Chapter Four: "Playing the Game"

"Dammit LaVoix! Pass it like you mean it!"

Blaise was yelling at Eric LaVoix from the sideline, getting increasingly angered the further into the game they got. Eric, who was chaser right then, had almost dropped the quaffle mid-throw to let Adrian Pucey catch it for the other team.

They were sitting in Northsander Field, a space belonging to the Exbury Association Country Club. It was a magic-exclusive place located in Southampton. The field was a short walk from Highbury Hill House, where they'd just eaten lunch.

They were playing 4 on 4 with uneven teams. [One seeker, one keeper, two chasers; no beaters.] Blaise, Theodore, Terrence Higgs, Marcus and Eric on one vs. Miles, Graham Montague, Adrian and Lucian Bole on the other.

Hermione had come along this afternoon because she didn't have any plans on such a clear, sunny day. Blaise's invite came as a somewhat pleasant surprise. She never thought he'd ask her to watch Quidditch, her own friends excluded her when they played. Though she didn't care much for the sport, it felt nice to be included.

She found it odd meeting Blaise's friends, people she had avoided like the plague in school. But she figured she had to sometime. Harry and Ginny approved of her new boyfriend the few times they'd crossed paths. Ron had been less then enthused so far, but Ron seemed to take a very long time to get keen on new people.

About a week after their initial date, he took her out again to the Natural History Museum. Hermione had eventually told Blaise she'd be with him. Nobody had ever wanted to go to exhibits, let alone planned it before she suggested it, it was a nice change in pace.

Yet even though they were together, she still didn't know how to feel about him. It was just like her to over-analyze relationships as she would an essay, but this was dangerous territory she was treading in; a Slytherin, aristocratic minefield.
She knew that she liked his positive traits, she immensely appreciated his effort to do things she liked, and she definitely liked the way he used his lips. But his constant need to be the orchestrator of everything was a bit tedious. He meant well, yes. He acted as if she couldn't handle life without assistance. And that infuriated her to no end. (She could certainly hold her own, thank you.)

Shaking her head, she let herself stop thinking, turning the page of her current book, Don Quixote. She'd compiled a summer reading list even though she was still working to make her mind more at ease, to remind her of past carefree July's. Perhaps this was too big of a book for a hot day, but the determination to cross all the classics off her list was bigger than her intolerance for temperature. And it was an excuse not to watch the game.

Blaise noticed her lack of interest in Quidditch, but it didn't really bother him. Most girls, he thought, just didn't get it. He got called in to replace Theodore Nott as Keeper, and he kissed her head before turning to get onto his broom.

Hermione looked up to watch him walk away smiling. In his padded pants and unofficial orange '15' pinny, she thought he looked extra fit.
Theodore was grinning too as he came back from the pitch sweating, sitting down next to her. She tried to keep from grimacing as they were left alone. She, like most everyone else, did not take a liking to him.

"So are you excited to be going to a Malfoy party tomorrow?" he asked, eyes glistening with a subtle condescension that Hermione picked up on.

Tomorrow was the 'gala for the history books' or so she'd been told by everybody at the office under age 30. It was apparently a big surprise that Draco finally decided to get it together, his first major event bound to be scandalous. Monday was a holiday, one that celebrated Merlin's birthday, though nobody in Wizard Britain really cared about it anymore. So Draco decided to have his event on a Sunday, when most people did not have plans as they normally had to work the next day. Hermione figured it was mostly because he wanted as many people there (to show off to them), but it was clever reasoning nonetheless.

"Not really. I couldn't really care less about him or his endeavours," she replied coolly, staring at the words in her book without reading.

"Oh, and why is that?" Theodore asked interested.

Theodore was surprised that the famous Hermione Granger could be anything but nice. He never supposed she could be snippy.

"He's becoming a stylist. Basically, he's telling the world that your only value in life is based on how you look, and that most people do indeed look unacceptable. Not only that but what is with his inclusion of muggles?" This new information was printed in Witch Weekly, an advertisement that explained his services before he'd even opened them to the public. She wanted to wring his scrawny neck for even trying to pretend like he gave a damn about anything non-Wizard. Non-pureblood.

"What about it?" Theodore prodded once more, happy that there existed somebody who hated him as much as he did.

