Chapter Eight

Draco and I spent much the rest of the evening seated alone at our table.

"The two of you look like an old, married couple," Theo said, as he approached us. I uncrossed my arms, trying not to look like a grumpy elderly woman, as he'd insinuated, while Draco straightened in his seat. "Are you just going to sit there for the rest of the night?"

"I think I've had enough excitement for one evening," Draco replied waspishly.

Theo shrugged. "In that case, perhaps I could steal your date for a dance?"

I nodded, almost grateful for an excuse to have a reprieve from Draco's erratic attitude as Theo and I made our way to the dance floor. When he put his hands on me I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, if only because I was so used to Draco's touch.

"Are you alright?" Theo asked me.

I shrugged, though I was warmed by his attentiveness. "Fine, I suppose. This evening just hasn't gone as I expected it would."

Theo nodded. "I'm concerned about Draco."

"Why?"

"I've never seen him behave like that," Theo said, reiterating Draco's self-reflection earlier in the evening.

"Selwyn is a tit." I sniffed in disdain. "He's lucky Draco intervened, because I had something far less polite in mind."

"We're lucky," Theo corrected, reminding me that we all had stakes in the outcome of this evening. He hesitated a beat before he continued. "That's not what I mean, though. It's that I've never really seen him so… Invested."

"Well, the impact of the laws will affect all of us. It's understandable." I shrugged, concentrating more on where my feet were going than the conversation itself. Theo was a skilled enough dancer, but I was far more confident having Draco lead me - and I didn't want to think about the implications of that.

"I mean personally invested. Our mutual interests aren't all he's grown attached to."

I lifted my gaze to meet his, wondering at his meaning. I couldn't help my blush as I met Theo's accusing gaze, before he twirled me in a circle and knocked me off-kilter. It was a struggle to formulate a response. "He puts on a good show, doesn't he? Sometimes even I believe it's real."

"He does. I suggest, however, you be careful that you can tell the difference." Theo's expression grew pensive as the music ended and he escorted me back to my table, where Draco was watching us with a cryptic expression. "She looks marvelous out there, doesn't she, Draco?"

"She always looks marvelous." Draco's lips twitched as Theo held my chair for me, then took a seat on my other side.

I blushed at the unwarranted praise. "Well, apparently it helps that I've been dancing with men who actually know what they're doing."

Theo raised a brow at Draco. "Nonsense, Ginny. Draco has no idea what he's doing."

Draco merely stared at the other man, challenging him - and I could now see a distinct resemblance to Narcissa in the set of his expression. "It seems to me that I'm the only man at this table who does."

"If that were true, you'd be putting on a show with Ginny instead of looking like someone spat in your dinner."

"I'd advise against provoking me unless you're totally free of misgivings, Nott."

Despite Theo's jovial expression, I had the distinct impression that Draco was trying to convey a message to him that was beyond me. "Well, I can see that you're determined to have a miserable time tonight, so I'll leave the two of you at the mercy of Draco's foul mood," Theo relented, then tilted his head to me. "Good evening, Ginny."

As soon as Theo vanished back into the crowd, I twisted in my chair to look directly at Draco. "What was that about?"

"A suspicion," Draco said. His expression was contemplative, though he didn't elaborate.

"Is it one you would care to explain?" I prompted him, my frustration with Draco growing. I wasn't sure what had come over him, but he'd begun to act like the wanker I'd always expected him to be. It was then that I had a disturbing thought: perhaps that was who he'd been all along?

He let out a deep breath as he crossed his ankle over his knee, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "There's no use in sharing when I have nothing to share."

"But you know something." I scowled at his reticence, telling myself I was more annoyed than hurt. "What happened to trusting each other?"

"That still stands, but under current circumstances I don't have much basis for my suspicion - if you could even call it that."

I narrowed my eyes at him, openly acknowledging the sting of Draco's reservation now, but something made me pause before I stormed off after Theo.

Draco had freely admitted he was keeping something from me. I couldn't decide whether or not that particular brand of honesty was a good or bad thing; either he thought so little of me that he didn't think I was worthy to know… or his silence could have been a misguided attempt to protect me. I wasn't sure that I appreciated that either, since I was more than capable of protecting myself.

