Redamancy (d.m)

Chapter sixty four-summer's eve

"Mercer, can I speak to you?" Rue said stiffly as I returned to the Manor with Westeria, both our arms overflowing with bags, including both our gowns for the ball later that night
"Shoot" Westeria said cheerily, making Rue glance knowingly in my direction, and I stepped away and up the stairs
"I got the hint" I said with my hands raised, "you two need privacy" then I muttered to myself when I was out of earshot, "even though Ria'll just tell me exactly how the conversation went appropriately two minutes after it happens"

And she did

"She was all nervous, it was so cute" Westeria gushed as we sat cross legged on my bed, "it was so unlike her to be stuttering and stuff, I mean her and Aletheo are always so cold, but here she was, all flustered about asking me to be her date for the ball"
"Does this mean we're getting a divorce?" I said, curving my mouth into a pout before it burst into a laugh
"No no, throuples are like...totally cool" Westeria insisted, making us laugh even harder
"What are totally cool, now?" Emerson said with raised brows as he entered my room
"Oh hey, Emerson, we were just talking about how your sister got herself another wife" I said
"She did what?" He said, blinking rapidly
"Rue Mercer" I said wistfully, "that's hot"
"No fucking way in hell did you get Rue Salemn to take you to the summers Eve ball" Emerson said in disbelief
"You bet your ugly ass I did!" Westeria said, throwing a candy wrapper at his head, "try to beat that!"
"I think I just might" Emerson said confidently, and Westeria snorted
"Stop spewing bull, little brother" she said, "how could you beat that?"
"Well you see" Emerson said matter of factly, "there's only one girl in the manor that's hotter than Rue"
"And who might that be?" I questioned with amused scepticism
"You" Emerson replied hopefully, making me chuckle as I shook my head
"Absolutely not" I said resolutely
"It's true!" He said genuinely
"Oh I know it's true, it's just not going to get me to be your date" I said with a sweet smile
"Oh come on, (y/n), why not?" He asked
"Because, Emerson, if I go with you, I have to stay with you for the rest of the night" I informed him with an obvious expression, "which means I won't get to hookup with a hot rich teenage boy in one of the million rooms this Manor has"
"You gotta admit, she's got her priorities in order" Westeria remarked, giving me a high five while Emerson rolled his eyes

The kitchen was bustling with frenzied motions, the entire employment of house elves in the Malfoy residence had gathered in preparation for tonight

"Does Miss require something?" A voice squeaked from down at my ankles, and I looked down to see a pair of protruding eyes goggling up at me
"I was just hoping for something to eat" I said benevolently, and the elf nodded it's head eagerly, rushing off before returning to the scene balancing a plate of assorted sandwiches on its head, which I quickly took
"Thank you!" I said with a gracious smile
"Miss is very welcome!" The elf replied, returning my smile with a low bow

I hadn't seen Draco since breakfast, although to be fair I had been preoccupied throughout the day. I finally caught a sight of him as I arrived upstairs, setting my empty plate down on a nearby table. He slammed the door of his father's office, breathing heavily until he caught sight of me, his scowl deepening as he caught sight of me

"Draco-"
"The hell are you gawking at?" I blinked rapidly as my jaw dropped open slightly, taken aback by his hostility
"Why've you got a stick up your ass all of a sudden?" I demanded, crossing my arms tightly
"Let's think, I don't know, maybe because no one's crept into your room and slit your throat yet" he snarled scathingly
"Is it because of your father?" I asked bluntly, making his jaw tense noticeably as he made his way over to me and grabbed the front of my neck
"Don't talk about my father" he grunted with poison in his eyes
"So it is" I inferred
"You don't know what you're talking about" he spat harshly, his breath washing over my face in close proximity, "you dense bitch"
"So explain it to me" I continued unfazed, "tell me what happened"
"You think I'd use my time on someone like you?" He said with a scoff
"The funny thing is, you're being so horribly contradicting" I said placidly, "aren't you using your time on me this very moment?"

He remained silently resentful as his fingers dug into the flesh of my neck, the contact making the bruises wear off slightly

"In fact, you've gone through a hell of a lot of trouble to use your time on me since we've met" I commented, staring up at him with an aloof expression
"All this time..." he said with darkened amusement, "wasted on something so worthless"
"Well if you really feel that way then perhaps we should stop talking altogether" I snapped, grinding the rows of my teeth against each other, "if I'm truly not worth wasting your time over"
"You aren't worth anything, darling" he retorted with a malicious smirk, pushing me back by the neck before walking away slowly, jeering at me from behind his shoulder, "see you at the ball, (y/n)"

It was absurd to think he might've matured from our irrational and imbecilic antagonism, it only took a few moments of sincere fervency for him to revert to his routine enmity

The moon rose steadily as I prepared for the night, slipping on an extravagant couture ball gown that shone luminously in the candlelight. I was attending for three reasons; the first being to witness Westeria and Rue become two young souls in love, the second to drink the Malfoy's alcohol in spite, and third to find temporary distractions in the forms of affluent young men

I was a few minutes late, I could here the chatter of wealthy associates here to validate the Malfoy's importance in society as it trailed from the doors of the ballroom that parted open magically to welcome my presence

"Look at my ex wife, isn't she the third hottest thing you've ever laid eyes on!" Westeria squealed as she ran towards me, her gown billowing in the wind as she pulled her date along with her
"Third?" I said with sarcastic offence
"Rue's first, I'm second, you're third" Westeria listed on her fingers, and I couldn't sworn I saw Rue's face grow red
"Hey, who's Emerson talking to?" I asked, smiling as I noticed the enthusiastic boy conversing with a stunning girl of dark hair across the room
"His date" Rue answered emotionlessly, I could tell she wanted to get back to dancing with Westeria
"He managed to get one?" I said with a excited gasp, and his sister nodded eagerly at me
"She wasn't my first choice, her sister's our age and she's a real classless cunt" Westeria said before smoothing out the wrinkles in her face with a more pleasant expression, "but Daphne's nice enough"
"What's wrong with her sister?"
"Actually, it's what isn't wrong with her sister" Westeria said with a shudder, "she firmly believes that she is elevated from the rest of us because she's got a face that's nice to look at, she never passed up a chance to flaunt her parents money, she bullies anyone that isn't part of her Slytherin clique-"
"She goes to Hogwarts?" I cut in with surprise, and Westeria nodded, "how have I never seen her"
"Maybe you have but you just never never knew it was her, she's over there with her date" Westeria suggested, pointing a finger a few feet away, where the same girl who I had witnessed engaging in a heated fight with Pansy Parkinson over Draco during the Slytherin common room Christmas stood smiling slyly at Draco in a breathtakingly tailored dress, giggling brightly at him and occasionally pausing to take a sip of her drink, her eyes never leaving him

He seemed only mildly interested in the conversation as he nodded politely at her words, once in a while his mouth would curve into a smile as she said something that amused him. I watched with bated breath that turned shallow as I observed as she picked her hand up and brushed it against his arm. His gaze wanders around the room until they meet mine, and his smile grew into a smirk as he allowed his eyes to traverse down my body before rising up to meet my eyes. He never took them off me as he circled a hand around her wrist and smoothly pulled her closer towards him, making her bite her lip before he placed his mouth on them, looking up at me through his eyelashes and making me clutch my glass much more callously than intended to

"Like I said" Westeria remarked as she followed my gaze to where the two were still in each other's embrace, and I finally tore my eyes away from his taunting ones,

"Astoria Greengrass is a downright bitch"