Gravity

Chapter 10

"Yes," Draco answered warily. It would appear that Harry had not told Ron the specifics of the dinner atmosphere, but he didn't want Ron poking around at the topic of Hermione.

"Was it Fred? Did he provoke you? He's crazy jealous of you, you know. Hates it when Hermione mentions you."

"She talks about me?" he asked, stunned. Though, really, it was almost worse to hear that she talked about him when she wouldn't talk to him.

"Yeah, sometimes. Although ... Harry would've said if Fred had been involved, what with the history between you and Hermione's."

"We don't have history," Draco ground out.

Ron rolled his eyes. "That's right. How could I forget? You two just spent four or five months constantly in each other's presence. Did you get jealous at seeing Hermione with Fred? That must have been it!" Ron looked as though he had figured out the cure for world hunger. "You were jealous, and said something to or about Fred that Harry didn't like!"

"I barely said two words to your brother. And I was not jealous." He put all the venom, all the lethal bite he could into his response and gave Ron a fierce glare. Surely that would at least stop the questions about Hermione.

It worked; Ron backed a few feet from Draco and winced as though Draco had taken a swing at him. "Right. Course you weren't." Ron didn't buy Draco's lie, but that didn't matter. "Then ... what?"

Draco scowled. "Let's just say ... I did something I swore I'd never do again."

Ron patted him on the back. "Hey, mate. We all mess up. Just do better next time."

"I don't want there to b be /b a next time." He didn't want to spend his evenings in pointless flirtation, he didn't want a string of one-night stands, or meaningless shags ... He had been through those motions too much already. He wanted ... I Bugger. /I He needed another drink.

Ron was spared the duty of finding something useful and meaningful to say to Draco's unusual admission of fault by Pansy, who pulled him onto the dance floor. She also tried half-heartedly to convince Draco to dance.

Naturally, he declined, and resumed drinking and glaring at Fred Weasley.

Three songs later, Kara approached him. It must have been all the spirits he had imbibed that prevented him from noticing her until it was too late. "Draco, dance with me," she said, as though it was more of a command than a question.

He looked at her incredulously. Hadn't she noticed his growing repulsion during dinner, and how he'd practically run away from her? Obviously not.

"Come on," she laughed. "I'm not that bad once you get to know me." Her eyes twinkled darkly, and Draco decided she probably was that bad.

"No, thanks."

"Draco Malfoy." The ethereal Luna Lovegood had appeared next to Kara.

He'd never in his life been relieved to see Luna, until now. "Yes?"

"I have noticed that you have not yet been on the dance floor," she said airily.

"Excellent observation, Luna. You're right." Draco looked at her intently, as though they were having the most interesting conversation.

"I'm trying to convince him to change that," said Kara, glancing uncertainly at Luna. Draco enjoyed the thought that perhaps Kara was beginning to doubt her hold on him; Luna could be very pretty when she tried, as she had tonight.

Luna turned to look at her and cocked her head. "Are you still here?"

Draco nearly spat out the drink he'd just taken. It had not taken him long to discover that Luna was more perceptive than he had ever imagined. If Kara had not noticed his growing reticence during dinner, Luna had, and she seemed to have decided that she was on Draco's side.