I swear I tried. I tried my hardest. This was meant to be another simple one-shot. Clearly, it got away from me. Enjoy reading it. I don't think I'll be doing a sequel. OOTG wasn't exactly left open-ended, but you never know. I'm off to work on Suspended Reality now that I've broken through my block. Happy Reading.!
Summary: Danni's return to Hogwarts is unexpected to say the least. More unexpected is that her homecoming sparks an unforeseen and much denied visions of desire in not only herself but her best friend. Welcome to my prequel.
As she boarded the Express to Hogwart's she was filled with both excitement and dread. She was halfway down the corridor to the boxes full of students when she ungracefully dropped a few of her books. There were very few people around to help her, so she knealt onto the floor gathering pages into a folder, and her books into a stack.
Nearly finished with the task, she was then approached by the one person she would soon know as the bane of her best friends' Potter.
"Let me help you with this." The boy offered, oh so heroically coming to her aide.
"I've got it." She curtly replied.
The boy paid no attention to her resistance to his offer as he stood with her, handing over her last book.
"I said I had it under control. Who are you anyway? You look familiar."
"Harry. I'm Harry Potter." He proudly told her.
"Oh yes. I've heard of you. Well, next time Mister Potter, when a girl tells you that she has no need of your courageous and unneeded behavior, I suggest you listen to her."
By this point, Danni had no idea that there had formed a group of men behind her, watching her tear into Potter like some sort of small rabid dog.
"What do you want Malfoy?" Harry questioned as he saw the men behind Danni looking amused by her performance.
"Not that it's your concern Potter." His arrogant tone and demeanor captivated Danni. She turned to see a blond boy with two men standing behind him. "I am on my way to be seated, but I am finding this girls' scolding towards you far more entertaining." His attention then turned to Danni. "Please continue."
"I think I've said what I need to say." She said.
"Have you been seated yet?" The blond questioned her.
"No." She said. "I was on my way when…
"I'm Draco Malfoy." The boy offered his hand out to her.
Danni took his hand as he led her down the hall. "Danni Varitino."
"You can sit with us. This is Crabbe, and that is Goyle."
And that was how they'd met Danni remembered as she rounded yet another corner, making her way to the Great Hall after the war, after being gone for so long.
He heard the knock on the door. It was late as he sat studying in the lounge while his father had also dedicated himself to reading in the same lounge. Neither could be bothered to answer the door. As was natural behavior, the house elves were sent to do their expected jobs.
It didn't bother Draco to dismiss his studying until he saw Danni storm in through the door, a distraught and fearful look on her face.
"Danni. What's the matter?" He jumped from the chair he sat in.
"Drake, I don't know what to do. This was the first place I thought to come." There were tears that Draco finally saw falling from her eyes. She was obviously frightened by something.
Lucius excused himself from the room as Danni ran straight into his arms. His arms instinctively wrapped her into his body. Her body shook as she cried into his chest. He'd never actually seen her "cry", but seeing it now, he felt his heart bleeding for her. A strange reaction for him, as it wasn't a normal feeling he felt. But she was different.
"Dan, you have to tell me what is wrong so that I can help you. Are you in trouble?" His head rested atop hers.
She shook her head back and forth, and nodded to him afterwards. "No." She was quiet. "Yes." Her answer changed. "Oh Drake, I don't know."
Sure because that answer isn't complicated or ambiguous at all." He replied. But he heard it in her voice. She was holding back a massive hysterical breakdown. He needed to keep her calm, and keep her talking.
"Come and sit down Danni." He offered, leading her to a chair. He demanded that the house-elves prepare tea for the two.
Draco sat at her feet, his hand placed over hers as it shook. Being placed at a woman's feet, being placed at anyone's feet was of course not common behavior for any Malfoy, but Draco and Danni were not just normal ordinary run of the mill friends. No one outside of the pair would ever see either of them showing such emotion and concern. Draco only felt he could better comfort her if he made himself as vulnerable as she seemed to be at the moment.
"Let's start from the beginning Danni."
"Drake, I'm so scared."
"Why?" His fingers linked with hers. His usual cruel contemptuous tone had softened to something most would consider caring or selfless.
"Mum and dad." She choked out through her cries. "They want… they're …we're going into hiding Drake. They've just told me." She explained.
Draco grew increasingly more concerned.
"Hiding? What do you mean? Why? How long? Where?"
Danni sank out of the chair, back into his arms. The two sat on the floor together.
"I don't know where we're going. But mum and dad feel that Hogwart's is not safe enough."
"Safe? Danni, you're family is pureblood. You've got nothing to fear." He saw her face fall in defeat, telling him that it didn't matter.
"How long will you…"
She shrugged, feeling his grip on her tighten. She wished he wouldn't let go. For the sake of everything they knew, both wished that not letting go would mean that nothing around them existed. She couldn't go and he wouldn't let her.
"They're taking me away from you and everyone else." She breathed in deep preparing herself for the coming onslaught of tears. "And what's worse is that I have no choice, and if something should happen to either of us, this would be the last time…" the tears began at the thought of losing anyone to the war.
As he sat holding her, suppressing the thought of losing her to this war, small tears formed in his own eyes. He pushed her off of him, meeting her eyes.
"So then what you're telling me is that this could be goodbye for us?"
Her hand wiped at her cheek, clearing away fresh tear tracks.
"We don't know what will happen. We can only hope."
"So you expect for me to say goodbye, hope you make it through the war, and hopefully I'll see you again?"
"Please don't make this harder than it is Draco."
"No!" Draco's voice grew louder. "Fuck that! Danni, you cannot come here and say goodbye to me. You're my best friend. Well, best girl friend." Their tear filled eyes met each other. He swallowed hard. "Have you told anyone else?"
