Thank you so much everyone who reviewed!! To be honest I doubted anyone would actually read this and your words are so encouraging!
Thank you so much Outofthisworldgal for being my first reviewer and reviewing twice! It means the world to me - pun intended!
Thank you to the Guest who reviewed, you really lifted my spirits!
To nigelcat1, thank you so much! I'm really enjoying it so far, although i still haven't quite got the hang of everything!!
To megan.whitton2, that's a great idea, and one I will definitely be incorporating into the story later!
And last but not least, thank you to geowynpynn for giving me the idea for this chapter. I had originally planned on going straight into the pairings and reactions, but i think this works much better!
Anna Xx
p.s I've decided most of the pairings
Blaise and Ron
Ginny and Luna
Oliver and Marcus
as well as loads of other minor ones, but I'm having a bit of a crisis with Draco. I ship Drarry and Dramione almost equally, and I'm not sure whether to do Draco and Harry, and then Pansy and Hermione, or Draco and Hermione and Harry and someone else (maybe Pansy??).
Please help me out!!
Thanks in advance!!
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Draco threw the parchment across his study in a fit of rage and swore colourfully. Those idiots at the ministry! They couldn't leave him in peace for once in their lives? Or was their only purpose in life to make his completely miserable? It was bad enough with his mother nagging him day and night to 'Find a suitable bride' and 'restore the Malfoy name'. He was done with that. He had been since the love of his life, Astoria Greengrass, broke his heart, stomped all over it and spat on it for good measure, with Theo Nott, his alleged best mate, cheering her on from the sidelines. Yes he was done with love. For six months he had wallowed in his self pity before one day Blaise had snapped, storming into the manor and grabbing him by the collar telling him he HAD to move on. Draco had hated him for it at the time, but now realised he owed the boy his life. Along with Pansy they helped him piece his heart back together, and they now ran a succesful company together. They made a tidy sum, but the first few months were rough and racked with the return of his self doubts. But they had pulled through and the trio were now as thick as thieves.
Draco made a split second decision, and flooed to Pansy's family mansion, before realising they were definitely at the london townhouse. He changed tack mid floo and the result was an extremely soot covered malfoy heir who tumbled out of the fire place and into a chair leg, knocking over a potted plant and inhaling half a perfume bottle that had spilled in the process. A slow clap resounded around the room as Blaise Zabini approached the coughing figure sprawled on the ground
"And breaking news, the only Malfoy heir, Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Survivor of the Great War, is bested...by a chimney."
"Shut up Zabini" He managed to choke out, before succumbing to a particularly nasty bout of floral scented coughs.
"You know you love me really" Blaise drawled back before increasing his volume "Hey Pansy! Look what the cat brought in." Dainty footsteps approached the doorway, and Pansy strolled in, her black bob swinging. "If that cat has brought in another mouse i am having it put down i swear to merlin - Draco?"
"Pansy! You ruined my joke!" Blaise complained before taking a hasty step back when Pansy narrowed her kohl lined eyes "You know what, you do you, the joke was better your way" He conceded, adding in a whisper behind her back "My way was so much better"
Pansy approached Draco, who by this time had levered himself into a sitting position and had stopped coughing, the occasional hiccup the only remnant his spectacular entrance.
"So you got the letter then" She handed him a glass of water from a side table. He swallowed it all in one gulp and pansy nodded "I'll take that as a yes then."
Blaise came forward and interjected "My bet is that although Shacklebolt's name is signed at the bottom, he was against, but got out voted by the wizengamot, load of pen pushers." Pansy laughed and grabbed a bottle of wine from the side table, popping the cork and raising it in the air
"I'll drink to that!" She chugged half the bottle in one gulp and reached for another
"That's your solution to this? Get wasted and ignore the bigger troubles?" questioned Blaise "I'm in." Pansy grinned and chucked the second bottle at him. "Draco, what about you?" Draco seemed to consider his options, before coming to a conclusion while the other two watched curiously.
"Oh what the hell, my dad's already mad at me and my life's gone down the drain, I've got no hope for the future and not to mention my cholesterol -"
"Shut UP Draco! You're 22 not 75! Loosen up! Have some fun before you're shackled to someone for life!" Pansy sighed, as if they'd had this arguement many, many times before.
"To Pansy's Pep Talks!" Blaise roared, already slightly tipsy.
"To Pansy's Pep Talks! They repeated, with the sincere solemness that only the intoxicated could conjure.
None of the three considered that at that many monent, the Ministry was deciding the very foundation of their destiny, and reshaping their fate until it was irrevocably set on an entirely different path to a happier, albeit much more controversial future.