Under My Skin

Author's Note: Oh wow! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I was absolutely blown away by the response that I got for this story and the first chapter, so thank you so much! It inspired me so much, that I have two more chapters after this completed and ready to go as well! Yay!

Also...there may be some spelling/grammatical errors, but I don't have a beta...nor do I typically use beta's, so if you read any stories of mine this is something that you'll have to live with. Sorry!

Other Stories: I promise that I will be updating my Lily/Scorpius story within a couple of days! Also, it is intended to be a sequel to this story...although you don't have to read one to enjoy the other.

Please review! Reviews are love...and they clearly make me motivated to write more. :D

UPDATE: Before You Read the Chapter, Read This: Okay, I decided that instead of having the first two chapters as a prelude, I will likely have three-five chapters as a prelude. I will likely only have three or four prelude chapters, but as ideas come to me...I feel the need to write them and share them with you. Also, these chapters give you a better idea of Draco, Astoria, and other main characters...and how they came to change over time. Not to mention that I sincerely hope you find them entertaining to read. Thanks so much!

Astoria had gone off for her first year at Hogwarts, like any other student. She and Draco barely acknowledged eachother's presence; and no one brought up the fact that she and Draco were bonded. In fact, the event seemed to be all but forgotten unless they were at home with their families. (Where at social gatherings hosted by either the Malfoy's or the Greengrass', the two would act like a perfectly paired off pureblood couple.) However, while at school, the two acted as unattached as two people could...getting themselves entangled in unremarkable relationships (ie. Pansy Parkinson and Darius Selwyn) and finding their own way. Nothing of significance happened between the two until Astoria's third year; and Draco's fifth. That Christmas break, the Greengrasses had decided to host a ball in honor of their thirteen year old daughter's birthday and her entrance into society...

Draco fingered the Slytherin green velvet ribbon that was attached to his gift for Astoria. This year his parents had decided that he should give Astoria a gift seperate from their's, since she was now officially a part of society...and therefore deserved special attention from her betrothed. His mother had pointed out this last point on multiple occasions, no doubt trying to remind him of his duties to their family...

He would deny it vehemently should anyone ask, but he had picked out Astoria's gift without any help or influence. He had made a trip to the Goblin-owned jewelry store with his father to find her something. Much to his mother's delight he had spent a considerable ammount of time and energy trying to find an appropriate gift. But what his parents didn't know; and what was more important, he had searched for something that she'd actually wear. Despite the fact that she had said she found the emerald necklace beautiful, she only wore it on occasions like this. A fact that hadn't escaped Draco's notice. Instead of complimenting her school uniform (like the Malfoy's had intended), it sat encased in the wooden box it had been given to her in.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled slightly as she watched her son hold onto his gift for Astoria with a death grip, his knuckles a pearly white. She hoped that perhaps this year would be the year that Draco took notice of the petite girl. After all, she was turning out to be a strikingly pretty young lady...and would most certainly be a welcome addition to their already enviable gene pool. His obvious nervousness made her happy. Because despite everything, she wanted her precious son to know what it was to be hopelessly in-love. "Draco,..." She smiled as she walked farther into the room, her voice soothingly caring. "...I think that you'd do better to stop rumpling the gift wrap. It will leave creases, if you're not careful."

He flushed slightly in embarassment at his mother's words. Malfoy's weren't supposed to be nervous or unsure, not even in front of family. "I didn't realise, Mother." He smiled slightly as he walked over to his mother in his pristine black dress robes and dropped a kiss on her cheek.

Narcissa beamed at her son's actions, as her husband joined them. "That's okay. I'm sure she'll love what you picked out for her."

Lucius raised an eyebrow at his wife as she handed him their gift. "Are we ready then?"

Astoria remained quiet as she watched Lotty twirl her dark hair into an up-do that seemed to be spilling over with curls. It was nice to be away from school and to have Daphne to herself. She loved her older sister, but she liked her best when she was willing to let her guard down and be the care-free older sister Astoria knew as a child...like now.

"I wander what Draco will get you this year..." Daphne smiled in excitement as she surveyed their house elf's handiwork with Astoria's hair.

Astoria bristled slightly as she recalled all of the gifts she had accumulated from the Malfoy's. Beyond the emerald necklace, she hadn't recieved anything particularly interesting. Instead they'd given her books..."Bonding: A Sacred Promise for Life," "The History and Enchantments of Malfoy Manner," "An Ancestry of the Finest Wizarding Families," "Historic Wizarding Rituals and How to Honor Them"...the list went on and on. Every book was either Malfoy-centric or pureblood-centric. Neither of which held any appeal to Astoria. "Probably another book..." She sighed dejectedly as Daphne scowled slightly before smiling.

