"Here you are madam, I 'ope zees ees more to your liking," sniffed the clearly perturbed waiter.
At this point Draco was quite certain that he'd suffered a concussion that resulted in an invitation to spend a night on the town in Paris with Pansy. Currently she was doing a bang up job of harassing the waiters at Les Ambassadeurs, and Draco was doing his best to keep his cutlery from penetrating Pansy's skull.
"That remains to be seen," Pansy declared as she hesitantly examined the dish in front of her.
"Well, you know what they say; seventh time's a charm," Draco added with great helpings of sarcasm.
The waiter made a quick escape, deeply sympathizing with the fair-haired young man.
"I don't see why you're complaining. You should be lucky I agreed to come to this muggle eating trough," she said with disgust.
"Oh well excuse me for thinking you'd enjoy some haute cuisine. If it'smagically prepared food you're after we can just pop on down to the Three Broomsticks for some rats on a stick, or whatever the hell they prepare in that dive," Draco sneered.
"This was an awful idea," he sighed.
"Well it's all your fault."
"My fault?" Draco cried at her inane accusation, "How is this my fault? You're the one who has sent their food back about a million times!"
"It smelled like socks!" Pansy shrieked.
"You're the one who wanted to leave the opera after five minutes!"
"One of the girls on stage had an icky mole! You expect me to look at that for the duration of a show? Besides," she said leaning in, quieting her voice, "I wasn't particularly fond of the title."
Cadmus et Hermione. No, Pansy probably wouldn't be a fan of the title.
"The end had to make you somewhat happy when the pair turned into snakes," Draco offered.
Pansy scowled.
"As a Slytherin, I don't really like the metaphor," she replied, transmitting her anger into the readjusting of her napkin.
Exasperated, Draco ran a hand through his hair and expelled a tormented sigh.
"You're still hung up on her, aren't you?" Pansy cried, dissolving into overly dramatic tears.
The rest of the restaurant was now looking their way and Draco scrambled to calm her down.
"Look, just stop crying," he soothed.
"No! How dare you bring me out here among all these muggles, only to drop hints of your love for that bushy-haired twit!"
Pansy was now standing and the rest of the patrons were surprised to find their dinner was quickly becoming dinner and a show.
Draco shrunk into his chair as Pansy continued her tirade.
"I come from a long line of purebloods and you should feel lucky to have me! If it wasn't for me you'd still be pining away for that idiot while she frolics around helping underprivileged leprechauns with the Egyptian! I'm leaving!" she huffed as she stomped out.
Draco stood to follow, only to find all eyes on him.
"Umm…the, uh…wine went to her head," he explained lamely, leaving a generous amount of money on the table.
The young man was gone only a minute or two before a reappeared to grab the bread left on the table.
"It's just really good bread," Draco justified as he made his second, and final, exit.
Lucius and Narcissa were also sharing an awkward dinner that night, only they had the privilege of it being held privately at home.
Where Draco and Pansy shared a heated argument, Lucius and Narcissa were sharing silence latent with tension. The clinking of glasses and flatware only served to intensify the silence.
It was the throwing down of Narcissa's fork that finally put at end to the quiet.
"I can't take the silence! Just say it! Say what you're thinking!" she shrieked at her husband.
Lucius found himself in a place that many married men before him had dwelled. According to his wife he'd been thinking about something and he had to get that something right or suffer the consequences.
"I'm not thinking about anything," Lucius cautiously replied.
What a rookie mistake for such a pro.
"Don't lie! You're thinking about that pensieve and you want a divorce!"
"I thought you wanted a divorce."
"Well not when my public image was riding on a happy marriage! But all that's been ruined now hasn't it, and you're just waiting to be rid of me!"
Narcissa was now crying and blowing her nose into her napkin. She was the most graceful witch he'd ever encountered, yet when she blew her nose it sounded as though a herald of trumpets had entered the room. Some wizards would find it off-putting. Lucius thought it endearing.
"I don't want a divorce. I never wanted a divorce, and if you keep blowing your nose the way you do I can't ever imagine wanting to get a divorce in the future."
"You don't?" came a surprised, if not muffled reply from behind her napkin.
"After all that I've put you through….the hostility, the public charades…you're not going to leave me?"
"Well, that would be a very silly thing for me to do, now wouldn't it?" he answered gently.
Narcissa's sobs were starting to slow and she lowered her napkin.
"You know….you haven't even asked if it is me in that pensieve. I've been waiting for it."
Lucius got up from his seat and traveled the length of the dining table to kneel at the arm of his wife's chair.
"I didn't think it necessary. Whether it is you or not, I still wouldn't leave."
Narcissa's eyes swelled with tears and she flew out of her chair to join her husband on the ground. Lucius felt great relief at being in the arms of his wife for the first time in a long time.
"That's terribly sweet," she whispered into his shoulder.
"However," she snapped, pulling back only a little, "I'm not sure if I should be offended that you could even think it's a possibility that it's me in that pensieve!"
"Well I knewit wasn't you when I saw the witch was wearing pale yellow knickers. You'd never wear something like that. With your skin tone it'd wash you out completely."
Narcissa's face was spread with a large, loving smile as she pulled Lucius close.
"Youdolove me!" she squealed before sealing his mouth with a welcoming kiss.
Hermione awoke to the dulcet sounds of L'amour A Fleur De Coeur fromLabohèmewhile the inviting aroma of waffles wafted into the bedroom. She stretched like a contented cat and reveled in the cloud-like softness of the bed. Her only complaint was her pounding head.
And the fact that this wasn't her bed.
And she was definitely wearing a man's pajamas. They were very lovely pajamas, just not hers.
And she couldn't remember very much of last night.
'Shit!' she thought as she shot up out of her cocoon of sheets and pillows. Her mind raced to backtrack.
Okay so alcohol clearly played a part in the night. I showed up at Jasper's…I definitely came on to him…a close encounter with the fly of his pants…and something about Harry being gay. And now I'm in Jasper's bed in what I presume to be his nightwear. Oh fuck.
Panicked, Hermione fell out of the bed and landed with a thud that caught the attention of the chef in the other room.
"Are you alright in there?"
Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. We had sex and now he's making breakfast and oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.
" Um…yeah, fine," she yelled back. She had to escape, Gryffindor courage be damned. Her head spun about the room in search for her clothing.
As if he was reading her mind he called out, "If you're looking for your clothes, I folded them up and there just out here on the couch." Despite the politeness of the gesture, this meant she'd have to go out there and face a rather drunken mistake.
She cautiously approached the bedroom door and slowly opened it to peer out. Jasper was setting quite delicious looking waffles on the table. He was also clad only in white cotton pajama bottoms.
She definitely could not go out there.
The decision she made was a rash one, but it did provide her the desired escape.
Jasper jumped at the sound of apparation and quickly entered the bedroom to confirm his suspicions. Yes. She had apparated and probably had no clue as to what actually happened last night. Oh well, he'd give her space and explain later. Not to mention retrieve his stolen pajamas.
So I thought I'd make up for my long delay with a faster update. Aren't misunderstandings just hilarious? Also how neat-o with the opera, Cadmus et Hermione! Please review so I can get the fuel to finish this up with a bang! Thanks!