Astoria Greengrass groaned as she unceremoniously dropped her coat and bag beside the couch in her apartment, before flopping down face-first into said couch.
"Another bad date?" Astoria heard the amused voice of her older sister, and roommate, Daphne.
"Yup," Astoria sighed into the cushions.
"I told you the cute guy from the pub would turn out bad," the elder Greengrass sister chided.
Astoria flipped over to her back, craning her head so as to glare at Daphne.
"Oh, I'm sorry little Miss Matchmaker! My mistake for not following your advice! Who should I date in your opinion, ô prophet of Venus?" Astoria snarled, the last bit coming out as an overly dramatic, Shakespearean-like query.
Daphne snorted at her little sister's antics. It was a match made in heaven that the petite brunette on the couch was studying Drama.
"That'll soon be Mrs. Matchmaker to you, thank you very much," Daphne corrected, wiggling the engagement ring at Astoria.
"Yeah, well, we don't all find guys like Blaise in high school and marry them," Astoria quipped.
"Blaise and I could set you up with someone," Daphne suggested. "You're still decidedly in need of a plus one for the wedding."
"I have time," Astoria grumbled.
"Tori, the wedding's in two weeks."
Astoria stayed silent.
"Come on, let us set you up just this once, Blaise knows just the guy," Daphne pleaded.
"That Political Sciences friend of his you two keep mentioning?" Astoria asked dryly. "Oh wait, no, I remember you two whining about him having a bitchy girlfriend."
"Actually, they broke up a few weeks ago, so that could work," Daphne mused.
Astoria rolled her eyes.
"Listen, much as I'm sure you think it'd make a good match, fact is I would fall asleep listening to this Drake friend of yours ramble about the fascinating world of politics."
"Okay, Tori, first it's Draco, and second he's never once talked politics when we've hung out. Even when it's just been him and Blaise. Heck, it took us two years and Blaise pestering him at their work every day to find out what he was studying."
"Blaise bugged him every day at work just to find out what he was studying?" Astoria clarified.
"Yeah, why?"
"Good God, you two are made for each other."
Daphne chuckled.
"So, Tori, can we set you up? If it doesn't work out, it's just the one date," Daphne pressed.
Astoria sighed heavily.
"Fine! Couldn't be any worse than this date, anyhow."
"Don't jinx it, Tori."
"Too late."
"For the last time, Zabini, I don't want to go on this blind date you're trying to set me up for!" Draco groaned, running an exasperated hand over his face.
He looked quite haggard in post-breakup mode. He'd grown out his facial hair and hadn't groomed his pale blonde hair as he normally did, settling instead to sport his bed-head day in, day out. He'd thrown himself head-first into his studies after he'd broken up with Pansy, having cited to a concerned Blaise that staying idle would allow his mind to drift to sad thoughts about Pansy and drive him further into depression. He looked like a mess.
"Draco, speaking as a future educator, I commend you for your dedication to your studies. Speaking as your friend, this is ridiculous. Keep this up, and you'll end up killing yourself. Just take a break from it all, go on this one little date, and then if it goes terribly, I promise you can go back to studying like a madman and living like a slob."
"I'm not-"Draco began indignantly, before Blaise motioned around Draco's room with a raised eyebrow.
Dirty plates and forks covered the flat surfaces such as the bedside table, the desk, and the TV stand. Clothes covered the floor and there was even a dirty sock draped over the top of the TV. Draco's room was normally as immaculately maintained as his appearance normally was, but that cleanliness went out the door with his regard for his physical appearance.
"Noted," Draco sighed, going back to his books.
"You need to get out of the apartment, Draco, and to somewhere that isn't school or the convenience store."
Blaise's latest point seemed to have been the final push to convince Draco.
"You promise I can go back to this after this date of yours?" Draco asked, practically spitting out the word 'date'.
"If the date doesn't go down well, yes, I promise you can go back to this. Anything else you'd like me to repeat?" Blaise teased.
"Piss off, Zabini."
Blaise laughed, then patted Draco on the shoulder.
"My terms for the date are this: you must shave, you must shower and essentially look as you would for any other date. You're going to wash your clothes and wear the clean ones and be overall presentable to the lovely lady. You're not getting out of this if you purposefully try to tank it. I will only accept defeat if you legitimately try and it doesn't work out."