"He's including muggles in his efforts to make himself well-known, and to make him seem non-prejudiced to everyone else. Even though I can guarantee you he is. That just doesn't sit right with me."

"Then why go at all?"

"Blaise is going out of spite, though I'd normally disapprove, I think I'd be lying if I said I wasn't too."

"Spite? What will attending his party do to spite him? Wouldn't refusing to show be more offensive?"

"No. When we witness how awful his business plan no doubt will be, and have everybody agree that he's still the same idiot from Hogwarts, the same attention-seeking prat he's always been, I will be immensely satisfied he spent so much effort on a failed ruse."

"Attention-seeking prat? Oh come on, Granger, I think you can do better than that."

Hermione froze, and felt her blood rise up into a flush covering her whole at the voice of who was behind her. It was his tone that set her off.

Draco was not upset though, rather highly amused at what she'd just said.
He had walked from the club, he was a member of course, and decided to join the boys for a little afternoon fun. Miles had told him about them having a few matches in passing at one of Pansy's party the previous week. Draco was trying to be a social in-cast rather than out and had made it his mission to network with everyone in his old circle. He needed them to come to his outdoor banquet tomorrow, needed them to think he had it under control when the past few days had been an absolute nightmare. Plus, though he loathed it, sucking up and playing nice might prove useful if he ever needed help in the future.

"I see that Blaise finally coerced you into his little plan, did he?" Draco asked, swinging around the bench with his Nimbus in hand, so Hermione found herself trapped in a Slytherin sandwich.

"Little plan?"

"Oi, Draco! You're coming on our side, no switch outs you assholes! Marcus can't seek for shit! Maybe we'll actually win!"
Draco laughed at the seriousness of Miles' direction, who'd yelled at him from the goalposts. Marcus responded by giving Miles the finger.

"So who's winning, Nott?"

"We're winning, 50 – 10 so far. You lads better step up your game."
Theodore was not startled by Draco's arrival, he'd been popping up all week at random social gatherings. He just wondered how pompous somebody had to be to think that they could just jump back into the pool without noticing they made such an unwelcome splash. It was obviously a scheme to get himself noticed.

"What did you mean when you said 'little plan', Draco?" Hermione asked, not bothering to sink to his level by referring to people by their surname. It was quite odd that these were the words they were exchanging after years of not speaking to one another. Funny that it was some stupid petty argument, Hermione mused, just like the old days.

"God, the boy never makes any sense, love. Don't even waste your breath," Theodore interrupted, thinking Hermione foolish for trying to start a conversation.

Draco smirked to himself, glad he could rouse her. "Interesting choice of reading material, I see, Hermione. Didn't care much for Cervantes, to be honest."

She knew it was his intent, but Hermione was more than stunned at Draco's admittance of having read a muggle novel. Even more so than him using her name. Her book was open to the beginning of a chapter, the cover hidden by her summer dress, so he couldn't have just glanced at the title.

"This is ranked as the best book written of all time by some," she quipped, unsure of how else to respond.

"A rank doesn't mean a damn thing when personal perspective exists. Don Quixote`s quite the dick. Obsessed with chivalry that is dead. An idealistic idiot. Insane."

"That's the point of the book," Hermione sighed. "From what I've read, it's a parody of classic romance novels, making a mockery of the heroes who must fight for everything. Everything is amplified to be this grandiose end-all event, a social commentary on how high society people are not always the most practical or best of judgement, because it's always the wealthy who are portrayed well."

Draco stared at her a moment, curious that she even bothered to talk to him.

"What a frightfully boring literary analysis," he yawned, making Hermione grip her pages tighter.

"Huh, you know I doubt you really read more than half of the book, Draco. I think you of all people would relate to the delusional musings of Don Quixote. You must be overly idealistic if you think in some realm of hell you opening up a personal styling business would ever attract anyone with more than an ounce of intelligence in their brain."

Theodore snorted, chuckling to himself at her nerve. She must be crazy, he thought, to diss a Malfoy with no care to the consequence.

"Think you're clever, do you?" Draco questioned, raising an eyebrow. "While you might be smarter than most people I know, you are quite the idiot when it comes to realizing when somebody is stringing you along."

"Oh, that was almost a compliment. Pray tell, please inform me why I'm so misguided," she asked with a fake smile, snapping her novel shut with irritation.