"No." She said. "There isn't time. We're leaving tonight. I was hoping you would make the rounds for me. Tell the boys and anyone else you feel should know goodbye from me. And tell the boys I love them."
"No." Draco insisted of her, pulling her forcefully back to him. He held her, refusing to let go.
"No Danni." He said.
Danni removed herself from his grasp, looking up at him, knowing she had to go, and that anything after this before the war ended, she would regret forever. "Goodbye Draco."
"No." He repeated.
"Draco say goodbye to me. Please."
"No. I won't."
Danni leaned up to him, pressing her mouth to his in a chaste, close friend kind of kiss. It was the last thing she did before turning to leave. She didn't look back. Not once. She was gone.
That was the way it had happened. Word for word, action for action, Danni had left him. Draco only thought as he exited the carriage, arriving at Hogwart's, of how he wished he could see her. He had left so much between them open-ended. He hadn't said goodbye. He should have, but that would have been admitting his defeat. It was all very unsettling to him even now. He managed to secure the arrival of his belongings to his dorm before making his way to the Great Hall.
The war was over. Good had triumphed over evil. Saint Potter , the boy who…well, he had defeated the Dark Lord. Some had died, some had lived. And by this point, most if not all of the Death Eaters had been rounded up, tried by the Wizengamot, and punished appropriately to the nature of their crimes. Most had been sentenced to death.
To Draco's amusement and possibly for his better understanding, his parents had escaped the full force of what they could have expected for their own crimes against the wizarding community. His mum had claimed the Imperius curse, which was collaborated to by his father in protection of his wife. The confession led to Lucius Malfoy taking the responsibility of being punished under the laws, which consisted of his loss of position at the Ministry, access to the Ministry, and the placement of house arrest for the total of one year, if good behavior was observed.
Fortunately for the family, the lifestyle they had become much accustom to had not been changed. They kept their wealth and status. Their status as a respectable and well known wizarding family had not been persuaded away.
Despite being placed above anymore suspicion, Draco spent the months after the war in seclusion. When he heard that the new Headmistress of Hogwarts had chosen to re-open the school for entrance to students and professors, Draco took the time to debate whether or not he should bother returning.
He held his chin high as he entered through the doors of the Great Hall. He spotted his friends standing around the House table. He now felt better about returning. At least he felt better until he saw her. He recognized the girl standing with Blaise Zabini's arm around her immediately as she talked with an animated look on her face to Theo Nott.
There she stood. The person he had actually missed over the past year and a half. The person who had left him nearly eighteen month ago. She had changed. She was striking. How had he not noticed before? He thought back to before she had left. She had been good looking enough, but she looked nothing like this. Her lighter brunette hair was now shoulder length. Her body had actual curves showing through the white button up shirt she wore with a shortened green skirt, normally hidden under her robes. He turned his head away. Why couldn't she put her robes on. Why was he staring at her body? He'd missed her, and they were friends. His eyes turned back to where she stood. She was hugging an elated looking Greg Goyle when they'd spotted one another.
Draco walked further into the Hall, gaining mixed looks from some. He paid no mind to them, heading straight over the girl locked into his line of sight.
"Is this a private greeting or can I get in on a hug or two?"
She heard the deep voice of a familiar friend say from behind her.
"Draco!" She spun her body around, coming face to face with the dynamically charming Draco Malfoy. His gray eyes were bright as they smiled back at her. She had missed him most. Her unwilling departure had nearly destroyed her when she learned she wouldn't have any opportunities to see him for an unknown period of time. The fact that she might not have ever seen him again pulled her into an unrelenting tormented phase of depression. She had relied on him, Blaise, Theo, and Greg for so long that leaving had been a devastating blow for them all.
She felt his arms wrap her inside of his embrace. She threw her arm recklessly around his neck, unaware and unbothered by the shameless display they showed to others. Danni actually had tears in her eyes. Her smile hadn't faded, but her tears of happiness fell.
"Hello Danni." Draco said, keeping his arms around her as his eyes looked down at her. He brought a hand up and wiped a few of the tears away.
Eighteen months was too long for him to have not had her around. He held her close a bit longer, letting his hands run from her lower back, up to her shoulders, and down again. She felt good against him. Her body…Oh hell. He stopped himself again. He was thinking about her body all over again. She was his best girl friend and he couldn't help thinking about how well she fit to him. What was wrong with him? He shook his head, letting go of her.
"You alright Dray?" He heard her asking him.
His head shook again as he moved a few feet to the table with her beside him. He greeted his other friends, trying to ignore the fact that she was sitting closer than normal to him. At least it felt closer.
"I'm fine Dan."
"Hmm. You just seemed so far off for a minute there."
His eyes did not meet hers this time as he spoke. "I suppose I'm just readjusting to being here again."
Danni laughed. "You and me both."
Their conversation stopped as chatter and laughter around the room paused completely. Headmistress McGonagall walked forward to the podium , greeting the students to another year. After first praising the efforts of those who fought during the war, the Headmistress went on to lecture about rules and new regulations set for the year, after which the sorting of new first years took place.
The students listened to the woman and the sorting ceremony go on for fifteen minutes before the feast was pronounced ready to begin. The students talk began again as they exchanged stories and jokes while eating.
Danni couldn't help but take notice of Draco's withdrawn demeanor upon acknowledging her reappearance. He was friendly enough and had shown that he'd missed her, but something had changed in him, or between them. Then again, perhaps it wasn't him, but more her. Had he noticed the way she had looked at him the first time they'd seen each other? Did he see that she could now be positively attracted to him if it weren't for the fact that after all of this time of knowing each other and then being apart, she had to hide a building temptation for him.
