The Agreement | Draco Malfoy

4.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Eyes of the lightest grey bored into my soul as soon as the young man turned around to face us. Eyes the colour of cold steel.

With a glass of whisky on the rocks in hand, he left the side of the woman he had previously been conversing with. He approached in a slow and elegant, yet arrogant, fashion. He wore a fitted suit that was dark as night, with a black shirt and tie underneath. The dark attire contrasted heavily with the rest of him; skin that any Renaissance woman would envy and hair like the colour of the purest of pearls. Said hair was kept neatly cut, but styled quite relaxedly, as it flopped slightly down on his forehead in a side-part.

"Yes?" he asked, looking to his own father. He spoke with a dignified aristocrat accent, and his voice was smooth, and deep without being over-exaggeratedly so

He and his father shared a lot of similarities when it came to looks. Similar height and build with slim waists and decently broad shoulders, but yet... Draco Malfoy had not inherited his father's stern brow and harsh lips, but had instead been blessed with slightly softer features. He was most definitely easy on the eyes.

"I take it you remember Perseus Rosenthal and his son - your former classmate, Edmund Rosenthal?" Lucius introduced my father and elder brother.

"Most certainly, I do." Draco Malfoy switched his glass of whisky to his left hand in order to reach out his right to my father. After they had shaken hands, he greeted Edmund a bit more casually. Like former classmates do.

Then, he looked to me, the last one left in the small group gathered at the edge of the ballroom. Only then did I realise that my eyes hadn't left him once ever since Lucius Malfoy had called his name. "And who do we have here?"

My father stepped forward a bit. "This is Thomasine, my daughter," he said with a gesture towards me. "She is two years yours and Edmund's junior."

"Pleasure to meet you, Draco Malfoy." Despite being on the taller side for a woman, and in heels, I had to crane my neck a bit in order to look him in the eyes as I greeted him. I plastered a sweet smile on my lips.

His eyes - those cold steel eyes - scanned my whole face, up and down, as if taking in every feature of mine. Then, a small smirk. "I think I recall seeing you in the Slytherin common rooms, many years ago. And please, call me Draco." He backed away to take his place next to his father. As he did, I released a breath I hadn't even noticed I was holding.

"That is possible, Draco," I replied, as cool as I could muster, still with that sickly sweet smile on my face. At the second utterance of his name from my mouth, he cocked an eyebrow slightly.

I had indeed been a Slytherin during my time at Hogwarts, just like the rest of my family for generations. I did not expect him to remember me, though, as I was three years below him (due to my birthday being late in the year) and generally a pretty quiet girl during my time at the school.

However, I definitely remembered him. He was hard to miss, with that large gang of goons that followed him everywhere he went, most of the time with some girl on his heels who would nasally shout 'Draco, Draco!', and that laugh that would echo along the high ceilings of the Slytherin common room during the evenings. Draco Malfoy was a figure few who went to school with him would forget.

As I said, I had not expected Draco Malfoy to pay me any mind at Hogwarts. Not enough to remember me, at least.

"So, Edmund," Lucius Malfoy went on to change the subject. "How are you adapting to your new position at work?"

And so they went on and on about their work, since all four men were currently employed at the Ministry of Magic. I felt myself growing bored by the conversation, as everything they talked about was unknown, and frankly, uninteresting to me. I downed the rest of my champagne, feeling it tickle my throat as it went down.

"And where precisely - if you don't mind me asking - are you employed, Draco?" Edmund asked his former classmate.

"At the International Magical Trading Standards Body. I'm head of the economics department since July."

"Oh, right. I think I did hear about that," my brother said with a series of small nods. "Quite unheard of; someone so young having a position like that."

Draco opened his mouth and was about to answer when his father cut in: "Are you questioning my son's ability to do his work?" A terrifying look had entered his eyes.

Edmund immediately turned apologetic, frantically shaking his head and waving a defensive hand in front of himself. "Not at all, Malfoy. On the contrary, I admire your son's success."

A smug smile crept onto Lucius Malfoy's mouth. "Well, then. I'd best be off and greet Mr and Mrs Parkinson." He turned around, sending his long hair billowing, and strutted off through the crowds until he disappeared.

A large older man I hadn't seen before approached my father and shook his hand eagerly, and spoke in a loud voice as they greeted each other as good friends. Edmund joined the conversation, seeming to also know the man.

Which left only Draco and I.

"Can I get you anything? You look thirsty." He eyed my now empty flute of champagne.

I was about to start protesting, but he casually grabbed a glass of deep-red wine off a server's tray as they came walking past. He reached it to me with his right hand without actually looking at me, eyes instead searching the crowd. Presumably for an excuse to leave my side. His pinky finger levitated as he held out the glass in a delicate grasp. On his ring finger, he wore a ring of bright silver, adorned with what I now recognised as his family crest.

"Uh, thank you," I said and accepted it. I took a small sip so as to not appear ill-mannered. It tasted expensive.

I was unsure of whether to come up with a topic of conversation in order to relieve the awkward silence between us, or just keep quiet in hopes that he would leave. The more I thought about it, the more I realised that I had no clue what to talk about with this man. But I was soon spared the effort.

"This is your first time attending one of our parties. How come?" He was still gazing into the crowds, but the rest of his body was now turned in my direction, signalling that he would be listening to whatever I answered.

"How do you know that?" It slipped out of my mouth before I could stop myself to think it through. His head snapped to me in an instant, and his mouth was now a straight line, with no hint of amusement in his eyes. I tried to not let the fact that he towered over me with that murderous look daunt me.

"Don't you think I keep track of who enters my house?"

I allowed a smirk to creep onto my lips. "Never said as much, Draco." He flinched ever so slightly at his first name once again slipping from me, but I caught it. I went on: "It was always just my father, occasionally my brother, attending."

"The invitations we send out are meant for the whole family, Thomasine," he said matter-of-factly and took a sip from his whisky, which made the half-melted ice cubes clink inside the glass. The way he said my name made me suck in a breath; each vowel thoroughly enunciated.

"This time I received an invitation of my own, though."

"Indeed."

"How come?" I challenged him in the same way he had challenged me only a minute earlier. He once again looked me straight in the eyes. I couldn't help but feel like he saw my very soul with those damn eyes. He lowered his glass of whisky until his arm hung straight at his side, and put the other one in the pocket of his immaculate, pressed dress pants. Then, he leaned downward, having to bend his back quite a bit, until his face was only centimetres away from my ear. When he spoke, his voice was low:

"Because I need your help."

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Author's note:

Hello, dear ones. I want to thank the few souls who have found this story, and who have so kindly voted for the chapters! It makes me happy to know that someone is reading this and actually liking it.

As I've already said, I'm a master's student, and work is starting to pile up a bit. I try to write as often as I can, but sometimes it can't be helped. I have some already finished chapters waiting to be published, but after those are out, there's no guarantee that updates will be regular. Thank you for your patience and understanding!

/ liliesofthevalleys-