Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! No copyright infringement intended!

A/N:

cyiusblack, thank you for your review! Have fun with Chapter 37!

Owl007, thanks for reviewing again. You're right, Ally really is rather shilly-shally lately. Makes me almost feel sorry for our dear Draco... ;O) But he's a real man, he has to be able to take it, hasn't he? Enjoy the new one...

Living with a Quidditch Star

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Henpecked husband-to-be

„I'm afraid she's cuckolded him! Holy shit! This could earn him the front page again!" he drawled and looked at Ginny, who was staring at him in disbelief, clapping her hand in front of her mouth.

„But who's the father then?" Ginny said after a while.

„I don't know. But I can assure you it's definitely not him." Dave said sternly and got up. „I'm sorry Ginny but I have to go now, the next patient's waiting for me. See you!"

Claudine knocked at Draco's office door.

„Yes. Come in!" he drawled, bound up in his paper work.

„Mr Malfoy? Mr Zabini is waiting for you." Claudine said and smiled at him.

Draco looked up from the financial statement he had been seeing through and said,

„Ah, great! Send him in, please!"

He smiled at Claudine and got up.

„Mr Zabini? Mr Malfoy is up to see you now." Claudine said and opened the door for Blaise who entered Draco's office immediately.

„Blaise, how good to see you again." Draco said delightedly and spread his arms, while Claudine closed the door behind her.

„Draco, long time no see! Huh?" Blaise replied and drew Draco in a hug.

They patted their shoulders boastfully.

Then Draco offered Blaise a seat.

„Firewhiskey?" he asked.

„No, thanks, Draco!" Blaise replied hastily, a panicky expression flashed his face for a split second.

„Are you sure?" Draco asked and arched a brow at him.

„Who are you and what have you done to Blaise Zabini?" he asked ironically, playfully drawing his wand at lightning speed.

„Well now, jokes aside! Is everything alright with you? You look rather pale today and what's happened to your hand?" he went on, furrowing his brow, while he waved his wand to pour himself a drink.

Blaise stared at Draco for a moment, his eyes wide.

Then he looked down at his still bandaged hand and murmured,

„Uh, this...uhm...this is nothing to worry about! I...I only wanted to do some... some cooking...I'm fine! Really!"

„Man, Blaise, I think you should leave this to your house-elf in the future!" Draco advised ironically and took a sip of his Firewhiskey.

„Are you sure, you don't want anything?" he asked again, but Blaise only shook his head.

„Why did you ask me to come?" Blaise asked curiously.

„Actually I wanted to talk to you about Alessia." Draco said casually and turned his back on Blaise, who arched a brow and felt his insides clench for a moment.

Draco told Blaise everything about the argument and that Alessia had decided to split up.

Blaise listened to him observantly, wondering what he should make of this.

Soon after I arrived at my parent's house.

Mother already headed me off at the entrance hall.

She had a very stern, almost livid expression on her face.

„Your father and I are very disappointed, Alessia. Don't you have a spark of decency? He's your fiancé!" she hissed and led me towards the grand living room.

I saw my father standing at a window, his back was turned to me.

I swallowed dryly.

Normally I wasn't afraid of my father.

He had never chastised Marc or me.

He would never have wasted his time with doing so.

He knew that my mother would teach us manners.

But for now I was afraid. Afraid of his rage. Afraid to witness a possible outburst that I was the reason for.

He had given his permission to marry Draco and I had not stood to the rules.

I felt shame rise on the inside.

He had every right to be angry.

I looked down at my feet and waited for him to address himself to me.

I stood in the middle of the living room when he turned around.

He eyed me for a while and finally took a seat at an armchair.

My mother took a seat at the nearby sofa.

„Alessia! As your mother has already told you we're deeply disappointed about your behaviour. Mr Malfoy is your fiancé and therefore entitled by the rules to know, even more, entitled to decide whether you sign that contract or not. Is this in any way unclear?" my father said in a cold voice and eyed me with a slightly contemptuous expression on his face.

„No, father!" I muttered and looked at my hands.

„Then why haven't you told him about the contract and your wish to work for Mr Nicefields? I'm sure he would've assented." he went on.

