Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J. K. Rowling does.
Warning: I do believe my story might end up being a wee bit dark.
A/N: Hello everyone! Okay, so this chapter is a little longer than the others because I feel that I haven't been udpating that much recently. I really hope you enjoy it! And thank you for the sweet, and thoughtful reviews/feedback. Tell me what you think! Reviews are always appreciated. No, seriously, I think I'm obsessed with reviews. Haha, just kidding, but not really. Caitlin, I think you're going to like this one.
Chapter Eleven
Draco felt a hand grip his arm, halting him from entering the restaurant. "Draco Malfoy?" asked a feminine voice. He turned around, wincing slightly as a strong perfume assaulted his sensitive nose.
"Yes, I am Draco Malfoy," he confirmed as his gaze settled on a portly woman that strongly resembled a hawk with her hooked nose, and long burgundy-tipped nails.
He raised a contemptuous eyebrow at her offending hand.
The unknown woman quickly retracted her hand from his pristine long-sleeved dress shirt.
"I'm Samantha from Potestas Magazine," said the witch with a smile as she nervously stuck out her hand in a greeting gesture.
Draco took in the woman's business attire, released a small annoyed sigh, and merely ignored her extended hand. Great, now he had to deal with a bloody journalist.
Tilting her head slightly to look into his pale grey eyes, Samantha noticed that they were just as mesmerizing as his voice.
Barely suppressing his annoyance at being so rudely interrupted from figuring out what was beckoning to him; Draco addressed her in a semi pleasant tone.
"Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, enunciating each word with extreme care, despite his irritation, he couldn't risk anyone writing any slanderous articles about him. He had an image to maintain.
The spellbound journalist completely disregarded his words, and unconsciously took a step towards him. Her gaze slowly traveled down his powerful frame, taking in his trademark silvery blond hair, and the lean muscles barely hidden underneath the thin silk dress shirt he wore. She also noticed the way his trousers hugged his lower body.
She was visualizing what he looked like without his expensive clothing, and almost jumped when, without prior warning, he asked a question that made her blush.
"Are you quite done admiring my anatomy?" asked the grey-eyed wizard as he took a small step back, making her aware of exactly how close she was to him.
Samantha let out a nervous laugh when she finally realized she most likely looked like a complete idiot with her hand still jutting outward and her mouth slightly ajar. She cleared her dry throat to compose herself and noticed that the tall wizard's eyes only narrowed in response.
"I have some questions I'd like to ask about your reformed outlook on blood purity, and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to answer them...?" she asked with a furious blush creeping down from her face to her neck.
His icy gaze flickered to her face. "Alright," he reluctantly agreed.
"There's a cafe close to the Junior Suites, it's much more tranquil," he added. Draco knew that he had to play nice to trick the media into believing that he was now a reformed blood supremacist. If weren't for the fact that not enough pure-bloods were alive to keep his businesses going, he wouldn't have bothered to create and uphold such an unpleasant pretense.
A couple minutes later, Samantha still couldn't believe she was drinking coffee with Draco Malfoy, one of the most influential and wealthiest wizards in the world.
. . .
After Luna and Edric finished having a small diatribe, they lapsed into silence, which Edric seemed oddly glad to maintain. Luna Lovegood, on the other hand, was coming up with ways to convince him to agree to her request. She was determined to persuade her boyfriend even if it meant resorting to her sex appeal.
"Fine, don't get a date for her, then," she said with a knowing smile before she resumed drinking her iced tea.
Edric was on his guard as soon as the suspicious smile hit her perfect lips. What was she up to now? He wondered as she leaned forward, giving him an unhampered view of her generous cleavage.
"I told you, I don't think it's a good idea to set her up with someone without her being aware of it," he replied in an uneasy voice.
Luna internally wondered why Edric appeared to be acting so strangely, but on the outside she went along with her plan.
"I completely understand that it would be far too... hard... for you to get one of your friends to agree," she teased in a breathless voice.
