Chapter 10

"Get your tight little arse over there and work it," Draco commanded.

"What?!" Azalea exclaimed.

"Look, we got you the dress, you fixed up your hair, you put on the make up and jewelry," Draco told her. "But it all means shit if you don't go over there and talk to the man."

"What if he doesn't like me?" Azalea worried.

"Bloody hell, Azalea," Draco rolled his eyes. "If you're not going to do this then we might as well go home to those books that you wet yourself reading."

Azalea glared at him angrily as a redhead gave the both of them strange looks and moved away. "Could you please refrain from shouting embarrassing comments," Azalea said through gritted teeth.

"Well, go over there," Draco said, "and work your charm."

Azalea swallowed a breath and drained a shot of Firewhisky for courage. She walked through the throng of people. Loud music reverberated through the ballroom. Alex Garrison, Azalea found out, had gotten a job as soon as he left school. It had apparently been a good paying job as well. It allowed him to move out of his parents' manor and into his own. He lived the comfortable life of a bachelor that lived completely independently of his parents. Azalea added it to the list of things she admired about him.

She walked through his ballroom now, finally deciding to talk to him for the first time in the hour that she'd been at his party. Draco had insisted that he come with her. He was coming as back up, he told her. Azalea had snorted doubtfully. She knew for a fact that he heard Astoria would be at the party. It was just as well, she decided. Azalea advised Draco to pay her compliments, make her feel special, make her feel like the best thing since sliced bread. Azalea told him girls like to be complimented. It was true. They did. Usually, it would take much more than that, but Astoria was a simple minded girl. Giving Draco the basics in wooing girls would be just enough to get Astoria interested.

Azalea neared Alex just as the guy he was talking to walked away. Alex did a double take when he saw her. His face absolutely lit up when he recognized her. Azalea chose to believe Alex was happy to see her and not the hot black dress Draco picked up for her.

"Wow, you look great," Alex said, taking in her outfit.

She could feel Draco's self satisfied smirk on her back. A slight turn of her head confirmed that he was indeed smirking the smirk of a man who had just been proven right. Damn him, Azalea thought and shut his presence out entirely, intending to focus on Alex.

"Thank you for inviting me," Azalea smiled. "It's a great party."

"I wasn't sure you would show up," Alex said, swiping a glass of Firewhisky off a floating tray and handing it to her. "We weren't exactly old friends when we met."

"I didn't see the harm in coming," Azalea said, sipping the drink lightly. She wanted her wits about her. "It sounded like fun."

"Could I ask you a question?" he asked in a refined manner. "If that's okay with you, that is."

"Of course," Azalea said, taken aback by his politeness. I've been spending too much time with barbarians like Draco, Azalea thought to herself.

"Why are you living at the Malfoy Manor?" he asked.

Azalea was surprised by the question. She didn't know how many people knew. Gossip certainly spread like wildfire but she hadn't pegged Alex to be the kind that listened to gossip.

"How did you know?"

"You know how rumors circulate," Alex shrugged. "I figured I go straight to the source before making any sort of assumption."

"Thank you, I appreciate that," Azalea said, hardly able to suppress her smile. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are my godparents. When my parents died, they insisted that I live with them. I owe them a lot."

"I see," Alex said and gave her a smile that seemed relieved.

"Why?"

"Well, word has it that you and Mr. Draco Malfoy might be engaged."

"What?!" Azalea exclaimed loudly, making a plethora of people turning to look at her. "Why would anyone think that?"

"Many people saw you take him home at the Smoky Lounge and then many more saw you with him at Diagon Alley just yesterday. He was apparently holding your packages," Alex divulged. "And the fact that you're living together leaves a lot of room for interpretation."

"I took Draco home because he was smashed. He was holding my packages in fear that I would set fire to them because I didn't particularly like the things he made me get," Azalea explained. "And yes, we might be living in the same place but we are most certainly not engaged. I don't even like him."

"Didn't you bring him with you?"

Damn, she did. She should have realized what bringing Draco with her could look like. She wasn't thinking. She was too busy tugging at her dress, listening to Draco's tips, and giving Draco advice on Astoria to think about such a possibility. Her brain must have been fried.

"He heard that a girl he fancied was going to attend your party and he insisted on coming," Azalea explained. "We're just friends. Even labeling our relationship as friendship is a stretch."

"So nothing is going on?"

"Absolutely nothing," Azalea shook her head. Only that he stroked her cheek and stared into her eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist whilst staring into her eyes, coming perilously close to kissing her… again. Absolutely nothing was going on. Ah, the sting of sarcasm, she thought to herself.

Alex smiled again at her. Bubbles of attraction rose up in Azalea's belly and she once again could not help but smile. He was just so incredibly handsome. She could just swoon at the sight of him smiling. But, of course, she won't. That would just be incredibly awkward and socially crippling. His bright green eyes seemed to twinkle as they talked and Azalea couldn't help but feel flattered by all his chivalry. He was so gentlemanly and polite and charming. It was as if he stepped straight out of a fairy tale novel and he was looking at Azalea as if she was his princess.

