"Don't you think her smile was a bit queer?" Orabella asked, her breath frosty in the crisp, morning air.
"Not really, but it did look a bit forced when she smiled at you." Draco looked thoughtful with his brows furrowed as he stared straight ahead, his thoughts obviously somewhere else. "Have you heard much about Benevuto's trial?" Orabella looked up at him.
"Only what you told me. Why?" Draco shook his head slightly and looked at the dark cobblestone ground.
"I've got a weird feeling that he's not the man we're looking for," he muttered quietly, as if to himself. Orabella tugged her knitted hat downward before answering.
"We found the evidence on him and we know that he's the culprit. That wouldn't make sense! If you're thinking Adrina is the suspect, then I'd mark you down as wrong. She's just gone loopy from the shock of being husbandless, that's all."
"I wasn't thinking of Adrina, but now that you mention it…"
"Malfoy, the culprit was a bloke. We already know that for a fact. What woman would have that kind of strength to carry someone like Umbridge all the way to the alley without magic?" Draco was still thinking hard about it, but he slowly nodded.
"That makes sense…"
"Of course it does! Malfoy, don't think too hard about this. It's not as complicated as it seems!" At this, Draco turned his head to look at her, an amused smirk on his face.
"And who am I speaking to right now? Oh, right, Hermione Granger, the witch who thinks too much about everything!" Orabella glanced around. He had said that a bit loud.
"Shut it, Malfoy. I'm not Hermione Granger. I'm Orabella. Are you in love with this Hermione or something?" she asked with a scoff, and Draco just ignored her.
"We're at the post office," he said with a scowl, and Orabella rolled her eyes.
"Quite blatantly," she stated and looked inside. It was very crowded and since she was wearing dark green and silver dress robes fit for a Pure-blood, she didn't want to get them dirty with all the dust and owl feathers and droppings in there. "I'll wait out here for you," she said, and Draco walked in without acknowledging her statement. He must be thinking pretty damn hard about this case, she thought, and crossed her arms and leaned against the wall next to the door.
"Hello, pretty witch. Who may you be?" Orabella looked up to see a handsome, tall, dark man with brown eyes and black hair with a very smug-looking smile on his face. Seven years had done him some good. He looked like the tall, dark, and mysterious kind of chap that every girl would go after. Orabella tried not to roll her eyes at his blunt chat up, but she kept her innocent demeanor. Why not play with him before Draco came out? Orabella grinned devilishly at the thought.
"Well, hello there. You are not so bad looking yourself," she replied as seductively as she could with her heavy Italian accent. Blaise Zabini looked very chuffed and he dared as to put a hand next to her head on the wall. Orabella didn't flinch.
"You are Italian, I presume? So am I! I'm Zabini. Blaise Zabini." Orabella smirked and presented her right hand to him which he promptly took and kissed.
"Sì, I am an Italiano, but I can't speak much of the beautiful language." Blaise smirked.
"I must say, your dress robes fit you very well. You are quite the ragazza bella. How come I have never seen you before?"
"Actually, I am just visiting," she said with a seductive smile. Blaise smiled smugly again.
"How long for, mio ragazza bella?" Orabella smirked back.
"Oh, just for a little while, ten days or so," she replied smoothly. Blaise's smirk matched hers and he leaned closer.
"May I ask your name?" he whispered, and Orabella began to feel a bit uncomfortable from his close proximity, but she hid it well. She pushed his chest a bit so she could breathe fresh air instead of his heavy cologne, and she opened her mouth to say something when the door next to them opened, the bell ringing as Draco stepped out. Orabella's face brightened and she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him straight on the mouth. Draco was surprised, to say the least, but he kissed back and rubbed her back softly before she pulled away. Blaise looked irritated.
"Malfoy," he said stiffly. Draco's face returned back to its stoic demeanor.
"Zabini. Haven't seen you for a long time. How've you been fairing?"
"Pretty well. I've been living in Italy all this time. When did you pick this girl up? She seems to be something of a flirt." Draco raised a brow as he looked down at Orabella who was smirking madly and looking at her dark green sparkling shoes.
"Actually, we met in England, since that is where we both live, and we got married not two months ago." Blaise looked in surprise at Orabella's left hand. Sure enough, she was supporting a large diamond ring with fancy designs that looked like snakes on the band and small ruby stones that beaded the way up to the diamond. He scowled.
"Well, you could have told me that before leading me on like that," Zabini said to Orabella. She just smirked.
"Sorry, I thought you went after married women, the way you were so intent on getting ready to kiss me." Blaise's face darkened as Draco's face hardened.
"Excuse me, I've got to go meet someone at the Grand Canal. It was nice seeing you, Malfoy, hopefully I can see you and your wife again some time. I'll be going now." Blaise nodded at them both before walking off towards the Grand Canal, and once he had disappeared between the mass of people, Orabella burst into giggles.
"My, that was fun!" she said between frosty breaths. She looked up to see Draco's unmoving face.
"Is that your idea of fun? Playing with the hearts of men?" he asked stiffly. Orabella frowned.
"No, I just wanted to play with his because he was being so forward. What's your problem? Sorry if I offended you or something," she said, a bit surprised that he was being so cold. He started walking again and Orabella watched as his robes billowed behind him, as if emitting a silent rage held within him, and she was confused even more. She knew he wasn't jealous. Did he think…oh. Orabella hiked up her skirts and ran to catch up to him. When she neared him, she slipped her small hand into his comforting big one and squeezed it. It was a perfect fit.
"Don't worry, Malfoy, I was only playing with him. I wouldn't play you, if that was what you're thinking." Draco nodded, his pale face still masked. Orabella attempted to pull her hand out, but he suddenly gripped hers tightly, not letting go. Orabella looked up at his stony facial expression and smiled. They continued walking hand in hand together off to the clothing store.
After a long (or so it seemed) day of walking around and shopping, Orabella and Draco stopped by a nearly empty pub. Draco sat at the bar and got the attention of the bartender quickly. "I'll get a Firewhiskey," he said coolly.
"A butterbeer, please," Orabella piped up as she removed her cloak. It was a bit cool in the pub, a nice change from the slowly warming weather outside. The bartender nodded again and went to get their drinks ready. Draco surveyed Orabella with amusement. "What?" she asked when she finally met his silver gaze.
Author's Note: oh my goodness, a cliffhanger! i'm sorry, i couldn't resist! Italian terms: ragazza bella means beautiful girl. Italiano obviously means Italian. R&R! -LoVeDoNtHaTe