Disclaimer: All Harry Potter related characters and settings belong to JK Rowling not me.
AN: Alright, here is the next chapter of MT! I like how this one turned out. I want to thank xXMizz Alec VolturiXx and Nicky-Maree for leaving some nice reviews on the last chapter. And for this chapter's feature I had the pleasure of reading Nicky-Maree's one-shot Lips of an Angel based around a love almost lost and Draco Malfoy. It's a good read and incorporates the song nicely. So go check it out.
If you would like your story featured in the next chapter leave a review and let me know what story you would like me to review. So until next chapter...
Alcina poked at the delicious looking dessert in front of her. Some kind of cheesecake, she thought, raspberry. And even though her love of cheesecake was strong the tightening of her stomach was stronger. Lucius had escorted his guest's fathers up to his study for boysenberry brandy and cigars wrapped in dragon hide and Narcissa had followed close behind, her face pale.
So Alcina sat in the parlour with the ornate fireplace again trying to drown out the sound of Yvette's hissy voice and Lule's cooing as the pair crooned over Draco. She took a sip of her black tea and watched the two girls flirt. It was the only thing that was allowing the clock hands to move in the proper direction.
Yvette was skilled. She had synchronized every hair flip and eyelash bat with a small giggle. It seemed to come naturally. She would deliberately flick her ashen silk hair against her prey's face. The way her blue eyes would sharpen when Draco started talking made it seem like all her focus was on him. The sound of her voice was soft and light like a feather hovering in the wind inviting Draco to shift a little closer so he could hear her better. A black feather, Alcina smiled to herself.
Lule was a little different and not nearly as bright. Her movements were exaggerated as to not be mistaken with an accidental brushing of the knee. She pulled Draco's chin in her direction when she spoke to him, making her lips purse in the process. Alcina could tell she was not as well seasoned as Yvette.
What irked Alcina the most about the situation was how much Draco was enjoying himself. Somewhere between the miserable look he had at the dining table and the huge grin he was wearing now he had realized that maybe having Yvette and Lule around may not be the worst thing in the world.
"Ladies, could I offer you another biscuit?" Draco picked the tray up from the glass coffee table and proffered it to Yvette and Lule on either side of him.
"Oh," Yvette said, "I would love one." Hair flip, giggle.
"Yes," said Lule, using her finger to turn Draco's head towards her.
Alcina snorted.
"Is zere something wrong, Alcina?" Yvette sneered at her.
"Nope. Just got a little powdered sugar in my nose. Who knew eating cookies was dangerous?" Draco smiled at her comment, not the stupid grin he had on his face a moment ago but something that looked more like a genuine smile. He mumbled, "dangerous indeed."
"Yes," Yvette said incredulously. "As I was saying I wanted to find ze dress in my size but-" Alcina tuned her story out. She had grown bored with anecdotes about vacations in the Swiss alps and fur coats. Luckily Narcissa came into the room, in her arms she held Alcina's Moontrimmer and Draco's Nimbus.
"Ah, Yvette, Lule, I have put together the rooms where you will be staying. Lucius tells me your trunks have just arrived and are waiting for you up stairs. If you two would follow me."
The two girls stood reluctantly. Maybe afraid that Draco would disappear in a puff of smoke.
"Draco," Narcissa continued, "why don't you and Alcina go for a fly around the grounds while I give Yvette and Lule a tour of the manor." Alcina's stomach loosened at the mention of flying a broom.
Draco looked a little shocked but he stood as well and took the two brooms from his mother. "Alright," he said.
"Yes, well do follow me girls." Narcissa ushered Yvette and Lule from the parlour.
Alcina stayed seated now finding the appetite to eat her cheesecake. She thought better of staying in the house and picked the slice of cake up in her fingers and followed Draco who was walking out the doorway.
"I was not enjoying any of that," Draco said as the left through the glass patio doors.
"You didn't see yourself," Alcina laughed and grabbed her broom from him.
"You do realize you're in a dress, right?" Draco asked as he mounted his broom.
"Do I look like the kind of person who would care, Draco?" Alcina mounted her broom as well.
"'Spose not."
