Draco woke up to a drool-covered pillow and a warm, female body draped over him. He flipped the pillow over to the dry side and put his head back down sleepily. He thanked God it was his day off since he really didn't feel like getting out of bed today.
Draco felt a pain in his chest when he thought about what had happened last night. Pansy had been so angry. He was beginning to think he didn't have a chance in hell with her. Maybe the damage between them was just too deep.
"Morning." Astoria mumbled into his chest.
Draco grunted in response and rolled his head to the side. Staring at the wall, he felt her body leave his, causing a cold draft to sweep over his bare skin. They were both still naked from the night before. He pulled the covers up to his neck and curled up into a ball. There was no way he was leaving this bed today.
"Aren't you getting up?" Astoria asked from the end of the bed. She had put on a fluffy white robe.
"Hell no." Draco grumbled.
"Don't you have that debate thing tomorrow? Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" she nagged.
Draco sighed, "Whatever."
"You better hope you win. Or else your dad is going to have a fit." Astoria warned.
"Fuck him." Draco spat and then pulled the covers over his head. He heard her stomp off into the bathroom and turn on the shower.
Draco turned around and buried his face in the pillow. What the hell was he going to do now? Pansy was right after all. He had rejected her years ago and now he wanted to start a relationship while married. It wasn't exactly an appealing situation to present to a woman. He was stupid to think she'd go for it. But she didn't even know the whole story. Maybe if he could just explain what had happened, he would be forgiven.
Draco cringed when he thought about last night. They had been moments away from kissing but she pulled back. He could tell she wanted it as much as he did. The attraction between them was so thick, the air felt heavy with it. He'd give anything to taste her again, to touch her, smell her, and lay with her like he'd done with his wife hours before. Once again he had found himself imagining making love to Pansy instead, blushing afterward, hoping Astoria hadn't noticed.
"Draco? Draco!" Astoria shouted at him. Draco reluctantly pulled his head from under the covers. He looked at her wide-eyed. She was completely dressed already. Had he really been thinking that long? She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans that hugged her toned legs perfectly and a pink, ruffled, sleeveless top. She was slipping gold, hoop earrings on as she spoke to him.
"Where are you going?" Draco asked, frowning.
"Out." she said shortly. She ripped the blanket off of him, revealing his naked form. "Put on some clothes for god sake. Daphne will be here any minute for me."
"Where are you going?" Draco asked again, severely annoyed.
"We're just going out shopping! Celebrating her divorce." Astoria clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Honestly. You have to know my every move…" she mumbled.
"It's so early though." Draco groaned as he finally got out of bed.
"It's 10. Shops are open. We'll be out all day. I suppose you're pleased about that." she said as she examined her reflection in the mirror. "We'll be going out for dinner as well."
"Awesome." he said in a bored voice.
"And what will you be doing today?" Astoria whirled around to face him. Her eyes flickered to his naked crotch and then up to his eyes.
Draco knew exactly what he was going to do. He was going to march straight back to Pansy's apartment and make her forgive him.
"Practice for the debate, I guess." he lied.
Just then, there were three loud knocks on the front door.
"Oh! She's here!" Astoria leaped in excitement. Daphne and Astoria had never been particularly close while they attended Hogwarts. But after Daphne graduated, they became fast friends and were now almost inseparable.
"I'll get it!" Draco joked as he reached for the bedroom doorknob, still stark naked.
"Draco!" Astoria yelled, half shocked, half laughing. She pushed him out of the way and quickly slipped out of the bedroom, making sure to close the door in his face on the way out.
Draco rolled his eyes when he heard the two women shrieking downstairs when they greeted each other. He put on a pair of briefs and pajama pants and left the room to see his sister-in-law.
Draco leaned over the banister at the stair's landing and saw Daphne holding hands with her sister smiling from ear to ear. She had put light brown highlights into her dark, long hair. Draco remembered when Daphne used to be as blonde as Astoria. It was their natural hair colour. But Daphne, deciding to be bold, dyed her hair a very dark brown during seventh year.
Daphne quickly spotted Draco on the large wooden staircase and frowned. Draco smirked back. Draco expected her to spit an insult at him or flash a rude gesture. But she did nothing. She ignored him and continued to talk with her sister. He could only hear bits and pieces of their conversation as they were whispering.
"…up there half naked…" Daphne whispered to Astoria.
"Don't mind him." she replied and looked back and up at Draco. He waved at her cheesily and she sighed dramatically. "So annoying…"
Astoria picked up her purse from the table and slung it over her shoulder. "We're going now!" she called to Draco.
"Have a nice time ladies." he grinned.
Daphne left the house without another look but Astoria stared at him with her hand on the doorknob. She opened her mouth slightly like she wanted to say something, but decided not to and closed the mansion door behind her.