I looked across the ballroom at Theo, who was now flirting up a storm with the Greengrass sisters, charming as ever. I did feel a certain sense of loyalty towards him - he was the first person to give me the light of day regarding the Marriage Laws, after all - but he'd had very little to say after Draco's final comment. He's up to something, the niggling voice in my head that sounded suspiciously like Harry whispered. I wasn't sure whether our conversation while we were dancing was a warning - or what he was warning me of - but I bristled that Theo seemed to think he could manoeuvre me like a pawn. Not that I truly believed his accusation regarding Draco's true motivation was founded.

My brow furrowed as I returned my attention to Draco and saw what little regard he held for me now. He gazed over the room like a king surveying his domain, though his shoulders were tense as though he was waiting for something to happen - and when his gaze slid back to me, I realised the room wasn't what held his attention in that moment. Draco was waiting for me to make a move.

So, Theo was right about one thing. Draco Malfoy cared - and not just about the laws.

"Alright," I allowed, feeling giddy by the way Draco's shoulders visibly relaxed. His lips quirked, as though he'd won a small victory.

Having reached an accord, the two of us settled into a comfortable silence until it became apparent that Daphne and Astoria were settling the room in order to announce the auction winners.

When I noticed that Selwyn and his wife had made a point of moving to another table, I tried not to look utterly dejected. Something must have given me away, as Draco followed my gaze then slipped his hand in mine. "Let's get out of here."

I nodded, happy to slip away without further preamble - and grateful that Draco seemed content enough to defy social etiquette and leave the gala early. He placed a hand at my back as we made our departure and though his touch on my bare skin was chaste it felt incredibly intimate due to the immodest cut of my dress. I thought he might have felt the same miraculous heat when his hand jerked away a moment later as though he'd been burned.

We returned to the main foyer of the building, enjoying a final glass of champagne in relative solitude while the car was brought around, the chatter and applause from the main room a distant melody. "To mediocrity," Draco toasted me.

I smiled at him as I clinked my flute against his own. "To lowered standards." We shared a moment of companionable silence - our earlier disagreement set aside for now - and I allowed myself to enjoy being alone with Draco.

The thought that the event was over was a disheartening one; we'd attended tonight in order to gain some traction against the laws, yes, but I found I'd genuinely enjoyed the less tense parts of the gala. "Thank you for tonight," I told him honestly. "I had a lovely evening - arguments with Selwyn and your mother, notwithstanding."

"I'm glad," Draco said, his expression earnest. "You did very well."

"Oh," I sighed, realising he was talking about our progress against the laws. For a moment I'd thought that he'd been happy to be in my company, too, and I couldn't help but curse my weakness.

"I must be rubbing off on you."

I choked on my champagne at his phrasing. "Pardon?"

Draco took my flute from me and set mine down on a table next to his then smirked at me when he passed me a serviette. "The interview you gave. You were commanding, without being too forceful, and I could see you thinking about your responses." Draco's smirk grew and I stilled when he gently lifted a serviette to dab a stray droplet at my throat. "I love your hair like this, by the way."

"Oh," I replied, a hand straying to touch my hair self-consciously. It was held in a loose bun at the nape of my neck, and was still as immaculately styled as it had been at the start of the evening. "There are so many pins in it, it'll probably take me hours to undo."

Draco's hand moved from my neck, the back of his fingers grazing a loose tendril of hair by my cheek, and I tried not to sink into his touch. "I could help you."

My eyes widened at the unmistakable heat in his voice, and suddenly so much of this evening's events made sense to me: his churlish response when I apologised for kissing him, the way he'd touched me when we danced. I'd been so distracted by my own problems - struggling with my own absurd attraction to him - that I'd failed to see he'd been doing just the same.

I didn't question his intentions for a moment - if Draco Malfoy was propositioning me, I was already on board - and I told myself I'd worry about the details tomorrow. This wasn't the first time I'd mixed my professional and personal lives, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Without hesitation I lifted my chin, threw my shoulders back and took a step towards him, forcing his hand into full contact with my skin while my breasts grazed his chest. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were inviting yourself back to mine."

Draco didn't appear to be surprised by my forwardness - infact, his smirk was one of amusement as he brushed his fingers along my collarbone. "Perhaps you don't know any better, Ginevra."

"Perhaps," I agreed as I placed my hand beneath his jaw, my thumb against his chin to tilt his head further downwards, getting the angle just right. "Perhaps neither of us do."

I slid my hand around his neck, pulling him towards me to capture his mouth. He came to me willingly, both his arms wrapping around my waist to press our bodies together fully, and his splayed fingers burned into the bare skin of my back with as much searing heat as they had minutes earlier.

