Author's Note: And The Greatest of These Was Love is basically a story
about the pureblood society and the literal 'rules of engagement'. It deals
with seventeen-year-old Draco Malfoy entering the real world after
graduation and getting married, as well as delving into his first year of
marriage. The woman in question is Professor Snape's daughter, a longtime
friend of his and his junior by only one week. I know this setup of Snape
having a kid is tired by now, but this one is good, I promise! Hope you
enjoy it and please r-n-r, I beg of you. It's my lifeblood.
Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Snape, Draco Malfoy, or any of the latter's friends and family. I do own Professor Snape's daughter Paige, his wife Lucy, and any made-up people that are their friends. Come on, now, you know how it goes if you're a fan.
Chapter One: Interesting Things Happen When You're Drunk
The darkened room was dead quiet. A few hours ago, there had been a massive party going on and all of the respectable pureblood teens had shown their faces there. There had been an abundance of alcohol, and all that was left were half-empty bottles of expensive chardonnay and one fine sample of champagne that Draco had stolen from his father's private stores, used for getting his mother into bed once in a full moon. Also, there was an assortment of comatose bodies laying about the area in a disarrayed fashion, most of those that wore low-cut dresses laying on those that didn't, and one couple of the former that wore the same gown. The group of Slytherins were celebrating a Cup victory over Gryffindor and the party had only gotten out of hand by Mudblood standards.
Suddenly there was slight movement. Paige Snape, aged seventeen in two weeks, shifted her straight, oily jet-black hair from her eyes and glanced around at everyone physically present, squinting in slight disorient. She shook her head a little and glanced down at her hands, which rested in a curved position around Draco Malfoy's shoulders. He was still out, having a slight bit more to drink than she had. Paige hadn't thought she had her own tolerance level for the stuff until now, seeing as her father was a notorious drinker in the days of his youth, a bit of an analogy to Sirius Black and his smoking habits. Normally she could stomach any drink enough to take at least one more, but even sampling this evening had cost her consciousness for a little while, a few hours, she supposed. There were no clocks in the room, but she could guess by the position of the moon outside, having taken a year of astronomy, that it was around one- thirty in the morning. Crap, her father would most likely have wanted her home before now, unless he was still out bar-hopping himself. But her mother didn't approve of all that now that they were older, and he usually obeyed her wishes.
She flinched very softly as she felt the hands placed gently about her waist move and lightly grip her skin. She didn't like when he did that because it made her feel like a hog. God, she had horrible love handles. She'd have to get rid of those before she could properly marry anyone. Marriage was the most important part of a pureblood's life, for those of both the male and female variety, second only to reproducing. She and Draco had been friends since birth, and had dated since they began at Hogwarts and the concept of such a relationship was widely introduced. It seemed natural for them to pair up. As odd as it had seemed kissing her best friend for the first time, Paige didn't feel that she'd minded giving away her old tomboy self and adopting a ladylike pureblood persona. According to Draco's mother, it was her destiny, just as it was for every pureblood girl. But it suddenly struck her that she had never considered actually marrying Draco.
He opened his eyes and the depressive gray color of them distracted her from her thoughts. He wore the usual bored, discerning gaze as he, too, skimmed over the order of the room. Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Goyle were sleeping together on his spare bed, and it seemed to annoy him, but he was too hung over to really do anything. At that point he seemed to notice Paige propped up on top of him.
"If you're going to throw up, don't do it here, because these pants are new and rather expensive."
Ah, the romance and chivalry. Be still, my heart!
Truly, these were his first words upon his awakening. Paige assured him that she didn't feel like throwing up, although she did confide to herself that it was very possible the notion would fast become reality in a couple of hours. He nodded and pushed her up gently so as he could stand, which he did with surprising confidence. He helped her wobbly, thin form to her feet and they glanced over the back of each styled updo, the front side of the head buried in a custom-designed business shirt.
"Want a drink?" He picked up the remains of his father's champagne, which someone had obviously snuck a drink from. He smiled as he handed it to her and she set it back down. He had a cute smile, the kind girls liked flashed at them as he walked through the corridor, Paige striding along a couple inches behind and trying to make it recognizable that she was indeed attached to this superstar.
He turned from her as he saw Pansy's foot move and yelled at her to get up and take her boyfriend with her. She growled an offensive response and pulled herself from the subtle warmth of Goyle's slightly-overweight body, snapping sleepily at him to get off Draco's bed. He opened his eyes halfway and sat up with a bemused expression, asking her loudly if they'd had sex. She said no, of course not, and he frowned but got up and followed her out anyway. A few moments later the sounds of rude heaving could be heard out back in Narcissa's private gardens.
