T W E L V E

"Eclaire dear, are you alright?" Asked Mrs Martha.

Eclaire nodded eagerly. "Yes! Yes I am! I am alright!" She said out of breath. "Why ever would you think that I am not?"

"You practically ran inside like the devil was on your trail and have been sitting there with your face flushed for the past three hours, do pardon me if I think something's wrong." Mrs Martha said sceptically.

"Nope. Everything's fine! I just need-" A certain blue eyed wizard's lips on mine, "-time! I need umm-some time to gather my thoughts, yes! That's it!" Eclaire told Mrs Martha who nodded reluctantly and resumed her cooking.

"You might want to start getting ready if you want to make it to the wedding in time!" Mrs Martha said as Eclaire's dread set in again.

Okay so you kissed him. And he kissed you back. Big deal. Does that mean he likes me? Eclaire shook her head.

No, I mustn't get ahead of myself. It was just a kiss. We're both adults. And I've kissed a lot of people before! Eclaire told herself. She nodded, satisfied with herself.

3 people is considered a lot, isn't it? She thought again, perplexed.

Mrs Martha finally shooed her out of her kitchen to start getting ready for the wedding and sent a maid with her to get her ready in her room.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Draco Malfoy looked at himself in the mirror, his hair tied into a man bun at his nape, clad in a navy blue suit that Eclaire had insisted on when she'd heard he was about to wear black to the wedding.

"It's terribly inauspicious to wear black to a wedding! It's the color associated with mourning!" She had told him.

He fixed his black bow-tie. He didn't feel comfortable without atleast a single piece of black fabric. His gaze then fell on the blue box containing the watch that Eclaire had given him.

It's really annoying how that woman's invaded my thoughts and I can't go a single sentence without the mention of her name. He thought opening the drawer of his collection of wristwatches. Different shades and colors of metals and dials glinted back up at him, some embedded with precious stones and metals.

He thought back to the look on her face when she'd given him the gift smiling with her eyes crinkled; the look on her face as she gasped for breath, her lips swollen and eyes dazed.

He slammed the drawer shut.

He picked the god-damned black watch out of the box on the table and put it on.

Merlin help me.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Eclaire looked at herself in the mirror, the maid had tied her short hair into a milkmaid braid with a few tendrils framing her face. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner and pink eyeshadow making her usually dull eyes pop. Her freckles had been covered by the foundation that had been lathered on her skin making her face look smooth and flawless.

The dress sat as beautiful as ever on her skin and the shoes made her taller than her usual five foot zero inches frame.

So I can be pretty if I'm rich. She thought admiring how the expensive fabric and shoes made her look. She shrugged. Too bad I'm not.

Her eyes dropped to her lips that had been stained a pinkish red hue. Her hands went to touch her lips remembering the feel of a certain cold pair against—

"Miss Eclaire—"

"I've kissed other men before!" Eclaire exclaimed backing away from the mirror immediately dropping her hand. Tom stood at her door, shocked at her outburst.

"Yes, I'm sure you have, Miss." He said sceptically. "I was merely here to inform you that Master Malfoy is awaiting you downstairs." Tom nodded respectfully and left as soon as he came.

Eclaire dropped down on the couch beside her. I'm doomed. She said slapping her hand on the face.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

Draco stood impatiently as he waited for the midget to make her entrance. What was taking her so long? He thought. Surely she hadn't fallen down and fainted, had she? Knowing the midget, Draco wouldn't put it past her to do something of the sort.

When his eyes fell on the stairs, his breath caught in his throat. Eclaire descended the stairs, her usually messy hair tied in an intricate braid as a few tendrils fell on her face, her shoulders bare as the pink of the dress enhanced her glow and her face flushed. Draco Malfoy swallowed audibly.

Her eyes locked with his and they felt the familiar spark ignite when suddenly, Eclaire's foot slipped and she fell on her bum on the last step with a yelp.

"I'm okay!" She shouted as a reflex.

There she is. Draco thought shaking his head as he went to help her up.

"Were you born with two left feet?" He asked her giving her a hand.

"Hey! That's rude." She pouted as she took his hand and stood up. "Your flooring is just...uneven." She huffed.

"I'm sure it is." He rolled his eyes. Her cheeks tinted pink.

"Aren't we late? Less talking more work, chop chop!" She said clapping her hands avoiding his eyes.

Draco rolled his eyes and extended his hand out. The brown eyed witch looked at his hand before hesitating. I've held his hand before! Why am I nervous now? She took a deep breath before placing her smaller one in his as he enclosed his fingers around hers and apparated.

The duo landed at the venue with a pop.

"Good heavens! Is that a pygmy puff?!" Eclaire exclaimed before trying to move in it's direction.

"Eclaire, no." Draco said sternly. Eclaire looked at him with her puppy eyes.

"But it looks so lonely—"

"It doesn't." Draco muttered.

"Can we just go pet it in the least?" Eclaire said clutching his hand that was still entwined with hers. His gaze fell down to their joined hands.

"Draco?" Eclaire turned to see a beautiful, regal woman heading towards them.

"It really is you!" The pretty woman said, now smiling at the silver haired wizard. Her shiny black hair braided in a half-updo fell to her waist, her emerald eyes shining with happiness, as her blood red tinted lips smiled at Draco.

She came to a stop before the duo when her eyes fell on Eclaire, then came to rest on their entwined hands. Eclaire immediately dropped his hands and on seeing the action, the black haired witch smiled at Eclaire.

She really is pretty. Eclaire thought as she stared up at the emerald eyed beauty who stood a good amount taller than her, even in Eclaire's heel clad feet.

"I don't think we've met before." The black haired witch said putting her hand out. "I'm Astoria Greengrass, Draco's...old friend."

