"What?" Narcissa screeched. Lucius and Draco had just returned from the east wing and told her about what happened. "What do you mean the room was empty?"
Lucius pinched his nose tightly, resting his arm on his chest. "It's as we've said, Narcissa. We completed the ritual. Everything worked exactly as it was supposed to. The door appeared, it opened. But the room behind the door was completely empty. No furnishing, no flooring, no wall coverings. Not even a window. Completely and utterly empty."
Draco had stayed silent so far through this conversation - Lucius' "we" was of the Royal variety - and intended to remain that way as long as his mother continued to use her shrill voice.
"But how can it be empty?" For a word that meant "containing nothing", Narcissa certainly managed to imbue a lot of something - in this case, incredulity - within its syllables. Draco could see his father flinch slightly every time she repeated the word.
Narcissa moved seamlessly from frustration to despair. "But what does that mean, Lucius? Has this ever happened before?"
Lucius shook his head. "While the experience is different for everyone, I do not recall seeing any record of the ritual producing nothing to assist in finding a partner."
Starting to see the bright side in all of this, Draco finally chimed in. "Maybe the ritual sensed that I didn't want to be married to anyone. Maybe it said "hey, I have the perfect wife for you - surprise! She's no one!" He started to smile genuinely for the first time today.
"This is actually the best outcome I could have hoped for. Let's just bar up the door and forget it ever happened. I'll continue on living my life as planned, none of this Malfoy ancestral magic codswallop, and we'll all be better for it, yeah?" He could already feel the lightness in his limbs, and pep in his step.
Narcissa frowned at him worriedly. "I'm not sure it works like that, darling." She was referring to the less than pleasant side effects, of course.
"But if it didn't work," Draco justified, "then who's to say I'll experience any of those side effects? They're supposed to happen when you don't find your partner, yes? Being as I evidently have no partner I fail to see what could trigger them."
"Maybe there's a time delay," Lucius supplied to Narcissa, no longer paying direct attention to Draco and his hopes for a normal life. "We should check again in a few days, see if anything has changed."
"Yes," Narcissa agreed. "Yes, that has to be it. We'll check again soon."
Draco hoped his parents were again using the Royal We, as he had no intention of ever going back into that room again.
Draco chose to ignore the room. Two weeks had passed since he went through the ritual with his father, and his parents peeked into the room every two or three days just to make sure nothing had changed. It was just as barren as it had been on the first day. Allegedly, anyway, since he refused to go too close to it. He even made an effort to approach his bedroom door from the opposite side of the hallway so he wouldn't have to walk by it.
Immediately after the painful conversation with his parents the other week, he decided to call up Blaise and Theo to celebrate the ritual's non-results by having a drink or five. They were both happy to oblige, and he met up with them at Hemlock, an upscale spirits bar newly opened within Diagon Alley.
They had asked how things went - Draco had been whinging about the ritual for ages, so both Blaise and Theo were well aware of what it entailed - and Draco happily told them the results while ordering a round of top-shelf gin for them all.
"To being single!" Blaise had said, holding up his drink once it arrived.
"To shagging whichever gal or bloke we like!" Theo echoed.
"To empty rooms," Draco finished, clinking his glass against his friends' and taking a hearty sip of his drink.
The night had quickly devolved, as it often did when the three friends got together. They were about four rounds in when Blaise suggested Draco do something other than drink to celebrate his recently renewed commitment to being single.
"You're right," Draco agreed, his voice surprisingly clear for the amount of alcohol ingested so far. "Excuse me, gents, I have a couple of floo calls to make."
The first floo call was to Gloria, a young woman he met on a trip to Greece who lived in a flat near Diagon Alley. It didn't take much convincing for her to invite him over and catch up, in spite of the late hour. It didn't take much longer than that for the pair to leave an untouched pair of tea mugs on the end table and make their way into Gloria's bedroom. Draco recalled some fumbling and having to work a little to get the angle right, but overall it was a pleasant and enjoyable experience, and a great way to confirm his bachelorhood once more.
