Chapter 21
The Malfoy Ballroom went wild at the news of Draco and Astoria's engagement. Astoria looked absolutely dumbstruck, a vacant expression in her face, her eyes wide in astonishment. Draco curled his fists amid the congratulations and well wishes expressed by the guests around him. Lucius pushed Draco and Astoria together and people began taking their pictures, blinding Draco and filling the air with puffs and jets of smoke. Draco looked out into the crowd and saw Evanna's eyes wide with bewilderment. He watched Sebastian, who was standing beside her, look over at her worriedly. Draco scowled and turned to his father.
"Father, what on earth is going on here?" he asked.
"You haven't got much youth left in you, Draco," Lucius said. "You won't be young and good looking forever. It's only proper that you marry well."
"But Father-"
"I don't want to hear it, Draco," Lucius said, turning away from him. "The decision has been made."
"But Father, why Astoria?"
"Astoria was your mother's choice," Lucius said and swept away to shake hands with the Greengrasses.
Draco turned towards his mother. Narcissa gave him a pointed stare and turned away. Draco pursued her when she turned away to climb up the staircase.
"Mother, what is this bloody engagement about?" Draco demanded from her.
"Language, Draco," Narcissa hissed, turning around to face him once they were out of earshot.
"Why are you doing this?" Draco insisted. "You know I'm dating Evanna Redway."
"Yes, Miss Evanna Redway," Narcissa scoffed. "That little tart who had the nerve to humiliate us ruthlessly and then muster up the gall to seduce you. I will never allow such an irritating girl to ever carry the name of Malfoy."
"Mother-"
"And the girl is now cleaning manors, houses and Astrum for goodness sake," Narcissa jeered. "Working class! How absurd! I would never allow such a decidedly shoddy girl to carry on the name of Malfoy."
"Don't insult her!" Draco yelled.
Narcissa looked over at him, an eyebrow raised. "And you stand there defending that embarrassment to purebloods," she snorted. "Do you not remember what she did to us? What she did to you? How thick are you to fall for the woman that caused you humiliation? You must be out of your mind."
"She's my girlfriend."
"Not anymore, she isn't," Narcissa argued. "You are not to fraternize with Miss Redway any longer; do you understand me, young man? You will not aid her in spoiling the Malfoy name any further. You will not dare defy me, Draco. I'm warning you."
"You can't interfere with my social life," Draco scowled. "I'll date whoever I want. It's my life and I'm not marrying Astoria!"
"Just dare to defy me, Draco," she said threateningly. "Miss Redway's livelihood and wellbeing depends on getting work at other wizards' manors. I can destroy her little business, you know. It's not that hard to destroy the working class. A sprinkle of ruined reputation and a dash of bad luck and she'll be homeless in no time at all. If you want your sweet Miss Evanna Redway not to die of starvation, then you'd better be the perfect fiancé to Miss Astoria."
"You wouldn't," Draco said.
"Why don't you try me, Draco?" Narcissa smirked. "But I guarantee that you won't fancy the consequences."
Evanna sat in a hallway in Astrum, a rag in her hand, staring down at her reflection in the dirty water bucket. All she could think about was the previous night. Draco and Astoria engaged? The news hit her like a load of bricks when she heard it. She wanted an explanation. She wanted Draco in front of her to tell her what on earth was going on. She wanted Astoria to explain to her what this was all about. But neither of them was to be found after the bloody news was made.
Draco had gone off in pursuit of his mother and was never seen again that night. Astoria had promptly gone home, avoiding the crowds handing her well wishes. Evanna had surmised that Narcissa was behind it all. It was quite obviously a plot to ruin Evanna and break Draco and her up. The thought irritated Evanna more than she should have allowed. There was a good explanation for this incident. There had to be. She wanted to see Draco and drag an explanation from his annoyingly handsome face. Engaged? Evanna stared at her reflection in the water. To Astoria? She couldn't be betrayed. Astoria was her friend, her only friend these days. Astoria couldn't have stabbed her in the back. Draco couldn't have deceived her, could he? The thought brought a stabbing pain in her chest. She sighed. She wanted an explanation.
"I see you're hard at work," a voice behind her said.
Evanna turned around and saw Sebastian standing there with a smile on his patrician face. He waved gallantly at her. Evanna dropped the rag into the bucket and got up off the ground.
"Sebastian, I was just… I mean, I-"
Sebastian chuckled. "Relax, Evanna," he said. "It makes no difference to me if you clean this place or not."