Pansy had woken up very groggily the morning after her fight with Draco. Her eyes were puffy from a mixture of crying and lack of sleep. Her friends had found her outside her building almost an hour after Draco had left. She had stopped crying by then and was spinning the flat, rectangular present around in her hands. Naturally, they'd asked what she was doing outside and who the present was from. But she didn't give them a straight answer. She still didn't want either of them knowing about her encounters with Draco. And besides, she was still furious at them and didn't feel like explaining anything.
They had dragged her back into the party where, feeling to miserable to care anymore, she drank herself silly. This pleased her friends very much of course. So at 1:30 in the morning, Pansy found herself dancing on the bar to chants of 'Pan-sy! Pan-sy! Pan-sy!'
Regretting her rash decision to drink again, Pansy sank into her couch and looked at her coffee table. The gift Draco had gotten her was laying on top of it. The paper was ripped in the corner on one side and the bow had fallen off. It was now flopping miserably beside the present. Pansy stared at it angrily. She should just throw it out. She shouldn't even bother looking at it. It was a waste of time. He was a waste of time; a completely worthless waste of time.
Pansy's hands twitched. Maybe she would just take a quick peek at the present. Then she would throw it away for sure. Just a tiny peek…
Pansy anxiously grabbed the box and ripped the top open. Flinging the tissue paper away, she nervously pulled a flat, rectangular, book out of the similarly shaped box. The book had a plain green cover with no words or design of any sort. Curiously, Pansy turned to the first page. Her stomach leaped.
On the first page, lay a picture of Pansy in her fourth year. She remembered the day very well. It was the very first day of fourth year. The feast had ended and everyone had gone back to their dormitories. Blaise had gotten a new camera and had decided to take pictures of the entire gang.
Everyone had ditched their Hogwarts uniforms after dinner. Pansy was wearing a pink v-neck sweater and jean miniskirt, which was the trend back then. Standing next to her was Draco. He had his arm around her shoulders and a smirk on his face. The Pansy in the picture kept waving cheekily. Real Pansy bit her lip.
She turned the page again to find four more photos, all from the fourth year. There was one of Draco chasing Pansy on the school grounds. Whenever the Draco in the picture would catch her, he would squeeze her tightly and spin her around while she shrieked with laughter. There were a couple of them studying in the common room and the library and finally a picture of them at the Yule Ball. Pansy's heart swelled. They had shared their first kiss that night. It was a night she would never forget.
As she flipped through the book, the pictures became more and more recent. There was a picture of them together at Pansy's 15th birthday party. And then another at Blaise's pool party the summer before sixth year. By now, picture-Draco and picture-Pansy were kissing in every photo, making it very difficult for Pansy to keep looking. But she continued to turn the pages until she reached the last one. It was a picture of them in their seventh year at Hogwarts. Draco was thinner and paler, the stress of the war clearly taking a toll on him. But he was still smiling and staring into Pansy's eyes lovingly. Pansy couldn't take her eyes off the photo. This was one of the last moments they spent as a couple. Then everything had been ruined. Pansy had been so stupid to let him go. If only she could have seen clearer. If only she could have seen how horrible Draco really felt about being a Death Eater. She never would have turned her back on him. It had taken the deaths of countless people to wake her up.
A single tear was rolling down Pansy's cheek. She hadn't even noticed she had begun to cry. It was too much. Every photo made her miss him so badly. She wished more than anything to be able to go back to when those pictures were taken. She needed a chance to fix her mistake.
"Ugh." she groaned and closed the photo album firmly. This is exactly what he wanted. He knew she'd miss him if he showed her all the good memories they shared. This gift had been carefully planned. Pansy cursed it for working. All it did was make her feel bad. She wiped her tears away quickly, trying to forget that they were ever there. Then she closed her eyes and imagined a world where Draco Malfoy never existed.
Draco had gotten dressed right after Daphne and Astoria had left. He hadn't even bothered to take a shower but he was in a hurry to get to Pansy's place. He was nearly at the front door when someone knocked on it.
Draco growled, "Who the bloody hell-" he swung the door open to find Blaise on his doorstep.
"What's wrong with you?" Blaise asked, his eyebrows raised far beyond their normal positions.
"Ah, sorry. I'm just about to leave actually." Draco said, grabbing his sunglasses from the table.
"Oh." Blaise said, looking disappointed, "Well where are you going? Can I come?"
"No!" Draco said a little too quickly, "I mean, it's got to do with business."
"Ah, I see." Blaise sighed, "Call me when you're done then."
"Sure." Draco said as he pushed Blaise through the doorway and walked out of the house himself. Draco walked briskly to the end of the property, Blaise on his heels. Draco waved goodbye rather lamely and then apparated away.
When Draco reached Pansy's apartment, nervousness began to take over him. He breathed deeply and wrenched the door open. Scanning the building's buzzer numbers, he found hers and dialed.
