Disclaimer: We don't own these. Though if we allowed our inner Slytherins to take over much longer we might steal them.
"Are you sure you don't want to change your mind about the ball?" Pansy asked Draco. The pair were seated in chairs on opposing sides of the fireplace in the Slytherin common room.
"For the last bloody time, I'm not going to the ball with you, Pansy!" Draco spat.
"Draco, you not attending the ball with me will displease your father greatly!" Pansy tried a different tactic.
"Finley's family is more thoroughly pureblooded than yours," Draco snapped.
"Draco, you said," Pansy began.
"Okay, I lied. I'm a bad person. Can we move on?" Draco asked before Pansy could finish her sentence. She glared at Draco.
"Can't Finley?" Pansy began.
"Finley is my girlfriend," Draco interrupted.
"Oh Drakie, don't say that," Pansy cried, clamping her hands over her ears as if Draco's words were painful.
"She will not be going anywhere with Casey Warrington and I personally don't see why you were idiotic enough to agree to go with him," Draco continued.
"Who is forbidding me to do something?" Finley, ever the feminist, asked from the top of the stairs leading down to the girls dorms.
"I was simply suggesting to Pansy that you wouldn't appreciate being asked to go to the ball with Casey Warrington," Draco explained.
"I don't see why anyone would want to go ANYWHERE with Casey Warrington." Finley shuddered visibly at the idea.
"For the LAST BLOODY TIME!" Blaise screeched running into the common room.
"How vaguely familiar does that sound?" Draco quipped, flashing a smirk at his girlfriend from across the room.
"I will not go to the ball with you, Karen," Blaise continued.
"What about?" Taylor began.
"I will not go to the ball with you either, Taylor!" Blaise cried. He propelled himself over the arm of Draco's chair into Draco's lap. "Help me Draco!"
"PERSONAL BUBBLE!" Draco screeched. Blaise looked innocently up at Draco.
"Drakie!" Pansy whined.
"Blaise-ey," Karen and Taylor chorused. Finley added her own round of laughter from the top of the stairs.
"Do you think if we scream at them they'll go away?" Blaise asked Draco.
"Nah, they'll probably just cry," Draco said. Blaise looked thoughtfully at the three advancing girls.
"Draco, forgive me," Blaise whispered, looking up at his roommate. He clamped his hand on Draco's face, letting his thumb fall across Draco's mouth. He instantly pressed his mouth against his thumb. Draco's muffled mumbling protest cut through Karen, Taylor and Pansy's anguished cries and Finley's maniacal laughter as though he and Blaise were actually enjoying their fake kiss. In on fluid motion, Draco stood and dumped Blaise on the floor.
"We'll finish this later," Draco spat. He, of course, meant he'd kick Blaise's arse later. Pansy, Karen and Taylor, of course, took Draco's statement a completely different way. Blaise sprang to his feet and ran from the common room.
"Or we can finish this now!" Draco muttered. He sprinted after Blaise. Pansy released another anguished shriek. Karen gasped and buried her face in Taylor's shoulder. Finley flashed an evil smile at the three girls.
"I've got to get in on this!" She cried, running after her boyfriend. She stepped through the door out of the common room. The door morphed closed behind her. She looked back in the direction of the three girls.
"Did I just say that?" she asked no one in particular. "Oops, I simply meant I want to see this!" She heard hysterical laughter coming from a small alcove down to her right. She followed it. She stepped around the corner to find the two fifth year boys sitting on the floor.
"That was absolutely fantastic!" Draco crowed.
"You were bloody brilliant!" Blaise agreed. The pair looked up at Finley.
"You two mean you planned this?" Finley asked. Draco and Blaise both nodded mutely.
"We've had the plan since just after Halloween." Blaise finally found his voice.
"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Finley asked, taking on what she hoped was a disappointed motherly tone.
"We're bloody brilliant," Blaise said after a few moments consideration. Draco nodded.
"I must agree with you," Finley laughed, extending a hand to each of the boys. They grabbed her hands and she made something of an effort to pull them to their feet. They eventually stood up on their own. Finley stepped over to Draco.
"So you're not cheating on me with Blaise?" Finley asked.
"Oh please, Blaise-ey is SO not my type," Draco lisped. Blaise looked over at Draco, wide-eyed.
"I'M JOKING!" Draco cried. Blaise's breathing became steady and regular again.
"It's just weird to hear you joke," Blaise said before heading back towards the common room.
"What can I say?" Draco asked quietly after his friend's retreating back. "Some people just make me want to," he paused for a moment and shuddered. "Behave." Finley cut her eyes up at her boyfriend in a questioning glare. He dropped a quick kiss on one of the blue streaks in her hair. "Okay. Some people just make me want to act like slightly less of a bastard. How's that?"
"Better," Finley said. Draco smirked down at her. She stood on her tiptoes and dropped a quick kiss on his lips.
