DRACO}}lip service

[astoria]

IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND
SEND IT IN A LETTER TO ME

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"for many people time was a factor in every aspect of their lives. they used it, ran out of it, relied on it, always needed more of it. for them it marked beginnings and endings, where things stopped and started, and so on and so forth. but for those neglecting the end, and who payed no attention to the beginning anyways, time was nothing more than a ticking noise that came from a few long moving sticks. nothing more. this was such the case for astoria, who had no knoledge of the beginning, and no anticipation of the end for that matter. everything was simply ongoing."

"which was exactly why astoria was still working even after working hours. it was if someone had left her motor running, or had winded her up to far, but then again, you could hardly blame it on anyone else. it wasn't everyone elses fault that astoria had nothing better to do than work. her work was her life. it's not that she was passionate about it, or over obsessive about it, it's just that she had nothing else to devote her life to. so she devoted it to the ending that time refused to give her. the consistant completion of everyday's work on that day was essential to astoria's peace of mind. it let her know that the only purpose she had was being fulfilled. if she couldn't be the best child a pureblood parent could ever want, she could at least be satisfied with her work."

"because of the woman's refusal to notice the time it was actually quite a late time to be at the office, especially on a friday night. most people had probably already finished dinner, and were spending the remaining reasonable hours that they had to be with friends or whoever. children were being tucked into bed, along with the sun which was well on it's way to it's hideout behind the mountains. whereas astoria had not eaten anything since an apple at lunch, didn't currently have any time for socializing, and was probably still hours away from nearing anything so much as a sofa. and although the people who kept popping into the office kept telling astoria that she could worry about the rest on monday, she knew their 'kind' words were only lip service. no one had ever really cared. well, not most people anyways."

"finally astoria's eyes couldn't take the level of light the sky was not providing. barely batting an eyelash from the paper she was looking at astoria's gloved hand picked up the wand at her side and the room was suddenly illuminated. she muttered something of annoyance to herself when she read the ink that the paper contained before thrusting it into one of the many organized piles on her desk. it was supposedly urgent, but from what astoria read it wasn't urgent enough to be dealt with until possibly a few weeks from now. where some people were living in seconds over minutes, astoria's hours were endless. nothing seemed that urgent to her."

[PROFESSOR DRACO MALFOY !]

I COULD TAKE WHAT'S APART

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AND PUT IT BACK TOGETHER; THIS WILL COME TRUE, HELP ME
GET THROUGH, INTO YOU![/font][/center][/size]

L

[/b] ights flickered and wires hung loose in the abandoned warehouse, and Draco had to admit he was a bit more than a bit freaked out by the prospect of being anywhere near the place. It had, apparently, been the hiding place for those who opposed the Dark Lord's glorious reign. Or, well, to Draco it was glorious. But then again Draco came from a powerful Pureblooded family that was currently in the Dark Lord's favorite's section. For how long the Death Eater couldn't say but he'd sure as hell do whatever was in his power to keep it the way it was. He was dressed in Death Eater robes, his mask secure on his face. The attire was all in black- black robes, black slacks, black shoes. Black everything. It washed him out completely, leaving the man looking like a pale ghost in the dusty, half-lit area.[/font]


H[/b] aving combed the area quite thoroughly and seeing no signs of resistance nor humanity in general, Draco decided it was time to leave. The towering boxes, filled to the brim with muggle contraptions, and machinery were really getting on his last nerve. While Draco liked to talk the talk, he was in no way going to walk the walk very often. As a child he'd been a bully, and a coward. No much had really changed, though it did seem as times he was more daring. The only reason this rare side of him shone through, though, was because he knew that nobody dared really oppose him. He could threaten and take action against them, however if they returned the favor he could easily have them arrested and tortured. This was only for those of impure blood and alliance, really, but Draco only ever truly argued with those who he thought lower than him. When Purebloods got into fights, it was always a political death match. No real blood was shed, and only pride and egos were bruised and battered. Unless, of course, a Hit Wizard was hired. But then you had obviously bigger problems on your hands.[/font]


G[/b] ritting his teeth and bearing the grit and grime he felt from having been surrounded by muggle filth for so long, he quickly disapperated. At first he felt suffocation- a grip pulling on him, and then it was all black. His feet hit the solid floor and, much to his embarrassment, Draco stumbled a step or two backwards. A quick glance around showed him that nobody had seen his near-fall, and he stood tall, confident that he wouldn't be mocked for it. Not that anyone should, or would, dare mock him. Draco was a cocky son of a bitch, that was for sure, an d believed that because of his family and lineage he was invincible. He was the type of guy just waiting for somebody to come around and put him in his place, though it wasn't very likely at all that this should happen.[/font]


H[/b] e walked into his office, changing quickly out of the Death Eater robes and into his civilian wear. A sweater, navy blue with green and white, matched with dark pants and a belt that was dark brown. It came together nicely, and the blue and white brought out his blue-grey eyes. His eyes were more grey than blue, and in fact unless he was wearing something specifically to make the blue tint to them stand out it was invisible against the sharp granite. Draco looked took a quick look at the pocket watch he kept. It was well past when he should have been back at home. Or, rather, at Hogwarts. He pulled a double shift and life- while being the Professor of Potions at Hogwarts, he was still on call for the Dark Lord's services whenever Voldemort decided he needed Draco. Which had been less and less since the Pureblood took up his teaching position. Whether Draco was to take this as a compliment on his teaching skills, or as an insult by the Dark Lord thinking him weaker for his profession, Draco didn't know.[/font]

