Finding people, even apparent 'rockstars', was not difficult when you were a man of means. It took Draco less than a day to find Adrian, and he didn't even have to leave his study. With just a few quick owls he discovered that The Unforgivables were in the process of recording their first full length album, and there were only so many studios in the wizarding world.
By nightfall, Draco was in Northern Ireland waiting across the street from a small and unassuming little shop, one that the muggles just walked right by. He didn't have to wait long before a string of grungy, darkly dressed people came streaming out of the front door; a dark witch with an arm full of moving pictures on her arm and blue dreadlocks down her back; a tall, lanky wizard with a face full of metal and stringy blonde hair that reached his shoulders, another wizard, white skinned with both tattoos and piercings, and, finally, Adrian Pucey, with the same fair skin and angular eyes Draco remembered, but his dark hair was now spiked up and streaked with green.
Draco stepped forward, into the light of the streetlamp, and waited. Moments later Adrian spotted him and waved his friends off.
"I'll catch up with you guys," Draco heard him say. Adrian palmed a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and lit one, biding time until his friends turned the corner at the end of the block. "What the fuck are you doing here, Malfoy?" he asked as he crossed the street.
Draco took a few seconds to look him over; barely laced heavy black boots, thin black trousers that were ripped at the knees, a graphic tank top under a leather jacket, and a chain necklace around his neck. He gave a calculated smirk. "This is all a bit cliche, don't you think?"
"Comes with the territory," Adrian snapped. He shifted his weight, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was watching them. "You didn't come all this way to make fun of my wardrobe. What's this all about?"
Draco smiled, he enjoyed seeing him so nervous. "All this way is right. What are you in Ireland for?"
Adrian sighed, resigning to the fact that Draco was the one asking questions and getting answers. He took a drag. "We've rented a house in the country. It's quiet, makes it easier to write."
"How quaint," Draco mocked. He tilted his head, just the slightest bit, and watched Adrian squirm for just a moment more before clearing his face of any emotion. "I need a favor."
Adrian tensed, he shook his head and took another drag. "Now's not really a good time."
"I'm sorry," Draco started, giving Adrian a second to think he actually cared, "you seem to be under the impression that I was asking." He saw Adrian's chest rising and falling, more than before. "You and your band are going to play a show for me," he said slowly, deliberately.
Adrian's arm froze halfway in the air. "I— what?"
Draco blinked.
"No." He flicked the cigarette to the ground. "No way, mate! Leave them out of… whatever this is you're doing here."
"Funny," Draco mused, "I don't recall being nearly half as obstinate while I was staying clear of your name during my trial." He leveled his gaze at Adrian, biting back a smile when his face drained of colour.
"You bastard," he spat. "You know I didn't do anything. Merlin's sake, I'm not even—" He stopped when he realized he was almost yelling, then stepped closer and lowered his voice. "I'm not even marked!"
"Ah yes, but I do remember seeing your face around the Manor more than once, and I'm quite sure the Dark Lord even knew your name. That's really all The Ministry would have needed to hear in order to lock you away."
Adrian looked like he was two seconds away from murdering Draco. "Fuck you," he growled, then sighed and averted his eyes. "Fuck you," he repeated, though now he sounded defeated. "We're already on such a tight schedule, I don't know if I can talk them into this."
"I'm sure you can get creative." Reaching into his coat pocket he pulled out a small slip of folded parchment and held it out between his first two fingers. "Time and place," he explained.
He looked from the parchment to Draco and seemed to gain one last surge of animosity. "And if I refuse?" he spat.
Draco didn't flinch, and he didn't break eye contact. "I guess you'll have to try it and find out."
Adrian ran a hand over his face before snatching the parchment out of Draco's hands. "Hogwarts?" The word fell out of his mouth like he didn't know what it meant, and he looked back to Draco, who gave a casual shrug.
"It should make for an interesting homecoming." His hand wrapped around his wand and without pulling it from its holster he disapparated.
