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september 2003
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Draco was a snitch, a snitch who had leaked Theo and Rose's address to his friends ― Rose was only glad that he hadn't said it to his parents. Rose was honestly surprised that Draco even remember where she lived. The only time he had visited her was almost a year ago when he was drunk. It wasn't just his and his friends' surprise visit that annoyed her but that it was her birthday.
Never, not even once, had Rose thought that she will spend her birthday with Draco Malfoy.
Rose liked Astoria and Daphne who were with Draco but she wasn't that close with the two girls that she would spend her day with them, and with Blaise whom she didn't know at all.
"What the hell are you doing here, Draco?" Rose asked from the threshold.
Draco, Astoria, Daphne and Blaise were all standing just outside Rose and Theo's apartment. Draco was grinning widely like he was there just to annoy her ― which he was.
"I thought we could spend the day together. All of us," he said.
"Why on Earth would I want to spend my day with you?" She asked before turning to Astoria and Daphne. "No offense to you."
Daphne just smiled. "None taken."
Draco scoffed a little. "Come now, we had fun in Sweden."
"Just because I didn't absolutely hate you back then doesn't mean that I want to spend my birthday with you," said Rose bitterly.
"And yet here I am. Let's have a party, huh?" Smirked Draco.
Rose narrowed her eyes ― spending her birthday with Draco Malfoy was not in her to do list. Watching rewinds of Friends, drinking cheap wine, bourbon and home made margaritas and puzzles with Theo and Inez were on her to do list.
She had the whole day planned and now Draco was standing by the threshold of her apartment with his girlfriend and friends.
"It's your birthday?" Asked Daphne with a wide smile. "Happy birthday!"
Daphne was perky ― very perky and smiley.
Rose smiled a little awkwardly. She liked Daphne, she thought she was great but she wasn't close with her.
"Thanks," said Rose before turning to look at Draco once again, her face all serious now. "Seriously Malfoy, get lost."
"Is Theo here?" Asked Draco as he completely ignored Rose's words.
Rose grimaced. "No, he's not."
"Where is he?"
"What is this? Hundred questions?" Rose frowned.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now are you really going to make us go home after coming a long way here?"
"Theo did go to buy alcohol, lots of it so I won't remember this..." muttered Rose. "Fine, do as you wish but I am not going to enjoy this."
Draco took this as an invitation and marched into Rose and Theo's apartment without a second thought, Blaise following his lead. Daphne and Astoria didn't enter the apartment but stayed in the hallway, waiting for a real invitation. Rose appreciated this but there was honestly nothing she could but let them in as well ― Draco and Blaise were probably half-way destroying her apartment already.
"You know what, come in. This birthday can't be any worse than my last," said Rose and stepped aside so that Daphne and Astoria could come in.
And they did.
"What do you mean by that?" Asked Daphne as she, Astoria and Rose walked further into the apartment.
"Last birthday, Theo and I ran into Draco and this whole shit show started," said Rose.
Daphne grimaced. "Sorry about that..."
"You are cool, it's Draco's family that rules the shit show, and Draco as well," Rose explained.
Blaise and Draco were already sitting on the couch in the living room, looking like they owned the place. They had thrown their coats on the coffee table, ignoring the mess they had made. Astoria sighed heavily at her boyfriend's behavior like he was a child she needed to look after and scold.
"Draco... you are being rude," said Astoria when she walked over to her boyfriend. "You can't do that."
"What? Rose doesn't mind, does she?" Said Draco and turned to look at Rose.
Rose huffed. "Of course I don't, you royal highness. What may I serve you with?"
"I would like..." Draco started but was stopped by Rose.
"I was joking, you smart ass," Rose said.
It was funny how well Rose and Draco had gotten along when he was visiting her in Sweden and now they wanted to chew each other's heads off. Rose was sure the reason for this was that she was too busy worrying about Draco's family and how they were acting than how Draco was like.
Besides being annoying and spoiled, Draco might know things Theo didn't.
Rose had a thought ― it was stupid and slightly inconsiderate. However she didn't care, she wanted answers and perhaps Draco could provide her some. But he wasn't going to tell her some deep family secrets if he was sober, hence Theo and the upcoming delivery of alcohol.
"So it's your birthday?" Asked Blaise.
