Angels and Demons
DISCLAIMER: We do not own any piece of the Harry Potter universe portrayed here. That right belongs exclusively to J. K. Rowling.
Title: Draco Malfoy: Angels and Demons
Pairing (s): Draco Malfoy/ Angelique Black ; Harry Potter/ Ginny Weasley ; Ron Weasley/ Hermione Granger
Summary: He's the son of a Death Eater and also one himself. She's the daughter of the world's greatest Auror, Voldemort's number one target. He's on a dangerous mission everyone expects him to fail though failure is not an option. He cannot let her distract him, but he also can't stay away. Her love is his driving force and his saving grace. If he can be saved.
Rating: Strong Sexual Content. You have been warned.
ONE
September 1, 1996
Angelique Black turned away from her family, feeling utterly alone. She watched her twin brother, Nathaniel, her cousin, Harry, Harry's girlfriend, Ginny, and his best friends Ron and Hermione file into an empty compartment, filling it to capacity a few moments later when their other friend, Neville, joined them. As always, the compartment did not have enough room for her. She should be used to it by now, she supposed. It had happened every single year. They never even bothered to ask whether she had someone else to sit with, which they knew she didn't. They just naturally assumed she would prefer to be alone. And why should they decide to think any differently? It suited their purposes, didn't it? They assumed she'd want to be alone so they wouldn't have to sit with her. It wasn't hard to see.
She stared blankly at the door as it closed, silencing the sounds of laughter and friendship, as she clutched the handle of her trunk tightly with numb fingers. Eventually she began to walk aimlessly down the train, knowing even as she checked that there would be no free compartments. And no one wanted to sit with weird little Angelique. On her third trip down the train, she finally gave up and lowered her trunk to the floor before sitting down across the worn leather and resting her chin in her hand. She sat there, staring out at the rows of compartments filled with best friends excited over their reunions, first years who were nervous and excited about their first day at Hogwarts, couples in the throes of love, family members arguing playfully with each other… She didn't belong with any of them. She didn't belong at all.
"I don't have time for this." A deep, male voice disturbed the silence as a nearby compartment door slammed shut and a man stormed out into the hall, leaning against the wall next to her. "What are you staring at?"
Angelique didn't even glance at the Slytherin standing beside her. "My feet." He'd leave soon. They all did. Actually…this one was different from the others. First he'd ridicule her…for her hair or her piercings, maybe her family, her clothes, or the fact she was in Gryffindor… One of them, or a combination, or perhaps all of it. Only then would he leave.
He glanced over at her, taking in the sight of her sitting on an old trunk, staring off into space. "Why are you out here?"
"Selling tickets to the freak show," she said tonelessly. "Unfortunately, I'm sold out. Better luck next time."
He scoffed, resting head back against the wall. "Maybe next time I'll be performing," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Don't you have anywhere to go?"
"Alas, they seem to have misplaced my cage."
He looked down at her again, fighting a smirk. "You've got an answer for everything, don't you?"
"Grindylows." She leaned back against the wall just as he had, stretching out her long legs and crossing them at the ankles.
"Where's your brother?"
"Not here."
"Obviously. There's no one out here…"
"To my knowledge there are one and a half people out here."
"A half?"
"Haven't you heard? I'm half vampire. Or was it hag? I can't remember."
"If you were a vampire, you wouldn't be sitting in a train full of sunlight…and hags are ugly, old women…which doesn't seem to fit either."
"Perhaps it was banshee then." It was hard to keep track of all the rumors that circulated about her.
"I don't know. I've never heard you scream."
"Stick around. Shouldn't be long."
"Good to know. I'll keep that in mind. I recently broke up with a banshee…It's not pretty."
"Banshees don't take kindly to broken hearts." She looked up at him for the first time and he couldn't look away from those grey eyes so full of mysteries.
"I suppose no one would."
"I don't know. Some people enjoy being miserable."
"That sounds a bit contradictory."
"I didn't say it made sense."
"Well, I do not." He scowled at himself. "Why am I even talking to you?"
"That would be a question only you can answer." Her grey eyes shifted away and she lowered her chin into her hand palm again. He found himself sneering, running a hand through his hair. He debated with himself for a moment, then sat down on the floor. Angelique decided to ignore him, busying herself with counting the number of chips in her nail polish.
"You're not all that strange, really. I mean, you are…but in a different way than everyone seems to think."
"You mean you don't think I'm going to turn you into pie?" She asked, creating another chip with her thumbnail.
"It's possible. I would make a delicious pie…"
"Your meat's too lean for me."
"Well…I don't know if I should take affront to that…"
She merely shrugged, slowly peeling away a layer of black paint. Watching her, he hesitated, ruffling his hair again. "Your mother must be quite busy lately."
"That's what happens when you have ten kids."
"That's…not what I meant…"
She glanced up at him once, briefly, before turning back to her slender hands. "I know."
"Ten?"
"Plus two."
"That seems a bit excessive And with…recent activity…Do you…um…hear much about her work?"
"I know just as much as you do…"
"Right."