Paige stared after them and sat down on the end of the bed, watching Draco as he roused everyone and sent them on their way. The various couples, half of them horribly mismatched, said their goodbyes and he saw them all out before returning to the bedroom and closing the door.
"It's good to have them out. Remind me to make Goyle host the next victory shindig." He muttered.
She wondered vaguely if he was talking to her or merely himself. She smoothed out the wrinkled folds of her white dress and found that no one had spilled liquor or retched on her while she slept. She glanced over and saw her shoes lying haphazardly in one corner of the room, and then found herself watching Draco again.
He sighed and came over to sit on the bed next to her, putting his arm around her thin shoulders. "Did you have a good time?" He asked, the look on his face one of near honesty, almost as if he cared about the nature of her response.
"Yeah." She nodded and smiled bravely. Draco was really handsome, when she looked at him and considered it. She could understand him having such an extensive fan base. Around her he did seem slightly different, at least when he hadn't just woken up.
"Good, then. I did too. I remember most of it." He laughed softly, and drew a second smile out of her as she joined him for a moment.
She watched as he began to retrieve the various varieties of bottled liquid strewn about the area and got up and walked over to the window. The rain was pouring outside in the dark sky, yet it didn't drown out the still image of the half moon and the tiny population of stars spread out all over the clear night. No one was out tonight in the streets, and it seemed even the shadiest of hoodlums that usually turned up to beg of the rich had found a home for the evening. The candlelit streetlights cast a disturbingly manmade glow on the wet cobblestone, nothing about it memorable or sentimental.
She felt the same hands, they that lacked warmth like her father's. They rested in the same pudgy pocket on the sides of her midsection. She wanted to rip them away and not have the baby fat there, although it was illogical to associate her name with such a term since she was born severly underweight to an equally skeletal mother. But God was her mother beautiful. She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, like Draco's mother, and it was straight and hung in a wild curtain to her shoulder blades. Her mother had beautiful blue eyes, a delicate sadness and cripple hanging within. She was so thin, so fragile, and it was a wonder her father hadn't snapped her mother in half when they made love.
"Looks cold out." He mused, and like a romantic idiot took his favorite leather jacket from the coat rack and draped it about her shoulders, making her look even more misshapen.
She turned from the window after he had again left her and saw that he was currently sitting in the fine wicker chair that had once been in his mother's study and where she had lodged herself to read. Frankly, Paige was surprised Narcissa knew how to read, what with Lucius and his attitude on educating females. Truthfully, Lucius had many problems with women in general. Draco crossed his legs like a real man and watched her, a sign that he was wondering why she wasn't already in the desired position before him.
She strode over to the bed, arms crossed with coat intact, and sat on the end once more, watching the ground as she walked, a perfect sign of appropriate submissiveness. She didn't look directly at him, not even at his face, as she sat in a similar position, also crossing her legs like a femme would.
"Paige."
The sudden sound of his voice, not in such a quiet tone as before, coupled with the usage of her name in a genuine tone startled her and she uncrossed her arms and looked at him. She began to realize the odd nature of her former stance and how he might have taken it as a symbol of some anger toward him. But apparently he just wanted to talk.
"Y'know, I've been thinking."
The use of this particular phrase can never open up a good situation.
"We're both pretty much seventeen now, right?" He said, as if he didn't know. She nodded.
"Anyway, my parents have mentioned to me that it might be time for me to begin considering marriage."
She forgot all sense of manners and stared up into his eyes like a deer in headlights, and then quickly replaced this gesture with one of unconcern. "Sure. Mine, too." Liar.
"I was planning tonight on asking you if you might be my bride."
She narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly, confused. She hadn't known that he had any real feelings for her, although she was an exceptionally cute girl and upheld a near perfect pureblood way of living. She had simply assumed that their relationship was one built upon his parents' wishes and that if they got married it would also be arranged. Really, she'd never thought that he'd actually propose to her. Suddenly she realized that the suspicious face she was making might appear to him as disgust.
"Of course I will." She smiled, and it was not a cold one. "I love you, Draco."
The use of first names gave both halves of the pair the idea that there was a romance there.
"I love you, Paige." He smiled and stood, bending to kiss her cheek before leaving her alone with a closed door.
She went over to the corner and put on her shoes, still frowning. She had just said yes to one of the richest guys in the city, easily the richest in the school, and in doing so had guaranteed herself a future of luxury, not simply provision. But would there be love?
