Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews everyone, and I hope everbody is having a wonderful summer.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my imagination and whatever else is in this story that doesn't make sense. I was inspired by another romance novel i read and J.K. Rowlings wonderful world. Enjoy!
Chapter 32
"Wrapped so Pretty"
Her face. It was the only thing his drunken state of mind would allow him to think of for the moment. He could only think of her, despise her and love her. Something deep within told him, the words were only words of anger when she said to give her ring to some other witch. When she basically said, 'find another wife.'
It was the arrangement after all, it was the thing he had told himself at the start. But somewhere along the way he'd forgotten, somehow he gotten lost in just being with her. Just the two of them alone. Draco sat alone at the first table of a small pub in town. It was the same pub that they shared their first new year together as husband and wife. His table was tucked away in the left corner it was the nearest one to the bar. Half a bottle of nettle wine down and four bowls of Irish nuts later, and at last it hit him. He'd been going about this whole secret marriage to her all wrong.
No matter how he tried to amend the differences between them, nothing seemed to work. He had tried to apologize because his guessed it was the smart thing to do, but nothing mattered to her after the car incident, and she didn't believe his words to be genuinely sincere.
Sitting here at this table, lining stack of Irish nuts from his bowl into a neat line, it all came to him, what he really wanted at last. He wanted his old life back or at least it felt like he did. His days of hanging out with his best mate, and game nights, after parties. He wanted the life he had, the side of him that had nothing to do with the memories of her, or the worries of a baby. No more, he would simply shut her out, like she said, kill his concern for her and just focus on the kid and himself.
The kid, the thought of his child, their child made him think of her more. And the image of her in his mind made his arms ache with the desire to hold her and make her laugh in his arms. He wanted his hands all over her, he wanted to grab her in places that made her squeal and pull her close when she walked past him, last night he wanted to lift her off her feet while she was kicking mad and carry her upstairs and romance her senseless in their king size bed. . . with all the lights on. . . and with his big over-size, over the bed mirror reflecting every second of their lovemaking.
Draco suppressed a deep moan as the fantasy faded away.
It was more than the fact that he craved her touch day in and day out. But,what really stuck to his ass like the slick skin on a dead carcass, was the agonizing truth that he wanted to think of her, to imagine her smile a thousand times a day. He missed her and it had only been one day. Not even Quidditch practice could ease the pain he was feeling without Hermione there at the end of his practice today.
How had she done it? How had she locked him around her finger like this? How had she moved places from the enemy, to this person he couldn't breath without. It was taking a lot out of a him to admit that the witch had changed his life completely. He tossed his head back, stared up at the ceiling lanterns and drained the last remains of his bottle. The sweet liquid warmed his throat as it went down. Draco frowned, slammed the glass bottle down and shouted for a new server.
The funny line of nuts in front of him seemed to be swiveling all over the place, and his clumsy hands grabbed a few more and poured them on the table top. He want to start a new line. No! He wanted to start a new life.
This was all his fault, no..no, this was all her fault. He was a man …damn her, a Malfoy! Time away from her would be great. He layed down a third row of nuts. He had nothing but time now, time to commit towards preparing for the new season, he'd show them!
He focused on making sure all three were the same length. He would have to focus more on the team because he had...and this is putting it lightly, really fucked it up on the field today. He didn't seem to give a effing damn about a snitch anymore, or what the new seasons uniforms would look like.
Today's practice had been the worst by far. Their team had lost two brilliant incoming recruits. Both players had taken nasty blows from a blugger. One bloke was a transfer, from France, and he had taken a single shot to the head. Draco knew they both had real potential and would have made an excellent addition for the team. But now, thanks to his lack of attention during practice, he was lucky if the poor bastards could even remember their own names anymore.
After his second miss and the second player went down, the coaches all called it a day. Before he left the field, he was called in for a meeting with their team's owner. Draco had been placed on a temporarily leave. He was told it was for the best, and that with his mounting injuries and medical expenses he should take some time to heal. The word was also out that he had a kid on the way, and they figured that maybe the stress was interfering with his game time.