"If you want to find out about what my mother is up to, I suggest you consult a newspaper," she told him, unimpressed with his searching. "Rita Skeeter seems to know more about her than I do."
"Rita Skeeter doesn't always get it right."
Angelique snorted at that. When had Rita Skeeter ever gotten anything right?
"Forget I said anything."
Her dark lashes fluttered as she blinked over at him, as though seeing him for the very first time. "I'm sorry, did you say something? I didn't notice you sitting there."
He smirked, reaching up to adjust his tie. "You're a lot better to talk to than your brother."
"Nathaniel's afraid of snakes."
"Odd, considering he is one…"
"Actually he's a phoenix."
"What?"
She shook her head, her cherry red and recently dyed sea foam green curls swaying around her face. "Nothing."
"You still haven't said why you're sitting out here by yourself."
She sighed, her grey eyes drifting closed. "People are afraid of me," she admitted, though she couldn't say why.
"There are a lot more important things to be afraid of."
"People will always be more afraid of the monster under the bed than the stranger at their door."
"You're just a girl. Why would anyone be afraid of you? Especially when there are real evils everywhere."
"Beats the fuck out of me."
"I'm obviously not the least bit put off."
"You're probably the only one in the world." Which made absolutely no sense because he was Draco Malfoy and he was supposed to hate her.
"What happened to Gryffindor courage and chivalry?" he asked her.
"Ask a Gryffindor." She'd been told enough times she was in the wrong house to pretend she understood what everyone else was thinking.
"I did."
"I would pretend to know but I'm not a Ravenclaw."
"You seem to the only brave Gryffindor lately."
"It's the firewhiskey, I assure you."
"Have any left?"
"That depends."
"On what?"
"Whether I want to get off my ass or not."
"I see. Well, if you decide you don't, I have some anyway."
Angelique had to bite back a smile as she laid her head down on her knees. She should not be finding any of this amusing. But she did.
"Did the trolley already come through? I hadn't been paying attention."
"Not yet," she mumbled against her knees. "You want something? I've got more candy than the Easter bunny."
"What's the Easter bunny?"
This time she did smile, shaking her head again. "Nevermind." Trying not to chuckle, she rose from the trunk and flipped it open. There was, indeed, more candy than the trolley offered, piles and mountains of every type of sweet he'd ever seen as well as some he'd never heard of. Among the piles of candy were two unopened bottles of firewhiskey, a couple of water bottles full of green tea, and some fireworks. It took him a moment to realize it, but a pair of red lace panties was wrapped around one of the bottles of alcohol.
He had to fight a smile as he looked down into her trunk. "Where did you get so much candy?"
"I think the better question is where didn't I get so much candy?" She gave him a wink and began to dig through the treasure trove.
"Are you willing to share? Honestly, I haven't had a caramel crème in years…"
She quickly located four of the soft, brown and white candy and tossed them to him, still searching for her own.
"Thank you."
"Firewhiskey?" She offered him one of the bottles, the one with the red panties wrapped around them. "Don't worry," she added. "Those have never been worn."
"Damn. All of my hopes up in flames." He took the bottle, settling into the corner with it.
"Mine too. Those were a gift."
"Why haven't you worn them then?"
"Because my boyfriend is a fuckwit with no taste." She took the panties from him and unrolled them, glaring down at the offending crimson material the same color as her hair. "There's way too much fabric," she stated, then tossed them back to him before shutting her trunk with a snap.
"Too much?" He regarded her with one brow raised. She merely raised her own in silent challenge. Draco smirked as he opened the bottle of firewhiskey, tilting it to his lips. The lace of the panties in his hand tickled his fingers as the liquid rushed down his throat, burning and singing. He glanced down at the candy in his other hand. "I didn't even think they made these anymore…"
"I've got my ways," she said, reaching for the alcohol. He returned it to her, leaning his head back against the wall once more. They lapsed into silence after that, passing the bottle back and forth between each other. For some reason, Draco found himself staring at the scrap of lace in his hand more often the more he drank. He glanced at her, trying to picture her in them. Too much fabric? If this tiny swatch of see-through lace was "too much fabric"…what did she have on beneath that skirt? He blamed his curiosity on the alcohol…but he couldn't help licking his lip at the thought. What if she wasn't wearing anything…?
"So you have a boyfriend?"
"Did."
He nodded, gulping down more of the potent alcohol. "I had a girlfriend…but I have way too much to worry over without having to pacify her."
"Yeah, well apparently I'm too much of a freak for the boy with the pierced butt cheeks," she said as she shifted on the trunk. That skirt was really short, wasn't it?
"Pierced buttcheeks? That's fucked up."
"He thought it would be funny." She laughed at the memory, a warm, rich sound. "He cried for three days. The pussy."
"He sounds like a dumbass…"
She drank a bit more of the firewhiskey before saying, "He was, honestly. I got my hips pierced and never made a sound. He was such a wannabe."
"Your hips?"
"Yeah." She gestured low on her abdomen with both hands to two spots on either side of her belly button.
"Cool." He studied her further for a moment, growing more and more intrigued. "Is that your name spelled out on your ear?"
