Redemption
Celebration
I let my head fall back and released a long groan.
"Oh come on, it's not that bad Draco. Stop being such a baby," Tiffany commented giving my hand a squeeze.
"I'm not being a baby," I grumbled unable to avoid the childishness the words brought out. When she scoffed, I looked down at our intertwined fingers and gave her hand a tug, "What do you say, instead of doing this, we go back to my place -and shag thoroughly?"
"As delightful as that sounds," the dark haired woman replied looking up at me with a grin, "I will not be an accessory to your cowardice."
"It's not cowardice, its self preservation," I retorted looking at the white wood door labeled 2605.
"I'm sure it'll be okay," she commented giving me a quick peck on the lips. "Besides, I don't want our first shag to be because you're trying to get out of going to a party."
"Why not, it's as good an excuse as any."
She snorted, "Oh yeah, just what a girl wants to hear. That you need an excuse to shag her."
"Just what a guy wants to hear," I smirked. "That you don't."
She grinned, but when I pulled her into my arms for a longer kiss, she pushed back. "Ah-ah-ah, none of that mister. Your diversionary tactics will not work on me."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Fine, but you asked for it."
She gave a wide grin and nodded before lifting her hand and knocking several times on the white door. I took a deep breath and steeled myself for the forthcoming confrontations.
It was November twentieth, and weeks past Guy Fawks Day; however, everyone's favorite Auror had some type of mission during the holiday so this party had been created as a type of belated celebration. Neville Longbottom was throwing it from what I understood, and he had decided to call it the Guy Foxed Celebration, since everyone planned on getting thoroughly soused. Tiffany, who had been invited to these types of celebrations since she befriended Ginny Weasley four years ago, had insisted upon bringing me as a date no matter how mental both Weasley and I had tried to convince her that the idea was. I had always known that Tiffany could be stubborn, but I hadn't realized until now how annoying a trait that was in a person.
The dark haired woman raised her hand to knock again. On the second bang the door was pulled open by Neville himself.
"Hey Tiffany!" he exclaimed jovially. "We were just asking Ginny…"
He trailed off upon noticing my presence and his smile slowly fell away.
"Hey there Nev, can my date and I come in?" Tiffany asked with a wide grin.
At the word date, the other man stared at her with a dumbstruck expression on his face before his eyes flicked back and forth between the two of us. Instead of commenting, he just gave a jerky nod and stepped aside.
"Longbotto-" I cut off with a grunt as Tiffany elbowed me in my stomach. Throwing her a glare, I corrected myself, "Neville," I said giving a stiff nod to the other man.
We walked past him into a dimly lit cream colored room. Loud music blared from the speakers, but no one was dancing. Instead, people were milling about, talking, drinking, and laughing. There were loads of faces from my Hogwarts years, all very familiar and none that I had ever gotten along with. I sighed, I knew it was a long shot, but I had hoped for at least one Slytherin in the bunch. However, as I expected, the room was filled with mostly Gryffindors and the occasional scattering of a Ravenclaw or a Hufflepuff. As we stood on the outskirts of the party slightly obscured by a large potted plant, I took the time to take in my environment and check for all possible escape routes. I almost smiled when Luna Lovegood and another witch began to hop around in the middle of the living room to the bass thudding away from the speakers. It had been a while since I had been in such a jovial atmosphere -an atmosphere that most likely would end as soon as my presence was known. That thought made me extremely uncomfortable.
"Tiffany!!" a voice called. I looked up to see Granger heading towards us.
After taking several steps, her eyes locked on mine and her steps faltered, then she stopped. Giving a wry smile, I observed with some dismay and, I must admit, a small amount of morbid amusement that just as I predicted, the celebration seemed to have come to a screeching halt.
"Malfoy?!" exclaimed Ron Weasley.
"Weasley," I nodded, shifting just in time to avoid Tiffany's elbow. "What, he called me by my last name first," I shrugged.
She rolled her eyes, "What are you -five?" Sighing, she looked around, "Hey guys," she chirped happily as though she didn't notice the suddenly tense atmosphere.
"What is he doing here?" this demand came from the Golden Boy himself.
Potter stormed forward, coming to a halt right next to Granger when she put her arm out to stop his advance. The dark haired man's jaw was tightly clinched and his stance was rigid. I arched a brow at the wand gripped tightly in his right hand before looking him back in the eyes once more. I really do think that if he were the type to do a killing curse, I would be beyond dead right now.
"He," Tiffany stressed letting go of my hand and wrapping her arm around my waist "is my date," she gave a wide grin. "So try not to kill him please, he belongs in one piece and that piece is labeled `Mine'."
