Simply Irresistible
By Kukaburry
Chapter 10
A single ray of light that shone through the dingy window fell on Piper's unconscious face. Draco bent over her and checked to see if she was still breathing. Satisfied that he hadn't scared her to death, he sighed and sat back on his heels. "You scare too easily," he said, watching her face for signs of waking up soon.
Piper stirred slightly on the floor and finally opened one eye. "Why the hell am I on the floor?" She grumbled, trying to lift up her head. A sharp pain throbbed through her temple and she groaned in pain. Draco reached down and helped her to sit up.
"Oh Merlin my head hurts," she said, holding her head gingerly. "Hey!" She said sharply, turning a mutinous look at Draco, finally recalling the events from moments ago. "Bloody bastard. I'm going to kill you for that prank you pulled."
The angry expression on Piper's face coupled with the silly position she was in on the floor caused Draco to burst out laughing. "You should've seen your face though." He wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "Honestly, it was all in good fun. I wouldn't have done it if I had known you were going to faint over it."
Narrowing her eyes, Piper snorted in distrust. "It's not funny."
Draco gave her a wry smile. "Think about it. You went ballistic over a dummy head," he stood up and grabbed the fake, bloody Draco head and put it next to his own. "If that's not funny, you don't have a sense of humor."
Piper sighed and rolled her eyes. "That head is filled with sawdust, just like yours. Anyone could mistake the two." Draco grumbled and she smiled coyly. "What? I'm just being honest." Her giggles turned into a clear laugh. "Alright, alright. Looking back, I guess it was kind of funny." She looked at the pile of dummies still lying on the floor. "You really fooled me into thinking Crabbe and Goyle were helping you."
Draco shrugged and grinned. "I figured it would seem more possible than just me."
Piper gave him an impressed once-over. "For a kid, that's not half bad. How did you make my seat levitate though? I never saw you take out your wand."
Ignoring her jab about his age he replied, "I learned how to do silent spells last year. It comes in handy sometimes, especially for tricks like this."
"I'm jealous. I never had a chance to learn that spell. I might force you to teach me." It suddenly hit her how easily they were talking with each other. "Draco, it's hard to believe, but I think we just became friends."
Draco looked startled for a moment and looked at her curiously. "I'll never admit that in front of anyone, I hope you know. It would ruin my reputation." He sounded annoyed, but his small grin gave him away.
"Like I would risk telling Potter that you and I are chummy now?" She replied. "No one outside of this room will ever know." She suddenly realized the time and jumped to her feet. "Crap, I left MacMillan sitting at the Three Broomsticks."
Draco snorted a laugh. "Of course he'll be missing you. You'll want to take him out on a walk and make sure he does his business too."
"Your sense of humor astounds me," she replied sarcastically. "It's sad your looks don't match your wittiness," she added thoughtlessly.
At first Draco felt insulted, but once he thought about it, he realized what she was saying. "So, you think I'm attractive?"
"What? N-No!" She stuttered, turning a bright shade of red.
He approached her slowly, enjoying the way her breathing quickened with with each step and bent his head low. "Are you sure about that?"
His breath was sweet, just like she remembered from the night of the ball and his grey eyes seemed to bore directly into her. She had never seen a man act this feral before and she couldn't help but feel a little turned on by it. "No..," she breathed, trying to focus her mind. "I mean yes, yes I'm sure. Oh look at the time, I'm going to go now," she said hurriedly, side-stepping him and sprinting out the front door leaving an amused Draco chuckling in her wake. "You can start brain-storming on how to get information from Potter!" She yelled over her shoulder.
"What took you so long?" Ernie whined as soon as Piper re-entered the pub. "I've been so lonely without you," he slurred, giving her a long, blank stare.
Piper looked at the table now littered with empty glasses. "It looks like you've been keeping yourself entertained with butterbeer?"
Ernie gave her a sly wink and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. "I got this from my friend Ryan who snuck it from his dad. Want a sip?"
"I'm fine. I'm think you've had enough for the both of us," she said irritably. She was happy she finally noticed how droll Erine really was. He reminded her of her dad- narcissistic, simple and vocal. "I think I'm going to go."
"No no," he cried, blocking her in her seat. "You just got back. We have so many things left to do. You're looking so pretty, I was hoping I could take you to some place romantic and secluded." His voice turned husky and suggestive.
Piper threw him a nasty stare. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I'll just let you enjoy your evening and get back to the castle to enjoy being alone." She made a move to slide out again, but Ernie was urgent and pushy this time.
"No really, I want to take you someplace nice. You can't leave now." He grabbed her wrists and pushed her back. His breath smelled of alcohol and sugar, it made Piper choke.
Draco entered the pub and looked around casually, searching for Piper and Ernie so he could entertain himself. He spotted them in a far-back booth talking heatedly. He noticed that piper looked angry and startled and Ernie looked down-right pissed.
"Ernie let me go, you're hurting me," Piper growled at him, trying to pull her wrists free.
"Let me give you a goodbye kiss," he had a one track mind. "Just one tiny kiss, that's the only reason I've wanted to go on a date with you." He captured her chin and pulled her face towards his.