Angelique nodded, raising one black tipped finger to trace the tattoo and piercing in the ear in question.
He leaned closer to look at it. One ear bore the name "Angelique" in black script, running vertically down to her lobe. Taking up the width of the top of her ear was a bright red and silver phoenix earring. The other ear bore her surname, Black. The letters "Bl" were at the top with three little silver star piercings in the middle, followed by the letters "ack".
"Brilliant," he murmured.
"Thanks," she said and looked over at him, licking her lips. His eyes followed the movements before he tipped the bottle of firewhiskey to his lips again. Unable to bear the proximity, Angelique leaned away as he studied the three stars in the middle of her ear.
"Does that mean anything or is it just random?"
"It's an obscure reference to an obscure goddess."
"Which one?"
"Hecate, goddess of the night." She swallowed more firewhiskey and for some reason he began to wonder if he could get away with digging through her trunk to see just what kind of underwear she considered good enough to wear. He bit his lip, leaning further away.
"That must be some good firewhiskey."
"Extra potent."
If he asked to look for more caramels…Perhaps…"I'm definitely feeling it…You've any more candy in that trunk of wonders?"
Angelique slid off of the trunk to the floor and opened the lid. "Feel free to explore."
He licked a bit of alcohol off his lip then began digging through the trunk. There was a lot of candy and he dug aimlessly for what felt like forever before his hand connected with silk beneath the mountain. He pushed aside some of the candy as his hand closed around the silk. "You've got quite a sweet tooth…"
"I'm a dentist's nightmare," she chuckled.
What was this? Fuck…it was tiny. A triangle of smooth fabric attached to…Oh Merlin…was that a thong? He must be really drunk, because he was imagining her in it…and she looked good… He pulled the scrap of fabric out of the trunk and stuffed it in his pocket, vowing to examine it in full later, when she wasn't there. He grabbed a piece of candy he'd never even seen before and sat back. He was definitely very drunk. As he leaned back in his corner, his eyes roamed over her body as he stuffed the candy into his mouth. Everyone knew she was the sexiest woman at Hogwarts, though that did little to boost her popularity. He'd never really seen her up close before and now that he was really looking…It was hard to look away. Her curly hair, the color of rubies, flowed down around her, so incredibly long. She'd dyed it recently, a streak of pale green right next to her face, but it didn't distract from the beautiful, shiny locks. He loved her skin, silky smooth and soft looking, the color of snow. His eyes snagged on her breasts…large and perky, straining the material of her black sweater. Long legs stretched out in front of her and he'd noticed when she was shifting around on the trunk and floor that she had a tight but round rear…And he bet that wasn't the only part of her that was nice and tight…
He licked his lip. Fucking drunk…but she did look good...quite sexy in a way that got his heart pounding. He couldn't help but try to picture the piercings she'd mentioned…Which prompted images of her wearing the thong in his pocket…and nothing else.
She passed the bottle back to him and he took another swig of the liquor. "Why hasn't anyone come through here?"
She shrugged and soon laid her head down on her trunk, smothering a yawn. He grinned as he watched her. Damn…she was sexy…He stretched his legs out in front of him, unable to look away from her. "Why'd you share with me?"
"'Cause I have no one else to share with," she mumbled sleepily, shoving a lock of green hair behind her ear.
"Thanks. How come, though? You're the most interesting person I've talked to all day…"
"'Cause…I'm Angelique Black…Hogwarts's very own one woman freak show."
"You're not a freak."
"Well…I am a weirdo…" She stretched her arm out across the trunk, resting her head on her shoulder. Her fingers grazed his arm. "No offense, but you're the last person I would expect to defend me."
He shrugged his shoulders, leaning against her trunk. Her eyes opened after a minute and she studied him silently. What was she thinking? He met her gaze but her eyelids quickly slid down to hide the grey depths. He watched her for a moment before closing his own eyes and resting his head back. It wasn't until the train rolled to a stop hours later that he realized he'd dozed off.
He jerked up, rubbing his eyes as he stood. How could he have fallen asleep like that? Anyone could have seen him…sitting there with her. Angelique Black, the freak. He could still taste the alcohol…she'd given him firewhiskey…His hand delved into his pocket, fingering the silken thong. How stupid could he be? He'd let her get under his defenses, allowed her to get him drunk. And who knew what else was in that firewhiskey or the candy. If he couldn't handle a teenage girl, how could he ever have a chance to…no…he had to…
He turned his back to her, determined to pretend this had never happened. She was insane…a freak and an outcast…No one in the school could stand to be around her. Not even Loony Lovegood. Not even her own brother.
But he had…it hadn't even been all that bad…She was strange but…not as weird or frightening as everyone seemed to believe. She was…fun and witty…and sexy…Merlin, he had to stop thinking about her. Hard to do when he had her thong in his pocket and his fingers were curled around it.
Why in the hell would he do something so foolish? He glanced at her as the students began to file out of the train. Because he'd been drunk and she'd caught him by surprise.
He sighed, leaving her behind. One of the most important years of his life and he'd already fucked up.
