A Malfoys MistakeBy Jinni
Unreceptive Reception : Just Killing Time
These wizarding guys have sticks up their collective asses.
I kid you not.
In fact, those wands that seem so thrilled to be twirling about? I bet those are the same sticks that stay up their asses for most of the day and night. That's the only excuse for it, and not even a very good one. I mean - why be rude to someone just because they are magically-inclined? Does that make one bit of sense? Not to me. Not at all!
But that's what they're doing.
Do they stop and ask me who or what I am?
Nope.
I don't think they care. They look at me, see that I'm not in their silly little robes and cast me off like I don't matter.
Well, listen up you stuck up jerks - I do matter. I'm the Slayer. Yep, that's right. The whole One Girl in All the World thing? That's me? Form a line to the right for autographs.
Somehow, I don't think they'd be impressed.
Wills and her man are over by the windows just chattering away. I think they're trying to avoid the guests like the plague. Okay, not that I'm making with the blaming. All of the adult-types in the room are so dry they make Xander's special burnt toast look mouth wateringly wet and delicious. I mean, sheesh! A little life and friendliness would go a long way towards helping these people out of their cocoon of eternal gloom and doom.
In fact, if Angel were just a little more wizard-y and stuckup-like, I think he'd fit in good here. They all have the whole brooding thing down to an art. Of course, for all I know, these guys would kill Angel on sight. Maybe they have laws against vampires. Or vampires with souls or. . .
Starting to think they have laws against people having fun. Or - I know, I know - they just have laws against people like -me- having fun. What was it that Willow said we're called again? Oh yeah, Muggles. Maybe they have laws against -Muggles- having fun. That would make sense.
Still not thinking I'm a Muggle, though. Doesn't being the Slayer make me all sorts of magical? I always thought I was special. Guess I am.
To everyone except these jerks.
Xander is all the way across the room, closer to Willow than he is to me. The buffet table of food and appetizers is much more interesting than spending time with his bestest buds, of course. Ok, I don't really blame him. I mean, the tasty little things that looked like a cross between a strawberry and a grape? Heaven. But a girl can't let herself get carried away with the food at a thing like this. More important to make with the mingling. Never know when you might find your own -
"You look lonely."
Now, I just know that my eyebrows are right up there in my hairline when I turn to face the woman speaking to me. God, I was saying I wanted to find my own hottie, not my own . . . whatever this woman will turn out to be. She's dressed like all the other witches in the room, so I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and go with 'witch'.
"Yeah, well. Wills and her honey are over there making with the alone-time. I didn't want to disturb them."
"Oh!" She brightened considerably. "You're a friend of Malfoy's new wife?"
"Yeah. Willow's her name. Have you met her yet?"
"No." She shook her head, brown curls shaking from side to side perfectly. I wondered how she got it to look so . . . well, perfect. . . probably magic. If I could make with the magics I'd use it to get all dolled up, too. "My name is Hermione, by the way. I'm an old classmate of Mal - er-Draco's."
"Buffy Summers."
"Oh my! You're -"
Now - I didn't expect her to get all flustered up over my name.
"You're the Slayer!" She gasped, fanning herself with her hand. Here's hoping she doesn't faint in all the excitement of meeting me. I mean. . . sure, I'm the Slayer, no need to get all worked up over it.
"Yep, that's me."
"Wow. And you're friends with. . . ."
"Willow." I nod; fighting back the laughter that I just know is going to bust out at any moment. She's a little too excited about this. About meeting me. Usually its just vampires and demons that know me - and they go running in the other direction as soon as they hear my name.
Well, if they're smart anyway.
"Ron is not going to believe this!" She coos. I mean, literally 'coos'! "The actual Slayer here. Now. As if Malfoy getting married wasn't a big enough shocker."
I snort. "He's a hottie, you know. What's the big shock about him getting married?"
She gives me this look and I know that I've said something silly in her eyes.
"He's Draco," she finally answers with a shrug. "I mean . . . I guess if you knew him like we do you'd see why its so funny."
"He's a good guy, though - right? I don't need to Slay him?"
"He's . . ." She sighs. "He's a good guy. . .now. He wasn't always."
Well, that makes him just about perfect for Wills, then. Because she wasn't always a good girl. As in, trying to end the world on a Dark magic trip kind of 'not a good girl'.
"He'll be good for her, then."
That shuts her up for a moment, as she tries very, very hard to figure out what it is that I meant by that. I doubt she knows who Willow is. Her picture was kept out of most of the supernatural papers by Giles and some of his Watcher contacts. It was the one thing good old Giles could do that helped her in a non-magic kind of way.
"Look - the muggle and the mudblood. How appropriate."
Just the way those words are said. I know they're directed at me and this Hermione chick. Especially when she gets all stiff-like and pale. I make to turn, stopped only by her hand on my arm.
"Don't. They're only names."
"Yeah - but."
"Just - don't." She sighs. "It won't change anything. . . and will just ruin your friend's lovely party. Mrs. Malfoy went through a lot of trouble for tonight."
Mrs. Malfoy is a stay at home witch that has nothing better to do with her time than plan parties, I want to say - but don't. I also don't turn around to deal with the surly wizards standing somewhere behind me. The one that called us names that I'm sure weren't meant to be polite.
"Let's go see Willow and Draco."
She nods, forcing a smile to her face. The words didn't just hurt me. They hurt her, too.
I don't know about these people - the ones that Willow has to deal with for the rest of her life now. They're not very. . . nice. Sorta creepy. Like the weird guy with the greasy long black hair in the back of the room. The one that sorta sweeps around sometimes with his robes billowing around him - like a bat or something. He's uber-freaky.
Willow is glowing - and not in the magical-mystical way. She's doing the glow-y thing in a purely physical way. Radiantly happy, I think is a good way to describe it. I've seen this look before. . . but. . . I mean.
It can't be - right?
No one's that lucky. . . or unlucky. Whatever the case is.
"Wills." Is my smile too bright, or not bright enough?
"Buff! Hey!"
Draco and Hermione are making with the polite conversation, not paying any attention to either me or Wills. So, might as well ask her outright. I mean, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong. And. . .if I'm right.
"Wills - are you . . . you know. . . in that family sorta way?"
My bestest friend of all these years breaks out in a blush, and then a smile. A glowing grin that makes me giggle.
She is!
Wills is pregnant!
"So - I get to be Auntie-Slayer?"
To Be Continued....