Draco's mouth met mine, hot and wet, and it was somehow even more incredible than it had been when I'd last kissed him earlier that evening. Maybe it was the revelation that he reciprocated my need, or the fact we were alone, but the feeling of his mouth - his hands - against me now was so explosive that I was blinded by a white light despite the fact my eyes were closed.

Draco pulled away, looking behind him, and I realised the lights I'd thought I'd imagined were actually headlights of our car. He released me reluctantly, though he kept a hand at the small of my back, his thumb brushing at my bare skin. "Shall we?"

xxxxx

We couldn't keep our hands off each other through the ride home. Draco seemed to be determined to behave like a gentleman in light of the fact we were confined to the back seat of a car, but the second I threw my legs across his lap he couldn't stop his hand from caressing my calf and thigh.

I could see it clearly now, the hold I'd somehow managed to take on Draco - the one that had made him speak so impulsively to Selwyn earlier in the evening - and I revelled in the power my body wielded over him.

"Draco," I sighed his name, just as I'd first dreamt so many nights ago, when his knuckles grazed my taut nipples through my dress. My mouth trailed along his neck, and when my teeth nipped at his skin I was rewarded with an agonised moan.

He caught my hand just as I reached his belt. "Ginny…"

"What?" I nipped his jaw, grinning when I realised I'd left a trail of red lipstick across his skin, where my mouth had been. "Don't tell me you're compensating."

He snorted, laying my hand against his substantial erection in response, though his expression grew tortured at my touch and I tried not to look impressed. "We are not doing this in the backseat of a car like a pair of Muggle teenagers."

I pushed him away from me, and he look disappointed - despite his previous assertions - until he realised it was so I could straddle him. In that moment I was very glad my dress was slitted. "But it's so fun," I urged him, then grazed his lower lip with my tongue.

His grip on my waist tightened as his head dropped against the back of the seat. "Fine," he said, then lifted a hand to grasp the back of my neck. "Have it your way."

He pulled me to him, and all I could do was clutch his shoulders desperately as his mouth ravaged mine. His free hand released my waist and I gasped when I felt it trailing up the inside of my thigh, then higher again to- there.

"Draco," I moaned his name again, this time around his tongue which was exploring my mouth even as his fingers deftly pulled my knickers to one side and began to explore my slick folds. Draco tipped my head back to gain access to my throat, and I pushed his suit jacket from his shoulders in order to claw through his shirt as he teased me. He groaned when my nails cut into his skin, his hips bucking up against me while he created more delicious friction against my clit. I felt like I was on fire.

He pulled me higher still and I grew light headed, gasping for air as his fingers finally slipped inside me and I felt the beginnings of my orgasm rush closer-

"We're here," Draco said, removing his hand and expertly untangling me from him.

His expression was wicked and he put the two fingers that had been inside me moments ago in his mouth, tasting me, never breaking eye contact for a moment. I slapped his chest in mock-anger. "You snake!"

"You seemed to enjoy it well enough." He smirked at me, leaning in close to peck my lips before getting out of the car, and I struggled to continue feigning anger when he held my door and helped me out. I stormed ahead of him, indignant, though he continued to amble behind me at his own place.

"I'm even faster than you in a pair of heels," I called to him.

"Don't mind me," Draco replied leisurely. I glanced over my shoulder to see him several feet behind me, hands in pockets and gaze firmly fixed on my arse. "I'm merely admiring the view."

"You'll be doing nothing but admiring it for the rest of the night, if you don't get a move on."

"That doesn't sound like such a bad thing," he shot back.

I smirked, stopping for a moment to shimmy out of my knickers and throw them at him. "Here's a souvenir. Thanks for the ride home; have a good night!"

I laughed a moment later, when he caught me around the waist just as I reached my front door. "So impatient," he whispered, then kissed me again. I smiled to myself, absently wondering how on earth I'd ended up snogging Draco Malfoy on my doorstep; if someone had told me that was where I'd end up just a month ago, I'd have put them in St Mungo's.

"Come on." I unlocked my door and pulled him inside, leading him through to my bedroom. I'd only just turned the lights on when his hands were on me again, and he pressed his body against mine from behind, dipping his head in order to kiss my neck.

I revelled in the feel of him hard against me, his hands and mouth on my skin, but there was far too much clothing between us and I had no access to him from this position. I turned, my mouth coming against his as I made short work of the buttons on his vest, then shirt, pulling the fabric away from his body all at once.

