title: illuminated

summary: "There's a lot in the past—good, bad and obscure—that people shut their eyes to. Yet, there comes a time when they open those eyes and illuminate that past. Because more often than not, these are the moments that help make us." A companion piece to the Simplicity & Clandestine stories. [A series of One-Shots focused on characters' history.]

disclaimer: if you recognize it, it belongs to JKR. All OCs are mine!

02. i don't care

Summary: 'The best of us can find happiness in misery.' If there was one thing to be noted about Slytherins, it wasn't their affinity to hate everything and anyone. It was that they knew how to throw a party. Oh and they could be kind of endearing sometimes. (Year 5)

main characters: Angeline Jensen & Draco Malfoy

genre: friendship/humor

rating: T

It was Friday night in late April and Angeline was quite content with relaxing with a book in the fifth year girls' dormitory. Having been dumped approximately two weeks prior ago, her usual Friday night activities had come to an end. Not that she was too upset over losing a boyfriend and the perks of having one; she was more upset that she had lost a friend. She'd miss Jake, no doubt, but they were too different when it came to life goals and life experiences. They should have never been together and stayed friends.

And this, she would stand firmly on.

Apart from her so-called typical teenage drama, another damper in her Friday night activities came with Umbridge being a complete dictator, even if she was nice to the Slytherins, it didn't mean that there was still much that any of them to do…Especially if they weren't on her good side, which Angeline was not…All because she refused to be part of the Inquisitorial Squad, even after her fathers urgings to get on Umbridge's good side. Angeline could be fake just like the rest of them, but she would not be kissing a toad's arse.

"There you are Angeline," looking up from her book, Angeline found Daphne Greengrass leaning against the doorframe of their dormroom.

"Here I am," Angeline muttered turning her attention back to the book. She and Daphne were not friends, though it should be noted that she and the blonde were not enemies. They had formed some kind of mutual respect for one another. What that respect was, neither could ever put a name to it, but it kept them nice enough. Even if Daphne was best friends with the likes of Pansy Parkinson. Someone Angeline would definitely call an enemy.

"I came to get you," Daphne said. Angeline could tell she had walked further into the room.

"Came to get me for what?" Angeline asked.

"We're having a party you dunderhead! Can't you hear it?" Daphne said. Angeline tilted her head some and sure enough she could hear music coming as a soft muffle into the room. "Honestly, Angeline, it's like you're not even here anymore."

"What's the occasion?" Angeline questioned looking up to the girl.

"Do we really need a reason?" Daphne asked. Angeline nearly scoffed but not because the we was anything silly, it was because she agreed, they did not need a reason to throw a party. Slytherins did what they wanted because they wanted to. Angeline thought it was an equally charming and repulsive trait that they shared amongst one another. Merlin, knew that attribute had gotten her in just as much trouble as it had brought her some satisfaction.

"Listen, us fifth years and up are clearing the common room of the pesky children and getting up to some frowned upon activities right now. Frowned upon activities that you love. Drinking being one of them. Why don't you join us?" Daphne continued.

Angeline looked back at her book, "I think I'll decline, Daphne," she said. "I appreciate that you've come to include me."

"Oh come on," Daphne sighed. "You've been moping ever since Flinton broke up with you!"

"I have not been moping," Angeline snapped, her book now forgotten as she looked at the blonde girl again. She wouldn't have called what she was doing moping. She'd call it new found independence after nearly six months of being attached at the hip of someone else.

"Yes, you have been," she nodded with certainty. "It's becoming a bit pathetic really."

"I'm growing tired of this conversation, Greengrass. Leave me be."

"Touchy," Daphne sang. "Anyway, I would leave you alone but I spoke to Blaise and he said to drag your sorry arse out if you said no."

Angeline scoffed and rolled her eyes, "No, he didn't."

"Okay, maybe he didn't," Daphne laughed. "But he did say you need to loosen up because you've been looking pitiful."

"That I believe," Angeline mumbled. "The answer's still no."

"Figures," her blonde unwanted companion said. "Draco did say that you'd be too much of a prude. Then Pansy added you were an angsty baby or something."

Angeline studied Daphne with narrowed eyes, she wasn't one to care what people said about her, but something about what Daphne had said irked her. Sitting up and getting off her bed, she slipped her feet into her trainers. Daphne grinned as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

She didn't say anything as she brushed past Daphne to head to the Common Room, the blonde girl following behind her in excitement. In the corridor, they passed younger students pouting about how it wasn't fair.

