Draco Malfoy and the Disownment Project
Chapter Six
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
For the rest of the night, Draco was in an almost obscenely happy mood. A wide, uncharacteristic grin covered his face as he plowed through his homework. It had been a bad day, to be sure, but things were most definitely looking up. A small break in confidence could shake a normally self-assured man, but Draco was pressing on. He may have been down, but he was not out.
He opened the Arithmancy book he had very amusingly taken from the Ravenclaw girl earlier, and flipped through in search of a helpful page. He jotted down a few passable answers, deciding to finish the work later; his mind wasn't currently up to the task. He was thinking of far more important things, things that would decide his future... he was fine-tuning his plan to become extra-noticeable to a certain Ms. Lavender Brown. She would regret the day she had ever laid eyes on her stupid Irishman by the time Draco was through with her.
The most important thing was to utilize a tool that he and Blaise had been using for some time: Lavender's class schedule. Draco would never be far behind when Lavender made her way to classes. He would always be sure to make an appearance at every break. With enough waving, strutting, and hair tossing, no one, particularly Lavender, would be able to resist him.
"Why are you smiling?" came a grunting voice to Draco's left. He glanced up to see his pawns, Crabbe and Goyle, staring at him stupidly. Crabbe's mouth was half-open and Goyle's eyes were slightly glazed. How they had managed to get to their seventh year was beyond Draco. He rolled his eyes skyward, and mentally slapped himself—he would not pick up Blaise Zabini's bad habits.
"I am smiling because I'm happy," Draco said slowly. "It's what one customarily does, see."
"What are you happy about?" asked Goyle.
"Oh, nothing," said Draco lightly, though his eyes gleamed maliciously. Crabbe and Goyle would be detrimental to his Plan, so it was imperative that they know nothing of it. Of course, it certainly was never a hard task to conceal things from them. They were the typical goons—good for their physical strength, but virtually nothing else.
But even the dullest seventh years in the school can tell that when someone is rubbing their hands together and cackling nefariously, it usually means something is up. Draco realized his error a moment too late.
"Uh... what are you doing?" asked Crabbe, pointing stupidly at Draco's hands, which were paused in mid-rub.
"Nothing! I'm doing nothing," said Draco quickly, clasping his hands and setting them on his lap. He tried to assume a position of innocence and beamed beatifically at his dimwitted bodyguards. They bought it.
"Oh, OK," said Crabbe. "We haven't seen much of you lately. Where have you been?"
"Well, you know, keeping busy," said Draco, grabbing at his quill so he could occupy his awkwardly folded hands. "N.E.W.T.s and all."
Crabbe and Goyle looked disgusted.
"You've been studying?" Crabbe asked, an expression of great distaste distorting his already ogre-like face.
"Yes," said Draco, gritting his teeth. "I aspire to be more than a mere sheep, following at the feet of whatever leader I am being told to follow. Therefore, I study. Slytherins are not chosen on blood alone, though you two might be the exception. Where is your cunning? Your ambition? Have you no pride? "
Luckily for Draco, this did not become a ruinous statement that gave him away entirely. His proclamation contained a few words consisting of more than one syllable, so Crabbe and Goyle were completely lost. They simply stared at him confusedly, before grinning and plopping themselves down next to him. Draco met Blaise's eyes from across the table. She was biting her lip and had the distinct aura of one who was trying very hard not to laugh.
"Good of you to help me out, Blaise," he muttered once Crabbe and Goyle had started communicating with each other in their usual guttural grunts and snorts.
She smirked impishly. "Where would be the fun in that? You should stop that smiling, though. People are starting to notice. I thought that being sneaky was key, here. Subtlety is always the answer, and all of that."
Draco stuck his tongue out at her. She shrugged and returned to her work.
"Just wondering why you aren't following your own rules," she said delicately, scribbling something down on her parchment.
Draco returned to staring at the table and concocting further wickedness. Once he had Lavender in his clutches, things could get into motion. With the tantalizing thought of invading the Gryffindor ranks still fresh in his mind, and with a twisted smile curving his lips, he picked up his schoolbag and headed to his dormitory. Yes, things were certainly getting better for him.