„May I ask you whether you are aware of the embarrassing position you've put your family in? People will think we've taught you nothing at all. I want you to apologise. Immediately! Sending an owl will not be sufficient. Visit him! I want you to reconcile. I want you to accompany him to the match against Romania next week." my father said, still staring at me, stony-faced.

„Let me make this very clear: You'll be his wife soon. You have to obey! I'm sure he'll anticipate your every wish as long as you obey. Decent pure-blood women obey the rules. Look at your mother. Does she look unhappy to you in any way? There you go! Apologise. Ask him to bear with you. Keep one thing in mind: I will take special care to ascertain that something like this will never happen again! And for now, Alessia, get out of my sight!"

He got up and left the room without a word of goodbye.

I looked at my mother, my insides were still clenching.

She eyed me for a while, then she got up, too, and said dryly,

„Mrs Malfoy and I have decided to put off the preparations concerning your wedding for the moment. Make sure you come clean with her son as soon as possible just as your father has told you. Goodbye, Alessia."

She hugged me stiffly and kissed me on the forehead.

I pecked her on both cheeks and said,

„Goodbye, mother!"

With a loud crack I disapparated.

„Uh, forget about that drama queen. I've always known that she's not worth it. How about some distraction? Why don't you meet Sindy again? I'm sure she's always up for a good shag with you, even though she's...uhm, let's say... in the family way now. But that shouldn't bother you. You're the father, aren't you?" Blaise drawled, a ruttish grin on his face.

Draco curled his upper lip at these words.

He was just about to rant at Blaise when he made up his mind.

Meeting Sindy again would give him the opportunity to bring her to finally agree to do a prenatal paternity test.

How he would manage this he wasn't quite sure yet, but he knew he had to see her again.

„Blaise, you're right. Why shouldn't I just take what I'm entitled to, huh?" he said boastfully, smirking artificially.

„Aaaah, that's the Draco I know!" Blaise roared and grinned.

„You know what, I meet her quite regularly. Uh, we're... friends. Since childhood. I can ask her for you if you want me to." he went on, trying hard to sound casual.

„That would be great. I know she's still mad at me. Let me see, I have an appointment at St Mungo's the day after tomorrow. Final medical examination – my shoulder, you know. I'll be there around six. Well I think I'll be ready around seven. Tell her I'll meet her at the small Italian restaurant at Hogsmeade! The one we've always been to in the past. Alright?" Draco said hastily, his mind racing, trying hard to find a way to convince Sindy to agree at last.

Blaise nodded and left soon after.

I still hadn't managed to brace myself up to visit Draco and talk to him.

Once I had apparated to his place but it was deserted, my courage suddenly falling I left for my place again.

Finally I had decided to owl him tomorrow morning that I wanted to talk to him.

I was sitting on an uncomfortable chair, waiting for Ginny. I sat outside her room, waiting for her to finish her last examination for today.

She had invited me to have dinner with her tonight. Harry would join us. She had asked me to pick her up at St Mungo's around seven.

Bored, I looked around.

All of a sudden the cover of the latest issue of Witch Weekly, lying on a nearby table, grabbed my attention.

It showed a monochrome shot of Draco.

He wore a black suit and a white shirt with a matching silken tie.

Merlin's beard, I had almost forgot how handsome he was.

His look made my heart jolt.

This was my fiancé! No, this had been my fiancé!

I touched his face with my fingertips, my hand was trembling.

I stared at him.

He gave me one of his distinctive flawless smiles and winked at me.

I closed my eyes for a moment and thought,

'I'd do anything to make all the things that have happened undone! I need you! Where are you?'

Then I looked at the magazine again, the header said:

DRACO MALFOY

A stimulating interview with the womaniser himself

I grabbed the magazine, leafed it through quickly, finally found the interview and some more pictures of him and began to read,

„He's a womaniser, known for his irresistible charm. When he plays the stands are crowded with young excitedly screaming witches. And all they want is to see him play and catch at least a glimpse of him after the match.

But he's also very well known for his capriciousness.

I intend to ask the right question at the right time as people say the most sought-after Seeker dislikes interviews violently. It is said, that he even leaves the room after only a few minutes when he's displeased with the situation in any way.

I meet him around noon at his private box at the London Quidditch stadium between two training sessions, the match against Romania is impending.