She took a deep breath in, slowly letting it out, gaining looks of concern or knowing from Blaise and Theo who sat across from Draco. Greg she noticed was keeping to himself across from her. His eyes would glance up around the room from time to time, but mostly, he let his fork roll around his plate, pushing food to this side and that. Danni took the given opportunity to stop obsessing over Draco Malfoy. Her hand reached out across the table to her friend, only reaching the middle of the table. The man reached out and held her hand in his, half smiling at her as he did so.
Danni had heard about the death of Vincent Crabbe in the Room of Requirement the night of the war. Upon hearing the news, her thoughts and concern immediately fell to Greg. She worried about him and how deeply it had affected him. He'd lost a best-friend. She wondered how it would affect her to lose one of her close friends, someone who in essence was as close to her as family. Tears filled her eyes again momentarily. Sseing Greg in person now, and how the events had changed him as well, Danni felt a need in herself to comfort the man. It wasn't in her nature to comfort many, anyone really, but when it came to these four men seated with her, she made exceptions. The four men surrounding her as well as protecting her, also felt at times they could and did comfort her. Blaise was there when she needed a yes man. Theo was there to help advise her on anything sexually related. Greg was very good at listening to her ramble on incessantly. And Drake, he was there when she both needed a shoulder to cry on, or when she needed someone to ask her what the hell she'd been thinking.
Draco, she thought. He was in her thoughts again.
"You okay?" Greg mouthed to her, squeezing her hand gently in his.
"Fine." She mouthed back.
That was of course a lie. She was thinking about her best guy friend. Correction…she was thinking about her best guy friend in the worst possible way she thought she could. She was thinking about him as more than a friend. She could not refute the fact that she had a burning desire to run her fingers through his hair, kiss the section of his neck that she knew was sensitive to him, and … She needed to stop thinking like this.
When she made the dangerous choice to glance over at him, he looked cross. His gaze was intently focused across the room, and Danni knew now why Draco looked so agitated. She wanted to say something to him, something to get him to talk to her the way she was used to him doing, even if it meant they would pick an argument over something unimportant, and petty. But every approach to him that she considered voicing sounded like flirting to her.
Okay. She and Draco had blatantly flirted with one another, just to see which would back down first. So what made it different now? Was there really a problem with it if the two had continuously made a point of it over and over again? Sure there was she told herself. The instantly recognizable problem was that now she could've let it lead to more.
Well, if it weren't for the unpleasant look gracing your face Drake, I'd say something was bothering you sweetheart." Danni casually mentioned to the blond next to her, his eyes focused across the room.
Draco let a half smile cross his face before returning to his sneering directed towards one person in particular.
"Seriously." Danni placed her hand to his. Her body turned to face him. "What's the matter? You should have nothing more to worry about in life. The war is over, plenty of the people we care for are alive and well, and I'm back here to make you smile at least once a day."
Her hand was touching his. Oh for all that was both sinful and holy, she was touching him. His body temperature rose a good ten degrees as he pulled all of his given strength to put a fair amount of distance between the mixed thoughts of his friend, and her body coming into contact with his, in a matter of speaking.
But why was it such a problem? Why the hell was his mind so puzzled over what he thought of her now? Why did it concern him so much to have her touch him? It certainly wasn't the first time they'd touched. He'd held her hands, hugged her more times than he could count, he'd placed his arm around her shoulders plenty of times while walking to their shared classes over the years, he had even on several secret occasions allowed her to cuddle up to him in his room when she needed a friend to talk to. It was not uncommon to be so close to her. So why the quiet anxiety? This was after all Danielle Varitino, best friend since… Hell, the two had known each other since their primaries. It seemed like forever. Far too long for him to have her give him swarms of butterflies in his stomach.
"Hello?" Her voice rang in his head again. "Earth to Malfoy."
"What?" He turned to her.
"I asked what is wrong with you."
Draco shook his head, watching her pick up the glass in front of her, pulling it in what felt like slow motion to her lips, her soft lips. He forced his eyes from her, chastising his own treacherous thoughts.
"Nothing." He lied, his voice breaking.
Danni scoffed, removing her hand from his, unknowingly permitting him to stop holding his breath.
"You're lying." She accused. "Your posture drops when you're lying."
Draco half laughed at her claim. "You think you know me so well Varitino…"
The brunette tilted her head in challenge. Setting her drink down, she leaned in closer to the man at her side, lowering her voice to a whispered growl.
"As a matter of fact, I do." Her hand met with his once more. "For example dear, I know for two reasons that the Great Hall is the very last place you want to be right now. First is Potter and his morally righteous, naïve group of followers across the way while you choose to stare maliciously at them."
Draco turned to her in surprise. Okay, so she knew he was still mentally torturing Potter. So? Who didn't know that Draco and Potter had a bitter, antagonistic, hatred for each other? The war hadn't done anything to lessen or take that away. Potter was still a nitwit.
Draco shrugged at Danni, showing his indifference. "And the second reason?"
Danni caught her hesitation before it showed outwardly. She stood from the table, internally troubled by his unfazed reaction. He'd once been so astonished by her knowledge of him. Her hands moved to his shoulders as she came up behind him, leaning down into his ear.
She whispered in a soft sweetened voice. "Not good enough? Then how about I tell you that the second reason is because I know rather than be trapped here, listening to others go on about such trivial matters, you'd rather be stuck alone in the Astronomy Tower or the Common Room with me."
Draco's head whipped around to meet hers. Her eyes stared glistening into his. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Looking into her blue eyes that after eighteen months seemed sharper, deeper, and more feminine was not the best of plans.
"What do you say Dray?" She asked him, holding her hand out to him. "Want to spend some much needed alone time with your friend?"
"Ju…Just you and me? Alone?" He stuttered. For the love of everything hallowed and revered, Draco Malfoy had stuttered.
"Yes you twit." Danni laughed at him. "Come on gorgeous."
