I would like to thank everyone reviewing and reading this story. A big shout-out to aclockworKat for her help in dispelling the cobwebs away from this story and for keeping me focussed and motivated. Thanks!

Errors in Judgment

Chapter 5: Visitor

A frazzled looking girl burst out of the vanity van and raced down a path lined with lights, reflectors, and crates. She sped up as she spotted her boss, exhaling gustily in relief, knowing the problem would no longer be her responsibility. She could happily dump it on his shoulders. One of the perks of being at the bottom of the food chain was after a while, once she had finished all the tasks required of her, the trouble ceased to be hers.

She stopped beside him, waiting for her turn while he explained his requirements for light to an assistant. He spoke in a low, soft cadence. There was something so soothing and comforting about his voice; it felt like a caress. He turned to her, arching an eyebrow up as he took in her haggard appearance.

"What's wrong?" He asked, lips curling into an amused smile as she took a deep breath.

"She refuses to come out."

The statement gave him pause. "Why?"

"She's feeling embarrassed and scared. She won't listen to a thing I say. I think you should talk to her." The girl finished with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing him with a stubborn look.

He laughed. "Oh, that won't do. It won't do at all." He ran his hands through his dirty blonde hair and looked up at the sky shining with stars. The moon was full. It shone brightly like a silver disc in the indigo sky. He patted the girl's shoulder and made his way to the vanity van.

He knocked once before opening the door and disappearing inside.

He heard the rustle of silk as soon as he shut the door behind him. Smiling, he turned left into the makeshift dressing room brightly illuminated with light bulbs. A young woman sat stiffly on a loveseat, clutching a white robe against her tanned body.

She looked up as he approached and sank back against the back of the loveseat.

"I can't do this." She said shortly.

He smiled before settling down on a chair opposite her. "What happened?"

"I can't do this." She repeated.

He sat back. "Cold feet?"

Her hold on the robe loosened as she turned to him. "I don't think it's a good idea."

He watched without batting an eyelid how she abandoned any pretence of covering up as she moved closer to him. He smirked. "Since when have you and I been known to act upon good ideas?"

She closed the distance between them and kissed the corner of his mouth teasingly.

He turned his face away.

She stared, mortified at his lack of response. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore. All I know is you're driving me crazy."

He glanced at her. "Honestly?" Scoffing, he stood and allowed a cruel smirk to appear on his face as he turned to her. "You have the gall to come on to me but you don't have the guts to step out there and do your job."

She shrugged. "It's not like that."

"Whatever it's like. I'm not interested anymore. I need a real woman for this shot, not some spoilt little girl who doesn't even know what she's doing."

"I'm not a little girl!" She retorted indignantly as the game turned on its head and instead of coaxing and sweet talking her, he seemed not to care.

"Too late, love. I'm not interested." As he started to leave, she caught his arm.

"No! Please." She heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry. I was just….I'm ready now."

"Dunno, love. I need a goddess for this shot, not a snivelling crybaby. Think you can handle it?"

She straightened her spine, pulling herself to her full height, smiling inwardly as he slowly raked his eyes over her face, allowing the barest of smiles to grace his lips.

"I can handle it."

This was it, the moment she'd been waiting for all of her career. The chance to appear on an international fashion cover for a worldwide spread, with the hottest, most sought after photographer of the moment, the best crew she could have thought to be working with, top hair stylists, make-up artists and technicians had worked for months to achieve what was about to happen.

All she had to do now; was simply drop her robe. Nervously she glanced behind her, glancing at what still seemed like a dream of Paris all lit up in the early hours of the morning, the moon glowing high above her, the Eiffel tower behind... She took a shaky breath to calm herself. It would be fine. She looked in front of her again, at the handsome chiselled face, the dirty blond hair that fell in luscious waves down to his tattooed covered, shoulders. She didn't dare examine the rest of the toned body, hiding underneath the tank-top, or imagine what those powerful hands, carefully holding the camera as if it were an extension of his arm could do to her. No, right now, she had to focus.

She would be a goddess, for him. Taking one last peek into his hypnotic greenish hazel eyes, she suddenly felt confident. She would be everything this cover needed now. And after...then she could think of him.

"I'm ready now." she said, bringing her hands down to untangle the single knot that held her robe together, letting it slip past her shoulders, as a crew member made their way to her, to pick up the discarded item of clothing.