Draco considered saving her sanity, and not telling her how he truly felt, but only for a moment. He enjoyed the idea of getting under her skin enough to get her to break it off with the companion she'd found herself tied up in.

"You're dating Blaise Zabini, the man with the plan, the only person I know who is so bloody obsessed with himself that he doesn't even recognize it. And you, Brightest Witch of Her Age, have fallen for his good looks and deductive reasoning. Sure, he's charming, handsome, but you must have understood by now that he's a one man operation. He only does things for him, and operates the people around him to benefit himself. And you'll soon realize that if you 'have more than an ounce of intelligence'. I'm sure his intention with you will reveal itself somewhere along the line, because I don't know what it is. In your case, I hope it's soon."

"What do you mean, 'his intention'? I'll have you know that I am perfectly clear about his intentions," she huffed, unnerved by his words. What did he mean 'in her case'?

Did he think she was that stupid that she couldn't figure out when she was being played?

Blaise was a good person. He wanted to help people, and he wanted to preserve animals as much as possible while doing so, didn't he? He wanted to do more with his life than sit by sipping cocktails and waiting for the next big event like every other aristocrat had.
So why did what Draco said seem to ring painfully true somewhere in Hermione's body that she couldn't quite place?
He was wrong, he was so wrong! Blaise liked her, and she liked him. Hermione repeated these words in her head to calm herself.

"You think you do, but you don't," Draco winked, getting up to replace Lucian to be Seeker, thankful of the great timing he'd been granted.

"Don't let the bugger bother you, Hermione. He lives to rile people up like that. Blaise is the best person I know, you'd do well to forget what he said," Theodore tried to soothe, patting her on the shoulder.

She appreciated that he was trying to be nice, but given his character, it wasn't all that comforting.

Blaise had returned back over to her, sitting where Draco had been.
"You go back in Theo, I'm playing rubbish right now."
Theodore obliged with no retaliation, enjoying the small drama he could retell Astoria later, about the reunion of Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger.

"What was Draco saying to you?" he asked quietly so Lucian didn't hear, though he was too busy guzzling water anyways.

"Nothing, he was just trying to piss me off," she responded, puzzled as to why he was so bothered.

"Hermione, I'm serious. I don't want him to hurt you in any way," he replied, thinking of ways to make her spill, looking into her eyes.

She softened a bit, still unsure of if she should tell him the exact details.
"He heard me insult him before he made his presence known. Er, sorry," she shrugged, wherein Blaise merely chuckled. "We were just talking about this book, for some reason he's read it, and we jabbed each other about it. Apparently it's a lifelong habit of ours. Anyways, then he said that you had a 'plan' for me."

"A plan?"

"Well, first he said that you were self-centered blah, blah, blah, that you had different intentions for me than what I'm led to believe. That you're just using me basically. It's garbage, I don't believe him, trust me. There's no need to get wound up, I can handle him perfectly fine."

Blaise's face remained thoughtful, a frown etched where there should've been a smile, Hermione thought. He hadn't proved to be anything but great to her, and until he did, he shouldn't worry.

"I know you can, I just don't want him to sabotage our relationship because he's jealous," Blaise said, grabbing hold of her hand, stroking it.

"Jealous of me? Hardly," she laughed.

"Jealous of us, actually. He's terrible with girls. Honestly, don't think he's ever had a girlfriend."

Well, it isn't a wonder with his attitude, Hermione thought.

"Yeah, Pansy fancied him for a while, but now she's dating some guy way better than him, though I secretly think she still wants to jump his bones. She's been helping him sort this whole thing, I found out the other day. Sometimes I think that girl needs a slap on the face, a wake-up call to remind her of who she's been associating with. How can she be friends with him? Ugh." He shook his head, not bothering to contemplate it further.

Hermione, on the other hand, let that information try to settle in her brain for the remainder of the set, as she watched the boys get more and more intense as their match started to last more than a half hour.

She barely made a dent in her book, curious to why Pansy wouldn't have dropped Draco like the rest. She seemed the type to latch onto people who would bring her popularity and fame. And Malfoy? He seemed like a leper so far. The female Slytherin ringleader was calculating like everybody else in this group, probably moreso than most. Admittedly, she did quite well in school (much to Hermione's displeasure) so she couldn't have been stupid...so what was it? Witty was the only redeeming quality Malfoy had, Hermione speculated as to what she saw in him to no avail.

