~*Every Other Time*~
Chapter Eleven: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Dove: This chapter is super-long, due to the fact that I feel bad for putting this story on the back burner while working on my NaNoWriMo (which I finished, incidentally). Also, because it has so much fanservice of so many different types that it needed extra pages. Oh, and finally because you will love it and worship us and want to hug Draco. Yes, yes indeed. Oh, and the ridiculous chapter/song title will come clear.
Thalia: Jingly hat Trevor makes an appearance in this chapter, as does Ginny giving a lap dance, and Kevin serenading everyone. You will enjoy, and your Christmas will be happy after reading this. If I say any more, I will spoil it. Just read on. Go. Now.
Disclaimer: We own the insanity that the characters evince, but that's about it.
"Grandma got run over by a reindeer
Walking home from our house Christmas Eve.
You can say there's no such thing as Santa,
But as for me and Grandpa, we believe.
She'd been drinkin' too much eggnog,
And we'd begged her not to go.
But she'd left her medication,
So she stumbled out the door into the snow…"
Getting the names of the people who were invited was a trivial task. A brief word promising much amusement to all persons present with Draco Malfoy as the source of entertainment, and Pansy willingly handed him the list. Warrington noticed the inclusion of Ginny Weasley as the only Gryffindor invited with the exception of Neville Longbottom (who might have been invited to fill the position of caterer), and gave a slight, diabolical smirk. Now this... should prove interesting.
There were, however, a few things that needed to be done.
After sending his owl, which had just returned from delivering a letter and presents home to his family, out with an order for a large quantity of the finest champagne from The Three Broomsticks, he paid his Head of House a brief visit, with a request on his lips to work on an extra-credit Potion over the holiday. After getting the required Jobberknoll feathers, white sage leave, Chervil roots and the like, he spent an afternoon in his Head Boy quarters, blithely ignoring Angelina Johnson's dubious looks as he brewed a cauldronful of potent (but legal) truth potion.
As soon as the cork was placed into the opening of an innocuous-looking bottle of green glass (with an Unbreakable Charm) and placed upon a shelf, Warrington walked from his sanctuary in search of one rather sinister-minded Ravenclaw. It would be best, he reflected, if she did finish the little project of "making Malfoy and Weasley miserable until they realized how mutually infatuated they were" that she'd started with him.
Not to mention, she had been avoiding him for several days. It was a disconcerting thought, the idea of her losing her courage... or interest. In all the plotting, of course.
He found Li walking down the Charms corridor, a few wrapped packages in her arms, and cleared his throat. "A word, before you send out the explosives towards your enemies?"
"How... Weasley-twin-ish," she shot back, gazing up at him with wide but unreadable eyes, "And what might you want?" Perhaps, had he been less... completely mystifying and utterly incorrigible and... in short, not so much of a snarky Slytherin bastard, she'd be able to come up with a better retort. But then, if he'd been... not all that, things would be quite different in so many different ways. And various episodes, including one involving a janitor's closet, would never have occurred.
He watched calmly as her eyes became almost apprehensive, but continued in a light voice. "You do realize that the year is nearly over. But a certain blond twit and a certain stubborn little girl have yet to resolve their... ah... issues."
"Yes, well..." So perhaps Ginny's little tactic of shifting the focus away from Malfoy and herself towards Warrington... and so on and so forth... had been slightly more effective than she'd thought, not that she would admit it.
"Well, Li... if this little problem isn't solved, just think of the terrible things it would do to our records as manipulative, conniving evildoers," he stated. "Until we do work that thing out, aren't we... er... still in a truce period? The definition of which, if I recall correctly, doesn't involve you avoiding me like an army of rabid Quintaped?"
"I don't believe we ever defined it, but I suppose you have a point." Despite her better judgment, she somehow shifted the parcels to reach out a hand. "I suppose we should see this through. And, just for further record, don't judge yourself so highly that you think I need to bother avoiding you for... reasons that don't need to be discussed here. I'm no coward."
"That's good to hear," he replied, quirking an eyebrow and taking her hand in his. "If I find that I have been overestimating you, I would be very, very displeased that my non-benevolent nature has made such a grievous error in judgment."