Moonlight streamed in through the wide, two-story industrial windows on Hermione's right, flooding the brick loft in a soft, milky blue light that she quite enjoyed. She yawned and stretched, pulling at the muscles in her arms and legs, her back and neck, as much as she could before relaxing them and letting her body sink into the mattress. Anthony's bed was larger than hers, and much softer, and was so comfortable that she was a little reluctant to leave it.
But he had work to do, and so did she, so with a sigh she sat up and put her feet on the floor, her eyes scanning for her top. She spotted it on the other side of the end table. "Can I ask you something?" she yelled, pulling her shirt over her head, using her arm to remove her hair from the collar.
Anthony was downstairs in the kitchen, almost directly below her putting on a pot of tea. "Shoot!" he responded, his voice only a notch louder than usual, yet she heard him loud and clear. He'd knew all of the sweet spots in the flat so that he could take advantage of the acoustics. She still had to yell.
She stood and started adjusting the sheets and the duvet, folding the latter down at the top and fluffing all two of his pillows. "It's absolutely okay if you say no!" she amended, looking around for her bra and jeans. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel obligated, as he most certainly was not.
"Okay then. No!" he replied, snark abundant in his voice.
Chuckling, she grabbed her clothes and headed for the iron spiral staircase. "I mean it, you really don't have to if you don't want to." She hit the bottom of the stairs and padded into the kitchen, scratching his Dalmatian behind the ears as she passed by her.
Anthony turned around, two cups in hand and a dramatically exasperated look on his face. "Hermione, please," he scolded.
She pulled out a stool and sat at the island bar while he stood across from her and handed her a mug. "Would it be too weird if you were my date to the school dance?"
He rested his elbows on the counter and sipped his tea, giving the question an honest thought. "No," he finally said, as sure of his answer as if she'd just given him an easy arithmancy problem. "I don't think it would be too weird. Marginally weird? Sure. But too weird?" He made a cocky face and shook his head. "When is it?"
Hermione swallowed. "Saturday next."
"I might be on call, but I don't think it'll be a problem. It might even be fun." He gave her a cheeky smile over his cup and she rolled her eyes.
"Thank you." She took another sip. "You'll probably have to meet me there, as I'll have to be early for preparations."
He nodded and for a few minutes the two of them sat quietly drinking their tea; Hermione with her brown legs bare and Anthony with his shirtless white chest and arms, their relationship so far a perfect balance of friendship and sex, the whole scene a perfect picture of yin and yang.
A high pitched whine emitted from the floor next to them. "Doris, we don't have any food up here!" Anthony said sternly. He peeked over the edge of the counter and locked eyes with his great spotted pup. "Go on, go lay down."
Hermione gave a small laugh. "I still can't get over the name Doris," she mumbled into her cup.
"It's my great gran's name," he defended.
"And…" she prodded.
He sighed. "It starts with 'D' and I was going for the alliteration," he confessed.
"There we go!"
"Cheeky," he scoffed, and she smiled proudly. He spotted the clock then, and nearly spilled his tea. "Shit, it's nine already!" Grabbing his wand from the counter behind him, he summoned his Healer's robes and turned towards the sink. He washed his hands and arms, then ran wet fingers through his hair.
Hermione scrunched her face. "You should take a real shower."
"I can shower when I get there. Could you do me a favor and walk Doris? Lock up when you leave?"
"Yeah, of course," Hermione agreed. She hopped off of the stool and collected their cups as his robes floated into the kitchen. He changed as he walked.
"You don't have to do that," he said, checking over his Healer's kit by the door.
"It's no big deal," she shrugged, rinsing the cups out and putting them in the drying rack.
He stopped for a moment and gave her a stark glare. "You've already made my bed, haven't you?"
"You're going to be late," she chided, leaning against the counter.
He chuckled and shook his head. "Thank you," he said, nodding at Doris, who was flushed with excitement over all the sudden motion. "And be careful, she likes to take the lead," he added, then stepped into the floo and was gone.