An hour later, Marcus and Adrian now on the side, they were still playing. The sun was burning Hermione's shoulders and legs now, she had long abandoned her book. Even a gaudy straw sunhat didn't help her, the heat starting to affect her nose and cheeks. She cursed herself for not bringing more sunscreen.

"God, I wish they'd just hurry up and catch the damn snitch already," Marcus whined, loosening his protective gear from his sweltering arms.

"Maybe if you didn't suck and Miles didn't keep making Draco switch positions, we'd be done by now," Adrian laughed.

Miles, unofficial team captain, had made Draco rotate with his teammates about a dozen times now. He was back to seeker in an attempt to end the game.
Hermione noticed, with her mild comprehension of what made a good player, that he moved more fluidly on his broom than everyone else. Even more so than Blaise and Terrence, who were both very good.

"Yeah, yeah. I never practice being seeker, Blaise just likes to have his way," Marcus replied with slight aggravation. "Geez, It's a wonder Malfoy hasn't tried out for a league yet, Merlin knows he could make it on at least for second string, the stupid idiot."

Draco had dove inches from the ground to catch the snitch, just missing by a second as it flitted away into the sky. He didn't get discouraged, he pulled up and shook off his disappointment.

"Yeah, well too late now, right? If he's going the way of all businessmen, he'll be swamped like Blaise. What a waste, guess five years of doing nothing improves your game immensely."

"Five years of nothing?" Hermione asked out loud, blushing a bit when Adrian glanced at her.

"I probably am breaking some kind of code here...ah, fuck it. Draco's been an enigma of sorts. We've had continual bets on when he'll show up next to a birthday or outing. He hasn't stayed close in our little group. The only person he talks to on a regular basis is Pansy, and even she had no idea of his schedule. All we know is that he finally left the nest and moved out. My guess is that ma and pa coerced him into getting a job, but he wanted to do it himself, picked something ridiculous on purpose," Adrian explained.

Hermione found this information shocking, she wouldn't have believed that he'd seclude himself like that, with how competitive he used to be. Nor that Lucius would've pushed his son to do something an average person must.

"Hey did you want some water, you're probably thirsty, yeah?" Adrian handed her his water bottle, ice cold. Hermione grabbed it realizing she was quite parched.

"Thanks," she said as he nodded. She liked Adrian, he seemed much nicer than most of the people she'd expected to meet with Blaise. He also wasn't afraid to talk to her, a lot of the boys hadn't uttered two words to her.

"Hopefully this'll end soon, you're probably bored stiff."

"Maybe a bit, it's better than being inside cleaning, or doing nothing, like I'd probably be doing otherwise," she chuckled.

"Yes, Blaise just wanted you to see his nice display of manliness no doubt, though he's seriously slacking today. Our team sucks sure, but he's let in almost – YES!"

Adrian jumped up from his seat fist-pumping the air and ran into the field, startling Hermione.
Draco had caught the snitch to win the game, 190 – 90.

The losing side flew to the ground, all lying down, exhausted by the extended playtime. Adrian high fived Draco along with the rest of the team as Miles picked him up to carry him off the pitch by his legs.

Hermione smirked despite herself, she found it humorous how excited people got winning scrimmages. Ginny would've reacted the same.

"God, next time Miles just let him play as seeker the whole time!" Adrian was shouting as Draco was dropped onto the ground at the bench.

Soaked with perspiration, he was grinning and panting, jubilant at his victory. Draco hadn't played with a team in a while, though he was used to flying a lot. Now that he lived in the city, he had to resort to actually using his membership here.

Absolutely boiling now, he tore off his black pinny and undershirt, pouring water all over his chest and hair.

Blaise stood up from the grass wiping the sweat from his brow as he walked back to the side, a little sour from the loss, a little more sour when he noticed Hermione staring at Draco's stupid, skinny, naked body.

He copied Draco's movements, stripping down to just his trousers and went over to her, wanting her to notice how much more defined his torso was than his. From constant work outs and healthy eating, he'd developed a damn good physique, if he did say so himself.

She looked up at him and he could tell she approved, the sudden spark in her eye signalling she found him sexy.

"Oh Hermione, your back," he said tentatively, noticing her skin coated in a red tinge. "We should probably get you home, hm? Away from the rays?"