***
Mid-afternoon on Christmas Eve, Su walked into the empty library with a sweet, demure expression on her face, and approached Madam Pince. "I have a note from Professor Flitwick," she explained. "I'm to do some special research for him, and I'll need to have Olde and Obscure Magicks from the Restricted section." She smiled sweetly. "I thought I'd get a head start."
Madam Pince actually smiled faintly. She tended to favor Ravenclaws, and Su was something of a pet. "Of course," she said, casting a cursory glance at the note and waving Su to follow her. "Right this way."
Ten minutes later, Madam Pince was sleeping like the dead in her office behind the Restricted section and Su was leaving the library with a triumphant smile, very proud of her ability at brewing such a very strong sleeping draught, particularly considering the fact that Potions was not her best subject.
Terry and Kevin were sitting on the couch facing the fireplace when she entered, her eyes still gleaming and her smile still stating that the cat had dined on the proverbial canary. Terry made a face and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, she spoke up. "Before you ask, no, I was not with Cassius Warrington just now, doing things illegal or otherwise. I have, in fact, not seen him since a few days ago. I am further pleased to inform you that I am not carrying his bastard child, nor am I planning to elope with him." She grinned. "Oh, and I promise not to wear a dress that with a disgracefully low neckline tonight, and to refrain from mincing, fluttering my lashes, and otherwise acting like a lovesick Hufflepuff." Terry's mouth snapped shut. "If that will be all, Mother, I'll just head upstairs and change now." With a gurgle of laughter, she ran up the stairs.
Terry grimaced. "I didn't ask her any of that," he said sullenly.
"Face it, mate; the girl knows you better than you do," Kevin said with a chuckle. "Besides, I don't see what your problem with the bloke is. I figure if anyone can handle him, it's her."
"I just… I don't like it," Terry said shortly. "It makes my spine crawl."
"Two forces of great evil uniting tend to do that to everyone."
"You're not helping,"
"Yes, indeed, I am aware."
***
Fortunately for everyone involved, the teachers had a rather lenient view on curfew on Christmas Eve; namely, they had their own parties to attend, and as long as nothing exploded, would probably not be about the school at all. Accordingly, when the Ravenclaw contingent departed from their common room at half past nine, they did so noisily. All of them were dressed festively, most in dress robes, except Kevin, who had decked himself out in Muggle trousers and an enormous sweater with a picture of a reindeer, which he had charmed into having a nose that lit up periodically, besides. Lisa had laughed and added to this ensemble by stuffing a large jester's hat on his head, complete with bells jingling as he walked.
When they got to the library, they met with Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, who seemed to be following a rather sullen Ginny Weasley. The doors swung open, and they beheld Neville perched precariously on a chair, hanging streamers under Pansy's direction. The girl turned her head, nodded an acknowledgement to Su, having clearly noted the lack of a librarian, and then turned to the Gryffindors. "Oh, look, Longbottom," she purred. "Your ickle friends have decided to crash the party!"
Neville wobbled on his chair and then looked down. "Harry! Ron! Hermione! Er…"
"Just try to get us to leave," Ron said defensively. "You're bordering on treason already."
Pansy only smiled. "Now, boys, no bloodshed, please. Since you're here anyway, we might as well let you stay. I'm not at all sure Saint Potter wouldn't report us otherwise." She uncovered a dish of harmless-looking cookies on a table already full of food. The centerpiece seemed to be Trevor the toad in a jingly Santa hat. "To the left, Longbottom," she said critically. "That garland is crooked."
"That's not fair!" Harry said defensively.
"Oh, whatever," Pansy said, waving her hand absently. "Go have some food, or otherwise find a way to shut off all that sputtering." She grinned at them. "It's not poisoned."
Calista, who was already over at the table, shot a very amused look from behind her glasses. "I'd take advantage of the unseasonable Slytherin hospitality," she said. "They're good cookies."
Even as the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors met each other at the library, the Slytherins were, as a collective group, making their way down the corridor towards the library as well, all in dress robes. Though none of them looked nearly as festive as Kevin Entwhistle, Draco's rather exaggerated pout somewhat made up for the lack of decorations hanging on his person.
