Malfoy's large black jacket, which is long enough to be a dress on me, is the only thing keeping me from turning into an icicle as we walk through Central Park. I pull the long sleeves over my hand and shiver as my bare feet touch down on the frozen ground with every step.
I look at him, as he walks several feet in front of me, wearing a short-sleeved shirt. "Aren't you cold?" I ask, trying to keep up with his long strides. "Not as cold as you are," He simply says, keeping his gaze focused forwards.
"But - I'm fine now -"
"Ashwood, you need it more than I do," He says. I pause. I blink hard. Was this some kind of nice gesture? Or did he just not want to put up with my whining? I suppose a combination of both factors. But - no. Just no. Draco Malfoy doesn't do "nice."
"Keep up!" He suddenly snaps, only confirming that thought. I quickly catch up with him, as we walk urgently through the cold night. I guess someone is really eager to get back to bed. I shove my pockets into my - er - his jacket and take in the familiar scent. Pine and spearmint. I look up to the sky, visible through the trees. The stars shine bright, but the moon shines even brighter. I focus on the twinkling, the beauty. A light smile crosses my face.
That smile is gone in a second though. I feel a strong grasp on my upper arm. My head snaps back down, and I instantly look to Malfoy. His cold hand has wrapped around my arm, and he's yanking me right into his side. "Stay close," He says so quietly I can just barely hear him. I look at him in complete confusion before he nods just a little bit ahead, and to the right.
I shift my focus to a small group of people up ahead. They're gathered around a park bench. There are blankets and trash surrounding them, and by one look at their clothes, I can tell they too are homeless. Insane laughter fills the air, and as we grow closer, their attention shifts to us.
Two men, and a woman. They look amused, and the second I make eye contact with them, I force myself to look at the ground immediately. "Ah, what do we have here?" One says all too excitedly.
"Isn't it past your bedtime?" The woman laughs out like a maniac.
"Why don't you two join us?" The first one teases. "Don't say a word," Malfoy demands through clenched teeth as his arm suddenly slips securely around my waist. I feel a sort of rush when he does this, and instantly roll my eyes at the thought.
He steers us to the opposite side of the sidewalk. I cringe as the small group continues to laugh and howl at us. We walk as fast as we can, quickly passing them. Malfoy's grip doesn't loosen in the slightest as we continue like that for a couple of minutes.
It was moments like these, where I couldn't help but wonder if he actually, and truly cared about me. If this was more than just an arrangement to keep him out of prison.
* * * * *
My head is pounding and the morning light flooding in is far too blinding. I slam my fist into the dreaded alarm clock blaring its deadly noise and roll over onto my other side. I lazily open my eyes and suddenly I'm looking right at Draco Malfoy, whose face is inches away from mine as he looks to be peacefully sleeping.
I gasp and sit straight up in just a second. I keep on forgetting where I am. Hotel room. In a bed. With Malfoy.
"What - what?" He exclaims and sits up too, appearing terribly confused. He can barely open his eyes and has the worst case of bed head I have ever seen. I bite my lip, trying not to laugh at his current appearance.
"Nothing. It's nothing," I mutter, shaking my head before I roll out of bed.
"We have to meet Serena in 15 minutes, get ready," I tell him. I look down at his large black jacket and realize I never gave it back after last night. I quickly unzip it and throw it at him. It lands on the bed right in front of him, and he simply just frowns at it. "Thanks," I mutter lamely, before turning to grab my clothes and head into the bathroom.
Once I close the door I hear him shout, "Now it smells like you!" He whines. I can't help the small laugh that escapes my lips.
And sure enough, exactly 15 minutes later, we are sitting in Serena's office, joined once again by Harry and Ron, as well as Lily. Seconds later, Serena enters in, offering a warm greeting as we all sit in the sitting area of her office.
"Good morning everyone," She beams. I'm envious of her energy. My dark circles had only grown worse when I looked in the mirror this morning. Maybe it had something to do with wandering around central park in the middle of the night.
"Good morning," I half-heartedly respond.
It doesn't take long to get down to business, which I'm grateful to skip the small talk for once. We explain to her the events that took place the day before. Between the Magical Congress, being chased by Death Eaters, my vision, and our visit to Leo's apartment, there's quite a bit to fill her and Lily in on.
I decide to leave the part out about my sleepwalking experience.
"Well then I guess the only option is for you kids to attend the banquet tonight," Serena says.
"Ron and I figured. We also decided, maybe it's best if the two of us go, and stay hidden most of the night. We can keep an eye on things from a different perspective, basically watch for any kind of trouble," Harry says.
"Excellent idea Harry!" Serena smiles.
"And what about us?" Malfoy blurts out, gesturing between the two of us.
"Well, you two will go as each other's date," She says.
"WHAT?" We both cry out in perfect unison.
"Now just relax, surely you two can go undercover as a couple just for one night? Emma this is for your Father after all," She says.
I let out a deep sigh. "You're right. I guess I can put up with it for just one night," I mutter.
