When Eleanor finally pulled away from Draco's lips she didn't know what to say. She could only stare at him. It felt like a release of all of their cultivated tensions over the summer. It was as though something clicked and they both felt a similar sense of "oh, we should have done this awhile ago…"

The pair looked at each other for a few moments, expressionless and silent. Eleanor was finally the one to break the silence by starting to giggle and leaning her forehead on Draco's chest. Draco was confused at first. He couldn't figure out why she was laughing, was he not a good kisser? How was she supposed to know, he was her first kiss. Wasn't he? Draco's brows furrowed, suddenly very jealous that Eleanor might have kissed someone else. He was happy for a few moments that he had gotten exactly what he wanted - and arguably what he needed - but thinking that someone else might have kissed her sent fiery tremors through him.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked, careful not to sound angry.

"We've been wasting a lot of time not doing that, haven't we?" Eleanor chuckled lightly. Draco's shoulders relaxed at her words. She liked it. She liked him.

"I suppose we have been."

Eleanor was still considerably anxious about the coming school year. It was a good kiss, but not good enough to give Draco reason to leave behind his old, easy habits. It could even be argued that she was more anxious now because she had a bit more to lose.

The pair fell quiet. An awkward aura hung about them. Draco growing more jealous by the moment at the thought of other boys kissing her, and Eleanor growing more worried that she had just made things more complicated. Eleanor peeled her hands from Draco's. She took a long sip of her drink. She was starting to feel the alcohol crawling along inside her body. She was beginning to feel a bit warm and her mind started going fuzzy around the edges.

"Shall we join the rest of the party?" Eleanor asked, not looking at Draco, her nerves building. She was afraid she might cry at the thought of experiencing this moment with him, knowing full well that during the school year, he would be only a memory to her. Draco was hurt by her question. He realized she didn't want to spend time with him. His first reaction was to get angry, but he struggled to keep his temper under control as he offered a stiff nod and led her out of the kitchen and to the pool.

"Eleanor!" A girl's voice yelled from the pool. Both Eleanor and Draco looked over to see Jenny Smith, a 6th year Ravenclaw that Eleanor had befriended from a study group. Jenny was obviously very intoxicated. Her bikini top was very lopsided and dangerously close to be showing something that would have otherwise been blurred out. She was giggling madly with a group of Ravenclaw and Slytherin girls, most of whom Eleanor recognized, but had never spoken with. "Eleanor, come join us!" She invited.

Eleanor looked unsurely at Draco for a moment. He didn't want her to go, he had brought her here, but Blaise called Draco in a different direction, so the two parted with equal feelings of uncertainty involving the other. Draco watched Eleanor out of the corner of his eye as she peeled off her alcohol stained shirt and slipped off her shorts. She stepped in the pool and made her way over to the group of squawking girls.

"Everything alright with El, mate?" Blaise asked quietly.

"Yeah, everything is great." Draco said shortly. "I would really appreciate it if you didn't call her that though. It's starting to get on my nerves."

"Sorry. It's just you call her that, I thought she preferred it." Blaise quickly apologized.

"She does." Draco snapped. "From me."

Blaise nodded once. "Won't happen again." He assured. He was confused by his friend to say the least. Blaise had never seen Draco outwardly care about anyone. Draco had his own way of expressing friendship, which often involved intimidation of people who crossed his friends, less cutting insults, access to his knowledge, booze and connections when any were needed. Eleanor was the only person whom Draco expressed any emotions over, though that emotion was almost always anger at someone who spoke ill of her and not so much a fondness of her as a person, but it was still an emotion not often seen. Blaise wasn't stupid, he knew Draco had feelings for Eleanor and he wasn't sure if Draco wanted to talk about it. He was sure he would want to, no one faired well with bottled up emotions, but Draco was not one to express feelings.

Blaise was always suspicious of the way Draco protected Eleanor, and how he would leave her out of tirades about Potter and his friends. However, his interest was truly piqued at the Cordarri's memorial service. All of Draco's friends were there, every important wizarding family was in attendance. While it wasn't the setting to catch up with friends, the way Draco clung to Eleanor and didn't even talk to any of his housemates was very out of character for him. Blaise would see small gestures, a small pat on the back, a rub of the back of her hand with his finger. Small, subtle, gentle. All very un-Draco. Blaise tried not to be nosy, but he liked knowing things about others, especially his friends, but he also knew where Draco's boundaries were, and Blaise had a feeling he had been slowly crossing them that day and decided to put the whole conversation to bed. "Do you need another drink?" Blaise prodded, raising a brow at Draco's fixation on the pool. Draco nodded tersely, and took a cold mixed drink from his friend.

Eleanor seemed unbothered to everyone else. In reality, her mind was swimming and over analyzing.

"How've you been, Eleanor?" Jenny asked as Eleanor approached.

"As expected." Eleanor nodded, she noticed the mood shift quickly amidst the once partying girls and felt guilty for her grief. "But I'm doing a lot better lately." She nodded encouragingly, plastering a smile on her face.

