The Party of the Century

The Party of the Century

I sat on my silver bedspread, decorated with a serpent and the inscription of, "Flog them bloody, but keep thyself spotless," and stared out the window of my room in Malfoy Manor, although the gorgeous scenery below didn't catch my eye. My room was painted crimson and sparkled with countless silver objects used for making oneself attractive, but the shine of those objects didn't help what I was dreading. I had to leave this handsome manor and go to the run down castle of Hogwarts with its idiot of a headmaster.

No. Idiot was too polite of a word.

Every year since I was twelve I had dreaded the first of September, for it meant I was to go back to the horrid school and have to look at the horrid face of the Boy Who Lived. When I was eleven, I had looked forward to the first time to enter Hogwarts, but my enthusiasm faded.

Just then a voice rang through the air. "Boy!" the voice was loud and cold, and I immediately scrambled to my feet, tripping over myself as I did so, and listened intently on whatever my father Lucius was about to say.

"Your friends are here. Go greet them, but keep out of my sight! Understand?" It was more of an order than a question.

"Yes, sir!" I replied lamely and hurried over to my wardrobe. Wrenching it open, I quickly grabbed my best robe and draped it around my shoulders, the black velvet coming to rest gracefully. I quickly did the clasp, and hurried out of my room.

I elegantly descended the grand staircase and stepped in the midst of a richly clad crowd. Immediately, a silence filled the room, and everyone turned to stare at me. Raising my hand to eye level, I snapped, and music flooded throughout the room. People turned away and began talking again. I moved away towards a table to get a Butterbeer.

As I grabbed one off the table, a girl with black hair and bright blue eyes made her way towards me. She was dressed in a set of white dress robes that came in at the waist, showing off her profile. "Hello, Draco," she addressed me. "Wonderful end-of-summer-party."

I smirked and replied, "You know no one throws a party better than me, Blaise, and even if they tried, it wouldn't come close without me there."

"Of course!" Blaise agreed. "The only thing to make it better would be to have not invited some of the guests..." she looked over her shoulder at a chatting Pansy Parkinson dressed in emerald green robes with a bronze clasp. Her hair was in an up-do with different flowers sticking out. Blaise laughed at her. "Hideous. Absolutely hideous."

Actually, I thought she didn't look bad at all, but I wasn't about to say that to my girlfriend of four months. "Look, Blaise. Although Pansy may be hopeless when it comes to fashion, which you can see quite well," I lied, "she isn't the worst person I've met."

As I said this, Pansy began to make her way over to Blaise and me. I imagined what a sight Blaise and I were, her white robes and black hair to contrast with my white-blonde hair and black robes.

"Oh, hello there, Blaise. I didn't know you had been invited. I mean, Draco never talks about you, so I'm surprised he would have invited you to his gathering of friends," Pansy sneered, making Blaise looking a bit flustered.

"Well, if you've never heard Dracky talk about me, then you must have stinksap in your ears. He talks about his girlfriend constantly, right, Dracky?" Blaise nudged me.

"What? Oh-er-yeah. Yeah, I talk about her all the time to you, Pansy. You're probably just too busy ogling some guy like Crabbe," I lied.

"Oh? Pansy likes Crabbe? Really? Wow! What do you see in him, Pansy? Is it his ancestry, because I don't see much else to like," Blaise giggled at the end of this.

"No! I don't like Crabbe!" Pansy protested. "There's absolutely nothing attractive about him! I like - well, someone else."

At this, Blaise lifted a perfectly plucked eyebrow and said softly, "oh!" Just then, Crabbe walked about three feet from us, and Blaise, giving Pansy an evil look, took after him.

"Oh, no! Draco, we have to hide!" Pansy said desperately, tugging at my sleeve. "Where can we go?"

"Well I-" I began, but Pansy spun me so we were face to face. I could see the tears brewing in her green eyes, and I gave in. "Alright. Follow me, Pansy, and don't wander off, or else you'll never be seen again."