"I'm off to get drop dead gorgeous so Pansy will have one more reason to hate me!" she said. Draco smirked as he watched his girlfriend of the past two months walk towards the Slytherin common room. She said the password, stepped inside and the door closed. Only then did Draco decide to follow her. He whispered the password, "Blaise Zabini is the most gorgeous thing on the face of the planet" and wondered who exactly had put Karen and Taylor in charge of creating the passwords. At any rate, he supposed their passwords were good enough, as most people would probably guess words and phrases dealing with the Dark Lord, serpents, and purebloods to be the password to the Slytherin common room. Once inside the common room, he made a beeline for the boy's stairs to avoid the mass of sobbing girls seated around the fire. Karen and Taylor had obviously taken his and Blaise's little show to heart, while Pansy's expression said she knew something wasn't quite right about the entire situation. He ran for the stairs and thundered down them. At the bottom, he went to the end of the hall and took a left, and to the end of that hall and took another left. At the end of the third hall, he whispered another password to open the door to his dorm room.
"Karen Moon and Taylor Nott are the most annoying people on earth." Okay. So whoever had put Karen and Taylor in charge of the common room passwords had put Blaise in charge of the dorm room password. The two tended to balance each other out quite nicely.
"Are they still out there?" Blaise asked before Draco had really managed to step through the door.
"Yep," Draco replied with a laugh, "Karen and Taylor look absolutely distraught. Pansy just looks a bit confused."
"Finley's not mad at you is she?" Blaise asked, looking up at his roommate. Blaise was lying stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Blaise's bed was the one on the far left. Draco stretched across the bed directly next to the door on the left. Crabbe had the bed across from Draco while Goyle's was across from Blaise's.
"No, she was quite amused," Draco assured his friend. Blaise had been scared of Finley since he and Draco hatched the plan to try to rid him of the nuisances that were Karen and Taylor. "I told you she would be."
"Yes, well, you never can be too cautious when kissing someone's boyfriend. Especially if you're a guy," Blaise laughed. Draco picked up a pillow and threatened to throw it at Blaise.
"I'm just saying, that was a little weird," Blaise insisted.
"Well if it worked," Draco said.
"True," Blaise agreed. "Where are Crabbe and Goyle?"
"I'm not quite sure. I haven't exactly seen them since lunch," Draco replied.
"Who are they taking to the ball?" Blaise asked.
"Not quite sure of that either. As a matter of fact, who are you taking to the ball?" Blaise instantly turned bright red. He had been hoping to avoid addressing the topic with any of his housemates until he actually showed up at the ball with the girl he had asked.
" Um actually," Blaise began.
"Is it one of Fin's dorm mates?" Draco asked.
"Not exactly," Blaise replied.
"So she's older than us, because you certainly wouldn't be taking Millicent and she's the only girl left in our year," Draco reasoned.
"No, she's our age," Blaise said.
"You're taking Millicent?" Draco asked.
"NO!" Blaise exclaimed.
"Then who?" Draco asked.
"Actually," Blaise began again.
"Ravenclaw?" Draco guessed. "Because Patil is the only Gryffindor worth looking at, and Hannah Abbott completely lost the standing as the hottest witch at Hogwarts when she started going around with Potter. None of the other Hufflepuffs are anything to look at. However in Ravenclaw you have Morag McDougal AND Padma Patil in our year."
"Patil," Blaise finally replied.
"Oh, Padma," Draco said. "Good job man. She's easily one of the five best-looking witches in school. She just needs to ditch the scholarly Ravenclaw look occasionally."
"The OTHER Patil," Blaise said, throwing his arms over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself from Draco.
"You're going to the ball with a bloody GRYFFINDOR??" Draco roared.
"You just said it yourself that she was the only one in that house worth looking at," Blaise insisted. "And you ranked her identical twin sister as one of the top five witches in Hogwarts!"
"Yes, well, the Gryffindor branch of that family loses points specifically because of her house affiliation," Draco spat. He was bordering on irrational.
"What is your problem with Gryffindor? Your sister is in that house," Blaise pointed out.
"Captain Obvious, meet Blaise Zabini," Draco said.
"So if Padma is one of the top five witches in Hogwarts, who are the other four?" Blaise asked in a last ditch effort to save himself before Draco's temper fully erupted. His statement did the trick. Draco's eyes instantly glazed over as he thought about all of the girls in the school.
"Do you want my objective opinions or my biased opinions? And are we basing this on looks alone or on looks and personality?" Draco asked.
"Looks alone, and objective opinions. You can't say Finley specifically because she's the only one who will give you the time of day," Blaise joked, "and this is top five from the fourth years and above."
"Of course. Anything below that would just be sick," Draco insisted. "Ask Kei if you want opinions on those girls."
"So who are they?" Blaise asked.
"Can I remove the factors of certain extenuating circumstances?" Draco requested.
"If you're saying you want to ignore the fact that Hannah and Harry are doing whatever Hannah and Harry are doing that they think they're hiding from everyone, then no," Blaise insisted.
