I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone

I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone

Draco Malfoy slumped in his chair, watching his girlfriend of two years dance--with another man. Keeping his eyes on the gyrating couple, he took another swig of the ale that he'd ordered the second she had left his side. The way she attracted men was amazing... And it also annoyed the hell out of him.

The worst part was that she didn't care. She didn't care that he was jealous, she just laughed her musical little laugh and continued leaving his side the second a "more attractive" male entered her vision. Why he put up with it... He would say he didn't know, but that would be a lie. He put up with it because he loved her more than he loved himself, his job, and his house combined. So he tried to look the other way, whenever anything would happen that would cause him pain.

But it was getting harder. Gods, was it getting harder. Like right now--he couldn't look away. He couldn't stop looking at her, at her red hair gathered on top of her head, and the dark green dress she wore (his favorite color) that clung to her curves so alluringly. He couldn't look away when she threw her head back, laughing, her thin throat exposing itself to the world...

The sound of breaking glass pervaded his senses, and he looked down, surprised. He'd broken the glass. Ale dripped down his fingers, onto his new black jeans, and he scowled slightly, looking up when he saw the flurry of feet brought by the action.

"Draco!" she whispered angrily, cleaning up the mess he'd made and handing the broken glass to the waitress who stood silently nearby. "What do you think you're doing? I was having a very good time with that nice gentleman over there!" She glanced back at the brown-haired man who was waiting--very patiently, Draco noticed--at the bar. She gave the man a quick smile before turning back to her boyfriend. "Whatever got into you?" she demanded angrily.

Draco just stared into her bright brown eyes, his mind slipping back to when she had first shown up on his doorstep...

Draco lay on the couch, his hands folded across his chest, as he contemplated just what was going to happen next. His father had died during his last year at Hogwarts, and his mother had passed away a year later. It had been four years since that day, Christmas Eve, the day he had come home from the Auror training facility to find Medi-wizards and -witches in the Manor. It turned out that his mother had collapsed, and the housekeeper had found her. The kindly old woman had contacted St. Mungo's, but it had been too late; Narcissa Malfoy had died.

Draco had been sad, yes. Very sad. He had cried for the first time in almost ten years... It had given him a headache, come to think of it. So what was going to happen now? Life had been...dull, for the last four years. Four years of nothing but work, work, and more work. He hadn't even had any girlfriends. Just work.

A knock on the door jolted Draco from his musings. "Maria!" he called, not bothering to get up. He heard the housekeeper shuffling down the stairs and into the foyer, opening the door quietly. "Yes, miss?" she asked. "Do you have an appointment? No? I'm afraid you'll have to leave, child. Mr. Malfoy does not take kindly to uninvited guests."

"No!" he heard a woman shout. "I have to stay here. I don't have anyplace to stay, you don't understand!"

"I'm sorry, miss," Maria said coldly.

Draco frowned, standing. "Maria!" he shouted.

"I'm sorry, Mister Malfoy," Maria said quietly, looking slightly panicked, "she won't leave."

Draco waved his hand, dismissing her. He walked up to the door and looked out at the bedraggled figure standing on his doorstep. Her head was down, so all he saw was a mop of red hair. "You," he said, "hold your head up so I can see your face." She lifted her head slowly, meeting his eyes. Draco almost gasped. She was... beautiful, even in rags, and without any shoes.

Draco closed his eyes, savoring the memory. Love at first--well, second, he supposed, though he hadn't known it at the time--sight. Gods, how he loved her. He'd invited her in immediately, and she had been living with him ever since. Their first date had been a week after she'd shown up on his doorstep. They'd first slept together a month after that.

"Draco!" she hissed angrily.

And she'd used it. Gods, how she'd used it. She'd used his charity, his love, all to his advantage. And it hurt. It hurt so goddamn bad...

Draco tilted his head, looking into the angry eyes of his lover. He stood up, holding her gaze. He was finally realizing something--this was not the woman he had fallen in love with. He wasn't even sure that woman really existed. Because now all he could remember was her, this woman, this... anomaly that existed. She was not who he had belived her to be, and now he couldn't believe that he had believed her to be that person. He had thought she loved him. He had thought she cared about him. But he was wrong. Gods, was he wrong...

He walked to the front of the room, where the Wizard band was playing, the music loud and demanding. He pulled aside the leader of the band, asking quietly under his breath, "May I?" and motioned to the front of the band. The leader shrugged, quieting the rest of the band.

"What do you want?" he asked, the rest of his group gathering around him.

"Do you know any Muggle songs?" Draco asked.

The gray-haired man raised his eyebrows. "Sure we know Muggle songs. Which one?"

Draco looked back out at his ... girlfriend. "Do you know 'I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone' by the Monkees?"

The band nodded enthusiastically, and they separated, returning to their positions. The gray-haired leader held out his hand, motioning for Draco to stand at the front. He stepped up, muttering "Sonorus" while pointing his wand at his throat. "This song," Draco said, "is for my girlfriend of two years, Virginia Weasley. This is for you, girl," he said, his eyes cold as he looked at her. She was tastefully watering her eyes, dabbing at them with a handkerchief. She looked ecstatic that he was doing something so... Loudly, he supposed. Oh, what she didn't know...

Draco heard the music start, and closed his eyes, waiting for the time to sing. And there it was...

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"You're trying to make your mark in society

"Using all the tricks that you used on me.

"You're reading all those high fashion magazines

"The clothes you're wearin' girl are causing public scenes."

And they had been. The slinky green number she had on tonight was actually one of the more modest ones.

"I said

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"Not your stepping stone,

"Not your stepping stone.

"When I first met you girl you didn't have no shoes

"Now you're walking 'round like you're front page news.

"You've been awful careful 'bout the friends you choose

"But you won't find my name in your book of Who's Who.

"I said

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"I I I I I'm not your stepping stone

"Not your stepping stone,

"Not your stepping stone."

Draco finished the song, keeping his eyes locked with Ginny's. "Sorry, Gin," he whispered, although thanks to the still-active charm, his voice was carried throughout the dance hall. "It's over. I've had enough. Go find someone else to step on. I'm through. I," he said, squaring his shoulders, fighting the tears that threatened, "am not going to let you step all over me anymore."

~fin~