Chapter 4
Azalea's head hurt. She sat up, rubbing her temples. Merlin's Beard, what happened last night? She still had on her jeans. She didn't change into pajamas? Why? Oh, that was right. She had found Firewhisky. Damn, she thought. Now she wouldn't be able to keep away from those things. She remembered nothing from the previous night. She was just glad she made it up to her room with no problems.
Azalea peered over at the clock. Noon?!! It was almost lunch. She groaned and quickly tossed off her covers and fled into the shower. She was going to have to explain this to Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. She wondered, however, why nobody came to wake her up. Perhaps I could go to Dahlia's today without interruption, she thought. She really needed her help in forgetting all her bloody misfortunes. It's as if laughing and joking with Dahlia was the only thing she needed these days.
A meek knock came to the door while she was changing. "Yes?" she called, poking her head through a shirt.
"Will Miss Azalea be coming down for lunch?" Lilu asked squeakily.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming," Azalea said, throwing on a skirt.
"Should I tell Master Malfoy to wait for Miss Azalea?" Lilu asked.
"No, no, no," Azalea said hurriedly, zipping a brush through her hair and fleeing to the door. "I'm ready now."
She threw open the door and looked down at the tiny house elf. The house elf looked up at her, its eyes growing wider. I didn't think that was possible, Azalea thought curiously. The elf disappeared. No time for this, she thought flying down the hall. They must think some awful things about me for waking up so late, she thought. I bet that Draco made things even worse, she thought bitterly, heading down the stairs. Condescending, viral, repulsive vermin. She was still huffing to herself when she entered the dining room. The three Malfoys looked up at her as she entered.
"Well, hello, Azalea," Lucius said. "We didn't know if you were going to be joining us."
"I really am sorry," Azalea said, sitting down hurriedly. "It seemed that Firewhisky and I got well acquainted last night."
"Ah," Lucius nodded. "The same has happened to me. Quite fascinating, the effects. Though I do hope that we won't be making this a daily routine."
"I would never dream of it," Azalea said quickly.
A silent snort made Azalea look up suddenly. Draco was smirking into his goblet. Azalea resisted the threatening urge to hex him under the table. Draco caught her eye and only grinned wider. Azalea had to stop herself from verbally abusing him in front of his parents. She forced forkfuls of salad into her mouth just to shut herself up. Narcissa stared at her with a slightly horrified face. It must seem as if she's gone mad. Lucius merely raised an eyebrow. This only seemed to amuse Draco further. He watched her with a depraved smile as toyed with the chicken on his plate.
"Hungry, are you?" he asked tauntingly.
Azalea could do nothing but nod as her mouth was full of salad and dressing. Draco chuckled, shoving chicken into his mouth. Who would have thought he'd get entertainment with his lunch today? He guessed that seeing her make a total nitwit of herself was enough compensation for having to carry her to her room last night. Azalea was clearly very annoyed at the mocking grin on Draco's face. Her annoyance amused him further. Why must she be so easily angered? That only made it more fun to aggravate her, he thought, watching her throw him a short glare.
Draco chuckled again and got to his feet.
"Father, I'm going now," Draco said to his father.
His father looked up and nodded quickly. Narcissa blew him a kiss on his way out of the dining room. Azalea could see him repressing a sigh. She vaguely wondered where he was going although she decided that she couldn't care less. He could pitch himself off a cliff and it would make no difference to her. It would actually make her life a lot less hell. She was already tormenting herself. She didn't need his help.
But if Draco left, would she be permitted to leave as well? And why should she be prevented from leaving? She wasn't their daughter. Her business was her own, after all. She could come and go as she pleases, couldn't she? Damn, she thought, I'm getting delusional.
"Actually," Azalea said, staring down at her salad, "I was wondering if I could also leave today."
"Azalea, you're not thinking about finding a job, are you?" Narcissa asked, treating the word "job" as if it was dirty.
"No, not at all," Azalea responded. "I was actually hoping to visit my friend, Dahlia Wren. I would like very much to have a chat with her."
"I suppose it would be fine," Lucius said.
"Thank you," Azalea said.
Lucius nodded stiffly in approval. Narcissa gave Azalea an encouraging smile.
"Azalea, could I ask you a question?" Narcissa asked her happily.