Edric made the mistake of raising his gaze from her ample chest to her eyes. Under the crystal chandeliers, her eyes were a clear ultramarine color, and they glittered with promises of seduction.
His reaction was instant as desire poured through him, hot and powerful. He tried to reply to her with a logical comment, but he found it exceedingly difficult to form proper sentences as her gaze lowered to his crotch.
"Is there something you'd like to say?" she asked in a low voice.
She was doing it again, Edric thought, frowning. She was using her sex appeal to coerce him, but he wouldn't give in. He couldn't. If Draco found out that he set her up with another wizard there would be hell to pay.
"No," he said as his eyes hardened along with other parts of his anatomy.
The blonde was about to reply, but the irritating waitress returned with their food. As the waitress began putting their food in the appropriate places and slightly flirting with an unyielding Edric, it finally dawned on her that Hermione had been gone for almost twenty minutes.
She had been so caught up in trying to secure a date for her friend, that she never noticed her extended absence. Briefly glancing at him, Luna idly wondered why her boyfriend hadn't commented on her absence.
"Don't you think it's a bit odd that Hermione has been gone for so long?" she asked.
Edric noticed the worried tone of her voice. He wasn't overly worried because he knew that the petite brunette was most likely experiencing morning sickness.
"I'm sure she's fine," he muttered with an awkward shrug.
Luna looked at him with questioning eyes as he proceeded to eat his meal. Could it be that he was uncomfortable because her best friend wasn't a pure-blood?
"Is it because she's a muggle-born? She inquired in a soft voice.
Caught off guard, Edric made a face at eating something particularly hot that most likely burned his esophagus, and asked, "What?"
Luna mistakenly assumed that he had made a face at the word she had used to describe her friend.
She sighed, pinned him with a glare, and said, "You've been acting very strangely around Hermione and whenever I say something about her you get this weird look in your eyes. You said that you didn't care about blood purity, yet you gawk at her as if she were abnormal."
"It's not that," he replied as he looked away from her scrutinizing gaze. He hated having to keep things from her.
"Yes, it is. You're just like every other pure-blood in your family. You pretend to accept muggle-borns, but you secretly hate them, don't you?" she asked in a poisonous whisper.
He shook his head in denial, but she only kept going on with her tirade, "Why are you dating me, then? You know that I don't support pure-blood supremacist views. Unlike you, I don't believe in looking down on witches with mixed ancestry."
Edric's eyes narrowed and glittered dangerously. How dare she? He was a firm believer in equality among witches and wizards, regardless of their ancestry, yet his own girlfriend assumed that he was just like his relatives. It wasn't his fault that most of them still held onto old beliefs of blood.
"No, I'm not. You're being ridiculous. What is it with you?" he demanded.
"What do you mean?" she managed, despite the anger raging inside of her.
"You always find it necessary to assume the worst about me. I support everything you do, yet you always have to question my actions. Somehow you delude yourself into thinking that I'm some kind of monster. What have I done to deserve your constant suspicion? I've tried countless times to convince you that my intentions with you are sincere. You always use the smallest and most irrelevant excuses to push me away. I don't know what to do anymore. I'm really getting tired of your childish behavior," he angrily replied.
Luna blinked with a stunned expression. The anger burning inside her quickly disintegrated leaving only ashes of embarrassment and guilt behind. He was right; she could see the earnestness in his violet eyes.
She wanted to apologize for her brash outburst, but a lump in her throat wouldn't allow it, she instead mutely sat there, trying very hard to reign in the hot tears threatening to fall.
Edric simply waited for her response, allowing the tension-filled silence to stretch between them. He was rigid, his body radiating anger next to hers. He tried occupying his troubled mind by sipping on the wine that the usually talkative waitress had quietly poured him, even she had the sense to be wary.
Luna noticed the way his long, strong fingers harshly gripped the wine glass with much more force than necessary.