"Your date!!" several people exclaimed at the same time.
I gave an amused chuckle and Tiffany issued me a hard squeeze, "Quiet you, you're not helping," she said tilting her head back and giving me a mock glare.
I smirked.
"But -but you -you're a Muggle," Granger stuttered blinking several times and looking as lost as she did on the first day of apparation training.
Tiffany nodded, "Yes, and he's a wizard." She turned and leveled me with a suspicious look, "Aren't you?"
I chuckled, "That's what I hear."
"He's a pureblood, a Malfoy."
I snorted and rolled my eyes at the way that Granger said my name, grunting once more when Tiffany punched me lightly in the stomach. "Could you stop that?" I hissed.
She grinned, "Only when I can be sure that you're on your best behavior."
I frowned distastefully, "But my best behavior is so boring," I grumbled. "How about my very close to, but not quite there, though pretty near best behavior?"
She giggled and got on her toes giving me a quick kiss, "I can deal with that."
"Good, because it's the best I can do."
"Oh, spare me," Weasley groaned. "What are you up to Malfoy?"
"Why is everyone always accusing me of being up to something?" I complained with a frown. "I'm here because Tiffany asked me to come. I'm not `up to' anything."
"That's bullshite," stated Potter, "you're up to something, and I'm going to find out what."
I scoffed, "This was a mistake, I told you this was a mistake, so let's just go."
Tiffany looked around the room disappointedly before sighing and nodding her head.
"Wait!" someone called. I looked over to see Ginny Weasley stand from a chair near the wall. Potter and the rest of the Potter pals gave her a surprised look. "He's not up to anything."
"What?!" Weasley exclaimed.
"What are you talking about Ginny?" asked Granger.
"You knew about this?!" accused Potter.
Ginny sighed, "Yes, I knew about it. Tiff's my flat mate -my best mate, how could I not know who she was dating," she shrugged, looking a bit uncomfortable as the accusing looks turned on her now. "Look, I was as skeptical as you guys are, but they seem to have a good relationship. I mean they get along really well and for some odd reason, against all reason, Tiffany really seems to like Malf- er, Draco," I almost laugh at the pained look that crossed her face at saying my name, but I knew it wouldn't be appreciated.
Speculative gazes kept shifting back and forth between the three of us before the silence was broken by Granger.
"Well Malf- oh, uh Draco, welcome," she offered a hesitant smile. "The drinks are at the bar, the food is on the table, and there's some more in the kitchen. I -uh, help yourself."
Weasley and Potter gave her mutinous looks.
"Thanks…Her-mione," I replied with a small smile of my own.
"Yeah, thanks Hermione!" Tiff repeated going forward and giving the other woman a small hug.
"No problem," Hermione laughed before turning and facing the partygoers. "Well, what are you guys doing, this is supposed to be a celebration!" With that, she flicked her wand and the music went back to full volume.
Though several people still gave me glances ranging from speculative to down right resentful, everyone slowly migrated back to their previous positions. Well… almost everyone. Potter and Weasley continued to glare at me before Potter turned his attention to Tiffany, his features softening somewhat.
"Tiff?"
Her brows rose, "Yeah, Harry?"
"Can I chat with you for a moment?" he inquired flicking me another quick, hostile look.
"Oh," she gave him a surprised look. "Sure… of course," she turned and looked at me. "I'll be right back okay?"
"I'll be here," I replied before looking at Weasley once more, "I think," I added with a crooked smirk in the red haired mans direction.
"You will," she rolled her eyes before giving me a quick kiss and following Potter to the kitchen.
I watched Weasley deliberate for a moment before stalking off after them. Hermione and I looked at one another.
"So…." she said clapping her hands together.
I cocked an amused brow, "So…"
"You sure know how to ruin a good time, Blondie," Ginny Weasley commented joining our uncomfortable little group.
"Gee thanks Red, I do try," I smirked back.
She rolled her eyes, "Like you have to. Your presence is enough to dry up a wet dream."
"Ginny," Hermione gasped.
I grinned, "Aww dreaming about me again Red, how creepy."
"The only dreams I have about you involve you being beaten with a stick," she retorted with a smirk of her own.
I arched a brow, "Am I handcuffed to your bed again? Because that really bothered me last time. There's just something so unwholesome about it."
"The only way you would ever be handcuffed to my bed, Blondie, is if I took your wand so you couldn't escape, and then levitated it to the Thames, and dropped you in," she replied with a sugary smile.