"If you don't watch out, your face might stay that way forever, you know," Emma told him in a kindly voice, "and then the girl you want will think you're an ill-tempered grouch (which you are, although you should be convincing her otherwise), while others like Millicent Bulstrode might take it as a pucker up and attack you."
This helpful piece of information did not do much to make Draco put on a pleasant expression, though now he was glaring rather than pouting. "Now, now, Malfoy..." said Warrington, who was at the lead of the Slytherin contingent and carrying drinks in a bag tucked under one arm. "Pansy might take it into her head to throw you out. Do attempt to smile or something. They wouldn't know what to think."
Malfoy might have been about to reply, when footsteps coming from the opposite direction reached their ears, and the group as a whole tensed slightly. But it wasn't Filch or one of the other staff members. Seamus Finnigan, balancing a pie in one hand, appeared around a corner, and looked up just in time to see a group of Slytherins bearing down upon him. Emma was smirking at him.
"What are you doing here?" Draco turned his unkind scowl towards the Gryffindor, the one who seemed friends with... with her. "A bit far from your common room, aren't you?"
"And you lot aren't?" Seamus scowled back, but Susannah cleared her throat.
"Not now, Malfoy. He has a pie." The blonde girl flicked an imaginary piece of lint off one sheer white sleeve, "Do you realize how hard it is to remove that from silk?"
"Besides," Emma stepped forward, giving Seamus a slight grin that bore no malevolence, "we can bring him with us. And his pie. You're willing to follow us, aren't you?" Guileless, sparkling blue eyes stared up through a veil of long, dark eyelashes at Seamus' face, even as she reached over and gave his sleeve a light tug.
"I... don't quite have a choice, do I?" Seamus asked rhetorically, not really resisting when Emma pulled him over to join their group, sidling rather closer to her and avoiding both the abominable types like Malfoy and the scary ones like Susannah.
"Smart boy," Emma chuckled. "Pansy will be glad to have you if you brought food, I'm sure."
They reached the library a few moments later, rather quietly, all things considered. Draco had resumed pouting (now that Emma seemed to have found something else to do aside from picking on him, the little wench).
"I wonder how many people showed up," Blaise mused idly when he pushed open the door and peered inside. "I know that a few Ravenclaws were invited."
Warrington, walking in and setting the drinks down upon the table, took one look at the outraged faces of certain Gryffindors (one certainly a fake look of outrage, with a blush), and turned back to his housemates (and Seamus). "Well then, certain people showed who might not have been invited. But the more, the merrier."
"You mean the more chaotic," Montague pointed out. "Lord but I'm glad I have my wand."
"Same thing, really," Warrington smirked. "Why hello, everyone. Hope I haven't missed out on anything too heinous."
On Draco's part, there was a great deal of discomfort. How dare she… beautiful terrible innocent little Gryffindor… wear those robes the color of old gold that made her eyes glow like two gold coins? How dare she smile at Potter, and run her elegant fingers through that long, curly, glorious mass of curls the color of fire? How dare she stand there, so damn perfect that he was ready to howl and-
"Try muttering a little softer, Malfoy," Su said, coming up behind him. "I can hear you. I daresay so can a few other people." She grinned and smoothed her hands down the front of her red silk Chinese dress. True to her word to Terry, it had a high Mandarin collar. It also had slits very nearly to her waist, but the way she figured it, she had not promised anything about that.
He scowled at her. She smiled winningly. "You might try getting plastered. They say it helps with problems of the heart. Though as your problem seems to be a little baser than that, a cold shower might suffice."
"Stuff it, Li," he suggested. But, as she had hoped, he ambled over to where Warrington was setting out the champagne. "Dom Perignon," he said with approval. "That'll do. Get me a glass."
"I could say something about good little gentlemen saying 'please'," Warrington said with amusement. Still, he picked up a marked bottle, poured a full glass of the sparkling liquid, and handed it to Draco. The boy scowled, muttered his thanks and withdrew to a corner to curse Pansy, Warrington, Li, and most of all Weaslette.
The drinks were drawing people like flies to honey. Su was the last in line. She regarded him, very blank-faced, and had the satisfaction of seeing him, for just a moment, look over her dress in surprise and… approval. He began to pour her a glass. "No, I don't think so, thank you," she said with slight amusement. "I can't guarantee my behaviour if I trust you with my drink. Thanks all the same."