Draco did a double take. Was she flirting with him?
"Shift your arse Malfoy." Her hand stayed held out to him.
There she was. The Danni he knew. The cheeky as ever, demanding, beautiful, sexy…" Draco stood, dropping the thought of her this way. He linked his hand with hers, giving her a mock sneer for effect as she spoke to him in the manner she always had. He turned his head to their friends, giving a nod, as if to say goodnight.
Following Danni out of the Hall, he watched as her hips ever so slightly flowed from one side to the other. She had left her robe at the table with Blaise. Why the bloody hell couldn't she have taken it back before she'd left the Hall? Damn it, he couldn't take his eyes off of her…
"Quit looking at my ass Drake." Danni warned him, a joking tone to her voice. She hadn't even turned her head around to see his eyes directed onto her.
"I wasn't…"
She slowed her pace, waiting for him to walk up beside her. Her fingers entwined with his.
Draco swallowed hard, hiding every inch of nervousness in him. A Malfoy nervous… who would imagine?
"I don't mind if you check out my ass Malfoy. Just don't lie about it." Danni chuckled.
"I… I… Let's just get out of here Dan." He changed the subject off of any body part belonging to her that he could imagine.
"Astronomy tower? Trophy room?"
"Too far." Draco told her.
"Common Room?" She questioned him.
Draco simply nodded as the two made their way out of the Hall, past a few armored statues, and down the staircase leading into the dungeons.
"I missed you Drake." Danni said almost unworriedly, as they walked together, hands held tightly together.
She was mad. She was going to pay for her next action very very soon. But still, in an attempt to regain the former game, knowing that at the very least, it would drag Draco from the shell he guarded himself with now.
She linked her arm with his. "All I want to do is get you alone, no distractions, no interruptions. What do you say?"
Oh yeah. He knew her game. He knew what she was up to. The indirect flirtatious comments were normal banter, but without thinking about what now felt like consequences, Draco played along, willing to push her as far as she would go. He stopped walking, halting her step in the process. Their hands still linked, he pulled her into a very private, unnoticeable alcove in the wall he'd located during fourth year when he was with… well that wasn't important.
With her confined with him in the small area, he hit her where he knew he'd do damage. His hand reached up to her face, drawing a line with his thumb down her cheek.
"Quiet room, roaring fireplace, nobody to stop us from getting closer." He stared straight into her eyes, the way he did when he wanted her to back down first. This time however, it took so much of him to plead in his head not to have concede defeat.
' Take the bait.' His mind screamed at her. The one thing, the only possible solution he had come up with to this problem was that if he could at the very least kiss her, he could expel a small portion of these unexpected thoughts of her. Maybe he could begin to relax and go back to their normal way of life.
Danni chuckled a bit. Her hands held to his shoulders briefly, then roaming down his well-built powerful arms, catching him by the waist. For Christ's sake she had lost her damned mind. But at least she had him talking, and that was positive.
"What is it about us that always leads us into these moments? Flirting I mean."
"I like our flirting Dan." Draco whispered to her, a growl that sent chills down her spine. Bad. Very bad.
"It adds a bit of pragmatism to my otherwise boring life."
"Your life, boring?" She laughed. "Not bloody likely."
He shrugged. "Then perhaps it's the desire to have an air of danger and intrigue in my life."
She smiled wickedly. "You think I'm dangerous?"
He watched her smile fade, but picked it up again. "No. I think you're intriguing Danni. The danger comes with wondering how far you'll let me go with this." His fingers met to her long strands of hair. "How far can I take you Danni?"
His eyes were like stone. There was a depth she'd only now seen in them, a depth that she shouldn't know herself. She was not a triumph, or wouldn't be one to him.
"Stop Malfoy, before I think you're serious."
"What if I am? Don't think you could handle it?" He was pushing her further, and in a way it felt comfortable. Still deceptive of his own weak self, but comfortable. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong, love and lust, were all starting to blur.
Danni pushed him right back the further he went. "Handle you?" She struggled between him and a wall at her back, freeing herself, entering back into the corridor as Draco emerged out beside her.
She brought her arm around his waist, and they continued to the common room. "I've been able to "handle" a git like you for five years running. Trust me. A little tumble with you wouldn't hurt me any. But because I know you are joking, let's just find a nice quiet spot to talk."
"I missed you too Danni." Draco returned to her first statement, pulling his wand as they reached the entrance. A statue of Severus Snape, fallen "hero" of the war stood.
"Password?" It asked in Snape's cavalier condescending manner.
"Pureblood." Draco equally as arrogant voiced before the wall before them opened, revealing a stone archway.
The pair entered through and breathed in the warmth of the dimly lit common room.
"I can't believe the password is the same." Danni stated. "All these years, and nothing changes."
"Not everything stays the same Dan." Draco returned to her, bringing her into a closely held embrace.
"I really did miss you Danni." He told her.
"I know Draco." She mumbled into his chest. "I missed you too."
He was holding her again. God it felt good to have her in his arms. The war hadn't so much changed him, but rather given him a bigger and better perspective of what he needed versus what he wanted in his life. He knew that what he needed was someone like Danni. Not her exactly, but someone like her. Someone who held him as tight as she did, someone who looked at him the way she did, someone who made his heart jump whenever she was within close range of him, and even someone who made his groin… and there it was again. Those immoral, unashamed thoughts he couldn't get rid of.
"Why don't we sit Dan." He offered her, both moving to a large green chenille couch., beside a fireplace. Draco sat down, pulling his legs onto the table in front of them as Danni sat beside him, curling herself into him.
When her body touched to his, his entire body tensed. It was a reaction both felt, and neither had expected.
"What's wrong Dray?" Danni moved back, afraid to get too close.
"Nothing Dan." He lied again.
