Draco smiled and nodded to her, approaching her smoothly, placing his hands on her shoulders briefly as he leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek. He pulled back and moved to his normal chair.
"Please, have a seat, Tibby will be bringing us tea in here." He sat down and nodded, more inclining his head in a shallow bow-like move.
"Yes, I'm doing well, well, as much as can be expected. Or is that better?" he smirked. "Keeping the Ministry out of our business was nearly a full-time position itself for a while."
He noted that she took the chaise and was impressed. The contrast between she and Pansy was stark. One was dark, one fair. One sullied with Muggles, one still the pureblood princess. One someone Draco had thought he might consider pursuing later, the other...someone who had become something of a confidante.
Oh, he'd never fully confided in her. He was far too pragmatic. Still, she was there if not when his father had died, surely shortly thereafter. They'd seen the raids, the fines, and then they'd drifted. Her sister was out of Hogwarts now, though he wasn't sure if that was the reason for the distance. In fact, he'd never questioned it, simply rode through it as obligation after circumstance blocked their attempts to talk.
"Where should we start? I feel as if it has been ages, though perhaps we should start with the return of Pans? I almost feel it necessary to tell you that I won't be relinquishing our friendship for her sake."
It was a ploy, even as it was truth. He and Parkinson had been far closer than he and Daphne were now, and such habits were often easy to fall back into.