Disclaimer: In case you have been living in a cave on mars with your fingers in your ears for the last ten years or so; JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and all terms and characters associated with the fandom. I only own the story, some characterisations and an occasional OC, I try to limit them as much as possible. Song lyrics which may crop up now and then will be attributed as appropriate.

Chapter 14 - Method Acting



"We need some reception, a higher message,
just tell us what to fear.
'Cause I don't know what tomorrow brings.
It is alive with such possibilities.…"

Bright eyes

---------------------------

Draco had been sat in the library, absentmindedly thumbing through a book which he had picked off the shelf at random. He'd been waiting for a while for a sign that Victoria Frobisher had finally left the house. Trying to tune out the muffled sounds which had occasionally reached him, mostly the sound of Frobisher giggling in such a way that he found himself involuntarily grinding his teeth. At a point, he noticed that there hadn't been a sound like that for a while and it could be possible that she had left. While the prospect of having a full on argument with Blaise about having Frobisher at their house didn't really seem that appealing, he didn't really want to let it lie either.

He sighed huffily and stood to his feet, slipping the book back onto the shelf in the wrong place, an action he knew would drive Blaise crazy. A small but slightly petty victory. Slowly, biding his time should another high pitched giggle raise out from behind the double doors, he made his way to the living room.

"Has she gone?" Draco poked his head round the corner of the door, scanning to make sure Frobisher had vacated his home.

"Yes, it's safe to come in." Blaise sighed, adjusting the collar of his shirt and drinking from a glass which contained Firewhiskey.

"Thank Merlin." Draco came into the room, instantly going to get himself a glass so he could pour himself out a good quantity of the amber coloured liquid which Blaise was drinking. "So, did you get your interview done?"

Blaise sighed and rolled his eyes, looking at Draco as he sat down opposite him. "This is about my promotion isn't it?"

"I couldn't give two flying frigs about your promotion mate and to be honest, I don't think you do either, you know as well as I do that you wanted to be a professional gobstones player." He sat forward, looking directly at him. "What happened to you mate? You used to have dreams. What happened to the Blaise who said he'd never take a desk job? The Blaise who spent 2000 galleons getting himself a customised set of gobstones, that I haven't seen you pick up in six months, at least."

Blaise raised an eyebrow, sadly lamenting his lost ambitions. "That Blaise got caught by the Dark Lord on the night of the Hogwarts battle, killing a close friend of Potter. He got shoved into a desk job, giving Mudbloods places in pureblood homes. What exactly am I supposed to do Draco? Walk up to the Dark Lord and say; Thanks for the promotion my Lord, the one you yourself selected me for, but I want to go play gobstones instead…"

"OK, fine! I get your point, you don't have to be so sardonic about it." He picked up his glass, taking a long drink with a shake of his head.

"Look mate, I got this job, I didn't have a choice in it, but you know as well as I do that I have to do a good job of it, it's not like failure is easily forgiven."

"Yes, I know that Blaise." He sighed a little to himself then looked his friend in the eyes. "Look, I am telling you now, I was more than a bit pissed off coming home to then have her turn up on the doorstep. You know how I feel about Frobisher, I can't stand that whiney, annoying, little bitch. I would actually rather stab myself in the eye than spend any time with her."

"I swear mate, she was who they sent to interview me."

"You've been fucking her though haven't you?"

Blaise smirked and sat forward. "I tell you what, I'll answer your question if you tell me who you had in your room this morning."

"Fuck off!"

Both boys started to laugh, it only subsiding when the green flames once more sprung up from the fireplace and Lucius Malfoy exited. His eyes traced over them both, seeing they both had glasses of alcohol in their hands and not a servant in sight he cleared his throat. "Well a least I don't have to ask if a celebratory drink is in order."

Rolling his eyes slightly, Draco stood up, Blaise copying his action. "Hello father. I'll get you a drink."

"Where are your servants?"

"Well the house elf is probably making supper and Granger is staying out my sight like I told her to."

Lucius merely raised an eyebrow at his son and took a seat in the green leather armchair, something acquired by the boys purely for that purpose. "Well Blaise, do you have any plans for your newly appointed position?"

Blaise took his seat, watching as Draco handed Lucius a glass filled with Firewhiskey and placed a full decanter on the coffee table before them. "Well sir…" He paused, choosing his words carefully. "The first thing I was going to do was make Draco my second in my command."

At this Draco nearly spat out his Firewhiskey, he looked at Blaise with slight disbelief. "Me?"