The next few days blurred indistinctly into weeks as Draco set the latest stage of his plan into motion. No matter where she went, with the obvious exceptions of the girls' bathrooms and Gryffindor Tower, Lavender was never safe from Draco Malfoy. He stopped by to give her a friendly hello on his way to Arithmancy classes, and he was always close to the North Tower when Divination let out. Draco would wave serenely at her from across the grounds or in the middle of a crowded corridor. He would casually bump into her as she walked hand in hand with Seamus, and though on these occasions he made eye contact and nothing more, it was what he was most proud of. In the company of both her boyfriend and the most attractive boy in school, Lavender was faced with the obvious conclusion that she was settling for second best in the form of her Gryffindor boy toy. As far as Draco could tell, she was weakening.
An unforeseen nuisance was Parvati Patil. Draco had always considered her to be just as empty-headed and image-obsessed as Lavender, but he was apparently wrong. With Parvati, there was more than met the eye. Behind her pretty face, not to mention hair that even Draco could admire, there lurked a brain, or at the very least something similar. Every time Draco 'accidentally' ran into Lavender, Parvati would fix an unsettlingly sharp eye upon him, which always gave him the unmanly desire to shudder. Parvati, it seemed, had taken the role of Lavender's conscience, and her morals could possibly be costing him success. As a Malfoy, he had grown up knowing that such individuals could easily be permanently disposed of, but he had to break away from this old way of thinking for two reasons: one, he was no longer abiding by the rules Lucius Malfoy had laid down, and two, Parvati Patil could be an asset later on in his Project.
Fooling Lavender was undoubtedly easy. Getting the rest of the Gryffindors in his palm could be harder. The sooner he won Parvati over, the sooner he would come closer to getting more of the brave and noble brethren on his side. Parvati, for all of her ethical infirmities, had an unquestionable gift. She was on good terms with every Gryffindor, and she had persuasive speaking down pat. Sure, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger didn't think her fondness of Divination was impressive, but she had always stuck up for all of the things pure and holy, and that, for some reason, was important to Gryffindors. If Parvati accepted Draco, she could quite possibly get the others to accept him as well.
But he wouldn't worry about that now. It would all come in due time. The most pressing thing was to keep working on Lavender.
Draco had given Blaise some time off to follow Lavender around himself, something Blaise was very grateful for.
"Thank God," she had said when he had informed her that she could take a little break. "Hopefully I can regain the mental normalcy I had before I began hanging around with you."
Draco thought that her caustic words stemmed from her subconscious disappointment about time not spent with him. It was, however, for the best. Draco had to constantly make his presence known around Lavender, and it would be best not to have girls following in his wake. Or at least girls who were not giggling insanely and following him around with adoration clearly in their eyes. Blaise lacked such qualities and could easily become suspicious, even to a girl with Lavender's nonexistent brain power.
He peered cautiously around the tall plants he was hiding behind. Lavender was walking to the lake with Parvati, chatting breezily. He had to admit that spying was not nearly as fun without Blaise, though it may have been more productive. Blaise had excellent observation skills, but her attention span was not nearly where it needed to be.
Preparing himself to make another confrontation, Draco did what he usually did in such situations. He combed his fingers through his hair, straightened his robes, and put his girl-charming smile on full power. No one lasted long when Draco was on the prowl.
He swaggered down the path toward Lavender, who paused uncertainly when her eyes caught Draco. Parvati nudged her along, once again fixing Draco with her patented, suspicious narrow-eyed stare. Draco, the thrill of the chase now upon him, did not feel the least bit intimidated. He flashed his dazzling white grin at the girls and strolled a bit faster. Lavender stumbled a bit, her eyes taking the same shiny, excited look that Granger's got when she was talking about that house-elf organization she ran; the one with the incredibly stupid name. Parvati grabbed Lavender's arm and pulled her faster toward a spot near the lake, underneath a tall tree. Lavender sat down unsteadily, still looking dazed.
