Chapter 21: Hey Jealousy

Friday 2/14/1997

The week leading up to the Valentine's soiree flew for Draco. He had hoped to have more time with Harry before the event, alas, his renewed popularity, especially with the party looming on the horizon, made it difficult for Draco to slip away from his Slytherin cohorts. Draco spent as much time in the Room of Requirement as he could without drawing undue attention to himself, in the hopes that Harry would join him there, but he never did. Draco tried not to read anything into this, they had had fun flying and there was no reason to think Harry might be avoiding him. No, Harry was just busy. There was an unusually large amount of homework this week, most likely the teacher's attempt to rein in the dance fever.

Nevertheless, Draco dressed for Slughorn's party with even more care than usual, choosing a dark pewter open robe over close fitted gray slacks and a powder blue silk shirt. He wanted to impress. Granted, with his Veela traits he could probably impress wearing a potato sack, but still, for once he wanted to go all out. He had never had to court someone before. He'd never had much interest in the idea of dating. He'd always assumed that he would accept an arranged marriage, the way his parents had.

But, that wasn't the case anymore. He couldn't imagine marrying some stuck up pure blood girl just to make his father happy. Especially not when doing so would condemn Harry to a life of solitude. Harry didn't have a choice in romantic partners. His only options were Draco or celibacy.

Harry had come a long way in accepting the bond. They weren't fighting anymore and, if Draco was reading Harry correctly, he thought his attraction might be reciprocated. He didn't want to rush Harry, but it was only natural to want to be desired by your chosen mate. He had embraced this bond and accepted his growing feelings for Harry and he was hopeful that this dance, even if they couldn't openly go together, could bring Harry closer to accepting his feelings too.

As the designated event time drew nearer Draco waffled on whether it would be better to arrive early so he would be guaranteed to be there when Harry arrived or arrive fashionably late and make a, no doubt, dramatic entrance, as his subtle allure drew the attention of the room to him. After much thought he decided on the former. While it would be pleasing to his vanity to show off how desirable he was to his mate, the latter option held the risk of him being sidelined by people he didn't want to talk to and prevented him from getting to Harry. At least if he arrived early, people would trickle in and he would be able to dismiss or evade them on an individual basis while he waited for Harry to appear. It would also be easier for him to find Harry as soon as he arrived.

He regretted this choice almost immediately, as he walked into the garishly decorated classroom and was accosted by Slughorn and made to do rounds of introductions with the surprisingly large number of other early birds. Draco was more than mildly annoyed by Slughorn's complete one-eighty with regard to him. While it was slightly flattering to be repeatedly introduced as 'one of the most promising potioners of his year,' he couldn't help rather bitterly remembering that less than two months ago he hadn't even merited an invitation.

It also didn't help matters that the stuttering masses he was being introduced to were all the dullest people he had ever met. Not one of them had anything interesting or worthwhile to note about them. Draco was certain that if it weren't for inherited wealth and family prestige, none of these people would have even merited an invite to this gala. They were all uniformly charmed by him though. Some to the point of drooling, which was disgusting all on it's own. Draco wasn't even trying to entice these people. He was, in fact, reining in his allure to the best of his ability, because he wanted to get away from them. But the onslaught was relentless. Slughorn stayed close to Draco's side as he ushered him around the room to meet with all of the politicians with inherited seats and all the unemployed, and frankly unemployable, wealthy sons who had made their way into Slughorn's web in the last 60 or so years.

The only impressive thing about this affair was the expansion charms that Slughorn must have put onto his classroom to fit all of these people. And, no matter how many people he was forced to mingle with, there was always more. The minutes ticked by as more and more elite invitees arrived with their plus ones. Yet, still no sight of Harry. And Draco was looking. Oh, he was very nearly rude to several people, he was so single mindedly watching the door. His absent mindedness eventually caught the attention of Slughorn who turned to him the next chance they were moving between people.

"Looking for someone?" He asked knowingly.

Draco bit back a retort. Being rude would get him nowhere in this situation. But if he played this conversation right, he might actually get out of this hellish mingle fest.

"I have some friends who were also invited tonight and I was hoping to spend some time with them." Draco forced a flush and tried to look bashful. "All these important people, it's just a bit overwhelming, you know?"