"Okay then. Number one would definitely have to be Ari Smith," Draco said.
"I'm assuming she's getting bonus points specifically because she's a Slytherin," Blaise laughed.
"Of course," Draco said. He personally didn't see anything wrong with being slightly biased, and she definitely lost points in the intelligence area, so without the few extra bonus points, she'd definitely not be number one. "Number two is Finley. Give her another year and she'll be number one."
"You can't pick all Slytherins," Blaise insisted.
"Of course not. After Ariadne and Fin, are there any hot Slytherin girls left?" Draco asked.
"I get your point," Blaise laughed.
"Okay, after Ari and Fin, I've got to go with Cho Chang," Draco said.
"Potter liked her last year," Blaise pointed out.
"But she was quite intelligent enough to reject him," Draco countered. Blaise shrugged.
"Padma is number four," Draco continued.
"And number five?" Blaise asked.
"Parvati," Draco said.
"Parvati?" Blaise asked.
"Yes, Parvati," Draco replied.
"Parvati over Hannah? Parvati the Gryffindor?" Blaise asked.
"Parvati the pure blooded Gryffindor over Hannah the Potter-loving mudblood," Draco reasoned. "Who do you think the top five are?"
"Number one is Hannah, Potter or no Potter," Blaise said. "Two is Parvati."
"Come on here, this isn't the hottest witches in fifth year," Draco warned.
"Hannah, then Parvati. Number three is probably Ari. Number four is Finley and then I'm going to have to go with that Gryffindor seventh year."
"Which one, there are like ten," Draco said.
"There are actually only six girls," Blaise replied. "The one with the sister."
"Like I'm supposed to know about the families of the bloody Gryffindors!" Draco exclaimed.
"The one with the striped hair?" Blaise asked.
"Yes, the fourth year," Draco replied. "Not her!"
"No, not her. Her sister!" Blaise insisted.
"Oh, I know which one you're talking about now!" Draco cried. "But specifically on her house orientations, I still leave her out of my top five."
"That has got to be the biggest pile of shit I think I've ever heard!" Blaise cried.
"And you're a disgrace to Slytherin house, more than half of your top five are mudbloods" Draco insisted. He had played along with Blaise's little rate the girls game long enough. He quickly ripped the curtains of his bed closed, effectively ending their discussion. Truth be told, he could only tolerate Blaise in small doses. Their relationship had been as such since they were little children forced to play together at parties thrown by the Malfoys. And now, Blaise was the only intelligent conversation Draco could find in his room. Blaise wasn't necessarily a bad person, in fact, he bordered on being a good person, and that was what irritated Draco so much about him. Blaise had opinions about matters that went completely against the way the world was supposed to work. For instance, he had landed himself in the hospital wing for a week back in third year courtesy of Marcus Flint and some of his lackeys. Blaise had questioned their use of the word mudblood, suggesting that muggle born might be a better alternative, and Marcus and co. decided to teach him a lesson. After that, Blaise had learned to keep his opinions to himself, but they still showed through at times. For instance, in taking Parvati Patil to the Yule Ball. No Slytherin in their right mind would take a Gryffindor to some place as public as a ball at Hogwarts. If it didn't require so much effort, Draco would teach Blaise a lesson himself. He made a mental note to discuss the possibilities of a "conference" with Blaise with Crabbe and Goyle later.
And then there was Finley. Finley was completely unlike every girl Draco had ever met. He had known her since they were young. She, too, had been forced to attend his parents' parties with her parents. Gregarious and carefree, Finley would say and do anything. Her sarcasm kept her in trouble, but as she got older she learned to harness it. While Finley didn't exactly despise mudbloods as Draco did, she didn't necessarily believe they were worth befriending. As a general rule, she tried to be nice to at least the members of her own house and make Draco work to do the same. Something about Finley made him comply with her requests. Of course, he hadn't taken to being nice, and he certainly hadn't rescued any kittens, but he just didn't let every comment that went through his head fly out of his mouth. That seemed to please Finley. And he had to admire her determination. Draco hadn't planned on having a girlfriend. Something about his bad boy image made girls drool, and he liked that. But then came Finley with her insistence on spending time with him. Her sarcasm and intelligence helped her gain favor with him. The fact that the Alexander family was as historically rich and pureblooded as the Malfoy family didn't hurt her. The fact that she was drop dead gorgeous was the real clench in her winning over Draco. He had asked her out in early October and the rest was history.
"Draco, man, you should probably start getting ready if you're actually planning on going to the ball," Blaise called from somewhere in their room. Draco pushed back the hangings on his bed and stood up. He completely ignored Blaise as he walked over to his closet. He pulled out his black dress robes and headed towards the bathroom.
"We've got two hours," Crabbe said dumbly from his bed.
"It will take Draco that long to fix his hair," Blaise insisted. Crabbe looked over at Goyle and scratched his head dumbly. Both boys were visibly unsure of whether to laugh at Blaise's attempt at a joke.
