Seeds of Seduction

Chapter 11: Fortuitous Meeting

The next morning, Harry made his way down the stairs and to the kitchen. He swung open the doors and walked over to Ron, Ginny, and Hermione who were sitting in a secluded corner of the long wooden battered table talking quietly. As he weaved his way through the mass of aurors and other members of the aurors, he nodded good morning and smiled briefly.

"Good morning," greeted Harry as he slid into the slim wooden bench.

"Hello," replied his friends as Ginny kissed him on the cheek.

"Here's the Daily Prophet," said Hermione as she threw him a wrinkled and folded up wad of gray paper.

"Thanks," mumbled Harry as he swallowed a bite of his croissant.

Setting his breakfast down, he shook open the paper and laid it on the table. In big bold letter were the words "Attack in Ministry" with a picture of the room the fight had occurred under it. Furrowing his eyebrows, he began to read the paragraph under the picture.

ATTACK IN MINISTRY By Rita Skeeter

Yesterday seemed to be an ordinary day for the meeting of an organization formed to fight the Dark Lord and his followers. However, during that meeting two dozen death Eaters suddenly apparated into the room causing mayhem and destruction. It is currently not clear how the Dark forces obtained information to this secret meeting. In the battle that ensued, over a dozen members of this organization were killed; their death count exceeded that of the Dark Lord's. Clearly, this was a victory for the Dark forces though the organization would not like to think as such. There is no doubt, that this leak will be investigated to prevent such calamities from reoccurring repeatedly. Albus Dumbledore was not available for comments although the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter was available.

"Even though we have lost many of the precious lives of our fellow members, this incident clearly shows that we need to be more careful and that maybe this meeting was leaked. Because of this attack, we will take any measures to make sure that this person is brought to justice and I personally will enforce the same punishment as I gave to many other Death Eaters," said the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Wasn't my quote great," joked Harry as he folded up the newspaper, "Severus did a very good job of lying to the newspaper."

"Yes he did," agreed Ginny, "he made it very plausible. I'm just worried that our spy will leak the information to Voldemort. He'll see that the aurors aren't dead and that he'll alert that it's a fake article."

"No Gin," explained Ron as he leaned forward, "There is more to the Order than aurors. There are people who simply spread awareness and gather supporters. Dumbledore invited them all to the meeting yesterday. Our spy will assume that it's members of the non-fighting clan who died."

"That's true," conceded Ginny, "I never thought of that."

"Ha," chortled Ron, "I bet everyone in Voldemort's place is celebrating. Little do they know, they just got owned."

. & .

Just as Ron predicted, the Death Eaters were celebrating at Voldemort's headquarters.

"Cheers," shouted everyone raising his or her glasses in celebration.

The noise emanated into the open but there was nowhere to here them. It was late at night. The house was tumbled down and spooky and gave an air of danger. The house stood amongst a dying field on a cliff, which overlooked the waves, which were crashing against the rocky shore. The small now yellow blades of grass wilted in the moonlight.

The dark hall filled with bitter laughter after they drank down their glasses of champagne. People in black hooded cloaks were milling around nodding their heads at each other. No one smiled; it was forbidden for Death eaters to show signs of weakness or happiness.

But one man was sitting apart from the rest staring absently into his glass of champagne. His blond strands of hair fell around his face like a curtain hiding his emotions from his fellow Death Eaters. Draco sighed as he downed the clear liquid before setting it next to him. He was so confused.

His father had been killed last night at the Ministry. Part of him felt glad and relieved but the other part felt sad and detached. Why he was sad he would never know. Lucius had never showered him with gift or love as his mother had. His father was nothing but a cold rude man who used his power to influence those around him including Draco. He no longer had the threat of his father hanging over him and it felt weird. Before, he'd always had to watch who he talked to, how he behaved, and how he talked. He was in a sense, free. That feeling confused him; he had no idea how to deal with it. His brain whirled with ambivalent thoughts until they completely clogged his thoughts. Scrunching his eyes together, he pushed his hands to the side of is head. Panting, he left go of his head after a few seconds and shook his head. Everything was getting to him.

