Aw, I feel loved by my two readers.
Sorry for the long time between chappies, but tomorrow is Friday and my last day of school before Thanksgiving Break. I get 9 days off.
SOOOO, that means I'll have ample time for writing (even with my huge load of homework). Hopefully another chappie before Thanksgiving!

- Mel

I've told you before you have more readers than commenters! I don't know about Paintbrush, but I haven't viewed this thread 650 times!

Just take your time and remember to have fun!

true! i've been stalking this fanfic since you started it.

Every chap has been great so far, need another one soon (been awhile since the last one?)

pams Mel, pls!

See? What have I been telling you!

Heyheyhey! I feel rejuvenated, just began writing again tonight. Maybe a new chappie or more put up tonight. At the LATEST, tomorrow morning.

And yay, hi used-to-be-invisible reader! Glad you stalk Agyness & Draco!

-Mel

Guess what, readers? I have not one, but TWO chapters for my lovely readers. Enjoy.

And yes, I included an image. Please, if you don't really enjoy them, then think of them of more for my sake than yours.

-Mel

Ch 21
It seemed that even as the taxi had slowed to a stop in front of the pub Jes was already trying to rush, tossing a wad of money at the bedraggled, gray-bearded driver as she pushed Agyness out of the car, towards the nearby alley, and towards the backdoor of the establishment. “Relax!” Agyness spoke, trying to pry herself loose from Jes’s iron grip as they were at the rusted backdoor, “I think I can at least rush to the bathroom and dress myself, don’t you think?” Agyness knew that she should watch her tone, but she was not used to being pushed by strong, petite Irish gals through alleys at night. “Sorry, Agy, sorry,” Jes couldn’t help but giggle slightly, brushing her yellow hair from her face, “But I really want to get you dressed properly and get to the fun. Now, march!” Within a split second, Jes had her manicured hands firmly on Agyness’s shoulders and was hurrying her through the door and towards the bathroom.

Through the split-second glance that Agyness had gotten of the place, it looked fairly hip. Definitely not like one of the typical Irish pubs that she had imagined. It seemed as if it was an urban club with dim lighting in a variety of colors, filled with young, trendy people, some sipping on what looked like martinis and shot glasses; much different from Agyness’s imagined dingy pub, the barstools occupied by old, overweight, hairy men drowning their sorrows in large bottles of whiskey.

Before she knew it, Jes had pushed Agyness into a small stall and had tossed her purse at her. “Toss me your formal clothes when you’re done changing!” Jes spoke with a smile as she quickly closed the stall door, leaving Agyness alone in the stall. She put the toilet seat down, sat, and grinned as she rummaged through her purse. What would Harry, Hermione, and Ron say of all of this? What would Luna say? What would Dr-?

Agyness unbuttoned her blouse with vigor and stared viciously at the turquoise-tiled floor, determined to keep her thoughts elsewhere as she changed in the cramped bathroom stall.
----------
Draco walked down the various streets of Dublin, his mind working at breakneck speeds. Was Potter playing tricks? Had all that “hidden enemy” crap been just talk? Maybe just part of a little plan to get back at Draco? No matter what he thought up, there was little doubt in Draco’s mind that Harry was telling the truth. No matter how much Draco hated to admit it, Potter was a good man. Besides, Potter sending Draco on a fruitless rat race would definitely be spread around the Ministry if he did happen to be playing tricks.

Now, where to go? Draco had stopped on a street corner, many cars racing past him as the traffic lights and headlights blinded him. Could he, would he, spend all night walking through these dark, not to mention somewhat dangerous, streets? His anger began to flare up when a group of muggles, one girl and two guys, around his age walked up to him at the street corner, waiting with him to cross the street. One of the guys already appeared to be intoxicated; he was leaning on his raven-haired gal pal for support as she struggled to support him. Nonetheless, the group seemed cheerful.

Draco was pondering sending a leg locker jinx toward the trio, just to have a bit of fun, when a rather genius idea struck him. If Agyness was here, she would want to have a bit of fun. Draco knew her; no matter how much the former Ravenclaw liked to cozy up at home and bury her nose in a book, she liked to go out and have fun. There was a chance that she would be at any one of the local establishments, whether having fun in a bookstore as she read a stack of ten books over a coffee or having fun drinking a shot at a local pub. Well, who would know about the local establishments better than this group of lads, and lady?