I paused when I felt the scars beneath my fingers - ones I'd been unprepared for, that slashed like a skewed lattice across Draco's chest - and when I pulled away in surprise Draco caught my hands and held them between us. I stared at him, shocked by what I realised a moment later was likely the result of the curse Harry had cast on Draco in his sixth year - the curse Harry had refused to name to me, he'd been so wary of it.

The lines had clearly faded since their initial infliction. Draco was so pale that they were just a touch lighter than his skin, but the raised markings were still rigid and present. Hesitantly, I pressed my hands against his chest, dragging my fingers across them, acutely aware of Draco's gaze on me all the while. I wasn't afraid of them - of what they represented - any more than I might have been afraid of seeing Voldemort's mark branded on his body. They were the remnants of another life, one I'd learnt Draco had left behind. "Do they hurt?"

"Sometimes." I noticed he was standing very still - like I was a timid creature, who might be startled by a sudden movement. The thought made me sad, that perhaps Draco's behaviour was from past experience and not a reflection of his opinion of me. "It's just like any curse; it never really goes away."

I smoothed my hands up his chest and across his shoulders, then slid my right hand down in order to grasp his forearm. I let my thumb stroke across the unblemished skin there. "I'm surprised. No Dark Mark, yet you still wear these scars."

He continued to watch me, his eyes full of caution, and when he didn't make a move to touch me again I lifted his arm to place it around my waist. "I was never truly part of The Dark Lord's inner circle, thus I was never branded," Draco clarified, his hand tightening on my waist as he accepted my invitation and pulled me closer. "Thank Merlin, or I'd never have been able to rejoin respectable society."

"You're not so respectable," I replied, trying to lighten the mood. "Not after that car ride."

I was rewarded with a small smirk. "You enjoyed it well enough."

"I enjoy many things." I pecked him on the lips as my hands went to his belt, which I relieved him of. "Things you wouldn't dream of."

"You talk a big game, Ginevra." His hands tangled into my hair as I dropped to my knees in front of him, dragging his trousers down with me. His erection sprang free and I grasped it in my hand, keen to feel the length of it.

"Yes," I replied, smirking, before I pressed my lips against the tip of his length in order to taste him. "And I have excellent follow-through." Draco groaned, his hands fisting in my hair as I let my tongue glide across his cock. I captured him in my mouth, massaging him firmly, and he swore when I gently cupped his testicles in my hand.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself, exploring the length of him with my mouth and hands, the way he tensed and shuddered as I experimented with different strokes and touches, until I felt his hands band tightly on my arms to hoist me to my feet. His mouth was against mine, hot and heavy, before he spun me around and relieved me of my clothing. Every bit of skin that was revealed to him was followed by a slick sweep of his tongue as he tasted me, sampling my body like it was a rare delicacy for his enjoyment alone.

"Ginevra," he all but whispered my name reverently as he looked me over, and I shivered with anticipation under his gaze. I pulled him against me, allowing him to feel every inch of my naked flesh against his, my heart thundering in my chest when he tilted my head in order to trail kisses across my collar bone.

I felt my bed pressing against the back of my legs, and the next thing I knew we'd tumbled back against it and he held his delicious weight above me. I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling his hips to mine and letting out a hiss when he ground his erection against my body, the head of his cock sliding through my slick folds. His arms wrapped around my neck and he let his weight cover me fully; I could feel every inch of his naked body pressed flush against mine, meeting my every dip and curve. I pressed my forehead against his, enjoying the feel of him but wanting more. "Don't tease me, Draco-"

With an arrogant smirk at my request he obliged me, and I cried out in pleasure.

"You were saying?" His voice was blasé as I shuddered beneath him, so I swatted his shoulder.

"Shut up and do that again."

On his next thrust I bucked my hips, keen to meet him and take every inch of him inside me until he pressed - there - and it was Draco's turn to shudder as I clenched around him. We fell into a rhythm, building each other higher until I couldn't take the pressure any more. The noise I made when I came was animalistic, and I had to bite Draco's shoulder to stop myself from crying out when the waves of my orgasm enveloped me. That only seemed to spur Draco on; he didn't give me a moment to recover, just continued pumping into me so that the moment I recovered from the stupor of my first orgasm I fell into another.

"Ginny," he moaned my name as he freed a hand in order to run it down my side and thigh, before he hooked his arm behind my knee and pulled it higher so he could penetrate me more deeply.

