Chapter 5
Astoria Greengrass many things, but she was not meek. She was not afraid of confrontation and she could even be quite pugnacious at times, so why on earth did she not make a scene? This question plagued her mind the week following her encounter with Lavina and Draco. She cursed herself for not reacting in a way more like herself. Draco never pretended to be interested in whatever she wanted for the wedding but at least he would give her the time of day, even if it meant sitting there with a bored expression. But not this time. He disregarded her and in front of Lavina, no less.This slight was not something she could get over, at least not in the near future. So Astoria steeled herself to stay at the manor for a while in an effort to spend time with her fiance and to make sure her Ex-Bestfriend would keep her eyes off Draco. If this was anything like their time at Hogwarts, that little snake could not be trusted. Astoria devoted years of her life in an effort to be the best Lady of Malfoy Manor but now that she was so close she was not going to let a stupid little witch get in her way. Not again. So if Astoria wasn't roaming around the manor hoping to run into Draco (with no avail) she was somewhere in her borrowed wing plotting and conspiring to drive those two apart. If they harbored the same feelings they did in school this was going to be a laborious and taxing process.
~~
Lavina's hate-list was growing to be quite tedious. For every five things she could think of to hate about Draco Malfoy, she would think of an equal amount of things she didn't hate. Lavina stared at the ceiling, wondering how this all came to be. She was living in Malfoy Manor because Voldemort wanted to use her skills in Divination against the Order. That wasn't Draco's fault, no. But he could've helped her when she was being tortured, he could refuse to perform leglimency on her, he could let her free. He could've refused the Dark Mark back in school like she asked him to. He could have stayed on the right side at the Battle of Hogwarts. He could have shown more kindness to others. He could have refused to kill Dumbledore. He could have chosen differently so many times. And still, he could choose to do the right thing.
But that wasn't the type of person he'd proven himself to be, Lavina concluded. She would get over whatever conflicting emotions she was feeling about this man soon. She was sure of it.
The muffled sound of music pulled Lavina from her thoughts. Holding her breath, she listened. It was a familiar tune, one she hadn't heard in quite a long time. As if being lulled by a siren, Lavina's feet touched the cold floor, pulling her step by step through the hallway towards the source of the music. It stopped just as she did in the doorway of the drawing room, watching as Draco flipped another record onto the turntable. His tie was loosened, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his dark mark and his hair was a bit tousled from how many times he'd ran his fingers through it. She couldn't help but think he looked quite handsome like this.
"The Smiths," Lavina broke the silence, causing Draco to startle at her sudden appearance.
"Quite the observation, pet." Draco mumbled sarcastically, though his voice held no malice.
"It's just that I never expected you-"
"to have a good taste in music? Don't insult me."
"No its not that," Lavina stepped further into the room. "They're a muggle band. I just thought all that was beneath you."
"I knew someone once who taught me that maybe not all muggle things are bad. They said something about 'broadening one's horizons' or whatever."
"Yeah, that's wise." She agreed. "There's so much out there to enjoy, why just stick to our little corner of the world?"
Draco grunted in agreement. Or understanding? Perhaps it was just in acknowledgement. Regardless, Lavina took this as an invitation to view the stack of records by the turntable.
"Oh, wow." She flipped through the records, "The Cranberries, Radiohead, Blur, The Cure, Oasis." Lavina listed off the artists. "Draco I never knew you were cool." When did she get so comfortable speaking to him like this?
"I've always been." Draco murmured, giving Lavina a sideways glance.
"May I?" Lavina picked up Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We? by The Cranberries, intending to put it on the turntable. Draco gave her a nod and she wasted no time. Soon she was nodding her head to the beat of their songs, taking a seat on the couch opposite Draco. After a few songs she got comfortable, laying down to relax and enjoy the music. Draco nodded his head along to the music, sipping on a glass of something Lavina didn't care to ask about. Instead, she closed her eyes and hummed along to her favorite song, Linger.