"Of course, of course. I should have thought of that. You're a young man. Perfectly understandable that you would want some time to mingle with your classmates. Maybe a special lady, if I have my guess?" Slughorn shot him another knowing look and Draco had to strongly repress the urge to roll his eyes. Let the old man think whatever he wanted. Hell, Draco would even ask a girl to dance, if it would get Slughorn off his back for the rest of the night.

"Thank you for understanding." Draco replied as he quickly edged away before Slughorn could change his mind and drag him back into the mindless mingling.

As he eyed up his options for prospective dance partners that he could engage to keep Slughorn off his back he couldn't help but wonder, 'Where the hell is Harry?'

0~0~0

"Stop fidgeting, you're making me nervous." Hermione chided.

"Sorry, I can't help it." Harry looked at his watch again. "What is taking her so long. The party started almost an hour ago."

"Considering how reluctant you were to attend I'm surprised you're so anxious to get there."

Harry shot her a petulant glare. "I just want to get this over with. This whole week has just been stressful. I've been avoiding Draco, just so I could avoid talking about the upcoming dance."

"I still think you're overreacting Harry. Draco knows that the two of you couldn't go together. Frankly, if the two of you want to maintain the facade of animosity, then you can't even interact much, if you really want to avoid drawing attention to the fact that the two of you have resolved your past issues."

"I told him I was going stag. What is he going to think when I show up with Ginny?"

"He may be confused by your change of heart, but that is something that you could have resolved by simply explaining what happened with Ron to him. I'm sure he would have understood, and, no matter what, you are going to have to explain to him eventually anyway, so I'm not really sure what it is you were trying to achieve by delaying the inevitable. Isn't he more likely to get the wrong idea if you show up out of nowhere with her?"

"Not helping Mione."

"Sorry, I just think that the two of you have a complicated enough relationship without adding unnecessary misunderstandings to the mix."

"We're not in a relationship." He corrected.

"Sorry I meant that the two of you have a complicated enough unfulfilled mating bond without adding unnecessary misunderstandings to the mix." She snarked back.

Harry couldn't help but quirk a smile at her sass.

"Noted, I'm an idiot and I should have warned him about this, after it happened on Sunday. But it's too late for that now."

"I'm sure it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be anyway. I've promised to stick close throughout the night to add to the whole 'just going as friends vibe'. With any luck Draco will figure out what's going on without any fuss."

"I hope so. We've made such progress in the past couple months. I don't want our friendship to backtrack because he thought I was lying to him."

"I'm sure it'll turn out fine. Ooh, here she comes." Hermione interrupted herself as she spotted Ginny making her way down the stairs.

0~0~0

Ginny made her way down the stair slowly and gracefully so her dress would flow behind her for dramatic effect. She saw Harry looking up at her and smiled only to notice a second later that he was not alone. Hermione was still here. Ginny had purposely delayed for nearly an hour just to ensure that everyone else invited to the party would be gone by the time she came down. She wanted some alone time with Harry to make an impression. A romantic walk through the castle. If things went well, maybe even a detour to an abandoned classroom. Ginny didn't really care whether they made it to the party or not. As long as she was able to spend some quality time alone with Harry, she was happy. But here Granger was ruining that for her.

Seriously, did she not get that she was intruding? That Harry was on a date and she was an unwanted third wheel? Ugh, she couldn't risk offending her though. This was one of Harry's best friends. She would not ingratiate herself to Harry by insulting Hermione. Ginny schooled her face into a welcoming smile.

"You look lovely Hermione. Are you waiting for someone?" She knew that latter question was a little snarky. Obviously, if Hermione had a date they would be ready by now. But, she couldn't help being a little snappish about her romantic plans being ruined.

Hermione smiled placidly back as though she didn't even perceive the dig. "I'm just keeping Harry company. Since I'm going stag, he invited me to join you since you're going as friends anyway." Hermione replied back. Ginny's face froze, while inside she seethed. Ron had warned her that Harry had couched his acceptance with the whole 'going as friends' nonsense. But, Ginny was sure that was just pretense. After all, it would be a bit awkward to tell your best friend that you plan to shag his little sister. And Ginny was sure he wanted to. She was easily the hottest girl in her year and, frankly, none of the girls in Harry's year were much competition either.

Harry cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Shall we get going?" He asked, obviously trying to break the tension that had suddenly filled the room.

Ginny smiled at him and wrapped her hand around his forearm. "Yes, let's."