I gave her one in return, "You spend waaay too much time thinking about my wand Red; Tiff might not like that."
When she made a low growling noise, a throat cleared interrupting our verbal spar.
"I-uh, got you a drink," Hermione said looking between Red and I for a moment, her expression curious.
Ginny flushed a bit and looked away while I accepted the glass from the other woman.
"Thanks," I commented sniffing the dark liquid, "you didn't poison this did you?"
She gave a large grin, "Hardly, if I wanted to kill you I'd do it the old fashioned way." She pulled out her wand and wagged it at me.
"Ahh, I feel better already," I commented drolly.
Hermione winked, "You should," she arched a brow, "though I wouldn't accept any drinks from Ron if I were you."
"Duly noted."
She gave another smile, confusion shining in her gaze momentarily before she took a step back. "Well, I agreed to help Neville host, so it's off to the festivities," she looked at Ginny then back at me. "You two play nice."
I smirked and Ginny gave a brittle smile.
"You are a menace," she muttered as Hermione slid over to a nearby couple to talk.
I shrugged, "And you're a nuisance."
"Ha! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be here right now. I saved your arse."
"How?" I scoffed.
"Like Hermione would have stood up for you and Tiffany if I hadn't first," she snorted.
"What? So you're under the impression that you saved my arse by stopping me from having to leave this deathtrap that you call a party?" I rolled my eyes, "Like I said -a nuisance."
"Oi! This is a great party," she threw me a look, "-or at least it was."
"It could have been great again if you hadn't meddled," I muttered taking a sip of the drink Hermione had brought. It was actually pretty good, some type of mixed drink, a hard liquor with a fruity juice.
"You're right, I should have just let you leave," she grumbled, looking around the party.
"What was that?"
She threw me a look, "What?"
"What you just said."
"That I should have let you leave?"
"No, no," I gave a dismissive brush of my hand. "The first part -I'm what?"
She glowered at me, "Shut it Blondie."
I smirked, "You know, you could save yourself a lot of trouble if you just remember that."
"That you need to shut it? I think it would actually save more trouble if you remembered that," she retorted.
I rolled my eyes, "You know, if you hadn't stuck your big," I peered at her, "and slightly crooked, nose in it, I could be at my flat right now alone with Tiffany. -Instead, she's being hassled somewhere by Potter and boy Weasley."
Ginny glared at me, "Stop calling him that," she ground out. "His name is Ron, not boy Weasley."
I shrugged, "My bad, Weaslette." She punched me in the arm and I laughed, "Where's your sense of humor?"
"Locked away like your father should be," she replied with a smirk.
"Ohh -burn that was pretty good." I gave her a grin, "You're getting better, but you still have a lot to learn to be anywhere close to my level."
"Why you narcissistic, pompous, big headed-"
"I wonder where Tiff is," I cut in, interrupting what was sure to be a less than flattering tirade.
"With Harry and Ron," she replied.
"I know that wise arse. I just want to know what's taking them so long."
"They're probably trying to talk some sense back into her," she gave me a sideways look and smirked. "Merlin knows she's seemed to have lost all of hers."
I shrugged and took a sip of my drink. "Maybe it's where ever your sense of humor is."
"Maybe it's-" Ginny cut off as a now very pissed looking Tiffany joined us.
"Let's go," she commented grabbing my arm.
I gave a low whistle, "Things not go as you planned?" I inquired stressing the `you'.
She glared, "Not now Malfoy -I mean, Draco."
I felt a cynical smile pull at my lips, "Malfoy…" I repeated swirling the drink in my hand.
Tiffany sighed, "It's not like that. I...it's just that all-"
"Wait Tiff, please," Potter said joining our little side party, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything about you."
"Then what did you mean?" Tiffany responded heatedly, "Because that's sure as hell what it sounded like."
"He meant," commented boy Weasley jumping into the fray, "to imply something about him," he sneered jabbing a thumb in my direction.
I rolled my eyes, "What did I do now?" I sighed.
"What do you always do you fucking prat!" exclaimed Weasley.
"He didn't do anything!" Tiffany argued.
"Of course he did," said Potter, "he showed up here just to cause trouble."
"Hey, I didn't even want to come to your stupid party," I interjected with a glare.
"Then why did you?" he barked back.
"Because I insisted that he did," cut in Tiffany. "I thought that you guys could put aside your differences for one night and-"
"Put aside out differences? Put aside our differences?" Potter scoffed, "What do you think this is Tiff? A game -a disagreement over Quidditch? What he did, what his family did, cannot be put aside!"