Her boyfriend exuded strength, yet he was always gentle with her. Whenever they kissed, and she began feeling uncomfortable he would immediately stop. Every time she had a nightmare, he was there to console her.
Edric was always gallant, so why couldn't she trust him?
The distant memory of hazel eyes and light brown hair answered her unspoken question. The horrifying memory also caused her to abruptly rise from her seat and excuse herself to go check on Hermione. As she made her way to the ladies' room, she wiped at the burning tears decorating her cheeks. After what Theo did to her, it was difficult to trust a wizard, even one that showered her with affection.
Edric stilled for a moment at his girlfriend's sudden departure. He wanted to go after her, but he also didn't want to distress her any further. Instead of seeking her out, he coolly signaled his waitress and asked her to bring him some of the strongest Firewhiskey they had.
Once Luna made it to the ladies' room, she looked at the locked bathroom door, and called out to her friend. "Hermione, you've been in there for quite some time. Are you okay?" she asked in a watery voice.
Wiping at her mouth, Hermione gripped the toilet with both hands as she expected another wave of nausea to hit her.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'll be out soon," she responded in a reassuring voice as she flushed the vomit-filled toilet. Mysteriously enough, her nausea had considerably decreased for some unknown reason.
She distractedly wondered why she was no longer throwing up, since she usually threw up more than this.
"Alright, I'll wait for you," said Luna in a muffled voice. She wanted to fix her makeup in the bathroom, before she confronted Edric again. She didn't want him to know that she had cried.
When she finally stood up on unsteady feet, Hermione started to wash her hands in the lavish sink, but quickly froze as her body became consumed by a sudden feeling of pain. The pain rapidly intensified to such a degree that she found it necessary to bite down on one of her hands in order to restrain the screams threatening to rip out of her throat.
After the agonizing sensation faded, she was only left with a headache, and a faint coppery taste in her mouth. The confused brunette then began rising out her mouth, and simply stared at the descending water laced with blue as it went down the drain. Looking up into the mirror, her head throbbing, she was shocked to see that the dark circles under her eyes were much more prominent than before.
Tearing her gaze away from the mirror to assess her hand, her breath caught in her throat and her heart began to painfully beat within her chest when she noticed the two pinpricks on it. Tentatively, raising her trembling fingertips to her mouth, she nearly fainted when she felt two sharp, and elongated upper canine teeth adorning the interior of her mouth.
Luna sighed, nervously running her manicured hand through her hair as she calmly waited for Hermione, even as her stomach protested in hunger. The usually impatient witch was mentally coming up with possible scenarios to apologize to Edric, when the door flew open, and Hermione emerged.
"Luna, are you okay?" asked Hermione with a slight lisp, when she noticed her ruined makeup and miserable expression.
"I'm fine. It's just allergies," she lamely replied as she hurriedly went into the bathroom to fix her makeup in the mirror with her wand.
"Oh… I see. Listen, I know that you were really looking forward to this lunch, but I'm not feeling well. I think it's because I'm not used to apparating so much anymore. You wouldn't mind if I left early, would you?" asked Hermione in a hopeful voice with an even stronger lisp. She was expecting Luna to protest, but was shocked when she didn't.
"I understand, but we're still on for tonight, right?" asked Luna with a small, sad smile.
Hermione felt bad for leaving lunch so early that she did something she instantly regretted. She wordlessly agreed by nodding her head in affirmation.
. . .
Draco was attempting to finish answering the journalist's stupid questions, despite the unusual pain searing through him, when a slight discomfort in his mouth caused him to stop talking in mid-sentence. He used his tongue to feel his perfect straight teeth, and let out a surprised curse as his tongue was sliced.
"Mr. Malfoy, are you alright?" asked Samantha. The wizard felt the coppery taste of his own blood, before covering the tangy taste with a sip of his black coffee.