He couldn’t believe what he was about to do. Taking his right hand out of his inner-jacket pocket, where his wand was stowed, Draco turned with his trademark, charming smile towards the group and spoke. “Hello,” He began, “Would any of you know of a place to have a good time around here?” The three instantly turned to face him, the girl enamored by his handsome features, the sober chap a surprised look on his face, and the drunken chap a tipsy, lopsided grin forming on his lips. “Yes, of course,” The girl began, a slight flush creeping over her brown-freckled cheeks. “Yeah, definitely. Are you interested in a club, a bar, anything in particular?” The sober guy began, his expressing softening as he adjusted the collar of his white polo shirt. “Anything would suit me,” Draco answered, fighting for his expression to remain cordial as his insides writhed with disgust at the sight of the chubby, drunk Irishman. “Well,” The polo-shirted guy began again, “There’s The Rock N’ Rolla, The Scummy Chum, Rorshach’s, The Starshine-” He was interrupted by his drunken mate, shouting, “You should join us! We’re on a pub crawl!” “Oh yes!” The girl gushed, her green eyes shining with excitement. “Are you from London? Your accent, I can tell. We could show you around. Of course, Henry over here was a little enthusiastic at the first few pubs, but you could join us for the rest-” “Margaret,” The sober man began, raking a hand through his gelled hair, “I don’t think he wants to join us, I mean-” “It’s quite alright,” Draco replied, breaking up the oncoming debate with the raising of his hands, “I think I’m alright on my own-” at this, the girl’s beam fell to a frown, “But thanks for the information. The Starshine sounds rather lovely, I might try there. Thanks again.” And with that, Draco turned from the corner and began to walk almost directly from where he had come. “Hey!” The sober man called, “Just to let you know, The Starshine’s halfway across Dublin! Dunno if you’re going to enjoy walking and all, with those fancy shoes and suit!” “I’ll take a taxi!” Draco called back, not bothering to turn around. “Have fun finding one!” The guy called back again. “They’re hard to get! The drivers are usually too drunk to take you anywhere, so good luck!” And with that, the guy hurried across the crosswalk, his female friend already halfway across and waddling along as she struggled with the drunk Henry.

Draco couldn’t help but viciously murmur to himself as he walked along. “I guess I’ll begin at the damned Starshine,” he murmured, a slew of curse words running through his mind. Magic would not be feasible around here; he would have to rough it like a muggle.

Ch 22
Agyness had stumbled out of the stall, Jes’s expression one of exuberant approval. “Gorgeous, lady, simply gorgeous,” She nodded, “Something a little too edgy for myself, but I like it. Funny, it fits the name of the club. Now, let me fix you up a bit more.” Jes shuffled Agyness to the sink and mirror, and tossed her bag onto the granite counter, searching through it for whatever it was she desired. Agyness was almost surprised at what she was wearing. Had she brought these clothes on purpose? She was wearing tight-fitting, black, denim jeans, her jet black stilettos, and a tight, black, shoulder-strapped top. The only feminine part of her attire was the black bow that sprung from the front of her shirt. Maybe she had gone a little too overboard with Jes’s suggestions. Or maybe there was a part of her that longed to break out of her hidden heartbreak, have fun for just a single night before returning to its broken state. As Jes found what she was looking for, she began warmly, “Let me fix your hair and lack of make-up, darling. You can admire yourself in a bit.” And with that, Agyness turned from the mirror and let Jes work on her. Her insides cringed slightly. How would she look?

With the quick tousling of hair and the working of some of Jes’s make-up, Agyness took a breath and turned to face the mirror again. Was it just the bathroom lighting, or did she look… good? “Hellooo, Joan Jett,” Jes spoke, obviously satisfied with Agyness’s shocked, but pleased reaction. Agyness’s normally lank hair was tousled to perfection, her bangs placed just right. Her dark brown eyes, before just normal, seemed to pop with the kohl-rimmed eyeliner that Jes had applied. “Wow,” Agyness spoke, the movement of her lips in the mirror making her realize that she looked at herself, not a warped twin. “Thank you.” “You’re very welcome,” Jes spoke, beaming with pride. “The only thing I need now is a leather jacket,” Agyness laughed, examining herself as she tousled her hair ever more. “No problem,” Jes answered, beginning to fish into her bag. Agyness’s jaw dropped. Was Jes some sort of Mary Poppins? Much to her surprise and relief, Jes’s hand came out holding a tube of lipstick. As Jes leaned into the mirror and pursed her lips, she continued, “I’m sure Marcus will let you borrow his.” As Jes applied her lipstick, the color pink overwhelmed Agyness’s face. She quickly recovered.

“Now, “ Jes quickly looked in the mirror, smoothing out her clothes and running a hand through her hair, “Let’s join the fun.” And with the tossing of a purse to Agyness, Jes linked arms with her and walked out of the bathroom, ready to make an impression on whoever was out there.

It was a shock as they stepped out of the bathroom. The club had quickly filled, many people already atop bar stools socializing, and the music having already started. There was already a crowd on the far side of the room, jumping and jiving to what sounded like…

“Lady Gaga?” Agyness had to speak loudly into Jes’s ear as Jes’s hand on her arm led her through the crowd. “Yeah,” Jes loudly answered, “Not to your taste?” “No, she’s good,” Agyness replied, “Just didn’t seem like something that Marcus would play during his sets.” “Nah,” Jes answered, “Very versatile, he is. Oh look, there they are!” And once they had battled their way through the dancing part of the crowd, Jes quickly released Agyness and rushed, squealing, towards a group of men that was near the deejay booth, one of them Marcus.

