New Vinyl (A Draco Malfoy Story)

VI

By soundcheck, the size of my open tab and the weight of the money in my bag felt entirely disproportionate. I sipped my drink and watched the band's roadie on stage, talking into floating amplifying spells and waving his wand to make the proper adjustments. The bartender eyed me every so often, a new guy much younger than the previous one, mid-40's I guessed, just coming onto his shift. I slipped off the barstool toward the loo, pushing through the little crowd that had gathered in the bar in the last half hour. My head felt like it floated along with me and my eyelids felt heavy, but upon closer inspection in the restroom mirror they looked plenty wide open. I smiled at my reflection, at the tinge of redness in my cheeks. I touched a fingertip to my lips. They tingled. I pulled out lip balm and smeared some on, smacking them together twice for good measure.

When I emerged from the women's toilets, the roadie had left the stage. The lights dimmed and many people mingled in front of the stage with their drinks. I found my seat at the bar and lifted my glass toward the bartender. Instead of another magical refill, he walked over.

"Another?" he asked.

"That would be smashing," I said. The response triggered skepticism, evident in the deepening crease in his brow.

"Think you've had enough?"

"One more never hurt anyone." Not true in the slightest, but I didn't let that detract from my charming smile.

"How about a glass of water first?" Water. The death sentence to my open tab and my good time. Crossed arms, a flash of gold on his left ring finger and an air of sternness thinly veiled by practiced hospitality, I abandoned all thoughts of flirting my way to another drink. "Or perhaps you'd like to square up now and go from there?" My fingers found the leather flap of the bag at my hip but released it just as quickly; a deliberate gesture to suggest the money to be there, that I'd felt perfectly capable of squaring up but suddenly thought better of it. Water bought time, at least. With the show about to start and me poised to agree to water in a last-ditch effort to avoid being ejected from the bar with only the memory of Fairest's roadie setting up to reflect on, a hand pressed against the small of my back; the cotton of my shirt acted a barrier, but the heat from the stranger's fingers permeated the cloth and warmed my skin.

"I got this round," came a man's voice. To my relief, the glass in front of me filled up once more, the bartender setting out a second glass in front of the spot next to me. I swiveled in my chair to thank the mystery gentlemen, but the words died on my tongue. Draco Malfoy slid onto the barstool beside mine. "Funny. I don't recall the decree on outings being lifted, Hill." He took a swig of his drink, hand still on my back a beat longer before he removed it to fish something out of his pocket.

"And yet you grace me with your presence, Malfoy." I pulled the drink up to my lips, both of which were completely numb at this point.

"I'm head of the Inquisitorial Squad," he said, dropping a few galleons onto the counter in front of him. "I get a pass, obviously." Ignoring the flash of gold and the pompous flaunt of his superior social status, I twirled my chair around toward the stage, drink in hand. I picked up the cherry garnish and closed my mouth around it, plucking the fruit from its stem and crushing it with my teeth. "There's that Imogene attitude," he said. "Too good for everyone, are you?"

"Not everyone," I said. A rustle through the crowd, then cheers as shadows moved around off stage right, but only a false alarm amid all the anticipation. Draco bristled at my insinuation.

"Maybe you'd get along better in the house if you weren't so full of yourself."

"Full of myself?" I swiveled toward him so abruptly, my knees knocked into his and alcohol spilled from my glass. "Oh, right. I'm the one too good for everyone. Remind me, Malfoy. Who is your father again? Because I seem to have forgotten." I held my index finger to my bottom lip in mock thoughtfulness. His incredulous stare, his mouth agape in disbelief, sent a wave of unexpected giggles over me. I covered my mouth with my hand to muffle them.