#darknessrises event

[ddracoluciusmalfoy]

Dramione || Sneaking Out

Sneaking out of his Manor on a night when it was infested with Death Eaters and supporters of the Dark Lord and his cause was risky, to say the least. But he had to take the chance; it was the only time he'd be able to sneak out and have his presence go relatively unnoticed. And if it meant getting to spend the night with Granger--no matter what they ended up doing together--then to Draco...it was all worth it. He didn't consider himself romantic as much as he did desperate; they very rarely got to see one another these days, his Hermione and him, and it was taking a toll on the both of them. It was tearing them apart, this distance and secrecy that had wedged itself between them, even if neither one of them wanted to admit as much.

So...tonight would be good for them. It would help the bridge that stretched between them; even if they didn't discuss the things keeping them apart (Draco was never any good with emotions, anyway), it would--at the very least--give them a chance to be together.

If only for a few hours.

It had taken a great deal of skill, but somehow, Draco had managed to pull it off. He'd worn heavy, dark cloaks before Disapparating to the safety of an alleyway right next to Granger's building. After that, things became increasingly easy. Getting himself buzzed inside the building, making his way up the stairs...the hardest part had been getting outside of his Manor's wards without being seen. This? This was a piece of fucking cake. However, he hesitated just outside her door...he hadn't seen her since the incident at Conch Cottage, and while he knew her affections hadn't changed...there was no telling what else might have. There was only one way of finding out, though, so it was with a quickened pulse and a dry mouth that Draco Malfoy lifted his hand and knocked on Hermione Granger's door one, two, three times.

[ddracoluciusmalfoy]

A party...yeah, that's exactly what we need.

[ex-curse-breaker]

Bill & Fleur | Place and Time

Despite the fact that Bill had severed his commitment with Kingsley's search party, he made sure that he was kept informed in regards to the groups findings and their tracking of Greyback. Last he heard, he was still on the run with several unidentifiable individuals, presumably infected with lycranthrop. They had several opportunities to sieze him, but decided against it under the impression that he would lead them to other death eaters who had gone into hiding since the uprising at the Ministry. Bill had been frustrated by this decision on Kingsley's part, really only concerned about Greyback. However, he had very little say in it from where he stood so he didn't bother to voice his opinion. He believed that the threat had been greatly lessened after the failed attempt to stir things up at the Ministry several months ago. The Aurors were still trying to coax whatever information they could out of those they had in custody, so Bill wasn't too worried about any organized threat on the horizon. At the moment, he was simply concerned with Greyback's movement and what he might do now that he appeared to be organizing his pack again. However, only at work did he really have time to devote his worries to Greyback. At home, Fleur seemed to occupy his mind, more than usual. He once great enthusiasm about being pregnant had suddenly taken a nose dive and all she appeared to do now was voice her concern about her body; wanting it back, or wondering if she would ever get it back. The physical stress of carrying a child, now heavy and well into her eighth month, was beginning to weigh heavy on her confidence. The woman that was once so confident with her body and her appearance, one of the many sides of her that he had fallen in love with, was now becoming self-conscious and shy. Because she had been confined to bed rest over the past couple of weeks, she had taken to lounge about all day in either her pajamas or comfortable sweats. Not that she had any reason to dress up. Bill would occasionally let her cheat and go against the healer's requests by taking her out for a walk along the beach. He figured that it was a bit of exercise that she very much needed, and it gave her the opportunity to experience some fresh air that just didn't cut it by cracking a few windows. He did whatever he could to make these final two months easy for her, knowing that she was suffering more than he since she was the one who had to physically carry their child. Everything was ready; the nursery had been finished, empty formula bottles had been put in the pantry, and a high chair already stood tall at the end of the kitchen table. Absolutely everything was ready. Even Fleur was ready--she had been very visibly, and audibly, anxious to have their child already. Bill felt as though he was the only one who wasn't. Despite all the execution and the planning and the talking, it wasn't until now that Bill had realized just how unprepared he really was. Was he ready to welcome this new, permanent addition to his life? The last time he brought someone into his life, he had time to think long and hard about it before making any concrete decisions. The decision to add this baby to his life had been made for him, and that nine months was just time for him to get ready. As if he could really do anything about it now if he decided that he wasn't ready to take on fatherhood. Now, sitting on a stool alongside Fleur as the medi-witch performed her weekly check-up, he realized that there were only a handful of these occasions left before Fleur's due date. Time was going by fast, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.

[ddracoluciusmalfoy]

Draco & Astoria || Secrecy

Draco knew that it wasn't intelligent for him to attend the Ministry Ball; the moment he'd gotten wind of it, he'd foolishly thought it would be the opportune time to step out in public and attempt to try and find Granger. He hadn't spoken to her since that fateful day at the Ministry siege over the Christmas holidays, when she had...more or less found out that he was alive after over a year of convincing herself he was long since dead. He knew she wouldn't want to speak with him, in all likelihood, but that didn't keep the young blond from donning a rather elaborate sort of mask and dressing for the occasion. The best part about the Ministry ball was that it wouldn't take too much maneuvering for him to be admitted into the party; the Ministry of Magic was foolish enough to admit anyone into the party, so long as they were dressed for the occasion, and Draco was willing to bet that the little attack on them just a few weeks prior had done nothing to change their admittance rules. It was an event that occurred every year, the Ministry ball was, and Draco wasn't willing to miss this one for the world.

So maybe it was reckless; it could have been the most ridiculous mistake he'd ever made. But...he wanted to at least see Granger, and he knew damn well that this would be the only way he could do it.

Silently musing over how many of the Dark Lord's followers would be in attendance tonight, Draco loitered around the entrance to the ball room, glancing at all the masked couples and tugging on the sleeves of his emerald dress robes. Finally deciding to make himself as inconspicious as possible, he drew the hood of his dress robes up to conceal his bright blond hair, weaving his way through the throng of people interacting and giggling joyfully with one another; fools, the lot of them. Didn't they realize just how serious everything was? Lord Voldemort was back, and here they were acting as though nothing had changed in their perfect little worlds. Grunting and scowling, he made his way to the beverage table, pouring himself a glass of punch and sipping tentatively, allowing his grey eyes to scan the ballroom restlessly.

Maybe if he just...saw a flash of curly brown hair. Or heard her name. Or saw a familiar face at all.