Chapter Three: Too Much to Drink
"Aghh! I can't handle this anymore!" Draco shouted in disgust as he tripped over a pile of really dirty and ragged clothes. "Where is that damn maid?! Doesn't she know that I'm paying her to clean up this filth, not leave it on the floor?!"
"She quit, Draco." Marcus said as he placed his hand of cards down and said, "Gin!"
"You cheated!" Blaise said angrily.
"Of course. How else do you expect I've been winning?"
Blaise threw his cards down and was about to lunge at Flint when Draco
shouted, "HOLD IT!" He then looked at Flint and said, "She quit? When?"
"Mmm, a few days ago. Tuesday I think."
"Tuesday?! That's the day I hired her!"
"Yeah, well, she was shouting something about us being a bunch of
impossible so-and-so's and stormed out. She even called us degenerates. As she stormed out of the house she was shouting words that I didn't know 50 year old women knew. Said not to bother paying her because it was enough to just get away from this house."
Draco slumped into a chair. This was the twenty-third maid that they had gone through in two months. For some reason the housekeepers would stay for, at the most, three days and then either storm out in the middle of the day or just never return. Something had to be done. The condition of the house was unbearable and the food tasted really bad. Draco needed to find someone who wouldn't get scared off and leave them wallowing in the filth. But try as he might, the maids just wouldn't stay. He decided that he would have to pay another visit to Burksbury to try and find a housekeeper, but he was sure that by now he was running rather low on choices.
The only purpose that the Brenton post served was to keep an eye on the nearby magical town of Burksbury. Burksbury was a very small town with a population of mostly old people, it was quiet and really not worth having a group of Death Eaters watching it, but it was a perfect place to keep the more undesirable Death Eaters, ones who were really not cut out for the dangerous missions and who usually botched the simplest of spells.
"Yuck!" Draco said as he gingerly picked up a disgusting piece of corroded cloth and tossed it on the floor so that he could rest his elbow on the arm of the chair. First thing tomorrow morning Draco was going to head into town to find another housekeeper. Tonight he was just going to sit back, relax, and have a few drinks with the other Death Eaters.
* * *
"Woops, this one's all out." Frank slurred as he threw the bottle over his shoulder, smashing into a million pieces as it hit the floor. "Borgase, get some more since you're out." Victor stood with much effort to go get some more alcohol. All seven Death Eaters sat around the kitchen table playing poker and were quite wasted from the mass quantity of alcohol that they had consumed. Crabbe's head lay on the table, having been passed out for the past hour.
"Alright, I'll see your fifty and raise you one hundred." Blaise said as he threw a few chips into the pile.
"That does it, I'm out." Marcus said as he put his cards down. He then leaned back in his chair and gulped down another shot.
"Me too." Said Draco.
Frank looked thoughtful for a moment and then placed his cards down with a frustrated sigh. That only left Blaise and Goyle in the game.
"I'll see your hundred and raise you another hundred." Goyle said as he pushed a few chips into the already large pile.
Blaise looked nervously at Goyle. He couldn't tell if the large man were bluffing or not, course the fact that his eyes were bloodshot and blurry causing him to not see Goyle clearly, didn't help. He scratched his stubbled chin and thoughtfully looked down at his cards. He had a good hand but he wasn't sure if it was quite good enough.
"Oh, go ahead and take it." He said disgustedly as he through his cards down.
Goyle placed his cards face down and began to pull his winnings towards him.
"What did you have?" Draco asked.
"Nothing." Goyle replied with a large, dopey grin on his face.
"Nothing!" Balise shouted as he grabbed the cards on the table. He picked them up and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw what Goyle had. "He had nothing! His cards are from all different suits and both colors!" Blaise threw the cards down angrily and lunged at Goyle. "I could have beaten that hand!" Blaise and Goyle began to have a scuffle right there on the floor. Blaise managed to get a few punches on Goyle's face, but being much smaller than his opponent, quickly found himself being the one who was getting pounded.