Swearing, Draco pulled himself up and walked over to the bar. After snatching 5 fire whiskeys from the surprised looking bartender, he apparated to his house. Clutching the bottles to his chest, he looked around. Even as he stood in the polished and immaculately clean hallway, he half expected his father to come out and yell at him for no reason. Silently, he swiftly walked to his room and slammed the door shut. The loneliness, the silence, the stillness was getting to him. Cussing, he threw the bottles on his bed and practically ran over to his stereo. Frantically, he pushed the buttons on the radio until he found an obnoxious song. Grinning manically, he pushed the volume sound loud until it fills the room and pounded in his head. Relaxing a little, he pulled off his shirt and pants. Throwing them haphazardly around his room and then flopped on his bed. He grabbed a bottle of alcohol and downed half of it in one gulp. Wiping his mouth, he set the bottle on his nightstand and buried his face into his pillow. He crinkled his nose and sat up. He scratched his head and frowned; there was the sweet smell of lavender in his pillow. What the hell was that?

Granger! Just the thought of her made his blood pressure spiral out of control. It was her fault that he was feeling pain. It was her fault that he felt weak and miserable.

"FUCK!" roared Draco as he snatched the fire whiskey from his side table and downed it in one gulp.

Throwing the bottle across the room, where it hit the wall and smashed into small glittering fragments, he then grabbed another bottle, popped it open, and downed it. He was desperate to get this feeling of misery, of uncertainty out of his system.

He continued this for the next half hour. After downing the fourth bottle, he leaned back against the headboard of his bed and sighed happily. He picked up one bottle and stood up. The next second, he nearly fell on the floor. Swearing, he grabbed the pole of his bed as he staggered towards the door of his room. Throwing open the door, he walked drunkenly down the hallway until he reached the drawing room. As he stumbled into the room and fell on the floor, he looked up and saw a portrait of his father above him.

"What?" asked Draco stupidly as he opened the bottle, "What do hiccup you want?"

"Whatchya staring at hiccup you old man?" roared Draco as he waved his arm throwing the alcohol all over the cream carpet. "What, you hate hiccup how I'm drinking and I know you don't like it?"

"Well guess hiccup what?" shouted Draco, "You hiccup can't do nothing!"

Just then Draco dropped the bottle and clutched his hand to his head. He looked groggily around as he fell to the floor. He choked and spluttered as the beverages poured of his mouth one by one. Cursing, he wiped his mouth and stood up using the armchair for support. He picked up a hand.

"Is my hand always this heavy?" asked Draco to himself.

"You," gasped Draco, "Can't do anything? You get that? You…"

That's when all went black.

. & .

That's where Draco woke up the next morning. As the first rays of sunlight emanated through the parted green curtains and hit his closed eyelids, Draco groaned and rolled over. He forced his eyelids open and winced as the piercing rays hit his pupils. He jerked up and groaned. His head felt like someone was playing drums on it.

"How did I get here?" muttered Draco as he looked around.

He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he saw the pool of alcohol and spit. Shuddering, he grasped the legs of the armchair and pulled himself up. His head was pounding with a headache as he walked through the hallway to his room. The music was still blaring and shards of glass were all over the floor. Swearing, Draco walked across the room to retrieve his wand; in the process he strayed over pieces of glass.

"Fuck," swore Draco as he surveyed his bleeding feet.

Waving his wand, he sealed the cuts, shut the radio, and got rid of the pieces of glass. Running a hand through his hair, he messed his hair and yawned. He needed to get rid of this headache. Opening his drawer to the table next to him, he pulled out a small diamond. After muttering a spell, it transfigured into a healing potion. Wrinkling his nose, he downed the liquid and swore as it burned down his throat. Immediately, he could feel the effects of the potion working. After a few seconds, he smiled feeling much better.

He needed to get out of here. Rummaging through his dresser, he pulled out a pair of black pants and a white shirt. He knew the exact place where he wanted to go.

. & .

