So…I had a bit of an unexpected hiatus. I had an opportunity to visit my family for the first time since the Thanksgiving before the pandemic. So of course, I jumped at it. I'd missed my parents and sisters so much. It was great to finally see them again. As always, I so appreciate your patience and support.
On another note, I have updated the tags due to the topic of conversation that our dastardly duo land on in this chapter. I'll continue to update them as the story goes along.
They focused on repairing the vanishing cabinet. Their plan hinged on getting the damned thing to work. If that wasn't going to happen, they needed to know sooner rather than later. They scoured the library, not together of course. Draco managed to get a pass for the forbidden section from Snape. The bat had grilled the boy on his plans. Draco deflected by vaguely mentioning one of his discarded plans as Ron suggested.
They met as little as possible to reduce the risk of being caught. The winter break was fast approaching though, and they needed to touch base before they departed to their own homes. Once again they met in the safety of the Room of Requirement. "Here," Draco said tossing a notebook onto the coffee table in front of Ron. "An early Christmas gift from the Dark Lord."
Ron picked it up and flipped through the empty pages. "What exactly am I supposed to do with this," he asked.
"Write in it, of course," the blond replied as he sat down. Ron shot him a look and Draco sighed, "It's so you can communicate with us, more specifically me, during the break. You'll be around all sorts of Order members, and the Dark Lord wants to make sure you can funnel information to us as quickly as possible," he explained.
Ron nodded. "That makes sense," he said as he stowed the notebook into his bag. "Anything in particular that he wants me to keep an eye out for?" he asked.
"Nothing that I've been told about. If that changes, I'll let you know," the blond said leaning back and stretching out his legs. "So, any big plans for the holidays?"
"No, just the usual," Ron responded.
"Which is…." Draco prompted waving his hand for the ginger to continue.
Ron sighed. "My brothers will be coming home. Mum will make a ton of food, we'll eat, Dad will tell us stories from work, the twins will pull pranks and there will be presents. At least my brothers can afford to get decent gifts now. Otherwise, I'd have to be content with homemade sweaters and whatever hand me downs Mum thinks are nice enough to be deemed a gift. "
"That doesn't sound too bad," Draco commented.
"Says you. Do you know how crazy it gets putting that many people in such a small place? We're constantly on top of each other," Ron responded.
Hell, I can't have any guests over due to our current "houseguest". Not that we aren't incredibly honored to host him," Draco quickly clarified. "Of course, there is also the holiday social season, and that's always a good distraction."
"Holiday social season?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, a lot of the pureblood families host events during the holiday break. Teas, dinners, balls and the like. You'll need to learn about that if you plan on taking your place in society. Having a good wife will help as well," the blond said.
Ron nodded. He had every intension of taking his rightful place in society and getting a "good wife", but they were topics that he really didn't feel like thinking about today. "So, are they fun?" he asked.
"Is what fun?" Draco responded as he relaxed further into the couch and closed his eyes.
Ron sighed, "The parties. The teas, balls, whatever."
"It depends on who's hosting it and who goes," the blond answered without opening his eyes. "The teas are mainly for women. Mother likes to bring me along sometimes though. She just likes to show me off from time to time. The dinners….well, that's just going to depend on who is seated around you, and how talented the host is in planning a meal and sparking conversation. The balls are better. You get more freedom to move, and typically my friends are also in attendance. It's the revels that are most fun. Of course, not just anyone can go to those."
Ron perked up at the mention of that. "Revels? Those are real?" he asked.
"Oh, they're real. They are not as frequent as some believe, but they are real," Draco said.
"So? What are they like?" Ron prompted, eager for details.
"Wonderous," the other wizard responded. "It's wild. The best food and drink, of course, but the entertainment….. There are usually duels and tournaments to show off your skills, and women, all sorts of women. Some are dancers, professional girls, girls who know how to show you a good time. Then there are the captives, men and women. They're disposable. So, if you want to see how a curse will destroy a body, you've got test subjects. If you like your women to have a bit more fight in them, well then, take your pick. You're only limited by your imagination and someone is always there with a suggestion."
"So, you've actually gone to them?" Ron asked.
"Only one this summer. I told you they aren't as frequent as people seem to think, but my father told me about the ones he'd been to. I can't wait to go to the next one on New Year's Day," Draco explained.
"Well, then. What did you do at the revel? Did you actually…you know…..play with a girl with fight in her?," Ron asked impatient for details.
Draco laughed and glanced over to the ginger. "Yeah, I did, and Merlin's beard it was good. Honestly I never thought I'd be into that sort of thing, but…..there's really nothing like it. Having that kind of power over someone…." Draco trailed off closing his eyes once more as the scene played out in his head. "You'll see one day. When the Dark Lord has won, and you get your Mudblood. Then you'll see. I envy you that. I wouldn't mind having a go with Granger just to hear her scream…."
"Remember she's mine," Ron said darkly.
"Don't worry," Draco said. "I know better than to touch what isn't mine."
"Good, keep it that way," Ron scowled over to the other wizard. "We better go before someone comes looking for us."
Draco sat back up. "You're right. I'll go first," he said as he rose and made his way to the door. He turned back. "Don't forget to keep in touch, Weasley."
"I won't," Ron grumbled, but Draco was already out the door.