He nodded, acknowledging the opinion. "I respect that you don't trust me."
She smiled more, and her eyes glittered, and for a moment he was reminded of the time she had pushed him down and kissed him, making him breathless and confused. He wasn't at all sure he liked this feeling. "Thank you," she said, nodding.
***
An hour later, the greater part of the party was very much inebriated, and Su decided to throw a curve ball. After all, at the moment, those gathered were mostly arrayed by house and behaving quite decently, except perhaps for the exception of Pansy Parkinson, who had flopped herself down in a blushing Neville's lap. After a moment of thought, she got up on a table to be taller. "I think some entertainment is in order, for the bettering of inter-house relations," she began in her smooth, soft voice. "There's a game, called truth or dare. Muggle children play it all the time… I believe it will suit our purposes perfectly." She smiled charmingly. "Who's game?"
"A Muggle game?" Draco said with disgust. "Please, Li."
"Well, I'll play, if he won't," Ron said.
Hermione clearly thought this wasn't the best idea, obviously somewhat familiar with the game, but nodded with a sigh, prodding Harry to do the same.
"I'll play," Ginny said shortly. She aimed an arch look at Draco.
Not two minutes later, everyone, Draco included, had agreed to play after all. Su, still up on her table, quickly went over the rules. "Now then, I will choose… oh, say, Warrington. Truth or dare?"
He looked up at her for a moment before his lips curved into a smirk. "Truth."
Her expression was nearly identical to his. "Warrington, tell me, did you spike the drinks? With something… extra, as they are already alcoholic, obviously."
He laughed. "Of course I did. Would you have expected otherwise?"
"Oh fuck me," Ron said very loudly, suddenly realizing what he had agreed to.
"No thanks, Weasley. Not my side of the Quidditch pitch. Ask Granger. She might be amenable." Hermione blushed to the roots of her hair and glared.
Su hopped off the table, giggling inwardly. Oh, yes. This would be… fun.
Even as Ron's indignant splutterings were starting to die down, Warrington cleared his throat for attention. "As it is my turn," he addressed the group, looking around for a suitable victim before his eyes landed on a giddy-looking Kevin Entwhistle, "Entwhistle."
"Yessir?" the boy had just finished his second glass of champagne, and his belled hat was jingling merrily with every wobble of his head.
"Truth or dare?"
"Dare!" Kevin clapped his hands like a child, and Lisa Turpin, sitting next to him, rolled her eyes slightly. Warrington grinned.
"All right then. Serenade us with the song of your choice, while dancing on that table... not the one that Li was occupying, the other one." Something relatively innocent, but fairly amusing. The heavy artillery would be brought out after the others became a bit more plastered.
Kevin unsteadily climbed onto the table in question, his empty goblet held up to his lips. Wiggling and flailing about like a demented merman in quicksand, the Ravenclaw started belting out, at a volume and pitch that would have made the oldest bagpipe of the Weird Sisters proud, an odd song about a grandmother being run over by a reindeer, the jingling of his jester's cap keeping time to his... music.
"... YOU C'N SAY 'ERES NO SUCH THING'S SANTA, BUT AS F'ME AN' GRANPA WE B'LIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!" Kevin wailed out the last line and fell off the table in a graceless heap at Lisa's feet, jester's cap tumbling off his head. The comical performance seemed to lighten up tensions a bit, as everyone present, even Kevin himself as Lisa pulled him up by the arm, laughed uproariously.
Su, still giggling slightly a few moments later, told him that it was his turn. Kevin eyed the room's occupants with a look of supreme, drunken happiness, and called out Pansy's name.
"Truth," the Slytherin girl called out, inspecting her nails as she sat daintily on Neville's lap.
"What're your intentions towards Longbottom?"
Pansy gave a catlike smile and rested her head against said petrified boy's shoulder. "Aside from deflowering him before classes start again after New Year's? I'll get back to you on that... still working on the details of the plans, y'know."
Several then laughed at Neville's beet-red face, and Pansy did not seem at all fazed by the outrageous declaration that she had just made. "Weasley, the girl... your turn," she called out, continuing to inspect her nails.