"Of course," Azalea nodded.
"Is there any chance that you and Draco-ˮ
"Narcissa!" Lucius cut her off swiftly.
"Oh, but Lucius…"
"No, Narcissa," Lucius said firmly. "You musn't interfere. Remember what happened last time."
Narcissa responded by pouting. Azalea looked from Lucius to Narcissa and back. What about Draco? And what happened the last time? Azalea was confused. Surely they wouldn't think that something's going on between her and Draco. Azalea involuntarily shuddered at the thought. Yuck! Azalea would rather kiss a toad! At least the toad has a remote chance of turning into a prince. Whereas if you kissed Draco, he would probably turn into a toad. Well, she thought, he'd look loads better if he was a toad.
Azalea sighed and pushed herself from the table. She bade the two Malfoy parents goodbye and told them she'd be back before dinner. They bade her goodbye and told her they hope she has a good time.
The Wren Manor wasn't the largest manor ever. It was fairly large, mind you. It had to be called a manor for a reason but it was nothing compared to the Malfoy Manor. Still, it sported that resilient high class ambience all the same. Dahlia's parents were still in Macau on a business trip. Dahlia said she had no idea when they'd be back. Until then, she had the entire manor to herself and the house elves were at her beck and call. Needless to say, the house elves must be nearly suicidal at this point.
However, the house elves were getting a short break. Dahlia and Azalea sat in the family room chatting. The house elves had crept to another part of the manor to nurse their wounds and prepare for another battle with Dahlia.
"I told you, Azalea," Dahlia said for the millionth time. "You should have stayed here with me. It would have been far less humiliating."
"I told you before, Dahlia," Azalea sighed. "I didn't want to live with anyone. It would be too embarrassing and I would feel wrong leeching off anyone. But the Malfoys insisted. Their all too important pride would be sorely hurt if I refused."
"Why does it matter?" Dahlia asked.
"I'm not well off nowadays, you know," Azalea rolled her eyes. "I can't afford to insult powerful families."
"But now you have to live with that Draco Malfoy," Dahlia pointed out. "And from what you told me, he lives to torture you."
"Not torture per se," Azalea said. "Perhaps just irritate. He does a fine job of that, too."
"That's extremely depressing."
"Tell me about it," Azalea said, heaving another sigh. "They won't even let me hunt for jobs."
"Why would you do that in the first place?" Dahlia asked, pinching her nose at the mention of employment.
"Where else would I get income?"
"Why don't you marry a rich bachelor like every other witch in existence?" Dahlia asked flippantly.
"I'd rather not think about that kind of thing," Azalea said, looking out the window.
Dahlia looked over at her best friend. Dahlia had never seen her so dejected before. It was quite unnerving. It was like seeing your favorite puppy limping. It made Dahlia feel so disgustingly sentimental. She hated being sentimental. But what else could she do? Her best friend needed her and turning her back to her simply wasn't an option. So Dahlia gathered Azalea in her arms in a hug. Azalea sighed, depressed by the weight of everything she's had to deal
"Oh, don't be so melancholy," Dahlia said. "You're making me depressed!"
"Sorry."
"Hey, I know what we could do to cheer you up!" Dahlia said, her face suddenly lighting up. "We could go to the Smoky Lounge tonight. It'll be fun."
"What on earth is the Smoky Lounge?" Azalea questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it's a dance club, of course!" Dahlia laughed.
"That's so tacky, Dahlia," Azalea rolled her eyes.
"Shut up," her best friend responded swiftly. "It just opened and it's completely in vogue to go to dance clubs nowadays. Come on, go with me. It'll be fun."
"I don't know," Azalea shook her head. "It sounds… crazy. I think I should just stay at the Malfoy Manor."
"And what exactly will you do there?" Dahlia snorted. "You're going to bond with the Firewhisky again?"
"Maybe I will."
"Come on, Azalea," Dahlia cajoled. "There will be other days for self pity and humiliation. You've got to have some fun. You've got to come with me tonight."
"What exactly do you expect me to do there?" Azalea demanded.
"I don't know," Dahlia shrugged. "Dance, drink, meet people. Meet boys in particular. You know, stuff that we enjoyed doing before."