She'd never felt so terribly exposed and vulnerable, yet empowered at the same time. Out of thousands of models, they had selected her to do this cover, she was the best of the best, and she would prove it with her performance. Breathing in deeply, she focused on her persona, trying the first pose, letting her jaw relax into an almost pout, as her body settled into uncomfortable position, after uncomfortable position, guided by the soft, dark voice of her photographer. She'd stay in certain poses for a longer time, feeling her muscles tense, as she struggled to remain still, with muscles stiff, whilst trying to make it seem effortless, and every time she saw a smile on his face, or a word of praise from him, her heart skipped a beat, even if her body was frozen.

The whole process was so intimate, their eyes locking several times, and even though she knew the crew members surrounded them, she felt as if she were locked in time and space with him, as if there were a spotlight on the two of them alone. His voice and the way he looked at her made her feel on top of the world, as if she could do whatever she wanted, be whomever she wanted...

When the words "Right, I think we have enough for tonight..." finally left his lips, she felt as if she'd just crash landed onto earth, though her head still floated.

"Madam, here is your robe." one of the assistants gently said, handing her the white satiny thing, she smiled gracefully, heart floating as she took it and wrapped it around her, until she turned around...to see his back turned to her, carelessly walking away... Not even a word of farewell...

X

He smiled happily as the crew wrapped up the set. When she'd finally emerged from her little 'diva' moment, true to her word, the model had delivered the goddess he wanted, perched upon the rim of the massive fountains underneath the Eiffel, her skin glistening in the silvery light off the moon.

He shook his head as she clung to him, tailing him all the way up to his room, stubbornly refusing to leave. She insisted he owed her a drink for being so nasty to her.

"You were acting like a child. What do you think you deserved?"

You are a heartless man."

"How?"

Emboldened by the drink, she stepped up and closed the distance between them. Expertly parting his lips with her tongue, she coaxed his lower lip imploringly, teasing it with her tongue.

He attempted to hold her off.

She giggled. Grasping his hand, she guided it to cup her breasts.

He pulled his hands away, steadying her. "Told you before love. Not interested."

She groaned in frustration. "You are driving me crazy!" Once more she reached for him, only to have him step away. "You said I was a goddess!"

"And you were. Trouble is, it's hard to stay that way." Chuckling, he backed away and made for the door. "You'll get over it darling."

He ignored her groan of frustration and thwarted desire as he shut the door in his face. Rolling his eyes, he made his way back to his room. He had standards. Simply having a vagina wasn't enough. He wasn't Albus.

Once inside his room, he checked his watch and fell back on the bed. He lay still for a beat, then heaving himself up, he grabbed the phone and quickly punched in a number.

It seemed as though nobody was in any mood to pick up the phone. He'd almost given up and put the phone back on the hook when a silvery voice spoke up, "What?"

He let out a dry chuckle at the irritable tone greeting him and stood up. "Classy. Someone would think you were raised in a barn."

Dominique laughed out loud with pure joy. "You rascal! Where the hell have you been?"

He shrugged. Balancing the phone between his shoulder and his ear, he placed clothes inside a travelling bag. "Paris."

Dominique narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "What are you doing there?" She gasped. "Don't tell me! You're there for a shoot? I hate you!"

He laughed. "Liar. You love me."

She sat down on the floor. "Fortunately for you, I do. What was it this time?"

He frowned as he mentally ran through his list of equipment. Judging everything to be safely packed, he turned his attention back to the girl on the phone with him. "It was fun." He chuckled as he remembered the midnight shoot under the stars. "Near the Eiffel."

Dominique gasped. "Get out! Seriously? How did you get your model to drop her clothes in the middle of Paris?"

He shrugged. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."

Arching her eyebrows, she said, "I could have gone my whole life not knowing."

"I haven't even started telling you yet. Since when are you so bashful?"

Dominique scoffed. "I can be bashful."

He sniggered. "No. You can't."

"Never mind. Just tell me what you want."

He zipped his bag closed. "I'm on my way to London."

"You're coming to visit? That's great!" Dominique leaned against the wall. "Good timing too. You can pull Lily out of her funk."

"Funk? What's happened?"