"I think we would all benefit from a shot, don't you all agree?" Jenny quickly asked. The group of girls nodded and made their way out of the pool. Eleanor followed suit, determined to have a good time, and also to get very drunk.

The group was made up of seven girls. Jenny, Millicent Bulstrode, Marietta Edgecomb, Astoria and Daphne Greengrass, Pansy Parkinson, and Eleanor. As they were walking towards the outdoor bar, Eleanor fell in step with Marietta.

"Funny seeing you here." Eleanor joked with a half smile.

"I could say the same." Marietta commented. She was small and made Eleanor feel like a giant beside her. She suddenly got very aware of the way she looked in a bathing suit and was wondering why she cared so much as she looked around to all of the other girls who were trim and small. Eleanor wanted to cover her not so flat stomach and hide her thicker thighs. Would Draco still want her when he saw her in comparison to all of the girls who wouldn't cause him so many problems? She wasn't outstandingly pretty, or small. She was a Gryffindor who was emotionally unavailable, and as she just found out, she wasn't even a Pureblood. All of these things Eleanor thought she was okay with until she fucked up and let Draco kiss her. "Blaise invited me. We've got a bit of a thing these days, but we are keeping it very quiet. Like extremely. I would bet Draco doesn't even know. It's just you and Cho now." Marietta began giggling.

"Have you spoken to Cho a lot lately? How is she?" Eleanor inquired quietly as they reached the bar. Pansy began pouring the shots, and generously too.

"She loved Cedric, so it's been hard for her, but I think she is ready for school to start again. Feeling the itch to get out of her sadness cave, you know?"

"I do know." Eleanor nodded once.

"Oh yeah! Duh. You would know better than anyone." Marietta laughed a bit. Eleanor wasn't sure if she liked that comment, so she took her shot before Daphne Greengrass was able to count to three.

The night continued on like this. Eleanor didn't see Draco again for a while. Eleanor was adopted into this group of girls, and while they weren't really Eleanor's cup of tea, it was fun to get drunk with them. They sang loudly in the pool together and splashed around and joked for a good portion of the night. Eleanor got more comfortable and took more shots, and would grab bottles of her favorite fruity drink throughout. The night cooled down quickly, and the girls had to eventually get out of the pool. All thoroughly intoxicated. Many people had left by the time the girls were curled up on pool chairs in their towels. The seven of them were the only ones to remain. Blaise, Draco, Marcus Flint, Daniel Harper and Gregory Goyle were all inside trying to figure out a Muggle game that involved cups, drinks and a small ball. They had been out pestering the girls a while before, wanting them to play, however none of them seemed interested.

Eleanor had a large towel and was wrapped up in it completely, sitting beside the outdoor fireplace. Her world was spinning and everything was making her laugh, she also had the vague feeling that she might vomit, but forced herself to ignore that bit.

"Daphne, you can't be serious, that's disgusting." Jenny laughed loudly at the revelation that 15 year old Daphne had started sleeping with a 19 year old intern in her father's department at the ministry.

"It's not disgusting." Daphne defended. "He really likes me, and I really like him. It's real." All of the girls collectively rolled their eyes.

"It's not real, you're just easy; both to seduce and manipulate." Pansy said bluntly. Eleanor had discovered that her friendship with Hermione was nothing like the one that Pansy and Daphne shared, but they seemed happy just the same. Daphne gasped at her friend but laughed a little.

"Okay, maybe he is manipulating me, but no more than Crabbe is manipulating you and I can guarantee that I am enjoying getting manipulated far more than you are." Daphne argued. All of the girls laughed and Pansy turned a bit red.

"You are probably right on that front, Crabbe is no good." Pansy laughed loudly.

"I don't understand why you are still with him then." Millicent added in sourly. From what Eleanor could observe from that night, she had figured that Millie and Pansy used to be best friends, but when both Pansy and Daphne got paired with each other in Potions at the beginning of fourth year (mostly because Snape was annoyed with Millicent and Pansy's constant giggling), Millicent got shoved out of the friendship, but was trying desperately to claw back into it. And also, Millicent was in love with Crabbe, who Pansy was currently sleeping with. It all made Eleanor's head spin, but she got a good laugh from it.

"Better than not getting any, I suppose." Pansy laughed loudly again.

Jenny was rolling her eyes at the madness. She had been dating a Slytherin boy who was two years older than her since 4th year. He just graduated and was working on becoming a doctor at St. Mungo's. Jenny constantly mentioned how she couldn't wait to get out of Hogwarts so they could start their lives together. Eleanor wasn't sure how long they would last now that he was working. He didn't come tonight, after all.

Astoria stayed rather quiet during the whole thing, looking a bit uncomfortable at everyone talking about sex and boys. She hadn't drank hardly at all that night. She was younger than the rest of the girls, and Eleanor was fairly certain her sister had just dragged her along to avoid getting snitched on. Marietta looked as though she was bursting at the edges to tell everyone about her and Blaise, but something always told her to think better of it, because she never brought him up.

"Well, Eleanor, what do you have to contribute?" Pansy turned an expectant, almost accusatory eye on Eleanor.

