If Only in My Dreams (Dramione)

Chapter 2: Under the Mistletoe

Draco Malfoy, in disguise as Steven Carmichael, scanned the room with a frown on his face. He didn't see her.

 A small sense of panic rose in his chest at the thought that his careful preparation these past few months had been for nothing. If Granger didn't show up tonight, he was out of luck and almost out of time. Every day he spent in hiding, he was surely one day closer to being located by the Dark Lord. If that happened before he had time to set his plan in motion, he wouldn't be alive much longer.

He felt anger rise inside him. Of course, Granger would be the one to spoil his plans. She always was an annoyance. A know-it-all and goody-goody if he ever saw one.

Sure, he had been horrible to her in school the entire time he knew her, but her self-righteous attitude had always irked him. To her the world was black and white, good and evil, and she had no hesitation in placing him into the evil category.

She had no idea the indoctrination he had been subjected to growing up. Her sheltered Muggle-born life knew nothing of how, from the time he was born, he had been raised to loathe and destroy anything decent. She didn't know what it was like to be bred to hate.

She had been raised to be good, so she had been good. And she expected everyone else to be as virtuous as her. She couldn't fathom what it would be like to have to stand up against everything you'd been taught to believe, and risk death for doing so.

His eyes scanned the room once again. More guests were arriving by the minute. He assumed an uptight witch like Granger would be so eager to please her new bosses that she'd arrive early to an event like this.

Then he spotted her. He did a double take and realized he may have missed her when he had first searched. She looked different.

Gone was the bushy-haired, gawky witch he had known in his teens. Standing across the room was a lovely young woman. He looked her up and down with a critical eye, begrudgingly admitting to himself that she certainly had blossomed.

Instead of the oversized robes and baggy jumper she had worn at Hogwarts, she had on a tastefully fitted white dress that showed off her figure. She was still slim, but her legs looked long and shapely and her arms seemed defined, not skinny.

Her hair was still big but not the frizzy mess he remembered. Instead, it hung in graceful curls, framing her face and falling down the middle of her back.

But what struck him most were her features. She talked animatedly to an aged wizard whom Draco vaguely recognized. She smiled warmly, and her eyes lit up her whole face. Unlike Draco's own eyes, hers were bright and vibrant.

The eyes of someone with a clear conscience, he thought to himself. Her cheekbones seemed higher and more defined than he remembered, and her cheeks had an attractive flush about them.

Huh. So, Granger was attractive. He supposed she always had been, somewhat. He had just been too busy being annoyed by her to notice. No matter. Either way, he had a job to do.

He cleared his throat and straightened his robes, then confidently strode over in her direction. He reminded himself to disguise his voice and talk with an American accent, since he was supposed to be Steven, after all.

"Mr. Beems!" He smiled warmly at the elderly wizard engaged in conversation with Granger. "It's so good to see you again."

"Steven!" The wizard beamed back at him. "How are you, my boy? I was thrilled to see your name on the guest list this year. How are things in the States?"

"Splendid!" Draco-as-Steven replied in a crisp New York accent, "I've just started teaching at Ilvermorny. Arithmancy, you know, has always been a passion of mine."