Fern slammed her head dramatically on her desk causing it to creak slightly under the force. It had taken her all bloody week to fix the mess that had been left in her office. As nice as it was for them to "clean" it up, it still needed to be reorganized, and she'd spent all week doing just so. After the unpleasantness with Malfoy, they'd setup this "fundraiser" for exactly a week after. This meant, the fundraiser was on Saturday night, which also happened to be tomorrow. Fern groaned aloud at the thought of having to entertain Goyle as she heard someone gingerly knocking against her door.

"Yes, yes, come on in. Don't be alarmed. It's only my brain that's dead."

She said, her voice muffled by the desk still underneath her face. She heard the distinctive laugh of Zoe Accrington, of which she'd been certain had been on the other side of the door.

"I take it your in need of a few drinks, then?"

Fern plastered her face off of her desk and sighed.

"You have absolutely no idea."

"Really? A fundraiser with Malfoy?"

Zoe asked, sporting a slight butterbeer mustache, a look of surprise on her face. Fern frowned.

"Well, er, yes. He offered to host and I didn't want to be rude. Besides, we could use the funds."

Zoe sighed, wiping at her mouth, nearly getting her chestnut hair in the mix during the process.

"Well, I don't envy you. I heard what he said to Ron."

It was Fern's turn to be surprised and she nearly spat out her own drink.

"Ron? How do you know about that?"

Fern rolled her eyes indignantly.

"Oh please , half the office heard about it when it happened. There I was, sitting at my desk working, when Ron came bursting in demanding to see Hermione. He was all red-faced and looked positively peeved. He then proceeded to yell about how Malfoy had said that he'd read a bit in the Weekly about their, er, breakup. Ron said that he'd read she'd been reported to be seeing another man. It was a bloody right mess , it was!"

Fern flinched as she remembered the entire conversation vividly. However, Malfoy had never mentioned another man. It seemed, that was all Ron. She couldn't fathom why he'd even believe the filth written in the Weekly . Everyone knew Rita Skeeter blew smoke up her own arse. She reported on what she wanted to hear from someone not what they actually said.

"Malfoy's a real prat , I reckon, going around saying things like that to people. It's shameful, but I guess not entirely unexpected. He is Draco Malfoy , after all."

Fern didn't understand why, but she felt she needed to right the accusation, on Malfoy's behalf.

"Well, actually, Ron started the fight. He mentioned Malfoy's "Death Eater" money and Lucius in Azkaban. If you ask me, Ron came in looking for a fight."

Zoe set down her butterbeer and peered at Fern curiously.

"Why are you sticking up for that worm ? Don't you remember all the cruel things he did during school?"

Fern shrugged non-committedly, talking from behind her own drink, afraid to say too much.

"I don't know. It just doesn't seem right to let someone take the blame for something they didn't cause, now does it? But it doesn't matter."

Zoe eyed Fern curiously.

"Why did you decide to take up Malfoy's offer? Surely you're not hurting for money that badly . I've seen the ledgers, you know."

Fern fidgeted uncomfortably. She wanted to tell her it was because of the breach, but she knew it wasn't her place to give out classified information. She rather liked her job and didn't feel keen on losing it.

"Nevermind that. I'm more interested in how Hermione reacted than that git . Tell me, exactly what shade of red did her face go before she hexed him into the next century?"

Zoe's face turned into a sneer before she laughed.

"Well, I wasn't there for that part, but Daphne Greengrass was and I snooped a little and she said…."

Fern woke up to an insistent tapping sound on her bedroom window. She sat up stark straight at the sound, giving her alarm clock a good look, which read 8:03am, then gripped her head in agony. It felt like someone had squeezed it too hard a few times, before finally, giving it a good thrashing. She groaned and looked over to her left to let out an undignified yelp.

"Gulping gargoyles! "

She nearly fell out of bed as she watched some sort of creature repeatedly bang into her window (at a very alarming speed, she might add). Horrified, she immediately opened the window, afraid the glass would be shattered. In swooped an eagle owl, a very fine looking one too, a note in its beak and a parcel in its talons. A package and a letter? At this hour? She thought, slightly thrown off by the random occurrence. Curiously, she approached the bird.

