Chapter 8: Date With Disaster

Hello my beautiful and amazing fans! =) Finally finished this. I wanted it to be longer, but since I was being begged for an upload I decided to shorten it. =) Hope you all like it!

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"Every day I fight a war against a mirror; I can't take the person staring back at me... I'm a hazard to myself." –Don't Let Me Get Me, Pink

Draco hesitantly knocked on the Burrow's front door. He was already uneasy, knowing that his fate could very well be decided by how well this dinner went. Before the door had even opened, the sweet aroma of what he assumed was dinner was already beginning to overwhelm his senses. When the door finally opened, he immediately recognized Mrs. Weasley standing on the other side.

"Good evening, Draco," she greeted with a wary smile. "So glad you could make it. Do come in; dinner shall be done soon."

"Glad to be here, Mrs. Weasley," Draco said back quietly. He stepped inside the house, glancing around for a moment before asking, "Where's Audrey at?"

"She just went upstairs to change into something more suitable for dinner," Mrs. Weasley answered. "She should be back down momentarily."

Draco glanced at his attire. More suitable? He silently hoped he hadn't overdressed for the occasion. After talking Artemis out of a suit, Draco had decided on dark jeans paired with a long sleeve grey shirt under a black suit jacket. He figured that it was nice, but not extremely so. He looked back to Mrs. Weasley after a moment. "Thanks," he finally replied.

Before Mrs. Weasley could answer him, they both noticed Audrey running down the stairs and directly into Draco's arms. Although he was a little startled by her behavior, Draco hugged her back. After a few seconds, he realized that she was shaking; something was definitely wrong. When he noticed Mrs. Weasley had went back into the kitchen, Draco inquired what was bothering her. "What's wrong?"

The girl pulled away from him slightly before handing him a piece of parchment. Draco read it quickly, and he was suddenly in disbelief. Who would send such things? "Who sent this to you?" he demanded an answer as he felt his blood beginning to boil.

"I dunno," Audrey answered quietly. "I went upstairs and it was sitting on my trunk."

Draco took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before he punched something. "Just calm down. Whoever sent this to you just wanted to get under your skin." He paused for a moment, trying to figure out the best course of action. "Let's not worry about it for now; it's probably just a harmless prank. If it happens again, we'll go from there, mmkay?"

Audrey nodded before pulling away from him entirely. She glanced down at herself before doing a little spin. "Do you like my outfit?"

For the first time, Draco noticed her clothing. It was only the second time he had seen her in a dress. The girl had on a black sundress and a pair of sandals to match. Admittedly, Draco was not used to seeing her like that, but he really did enjoy it. "You should dress like this more often," he decided.

She smiled. "Well... I'll have no choice. We have a lot of events coming up soon that will require me to wear a dress."

"Very true," Draco remembered. "Shall we head to the dining room?"

Audrey nodded. "Let's."

Draco took her hand in his as she led him to the dining room, where a majority of the family was already seated. Audrey led him to the two seats open near the end of the table. She sat down next to Nicole, who was rapidly talking to Ron. Draco hesitantly sat down next to his fiancée as Mrs. Weasley came into the room carrying the rest of dinner. She sat it down on the table before taking her seat at the end of the table next to her husband.

The young man sat in silence as everyone began putting food on their plates. He slowly began to follow suit, adding smaller portions of food to his plate than what he would eat normally. Draco stared at the food he had placed on his plate for a moment before he began to consume it just as slowly as he had placed it there. He was doing all he could to remain calm and collected. Draco knew he was skating on thin ice, and one slip up could ruin his chances.

"So Draco, nice of you to join us," Mr. Weasley finally spoke up. "How've you been?"

Draco debated how to answer that question. Tired, worried, terrified, he thought, but instead he answered, "I've been quite well, actually. Been spending time with my family in Ireland."

"Ireland? I was unaware that you had relatives there," Arthur went on.

Draco nodded. "Yes, my father's sister and her family live just north of Dublin. I've been spending the past few days with them, and reconnecting with my cousin as well."

"Ah, you must mean Artemis?" Once again Draco nodded, though he was entirely unsure of how the Weasleys knew of his cousin since Artemis had attended Durmstrang as opposed to Hogwarts. Arthur continued a few moments later, "Charming boy, he is."

"Enough idle chitchat," Molly interrupted. "Now, Draco, it's come to our attention that you are to be marrying Audrey?"

