Warning: This contains spoilers for DH. Also, for readers of any of my other HP fanfics, this does not connect to any of those, although they are available on my profile for anyone who's interested. By the way, I made Astoria three years younger than Draco here even though in the canon she is two years younger than him so that this way I could include names of students in Astoria's year, being as they appear in the story, and in the canon we don't know many students from Astoria's year. Now, please enjoy the story! :D
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters used in this story. Nor do I own the book and movie this story was inspired by.
Draco and Astoria's Infinite Playlist Chapter 1: A Bizarre Request
Draco Malfoy had kept to himself for the past four years; no one wanted to associate with him much since Voldemort had lost the war. Draco had been able to get off with no charges despite being a Death Eater, due to his mother switching sides at the last second, but that did not necessarily mean that the Malfoys had as much popularity or were as high in society as they used to be.
Draco still lived with his parents at Malfoy Manor, but he tried to get out of the house whenever he could. These days, it seemed like all he ever did was go to various bars and pubs and reflect on where he went wrong in his life and ponder unanswerable questions. He hadn't become an alcoholic though; he had considered simply drowning his sorrows in firewhiskey, but he had seen his father do this after the Malfoys lost their standing and decided against it; his mother had enough on her hands at the moment with his father, and he wasn't going to cause her any more trouble.
That's not to say he never had a drink or two when he went out because he did, just never enough to get drunk.
Draco was currently having a glass of Butterbeer in The Three Broomsticks. He remembered coming to The Three Broomsticks when he was a student at Hogwarts. He had loads of pleasant memories of this place, although he hadn't been here in years. Maybe that's why he came tonight; it was a place of happy memories on a night where people would be both celebrating and mourning.
Tonight was the four year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts. People took off from work, students had off from school, and it seemed as if pubs and bars all over the world were holding celebrations. It seemed wrong for him to stay cooped up at home when the rest of the world was celebrating, it would give the impression that the Malfoys were not pleased about Voldemort' death which was exactly the opposite of how they felt. And if he had to go someplace, he decided that he should go to a place where he remembered being happy.
It was now 7:00 p.m. Draco was finishing his meal by himself in a corner of the room when the door opened and a few occupants appearing to be in their late teens entered the room. He watched them, wondering what would have happened if he had joined the other side in the war, when one of them walked over to him.
The girl had curly raven hair and light, lima bean green eyes that looked very familiar to Draco. She was olive-skinned, tall, and slender, with a light dusting of freckles if one looked closely.
"Hi, um, would you please be my boyfriend for five minutes?"
"What?" Draco said uncharacteristically, due to his surprise that the girl had been talking to him- something that rarely happened anymore these days- and he had not expected her to ask him that.
"Would you please be my boyfriend for five minutes?" The girl repeated. "Please, just go with this, okay? I only need a few minutes of your time, and then I'll be out of your hair forever. I'll even pay you for it if need be." At this point she reached into her pocket and was about to pull out some money, when Draco stopped her.
"I'll do it." The words came out of his mouth before he could even stop them. He didn't know why he was agreeing to this. The girl clearly didn't know who he was, and he had no business getting involved in anyone else's life as a result of his past, yet he had agreed to this. Perhaps it was because he hadn't spent much time with another human being outside of his home for who knew how long at this point, because Draco certainly didn't, or, he told himself, perhaps he was simply bored and since there was nothing better for him to do here and he didn't feel like going home just yet, why not?
Maybe his pride had got the better of him when she actually started pulling out money; he was a Malfoy, and even though their reputation may be ruined, they still had an infamous amount of wealth. Couldn't she tell just by looking at his clothes that he didn't need any money? Or maybe he had been so intrigued by this bizarre request that he was curious and wanted to learn more. Not that he would admit that out loud though, if that was one reason.
Whatever the reason, Draco had agreed, and the girl was saying to him now, "Oh, thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me. Oh, thank you!"
Draco nodded, feeling slightly uncomfortable at the girl's reaction; however he hid his slight discomposure with his usual cool demeanor. "Well, what's your name? If I'm your boyfriend, I would hope that I know your name." He asked sneeringly.
"My name's Astoria Greengrass," Astoria replied, smiling at Draco. Her smile, he noticed, was composed of full pink lips and pearly white teeth. No one had smiled like that at him in years.
"I'm 18 years old, although I will be turning 19 on June 5th-"
"That's my birthday." Draco interrupted before he could stop himself. As he looked at her, he realized why those eyes seemed so familiar: Daphne Greengrass had those same eyes; they were practically the trademark symbol of the Greengrass'.
Astoria blinked. "Really? What a coincidence! What's your name?"
Draco thought a moment before answering. If he told her his real name, it would not end well. She might even get him kicked out of the pub, or create a scene.
"Wayne Hopkins," He decided. The name sounded vaguely familiar; Draco believed he was a Hufflepuff in his year that he never paid much attention to. However, if he had played an important role in the war, Draco would remember him, so being as he only remembered vaguely going to school with him, he figured that most likely the girl would not already know who that was.
Astoria nodded, evidently believing him. "How old are you Wayne?"
"21," Draco answered. "I will be 22 years old on June 5th. Do you have any siblings Green- I mean, Astoria?" He corrected himself. If he was going to pretend to be Astoria's boyfriend, it would probably be inappropriate for him to address her by her surname.
"Yes, I have an older sister who was in Slytherin whose your age. Did you go to Hogwarts? If you did, you probably know her. What House were you in at Hogwarts if you went there? What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies? Do you have any siblings? What do you-"
"Astoria," Draco interrupted hero once again. Evidently this girl had a tendency to ramble.
"Oh, sorry."She mumbled. "I guess I didn't really give you a chance to talk, huh? I'm always doing that, it's a habit I have that I do when I'm worried, excited nervous, or- oh sorry! It's your turn to speak, I'll be quiet now."
"Thank you." Draco said in a quelling sort of voice, though on the inside he could not help but feel slightly… what was it, amused? He hadn't felt amused about anything in years. "I was in Hufflepuff, I know your sister, I am an only child, and I am a Potioneer." Draco did not know whether or not Wayne had any siblings, but to be safe he decided to say he had none, so this way he would not have to make up any more information than necessary. He had chosen that career because it was a subject he had much experience in. " I make potions for a living in an apothecary my family owns. I run the whole business really, and have been rather successful. What about you? "
"Oh gosh, that's impressive," Said Astoria and for the first time in a long while, Draco felt his chest swell up with pride. " I was in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, and right now I'm in training to be an Auror."
Draco felt his back stiffen as he felt Astoria's arm linked with his own. An Auror? As in, a dark wizard catcher? He knew Astoria most likely would be unable to arrest him because he had not done anything that could cause him to get arrested recently, however if he slipped up tonight and somehow offended her with her knowing his identity… things could turn very nasty indeed. However, he had already agreed to help her, and if he backed out now, she might become suspicious and realize who he was.
"Well, I'll go introduce you to my friends," Astoria informed him as they made their way to the front of the pub.
Please review! Will Astoria's friends recognize Draco? Will the plan actually work? What will happen next? Until next time… please review~! :)