She crossed her arms. "Do I have to tell you you're lying again?"
Draco placed a superior sort of expression to his face.
"You've never been uncomfortable with me. We've hung out for years."
Sure, Draco thought. Except that before this point, when they'd hung out, she did not look so… he wasn't…Fuck. It just wasn't the same.
"Danni please." He tried. He wanted to explain his actions, his reactions, and everything in between. "We're okay. I'm not uncomfortable with you. It was just an involuntary reaction." He lied. "I haven't really had any girls to cuddle up to me since you left. Or rather, no girls that I'd let cuddle up to me since you…"
"If you say so Drake." Danni returned, moving close, cuddling up to him again. She moved carefully to him until she was sure it was safe, and another knee jerk reaction to pull away wouldn't appear.
They sat in silence for a few minutes before Draco was willing to question her.
"Where did you go Danni?" He asked her. "You left and it was like you dropped off the earth."
"Did you look for me or something?"
Draco dropped his head. "You know I did. We were at war. I needed to know you were…I needed to know."
"Nous étions en France." She answered him.
"You were in France." He repeated. "Why couldn't I find you?"
Danni poked him in the side. "That's the whole point to being in hiding you dummy."
"Why'd you decide to come back this year, even against your parents wishes?"
Danni sat up and with a straight face, answered his question.
"Potter." She joked. Well, it was half joke.
Draco stood, a straight expression to his own face.
"You know, I think rather than stay here and be subjected to out of line comments like that, I'll go and find Theo." He played, knowing she'd never let him walk away. "Maybe we'll…"
"Drake, stop." She said, grabbing his hand.
He turned to her. "That was a low blow Danni."
She lowered her eyes to her feet. "He found me Draco."
Draco thought his knees would give out on him. Potter had found her. Draco couldn't find even the smallest mention to her, and Potter…
He sat down on the couch with her again, keeping his hand in hers.
"What? Potter? Why? When?"
Quickly Danni stopped his ramble of questions.
"As far as I can decipher, it was just before the war broke out. He sort of stumbled upon me. He did tell me that he was on his way to… well he was out searching for those Hor…Hoc…"
"Horcruxes." Draco finished.
"Yes. He told me all of the distressing news about you." She explained. "Aside from you both not exactly being friends, he knew that you and I were parted by unfortunate circumstance. He said that you were breaking. He said that you were hanging on by a thread with the attacks and your mum and dad being so closed off from the Dark Lord." She smiled. "And then he told me not to worry. He re-assured me of what I had known before I'd left you. Draco Malfoy is resilient and was one of many who could come through things like that as the prince he is. You came out unharmed and far stronger."
Draco looked taken aback. "Potter called me a prince?" He focused on this piece of information.
"No." Danni told him. "I sort of added that one myself. But Potter encouraged me more than I had already been to come back. I came back because of you…" She saw his eyes light up, and backpedaled as well as she could. "and everyone else."
"Missed me that much then?" His arrogant superiority reared its fascinating head.
"You're insufferable Malfoy."
"You love it. You can't help but love that quality in me."
"Narcissism isn't a quality darling. It's a flaw." She stood, unwilling to further reflect on the words Draco and love in the same sentence.
"I think rather than get into this, I should run up to my dorm an finish unpacking." She wasn't angry with him at all. She just refused to tempt herself and let him coax her into this behavior.
Draco sighed. Here they were about to begin yet another heartfelt confrontation, and she was willing to back down without so much as a fight? This was too easy. She was retreating too impassively. Something was off. This was not what he wanted. Not really. Of course going back and forth with her over both the parameters of their friendship, and then bringing up Potter, and now this… well it was all full of bad judgment. There was no winning, no losing, no truth or lies.
"Don't be absurd Varitino. Come on." He half asked, half challenged, tugging on her hand again. "We'll sit on the couch here, and snog until everyone starts returning from wherever they've disappeared to.
Danni pulled her hand out of his, denying the temptation of `taking him up on his offer, maybe if just to see his reaction to her acceptance.
"Dray, I'm kind of tired." She told him.
"I was joking Danni." He laughed at her reaction. She was affected. He knew she had considered it. He could see it in the way she pulled back. She had hesitated. It was in her eyes, her body language. However, thinking about it, and actually doing it were two different things. She would never damage their bond of friendship with true consideration. She wouldn't, so neither should he. Absolutely no. Not that he could ever approach her about it. After hexing him into oblivion, screaming severe obscenities at him, she surely would have him committed at St. Mungo's psych ward.
"Come on." He took her hand back. "Let's talk."
This time she followed, sitting beside him, curling into his chest again.
"So, tell me everything that has happened since I left." Danni yawned, one hand rested against Draco's inner thigh, causing him to hold in the knee jerk reaction of jumping clear across the room.
"Nothing too severe. War, Potter and his smug disciples running about being the saintly heroes, mum and dad renewed their wedding vows after the war as a way of replacing past events…"
"That's nice Drake." Danni sleepily said.
Draco silently contemplated his next question before asking. He took a deep breath. He didn't want this question to lead into a confrontational battle. He had to know…for the sake of their friendship.
"Danni, did you think about me while you were gone?"
"Everyday." She replied, causing him to smile.
She fell into a restful sleep. She watched him there, standing beneath the tree, across the lake from where she stood. She had been watching him from the edge of the rose gardens for close to ten minutes before he saw her. He crossed the path leading straight to her. His hand reached out and she grabbed on to it. Pulling her body close to his, she felt safe. She felt desired. She felt like she needed to do this. But it would be under her rules that they crossed this line. They were indeed crossing the lines of friendship, but she was not in a position to care. This was far too intense to give up.