A few nights later, he was with Elizabeth. Draco had met her a couple years ago at a Quidditch match, and the pair spent a handful of nights together between then and now. Fortune was on his side when he ran into her at the Quidditch supply shop one afternoon and she coyly announced that her roommate was out of town for the evening, and would he maybe like to come over for a cuppa?
Just like last time, steaming tea mugs lonely once more, Draco found his way into Elizabeth's bed. This time there were no awkward angles or tricky snaps or zips, but Draco couldn't help but feel there wasn't quite enough friction as he remembered with Elizabeth. Well, it had been a while, and who knew who else she'd been with since him - neither of them were interested in monogamy at the moment, to say the least. After spending more time than he'd prefer chasing the edge, and thankfully bringing Elizabeth to orgasm twice during his efforts, he finally tensed and eased into a gentle orgasm. Not quite what he was hoping for, but it took the edge off.
This couldn't be a pattern, could it? It's not like the same issues were happening each time. A small niggling part of his brain tried to get him to consider the ill effects of the room opening and not being with the right witch, but he refused to believe it. Until he had absolute proof that something was off, he'd assume that these were one off circumstances and just a result of some poor luck.
After all, it took three results to create a pattern, didn't it?
Pansy was sitting on an over-lage velvet armchair when Draco arrived through the floo the following evening. Her legs were tucked up underneath her and she was holding a glass of white wine in her right hand, a small fiction book in the other. She looked up when he stepped through, observing him as he dusted off his shoulders and straightened his robes before walking over to her.
"Draco," Pansy greeted, a genuine smile on her face.
"Pansy," Draco returned, taking a seat on the sofa across from her.
"It's been a while," Pansy continued, putting the book down but keeping the wine glass close at hand. She was wearing a short lilac dress that ended just above her knees, making her creamy pale legs flicker in the reflected light of the fire to her right where Draco just came through. "Business or pleasure?"
Draco and Pansy had remained close friends since leaving Hogwarts. They didn't hang out as frequently as he, Theo, and Blaise, but whenever they got together they were able to pick back up from wherever they started. In recent years, Pansy was keeping herself busy with her new fashion business. She had expanded on her talents for beauty and fashion spellwork and offered her services to witches and wizards who needed to make themselves look as good as possible for an event. Draco had used Pansy's services many times in the past, allowing her to guide him in his clothing selection and hairstyle depending on what sort of entrance he wanted to make or persona he'd like to project.
That was the business part. Of course, he and Pansy also maintained other relationships from Hogwarts, as well. Having lost their virginities to one another in sixth year, they both felt a unique bond and attraction towards one another that he didn't think would ever disappear. Part of being able to pick up right where they left off was also being able to recall and recreate the intimacy they'd developed while they were dating, even though neither of them had any interest in being romantically involved with the other anymore.
"Pleasure," Draco confirmed. He noticed Pansy's eyes twinkle and start to darken at his admission.
"Good," she said. "I tend to prefer those visits a little more. Though to be honest my favourite is combining them." Her eyes traced down his dress robes from his neck down. "While you do have impeccable taste, Draco, nothing quite beats being able to take you out of one of my designs piece by piece."
The air between them instantly heated. This is how it always was between the two of them. They were perfectly capable of being friends, of promoting Pansy's business, of discussing their own separate relationship issues. But as soon as either crossed the line into intimacy, a familiar fire was lit that quickly spun out of control. Draco could feel the small spark of it starting with the look in Pansy's eyes combined with her sensual words.
Pansy stood up now, and placed her wine on the table. She picked up her wand on the small end table beside her book and quickly cast a few charms - their standard privacy, pregnancy and freshening charms the two had long since perfected - before standing just in front of Draco, her thighs brushing his knees.
He reached out and ran his warm hands up her legs, starting from her calves and moving up towards her dress hemline. She sighed breathily. Pansy was often vocal, and it was one of the things he enjoyed most about being with her. He traced the line of her dress around to her front and lifted it gently, running his hands up to the crease of her hip.