*****
"Draco stepped out of the shower and slung a towel loosely around his waist. He walked over and looked at himself in the mirror.
"More hair potion," the mirror advised. Draco stuck his tongue out at his reflection but mostly at the mirror.
"And don't do that tonight, you'll scare the girl," the mirror scolded. Draco crossed his eyes at the mirror.
"Mr. Malfoy, much ore of that from you and I'll certainly crack!"
"You haven't already from seeing Crabbe and Goyle after they get out the shower?" Draco asked, quite seriously.
"I close my eyes for those rare occasions," the mirror admitted. "Of course, they don't have quite your hygiene habits, so those are very rare occasions indeed." The fifth year Slytherin boys were the only group in the castle lucky enough to have a mirror not simply charmed to inflate the ego of any one who looked in it. The fifth year Slytherin boys' mirror had once been a boy. During his seventh year, he made one of his roommates mad. The mad boy, thorough a series of irreversible spells, transfigured the first boy and sentenced him to life as a mirror with a personality. Legend held that none other than Tom Riddle had created the mirror. Whether or not that was actually true remained to be seen. The mirror claimed he had been created by Salazar Slytherin, himself. That, of course, was not true. So mostly the boys simply enjoyed having conversations with the mirror. Or turning it to face the wall, whichever the case was.
Draco picked up a bottle of hair potion from one of his shelves in the bathrooms. Not Sleakeasy's for Draco. No. Narcissa had Draco's hair care products imported directly from France. He flipped open the top of the bottle and poured a liberal amount into the palm of his left hand. He muttered a spell and his hair was instantly dry. He shuddered at the sight of himself with out his hair slicked back. He used his right hand to push his hair back away from his face and then rubbed the hair potion in with his left. He quickly whispered the charm to make the hair potion harden when his hair was more perfect than usual. He surveyed himself in the mirror closely.
"Yes you are perfect, yes you look great, insert typical magic mirror drivel here," the mirror muttered. Draco glared at his reflection.
"Okay, that makes you loose points on the perfectness scale. I'd refrain from doing that if I were you," the mirror warned.
"Well, I'm still miles ahead of you," Draco spat at the mirror. "You know you're fast headed towards staring at the wall for the rest of the night. Either that or I'll shrink you and hide you in Crabbe's boxers while he's in the shower."
"Talk about cracking!" the mirror cried.
"On several different levels," Draco laughed. The mirror instantly began to cloud itself over.
"Hey, don't do that!" Draco protested.
"Then don't mention parts of Crabbe's anatomy that no one wants to think about!" the mirror cried. Draco shuddered. "See, I told you no one wants to think about it."
"Are you quite through in there?" Blaise asked banging on the door to the bathroom.
"Shove off, Zabini. You can have the bathroom as soon as I get ready. You don't have to look good for your bloody Gryffindor anyway," Draco shouted.
"Zabini, look good?" The mirror asked. "Don't make me laugh." Draco laughed silently at the mirror. He picked up his toothbrush and toothpaste from another one of his shelves. He quickly brushed his teeth and looked at himself in the mirror one last time.
"Now if you REALLY want to impress the girls, wear exactly what you've got on," the mirror instructed. Malfoy glanced down at the fluffy white towel still slung about his waist. He smirked at the mirror before turning to the bathroom door. He opened the door and was instantly almost bowled over by Blaise Zabini in his rush to get to the shower. Draco stepped into the room and pulled the door shut behind him. He walked over to his trunk and popped it open. He pawed through it until he found what he wanted, black pants and a white linen button down shirt. He dropped the towel from his narrow hips and pulled on the pants. They fit snugly around his well-developed posterior but then were straight legged. He quickly pulled on the shirt and buttoned it up, tucking it into his pants as he went. He stepped over in front of the mirror in the corner and surveyed his outfit.
"Absolutely superb," the normal wizarding mirror gushed. Draco rolled his eyes at it and stepped over to the wardrobe he and Blaise shared. He threw open the doors and took out his black dress robes. He looked down at the thin black material in his hands and took a deep breath. Inevitably, any dress robes reminded him of the first time he'd ever worn that type of garment.
&&&&&
"Why ya gotta wea-uh that?" a small girl with curly blonde hair asked. She was seated in the middle of a large wooden four-poster bed spread with a green comforter. Her legs stuck straight out in front of her, short summer sundress not starting to cover the myriad of bruises caused by childhood clumsiness on her little shins.
"I've got to go to a meeting," an older boy, of about 10 said. Actually, he was 11. It was his eleventh birthday, in fact. He surveyed himself in the full-length mirror that stood in the corner of his room. He straightened the black dress robes his parents had bought for him specifically for the occasion.
"A meeting about what?" the little girl asked.
"Daddy's business," the boy explained.
"Oh," the little girl replied. She reached down and scratched her knee. "Why do you gotta go to daddy's business meeting?"
"I'm not quite sure," the boy said.