"Yes, but I must take my leave," he replied after a few moments with a slight lisp. He rose; silently paid for both of their coffees plus the two muffins he had picked out earlier, and left the perplexed journalist without sparing her a second thought.
Emerging from the nearly empty cafe, Draco shrank the paper bag, and began making his way to his most luxurious restaurant. He was trying to convince himself that the so called fangs he had felt mere seconds ago were most likely caused by the minimal amount of sleep he had been acquiring in the last few months.
Yes, it made perfect sense. He was starting to hallucinate, not actually grow fangs. Shaking his head in disbelief, he felt his smooth, straight teeth with his fingertips again for the third time, and let out a sigh of relief.
He would take being delusional over growing fangs any day. A small rarely seen smile spread across his lips, until a multitude of photographers began taking his picture, and completely eradicated any evidence of it ever existing. Nearly
blinded by the bright lights, he determinedly made his way to the restaurant when an alluring scent hit his nose, a scent that made his imaginary fangs fill his mouth once again for a whole minute before disappearing.
. . .
Hermione was making her way from the restaurant to the Junior Suites, when she noticed that an unfortunate celebrity was being photographed to death. She couldn't see much because of the blinding whitish lights, but she assumed it was someone considerably famous since the other celebrities that filled the extravagant resort were being completely ignored.
Curiosity got the best of her and she stood up on her tippy toes attempting to catch a glimpse of who it was, when she collided with a large woman that strongly resembled a hawk. Hermione stumbled back, but the woman gripped her forearm to stop her from falling. Pain shot up through her arm, yet she ignored it as she apologized to a large woman for her clumsiness.
"I'm sorry," said Hermione with a tentative smile as she finished smoothing out her rumpled red dress.
The woman only scowled at her, and walked away muttering something about attractive men, chocolate muffins, and bitter coffee.
Hermione's brows furrowed in confusion at the women's bizarre rant as she went into the elevator, but she then fixed her gaze on the small beads of blue blood emerging from the deep nail marks on her forearm.
Before anyone could speculate, she quickly used a curative spell to heal them, just as she had previously done to mend her hand in the restaurant's restroom.
She was still mystified as to why her teeth had felt so strange back in the restaurant, and why her hand, for a moment, appeared to have such odd marks on it. Maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her? It was the only valid explanation she could come up with. After all, she hadn't been sleeping much lately.
. . .
As Draco's vision cleared, he momentarily stopped to look into the direction of the Junior Suite elevators, allowing his silver grey eyes to locate the source of the sweet and intoxicating aroma, but all he managed was to catch a glimpse of red, before the photographers blinded him once again.
He sighed as he began addressing, and answering the erratic questions thrown at him. It was hectic times like these, which made him momentarily hate being so damn wealthy.
. . .
Edric was starting to feel a little intoxicated as he asked for yet another glass of Firewhiskey. He was surveying the famous faces of the witches and wizards in the room, when he noticed Luna emerge from the restrooms, and slowly make her way into his line of vision.
He felt his body stir in response as he noticed the way her dress clung to her feminine body. He let out an exasperated sigh.
Why did he even bother? All she did was tease, and leave him sexually frustrated. There were countless women he didn't want that would love to sleep with him. However, the only girl he wanted and loved didn't want to sleep with him, and she also didn't love him back. He chuckled at his ironic thought process.
As Luna finally sat down, he could finally see the faint traces of tears on her face.
"You cried," he said, looking at her slightly red eyes.
"You drank," she retorted, staring at the three empty glasses next to his plate.
"What an astute observation," replied Edric in a sarcastic voice.
Luna inadvertently dropped her sad dark blue eyes to her untouched food. Her hunger no longer mattered. She didn't know how to reply to his snide comment. In fact, she didn't even know if it required a response.
"Where's your friend?" Edric questioned, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Hermione had to leave. She wasn't feeling well," explained Luna in a gentle voice.