He touched her shoulders gently, moving his hands to her spine and flowing them down her arms to her hands. He pulled her up and kissed her, pushing his bare chest against her breasts.

Draco rolled his eyes at the sad attempt Blaise was making to get her attention, like Hermione Granger would've been attracted to him at all. He knew she was just surprised he'd get half naked. Blaise seriously couldn't stand to see somebody else take attention away from him even for a second.

"Yeah, maybe," she replied, giving Blaise the onceover, her back burning from his warm fingertips.

"Call it a day, gentlemen?" he asked to the rejoicing Slytherin's.

"Hell yeah, there's no freaking way I'm playing another set after that long of a game," Adrian agreed, refilling his canteen with a swish of his wand.

"See you later then, lads," he said, picking up his broom and clothes, beckoning Hermione along with him.

"Tomorrow, Blaise?" Draco corrected him.

"Tomorrow, Draco," he sighed, turning around to get away from him.

"Bye," Hermione waved awkwardly, unsure of what else she could say.

"It was nice meeting you properly!" Adrian called, waving. Everyone else remembered their manners and began to wave too.

"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow!" Draco smirked, sounding more like a threat to Hermione than a pleasant goodbye.

Out of arms and ears reach, they decided to go back to Hermione's place. Ginny was away on a game, and Harry was swamped with work as per usual, so it was empty. She hadn't been to Blaise's apartment yet, didn't know where he lived actually. But it had only been a few weeks, so she didn't mind too much. This was his third visit in there. The first was to wait while she got ready, and the second was because their snogging session had become heated.

Right now they were sitting on the sofa. After he'd showered and eaten leftover Indian takeaway, she decided to pop in Downtown Abbey, her favourite show. Blaise, though Muggle savvy, didn't care much for television, so he constantly interrupted it, wanting to talk instead of sit in silence.

"Did you get aloe on your burns? Don't want any unsightly marks on you, especially for tomorrow evening."

"Yes, I did. They'll go away, don't worry, I used SPF 40 sunscreen, now shh," she said, waving her hand so she could concentrate.

Blaise grabbed her hand and kissed it, enjoying how attentive she was to something so silly as a TV programme. He pulled himself down so he could lie against her chest and in-between her legs. She absent-mindedly stroked his hair, moving downwards to massage his neck.

"Hermione, don't. Don't knead me, please."

She snapped her vision away from the tube to her boyfriend. What an odd request.

"Why not?"

"I have an appointment tomorrow to get a massage done properly, I don't want you to knot me up."

She let go of him immediately and laid her hands to rest on her side.

"I have one for you too, and one for your hair and makeup. I thought maybe we could go together. Kind of like a date," he grinned up at her.

She didn't grin back.

"A date before a date? I don't know Blaise, I feel kind of strange accepting all these things from you, especially when you spring them up on me last minute so I'd feel bad saying no." She decided to be honest with him, she wasn't used to being spoiled.

"Don't feel bad, just say yes. You're my girlfriend. I want to pamper you," he assured her, rubbing her thighs soothingly. "You deserve it."

"Alright," she relented a bit, "but even with a thousand massages, and even if I look fabulous, I don't know if I'll feel settled at Draco's party."

"My sentiments exactly. I plan to get exceedingly pissed, abusing his open bar like he did mine. At least then I'll be able to deal with all his flagrant bullshit."
Hermione giggled.

"I didn't realize you were so devilish, Mr. Zabini."

"I'm not, I just have a bone to pick with the idiot. He thinks he can just waltz back in everyone's lives and pretend like he didn't leave them at all. Plus, he's clearly trying to rope my friends into being his, and I can't let that happen. Pretty soon he'll need legal help, no doubt he's going to make a rookie mistake, and he'll probably ask you just to get me to react."

"Look, even if he did ask me, I doubt he'd give me a reason to say yes. I understand it's frustrating to have somebody intrude in your affairs, I've had similar dealings for different reasons before. But you have to remember that they won't go back to him if he's only trying to be friends to gain something. Real friendship is hard to find," Hermione said, kissing him on the ear. "Even if they do go to him for a moment, they'll realize he's stringing them along if you're certain he is. You've just got to not hold it against them when they come back to you, because they will in time."

"You are so wise," Blaise chuckled, breathing deep. "That did calm me down, actually."

"I have my moments."