Blaise and Rose have met two times ― once by accident and the second time was the Malfoy Easter party but they have never actually talked with each other.
"Yeah," said Rose.
"How old?" He asked again.
"That's rude Blaise!" Sighed Daphne and send an apologetic smile to Rose.
"Twenty-two, so I am a year younger than you," Rose answered Blaise's question. "You all were born in 1980, right? I was in 1981."
Daphne nodded. "Yes but Tori was born in 1982."
"Oh right," nodded Rose.
Silence took over all five of them inside the apartment and Rose wondered when Inez and Theo were going to join them. Having Theo and Inez around was going make things easier ― Draco, Daphne, Astoria and Blaise would have someone to talk to (Theo) while Rose can get drunk with Inez.
Daphne was like happy energy trapped inside a human body and soon the silence was broken when she started talking. She talked and talked, asked questions and made observations. She was interested of what Rose had to tell her, she was eager to learn more about Rose and her life.
Astoria listened carefully as well but made sure her sister asked all the questions ― it seemed that Astoria was very shy and was used to having her sister doing all the talking.
The two young men, Draco and Blaise, sat quietly on the sofa and although they pretended not to listen what Daphne and Rose were talking about ― Rose could see them leaning towards them every time she talked in quieter tone.
"Is that friend of yours coming here?" Asked Draco suddenly, interrupting Daphne and Rose's conversation.
Rose glanced at Draco. "Inez? Yes she is, as soon as she gets off from work."
"What does she do?" Asked Daphne.
Returning her focus back to Daphne, Rose smiled. "She works at this record store."
"Oh," said Daphne although she had no idea what Rose meant.
Rose knew this ― she knew Daphne had no idea what she was talking about. She knew none of the people in her apartment knew what she was talking about because she was referring to "muggle" things. Rose enjoyed their ignorance, it gave her power.
Suddenly ― and luckily ― the apartment's door opened. The familiar chattering of Inez and Theo echoed through the apartment and Rose sighed out of relief.
"Alcohol," she sighed and nearly ran to Inez and Theo.
Theo was happy to see Rose greeting him with such eagerness but he didn't know that most of her happiness was caused by the bottles he was carrying.
Rose took the bottles immediately and opened one without a second thought. She drank a big gulp, feeling the bourbon burn her throat as she watched Theo and Inez look at her with baffled expressions.
"What the hell?" Frowned Theo.
"Your friends are here," was all Rose said before heading back to the living room, the bottle of bourbon in her hands.
Theo turned to look at Inez with millions of questions flying in his head before he decided to follow Rose.
Draco bloody Malfoy was sitting on the couch with Blaise Zabini and the Greengrass sisters were going through some of Rose's old photo albums.
"What is this?" Asked Theo when seeing the unfamiliar and definitely, unnatural, scene.
"Draco thought it would be fun to spend my birthday here, all of us," said Rose bitterly and shot a nasty look at Draco who was smirking way too smugly.
Inez groaned. "Are you kidding me?"
"Good to see you too," said Draco.
"Draco, why are you here?" Asked Theo again. "Like really."
"I was bored, we all were bored so I thought that we should pay our friends a visit," Draco explained. "We didn't know it was Rose's birthday, that is just a lucky coincidence."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Very lucky."
"Hey you brought booze!" Blaise said when he noticed the bottle Theo was carrying. "Hand them over my friend!"
Theo narrowed his eyes at Blaise. "No I won't give them to you. Now as happy I am to see you all, you should probably go. It's Rosie's birthday and we have plans."
"Plans involving cheap alcohol?" Blaise arched his brow.
"Yes Blaise, plans involving cheap alcohol," repeated Theo.
While the three friends were having a little squabble, Rose introduced Inez to Daphne and Astoria ― the lesser evils as she called them. Even though Rose had told only good things about Daphne and Astoria, Inez was vigilant when it came to the two sisters but after talking with them for only a few minutes, she realized they really weren't so bad.
"You know what? It's fine. They can stay, the day is ruined already," said Rose when she had had enough of Draco and Blaise arguing with Theo.
Theo sighed. "You don't have to do that. It's your birthday."
Rose grimaced. "I know but whatever. Let's just try and make this day bearable"
They took out some glasses for them to drink from. Because they weren't used to have so many people in their apartment at the same time, Rose gave Blaise and Draco coffee mugs. They frowned at this but Rose assured them that their cheap alcohol was going to taste just the same no matter where they were drinking it from.
