the next day
Draco
I'd been with a lot of girls before. But everything about Bree Barnes was different. I knew that after kissing her once, my life would never be the same again.
And even though we were getting ready to take the pitch against Hufflepuff in the first match of the season, my mind kept going back to her. "Mate, snap out of it," Zabini elbowed me. "If you keep at this, Diggory will send us back to the dungeons."
"Watch your mouth, Z," I grabbed my broom. "Don't talk about something you know nothing about."
"I'm just reminding you what matters today, man."
"And I'm just reminding you, that I'm the captain. Man." I moved past him, making sure to elbow his side on my way out.
As we filled out to the roar of the crowd, I scanned the seats for the one face that was worth looking for. And sure enough, there she was, right in the middle, with Thornhill and Canton. She caught my eye, and winked, a smile playing at the corner of her lips. I pointed at her, just so she, and anyone else who was watching, knew who I was playing for.
____
Bree
Draco was, for lack of a better word, amazing. He played with the swiftness, agility, and calculation of no one I'd ever seen before, and you could tell that he carried not only the utmost sense of pride with him, but passion as well. He truly loved what he was doing. When he had spiraled into a sharp nosedive with Cedric Diggory, as they'd both seen the Snitch at the same time, my heart had lurched along with his broom. But when he'd resurfaced with the glistening golden wings flittering in his palms, I'd stood up on the metal rows and screamed as loud as my lungs would allow, jumping up and down in the sea of green.
"You coming to the party tonight, New Girl?" a voice from behind me was paired with a tapping on my shoulder. I turned around to see a red-robed 7th year with piercing blue eyes studying me. "Or those aren't your scene?"
"I'm sorry," I was caught off guard. "And you are?"
"Fitz." he extended his hand. "Christian Fitz."
Something about the way he stared at me made me filled with the urge to cover up. Pansy must've noticed, because she came to my rescue. "Butt out, Lion Boy," she shooed him away with her hand. "Your tricks won't work here today. And besides, neither house here likes you."
"Oh settle down, Pansy, you know you're still my number one girl," he winked at her, and she groaned in response. "That is, unless the New Girl wants to be my date to the Opening Ceremony party tonight? Or you know," he said as his hand wandered to my hair, and then reached up to stroke my face, "We could ditch the whole scene together. I was always more of an afterparty kind of guy anyway."
Suddenly, a wand was an inch deep into his throat.
"Pull some shit like that again, Fitz," Draco growled, "And you'll be in your afterlife."
"Easy man," he grabbed Draco's wand and met his angry look with one equally as fiery. "The lady knows she's out of your league. The seed's been planted, Malfoy," he winked. "And you know I always get what I want."
"My father will hear about this," Draco spat, and he raised his wand up, "Expelliar-"
"Draco, Draco, Draco," I quickly inserted myself in between the two of them. "Hey, hey, hey, hey, look at me." His chest was heaving, and I had to keep myself from getting completely lost in the way his uniform clung to his muscular arms. "He's not worth it," I tried to steady him. "Not even a little bit."
"You're right," he sighed, pulling me into a hug and resting his chin on my head. "I just hate the idea of him with you. Of any of them with you."
Next to me, Pansy's jaw was dropped open. "You two?" she pointed back and forth in shock. "Why am I just finding this out now?" she shrieked. At the sound of his woman in distress, Blaise came trotting over. "What's wrong, princess?"
I winced at the sudden exposure and felt Draco tighten up next to me. "It's nothing," Draco said quickly. "Just a Gryffindor trying to cause trouble again."
"Damn those Potter ass-kissing idiots," Blaise spat, easily falling for it. Pansy caught my eye but I shook my head subtly, not wanting to ask Draco why he'd dodged the question so easily. "Ever since he came here with that stupid scar they think they're above the rules.."
"Ignore Blaise," Draco grinned, back to his confident and collected self. "He got knocked off by a Gryffindor in Triwizard last year and hasn't fully recovered."
"He hit his head one too many times, as you might have noticed by now," Pansy laughed. "But I love him anyway." We walked across the pitch and Draco ducked onto the sideline to grab his equipment bag. I waited, watching Pansy and Blaise walk in front of us, and him plant a kiss on her forehead, silently wishing that were Draco and me.
"You ok, Barnes?" He jogged up to meet me. "You look like you've seen Hagrid changing." I shot him a look. "Why did you deny us in front of your friends?"
"Shit, Bree, it's not like that, I just-"
"Tell me," I said defiantly, "What is it then really? If I'm just some new girl you kiss and leave, I don't want anything to do with this or you."
"I just froze," his eyes were wide with fear. Was it at being caught or the fact I'd threatened to leave him? My heart hoped for the second, but my head tried to reason with me. It has to be the first. Right? "Let me make it up to you," he took my hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing it gently and shyly meeting my eyes. "Be my date to the party tonight. I'll meet you in the Common Room at half past 10."