Draco watched uninterestedly as Parvati leaned down to ask Lavender a question, a stern look on her face. Lavender nodded guiltily as an answer. Parvati looked vaguely ruffled as she took a seat next to her friend, and started in on what was undoubtedly a righteous treatise. Lavender wasn't paying attention—she had just noticed Draco, only a few yards away, and quickly closing the distance.
Parvati, knowing that she wasn't being listened to and feeling very irritated because of it, looked up to see the cause of Lavender's distraction. She didn't look surprised, though her face had taken an unnecessarily hostile look.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Parvati aggressively. Lavender simply sighed and smiled vapidly.
"I just wanted to see what you lovely ladies were up to!" said Draco, taking a seat next to Lavender. Parvati began muttering darkly under her breath—Draco wondered when she had gotten such an attitude—but Lavender looked ecstatic and began giggling.
"So," Draco said, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back against the tree. Lavender looked faint with glee. "How were your classes today?"
"It's Saturday," said Parvati dully, examining her nails.
"Of course it is," Draco said quickly. "Just a little joke, ha, ha."
Parvati raised her eyebrows, clearly not amused, but Lavender had gone into peals of raucous laughter. Draco had to admit that her reaction was quite amusing. Perhaps Lavender wasn't so bad, after all. She laughed at his 'jokes,' which was more than what could be said about Blaise. On the other hand, Pansy Parkinson, too, laughed at the things he said. But then, Pansy had always been positively smitten with him. All in all, Lavender's laughing could be taken as a very good sign, though it was getting tiring. Either Seamus was even stupider than she was, or she was not used to semi- clever comments, but Draco could hardly say anything without her falling into giggles again. Parvati eventually got so sick of the scene that she got up to leave, giving both Draco and Lavender a curt goodbye before she went.
Draco restrained himself from whooping with triumph. It would not be subtle or civilized. He would just have to content himself with a satisfied smirk, which Lavender was now smiling ridiculously at. Draco was a subconscious genius. He hadn't even known he was doing it, but by making Lavender laugh, and consequently, annoying Parvati at the same time, Draco had managed to remove Parvati-the-Plan-Killer from the area and get Lavender on her own. Really, he would have to try the Sorting Hat on again sometime, although it was filthy and looked every day of its age. Perhaps the old thing was going senile—yes, his whole family had been in Slytherin, and yes, he embodied a good amount of the Slytherin traits. But how could such marvelous brains as his go to waste? Maybe he should have been tossing witticisms back and forth with the Ravenclaws.
His thoughts were interrupted by Lavender, who was now gazing at him, the silly smile still plastered on her face, and rubbing his shoulder.
"What are you thinking about, Draco?" she asked breathlessly.
Oh, only about how you are walking straight into my clutches, my dear. For generations to come, you will be known as the girl who helped enable the greatest Dark Lord to ever live gain power.
"I'm not thinking of much," said Draco, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. Lavender sighed; Draco smiled. The hair thing worked every time.
"You must be thinking about something. Come on and tell me," Lavender pressed.
Just his luck. Even when he was looking for a girl to use to further his evil schemes, he got stuck with the one who wanted to talk about feelings.
"Oh, well, you know," said Draco. "I'm thinking about normal things. School and such."
Lavender looked disappointed and withdrew her hand from his shoulder.
"Oh," she said, looking away.
"Actually, Lavender," Draco said swiftly, "I was really thinking about you and me."
That got her attention.
"What about us?" she asked, once again focusing on him.
"Do you remember what I said before?" inquired Draco. "I asked you awhile ago if you ever wanted to get together to study, and, well, the offer still stands."
To his disappointment, Lavender's face took on its usual look of mingled delight and regret.
"I... I'm still going out with Seamus, Draco," she whispered. "Parvati keeps saying it's not right for me to spend time with you."
"Yes, I guess so," said Draco, trying to hide his irritance. Honestly, what was with these Gryffindors!? Here he was, the most attractive man to set foot in Hogwarts for quite some time, and he was been refused for someone else! The injustice of it! He made to stand up, but Lavender grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" she said. Draco looked at her expectantly. "I—well, if it weren't for Seamus, I would definitely study with you—"
"But as it is," Draco interrupted, "you don't feel it's appropriate."