Rose had a plan ― a plan that might blow but she had a plan. While she has forgotten her conversation with Druella, that small thought it had given her bother her every now and then. She figured if she gets Draco drunk enough, he might spill some family secrets.
She didn't even care if those secrets were any of worth or would explain her why Lucius and Narcissa were so rude ― she just wanted to know something.
"Did you know that I had tea with your grandmother?" Rose asked after several drinks.
Draco frowned at this.
"Odette?" He asked in confusion.
Rose shook her head, wondering why Draco Malfoy was such an idiot.
"No, she would bite my head off if I get too close to her. I had tea with Druella," Rose explained.
Blaise snorted. "Well that must had been fun."
"It wasn't that bad," said Rose with a glare.
"Well Druella is the lesser evil of the two grandmothers," Astoria piped in ― alcohol had began to loosen her tongue and nerves.
Draco had no choice than to agree. "That's true. Druella is not that bad. But why did you have tea with her? She might not be as awful as Odette but I didn't think she would have tea with you, voluntarily at least."
Rose bit her tongue from saying anything too rude.
"She just showed up by my school and asked me for tea. We actually had a good talk," explained Rose.
"What did you two talk about?" Draco asked.
"Oh you know, life. Why she doesn't hate me, why your parents do hate me. Normal stuff," Rose said absentmindedly.
Draco tilted his head. "Why doesn't she hate you?"
"She said something about your aunt, Andromeda and how Druella disowned her and she doesn't want to loose any more family. How none of you wants to loose any family or friends."
Inez narrowed her eyes as she listened her best friend, surprised that she had brought all this up but then she realized what Rose was doing. She knew everything about Druella's little talk with Rose, she knew how Rose suspected there to be some great loss which is the reason Draco's parents can't stand Rose.
"She talked about Andromeda? Whoah, I have never even heard Druella say that name," said Draco.
"So you have never met her?" Rose asked.
Draco shook his head.
"I met her once, briefly and unintentionally," Daphne wanted to add her input into the conversation.
Theo glanced at Daphne, wondering where she had met Andromeda Tonks. It must had been during the Battle of Hogwarts. He had read about it, he had read that Andromeda's daughter and only child Nymphadora had died there.
"She had just lost her daughter..." sighed Daphne.
Rose turned to look at Daphne. She was grateful for the small gate Daphne had just opened ― a gate into the subject of loosing people.
"That must had been horrible," said Rose and glanced at Draco very subtly. "Loosing a family member, loosing a child..."
Draco shrugged. "Perhaps."
"So Nymphadora was your cousin, then? You lost your cousin," Rose added.
"I didn't know her," said Draco.
"I've lost several father figures," Blaise said suddenly ― he had drank a whole bottle of bourbon.
Theo massaged his temples, feeling a throbbing headache coming.
Rose wanted to say something to Blaise but she was too focused on grilling Draco.
"So, have you ever lost anyone else besides your cousin?" Rose asked carefully.
"Just my other aunt, not that I was too sad about that," Draco answered ― he was completely oblivious of the things he was saying.
"No one? Ever? Not even when you were younger? Of perhaps someone you never met, someone born before you? Someone your family has lost?" Rose loaded her questions impatiently.
Astoria frowned at Rose's questions.
"Why are you asking these kind of questions? It's your birthday and you talk about death," she said.
Rose blushed.
"That's because her biological mother died when Rose was born. It connects Rose to her," Inez said quickly, aiding her friend in need.
"Death connects you to birth?" Blaise repeated as he turned to look at Rose.
"Yeah, totally," said Rose.
Theo knew this wasn't true but then realized that Rose was trying to fish some information from Draco, regarding his family. He didn't know if he should be proud of Rose ― her plan was very Slytherin like ― or should he be a little insulted.
He wasn't a Malfoy by birth but he thought of him as one and seeing someone fish private information of his "family" did feel wrong.
But it was Rose so he knew she had the best intensions at heart.
"Just my aunt Bellatrix and then Nymphadora. Sure there's been others but they were all from my mother's side of the family," Draco stated.
Rose sighed, admitting her defeat and that whatever intuition she had had, was incorrect.