"More than that...Wait." He sat up and turned to her, thinking about something she'd said. "Does that mean that you're a corporate lawyer now? Officially? Did you choose?"

"Well I didn't want you to know until I finalized everything, but yes. I did. If I get enough prestige I can eventually switch out to do creature and human rights like I want to. I just think it's not the best place to start, it's better to get some credibility first," she mumbled, flushing at how joyous he sounded.

"You are brilliant, I can't even tell you how happy I am for you right now!'

He hugged her tightly, surprising her for about the 100th time that day.

"Thanks, Blaise," she replied squeezing him back. She pulled back and he stared at her with happiness.

"You keep on pleasing me every day."
The words sounded strange in the context they were in, but she felt herself bathed in a flattered blush nonetheless.

And suddenly he was snogging her more emotionally, more deeply than he had ever done previously. Hermione felt herself overwhelmed with the feeling of being truly desired.
She'd been without it for a while.

And an hour later, though she was scared and unsure, she was sexually excited as she lay back on her bed. All clothes had been discarded, the only light came from the streets outside. Blaise was raring to go, stroking her most sensitive spot, making her lust grow with every passing wave of pleasure. Grabbing at his skin, she marked him with her nails as her moaning became unrestrained.

She wasn't exactly sure why they'd gotten from talking about office business to getting it on, but all she knew as she urged him on top of her was that she wanted him inside of her. Her heart was pounding, and the feel of a body so close to hers was overwhelming. She stroked his cock with a gentle vigour, thrilled with the length he had.

Blaise shivered at the ghost of her touch, too hot and bothered to try and get her off first like he'd planned. He hadn't thought that she'd be so willing to fuck him, he thought he'd have to work hard for it. Initially, the girl struck him as shy, but she was extremely adept at foreplay, was responsive and aware. Turning out to be so...so sexy. He threw his caution to the wind and coaxed his throbbing erection between her legs, held her thighs open before gently pushing in deep, causing a feral groan to rise from her throat.

She used her calves to slink around the smallest part of his torso, pulling him down to her so she could grab onto any inch of him she could. The slightly uncomfortable tearing sensation of a new lover broke into bliss almost immediately after the first few thrusts, and as she kissed him again, she remembered just how much she enjoyed having sex. How much she missed it.

Hermione hoped it would be a long night.

Draco hoped it would be an early one.

Unfortunately, his wish wasn't granted as he returned home from Quidditch an hour after Blaise had left, with more phone calls to answer and last minute details to attend to.

Pansy was waiting, livid that he was out for nearly 4 hours. Sergei was in a conference, coming home late that night, she was quite bored without any company.

"So you're sure that the music is ready? You're sure that all the famous over demanding Muggle sods have their needs met and are coming so we can reserve them a VIP seat? DRACO!" She snapped at him, sipping some chamomile tea in an attempt not to lose it.

He was lying down on the wooden floor, just waiting for her to decide his preparation was passable and exit the premises.

It was nearing 11 PM, and he was so tired. That Quidditch game, though rigorous, was the first break he'd gotten in a week. He seriously had to hand it to all the Slytherin ladies who planned shit like this on a regular basis. It was difficult.

"God, Pansy. Yes, the music is paid, for their manager called me this morning. The Muggle designers will either show up or not, I don't honestly care at this point, as long as somebody noteworthy comes. I'll know whether they're VIP or not, so we can worry about it then."

"No, we need to now! Come on! You're having a party in Muggle London, this is a big deal. You have to make sure that the Statute isn't broken or the Ministry will be after your ass."

"Pansy, I have over a thousand confirmed guests, you think I don't know that? I invited the Minister of Magic for fucks sake."

"Really? He's coming?"

"No idea. The point is I hired the very best in police and wizard protection that money can buy. I have a wand check booth that is stressed in the invitations to the wizards, and anyone who becomes an nuisance will be ejected immediately."

"Well…alright. What about press?" Draco knew she was trying to be thorough, but he just wanted to go to sleep.

"I've allowed the Prophet and Witch Weekly to come. I paid The Times, The Sun and The Telegraph. Only one reporter and one photographer per, it'll be under control, I asked for senior journalists."

"Nice, I knew you had some sense in there. So you have your guest list, your food, your venue and set-up….how exactly are you going to sell yourself anyways? I never asked about it because I was excited about details." She leaned against the wall by his bedroom, starting to feel exhaustion hit her too.

