Aurelian (Dramione)

Chapter 16: Seeking Support

Saturday Evening - 8:26 PM

"Well, are you going to start talking or just sit there?" Blaise Zabini asked the man who sat in one of the armchairs in the sitting room of his bachelor pad.

"Conversation goes two ways. You could talk too, you know," Draco answered.

"And I am, but you're the one who came over unannounced and looking frantic," he reminded his friend. He finished pouring two glasses of firewhiskey and handed one to Draco. Draco received it and stared intensely down into it, his mind racing, but his lips still.

"You'll have to speak up," Blaise teased.

Draco glared at him. He was trying to figure things out and work out what to say and Blaise's playful pressure wasn't helping.

"Best stop looking like that all the time or it will give you premature wrinkles. Just ask my mum," he snickered and took a sip of his drink.

"Have you talked to Pansy lately?" asked Draco.

Blaise was surprised by Draco's sudden change, as he was expecting a retort rather than a topic of conversation. He shook the thought and considered Draco's question.

"Well, sort of. I talked to her just last week. Why?" he asked curiously.

"Has she seemed a bit off to you?" Draco continued.

"You mean more than usual?" Blaise ribbed. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

"I don't know. I'm just a little worried about her," Draco said in gross understatement. "She didn't seem upset at all?"

"No. I mean, I don't know." Blaise seemed to be getting a bit peeved. "I don't know what it is I'm supposed to be looking for here. What's going on?"

"I don't know. I'm just concerned something might be going on with her or her family that she's not telling us," Draco replied. "Do you remember when Mr. Parkinson's office was broken into and his family owl was left dead on his desk?"

Blaise nodded and sat down in the armchair that faced Draco's.

"Then he dropped it so quickly. It just doesn't sit well with me," Draco said, looking up from his glass to gauge his friend's reaction. At Blaise's scrutinizing stare, Draco took a drink from his own glass, appreciating the searing burn that followed after the liquor.

"Do you ask for you or for Potter?" Blaise asked finally.

Draco looked quickly up at Blaise with a fierce analytical stare. "What do you know about Potter?"

Blaise snickered, rolled his eyes, and shook his head in disbelief. "Not the response I was looking for," he said playfully again. "I was hoping you'd say 'Oh! I completely forgot to tell you about that. I'm working with Potter, so don't come looking for me at work,'" he said in a taunting high-pitched voice. "You know, next time you're not going to be at work, it'd be nice to let me know so I don't waste my lunch hour looking for you."

"You never come to me at work. Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, I was excited and wanted someone to share the news with," Blaise smiled.

"What news?" Draco asked curiously.

"Well, it's not really supposed to be good news, I guess, but Jennings's wife - pretty old now - is suffering from some old person thing and he's going to retire so that he can take her to get treatment somewhere." Blaise gave a dismissive wave of his hand at what he considered unimportant details. "The point is, his position is going to be opening up, meaning that I'm now one of three candidates for a serious promotion."