“Hey sweetheart!” A tall, muscular man embraced Jes in a hug, lifting her from the ground. His shaved buzz cut definitely contrasted with Jes’s long, lower-back-length hair. “Long time, no see!” Another of the men, this one with black, heavily-framed glasses, shoulder-length, mousy brown hair, and a shot of whiskey in his hand patted Jes on the back as she was released from her hug. Another man, dark-skinned and with a raven-haired mohawk, simply nodded and said, “Cheers, Jes!” Another of the guys, even taller than Marcus and with his long, golden blonde hair tied into a ponytail and an impish look on his thin, facial features and high cheekbones, spoke, “’S been too long, beautiful.”

Agyness nervously made her way over to the group and as she was a foot away, Jes quickly made a hole through the circle of five men and took her hand, leading her towards the group. “Who have we here?” The mohawked man inquired, raising his eyebrows. Marcus couldn’t help himself, she looked a vision in that outfit. Not that she didn’t look pretty in her normal attire, but this was just different. More… appealing. His reaction was stunned silence.

“This is Agyness, or Agy, as Marcus likes to call her,” A look of smug satisfaction appeared on Jes’s face as she witnessed the reaction of the lads, especially of her brother. At the mention of Marcus, the ponytailed man nodded serenely, but the muscled man pushed on, “So, Agy, is it? I’ve never seen you around. Where have you been hiding, huh?” “London,” Agyness replied, slightly but still not completely comfortable. “Oh, what a gorgeous accent,” The mohawked man cut in. “Tell me, is there any truth to the rumor that Londoners-?” At this, Marcus firmly elbowed the man and strolled over to Agyness’s side, “Shut it, Dave. Agy doesn’t want to hear of your little trivia questions. Do you?” Unsure of what to do, Agyness simply nodded her head in agreement with Marcus. “Aw, don’t spoil our fun, Marc,” The man with glasses spoke, downing his shot glass, “Just getting to know our new friend a bit.” Marcus sighed, “Why don’t we start with introductions first?” Marcus spoke almost exasperatedly.

“Oh, how rude of us,” The ponytailed man spoke, “Well, I’m Will. Lovely to meet you, Agy.” She nodded and smiled at his warm greeting. “I’m Chris,” The muscled man spoke, taking her hand in a strong, vice-like grip as he shook it. Agyness nodded and smiled at him, too, though the handshake was a little too tight and long for comfort. “I’m Vincent, Vinny for short,” The man with thick-rimmed glasses raised his empty shot glass and winked. Before Agyness could give him a nod, the mohawked, dark-skinned man cut in, “And last but not least, I’m David. Call me Dave, darling.” He took her hand and, as she expected him to shake it, he brought it up to his face and lightly kissed it. “That’s enough with the introductions,” Marcus took Agyness’s arm and quickly snatched it back from Dave, Dave’s face turning from one of pleasure to one of revulsion at Marcus’s response. “Oh, time for me, or rather us, to go!” And with that, Marcus took Agyness’s arm and quickly led her around to the deejay booth. The song had neared an end, and Marcus had put on his earphones and headset in a flash. As the song stopped, the crowd halted their dancing and turned their attention to Marcus at the booth.

“Hello all, and welcome to The Rock N’ Rolla!” Marcus spoke enthusiastically through his microphone. The crowd began to cheer. “I know you’re all here to celebrate the debut of the wonderful Twelfth Night. Give it up for the cast!” The crowd began cheering and hollering again. “But, of course, don’t forget the star of the show, my lovely sister, Jesabelle.” With some more cheering, some slight “aws,” and a whistle or two coming from the lads, Marcus began again as Jes bowed and blushed, “So everyone, have a great time, and let’s get this after-party started!” The crowd began to clap and were soon dancing again, as Marcus switched the song to techno, one of Benny Benassi’s mixes. He took off his headset and turned off his microphone, turning to Agyness, a smile playing on her lips as she leaned onto the booth. “How professional, mister deejay. Not a bad way to make a living.”

Marcus smiled, replying, “Ah, don’t be too complimentary. There are some greats out there who I would kill to be like. But yeah, it is a fun job. Getting to see your friends and all is a plus.” “Oh yes, your friends are… nice,” Agyness replied, her eyes traveling over to the lads. Dave caught her gaze and began to wave; she couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s not let them get too friendly, though,” Marcus spoke, his tone roughening up a bit, “Anyways, why don’t you go with Jes, go have some drinks. Go dance in the crowd, have fun.” “But I want to learn the tricks of the trade,” Agyness spoke, “Will you teach me your ways, oh master deejay?”

At this statement, Marcus’s eyes brightened. “Of course, Agy. The night is young; why not?” And with that, Marcus took the earphones from the table and placed them around her neck. “See, it’s already beginning to work out. The headphones suit you better than they suit me,” Marcus said. “Oh, don’t lie,” Agyness playfully slapped his arm. And they both turned to face the crowd, Marcus pointing out buttons and gadgets as he explained them to her, both with expressions of glee on their faces.