Lavender looked down at the ground, her face reddening slightly.
"No, it's all right, I completely understand," lied Draco.
"I really do like you, Draco."
He smiled humorlessly. "Even though I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor?"
Lavender looked up fiercely. "That has nothing to do with it! House rivalries are so stupid."
"But what would your housemates say?"
"I wouldn't care. I mean, lately you've seemed like a really great person."
Draco decided to ignore the possible implications of the things he had been before the 'lately.'
"But they all think I'm the evil scum of the universe, right?"
"Well, yes," said Lavender, "but I don't. And, really, if not for Seamus..."
"Don't say anything you'll regret, dear," said Draco, though he was very pleased. If not for Seamus... well, that could be arranged.
Draco brushed off his robes needlessly, then pat Lavender on the shoulder.
"I'll see you around," he said with a smile, then turned to walk away. He clearly heard Lavender whisper that she would never wash her shoulder again. Draco grinned. Things were back on track.
Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken so long to post this—I'm very busy and I had a computer crisis. And now it sounds like I should be adding 'my dog ate my homework' and 'I couldn't write because my aunt's cousin's mother's great-uncle's best friend died,' but I promise I'm not just making excuses! I lost my chapter outlines and my computer decided it hated me and I couldn't type anything... anyway, that is my plea for acquittal.
I also feel the need to apologize for chapter five, or as I call it, In Which Nothing Happens But It Is Established That Draco is Emotionally Unstable. It was supposed to contain much more than it did, and was supposed to go in an entirely different direction, but as I was writing it just kept getting longer and I decided, "OK then, another chapter completed."
And while I'm at it, sorry for some of the typographical errors... my beta is not always, er, available... and quite frankly, by the time I post, I've already read and reread what I've written ten million times and I honestly can no longer see the stupid little mistakes. Oh well, thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far.
Chapter Six
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
For the rest of the night, Draco was in an almost obscenely happy mood. A wide, uncharacteristic grin covered his face as he plowed through his homework. It had been a bad day, to be sure, but things were most definitely looking up. A small break in confidence could shake a normally self-assured man, but Draco was pressing on. He may have been down, but he was not out.
He opened the Arithmancy book he had very amusingly taken from the Ravenclaw girl earlier, and flipped through in search of a helpful page. He jotted down a few passable answers, deciding to finish the work later; his mind wasn't currently up to the task. He was thinking of far more important things, things that would decide his future... he was fine-tuning his plan to become extra-noticeable to a certain Ms. Lavender Brown. She would regret the day she had ever laid eyes on her stupid Irishman by the time Draco was through with her.
The most important thing was to utilize a tool that he and Blaise had been using for some time: Lavender's class schedule. Draco would never be far behind when Lavender made her way to classes. He would always be sure to make an appearance at every break. With enough waving, strutting, and hair tossing, no one, particularly Lavender, would be able to resist him.
"Why are you smiling?" came a grunting voice to Draco's left. He glanced up to see his pawns, Crabbe and Goyle, staring at him stupidly. Crabbe's mouth was half-open and Goyle's eyes were slightly glazed. How they had managed to get to their seventh year was beyond Draco. He rolled his eyes skyward, and mentally slapped himself—he would not pick up Blaise Zabini's bad habits.
"I am smiling because I'm happy," Draco said slowly. "It's what one customarily does, see."
"What are you happy about?" asked Goyle.
"Oh, nothing," said Draco lightly, though his eyes gleamed maliciously. Crabbe and Goyle would be detrimental to his Plan, so it was imperative that they know nothing of it. Of course, it certainly was never a hard task to conceal things from them. They were the typical goons—good for their physical strength, but virtually nothing else.
But even the dullest seventh years in the school can tell that when someone is rubbing their hands together and cackling nefariously, it usually means something is up. Draco realized his error a moment too late.
"Uh... what are you doing?" asked Crabbe, pointing stupidly at Draco's hands, which were paused in mid-rub.