"Don't you even realize what your getting yourself involved with?!" added Weasley.
I clenched my jaw together biting back the automatic retort. Fighting with Weasley and Potter wouldn't prove anything. In fact, there was no way to come out of this situation as anything but the bad guy -but I was still going to try.
"Do you really think he cares about you Tiff? Do you? Do you want to know how many people in this room alone are witnesses for what he's capable of?!" Weasley finished making a wide sweeping arch with his hand to indicate the now, once again, quiet party. "How he is with Muggles? How he treats them? Ask Hermione, she'll tell you!"
Granger gave an uncomfortable grimace and looked down at her glass.
"We're just trying to look out for you Tiff," Potter said in a calmer tone, probably realizing that yelling wasn't getting them anywhere.
"I don't need you to," Tiffany replied, "I know how he is with Muggles. I see Draco every day with Muggles. We go to Muggle restaurants and Muggle movies, and we walk in Muggle parks. I know how he is with Muggles."
Potter shook his head before letting if fall back and exhaling noisily.
"Don't you get that it's an act? A game? He's probably using you," Weasley continued undaunted. "He's totally capable of it."
"No, he isn't."
Both of them leveled her with incredulous looks. "Are you out of your bleedin tree? Now I know you don't know who you're dealing with."
"I know who I'm dealing with; it's you who don't know who I'm dealing with."
"Really," Weasley smirked before looking around the room. "Who in here knows that Malfoy is not only the type of person to use Tiffany or anyone else to suit his purposes, but also an extremely manipulative bastard who would do anything, and step on anyone, to get his way?"
I didn't have to look around to know that most, if not all, of the hands went up, so I just fixed my gaze on a small flower at the far end of the room and blocked it out the best I could. This had been a mistake. I told her it would be a mistake. I mean, I may be a Malfoy so somewhat deserving, but I don't know how many more personal attacks I could take before exploding and either hurting someone and proving them right -or hurting myself.
"Gin?" Tiffany whispered.
I closed my eyes and shook my head, feeling oddly betrayed by the Weaslette when she put her hand up to join the masses.
"I'm sorry Tiff… and if it helps, I don't think that in this situation it's true," Ginny replied, her brother scoffed, "but Malfoy is capable of manipulation."
"We all are. You people are like an angry mob out of a fairy tale, ready to condemn someone with your torches and accusations without getting the complete story," Tiffany spat.
"We have the whole story Tiffany," stated Potter, "it's you who's missing chapters."
"No- it's you," Tiff replied. "You only know the first couple and refuse to even look at the rest."
"Forget it Tiff, you can't change their minds. Give it up," I commented softly, shaking my head to emphasize the point when she looked at me.
Snapping her mouth shut at whatever response she had been about to give, Tiffany just gave a small nod. I took her hand and we disappeared with a loud `pop' arriving a moment later at her flat.
"I'm sorry," she said immediately, looking up at me. "You warned me and I wouldn't listen."
"The wounds run deep Tiffany; they can't be erased, forgotten, or ignored."
"I know, or at least now I do," she sighed before looking around. "Hey…. I thought we were going to your place?"
She gave me a curious look and I shrugged, "We were… but I figured I'd give you an out." When she frowned at me, I squeezed her hand. "They're right Tiff."
"What? -No they're not."
I shook my head, "You don't know how I was… maybe what they said was true. I can't change."
"So you're using me?"
"What? -No."
"Then, they're wrong,"
I shook my head once more and let it fall back, "You don't understand," I muttered staring blankly at the ceiling.
Her hands slid up my chest and around my shoulders. "I understand that perhaps we should change the subject to something less depressing," she murmured placing several kisses on my neck.
I gave a soft smile, "Really? Like what?"
"Oh I don't know," she replied nibbling on my ear, "how about… excuses."
I arched a brow and looked down at her, "Excuses?"
She nodded and gave a slow smile, "Yeah, you know like we discussed earlier tonight… I told you that you didn't need one, but I suppose a subject change is as good an excuse as any if you still feel one's necessary."
I stared at her for a moment searching my mind for our earlier discussion -a moment later it clicked, "No excuses are necessary," I smiled before dipping my head and capturing her lips in a heated kiss. I chuckled against her mouth when she murmured the word `good' against mine.
A.N. Well that's it for this chappy, sorry for the late update but things happen. A special thanks to my beta Amanda Scott who got me the chappy back more than on time. Please Review and also please check out my new Fic Facades, who knows you MAY find your favorite Ship in there! Ja!!
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