Chapter 26: Sophistication
Draco sighed as he waited for Blaise to arrive at the Three Broomsticks, sipping slowly on a glass of firewhiskey, when he saw a familiar mop of red hair enter the restaurant. Not looking to fight with anyone tonight, the blonde hastily got up and moved to a nearby table that provided him with ample distance but if he strained, he could still listen to any conversation that passed between Weasley and anyone else.
"Get me the strongest stuff you've got in the back." Given the manner in which the bartender didn't even bat an eye, Draco didn't doubt this was abnormal. Blaise arrived shortly thereafter, and the duo watched as the ginger sipped away at the bottle of vodka for the entire night, low mumbles slipping out of his mouth as the alcohol began to cloud his mind.
"Mmhmm... Hermione... come back..." The pair glanced at each other, listening to all the slurred sentences. Most of them talked about how he wished she would return to him, how he hadn't meant to drive her away but she was just so . Draco growled low at the mention of that.
"Mate, calm down. This is great. He's regretting his decision to let her go, and she's happy. Don't dwell and brood about it. She's yours now."
Blaise had just finished when Ron spotted them and started to stumble his way over to them.
"Ahh... ferret... and Zabini. Death Eater scum, shouldn't even be here..."
Draco shot to his feet; Blaise had to physically restrain him, grabbing his wrists and dragging him back down onto the wooden bench. As he held Draco back, he responded coolly to Ron,
"Not like you're doing any better than the 'Death Eater scum', are you, Weasley? Getting drunk every night, lost the love of your life..."
"Don't you talk about Hermionee..."
"I'm just saying. And you know I'm not wrong." And with that, he walked out (forcefully pulling Draco behind him).
***
Hermione grinned. "So, you and Theo, is it?"
"Yeesss..." Pansy responded slowly, a little nervously. Hermione laughed. "I'm not judging. Just asking."
"Okay. Well, for no particular reason at all, I'm going to change the subject. Did you know that Narcissa is holding a gala for Christmas? Are either of you going?"
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "It's only mid-October. Isn't a little early to start planning a Christmas gala?" But Astoria shook her head. "Not for the level of sophistication Narcissa is planning. Not to mention that she's going to go all-out, since Lucius is in Azkaban, and also, since she can." The last part was chorused by both of the girls. Clearly, this is something that Ms. Malfoy said often.
"I mean, I don't know. I'm not really sure if she'll even let me into the bloody house."
Pansy shook her head. "That was all Lucius. The pure-blooded bullshit was all to please the Dark Lord. If Narcissa had her way- which she nearly had- she would have just renounced it all and lay low during his reign."
Hermione raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Really? And she never hated Mudbloods like me?"
Pansy growled fiercely. "Don't refer to yourself as that ever again."
Hermione shrugged unconvincingly. "It's not that much of a deal anymore, honestly."
Astoria shook her head. "Yeah, it is. It doesn't affect you all the time, but it does some of the time. You're scratching at your scar, and you're not really making eye contact with either of us."
Hermione snapped. "Could you stop? I'll deal with it on my own time."
Pansy held her hands up. "Jeepers. Only trying to help."
Hermione sighed. "Sorry, it's a... sensitive topic, to say the least. I just don't like talking about it, and my coping mechanism is to either ignore the problem until I have to deal with it or pretend that it's okay."
"You know you don't need to pretend, right?" Astoria's face only had concern written across it.
"It works, though. I don't think about her as much, don't think about the word. It's not really even the word, but the experience in the manor, which would be pretty close to the top of my list of 'excuses not to go'."
"I mean, she has redecorated the entire thing, and she demolished that room. It doesn't exist anymore. The manor still has some dark aspects, because, Slytherin theme and all, but it's much brighter and cleaner than it used to be."
Hermione nodded. "I mean, I might. We'll see."
***
Draco and Blaise sat at the latter's apartment, discussing the same thing as the three girls: the Christmas gala.
"Your mom's still doing the whole gala thing, right?"
"Yeah, she is. Hell-bent on it, in fact. Says father hadn't let her host a proper party in years."
"But what about all the dinner parties, and the..." Blaise trailed off as Draco rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"She says those weren't even close to a party, which makes me scared to think about what she considers a 'proper party'."
Blaise grinned as something occurred to him. "You taking Hermione?"
"I'm not sure. Like, I would love to take her, but I don't know if she'd be comfortable with it.."
Blaise's eyes darkened at the thought. "True. I hadn't considered it."
Draco shook his head to try and get the memory of that day out of his head, lightheartedly changing the subject. "What about you?"
Blaise said nothing, taking a sip of his whiskey. Draco smirked.
"C'mon. Who is it?"
"You are so going to laugh if I tell you."
"I'm gonna find out either way at the gala."
"Salazar. I'm hoping it'll be Lovegood. Remember her?"
Draco smiled, taking Blaise by surprise. "How could I not? She was friends with me in our fifth year."
"You were ?" Blaise's voice held a tone of incredulity.
"She helped me with a lot of things."
"Okay..." Blaise trailed off slowly.
"What do you mean by 'hoping it'll be'?"
"Well, we don't talk often, it's only lunch breaks, and I'm not really sure if she feels the same way. We're not even dating or anything, just meeting up at lunch." Draco nodded. Blaise had offered to partner with the Ministry, working with the trade department to export some of his products. Luna was one of the main contacts between his business and the Ministry.
"I mean, just go for it and ask her out. Worst comes to worst she'll say no, but she'd probably go with you as a friend. Potter did that in our sixth year, at Slughorn's Christmas party."
Blaise sipped on his whiskey, an amused smile crossing his face. "I remember that. The one you got in trouble for gatecrashing."
Draco scowled. "Yes I did, now shut up you wanker."
Blaise grinned. "Never."
Draco frowned. "Fuck you." He reached for the whiskey bottle when an owl came flying through the open window, settling elegantly onto the perch, adjacent to said window. Grumbling, Draco walked over to the owl, and untied the letter as the owl helped itself to a sip of water. Opening the envelope, his eyes widened and he cursed.
"Fuck."
"-me, I know."
"No. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no." His mumbles became louder as he read through the letter.
"What is it?"
"My mum wants to see me for dinner, and she wants me to bring Hermione."
Blaise frowned. "How does she know?"
"I don't bloody know!"
Blaise pursed his lips into a thin line.
"Well, isn't that going to be fun to explain."
***
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