"Nothing! I'm doing nothing," said Draco quickly, clasping his hands and setting them on his lap. He tried to assume a position of innocence and beamed beatifically at his dimwitted bodyguards. They bought it.
"Oh, OK," said Crabbe. "We haven't seen much of you lately. Where have you been?"
"Well, you know, keeping busy," said Draco, grabbing at his quill so he could occupy his awkwardly folded hands. "N.E.W.T.s and all."
Crabbe and Goyle looked disgusted.
"You've been studying?" Crabbe asked, an expression of great distaste distorting his already ogre-like face.
"Yes," said Draco, gritting his teeth. "I aspire to be more than a mere sheep, following at the feet of whatever leader I am being told to follow. Therefore, I study. Slytherins are not chosen on blood alone, though you two might be the exception. Where is your cunning? Your ambition? Have you no pride? "
Luckily for Draco, this did not become a ruinous statement that gave him away entirely. His proclamation contained a few words consisting of more than one syllable, so Crabbe and Goyle were completely lost. They simply stared at him confusedly, before grinning and plopping themselves down next to him. Draco met Blaise's eyes from across the table. She was biting her lip and had the distinct aura of one who was trying very hard not to laugh.
"Good of you to help me out, Blaise," he muttered once Crabbe and Goyle had started communicating with each other in their usual guttural grunts and snorts.
She smirked impishly. "Where would be the fun in that? You should stop that smiling, though. People are starting to notice. I thought that being sneaky was key, here. Subtlety is always the answer, and all of that."
Draco stuck his tongue out at her. She shrugged and returned to her work.
"Just wondering why you aren't following your own rules," she said delicately, scribbling something down on her parchment.
Draco returned to staring at the table and concocting further wickedness. Once he had Lavender in his clutches, things could get into motion. With the tantalizing thought of invading the Gryffindor ranks still fresh in his mind, and with a twisted smile curving his lips, he picked up his schoolbag and headed to his dormitory. Yes, things were certainly getting better for him.
The next few days blurred indistinctly into weeks as Draco set the latest stage of his plan into motion. No matter where she went, with the obvious exceptions of the girls' bathrooms and Gryffindor Tower, Lavender was never safe from Draco Malfoy. He stopped by to give her a friendly hello on his way to Arithmancy classes, and he was always close to the North Tower when Divination let out. Draco would wave serenely at her from across the grounds or in the middle of a crowded corridor. He would casually bump into her as she walked hand in hand with Seamus, and though on these occasions he made eye contact and nothing more, it was what he was most proud of. In the company of both her boyfriend and the most attractive boy in school, Lavender was faced with the obvious conclusion that she was settling for second best in the form of her Gryffindor boy toy. As far as Draco could tell, she was weakening.
An unforeseen nuisance was Parvati Patil. Draco had always considered her to be just as empty-headed and image-obsessed as Lavender, but he was apparently wrong. With Parvati, there was more than met the eye. Behind her pretty face, not to mention hair that even Draco could admire, there lurked a brain, or at the very least something similar. Every time Draco 'accidentally' ran into Lavender, Parvati would fix an unsettlingly sharp eye upon him, which always gave him the unmanly desire to shudder. Parvati, it seemed, had taken the role of Lavender's conscience, and her morals could possibly be costing him success. As a Malfoy, he had grown up knowing that such individuals could easily be permanently disposed of, but he had to break away from this old way of thinking for two reasons: one, he was no longer abiding by the rules Lucius Malfoy had laid down, and two, Parvati Patil could be an asset later on in his Project.
Fooling Lavender was undoubtedly easy. Getting the rest of the Gryffindors in his palm could be harder. The sooner he won Parvati over, the sooner he would come closer to getting more of the brave and noble brethren on his side. Parvati, for all of her ethical infirmities, had an unquestionable gift. She was on good terms with every Gryffindor, and she had persuasive speaking down pat. Sure, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger didn't think her fondness of Divination was impressive, but she had always stuck up for all of the things pure and holy, and that, for some reason, was important to Gryffindors. If Parvati accepted Draco, she could quite possibly get the others to accept him as well.