Draco didn't know how long he watched Lavina for. He couldn't pull his eyes off of the girl on the couch. It seemed normal, comfortable even, to be sitting in near-silence with each other. The crackling of the fireplace, his loosened tie, the soft music and dim lighting were all the perfect ingredients to a romantic evening, Draco thought. Draco wondered what would have happened if he had chosen differently in the past. Would things be different now? Would he be sitting next to Lavinia on the couch, listening to his records? Or would he be somewhere else, doing something else, with someone else? Draco realized that he would never know, and that was probably for the best. But he couldn't help but wonder.
"Would someone turn this garbage off? I'm trying to relax." Astoria's intrusive voice pulled both Lavina's and Draco's attention to the doorway.
"If you would stay to your guest wing, my music wouldn't even reach you." Draco sighed, getting up from the couch.
"But Draco, am I really a guest if this will all be mine soon? Well, yours and mine. I'm going to be Lady of the House, so why is it such a big deal if a stay in a room on this side?" she pointed her wand to the record player, causing the music to stop.
"Yes. I am still not married, therefore there is no Lady of Malfoy Manor." He downed he rest of his glass before setting it down roughly. "Look, if you've come to speak about the wedding, I don't have the energy nor the patience. I haven't slept for days." He ran a hand over his tired face.
Again, Lavina wanted the ground to just swallow her up. Why must she bear witness to another one of these painful conversations? She chose to stay quiet and still, hoping Astoria wouldn't notice her on the couch.
"It will be soon, though, wont it? You'll choose a date soon?" Astoria sounded hopeful.
Draco rubbed his eyes, they felt like sand. "Tori. I said not now." She was off with a huff, heels clicking down the hall.
Lavina didn't want to speak first to break the silence that filled the room. Instead, she stood up from the couch a few moments after she could no longer hear movement in the hallway.
"Bedtime, pet?" Draco spoke lowly. She nodded in response, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Know your way back?" He pulled off his tie completely, tossing it on the back of one of the couches.
"I think so. It can't be that hard." She really hated the mental image that appeared in her mind after watching him take off his tie.
"I'll walk you." Draco motioned towards the door.
"No, its alright-" she began to protest.
"Lavina." he stopped her. "I'd like to speak with you, so I will walk you back to your room."
She chewed on the inside of her lip and nodded, following him through the halls towards her room. With a flick of his wrist, he opened the door ahead of them, allowing her to enter first. Now that she stood closer to him, she could see the lines in his forehead and the dark circles under his eyes. He wasn't lying when he'd said he hadn't slept. The other thing she noticed was the alcohol on his breath. She could tell he'd been drinking for a while that night. He stood in the threshold, gripping the frame for balance.
"Draco," she murmured. "What did you want to speak to me about?"
He sighed, finally entering the room and shutting the door behind him. "I want to finish our conversation from last week." he took a seat on the edge of her bed. She didn't like that. "Sit," he commanded. Lavina moved a stack of books off of a chair to free a seat for herself across the room. "Have you given anymore thought to my proposal?" he inquired, running his palm over his tired face.
"Draco. When is the last time you slept? And how much did you have to drink tonight?"
"That's none of your concern," he uttered the words in a low voice. "That's not important. Just get the tea out. I want to try another reading."
"Draco, I don't think that's a good idea-"
"Stop." he stood up. "Stop saying my name." he ordered. "Just do as I say," he pinched the bridge of his nose. As he opened his eyes, Draco was almost moved by the look on Lavina's face. He didn't want her to stop saying his name. In fact, he rather enjoyed hearing his name from her lips. With a quick glance at her lips, he wondered how many different ways she could say his name. He groaned, she was right. This was not a good idea.
Lavina shook her head, reluctantly moving over to the fireplace. "Its too late for tea. I need Sage and Mallowsweet." she scoffed.
"Done." Draco shrugged, not even bothering to ask her what for, "Accio Sage. Accio Mallowsweet."
Once the herbs arrived, she wasted no time casting them into the flames of the fireplace. She drew nearer, inhaling the smoke, and falling into a trance of some sort, staring into the flames. Draco watched as she slowly leaned closer to the flames. He began to panic as he noticed some of the flames appeared to be reaching up to touch her face. He jumped up to pull her from the fireplace, accidentally catching an ember to the skin. He hissed in pain, causing Lavina to pull her attention from the flames. Her hand went straight to the spot where the ember had touched him, accidentally grazing his Dark Mark. The moment her fingertips came into contact with the inked skin, her mouth fell open in a silent shriek, her eyes rolled back in their sockets and her body stiffened. Lavina spoke without moving her mouth.