Daphne sighed happily as she straightened out her light blue dress, ready for a more interesting topic, like herself. "You know, when I had my ball Theo gave me these beautiful Aquamarine drop earrings...and that night, we kissed for the first time." Daphne wore a far-away expression as she touched the afore mentioned earrings dangling form her ears delicately. "It was divine, Astoria."

Astoria felt her mouth go dry at the mention of kissing. She had never thought about the inevitable reality that one day she and Draco would kiss. The possibility that it would happen tonight overwhelmed her. Sure she had 'dated' boys, but she'd never actually kissed one. And the idea of having her first kiss with Draco Malfoy left her confused...she didn't want him to be her first kiss if she was going to end up to be a ruddy kisser, Merlin knows he'd never let her hear the end of it. Not to mention, she didn't feel any liking or dislike for the boy. But there was a part of her that knew she'd sort of been saving that special moment for him...because it somehow seemed romantic to keep that honor for her future husband...a story to tell her own daughter. She must've gone pale because Daphne was fanning her. "Sorry, I just...I'd never really thought about kissing Draco until just now." She blushed slightly as a huge smile covered her sister's face.

"Oh! That is so adorable!" Daphne gushed. "You are so cute, Stori. Saving your first kiss for Draco..." Daphne's expression looked bemused as she considered this. Her innocent baby sister saving her first kiss for the 'Prince of Slytherin' aka, a ladies-man extraordinaire.

"I never said it was my first kiss!" Astoria blurted as Daphne smirked knowingly.

"Mhmm..." Daphne snickered.

Draco spotted her as soon as he stepped into the entrance hall. She was at the top of the staircase; and she was beaming as she smiled down at someone. Her hair was up in curls and her lips were the shade of cranberries. She wore a flowing strapless white dress with a glittering emerald sash at the waist...and his emerald necklace hung from her neck elegantly as the sweetheart neckline of her dress accentuated it. He wasn't sure when she had become so appealing...

Astoria turned as she felt a cool hand barely touch the small of her back. "Draco, hello..." She smiled, trying to cover her surprise at seeing him.

"Happy Birthday, Astoria." He smiled charmingly as his lips barely brushed against her cheek in a soft kiss, his hand resting against her shoulder.

She felt a blush rising to her cheeks and a slow smile transform her expression. She caught sight of their mothers smiling with pleasure as they watched the scene unfold. Which made her recall that that's excatly what this was. A performance for other's benefit... "Thank you." She smiled as he pulled away and lead her over to a more secluded area.

"No need to thank me yet." Draco grinned cockily. Her reaction to his kiss on the cheek had only confirmed his knowledge that she did indeed fancy him, not that he found that surprising in any way...because he didn't. "Afterall, you haven't even opened your gift yet." He leaned casually against the wall as he handed her the tiny silver parcel.

"Oh...the wrapping is pretty." Astoria commented kindly before carefully pulling the green ribbon loose and setting it on a nearby cabinet. She bit her lip as she tore away the silver paper and found a velvet jewelry case in her hands. She looked up to Draco a moment before opening the lid. "Oh...Draco, it's lovely." She tried her best to keep from sounding completely awe-struck. She refused to be the girl that swooned over a boy and his gifts, especially this boy.

Draco watched as she slowly touched the expertly crafted white-gold Goblin-made bracelet. It was unexpectedly simple. The gold had soft swirls carved into it; and little diamonds glittered on it. "Let me assist you in putting it on."

"Huh?" She had been too entranced by the bracelet to hear Draco speak at all. So as he lifted the bracelet from it's case, she felt herself blushing. Something she would normally never do. "Thank you..." She watched as his long graceful fingers clasped the bracelet easily, and lingered against her skin briefly before taking hold of her hand.

"Certainly." He smiled before lifting her hand to his lips and placing a kiss there softly, his grey eyes boring into her blue ones. He couldn't help but smirk at her reaction as she touched the emerald pendant around her neck, a nervous habit she'd never broken. He never knew that someone else's reaction to his gifts and compliments could be so amusing or exciting until now.

