Draco Malfoy and the Disownment Project
Chapter Thirteen
Disclaimer: See Chapter One
Draco barely slept that night. He tossed and turned, and when he did drift off, though it was a rare occurrence, his sleep was uneasy. He was haunted by horrible dreams, mostly of Lavender rejecting him in a loud, embarrassing manner, but sometimes they featured the Bloody Baron, who cackled wildly about Draco being a failure and a shame to Slytherin. After a particularly nasty nightmare in which both Lavender and the Baron made an appearance, Draco woke in a cold sweat and decided that sleep would not be possible. He sat upright in his bed, grabbing a book that Blaise had borrowed for him, and stared unseeingly at the words on the page.
Staying awake was almost as bad as the nightmares. At least when he was dreaming he wasn't torturing over every detail of the events that would transpire in the very near future. After a solid hour of nervous deliberation, he could take no more. Placing his book back in his bag, he stood, stretched, then headed directly for his wardrobe. Instead of worrying, he could make himself useful.
He picked out one of his finest set of robes and laid them carefully on his bed, meticulously smoothing out any creases or wrinkles. He took a quick shower, grateful for the early morning hours that kept his housemates away. After dressing and fixing his hair, he grabbed his bag and went down to the common room. He sat in a chair by the fire, his knees jiggling with nervous energy. He took his novel out again, and this time he was able to devote a small bit of concentration to it, though reading the words and understanding them were two very different things.
"Blaise, finally."
Blaise had just appeared in the common room, combing her hair with her fingers and checking over a piece of parchment that Draco assumed was her Transfiguration essay. Draco stood up so quickly that his chair fell over, and he all but sprinted over to Blaise. He snatched at her wrist and a tearing sound permeated the relative quiet of the room. Blaise looked down at her ripped parchment and rolled her eyes, grabbing Draco's wand from his left hand and repairing the paper with a flick of her fingers. Draco grabbed her arm more gently this time and dragged her over to the table he had just vacated. Blaise, to his profound surprise, went quietly. She flopped down into a chair, smirking lightly as Draco bent to pick up his own from the cold stone floor.
"Were you really in that much of a hurry that my homework had to suffer?" Blaise inquired as Draco sat back down in his chair.
"Who are you, Granger?" Draco asked. "It's Saturday! Leave the homework upstairs where it belongs!"
"What is your problem?"
"I haven't slept, I can't think, my stomach feels as if it's been tied in a million knots, and there's this screechy little voice in my head screaming, 'If you mess this up, it's over! If Lavender doesn't agree to go out with you, you fail!' "
Blaise was quiet for a moment, then, shaking her head, she gave a short little laugh.
"I have decided, Draco, that you must have selective confidence. You go on and on about how great you are, but when it comes tome to actually put yourself out there and leave your comfort zone, you're just as insecure as the rest of us."
Draco was about to protest feebly, but Blaise interrupted.
"It makes you seem…well, normal. Less insane, and I say that in a complimentary way. It's actually kind of endearing."
Draco raised his eyebrows impertinently, but was secretly pleased that she thought so. They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments.
"I personally don't think you should worry," Blaise said softly, staring at the dying embers in the fireplace. "Lavender obviously adores you, and with Seamus out of the way, your path is clear. She'll have no more moral objections to dating you."
"It's the stupid Bloody Baron's fault!" Draco said. "He made me start doubting things!"
"The Baron is too busy keeping an eye on Peeves to know what he's talking about. Just remember all the time we spent spying on Lavender this year. She likes you, and she's your ticket to becoming the next tyrant."
Draco knew logically that she was right, and that all evidence pointed to Lavender liking him desperately. However, plain, simple logic often has an annoying habit of deserting you when you need it most, and even when the desperate man is confronted with it, it doesn't always take immediate hold. Therefore, even with Blaise's assurances and hours upon hours of evidence of Lavender's fondness for him, he was still unwaveringly convinced that his doom was approaching.
A half an hour later, Slytherin students began filtering into the room. Draco marveled at their ability to act so carefree, every one of them ignorant of the fact that the hour of Draco's destruction was getting closer by the moment.
"Let's go," Blaise murmured. "Well—actually, I think we should arrive separately. You don't want Lavender to see you with another woman."
"Blaise, she's seen me with you the entire year."