Later on, he even stopped to point out Jes on the dance floor having a ball, with a drink in one hand and her other hand in Vinny’s as they twirled about. Jes reminded Agyness of Luna, with her grace and faerie-like movements, her petite frame, and her white-blonde hair. With that pang, Agyness made a point of not to think of the wizarding world again for the rest of the night. What point was there in ruining the night with thoughts of home?

Oh bravo! I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next, I've stopped trying to guess but I have my suspicions

I do love that photo by the way, did you find that first?

I have photos and images for my fanfic, but I've put them together in an album on my profile page. I am going to insert some too, inspired by your good self

I'd like to hear your suspicions
But mebbeh not, I'll just keep you in suspense...
Just kidding, I'm not that evil.

I'm not sure if I found the photo first. I have a whole Photobucket album dedicated to pics that I've used/might use/will use in here. So to answer your question, I think I did?

And yay, pics of Hermia, Ashtad, and other special peoples. Glad I can be an inspiration.

And same for you, as you were the first one to make an album for your FF, I'm making one too.

-Mel

There's no point in me tell you my suspicions, you never tell me if I'm right!

I'd love to know what you think of the pictures I've chosen.

*Goes and takes a look* I love them. Morgana and Teddy's twins are especially spot on!

Hallo, dearies! <3

Yes, it has been way too long. The last chapter was before Thanksgiving, and now it's only a week until Christmas! By Christmas, there will definitely be some more story to satisfy my lovely readers. Let's just say I have a little Christmas present up my sleeve.

Happy holidays!

-Mel

Erm...
Yeah, let's just say my holidays got a helluva lot busier than I believed that they were going to. So no Draco or Agy for Christmas. Sorry, my dears. I feel disappointed. But guess what?! Now, let's just say I've got a little New Years gift for ya'll.

- Mel (Sorry again!)

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2010, MY READERS!

Now, as promised your New Year's gift. Not one, but FIVE chapters! Enjoy!

-Mel

Ch 23
Draco stumbled through the dark streets of Dublin. God, was there a place that wasn’t infested with drunks around this city? Checking his pristine wristwatch, he noticed that he had been walking for about… an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Lovely. No sign of any pub or of any Agyness. The grimace on his face deepened as he continued to make his way down a particularly nasty block, filled with various homeless people, prostitutes, and con artists. Draco made a point to try and avoid these certain unwantables before he heard his name being called in the distance. “Draco!” A whiny female voice called from behind. “Draco Malfoy! Oi!” Stopping and turning around, Draco turned to see his old crony, girlfriend, classmate, whatever the hell she had been, Pansy Parkinson. “What in the worl-?” Draco had begun to say, but before he could finish Pansy had reached him and given him a squeezing hug. “Erm, hi to you too,” Draco grimaced, simply patting her head as she embraced him. Was it just Draco, or had Pansy become a bit more jubilant over the past few years since he had seen her?

“Where have you been, Draco?” Pansy pulled away to get the measure of him. “Hiding, I take it?” “No, Pansy. Working, that’s all.” He stiffly replied, smoothing out and brushing off his suit after she had contaminated it. “Oh, you couldn’t have been working all of these past years, now could you?” Pansy’s pug-like face was ecstatic and flirtatious as she spoke, “I was a bit worried. No owls, no presents over the holidays, nothing. I was frightened that you had gotten married.” At her last statement, her large, brown eyes traveled to his left ring finger. “Well, I presume you’re not, seeing as there’s no ring. Besides, what wife of yours would let you roam these nasty streets?” Draco was fuming; she was wasting his precious time, breathing his precious air, yet there was almost nothing he could do about it when they were surrounded by muggles, “I’m working, Pansy. I’m just out here for Ministry work. I could say the same for you, being out here with this filth.” “Oh,” Pansy quickly replied, “I’m just in Dublin for the wedding of a friend. Anyways, I didn’t believe it when I heard that you had become an auror. Really, the Ministry and Potter did ruin all of our fun. And here you go, working for those prats. But I guess…” Draco tried to block out her constant stream of talk. If she was here for a wedding, there was no way in hell that the Pansy he used to know would be amongst these bums. But maybe Pansy had changed? Perhaps gone slightly madder than she had already been?

Realizing that he wasn’t paying the slightest attention to her rambling, Pansy grabbed his forearm, bringing him back to reality. “Draco, let’s go to a pub!” She whined, giving him her trademark puppy dog eyes. They made her look even more pug-like than before, Draco thought. “No, really Pansy, I can’t-” “Nonsense,” Pansy interrupted, her grip tightening on his arm as she led him down an alley, “Don’t ruin the fun, Draco. Now, come on!” And before Draco could loosen himself from her iron grip, she apparated and took him along with her.

Once they had arrived at their destination, which happened to be another alley, Draco found that her hand was still glued to his arm. “Pansy, what the bloody-!” “Let’s go,” She robotically answered, “Some muggles just had a party here and they’re clearing out, so we won’t be interrupted by that scum.”

“But-!” Draco made a point to keep his mouth shut as she rushed through the alley towards the street. He could survive this torture for at least an hour. Hopefully once it was over, Potter would have a new patronus sent his way.