"Well, who says I can?" Malfoy exclaims.
I shoot him a serious look, "You don't really have a choice," I snap. This seems to shut him up. He pouts quietly, in defeat. I turn back to Serena. "Well what about invites, and I - I don't really have anything to wear," I tell her.
"No worries. I spoke to Minerva before you came, and I figured as much," she begins. "That is why I'm going to have Lily take you guys to find something to wear tonight, I'll take care of the rest," Serena says. Lily beams brighter than the sun. She looks so happy, it brings a small smile to my lips.
"Yay!" She grins, as she claps her hands together in joy. "Lily, are you coming to the banquet tonight?" I ask her. She laughs, "Oh no, my job is here at the hotel," she says as if it's basic knowledge. "Well thanks for offering to help," I smile.
"Of course!"
Malfoy tries for nearly 5 minutes to convince Serena that he doesn't need a suit for tonight and that his own clothes will suffice, but Serena insists that it's her gift to us. That's when I attempt to join in, telling her she's done enough for us, but I mean it when I say it, she is extremely set in her ways.
Which leads us to the famous fifth avenue about 30 minutes later. Notorious for shopping, and high-end clothing stores. I had never grown up with luxury at my fingertips, and the thought of Serena buying all of this for us seriously bugs me. But even a long argument with her didn't seem to change her mind.
We spend nearly 2 hours finding suits for the boys. The whole time I help Ron and Harry, while Malfoy does his own thing. Lily occasionally offers to help him. As for me, I would rather keep my distance for the time being. I didn't want to be sick of him before I was forced to spend an entire evening with him.
After a long lunch at a local and delicious cafe, the shopping resumes and now it's time to tackle my issue. We go to several stores, and at this point, the boys are practically dragging their feet as they complain the more time we spend looking for a dress for me.
I begin to lose track of how many stores we enter in and out of, and finally, we are in a store that specializes in formal dresses. I cross my fingers that I can find something, anything that might work. "It would be better if you could find something that is formal, and flattering, but blends right in. You don't want to draw any attention to yourself tonight," Lily explains.
I look through racks and racks of long, short, poofy, silky, all kinds of dresses. Finally, a simple black dress catches my eye. "How about this? It's not much, but I think it could work," I shrug as I hold up the dress.
"Perfect!" Lily grins.
* * * * *
To my luck, the dress ended up fitting just right. It was now an hour until the Banquet would be starting, and I was freaking out. Lily had demanded that I come to her apartment to get ready. She permanently lived in a two-story apartment in the Thunderclaw Inn. She told me it was all part of the perks of her Grandma owning the place.
"So you've never been to a dance?" Lily asks in shock as she does my eye makeup.
"No. I never wanted to go to those dumb high school dances. My friends and I usually just ditched them," I tell her, thinking back to times like those in California that felt like a lifetime ago. Social gatherings like this were not my cup of tea. Maybe it was the idea of putting in an effort to look nice, mixed with the social requirement of showing up with a date. It just didn't sound fun in the slightest. The only reason I was okay with going tonight, was because I was determined to find my father.
It takes Lily nearly 20 minutes to straighten all of my hair, and then 20 more to do my makeup. I guarantee most of the time was spent covering those awful bags under my eyes. Finally, I'm ready to put my dress on. She leaves the bedroom while I change. I carefully slip on the dress, making sure not to mess up my hair, or makeup. When it's on, and I somehow manage to zip it up on my own by nearly breaking my arm, it fits almost perfectly. I step in front of a full-body mirror in her room, to look at the finished product.
I don't recognize myself. The girl standing in front of me looks good for once. She looks put together. My hair looks silky and smooth falling down to my waist. I look deep into my reflection. The dark circles are covered under makeup, and a light smoky eye makes my green eyes pop. I shift my gaze to the dress.
It's the deepest shade of black, with a square neckline ending several inches below my collarbones, and a bit revealing. The long black sleeves are perfectly fitted, just like the rest of the dress. It's skin-tight, and form-fitting. It hugs my figure perfectly. It has a long slit up the side, revealing my right leg. Even though it's long sleeved, and reaches the ground, it's a little more showy than I would typically wear, but I'm just glad something worked.
Something that I can't help but feel pretty in. A small smile plays on my glossed lips as I stare at my reflection. I look kind of... good.
"Ready?" Lily calls out. I grab my wand off her bedside table and step out of her room. "Emma! You look amazing!" She gasps out the second I step outside. A light blush rises to my cheeks and I smile widely. "Thank you. It's all your doing," I laugh lightly.
"Well, I had the most gorgeous model to work with," She winks.
I lightly shove her shoulder, "That's a stretch," I roll my eyes.
"Um, it's very true actually!" She says, sticking her tongue out at me. "Stop it!" I laugh. She opens the front door and we step out into the hallway, headed for Serena's office to meet Ron, Harry, and Malfoy. I take a deep breath.
I don't think anything could prepare me for what was to come next. If all went according to plan, everything would be different after tonight. I would have my father back.