"I was just… thinking," Evanna said, rubbing her arm.
"About what?" Sebastian asked. Evanna looked up at him, skeptical. "You can tell me. We're friends, aren't we?"
Evanna watched his kind face smile down at her. She sighed again. "I was just… I wanted an explanation for what happened last night," she said. "The… engagement between…"
"Draco and Astoria, yes," Sebastian said, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's all anybody is talking about."
"Do you know anything about it, Sebastian?"
Sebastian shook his head. "Draco didn't say anything about it," he said.
Evanna looked away. "I just want to know what's going on," she said. "I want an explanation. I don't know if I should be upset or if it's just a misunderstanding."
Sebastian watched the sadness come over her. He frowned. Sebastian wondered himself what on earth was going on between Draco and Astoria. Sebastian guessed that Draco didn't know anything about the engagement beforehand. He would have complained endlessly about it, making Sebastian's ears bleed endlessly. It pained Sebastian to see Evanna so upset and he was powerless to comfort her mind. Her faraway look saddened him. Sebastian spotted a pile of pebbles lying a few feet away. He looked at Evanna and looked back at the pebbles, thinking. Sebastian pulled out his wand and waved it over at the pebbles. The pebbles floated up into the air and whirled into colorful butterflies. Sebastian guided the butterflies over to Evanna with a smile.
Evanna looked around at the butterflies. The butterflies flew lightly around her face, kissing her lightly on the cheek. Evanna, tickled, starts giggling. Sebastian smiled wider.
"Sebastian," Evanna giggled.
"Alright, alright," he said, guiding the butterflies away. With another flick of his wand, the butterflies turned back into pebbles. "I just wanted to get a smile out of you. Look, Evanna, I'm sure whatever happened has a perfectly logical explanation. Don't worry. I'm sure Draco will give you an explanation soon enough."
Evanna grinned. "Thank you, Sebastian," she said. "I feel a little better."
Evanna walked into Sebastian's arms into a hug. He folded his arms around her waist, a comfortable smile on his face.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Sebastian and Evanna broke apart and turned around. They found Draco with his hands in his pockets, giving them a nasty glare.
"Draco," Evanna said walking away from Sebastian. "What's going on here? Are you and Astoria really engaged? What happened to you last night?"
Draco stared coldly at Evanna's face for a little bit. He looked over at Sebastian who was watching him with a curious and suspicious face. Draco looked back at Evanna's face. He rolled his eyes at her and sighed.
"Yeah, Astoria and I are engaged," he said nonchalantly. "You heard the announcement last night. It was straightforward enough. You really can't be that thick, can you?"
Evanna stared at him, feeling as if she was falling. "You-"
Draco scowled. "By the way you're flirting with Sebastian here, I expect that you're not too distraught," Draco said with a sneer.
"Draco, that's not true and you know it," Sebastian said defensively.
"How idiotic do you think I am?" Draco rolled his eyes. "Everyone in Britain and France knows that you fancy the pants off of Evanna. It's quite pathetic actually since she has absolutely no interest in you."
"Draco, stop this," Sebastian said.
"Don't worry, you can have her," Draco said, turning indifferently away. "Since I'm getting engaged, you can have the rubbish I've tossed aside. I won't need it. I really shouldn't be associating myself with the working class anyway. You understand."
"Draco, what are you saying?" Evanna said, a cold chill passing over her, a lump of dread permeating in her stomach.
"Let's face it, Evanna," Draco sighed. "This relationship is utterly pointless. And who am I kidding, I'm absolutely wasting my time with a lowly, sweaty working girl. Astoria has more money and class than you currently or ever will have. I must be insane to have even thought about dating you." He laughed cruelly.
"Draco…" Evanna whispered.
Draco sighed and began to walk away. "I'm going to save myself further humiliation. I can't have my reputation smeared by some no account cleaning girl," Draco scoffed. "Evanna, from now on, I don't know you. If you know what's good for you, you will not address me now or ever."
Draco walked away casually, his hands in his pockets. He turned the corner without looking back. Sebastian looked over Evanna. Tears had rolled down her face and she was shaking. Evanna felt as if she had been punched in the face and in the stomach. What happened? What had she done wrong? Her throat tightened as more tears rolled down her face. What is this she's feeling? Was she actually distraught? Does that mean that she really did grow fond of Draco? She felt a pain in her chest as the thought of Draco pretending not to know her hit her. The pain grew sharper as the thought of Draco marrying her best friend. Evanna put her hand over her mouth as the tears came harder.