"I'm Eclaire Adams!" The brown eyed witch said putting her hand in Astoria's. "Draco's..." what am I supposed to say? What are Draco and I? Eclaire pondered.

"Friend." Draco replied for her. Eclaire's heart fell at that but she didn't understand why. Shouldn't she be happy that he called her a friend? But then why was it that her heart twisted on hearing him call her that?

Astoria's eyebrows raised ever so slightly at that. "I'm happy you're making friends again, Dee. I haven't seen you since... Nevermind that," Astoria said shaking her head, "You look well." She smiled at him.

Draco nodded at her. "And you?" He asked.

"I've been well. We all have." She said looking at him fondly. "I'm just really happy to see you again." She whispered, her green eyes glistening.

"Yeah, me too." Draco said smiling ever so slightly.

"I don't want to keep you all to myself." Astoria said placing her hand on Draco's arm. "Merlin knows Zabini's been going on and on about you." Astoria laughed.

Eclaire's eyes zeroed in on where her hand rested comfortably on Draco's arm. She saw Draco's body stiffen at the contact and felt a sense of relief at the fact that he wasn't familiar with her touch. Then felt immediately bad after for feeling good about something like that.

"I'll see you inside, Draco." Astoria said wistfully looking at Draco. "And you, Eclaire." She nodded at Eclaire and then she was gone.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

And see him, she did. Astoria Greengrass had been hoarding Draco Malfoy's space for the better part of the evening and as much as he was glad to have met his old friends, he was annoyed.

It may also have had something to do with a certain short haired witch chatting intimately with an asian wizard Draco knew to be Yuko Kobayashi, head auror of Macusa. Maybe he'd been exaggerating when he said intimately but that was intimate enough for Draco.

Not to mention, she'd willingly left him alone with his clique to seek out Yuko. Did she find him more interesting than Draco?

"Draco, what do you think?" Astoria asked placing her hand to rest on top of his. Draco retracted his hand. It somehow felt wrong. As if the hand didn't fit there, didn't belong there. Which was absolutely mad, since when did hands fit together? Then he thought back to Eclaire's tiny ones enclosed in his.

"Draco?" She asked again and Draco's head snapped up to find his friends staring at him.

"What's gotten you in such a daze?" Marcus Flint asked.

Draco gulped down his glass of Firewhiskey. "Nothing." Draco muttered.

"Don't tell me you fancy that auror the Ministry's appointed you!" Exclaimed Theodore Nott.

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Snapped Draco.

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

"If it's bothering you, just go there with him then." Yuko sighed at the short haired witch sulking in front of him.

"But he's with his friends, I'd only be intruding." Said Eclaire looking back at where Draco sat with his group of friends, particularly close to Astoria who touched him ever so often.

In all honesty, the two did look really good together. They both looked...regal and sophistacated—put together. Everything Eclaire wasn't.

"Stop frowning you're going to start forming wrinkles!" Yuko said rubbing the short haired witch's forehead to ease the wrinkles. He caught the silver haired wizard looking at Eclaire before his gaze fell on Yuko's hand touching her forehead and his glare settled on Yuko.

"Just go talk to the damned man, Eclaire." Yuko sighed. Eclaire blinked up at him.

"You don't think he'll think of me as a burden? I am a ministry official that's been forced upon him—"

"Vanilla, if he thought of you as a burden he wouldn't have gone out of his way to have you dressed in a dress worth a week's total of a normal man's salary." Yuko stated. "And he did call you a friend, did he not?"

Eclaire's eyes softened at that. She nodded eagerly.

"Then stop sulking and go to him." Yuko told her. Eclaire grinned and nodded. She waved at Yuko as she made her way to her silver haired wizard. She could see his back turned to her as he talked with—

"Oh!" Someone bumped into Eclaire as liquid smeared on her left arm. "I apologise." Another black haired woman gazed back at her with an apologetic look. Eclaire shook her head.

"It's okay! I should've seen where I was heading too!" Eclaire said smiling.

"But your dress," the black haired woman pointed out to a red stain now forming on Eclaire's sleeve. Eclaire gasped. Oh no! I loved this dress. She thought sadly, "I can fix it for you!" The black haired witch said. "The washroom's right this way, it'll just take a couple minutes." The black haired witch said as Eclaire nodded and followed her to the restroom.

"See? It's back to how it was before." The black haired witch said. Eclaire nodded, grinning.

"It is! Thank you!" Eclaire smiled.

"There's no need to thank me. I was the one that created the stain in the first place." The black haired witch said, her hazel eyes glinting. "I'm Daphne Greengrass."

"Greengrass? Are you related to—"

"Astoria, yes. She's my younger sister." Daphne smiled.

"Oh, how rude of me, I'm—"

"Eclaire Adams, I know." Daphne smiled as the two made their way out.

"You do?" Eclaire asked confused. Daphne nodded.

"Draco told us about you." She said. Eclaire's heart fluttered.

"He did?" Eclaire asked in a small voice. Daphne nodded.

The duo heard the sound of laughter, when Eclaire's gaze found Draco, smiling as Astoria placed her hand on his chest, laughing.

"They look good together, don't they?" Eclaire was startled by Daphne's voice behind her. Eclaire didn't want to admit it, but it was true that they did, they did look good together.

"Ofcourse, they're friends, are they not? They're supposed to look good together!" Eclaire smiled trying to maneuver her way out of the conversation.

Daphne had a knowing look on her face. "Friend—Is that what he told you?" Daphne asked.

"Not quite," Eclaire said sceptically, "It was what Astoria told me."

Daphne laughed. "That's my shy sister, it is." She said shaking her head. "He's not her friend, Eclaire." Daphne said looking into Eclaire's eyes.

"He's her betrothed."