"Good. Do you think about me now? Because I have been thinking about you since I saw you return. I can't stop. It's like you are this whole new person come into my life. I know so much about you, and yet so little. I feel like there's more I should know. Do you know what I mean?" He paused, waiting for an answer to come. Nothing came.
He leaned his head down to see her eyes quietly shut as she slept.
Carefully, he pulled a blanket from the back of the couch, placing it over her body, before realizing he couldn't move. The position of her body to his made it impossible for him to move without waking the sleeping beauty he admired. He rested his body back into the couch and laid peacefully with her. Her hand remarkably for Draco's own sake had now shifted from his inner thigh to having her arms wrap themselves around him, giving him the same butterflies through his body, threatening to explode into the room.
He hadn't fallen asleep right away. The jumble of conflicted revelations made it impossible on multiple levels. He rationalized, or did his best to rationalize why it was so hard to piece together the real reasons surrounding his interest in Danni. He'd been with a good share of girls while Danni had been MIA. It wasn't a big deal. Well, it hadn't been. He had a clear-cut reputation at Hogwarts. Any girl who chose to involve herself with him knew exactly what she was getting into. He had never been in over his head before, and Danni's reappearance contradicted what he'd done, who he'd done it with, and more so when he'd done it. He had few people he could confide in after he lost Danni. Admittedly, he was a touch lonely. His feeling of loss was surrounded by her disappearance. He had shagged practically anything female after she'd left, just to feel like he had someone to talk to, to listen to him, but none of them truly listened like she did, and now he wanted to shag his friend.
No! No he didn't, he reasoned.
He rested his head onto the back of the couch, bringing his free hand to his forehead.
Yes he did. He wanted to shag his friend. She had left him, and in her place had returned a breathtaking creature. A creature who'd miraculously seemed to power his deepest fascinations, desires that pierced every bit of him.
Without even knowing he'd done it, Draco realized he'd moved his arm from under Danni, bringing it up around her shoulders, holding her closer than was needed for his own wavering sanity. He fell asleep with his fingers trailing across the skin along her neck, shoulder, and arm.
When he fell asleep, she was still there.
Her perfect form was pressed to his as they stood, holding each other in one of the many gardens surrounding Malfoy Manor. They stared out at a small lake that joined two of the gardens together.
Draco looked down at the girl with him. Danni was incomprehensibly beautiful. The moonlight that shown onto the lake shot up to her form, hitting each piece of her in true perfection.
She looked up at him, smiling, giving him the distinct knowledge of what was to come.
Her eyes returned to looking out at the lake before rounding his body to now stand in front of him. Her hands met his chest and she pushed him backwards with enough force to cause the back of his legs to hit a bench positioned behind them. He instantly sat, catching himself before he would so gracelessly fall. His current most ardent fantasy was coming true. He could not look so insecure and nervous.
"You've been without me for too long Mr. Malfoy." She said in a low growl. "And maybe you've become a little too apprehensive for my liking. I miss my bad boy."
She leaned down in front of him. "I'm going to change that. By the time this night is finished, you'll be my bad boy again." Her hands running slowly across his chest.
Grabbing at the material, Danni effortlessly pulled the shirt he wore from him, lifting it off of his body in one single motion.
His breath came in short shallow puffs, looking forward to everything she could and would do to him.
"Danni, I…"
"No talking Malfoy." Danni grabbed his chin, bringing his eyes to look straight into hers. It was if she knew what it did to him.
"Now, where to begin…" She pondered aloud. "Oh. Yes. I think here is nice." Her head moved in closer to his, bringing their mouths only an inch from touching.
"Do you want me Draco?" She questioned the obvious in a torturing manner.
He didn't answer her with any words. His mouth crashed onto hers, capturing her in a kiss that brought on stars, fireworks, ocean waters crashing to the shore, planets aligning perfectly, and life being placed onto a path of achievement. Sheer ecstasy, harmony, and satisfaction was the only way to describe what surrounded them as their tongues danced simultaneously.
Her lips were as soft as he'd imagined them to be. The kiss became harder and more fanatically driven. Draco didn't have a moment to completely register all of the thoughts flying through his head at light speed when he felt the unmistakable feeling of hands undoing his belt. Danni without difficulty undid the belt, along with the buttons of his trousers, as he shifted his waist to lower them off of his body. Their mouths still connected, Danni placed her hand onto his thigh, slowly moving upward, playing with the blond man, giving more pleasure to Draco than she realized she was doing.
"I've thought about you Draco." She whispered. "Everyday from the day that I left Hogwarts, I've thought about you." Her hand still moved higher. "I've thought about what I would do to you when I saw you again."
When her hand rested between each of his legs, he jumped a bit. Getting what he desired or not, it was his friend stripping him, putting her hands on him.
"Don't be so nervous Malfoy. It's just my hand."
"Well, it's not just going to sit there, is it?"
Danni leaned back an inch or two. "Impatience will get you nowhere."
"Mmm, Danni." He softly moaned as she leaned in closer than she had been, her hand still placed to his cock, now making its way inside of his silk boxers.
Slowly she was lowering herself, kissing every inch of him as she kneeled lower and lower to the ground. Finally positioned between his knees, she took his already stiff cock into one hand completely. Her tongue slipped over the length of him.
Draco's head automatically rolled back as no audible sound could escape him. He leaned back onto his palms, watching her as she filled her mouth with him, her head moving up, the down, and up again. He closed his eyes for a brief second. Her hands both moved up his thighs, causing an unbecoming groan to now be heard. His hands moved directly into her hair as she took in the length of him. His eyes closed again, taking advantage of every euphoric push that commanded every muscle he had.
When she slipped away, his eyes reopened, focusing on only her. Her hand stayed on him, moving up and down.
"Do you want more?"
"Yes. Yes. Yes."
"Beg me." Danni pulled her hand away.