Blaise laughed a little, looking at his friend. "No, the other Draco, Draco Watkins."

"But that's Selwyn's job isn't it? And surely they would have wanted Brooks or something?"

"It's my team, I choose who's backing me up and their transferring Brooks over to Terra, low maintenance, less pressure."

Draco arched his brow a little, a very small, almost completely unnoticeable spot of guilt panged at him, but he ignored it. "Well… thanks mate."

"Excellent." Lucius Malfoy clapped his hands together, pleased apparently that his son would be also climbing up the ranks along with Blaise. "Of course I do want to talk to you both about something. Something which I have been discussing with both of your mothers." This sentence prompted both Blaise and Draco to raise their eyebrows, almost simultaneously. "They both agreed that I should be the one that should broach the subject. Obviously with you Draco because I am your father and your mother can sometimes be a little… inexorable." Draco merely nodded to this statement. "And with you Blaise, your mother felt that perhaps that since your own father is unable and I have known you since you were a child, it would be easier talking to a man about such things."

Blaise and Draco exchanged a look, not quite sure what this 'talk' was going to be about, but since he had been sent by their respective mother's, it had to be something of consequence.

"Now, both your mothers and I feel, that you have spent a year living together and getting used to being a part of the adult world and it is really time for you to both seriously consider taking wives. Unless of course…" He paused for a moment. "Your living together for other reasons, in which case you should both tell me right now."

Blaise and Draco exchanged a brief look of horror with one another before both launching into a loud and objectionable protest at Lucius.

-------------------------

It was very late by the time Draco found himself finally walking across the threshold of his bedroom. His father had stayed for several hours while they discussed the reasons why they weren't prepared to walk down the alter just yet with any of the women who 'visited' them regularly. Even Blaise, who had formally proposed to Tracey.

He looked at his bed, it had been made while he was out of the house, crisp, fresh sheets lined the mattress and duvet sat turned down at the end. Draco wasn't sure what to feel. Was he supposed to feel guilty? Yes, he had fucked her, then allowed, or more accurately, tolerated, his father smacking her across the face, then left her to do the household chores and then upon his return being scurrilous

and peremptory with her. Part of him felt that if she had been anybody but Granger, then he would owe them an apology, but she was his servant, his slave essentially.

Still, a part of him, a part which he would gladly have beaten with a large metal bat should he be able to, told him that he should make some sort of gesture to her. He hated that part of himself. "No!" He spoke aloud to no one. He didn't owe her anything, certainly not an apology, it wasn't his fault she was a mudblood.

He peeled his shirt off and pulled it over his head, he dropped it onto the chair next to his bed with a slight sigh to himself. If she wasn't a mudblood, would he be going downstairs right now and asking forgiveness? If she was a halfblood, would he say he was sorry?

Draco sat on the side of his bed, cradling his head with his hand. He tried to imagine what would have happened if it wasn't Granger. If Su Li hadn't been removed from their house on her first day, Draco was fairly sure that Blaise would have been sleeping with her and if he hadn't, then Draco probably would have himself. It could have transpired that the course of events which lead his father to lashing out and smacking her across the face would have still happened. Then he taking the his piss-poor mood out on her. He stood up and moved over to his dresser, looking at himself adamantly in the mirror. "If it was Su, instead of Granger, would she get an apology?"

------------------------------

Hermione sat up in bed, she was fairly sure that both Draco and Blaise had gone to sleep, the stomping footsteps up the stairs had led her to believe as such. She was vaguely aware that Draco's father had been in the house, which was the reason she had chosen to remain inside her room, she didn't want to have another smack across the face.

The knock at her door therefore surprised her. She clutched the top of her rather worn nightgown, holding it closed as she slipped out of the bed and made her way across the cold wood floor. Carefully, she opened the door, just allowing her face to appear in the door crack. "Hi…"

-----------------------------

Author's Notes:

Why isn't this chapter longer? Because it's five am and sugar keeps distracting me with potter puppets and weebl and bob… That's why! Blame her. (Their gonna come for you Sug, ;) )

I've got stuff planned for the next couple of chapters which will hopefully clear a few things up and let you know a little more about whats going on.

I'm not making promises, but… actually no, I'm not going to tell you, HAHA. You'll have to wait….

(See, this is what 5am Paula is like…..)

Beta Notes: PTSCH!!! She LOVES the Weebl and Bob.. She is a liar and wouldn't allow me to rid her AN of such falsities.. Still, t'is not my fault, it is the fault of the clocks for being currently at stupid-O'clock in the morning nods