He enters the box, perfectly dressed in black, somewhat grumpy but at the same time inapproachable. He makes himself comfortable in a plushy armchair and looks at me, he just eyes me for minutes, while he feels the carved armrest of his chair with his slender fingers, his signet ring with the Malfoy family crest on it glistens in the bright sun light.

His legendary platinum gaze is even more stunning in reality. I'm unable to avert my face, I just have to look at him. He gives me one of his even more legendary Malfoy smirks and asks me to start by simply moving his hand smoothly and raising one of his brows a little. Then he takes a sip of his coffee, not averting his gaze.

It seems as if there's electricity in the air ever since he has entered the room.

WW: Mr Malfoy, you've been chosen Best Dressed Wizard and Sexiest Wizard Alive several times. Let's talk about looks. What does fashion mean to you?

Draco Malfoy: I like to dress fashionably. What I'm going to wear is up to my mood in the morning. You might see me dressed in a rather sporty style, the next day I prefer the more exclusive style.

WW: How much time does it take you to get dressed in the morning?

Draco Malfoy: It depends. Let's say about five to ten minutes.

WW: You're not interested in what people think about your style?

Draco Malfoy: No, not at all. Actually I don't care what people think about me in general. (smirks)

WW: How many perfumes do you use?

Draco Malfoy: I don't know. One or two. My fiancée provides me with it and I normally use it until it's empty and try out another one.

WW: Quite undetermined for a style icon! Do some of your team mates sometimes ask you for advice regarding their styling?

Draco Malfoy: I'd never presume to give someone advice what to wear.

WW: And who's the most ill-dressed one of your team mates?

Draco Malfoy: I'd never presume to announce this publicly, either! I rather prefer teasing the person concerned in the changing room. (grins)

WW: Mr Malfoy, you look a picture of health. Is your injured shoulder restored again or will it still affect your performance against Romania?

Draco Malfoy: I can assure you that I'm in great health and aching to play Romania.

WW: You've tested the new Nimbus 2009 and you're the face of its new advertising campaign. Men all over the world envy you for having had the chance to fly the new one. Did you enjoy it and what can we expect for the coming season?

Draco Malfoy: The new Nimbus 2009 is definitely even better than the Nimbus 2008 (editor's note: the one his team is flying momentarily). Flying it slightly gave me a thrill of speed. The designers have upgraded several features. I'm quite sure you can expect next season's Quidditch to be faster and even more breathtaking than it is right now.

WW: We all remember the heart-rending pictures of you trying to reanimate your dying team mate. Don't you ever take fright at something?

Draco Malfoy: No. Never.

WW: But you know the feeling of fright?

Draco Malfoy: I know it but I don't feel it. I never really have.

WW: Quidditch is a rather tough sport. Injuries are a daily occurrence. You broke your shoulder during a simple practice lesson recently. Are you afraid of getting severely injured sometimes?

Draco Malfoy: I wouldn't be good at my job if I were, would I?

WW: Mr Malfoy, how is your fiancée, Alessia De Russo, getting along with your recklessness?

Draco Malfoy: Alessia backs me up in everything I do. She's my tower of strength, my everything!

WW: Sounds like the one and only true love?

Draco Malfoy: I wouldn't want to marry her if this wasn't the case, would I?

WW: I'm afraid that confession will leave behind thousands and thousands of ladies out there heart-broken. You have the reputation to be a womaniser, to have broken lots and lots of hearts.

Draco Malfoy: I don't care about my reputation and even if I did: Times can change, I think the new situation has calmed me down! Sorry ladies! (shrugs) But of course this doesn't mean that I don't care about my female fans anymore.

WW: I think you're going to lose one title! You won't be on the list for Hottest Bachelor of the Year any longer. Does this upset you at least a bit?

Draco Malfoy: You know, actually I...

WW: Let me guess: You don't care?

Draco Malfoy nods.

WW: But I think it's all over town your chum Blaise Zabini might have quite a good chance to make it.

Draco Malfoy: You might have a point there. As far as I can assess this Blaise is a good catch. (laughs)

WW: You've just told us you never feel fear. You seem to be very brave considering that you're about to get married to an Italian woman. Italian women are very well known for their hot temper.

