“harry, yny fouh as soon as they walked through the d the presehree of the wheled towards the, throg an ar around both of their neks and pulliht drao aught ahehe retty sure it was o “i an’t believe you got the weird sisters to py at y party!”
“it’s na’s party, too,” trilled herione fro sowhere near drao’s elbow, a down at a booth already te of heesy fries froher giggly and pk the fae ron rolled his eyes at drao, then shrugged herione’s an iweight and tely, always redibly hungry
gny ignored her, whih drao thought was best
“ a favrng “thought you ight like it”
drao snorteda favor, ore like, alled the up and told the eakihe weird sisters had ysterioly leared their shedule for theonth and a half, at your servie r potter, anythg you like they ould have pyed durg olly’s sunday night dner, for all they ared
“still, thank you and you,” she turned on dra her eyes, ahe stra spiion that she knew sohow, about the hoe as aays up te at night tryg to orize what it feels like t beside hi, jt iry to have fun tonight, won’t you? na’s worried about you”
drao squird unofortably, beae if gny had a how ahe past few weeks, then na knew for sure, would have beeell ith jt o hi
“i’ll be fio sile onvgly, but then he looks over and fds that harry has disappeared fro his side, s by the rowd that was dean and sea and neville drao would here, even if they all siled ae sall talk there is a differeween fiveness and belongg, he’s fdg, and it’s ore of a has than a fe le
gny reahed over, squeezed his elbow “he loves you” her words are ig hi like a stuhe hest “trt i know what it looks like”
he fds his way to the bar, expetg to fd old, gap-toothed to, but fds gee weasley ihrog drks to the people who o to hi without waitg for a request and sowlg dowop whe alone aga, like he is readiiurly offehat a previo patro drao heks, but nothg is there
“oh it’s you” gee looks surprised for a ont, but then his expression sours “you want anythg?”
“thought you were jt throg thgs out there?” he had beehrowio hands and p liquid to giant argarita gsses without hekg the bels, a had to be a dht disgtg obation, no o oughed and spttered and drank it all the sa
“well, norally, but seeg as it’s you, i’ll ake aion so i’ll repeat yself” he was bnt, tonight drao supposes it t be hard for everyoo have gone fro a friendly and heerful gee to this, but not for drao, beae to hi this was the weasley he had always known—a little sharp, a little brque, the kihat was jt a shade shy of ruel “what do you want?”
“jt a beer, thanks,” drao said, settlg down onto a stool, w why they had stuk hi bak here, of all people, ahat it ight have been the ki pe fee had told hi o every oion was jt a reihe li never would be said, where people autoatially look to his left for the eho of his jokes only to fiy air, that he a he ight have had ai bak here, where he is away fro the jubled ass of libs and people only wantg the persoo be, safe fro sall talk and idle hands
“so b,” gee griped, but he passed the bottle along all the sa, eveg a gr
drao doesn’t want to ask he wants to sit and sulk, take part enough sall talk to pass the night away without seeg like an arse, aybe searh out heriohen duk to pass on another round of ongratutions with na, then go ho, ig a igrai’s a pible exe and a doable pn, a ig here and pyio gee, but he was his friend, and that os with a erta aount of responsibility
“yht, ate? you see…” he paed, beae there’s no way to give aion without beg offensive “down”
“yeah, i’ fe” gee says, and drao a where he hanges his iell the truth, an atual ripple aross his fae “no, i’ not i’ shit, atually”
he swears, a l of it jt to ake hiself feel better, and the people losest to the stare, a huddle of ravenws that drao an only vaguely reber
“want to talk about it?”
“it’s jt that he’s not here” drao dido ask who he was “he’s not here, and he would have loved this, to be with her, tot this lihe father daughter e, oh eah of brothers, ahere’s ohere should be six” he is grippg oop so hard that drao is half afraid that he is gog to rip a piee off “it’s like he’s beg fotte ”
“that’s not true,” draee uts hi off jt as fast
“i know it is’s not fair, beae it’s like when he died, he ripped aart of that i’ o get bak, this whole huge hunk of y life that i’ o be able to fill, no