But he wouldn't worry about that now. It would all come in due time. The most pressing thing was to keep working on Lavender.
Draco had given Blaise some time off to follow Lavender around himself, something Blaise was very grateful for.
"Thank God," she had said when he had informed her that she could take a little break. "Hopefully I can regain the mental normalcy I had before I began hanging around with you."
Draco thought that her caustic words stemmed from her subconscious disappointment about time not spent with him. It was, however, for the best. Draco had to constantly make his presence known around Lavender, and it would be best not to have girls following in his wake. Or at least girls who were not giggling insanely and following him around with adoration clearly in their eyes. Blaise lacked such qualities and could easily become suspicious, even to a girl with Lavender's nonexistent brain power.
He peered cautiously around the tall plants he was hiding behind. Lavender was walking to the lake with Parvati, chatting breezily. He had to admit that spying was not nearly as fun without Blaise, though it may have been more productive. Blaise had excellent observation skills, but her attention span was not nearly where it needed to be.
Preparing himself to make another confrontation, Draco did what he usually did in such situations. He combed his fingers through his hair, straightened his robes, and put his girl-charming smile on full power. No one lasted long when Draco was on the prowl.
He swaggered down the path toward Lavender, who paused uncertainly when her eyes caught Draco. Parvati nudged her along, once again fixing Draco with her patented, suspicious narrow-eyed stare. Draco, the thrill of the chase now upon him, did not feel the least bit intimidated. He flashed his dazzling white grin at the girls and strolled a bit faster. Lavender stumbled a bit, her eyes taking the same shiny, excited look that Granger's got when she was talking about that house-elf organization she ran; the one with the incredibly stupid name. Parvati grabbed Lavender's arm and pulled her faster toward a spot near the lake, underneath a tall tree. Lavender sat down unsteadily, still looking dazed.
Draco watched uninterestedly as Parvati leaned down to ask Lavender a question, a stern look on her face. Lavender nodded guiltily as an answer. Parvati looked vaguely ruffled as she took a seat next to her friend, and started in on what was undoubtedly a righteous treatise. Lavender wasn't paying attention—she had just noticed Draco, only a few yards away, and quickly closing the distance.
Parvati, knowing that she wasn't being listened to and feeling very irritated because of it, looked up to see the cause of Lavender's distraction. She didn't look surprised, though her face had taken an unnecessarily hostile look.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" asked Parvati aggressively. Lavender simply sighed and smiled vapidly.
"I just wanted to see what you lovely ladies were up to!" said Draco, taking a seat next to Lavender. Parvati began muttering darkly under her breath—Draco wondered when she had gotten such an attitude—but Lavender looked ecstatic and began giggling.
"So," Draco said, putting his arms behind his head and leaning back against the tree. Lavender looked faint with glee. "How were your classes today?"
"It's Saturday," said Parvati dully, examining her nails.
"Of course it is," Draco said quickly. "Just a little joke, ha, ha."
Parvati raised her eyebrows, clearly not amused, but Lavender had gone into peals of raucous laughter. Draco had to admit that her reaction was quite amusing. Perhaps Lavender wasn't so bad, after all. She laughed at his 'jokes,' which was more than what could be said about Blaise. On the other hand, Pansy Parkinson, too, laughed at the things he said. But then, Pansy had always been positively smitten with him. All in all, Lavender's laughing could be taken as a very good sign, though it was getting tiring. Either Seamus was even stupider than she was, or she was not used to semi- clever comments, but Draco could hardly say anything without her falling into giggles again. Parvati eventually got so sick of the scene that she got up to leave, giving both Draco and Lavender a curt goodbye before she went.