The other Death Eaters at the table simply ignored the two on the floor and began to shuffle the cards once again. Victor had come back with another bottle and filled their shot glasses once again.
An hour and a few bruises later, they were still playing poker. Crabbe had awoken from his drunken slumber and was now playing.
"Am I winning or losing?" Flint said as he stared at his pile of chips with glazed over eyes.
"I don't know. I just wish the table would stop moving." Blaise replied. "Draco, it's your turn."
"Hhmm?" Draco said, his eyes half closed and his head resting in his hand with his elbow propped on the table.
"It's your bet."
"Oh, sorry. Uh, twenty. This is going to be my last hand because I have to get up tomorrow and find another housekeeper since you guys scared the last one off."
"Oh, face it, Draco, you'll never be able to get someone to stay. They take one look at this place and run out of here like a bat out of hell. Call." Marcus said as he threw in his chips.
"We've got to figure out how to get someone to stay. If I have to live in this place with the way that it is or eat another bowl of whatever the slop is that Goyle makes I'll have to kill myself."
"Look, Draco, the only way you are going to get a girl to stay here is if you married her." Blaise said as he put his chips in the pile.
"Hey, you know, that's not a bad idea." Added Frank. "She couldn't just quit and leave then."
"Yeah, and we wouldn't have to pay her either." Victor commented.
"Guys, there is no way that I'm going to get married just to have someone clean this place."
"Why not? You're the commander and it's you who wants this place cleaned."
"Yeah, but."
"Here, I got an idea." Marcus said, "Let's play a game of Bull Shit and whoever loses has to be the one who gets married. The rest of the Death Eaters nodded their agreement. Draco, however said nothing.
"Come on, Draco, you afraid you gonna lose?" Victor prodded.
"I am not afraid." Draco snapped back.
"Then play." With that Victor began to deal out the cards.
Draco had a bad feeling in his gut as he began to pick his cards up.
"Aghh! I can't handle this anymore!" Draco shouted in disgust as he tripped over a pile of really dirty and ragged clothes. "Where is that damn maid?! Doesn't she know that I'm paying her to clean up this filth, not leave it on the floor?!"
"She quit, Draco." Marcus said as he placed his hand of cards down and said, "Gin!"
"You cheated!" Blaise said angrily.
"Of course. How else do you expect I've been winning?"
Blaise threw his cards down and was about to lunge at Flint when Draco
shouted, "HOLD IT!" He then looked at Flint and said, "She quit? When?"
"Mmm, a few days ago. Tuesday I think."
"Tuesday?! That's the day I hired her!"
"Yeah, well, she was shouting something about us being a bunch of
impossible so-and-so's and stormed out. She even called us degenerates. As she stormed out of the house she was shouting words that I didn't know 50 year old women knew. Said not to bother paying her because it was enough to just get away from this house."
Draco slumped into a chair. This was the twenty-third maid that they had gone through in two months. For some reason the housekeepers would stay for, at the most, three days and then either storm out in the middle of the day or just never return. Something had to be done. The condition of the house was unbearable and the food tasted really bad. Draco needed to find someone who wouldn't get scared off and leave them wallowing in the filth. But try as he might, the maids just wouldn't stay. He decided that he would have to pay another visit to Burksbury to try and find a housekeeper, but he was sure that by now he was running rather low on choices.
The only purpose that the Brenton post served was to keep an eye on the nearby magical town of Burksbury. Burksbury was a very small town with a population of mostly old people, it was quiet and really not worth having a group of Death Eaters watching it, but it was a perfect place to keep the more undesirable Death Eaters, ones who were really not cut out for the dangerous missions and who usually botched the simplest of spells.
"Yuck!" Draco said as he gingerly picked up a disgusting piece of corroded cloth and tossed it on the floor so that he could rest his elbow on the arm of the chair. First thing tomorrow morning Draco was going to head into town to find another housekeeper. Tonight he was just going to sit back, relax, and have a few drinks with the other Death Eaters.