Draco looked like he'd lost his puppy when she had stopped touching him. And now she insisted that he beg. It just so happened that in this particular situation, as she wouldn't let onto his secrets, he was not above begging her for what he wanted from her. If it meant getting her, then he would fall to his knees for her.
He rose an eyebrow to her as she stood up straight as she playfully unbuttoned her own shirt, keeping herself covered still. Immediately, Draco grabbed at her leg, pulling her back to him so that she stood vulnerable to him for a change. He first pulled at her shirt, ripping it off of her, exposing her perfect breasts. It fell to the ground.
"Please Danni." He growled. "Please." He brought his fingers up along her bare leg, under the short skirt she wore. He drew circles on her inner thighs, moving higher and higher. Coming to her hot center, the promised Land he joked in his mind, he brushed his thumb across her. To his amusement, the girl standing above him coincidentally wasn't wearing panties. No bra, no panties. Hey, it was his fantasy. It played out his way. Right?
She tried to pull away, knowing she'd lost her control of him. He didn't allow it. One arm grabbed around her waist. Danni's own breathing became uneven and erratic. He'd found that spot that made her beg for him in return.
"Draco…Draco please." She cried out his name.
"Do I get what I want Danni?"
"Yes Draco! Yes!"
"Do you want me Danni?"
She pulled away. "You can't play with me in return Draco." She backed up a few paces.
Draco stood to face her. "I've no intention of playing Danni." He walked towards her. "Do you want me?"
"Yes." She answered when he reached her, pulling her to him, lifting her skirt fully.
Slowly he kneeled, bringing her down with him onto a section of soft grass.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Danni glued her arms around his neck, letting her head roll back as waves of never experienced delight filled her body as he entered, thrusting slowly at first, gaining speed when her hips began to move with his.
Both were screaming out with each move made. Draco's hands pinned Danni to the ground as he continued.
"Draco…faster…go faster." She cried out loudly.
And faster he went. Both were sweating now, unfazed by they what they now looked like.
"Danni… Fuck… Danni… Oh Fuck… "
He was close. She knew he was. Throwing his hands from her, Danni rolled him over, so that she straddled him. She was now back in control. Shifting her hips up and down, back and forth, Danni watched his eyes open, close, and open again.
With a final push from both, Draco came to screaming finish, digging his nails into Danni's back as he pulled her down into her own final orgasm.
Laying on the grass, still undressed beside each other, Draco traced the full line of her body.
"You're beautiful Danni." He said.
She leaned over and kissed him a final time.
"Wake up Drake." She said.
Confused by her statement, Draco slipped out of his dream to see Blaise hovering over him, nudging his shoulder.
"Wake up Drake. You're mumbling in your sleep and others have noticed."
"Don't care." Draco said, closing his eyes again. His arm moved and he didn't feel the woman by his side anymore. His eyes flew open. "Where's Danni?" He questioned Blaise.
"She went up to bed." Blaise sat in front of his brother. "Did something happen between you two?"
Draco shook his head. "Not exactly."
"Do you want it to?" The blunt question hit Draco next.
"Don't know." Draco stood, leaving Blaise sitting in the common room. He made his way down a corridor to his dorm room.
He couldn't handle the question and answer period from anyone yet. He didn't know how he felt. It was a dream, a reactive response to seeing her reappear in his life. He didn't need to obsess over these thoughts . He could suppress it all as long as he needed.
Of course that didn't mean he couldn't have the occasional fantasy about her, or flirt his way into her head in return for her doing the same to him. It was sort of his right as a guy to do so.
He could deny this. Sure he could. He had it in him to accomplish this set task. But it was going to be a hell of a year. It would be a fantastic year, but a hell of a year just the same.
"I'm going to bed. Good night Blaise."
"Okay. But I think there is something you should know." Blaise mentioned before his friend was out of range.
"What?" Draco turned around, hesitating to know the answer to whatever it was Blaise referred to. His tone spelled trouble.
"First I should ask if you are under some sort of love spell, Did you take a daydream or fantasy draught?"
"No." Draco replied, definitely worried now. Clearly his good friend knew something and was not telling.
"Why do you ask?"
Blaise hesitated.
"Come on Zabini. What is it?" Draco urged when Blaise's expression turned amused but unwilling to say anything.
"Well," Blaise began. "It's just that you were asleep, and after I sent Danni upstairs with Theo to sleep in her own bed, you… " He stopped briefly. "You called out her name." He finished as quick as he could manage.
"Whose name?"
"Danni." Blaise explained nervously.
"So?" Draco yawned.
"So, it wasn't exactly in a manner that would say that the two of you are just friends."
Draco's face dropped as he remembered the vivid and very passionate dream he had just had about his "friend".
"Shit." He mumbled. "Does…did Danni hear…I mean does she…shit."
Blaise nodded and sighed. "Yes. She heard. She came running back down the stairs half awake when she heard you. She thought you might be in trouble. It was rather loud."
Draco lowered his head. "Where is she?"
"Asleep. In her bed."
"I'll deal with this in the morning." Draco waved off the impending question and answer session sitting at the ready from his friend. And before anyone else could clamor in to get their inquiries in, Draco was off in quick pace to his own dorm room, which he shared with Blaise. But if he were quick and quiet enough, maybe he could get to sleep in a matter of seconds.
He made it to his dorm in record time, stripping off his clothes before he hit his bed. He sat down and thought about the problems to come. He may have just ruined his friendship with Danni, especially if she had even the remotest clue as to what he was dreaming about. It was a damn shame that he couldn't claim to be under some sort of charm, spell, or draught. With a flick of his wand, he closed the curtains surrounding his bed. He laid back, staring up at the ceiling, wondering what he would say to her. He never had been able to lie to Danni. She still knew him too bloody well by this point, and he couldn't get away with it. She was right. His posture always gave him away. Most could never tell, but Danni… Danni knew better.