Draco restrained himself from whooping with triumph. It would not be subtle or civilized. He would just have to content himself with a satisfied smirk, which Lavender was now smiling ridiculously at. Draco was a subconscious genius. He hadn't even known he was doing it, but by making Lavender laugh, and consequently, annoying Parvati at the same time, Draco had managed to remove Parvati-the-Plan-Killer from the area and get Lavender on her own. Really, he would have to try the Sorting Hat on again sometime, although it was filthy and looked every day of its age. Perhaps the old thing was going senile—yes, his whole family had been in Slytherin, and yes, he embodied a good amount of the Slytherin traits. But how could such marvelous brains as his go to waste? Maybe he should have been tossing witticisms back and forth with the Ravenclaws.
His thoughts were interrupted by Lavender, who was now gazing at him, the silly smile still plastered on her face, and rubbing his shoulder.
"What are you thinking about, Draco?" she asked breathlessly.
Oh, only about how you are walking straight into my clutches, my dear. For generations to come, you will be known as the girl who helped enable the greatest Dark Lord to ever live gain power.
"I'm not thinking of much," said Draco, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. Lavender sighed; Draco smiled. The hair thing worked every time.
"You must be thinking about something. Come on and tell me," Lavender pressed.
Just his luck. Even when he was looking for a girl to use to further his evil schemes, he got stuck with the one who wanted to talk about feelings.
"Oh, well, you know," said Draco. "I'm thinking about normal things. School and such."
Lavender looked disappointed and withdrew her hand from his shoulder.
"Oh," she said, looking away.
"Actually, Lavender," Draco said swiftly, "I was really thinking about you and me."
That got her attention.
"What about us?" she asked, once again focusing on him.
"Do you remember what I said before?" inquired Draco. "I asked you awhile ago if you ever wanted to get together to study, and, well, the offer still stands."
To his disappointment, Lavender's face took on its usual look of mingled delight and regret.
"I... I'm still going out with Seamus, Draco," she whispered. "Parvati keeps saying it's not right for me to spend time with you."
"Yes, I guess so," said Draco, trying to hide his irritance. Honestly, what was with these Gryffindors!? Here he was, the most attractive man to set foot in Hogwarts for quite some time, and he was been refused for someone else! The injustice of it! He made to stand up, but Lavender grabbed his arm.
"Wait!" she said. Draco looked at her expectantly. "I—well, if it weren't for Seamus, I would definitely study with you—"
"But as it is," Draco interrupted, "you don't feel it's appropriate."
Lavender looked down at the ground, her face reddening slightly.
"No, it's all right, I completely understand," lied Draco.
"I really do like you, Draco."
He smiled humorlessly. "Even though I'm a Slytherin and you're a Gryffindor?"
Lavender looked up fiercely. "That has nothing to do with it! House rivalries are so stupid."
"But what would your housemates say?"
"I wouldn't care. I mean, lately you've seemed like a really great person."
Draco decided to ignore the possible implications of the things he had been before the 'lately.'
"But they all think I'm the evil scum of the universe, right?"
"Well, yes," said Lavender, "but I don't. And, really, if not for Seamus..."
"Don't say anything you'll regret, dear," said Draco, though he was very pleased. If not for Seamus... well, that could be arranged.
Draco brushed off his robes needlessly, then pat Lavender on the shoulder.
"I'll see you around," he said with a smile, then turned to walk away. He clearly heard Lavender whisper that she would never wash her shoulder again. Draco grinned. Things were back on track.
Author's Note: I'm sorry it has taken so long to post this—I'm very busy and I had a computer crisis. And now it sounds like I should be adding 'my dog ate my homework' and 'I couldn't write because my aunt's cousin's mother's great-uncle's best friend died,' but I promise I'm not just making excuses! I lost my chapter outlines and my computer decided it hated me and I couldn't type anything... anyway, that is my plea for acquittal.
I also feel the need to apologize for chapter five, or as I call it, In Which Nothing Happens But It Is Established That Draco is Emotionally Unstable. It was supposed to contain much more than it did, and was supposed to go in an entirely different direction, but as I was writing it just kept getting longer and I decided, "OK then, another chapter completed."
And while I'm at it, sorry for some of the typographical errors... my beta is not always, er, available... and quite frankly, by the time I post, I've already read and reread what I've written ten million times and I honestly can no longer see the stupid little mistakes. Oh well, thanks to everyone who has reviewed thus far.