Sebastian looked up from Evanna's crying face towards the pile of pebbles lying a few feet away. They weren't going to help him now. What on earth was Draco thinking? Sebastian knew very well that Draco was nuts for Evanna. He would never intentionally hurt her like that. He would never make her cry without a reason. Seeing Evanna's tears made Sebastian feel a stabbing pain in his chest. He looked back over at Evanna. She was vainly trying to wipe away her tears, trying to stop herself from crying. With a sigh, Sebastian pulled Evanna into an embrace. He didn't know what was going on, but he swore to himself he would find out.
Draco watched Sebastian pull Evanna into his arms. Draco curled his hands into fists and scowled as she saw Evanna hold onto him. He hated himself for saying the things he said. He hated that his mother drove him to this decision. He hated that Sebastian was holding onto Evanna and making her feel better while he stood there in the shadows, unable to do nothing about it.
But he had to do it. He had to do it to protect Evanna. His mother could ruin her life. He could not let that happen. If it meant protecting her, he felt that he didn't have a choice.
"That was quite entertaining, Draco."
Draco turned around and found Narcissa standing behind him, an amused smile on her face.
"I see you've taken my advice finally," Narcissa smirked.
"I didn't do it because of you, Mother," Draco said. "I did it so you would not hurt Evanna."
Narcissa scoffed and said, "Look closely, Draco dear, you've done all by yourself." She sneered at her son as he scowled. "Now you'd better run along. You were supposed to meet dear Astoria, remember? You two need to work out your guest list."
Narcissa turned and walked away, a satisfied leer on her face. Draco stood there, his fists clenched, resisting the urge to yell loudly in frustration. He looked back over to where Sebastian was holding Evanna. A fresh pang of jealousy ate away at Draco. He wanted nothing more than to walk over and push Sebastian away from Evanna. But there was nothing he can do. For Evanna's safety, he had to walk away. Draco gritted his teeth as he walked away. If he had to leave Evanna in anybody's hands, he was glad that it was in Sebastian's.
"Evie, maybe you shouldn't do our afternoon jobs today," Grayson said, looking over his shoulder at his sister.
Evanna didn't answer. Grayson stopped walking and stared at her. Evanna bumped into him and she instantly looked up.
"I'm sorry," Evanna said, rubbing her forehead. "Did you say something?"
Grayson stared at her with his brows furrowed. He knew why his sister was upset. He might be silly person but he wasn't stupid. She was obviously upset about the whole Malfoy thing. Grayson didn't know what to do. He'd never had a sister before now and as such, he never had to deal with girl dilemmas that came with them. He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Uh… Evie, maybe you should stay home this afternoon," he said.
"No, I can't do that," Evanna said lethargically. "I have to help you."
"Oh, come now, Evie," Sebastian sighed. "You're not feeling well. You should rest."
"I'll be fine, I-"
"Evanna!"
Evanna turned and found Astoria walking up to her. She watched Astoria stop in front of her, looking cautious and slightly uncomfortable. Evanna looked at her awkwardly for a second and then turned to Sebastian.
"Sebastian, can you give us a moment?" Evanna asked.
Grayson looked from Evanna to Astoria and back. "Let me know if you need anything," Grayson said and walked away.
The girls watched Sebastian walk away. They then looked at each other awkwardly. They looked at their feet, unable to look at each other.
"Are you angry?" Astoria asked, uncomfortably.
Evanna looked up at her. She saw her nervous face and she had no power to raise her voice at her. Astoria was her only friend nowadays. Astoria had never hurt her before.
"What happened, Astoria?" Evanna asked. "What is this all about?"
"My parents set it up," Astoria answered. "I had nothing to do about it but I can't do anything about it. Please don't be angry."
Evanna sighed. "I can't be angry at you, Astoria," she said. "Besides, Draco and I are… are over."
Astoria stared. For a long while, she didn't say anything. The awkward silence continued. "Evanna, are we still friends?"
Evanna looked up at Astoria. She saw nervousness in Astoria's eyes and had no power to be angry at her. Besides, it looked like it wasn't Astoria's fault. How can Evanna be mad at her? Evanna thought of all the memories she had with Astoria. She was there before Draco became her boyfriend. Was it right to pick a fight with her over Draco?
"Evanna?"
"Of course we're still friends," she answered.
Evanna extended a hug out to her. Evanna's chest ached as she thought of Draco but Astoria was her friend. Was she supposed to choose? What is she to do?