Angeline almost told them to suck it up, their time would come, but she wasn't that cranky.

Entering the Common Room, Angeline was greeted by loud music, chatter and people running to and fro. Drinks being chugged, games being played, dancing, and no party was complete without people snogging in corners or having heated arguments over stupid little things.

Yeah, this was exactly something that Angeline would have actually wanted to attend had she not been—admittedly—moping.

"And you wanted to miss this," Daphne yelled over the music. She grabbed two bottles off a tray that was floating past them and handed one to Angeline. Daphne lifted her own in a toast before she disappeared into the crowd.

Angeline looked at the butterbeer in her hand before taking a swig and hoped she could find something stronger.

Did she look like a bloody house-elf?

Pushing through the crowd she found a place to sit on a table in the corner where she could watch and judge.

She may not like them ninety-five percent of the time but Angeline had to admit one thing about her housemates—they knew how to party. Her percentage of liking her fellow Slytherins always increased when they had alcohol flowing through their systems…well she liked most of them a little more. There were the select few that she perhaps disliked a little more.

For a few moments she scanned the crowd looking for Blaise and she did find him, looking rather annoyed by some seventh and sixth years as they discussed something or another. Deciding she wasn't exactly in the mood to debate she continued to scan the crowd, not exactly looking for anyone or anything in particular. After all, she was only there because she was irked that two people that weren't exactly on her good list had made comments about her not showing.

Appearances and all.

So, she sat there on that table, nursing her bottle of butterbeer, hoping something stronger would come along, as some of the sights she was being subjected to were not meant for the sober eye.

"Jensen," Angeline was startled as someone slid onto the desk, bumping her and throwing their arm over her shoulders. She looked up at the blond, pink cheeked, Draco Malfoy. Clearly he had had far more to drink than she had because he would never get this close to her otherwise, "Enjoying yourself?"

"Sorta, yeah," she mumbled as she removed his arm from her. "You're drunk."

"I'm quite clear-headed, thank you," he snorted. "I'm surprised you came out to play."

"Because I'm such a prude, right?" she said.

"Now would I ever say such a thing?" Draco smirked. "You can drink and party with the best of us," he said.

"Hm, Malfoy, it's starting to sound as if you like me and that can't be right now can it?"

Draco's smirk widened slightly, "Not at all," he said before plucking her drink from her hand. "Why are you wasting your time on this?" he asked.

"Haven't found anything better, I suppose," she said. Draco nodded as he reached to the other side of himself, setting her butterbeer down and picking up another bottle and held it out to her.

"Drink this," he said. Angeline stared at the bottle suspiciously before he rolled his eyes and made a great show of drinking from it first.

"I'm not trying to poison you," he said holding it out to her again. "Loosen up, would you?"

Angeline took it from him and she took a large swig. It was a sweet mead—her favorite kind—that hit a spot that butterbear simply could not.

"Isn't that better?" he asked smugly.

"You always have the good stuff, Malfoy," she said before drinking more and handing it back to him.

"Naturally," he responded before drinking. "Only the best for a Malfoy."

"There's that smugness I've come to know."

"And love," Draco smirked.

"You're pushing it, buddy," she replied. Draco chuckled and she couldn't help but laugh herself. "Seriously, though," she started as she grabbed the mead from him. "How do you always manage to get the good drinks?"

"If I told you all my secrets, they wouldn't be secrets," he said. "Besides, aren't you the one that provided us with a very old and very expensive bottle of firewhiskey last year?"

Angeline smirked, "Secrets, darling."

Looking out toward the crowd, Angeline's eyes landed on Jake Flinton as he laughed with a group of friends. She and Jake made eye contact and his laughter stopped and her smirk fell. Jake was the first to snap out of whatever trance they had found themselves in. He gave a polite nod before moving in a way to not have to see her. Angeline stared down at the bottle in her hands before taking a drink from it.

"I take it the break up wasn't mutual," Draco said when she had stopped drinking and held the bottle out to him to take.

"It was," Angeline said after a moment. "However, losing a friend was not something I had anticipated."

"Hm," he hummed. His eyes were clearly on the older boy in question as he spoke. "People say you were sleeping around," he said.

"By people you mean, Parkinson," she scoffed. "I'm not ignorant to what our housemates are saying nor do I really care what they think of me. You're no different. If you and anyone else wants to think I'm a slag then so be it. I don't care. I know what I am and those that matter know too."