As she moved to the door and caught herself in the full-length by his dresser, she thought that it was possible that love was what she was missing. Her parents loved each other, so she thought, because they acted slightly differently toward one another than the Malfoys and it must be love if it wasn't hate or indifference.
Chapter Two Coming Soon!
Disclaimer: I do not own Professor Snape, Draco Malfoy, or any of the latter's friends and family. I do own Professor Snape's daughter Paige, his wife Lucy, and any made-up people that are their friends. Come on, now, you know how it goes if you're a fan.
Chapter One: Interesting Things Happen When You're Drunk
The darkened room was dead quiet. A few hours ago, there had been a massive party going on and all of the respectable pureblood teens had shown their faces there. There had been an abundance of alcohol, and all that was left were half-empty bottles of expensive chardonnay and one fine sample of champagne that Draco had stolen from his father's private stores, used for getting his mother into bed once in a full moon. Also, there was an assortment of comatose bodies laying about the area in a disarrayed fashion, most of those that wore low-cut dresses laying on those that didn't, and one couple of the former that wore the same gown. The group of Slytherins were celebrating a Cup victory over Gryffindor and the party had only gotten out of hand by Mudblood standards.
Suddenly there was slight movement. Paige Snape, aged seventeen in two weeks, shifted her straight, oily jet-black hair from her eyes and glanced around at everyone physically present, squinting in slight disorient. She shook her head a little and glanced down at her hands, which rested in a curved position around Draco Malfoy's shoulders. He was still out, having a slight bit more to drink than she had. Paige hadn't thought she had her own tolerance level for the stuff until now, seeing as her father was a notorious drinker in the days of his youth, a bit of an analogy to Sirius Black and his smoking habits. Normally she could stomach any drink enough to take at least one more, but even sampling this evening had cost her consciousness for a little while, a few hours, she supposed. There were no clocks in the room, but she could guess by the position of the moon outside, having taken a year of astronomy, that it was around one- thirty in the morning. Crap, her father would most likely have wanted her home before now, unless he was still out bar-hopping himself. But her mother didn't approve of all that now that they were older, and he usually obeyed her wishes.
She flinched very softly as she felt the hands placed gently about her waist move and lightly grip her skin. She didn't like when he did that because it made her feel like a hog. God, she had horrible love handles. She'd have to get rid of those before she could properly marry anyone. Marriage was the most important part of a pureblood's life, for those of both the male and female variety, second only to reproducing. She and Draco had been friends since birth, and had dated since they began at Hogwarts and the concept of such a relationship was widely introduced. It seemed natural for them to pair up. As odd as it had seemed kissing her best friend for the first time, Paige didn't feel that she'd minded giving away her old tomboy self and adopting a ladylike pureblood persona. According to Draco's mother, it was her destiny, just as it was for every pureblood girl. But it suddenly struck her that she had never considered actually marrying Draco.
He opened his eyes and the depressive gray color of them distracted her from her thoughts. He wore the usual bored, discerning gaze as he, too, skimmed over the order of the room. Pansy Parkinson and Gregory Goyle were sleeping together on his spare bed, and it seemed to annoy him, but he was too hung over to really do anything. At that point he seemed to notice Paige propped up on top of him.
"If you're going to throw up, don't do it here, because these pants are new and rather expensive."
Ah, the romance and chivalry. Be still, my heart!
Truly, these were his first words upon his awakening. Paige assured him that she didn't feel like throwing up, although she did confide to herself that it was very possible the notion would fast become reality in a couple of hours. He nodded and pushed her up gently so as he could stand, which he did with surprising confidence. He helped her wobbly, thin form to her feet and they glanced over the back of each styled updo, the front side of the head buried in a custom-designed business shirt.
"Want a drink?" He picked up the remains of his father's champagne, which someone had obviously snuck a drink from. He smiled as he handed it to her and she set it back down. He had a cute smile, the kind girls liked flashed at them as he walked through the corridor, Paige striding along a couple inches behind and trying to make it recognizable that she was indeed attached to this superstar.
He turned from her as he saw Pansy's foot move and yelled at her to get up and take her boyfriend with her. She growled an offensive response and pulled herself from the subtle warmth of Goyle's slightly-overweight body, snapping sleepily at him to get off Draco's bed. He opened his eyes halfway and sat up with a bemused expression, asking her loudly if they'd had sex. She said no, of course not, and he frowned but got up and followed her out anyway. A few moments later the sounds of rude heaving could be heard out back in Narcissa's private gardens.
Paige stared after them and sat down on the end of the bed, watching Draco as he roused everyone and sent them on their way. The various couples, half of them horribly mismatched, said their goodbyes and he saw them all out before returning to the bedroom and closing the door.
