Draco adjusted his stiff collar of his black button up. He carefully pulled on a suit jacket and looked at himself in the mirror carefully. He regularly wouldn't have put a second thought to it. He moved his hair out of his eyes and then examined his hairline. Was it receding already, or was he mad? Was he putting too much thought into it? He glanced at his wristwatch for what had to be the twentieth time. He didn't want to be early, or even on time. Despite the fact that he had almost obsessed about his physical appearance, he didn't want to seem like he cared whatsoever about this party that Astoria was throwing. In fact, he wasn't even quite sure why he was invited. Didn't she say that it was for her co-workers? She didn't even seem the type to throw a party. She always seemed quiet and reserved. Perhaps this was her way of making connections, though. If that were the case, then he understood completely.

When he finally felt as if he were late enough to not be noticed as he slipped through the door, he headed to Astoria's. As they lived in the same building it only took him moments. As each flat was completely sound proofed, it was difficult to tell the tone of what he was about to walk into. He stood at the door uncomfortably, unsure whether to knock or to let himself in. He lifted his fist in order to knock. He figured if no one heard it or answered that he would take it that he could just enter. The decision was taken from him, though, when a woman with a mass of curly hair opened the door with an enormous grin on her face. She had been looking over her shoulder and sharing a joke with someone when she had nearly run into him. She stopped short and looked him over. With Draco in his finely pressed suit and her in a fashionably barely-there dress, he realized that he had mistaken the tone of the party. If he were anyone else, he would be embarrassed, but he didn't want to let it show. Besides, what would he have worn if he had known better; would he have even gone at all?

"Oh," the woman said in surprise. "Are you looking for someone?"

She left the door open behind her and he wished that she hadn't. He could see in his peripheral vision that several people had begun to look over curiously.

"I'm here for the party." He sounded stiff, even to himself. "I'm Draco." He withheld his last name intentionally, but he could tell by the way the woman's eyes lit up that she recognized him.

"Draco Malfoy?" she let out a rather shrill laugh. "I'm Mary, Draco Malfoy," he loathed how she said his surname like it was some sort of joke. "You must be mistaken. This is a party for Ministry employees, and I'm fairly certain you don't work there."

"What would you - " he began with a snarl, but a second woman appeared and opened the door further.

"He was invited," the woman responded. She was quite attractive with long, flowing red hair and vibrant brown eyes. Freckles littered her pale face and although her tone was defensive, her expression was irritable. Ginny Weasley had certainly changed over the years, but the feelings of unkindness still went through Draco.

Mary shrugged her shoulders. "I guess it's not a real party without the pity invites."

She disappeared back into the flat and among the surprising amount of guests, leaving Ginny and Draco alone.

"I didn't need you defending me, Weasley," Draco lashed out.

"Clearly you did," Ginny argued. She took in his appearance in the same way that Draco would have taken in hers back at Hogwarts. "What sort of party did you think this was?" she shook her head as if she were trying to shake away any malicious thoughts. "Look, just because you were invited doesn't mean everyone here is going to want you to be here. I'm only even defending you on the benefit of the doubt. Besides, I've heard how you've been treating my brother and for that alone you deserve something other than malice."

"Do you want me to thank you?" Draco demanded. He felt a little rosy in the cheeks. He couldn't believe that he was being sized up by the Weasley girl. So what if he had decided to dress up? Wasn't there a saying that you couldn't ever be overdressed? For Draco's whole life he was taught that he should always do his best to make the perfect first impression, and he wasn't about to do that wearing cheap polos and Muggle-like jeans. It was in his nature to dress properly, and he was beginning to feel horribly out of place. If this was a party in the true sense of the word, then he had no interest in being there.

Ginny looked ruffled by his statement. "And here I thought that perhaps time may have humbled you."

She didn't give him a chance to snap at him again and instead drifted off to another group. Against his better judgement, he took a step inside and looked around. He unbuttoned his jacket and tried to look casual, but all he managed to do was look like the person he was: someone who took pride in their standing and couldn't adjust to his surroundings. He was offered a numerous amount of drinks, either from people trying to be welcoming, trying to flirt, or trying to belittle him, but he turned them all down. He didn't know what exactly he was waiting for until she arrived.

"Here I didn't think you'd come," Astoria said as she approached. She gently touched his upper arm in greeting. She, too, was dressed more formally than the average guest. Her sleeveless black knee-length dress had a peek-a-boo cut-out in the chest area and she wore an appropriate height of heel. Her dark hair was done in coils. She looked around as if she wasn't quite sure if she should leave her place unattended even for a moment. Her face seemed apologetic. "This isn't really what I had in mind," she admitted. She led him out of the flat and into the corridor. With just the two of them, Draco was able to pretend for a moment that he was somewhere respectable and not a party worthy of sixth-year Hogwarts students.

"What did you have in mind?" he wondered.

"Well, for one, a party without Mary," Astoria commented with a grimace. She looked at her closed apartment door as if she could see through it. "I had wanted a small get-together with some co-workers, mostly those in my department. I suppose word got out, and I've evidently used the word 'party' in the wrong context if this is what they had in mind." She sighed and finally met Draco's eyes. "It's like no one has the decency to know what 'connections' are anymore. I didn't have this party in order to make friends. I already have the friends I need, and besides, I wouldn't consider most of whom are in there to be worthy of the status."

Draco grinned at her knowingly. "Why don't we leave, then?"

"Leave my own party?" Astoria gave a disbelieving laugh. "That would be the best kicker, wouldn't it?"

She seemed a little stressed out even though she hid it well. "If you leave you can pretend that this wasn't your idea," he suggested. Really, he just wanted to be able to steal away the only person he had wanted to see that evening. He tried to pretend that wasn't the reason and that he was doing it for Astoria's well-being and status, but he knew it to be untrue. He wanted to be able to sit with her, to not throw jibes at each other, and to have some sort of company that wasn't his girlfriend who he had known since he was eleven – he wanted someone new that didn't look down upon him simply for his name.

Astoria sighed and let her shoulders fall. "Okay. Okay, sure, that sounds actually quite fantastic. And where do you suggest we go?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a young man who ran up the stairway loudly, each footfall echoing through the usually very quiet building. When he saw Draco and Astoria standing there, he made a beeline straight for them, but his eyes were for Astoria only.

"Simon, what is it?"

Simon was out of breath and his high cheekbones were rosy from running so hard. He placed his hands on his knees but kept his face upward. "I'm – I'm glad I found your place. We have to go. That girl – she's making another prophecy."

Astoria didn't even have to ask to know which 'girl' he was referring to.