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[Draco Malfoy]

Draco was a freaking genius. Well, either that or he was a bloody idiot. He had offered to let Tania meet him at the Ball. Reason one, because it would let her have the power in the relationship. She would be the one to approach him. Reason two, by allowing her the chance to back out, by showing that level of trust in her he was guilting her into showing up. Forcing her into showing up without her ever seeing that he was the one doing the forcing.
Unless of course he'd vastly misjudged her and she didn't show up. But then the only person who knew he was supposed to have a date was Angel. And she was going to mock him about something no matter what happened with Tania. This wouldn't really change that. She liked to mock him. It was one of her most favorite pastimes.

Draco settled back on his heels, not quite lounging against the wall behind him. They'd decided on oriental themed costumes which, frankly, Draco had to admit, was a very good choice. This Japanese warrior outfit, with the wide black pants, loose, long-sleeve black under-wrap and the tighter, heavy gold over vest was surprisingly comfortable. The razor sharp katana hanging from his red and blue scarf-belts was comforting too. He wasn't wuite as used to carrying a sword as he was with carrying a wand, but it was a close second. And since he was definitely on the smaller side for males he took advantage of his size and speed and used the smaller swords, like the katana, more often than not.

He let his eyes drift, scanning the crowd again, and saw no sign of his small, dark date. Merlin's Pants, Angel was going to be a bitch!


(Minus hat and mustache plus shoes.)

[Tania Dethart]

Tania stood in front of the mirror and studied what was being reflected back to her. It certainly didn't look like her normal appearance. A Japanese Geisha looked back at her. A purple under dress, covered by a red and gold patterned overdress. The very long sleeves weren't much of a problem because she was used to wearing the long robes of her school uniform and other wizarding robes. The dress fell long enough that it was almost impossible to see the shoes she wore underneath and a Japanese fan completed the costume. She wore her wand in an arm holster and wore her crystal underneath her costume. Tania never went anywhere without either of those two items. They meant protection and safety. Nerves warred in her stomach. Why had she agreed to this? It was one thing to survive a quiet evening with Draco Malfoy, but it was something entirely different about going to public Ball with him, where everyone would be looking at her, since she was his date. She had to manage not only small talk and such, but also dancing and conversing with her Housemates and probably Professors since several of them were related to Draco or were close family friends. Everyone would be judging her and...and...and....she sat down on her bed and considered crying. She took a few shuddering breaths and calmed herself down. No, no...she could do this. She had agreed to do this, and she would not break her word. So what if she made a fool of herself? He had promised to leave her be if she wanted him to, after tonight. None of the other Slytherins paid her any attention anyway. The hardest part was The Rules. She knew her father's Rules, she knew Falon's Rules. How to act, how to speak, when to speak, what would happen if she screwed up...all of it. But this was Draco Malfoy. She didn't know his Rules, didn't know what she was allowed to do and say and not allowed to do and say. Even worse, she didn't know what kind of punishment would occur if and when she did mess up, and it was more likely than not that she would at some point, since she didn't know the Rules.

Tania sighed, checked her make up one more time and headed out of the dorm and down to Common Room. There was nothing to be done now but to go and get it over with. She had promised to go and she would and heal any wounds in her workroom after the Ball. She started to feel very self-conscious as more and more students joined her. They were all staring at her. She swallowed hard and made her way up out of Common Room and then the dungeons. Now other Houses were mixing with the Slytherins around her. Tania played with the fan in her hands as she wove through the crowds over towards where she said she would meet Draco. It didn't take her too long to find him. He was almost lounging against a wall, looking gorgeous in his oriental costume. The sight of the katana froze her for a moment and she was pushed by another student pushing their way through. She had been the one to pick the theme for their costumes....and the katana fit, but that thing would be a lot more painful than Falon's curses or his knife blade. Then again, it couldn't be worse than an Unforgivable. She swallowed again, put on a polite smile and walked up to him. She inclined her head to him. "Good evening, Mr. Malfoy."

[Draco Malfoy]

Between one moment and the next, between inhale and exhale Tania appeared. Draco felt himself go weak in the knees and nearly sagged back against the stone wall, such was the nature of his extreme relief. He hadn't realized, until that exact moment, how certain he'd been that she wouldn't show up. He hadn't realized how important to him it was that she join him. It shouldn't be this important. But it was. Draco didn't waste time analyzing it or fighting it. He simply accepted the certainty of it and moved on. He had other things to be doing right now anyway. The first of which...

Draco stepped toward her, his eyes locked on her face, his hands outstretched, palms open. It was part a gesture of greeting part a primative show of peaceful intent. He wasn't holding any weapons. He wasn't going to use any weapons. She was safe with him. He wasn't one hundred percent sure why he did that, but she was looking so skittish right now that he couldn't help himself.

"Lady Dethart," he murmured, then spontantiously decided to do away with formality, "Tania, you look gorgeous. Amazing. I shall have to guard you jealously all night for surely every other man in the room will desire to snatch you away from me."

He bowed, the motion helping him break out of the spell both she and his own relief had woven around him. His situational awareness snapped into place, the roar of the crowd a sudden pressure on his ears. No one was within eight to ten inches of them on any side and no one looked like they were about to breach that barrier. Draco didn't see anyone he knew well enough that he'd be forced to speak to them and no one else was meeting his eyes. He took a deep breath and let it out. For the moment, just this one tiny moment it was just him and Tania.

