(Untitled)
Date: Wednesday, October 11, 2000
Time: From 1pm
Location: The Blackpool Tower Ballrooms, Blackpool
Characters Involved: OPEN TO ALL (Pansy's such an attention whore)
Rating: PG-13ish, presumably for possible swearing only
( Finally - she got to be the centre of attention )
Time: From 1pm
Location: The Blackpool Tower Ballrooms, Blackpool
Characters Involved: OPEN TO ALL (Pansy's such an attention whore)
Rating: PG-13ish, presumably for possible swearing only
( Finally - she got to be the centre of attention )
After all, that would rob her of the privilege of doing the same to him.
He'd arrived an hour early. He'd left her gift (wrapped in a flat black box tied with silver lace ribbon) on the table, one of the first there. He was wearing this God-awful set of green robes-and actually, the sleek bottle-green fabric and silver (platinum, Pansy had said) trim suited him rather well. He and Pansy would make quite the match... if they were anywhere near each other.
Perry had done all this just to be dismissed. He wasn't sure if he should have expected better... the pair had not talked since their last row, and no doubt Pansy had reason to be short with him. She had plenty of other things to worry about than him. Her parents for one; pleasing a ballroom full of party guests, for another. And Perry found, more and more, that he didn't care. Even without her attitude, the party was just one out-of-tune violin note shy of unbearable. Laughter, clicking heels, tinking wine glasses that horridly piercing music were all flooding his ears mercilessly. He couldn't see; and yet he could, for while the color was steadily washing out of his vision, the contrast was sharper and revealed detail better than his human sight. Still, the room was too bright for him. He was feeling closed in, there was too much sound and too much movement, and actually he could have appreciated Pansy's presence right about now.
But not the Pansy at this party. For her, Perry could not have cared less. She could mingle all she wanted, but he would not seek her out. Of course, standing around brooding would get old very quick. If this was how the day would play out, he wasn't sure how long he could last.
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He knew because Pansy had let it slip, and so he knew a name as well. Perry. Didn't ring any bells, but Adolphus couldn't imagine any decent family naming their son after a cheap wine. Or any decent man allowing people to call him after one. Still, discreet enquiries were made by minions to the Parkinson clan and minions' fingers pointed to a tall, solitary figure leaning against a pillar looking bored and fed up and a good fifteen feet away from anyone else.
So much the better.
Adolphus wasn't a tall man, or a large man. He couldn't square up to a boxer and he wasn't an ace dueller. He was fairly short, he was fairly old and he was fairly dumpy.
But he could prowl with the best of them and when the jugular was exposed, he pounced. Sixty years hadn't deadened his thrill of the chase and his joy in the kill.
Holding a half-full glass of scotch in one hand, he stopped to pick one up from a table and then strolled over to the side of the room where this bloke - Perry - was standing.
"Not having a good night?" he asked conversationally, offering the glass. "Get some of this down your neck - you'll cheer up in no time."
Good job his wife couldn't hear him sounding so crass.
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He knew the man only from his presence with Pansy and her mother at the start of the party. He'd seen all three of them greeting incoming guests, all of them looking like the picture-perfect family. It might have been an endearing picture if he didn't already know Pansy and Anna-Marie for the wildcats they really were.
Perhaps this had something to do with how Perry regarded the offered glass as if there was poison in it.
It took a moment, but he unfurled his left arm from the other across his chest and took the glass with a dark grin. Drink didn't sit well with him this time of month, but he could stomach one glass. It wouldn't do to turn the man down; common etiquette, and all. Perry could do that much, though his mood was not yet good enough to offer the man much respect. He was still propped against the pillar, though his frame had become a good deal more rigid.
"It'll take a few more drinks for me to feel anything resembling cheer, I'm sorry to say." With an appreciative raise of the glass, he took a small gulp.
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His brows lowered as he leant against the wall beside the taller man.
He could see Pansy from where they were standing - or rather, he could see flashes of gleaming green amongst the tightest knot of guests. He half-smiled to himself before he remembered his company. That was his girl, the centre of attention and undoubtedly milking every second for what it was worth. There was little enough time for her to have her day, at the moment.
Adolphus' glass paused just next to his lips. His girl... but for how long? This great hulk of gloom - was this the man who was going to take her away? Eyeing Perry speculatively and discreetly over his glass, Adolphus had to wonder what Pansy saw in him. They seemed such opposites - she the star attraction and he, seemingly appraising the room for get-out points.
What a drip. It would hardly be worth the time scaring him off. Pansy'd have him dumped by next week.
"Oh?" Adolphus asked. "Parties aren't really your thing? You know, I have to wonder why you've come if you're just going to hang around by yourself."
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But Perry wasn't going down without a fight.
Or at least, he wasn't letting the presence of Pansy's father get to him. His spine stiffened a tad more as the man leant against the wall beside him, but otherwise Perry was still, staring out at the guests as well. He could have found Pansy in the room at any moment, at any distance, even without his full color sight. He could hardly see the green in her dress; for him, it was an uninteresting shade of off-gray. But her stature, her frame, the sound of her voice-even the provocative cut of her dress-drew his eye every time.
If she ever looked his way, he never caught it, for he never let her distract him for long.
And right now, with Mr. Parkinson beside him, Perry didn't need to be thinking about Pansy's body.
Still, he was slow in making eye contact with him when he spoke; even then, the younger man's gaze went first to his glass. Oh, rest assured Adolphus, Perry had all the get-out points marked within the first hour. So why was he still hanging around when every fiber in his body was telling him this discomfort was not worth it?
