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ExpectationsDraco Malfoy was annoyed. His father was pressuring him, AGAIN, to get married as soon as possible. Lucius wanted to make sure Draco had a pure blood successor to the Malfoy throne as soon as possible.
Draco's brief relationship with Pansy Parkinson had, of course, been doomed from the start, mainly because he couldn't stand her. He had never been able to picture her as his future wife and had only been with her to get his father off his back for a while. Lucius had always said that marriage was for life. Easy for him to say! Draco knew that his parents had been in love when they got married, and they were still very much so. He just wouldn't have been able to stand Pansy for that long. All the expectations were weighing him down and he wasn't able to think straight anymore. He needed to stop thinking about it for a while.
He went to a Muggle pub as he didn't want to be recognized and was looking forward to a fan-girl free evening. He was sipping his gin when he noticed a beautiful young woman sitting all alone in one of the booths. He stared at her for some time before she met his eyes. She smiled and beckoned for him to join her.
She was pale, even paler than he was, with golden eyes. She was short and almost pixie-like in her appearance. She had short dark spiky brown hair that pointed in all possible directions. She was wearing designer clothes that fit her well, accentuating her curves. He noticed that she hadn't even touched the drink in front of her. He also noticed that she was indescribably beautiful. He sat down in front of her.
He smiled uncertainly at her."Now this is going to sound like a bad pick-up line but what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"
She laughed softly, the sound reminding him of rippling water.
"I could ask you the same thing."
He scowled at her. "Hey! I resent that! I'm not a girl."
She laughed again. It really was the most wonderful sound in the world. He realized he was gawking at her again and tried to pull himself together. He needed to say something, even if it sounded stupid.
"You know, I've never met someone paler than me before."
He groaned silently. He was acting like a complete nutter. She must think he was an idiot.
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, are you sure you're human?"
She looked surprised.
"Smarter than you look, wizard"
Now it was his turn to be surprised. Good thing that he was a practised liar.
"Wizards don't exist."
She sighed, "I saw your wand. I know what you are."
Suddenly he was curious. "So are you a wizard too?"
She laughed again. "Heavens, no! I'm a vampire."
He leaned forward, intrigued. "I've never met a vampire before."
She smiled. "Yeah, we tend to stay out of your way."
"Why's that?"
"Well we may be strong but we're still susceptible to your spells."
He'd just remembered something. "And we're supposed to kill those of you who aren't… what was that quaint little word?"
"Vegetarians?"
"Exactly. Good thing you're one of them though," he said, motioning toward her eyes.
"I think so too," she replied with a smile.
"So, what is a girl like you doing in a place like this?"
She looked at him a little uncertainly. "Well, you know that we have powers."
He nodded.
"Well, my power is to be able to see the future."
He whistled slowly. "Wow, that's pretty awesome!"
"Yeah, I know!" She smiled brightly at him. "That's why I'm here."
"Did you see yourself here?"
"Uh-huh."
"Did you see me?"
She laughed again. "Do you think I usually talk to every random boy who stares at me?"
"And here I was thinking it had something to do with my good looks."
They laughed together.
Draco looked hesitantly at her. "Why do you think you saw me?"
"Well, in my vision you seemed troubled."
"Oh."
"Yes, anything you want to tell me? I promise I won't gossip."
He kept his eyes fixed on the table and told her all about his marriage problem. He couldn't believe he was telling a total stranger this but for some reason he trusted her. Maybe it was just her pretty face, but Draco was sure there was another reason. She just seemed like someone he could rely on. When he finished they remained silent for a few minutes.
Draco sighed, "I don't even know your name."
She looked appraisingly at him. "It's Alice."
"I'm Draco."
"So, Draco. We need to do something to fix your problem."
"What I really need is a break. I don't want my dad to keep nagging all the time."
She smiled brightly at him again. "I'll pretend to be your girlfriend for a while if you want?"
He considered the idea. It would be nice to have this beautiful girl as his girlfriend, if only just for a while. Somehow it felt wrong though.
"I don't want a pretend girlfriend."
She eyed him appraisingly. "You're never going to be able to please him and be happy at the same time, Draco. I think it's time for you to decide who matters the most."
He looked at her in awe. She was so insightful.
"Alice? Would you consider going on a real date with me?"
She positively beamed. "I'd love to, Draco."
He noticed that she didn't seem too surprised.
"Did you see this coming?"
She laughed and nodded.
"So what do vampires usually do on dates?"
"I have no idea. I'm a bit of a loner. Well, not really, I just haven't found any friends yet."
"I suppose you don't want to go to a restaurant."
She smiled wryly. "I don't think they'd serve anything I'm interested in."
"How about a movie?"
"Sure!"
"How will I get in touch with you?"
"I suppose you don't have a cell phone?"
"A what?"
"Never mind. Look I'll see you outside Groening's Cinema on Thursday at 7 p.m."
"Groening's is the one just around the corner, right?"
"Yep. I'd better go now."
"Hungry?"
She groaned. "You have no idea!"
She left immediately. He noticed how gracefully she moved. He left the pub a few minutes later, feeling much happier.
A/N: Okay, this story is a bit weird I think. But it's sort of cute. I know Draco might seem very OOC but I'm convinced that he's a much nicer guy than Harry thinks he is. Some would call me delusional. Please, please, please review!