0~0~0

The walk down to Slughorn's party was brutally uncomfortable. It was obvious from Ginny's chilly reception of Hermione that Ron had not properly conveyed the 'going as friends' concept to Ginny. Which, thinking about it now, Harry should have foreseen. Ron was not exactly the best at interpersonal relationships and social interactions.

Harry suppressed a sigh. This night was a nightmare and it had barely even begun yet. Ginny was holding his arm in a vice grip and was prattling on about various upcoming events like the next Hogwarts weekend and the Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw match that was a couple weeks away. That these events were typical date ideas, was not lost on Harry. Ginny was not being at all subtle in her interest in attending these events with Harry, and he had to practically resort to muteness to avoid accidentally committing himself to one or another of her endless date prompts. Hermione, Merlin bless her, was tactfully trying to change the conversation every time Ginny did this, but Weasleys were well known for their stubbornness, and Ginny was not easily deterred.

In contrast to how Harry had felt before Ginny joined them he was actually relieved when they reached Slughorn's party. While he still wasn't looking forward to Draco's possibly unfavorable reaction to him entering with Ginny on his arm, at least Slughorn's voracious need to drag him around the room would likely give him a break from Ginny's relentless attentions. As they walked into the room his eyes were immediately drawn to Draco who was dancing gracefully with a girl Harry was pretty sure was a seventh year Slytherin. Harry forcibly repressed a surge of jealousy. He was in no position to judge here. Platonic or not, he had actually come with a date. As far as he could tell, Draco was just dancing with someone, which was perfectly normally and frankly expected at these sorts of events.

Draco was positively mouthwatering. Harry had slowly been coming to terms with his growing attraction for the blond these past few weeks. His nightly dreams made it hard to deny. But seeing him like this in real life, that made his breath catch. His trousers were very fitted and clung to him as he gracefully move across the dance floor. The light blue shirt enhanced his silver eyes. A quick glance around the room told Harry that he wasn't the only one to notice either. Whether or not Draco was aware of it he had acquired quite an audience and the girl in his arms was the target of more than a few not so subtle glares.

Harry himself had to hold back the urge to show his displeasure at the sight of someone else in Draco's arms. 'It could never have been me in the first place. We could never have come here together. It doesn't mean anything.' He tried to reassure himself. And, though the logic was sound, it did little to resolve the quagmire of feelings such a realization brought to his chest. 'As long as Voldemort lives we can never be together like that. We can never be in public together.' It was more than a little disheartening that, even if Draco returned his feelings, which, while Harry was somewhat optimistic that he might, was by no means guaranteed, they still couldn't be together.

"Um, Harry-" Hermione interjected. "You're kind of staring off into space." She whispered.

Harry snapped out of his reverie. "Right, thanks." He said and the three made their way across the room to Slughorn for the obligatory host greeting. Harry had warned them before they got to the party that he wanted to get that out of the way as soon as they got to the party. It had been one of the few things he had actually said on their way over from the Gryffindor tower. Harry was vaguely aware that he was being a crappy date, but frankly he hadn't asked to take Ginny in the first place and maybe if she had a lousy time she'd stop pressuring him for a second date that was never going to happen.

"Harry, my boy!" Slughorn greeted enthusiastically, his rotund belly bouncing with excitement. "And the lovely Misses Weasley and Granger. Welcome welcome. Two lovely ladies Mr Potter. Tsk tsk." Slughorn teasingly shook his finger in mock chastisement. Harry couldn't help but flush at his assumption and explained.

"We're here as friends." At the same time Ginny replied.

"Hermione is here alone."

Slughorn noted the tension between the two girls with obvious amusement. "I see, I see. I was something of a ladies man myself in my youth. No bother. I was going to introduce you to a few of my colleagues from the ministry, but I can see you have your hands full already. Do enjoy yourselves. I do pride myself on my parties. More than one relationship has begun between these four walls, or so I've been told at least. You know me; always happy to help my current and former students. You three have fun. I've heard the punch is quite good." With one last smile Slughorn left them to their still strained dynamic.

Harry wasn't sure if he was relieved or not. On the one hand, Ginny was far less likely to molest him if they were with a teacher, her grip on his arm on the walk over had verged on groping at times, but on the other hand, he didn't think he could have dealt with any more of Slughorn thinly veiled assertions that Harry was some kind of playboy. Harry knew there were most likely reporters at this event and the last thing his reputation needed was an article claiming he was some kind of Casanova, juggling and breaking the hearts of multiple girls at the same party. He could just see it now.