"I enjoy the torture, I think," he replied dryly, and a bit too sincerely. He turned his gaze to Adolphus, looking at him directly for the first time, and his grin was just a tad defeated.
"Besides. I had a good set of robes I couldn't let go to waste." He tugged at the edge of his lapel for emphasis.
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Adolphus was no people watcher, like his daughter or his wife. He had no interest in reading body language or analysing the slightest quiver of an eyebrow. His focus was on facts and lists and columns of figures. Even so, he couldn't miss Perry's eyes swinging every few minutes in one particular direction before darting away again.
Interesting.
They weren't talking then, Adolphus assumed. At least, he had yet to see them together and surely that was strange considering the occasion? Even Adolphus, who didn't like these kinds of functions (though he could appreciate their uses), even he wouldn't abandon his wife to smalltalk for hours on end. And they'd been married for twenty years!
He couldn't work this young man out. There must be more to Perry than he was exhibiting tonight, because based on this performance Adolphus would say he was a cool and somewhat shady character and he couldn't imagine what Pansy saw in him.
Oh. And indiscreet. He enjoyed torture? If Adolphus grinned, he might have grinned then. As it was, his facial expression probably darkened, with a glimmer of amusement around his eyes. You haven't seen nothing yet, boy
He signalled for a waiter to refill his glass and then said, his eyes still on his daughter, "That's like a red rag to a bull, I'm afraid."
He eyed the robes. They were good quality and looked expensive. Presumably he had money then, that was something at least. Time to put the lad out of his misery... or so Adolphus thought.
"I've not been minding my manners." He offered his hand. "Adolphus Parkinson, funder of the birthday girl. How do you know her, by the way? Or are you just here for the torture?"
In which case, it shouldn't be too long in getting started.
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And he hadn't a clue why Adolphus was still lingering here; Perry wasn't exactly presenting himself as a great conversationalist. Was Adolphus simply the cheerful, outgoing sort who was magnetically (and sadistically) drawn to the social recluses in an attempt to pull them out of their shells?
Very unlikely. Surely Pansy had pointed her boyfriend out at some point.
Or, perhaps he didn't. Perry wasn't quite sure what to make of the introduction. He regarded the man's hand for a moment, and to his credit he did not flinch. The hesitation was only a brief moment, for just as quickly as the apprehension arose, it was then quelled by the fact that his chance to flee was long gone. He righted his posture and took the man's hand firmly.
"Your daughter is my 'torture,' I'm afraid," he replied with an unapologetic smirk. He might have chosen his words a bit more carefully... and probably would have any other time of month. As it was, he was in a dark mood, and he didn't know this man. Pansy's father or no, Perry had no desire to try and impress him.
He was sketchy about introducing himself, however. This was not the way he imagined himself meeting Pansy's father. But again, the chance to flee had been lost. His hand released Adolphus's and slipped into a pocket, and Perry readied his glass for another sip.
"Peregrin Derrick. I happen to be dating the birthday girl."
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Almost.
The Derricks - no wonder Anna-Marie had been less than impressed by this bloke. Adolphus well knew his wife's opinion of that family - it was fairly similar to his own, though he wasn't quite so damning of the entire line because of a few cracked nuts. Still, Pansy taking the name of Derrick! His entire being revolted at the thought. That was not the future he had planned for his only child. She needed to move onwards and upwards, not be sidetracked by this young man who seemed to have inherited none of his father's social skills and all of his mother's sulleness.
"If I were you, Peregrin," Adolphus began, conversationally, "I wouldn't be laying claim to another man's daughter just yet. Not without proving yourself up for the challenge." He paused to take a drink and when he began to speak again his voice had taken on a new, darker tone and it probably became clear why this jovial man had a fearsome reputation.
Ruthless really didn't come close.
"She's been my girl for twenty-one years, and I'll not have some idiot by the name of Derrick taking advantage of her youth and innocence and seeing her as just some piece of meat. I'm warning you-" a finger jabbed in Perry's direction- "it wouldn't be her who was the piece of meat, in the end."
If Pansy knew he was doing this, she would kill him. At the same time, she couldn't tell him Perry was here and then not expect a little father-boyfriend fun.
"So now you know where you are." The cloud lifted and Adolphus raised his glass. "Will you be needing another drink now?"
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It occurred to him that he had never confronted an over-protective father before.
In fact, this relationship with Pansy had presented him with more trouble than he had ever encountered before. His relationships had either been kept within the walls of Hogwarts, or in the case of one or two holiday flings, away from the eyes and ears of adults. One would think meeting the father of one's girlfriend should be a somewhat civil experience. Instead, the man was insulting his heritage, his integrity, and threatening his life barely five minutes into their meeting. At first, Perry wasn't sure whether to humor him or take him seriously.
The wolf decided for him, and the idea of being challenged caused his temper to quickly rise. Now the man was offering him another drink, and Perry met his gaze with a cold stare. After a moment's silence, he lifted the glass to his lips and downed the rest.
...That really was too much alcohol at once. No matter. "Thanks, I could do with another."
So, maybe he did have a habit of losing his control. But then, Pansy's parents had a habit of testing him when his control was at its weakest. "With all due respect, sir, perhaps I'm not the one to whom you should be speaking. I daresay you'll have better luck getting Pansy to listen to you than me."
If Perry were still a teenager, he might have been worried. The threat could be real, for all he cared, because he was more than capable of defending himself. He was not intimidated, and he would make sure this man knew it.
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