Ch 24
And the after-party was over. Many people had already left in taxis; some had chosen to loiter outside for a bit. It had been the most fun that Agyness had had since… well, she didn’t particularly want to remember that last time. The only people remaining in the pub were Agyness and Marcus, who were putting away various electronics and Marcus’s deejay equipment, and the bartender, who was wiping off his counter with a rag lazily. No one had cleaned up the rest of the establishment yet, Agyness had been told, because it was to stay open the rest of the night for regular customers. It was just the party-goers from the theater and Jes’s play who had to leave after their two hours of rented celebration.



“Did you have fun, Agy?” Marcus inquired, packing away various cords and plugs. “Yeah, definitely,” She replied, a soft smile playing on her face as she helped him with his clean-up. “Really? You sure I didn’t keep you from dancing the night away?” It was Marcus’s turn to smile now, an impish look on his face.

“Really. I’m much more of a… watcher than a dancer. Besides, I learned all sorts of things about deejays and how your job works.” She ran a hand through her hair, now a mess after a few hours of being in the stuffy pub.
“Ha, don’t make me laugh, Agy. I’m sure you wanted to go and dance with Vinny.”
“Don’t kid yourself, Marcus. Your friends are nice, but they’re… not my type.”
“I don’t blame you, Agy.” Marcus chuckled as he zipped up his bags and began to carry away his equipment, his eyes twinkling with delight, “I think I know your type.”
“Oh, how so?” Agyness asked, hopping off from the deejay platform and following him.
“Your type would be,” Marcus grimaced, whether from thought or from carrying the weight of his things, “…I’m guessing tall, blonde, and handsome. Oh, and… I think pale skin, rather than dark.”
Agyness stopped in her tracks for a split second, the click-clacking of her heels on the tile floor stopping with her pause. “No,” She murmured, picking up the pace again.
“Okay, Agy, whatever you say,” Marcus chuckled again as they reached the front door, not having noticed the inflection in her voice or the pause in her step.

They had reached the sidewalk, the nighttime breeze chilly. The few people that had stayed outside were the lads and Jes, all standing in a couple of huddles having various conversations. “I’ll be back, just going to load this stuff in the car,” Marcus quickly remarked before shuffling off into the night. Agyness crossed her arms over her chest, shivering from the cold, as she approached a group composed of Chris, Jes, and Will. “Agyness, you almost forgot this!” Before she knew it, Jes had shoved her purse into her hands. “Oh, thanks,” Agyness quickly pulled open the zipper, making sure that her money and, most importantly, her wand, were still in there. To her relief, they were. “So,” Chris began, “Have fun with Marc all night?” It was funny; Chris seemed to be flexing his huge biceps as he talked. Agyness had to fight the urge to giggle; was Chris trying to be macho, out here in nothing but a thin cotton shirt, jeans, and his muscles? Containing her laughter, Agyness replied, “Yeah, definitely. I’m not much of a dancer anyways.”

“We would have taught you!” Jes squealed, obviously slightly tipsy as she leaned on Will to keep her balance. “Definitely,” Chris smirked as he spoke, “And how selfish of Marcus, leaving you with no sweater out in the cold.” “No, really, I’m fine.”Agyness replied, although the goosebumps on her arm gave her away. And with that, Chris put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him. “You’ll get warm soon enough. Hey Jes, why don’t we all have little after-after-party at your place? Marc would be too much of a prick to have it at his.” “Sure, sure,” Jes giggled, being more drunk than Agyness had thought her to be, “We could even *hic* make it a sleepover!” “Excellent,” Christ smirked, tightening his vice-like grip on Agyness’s shoulder as Will simply shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“I think Agy and I are okay,” Marcus had joined the group, sweeping Agyness away from Chris and pulling her to the opposite side of the huddle between himself and Jes. “Yeah, thanks for offering though,” Agyness replied as Chris’s grin fell to a frown. “And here, sorry for being so rude earlier,” Marcus spoke, taking off his leather jacket and placing it around Agyness’s shoulders. Even through her stupor, Jes still had enough sense to wink at her once Agyness had gotten her arms through the jacket sleeves.

“Well, I think we’ll all be going back to Jes’s place, now.” Chris mumbled, walking a few steps to the curb and hailing two taxis. And with that, the lads and drunken Jes bid goodbye as they entered their separate vehicles and took off to Jes’s home. Now it was simply Agyness and Marcus, standing on the curb. “Shall we go home?” Marcus asked, preparing to cross the street towards his old VW. “I think so,” She replied, yawning as she did so. Taking her hand in his, Marcus crossed the empty street towards his car. Agyness was surprised, but not too much. Their attraction was mutual but Agyness wasn’t sure whether she wanted to, or even needed to, get into something so new and so fast after her last relationship. Releasing her hand from his rather quickly, she sped to the passenger door of the car and got in without a word. Stepping into the driver’s side, Marcus silently started the car and began the journey home.