He was beginning to wonder if asking Hermione to stick by his side during the party was the best idea after all. But since the alternative was being left alone with Ginny, well enough said.

"Let's get some punch." he said to no one in particular and made his way to the concessions table knowing the two girls would follow.

0~0~0

Draco was dancing with Louisa Flint when Harry finally arrived. Harry was wearing the same dress robes that he had worn to Slughorn's Yule party which was unsurprising given Harry's historic disinterest in fashion or clothes. That said, he looked good. His black robes were dressier than school robes and were closely tailored at the chest and shoulders. Draco gave a bit of admiration to whoever tailored them for a job well done. Draco was so enamored of Harry that it took a few revolutions of the dance for him to notice that Harry was not alone.

As Harry made his way over to Slughorn, Draco finally saw that the Weaslette was hanging off his arm. Granger was less conspicuously walking alongside, but Draco felt confident she wasn't a threat. He had monitored their relationship closely these past six years and had never notice the slightest romantic interest between the two. Weasley was a bit more of a wildcard. Since she wasn't in their grade and Draco wasn't in their house, he had had very limited opportunities to observe the two together. True, he saw them in quidditch practices each week. But Harry took his coaching responsibilities seriously and even if he did fancy Ginny Weasley, Draco rather doubted he would act on that during practice.

As more people flooded onto the dance floor, it became harder for him to keep his eye on the pair. Draco desperately wanted the song to end so he could depart the dance floor without it being completely obvious that he was going over to see Harry. Not for the first time he resented the restraints his father's devotion to a madman put on his life. 'Voldemort the cock blocker.' He thought with some inner amusement and then blanched at his own audacity. 'Harry is rubbing off on me.'

The song ended at the same time Harry started moving his way through the crowd to the concession table.

'Perfect, no one will think it is odd for me to want a drink after dancing.' Draco thought as he skirted around the dance floor, remembering only at the last moment to thank Louisa Flint for the dance. 'My mother would be horrified by my manners tonight.' Draco thought with mild chagrin. 'Years of etiquette lessons, wasted.'

Being both closer to the concessions table and free of hangers on, Draco beat Harry to the punch and had to purposely dally as though he was contemplating his options. He only reached for a cup as Harry approached,

"Potter," He greeted with the kind of formality polite society would expect from one rival to another at a formal occasion. Harry flinched at his tone.

"Dr-..." Harry quickly corrected himself. "Malfoy."

Before Harry could say anything else Weasley inserted herself into the conversation.

"I see Slughorn has lowered his standards for this party. As I recall you had to crash the Yule party. Or have you just not been caught yet?"

Harry flushed at her rudeness. "Ginny-." He began. But, she seemed determined to not let him get a word in edgewise and continued.

"Though I suppose you could be someone's plus one. I suppose even you could snag a Flint. Of course Harry and I both merited our own invitations, but that's obviously not a standard all couples can uphold."

Draco was so stunned by her attack that he uncharacteristically found himself unable to retort and just stood there for several seconds saying nothing.

"Well, are you going to pour yourself punch or not? You're holding up the ladle." She sneered.

Draco dropped the ladle, uncaring that the punch splashed over the rim of the bowl staining the crisp white tablecloth red.

"Help yourself. I've lost my appetite." He retorted storming away before Harry could say anything.

Draco was fuming. Harry was dating the Weaselette. Harry brought her here, where he knew Draco would see them. Harry lied about coming stag. All of those moments they had shared these past few weeks, had it really meant nothing? Had Draco really imagined that Harry was coming around? Had he just been seeing what he wanted to see? Draco clenched his fists, squeezing so tightly that his nails dug crescents into his palms. Two could play at this game.

Draco may have come to this party alone but that didn't mean he had to leave alone. If Harry was going to flaunt his Weaslette like their bond meant nothing than Draco wouldn't hold back.

Draco sent an appraising glance around the room. Not everyone here was an old insipid aristocrat. Some of the people here were actually quite famous. Self made men who had caught Slughorn's attention after they had earned their celebrity.