Ginny stiffened, then swallowed. She knew what they would ask, any of them, if she said 'truth'. "Dare."
Pansy's smirk was completely directed at a glowering Draco when she purred out, "A lap dance... for Warrington. Since he was so kind as to bring us the requisite spiked drinks."
Ginny stared at the older Slytherin girl in horror even as Warrington started to laugh and Ron and Draco both gave simultaneous roars of rage. "YOU CAN'T MAKE HER!" Ron bellowed out at Pansy, clenching his fist.
Pansy raised an eyebrow, giving Ron a piercing look. "And here I was commending myself on my mercy. Could have told her to do it to Malfoy. But then, I am of the belief that indecent and lewd acts are to be done without everyone watching, and if I had named Malfoy instead, he might not be able to control himself and started unwrapping his Christmas present in public."
More arguments and testosterone might have ensued had not Su, giggling still, held up her hand. "Well? I believe she was dared?"
Ginny threw a glare at all present before stalking over to the Head Boy, who smirked and obligingly set his glass down on the table. "I'm all yours, Weasley," the Head Boy drawled in between chuckles, "In a completely platonic manner, of course, so that my Seeker does not decide to revolt."
Her face turning the same shade as her hair, Ginny managed to sashay around a few times, scowling all the while and avoiding Draco's eyes, before she stopped and sat down on a highly-amused Warrington's knee. "Sorry," she proclaimed in a sulky, not-sorry-at-all voice, "I can't do sexy."
At which moment Draco Malfoy, who had drained his fourth glass, forcefully pulled the petite redhead from Warrington's lap and onto his own by her arms. Wrapping his arms around her waist and glowering at all present, he proclaimed, in a somewhat slurred but nevertheless very certain voice, "YES YOU CAN!"
Ron's flying tackle had been anticipated by Hermione, who was clutching onto the back of his collar with both hands and clinging for dear life, and apparently also by Susannah Caligo. The blonde girl had her wand out in a fluid motion. "Behave, or I'll Stun you," she informed the younger boy in a melodious, pleasant voice.
Ginny was redder than her hair. "Stop this right this instant, Mal-ferret!" she hissed. After a few moments of struggling she suddenly realized that not only did this look even worse, but that her bother, barely restrained by Hermione and very likely some force of nature, was ready to commit murder. "We've discussed this," she said in a lower voice, as though that would get people to stop watching them. "You hate me. Dammit, stop staring!"
No one complied as Draco answered in a tone bordering on desperation, "I do not hate you! I hate the fucking idea of not hating you! That's what I hate! Damn it, Warrington, I'm going to murder you, you evil bastard! There's truth potion in here!" He threw his emptied glass on the floor.
"Why… yes," Warrington said mildly. "Yes, I do believe there is."
Su kept her face straight with a supreme effort. "How distressing," she said.
"Damn you to hell!" was Draco's response.
"We'll get there, by and by," Su said calmly.
"This is not a good time to be discussing!" Ron exploded. "My baby sister is being molested!"
"Not yet," Pansy said reasonably. "Although that does bring up a very valid point of whether this little drama will reach completion here or elsewhere. Personally, I don't care to see it, though I would have a lovely quantity of blackmail on him, then. Of course, I'd also be blind, so…"
Ginny jumped up, redder yet, yanked on Malfoy's arm, and with a snippy, "Excuse us," dragged him bodily from the room amidst clapping from Kevin Entwhistle, who seemed to have quite recovered from his fall.
"Hey!" Lisa suddenly said. "She didn't dare anyone!"
"I… really don't think it matters, dear," Cho said with a bit of a smile.
***
She did not stop dragging him until they were well down the corridor. Then she yanked him into the first empty classroom that caught her eye, shut the door with her free hand, forced him down into a chair, and stood over him, eyes blazing, the perfect image of righteous fury. She was breathing hard from dragging his considerably greater weight all that way. "Now. What the hell are you on about? If I'm going to listen to you, Malfoy, you might as well try to be coherent." She gave him a death glare. "Drunk and drugged," she muttered. "Just bloody lovely. Cretin. Bastard. Pathetic excuse for a human being." She punctuated each of these appellations with a kick to the leg of the chair he was sitting on.
