Draco straightened the collar of his shirt and stared at his reflection. He'd had to pester his mother for weeks to get her to send him enough galleons to buy this particular set of dress robes. But it was the Yule Ball, one of the more important social occasions of his young life, and it was more than worth it.
The mirror emitted a low whistle, and Draco smirked. "Yes, yes -- I know," he told it.
He couldn't wait to see the look on Pansy's face. She'd been coy for weeks now, evading his wandering hands with whispered promises of "later". Perhaps she'd be so smitten with him tonight that they could duck out of the Ball a bit early and find a private spot for "later" to occur.
If she didn't give it up for this, he'd know those lesbian rumors were true.
"Who's the lucky man?" the mirror asked, a hint of wicked glee in its tone.
Draco frowned at his reflection. "Sorry?"
"You're going to make some bloke quite happy tonight, looking like that."
Draco found he could only gape at the mirror, an expression that disrupted the cool visage he'd been perfecting for the last hour. "I'm taking a girl to the Ball, thank you very much."
"Ohhhh," the mirror responded, sounding completely unconvinced. "Riiight."
"I am," Draco retorted. "Pansy Parkinson, if you must know." Honestly. He turned to the side, examining the full effect.
The mirror made a cough-like noise, which sounded remarkably like the word "beard".
Draco felt his cheeks flush. "I beg your pardon?"
"Nothing," the mirror replied a bit hastily. "I didn't say anything."
"Yes, you did," Draco replied, putting his hands on his hips and glaring into the mirror. "What precisely are you implying?"
The mirror's response was an exasperated sigh. "Nothing. Go have fun. Enjoy your little party."
"I intend to," Draco said, combing his fingers through his hair, tucking a few errant strands back into place. "With my girlfriend."
The mirror giggled.
"What the hell?" Draco retorted, gesturing at the mirror in frustration. "This is--" He paused, eyes narrowing. Perhaps the mirror had been cursed. Or maybe it was a joke Zabini was playing on him -- it was in the range of things he would do, certainly. He might even be nearby listening, having a good laugh. Draco peered around the room to be sure.
"It's just that," the mirror began, sounding as if it were explaining something quite simple to someone rather slow, "you look so… gay. I mean, honestly -- have a look at yourself."
Draco clenched his jaw. This must be a joke -- it was the only explanation. But he wouldn't let it get to him, he decided.
"This is called style, not that I'd expect a dusty old mirror in a boarding school dorm to know the first thing about that."
"Oh, so you're an expert?" the mirror quipped. "I'd have guessed as much."
"Very clever," Draco growled, trying in vain to tame his hair again.
"It's metrosexual at best," the mirror continued. "Though the fact that you've been standing here primping for the better part of an hour--"
"I was not primping!"
"For an hour," the mirror repeated. "The other boys barely gave me a glance before they left."
"I happen to care what I look like," Draco sniffed.
"Of course you do," the mirror said in a knowing tone. "It's all right, dear. You're young, and you've plenty of time to come to terms with your sexuality."
"With my--" Joke or not, the mirror had gone too far. Draco gave it as nasty a glare as he could muster. "I am not gay. Besides, you're just a stupid mirror. What would you know about it?"
"I've sat in a boys' dormitory for the better part of a century. So quite a lot, actually."
Draco stared at his reflection for a moment, and then scowled. "Ridiculous," he muttered, and with a last futile swipe at his hair, turned away.
The mirror laughed as he left the room, but Draco ignored it. He had better things to think about, like getting into Pansy's knickers at long last, or looking for an opportunity to corner Potter and take a swing at him.
The image that sprang into his mind of something else he might do in a dark corner with Potter was most unwelcome. Draco blamed it on the mirror and slammed the dormitory door behind him.
+++++
Story Notes:
Originally Posted: November 12, 2005
Note: For hp_quince 's Challenge 4 . Inspired by a comment marksykins made about this particular picture of Draco.
Link: http://www.livejournal.com/community/hp _quince/13009.html
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Translations: Hebrew | Spanish
Chapter End Notes:
