Well, he'd been putting this off long enough.

Draco had a bad feeling, but he needed to stop hiding. He knocked on the door of the flat Greg had given him directions to. It was in a Muggle area. That surprised Draco. Not unpleasantly so. A rather tall house-elf answered.

"I think you will find I am expected. Please tell Master Goyle that Draco Malfoy is here. Thank you."

Greg wasn't sure what to think when Luthien knocked on his office door and announced that Draco had arrived. He'd been brooding all day so it wasn't like he hadn't run the different scenarios of this little meeting through enough times to give him a headache. Then again, the headache likely had more to do with the vodka and potion than meeting with one of his oldest friends. He stepped into the living room, skirted the piano, and finally looked over at Draco.

"Well, you look a bit different," he finally said, breaking the silence and feeling like an idiot.

Draco was carefully guarded. He needed to keep control of himself. He was not sure how this would go. It had been a long time, and things had not been left at their best between the two of them. Draco's fault, mostly, for being an idiot, but when he'd gone on and done what he had done, no one had followed him. Not that he blamed them, but he'd never had to go it alone until them. He was surprised to find that it still stung.

"I could say the same about you," Draco said evenly. He wasn't sure what to do with himself, and damn, it this was not awkward as hell.

"Care for a drink?" Greg asked, knowing damn well that without some vodka he wasn't going to make it through this meeting. He had no idea what to say, or not to say to Draco. He would be pleasant. It hadn't worked with Blaise, but he wanted to at least be able to tell Maeve and Pansy that he'd tried if it all went to hell in a hand-basket. He set out two glasses and glanced at Draco.

"All right then." He had not been drinking as much since leaving Mexico, but there was no crazy French to light him on fire if he had one too many tequilas today. Draco took his glass and sipped it as he started pacing, a nervous habit he had never quite been able to rid himself of. "So... Pans was the one who told me you'd returned. I went by Trace's to pick her brain, and she mentioned Nott making her cry. If we need to have him put down, I have your back."

Greg grinned. That was new. He leaned against the bar and watched Draco pace. "I just might take you up on that. McLaggen too if that wanker sniffs around either Pans or Tracey. Pans can handle herself well enough, but there is something about him that I just don't like." He pushed off the bar, not able to stand Draco's pacing as it was making him nervous. "Have a seat, Draco," he offered.

Draco would have rather continued to pace, but some people found that bothersome. He sat down. "Who the fuck is McLaggen? Why does that name sound familiar?"

"A Gryffindor prat. He..." Greg trailed off trying to remember something about McLaggen other than his membership in that ridiculous Slug Club. The only other option wasn't going to bring about pleasant memories either. Oh well. it wasn't like they weren't going to discuss it at some point. "He substituted for Bell, sixth year."

Draco actually bristled at the name Bell. Now there was something he'd done and not dealt with, and great bastard that he was, he had not even thought about it since until right this moment. It did tell him who McLaggen was though. He could see the prat's face in his head now. Draco nodded.

"I know Pans can handle herself well enough. Doesn't mean she doesn't get hurt. Hell, I've probably doled out a good portion of her anguish." Draco allowed himself a rather uncomfortable pause. "You realize that I am going to dance all around this and not say how sorry I am, don't you?"

He was gripping his glass so tight, Draco was starting to fear it might shatter in his hand.

"Did you ever?" Greg asked tightly.

"Well... no, but I was never really sorry before," Draco all but shouted, his composure not what it should be.

Greg rolled his eyes and poured himself more Goose. He was going to need it apparently. "I see some things never change. I still like to punch things, though these days I use punching bags and sparring partners while you still throw temper tantrums. Did anything change, Draco?"

Draco looked at him, wondering. He could answer and not actually elaborate. He wondered if Greg would accept that though.

"Oh... I'd say a few things have," Draco answered honestly. "Actually, I'd say more things are different than they are the same."

Greg sat on the couch, at the far end. "Up for explaining, because I've learned to assess things for myself in the past few years. I don't want to fight right off with you," he said wearily, truly not wanting to lose another of his family members. If he did, those thoughts he'd had a week ago wouldn't stop at mere thoughts. He couldn't handle much more.

Draco sighed. "I go to talking and there might be a fight anyhow. I've already made Blaise swear and shocked Pans into silence. I don't... think the way I used to. And you were actually smarter than me to not take the Mark, Greg, because those things are damned difficult to cut out of your arm with a broken bottle... no matter how drunk you are. But hey, if you get in a bind for healing, find Ginny Weasley. She's trying to heal my arm. It's a right mess, but she doesn't touch me like I'm dirty." Draco sighed again. "Here's some irony for you.... I was on the other side of blood prejudice in Romania, and for a while, I took up with a Muggle Studies professor. Cheers."

He took a large gulp of his drink.

Greg wondered what Draco would say if he admitted to shagging a Weasley, more than once. It might be worth it just to see the expression on the blond's face. Or a squib. Or Muggles. He wasn't going to go there though, he'd definitely not had enough vodka to face that sort of discussion. "I lived with a Native American tribe in America, so I've seen the other side of prejudice too. I'm impressed though, shocking Pansy into silence? Nice. I'll remember Weasley's name." I just might need it, he amended. "Look, neither of us are the same as we were five years ago. There's no need to revisit the past as far as I'm concerned. Agreed?"

Draco grinned. Well this was different for him. Everybody else had wanted to talk. "Fair enough." Draco rolled up his sleeve to show Greg what had shut Pansy up, not to shock Greg. Just so Greg would know how ugly things had gotten. "Bit of a word-thief, this one. One thing about Pansy that hasn't changed is that no matter how irritated she gets with me, she still can't stand to see me hurt. Not that I wanted to shock her, but she was being a bit bitchy about Ginny. I needed her to understand."

Greg's jaw nearly dropped at the sight of Draco's arm. It would have been had he not witnessed what he had over the years. He concentrated on the 'Ginny' part of what had been said. "Ginny is it? Interesting. As for the arm, you went for carving and I went for ink. I suspect you regret yours a bit more though. Now," he said, leaning back and preparing for a bit of wicked fun, "do tell me all about...Ginny."

"Dammit," Draco said, wondering when he was going to learn to quite giving himself away with her to his friends and family. "There's really nothing to tell. She's my healer. She's trying to smooth out all this scar tissue."

Greg laughed for the first time in days, though it felt like longer than that. Oh how ironic. "Sure she is. I don't believe you. Tell me."

"There really isn't anything to tell..." yet. Draco shifted uncomfortably. "She might be less redheaded and freckled than I recall, but that's all on my end."

Greg just smirked. Dare he say it? He sipped his vodka and enjoyed Draco squirming a bit more than he should have. He wouldn't, not just yet. "I'm not going to say anything more than good luck. You will need it, she's likely improved her hexing abilities."

"I can take a hexing," Draco quipped. This was going to be all right. They had not truly talked about anything, but Greg didn't want to, and the times of Greg doing something just because Draco wanted it of him were finished. Draco wouldn't have them back either. He was now of the opinion that things were better when people were in it with you because they wanted to be. Besides, he wasn't meant to be a leader. He couldn't even lead himself properly let alone others.


{SUMMARY} Draco pays Greg a visit. Things are as changed as they are the same between them.