Life With Draco

Chapter 3: The Toast

"Harry, did you tell Ron that I didn't graduate?" Draco asked again. He was suddenly not feeling lightheaded and his attention was more focused on the green-eyed boy standing next to him.

"Did Ron say something to you?"

"No, I read his mind. Of course he said something to me. He couldn't wait to throw it in my face."

"Listen, I didn't think he would say anything-"

"Hey everyone, can I have your attention for one moment" shouted Ron, above the chatter of the crowd.

As Lee turned off the music, everyone soon stopped talking and turned to look at the redhead.

"As you all know, we are here to celebrate the engagement of Neville to my baby sister. Well, my good man Neville would like to say a few words to his future bride. So please give him an encouraging applause because he's rather shy."

Everyone hooted and hollered as the crowd parted to allow Neville and Ginny to walk up to where Ron was standing.

Draco never once looked at the beaming couple, his eyes stayed fixed on the man next to him; the man who cowered against the wall, sneaking him nervous glances every so often. He leaned close to Harry's ear. "We need to talk." His voice was very small, barely audible.

"This is not the right time for this," said Harry under his breath.

"But we need to talk now." His voice was now louder. Standing in front of the two men, Justin turned around and hushed them.

"I really appreciate everyone coming here tonight," said Neville as he rocked uncomfortably on his feet. "I just wanted to let everyone know that I am the happiest man alive because I'm getting married to a beautiful woman."

Ginny began to smile as s a crimson color, rivaling her auburn hair in intensity, flooded her cheeks.

Draco looked on in disgust as Fred and George led everyone into a chorus of "awwwww."

Flashes of light began to go off in the crowd as Colin positioned himself in front of the couple. With his ever-ready camera in hand, he shouted out instructions to them. "Ginny, please turn to your right. Good. Now look at Neville."

Perched in his dark corner, Seamus leaned against the wall and eyed everyone in the room. They were all entranced by the show of sentimentality, everyone except Harry and Draco. He placed his drink down on the table and squinted at the couple at the opposite end of the room as they whispered to one another. It wasn't the whispering that caught his interest, but the intense looks on their faces.

He was drawn by the scowling look on Draco's face as he glared at a panic stricken Harry. It didn't take much to ignite the fires burning in him, and this scene was enough to arouse his yearning for gossip. He began to make his move, slowly making his way though the crowd, careful not to draw any attention to himself.

"I told you in complete secrecy," Draco whispered. "You said that you wouldn't tell anyone and then you run off and tell Ron?"

"It's not like that. I told him because." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Seamus as he stood only a few feet away, his gaze locked on them. He turned to Draco and mouthed, "not now", while nodding towards Seamus. Draco instantly became quiet.

Neville was still gushing over Ginny; oblivious to the scene that was taking place near the bar. "I remember the moment I fell in love with you, it was right when I stole you away from Harry."

"Well Harry didn't put up much of a fight," yelled Fred. Ginny whipped her head around and glared at him.

Draco, who had temporarily forgotten about the "graduation incident", brought his light eyebrows together and began to slowly turn his head towards Harry. "When did you date Ginny?"

Harry was in the middle of looking away, but Draco caught his chin with his fingers. "Are you going to answer me?" As his eyes locked with his green-eyed lover, Draco was only able to hear bits and pieces of what Neville was saying, which consisted of: "she has completed me...Harry's lost is my gain...let's drink a toast to my beautiful Ginny."

Just then, Hermione swung her wand in the air, muttered a few Latin words and soon a glass of champagne appeared in everyone's hand. Everyone lifted their glasses and said, "To Ginny."

Harry brought the glass to his lips, allowing him a moment to escape the other man's penetrating glare.

Draco's nostrils began to flare as the champagne glass in his hand shattered, drenching the front of his shirt and covering the carpet with pieces of glass.

Alarmed, everyone turned to look in their direction. "Good one Malfoy," shouted Fred. "But I think the champagne was supposed to go in your mouth."

Hermione immediately went to Draco's side. "Are you all right?" She looked down at his hand. "Oh my God, you're bleeding."

"When the hell did you date Ginny?" asked Draco, not paying attention to Hermione as she attempted to aid his blood soaked hand.

Hermione looked over her shoulder to where her husband was situated. "Honey, could you go get some towels? They're in the hall cabinet."

Ron scrunched his face, not making any attempts to move. "I don't want his blood all over our nice towels."