Draco hadn't given a lot of thought to what his type was before. Prior to his bonding with Harry, he had just reconciled himself to a loveless political match with whoever his father thought would best advance the interests of the Malfoy family. And since the bonding Draco's feelings had been centered around Harry. But he did feel that if he were to choose someone for himself it would probably be another man. His complete lack of interest in women even pre-bonding would seem to support that.

Since it was necessary to keep their bond a secret Draco had never worried much about how or when he would come out. It had always been such a distant concern considering Voldemort would need to be dealt with first. But if he had planned for it, he doubted a Slughorn party would have been his first choice. But, needs must. Harry was hardly going to be jealous of him flirting with a woman. Draco's interest in Harry had been too marked for that to seem plausible.

His eyes landed on Rupert Treebourne, the star chaser for the Falmouth Falcons. Draco had been a fan of the Falmouth Falcons for years. Talking to him, at least, would not be a punishment. Objectively speaking the man was quite good looking too. Chocolate brown hair that he kept in a windswept style even when he wasn't fresh from the field paired very attractively with deep blue eyes and a muscled physique. Associating with him for a night would definitely not be a challenge.

0~0~0

"What the fuck, Ginny?" He blurted after he regained his senses.

"What did I do?"

"That was-I don't even know what to say. How could you think that was appropriate? This is a formal party. Your attack on Draco was completely unprovoked and frankly extremely low class all things considered. What provoked you to behave in this way? Surely your parents raised you better than this!" Harry demanded angrily.

"Wha-. He's- It's just Malfoy. Who cares?"

"Even if you have no regard for the feelings of others, a public event is in no way an appropriate venue to vocalize your apathy. I'm disappointed in you, Ginny. I thought better for your parents than to think one of their children would behave in such a crude way in public."

"He's Malfoy. Who cares?" She defended, angry now.

"I care. Anyone decent would care, given the show you just put on. He did nothing to you that would warrant that attack. You should be ashamed of yourself. I'm ashamed of you."

"Nothing I said was untrue. He wasn't invited to the Yule party. He did crash it and he was dancing with the Flint girl. I don't see what the big deal is. If he can't handle the truth than he shouldn't go out in public."

"Ginny, what you suggested was far from the truth. For one thing, I know for a fact that Draco was invited to this party on his own merits. Secondly, he was only not invited to the Yule party because Slughorn was being unfairly prejudiced, because of the crimes of Draco's father. Thirdly, he was probably only dancing with the Flint girl to be nice since she is a member of his house and he has class. And, lastly and most importantly, you and I are not a couple. I don't know what gave you the impression that it was okay to publicly present yourself as my girlfriend, but to clear up any misapprehension you may be under, you and I are not dating. This is not a date. Your brother asked me to escort you to this party and I agreed only under the condition that he impressed upon you that we would only be going together as friends."

"But… Ron said that was because of Voldemort. He said that you weren't willing to date because you didn't want to endanger people by having them associated with you. But I don't care about that Harry. I know how terrible Voldemort is. I know that he is back. I know that he's after you. I know that being with you might put me in danger. But I don't care. I've already been a victim of Voldemort. My family are known blood traitors and known associates of yours anyway. Honestly I don't think I'd be in any more danger as your girlfriend than not and I'm not afraid. I want you anyway." Ginny pleaded.

Harry sighed. "Ginny, I know that you have a crush on me. I've known for years. I probably shouldn't have agreed to take you tonight. The last thing I want to do is give you false hope or confuse you. But the fact is, I just don't see you like that. You are Ron's sister. You are a member of a family that has been kind to me and who I care about. But I don't have any romantic feelings for you. I never have. And, at this point, I never will. I don't want you to waste time on me. It's just not going to happen. If you came here tonight thinking it was going to lead to something between us then you might as well leave. I just don't see you like that. I'm sorry."

Harry could see Ginny biting back tears and he felt bad. Even if she had said horrible hurtful things to Draco, Harry still hadn't wanted to hurt her. But he just couldn't let her go on thinking that there was a future for them. It would be worse for her in the long run if Harry let her think there was hope for her infatuation. Harry didn't want to hurt her, but he couldn't stand by and do nothing after how she had treated Draco. He owed it to Draco to stand up for him in the face of that unwarranted attack.

For a moment it looked like Ginny was going to reply. Maybe defend herself. But then she ran off saying nothing. Harry felt a pang of regret for hurting her but ultimately he knew it was for the best.