Hermione wiped down the counter and put the kettle away before putting on the rest of her clothes. Hands on her slightly bent knees, she looked at Doris. "You wanna go for a walk?" she asked, her voice high and excited. Doris barked and lunged playfully at her, nearly taking her out.
Draco stood at the head of the class, arms folded and face neutral. If there had been any fallout from Skeeter's scathing article, he hadn't heard about it. He imagined if Granger had gotten any flack for it, she'd have been too proud say anything. And if McGonagall had received any nasty owls, well he figured she wouldn't have put up with it, nor thought it worth mentioning.
He gave the students just a few more seconds to indulge their incessant chattering and goings-on. "Need I remind you," he started, and though they hardly noticed he kept going, "that I can cancel The Unforgivables!" that got their attention, "—with a single owl."
Silently, they faced the proper direction, climbed off of the tables and lowered themselves into their seats. "Thank you," he snapped. He took a breath, this still gave him the worst headache. "The dance is this weekend, so it's the last time we'll meet like this. The next time I see you, decorations will be going up and food will be out, so we're going to go over everything one last time. Any volunteers?"
A hand shot up in the back of the room and Vera stood up, Muggle notebook in hand. Draco stepped aside, giving her the floor. "Well, we sold every single raffle ticket, so before we leave we should draw the winners so that Headmistress McGonagall can make the announcement at dinner." She turned to look at Draco, apprehension in her face. "Have you… secured the transportation?"
He nodded. "Students will ride into Hogsmeade tomorrow afternoon, those who have won something there will collect it and return to the castle, the rest will floo from The Three Broomsticks directly to The Leaky and collect their prizes from the shops there."
"How much did we raise?" Katherine asked, and Vera scanned her notes.
"Over two hundred and seventy Galleons," she said, pushing her glasses up her nose. The class clapped.
"That's the most we've ever done," Lance commented.
Avery crossed her legs and smiled at Draco. "Well the prizes were really good this year, weren't they Mr. Malfoy."
Draco massaged one of his temples. "Avery, I thought we moved past this." But she just shrugged and kept smiling, her Oxford clad foot bouncing beneath her desk. He sighed. "Who's next," he grumbled. Jessie jumped up and he sighed with relief.
"Um," she started, her voice low and quite. She cleared her throat and started again, this time more self-assured. "The menu is all set, except for the desserts. We need to get a final vote on that to the House Elves." She startled as the class erupted in an argument, the same argument they'd had since they began talking about food two weeks prior.
"I still vote chocolate fountain," Lance thundered, crossing him arms.
"Lance, if we get a chocolate fountain I'm going to shove your head into it," Vera threatened.
He just laughed. "Promise?"
Vera looked about ready lunge across the room at him. Draco cleared his throat. "Enough," he commanded and they all fell silent. He looked to Jessie, his tone a little softer. "Tell the Elves to go with the assorted biscuits and tarts, decorate thematically if you wish." She nodded and returned to her desk.
"Are all of the decorations planned out? Or are we still fighting over those, too?" He looked around, and Katherine stood up in the back.
"There are a few things left but we can figure them out on our own," she said carefully.
"Good. Anything else?" The room was quiet. "Alright then, Miss Granger and I will be back Saturday afternoon, do try to refrain from cursing each other to bits in the meantime." He finished speaking, but no one moved. "Leave," he pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes and pointed to the door, and they all scurried out, slamming the door behind him. He let out a breath, his patience totally shot.
"You looked stressed. I've been told I give an amazing massage."
In a flash he'd pulled out his wand and aimed it at the door, sending it flying open and slamming into the wall behind it. "Ten points from Slytherin!" he snapped, nearly at a yell. He finally looked up at Avery, her eyes were wide with shock. He'd genuinely startled her and she looked very much like the child she was. "Twenty if you keep lingering," he added, still glaring at her but using a slightly softer voice. Her face hardened and she stormed out, her stomps echoing through the hall. He waited until they were completely gone before heading for McGonagall's office.
"I am so sorry," he said as soon as she opened her door.