He gave her butterflies. His gaze made her feel like she was the only girl in the room, the only person in the room. It titillated her and she could not keep the smile from her face. Alex asked her to dance and she accepted.

He swung her round and round to the smooth beat, never once taking his eyes off her face. The butterflies in Azalea's stomach rose into a frenzy.

Draco watched Azalea dance with who he supposed was the Alex bloke she won't shut up about. Draco recognized him as the bloke who stared at Azalea as if she was the queen of Europe. A cold fish like Azalea? The queen of Europe? Hardly. She did look quite happy, however, he observed. His plan was working. Alex could hardly take his eyes off Azalea. Of course, she also turned plenty of heads from the guys who happened to catch a glimpse of her.

Draco had just been proven right. His plan was working but for some strange reason, he didn't like it one bit. It couldn't be because of the fact that Azalea was gathering so much attention. It's not like Draco was interested in Azalea. He had better taste than that. It was because he could not find Astoria. He just sort of heard from Daphne that she and her sister might go. Apparently, the Greengrass sisters had elsewhere they needed to be. Draco was feeling sore about this and watching Azalea have fun with the guy she wanted certainly made him annoyed. He wanted to leave.

Draco turned, intending to Disapparate out of the place and jump into his bed and sleep away the frustration he felt but he heard something that made his blood boil.

"That Astoria Greengrass is a whore," some large bull of a man said.

Draco's temper immediately went into overdrive. He turned furiously. The man turned to him, clearly not frightened. Draco didn't say a word. He didn't waste his time. He threw a punch and relished in the pain and shock on the guy's face.

"What the hell was that for?" the man demanded.

"Don't talk about her like that!" Draco exclaimed.

"And what are you?" the man asked, clearly angry. "Her father?"

"That's-ˮ

Draco didn't get a chance to finish. The guy hit Draco with a right upper cut, sending Draco sprawling backward. Not willing to be outdone, Draco hooked him with a left. Soon, a full blown fight occurred. A huge circle formed around there, chanting and hollering.

Thoughts ceased to exist in Draco's head. He was fighting on anger and adrenaline, letting his animal instincts kick in. The guy rushed at him and punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of Draco's lungs for a moment. The guy punched him in the gut over and over again, making Draco wince. Draco pushed him away with brute force and landed a punch on the guy's nose and followed with a punch to the gut. The guy was stunned for a second but rushed at Draco again.

The crowd had become a blur. Reason and logic failed to register. Mocking faces, leering faces, entertained faces, and concerned faces were distorted together. The many colors of women's dresses and the many colors of men's shirts blended together in a haze. Why am I doing this? he asked himself. Why do I always get into fights over nothing? But the question failed to make a point. The punches continued, both by him and at him. He was getting tired. He was an idiot. He could never hope to win against this guy. He was huge. He would get demolished.

Draco's vision had become cloudy and his movements had become jerky. He was going to lose consciousness soon and the other guy knew it. It was over. The guy punched him in the face. Draco's head snapped back and he landed on the marble floor head first with a sickening crack. His vision swam. He saw a blonde woman rush to his side. He felt a soft hand on his cheek. He saw a pair of stormy gray eyes. Then darkness…

Azalea watched Draco fade into unconsciousness. Damn, she thought. She turned her head to the large man who had punched Draco out. His eyes had a feral look and his breath was heaving.

"What the hell is your problem?" Azalea demanded. "You could have killed him!"

"He started it!" the man muttered.

"And that's a valid excuse to knock someone obviously smaller than you into a coma?" Azalea groused. "If anything happens to him, his parents will have your head!"

"He started it!" the man repeated, backing into the crowd in a fit of cowardice. "I didn't do anything to him! He started it!"

The guy was gone. He took off and probably Disapparated. It didn't matter. People knew who he was and he would be getting a shit load of hell from the Malfoy family sometime very soon. People had begun to wander off, leaving only a few stragglers watching Azalea as she lifted Draco's head into her lap. She patted his cheek.

"Draco, you idiot, wake up," she ordered. "I never should have brought you here. Now, wake up!"

Azalea lifted her left hand up from under his head and her eyes widened. Her hand was soaked in blood. She looked down and Draco's blonde hair was saturated with blood. She hoped her comment about the coma wasn't prophetic.

"Merlin's beard," she whispered, a look of utter distress coming over her face.

"Azalea, is he-ˮ Alex said, walking close but stopped as he saw the blood. "Bloody hell."

"Alex, send an owl to Draco's parents," Azalea ordered him. "Tell them what happened and tell them I've taken Draco to St. Mungo's."

Without another word, Azalea Disapparated.