An hour later, Draco walked in to Paradise Books. He shook off the snow from his leather jacket and hair. He sighed and smiled as he heard the familiar tinkle of bells behind him as he shut the glass doors. He closed his eyes and inhaled. He smelled the clean scent of the books around him and the strong scent of beverages in the café a few feet from him. Instantly, he relaxed as he walked further in. The bookstore seemed like a small heaven with the small perfect snowflakes falling outside. The smell of hot chocolate, coffee, and tea permeated throughout the store soothing his nerves.

This was Draco's refuge for so many years. It's simplicity, it's homeliness made Draco feel at the home he'd always wanted. The people were pleasant, the books beautiful, and the atmosphere was so friendly and calm. The soft blue pastels of the wall and the smooth velvet material of the couches and chairs soothed his senses immediately. He felt his nerves let go and a new sense of freedom overtake him. He knew no one here and no one knew him. There was no one yelling at him, no violence, and no evil. He walked over to a bookshelf and ran a hand over the smooth paper cover of a hardcover book. The smooth touch against his hands felt like heaven. For a quarter of an hour, Draco walked through the aisles until he had found a couple books of interest. Inhaling deeply, he walked happily to a secluded corner of the bookstore with a cup of tea. There was nothing better than to pass an afternoon reading in a secluded area. The world around him vanished, as he became a part of the books himself. His worries, his misery, his personality fell away as he became a character in the books. The noises, the smells, the people disappeared and there was nothing important to him but the books and himself. After an afternoon of reading, he would feel refreshed and energized.

Clutching his books to his chest, he rounded the corner and stopped. His chair had been taken. But it wasn't the fact that it was taken; it was the fact that it was occupied by none other than Hermione.

Hermione didn't seem to notice his presence in front of her only 6 feet away. Draco opened his mouth to yell at her but he remembered his plan hastily shut his mouth. In spite of himself, he surveyed her. Her hazel hair fell smoothly over her shoulder. Her figure was accented in a pair of skintight black boot cut pants and a cashmere skintight green sweater. Her feet were enclosed in 3-inch green strappy stilettos. Draco smirked in spite of himself; she looked completely like a Slytherin. Beaded black earrings dangled from her hair and glittered as the light fell on it. Her left leg was on the seat and her right leg curved over her left leg. In her right hand she held the book. Draco squinted as he read the title "Pride and Prejudice". Never heard of that novel. Her left finger was running across her bottom lip as she carefully read the novel.

How he wished he could be like her! Draco sighed wistfully as he gazed at her. She seemed so free, so loose as she sat there reading the book. She looked as if there was no problem in the world. She looked exactly like he looked when he read his books. He wished he could be as pure, as free as she was. As he stared at her wistfully, he didn't realize that Hermione had looked up. Her smiled broke into a shy smile as she saw him.

"Draco," she said a smile tugging at her lips, "Are you OK?"

"Huh," said Draco as he snapped out of his gaze, "I uh, yes I'm fine."

Hermione laughed as she closed her book and stood up. She walked over and kissed Draco the cheek. He closed his eyes as her smooth lips touched his cheek. His first reaction was to cringe but he bore it and smiled as she pulled away.

"What are you doing here?" asked Hermione.

"I needed to get some things off my chest and I always love this place," said Draco. "It's so beautiful. The smell of the books, the way reading makes me feel powerful and refreshed. The comfort and wholesomeness of the atmosphere."

Hermione smiled as Draco blushed at his poeticness.

"Why Draco," drawled Hermione," I never knew you were that poetic. Why don't we continue this conversation at the café?"

"Certainly," smiled Draco as he hooked his hand around Hermione's waist.

Hey, thanks for all the reviews! I appreciate them very much.

Madam Moony: Yeah, I guess Draco sounds pretty lifelike in this! Thanks so much for Beta-ing this for me. I appreciate it. And yeah, I guess that I've been through what he has. Like him, I splurged on alcohol once about a week ago at my boyfriend's house and threw up all over his wood floor. Stress of junior years got to me and it helped actually. For only about 15 minutes; couldn't handle it very long. Not good, never doing that again; and yeah whenever I feel stressed or under pressure, I go to my bookstore. Barnes and Nobles; I love it.