26

Halloween had never been a particularly favourite holiday of mine, though I had to admit the occasional dressing up was fun. However, this year, altering my appearance and pretending to be something else entirely was more appealing than in previous years.

The prospect of getting drunk enough to forget the burden put on my back seemed nice and calming, even when my surroundings were nothing of the sort.

The chatter around me was loud, and Pansy's shriek of laughter louder as she poured the shot of fire whisky down her throat. While the rest of the group were sitting against the back of the sofa, Pansy and I ended up sitting opposite of them, blocking everyone's way from and to the dorms without much care.

Her short, dark hair matched her costume quite perfectly; usually neat eyeliner smudged, and her lips painted an abyss-like black as well as her body was covered with a short skirt and a detailed corset just as black as her hair was.

Her lashes batted open as she eyed the rest of us, waiting for us to mirror her gesture.

My head was tilted back not a second later, eyes on the ceiling before they squeezed shut at the burning sensation of the alcohol running down my throat. I shook my head lightly as I looked back at the group, eyes inevitably landing on Malfoy sat opposite me.

The small glass by his lips, he poured the alcohol down his throat with one sip, Adam's apple bopping as he swallowed it; the veins on his neck prominent before he straightened his head, gaze falling on me before it flew over Pansy, Blaise and Theo.

A smirk found itself on his lips as his eyes shot back onto me. Noticing my attention already was — and still is — on him, his brows raised slightly before his hand did, too. Making sure to hold our eye contact, his thumb slowly dragged over his bottom lip, wiping away what I assumed to be some of the fire whisky he must have spilt.

I couldn't help my eyes following the motion intently, noticing the way his tongue flicked over his bottom lip immediately after. The smirk on his lips turned into a knowing grin, revealing the extra sharp, pointy canine teeth that completed his costume.

In the few seconds that had passed, the glass in my hand had filled itself up again, and I quickly threw my head back to pour it down my throat once more. Eyes intentionally falling on Pansy next to me afterwards.

A loud but content sigh rattled through the girl's chest, head falling onto my shoulder and knocking against my ear. In amusement, she hummed at the contact, head immediately rising again to examine it.

"You should keep them pointy like this," She suggested, tracing along the shape of my ear enchanted to match that of a fairy's.

A light giggle escaped my lips — it was a bad habit of mine to giggle while intoxicated.

"The wings, too," Theo butted in, a bottle of butterbeer in hand and a wide smile on his face. "I like them."

"Well, if you like them, Nott, how could I ever get rid of them?"

"Exactly."

An amused hum escaped my lips, my own head turning slightly to glance behind my shoulders; a set of light green translucent wings magically attached to my back matching the rest of my costume.

The colour a soft contrast to my red hair, a few strands of it tightly braided while the rest — a little messily — fell down my back and shoulders in light waves. Pansy had tucked them behind my ear on one side when she started examining it.

"They don't really suit you." My head snapped over the blonde boy opposite of me, eyes falling up and down his seated position like it was the first time I looked at him today. "A bit too... innocent, don't you think?"

One leg sprawled out in front of him while the other one was angled up, his arm resting on it, and the glass in his hand filled with dark liquor; he tilted his head slightly as he waited for my reply.

Leaning forward to make sure he would hear me over the loud music, I asked, "You don't think I'm innocent?" A small pout forming on my lips, eyes batting open at him as innocently as I could.

Malfoy simply huffed, and I wasn't quite sure whether it was out of amusement or frustration with the way it sounded. His eyes darted over to first Pansy, Theo, and then Blaise, my gaze following his to find the former two arguing about who got to wear the fairy charm first once I took it off.

On the other hand, Blaise was having a completely different conversation with a completely different group on the other side of the room. I wasn't quite sure how he managed to do so over the music that was blasting way too loudly, but he did.

Eyes flickering over to Malfoy again, a small smirk had formed on his lips, tongue poking the inside of his cheek before he said, "I think everyone who knows you can answer that."

I huffed. "And you think you know me?" My lips pursed into a cruel smile, all innocence wiped off my face. "Oh dear," I chuckled. "You don't know the half of me, Malfoy."

I tipped my head back once more, slowly getting used to the burning sensation crawling down my throat as the fire-y liquid made its way down it. I scrunched my nose up at it anyway, silently cursing myself because I knew he was watching.

Even when I didn't let my eyes fall on him again, I felt his gaze on the side of my face whenever he did look at me; when my surroundings became more of a blur, and the alcohol drowned out the music as I tried my best to follow Theo's and Pansy's already incoherent conversation, I still noticed whenever he looked at me — even if it was just out of the corner of my eye.

"You don't look like a bat, Pans, I'm sorry—" Theo's sentence was interrupted by a laugh or two, an apologetic expression on his face as he looked at her.

Pansy shook her head quickly, offended by his remark, no doubt.

Blaise had gotten up quite a while ago, urging Malfoy to do so just several long minutes afterwards. They were both sat with Daphne and Millicent across the room.

"You didn't even dress up," Pansy's voice had gotten several octaves higher by now. "Which means you don't get to say what I do and don't look like." Her nose scrunched up, though her serious facade was quickly broken by a wide grin and a loud laugh as Theo's hands went to poke her in the side.

He was the first to find out just how ticklish Pansy was years ago, the witch falling victim to it many times since then whenever she was mad at him. We've all adopted the habit now and hardly ever fell out with her because of it.

Watching Pansy squirming on the floor, Theo and I unable to contain our laughter; I took a deep breath to calm myself. A few giggles or two still escaping my lips and reminding me of how drunk I really was.

My eyes roamed the room, lips still quirked up in amusement as my gaze fell on the tables — usually used for chess — filled with bottles and bottles of alcohol other than fire whisky.

"I'm going for a bigger glass," I announced, holding the small shot glass up in the air, my voice drowned out in the loud music as I heaved myself upwards, the weight of the wings making it harder than I first anticipated.

Stumbling slightly, I fixed my dress, brushing out the creases and fiddling with it until it sat properly against my thighs again, dragging the fabric down where it had ridden up my leg just slightly.

Though, when I stood by the table, filling some of the Daisyroot Draught into a cup — rather than the expensive-looking wine glass it belonged in — my eyes fell on a certain blonde exiting the common room.

My brows furrowed as he turned to throw a glance over his shoulder, checking whether anyone was following him; he didn't notice my attention on him and therefore turned back around to escape through the already closing stone wall out into the dungeons.

My head tilting slightly, eyes still on the spot he stood at no more than a few moments ago, my eyes naturally searched the crowded, dimly lit room. When they fell on Daphne Greengrass, though, the blonde witch dressed in a similar costume to my own — her wings less impressive and the ears missing completely — I placed the cup in my hand on the table.

My gaze darted back and forth between Daphne and the exit of the common room Malfoy had left out of, my brows knitting together tighter as my still intoxicate self decided to follow him.

It couldn't mean good news for Draco Malfoy to leave a party early and all by himself. 

A/N: vampire!draco vampire!draco vampire!draco 

I love this man and I love the next chapter I'm very excited for u to read it hehe

Until then, <3