"It's good to have them out. Remind me to make Goyle host the next victory shindig." He muttered.
She wondered vaguely if he was talking to her or merely himself. She smoothed out the wrinkled folds of her white dress and found that no one had spilled liquor or retched on her while she slept. She glanced over and saw her shoes lying haphazardly in one corner of the room, and then found herself watching Draco again.
He sighed and came over to sit on the bed next to her, putting his arm around her thin shoulders. "Did you have a good time?" He asked, the look on his face one of near honesty, almost as if he cared about the nature of her response.
"Yeah." She nodded and smiled bravely. Draco was really handsome, when she looked at him and considered it. She could understand him having such an extensive fan base. Around her he did seem slightly different, at least when he hadn't just woken up.
"Good, then. I did too. I remember most of it." He laughed softly, and drew a second smile out of her as she joined him for a moment.
She watched as he began to retrieve the various varieties of bottled liquid strewn about the area and got up and walked over to the window. The rain was pouring outside in the dark sky, yet it didn't drown out the still image of the half moon and the tiny population of stars spread out all over the clear night. No one was out tonight in the streets, and it seemed even the shadiest of hoodlums that usually turned up to beg of the rich had found a home for the evening. The candlelit streetlights cast a disturbingly manmade glow on the wet cobblestone, nothing about it memorable or sentimental.
She felt the same hands, they that lacked warmth like her father's. They rested in the same pudgy pocket on the sides of her midsection. She wanted to rip them away and not have the baby fat there, although it was illogical to associate her name with such a term since she was born severly underweight to an equally skeletal mother. But God was her mother beautiful. She had long, gorgeous blonde hair, like Draco's mother, and it was straight and hung in a wild curtain to her shoulder blades. Her mother had beautiful blue eyes, a delicate sadness and cripple hanging within. She was so thin, so fragile, and it was a wonder her father hadn't snapped her mother in half when they made love.
"Looks cold out." He mused, and like a romantic idiot took his favorite leather jacket from the coat rack and draped it about her shoulders, making her look even more misshapen.
She turned from the window after he had again left her and saw that he was currently sitting in the fine wicker chair that had once been in his mother's study and where she had lodged herself to read. Frankly, Paige was surprised Narcissa knew how to read, what with Lucius and his attitude on educating females. Truthfully, Lucius had many problems with women in general. Draco crossed his legs like a real man and watched her, a sign that he was wondering why she wasn't already in the desired position before him.
She strode over to the bed, arms crossed with coat intact, and sat on the end once more, watching the ground as she walked, a perfect sign of appropriate submissiveness. She didn't look directly at him, not even at his face, as she sat in a similar position, also crossing her legs like a femme would.
"Paige."
The sudden sound of his voice, not in such a quiet tone as before, coupled with the usage of her name in a genuine tone startled her and she uncrossed her arms and looked at him. She began to realize the odd nature of her former stance and how he might have taken it as a symbol of some anger toward him. But apparently he just wanted to talk.
"Y'know, I've been thinking."
The use of this particular phrase can never open up a good situation.
"We're both pretty much seventeen now, right?" He said, as if he didn't know. She nodded.
"Anyway, my parents have mentioned to me that it might be time for me to begin considering marriage."
She forgot all sense of manners and stared up into his eyes like a deer in headlights, and then quickly replaced this gesture with one of unconcern. "Sure. Mine, too." Liar.
"I was planning tonight on asking you if you might be my bride."
She narrowed her eyes and frowned slightly, confused. She hadn't known that he had any real feelings for her, although she was an exceptionally cute girl and upheld a near perfect pureblood way of living. She had simply assumed that their relationship was one built upon his parents' wishes and that if they got married it would also be arranged. Really, she'd never thought that he'd actually propose to her. Suddenly she realized that the suspicious face she was making might appear to him as disgust.
"Of course I will." She smiled, and it was not a cold one. "I love you, Draco."
The use of first names gave both halves of the pair the idea that there was a romance there.
"I love you, Paige." He smiled and stood, bending to kiss her cheek before leaving her alone with a closed door.
She went over to the corner and put on her shoes, still frowning. She had just said yes to one of the richest guys in the city, easily the richest in the school, and in doing so had guaranteed herself a future of luxury, not simply provision. But would there be love?
As she moved to the door and caught herself in the full-length by his dresser, she thought that it was possible that love was what she was missing. Her parents loved each other, so she thought, because they acted slightly differently toward one another than the Malfoys and it must be love if it wasn't hate or indifference.
Chapter Two Coming Soon!