"You know you're hard to be annoyed with?" I rolled my eyes, unable to hide the smile he chased out of me.
He shrugged sheepishly. "I find it helpful in situations like this. Not that," as he caught my death stare, "I intend on messing up anymore."
"Better," I grinned. The turf was empty now, and the sky opened up with a light rain. We walked in silence, and I felt him squeeze my hand for reassurance. "You were amazing today," I offered. "And I like to consider myself a tough critic." He pulled me close and lifted me up, running his hand through my hair. "I played for you, you know," his voice was low. His hair was soaked, half from rain, half from sweat, but I didn't think he could look sexier. "No one else out there matters to me."
__
"Damn girl, you look hotter than the Goblet of Fire itself!" Pansy clapped her hands in excitement. "Ladies," she high-fived Cate and Kaycee, "I consider our work here done." I studied myself in the mirror, and the girl in front of me was someone I almost didn't recognize. My hair was tamed from its wavy state to fall in sleek straight sheets, and my face was made up with a bold smoky eye and a deep red lip that made me look...seductive. I secretly couldn't wait to see Draco's face. Kaycee laid a sparkly green halter dress on my bed, with black gladiator sandals. "They're Muggle party clothes," she giggled.
"Kayc is seeing a Muggle," Pansy rolled her eyes, her head in her hands. "We don't talk about it."
Okay, at least me and Draco isn't the worst thing she's heard today.
"Malfoy's gonna drop dead," Cate piped up excitedly, as if she'd read my thoughts.
"Wha-what?" I asked, trying to feign innocence. Pansy threw her hands up in mock surrender. "It wasn't me, girl, I kept my mouth shut. They figured out for themselves."
"Don't even try to deny," Cate grinned a devilish smile. "We saw the way he stormed over after that Fitz boy was talking to you."
"I thought he was gonna pull out an Avada, I really did," Pansy shrieked, clapping her hands together. "Fitz has no clue how lucky he is."
"Don't say anything," I said slowly, "But I smelled him in my amortentia."
"Oh my God," Pansy said. "Bree, that's like, the real thing. You and Malfoy? I mean, I guess it makes sense. I know he never looked at me that way, that's for sure."
"You guys were together?" Why had he never mentioned that? God, I was stupid to think I was the only one he'd ever been with. "Yeah," she waved her hand dismissively, "But it was nothing like what you're thinking. It was more of a business deal between our parents, and we were too young to know any different. There's no love lost there, I swear. He's like a brother to me now, Barnes. I promise."
I nodded my head, trying to process. I hoped she was telling the truth. She had no reason to lie to me, and I had no reason not to trust her, so I closed my eyes, drew in a sharp breath, and took another leap of faith, something that was quickly becoming normal in my time here at Hogwarts.
__
Draco
I paced back and forth in the Common Room, studying my suit in the mirror. I straightened out my lapels and ran my hand through my hair, when a shine caught my eye in the reflection. I turned around, and there she was, standing in heeled shoes and a sparkling green dress that hugged her figure perfectly, those olive-toned legs commanding her presence. I couldn't even hide the reddening of my face as I met her eyes and realized she'd seen my entire reaction. Her face was more beautiful than anything she was wearing, however. I knew Pansy had gotten to her with the classic red lip move, but she didn't look like anything she wasn't. Instead, she had gone from beautiful to downright stunning. It didn't seem right that in any universe, a guy like me would be walking into a party with a girl like her.
But as I made my way up the stairs, and fell into place with her, my arm around her waist, it became apparent that this was, in fact, not a dream. We were here.
"You look..."I stumbled over my words. "Like a dream."
"Really?" her voice was eager. "I told Pansy it might've been too much, but I'm glad you like it."
"Like.." I tried to string words together to form a sentence that made sense. "That's an understatement, Barnes. You look....amazing."
"Thanks," she grinned, noting her effect on me. For once, I wasn't trying to fight it. "You don't look so bad yourself. I like the black on black."
"Thanks," I was happy she noticed. "My mom picked it out for me." I regretted those words leaving my mouth as soon as I'd said them. But she was smiling. "That's sweet," she chuckled, straightening my tie. "Tell her I said it was a good choice."
I hadn't even realized we were walking, but we had stopped at a door that behind, loud music was playing, people were yelling, and green lights were shining through the cracks. Parties weren't my scene, and from the way I felt her tense up beside me, I could tell they weren't hers either. I squeezed her hand for reassurance. "Shall we, Madame Barnes?" I offered her my elbow.
"It would be my most sincerest honor, Mr. Malfoy," she giggled.
And I lead Bree Barnes into the fray.