She couldn't understand why Draco was pouring his charm on extra thick this birthday. He'd always enjoyed taunting her and embarassing her...but his tactics seemed to have changed. "I should thank your parents as well." She pulled her hand away softly before he looped her arm into his own.

"Actually you haven't opened their present yet." He watched as her expression betrayed her surprise. "I figured it's high-time that I give my future wife a present seperate from my parents. It is a special birthday for you, afterall." He preached, his mother's words ringing in his head, as he escorted her over to their parents.

He watched from the side of the ballroom as Astoria laughed softly at something her best friend, Odessa, whispered to her from behind her hand. The only reason he knew who Astoria's friends were was because of Daphne's off-handed comments about her sister. Comments that Draco had a hunch were attempts at making him jealous. Although, he couldn't understand why he should be jealous...after all, Astoria was already his no matter who she covorted with now.

"Ruddy hell Stori,..." Odessa Grandfall half-barked as she eyed the bracelet on her friend's arm. "...Who bloody cares if you ever love him. I mean he's a god and he has good taste in jewlery. What more could you want?" She smirked as Astoria laughed and shook her head.

"Dessa, you're ridiculous!" Astoria couldn't help the true smile that engulfed her face, as she forgot about everything else she was supposed to be doing at that moment. She hadn't realised how much she missed Hogwarts and being around her best friend until that moment. "Besides, I'm sure his mother picked it out. Draco Malfoy, spending time on me,.." She let out a snort that her mother would've fainted at. "...Not likely."

Odessa shrugged regally, still grinning. "Who cares. Narcissa's taste in jewelry is what's stocked in that huge vault of their's." She grinned as Astoria rolled her eyes good naturedly, per usual. "Come off it, we both know that is exactly what I want." She snickered as Astoria burst out into giggles. "Besides, you could've done so much worse." She wrinkled her nose as she caught sight of Millicent Bulstrode and Vincent Crabbe secluded in a corner, digging into some refreshment, it was revolting really. "There was always Crabbe and Goyle..." She raised an eyebrow as Astoria frowned.

"I suppose..." She trailed off as she studied Draco a moment before realizing that he had caught her staring; and turned her back to him. "Although, at least with Crabbe and Goyle you'd never have to worry about being made fun of, they're not smart enough. You could always out-wit them and they'd never even know..."

"We know, Miss. Outstanding. Your wit is awe-inspiring, really. If you weren't such a Slytherin at heart, you would've made the Ravenclaw's proud." Odessa rolled her large eyes as Astoria laughed and felt a cool breath tickling her neck.

"Sorry to interrupt." Draco flashed a smile at Odessa as she grinned back, a glazed over expression in her eyes. "I was wandering if I could have your first dance, Astoria?" He smiled confidently, knowing that the dance was his. Asking was a mere formality as it were. His grin only grew as he spotted Pansy in the corner, jealousy oozing from her... She was always like putty in his hands after events like these. Desperate to win his affections and attention.

"I wasn't aware it was that time already..." Heavens, this was embarassing. The count had to be disgustingly high for the number of times that Draco had surprised her today. Too high in fact for her to swallow. Afterall, she had an ego too...and she wasn't about to fall under his spell...or give him a flat-out 'yes.' His ego was too big as it was, thank you very much. "Shall we?"

He smiled as he made a show of leading her out to the middle of the ballroom floor, then pulled her close as the music started into a Waltz. "Hanging out with Odessa Grandfall?" He gave her a pointed look as her eyebrows narrowed. He knew that he shouldn't continue this conversation...but he enjoyed baiting her too much. Too much to let the part of him that genuinely cared about her feelings to win. "I'm not sure how I feel about that. Everyone knows that her family is only interested in bettering themselves by marrying her off to the richest bidder..." He smirked as her grip tightened.

There was the Draco everyone knew. The arrogant asshole that never knew when to keep his mouth shut. "And why do you suppose my family chose you?" Her voice was chillingly even, as she stared into his eyes unflinchingly. He raised an eyebrow as his expression hardened. "It certainly wasn't your winning personality." She gave him one last fake smile as the waltz ended before sauntering off to find people that she was sure Draco would find even more reprehensible...like her mother's Ravenclaw friends. She'd seen the Macmillan's here somewhere...

AN: You know what to do! Click that little button and review, review, review! : )

fayza khan: Thank you so much for reviewing my story! (And leaving me such a nice review.) I always enjoy hearing what my readers have to say...and no worries! I have a couple of chapters already waiting to be uploaded sometime soon! :)