Her lips pursed. "Whatever for?" She left the door open for him and turned to return to her desk.
"For ever having been a teenager," he replied, shutting the door behind him. And then, she laughed. She actually laughed. It was a small one, barely a chuckle, but Minerva McGonagall had actually laughed and he'd been the cause. He smiled a little to himself and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "I'll return Saturday," he said.
"Goodnight, Mr. Malfoy," she said, the same as she had every other time, only slightly less severe.
"Have you got everything?" Granger asked, rushing across her office to rifle through the drawers at Dennis' desk. Draco followed her movements with his eyes, making sure to keep his distance from the frantic tornado of stress she was creating. It was Saturday afternoon, the day of the dance, and she'd been running around her office for more than a few chaotic minutes.
"Yes," he drawled, he'd given Dennis his things just an hour earlier. She looked up from the desk, eyes narrowed.
"Your dress robes, have you to got your dress robes? Because I can have Dennis bring them out with mine if you—"
"Granger, I have my things together," he assured, "you, however, seem…" She glared at him and he refrained from finishing his sentence.
"I can't find my wand," she said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "I've looked everywhere." She straightened up put her hands on her hips, looking around room in defeat.
He tried not to laugh, and instead cleared his throat to draw her attention. He looked up, eyeing the disaster that was her hair. Slowly, her hand went up and she patted her head, letting out a breath of relief when her fingers hit her wand. "Not a word," she warned, wagging her wand at him. "Let's go." With a flick of her wand the room darkened as she reached for the door.
"You're not going to fix your hair?" he asked, taking the door behind her. She whipped around, almost hitting him with her hair, and glared at him. He couldn't hold back his laugh this time, but he did manage to silence it. He thought he might have seen the corner of her mouth twitch, but she turned back around too quickly.
They used a Ministry floo and moments later were in McGonagall's empty office. Hermione headed straight for the door, but he took a second to look around. He'd been to cautious to do so when while McGonagall was there, but now that it was empty... In the back he spotted two empty portraits, one with a twinkling blue background, the other with a dark grey one that grew darker on the edges. He wondered where either of them were, but only for a moment before he heard Granger opening the door.
"Did I tell you that I made her laugh?" he asked, following her into the hall.
"No you didn't." She brushed him off, concentrating on the moving stone staircase. He frowned and followed her.
There were a few small groups of students scattered throughout the castle and as they briskly navigated their way around, most whispered behind their hands, some waved shyly to Granger, and some even stopped her to say hello and gush about this thing or that. It annoyed him to no end but to Granger's credit she took it all in a humble stride.
"There you two are," McGonagall huffed as they came to a central area in the castle. "An argument has erupted over the table decor and it is your—"
Draco stepped forward. "I'll take care of it, Headmistress."
She eyed him severely for a moment, giving him a look that somehow conveyed an irritation for interrupting her and a gratefulness for stepping in at the same time. "Very well," she finally said, turning sharply to leave.
"I'll check in on them," Hermione said, starting to walk ahead of him. The assumption in her voice struck a chord with him. It was like she'd just written him off, thinking him incapable of performing his job. He grabbed her by the arm and she stopped, turning around with an admonishing glare.
"I'll take care of it," he repeated, stressing each word. He let go of her arm. "You go check in on the Elves, see that they've stuck to the menu."
She looked, for a moment, like she was going to argue but then seemed to decide against it. "McGonagall's set up an empty classroom for the band to use, across from the old Defense Against the Dark Arts room."
"Noted."
She bit on her lip for a second, still not sure if she should go or not, so he raised an eyebrow and she huffed and left. He turned and faced the doors to the Great Hall, taking a breath to clear that problem from his head before dealing with the one in the hall.
He pushed open the doors just in time to see Vera and Lance squaring off, wands at their sides. He took a breath and prepared his voice. "It's still not too late to cancel the band!"
Silence fell, and then a chair scraped against the stone floor as someone slowly sat down. Draco gave the silence another few moments to sink it. "Jessie," he said, turning to the small girl who'd been sitting just outside of his peripherals. "What's going on?"