It rang once. Twice. Three times. Four. Draco sighed. It was going to ring out.
"Hello, you've reached Pansy's phone. I'm not here right now so leave a message! Thanks!" the answering machine crackled out.
Draco looked beyond the glass door at the security guard manning the desk. He waved and gestured for her to open the door. It seemed that this guard recognized Draco because her eyes turned as wide as saucers and she flew out of her seat to open the door right away.
"Draco Malfoy! At my building?" she fanned herself, trying to calm down. Draco tried not to laugh at the woman, who looked about 35, as she tittered like a 12 year old girl.
"Yes, yes. I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything about this." Draco whispered. Though he didn't know why. No one else was in the room.
"Of course, of course!" she beamed.
"I'm looking for a Miss Pansy Parkinson." he said in an even lower whisper.
"Oh! Miss Parkinson just left. About ten minutes ago."
"Damn." Draco cursed, "Do you know where she went?"
"Headed off to work I believe." She nodded proudly, evidently happy she could help.
"Ah, thank you…Beatrice." Draco said, reading her name tag. Beatrice blushed at the use of her name and told him she'd be glad to help him anytime. It was Draco's turn to blush.
As he exited the building, he wondered if it would be fitting to interrupt her at work. But he decided to go anyway. This was too important to wait.
Draco landed in Diagon Alley with a 'pop'. He passed by the restaurants that were filled to the brim with people. When the crowds became less and less dense, he knew he would reach the store soon. But to his surprise, a large crowd of people seemed to be gathered up ahead where Pansy's shop was located. Draco could even see a few photographers flashing away in the distance.
"Oh shit." Draco swore. Someone famous was there. He couldn't risk going to the store where he might be photographed with Pansy. He could just imagine how Astoria would react.
"You lying, cheating, son of a bitch! You promised me!" she shrieked as she threw a lamp at him, narrowly missing his head.
Draco shuddered. Maybe he could avoid them by finding a back entrance. Every store had a back entrance, right? He slipped through an alleyway and found himself at the back of the shops down Diagon Alley. Jackpot.
Sure that no cameras would catch him now, he strode down the back alley casually. He stopped when he saw the back of the shoe store. Creeping towards the door, he peered into the back window. He could see the storage room and it was empty. Grinning, he opened the door slowly and crept into the back room.
He could hear Pansy's voice just a few yards ahead of him in the main store.
"So nice to see you ladies again." she said in a pleasant voice.
"I just had to bring my sister here Pansy! Isn't it nice Daphne?" Astoria's clear voice rang out.
Draco froze. Daphne replied but Draco wasn't listening. Draco quickly ran behind a shelf and sank to the floor.
"Get this one for me." Daphne ordered coldly to Pansy. Draco chuckled as he imagined an exasperated expression on Pansy's face. But his amusement turned back into fear as he heard someone's footsteps coming into the back room. Draco sat very still and quiet, praying that, whoever it was, didn't find him.
But the sound of the footsteps came closer and closer until Draco saw them standing right in front of him.
"Ahhh!" Pansy yelped and clutched her hand to her chest.
"Pansy? Are you okay?" yelled a female voice from the store.
"Um, yeah!" Pansy said, staring at Draco angrily, "Just a spider!"
Draco smiled innocently at Pansy's furious face. "Hello." he said softly.
"What the hell are you doing!" Pansy demanded but kept her voice low.
"Oh, well, the thing is…I came to see you. And I tried to avoid the paps by going through the back door and….here I am." Draco stretched his arms out in a 'ta-da!' fashion. Pansy did not look amused.
"Your wife is in the next room! Shall I bring her in here?" Pansy threatened.
"No! Please! Don't!" Draco begged, shifting onto his knees and clasping his hands together.
"Then leave, quickly." Pansy sighed. She looked at him sadly for a moment, the anger totally gone from her face.
"But I came to talk to you." Draco urged.
"Now is not the time. And besides, who says I want to talk to you?" Pansy let out a 'humph' and turned her nose up at him.
"Did you look at my gift?" Draco asked timidly. He wasn't sure if she had chucked it after the fight.
Pansy's lips parted in mild surprise, like she hadn't been expecting him to bring it up. "Yes." She avoided his gaze.
"Then I bet you want to talk to me." Draco said boldly. Pansy didn't answer.
"Pansy?" yelled Daphne's voice from the other room, "How long does it take to get a pair of shoes? Honestly, the service here is terrible."
Pansy gritted her teeth and leaned over Draco to grab the pair of high heels Daphne had requested: size 9. "I have to work." she said bitterly.
"Then I'll wait until they're gone." Draco said, determined not to leave. Pansy looked like she was going to throw him out the back door for a moment but then she sighed and walked back towards the front of the store.
A/N: So ya I finally finished this chapter whoot lol Hopefully the next one won't take as long. Working on it as we speak :D