Redamancy (d.m)

Chapter sixty five-sober

"Lovely evening"
"Something like that" I muttered offhandedly as the mixer dance alternated partners, leading Aletheo to take my hand in his before spinning me around gracefully
"Not enjoying yourself?" He remarked smugly
"I was until you arrived" I responded smartly, moving in rhythm to the orchestra music sounding from the balconies above us
"Sure it's not because lover boy's busy locking lips with Astoria?" He said with raised brows, making me shoot him a glare
"I knocked you out cold once, Castell, I can sure as hell do it again if you don't shut up" I snapped
"I let you do that" he responded cooly, hands at my waist as he lifted me up momentarily along with the rest of the dancers
"Whatever helps you sleep at night" I said sarcastically, looking up at him as his lower arm brushed up against my elevated one, smirking at me while we rotated around the marble floor
"Did you know..." he spoke quietly, although the thundering music meant that we were only ones in earshot of each other, "that the Dark Lord was planning on killing you if you didn't win"
"You're bluffing" I said defiantly, although his smile didn't falter, "you're just desperate to repair your ego"

As the hum of the violins slowly diminished to its end, Aletheo craned him neck upwards during our final bow, his nose touching mine slightly

"Next time I won't go so easy on you, see how you like it" he breathed with a dilation in his eyes, straightening up to proceed to his next dance partner
"Um, I'm gonna step out actually" I said to the boy who held out his gloved hand expectantly at me, hoisting up the hem of my dress before rushing out the dance floor after lifting my fifth glass of champagne from a tray, ignoring the protests about me being underaged

I revelled in the way the bubbly percolated in my throat, making my insides churn as it cascaded down. I downed it in two gulps before I even arrived to the gardens, the ever flowing fountains doing little to deter the crippling summer heat, boiling my skin even at one in the morning. I kicked off my shoes as I walked, leaving them sprawled across the grass as I made my way to a towering apple tree. By the time I had climbed to the top, the fabric of my dress was torn and my knees were grazed from the bark that clung loosely to the trunk as I dangled my feet in the wind.

"Careful, Lestrange, you might fall"
"Go kiss Voldemort's ass" I shouted down where Aletheo was standing with his suit coat draped neatly over one arm and a cigarette wedged between his fingers
"How the fuck did you even get up there? He called up to me, letting out a huff of smoke as he talked
"I was lifted up by a flying monkey" I said sarcastically, plucking the nearest apple and tossing it down to him, straining to extract another as he caught his smoothly with one hand
"They're not bad" he remarked, taking another bite of the fruit
"Are you gonna come up or are you just gonna stand there yelling up at me like an idiot?" I asked, making him chuckle before tossing his coat carelessly at the root of the the tree, cramming his half eaten apple in his teeth in an effort to free up his hands before agilely clambering up to the fork in the branches where I sat, "took you long enough, cumfuck"
"Are you drunk?" He questioned with a laugh, positioning himself across from me and taking the apple out of his mouth
"I'm probably not but I most definitely am" I mumbled, nodding my head airily
"Apparently grammar is not a priority when you're drunk" he noted, leaning up against a section of the tree
"I wanna fuck you" I said sincerely as I squinted at him
"And neither is self restraint"
"Aletheo"
"(Y/n)" my name sounded delicate from his mouth, like a name people wrote poetry about
"Kiss me"
"Ask me again when you're sober" he replied intently, a small smile gracing his mouth
"I won't be dumb enough to ask when I'm sober"

He leaned towards me, letting the apple core drop from his hand where it landed with a thud in the grass below us. Everyone else was still at the ball, the only witnesses of our moonlit kiss were the fireflies and the stars. I liked the way his gums contained the fumes of ash, it was comfortable to bask my tongue in. That's what this was,

Comfortable.

It wasn't ardent passion, it wasn't a desperate, hot blooded need. But in the moment, it didn't feel wrong enough to cease.

"I'm just using you, you know" I whispered dolefully as I pulled away sharply
"I figured" he responded, thumb brushing the skin of my cheek
"So why haven't you pushed me off the tree yet?" I questioned with furrowed brows
"I don't mind being used if you're the one that's doing it"
"You should mind" I said earnestly, "I'm just trying to distract myself"
"Is it working?"

He seemly unfathomably unaffected, his eyes still studying me as the June wind rustled his hair. I reconnected our lips gently, to substantiate my desires

"Yes, it is"

He lit up a cigarette for me after we leapt down the tree, earning myself even more marks on my skin.

"No coughing or wheezing?" He observed with mild surprise as I took a long drag, "most people get all choked up on their first"
"What makes you think this is my first?" I said, holding the back of my shoes with one hand as we walked back up the stone pathway
"It's not?"
"I was raised by Bellatrix Lestrange, this shit is like baby food to me" I said caustically, blowing smoke into his face and making him fan it away as we stepped back into the Manor
"Where're you going?" He asked as he realised I was not following him back into the ballroom
"Look at me, Castell, I'm a mess" I said, gesturing towards the torn fabric of my dress and the reddened scratches all over my legs
"I don't see an issue" he replied nonchalantly, holding out a hand towards me

And so we stumbled back into the still crowded ballroom looking like delirious madmen, with ruptured clothing, a pungent aroma of cigarette smoke, and breathless laughs spilling out of both our mouths. Our reappearance made a few deliver judgmental stares our way, but we didn't stop to acknowledge them as we walked over to where Rue and Westeria were giggling and joking lively at a table

"And where did you two run off to, and what rabid animal did you get attacked by along the way?" Rue remarked as we sat down next to them
"Don't worry about it, Rue" Aletheo mused casually, downing another glass of wine
"(Y/n)" Westeria whispered in my ear as Rue and Aletheo started off into banter, "Malfoy's been staring at you and Castell since you two came back looking like you had just snogged"
"Well..." I said hesitantly
"Is there something you're not telling me?" Westeria asked, looking affronted
"We kind of...did" I said quietly, making her gasp loudly, "shut up, Ria!"
"You! And Castell!" She squealed, making Aletheo turn his head towards the pair of us with a smirk
"Did I hear my name?" He called
"No, you didn't" I said sternly, standing up, "I'm leaving"
"Goodnight, Wife" Westeria said with a smile, and I waved to her as I walked away
"Hey, (y/n)" the sound of Aletheo's voice made me turn around halfway towards the door to see him jogging up to me with a hand in his pocket, pulling out a apple as he approached, "so you don't go forgetting about me"

I laughed lightly, taking the fruit from him and taking a bite, wiping the juice off my lips with the back of my hand

"You know, you should distract me more often" I said, making him smirk broadly as I walked away and out the door

I didn't register the subconscious suspicion that I was being followed until I pushed open the door and heard a cold voice behind me

"What the fuck were you doing with Castell?"