"It's different now, Draco," Blaise explained patiently. "She's back on the market. She was tied down with Seamus before, so my traveling around with you wasn't important. She couldn't have you anyway, so why did it matter that I was there? It may have made her jealous, I don't know, but she's a Gryffindor and couldn't dump Seamus for you."
"You think Lavender thinks you're my girlfriend?"
"She's rather ditzy. You may have noticed. I don't know what she thinks, but I don't really believe it's a good idea for us to be seen together so often now."
"Huh," said Draco. "Well, I guess I'll see you later, then."
"Good luck," Blaise said, standing up and leaving for the Great Hall.
Draco waited nervously at his table for another ten minutes, before grabbing his bag and walking to what could potentially be a scene of humiliation.
As he sauntered casually over to the Slytherin table, conversation at the Gryffindor section broke off completely, then built back up to a sound that resembled something like swarming bees. Every Gryffindor, from first year all the way up to seventh, looked at him with curiosity. Even McGonagall was shooting him looks. Draco would have completely enjoyed this attention on any other day, but today he was too busy trying not to run screaming from his seat. Instead of sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him, as his mind was now unhelpfully telling him to do, he sat coolly in his seat, performing his nonchalant and haughty look. It never failed to get the girls squealing.
He focused his seemingly composed gaze onto Seamus, who was looking miserable.
Good, thought Draco. He's broken it off with Lavender. All I have to do now is what I do best.
He expected Lavender to look teary-eyed, or perhaps a little melancholy, but he was surprised to find her looking radiantly happy as she sat next to Parvati. Lavender kept glancing over at him and squealing, causing Parvati to roll her eyes in exasperation and turn to talk to Potter.
By the time breakfast ended, Draco's nerves were completely shot. It was hard work pretending to look unfazed, and he was afraid that the wear would start to show on his otherwise magnificent face.
"Go now," Blaise mouthed from her seat next to Pansy Parkinson.
"Where?" Draco asked, perplexed.
"Go!" Blaise whispered shrilly, pointing to the door of the Great Hall.
Draco whipped around to see Lavender skipping ecstatically out of the room.
Draco's eyes widened as he watched her go, then with a graceful leap he headed after her.
"Lavender!" he called once he was out of the Hall. Lavender was perched elegantly by the staircase, rifling through her Divination textbook.
"Oh, hi Draco!" she said, snapping her book shut hurriedly and sticking it haphazardly into her bag. "I hoped I might run into you."
"Yeah, well, here I am," Draco said stupidly. "I heard about you and Seamus."
"Oh, that," said Lavender with a bright smile. "That's actually why I wanted to see you today. And Professor Trelawney said it was a perfect time to talk to you, too. The stars are properly aligned and I probably shouldn't tell you this, but my horoscope said wonderful things were in my future."
Draco understood very little of this, but nodded and smiled as though he was enthralled.
"So everything is looking wonderful, except for a pesky little problem with the current positions Mars is in… anyway, that's unimportant. Would you like to go into Hogsmeade with me today?"
Draco looked at her for a moment. He had obviously been asked out by many girls throughout the years, but he was expecting to have to grovel at her feet. The fact that this was incredibly unlikely, given the girl's obvious feelings for him, did not register in his frantic mind.
"Oh, well, yes, of course, I'd like that very much, I was hoping to ask you myself, I'm glad you want to go, when would you like to meet, where should I pick you up?" Draco rambled.
Lavender giggled.
"Meet me by Gryffindor Tower at about noon. Is that all right?"
"Perfect, can't wait, I'll be there, don't worry, see you then."
Lavender twittered again, then gave him a flirty wave and headed up the stairs. Draco slumped down onto the steps, his head in his hands, breathing irregularly.
That was much easier than he'd anticipated, and he was greatly relieved that he wasn't the one who had to do the asking. His heart was thumping quickly and his mind was whirring. As harrowing as this one task had been, the hard stuff was yet to come. He actually had to take Lavender out, and not only did he have to charm her, he had to make her housemates love him as well.
"How'd it go?"
"Blaise! Why in the name of Slytherin do you keep sneaking up on me! Just walk up to me like a normal person, okay?"
Blaise shrugged.
"Whatever you say. How'd it go with Lavender, you dolt?"
"You mean you weren't spying on me? How unlike you."
"I thought that perhaps you'd like your privacy, so I gave you some space. You didn't blow it did you? I mean, I have to admit, you have me scared right now. You don't exactly look triumphant."
"She asked me out."
Blaise looked impressed.