* * *
"Woops, this one's all out." Frank slurred as he threw the bottle over his shoulder, smashing into a million pieces as it hit the floor. "Borgase, get some more since you're out." Victor stood with much effort to go get some more alcohol. All seven Death Eaters sat around the kitchen table playing poker and were quite wasted from the mass quantity of alcohol that they had consumed. Crabbe's head lay on the table, having been passed out for the past hour.
"Alright, I'll see your fifty and raise you one hundred." Blaise said as he threw a few chips into the pile.
"That does it, I'm out." Marcus said as he put his cards down. He then leaned back in his chair and gulped down another shot.
"Me too." Said Draco.
Frank looked thoughtful for a moment and then placed his cards down with a frustrated sigh. That only left Blaise and Goyle in the game.
"I'll see your hundred and raise you another hundred." Goyle said as he pushed a few chips into the already large pile.
Blaise looked nervously at Goyle. He couldn't tell if the large man were bluffing or not, course the fact that his eyes were bloodshot and blurry causing him to not see Goyle clearly, didn't help. He scratched his stubbled chin and thoughtfully looked down at his cards. He had a good hand but he wasn't sure if it was quite good enough.
"Oh, go ahead and take it." He said disgustedly as he through his cards down.
Goyle placed his cards face down and began to pull his winnings towards him.
"What did you have?" Draco asked.
"Nothing." Goyle replied with a large, dopey grin on his face.
"Nothing!" Balise shouted as he grabbed the cards on the table. He picked them up and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw what Goyle had. "He had nothing! His cards are from all different suits and both colors!" Blaise threw the cards down angrily and lunged at Goyle. "I could have beaten that hand!" Blaise and Goyle began to have a scuffle right there on the floor. Blaise managed to get a few punches on Goyle's face, but being much smaller than his opponent, quickly found himself being the one who was getting pounded.
The other Death Eaters at the table simply ignored the two on the floor and began to shuffle the cards once again. Victor had come back with another bottle and filled their shot glasses once again.
An hour and a few bruises later, they were still playing poker. Crabbe had awoken from his drunken slumber and was now playing.
"Am I winning or losing?" Flint said as he stared at his pile of chips with glazed over eyes.
"I don't know. I just wish the table would stop moving." Blaise replied. "Draco, it's your turn."
"Hhmm?" Draco said, his eyes half closed and his head resting in his hand with his elbow propped on the table.
"It's your bet."
"Oh, sorry. Uh, twenty. This is going to be my last hand because I have to get up tomorrow and find another housekeeper since you guys scared the last one off."
"Oh, face it, Draco, you'll never be able to get someone to stay. They take one look at this place and run out of here like a bat out of hell. Call." Marcus said as he threw in his chips.
"We've got to figure out how to get someone to stay. If I have to live in this place with the way that it is or eat another bowl of whatever the slop is that Goyle makes I'll have to kill myself."
"Look, Draco, the only way you are going to get a girl to stay here is if you married her." Blaise said as he put his chips in the pile.
"Hey, you know, that's not a bad idea." Added Frank. "She couldn't just quit and leave then."
"Yeah, and we wouldn't have to pay her either." Victor commented.
"Guys, there is no way that I'm going to get married just to have someone clean this place."
"Why not? You're the commander and it's you who wants this place cleaned."
"Yeah, but."
"Here, I got an idea." Marcus said, "Let's play a game of Bull Shit and whoever loses has to be the one who gets married. The rest of the Death Eaters nodded their agreement. Draco, however said nothing.
"Come on, Draco, you afraid you gonna lose?" Victor prodded.
"I am not afraid." Draco snapped back.
"Then play." With that Victor began to deal out the cards.
Draco had a bad feeling in his gut as he began to pick his cards up.