"Do I get-a go?" the girl asked.
"No babe, this is for big people only," the boy explained.
"But yoh not a big puhson," the girl said. She stood up in the center of the bed.
"I'm big enough to know better than to stand on my big brother's furniture," the boy scolded. He could see his little sister in the mirror.
"You don't HAVE a big bwother," the girl pointed out.
"Thank you Miss Malfoy, for stating the obvious," the boy laughed.
"What's the obvious?" the little girl asked, tilting her head in an entirely endearing way that showed she had no clue what her brother was talking about.
"Nevermind," the boy insisted. The girl shook her curl-covered head at her brother. The boy adjusted his robes again.
"Stop it," the little girl said, "you wook fine!"
"Babe, this is a very important meeting," the boy replied.
"But it's yoh buhfday," the girl squeaked, "What kinda bufday pwesent is getting to go to a meeting?"
"It's from Lucius," the boy explained.
"Lucius is a bwoody wan-kuh!" the girl exclaimed.
"I thought I told you to forget that phrase," the boy cried. The girl smiled sheepishly at him. He turned to face her.
"So I look okay?"
"You wook puhfect," the little girl said, extending her arms to her brother. He walked over and she leaped from the bed, catching her arms about his neck and clamping her legs around his waist.
"You know Bear, you're getting a little too big for this," the boy said as he struggled under the added weight of his sister. She dropped a sticky kiss on his cheek. Her curls tickled his nose.
"I'w nevuh be too big foh this," she insisted.
&&&&&
"Draco," a voice said from across the room. Draco's head jerked up. He had been sitting on the end of his bed with his elbows on his knees and his forehead resting in his hands.
"What do you want?" he asked his two goons. He wasn't quite sure which of the two had spoken.
"We, uh," Crabbe stuttered. He looked at Goyle for help in finishing his sentence.
"We, uh, need" Goyle echoed. Draco sniffed twice.
"You need to bathe," Draco said before either boy could figure out the original purpose of their statement. He stood up and pulled his dress robes on, hooking the plain silver clasps on the front. He shrugged his shoulders to make the robes adjust themselves correctly and stepped back in front of the mirror.
"You look excellent my dear," the mirror chirped.
"Yes, but do I wook puhfect?" Draco thought bitterly. He stepped back towards his bed. The bathroom door crashed open and Blaise burst into the room amid a great cloud of steam and a string of muttered expletives about "nancy boys who take too damned long in the bloody bathroom." Draco shot him a visual Avada Kedavara. Of course it didn't work, and Blaise barely even noticed. Draco sank onto his bed and pulled his shoes from under it. He pulled out his wand and aimed it at his shoes. He muttered a spell to make them shiny before repocketing his wand and pulling his shoes onto his feet. He tied his shoes, stood up and turned to his roommates. Crabbe had taken off towards the empty bathroom as soon as Blaise had exited.
"How do I look?" he asked. Goyle grunted his response.
"Like a bloody wanker," Blaise spat, glaring at Draco. His statement hit a verbal trigger that made Draco want to push Blaise against the wall and punch him until they both bled. Instead, Draco glared at Blaise and stormed from the room in a flurry of cloaks that would have made even Snape envious. He tore out of the dorm section of Slytherin house and up the stairs into the common room. The common room was empty save a group of first years playing pin the tail on the puppy in the far corner. Draco threw himself into his favorite chair next to the fire. One of the first years broke away from the game and started towards the fifth year. His absence caused the puppy to break away from the group and bolt towards the door. The first year took a seat in the chair Pansy had occupied earlier.
"You not attending the ball with Pansy will greatly disappoint father," the first year said. Draco tore his eyes away from the fire and for the first time noticed Keiran sitting in the chair opposing him.
"Kei, Pansy and I went over this earlier. Finley's family is more historically pureblooded than Pansy's. Why should father be upset?" Draco asked.
"I've got a question for you," Keiran said.
"Shoot," Draco replied.
"When Casey announces a meeting, how does he do it?"
"He generally stands up and says Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, Parkinson and Malfoy follow me," Draco said.
"Exactly. Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, PARKINSON, and Malfoy. Not Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, ALEXANDER, and Malfoy," Keiran spat.
"I follow you Keiran, but I find your logic rather skewed," Draco said, glairing at his little brother.
How so?" Keiran asked. "And what if I told you from a good source that both Max and Juliet Alexander were being recruited by our Lord?"
"I'd believe you and then ask why you're being such a bother if Fin's well on her way to being one of the group," Draco replied.
"But she's not yet. And what if her parents refuse?" Keiran asked.
"Keiran are you daft?" Draco spat. "No one refuses the dark lord. Now I suggest you go help your year mates catch the puppy and return to the game." Keiran glared evilly at his older brother and stood up. He brushed off the front of his robes and looked at Draco.