"Yeah, you've been shacking up at the Manor all summer, what stories do you have to tickle our Draco Malfoy fantasies?" Daphne added in.

Eleanor just giggled in response, the high amount of alcohol making it hard to form a response in her head. "There's nothing to tell." Eleanor shrugged with a smile. She was trying to sound convincing. Convincing? She didn't need to lie. There really was nothing to tell.

"Hmmm I don't believe it." Jenny laughed. "If anyone in the world lived with Malfoy for a whole summer, something would have happened."

"I wouldn't have been in that house more than 24 hours before jumping him." Pansy put in honestly. All of the girls nodded in agreement. Even Jenny, who was supposedly in love with her doctor boyfriend.

"What can I say? I've got some self control." Eleanor shrugged. "A quality you all might need to invest in."

The crowd all laughed and went back to talking about their sexual escapades. Eleanor was glad to get the spotlight off of herself. She was beginning to feel sleepy. The alcohol, and the yelling, and the singing, and the swimming, and the games from that night were really catching up to her. Her thoughts weren't very coherent anymore. It was a struggle to string those sentences together for the joy of her newfound friends. She also was having a hard time processing her feelings about everyone apparently being so enamored by Draco.

If all of those beautiful girls loved him so much, there was no reason that Draco would stay with her. Her heart fell at the realization, and she didn't like that it did. She would want Draco happy no matter what, right?

Right as she began to drive herself crazy, Draco came out onto the back patio with Eleanor's clothes in hand. He went up to where she was sitting.

"Ready to go?" He asked quietly. Eleanor shook her head.

"I made friends, Draco. We are having such a good time." Eleanor insisted, but her eyes were half closed and her words were slurred together. Draco chuckled at her a bit.

"Blaise is going to have another party soon, and you are more than invited." He assured, as he helped lift her to her feet.

"Are you even drunk?" Eleanor accused as Draco seemed to move with ease and grace as he often did.

"I stopped drinking quite a while ago, so no." Draco laughed, helping her walk towards the door and into the Zabini mansion. "Thank you for hanging out with her tonight ladies, hope to see you next time." Draco said to the girls remaining, who all seemed to swoon at him.

"They're all in love with you, you know." Eleanor pointed out sourly as they walked through the house. She heard Marcus Flint, Blaise and Daniel Harper all talking Quidditch somewhere in the home.

"Does that bother you?" Draco asked, feeling his previous angst and jealousy melting away at her drunken anger.

"Bye Blaise! Thank you for everything! I'll see you again soon!" Eleanor called very loudly throughout the house, her voice echoing. Somewhere, the boys chuckled.

"See you Eleanor, have a good night." Blaise returned.

"Such a nice guy." Eleanor muttered to Draco as they stepped into the fireplace. Draco didn't want to push her any further to say anything. First and foremost, she needed sleep. Draco thought it was safest to go back to the Cordarri Castle rather than his home for the night. Eleanor was quiet and sleepy now. Draco regretted not seeing her at the height of her drunken night. He knew she was the loudest and funniest at the peak of the night, but he caught her on her fall back down. He always seemed to miss the best parts with her. He was determined to not do that anymore.

Eleanor lazily got ready for bed in her room. Draco looked away when she began undressing. She didn't seem to have a care and he didn't want to embarrass her. She ended up with a pair of Draco's old shorts that had been left at her house and an oversized shirt that was both inside out and backwards. She threw her unruly hair into a bun and wiped her makeup off. She was sure to brush her teeth and drink two glasses of water, before laying out some water and medicine for in the morning. Draco was impressed at how thorough her routine still was despite acting like a zombie.

"Will you stay?" She asked. Draco didn't hesitate to lay next to her. She was less drunk after going to the bathroom and drinking some water, but still extremely tired.

The lights were off and the pair laid there for a long while. Draco was sure Eleanor was asleep, but she spoke up quietly.

"Draco, I didn't like it when all of those girls were talking about how much they wanted to be with you." Eleanor confided. Draco smiled to himself as he held her close. Her head was on his chest and her arms were wrapped around his torso. They felt cohesive, like it just made sense for them to be like this.

"Oh yeah?" Draco questioned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving her a small squeeze. He was just relieved to hear some kind of positive emotion.

"I don't know. They are all so pretty, and skinny, and they are all the perfect Slytherin, Pureblood girls. They make the most sense for you. I'm none of those things, Draco." Eleanor sighed. That comment threw Draco off. Not pretty? She thought she wasn't pretty?

"What do you mean?" Draco asked. "Eleanor, you might not be a Slytherin, but-" He was going to go on about how pretty and perfect he thought she was but she cut him off.

"I know that everything they are is everything I am not. You have every reason to want to with them and not me." Eleanor began shaking her head, then groaned a bit from the dizziness that overtook her from doing that. She cursed under her breath. "I'm selfish, but I don't want to see you with anyone else."

Draco was at a loss. He could have gone on forever about how wrong she was, but he knew drunk Eleanor wouldn't respond to a long profession.

"Don't worry, you won't see me with anyone else." Draco assured.