Chapter two! Woo! I had three review that seemed to like it so here's more. (Yes. Three reviews is all it takes to make me feel flattered and loved and wanted. I'm pathetic.) EDIT: I noticed that I had gotten Astoria's year wrong (probably from writing thefirst chapter of my Fred Weasley story right before writing this chapter of Dreamless. I have fixed the mistake, though! Yay!)
A week had passed since their late night chat in the common room. The only chances they had to speak to one another were during class changes and random run ins in the common room with other students around. The change in Draco and Astoria's relationship was so subtle, that none of their friends had even noticed it. They did, though. That was all that mattered.
Astoria stood in the girls' lavatory with her older sister and Pansy. She watched them apply their make-up and then checked her hair which had been braided loosely to the side. She then caught Pansy staring at her with an unreadable yet cold expression.
"Some of the boys in Slytherin have been noticing how well you've been 'filling out' recently," she scoffed, "You're like, what? A B cup?"
Astoria smiled at Pansy kindly, "A, actually. I'm a bit embarrassed, actually. All of the other third years are B or bigger. However, I think my figure just makes them look more full," Astoria answered as she ran her hands down her waist and smiled at herself in the mirror.
Pansy tutted a bit arrogantly, "Of course they do if someone's as skinny as you are."
"I'm a healthy weight for my age, Pansy."
Pansy sighed in boredom before applying a rose colored lip gloss to her lips.
"Draco doesn't like it when you wear that stuff," Astoria had let it slip, "He said it makes your lips really slimy when the two of you snog."
Astoria giggled lightly to herself remembering the disgusted face that Draco had made when Astoria had applied chap stick to her lips at Lunch one day after Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle had left. She was the only one that found it amusing, though. Pansy looked outraged as she grabbed a paper towel to wipe her mouth off, "How would you know what Draco does and doesn't like?" she asked defensively.
"It was mentioned in conversation?" Astoria suggested obviously.
"Yes, well... why would you be talking to Draco and especially concerning the two of us?"
"Because we're friends kind of and you're his girlfriend?"
"Well, stop talking to him when I'm not around."
"Why?"
"Because. Like you said, I'm his girlfriend and I said so."
Astoria didn't say another word. She was too annoyed with Pansy's stupidity to argue with her. Daphne shot her younger sister a warning look and Astoria just rolled her eyes lightly and went back to checking herself out in the mirror for lack of anything better to do.
"To make it up to me, I think you should let me have those ear rings of yours. I like them and you offended me so you owe me. That's what friends do."
Astoria wanted very desperately to set Pansy straight by telling her that they were not friends and that friends don't blackmail eachother into giving away important heirlooms. The ear rings that Astoria were wearing were custom made and one of a kind. They were small golden snakes wrapped around a tiny ruby that was supposed to represent an apple much like the one from the Adam and Eve biblical story. They had been given to her grandmother a very long time ago by a boy that she loved very much when she had attended Hogwarts. Astoria did not want to give them to Pansy so that they could enhance her dull pig-nosed face.
She also knew that Pansy could make every female Slytherin hate her in a matter of seconds so she reluctantly took the ear rings out of her ears and handed them over.
"They were my grandmother's. I'd really appreciate if you could be so kind as to return them when you're finished with them."
"Sure. Whatever." She put them on and looked at herself in the mirror quite pleased, "How do they look? They're much prettier on me, right?"
Astoria bit her bottom lip in disgust. She was too infuriated with Pansy to want to cry.
"Yes, Pansy. They look far more lovely on you. I hope that you enjoy them."
Draco stared at the golden haired fourteen year old that sat a long way down the table from him conversing with other Slytherins in her year. She seemed conflicted. Her mouth seemed happy as she giggled and had a great time at dinner with her peers, though her eyes looked distraught as they darted towards his end of the table every once in a while.
Draco smelled Pansy's domineering floral perfume before she had even sat next to him. It actually would have smelled wonderful if she didn't wear so much of it. It had the potential to be refreshing.
"Hello, love," he greeted her kindly as she planted a kiss on his cheek.
"I missed you."
"But we just had class together," Draco countered with a small but still flattered smile. Crabbe and Goyle grinned over at him and Draco arched his eyebrow with a rather un-amused expression.
"I know, but still," she pressed.
After a moment or two of awkward silence, Pansy perked up, "Draco! We should have tea in Hogsmeade this weekend."
"Tea?" Draco asked, "But that's so common. Besides, I have something important that I need to do while we're there. Perhaps I can meet you for dinner?"
Pansy pouted sadly and looked down at her plate. As annoying as Pansy was most of the time, Draco really did hate to let her down or hurt her feelings. It completely stunk that she managed to look so pretty and helpless when she was sad, too. He wasn't about to let her or anyone else at the table know it, though. They'd think he had turned in to some sort of soft-ass all of a sudden.
"Pansy, stop doing that. You're being childish," he told her indifferently as he handed her her napkin.
Later that night, when he and Pansy had snuck off to a secluded hallway past the dungeons to have a private session of showing their affection for one another, as Draco pulled away from Pansy just to simply look at her (because truth be told, he really was attracted to her in every way despite some of her flaws) and catch his breath, he noticed a familiar little gold glimmer in the area where her left ear was.
"Those are very nice ear rings, Pansy."
"Oh? Thank you-"
Draco then cut her off with a light hearted smile, "It must have been really nice of Astoria to loan them to you. I just hope they don't turn your ears that nasty green color that they turn hers."
Pansy was at a loss for words as Draco chuckled lightly to himself before planting little kisses on her neck.
"What do you mean?"
Draco groaned in annoyance and rolled his head to the side so that it was resting on her shoulder and he could look up at her... rather adorably in her opinion.
"Well, it's just that I heard her complaining to Millicent Bulstrode the other evening about how they were cheap bits of rubbish that turned her ears green all of the time."
"But she told me they were her grandmother's and that she wanted me to return them as soon as possible."
"What?" Draco acted like he was truly baffled as he stood up straight and laughed even more, "Knowing you and your despicable record of stealing, she probably thought you'd keep them from her out of spite if she fabricated some pathetic sob story like that."
Pansy blushed a little not feeling very proud of herself for being spiteful no matter how much Draco said he admired it.
"I have to return them, now. I can't believe that cheeky little girl would try to fool me like that. I can't wear anything that isn't pure gold or silver. She knows that."
Pansy quickly removed the ear rings and asked Draco how her ears looked. He shook his head as if to indicate that they were fine. He then took the ear rings from her with a frown.
"I'll sort it out with her tomorrow. I'll return them to her and let her know that you don't deserve friends that are going to dump their cheap hand-me-downs on you."
Pansy looked up at Draco gratefully, "You don't have to be mean to her or anything. I mean, she's only a fourth year after all."
"You're too kind, Pansy," and with that, Draco leaned in for their last kiss(or so he thought) before telling her goodnight and walking her back to the common rooms where he stole one more kiss from her before going to his own dorm for the night feeling quite proud of himself and his acting skills as he looked down at the precious ear rings in his hand.
He would have recognized those ear rings anywhere. Astoria never wore any other pair.