Chapter 46: The Bar

The Aldea News office was bustling with activity. The press hummed as reporters ran around the office passing along files and sending owls. Draco hummed quietly to himself as he sat at his sanctuary desk, having learned how to block out all the noise.

"Hey, David, there you are!" John the editor sauntered up to Draco's desk. "These just came in for you." John dropped a pile of letters onto Draco's desk. "Straight from the UK."

"Thanks, John," Draco replied, pulling the letters toward himself. "Took them long enough. It's been a month since I sent those requests."

"Busy people, I guess," John replied with a laugh. "How's the story coming along?"

"Good," Draco said. "It's a lot of information though, and it requires a lot of background information, too. That's what's in these," Draco said, picking up the stack of letters.

"Well, get back to work then," John said, drumming his fingers animatedly against Draco's desk, then walking back to his office.

Draco turned back to his face his desk, pulling at the string that bound all the letters together. He leafed through them, searching for the one bearing the Ministry of Magic's insignia.

"Here we are," Draco muttered to himself, ripping open the envelope. "What does Shacklebolt have to say...?"

Draco scanned the letter:

Mr. Matthew,

Thank you for your interest in the well-being of the Wizarding community here in the United Kingdom. All is well here, at the moment, though our fight against the Dark Arts still continues. I, personally, am leading many raids in search of any remaining Death Eaters. This does require me to delegate some of my work to my assistants, but that is information that the members of our community are aware of. At the moment, our main priority is ensuring the total eradication of any threats to both the Wizarding and the Muggle communities.

Since it was August at the time you sent your request for a statement, I assume you did not have a chance to get an update on the affairs at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the famous location of the Final Battle. There were many affairs to get in order, as you might imagine. Minerva McGonagall has been promoted to Headmistress, replacing the previous Headmaster Severus Snape, who was tragically murdered during the final battle. He was an interesting character in how the war played out...

Draco felt his heart freeze, then begin beating even faster than normal. He broke into a cold sweat and felt his hands begin to shake. Why do I care, though? Draco tried to ask himself as he took large gulps of air. What did he ever do for me...?

But Draco could not denying his emotions to himself. He continued reading the letter, the parchment shaking in his hands as he read.

...Snape was a spy for both You-Know-Who as well as Albus Dumbledore, and this conflict was clarified and explained by Harry Potter during Snape's posthumous trial, the transcripts of which I have included in this package. I would highly encourage that you read them; they are quite interesting and revealing.

Draco skipped the next few paragraphs, which were filled with mundane details about the Ministry's operations.

At the moment, that is all I can think of reporting to you. Please feel free to contact me at any time, Mr. Matthew.

Best Wishes,

Kingsley Shacklebolt

Minister of Magic

Draco let out a deep breath and set the letter down, staring at the sweat marks he had left where he had been holding the paper. He rubbed his forehead, then pressed his fingers into his temple and leaned his elbows onto his desk. He tried to look through the rest of the letters, but he found nothing to motivate him to read any of the letters. Finally, he stuffed the letters into his bag, grabbed and stood up.

"Hey, I'm not feeling too well," Draco said, poking his head into John's office. "I'm just going to work from home the rest of the day, if that's all right."

"Sure, David, that's fine," John replied with a smile. "Thanks for letting me know, and, hey, I hope you feel better, alright?"

"Yeah, thanks," Draco replied. He then walked out of the office and onto the pier. He walked along the pier for a few minutes, trying to clear his head. This did not work at all. A quarter of an hour later, Draco headed back to his apartment.

A few minutes later, Draco was tossing his coat onto the couch in his apartment and grabbing a bottle of firewhiskey from the cabinet. Dominique was away visiting her parents, and the apartment was showing it; Draco felt that if he was living alone, he didn't need to clean up for anyone. Draco slumped down onto the couch and rolled the bottle of whiskey over his forehead, trying to reduce the cloud of sadness that had accumulated there. He quickly downed half the bottle, drinking away his depression. No wonder Narcissa had seemed so upset when Draco had mentioned Snape- the wounds were still fresh. And now Draco's wounds were just opening. Images of Snape, Bellatrix, Crabbe, Charity Burbage, and so many others flickered behind Draco's eyelids as he planted his face into the seat of the sofa. The bottle rolled out of his hands and spilled onto the floor. Draco merely groaned and buried his face deeper into the couch.

When Draco woke up, night was just beginning to fall over Aldea Pier. Draco rubbed a hand across his face and pushed himself up. He glanced over at Dominique's chair by the window, shook his head, then stood up. He really shouldn't be alone just then.

Draco retrieved his coat and wrapped it tightly around his chest. He stuffed a purse of Muggle money into his pocket and stepped outside of his apartment. Once he was out on the pier, he turned on his heel and Apparated to the mainland. Minutes later, he stumbled up to Diamond Lounge on Pier 39. A line of tourists stretched out for a few blocks outside the entrance. Draco grit his teeth and worked his way around the line and up to the back entrance, where he pulled out his wand, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. He pushed past groups of dancing people and made a beeline for the bar and ordered some of the idiotic, but strong, cocktails that Muggles seemed to enjoy so much. He kept drinking until the edges of his vision grew blurry whilst making small talk with some of the burly men who were sitting beside him. Draco felt his head loll from side to side.

"Excuse me," he muttered to the scruffy man to whom he was speaking. "I'll be right back." Draco stumbled through the crowd and into the line for the bathroom. After waiting patiently for ten minutes, he lunged into a stall and hunched over a toilet, vomiting everything he had just drunk. He was just staggering to his feet when he heard the stall door open behind him. He had just turned his head when he was shot in the back with a Stunning Spell. He felt a hand wrap around his waist and Apparate him away.

A/N: Oohhh... Let me know what you think!