The pair took off over the lawn, flying low at first with Draco ahead. Alcina turned her head to look back at the manor house. She was sure she saw a flash of furious ash blonde in one of the second floor windows.
The sky had clouded over since playing quidditch earlier, Alcina noticed. She followed a little behind Draco trying to figure out what had just happened back at the manor. Lucius was glad; Narcissa quite near sullen. Yvette had appeared when Alcina was sure they would never seen each other again… Could Lucius Malfoy be just as devious as her own mother?
Alcina watched ahead as Draco began to drop into the trees, a slump in his shoulders now, like he was thinking the same thing. Alcina sped up to follow suit. As she approached she saw where he was landing. A small clearing stood between the trees looking like a giant may have accidentally taken a wrong step, a footprint that was now matted with grass and a speckling of wild flowers and shrubs. The clouds made the pretty blue of the forget-me-nots dull.
Draco dismounted and plopped himself into the smooth grass. He patted a patch next to him. Alcina flew inches from the ground and barrel rolled onto the grass gently, the way she used to when she was small and couldn't reach the ground. The cotton of her printed sun dress spread out like a smiling dragon. She giggled then sighed.
"So, glad you have some lovelies to fawn over you then?"
Draco was watching her intently, only a few feet away, as she rolled over to look at him. He shrugged.
Alcina rolled round onto her back and sighed again. She supposed that Draco was used to being fussed over. She could see his mother fussing when he was small and peers fussing when he was at school. Octavia had told Alcina about all of his weddings he had skipped out on because she had known some of the younger siblings of the unsuspecting brides. Though the most recent bride, unknown to Octavia's broad circle of friends, had come out of Romania somewhere. But none the less all fussing types.
From the descriptions Alcina had been given they had all been beautiful, well mannered, and tasteful by any wizarding standards. But why had he abandoned them all? Wasn't there some kind of psychological thing where boys tried to find a mate with qualities of their own mothers? Then again maybe that had something to do with divination…
She was genuinely curious now… Or perhaps she just liked to see Draco squirm a little. Alcina rolled to face Draco again. He was busy twisting together pieces of grass.
"Why did you leave all those girls at the alter?"
Draco's head shot up in utter astonishment.
"That seemed a fair question," Alcina said, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Not for a person I've only just met." Draco's voice had a sharp edge to it.
"You've seen more of me than most people have. What with the childhood games of skirt lifting." Draco considered this for a moment.
"Honestly?" he asked. Alcina nodded. "I didn't love any of them. Sure they were pretty. Good in bed. But when it came down to it they were just… meh."
"You humiliate a girl for being 'meh'?"
"I wouldn't say humiliated but yeah. They weren't interesting or strong. They were perfectly content trying on pairs of shoes and being paraded around."
"You seem to have put a lot of thought into this."
"Well when you spend most days hung over and wallowing in self loathing it gets you thinking."
"You are much more interesting that your swoon factor leads me to believe." Alcina laughed thinking of Octavia's well thought out chart of 'swoonicity.'
"My what?" Draco asked.
Alcina laughed again. "Swoon factor. My little sister spent the entirety of yesterday morning telling me all about you and how swoon worthy you were."
"And what would you say my swoon factor is?" Draco egged her on.
Alcina shrugged. "Meh."
Draco reached out to pull at one of her elbows but Alcina pitched herself up into a sitting position before he could even touch her.
"So, Moontrimmer, tell me a little more about you." Draco asked and Alcina cringed.
"That is the worst nickname in all of magic history."
"Well I can't call you by your given name and I can't call you by one of my clever nicknames. What shall it be then? Hm?"
"Just call me Al, please."
"Alright, Al, can you tell me about that little colloquy you and the blonde one had at lunch?"
"Yvette, you mean? Yes, well we attended Beauxbatons together and she easily found out how to make my life a living hell."
"I regret smiling at her now." Draco looked down at the grass he was still twisting.
"No, she's just…"
"Deceitful, insufferable, malicious…"
"Unequivocally dreadful."
"What do you think of zees one?" Yvette held up a sky blue cloak and laid it against her white dress.