"Alright, what's the girl's name, then?"
Blaise grinned.
"Astoria, and I've already taken the liberty of making a reservation at the local sushi restaurant for you."
Draco fidgeted nervously as he waited in the booth at the sushi restaurant where Blaise had made the reservations. After having cleaned himself up to a level approved by Blaise, Draco felt a little uncomfortable. He was constantly resisting the urge to scratch the itch on his now clean-shaven face and truth be told, the button-up shirt and jeans he was wearing could not begin to compare to his hoodie and track pants in terms of sheer comfort.
He once again cursed Blaise for talking him into this. His friend had declined to tell him anything more than the name of the girl he was supposed to meet. Draco had even tried looking up girls with the name Astoria on Facebook, but that had proved more inconclusive than Draco had thought. More girls had that name than he had previously thought.
Draco's thoughts were interrupted when a young brunette came up to his booth, looking a little sheepish and hesitant. Draco's jaw nearly dropped. Stunning was an understatement when it came to this girl. She wore a short, charcoal coloured dress with flats to match, with a clutch purse in her hand. Draco prayed to any and all deities that this was the girl he was supposed to meet.
"Are you Draco?" she asked hesitantly.
Draco internally fist-pumped. He then stood up and motioned for her to take a seat in the booth.
"Draco Malfoy; and I presume you're Astoria?" he asked as she took her seat.
"Yeah, Astoria Greengrass," she smiled.
"No relation to-?" Draco began.
"Daphne?" she asked, to which Draco nodded. "Yeah, she'd be my annoying older sister, as well as Blaise's fiancée."
Draco smirked.
"Did she set you up with this mostly against your will?" he joked.
Astoria looked astonished.
"Mr. Malfoy! I resent your accusations that I am here against my will!" she exclaimed in mock horror.
Draco simply raised an eyebrow, his lips quivering as he tried to keep from laughing.
"Okay, fine. Daphne kept pestering me until I caved," Astoria conceded.
Draco laughed and Astoria soon joined in, a melodic trill of sorts that was an odd contrast to the less elegant, deep chuckle of his.
"I know what you mean! Blaise would not leave me alone!" Draco complained and they laughed again.
"It's like they're made for each other," they both said simultaneously, before stopping. Both blushed an impressive shade of red.
Draco cleared his throat.
"So, any thoughts on what sushi rolls you'll be getting?"
The dinner had gone very well, Astoria reflected as she was being walked back to hers and Daphne's apartment by Draco. Draco had easily made for the best dinner time conversation she'd ever had one a date.
He'd been smart, but not overly in-your-face about it, as if it were to be a well-guarded secret. He had valued a lot of what she said and was genuinely interested in hearing her stories. She'd admit that he'd exuded a privileged upbringing but had very pleasantly surprised her by not letting that translate to a superiority complex. Draco was very candid about a childhood rivalry which he admitted was fuelled by a petty grudge he held against some boy named Harry Potter.
Astoria confessed to never having been so intrigued by anyone as much as she was by Draco. It seemed very much as though he had demons and he was trying to atone for mistakes he'd made earlier in life. As strange an analogy as it was, it was like jumping in at the middle of a metamorphosis. A less than pleasant past full of regrets from what she could tell, and here she was with a boy who was doing an awful lot of maturing into what she had no doubt would be an incredible man.
All this flew through her mind as she walked the couple of blocks back to hers and Daphne's with this fascinating man.
"Well, here we are," she announced as they reached her building, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.
She spun around to face Draco, taking his hands in hers.
"I really enjoyed myself, Draco. As cliché as that is to say. Tonight was definitely the best date I've ever been on," Astoria said as she gazed into Draco's piercing grey eyes.
"I can second that," Draco replied, a lopsided smirk gracing his features.
With that, they both leaned in and their lips met. It wasn't anything incredibly passionate, more a quick kiss, but the two definitely felt the spark.
As they pulled apart, it was Astoria's turn to smirk at Draco.
"So, when's date number 2?" she asked.
"Well, there is this thing happening, I don't know if you've heard about it. It's called a wedding. My best friend is getting married and I still need a plus one," Malfoy suggested cheekily.
"Ooh, I don't know if that could work, see, my sister's getting married too," Astoria responded apologetically.
Draco laughed.
"Oh, this ought to be good."
"Don't make me regret this, Malfoy."