His thoughts strayed between the injured French boy crashing to the ground, then back to Hermione.
Sweet Merlin, what had she done to him? He couldn't lose it, not like this, he had to get back to his old self.
"Reliving those moments of glory today, Dunghead?"
Draco shot his head up, and the person above him flipped in and out of view. He found himself looking into the face of the biggest Bulgarian prat alive. Damn!
Petur Krum's lips curled into a smug grin as if he could read Draco's mind.
"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" slurred Draco
"Vell, I heard tis vas a beautiful country, and I decided to take a little looksy. Not that it is any of your business, but I rented one of those vacation villas by the lake. Yah, it is nice here."
"And you just had to choose Grindlewald, is that right?"
"You know! It's the vildest thing. It never even occurred to me that tis vas vere you lived dungbrain. Can't imagine how I forgot that one." said Petur.
"Yeah, well that goes for you and me both."
"Maybe you could show me a vew of the local spots `ere." Petur turned towards a passing waitress and ordered a drink. "- and he vill be!" Krum's voice dragged out as he took another look at Draco "never mind, he vill not be needing anymore of your services for tonight." he told the waitress.
Krum grabbed a near chair and sat down without an invitation. He leaned back in the chair and folded his muscular arms to rest behind his head.
"I did not get a chance to congratulate you, on your marriage to the private `ealer. It vas a big surprise to everyone you know. . . She is the one, Non? The lady from the hotél. So, vas she really a `ealer? She did not look anything like one of those othé girls," Krum laughed. "Vut she did look like a prétty good healer."
"Just goes to show. Can't judge a book by its cover." said Draco. He slumped against his chair back. Heal him? Ah! That was a punch line to this joke that was now his life.
The waitress returned with Krum's order. She sat his drink down on a coaster and gave him the eye. The eye is a sure getter, all groupies give the eye. It's their way of saying I'm all yours, while trying to play it innocent and all.
Her voice of light and she sounded even younger than she looked. "I saw you play for the Falcon's last game Mr. Krum, you are so amazing and you looked so good in the photo shoot after the game."
The waitress's brown eyes went starry from being in the presence of to all-star players.
Krum smiled and eyed him.
Draco ignored the gloating bastard.
"Vell, I'm Petur to you, doll face, and thank you. The drunk `ere taught me everything I know."
Draco responded with a glare, but he could hardly punch Krum out with the waitress watching. Besides at the current moment there were four different, but very identical Krum's, so he wasn't sure which one to hit. Draco tuned out their conversation with the server girl. She too was forming a double and a then a triple, all of them with the same coffee-tone skin and big mess of springy black curls.
It took her forever to finish flirting with Pretty Boy Pete. "So vot is your name?" Krum asked her after a long silence.
"Emelie," she replied with a shy smile.
A deep and belligerent voice cut her off, she looked over at her blonde table guest for the last few hours. Draco was getting really bored with the both of them. Plus he hadn't exactly wanted the Bulgarian at his table in the first place. "Egskuseme….Err..us …Er…Emelie, right! Okay! yea but would you um mind?" his voice was loud and he fumbled over his words, and he was one feather shy of passing out. "Howsay bout you cut the boolshit, pretty boy, and tell the lady why …um why you're really fucgking here?"
"I already told you. I vas just taking a break from London. Tis a beautiful country Switzerland. And it has beautiful women." He made a direct motion for the waitress and tugged lightly at her apron front. She giggled playfully at Petur's tease. "Vhy?" he asked turning his attention back to Draco.
Draco swallowed his sickness and dropped Hermione's ring into his empty drinking glass. Petur noticed the expensive piece the moment it clunked against the clear glass bottom. Sparkling, posh and pricey.
Draco knew the more he pressed the stupid prick, the more satisfaction Krum got out of annoying him. Besides, he had a pretty good idea why Petur had shown up in Grindelwald, and he didn't like it one bit. The asshole was playing a kind of psych-out game with him. You can't slip away that easy Malfoy. I'm here to rub your face in it. I'm younger, I'm hotter, newer and after your screw up today, the team knows I'm better. So, In your face dunghead!