Ch 25
Pansy had finally pulled Draco onto the street, apparently empty as the muggles had left. But there were two stragglers. Pansy continued to pull Draco towards a certain establishment, The Rock N’ Rolla. Draco tried to slow Pansy’s pace. One of those muggles looked like Weasley or one of his various siblings, with the shock of ginger hair. “Weas-?” Draco had stopped from calling out. The only reason he had meant to call out was to see if Weaselbee had any helpful information for him, but why would Weasley be in Dublin? He should be working at the Ministry, unless he was on an undercover job. Draco averted his eyes to look at ginger’s female companion. At least from the back, she was a right beauty. Maybe that was Granger undercover, having dyed and straightened her hair and dressed a bit more… edgy? As the Granger look-alike stepped into the passenger side of the Weasley look-alike’s car, Draco stopped in his tracks. Not even Pansy could force him to move any longer.

It was Agyness.

Draco stood there dumbly for a second on the sidewalk by the pub, unsure of what to do. Agyness hadn’t seen him; she had been facing the opposite way as she had crossed the street. But when she had gotten into the car, Draco had gotten a chance to get a good look at her. “What are you doing?” Pansy whined, clawing at his arm and trying to pull him towards the pub, “Come ON!” Draco barely even heard her complaints. Once his brain had gone back to functioning, he heard the roar of the old engine as the car started and began to pull out.

Draco sprinted across the wide street towards the car with no regard for any other car that might be zooming down the street. But the old, blue VW had already begun to zoom down the empty street. Quickening his frantic pace, Draco called, “Agyness! AGYNESS!” Neither ginger nor Agyness seemed to see anything in the rearview mirrors or hear his calling; the damned engine was so loud. But the car was too fast for him. As he continued to run, a thought came to him to apparate into the car. But that was dangerous, definitely too dangerous. No way could he apparate into a moving vehicle and no way could he apparate if ginger happened to be a muggle. Probably was, considering he had driven Agyness away instead of using apparation or some other sort of transportation.

As the car turned the corner, Draco stopped at the end of the block and took his hands to his hair, as if to tear it out in frustration. So close, yet so far. His face contorted as if he were about to cry. Unbeknownst to him, Pansy had come jogging down the street after him, her face robotically blank. “Draco, stop acting daft and come ON!” She walked towards him in the center of the street, her traveling cloak billowing behind her as determination overcame her features. Draco slowly turned to face her, a menacing look on his face. “**** the hell off,” He murmured scathingly before turning on the spot and apparating. Pansy stood in the center of the street in shock before turning to look and see if any muggle had witnessed his defiance and her humiliation. Thankfully and as far as she could tell, she was alone on this street.
----------
The car ride home had been completely silent, with Marcus silently steering the creaky wheel of his car and Agyness leaning against the window pane, pretending to observe the sights of Dublin. When they had finally reached Marcus’s house, Agyness had quickly sprung out of her seat and had begun to help unload Marcus’s equipment. True, the awkwardness had only been caused by their holding of hands, but Agyness wasn’t quite sure if she had wanted to progress that quickly.

Agyness stood at the door, having set the equipment onto the ground and stuffed her hands into the pockets of his jacket. Marcus had caught up with her, having quickly retrieved the rest of the equipment, locked his car, and made his way to the door. Silently handing Agyness the house key, she quickly made to open the wooden door and held it open for Marcus as he waddled inside with his heavy load. As Agyness made to return outside to get the rest of the equipment that was by the door, Marcus held up a hand to stop her as he went to retrieve it. Coming back inside and setting down the last of his things in the living room, Marcus turned to lock the door for the night.

Agyness leaned against his computer desk, the only light in the room coming from the glow of the screensaver on his monitor and the sliver of moonlight coming in through the curtains. Not even Muffin was awake, as she was in the corner of the living room sleeping away, not even having been disturbed by their entrance. “Agy,” Marcus made his way over to her, a guilty expression on his face, “Sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” “…’S quite alright, Marcus,” She answered softly. Marcus looked from the floor to her face, able to view her expression as a sliver of moonlight filtered through the window and onto her features. “But really, Agy,” Marcus came closer and Agyness couldn’t help but tense up, “You mustn’t lead a lad on like that. I just thought…” As Marcus was at a loss for words, Agyness spoke up, “I’m sorry, Marcus. I didn’t realize-” “Don’t beat yourself up, Agy,” Marcus began, now directly in front of her, “Just blame me, a fool for being in fantasy land.” “You weren’t in fantasy land,” Agyness slowly answered, “I’m just… bad at this sort of thing.” “Well,” Marcus came as close as he could be, “I could always help you out in that arena.” With no answer from Agyness but a slight smile on her face, Marcus cupped her hand under her chin and brought her face to kiss his.

At the last moment, Agyness turned away with Marcus’s kiss simply falling on her cheek. “I-I,” Agyness began, feeling guilty, “I just can’t, Marcus. It’s not right. Trust me, it’s just bad timing on my part.” Pulling away with a smirk, Marcus replied, “Okay, I understand.” Beginning the slow walk to the hallway, Marcus said, “See you in the morning, Agy. Sleep well.”