It was then that I felt his body shuddering above me and I knew from the way his jaw clenched tight that he was fighting the beginning of his orgasm. I pushed hard on his shoulders then to flip him, eager to ride him to his completion - and Draco thankfully had the presence of mind to wrench my body over with his so I could pick up our rhythm where we left off.

I braced myself on his shoulders, my knees digging into the mattress as I rocked into him. I felt like a goddess having Draco Malfoy beneath me, at my mercy. His expression as I continued to lower myself onto him again and again was nothing short of mesmerised.

As I ground against him faster, harder, even as my own orgasm continued to rock through me, his hands shot up and he yanked my body flush against his. His heels dug into the mattress and his pelvis shot into the air, hips jacking against mine as he released inside me. The waves of his orgasm rolled over him in a torrent, and I dropped my head to his shoulders in a sweaty stupor as his fingers dug into my hips, preventing my escape until his legs finally gave way and he fell back against the bed.

We lay together, our erratic breathing creating a staccato rhythm, until I managed to catch my breath. I rolled away, darting into the bathroom so I could take care of the mess we'd made, and I took my time, wary as I wondered if Draco would still be there once I reemerged. When I returned mere minutes later he was just as I left him - splayed on his back with an arm tossed over his head and one resting across his flat stomach, looking so out of place in my rumpled sheets, but no less attractive for it.

If he'd planned to make an escape I knew he would have made his excuses already, so I switched off the light and climbed back into bed beside him. I lay on my stomach, hugging my pillow beneath my head, and he reached a hand out in order to drag his knuckle down the slope of my waist in a leisurely manner.

"That was nice," I said to him with a yawn, suddenly drowsier than I'd realised.

"Yes," Draco agreed, his smile small as he continued to stroke his hand across my back.

"We should do it again some time."

"We should." I could hear the smirk in his voice now, feel his eyes on me even as mine fluttered closed and sleep crept upon me. "Je suis coincé dans votre orbite," he whispered, just as my eyelids grew too heavy, and I drifted off to sleep before I could call him a pretentious twit.

xxxxx

Some time later I woke to an empty bed. It was still the dead of night and Draco's clothes were strewn about my bedroom so he couldn't have gone far. I wasn't sure how I felt about Draco wandering throughout my house unsupervised - being alone amongst my things - but I went in search of him nonetheless.

I shrugged on my dressing gown and tied it loosely, not so much out of modesty than habit, heading through my house to find my back door open and Draco's crouched silhouette outlined by moonlight just beyond. I paused for a moment to examine him in just his underwear and his dress-shirt - pulled roughly over his torso like an afterthought against the night's chill. I could faintly smell his cigarettes (of course, I thought, unable to suppress my derision) and I made a point of firmly shutting the back door when I went out to join him.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked as I crouched down on the back step, wrapping my arms tightly around my knees and resting my chin on top as I gazed at him.

"I don't sleep much these days." His mouth curled into a rueful smile as he put the cigarette to his lips and inhaled deeply.

"I used to have trouble," I told him, immediately catching the subtext of why - he was chased by the same demons I'd been. "I think Mum thought I was just being a petulant teenager, staying up late for the sake of it - she never really understood that I just couldn't turn my thoughts off no matter how tired I was."

Draco took another drag of his cigarette as I spoke, the tip crackling red-hot, and I couldn't look away from his mouth. A blush came to my cheeks when my mind immediately sprung to ways I could put his mouth to better use.

"It helps to talk," I continued when he merely nodded. "But sometimes all the talking in the world doesn't help if other people can't comprehend what you're saying."

His smile was rueful. "You constantly surprise me, Ginevra."

I grinned, unable to stop myself from goading him despite the seriousness of the topic. "Are your expectations so low?"

"On the contrary," he smirked at me as he reached out, brushing my hair away from my face so he could see it more clearly in the limited light the moon offered. "You just continue to exceed them in the most unexpected ways."

He didn't voice his next thought, but I could see the question he refused to ask in his eyes as his cigarette hissed with his next inhale. What now?

The trouble was, I didn't know the answer. I'd grown so used to Draco giving me direction professionally that I suddenly felt ill-equipped to take over from him when it came to our personal situation. It wasn't a feeling I relished, but I wasn't going to answer him before I'd taken a moment to breathe, either. I might have a month ago - made a snap decision I was too proud to admit I regretted when I reflected on it later - but I had done quite a bit of growing since then, thanks to Draco's tutelage.