B[/b] riskly walking down the hall, he noticed a light on. Astoria's office . . . he remembered suddenly. She was still here? Oh, but of course she was still here. The girl seemed to never leave her post, soaking up her work and as she seemed to think it was all she had. Really, Draco knew it was all she did have. He sighed and walked over to her door, lifting a hand and knocking heavily. "Astoria, it's Draco. Have a moment?" His voice was slow and drawling, with a thick, posh accent that suggested he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.[/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

WEARING,[/b] CLICK HERE PLEASE.[/color]
LISTENING,[/b] DEEP - NINE INCH NAILS[/color]
TALKING,[/b] sorry it's so long D: got carried away =/[/color]

[astoria]

IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND
SEND IT IN A LETTER TO ME

"that guy swears he will walk into his house a happy man, but what's waiting for him is inevitable. he promises himself that his smile will stay on his face even if he has to staple it there, and he says that he'll stand up to the tall gooey force that's waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. because what he does. he makes promises he can't keep. because that's what the people at home do : make sure that guy breaks his promises, because they know he will keep on making them. now, we're going to call that guy jill, because that guy wants a sex change only, the tall gooey force disapproves of this. so they bring him down about it until jill's heart is replaced with a chip as big as texas, and even though everyone can clearly see the chip, jill promises to hide it away some day, because that how jill does. and will continue doing. until jill can do no more. a week later jill can't do no more by the hand of his crazy sister."

"you know how there are some things in life that you just ... do. okay, yeah, that sounded stupid. but there are some things that, after a while, just become reflex, or habit, or routine. like that guy, you do them without thinking because that's just the way it goes. you don't try to stop it from happening because that's the way it's always been, and even when people start to tear you apart you still can't help but continue to do the same things over and over again. then, by the time you finally realize that it was a dumbass move, and you shouldn't have done it because it was a dumbass move way back then too, then it's too late. and you've already done it. and you'll continue doing it because that's how you do ... i'm going to look up a synonym for do now."

"anyways, there were many things that astoria 'just did' out of habit and whatnot and even though she wasn't exactly like that guy there were still things that she would do and keep on doing even though her chip was well out in the open for everyone to see. for example, she would always work a full day, if not longer no matter how crummy she felt. she would always avoid touching things, no matter how covered her skin was. she would always manually organize things into piles and drawers no matter how much of a hassle was, and the list goes on and on. because that's the way it is. and that's the way it has always been. and that's the way it will always will be. and it will always be the same people who bring her down over and over again, even though she keeps going."

"the difference between that guy and astoria is that astoria is the one who's pulling the hardest on the loose pieces of her soul. she's the one making her chip bigger until it's maybe as big as north america. sure, loads of other people have had a hand in getting the chip started, and loads of other people have had a hand in encouraging astoria to cut away at her own heart, and now it was something that she 'just did'. she didn't have to keep trying because the only person she was up against was herself. but that's enough of all that deep stuff that makes you think and feel things. astoria was not in a sentimental mood, in fact she was slightly annoyed with all the knuckle abuse her door was having to suffer. not that she'd ever show it. that's just how she did."

"in her head astoria was about ready to hex the next person who came a knockin', but she would never have done such a thing no matter who it was hurting her beautiful door that did such a wonderfoul job of separating her from everyone else. however, she was prepared to tell them to go away. no i do not need anything, i do not plan on leaving right now, do not think that you can persuade me to leave until i'm finished, and no i do not have a secret stash of firewhisky in my top desk drawer. astoria opened her mouth to say something, but the person knocking, unfortunately enough, happened to be draco. she couldn't say no to draco. now she had to let herself be interrupted. it was one of those things that happened without a second thought, or question, or investigation. even if all he had to say was a warning about sleep deprivation she still had to let him in, because more than it was something she 'just did' telling him to leave was something that she just 'didn't do'."

"astoria always had a moment for draco. she had always had a moment for a very very long time. which is probably the only reason why she felt comfortable enough to say i am in no position to posses moments. without even looking up astoria's leather hand directed her wand at her door, which then swung open. however, i'll give you what i can. putting down her quill, the gurl looked up from her paper. what can i do for you, she emphasized the 'you' because she damn well wasn't planning on doing anything for herself, mr. malfoy. although her words were a little playful, she didn't smile. she was sure both of them knew well enough that there was nothing behind her smiles. her eyes wandered his face blankly, not making contact with his eyes, and not really looking him over. just trying to pass off as the attention span she didn't have for most people at the moment."

"if her eyes didn't give it away though, the rest of her certainly did. the tight fitted bodice of her gray dress exaggerated the slight slouch in her posture as she straddled the corner of her chair. her arms, covered securely by the tight sleeves of her dress, looked like limp seaweed in the looser sleeves of her black cardigan. the extremely low heels of her worn black boots tapped softly, but a little restlessly on the hard stone floor and if she wasn't so goddamned good at keeping her composure she'd probably be a disfigured lump on the floor by now, but the only disfiguration that could be seen were the black circles under her blank eyes."

[[gah ! don't apologize for length ! also, don't ask me about that guy, i don't know kay ? my muse is a bit twisted.]]