Disclaimer: You know the drill we don't own like anything!!!! Except for ourselves and the plot!!

Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed!!

Ali Lee~ Thank you so much! Please keep reading! Sorry it's taken so long!

Sapphire Moonlyte~ Like the way you spell moonlyte. It's cool! Not the point though! You'll be seeing who Alex ends up soon enough! Not this chapter though! Sorry!!

Thanks for reviewing you guys!





The ballroom looked massive and magnificent. The ceiling sparkled from the candles in the many chandeliers that dotted the ceiling. There was an ornately carved platform in the front of all the tables for the auction that would take place after dinner. Kristin clung to Oliver's arm as he dragged her around mercilessly mingling with the many socialites around the room.

-----

Percy stood nervously with Alex just inside the door, completely void of anything to say to her. He just played nervously with his fingers and his tie and his hair and anything he could get a hold of. Alex just smiled at him reassuringly, hoping to get a reaction from the antsy young man who stood in front of her. He really did clean up quite nicely. Percy looked so handsome, if only he could walk for ten feet at a time without tripping; it was really quite cute actually.

-----

Kristin stood silently next to her boyfriend, waiting for him to acknowledge her as more than a handbag on his elbow, when she met a pair of eyes across the room. They were icy and piercing and Kristin's normally secure demeanor weakened in their gaze. She knew that stare intimately from the years at Hogwarts and still felt her heart flutter and her face flush even under its chilly glare.

-----

Alex couldn't handle the silence anymore. She politely excused herself from Percy's kind, silent stare to go have a word with Kristin. Tugging her away from Oliver, Alex took Kristin to get a drink. They made their way to the bar and ordered a pair of virgin strawberry daiquiris.

"Why don't you just order the alcohol?" Alex asked her. "You're old enough to. I have to wait a year. I'm so jealous."

"It's not as good as you think," Kristin said from far away, in a place Alex could only imagine but knew that Kristin went to often. She pulled herself back into the ballroom and her conversation with Alex. "So how's Percy?"

"Quiet. I couldn't stand it for too much longer. I mean he's sweet and all but he's always so nervous."

"That's because he likes you."

"Umm... Ok... whatever." Alex was interrupted by someone calling her name. She turned to see her old friend from when she was in school, leaving Kristin standing there by herself. But not for long.

"It's been a long time, Campbell," a low familiar voice whispered from behind her, containing the same frostiness as the eyes. She could feel the warmth of breath on her neck and a hand placed softly on her hip.

She didn't- couldn't- reply. Her heart raced and her breath shallowed at the sound and the warmth and touch and the presence from behind her.

"Oliver, eh? I had always hoped for more from you. Well, I guess it's better than that one Potter guy you were with for a while." He pressed himself closer to her and her stomach fluttered with her heart.

"That was a nice touch," she recovered, her voice as frail as her breathing yet smooth and melodious, "you know, 'forgetting' his name like that." She placed her hand on top of his on her waist, amazed at how soft his pale skin felt underneath her long thin fingers.

"What would your boyfriend say if he looked over right now?" He asked, subtlely sneering.

"He won't." Kristin forced herself to look up him. It didn't help the way she was feeling. She took a deeper breath and a long blink, breaking off the eye contact he had the habit of locking her in. He took drink from her hand and set it on the table.

"Ok, then dance with me." He urged.

"Draco, don't do this," she pleaded, softly without too much conviction, "at least wait until after dinner when there are more people actually dancing, rather than standing around talking to everyone but me."

"I'm talking to you. We can't the same for Oliver, however, can we?"

"Let's leave him out of this."

The old grandfather clock in the hall chimed 7 o'clock loudly and everyone made their way to their tables for dinner.

Draco pulled her even closer and whispered directly into her.

"Just save me a dance, alright, Camp- uh- Kristin."

Kristin closed her eyes, took a deep breath and nodded slightly. Draco Malfoy released her from his grip, only after brushing his lips slightly against her neck. She walked away, pretending she didn't just feel that, trying to return to normal for Oliver, Alex, and Percy so they wouldn't have any suspicion of what had just happened.

---

"Hey, Kristin, where did you go?" Oliver asked. He sat there next to Percy and an empty chair, waiting for her to return now that his other friends from the Quidditch world had gone to their separate tables.

"Just to get a drink," she replied soft and meekly. She pulled out her chair and sat down next to him, her heart still pounding rapidly, catching her breath.

"Did you bring me one?"

"No, sorry dear."

"No matter. I'll be right back." He kissed Kristin lightly on the lips and walked over to the bar. Kristin could feel Draco's eyes in her mind, delving into her mind with his probing gaze. She struggled to regain the composure she prided herself on; nothing gets to Kristin. Oliver ignoring her never hurt her; Draco touching her never took her breath away; that's not how it worked.

"Is Kristin alright?" Percy leaned over to Alex. He had finally found something to say above the silence that had occurred between him and his "date" all night. If he had his way- and his good credit card- Alex would be having dinner with him a few nights.

"Yeah, I think, she gets this way sometimes, just off on her own, like there's no on else around. Like there's something profound happening in her head that's much more interesting than what's really happening. It's her place to avoid Oliver ignoring her for all of England, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess, he does that, doesn't he? It's surprising since he always talks about how much he loves her, and how gorgeous she is, and everything else that is wonderful about her."

"Too bad he doesn't tell her," Alex retorted in contempt.

"It is, isn't it. Anyway, uh- are you nervous, you know, about the auction and all?" The heartbeat quickened again.

"A little. I mean, no one know ones who's going to bid the highest and who I'm going to have to go out with. I'm terrified, really."

"I'm sure someone will bid on you. You'll probably raise a lot of money, too. I mean, you're so pretty and nice and all." He played with the cuffs on his coat.

Alex smiled big and appreciatively. "Thank you, Percy. That's very sweet of you."

"You're welcome. Besides, it's the truth." Percy blushed horribly until his face was a red as a Kristin's dress who continued to dwell in her own world, oblivious to Percy's struggle not to stammer through adoring the beautiful girl who was still smiling at him.





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