The Altar Deserter

Prologue

August 18, 1988

"...And then," Daphne read, giggling, her yellow curls bouncing, "Morgana k-kissed him, um, pass... pas-she... pash-ee-on... passionately, and they... ewww! Gross!" She shoved the book face down onto Pansy's bedspread, making a disgusted face.

"What?" Pansy said, leaning forward in anticipation and staring at her best friend. "Ooh, what did it say?"

Daphne giggled again. "Our parents wouldn't like it if I said. It's very naughty." She sobered up for a moment. "Do you think they'll be mad if they find out we've been reading your mum's book?" she added, pointing at the steamy romance novel the girls had found earlier in Mrs. Parkinson's room.

"They won't find out," Pansy said conspiratorially, "if we put it back before they notice and don't tell them." She scowled, suddenly. "You won't tell, will you, Draco?" she said, glaring at the sullen boy in the corner, who was reading a Quidditch adventure book.

Draco Malfoy glared back at the two girls, crossing his arms over the frilly pink dress robes they had stuffed him in. He was stuck in them for the time being; the girls had thrown his clothes onto an unreachable shelf. Suddenly, his expression brightened as the wheels in his head started turning, bent on revenge. "I will," he said, a smirk on his face.

"No you won't!" Pansy spat back.

"Yes I will!" Draco retorted, rising to his feet. "If you hadn't put me in these stupid girly robes, I wouldn't, but ha!" He flounced out the door and out into the hallway.

"He's so immature," Daphne said in a grown-up - or rather, what she and Pansy thought was grown-up - voice. Pansy nodded in agreement, and the two dashed out of the room after the boy to defend themselves against Draco's testimony.

Draco was just beginning to spill their secret when they reached the bottom of the staircase right outside of the living room where their mothers were having afternoon tea. "Mother, Pansy and Daphne are reading a nasty boo-"

"Draco, what in the world are you doing in those robes?" Narcissa Malfoy interrupted, sounding scandalized.

Pansy and Daphne chose that moment to coolly enter the living room, trying to act extremely nonchalant and unaffected. "Draco was skipping around the room, trying on all my clothes," Pansy lied in a long-suffering voice, adding a little wobble for effect.

"I was not!" Draco shouted, his cheeks coloring slightly. "They jumped on me, Mother, and forced me into the robes! I hate pink!"

"No, you wanted to wear them," Daphne said, grinning.

Draco's lips turned into a snarl, but Pansy could see the metaphorical candle light in his head. He shot a nasty smirk at the girls before putting on a long face and sniffling. "Mother," he wailed, squeezing tears out of his wide eyes, "they're lying! You know I hate pink! And they were the ones reading the nasty book!"

The mothers raised their eyebrows simultaneously, bemused looks on their faces. Ophelia Parkinson's expression became angry. "He's pretending!" Pansy said, outraged, stamping her foot.

"No I'm not!" Draco yelled, tears pouring down his cheeks. His mouth turned up slightly into a smirk for just a millisecond, infuriating Pansy further.

"Yes you are!" Pansy screeched, jumping in fury. Without thinking, she punched Draco on the arm.

Draco scowled at Pansy, though completely unhurt. However, when he noticed the appalled looks on the mothers' faces, he took it up a notch and added to his act. "She's killed me!" he screamed, falling down to the ground and jerking back and forth as if he was in the middle of a seizure. "I'm dying! Help!"

"I didn't kill you!" Pansy shouted, aiming a kick at Draco, who was rolling on the floor.

"Yes, you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did t-"

"That's enough," Narcissa said curtly, pulling Draco off the floor and frowning. "Stop crying, Draco, everyone knows you're acting." Draco stopped pretending to cry and began to sulk.

"That's right," Ophelia said, her eyes widened in excitement now that the fight was over. "But we've got some special news for you, Pansy, and you too, Draco."

"Don't they look sweet together?" Clarissa Greengrass said with an ecstatic expression, looking at the sullen Draco and Pansy. "Oh, I can't wait!"

"Well, it'd be a nicer image if they didn't look like they switched wedding clothes," Narcissa said shortly.

"Who's getting married?" Pansy asked, confused.

"Why, you and young Mr. Malfoy here have been promised to one another," Ophelia said, smiling. "That's the news. It's finally been agreed upon: The two of you will marry as soon as we think you're ready... perhaps a few years out of school. And we're working on putting your friend Daphne with the Zabini boy, Blaise."

"What do you mean, marry?" Draco said, sounding shocked. "I don't want to marry anyone! I want to play Quidditch! Mother, can I play Quidditch instead? I like Quidditch better than girls, anyway." He began to bawl again, lying down on the ground and hitting it with his fists.

Narcissa coughed slightly. "Up, Draco." Draco scowled and stood up. "Well, Draco, I'm sure you'll think differently when you're older..."

"No, I won't!" Draco stated emphatically. "If I have to get married at all, I wish I could marry my broomstick. I like it better than Pansy. We could have brooms for babies, and then I'd have more broomsticks to fly on!"

"Draco, dear, you can't have children with broomsticks," Narcissa said delicately.

"I know - I'm not stupid!" Draco said in a sullen voice. "I just wish I could. You'd like a broomstick better, Mother, Pansy's mean. Father wouldn't make me marry her."

Narcissa opened her mouth. "Draco, your father's the one who arranged this..."

"I don't want to marry Draco either!" Pansy interrupted. "Draco's a boy, and boys are stupid. Especially in books."

"Boys are not stupid, Pansy," Ophelia said patiently.

"Yes they are." Pansy glared challengingly at the others. "I'm promising right now that I'll never marry, because boys are stupid, and I never want to end up with one."

"But Pansy," Ophelia said, "when you get married, your husband protects you, and you don't have to do anything at all except for spend time with your friends and do what you want. If you don't marry, you'll have to work..."

"Boys break your heart," Pansy said staunchly.

"Where did you learn that?" Ophelia asked.

"I..." Pansy said, uncertain. She didn't want to reveal that she read her mother's novels. "I'm never marrying." She strode out of the room, nose in the air. Daphne followed, and Draco afterwards, having been pushed out by Narcissa.

"She'll grow out of it," Clarissa said, her voice carrying out into the hallway.

"No I won't," Pansy whispered to Daphne. Draco raised an eyebrow. "You're my witness, Daphne, and so is Draco. I promise never to marry, because boys are stupid and they break girls' hearts, like in every book."

"Oh?" Draco said. "And what will you do if they force you to get married?"

Pansy shrugged. "I'll just run away. I'll break their hearts instead."