "I'll just leave, but remember to write me soon okay?" she gave him a weak smile and turned to leave.
"Please refrain from touching Draco with your whore hands, you need to spend less time in this house, you are not on the correct social level" Narcissa sneered
Two hours later Draco had returned to brooding in front of the window, he had spent the past hour having high tea with his parents and one Astoria Greengrass, what a bore. She was slytherin to the core and was so uptight it was painful, she didn't even laugh at any of his subtle digs, if he had to spend the rest of his life with a straight faced, straight laced woman he would die!
He missed Aria.
To his surprise he actually missed Aria a lot, they had been friends since they were about three years old, her mother coming up to Malfoy manor to paint portraits and her father to fit robes. He remembered the first time they had ever met, he had been playing a lonely game of hide and seek with his teddy bear Sir Francis Growl, best dressed bear of the upper classes and a bright blonde head had popped into his line of vision from behind the settee and cried "found you"
From that day on they had been best friends and spent as much time as possible together and had grown up to have the same wicked sense of humour and sharp wit, making fun of each other and their friends with subtle digs befitting a slytherin.
The next day he was woken by a frantic house elf tugging on its ears as it rocked back and forth anxiously
"Master Draco, Master Draco, yous must be wakings ups now" the squeaky voice cried.
"Alright Tilly, alright" he groaned grumpily "i'm up although God knows why"
"Yous mother wantses to see yous in the dinings room"