I grabbed her hand and dragged her behind me, around different clumps of people and dancing couples. I glanced behind me and saw Blaise and Crabbe reach the spot where we had been talking moments before. They looked around as Pansy and I ducked behind a column. Pansy was panting slightly and her hand was balled in a fist.

"She cannot tell Crabbe that I like him! I don't like him! I don't like him!" When she said this the second time she once again pulled me toward her so we were face to face.

"I believe you, Pansy. I don't even like Crabbe as a bodyguard, but father insists on him and Goyle guarding me. I don't see why; I can handle myself," I informed her. "Wait, here they come! Come on!"

I pulled her after me again, and tried to get lost in the crowds, but Blaise had caught sight of us and was now hot on our heels. Just then, up ahead I saw Goyle standing stupidly. That was my chance. As I ran past him, I whispered very fast and in one breath, "Goyle-Blaise-insulted-your-parents!"

Being the oaf that he was, Goyle didn't bother to ask why Pansy and I were running away from Blaise, or why she had Crabbe following her, but instead ran straight at her. As soon as Blaise caught sight of him bowling towards her, she screamed, turned on her heal and ran off in the opposite direction, quite forgetting about Crabbe.

Pansy and I skidded to a halt and watched Goyle try to get at Blaise, while Crabbe, who had gotten in front of her just in time, tried to wrestle him to the ground. People around the fight stopped what they were doing and watched with mild interest at the example of Muggle fighting before them.

I let out the same cold laugh that I reserved for mocking people, and heard it echo through the room. Crabbe and Goyle stopped fighting in order to stare at me. "Get off of each other, you two. Or do I have to get my father? I'm sure he'd love to deal with you."

At this, Crabbe and Goyle sprang up as one and walked off in separate directions, and the people who had been watching the fight went immediately back to what they had been doing. Blaise, on the other hand, stormed over to Pansy and me.

"Draco Malfoy, you are the biggest prat I have ever met!" Blaise spat in my face. "You-you-"

I cut her off. "Look, Blaise. If you can't handle my Slytherin attitude, then perhaps you're the one who shouldn't get invited to these types of parties. If you're going to whine then I suggest you get out of my Manor now, or you'll have some nastier creatures than Goyle to answer to, and believe me, they don't hold back on liars like you, Blaise."

She just stared at me, snorted and turned towards a group of people with the most popular Slytherins in it.

Pansy turned to stare at me. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in? Blaise is in charge of all gossip. She's Blaise Zanbini, goddess of rumors, gossip, and lies!"

I just shrugged, although I was slightly unnerved by the group of girls Blaise had joined who were now taking turns glancing over at me, and moved over to a table to grab another Butterbeer to replace my now empty one. Pansy picked one up as well, but she continued to glance over her shoulder at the group of girls. "I don't know what you see in her, Draco. She's pretty, sure, but that's about all."

I didn't respond to this. The truth was that I didn't even know what I saw in her. All I knew was she was a pureblood and popular and father had approved when I told him I was going to ask her out, as she was the favorite of my suitors.

Blaise shot me another withering look and moved from the clump of girls. She walked up to Nathan Kennedy and began to openly flirt with him. She was nearly on top of him by the time he caught on and began to dance with her.

"Oh, she cannot do that to you! Who does she think she is?" Pansy asked, incredulous. "Come on, Draco. You have to go get her back. How can you stand this?"

She grabbed my hand and tried to pull me over to Blaise and Nathan, but I held back. "You know, it doesn't really bother me as much as you may think." When Pansy just stared at me, I continued. "I'm single now, I guess."

Pansy blinked a few times before catching on. In one swift movement, I slid my arm around her waist and planted a beautifully passionate kiss upon her lips; something I had wanted to do for years. It lasted but a moment, and when we tore apart, I was fully satisfied to see both the look of astonishment on Pansy's face and the look of utter horror upon Blaise's features.