"Don't say I didn't warn you. I, for one, would be scared of the wrath of father when you get home tomorrow," he said. Without another word and before Draco could respond, he turned on his heel and stomped off to join the raucous chase the puppy was leading around the common room. Draco turned his attention back to the fire and drifted off to a mental neither land.
*****
"Draco," Finley said when she stepped to the top of the girls' staircase. She could see her boyfriend sitting in his chair by the fire. He didn't respond and his eyes had a glazed over far away look that showed he had been thinking about something. She took two steps more towards him before pausing to look at him.
She had not come to school the previous September with the intentions of dating Draco Malfoy. In fact, she had always found Malfoy rather arrogant and annoying. But something changed over the summer. Something in the way of Malfoy grew about six inches. His shoulders broadened, and the muscles in his arms and legs gained definition. In the dictionary next to washboard abs, one could find Malfoy's picture. He wasn't so muscular that he was gross though. He had just the right amount of muscle to make most girls stop dead in their tracks. When they did start walking again, they were likely to slip in a puddle of their own drool. Finley shuddered at that mental image before turning back to her boyfriend. His hair was a bit longer, and while he still did the annoying bit with the hair potion, that was basically his only fault. Well, other than on occasion, his personality. But mainly, he was drop dead gorgeous, and best of all, he was hers.
"DRACO!" Finley said, quite loudly. Draco jumped up, quite startled. He looked towards the direction of the voice. He found his girlfriend standing just in front of the girls' staircase, looking poised and ready to give Ariadne Smith a run for her title as Hogwarts' hottest witch. Finley's robes were of deep midnight blue velvet. They fit her upper body like a glove, and the skirt flowed out only slightly. It wasn't puffy like most skirts of dress robes, but flowed out enough that it would still spin out if she were to turn in a circle very quickly. The long sleeves came to points at the base of her middle fingers. The collar of the dress came up to the base of her slender throat. Starting only a few inches below the collar, the dress had a teardrop shape cut out that pointed straight down about three inches. To either side of the middle cut out were two more cut outs. These two pointed down the lines of each of her arms. A blackish blue jewel of some sort held at the top points of the three cutouts. The back of her robe had a larger teardrop cut out.
"Draco," Finley said, worrying about the absentminded gaze her boyfriend had fixed on her. She ran her hand over her hair to make sure it was still in place. She had carefully twisted all of her long black hair with its permanent blue streaks into very neat dread locks all over her head. Well, not quite dread locks, but basically just twists. At odd intervals, she had pinned a twist or two to the top of her head, so those held in loops, forming a sort of a crown. Her make up was very simple at best. Black eyeliner, a little peach blush and clear lip-gloss.
"DRACO!" Finley roared. Draco shook his head furiously and then looked at her.
"I'm sorry Fin, it's just that you're so beautiful," he said. He closed the remaining distance between them and grabbed her right hand. He brought it up to his face, and looked down at her before softly brushing a kiss across her knuckles. She smiled sweetly up at him. He let his lips linger on her hand, his breath fluttering softly across her skin.
"Draco Argentum Lucentio Malfoy!" a voice roared from just behind Finley. Draco hastily dropped Finley's hand and looked over her shoulder. Pansy stood at the top of the stairs dressed in hideous robes of horrific neon lime green. The robes were… too. Too short, too tight, too low cut.
"Someone's been talking to my grandmother," Draco mumbled. "It's Cullen, Pansy," Draco called to the girl.
"Whatever. This is your last chance to get to take me to the ball," Pansy said.
"I'll go with you, Pansy," Draco said pausing just long enough for a hopeful look to cross Pansy's face. "I'll go to the ball with you the day Dumbledore, McGonagall and Snape are caught shagging in the staff room cloak closet." Finley and Draco both shuddered at the sudden mental image. Pansy's face dimmed considerably before brightening again.
"And you must remember dear, Imperius is quite illegal," Finley said as she placed her hand at Draco's elbow. He bent his arm slightly and looked down at his girlfriend.
"Shall we?" he asked. She smiled up at him sweetly.
"We shall."
*****
"So whose dates are whose?" Finley asked Draco through a mouthful of lasagna. The two were seated at a private table in the far corner of the Slytherin section of the great hall. Draco looked out across his classmates.
"Well, it looks as though Ariadne is here with Roger Davies from Ravenclaw, another Ravenclaw sixth year, and Michael Pearson," Draco said.
"How does she get to have three dates?" Finley whined.
"Are you saying I'm not enough?" Draco asked. Finley rolled her eyes.
"If that was an attempt to get a kiss and me being sweet then it won't work Draco Cullen Malfoy," she spat. Draco had to laugh in spite of himself.
"Blaise, of course, is over in enemy territory," Draco said.
"So THAT'S where he disappeared to," Finley laughed. "Wait, enemy territory?"
"Gryffindor Patil and Blaise came together, "Draco explained. Finley shook her head and looked down at the table. "Who did his admirers finally decide to come with?" Finley laughed loudly.
