31 OCTOBER, 2001
—
never dropping my hand as we danced
you drew a portrait in my mind
excerpt from poem #28, "strangers," in my poetry book aftertaste
—
A masquerade ball gives a perfect alibi to the introvert who wants to stay hidden from the crowd, but tonight it's a source of confusion for the introvert who is looking for a particular individual.
Draco was riddled with anxiety at night during the week leading up, so he finally caved and wrote to Anastasiya, asking if they could meet up before the dinner party and ball at the Flints'. It seemed she had similar worries. Halloween landed on a Wednesday this year, so Anastasiya told him she would be going home with Shreya after work to get ready together. This sequence of events led to Draco sitting back in the Parkinsons' living room as he waited for the three women to finish getting ready.
He knew Pansy was very particular about her makeup from the mornings she asked him to make her a breakfast plate back at Hogwarts, but he thought Shreya and Anastasiya would have been quicker. Instead, he's come to realize that Shreya puts a great deal of effort into her hair, and Anastasiya spends just as much time in front of the mirror tying her accessories in with her outfits.
Draco tugs down at the sleeves of his deep plum velvet suit and adjusts his monogrammed cufflinks, wondering if the purple was too much. He figures there has to be someone dressed flashier than him; it is Halloween after all.
Surprisingly, Pansy is the first to arrive downstairs. She must have finally perfected the eyeliner charm her and Daphne had been working on. Pansy is wearing a lavish black dress, which doesn't surprise Draco one bit.
"Pans, if you wear black every day, I don't think you should be allowed to wear black on special occasions," Draco laughs as he fiddles with the signet ring on his second finger.
"It's Halloween, Draco. Black is not only welcome, but encouraged. Besides, every day that I'm alive is a special occasion," Pansy replies, tossing her short hair back before resting her forearm on Draco's shoulder.
"You're right; what would I do without you?" He says with a smirk, briefly leaning his head down on hers before checking his watch for the time.
The truth is, he knows the answer. He spent so much of the last few years turning down dinner invitations and walks around the city, thinking himself to be undeserving. But punishment never feels satisfying, and he knows he was miserable in his self-inflicted confines.
"Do you want a shot?" Pansy asks, seeming to feel Draco's body tense as he sinks deep in murky thoughts. "I have some leftover rum from when I made tiramisu over the weekend."
"Yes, please," Draco whispers as Pansy gets up and heads to the kitchen. He had considered breaking out the bottle under his bed before he arrived, but thought it would be a good challenge to see if he could do without.
Pansy comes back with a bottle of Captain Copernicus' Astronomical Rum for Astronomical Wizards and two shot glasses that she seems to have collected on holiday. She carefully pours it out, knowing Draco will scold her if she wastes a drop. Then, like on many nights before in their youth, they bring their glasses together before raising them to their lips.
"Taking a shot without me?" Shreya comes padding down the stairs in a periwinkle gown, which Pansy's eyes light up at the sight of. She kisses the top of her wife's head as she reaches the two lounging in her living room. "You look beautiful," she says to the woman dressed in black.
YOU ARE READING
verity || d.m.
Fanfiction"all i know is that i know you; i can't trust much else in this world." "the truth is, and always has been, that you can't know someone you haven't spoken to in years." post-war: draco malfoy x oc
