CHAPTER 7: The Night Will Only Know
A/N: Holy fudge, I'm back, for now. Review people, I'm tired of getting no feedback on this. As always, this is unbeta'd and all mistakes are mine.
Warning: Ah, yea… keep forgetting these. There's a big alcohol reference in this chapter for those of you who are sensitive to the use. Don't drink people; you'll turn into this guy.
"There was so much crying, I don't think I could deal with a minute more of that," Blaise complained again for what seemed like the fiftieth time since they had left the Malfoy's house. His distress was caused by the fact that Narcissa decided that she wanted to spend twenty minutes fussing over both him and Draco and telling them to be safe and not to forget her, despite the fact that she would see them in three short months. Blaise stood up at the gate to his house now, experiencing a serious case of déjà vu. He looked down as Draco started to step through the gap in the bars and immediately panicked. "No!" he yelled and picked Draco up. The small cat face looked up at him in inquiry and he sighed. "I really don't' want to go home. The last time I saw him over the summer, it wasn't pretty." He bit his lower lip in anxiousness.
Draco didn't know what was wrong with Blaise, but it was scaring him that Blaise was afraid of his own home. With a resolute sigh, Blaise ripped open the gate with such a force that it bounced back and shut with a clang, though the two boys had already made it through. Blaise's resolve seemed to crumble the further they made it up the path, and Draco was helpless in the hold Blaise had on him. The front door was pulled open before Blaise had a chance to reach for the handle, and what stood there was something beyond what Draco could ever comprehend.
The man standing in the doorway was nothing short of shabby. His dark brown hair was strewn about his head as if he had not groomed it in several days; in fact, his entire demeanor appeared to be that way. His skin held a sallow tinge to it, his face was gruff as if it had not met a razor in quite a while and he had a lost expression about him. Both the man's breath and clothes (which were creased beyond all belief) reeked of alcohol and smoke.
Draco looked up at Blaise when the taller boy dropped his head in what appeared to be either shame or humility and said in a quiet voice, "Hi, Dad."
The man in the doorway gave a slight nod of greeting and looked as if he were about to say something snotty, until his eyes landed on Draco who was still nestled in Blaise's arms. "Where'd ya get tha fuzz-thing?" Blaise's dad replied in a drunken slur.
"One of mom's friends gave him to me to look after for today and tomorrow, she had an important meeting to go to and she didn't want to leave him alone," Blaise responded hotly.
The haggard man seemed to accept this explanation if his lack of response was anything to go by. Blaise let out a sharp hiss as he was grabbed not-so-gently by the hair and pulled through the threshold. "Take the cat up to your room, I don't want it messing up my house, and be down here in no less than five minutes." Draco was startled at the swiftness with which the man went from a slur to speaking as if he were talking to a misbehaved convict.
With a speed that Draco would not have believed Blaise capable of, had he not seen it before, Blaise made his way up the staircase to his room. Once there, he set Draco down gently on the bed, apologizing to Draco about hurting him, though he did nothing of the sort. "Okay, I have to go back downstairs, just stay here and don't worry; I'll be back soon..ish," and with that he was out the door, shutting it behind him so that Draco could not get out.
Realeasing a meow full of worry and distress out of the situation, Draco curled up on Blaise's pillow and stared longingly at the door.
It was quite some time before Blaise walked through his bedroom door, only to find Draco fast asleep on his bed. At the click of the door closing, the little black head popped up and Draco rose to greet Blaise. The brown haired boy could not bring himself to look Draco in the eye. He knew that he would have streaks of tears running down his flushed cheeks and he could feel the draft of the room sneaking into the tears in his shirt. With a frustrated groan, Blaise slipped his shirt off and flung it at the nearest wall. Turning to face Draco he spread his arms wide, the tears coming out more quickly then they were before. "This is me." Quietly, he walked over and lay down on the bed, face to face with Draco. "This is where I live." Draco moved forward and nuzzled against the ghastly bruise that was forming on Blaise's jaw. "This is home…"
A/N 2: Awe, what a sad ending, I know I suck. But I promise you it all works out in the end, or does it. You'll have to keep reading to find out. Oh, and while you're at it, tell me what you thought about it. Reviews are kitty food, they feed Draco.