"Take a look," she said, nodding in the direction of Karen and Taylor's table. The two girls were seated with one Mr. Edwin Bole and one Mr. Milton Derrick.
"That's absolutely fantastic!" Draco laughed, almost spraying linguine across the table. Bole and Derrick looked positively elated to have Karen and Taylor as their dates, while the two girls were busy craning their necks to try to see to the Gryffindor corner of the hall.
"I thought so too," Finley laughed. Draco looked around again.
"And then of course, you have Pansy and Casey," Draco said, nodding at the horrific pair seated with some of Casey's sixth year friends. "And to pretty much round out the team, Pucey is here with Debra Bulstrode."
"Who is Millicent here with?" Finley asked. Draco nodded towards a table off to their left where three odd colored boulders sat huddled around.
"Crabbe," Finley said. "Or is that Goyle?"
"Um, no one is exactly sure. She's here with one of them and the other is tagging along, however which is which remains to be seen," Draco laughed. "I'm not even sure she fully knows which, and THAT could get interesting later on if you know what I mean," Draco raised both eyebrows at his girlfriend twice.
"Oh god, think of the children!" Finley shrieked.
*****
"I give you Celestina Warbeck!" Dumbledore announced. The witch walked out onto a stage constructed in the corner of the Great Hall. Draco turned to Finley and held out his hand.
"You can dance?" Finley asked.
"I try," Draco said with a shy smile that was all to innocent to be truly innocent. Finley placed her hand lightly in Draco's. He pulled her to her feet and led her towards the dance floor. The song was a fast, almost swing number, so Draco instantly began spinning Finley about the floor.
"You try?" Finley asked after a few moments of dancing with Draco. The level of Draco's talent as a dancer had barely taken time to register with her.
"Please Finley, do you think Narcissa Malfoy would allow any of her children to leave home without at least two years of dancing lessons?" Draco asked.
"Your mother made you take dancing lessons?" Finley asked.
"Yes. She insisted that that's what well brought up wizarding children did. I had two years of lessons from private instructors," Draco explained. "But the other's got off easy."
"How so?" Finley asked.
"Well, after about eight months, Keiran, the traitor and Em were at one of their lessons. Kei wasn't particularly thrilled about being there so he 'accidentally' set the instructors robes on fire. Mum couldn't hire another teacher for them after that," Draco laughed.
"Accidentally?" Finley asked.
"As to whether or not that was truly an accident remains to be seen," Draco explained. Finley rolled her eyes.
"I wouldn't put it past your brother to intentionally combust a dance teacher," Finley laughed.
"Em insists it was quite intentional on Kei's part, and I have to say, I think I believe her," Draco said. He sent Finley flying into another spin and then quickly pulled her back against his body. The last few bars of the song began, and Draco quickly flipped Finley backwards across his arm and then leaned over and kissed her soundly on her lips. When she was finally upright, she looked directly into his eyes.
"Wow that was fantastic," she said with a smile. Draco kissed her again.
"I meant the dancing," she cracked. Draco rolled his eyes at her. Celestina Warbeck started into another song, this one slightly slower than the first. Draco flung Finley into another spin, but at the point where she was farthest away from him, he felt her flying out of his grip. Only then did he realize that he hadn't lost her at all, except to the guy that had cut in on them. A hulking figure in Slytherin green robes had interrupted the couple's dance. He looked closer at the guy and realized one Casey Warrington was now playing murderer to Finley's toes.
"Bloody hell," Draco muttered as soon as he realized who had taken his girlfriend from him. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Draco, it's time for you to dance with me," a familiar voice purred from just behind Draco's left ear. Draco, panicking, looked around the couples closest to him. Millicent and Crabbe were doing some sort of ungainly dance just beyond Finley and Casey.
"Come on, there is more room over here," Draco insisted. He started towards Millicent and Crabbe. Pansy, of course, followed him. He brought himself up even with Crabbe and Pansy moved to stand next to Millicent. At the last possible second, he half stepped in front of Crabbe and half shoved him out of the way, which wasn't exactly an easy task. Both Crabbe and Millicent looked surprised when Draco grabbed Millicent's hand. Draco glanced back at Crabbe.
"Pansy wanted to dance with you," he explained. He tried to spin Millicent, but the girl wouldn't budge, so Draco simply began dancing sort of next to her while holding her hand. He peered around Millicent to where Pansy was wincing as Crabbe repetitively stepped on her toes. Pansy glared at him over Crabbe's shoulder. He smiled sweetly and waved at her.
"Pansy wanted to dance with Crabbe?" Millicent asked dumbly.
"Um," Draco began.
"Or did you just not want to dance with Pansy?" Millicent continued. Draco smiled.
"Right in one, Millicent," Draco laughed. Millicent smiled.
"At any rate," she said, "This will be fun to rub in her face tonight. I got to dance with the guy she's after. Just make sure you don't dance with her or you'll steal my fun." Draco was amazed. He didn't think Millicent capable of creating a sentence with more than five words.