Now, she wasn't exactly unfond of owl's, but there had been a reason she'd opted to get a cat during school instead. Her mother had had an owl in her youth, that had been particularly prone to biting, and she'd never quite gotten over it. She gingerly took the letter out of its mouth, and sat a little distance away, before she began to read.

"Dear Gregory ,

You are cordially invited to the Magical Artifacts Fundraiser Event hosted at Malfoy Manor by Malfoy, and of course, yours truly. I've sent this letter personally as I truly wish for you to attend. It would mean the world to me if perhaps you'd consider joining me this evening, as my date .

I expect all guests to arrive promptly at 8pm on Saturday next. I hope this letter finds you well.

Yours,

Fern Fawley."

Fern felt heat immediately rise to her face. She definitely had not written nor had she approved the message that had been sent to Goyle. She also couldn't help but notice the hearts attached to the end of the note, and when she put the letter close enough, she could smell the faint hints of perfume. She gagged a little and felt steam rise to her ears. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly who had written the letter.

It was then, that she felt the unmistakable pinch of the owl's beak. She looked over to see it was attempting to free itself of the burden of carrying the package she'd neglected and, quite forcibly, trying to get her to take it. Of course his owl's a prat too! She thought, ripping her fingers away, and freeing the package from the bird.

It was wrapped nicely, and somewhere in the back of her mind, she recognized it. However, she was too tired and hungover to truly think, and ripped it open. Inside, was the most wonderful dress Fern had ever seen. It was iridescent blue and made of what appeared to be fine silk, tailored, and certainly absurdly expensive. And, placed elegantly on top, was a letter. In the same font as the one that had been sent to Goyle. It read, simply;

"To make sure you capture his heart- D.M."

It was then she recognized the wrapping to be from Twilfitt and Tattings . Malfoy had bought her a bloody dress, to make fun of her in, as Goyle attempted to flirt her up . If Fern could shoot laser beams out of her eyes, she would have. She immediately felt herself wrapping the gift back up haphazardly, and standing to search for some parchment and a quill. The owl looked a bit concerned, but simply side stepped away from her, as she slammed back down onto her mattress. She wrote like a woman possessed, hardly stopping to even breathe, a look of pure anger written across her face.

"How DARE you send that letter without my EXPRESSED permission. I've agreed to the fundraiser and nothing else , Malfoy, let's get that clear . I don't want your ruddy dress and I'm sending it back. In fact, I'd rather let pixies rip my eyeballs out than ever wear something from you.

- F.F.

P.S. Your bloody bird bites."

And with that she tied the package back onto the leg of the owl, who looked extremely displeased it had to tote it back, and gave it the letter. It gave her a look she could only expect a Malfoy owl to give, and pompously, flew out of her open bedroom window.

"Take that back to your foul git of an owner. I'll find an even prettier dress to wear. I won't be on the butt end of Draco Malfoy's endless bouts of mean games, you dumb pompous bitey bird! "

She yelled back at it, as she stood, intent on getting herself dressed and to the nearest store.

She found herself, not but three hours and one extremely uncomfortable train ride later, standing in front of Twilfitt and Tattings. She'd been going here with her family since she'd been very young, and she knew they had an excellent collection of fine dresses. She barged in, still quite angry.

"Hello! Can you please direct me to the prettiest dresses you have?"

She said, not realizing how completely mental she sounded, still coming off a bit miffed. The man at the desk simply stared, confused, before gracing her with a response.

"Well, they'd be over here, ma'am. Please, follow me."

He directed her to a row of dresses, all of them, quite unextraordinary. He stopped, nodding to them.

"M'fraid these are what I have left. Mr. Malfoy is throwing a fundraiser, you know. I got a lot of commissions for that party. I shouldn't say who the customer was, but I will say, our nicest dress was bought by a bloke yesterday afternoon. Quite a dress, that one was. I was sorry to see it go."

Fern frowned deeply, her words coming through her closed teeth.

"I'm aware. You don't have any other ones? Something just as nice? Maybe in the back, perhaps?"