Draco had slowly turned his head to look at her during her tirade. And for the life of her she could not read what was etched on his face. She had been expecting some level of smugness and amusement, but she got neither of those…what she got, she didn't know but it somehow made her stomach flip and her cheeks heat.

Then again, it could be that the mead was taking it's affect on her.

Yeah, that was the excuse she was going to go with.

"Fuck them, Jensen," he finally said. "Figuratively," he added as an afterthought. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't believe that you're a slag. I've known you a long time and you're a lot of things, but you're not the type to ruin a relationship for a quick few seconds in the sheets."

Angeline blinked once, twice, thrice…a genuinely nice Draco Malfoy was always so perplexing and rare.

"Er, thanks," she muttered as she grabbed the bottle from him and taking a long drink from it.

"Woah," she heard Draco laugh as he took the bottle from her lips, some how managing to not spill any of it on her. "How about we set this down a minute, yeah?"

Angeline wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve as Draco set the bottle at a significant distance from her.

She studied him for a moment, why was he sitting with her and being nice?

"Malfoy, why aren't you with your usual group?" she asked.

"A bloody stupid argument," Draco rolled his eyes. "Pansy is overdramatic, clingy and downright annoying," he said.

"You're the one dating her," Angeline snorted.

"Not anymore, I'm not," he scoffed. "Which is why we were arguing. What I thought was a mutual breakup apparently wasn't. She started drinking and then promptly flipped out on me. Zubeida Khan took her back to the dormitories to calm down. Frankly I believe knocking her out would have been more sufficient."

"Wow," Angeline drawled. "You sure do know how to pick 'em, Malfoy."

"Clearly," he agreed, but he gave her a meaningful look or at least it may have been meaningful. The mead was surely keeping her from analyzing things properly like she usually did.

"Y'know, Jensen," he started thoughtfully as he jumped off the table. "You're better off without him."

"You're only saying that because he's a half-blood," Angeline rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm not," Draco said. He leaned forward, his hands on either side of her on the table. "You were rather dull with him."

"Was I now?" Angeline asked leaning back slightly. She was mixed about how she felt about him evading her personal space. On one hand she was uncomfortable with it but on the other, she was completely unbothered.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Boring. What did you two even have in common anyway?"

"What did you and Parkinson have in common?" she snapped. "That is, apart from you mutual bullying tactics."

Draco smirked but didn't say anything. Why was it that Angeline felt as though he were closer than he had been. Had she moved forward subconsciously? She could feel his body heat and his breath fan over her face, which smelt of sweet mead and spearmint.

Why were they so close that she could see how dilated his pupils were? Or that the usual cold grey was warm and playful? When had her hand moved to rest on his arm and why was one of his hands on her thigh?

Bloody hell, why was it that their faces were only inches apart.

Was she really going to allow herself to be kissed by the likes of Draco Malfoy?

Yes. Yes she was.

She could always blame it on the alcohol…

The devil on her shoulder was cackling and egging her on to do it and the angel...well the angel wasn't laying out enough rational reasons why she shouldn't…

She had one rule: Don't snog boys like Draco Malfoy.

Hm. Angeline was never really a fan of rules.

It was a party, if she made a mistake so be it! Draco could kiss her; she'd allow it.

Sometimes the devil wins.

"Malfoy."

Damn.

Angeline was surprised by her own inner disappointment at being interrupted from getting a nice little mead induced snog.

What is wrong with you, Jensen? Alcohol or not! This is Malfoy! Get a hold of yourself!

Leaning as far away from Draco as she could she watched the annoyance flash across his features as he too backed away from her to look at the person that had addressed him. Angeline could feel her face burn as she realized the person that had spoke was her closest friend.

"What is it Zabini?"

"Parkinson's looking for you," Blaise informed him.

"So what?" Draco responded.

"She driving everyone up the wall," Blaise rolled his eyes. "Go do something about it."

"Pansy's not my problem," Draco shrugged. His arms crossing over his chest, "I'm busy."

"No, you're not," Angeline said. Draco turned his head to regard her with a frown. "You're not," she repeated more forcibly.

Draco's eyes looked her up and down, surveying her, and she watched as his eyes which only moments ago were filled with warm playfulness, slid into that harsh grey that was very common of them.

"You're right," he scoffed. "I'm not," he looked away from her and to Blaise, "Where is she?"

"Near the spiked punch. Drowning in it, probably," Blaise answered.

