Elegant Broken Things
Part One
Agreeing to attend a party that an individual would enjoy was one thing, but accepting an invitation to a party where the same individual would spend the night rolling his eyes and quietly insulting the other guests in his head, was another matter entirely.
With the Ministry of Magic expanding their departments and obtaining more resources, a party of interesting sorts had been planned as a means for all the new employees and expanding companies to get a chance to become familiar with each other.
In Draco's mind, he thought the Minister and his board of governors were a bunch of old batty men and overly vivacious women. He assumed a new employee directory would have sufficed.
Upon walking in through the gigantic double doors of the mansion, Draco offered a few greetings to the gentlemen he already knew personally as he made his way up the expansive rounded stairway to the second floor. The reason for this destination was because the open bar was located on the long landing, between the two symmetrical staircases.
He ordered his favourite drink that included a heavy mix of the finest Firewhiskey the bar had. If he was going to be at this rotten party, he might as well try and enjoy himself in the best way possible. Stepping away from the bar, he headed across the landing and leaned upon the heavy oak railing that offered him a great view of the downstairs entrance.
He took a small sip from his glass and let his eyes wander.
Many men were in fancy tail-coats adorned with black ties and different variations of the same hat, all mingling with each other. The women were the most itinerant ones, with flashes of shiny dresses in between the sea of black fabric: lavender, jade, black, silver, and every other colour in between. They virtually all wore the same type of up-do, extravagant necklaces with matching earrings, and dull stained lips.
Sure, they were pretty. However, he knew them personally whether they were co-workers' wives or co-workers themselves, and frankly he didn't think too highly of them. "Too scatty," he thought. They were decent ladies to work with while work was being done at the Ministry, but as far as catching their attention, there would be no second thought to it.
The view was becoming quite discouraging and he surely couldn't stand looking at the ocean of coworkers much longer. He was about to turn around and walk away to the back garden when someone walking up the stairway caught his attention.
A woman just about his age walked effortlessly up each step despite the high heels she was wearing. There was something that seemed to stick out about this woman that Draco couldn't quite figure out, but the way she walked, unlike the other women at the party, was a perfect lead to finding out.
His grey eyes stayed fixated on her as she smoothly made her way to the bar and received a glass of dark red wine. After taking a small sip from her drink she began to speak to another woman at the bar, but details of this additional lady were unnecessary to the blond man watching. The only thing that mattered now was this charming brunette.
He began to try and learn more about her through details.
The dress that was held up by her shoulders was covered in blood red diamonds, shimmering brightly with every slight movement of her hips. Despite her wearing the most exquisite, yet simple dress in the room, what stood out the most to him were the stark white gloves that covered her skin almost to her elbows.
Draco dared to imagine what her hands looked like without that blasted fabric encasing them. Thoughts of how soft her skin would be began to overload his mind.
Before his emotions could take control of every last sense, he tore his eyes away from those gentle fingers wrapped around her wine glass, and moved them away.
Her deep brown hair ran down her back in gentle curves and waves, far better than those beautiful locks being tied in a knot atop her head. Her simplistic style made her far more elegant and far more desirable.
A deep red shade covered her lips, iridescently matching her dress. They moved with ease as she talked in a gentle manner. Her brown eyes glowed with a passion underneath her dark-shaded lids and without acting frivolous like the rest of the female company, were animated as she spoke to the other woman. Her eyebrows moved fluidly along with her facial expressions and her bare shoulders would shift slightly when she stopped her conversation. He noticed her eyes again and wondered if the low candle light in the room had enhanced their colour or if by chance her features became smoldering the moment she had noticed his eyes focused on her.
Her crimson lips curled up at the corner, the grasp on her drink shifted, and the diamonds on her dress started dancing again as she sauntered over to him.
"Hi." Her eyes shone impossibly brighter.
Placing a slick smile on his face in return he replied with a simple 'hi' as well.
"And who might you be?" she asked, placing her gloved hand on her hip, resting her other arm, still holding her glass of wine, on the railing that he had been leaning on for the past half an hour.
"Draco Malfoy." He tipped his hat down with a slight bow in greeting. "And you?"
She held out her hand to him and at the same time he captured it within his own, she replied, "Hermione Granger."
He bent down and kissed the top of her proffered hand regardless of the gloves still decorating them.
"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Miss Granger."
"Nonsense, Mr. Malfoy. The pleasure is all mine, as I have been hopeful to meet you tonight."
Unable to stop it, a smile grew on his face.