Tainted Love

Sick Day

IRIS

The series of events that led Iris to Draco's apartment door were swift and, looking back, perhaps lacked some critical judgement on her part.

She was already pissed off at him for leaving halfway through the day on Monday with the pithy excuse of being ill, and she wasn't planning on letting him off the hook.

So when she opened the door to the Love Chamber Tuesday morning and saw Hermione Granger's patronus in place of Draco, immediate anger licked at her stomach.

"Hello, Iris," Hermione's otter said, "I hope you're doing well! I just wanted to inform you that Malfoy is still feeling ill, and he won't be able to make it in today. In light of this, Minister Shacklebolt has decided to give you an extension on your current project. Wishing you well!"

With that, the otter dissipated.

Iris sighed audibly, not bothering to put her things down.

Draco was definitely not 'still feeling ill.' The truth was probably closer to 'still feeling drunk.' The double standard that he had created between them - the one in which she was punished for doing anything less than perfect work but he could fuck off whenever he wanted - annoyed her to no end.

She could go to Granger and report him. That's what she should do.

But there was some vindictive part of her that wanted to confirm her suspicions - that he was lying - and confront him herself. She had never been one to shy away from conflict. Quite the opposite.

So it stood to reason that she wanted firsthand witness to the look in his eyes when she told him that she was going to report him to Granger.

Which was the main reason she found herself knocking on his door at ten in the morning.

There was no answer. She knocked again. No answer.

After her third knock was greeted with continued silence, she wondered whether he might not be home at all. Maybe he had gone out last night and stayed the night somewhere else. It was a Monday, though, and going out on a Monday would be strange even for him.

She knocked a fourth time, resolving to leave if he didn't answer. Maybe he was somewhere with Pansy.

Just as she was about to turn away, she heard movement from inside his apartment, a metallic click as he grabbed the doorknob from the inside.

Knowing he would probably only open the door a crack and close it as soon as he saw that it was her at the door, Iris pressed her hand against the wood and pushed it open herself.

Draco took a step back, his feet bare, and let out a little noise of indignance. Her eyes flicked from the ground to his face.

She had known he would be drunk. She had known he was probably somewhat disheveled. She hadn't exactly been expecting this, though.

He was still wearing the same pants that he had been wearing at work on Monday - or at least the same belt. She recognized the silver buckle, a strange shape that looked snakelike. They were creased with wrinkles.

The rest of him wasn't much better. She couldn't make out the details of his body that well - he was backlit by the windows in his living room - but he definitely wasn't wearing a shirt. His posture seemed more heavy than normal - his shoulders hung lower and his stomach folded slightly.

His hair was sticking up at odd angles, their edges silvery-gold in the sunlight. He cocked his head slightly, eyebrows knitting over his eyes, surprise changing to annoyance as he recognized her.