"May I?" I asked instead as I held my hand out. With a curious look, he handed me his cigarette, and I promptly flicked it into the drain next to us.

"Wait-" He leant across me, as though to prevent me from throwing it away, but he stopped when he realised it was too late.

"You smoke an awful lot for someone who constantly insists that he 'doesn't,'" I told him. "You should take up alcoholism like the rest of us chumps - at least you won't suffocate in ten years' time."

"I take it back," Draco said, and I had to laugh at his expression as he sulked at me. "Everything I just said about you: I take it back."

"Too late." I felt a thrill when I leant forwards and pecked him on the lips, and I could see my feelings mirrored in his expression. I stood up, brushing any dirt still clinging to my gown from my back side and offering him my hand. He took it, and allowed me to lead him back inside. "You think I'm exceptional."

xxxxx

I woke at a far more reasonable hour to find myself pressed flush against Draco's back, my arm around his waist and leg wedged between his thighs. When I inhaled I caught the remnants of his cologne, mingled with sweat. It was a heady combination.

I took care to disentangle myself without waking him, immediately going to the bathroom to use the toilet and brush my teeth. The only attention I gave to my appearance was my tangled hair, which was standing on end like it'd been hit with a stunning spell. I bundled it into a tightly wound bun high on my head while I mentally berated myself for not brushing it before bed - but I wasn't going to the trouble of fixing it now just because I had company.

When I emerged, shrugging into my dressing gown as I went, I found Draco awake. He was sprawled across my bed and curiously examining a long strap of material that had wiggled it's way out from beneath my mattress during our escapades.

He arched a brow at me, clearly having put two and two together, and I shrugged. "I like to mix things up." I told him, unable to bring myself to be embarrassed about it in light of last night's events. I wasn't going to be ashamed of the fact I had interests beyond "missionary with the lights off."

He smirked, tucking the errant strap back beneath the mattress. "Variety is the spice of life."

I leant against the door jamb as Draco got out of bed and retrieved his dress pants and shirt, pulling on both. "I'll have to go to work soon."

There was something I wasn't sure I liked about that sequence of events. "You're not going to go home and change first?"

"I have a spare suit at the office," he told me, then smirked at me. "Besides, it'll make for a great article in next week's Witch Weekly: Draco Malfoy does Walk of Shame after night of debauchery with agile Quidditch player."

I rolled my eyes. "How about: Draco Malfoy's dismembered remains found in Romanian dragon's den after he shamelessly provokes Ginny Weasley's brothers."

"They can try," he replied, his gaze heated. "I'm not ashamed of anything."

That was a line of discussion I didn't want to pursue, so I moved onto more pressing topics. "I hope you aren't expecting breakfast," I told him as I lead him to the kitchen. "Unless eggs and toast suit you just fine."

He raised a brow at me, unimpressed, and went to my fridge to see what it held. "Do you eat anything other than eggs and chicken?"

"I need a lot of protein," I told him, waving my wand to set the kettle on, then taking a seat at the kitchen table. I watched Draco, amused, as he moved on from the fridge and rummaged about the pantry. I'd grown used to his presence in my home, and consequently become far more relaxed around him. "I think there are some strawberries there somewhere, but I'm not sure they're still okay to eat."

Draco found the punnet, examined them closely, then shrugged and left them on the counter before he procured flour, eggs, milk and butter. "I'm making pancakes."

"You know how to cook?" I asked, mildly shocked.

He shrugged as he searched my cupboards, locating a frying pan, mixing bowl and a whisk. "Mother let all of our house elves go when they amended the laws for their working conditions. She said she'd starve before she'd paythem a Knut in wages, and after a while it became tedious leaving the manor for every meal." He smiled ruefully as he began pouring and combining ingredients, and I realised he must be quite skilled if he could guess the measurements by sight. I could barely memorise a recipe and produce something edible. "It didn't take Mother long to change her tune, when her gowns stopped magically cleaning themselves."

I blinked at him, wondering at this insight I'd been given into his life - my cooking skills might be poor (and not for lack of trying), but Mum had always made sure we had chores to do growing up. There were few things I couldn't do or fix myself as a consequence, so the thought of being unable to complete as simple a task as laundry was mind-boggling. "Why wouldn't she just learn to clean them herself?"