"That was unnecessarily harsh." Hermione chastised.

Harry realized he probably shouldn't have done that with an audience. But like every other poor choice he had made with regard to tonight, it was too late to take it back.

"I know. But, I couldn't just say nothing. The way she acted… the way she made things seem in front of Draco was like the worst case scenario. I don't even know how I'm going to explain this to him."

"Just tell him the truth."

"That's easy to say. But it's not like I can have a heart to heart with him here. And if he's pissed at me I may have a hard time getting him alone in the future too. What the fuck was she thinking?"

"She was probably thinking that she liked you and she saw him as a threat to your affections. I know this isn't what you want to hear but the two of you haven't been as subtle as you probably think you have been."

Harry poured himself a cup of punch and down it in our shot. "Yeah, well, you try to hide a Veela mating bond from everyone. It's not as easy as it looks."

"I'm not judging you Harry, I'm just pointing out that Ginny has liked you for a long time. She's been idolizing the Boy-Who-Lived since before she even met you. And then you braved the chamber of secrets, rescued her from the diary and slayed a basilisk to save her. It's not surprising that her feelings for you are strong. Or that she would feel threatened by, and defensive of someone who obviously has your romantic interest when she doesn't. I'm not saying that makes her actions right. I'm just saying it makes her behavior understandable. She's only fifteen. She thinks you're 'the one' and she thinks she's losing you to someone who she has been raised to see as the enemy, because he is from a rival family that her family has been feuding with for generations. If you ever want something to happen between you and Draco you need to be prepared for a bad reaction from the Weasley family."

"Things can never be simple can they?" Harry lamented.

"Not for you Harry. Not for you. Do you want me to talk to her?" Hermione offered.

Not for the first time tonight Harry felt a wave of gratitude toward Hermione. "Would you?" He pleaded.

"Sure. It's not like I have anything better to do. And I think this needs a feminine touch. I'll see if I can calm her down and get her to come back to the party."

"I'm sorry that tonight is such a mess. We've only just gotten here and it's already a shit show."

Hermione smiled in that calm reassuring way that always made Harry feel better. "Things are always an adventure with you Harry. I'm used to it. You just focus on trying to fix things with Draco. Let me deal with Ginny."

"You know you're my best friend right?" Harry asked.

"You fought a troll for me. The least I can do is placate an emotional fangirl."

For a brief moment Harry thought maybe tonight's drama could be resolved. Then his eyes found Draco across the room and his stomach plummeted.

Draco was cozy up in a corner with some extremely attractive brunette who Harry vaguely thought he might recognize from Ron's quidditch mags. Harry didn't really follow the professional leagues beyond what he couldn't help but absorb from Ron and Seamus but he was almost positive that man was a starter for some team or another. Probably a chaser based on his physique. And Draco was practically plastered against him. Their bodies were only inches apart and they appear to be talking very animatedly, laughing periodically and seeming oblivious to their surroundings. How did Draco even meet this guy. Did Slughorn introduce them? When had this happened?

Harry supposed that could have happened in the hour that Harry was waiting for Ginny to get ready. But wasn't their rapport a bit too good for new acquaintances?

Harry mindlessly refilled his punch glass as he unabashedly observed Draco's increasingly flirtatious exchange with the pro quidditch player. Harry could smell Draco from across the room. He was obviously using his pheromones. Wasn't he afraid of getting found out? Or did he not care as long as no one knew he was bonded to Harry Potter. Did he even care about their bond? It was true that it didn't limit his exploits the same way it controlled Harry's.

Nothing was stopping Draco from pursuing or even being intimate with other people. The fidelity restrictions only affected the bonded, not the Veela who initiated the bond. 'Which is bullshit.' Harry thought as he poured himself his fourth or fifth cup of punch. 'Why should the Veela be able to whore about town, while their bonded, who didn't even ask to be clawed thank you very much, was so tightly compelled that they couldn't even toss off to the thought of anyone else without being violently ill? How was that fair?'

Harry saw Draco lean in close and whisper something into the quidditch player's ear and Harry saw red. Before he knew what he was doing he was stomping across the room. Storming through several dancing couples unapologetically as he made his single minded way to the object of his ire.

He grabbed Draco's wrist and dragged him away from his would be paramour without any explanation save, "We need to talk."