“You too, Marcus.” And with that, he was off to his bedroom. “Goodnight,” She murmured, knowing that he couldn’t hear her.

Ch 26
Draco had apparated into another alley in Dublin, any alley for all that he cared. He had been so close and had lost her again. And to think, it was all for this one git who had the nerve to pretend to be him and tell the Minister to fire her. God, this person must have something wrong with them. No one but a loony would have done this. No one but a loony would be after them, for one reason or another. Now, Draco knew that he had many enemies that would gladly have him taken out, but why Agyness? As far as Draco knew, she had no one that would wish to do her any harm.

Draco touched a hand to his face and immediately pulled it away. His forefinger was wet. Had he been crying? Wiping the rest of his wet face with the back of his right hand, Draco made his way out of the alley to take a good look at his surroundings. A small motel lay to his right and a bookstore to his left. Draco slowly made the walk towards the motel, thinking that he would think things over and get some rest and nourishment before he began the hunt again.
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The alarm in Draco’s motel room went off promptly at nine in the morning. Draco shot out of bed, quickly rushing to the bathroom to get ready for the day and quickly running to one of his leather trunks to retrieve another freshly pressed suit. He had forgotten his trunks at Agyness’s flat when he had gone there to look for her, so he had sent a patronus to Binka to tell her to bring them to him.

Having barely slept the night before, Draco had formulated a mental plan. He was going to track the train station, the local port, and Dublin Airport. If Agyness was going to leave to return home, then she would have to use any one of those three modes of transportation. He would spend an hour at the train station, an hour at the sea port, an hour at Dublin Airport, and then start the shift again. While he was not monitoring the other two areas, he would leave magic trackers. For example, if Draco was at the port and Agyness was at the train station, the magic tracker at the train station would alert him of her presence. It was a foolproof plan.

Draco didn’t know whether it would take days, maybe even weeks, for Agyness to decide to return home to London by train, plane, or boat. But he didn’t care; he was a man on a mission. Opening the door of his motel room and rushing to the nearest elevator, Draco decided that he would take a taxi to the train station. He couldn’t apparate; there was no telling whether a muggle would see him, or whether the loony would try to track him down through the apparition network. He hoped with all his might that he would find Agyness before the loony found her.

Ch 27
Marcus woke up at around ten in the morning, yawning as Muffin pounced on him and began to lick his face. “Geroff, Muffin,” Marcus shoved his dog away gently, still groggy as he rubbed his eyes. Placing a plain, cotton tee shirt over his bare chest, he shuffled into the hallway. No one was in the bathroom, so he took to brushing his teeth, taking his shower, shaving his face, et cetera, et cetera. Once he had finished his morning routine and had gotten dressed, he had slouched into the kitchen to see if Agyness was there having breakfast. Nothing. Marcus turned around and made his way into the living room. Nothing, not even her bags were there. Had she left him? Marcus’s heart began to race as he nervously raked a hand through his ginger hair, looking around for any sign of a struggle. It didn’t look like she had been taken, but how could one really know?

Suddenly, an envelope taped to the front door caught his eye. Marcus sprinted across his living room and ripped the envelope from the door. He tore the envelope open and out fell a letter and another piece of paper. Leaving one paper to float to the carpet, he began to read a note that was written in elegant script.

Dear Marcus,
I’m sorry to leave like this, but I had to go. It wasn’t right taking advantage of your hospitality and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry for leading you on, but trust me, you deserve something better. I’ve left to continue my travels and don’t believe I’m coming back. But no matter what, I will always remember your kindness; that you took in a stranger when she needed a friend and shelter, when her life felt like it was falling to pieces.
Love Always,
Agyness

The letter dropped from his hands as he grimaced. Marcus was sad and had just gotten a shock, but he wasn’t the type to break down and cry over these sorts of things. Marcus was a problem solver. He picked up the other scrap of paper; it was simply a Polaroid. It looked like a photo that she had taken recently and had left it so he could remember her. Stuffing the Polaroid into the back pocket of his jeans, Marcus turned to get a good look at his living room. Evidence seemed to be nonexistent. That was, until he noticed that his computer monitor was on and the screensaver was not in use. “Aha!” Marcus scrambled to the computer. He had a rather ingenious thought; if Agyness had just been on the computer and had been using the Internet, it was possible that he could trace the history if she hadn’t deleted it. Maybe he could find where she had left to.
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It had been an hour and Draco was on his way to Dublin Airport. No trackers had gone off, but he knew that he should not give up hope yet. Who said that Agyness would even be leaving Dublin today? Even tomorrow? His stomach sank, but Draco knew that he must not give up hope. Not just for his sake, but for her sake as well.

Draco arrived at the airport, giving the driver a generous tip and making his way inside. Following a sign that led to plane departures, Draco took a seat in an empty row, most of the other seats being taken up by muggles. There were many families with little children, their mothers running after them and their fathers off to the side enjoying the scene. Draco couldn’t help but feel a slight pang in his chest, almost as if his heart had beat a little too forcefully for a moment. Seeing these joyous families made Draco think of his own deceased parents. What he would have given to have his father be as loving as his mother, for his father to have been even slightly less abusive, for his mother to have stepped up and stopped Lucius.

