Chapter 19: Date Dilemma (Draco's POV)
I took my time walking down the stairs and into the entrance hall. When I got there, I saw Granger in the corner next to the doors. She had a cloak on and I could also see a pair of clunky black boots when she pulled up her cloak to button the bottom of it. The boots had loads of silver buckles all over them, and they came up almost to her knees. I couldn't see anything else because she quickly let her cloak drop when she caught me staring. She smiled nervously and then hurried out of the entrance hall when she noticed Professor McGonogall coming.
Since I was early, I decided to slip into the boy's bathroom to make sure I still looked as stunning as I had when I left the common room. I stared into the mirror. Looking back at me was the same blonde-haired 17 year old as always. I was dressed in a crisp black shirt with elbow-length sleeves and dark blue jeans. I checked for rips in my jeans, just to make sure. I had spared one pair from the torture of being everyday pants just in case of an occasion I might have to look nice and like I cared about my clothes. Don't get me wrong. I love looking hot, of course, and my hair has to be perfect, but my clothes just need to be comfortable for me to wear them. My hair was loose, without much gel, just enough to keep it sheltered from the wind.
When I got back to the entrance hall, Blaise, Diana, and Pansy were waiting by the open door, shivering as a small breeze wafted in. I waved in greeting and they all turned to look at me. Blaise came over to me and whispered, "Draco, man, Pansy looks hot. You are so lucky!"
I whispered back, "Yeah. But look at you, you got Diana! She looks awesome in that dress!"
"Hey!" he whispered back, "Are you going to steal her from me or something? I don't want any jealousy issues going on here or I'm going to have to call this whole thing off." He chuckled softly as we joined the girls.
"What's so funny, Blaise?" Diana asked. She was dressed in a lavender dress that reached down to her knees. She was tall and skinny and had long legs. She had tried out for seeker, but the Slytherin captain didn't allow girls on his team. Her long black hair had been arranged in a neat bun with a sparkly clip that caught the light when she moved.
"Nothing, nothing," he smiled and winked at me as he put his hand lightly on the small of her back and gently guided her towards the doors.
I turned my attention to Pansy who was wearing a shockingly bright pink dress and had been looking over my wardrobe choice with a critical eye. "What? You want me to change?" I asked her.
"No. It's too late for that. I just thought you'd make a little more effort," she replied loftily as though she had been offended in some way.
"Blaise is wearing almost the exact same thing except his shirt is white!" I exclaimed.
"Yes, well, Blaise is with her…" she said 'her' as though speaking of a servant. I had thought that Pansy was good friends with Diana. "And you're lucky enough to be going with me. So I thought you would have dressed nicer." She said the last sentence like the conversation was over, so I took her arm in mine and started to follow Blaise and Diana.
"What do you think you're doing? You're supposed to walk with me like Blaise is walking with Diana. You put your hand on my back, but not too low."
Since when did she become my mother? Now she was demanding every ounce of my patience to last the rest of the night. My short temper was required to lengthen just for the evening. I hoped I could manage.
I did as she said and we caught up with Diana and Blaise. We made conversation and eventually reached the gates that lead into Hogsmeade. From there, we walked down the muddy lane and reached Mrs. Paddyfoot's.
The four of us waited to be seated and were shown to a table near the window. Pansy ordered a salad, but Diana showed her true side. She ordered a couple Toad-in-the-Holes, and a plate of bangers and mash. Blaise and I ordered fish and chips, and we all shared a big dish of Yorkshire pudding.
(For those of you who aren't familiar with these foods, let me clarify. Fish is fish. Chips are basically French fries, except usually doused in vinegar. A "Toad-in-the-Hole" is a sausage that is covered in batter and then roasted. Yorkshire pudding is made of flour, eggs, and milk and is cooked in the oven. Bangers are sausages, and mash is mashed potatoes.)
Blaise and I watched as Diana ate all of the food she had in front of her and almost half of the Yorkshire pudding. Pansy simply sat and sipped her Diet Pumpkin Juice politely, not even glancing at the cannibalistic girl across from her. We all talked as we ate our desserts of ice-cream with hot chocolate.
I had sat staring at my hot chocolate, remembering the night with Granger, when the topic of their discussion caught my attention.
"Yes. I can't believe that they're letting him teach two classes AND be the gamekeeper! No wonder Professor Snape is in a foul temper. Teaching with that oaf as a partner, it's completely ridiculous!" Pansy was saying emphatically.
"But you haven't even been to one of their classes yet, Pansy, you missed the first one because you were in the Hospital Wing getting your arm fixed. Blaise and I have, it's amazing. They teach you all sorts of things. When I was in Muggle Studies, we learned that in their schools they have a class called home-economics, where they learn to sew and cook and things like that," Diana commented.