The man frowned and gave his deepest apologies. Fern sighed, nodded she understood, and began to pick through the rejects. They were all quite unremarkable, but one green dress did seem somewhat promising, so she took it into the dressing room to try it on. What greeted her made her cringe. Her honey blonde hair was tied up in a very, very messy bun, her sweater looked a bit wrinkled, her skin was a sickly pale color from her drinking, and she'd forgotten to put any makeup on in her hurry. She looked tired, sick, and just overall exceptionally awful. She sighed, heaving the dress on, untying her hair to get a better idea on how it would look. All that greeted her was disappointment.

"Ugh, this looks like shit."

She said aloud, seeing that the green color only made her that much more sickly.

"You should've just worn the one I gave you, then."

Fern almost choked on her own spit as she yanked the curtain open to find one Draco Malfoy sneering back at her, as if he had every right in the world to be standing there, staring at her.

"What in Merlin's beard are you doing here, Malfoy ?"

He shrugged,continuing to look through an assortment of mens ties, pretending to appraise them.

"What? Am I not allowed to shop here? The Malfoy's have been coming here since it opened, I'll have you know."

She shook with anger, but attempted to calm herself down, and spoke in an angered whisper.

" As if you didn't already custom order and fit your suit. I'm not daft enough to believe you're looking for a tie to your own fundraiser last bloody minute."

Malfoy clicked his tongue, as he gave her a once over, before he spoke.

"That color is absolutely wretched . And that's saying something from me because we all know how fond I am of green."

And that, my friend, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Listen here you little prat , I didn't come here to get judged by the likes of you . I already sent you a letter about how I'd rather die than wear your dress."

Malfoy had previously resumed in his browsing of the ties, but had stopped rigid when she spoke, and pivoted in her direction. His face was serious.

"And why is it that you'd, let me get this straight, rather have 'pixies rip out your eyeballs' than wear the gracious gift I gave you?"

Fern felt herself bristle and gave in to her anger. She closed the curtain violently, yelling at him through it as she yanked the dress off, and put her clothes back on in record time.

"I don't know what your aim is, Malfoy , but I'm not going to play any games with you . And that letter you sent, you didn't even bloody ask me, you just sent it. For salazaars sake , you put hearts on it, you even spritz it with a bit of perfume . Do you understand how awkward of a night this going to be for me? No, of course not , because you only think of yourself ."

She said all of this as she grabbed her purse, intent on exiting the fitting room, as well as the whole bloody store. Malfoy frowned.

"I don't understand. We agreed on this plan. I just made sure it would go as we wanted it to."

He stood between her and the door, his arms up attempting to stop her from waltzing out, and she huffed.

"Nobody once asked me if I wanted to be Goyle's date, so no, this wasn't the plan."

She attempted to get past him, but yet again, he moved in her way. He looked as if he was going to say something when Fern cut him off.

"Get out of my way, Malfoy. Stop stalking me and go home. You have a party to setup, don't you?"

Something cracked inside Malfoy as she uttered the last two sentences, and she watched his previously distressed face turn into anger, and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"As if I'd stoop so low as to stalk some nobody little witch working in not even a Ministry department, but a sub-department, like you ."

Fern felt every muscle in her body go limp as the words left his mouth. His face and ears were red, his eyes were downcast, and his hands were clenched in his pockets. She opened her mouth once, then snapped it shut again, before finally speaking.

"You really are a foul git ."

And with that she walked past him, brushing past his shoulder roughly, as she went.

She made it to the street corner before she heard Malfoy call after her. She didn't pause in walking across the street, but he walked faster than her, it seemed.

"Wait, Fawley! Wait!"

He caught up to her, yet again getting in her way, and she was loathe to admit she had to turn a bit to wipe at the tears that had threatened to spill over in the store.

"Please, Fawley...let me...apologize. Merlin, you walk fast."

He doubled over a bit, seeming to be out of breath, before he looked at her levely.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean any of the things I said back there."

Fern's face soured and she frowned deeper.

"No, I think for the first time in your life, you said exactly what you meant."

Malfoy chewed at his cheeks in discomfort.

"No, please, I'm really sorry. It's just, you know, I-"

Something about the tone of his voice caused Fern to pause in her anger, and truly look at the man in front of her. What greeted her was something she hadn't expected. Malfoy looked absolutely embarrassed and regretful, something she'd previously never seen before.

"I-, well, we all know I'm not the best with words. I'm actually not the best at anything to do with other people. Please, I know you won't believe me, but I truly am sorry. I didn't mean a word, I-"

He looked even more uncomfortable as he spoke the last few words.

