Theo shrugged then slowly drank from his glass until he was due for another refill. “You’re always a dick.” He said plainly, retreating as far back against the corner of the couch as if he could disappear into the fabric. It was strange, sitting on a piece of furniture that he owed. Not the first big purchase he had bought himself. That had been his bed but it was certainly been one the first. He ran a hand over the fabric of the air, pulling at a loose thread. Theo had gotten it second-hand or third, he wasn’t sure. It was certainly old but not an antique. He loved the thing, something he would tell Draco if it wasn’t such a ridiculous statement.
To hear that Draco thought he wasn’t going to come back while sitting on a purchase of his own was impossible to understand but it had been a day of people speaking to Theodore and him not comprehending him. “It was to study under one of Libatius Borage’s students. I couldn’t turn that down.” Face flushed from consumption, Theo might have said he was tired of talking but he had missed Draco in the three months he was gone. Their friendship was unique, his day had been endless, and he was steadily getting tipsier at an alarming rate. Processing with Draco instead of locking himself away. It was an old tactic. One he hadn’t used since they were still in school and it usually involved much less talking.
Theo was still pulling at the loose thread as he brought his glass to his mouth. He spoke with it resting against his lips, mumbling through his sentences. “She won’t. I told her too much. She…I’ve never seen her look like that. I raised my voice and I…She doesn’t fear anything, I think. Except maybe me now. I don’t know how someone lives like that, Draco. I just wanted her to understand that we’re not living in times where it pays off to be consciously ignorant.”
Theo supposed this had been the relief he had been seeking when he opened up accidentally to Daphne. There were no extraneous details to explain to Draco, no need to go into anything that had actually occurred to him. He didn’t know much about Lucius Malfoy besides what he had observed. It was enough for him to grow nervous in the older man’s presence. To know why Draco had stayed with him for so many nights. To only complaining about Draco taking his bed when it truly started to impede his life. There was a question on Theo’s lips. Something he didn’t think he knew the answer to. “Have you ever told anyone about your father?”
There weren’t many people who Draco could sit down with and feel comfortable talking to. In fact, Theo was probably the only person that Draco just sat with. Sometimes they sat in complete silence with nothing but the other’s company. It was one of the reasons that Draco had initially started coming around. With Theo, he didn’t have to say anything for his friend to understand. If something was wrong, they didn’t have to talk about it. Draco didn’t like talking and he knew that Theo didn’t either. That being said, the only time they really talked was the late evenings like this when there was a bottle of alcohol between them.
“Hmm,” Draco replied to Theo when he explained where he had gone and why he couldn’t turn it down. If it was Draco, he would have likely done the same thing, so he couldn’t argue with Theo’s reasoning. The timing - however - was a bit too suspicious. “A goodbye would have been nice. Not just a note. But I understand,” he finally conceded lowly.
Daphne Greengrass was the last thing that Draco wanted to talk about and she’d been the last when they were dating too. However, he knew that Theo had a couple of things to process and that was why he merely listened, his glass to his lips as he sipped on his alcohol. He doubted that Daphne would recall the situation after a week had passed, but he wasn’t going to argue again with his friend. “Just give it time,” Draco murmured, before taking another sip of his drink.
His expression changed, however, and it felt like the tone in the room shifted the moment that Theo brought up his father. For years, his boggart had taken the form of Lucius Malfoy. If he hadn’t done Voldemort’s bidding, he knew that his boggart would still be without a doubt his father. Downing the liquid in his glass, Draco made a face, but mumbled, “No. I accidentally revealed a bit too much to Astoria, but there was veritaserum involved. Otherwise, no.” He poured some more of the liquor before asking Theo, “You?”
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