"Did you hear about," Draco began.
"Yours and Blaise's little escapade in the common room today? Oh did I hear about it. I was ready to come find the two of you myself and step on your heads." Draco cringed. He didn't doubt Millicent could carry out her threat very effectively.
"Do you think it worked?" Draco asked.
"Well, I think Pansy is a little smarter than that, but now Karen and Taylor are trying to figure out exactly what they can do to get in on some, as they said, action between the two of you," Millicent explained. Draco shuddered.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much, they're also trying to figure out where Finley falls into all of this," Millicent laughed. Draco was truly amazed. He was having a conversation with Millicent Bulstrode. He was pretty sure that was a first on any and every level.
"You look surprised," Millicent said.
"I am," Draco replied, "but probably not about what you think I'm surprised about."
"You're surprised that I can talk," Millicent replied. Draco blushed a pale pink. Pale pink for a Malfoy was the same as fire engine red for a Weasley.
"Well, yes," he finally admitted.
"Oh, it's alright," Millicent said. "I play dumb for a reason. If people aren't sure whether I'm mentally coming or going, they don't bother me too much."
"That's absolutely fantastic logic, Millicent. I actually wish I had thought of that," Draco laughed.
"But you're Draco Malfoy. I think everyone would still pay attention to you no matter what," Millicent reasoned.
"Maybe not," Draco objected.
"Do you REALLY think Pansy is after you to hold intelligent conversations?" Millicent asked. Draco shrugged. "I'll answer that for you," Millicent said. "Pansy probably doesn't know the meaning of the words intelligent conversation."
"I thought she was one of your best friends," Draco replied.
"I tolerate her. She's the less of the three evils in my room. Karen and Taylor are simply horrid," Millicent laughed. Draco smiled at her.
"Hey Mill, can I have my boyfriend back now?" Finley asked from somewhere just behind Draco.
"Sure Finley," Millicent said. She gave Draco a shove towards his girlfriend. He stumbled a bit but finally managed to get himself turned around to face Finley. The song instantly switched to a slow song.
"Pansy is about ready to murder you," Finley announced as she wrapped her arms around Draco's shoulders. Draco slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her completely against him.
"I don't blame her," Draco said. He glanced over the top of Finley's head to where Pansy was attempting to explain to Crabbe exactly why she couldn't slow dance with him.
"I see you and Millicent seemed to be having fun," Finley said.
"I actually had a conversation with Millicent Bulstrode!" Draco softly exclaimed.
"And she surprised the hell out of you didn't she?" Finley asked.
"Well, yes," Draco admitted.
"Millicent is easily the smartest girl in your grade. She just plays dumb because she claims it's easier," Finley laughed.
"Then why does she hang around with Crabbe and Goyle?" Draco asked.
"Why do you?" Finley countered.
"Our fathers are friends," Draco answered.
"Her mother and Crabbe's mother are friends, I believe," Finley said. "Debra tried to explain it too me the other night, but I was only half paying attention."
"Fair enough, I guess," Draco said. "It's just a shock to find out that she's capable of carrying on a conversation."
"That's what you get," Finley began. Draco effectively silenced her tirade with a kiss.
*****
"Mr. Malfoy, kindly remove your tongue from Miss Alexander's mouth," a greasy voice said from somewhere behind Finley and Draco. Draco instantly pulled away from his girlfriend and turned to face the potions master.
"I am ashamed of you, Mr. Malfoy, you're a prefect," Snape scolded. "If you're going to do something like that, get a room. Or at least a decently private clump of bushes. Judging by the state of a certain couple that just entered the hall, there is one available." Draco willed his pale pink cheeks to return to their normal color. He couldn't remember a time before in his life when he had blushed twice in one night, and mentally berated himself for doing so then.
"This is the last song of the night," the singer said, "so grab that special someone and make it the dance to remember." Draco glared soundly at Snape and pulled Finley into his arms. She rested her hands on his shoulders, letting her arms lay fully on his. She nestled her head onto his shoulder, just at the base of his neck, and deeply inhaled the scent of his cologne. He pillowed his cheek on the top of her head and softly dropped a kiss on one of the blue streaked twists. The pair barely moved in time to the music. Finley's eyes fluttered closed. Draco attempted to pull her closer, but didn't succeed very well because there wasn't much space left to close. The music finally ended and the pair broke away from each other. Draco leaned down and dropped a kiss on Finley's cheek. She smiled sweetly up at him. The lights in the great hall slowly began to flash on. Draco moved in to kiss Finley properly.
"Bloody hell, he finally did it," Casey Warrington muttered from off to the side somewhere. Draco instantly moved to see what Casey was talking about, forgetting about kissing his girlfriend for the moment. There, in the middle of the dance floor, were Harry Potter and Hannah Abbott and they were very much in need of a room. Or at least a decently private clump of bushes.
"SNAPE!" Draco screeched. "Why don't you go tell HIM to get HIS tongue out of her mouth!!"