But, what good was it to dwell on the past? For now, Draco had to have the utmost concentration. He scanned the crowd once more, examining every young woman that was in sight. Most women here were unsurprisingly ginger. There was the occasional blonde, the once-in-a-while raven-haired, and sometimes brunette, but all of the brunettes that Draco examined from afar definitely were not Agyness.

All of a sudden, a ginger-haired, tall, pale man came rushing through the crowd. He approached people at random and held up a piece of paper, pointing and asking things. Draco’s neutral expression contorted into a scowl. Why did Dubliners let loonies run rampant? Suddenly, the loony rushed up to Draco and shoved the piece of paper into his face. “Have you seen this girl?” His thick Irish accent was full of anxiety.

Snatching the piece of paper, Draco found it to be a Polaroid… of Agyness. He made a split-second decision. “Yes, I have. Come with me to the men’s loo and I’ll tell you what I know.” At that moment, Marcus’s expression of grief turned to one of joy. He practically pranced into the men’s lavatory, holding the door open for Draco. Once Draco had entered the bathroom, he locked the door behind him. “Are we alone?” He hissed. “Yes, yes, we are,” Marcus couldn’t contain himself. He wanted Draco’s information, and now.

Striding across the space between him and Marcus, Draco grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and ground him against the wall. “Oi!” Marcus yelled, trying to break free. “Shut up, ginger.” Draco couldn’t help but express his rage; what would this man be doing with Agyness? Was he the loony? Draco doubted it; the loony was of wizarding kind. This guy didn’t seem to have any trace of magic on him. “What do you know? Just give me my information and I’ll be out of your way!” Marcus almost pleaded, not sure what the hell Draco was up to. Draco released him but kept him cornered.

“Me first. You know Agyness?”
“Yes, I most definitely do. She was staying with me for a little while, said she came here to ‘get away.’”
“Okay, then tell me what you were doing with her last night?”
“What?! You followed us? Are you some crazy ex-boyfriend of hers, or something?”
“…You could say that. I’m not trying to hurt her. I… just need to find her. Someone is after her, and I think they’re after me too. I’m just trying to protect her.”
“Alright, whatever, but you didn’t answer my question, blondie. You followed us?”
“No! I just happened to be in the area, and I saw you both leaving in your excuse for an automobile.”
“Hey, it’s a classic! Anyways, if you’re not stalking her, then why are you here?”
“Trying to find her and make her safe, you filthy mug–you filthy prick! I could say the same for you.”
“Well, I have a better excuse. This morning I woke up and she was gone. I went on my computer and searched around, and later found out that she had bought a plane ticket for Paris. It leaves today.”
“WHAT?! Then what are we doing here? Let’s go to the terminal now, ginger!”

And with that, Draco and Marcus unlocked the lavatory door and ran to the terminal. Would it be too late to find Agyness? Both men dearly hoped that the plane had not taken off yet. Coming to a halt, Draco examined a marquee of departures. He searched for Paris and finally found it. It read: “Paris; Departure 11:15”. Draco checked his wristwatch and felt like crumbling to the ground. It was 11:20. Turning to gaze out of the glass window, he saw a plane having just taken off. Was Agyness in there? Draco hoped that she was, because that meant that she was safe from the loony, for now.

Marcus stood slightly behind Draco, having realized the same. “I… I’d better go,” Marcus murmured. Before walking away, he took the Polaroid of Agyness and placed it in Draco’s hands, “I think you need her more than me. Good luck.” And with that, Marcus walked into the crowd and disappeared into the sea of people. Draco brought the photo to eye level, a soft smile coming to his face as he examined it. Sure, his attempts had been futile, but they had not been all for nothing. The one thing that Draco was sure of was his next destination: Paris.

wooooooooooo hoooooooo! thanks Mel - you've been busy! (haven't even finished reading it yet!)

THANKS SO MUCH! Happy New Year to you too!!

You're welcome! Yes, that writing took a while, with me frantically copying, pasting, deleting, coming to writers block, whooping with joy when I wrote something clever, et cetera .

-Mel

Wow! Our Agyness is certainly a jet-setting heart breaker, isn't she?

Great stuff as usual and a lovely treat to have sooooo much of it!

Thanks, Jools! You guys are too kind.
I'm trying to get on updating, BUT the end of the semester is next week and that means exams. I'll TRY to get a few more in before the end of January, mkay my lovely readers?

- Mel

heya...i am new reader here...and i just loved your posts...Mel...would want to read what's coming next......and i just hope Agy...will be safe and Draco will find her...

Oh gosh, I feel embarrassed. It's been a WHILE, and thanks for the compliments, sweetie harita! But as many know, life is hectic right now. My muse is a bit low and I know I've been a horrible author, but I WILL finish this FF. Even if I have to revive it like Frankenstein's monster, it WILL live.