"Lucky her," he said before stifling a yawn. He was starting to get drowsy from his meal and consumption of alcohol.
"Stop it," pleaded Luna.
Edric simply leaned back into his chair with his dark eyebrows raised, "Stop what, exactly?" he demanded.
She frowned and whispered, "Stop being angry at me."
He scoffed.
"I think I have every right to be angry with you," he declared, even as his violet eyes noticeably softened at seeing the hurt so clearly displayed in her eyes and in her voice.
The tall waitress chose that very moment to intervene. "Mr. Vestvik, here's your drink," she said in saucy voice as leaned in a lot closer than necessary to put down his drink.
"Thank you," said Edric in an automatic voice.
"Is there anything else I can get you?" asked the waitress with a glare directed at his distraught girlfriend.
The healer looked thoughtful before giving her a wolfish smile, and replied, "Yes."
"What can I get for you?" questioned the waitress in a sultry voice.
"Your name," he answered, looking directly at Luna.
Feeling the stab of jealousy, despite her sadness, at seeing him openly flirt with the waitress, Luna was about to get up and leave, but Edric's hand discreetly latched onto hers under the table. She tried to snatch her hand away, but his long fingers intertwined with her smaller ones.
She gave him a curious look as he held her trembling hand in his stronger one.
He ignored her, and continued chatting with the waitress.
"Carol," said the tall witch with a wink.
"Carol? Well, Carol I would love it if you stopped flirting with me, and treated my girlfriend with more respect. I'm sure you're aware that if I complained about your terrible attitude, you would undoubtedly be replaced," he said in a dark voice that gave Luna chills.
The waitress blanched.
"Now tell me, is there something you'd like to say to my beautiful girlfriend?" he asked
Too shocked to respond, the waitress merely stared at him with incredulous eyes.
"Well? Come one, get on with it. Apologize and do it quickly before I change my mind and decide to have a chat with your manager," urged Edric in an exasperated voice.
The once rude waitress gave Luna a very heartfelt apology, which she modestly accepted with a slight nod.
After dismissing the waitress, Edric resumed drinking his Firewhiskey with her hand still in his grasp.
"I love you," she blurted in a shy voice.
Turning his bewildered eyes towards his girlfriend, he asked, "What did you just say?"
Never before had she told him that. He always told her he loved her, but she never returned the gesture. Not even when he took her out on romantic dates, yet, here he was drunk and frustrated hearing her declare her love for him for the first time.
"I said I love you," she repeated, in a firm voice as she squeezed his hand in reassurance.
He removed his hand from her grasp.
Luna wrongly interpreted his gesture, and cleared her throat at the painful rejection. She turned away from him and stood up, determined to leave with at least some dignity intact.
Edric also stood, and whirled her around so she could face him.
"You're impossible," he said in a teasing voice, and reached out to grab her small face in between both of his hands.
"No, I'm not," she denied in a hesitant voice as she carefully looked up at him, searching his features.
He lightly chuckled as he bent his head down.
"Yes, you are," he corrected in a tender whisper, right before they shared a kiss so passionate that everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to openly gape at them, including the usually stoic pianist.
. . .
Incredibly aggravated, Draco finally caught sight of the restaurant after ten complete minutes of torture at the hands of reporters. He hurried his steps in order to avoid other hidden paparazzi, and nearly collided with Edric.
"Hey, I know you," said Edric in a slurred voice. The effects of him consuming strong alcohol were finally making their presence known in his speech and coordination.
"Edric," addressed Draco in authoritative voice, after regaining his balance. He could smell the alcohol clinging to the freckled wizard's breath. He inwardly cursed.
His healer wouldn't be useful to him in such an inebriated state.
"Come on, Edric, we're almost to my suite," said a witch with dark blonde hair, and a fair face. She was tugging the drunken healer in the direction of the Junior Suites.
He examined her face. Something about her seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had previously seen her.
"Do you need some help?" he asked, seeing her struggle with Edric.