He soon fell into a restless sleep, unable to get this woman out of his head. When he did finally wake, early the next morning, the first thing he did was grab his things, heading straight for the one place he knew Danni couldn't find him. The boys' bathroom. He would shower and spend time devising a plan to both get Danni out of his head, and also figure out a way to somehow maneuver his way out of being caught.
With his plan fully formed, and realistic enough to believe, Draco turned off the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist, and made his way back down the hall to his dorm. Just his luck however, he ran right smack into his girl friend as she in turn was headed in the opposite direction to the girls' bathroom.
"Danni." He said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
"Morning Drake." She greeted him with a wary expression of her own. "Hey, can we talk? It won't take long."
Despite the fact that he knew they would indeed have to tall, and that they would eventually be cornered into doing so, Draco felt the need to stall her. He had a plan. He would follow the plan.
He looked down at his half covered body. "Can it wait until after I get dressed Dan?"
She eyed him. "With the time you take? Dray, I could go in and shower, get dressed, do my hair, my makeup, and still have to wait on you. I don't want to wait."
He sighed. His plan was already falling apart. She sure knew how to ruin a good strong deception. She was taking the upper hand from him.
"Fine Dan, but let's make it quick. I have an early class this morning."
Danni followed him as he walked. "So do I, which is why I thought we should talk now."
Draco opened his dorm room door to see his mates all up and moving about. "Clear out." He demanded.
All four men disappeared within seconds, leaving Danni the opportunity to enter.
He tried to ignore her presence as he walked over to his closet, pulling out his clothing, before walking behind a partition to get dressed. When he emerged to find his shoes, she was standing beside his bed.
"Dray?"
He turned to see her standing there with that look on her face. The sympathetic yet smug look. The one that said 'I know and there is nothing you can do about it. I feel sort of bad that I know, but yes, I know.' Or maybe he was reading too far into it.
"Drake, I want to talk to you. Would you please sit down and talk to me."
"Yes." He agreed, sitting down on the bed with her sitting beside him.
"Is it because we haven't seen each other in so long?" She immediately addressed the one and only issue standing between them.
She knew. He thought. Bloody Hell, she knew. Damned woman was too bloody smart for her own good.
"What do you mean Dan?" Draco feigned innocence. He didn't meet her eyes with his. He knew he was beat and he couldn't accept it by looking her in the eye. Plus, he was almost sure he could get away with it. He was wrong.
She stood, pacing in front of him. "I admit it Drake. You're gorgeous. Okay? There, I've said it. You are physically attractive to the point that it is unnatural for you not to be a statued god, designed in marble.
Draco leaned back and let out a breath. He was blown away by her admission. After all the time they'd been close friends, she had confessed this to him. She had come clean and been totally upfront with him. It was unlike any Slytherin he knew, and certainly unlike Danni to be so "honest". Nevertheless, he met her halfway.
"Dan, I…" He paused as she sat back down beside him. She took his hand in hers.
"Anything either of us is feeling right now will disappear once we get back into the swing of things. Everyone has been through so much, and maybe we just need to get back to the way we used to be. Nothing has changed."
"How can you be so sure Dan?" Draco questioned, finally turning his eyes to hers.
"Have a little faith in me Dray. Have I ever let you down? Have I ever not come through for you?"
He shook his head. "You're right. This is nothing." He lied. "We will get past this. It'll take no time at all."
"Then trust that neither of us is really willing to risk the future of what we have for something that is a nonexistent reality. It's not real."
Draco smiled at her logic. He placed his arm around her shoulder. "I find it rather difficult to believe some days that you are Slytherin. You could've easily crushed me, but you didn't."
The two stood and began walking to the door.
"Why because I chose to be tactful and use a little discretion?" She returned. "I chose to keep your undignified impropriety between us. You can keep your dignity, and I can keep mine. When it comes down to it Drake, I go my way, you go yours, and we always seem to meet somewhere in the middle. Why does that have to change?"
"It doesn't Danni. But I'm constantly amazed by your lack of a bad bone in your body."
"Insert bad joke here." Danni joked, gaining a laugh from her blond friend.
"No. Don't."
"You'll find that I am very bad Draco. It's just something that you will never experience." She kissed his cheek as he returned the gesture when they'd reached the door.
"See you later Drake."
"Meet me for free period?" He asked her.
She nodded. "Don't I always."
He allowed her to leave before closing the door. They had simply let the matter pass by excusing the fact that this could or might not possibly be a crush…Draco knew what was going on in his head. Maybe it was a crush, and maybe it wasn't. Either way, he would know Danni Varitino's bad side. He promised himself. Somehow, someway, he would know for himself what it would be like to have her at his mercy, being at hers in return. He had to know. This could not go on forever. For the sake of their friendship, he would have to know. But it would wait. It would stay idle until the time fit his purpose.
Danni left in a much happier mood. She did not have to worry. She smiled. She had resisted temptation. For the safety and benefit of keeping a friend, she had pushed away what was forbidden to her. How long she could keep pushing was another story. She had to get through an entire year pretending that she had no desire to control Draco Malfoy, wiping that smug grin from his face.
As it happened, Danni had a strong willpower. She knew that she could resist anything he threw at her, within reason. Couldn't she?
Keeping in mind that Drake was her best friend could temporarily keep her focused. Besides, he didn't really want her. He had agreed that this would pass soon enough. They could never take what went on behind closed doors seriously enough to moved past being friends.
Fin.
A/N: I do hope you all enjoyed this prequel to 'One of the guys'. I thought it appropriate to do a prequel, but I don't know if I'll do a sequel. I don't think it needs one. Thanks to all who read and enjoy the work I write. Much Love to you all.