"Though asking you out can hardly be called an act of great intelligence, I suppose I underestimated her Gryffindor bravery. Good for her. It was more than you could do, after all."
Draco gave a wail.
"I couldn't even ask a girl out! My palms got all sweaty and I kept talking! But I wasn't talking wittily—I was practically incoherent! Compared to me, Lavender sounded like—like—Granger! I don't have girl troubles! I do not have problems in that area! I've never been nervous! What's happening to me?"
Blaise sat down next to him and threw an arm around his shoulder. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he thought she looked a bit remorseful for her last quip.
"Relax Draco, this isn't like asking those other girls out. This was a step in your formidable plan. You weren't scared about Lavender, why would you be? You were afraid to have come this far only to ruin things. But now everything is falling in place."
Draco didn't feel any better, but he decided not to say anything more on the matter of Lavender.
"Blaise?" he said, throwing caution to the wind. "I've been thinking about the Bloody Baron."
"Not him again," Blaise groaned. "He's insane. Ghosts can't see the future! The Baron knows even less about the future than Trelawney, and that's saying something. Let it go. You need to think about how you're going to worm your way into the Gryffindors' good books."
"But don't you think he was trying to really warn me about something?"
"No," said Blaise with finality. "The Baron has never done anything helpful. He's made everyone's life miserable, and he was probably just adding you to his already extensive list of victims."
Draco was still worried, but didn't want to say anything.
"Are you better now?" Blaise said, only slightly sarcastically.
"Sure. Let's go get me ready."
There were only twenty minutes left until he went to meet Lavender, and Draco still wasn't ready.
"You look like Potter," said Blaise from her seat on the edge of Draco's bed.
Draco ran to the mirror and let out a cry of anguish. His beautiful blonde hair was sticking up at all angles from the many times he had run his fingers through it, frustrated.
"Hurry Blaise, we need the heavy artillery."
"The what?"
"Look under my pillow, you silly girl!"
Blaise gave him an odd look, then lifted his pillow warily. She looked at the bottle marked Gilderoy Lockhart's Heavy Duty Hair Gel, then at Draco, then back at the bottle.
"I am not going to say anything," she said, throwing it to him.
"Good, it'll make a nice change."
He expertly smoothed his hair down, then ran to his wardrobe to change his robes for what had to be the hundredth time in the last half-hour. He chose his best silk in a silvery-gray that made his eyes look positively glorious, then scrutinized his reflection.
"See, you look nice," said Blaise.
Draco knew she was trying to be helpful, but it was not the right thing to say.
"I don't want to look nice, I want to look ravishing!" he snapped.
Blaise looked slightly taken aback by his vehemence.
"There is no reason for you to be this nervous," she said.
"Oh, no, because the outcome of this date doesn't effect my entire future," said Draco with a contemptuous toss of his head.
"Watch it there, you'll mess your hair up again. Just relax."
"Yeah, sure Blaise, except I think you're missing one important little detail. THIS GIRL IS ESSENTIAL FOR MY PLANS! I cannot mess this up!"
"Just keep saying, 'I am hot, sexy, and beautiful.' "
He spun around to look at her.
"Do you really think that?"
"No, stupid. It's just your confidence-boosting mantra."
"Oh. Okay. I am hot, sexy, and beautiful."
"Oh, honey, you certainly are!" said the mirror.
"This isn't working," Draco said.
"For heaven's sake Draco, you're you! You'll be fine!"
"You're right," said Draco, trying to convince himself. "I'll be fine. I shouldn't work myself up. It's bad for my blood pressure."
"I think you'll do wonderfully."
"Are you going to be there, watching me from dark corners?" Draco asked hopefully.
"Sorry, Malfoy, but I don't think so. You're ready to go out on your own."
"But what if I mess it up?"
Blaise bit her lip.
"Okay, if you think you said or did something irreparable, I'll be in the post office and you can meet me there. But I really don't think you'll need me."
The thought of having Blaise there for backup eased the butterflies that seemed to have made their home in his stomach.
"All right, thank you Blaise."
He took a deep breath.
"Well, I guess I'd better go then."
"I think that's a good idea."
He looked at his friend and accomplice, then gave a forced smile.
"Wish me luck?"
"Good luck," Blaise said with a smirk. "You won't need it, though."
"Why do those sound like famous last words?"
"Stop stalling and get your cunning self up to Gryffindor Tower."
"All right. I'm really going now."
And with that, Draco left the dungeons to go get the girl.