Luna finally looked at the man that her boyfriend was blankly staring at.
Dark blue eyes locked with his grey ones. The witch gave him a broad smile.
"You're Draco Malfoy," she said in an excited voice. Luna knew all about the wealthy and attractive celebrity. Even though they had gone to the same school, she had never spoken to him, however, she knew that he now supported equality for muggle-borns, and that he donated a lot of money to charities. In fact, she had various magazines that contained articles and interviews about him.
"I am, and you are?" he inquired.
"That's my girlfriend. You can't have her," interrupted Edric before he clumsily placed a possessive arm around the witch's small shoulders, and began to sway.
Draco, against his better judgment laughed at the healer's uncharacteristic behavior. He couldn't help it, Edric always seemed so professional, yet he was behaving worse than a child.
"Luna Lovegood. We went to the same school," said the blonde with a small blush.
The amused wizard finally recalled seeing the girl around school.
"Are you really his girlfriend?" he asked in a guarded voice.
Luna gave a soft laugh. "Yes," confirmed the witch with a small smile.
"Edric is a good friend of mine, so I was only making sure that he wasn't being abducted or anything," said Draco with a charming smile.
"You're his friend?" she asked in an interested voice.
He simply nodded his head as he noticed the way she struggled to keep Edric upright. He knew she wouldn't be able to carry the intoxicated wizard any further without some assistance.
"Here, let me help you with him," he offered as they both began dragging a very grouchy Edric to her room.
Twenty minutes, later Draco found himself walking away from Luna's suite completely exhausted and baffled.
Why had he accepted to go on a blind date with Luna's unknown friend?
Luna had assured him that her friend was pretty, but that's what they all said. For all he knew the girl might be ugly or even worse... a mudblood.
. . .
Hermione stirred, and squeezed her eyes shut as a noise kept interrupting her sleep. She had finally gotten some severely needed sleep, yet a constant knocking was making it impossible to her to continue with her rest.
She finally woke up, grabbed her wand to cast the glamour spell she regularly wore, and finally went outside of the elaborate bedroom to open the main door of the suite.
Next thing she knew, a very ecstatic Luna was in her bedroom, rummaging through her closet. She mentally berated herself for giving the extroverted blonde the number of her suite.
"What are you doing?" she groggily asked, sitting on the edge of the comfortable bed.
"I'm looking for that black dress I bought you," casually answered Luna, as if going through her clothes without asking for permission was perfectly normal.
Why did she need her black dress? Hermione suddenly recalled agreeing to go out for drinks. She groaned and sank back into the bed.
"I don't want to go," she protested, placing a pillow over her head to hide from Luna.
"That's too bad. You're going. Who knows? You might even meet someone handsome," said Luna in an innocent voice.
If Hermione weren't so tired, she would have noticed the underlying mischievous tone of Luna's voice, but instead, she wordlessly got up, and plucked the black dress from the other smaller closet.
"Hurry up," called out Luna in a cheery voice as Hermione went to the bathroom to shower and get ready.
. . .
After Draco left him with strict instructions to look over Blaise and make sure that he took his medication, Theo walked into the kitchen of the Malfoy Manor with an intense hunger. The kitchen was spotless since the house-elves always made sure that everything in the Manor was immaculate. He was about to ask a house-elf to prepare him something to eat, when he heard Blaise scream.
Completely forgetting about food, he ran with his heart hammering in fear, in the direction of the room in which Blaise was sleeping. He gasped for air, feeling his lungs burn, and sweat decorate his face as he came to an abrupt halt inside the spacious room.
"What is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asked as soon as he caught his breath. His hazel eyes wildly searched around the room, but they failed to see any imminent danger.
"No, I'm not okay. Look at this," responded Blaise, throwing a paper bag at Theo.
Theo cautiously opened the bag, expecting to see dismembered fingers or something equally disturbing, but all he saw were two chocolate muffins.