"Right," Draco said. "Keep what's left of the mead, Jensen. I don't want it." he told her as he brushed past Blaise and into the crowd to look for his ex-girlfriend. Angeline, however, felt an unusual tightening in her chest as he left.

"Were you really going to kiss him?"

"What?" Angeline asked.

"Don't act like you didn't hear me, Jensen," Blaise said. "Were you actually going to kiss him?"

"I had a slip in judgment, okay?" she growled. "We all get one!"

"Oh that was definitely more than just a slip," Blaise smirked. "You like him."

"Apparently, tipsy me likes him enough to kiss him," she grumbled. "You know what, Zabini?" Angeline started as she jumped off the table. She grabbed the bottle of mead and downed what was left. "I need another drink so I can promptly forget tonight ever happen. Can you be a good lad and make sure I don't do any of the following: Pass out, get sick, make a fool of myself, try to talk to my ex-boyfriend and for the love of Merlin don't let me snog anyone. Especially, Malfoy!"

"Is that all?" Blaise asked and she was sure she heard amusement throughout it.

"No," she shook her head as they started to move about the room and she saw Draco downing a few shots as Pansy hung off his arm. Ugh. "One last thing: Don't ever bring up what happened here tonight! Because if all goes according to plan. I'll forget and I really don't want reminding of what happened."

Blaise chuckled, "Very well then," he said grabbing two shots of who knows what and held one out to her. She took it and they both held them up in toast. "To bad choices."

"And never making them again."

"I doubt that's possible."

"A girl can dream."

And certainly she could.

When Angeline woke up the next morning, she had no recollection of how she got back to her dorm room and safely to her bed or any memory really of what had transpired the night before. But what she did have was the biggest splitting headache of her life and instantly labeled it as one of her bad choices.

What the hell possessed her to drink that much?

I probably don't want to know…

After stumbling through her morning routine, she stumbled into the Common Room to find it clean courtesy of house elves. And to see only one other soul had braved the morning and they were laying out on the couch, arm thrown over their face.

Draco must have heard her coming as he removed his arm and looked at her with half opened eyes.

"You look like death, Jensen," he said, his voice raw and lower than usual.

"Apparently you haven't looked in the mirror," Angeline was surprised by the hoarseness of her own voice. Falling back in the arm chair and promptly curled up in it she watched Draco with a frown.

Why was she thinking about sweet mead and spearmint as she looked at him?

"What?" he asked.

"It's nothing," she muttered. "I thought of something ridiculous is all," she said.

"Hm," Draco hummed as he and threw his arm back over his face. "Hell of a party…"

"It must have been," Angeline sighed. "I don't remember much…"

It was silent for a long while before Draco sat up again to look at her, his hair all over the place.

"Nothing?" he asked.

"Nada," Angeline frowned. A flash of playful smirks and warm grey eyes floated through her mind… "Yeah, nothing…Do you remember anything?"

Draco studied her a moment before laying back down, "Not much," he mumbled.

"You sure?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"Yes," Angeline answered instantly and Draco smiled.

"I guess it takes a liar to know a liar," he said. Angeline made to reply but Draco put his finger to his lips, "Shh. I'm trying to sleep," he said closing his eyes.

Angeline watched him a moment before she uncurled herself and stood up.

"You'd probably sleep better in a bed," she said as she started to leave.

"Is that an invitation?" Draco asked.

"In your dreams," she replied. Draco chuckled but didn't say anything and she took her leave back to her room and her comfy bed.

As she laid there, she could not for the life of her get Draco Malfoy and his stupid grey eyes and irritating smirk out of her head. Though she sure as hell refused to relate any of it to the night she clearly didn't want to remember.

There you have it! Another one-shot! Hope you liked it!

To my Clandestine readers, this was another memory that Draco glimpsed in Chapter 27. :)

Boy that Blaise has some terrible timing doesn't he? If only he hadn't shown up, who knows what would have happened between Angeline and Draco. =P

More one-shots to follow! I promise to have one from Draco's POV soon.

Also, how do you think Draco felt during this whole ordeal? And do you believe he actually forgot? Maybe one day, I'll give his POV of events lol.

Before I go, I would like to thank, Liam'sPlaidShirt, Nicky-Maree, flamesofamonster, MissLorraineScarlet, and little-miss-fire-starter, for reviewing the last one-shot! I love you all so very much! :) xoxo

And of course to those that read and added to their alerts and/or favorites; thanks! :)

Review me, maybe? ;)

Much love,

TR