"Dunno. She's been acting weird lately. Maybe she'll tell you why." Dominique sighed. "You two have always been as thick as thieves." She suppressed the childish wave of jealousy threatening to spoil her mood. Even as children, Louis and Lily had been inseparable, leading to numerous instances when she'd felt cheated by her red-haired cousin. Louis was her brother but he had always been closer to Lily. He treated her like a treasure. She'd never been on the receiving end of his caustic wit unlike the rest of his cousins. He'd gladly rip into them with his clever retorts but never Lily.

Running a hand through his dirty blonde hair, he pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah. So when should I swing by? When are you going to be home?"

Dominique smiled. "Come whenever. Lily's going to be home. It'll take an armoured tank to get her out of the house."

"Fine." He said. He put the receiver down and strolled to the window. Taking in the sights of the city, he turned his sister's words over in his head slowly. What had Dominique meant by it? He'd find out, of course, but why was Lily in a funk in the first place?

X

Lily rolled her eyes. "In how many ways should I explain this is a terrible, stupid idea?" She rolled her eyes and poured herself another cup of coffee, tuning out the dramatic sighing of her oldest cousin.

Victoire Weasley was an electrifying personality. Everything about her was poised, measured, honed to perfection. She sniffed at the state of the apartment now. Her eyes taking in every detail from the dishes piled high in the sink, to the crumbs on the living room carpet, and the almost empty cartons of milk in the fridge.

"Forget about it for a minute. Since when are you such a slob? I know enough not to expect anything of Dominique but I didn't expect you to let this place go to the pigs."

Lily sighed. She hurriedly flung a towel over the pile of unsorted laundry dumped on the couch. "I've been busy."

Victoire arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Doing what? Dom told me you haven't left the apartment even once in four days."

Lily swore under her breath, muttering about nosy cousins who couldn't keep their mouths shut.

Victoire pursed her lips and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Anyway, the point is Teddy will try every excuse in the book to get out of attending. It doesn't help I've been called away at the eleventh hour, but Lily, I cannot let this opportunity go to waste. I have to be in Paris next week. There's nothing else for it."

"I understand but Victoire…this is stupid."

Victoire crossed her arms. "There is a reason I am asking you Lily." Pushing the towel back, she perched gingerly upon the edge of the couch. "There's nobody else I can ask. After the business with the tape, there's no way Dominique will set foot in Malfoy Manor. Roxanne too. Rose and Lorcan are going away this weekend. You're the only one left. And you know how Teddy gets. I don't want to make him go alone."

Lily pulled a face. "But Vic….."

Victoire frowned. "Just what is the problem Lil? Can't you do one measly thing for me? For your brother?"

Lily snapped her eyes back towards her. "Oh don't try to guilt trip me into it. It's not as if it'll be a walk in the park, Vic. Don't pretend it is. A fundraising ball at Malfoy Manor, of all places! I hate that crowd, you know that. I hate everything they stand for, snooty, pretentious nincompoops."

"This ball is being organized by Astoria Malfoy. She has nothing to do with the crowd you so gratuitously described. Draco and Astoria Malfoy have been very good to Teddy. This is his mother's remaining family. I don't want him to alienate them."

"I hear what you're saying Vic. But…"

Victoire stood. "You don't have to stay all night. Just go, dance a little and then you can leave. You won't have to stay longer than two hours. Come on Lily."

Lily sighed. She put her coffee mug down and turned away from Victoire. How was she supposed to tell her what her real concern was? She didn't want to go anywhere near Malfoy Manor. Going to this fundraiser would be akin to walking into the snake pit without so much as a glove. One word from Malfoy and her humongous error of judgment would be disclosed to everybody. There would be no place to hide, nowhere to run should anyone find out.

And in the midst of it all, there was Teddy, who needed the contact with the family he was related to, as much as he'd like to deny it.

Draco Malfoy had continued in his mother's stead and maintained the communication lines open. He would call every week, without fail, and ask him about his training, about work, about his adoptive family even. Much as she'd like to deny it, Draco Malfoy had decided to make himself a permanent fixture in Teddy's life. There was no way Teddy could brush off this invitation.

Groaning in defeat, Lily rested her head against the kitchen counter. "Fine. I'll go."

As Victoire beamed and hugged her, quickly telling her she would arrange an appropriate dress, Lily tried not to cringe.

She had to doll up and attend a ball. At Malfoy Manor. What could possibly go wrong?

X