"What the hell, Blaise? I just ran as fast as I could, so you could show me some muffins," he bit out, annoyed.
Blaise crossed his arms in a childish manner. "You could have used magic, and excuse me, but did you at least pay close attention to the muffins? Draco knows that I only eat chocolate muffins that have white chocolate chips on top of them, and those muffins sure as hell don't have any," he replied.
"He probably forgot, he's been busy and somewhat tired lately," explained Theo. Although he was angry at his friend's behavior, he was also relieved to see that his twisted sense of humor had returned.
"Oh... where is he?" asked Blaise in a serious voice. Even though, he had been sick lately, he had also noticed how weary Draco appeared lately.
"He didn't say where he was going. He only told me to look after you," said Theo.
"I see. By the way, did the healer that treated me mention anything unusual?" inquired Blaise. He had intended to ask the healer what the strange orange spot on his chest was, but he never got a chance to speak to the yet unnamed healer.
Theo shook his head, his eyes narrowing at the mention of Luna's idiotic boyfriend.
"What's his name?" questioned the oblivious wizard.
"He must be fairly talented because I actually feel better," he quickly added.
Theo grit his teeth and took a calming breath. He really didn't like the healer that cured his friend, but he was still thankful that the freckled healer had saved his friend's life.
"Well?" pressed the blue-eyed wizard, stretching his stiff arms.
Theo turned to face him. Blaise looked intrigued and his gaze was narrowed and fixed directly on him. He hated when Blaise did that because it almost felt as if he could see right through him.
"Blaise," Theo replied with a tired sigh, "Why do you want to know?"
"I just want to thank him," said Blaise. In reality, he had a few questions he wanted to ask his mysterious healer, but he also did want to thank him.
"Healers don't have to be thanked. It's their job to heal people," explained Theo. His voice was icy and his features were hard.
"I still want to thank him," Blaise said stubbornly, crossing his thin arms over his chest.
It didn't escape Theo's notice that his arms were incredibly small compared to how they usually looked. Hopefully he would gain weight soon. Seeing Blaise look so thin made him feel uneasy.
What if he suddenly relapsed? He visibly shuddered at the thought.
He finally relented and said, "His name is Edric. Edric Fitzgerald."
. . .
It was hot, chaotic, and crowded. Pushing through the dancing bodies, Draco swore under his breath as he made his way to the bar of his exclusive nightclub.
Luna had told him that his date would be at the bar, yet weirdly enough, only a scarce amount of women at the bar had wavy brown hair, and none of them were wearing black. The few brunettes that were at the bar were wearing brightly colored clothing. He mentally shook his head.
Why was he doing this?
He ordered some vodka, while he looked around the bar once again. If he didn't find his mystery girl soon, he'd leave.
. . .
Hermione made her way to the crowded bar. Where was Luna? The animated blonde had left her suite, promising to meet her at the bar, but Hermione couldn't find her anywhere.
"Hey, what would you like?" asked a large bartender over the roaring music, without looking at her.
"Water," responded Hermione, trying to look over his large body. There was something on the other side of the bar that was beckoning to her.
The bald bartender raised his eyes from the drink he was mixing in front of her, and gave her an unbelieving look, but his shocked eyes quickly lit up with desire as he took in the petite witch's slender body, and pretty face.
"Sorry, we're not allowed to serve water, but I can give you something else that I'm sure you'd like," replied the beefy man.
"Is it non-alcoholic?" asked the curious witch.
The bartender gave a small laugh and said, "It sure is."
Hermione smiled in gratitude.
. . .
Draco felt an odd sensation as he looked across the bar. Something across the bar was demanding his attention. Whatever was calling to him was being blocked by a fucking fat bartender.
He let out a sigh, he wasn't going to go all the way to other side because of a stupid feeling, and instead he kept drinking. A couple of drinks later, he sighed once more in frustration as he began moving through the swaying bodies yet again. He needed some coffee to wash the bitter taste of alcohol from his mouth.