"You needn't worry about it Pansy. Just relax. I want you to have a great time tomorrow night, thank you so much for helping me, by the way. I could not have done it all without you."

He got up off the wooden floor and walked over to her with the gait of a zombie. He held out his hands for a hug, and she, astonished, embraced him warmly.

"You're actually thanking me while sober? Guess this growing up business is working," she jabbed.

"Oh don't ruin this, you ninny. I've realized how useless I've been towards you these past years, and you still seem to like me on some fault of your own, surely. Anyways, you should probably get some rest. Tomorrow you have your fitting with Sergei in the morning and I obviously have to supervise, so go on, off to sleep."

"You're not going to use us as a ploy are you?" she asked wearily, already knowing the response.

"Not a ploy, an example. And please, don't be insulted, you're going to look fabulous and every girl is going to want to be you, trust me."

"Who is this designer again?" she rolled her eyes. "She's a muggle, right? She better make me look good."

"Vivienne Westwood. Trust me, she's good. I met her already. She knows Martin Frobisher, the Wizard designer that my mother is obsessed with. And she's really eccentric, batshit insane. That's how you know she does good work."

After the initial shock had worn off that Draco was styling the plebeians, Narcissa was ecstatic to help her baby boy get started. She had lent him the cash needed for a ridiculous over the top event and opened up her dusty black books filled with noteworthy people he could invite.

"If you say so," Pansy replied uneasily. "I trust your judgement, but perhaps not you yourself."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see you eat your words tomorrow," he laughed, always grateful of her brutal honesty.

"We'll see," she responded brazenly. "You know after the fact that if you have no more time for me, I will punch you in the face, right? Spread gossip and rumours to discredit you?"

"Oh, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Pansy let a grin spread across her face and drained her cup, strolling away from him to grab her purse. She put the mug in the sink, and slowly traipsed her way over to the door, turning before she left.

"It feels weird, this. This party tomorrow. It feels like a new chapter is opening for you, and somehow I'm a part of it, you know? Like everything is about to change. I don't know, maybe that sounds silly," she blushed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Not at all, I feel the same. It's terrifying isn't it?"
Draco strode to her, hands in his pockets, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

"Not for me, though I get why you think that. You've made leaps and bounds in a month compared to how you were before you left your mum and dads."

"I have, haven't I? I still have got such a long way to go."

"Well, no better time than the present, hm?"

"How right you are," Draco smirked, opening the door for her. "Bye Pansy."

She started to leave but paused.
"Draco, don't read into this. I just want to do something before everything may or not become too hectic, and you get too caught up in your life to spend time with me every day."

Draco stared at her strangely, waiting for her to act.
"Okay, what is it?"

She leaned in embraced him, holding him for a very long time. More than what would be considered friendly.
"I know you can be a success, you just have to believe it. I'll see you in the morning."

With that she sauntered away, in her head telling herself that this was the last time she'd toy with his emotions and hers. She just wanted him to know somebody was there for him, she knew he considered himself some kind of lone wolf.

Draco stood frozen in the doorway, unsure of what exactly she meant by her gesture, watching her get onto the elevator. He realized now that he did love her a lot, not romantic love, but one that lasts from knowing somebody so well for so long.
While he'd thought quite the opposite a few weeks before, Sergei was lucky to have somebody like her in his life.

And now with that swirling in his head, he felt terribly alone, the silence overwhelming him as he was left to his thoughts.

He traveled to his sofa, opting to lie on it instead of his bed, mulling over what occurred this afternoon and what was to come.
The party he hoped to go smoothly, he only wished he'd had a date. He knew he could lie through his teeth and pretend he didn't have one on purpose and get away with it, but truth be told there'd been nobody he could've asked.

Girls, he decided, were bizarre. While Pansy was an eternal mystery, a mix of bitch and wisdom, he found himself thinking about her complete opposite; Hermione. She was supposed to be smart, it bothered him. Wondering why a friend of Golden Potter would give in to Blaise's fantasy world, and wondering why he was wondering about her at all.

"It's just because I haven't spoken to her in years," he decided, rolling onto his stomach.

He fell asleep with amusement in his head, remembering her witty responses to his digs, replaying the look on her face when she saw him take his shirt off. And he found that his statement earlier was a true one. He couldn't wait to see her tomorrow.