someday, somehow → d.malfoy [discontinued]

030

the great hall was a breathlessly beautiful blur of colour and light.

the first thing draco noticed were the christmas trees—nearly twice as tall and wide as the usual, and elaborately decorated in baubles and ornaments of gold, silver and ruby-red. their leaves had been dusted by the same sparkling frost that coated the walls like a clean sheet of diamond. groups of friends, chatting animatedly to one another and glancing enthusiastically around the hall, had already begun claiming tables; instead of the four house tables, a multitude of circular tables had taken over the perimeter of the space. they were covered in snow-white tablecloths, the neatly arranged plates, cutlery and serviettes making them resemble enlarged snowflakes. on a central table (at the edge of the room, rather than in the middle of the dance floor) stood a proud, polished statue of a swan, carved from what seemed to be ice. the enchanted ceiling was decorated with a woven blanket of mistletoe and ivy; a few shining stars peeking through its gaps.

from a small distance away, draco heard mcgonagall bellow; "champions over here please!" there was a slight shuffle within the crowd that had formed in a clump near the entrance, and a number of students in vibrantly-coloured robes flitted through towards the professor. as the three champions and their partners lead the mass of students further into the great hall, pansy tugged on his arm forcefully, cutting through until they ended up at the edge, able to stare freely at the champions as vultures would.

"who's that girl with krum?" pansy sneered, craning her long neck to try and gauge a better look.

"i dunno," he started, "probably some random—"

"is it not that really intelligent friend of potter?" artemis cut into his half-formed sentence. she'd come to pansy's other side. draco scowled and squinted. indeed hermione granger—smiling nervously next to viktor krum—was thrown into sharp relief. he jerked back, averting his eyes onto a lovestruck roger davies, and ignoring the fleeting thought he'd had. (no, of course he did not think bushy-haired granger of all people looked pretty tonight—in her floaty, layered periwinkle dress and sleek hairdo.) he blinked, suddenly aware that he'd allowed his mind to wander, whilst his eyes took in very little of what he saw. a bright, celebratory sort of waltz had begun to play from a source unseen, and six pairs of feet had begun moving to the rhythm. the draping hems of skirts and dress robes brushed the ground and flew up in a series of graceful, perfect arcs; an intoxicating blur of shimmer, shine and vibrant colour flashing before draco's eyes like a dream. the six students soon became hidden amongst the bodies which joined them in the space. "come," he thought he heard artemis say from somewhere behind him. when he turned his head, (cursing himself afterwards) he caught sight of her leading blaise to the dance floor with a radiant smile across her lips.

"well?" pansy said. draco's eyes struck her form next. she'd crossed her arms, and fixed upon him an impatient, unimpressed look. "are we going to be the last two losers to join the waltzing, or what?" huffing a small breath from his nose, he offered her his hand—which pansy took with a gentleness he'd never thought to associate her with—and lead her into the crowd. the steps came easily to the both of them; their upbringings had made sure that their muscles would forge such movements into memory, for merlin knew how long. the crowd of students was a mix of skill. some had never so much as thought of how a waltz might be danced, some had only just grasped the concept and were clumsily attempting not to tread on their partners' toes, and some (like draco and pansy) looked almost bored with the familiarity of it all. one to three, one two three; draco heard his mother's voice—still full with youth in his memory—chant.

yet, above all, draco could not shake the image of a shimmering dress from his mind; made entirely of silk the colour of its wearer's dark hair. he seemed to see her in everything.

.

"you miss him."

artemis narrowed her eyes at blaise's chest. "no," she said, bluntly. blaise's shoulders only shook slightly with his silent chuckle. it seemed that, despite emitting his name, artemis' immediate assumption when blaise had said 'him' had been draco. the song changed, slowing and disguising its previously-clear tempo underneath a hauntingly sweet melody. following the lead of the crowd, blaise gently tugged artemis closer by her waist. her slender hands slid, gently, up his shoulders, and her fingers twined themselves around each other.

"it wasn't a question, art."

.

"this next song is dedicated to anyone who fancies someone.

maybe you've have heard of it—it's called hold me closer." as the song begun—a deep collection of plucked notes from the bassist of the weird sisters—draco turned his head at the methodical click of heeled shoes, coming closer to the table 

"they've played all my favourite songs already," pansy huffed as she came back to the table. 

"oh, boo hoo," theodore pouted comically, draining the last of whatever drink he'd gotten two minutes ago. it was a wonder, draco thought, that theo had not excused himself to the lavatories more than five times over the last three hours. draco reached, and pulled a chair out for pansy. "maybe you should've decided for them which songs to play." the girl in question pulled a twisted expression in response.

"are blaise and artemis still dancing?" she asked, arranging her skirt.

theodore said, "nope," his eyes focusing on something behind draco's shoulder. he wished, just after he'd turned his head to find out what (rather, who) theo was looking at, that he did not succumb to curiosity's temptation so easily. draco pursed his lips at the sight of blaise and artemis, surrounded by the group of beauxbatons students that artemis always hung out with. frustration and childish sourness coated the insides of draco's stomach—not at artemis, but at blaise. blaise; the mediator of their group, who had never before gotten such a feeling to flash across draco's vision so vividly.

"want to grab a drink?" he blurted, the words spewing from his lips as if they were water rushing through the course of a brook. pansy blinked, seeming to take a moment to decipher whatever he'd just saked her. when she did, finally, manage to make sense of the various sounds; she agreed and took the hand he offered her. he could not have strode to the drinks table (which theodore had discovered at around eight-thirty) quicker.