Jessie looked around to Katherine and another Gryffindor girl. "Um, Katherine wants to sort the centerpieces like that," she pointed to a table near her, "but Sherry wanted to arrange them like that." She pointed to a different table and Draco saw that the centerpieces were both nearly identical, having only one varying component. He looked between the two girls, brow dipping above his nose.
"Are you serious?" The girls averted their eyes. "Y-you're serious? You drove the Headmistress out of here arguing over the arrangement of the centerpieces? Meanwhile the walls are bare and the stage isn't even set up." Katherine scuffed the ground with her shoe while Sherry played with the hem of her shirt. Draco sighed. "Five points each from Gryffindor, and split up the tables for Merlin's sake."
The girls nodded, but nobody actually moved. "There's only a few hours left, children. What are we doing?"
There was a sudden shuffle of motion as everyone scrambled to find something to do. Katherine and Sherry each took alternate tables to fix their centerpieces to. They both had small woodland vignettes, each one with a small tree situated in the center of a base made to look like a circle of grass speckled with wildflowers. Katherine's featured a fake, mini squirrel, charmed to hunt for nuts on it's own base. Sherry's had a similar fox, charmed to sleep next to the tree, occasionally his tail would switch and he'd get up and stretch before circling in his spot and going back to sleep. It was impressive charmwork, really, Draco just wished he hadn't had to mediate a pointless fight to see the final project.
In the center of the room Lance stood, directing the traffic of other students who were moving tables and chairsa round, sketch in hand of how it was all supposed to be laid out. Other students were at the walls, working on adding vines to the columns and charming little lights to fly around like firebugs. Draco's job was mostly supervision, but every now and then one of them would need a little extra help and he'd have to step in.
He'd nearly lost track of time when heard a familiar voice at the doors. "You've got to be shitting me," Adrian laughed.
Draco spun around and leveled a warning stare at him. A few students noticed who'd just stepped into their Great Hall and a whisper spread throughout the room. "You still have work to do," Draco snapped over his shoulder, and headed toward Adrian. Turning him by the arm, Draco pulled him out of the hall and shut the door with a swish of his wand.
"All those threats and you wanted me to play a flowery school dance?" Adrian asked, snatching his arm back.
"I don't want you to play, they do." He jerked a finger towards the Great Hall doors.
Adrian gave a cocky little chuckle and wagged his finger. "You say that but—" he reached into his jacket and pulled out a folded page of newspaper "—this article would lead me to believe otherwise." He tapped the paper to his chin. "I spent over a week trying to figure out why you wanted me to play at Hogwarts of all places, and I just couldn't figure it out. Then I finally check back into civilization and find this, and it all fell into place."
Draco's body was so tense his muscles were starting to burn. "That article is—"
"Rubbish, yes I know. But the fact that you are working for Hermione Granger, that was the interesting part. And, of course knowing you, I had to wonder at your motives."
He spoke through his teeth. "My motives are—"
"Terribly transparent, and all too easy to leverage against you."
Draco's fingers twitched, itching to reach for his wand and be done with this whole conversation. Just as he was about to reach for it he heard one of the kids in the Great Hall laugh and knew that he couldn't. He saw in Adrian's smile that he knew that as well.
Adrian's eyes darkened and he stepped closer to speak lower. "The subterfuge and psychological games were never my favorite part of Slytherin. I left it all behind as soon as I could. But if you're determined to drag me back into it, well then I've got no choice but to win." He gave Draco a double pat on the shoulder and walked away to meet with his bandmates who were just coming in. "I'll summon an elf to show us to our room," he called over his shoulder.
ahhhh i'm so horrible i'm sorry. i thought i'd posted this and i hadn't and i'm so sorry! i'm also sorry it's been a minute, work has been crazy and i've been promoted rather quickly so that's added to the craziness and yeah. it's been hectic. but i've got about half of 12 done, so hopefully that'll be out soon too. anyway i hope you like it, please lmk what you think!