"Yes ma'am. I will be, so long as she wants me to," Draco answered.

"How's your father?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow to the blond boy.

Draco shrugged. "He's alright." Draco hesitated to give any more information on his father's whereabouts since Arthur did work for the Ministry, and could possibly rat him out to the authorities. "He's err... laying low."

"So... let's cut to the chase shall we?" Molly went on. "I'm going to get this question out of the way.... Are you officially done being a Death Eater?"

Draco didn't have to think about that. "Yes ma'am. They're despicable people... and I honestly am ashamed for ever being a part of them."

A snort came from across the table from him. Draco looked to see Harry glaring at him. "For some reason, Malfoy, I don't buy that answer," he said matter-of-factly.

"I don't believe I was talking to you, Potter," Draco hissed. "So until you're spoken to, I think it would be polite for you to remain silent."

Harry went to reply, but Ginny instinctively punched him in the leg. Pretending they didn't see the argument unfolding in front of them, the Weasley parents continued their interview. "So, anyways, Draco," Arthur went on, "how did this come about?" He gestured at him and Audrey, so Draco presumed that he was referring to their relationship. Draco was honestly unsure of where to begin.

"Well, you see, I had always found Audrey to be rather charming. It started in our second year during our first Quidditch game," Draco started, resting his hand on top of Audrey's. He was hoping she hadn't noticed he was shaking slightly, partly out of nervousness and partly out of anger. "But... I was always sure she wanted nothing to do with me; she was always the goody-two-shoes, and did amazingly well in school, as I'm sure you all know. So when she showed up at my manor at the beginning of last September, I was a bit puzzled at first. As time went on, however, I couldn't hide my feelings, so I asked her out." Draco paused for a moment to glance over at Audrey. "We've been together ever since."

"Touching," Harry muttered, glaring intently at Draco once again.

Draco resisted the urge to hex him as Molly began speaking, "So obviously your parents mustn't be the problem then? How do they feel about this?"

"My mother and father love Audrey as if she was their own," Draco answered. "They were actually disappointed that I hadn't asked her sooner."

"Now... all I have to say about that is that you break her heart, I break your face," Ron added aptly in between bites of food. "And I'm sure I'm speaking for Nicole and the twins too."

Draco was a little taken aback by Ron's willingness to defend Audrey but shook it off. Arthur looked at the boy with interest. "So, Draco, what is it that you have decided to do for your future career?"

The boy honestly hadn't put much thought into that one. "I've thought about a lot of things, such as working for the Ministry or playing Quidditch. But I'm not sure yet. I'm going to think more about it in the next few months."

"The only way you're going to play Quidditch is if you get a hand attached to the broom that can catch the snitch for you," Harry joked.

Draco felt his blood boiling. He was already sick of Harry's smart remarks. "Potter, once again was I asking for your dismal opinion? You obviously are jealous of my Quidditch abilities."

Harry stood up drawing his wand in the process; Draco immediately stepped up as well, definitely not going to take it sitting down. "Why would I be jealous of you, Malfoy? You have nothing worthy to be jealous of."

"Well, last I knew I have my parents and yours got toasted by a green flame," Draco countered, a smirk forming on his pale face. However, that smirk quickly dissipated when Harry shot a spell in his direction. Draco merely dodged it and remarked, "I see hunting Horcruxes did nothing to improve your aim either."

Draco felt Audrey tug on his arm, urging him to sit down before this fight got any worse. The boy hesitantly took his seat, still glaring at his rival before him. Harry remained standing, face still scrunched up in disgust. "I don't know why you people bother inviting scum like Malfoy over. He'll never change!"

Before anyone could say anything else, Ginny stood up, pulling Harry away from the table. Within moments the room was resolved to an awkward silence. Arthur looked to Draco, a stern look plastered to his face. "That was quite harsh for you to bring up his parents, Draco," he somewhat scolded.

"I apologize, but I did not come here for him to make snide remarks on all of my responses to you," Draco expressed. "Anyhow, as you were saying?"

"Hopefully you'll be able to decide your career soon," Molly replied, though her tone towards him had changed drastically. She was once friendly, but now she had scorn lingering in her voice. Draco had forgotten that Harry was her "favorite."

"I'm sure I will," Draco answered quietly, taking another bite of his food.

Nothing more was said throughout dinner, and Draco was sure he had just seen his chances blown up in smoke due to his hot temper. He was beginning to hate himself more and more with every second that ticked passed...

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