[Tania Dethart]

She really wasn't sure what she was expecting him to do once she had greeted him, but there was a strong sense of relief as he stepped forward with hands out stretched in a gesture of peace. It gave her a feeling of safety. That was an odd sensation. Not a bad one, necessarily, but definitely odd. She was so used to living in fear, with the knowledge that anytime, anywhere she could be in sudden pain. An attack could come from any person. No one was safe. No one was except from the possibility of being a tormentor. There were only two people, maybe three, who fell into the category of 'safe'. Hunter was the first...but he was dead. He had abandoned her, let herself be killed by Falon and their Father. He had gotten in the way of a Punishment. Stupid fool....she had handled worse and lived. She would have survived that one too. Instead he got in the way and got killed and now who was going to protect her? Who was going to help her heal when the pain was overwhelming? She mentally shook her head to banish those thoughts. Now was not the time. The second one was their Head of House, Severus Snape. He had earned her undying loyalty. If he asked anything of her, he could have it. The partial was Angelina Malfoy, but that was mostly because the little blonde girl refused to be anything else. Never had she considered Draco Malfoy in the category of safe people. Yet, that was the impression Tania was getting from him now. Her instinct told her she could trust the young man in front of her, yet her years of abuse and distrust was screaming at her to run and hide and never come anywhere near him. He was a young, strong, powerful, Slytherin, Pureblood male.

"Lady Dethart," ... "Tania, you look gorgeous. Amazing. I shall have to guard you jealously all night for surely every other man in the room will desire to snatch you away from me."

Her soul soaked up his words like the desert in a freak thunderstorm. Just him saying her name like that was beautiful enough, but then he had to go and add those compliments. For a brief moment, she had the intense desire to either kiss him or do anything he asked. Thankfully, her Slytherin Self reasserted itself a moment later and her control resumed. Still, she couldn't help but blush slightly and give him a shy smile. He bowed at her and she curtsied in return and took another step closer to him, accepting him and his presence officially for the evening. "I-I do not think you will be the only playing guard duty tonight, Mr... Draco. I have already earned me a few glares from the female population and I fear I will earn a few more before the evening is over, with one of the most handsome Purebloods as my date."

[Draco Malfoy]

Draco let himself grin easily at her comments, after all it was a decidedly amusing picture. Her small, kimono clad self fighting off a pack of rabid women. In fact, it almost might be worth it if he could just somehow arrange for Pansy to get permanantly incapacitated curing the chaos. Now wouldn't that be wonderful. A world without Pansy Parkinson. He began to picture it but roughly grabbed ahold of himself. There would be time enough for that later. Right now he had a date.

"Are there other women in the room?" he asked in teasing amazement. "Truly? You'll have to point them out because my vision is far to ensnared by you to see any other female."
Okay, that was laying it on a bit too thick, but hey. Why not? He grinned and winked at her before his better judgement reasserted itself. Draco reached out, offering his hand which, should she take it, would lead to her firmly on his arm.

"Now then, shall we remain here? Or will you come with me? My plans, before you accept or refuse them, are to find you the best chair in the house where you can be seen in all your glory, remain comfortable through the evening and where I can wait upon your every desire. There is also," he dropped his voice into a conspiritorial whisper, "I am told, some great quantity of food inside. I don't know about you but the fact is that I'm a male and there is food in there and not so much as a scrap out here."
He had the sudden urge to wink at her again, but chose to shrug self-depricatingly instead.

[Tania Dethart]

Inwardly she was dancing with joy. Not only did Draco not get mad at her for her unapproved commentary, but was actually amused by it. She had gotten him to smile, a real smile, not a Society Polite smile. So far, so good. His lack of formality and annoyance was greatly encouraging. Even though it would require a great deal more from him to get her to fully let her guard down, but his actions definitely helped her relax some. The Lady Dethart was actually entertaining the idea that she didn't have to weigh and judge each word that she spoke before they came out of her mouth. She also found herself plotting ways to maybe get him to smile like that at her again. Maybe this evening wouldn't be the stressful ordeal she had first thought it would be. Tania felt a wave of shock as Draco teased her. He teased her! The last time she had heard that particular tone of voice was at the beginning of the summer with her beloved brother Hunter. She found herself returning his grin and blushing a tad at the wink and compliments. Tania figured he was flattering her to make her relax, but she didn't mind that manipulation. She heard so few compliments, let alone flattery, that she wasn't about to discourage her date if he wanted to give her those words.

He offered her his hand and after only a second of hesitation, the Slytherin girl slid her hand into his and found her hand resting on his arm a moment later. That simple act was like a stamp on the evening. It was a beginning step in the Society Dance that Purebloods followed. She had taken a step closer to him a few minutes earlier to accept his presence for the evening. This current action was him expressing his desire to be her partner for the night. As the Pureblood male, it would now be his job to make sure she wanted or needed for nothing tonight. He was responsible for her protection, for her happiness. By taking his arm, Tania was basically giving over those responsibilities to him. "Now then, shall we remain here? Or will you come with me? My plans, before you accept or refuse them, are to find you the best chair in the house where you can be seen in all your glory, remain comfortable through the evening and where I can wait upon your every desire. She felt touched that not only was he gibing her a true choice in their plans, but was fully detailing what he wanted to do. It was almost as if he was apologizing slightly for the manipulations he had done the other day to get her here tonight. Mr. Draco Malfoy earned himself a few points for that gesture.

There is also," ..., "I am told, some great quantity of food inside. I don't know about you but the fact is that I'm a male and there is food in there and not so much as a scrap out here." Tania couldn't help but laugh softly at his comments. That was [i]such a boy thing to say. People joked about how the best way to a man's heart was through his stomach, but it really was true to some extent. She threw caution to the wind for a moment and patted the back of his hand with her free one. "Well, D-Draco, it would be heartless and cruel of me to keep you from such a feast." She offered him a soft smile. "Lead on then, Mr. Malfoy, so your desire to find food can be fulfilled."