Chapter 4: Wizards Billiards
She sat in shock, staring at the vacant doorway. She honestly could not tell if Draco had been messing around with her or telling the truth. She hoped it was not true, a union between the Malfoy and Pucey families was not a pleasant thought, but when she reflected back on the evening, it did seem that the adults were purposefully keeping Draco and Damara together. And—this struck her the most—Draco had called her by her given name, something she knew he had never done before in the four years they had known one another.
Perplexed, Damara opened the heavy lid to her trunk at the foot of her book. Beneath the school uniform, robes, books, parchments, and other items was a false bottom. She tapped the top right corner with her wand and the secret compartment opened. Inside was a black leather book with Damara Leigh Pucey in gold lettering across the cover. She took the book, an inkwell, and a quill. Lying on her stomach on her bed, she opened the book and took the quill in hand.
Something strange just happened. She wrote on the thick page. Father had the Malfoys over for dinner—Draco was here as well.
The ink disappeared and reappeared in a new sentence. Tell me what happened, Mara.
Damara sighed and began to retell the whole evening as best as she could remember. Every now and then the diary would ask for a clarification, but otherwise it was silent. Damara ended with: What should I do? Is Draco telling the truth? Or is it just one of his nasty tricks?
It is difficult to judge. It seems to me that Draco enjoyed telling you that, and by using your given name he seems to be telling the truth. But I do not know for sure.
Damara shook her head. Usually the bewitched diary was able to shed new light on a difficult situation, but it seemed that it was helpless in this.
Sorry, Mara. The diary wrote.
That is all right. I better go downstairs before my parents suspect I abandoned them.
Goodnight.
She shut the diary and returned it to its secret compartment. Though she was disappointed the diary did not have an answer, she was calmer now that she shared her feelings with another. She would have to thank Maggie again for the diary—the house elf had presented the diary to her as an eleventh birthday present to take with her to school (though Damara always suspected Adrian was truly behind the gift). Whoever was responsible, the diary had helped her get through some extremely trying times over the passed four years.
Mr. Pucey, Mr. Malfoy, and Adrian were still in the study. The yellow light streamed underneath the closed and locked door into the hall, and Damara could hear masculine voices inside as she passed by. Mrs. Pucey and Mrs. Malfoy had moved to the lounge, but Damara was unsure what they were chatting about. Her mother gave her a piercing glare as she paused by the opened door, and she hurried onwards so not to attract any more attention.
Draco, she discovered, was in the Billiards Room attempting to pocket the colorful balls. The difference between the muggles' game of billiards and Wizards Billiards was that the balls tended to float above the table, making them harder to hit and aim correctly. Because the balls floated, the table layout was slightly different as well; the pockets were higher than the tabletop. Nonetheless, the game was usually fun to play.
As Damara entered the wood paneled room, Draco had hit a red ball that hurtled out of control and bounced off the far wall before coming to a stop above the table. Damara could not resist an amused chuckle.
"Nice shot," she commented wirily.
Draco looked upset. Damara limped over to the racket on the wall, selected the proper stick, and moved to the table. With a smile, she took aim and skillfully hit the red ball. It sped into the corner pocket. With a grin, she took the chalk cube, dusted the tip of her stick, and then casually blew the excess away. Draco's face screwed up.
"What do you expect, Pucey?" he sneered. "I haven't played Billiards for ages. We don't have one in our house."
Damara got the distinct impression that a Billiards table set was now at the top of Draco's wish list. She smiled wider.
"Do you want to play a game?" she asked him. "Just for practice, of course."
Draco shrugged.
One game turned into five. Damara beat Draco on the first four matches, but Draco began to catch on to the various methods of hitting the balls. He won the last game even without Damara going easy on him. To her surprise, after the first game, Draco had lightened up drastically. He was friendlier, told a few jokes, and even laughed and smiled. When Damara gave him a few pointers, he did not even snap. By the last match, she was actually beginning to enjoy Draco's company.
A knock on the door interrupted the set up of the sixth game. Damara looked up.
"Yes?"
A servant entered and nodded his head. "Excuse me, Miss Damara, Mister Draco. The Malfoys are preparing to leave."
"Thank you, Karl," Damara said quietly. The servant disappeared as she turned to Draco. "It has been fun."
"Quite so," Draco agreed. He hesitated a moment. "Ah, Damara."
"Yes?"
"Don't tell anyone about this," he ordered. The usual harsh tone had returned to his voice. "I have a reputation to up hold, after all."
Damara just smiled. Draco's friendliness vanished immediately, and the cold, indifferent, smirking boy she knew from school had returned. The two left the Billiards Room and met up with the adults in the foyer. Mrs. Malfoy had donned her shawl, and Mr. Malfoy was shaking hands with Adrian and Mr. Pucey.
"Ready, Draco?" Lucius Malfoy asked. His dark eyes glanced at Damara, who stood silently near her mother.
"Ready, sir," Draco replied. He shook hands with both of the Pucey men. "Thank you for having us over tonight."
"Our pleasure, lad," Brent Pucey replied with a smile.
The butler opened the front door, and the Malfoys left. Almost immediately, Damara's mother turned towards her.
"Damara, dear, it is well passed midnight. You ought to go straight to bed."
"Yes, Mother," she answered quietly.
"Good night, Damara," her father called as he led his wife towards his study.
"Good night."
She slowly returned to her bedroom upstairs where she readied herself for bed. Despite being wide awake moments ago, she was now feeling the strain of the evening. She was about to blow out the candle on her nightstand when Adrian knocked on the door and entered. A wrapped box was in his hand as he sat on the edge of the bed.
"Brought you something," he said as he handed the box to Damara.
She unwrapped the gift and stared at it with a smile. "German chocolate! Oh, Adrian, you are the best older brother in all the world."
"But of course," he good-naturedly bragged. "I received Father's owl just three days ago, and I hadn't yet bought you anything. I was hoping that the chocolate would do for now."
"It is wonderful! Tomorrow we'll share it," Damara said cheerfully.
Adrian shook his head. "I will be gone when you wake up, Mara."
Her face fell. Her brother usually spent a week at home before leaving again. "Why so soon?"
"Tonight was a business trip. I'm expected back in Germany tomorrow afternoon."
"Adrian, what exactly do you do?"
His eyes twinkled, and he smiled softly. "It is top secret, Sis. Ministry thing, you know. Good night and sweet dreams." He leaned over and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Don't you worry—you'll see me at Christmas."
"Good night," Damara called as Adrian left the room and closed the door behind him. She set the box of chocolate on the nightstand, blew out the candle, and snuggled deep into the covers. Within moments she was fast asleep and, oddly enough, a certain blond-haired, pompous, self-absorbed Slytherin plagued her dreams.
THE END.
Auther's Note: Since I decided to end this short little story here, I never got to a point where I could fully explain what it was Mr. Pucey, Mr. Malfoy, and Adrian were discussing. I will say this: Mr. Pucey and Adrian do not work for the Ministry like they claim. I wanted to portray a different side to the Death Eaters... what they might be like in their own homes with their families. "How could such a great guy like Adrian be a death eater?" is what I wanted to hear. Unfortunately, the story's end just felt right here instead of writing any more. I did try... once ...but it was all wrong. So I leave the rest up to your imagination. I hope you enjoyed this little tale!