99 ways to say I love you- Draco Malfoy

No.87

Come sit

Emily stands with her hand tucked in George's arm. Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny slightly behind.

"Ready?" George whispers to the girl

"Just don't leave me alone for a second," she requests

"You got it," he confirms before raising his hand and knocking on the door.

A house elf pulls the door open, allowing the group to enter. The house is quiet with delicate signage pointing them towards the gardens behind the manor. They walk in silence, no one knows quite what to say. Emily is clearly on the edge of a breakdown and no one can blame her. She's at Draco's engagement party, how would she ever be okay?

They arrive in the garden and it's decorated beautifully. Large cherry blossom trees are sprouted from nowhere and are providing a pale pink canopy despite it being out of season. There whole garden is warm despite it being early January and the flowers all seem to be in perfect bloom despite the fact they shouldn't be. Candles hang down providing a golden glow.

Draco and Astoria sit behind a long table covered in gifts. Her hand rests on his bicep as she turns her body slightly to be facing him. They sit with fake smiles thanking people for coming when they drop gifts at the table.

"Me and 'Mione will take everyone's gifts," Ron offers. The others nod, passing him and Hermione the wrapped up boxes and watching as they head in the direction of the table.

The area is full of pure bloods, everyone mingling happily. "You guys want to get drinks?" Ginny question

"Yes plenty of them," Emily returns and they all head towards the champagne table. Picking up glasses before slipping into a quiet corner and taking seats around a table.

**

"Ron, Hermione, hello," Draco smiles. It's the first smile that's met his eyes. The first genuine friends he has seen. Blaise and Theo are yet to arrive.

"Hey Draco, we have everyone's gifts, figured it was easier than all getting in peoples way," Ron explains. Draco knows though, he knows they were keeping Emily as far away from Astoria as possible. Not due to her disliking the girl, in fact Emily insisted she had no bad blood towards her, she was only doing what she was told. But due to the fact liking Astoria didn't stop her heart from breaking every time she saw her.

"Of course. Have you two met Astoria?" He questions. The girl sends them a small smile, she's clearly feeling nervous and a little out of place.

"No. I'm Hermione Weasley and this is my husband Ron. Congratulations on the engagement," Hermione smiles, she hopes it doesn't come across too fake.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you both for coming," Astoria returns

"She came right?" Draco questions, his eyes unable to find Emily when he scans the area. He was half expecting her to say it was all too much and not show up and he wouldn't blame her if she did.

"She did," Ron confirms

"She's doing okay," Hermione adds casually.

"Good. Tell her to find me before she leaves?" Draco asks, they all notice Astoria turning a blind eye to his clear pining. Busying herself with arranging the gifts on the table.

"Sure," Hermione nods.

**

"There's a party going on you know?" Emily questions. Draco had disappeared twenty minutes ago and she'd immediately known where he would go. She snuck into the house and climbed up the stairs and into the attic, sliding out of the window to see Draco sat on a ledge.

"Come sit," he smiles gently, patting the space next to him. She does as told. The ledge faces away from the party and the roof hides them from guests view. The faint noise of music and talking sounding gently around them.

"The party is for you. You should probably be there,"

"Needed a breather," he admits, glancing at her to see she's staring straight ahead. "Face hurt from the fake smiling," he adds

"Well I'm not surprised. Haven't seen you not smile all day,"

"You been watching?" He teases gently

"You're the centre of everyone attention today," she shrugs

"Where have you been? Sat with the others for like forty minutes but you and George never showed?" He questions

"George and I were with Rosa for most the day. We've been writing recently," Emily admits

"That's great," Draco grins, nudging her arm gently

"Yeah, she's back to school in a few days so I won't get the chance to see her again," Emily informs. Draco nods "oh and I caught up with Theo and Blaise," she adds

"Theo mentioned. Said it was good to see you,"

"It's been a while," she shrugs. Draco nods and allows a silence to fall over them.

They sit under the stars in silence. Neither of them knows what to say next, it's clear they're both thinking that this should be their party but there's no point in saying it. The silence isn't awkward though, it allows them to think and daydream over the life they could be sharing.