Secrets and Snakes - A Draco Malfoy Story

The Common Room Party - Part Two

Flowy. That was the perfect word to describe how Astoria was feeling. Not a particularly elegant word but, to be honest, she wasn't feeling particularly elegant and eloquent anyway. Yes, flowy was nice. The alcohol flowed through her veins. The music flowed through her body. Her hair flowed down her bare back. And giggles flowed out her mouth as she danced with Aria. Flowy.

Daphne had given the two of them much more to drink than anyone should ever drink. Perhaps she sensed that both girls needed a drink and a night of good fun more than they needed a stern older sister who sent them to bed early. Not that Daph would probably ever do that; it would be far too hypocritical. Besides, Daphne had never really been the stern older sister. She had never needed to; Astoria was always impeccably behaved and no one ever needed to watch or take care of her. Be easy. That was her motto after years of being a burden. Make her condition invisible, keep her problems to herself, lock her emotions away. So Daphne never really needed to be that watchful older sister.

Plus, Daph would have been horrible at that. She drank, she smoked, she slept around, she used vulgar language, and she could be, honestly, a little misbehaved. If she got in the right mood, it was like the Weasley twins were back at Hogwarts. Astoria adored her sister and she didn't care at all that Daphne spent her free time doing those things as long as she didn't mind how Astoria spent her own. But that didn't mean that Daph was role model material, far from it actually.

Astoria looked around the room and spotted Daphne dancing closely with Tatum, her closest friend and roommate. The dark-skinned girl had very curly hair with half of it put into two buns. She was always wearing colored eyeliner, which Astoria thought was very brave as she could never pull such a thing off. Tatum caught Astoria's eyes and smiled widely. Astoria gave her a lopsided grin in return.

How much have I drank? That was a stupid question. Too much. That was her answer. Though she probably didn't have as much as Aria, or, if she did, she was holding herself together a little more. Astoria rarely drank but she seemed to have more experience with it than her roommate, which was surprising considering her older brother, Enzo, and her crush, Theo, were both prolific partiers.

She felt her head spin violently but she shook it off. Pull yourself together. This is Aria's night to relax and let loose. You can't go losing your marbles. Be easy... be easy... be easy... Astoria resolved to drink a glass of water next time she went to the bar. However... drunk people weren't good at remembering things, especially intelligent things like drinking water.

The green lights flashed around the room. Astoria felt another giggle rise to her mouth. She grabbed Aria's hand—Aria, who was somehow still standing and rallying hard to everyone's surprise—and led her over to one of the couches now in the center of the room. People seemed to make way for them in the crowd, which Astoria was grateful for. She didn't really feel like trying to lead Aria through a horde of people, not when she sometimes felt the rush of alcohol that meant she was barely keeping it together herself.

Focus. Focus on your dress... strapless, white, tight... Focus on your makeup... silver, glittery, glossy... Focus on the music... loud, rumbling, fast... Focus on your body... loose, relaxed, wobbly... Oh no. She stumbled a little bit but still made it on the couch before she could fall, helping Aria up after her.

Still, Astoria couldn't bring herself to regret how much she had to drink. Should she have consumed that much alcohol? No. No one probably should have consumed the amount of firewhisky and green punch that Astoria had drank. But for the first time in a long time, Astoria felt relaxed. She didn't feel like she needed to be a graceful, elegant lady. She didn't feel like she had to play the role of "younger sister who is totally okay and happy with her big sister's engagement to her childhood sweetheart" when all she wanted to be was the "younger sister who felt completely alone now that she could no longer be truthful with her sister about the fact that she was maybe falling in love again with her fiance" role. Wow. I have issues...