Cheers
Pansy had informed the friend group about her and Daphne's plan to cheer Draco up. While she insisted it was just a casual get-together, she couldn't resist going a little beyond that. She bought a bloody cake.
Theo found it amusing how Draco reacted to it. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, but while Draco knew about the gathering, he didn’t realize it was meant for him. Theo, Draco, and Mattheo had walked into the Slytherin common room together. At that late hour, the room was empty except for their friends, who had undoubtedly scared off any younger students to their dorms.
As they stepped inside, Pansy was practically bouncing with excitement. Her crimson lips spread into a wide smile as she rushed over to Draco, eager to pull him toward his chair.
"Come on, Draco, this one's for you!" she exclaimed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. There was something to Pansy when she did things like this, for her friends, the way she got excited, in between the four walls and just the eyes of her friends. To everyone else, she was a narcissistic bitch that loved her clothes collection more than any human alive.
Draco raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious. "What’s this all about?"
Pansy winked, guiding him to the seat she had so meticulously arranged. "Just a little something to remind you that you’re not alone, even when you’re being a moody git." Daphne was by her side, smiling at her words as she agreed, she pushed forward the cake they spent their trip to Hogsmeade for.
Draco smirked despite himself, but there was a flicker of genuine appreciation in his eyes. "A cake, really?" he asked, his tone somewhere between amused and exasperated as he noticed the elaborate confection on the table.
Enzo chuckled, clapping Draco on the back as they took their seats. "Yeah, mate. Apparently, you needed cheering up, and what better way than with cake?"
Mattheo grinned, leaning back in his chair. "Pans and Daph's idea, of course. Pans, of course, couldn’t resist making a bit of a scene."
Draco rolled his eyes but couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You lot are ridiculous," he muttered, but his voice lacked the usual bite.
As they settled into the cozy warmth of the common room, the mood lightened. Conversations flowed easily, and for the first time in a while, Draco allowed himself to relax. The friends' plan, with its mix of understated care and just a touch of drama, seemed to be working.
When they finally cut into the cake, the laughter and banter that filled the room were genuine. Even Draco couldn’t help but join in, a rare sight these days. As the night wore on, surrounded by friends who understood him better than anyone, Draco felt a little of the weight on his shoulders lift. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for now.
Theo relished these small moments when nothing mattered besides the present. Blaise had brought a bottle from his stash, declaring it a good enough occasion to get drunk. But if you were to ask Theo about it, he’d say any occasion is good enough to get drunk.
By now, he was on his third glass, and the familiar sting of Firewhiskey had faded. He was nearing that blissful point where his thoughts didn’t matter anymore, and that was always the final destination. Sitting in his seat, Daphne’s head rested comfortably in his lap, and they shared a cigarette, the smoke vanishing into thin air as they exhaled—a spell they’d learned after their first time getting caught smoking on the grounds.
"Blaise?" Pansy’s voice rang out from the corner, laced with that unmistakable note of drunkenness she always got after a few glasses of Firewhiskey.
Blaise, his head thrown back over the sofa and lost in his own thoughts, picked up at the sound of his name. He turned slightly to look at Pansy, not bothering to move from his relaxed position. "Pansy?" he replied, his voice carrying the lazy drawl of someone who had fully embraced the haze of the evening.
Pansy, sprawled out in a plush armchair, grinned back at him. “Are you going to share that bottle, or do I need to get up and take it from you?”
Blaise chuckled, tilting the bottle slightly in her direction. “You know where it is. Help yourself, love.”
Pansy huffed playfully but made no move to rise, instead raising her own glass, which was already half-full. “I was just checking that you hadn’t passed out on us. You get all quiet when you drink. What are you thinking about?” Her question was kind of loaded, but with the alcohol in their system, it didn't carry much of the usual heaviness. Her words slightly slurred but her tone curious. She was leaning against the arm of the sofa, her glass dangling loosely from her fingers.
Blaise blinked slowly as if coming back from a distant place. “Nothing and everything,” he said with a lazy grin. “Just enjoying the quiet before the storm.”
Pansy raised an eyebrow, smirking at his cryptic response. “You’re such a poet when you’re drunk, Zabini.”
Theo chuckled, taking another drag from the cigarette before passing it back to Daphne. “Blaise, a poet? That’s something I'd want to live long to witness.”
Blaise finally moved, sitting up a bit straighter as he poured himself another glass. “I’ll have you know, Nott, that I have many hidden talents. Poetry might just be one of them.”
Daphne laughed softly, her head still in Theo’s lap as she reached up to take the cigarette. “Alright, then. Let’s hear something poetic.”
Blaise narrowed his eyes playfully at her, but there was a glint of mischief in them. “Roses are red, Firewhisky burns, the night’s still young, and the world still turns.”
Pansy groaned dramatically, but she was smiling. “Merlin, Blaise. You really are wasted.”
“And yet,” Blaise retorted, raising his glass in a mock toast, “I’m still the most coherent one here.”
Daphne exhaled a stream of smoke, her eyes half-closed as she nestled further into Theo’s lap. “I’ll drink to that,” she murmured, passing the cigarette back to him.
Theo took a long drag, letting the smoke fill his lungs before releasing it into the air. The warmth of the Firewhisky, the comfort of Daphne’s presence, and the low hum of conversation around him made the moment feel almost surreal. It was one of those rare times when the weight of their world—the pressures, the expectations, the looming darkness—faded into the background.
Across the room, Draco was leaning back in his chair, his expression more relaxed than it had been in weeks. For once, the tension in his shoulders was gone, replaced by a rare, genuine smile as he bantered with Mattheo about some inside joke only the two of them seemed to understand. Enzo silently observed by Blaise's side, a drunken smile on his lips.
“Cheers to keeping it simple,” Blaise said suddenly, raising his bottle in a mock toast. “And to nights like these.”
Pansy giggled, lifting her glass in agreement. “Cheers!”
Theo raised his glass as well, meeting Blaise’s gaze for a moment before knocking back the rest of his drink.
As soon as Theo brought the glass to his lips, his eyes darted to Draco. His friend was now deep in thought, his expression distant. But as soon as Draco felt eyes on him, he quickly masked it, slipping back into his usual guarded demeanor. Theo’s gaze shifted to Mattheo, who seemed to be staring intently at the last bit of alcohol left in the bottle. Enzo, never much of a drinker but far from a lightweight, was idly twirling his wand between his fingers, his focus elsewhere. Blaise had returned to his 'thinking about everything and nothing' expression, while Daphne was finishing up the cigarette. Pansy, on the other hand, was out cold, slumped comfortably in her chair.
When the time came to wrap the gathering up, Enzo offered to take Pansy up to her dorm, given that he was the closest to soberness. Daphne followed behind with a tired expression, her usual energy drained from the late hour and the lingering effects of the Firewhisky. The rest of the boys lingered for a moment, exchanging a few quiet words before heading off at their own pace, each lost in their own thoughts.
By the time Theo finally reached his dorm, exhaustion weighed heavily on him. He barely managed to change into something comfortable before collapsing onto his bed. He didn’t bother waiting for the lights to go off; as soon as his head hit the pillow, sleep claimed him almost instantly. The lingering warmth of the Firewhisky in his veins and the soft sounds of the castle at night were the last things he registered before drifting away into a deep, dreamless sleep.