"I think the fact that we've been asked that a million times makes me want to scream," Alcina whispered to Draco. He laughed while exhaling.
Draco and Alcina sat in Madame Malkin's robe shop in a pair of hard armchairs while Yvette and Lule were perusing the merchandise. After only three days the dynamic duo, as Alcina had started calling them, had decided that they could no longer bear lying around the manor another moment. For Draco had been effectively sneaking off with Alcina to the quidditch clearing where they spent most of the day causing the duo to lounge in a state of Draco-less misery.
To solve the problem Lucius suggested Draco take them to Diagon Alley and Narcissa had suggested that Alcina joined them. So there they were, Draco and Alcina half near bored to death while Yvette and Lule picked at the finely made clothes.
Yvette replaced the cloak and pulled a purple one from the rack.
"Peculiar Plimpy Punters," Alcina whispered. Draco snorted.
Draco and Alcina had started a game. Whatever article of clothing Yvette pulled from the rack the first letter of the color of the item had to be made into a new title for the dynamic duo. Alcina was winning. Yvette grabbed a green pair of boots with her other hand.
"Gurgling Glumbumbles," Alcina laughed at her title along with Draco this time. Yvette swung her head around to look at them.
"What iz so funny?" Her voice was acidic.
"The color of those boots makes your skin look green," Alcina said trying to keep a straight face. Yvette quickly dropped the boot back on the shelf, a little disgusted.
Alcina leaned over nearly in Draco's lap. "D'you think they'd notice if we left for Quality Quidditch Supplies? I've had my eye on this new pair of goggles."
Draco sat up straight to survey the situation. From their seat the pair could see Yvette and Lule raking through a wall of cotton day capes and velvet party dresses.
"I think we could make it if we crawl through the clearance section. The blonde one said something about slashed prices giving her nausea."
"Brilliant," Alcina said with a wicked grin. She began to slid, snake like, out of her chair and onto the floor. Draco followed and they slithered between the racks of clothes with gaudy prints and flounces. Alcina stopped them at the edge of their cover and peeked up to see the Glumbumbles still fussing over one of the day capes.
Alcina and Draco crept up into crouching positions ready to make the final dash to the door.
"Ready?" She asked. Draco nodded. "On my count. Un, duex, trois."
They launched themselves, taking the final curve around the counter. Just before they hit the door Draco pulled his wand from his pocket, "wingardium leviosa," to lift the bell from the doors path ensuring a silent escape. Once outside with the door shut and the bell back in place the pair crawled under the windows of the robe shop in the direction of Quality Quidditch Supplies. It wasn't until they reached that far end of Flourish and Blott's that they stood to walk.
"You're really good at this evading thing, aren't you?" Draco said while brushing off his pants.
"You learn quickly when your mother has it out for your ring finger."
That night Draco lay in his bed trying to fall asleep. But he just couldn't. He kept replaying the ridiculous face Yvette had made when she and Lule had finally found Alcina and Draco eating ice cream at Florean Fortescue's, Alcina wearing a new pair of goggle on her head. He was sure Yvette's eyes were going to fall out of her head. She had started yelling. Just yelling indefinable half French-half English words. He could still hear Alcina's snicker as she sat and watched Yvette approach near critical temperature. Then Alcina had just cleared her throat. Yvette stopped.
"Yvette," she had said, "it might be best if you stop making a fool of yourself." She stood then. "Draco and I are going to head back to the manor. But I'm sure Lule and you would still like a look around the Alley. It's rather nice this time of year."
She had grabbed Draco's wrist then and pulled him down the cobble stone street towards the Leaky Cauldron neither of them looking back. Once they had rounded the corner Draco felt her fingers trembling around his arm. Alcina dropped her grip and let out a nervous laugh.
"Merlin, I was sure she was going to hex the pants off me. Did you see her crazy eyes?"
There wasn't a person that had been able to get him to crawl down Diagon Alley. Or a person brave enough to take on someone he would consider to be a good trophy wife (for they were always the most vicious). There wasn't even a person who made him feel like he was five and still pulling up girl's skirts. At least he hadn't thought there was.