. . .
Indignation poured through Hermione as the bartender's crude suggestion that she meet him for a so called 'blowjob' continued to ring in her ears. She had slapped him so hard, that her hand was still throbbing as she made her way to the 24-hour cafe close to her suite.
She got in line a to order a chamomile tea to help her sleep, while her mind wandered away from the rude bartender, and tried to come up with plausible explanations for the odd sensation she had felt in the nightclub.
Standing in line, waiting for his turn, Theo mentally tortured Blaise at least five times. The immature wizard had outright refused to take his medicine, until Theo reluctantly agreed to go out and buy him chocolate muffins with white chocolate chips on top. Once he finished ordering the damn muffins, he had mentally tortured Blaise about twenty more times.
"Is there something else you'd like today, sir? asked the cashier with a pleasant smile. Theo glared at her. "No, I just want my muffins, and that's it," he replied in an infuriated voice. He accepted the paper bag, and stoically began to walk away from the 24-hour cafe.
Hermione had just finished sweetening her tea, and paused for a moment to carefully sip it to see if she should return to the preparation station to add more sugar. She closed her eyes to savor the taste, when she ran into something hard.
She yelped as hot tea splattered all over her black dress.
Theo bit out a curse as he felt the burning liquid splattering onto his torso.
"I'm very, very sorry. I seem to be making a new habit of colliding with people," Hermione said in a hasty voice as she quickly used a cooling spell on them both.
Theo, being the hot-blooded male he was, momentarily stared at the witch's body. Her wet dress perfectly outlined her somewhat small, yet perfectly rounded breasts. He finally looked at her face.
"Granger?" he questioned, his voice full of disbelief.
"Yes," she replied in a nervous voice as she quickly looked around expecting his infamous friends to appear.
"I'm Theodore Nott. We went to the same school," he replied with a slight smile.
"I know who you are," she said with a polite smile.
"Here, let me buy you some of that scorching hot liquid you were carrying," he teased as he picked up the cup from the ground and threw it in the nearest trash can. He also cleaned the mess off the floor with his wand.
The nervous witch laughed, in spite of her apprehension.
"No, it's fine," Hermione kindly declined. She didn't want to risk seeing her tormentor.
"I insist," he replied with a smile.
"Alright," she finally accepted, casting anxious glances around the cafe.
They had a small and pleasant talk, until he excused himself. Hermione realized as she made her way back to her suite that he wasn't as bad as people made him out to be. She actually enjoyed their brief conversation. In a way, she hoped to see him again.
. . .
Draco was heading in the direction of the only open cafe, when he froze. There, in front of him, was the filthy little mudblood heading in the direction of the Junior Suites.
He smirked, and slowly turned around to make his way to the front desk of his resort. He'd find out which suite she was occupying because he needed to teach her a lesson on obedience.
. . .
Hermione went into her bathroom, as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, her cheeks turned a bright pink. Her breasts were completely outlined! She was completely mortified as she realized that Theodore Nott had probably noticed.
After she peeled off the sticky dress, and put on a white bathrobe, she filled up the tub. Once she removed her glamour spell, she placed her wand next to the sink.
Going over to the tub, she slightly bent down to run her fingers along the warm water. Slowly straightening up, she began removing her white bathrobe when she heard a noise behind her.
Alarmed, she turned around only to see Draco Malfoy. He was arrogantly leaning against the open bathroom door with his strong arms crossed, his powerful frame covering the doorway, and preventing her from escaping.
Draco gave a sadistic smirk at seeing the fear so clearly written on her face.
"Did you miss me, Mudblood?" he asked with a sneer.
Hermione tried to run towards her wand, but in one fluid motion, Draco wrapped his left arm around her abdomen, effectively stopping her from reaching it.
As soon as he felt it, Draco stiffened, and looked down in horror at her swollen stomach.