"One bears the flame, a passion so bright, but two others linger in day and night. Beneath a sky woven with stars' gentle sighs, A choice must be made, and a sacrifice lies." A hoarse voice rumbled from deep in her chest, reciting the prophecy.
The moment she was finished speaking, her eyes returned to their natural position. "Draco? What did I say?" Lavina tried to catch her breath.
"One bears the flame, something about passion, two lingering in day and night," he paused, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just witnessed, "then something about choices and sacrifices."
"What the devil does that even mean?" Lavina sighed, rubbing her eyes. "That was a waste of time, I was starting to get something from the flames but then I got whatever the hell that was. I'm exhausted." a tired exhale escaped her lips.
The pair sat in silence near the fireplace trying to work through the events that had just transpired, their brains both too tired to think straight. Exhaustion didn't even scratch the surface of what Draco was feeling. The crackling of the fire and Lavina's soft breathing provided the perfect ambiance for him to relax. And relax he did. Soon after, Draco's head leaned back against the bed, succumbing to the expenditure of his consciousness.
Lavina's attention turned to Draco as he fell asleep. She'd never seen him so peaceful. His brows were no longer knit together pensively and the lines in his forehead were nowhere to be seen. The stubble on his jaw was almost invisible to the naked eye. But not to Lavina, she could tell he hadn't shaved in a day or two. She wondered for a brief instant what it would feel like against her cheek.
There was no way to tell how long she watched him sleep for. Her ass beginning to ache from sitting on the hard floor was enough to climb into bed. In a moment of weakness, she pulled a blanket over his lap before tucking herself into the opposite side of the bed.
~~
Draco hadn't known what exactly it was about that room that had made him sleep so soundly. Sure, his body was sore from sitting on the floor by her bed, but when he woke from his dreamless sleep, he was more alert than any other morning. This was quite unusual as it always took him at least a few minutes to acclimate to consciousness. He rose from the floor, accidentally letting the blanket he was covered with fall to his feet. He let out a breath of air as he smiled softly at the thought of Lavina covering him to sleep warm. He couldn't put a finger on why his heart clenched. Perhaps it was the fact that she'd been so cold for so long in this room that she knew he wouldn't sleep comfortably unless he was warm. He turned to see his 'prisoner' snoring softly under the many covers. Her hair spread around her head on the silk pillowcases like a halo, the golden light from the window splaying across her fair skin and the soft rise and fall of her chest all added to her angelic appearance. He watched her sleep, letting himself for a moment pretend he was going to climb under the covers next to her. Draco imagined he'd bury his face in her neck, inhaling the scent in her hair, that he'd hold her so close that her heartbeat would lull him back to sleep. Perhaps in another lifetime she would hold him back. He swallowed thickly and left the room, not before conjuring a record player in the corner. With a smile on his face, he shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way back to his room, not even noticing the prying eyes just around the corner.
Astoria was livid. She caught Draco walking back to his room in the same clothes he was wearing the night before. That could mean only one thing; Draco spent the night with Lavina. Enraged, she watched Draco slip back into his chambers, saying nothing to him. Turning on her heels, she went straight to Slug and Jiggers in Diagon Alley. She had to know what happened in her room and she would stop at nothing to find out.
Her lip curled in disgust as she dropped a singular hair into the Polujuice potion, watching as the contents of the beaker bubbled while processing the follicle. The stupid smile he had on his face tormented Astoria to no end. What did they do? Did they touch each other? Did he enjoy it? Question after question, Astoria's rage boiled like the liquid in the small cauldron in her room. She stared at the reflection in the mirror, hating the sharp features that glared back. With deep breaths and heavy strokes, she brushed her hair, the bristles catching on the knotted strands. Was this the first time he spent the night in her room? Did they do this often? With a furious shriek, she launched her hairbrush at the mirror, breaking the glass. The broken glass was enough to bring her back down from her inflamed emotions. This wasn't her. She was above this. All of this was beneath her, especially that little blood traitor. She was cunning, she was poised, put together and elite. This would all be over soon and be just a little bump in the road.