Draco Malfoy: I love hot tempered women, I always have. They are inspiring, they pose a challenge, something I definitely like. And Italian women - in particular - know how to cook, something I adore about a woman. To my coach's regret I've already gained some weight! (smirks) Further more I can assure you the Malfoy's family china is still save and sound. (winks)

WW: Henpecked husband-to-be soon?

Draco Malfoy only arches a brow at me.

WW: You prefer – wet or dry shave?

Draco Malfoy: Wet.

WW: V-neck or turtle?

Draco Malfoy: It depends. Definitely v-neck in summer.

WW: Aftershave or lotion?

Draco Malfoy: Aftershave.

WW: Gel or wax?

Draco Malfoy: Gel. But it has to be a soft one, I don't like it at all when my hair is sticky. Nor does my fiancée.

WW: Some people say you're as vain as a peacock. On a scale of one to ten – how vain are you?

Draco Malfoy: I'd say a seven, maybe an eight. But someone out there might disagree, I don't know. I'm definitely not the one that admires himself in the mirror the whole day. You can take it from me, I've got better things to do! (smirks)

Arabella Greenwood for Witch Weekly, 08/2008"

My heart was racing when I had finished reading.

I looked at the pictures of him again.

'I wouldn't want to marry her if this wasn't the case...'

My insides clenched.

I wanted to contact him as soon as possible. I wanted to straighten this out for good.

Ginny's voice jerked me out of my thoughts.

„...send your coach a report about the results of this examination."

I looked up and Ginny exited her room, a man followed her – I froze. The magazine fell out of my hand and to the floor.

„Draco!" I gasped.

„Alessia!" he replied looking slightly flabbergasted for a moment.

Then he looked at the magazine on the floor and smirked for a split second.

„Well, uhm, I think I forgot something on the table. If you excuse me please!" Ginny said, cleared her throat and returned to her room.

I didn't listen to her.

All I could do was stare at him, I locked on to his gaze.

My heart was beating very fast and I knew that I had blushed badly.

After a moment of silence he raised his hand and touched my cheek. His fingers trembled slightly.

„I'm so glad to see you again." he whispered, his light grey eyes set on me.

I was breathing hard now.

I wanted to kiss him so badly.

I drew nearer and smelled his perfume. I closed my eyes.

There was this tingling sensation on the inside again.

His hands on my back sent shivers down my spine.

Our lips almost touched, I felt his hot breath on my face, every fibre of my body aching for him to kiss me now.

Then I heard Ginny's voice from out of nowhere again.

„Hem, hem!" she cleared her throat artificially.

Draco withdrew immediately and ran his hands through his hair.

His cheeks were reddened and he took a deep breath.

„I'm afraid, we're already late, Ally. Let's go!" she went on, giving me a stern look.

I wondered what she was up to and was feeling rather sulky that she had barged in when we were about to... let's say...reconcile.

„Alright Ginny, just one moment please!" I hissed and looked at Draco again.

He returned my look, stony-faced.

Then he turned to Ginny.

„Well then, Ms Weasley, thank you. I await your report." I heard the slight note of contempt in his voice.

Ginny gave him an artificial smile, he returned it reluctantly.

„Alessia, I'm afraid I'm rather busy until the match but I would be very pleased to have you as a guest at my box then. I'm sure we can talk about everything after the match. See you in two days then?" Draco said to me, giving me an insistent look.

I was appalled at his aloofness but nodded and said coldly,

„It would be a great pleasure for me. See you on Monday, Draco!"

He kissed me on the cheek and squeezed my shoulder, then he turned around and left.

I stood there, rooted to the ground, unable to speak.

„Come on, Ally. Let's go now, Harry's waiting for us!" Ginny said and grabbed my hand to apparate us to Hogsmeade.

When Draco left St Mungo's to apparate to Hogsmeade to meet Sindy, he frowned.

Those Weasleys were a real pain in the arse!

Every single one of them.

Not to mention that they were blood traitors!

Why did this Weasley girl have to show up the moment he had been about to kiss Ally finally?

He planned to let Weasley suffer for that the next time he would play against him again.

'Cling together, swing together!' he thought and smirked before he disapparated to Hogsmeade with a loud crack.