Blaise put his two-cents in, "It really is kind of interesting, I have to admit. They teach you what it's going to be like out there in the Muggle world. Since there are so few all-wizard villages these days, we're all going to have to live in their proximity or else keep to ourselves, which will never work. They say it's like the giants. If all of us live together, we'll start fighting and killing each other off."
Diana said, "Since when have you started listening to what they say, Blaise? You know the Pure-bloods will find a way to take over and make it so that we can keep away from the Muggles."
"Blaise, you're from a Pure-blood family! What if you're father heard you talking like this?" Pansy spoke up.
"I don't think he would mind," I said nonchalantly, looking at Blaise.
Blaise looked back at me with fire in his eyes, "Why would you say a thing like that, Draco? You think my father is in alliance with Dumbledore?"
"Actually, I know your father is in alliance with Dumbledore. I heard my father talking to yours. Your father is the one who came up with the idea for the course, he knows which way the nation is going, he knows what the future is going to be like," I replied.
"When do you have the class, Draco?" Diana asked me, obviously heading off what could develop into a very nasty row. (a/n: in case u didn't know, a row is a fight. )
"I have it on Monday with the other half of the Gryffindors."
"Aww, man, that's going to be hard. At least our half gets to have it with the Ravenclaws. I think I'd rather have them than the daft Hufflepuffs, or the ignorant Gryffindors," Pansy remarked.
I simply murmured noncommittally and sipped my cocoa.
"Is there a Mister Malfoy here? You have an owl, it's here in the kitchen, dear," Mrs. Paddyfoot called out of the half-open kitchen door.
"That's me," I said, standing up and moving toward the kitchen. As I walked in, Mrs. Paddyfoot had her back to me and was talking to a girl with brown hair that had blue streaks through it.
"Thanks," came the girls voice. I couldn't see her face because of Mrs. Paddyfoot, but I saw the girl shove some galleons into Mrs. Paddyfoot's hand.
"Hey, Malfoy," Hermione said as Mrs. Paddyfoot moved out of the way. Her slick brown hair was pulled unto a messy bun and she had dark eyeliner on. Her fingernails were painted French-manicure style with black as a base and red tips. She wore a nondescript red sleeveless shirt and a pair of black unisex wind/parachute pants that she had artfully ripped and torn. The pants were tied up above the rim of her boots so her boots were visible.
"Don't worry," she said, seeing me staring at the pants and boots. "I'm going to take them off anyways."
"Your pants?" I asked, incredulously.
"No, you idiot, the boots."
"Oh," was my only reply as she tugged out another pair of pants and shirt from her coat pockets. The pants were dark blue and had pockets all over them, in fact, it seemed like the pants were made of pockets. The shirt was a tight white sleeveless shirt. From her boots she pulled her wand and a packet of glow sticks. She charmed the glowsticks quickly and attached one to her necklace, one to each of her hoop earrings.
When she stuck her tongue out, I saw a silver stud in the middle of it, "When did you do that?" I couldn't help asking.
"A few seconds ago," she replied attaching another glowstick to the stud, it was small and round and fit perfectly. Seeing the look on my face, she added, "It's only temporary," and smiled. "Well, aren't you going to put the clothes on? You need to hurry, we've got a ways to walk, and we're going to be late meeting Raz."
"Raz? That non-gender kid?" I asked. I unbuttoned my shirt, "Do you mind?"
"No, not really, but if you do, fine. Just remember, it'll probably off again in about an hour."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing. And yes, Raz is taking us. Do you have a problem with my friend going with us?"
"It's just that, I don't want to, and can't get into trouble! If I do, you're dead, well, I'm dead too, so we'd be even, right?"
"Right, whatever Malfoy." And with that, she turned around and I quickly pulled on the pants over my boxers.
"Okay. Let's go."
"What about my Diana, Blaise, and Pansy?"
"You really think they care? Now let's go."
"Wait, you're tricking me! No. I'm not going. I refuse."
Hermione looked at me with this really weird expression on her face. It was like she had just figured something out. "Okay," she said, "Fine. Go back with your friends. If I don't come back by tomorrow morning, find Dominic, alright?"
I didn't say anything.
She started to walk out of the door, then turned. I could see she was almost crying, but trying very hard not to. She added, "Just leave the clothes in my room, alright?" And she left without another word.
I sighed. Why hadn't I gone? Was I really afraid of getting into trouble? It's true that my father would kill me if I got into trouble, but I've done other things before now. None of them nearly as bad as this, but, who is right to say that going to a party is bad? Oh, well. That would give me something to think about.
I pushed through the swinging door and back into the restaurant. There was nobody at the table we had been eating at. I walked out into the street, no Blaise, Diana, or Pansy there either. I headed back to the castle, cold and annoyed and thinking about what had happened that night…. and why.