"It's the principle of the matter," Draco told me as he flicked his wand and the whisk began beating the pancake batter while he went to chop the strawberries. I couldn't look away from his hands while he deftly sliced them into perfect, even pieces. "Mother shouldn't have to clean her gowns."

"That's ridiculous." I frowned at his cavalier attitude, barely bothering to hide the contempt in my tone. He gave me the distinct impression that he was merely parroting excuses Narcissa Malfoy herself had made, and my frown deepened.

"That's Mother," he said in response, somewhat defensively, while he heated the pan and began cooking. "She doesn't know any better."

"Ignorance isn't an excuse," I rebutted his argument. "It's never too late to learn. You did."

"It's not the same. It took me a long time, but I learnt to adapt."

The kettle blew then, but I didn't get up to make the tea. Instead, I stared at Draco while he concentrated on his tasks, head bowed, hands skilfully maneuvering the pan while he poured more batter into it. Draco had grown into such a progressive, self-possessed man I just couldn't fathom this strange and unquestioning acceptance of Narcissa's flimsy excuses. It was a double-standard that I couldn't reconcile with his character at all; one set of rules for his mother and another for everyone else.

When I finally stood to brew the tea, I caught Draco looking at me from the corner of his eye while he expertly flipped another pancake. I could see plainly that he was waiting for me to continue arguing my point - not because he knew me so well, but because he was so used to making his case against other people. It was then I realised the difference Draco perceived between Narcissa Malfoy and everyone else: he loved his mother blindly, to the exclusion of all others. It was a feeling I knew well, one that had nearly cost me my life and the lives of many others. It made Draco Malfoy dangerous.

I let the argument slide, without bothering to fill in the strained silence that fell between us, and from the tense set of Draco's shoulders it was clear that he wasn't comfortable with the fact I didn't pursue the topic. It was as though the ground we'd managed to cover over the past few weeks - over the past few hours - was crumbling away and I could feel Draco drifting further out of my reach as he used up the last of the pancake batter and served a plate for each of us.

In an attempt to regain some of the connection I could feel slowly slipping through my fingers, I took the tea to the table and set a mug in front of him while he took his seat. Instead of sitting down right away, I leant over the table, allowing Draco a long look down the front of my robe before stealing a kiss. "Thank you for breakfast."

"Maybe I'll take a sick day and cook lunch for you too," Draco said as he cut into his breakfast and lifted his fork to his mouth. It was clear as his eyes roved over my body - as though he was mentally calculating how long it would take to get me naked again - that he'd intended the comment to be playful but I couldn't shake the feeling that there was a yawning distance between us.

"There wouldn't be much point," I replied, my tone flippant while I took my own seat and began eating. "Some of us have commitments to attend to."

Draco opened his mouth to respond then promptly shut it, as though he'd had second thoughts about what he'd intended to say.

He was saved from my pestering when a speckled owl flew through my open window, landing on my kitchen table and sticking his leg out to offer his delivery to me. I retrieved the letter, allowing the bird to sample my breakfast as I did, before my own owl Lionel arrived with additional mail - landing clumsily on the already-full table. The two birds nipped at each other in jealousy as I finished retrieving my mail from both of them before they flew back outside to continue their respective errands.

"It's late," Draco said before I had a chance to continue any kind of conversation with him over breakfast. "I should get going."

I glanced at my clock, seeing it was already half-eight, and I knew I couldn't argue with him when I had Quidditch practice to attend to this morning.

He stood, abandoning his half eaten breakfast, and I couldn't help but feel as though his abrupt exit was because of our strange non-argument - or worse, because we'd had sex. "Have a good day," I said as he came around the table to kiss me goodbye, but there was no heat behind it. I tried to hide my disappointment, ignoring the twisting in my gut and acting like nothing was wrong with the hope that nothing was wrong. "I'll come by the office tomorrow evening?"

"I have a meeting," Draco called to me as he left my kitchen and went to the front door. "But, by all means, do come by. Theo will be around."

I recalled Draco's unspoken question from last night as I heard the door shut behind him, realising too late that he'd just answered it for himself.

What now? Now we put our one night stand behind us and went back to the real world.

AN: I updated (finally). Things personally haven't been fantastic so this one took me a while to get out. I'll try to have the next update done soon but, moral of the story, I shouldn't promise you all anything because when I do that's when I fail. XD

Thanks to idreamofdraco for her beta work. Let me know what you think of the update, and thanks for reading!