"No more lap dancing for Warrington," Draco glowered, managing to look murderous despite the drunken, glazed look in his eyes. "No lap dances for anyone else!"
Ginny threw her hands into the air, her eyes blazing. "What... What is this? Don't you dare try to—to order me around, Dr—Malfoy! You go around being an arse and making my life miserable and picking on all my friends, and now you're..."
"I'm sorry, all right?!"
This statement was met by several long seconds of dead silence, during which Ginny had the crazy thought, for a moment, that she was seeing something akin to a full solar eclipse, as far as frequency went. "You... you..."
"Sorry for making your life miserable," Draco muttered, "not for snogging you, not for picking on your twitty Gryffindork friends, certainly not for being an arse..."
Ginny narrowed her eyes and reached over, a surprisingly firm hand seizing grip of his chin and forcing him to look her in the eye. "Explain yourself. Why you do this. Why you did all this."
Draco came as close as Malfoyishly possible to squirming, but truth potion was truth potion. "At first started by hating your prat brother."
"So I'm just a means of brassing Ron off, then?" Ginny struggled to keep her voice from breaking, not knowing whether to flee the room and cry herself to sleep, give him a black eye, or perhaps both. "Well thanks, Malfoy, that just..."
"Would you ruddy Gryffindors ever listen!?" he snarled. "Do you think I like mooning over a Weasley of all people? Do you think I like the fact that I'm apparently obsessed over a redheaded wench with half a dozen oversized prat brothers and a propensity for jumping to conclusions, former Potter fanclub, of all people?! Damn it, woman, what did you do to me!?"
She goggled at him. "What did I do to you!?" she shouted. "Me!? I did nothing! You were the one who started following me and staring and cornering me by the Owlery and—and kissing me and—what did I do!?" She stomped away from his chair, then back. "Bloody rich, Malfoy! Welcome to the real world! We have feelings around here!" She wiped at her eyes angrily. "You must have missed that announcement," she continued viciously. "You can't just…" words seemed to fail her. She took a deep breath and started again. "I don't know why you've never been told, but it doesn't work that way with people. Here you sit, all righteous, thinking only about you, and not even stopping to think that I have feelings for you, and I don't want them either!" She wiped at her eyes and shook her head. "Just… just go and sleep off the alcohol," she said, looking at his flabbergasted face. "I can't take this anymore."
"But..." Malfoy looked half hopelessly confused, half amazed, and managed to choke out, "You... have feelings... for me? WHY!?"
"Because I do, damn it!" She glared at him, abruptly turning on her heel to leave...
Only to be almost bowled over by nearly six feet of very grabby blond male. "No, you're not going. You're staying here," he told her, arms tight around her struggling form. "Mine."
"Very funny, Malf—mmph!!" her words were abruptly cut off, but by his hand, clapping over her mouth. He was staring at her with a remarkable intensity.
"Just quiet and listen," his voice was low and raspy, "I don't know what the hell this is, and I'm not quite sure I like it, but you're mine now and I make it such and I want you. I'm not quite sure what the deuce you did to make me think about you a scandalous amount of times per day and desire to corner you in random places... but what's happened has happened and whatever spell you cast on me, wench, I'll forgive you on the condition that you'll be mine from now on."
Whatever demon must have possessed her to be listening to this... confession... in the first place, must have been responsible for her mutely nodding her head. And then she barely had time to see him smirk before he was kissing her, hands sliding through her hair and lips tasting like wine. Oh, she was going to hell for this...
...And loving every minute of it.
It was quite a few minutes later when he lazily pulled away and gave her a drowsy look. "Your brother's going to have a coronary," he stated in a matter of fact manner.
"Oh, he knows, kind of..." Ginny replied carelessly, a giddy smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
He eyed her with suspicion. "Then how...? I don't think I've been hexed, poisoned, or beaten up... but why...?"
"I blackmailed him, of course."
"You know, you should have been in Slytherin. Green would look nice on you. And then there wouldn't be your brother and Potty and them to deal with..."
"Yes..." she conceded impishly, "but then this lovely drama wouldn't be nearly so interesting..."
"YOU THINK THIS IS INTERESTING!?" He flailed his arms in outrage. "I DO NOT LIKE NOT GETTING WHAT I WANT!"