"Harry, I'm talking to you," said Draco. "When the hell did you date Ginny?"

"Ron!" yelled Hermione. "Go get the towels. Oh, never mind, I'll just use magic. Draco please hold still, it'll only take me a moment."

Draco pulled his hand away from her grasp. "Harry! Answer me now!" The sound of his voice caused everyone to stop talking.

Harry looked around as all eyes were soon on him. He leaned close to the blond, talking out of the corner of his mouth. "Let's not have this conversation here. Okay?"

On the other side of the room, Lee was just about to turn on the music, when Fred lifted his hand. "Lee, don't. This is starting to get interesting."

"Harry, I demand an answer right now!" yelled Draco. His creamy skin was now aglow with a light pink color that was developing on his cheeks and forehead.

Harry's heart was beating rapidly as he avoided looking up into the many pairs of eyes that stared at him. In his calmest voice he uttered, "Please, let's wait till we get home. I don't want to discuss this in front of everyone."

"No, we're going to talk about this right here. It appears that everyone else knows you dated Ginny, but me. So why don't you explain it to me."

The tips of Harry's ears were turning pink as he tried unsuccessfully to bury his face in his shirt collar.

Seamus sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the couple, making himself comfortable as he watched the ensuing fight. He calmly sipped his champagne; his excited eyes darted from Draco's face to Harry's and back again.

Hermione felt certain sympathy for her friend. She knew he was not one for public attention, especially of a personal nature. "Hey everyone, why don't we." She looked around; everyone's eyes were focused on the two men. Even Ginny and Neville were busy participating in the gawk fest.

Harry cleared his throat. "She and I dated when--"

"Harry, can you speak up?" asked Seamus. "We can't hear." Hermione shot him an astonished look, but he ignored her.

"She and I started dating after we broke up."

"But we never broke up," said Draco.

"Yes we did. When your father pulled you out of.when you weren't at Hogwarts anymore."

"Like I said before, we never broke up. You cheated on me with her."

"Draco, please, this in not the right--"

"You cheated on me with that...that...how could you do that to me? Is there something else you're not telling me? Like you dated Lee?"

Lee took a step backwards as everyone turned their head to look at him. "No way man! I don't swing on that tree. Harry's nice looking and everything, but I'm strictly a ladies' man." He elbowed Fred in the ribs as the twin put his hand over his mouth in a lame attempt to shield his laugh.

"And how could you tell Ron about me not graduating?"

This statement sent shock waves through the crowd, as they started to whisper amongst themselves. Everyone knew that Draco stopped attending Hogwarts during his sixth year, but they all assumed that his parents had enrolled him in Durmstrang, where he was sure to follow in the Malfoy family tradition of learning dark magic. But no one knew he was a school drop out.

Parvati tapped Seamus on the arm. "Did you know that Malfoy never graduated?"

"No," he said slowly, regretting he was not the one revealing this bombshell to the crowd. "I don't know how I could have missed it. I usually know this stuff before anyone else."

Draco opened his mouth to say more, but stopped, feeling he had already revealed too much. He looked around the rest of the room, as everyone held their breath, anticipating what he would say next. Each person had a shocked looked on their face, except for Ron who leaned against the wall, staring back at him with a smug grin.

Taking one last hard look at Harry, he bolted from the room and headed towards the front door. Harry ran after him, followed by the rest of the party guests.

Harry placed his hand on the door, preventing Draco from leaving. "Please don't walk out like this. Let's go to an empty room and discuss this."

"You can talk in our bedroom," said Hermione.

"Yes. Let's to go upstairs and talk about this." He reached for the other man's arm.

"Get off me!" shouted Draco. He pushed Harry away, leaving a large bloody handprint on his boyfriend's white shirt. He opened the door and ran out into the rain, trampling Hermione's flower garden in the process.

Harry stood still and searched the numerous faces for answers on what to do.

Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder. "Go after him."

Harry apologized to Ginny and Neville for causing such a scene and then sprinted out the door. Everyone crowded around the windows and watched as he drove off in search of Draco.

"Oh, gross!" shouted Ron from the living room, shattering the silence of the crowd. "The bastard bled all through the house. Look at that trail of blood over there."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron, you can be so insensitive sometimes!"

"But Herm-"

"Shut up!" She steered her eyes back to the window, trying to see which direction Harry had driven.