"But I-ˮ
"Oh, come on," Dahlia whined. "I've been without my best friend for a while. Would you please do I and you a favor and come with me to the Smoky Lounge?"
When Azalea got back to the Malfoy Manor, she learned that Draco had come back and left while she was gone. She didn't care to find out where he went. It made no difference to her either way. At least she wouldn't have to deal with him until the next morning. That was a blessing. It surprised Azalea that Lucius and Narcissa let her go to the Smoky Lounge. Lucius had looked at her curiously when she had asked. Narcissa's eyes had sparkled. Azalea wondered what that was all about. It seemed that since she came to live with them two days ago that all Narcissa did was smile at her shiftily. Azalea hoped they weren't planning something disastrous or humiliating. Whatever the Malfoys had thought, it didn't really matter to Azalea. They had let her go to the Smoky Lounge and that was all that she cared about at the moment.
She battled the throes of people with Dahlia as they wove their way through the Smoky Lounge. They were attempting to make it to the bar and sit down and have a drink before Dahlia had to haul Azalea's protesting bum onto the dance floor. It was dark in the club. The music was mind numbingly loud and random flashes of colors served as the only source of light on the dance floor. There was slightly better lighting near the bar, however. The bar tenders needed to see the drinks they were pouring, of course.
"Isn't this fun?" Dahlia asked brightly, listening to the noisy grinding music and watching the people dance.
"I suppose," Azalea answered, sipping her Firewhisky.
"Oh, lighten up, Zaley!!" Dahlia said, poking her on the shoulder.
"I told you never to call me that, Dahlia."
In another part of the Smoky Lounge, Draco was watching Astoria dance with Pansy and Daphne, a wide smirk on his face. He sloshed the Firewhisky in his glass contemplatively. He was quite enjoying the show she was unaware that she was giving him. It still completely annoyed Draco that Astoria still hasn't flirted with him on her own free will. He placated himself with the knowledge that she will sooner or later. He only had to wait.
"Draco, for goodness sake, look away, man," Blaise sighed.
"What?" Draco asked, tearing his eyes away from Astoria with some difficulty.
"You'll melt her face off staring at her that hard," Blaise snorted, sweeping a gaze toward the bar.
He suddenly hit Draco on the shoulder with the back of his hand. Draco swatted him away but Blaise only did it again.
"What the hell, Zabini?!!" Draco demanded, annoyed.
"Is that Dahlia Wren?" Blaise asked, pointing a finger toward the bar.
Draco looked to where he was pointing. A tall, long faced girl with dark brown wavy hair stood facing Blaise's direction, talking to some blonde. She seemed to have a face that was pulled into a perpetual pout. That was Dahlia Wren, alright. Blaise's eyes glazed over as he stared at her. Blaise had always treated Dahlia as "The One That Got Away". It wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking at this point. At some point, Blaise was going to go over there and make an arse out of himself.
"Yes, that's Dahlia," Draco nodded. "She looks good."
"Back off, Malfoy," Blaise told him possessively.
"Don't worry about me," Draco said, glancing over at Astoria. "My interests lie elsewhere."
"Come with me," Blaise said, walking off and swatting Draco on the shoulder again.
Draco was beginning to get irritated. He was going to kick him if he didn't stop doing that. "Just where do you propose we go?" he asked.
"To talk to Dahlia, of course," Blaise answered swiftly. "Now, come on."
"You can go by yourself," Draco told him. "I don't need to baby sit you."
"Fine," Blaise shrugged. "If you really want to stand there looking like a helpless prat pining after Astoria then stay there."
Draco scowled at him. "Git," Draco complained and followed him all the same.
As they neared Dahlia, Draco stared at the head of the blonde girl she was talking to. There was something faintly familiar about the back of her head. That was odd, he thought. Since when are the back of people's heads familiar to him?
"Well, hello, Dahlia," Blaise greeted.
"Oh, Blaise!!" Dahlia laughed, her face lighting up as she saw him. "It's been such a long time."
Draco watched the blonde turned around. His eyes grew wide as she turned to face them. That face, those eyes, those lips. Azalea! What the hell was she doing here?
Azalea's mouth dropped as her eyes hit on Draco. What the hell was he doing here?
"You!!" they yelled at each other at the same time.