Pansy bit her lip and moaned, opening her legs wider to give him better access. They both knew each other well enough to know what the other wanted, and Pansy wasn't afraid to push things along if she thought they were taking too long.
Draco wrapped his hands around her upper thighs and pulled her down onto the chair with him. She had a knee on either side of his lap, her weight pushing down pleasantly against his slowly growing erection. Her lips were upon his soon after. She held his face between her hands as she rocked slowly, pushing against him firmly and moaning into his mouth. Draco dragged his hands up to her hair, trailing down her neck and back before holding her hips once more and dragging her even closer to him.
Pansy reached around to her side and took his right hand, leading it under the front of her dress and leaving it between their bodies. Draco chuckled, appreciating her straightforwardness in taking what she wanted, and happy to give it. Sex with Pansy was always heated and sensual, and he was happy this session seemed like it wasn't going to disappoint. Draco slipped Pansy's knickers to the side and brushed his thumb lightly against her clit.
Pansy started kissing down his neck, moaning her approval into the juncture of his neck and shoulder as she started riding his hand in his lap. "Fingers," she demanded, breath heavy and face flushed. "Inside, now."
Draco used his left hand to slip Pansy's dress over her shoulder, exposing her right breast and using the roughness of his tongue to scrape against her nipple exactly the way he knew she loved. Her hands moved to his hair, clutching firmly, as if not sure whether she wanted to pull him off or keep him where he was. Ambient moans, sighs, and gasps filled the room.
Just as Pansy was about to reiterate her previous direction, Draco slid two long fingers deep inside her, relishing in the deep groan she emitted when he spread her open. Knowing that she liked being fingered hard and fast, he immediately started pumping her, in and out, in and out, palm crashing against her clit at the same time his fingers scissored and spread inside her.
Moments later, Pansy was crying out as she was coming apart in his arms. Draco gently slipped his fingers out from under her dress when she finished coming down. Pansy pressed herself against him, gyrating her hips slowly against his, trying to find the friction that would give him pleasure and cause him to moan just as she did. He could feel himself continue to harden, reacting to the motions of Pansy's hips against his.
"Your turn," she whispered as she crawled off his lap and sank to her knees on the floor in front of him.
Draco opened his trousers and shifted in his seat to pull them down to his thighs, Pansy assisting eagerly. As much as Draco enjoyed Pansy's sounds when they were together, her mouth was definitely his favourite part. He felt her nails scrape along his thighs, and then suddenly her mouth was right there, surrounding him with her wet heat. It felt just as he remembered, hot and tight when she sucked her cheeks in, and the warmth and weight of her upper body draped over his legs.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her lips dragging up and down over his shaft, the vibrations of her moans resonating within him. He could feel his orgasm gently building within him, each suck and flick and pop pushing him closer and closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Fuck, still just closer.
"Faster, Pans," he breathed. He placed his hands on her head, urging her to pick up speed without forcing her. Her pace increased imperceptibly.
No, it wasn't enough. He needed more. Growling, he pushed Pansy off of him roughly and gripped his cock in his hand, pumping vigorously. He closed his eyes, trying to force his mind to go blank.
After a handful of aggressive jerks, Draco finally reached the orgasm he'd been desperately searching for. He half groaned, half whined as he crested that barrier, grateful for the release but disappointed in how small it was. For such an extended build up Draco should have been a quivering mess in the chair, panting desperately and trying to come down from an orgasm so intense he'd barely remember where he was. Instead it felt like he barely tipped over the edge, gently rolling down the molehill of his orgasm before coasting to a complete stop.
He opened his eyes to see Pansy still kneeling on the floor close to him. His orgasm was so lacklustre there was no chance of any mess making its way to where she was kneeling. She had a look of mild confusion on her face, but thankfully she was confident enough in herself and her skills that she wasn't outwardly upset by Draco's actions.
"That was different," she conceded. "Feel better?"
"Barely," Draco scoffed, scourgifying himself and rearranging his trousers. Once he was fully clothed again he leaned forward on the chair, his head supported by his hands, elbows on his knees.
"Fuck."