'SMACK'. Ernie staggered back, the force of the slap leaving a bright red mark on his face. The impact stung Piper's hand and she shook it vigorously to get circulation back. "I'm leaving," she pushed him aside and stomped through the room, enduring many side-long stares from others.
Once outside, tears began pouring down her cheeks and she ran for cover in an ally nearby. She usually didn't let people bother her that way, she was above it, but she had trusted Ernie to be a gentleman and he proved to be the exact opposite. No man made her feel safe, her father being a prime example. He was always too busy to actually listen to her or nurture her the way a father should, that had been his wife's responsibility - a responsibility which he never picked up after her death.
"You look like a banshee," Piper jumped at the quiet voice. "Calm down, it's me."
"Are you following me?" Draco's embarrassed shift gave him away. "Oh, so you saw what happened." She wiped her hands across her eyes to dry the tears. "I guess everyone at school will find out, won't they?"
Draco shrugged, not really caring if the school knew or not. "Look, are you okay?" He seemed honestly concerned.
"I'm fine. The guy's an idiot and he got what he deserved." She took a deep breath and relaxed, clearing her mind and her emotions. After a couple of minutes she inhaled again and asked, "What do you want?"
"I actually thought of a plan to get Potter to spill," he seemed proud of his brain-work. "It's actually funny because your scene with MacMillan will work in perfectly."
"And what is this brilliant plan you have?" She asked curiously, wondering how exactly her humiliating situation with Ernie would be of any help.
"You're going to date Potter of course." He stated it shortly as though it were an obvious plan.
Piper stared then grinned then laughed like a loon. "Are you insane? That's the worst idea I've ever heard! Can you imagine what Snape or," she dropped her voice to barely a whisper, "the Dark Lord would say to that plan? They'd have both of our heads on a stick."
Draco, unmoved, continued to stare at her stonily. "Don't give me that look. You've gone mad. It could never work, I'm not that good of an actress."
"You don't get it. It would be easy. You're already on their good side. Just act interested and drop hints to the mud-blood Granger. With that idiot Weasley you'll have to be completely see-through about your desires for Potter." He paused when he noticed Piper giving him a funny look. "What?"
"Do you realize how creepy you sound right now? What do you do, sit around all day staring at Potter and his friends?"
"Fuck off. I notice things," he spat irritably.
"Like how Potter and his friends act around each other?" She asked, unbelieving, "I'll bet you did a lot of noticing to find that out." Draco began to turn a light shade of magenta. "Oh wait, I know. You're secretly attracted to Granger, right? Once you get rid of the poofy hair, she's really quite pretty isn't she?
"I wouldn't know," Draco growled, displeased with the turn of conversation.
"Right of course," she mocked. "You wouldn't know at all."
"Stupid females," he grunted, pushing her in the shoulder. "Can you shut up now? I have an actual plan and here you are shitting on me like you don't care."
Piper swallowed her giggle and nodded, "Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Whatever. Like I was saying, Potter trusts his friends more than anyone, so you'll have to get to them first." He ended his speech theatrically.
Piper mused over the plan, beginning to understand where he was coming from. He made a good point that Potter seemed to share everything with his close friends, and since she couldn't expect to become a close friend in such short notice, she would have to settle with being his girlfriend and get into his good graces in half the time. Unfortunately it would also be twice the work.
"Merlin if my mum could be here to see me dating Harry Potter," Piper began with a derisive snort, "I would never hear the end of how excited she was." A hollow pang rippled through her chest and she inhaled sharply, trying to push the long-buried pain back into its hiding place. She covered up her dry sob with a cough and looked up at Draco stoically. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. If our 'advisors' decides to cut off my head, I'm bringing you down with me."
Draco rolled his eyes at her dramatic speech. "Fine by me, but he likes my family better than yours." A flurry of snow from the clouds overhead followed this comment. "We'd better get back to the castle before we become snowmen."
"Yes Mr. Malfoy," Piper agreed, pulling her arms close around her body. "Why the hell did I forget to buy a snow cap?" She murmured, trying to shrink into her sweater and cover her frozen ears.
"Bloody freaking Americans can't dress for snow," Draco scoffed behind her. A cap slid over her head snugly and she turned to find Draco's Slytherin cap mysteriously missing.
"It's a good thing I'm not a Gryffindor or people would be very angry about this cap," she chortled, pulling the hat down further so that it rested just above her eyebrows.
Draco chuckled in response. "You're right. You'd better give it back before you start flirting with Potter at dinner tonight."
"Oh Merlin, I don't know how to flirt. I'm not exactly the most beautiful girl at the school," she cast a shy glance at Draco to see his reaction. "Doesn't he have a crush on some girl named Chang?"
Attempting to sound uninterested, Draco gave her a once-over and smiled. "Let's put it this way, you're pretty enough to get Potter."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" She cried, slightly saddened by his response. "Draco Malfoy you're such a dick."
Another chapter done! Who doesn't love a little bit of stalking by Draco? I hope to have the next chapter up in about 3 days. ~Kukaburry