She giggled, and touched his arm in a somewhat soothing manner, "There, there... you've got what you want. Now do stop yelling, will you?"
He stared at her for a few long seconds, arms slowly winding back around her. "I have what I want?" he echoed, gray eyes meeting brown. "Is that right, Weaslette?"
"Yes, yes, that's right," she gave a mock-sigh, "you do."
"Well good," he smirked down at her, twisting a lock of her hair around a finger, "Because Malfoys always get what they want."
"Shut up about Malfoys, ferret, and do something else more productive with that trap."
***
The party in the library began to dissipate shortly after Malfoy and Weasley's dynamic exit. Mostly this was due to Hermione dragging a drunk and furious Ron out on his bum and Harry, looking clearly displeased, following after one of her infamous glares. Seamus attempted to follow with Emma Dobbs' hand clasped firmly in his. By the time she had explained (with a less-than-gentle bump on his head) that she was not going back to Gryffindor with him, no matter what he said, and he had skulked off, clearly equal parts drunk and disappointed, others were getting up and making their excuses. Cho and Zach seemed to be overlooking the transportation of Kevin, who had passed out on the floor minutes before. Lisa and Terry followed them. She was shaking her head but smiling. Terry looked to be very uncomfortable leaving Su as she was, perched on a table, but he didn't seem to be able to get her to come along, so he left, defeated. Calista and Blaise seemed to have vanished somewhere, but no one seemed in any hurry to look for them.
Susannah shook her long hair back and stood, followed by Montague. "I think everything's under control," she said with a small smile. "In any case, I'm not about to go looking for Malfoy, and Zabini can take care of himself. Are you coming, Emma?"
"I'm coming," the girl agreed.
Pansy pulled Neville up and sauntered towards the door with him. "It's only fair that you clean, since I set up," she said slyly. Yanking Neville under the doorframe, which was conveniently decorated with mistletoe, she kissed him thoroughly, then grinned at his flabbergasted face, and the amused faces of the other Slytherins and Su. "Happy Christmas, then." She and Neville disappeared down the hallway. His eyes were still too wide.
Susannah, Montague, and Emma made a much more dignified exit moments later, leaving Su and Warrington alone with the mess in the library. Between overturned platters of cookies, crumbs everywhere, and a few spilled glasses of drinks, along with the one Ron had broken, the disaster was considerable. "Just like her to get someone else to do the dirty work," Warrington remarked. Still, he began pointing his wand at random piles which began to quickly pick themselves up from the floor and vanish.
Su looked around the room. She couldn't help herself; a bright, shining smile appeared on her face. "We did it," she said very softly, and turned to beam at Warrington. "By Merlin, we actually did it."
He smirked at her. "You sound as though you were doubting our abilities," he said. "They'll probably send us Howlers in the morning, though, once he's sober enough to realize I drugged him."
Su giggled. "I don't care," she said. "Let me revel in this victory for the moment, will you?" On impulse, she launched herself at him and hugged him around the waist, giggling harder when he stiffened in surprise. "We did it we did it we did it!" she exclaimed. "Show some excitement! It's Christmas and we did it!"
All right, so he wasn't quite expecting to have his arms full of red-clad, giggling hellion, but hey, whatever works, and he wasn't about to object. Chuckling slightly and reaching up to ruffle her hair for a moment before hugging back, he smirked down at her face. "Well this is somewhat new. I didn't put any Alihotsy into the drinks, I swear."
"You forget," she interrupted, her voice a bit breathless and her eyes glinting, "I didn't drink any."
"Oh, right, how could I? You're naturally mad... but it's all right. Can't complain when girls are jumping all over me, can I?"
Normally this would incite some sort of acerbic response, of course, but perhaps things were... different. In any case, Su grinned up at him for a brief moment before reaching out a hand and tugging on his tie until he had to bend his head. Lightning-quick, her lips brushed against his cheek. Backing away a moment later, she chirped a "Happy Christmas!" before making her cheerful way out of the library, a spring in her step.
He stared bemusedly after her back for a few seconds, then wryly shook his head. That made two times she'd kissed him, even if this was on the cheek.
Really, if she were ever to make another attempt, he would have to do something about it. Drastic measures.