"I-I don't do well with rejection, it seems. I know that I've been a terror for most of my life, but I'm working on fixing it. Recovery from being a total arse is harder than I previously thought."

He joked, laughing shakily at the end. Fern stood stalk still. She felt like her eyes and ears were betraying her. Before she could say anything he looked at her, his demeanor seemingly changing back to one Fern was more comfortable with.

"Please, allow me to take you for coffee. I'd disgrace the Malfoy name if I didn't."

For whatever reason, maybe it was the complete change in character that threw her, but Fern answered immediately.

"Well, we couldn't have that."

Fern fretted with her scarf, tugging on the bottom pieces, sitting in her lap. Malfoy returned shortly, one coffee cup in each hand, as he sat down in front of her.

"Not to beat a dead horse, but what exactly about my gift set you off? I'd like to avoid getting killed by a witch in the near future, so I'd be glad to know."

Fern took a sip and shifted uncomfortably. She'd never seen Malfoy so completely unguarded and honest before, a part of her, wanted to show him the same courtesy.

"Well, er, it wasn't the gift, per-say. It was the whole meaning behind it."

Malfoy looked completely lost and flabbergasted at that moment, so, she continued.

"You sent me that note to Goyle, and then that cheeky little note about 'capturing his heart' or some bullocks like that, and I just felt made fun of."

Malfoy blanched at her statement, and then a look of perplexion replaced it, his eyebrow raising.

"You think I'd buy you the most expensive dress in all of Twilfitt and Tattings to simply make fun of you? I know I've done some mean things in my past, but I assure you, I don't go out and buy things for people I want to embarrass. I can do that for free."

It was Fern's turn to look perplexed, and, she felt red rise to her cheeks.

"Well, then what did you buy it for then?"

Malfoy huffed, looking a bit put-off.

"As a gift, as I've said at least a million times now. It was meant to simply be a gift. We've been working partners for sometime now, unbeknownst to the two of us, and I only wanted to do something nice."

Fern frowned and then gave a short laugh. Malfoy looked back at her, incredulously.

"Well, forgive me if I don't automatically assume Draco Malfoy is giving me gifts to be nice . Nice is not what I've known you to be."

He frowned, his brows furrowing.

"What ever do you mean? I've always been nice to you."

Fern frowned.

"You made Ron eat slugs."

"Actually, he tried to make me eat slugs, but that's not really the point here."

"You made 'Potter Stinks' pins and told him you hoped he'd die."

"Yes, and I seem to remember a disguised Barty Crouch Jr turning me into a ferret for it, but again, that's not really-"

"You called Hermione a Mudbloo-"

Draco stopped her by slamming his hand on the table. Fern jumped a little and realized how frustrated he looked.

"-What I fail to see, is how any of that, was directed at you."

He finally finished, looking a bit frazzled. He gave her no room for a response and began talking rapidly.

"In 4th year, you nearly added beetle eye instead of Billywig slime to our Wiggenweld potion, and I stopped you."

"Well, yes, but that was one time and-"

"You also almost took your fingers off attempting to cut Wolfsbane, and I corrected you."

"Yes, those were both the same class, I remember, but-"

"6th year you cried in the prefects bathroom at nearly midnight, after you and Theo had a fight, and I covered for you when Filch came sniffing around."

"Wait, what, I didn't know-"

"I've been nice to you, Fern."

She opened her mouth to retort, but just shut it again, in complete shock. Malfoy got up abruptly, shoved his hands in his pockets, and produced the parcel she'd received this morning.

"I understand if you don't want it, but I sincerely meant it as a gift in good faith. Even though I'm sure you hate me, I would truly love for you to wear it. I'll leave it here, if you decide to."

He put it on the table and Fern simply stared, still too mixed up to speak.

"I need to get ready for the fundraiser tonight and, I'll stop stalking you, as you so nicely put it. Have a nice afternoon, ."

And with that, Draco Malfoy had fled the shop. Fern waited a few seconds to let out the breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. Her fingers opened the parcel, seemingly on their own, to reveal the dress once more.

Well, it really was the most beautiful dress Fern had ever seen.

She certainly hadn't seen anything better.