Fic: Learning The Truth [Draco/Rose]

[scarletladyy]

Title: Learning The Truth
Author: scarletladyy
Pairings: Draco/Rose, background Ron/Hermione
Word Count: 3,189
Rating: R
Warnings: Mentions of past torture
Summary: Believing she has the perfect relationship, Rose doesn't think anything can separate her and Draco, but when she learns the secrets of his past, her whole world is threatened.
Author's Notes: Written for nextgendarkfest 2011 with the prompt "My father once said that you can't gauge the contents of a man's heart by his greatest act of evil alone, but if that's true then it must also be true that you can't judge him without it." - Colum McCann; Rose believes she's in love with Draco until she finds out what happened in the Malfoy's drawing room during the war. Many thanks to my beta.

"Mwah!" said Rose loudly, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek. She was late home for her weekly family dinner, but spending time with Draco was so much better than being lectured about why she hadn't found a job yet.

"Sometimes, Rose, you remind me just how old I really am." Draco laughed and kissed her back. "Now, off you pop, before your mother has my guts for garters."

Rose rolled her eyes as she turned to leave; she hated that expression. It was just so old fashioned. Nobody said that anymore, or at least, nobody who wasn't Draco's age. The age gap between them usually didn't bother her. After all, what was most important was that she loved him and he loved her, and there was absolutely nothing in the world that could change that.

Nothing.

*

"You're late," Hermione said sternly as Rose entered the kitchen. Everyone was already sat down and eating, and her father had a furious expression on his face.

"This is the second week in a row, Rosie," said Ron, his mouth full of food.

Rose shrugged and sat down opposite her brother, Hugo. "Where's my dinner?"

"It's in the oven, keeping warm."

She could feel her mum's eyes on her as she got up and fetched her food, exaggerating her movements there and back. She was nineteen years old, but she still had a lot of her dad's immaturity in her. She acted like a younger teenager a lot of the time and it drove her mum up the wall, but sometimes, that was exactly what Rose wanted.

"Don't walk like that," said Hermione sharply. "It doesn't do you any favours."

Rose put her plate loudly down onto the table and rolled her eyes. She was sick of being told what to do, which was partly what had attracted her to Draco Malfoy in the first place. That, and he was very handsome. He was so much more mature than everyone her age, and introduced her to the finer things in life. She knew her parents would flip if they found out she was drinking copious amounts of champagne every week, not only for the excessive alcohol use but also for the fact that they hated waste.

And drinking champagne for no good reason was certainly a waste in their eyes. She'd only ever seen them have champagne once, and that was when she tuned eighteen.

"So," said Ron, resting his fork on the side of his plate. "What have you been up to today?"

Rose shrugged and took a bite of her pie. "Nothing much."

"Oh, really?" His tone showed he was angry, but about what, Rose didn't know. She frowned.

"Um, yeah. I was out with Lily. We went shopping."

Ron arched his eyebrow, but didn't say anything and carried on eating.

Rose was sure she'd got away with her lie, since Lily always covered for her. Not that she should even have to lie, she was an adult now and what she did was really none of her parents business. But, she knew there was bad blood between the Malfoys and her family, and if keeping schtum was what it took to keep the peace, then that was what she would do. Why exactly there was bad blood she hadn't a clue, and had never been bothered to find out. She just assumed it was because her parents were jealous of the Malfoy riches.

"So, Hugo," said her mum, forcing a smile onto her face. "How's James?"

Rose began to eat her dinner and tune out of the conversation entirely, thinking about Draco and the Parkinson ball he was taking her to next week. She didn't really like the Parkinson's, particularly since Pansy was all over Draco in spite of being married to Blaise Zabini, but she loved dressing up and being the envy of all the women there since she was the woman on the end of Draco's arm.

Throughout dinner her parents or Hugo would break her train of thought and try bringing her into the conversation, but it was incredibly awkward and she couldn't say she wasn't pleased when it was finally over and her mum began collecting the plates.

"Are you staying here tonight, Rose?" Hermione asked as she spelled the washing up to do itself.

"Yeah," said Rose, nodding. She couldn't be bothered to fish out the Floo power and Floo home, or go outside into the blustery night and Apparate back. It was just easier to spend the night there and go home in the early afternoon when she'd finally risen from her bed for the day. "I'm going to go and read for a bit. I guess I'll see you in the morning."

Her mum smiled broadly, having always loved it when Rose took up an activity she particularly liked. According to Hermione, reading was much better than 'wasting time playing endless hours of Wizarding chess'. Perhaps, Rose thought, but she had to be in a certain mood for reading, and after the long day she'd had, now was just the time.

With one last smile to her parents, she trudged up the stairs and entered her bedroom, pondering over the bookcase for a few moments. She couldn't decide upon fact or fiction, but ended up choosing a book on the Pureblood elite to impress Draco next time they talked history. She'd been sent this as a gift many years ago from Merlin knows who, and her parents were pleased when she'd had no interest in reading it. Now, though, she felt it was important to her current lifestyle to know as much about the past of the Purebloods as possible.

It was all incredibly boring, all nine pages that she read of it, and the Malfoys only cropped up a few times. She'd thought it would be more fascinating than that, and found herself yawning as she attempted to start another chapter. With her eyes drooping shut, she threw the book onto the floor and went to the bathroom to brush her teeth, hating the inconvenience of having to walk there and back.

Until, that was, she overheard her parents gossiping on the way back. They were talking in loud, hushed whispers, and since Rose always had to know what was going on, she pressed her ear to the door. Thankfully she wouldn't have to get an extendible ear out and miss anything, since they were talking about something heated enough to not be able to keep that quiet, or even think to cast a Silencing charm on the room.

"This is serious, Hermione!" Rose heard her father say. "If Lily is telling the truth we have to do something about it."

"Even if she is right, Rose is an adult and can do as she pleases. We cannot control her, Ron."

Her father sighed loudly. "But Rosie is going out with a dangerous man! How can we leave her in his clutches and be fine about it?! She obviously knows something is wrong, since she's lying about it!"

Rose clasped her hand to her mouth in an attempt to stop any sound coming out from her shock. Draco was dangerous?

"I... I don't know. I don't think Malfoy is dangerous. He didn't go to Azkaban, after all, maybe it's like Harry said, that he was just in the wrong situation at the wrong time with the wrong people."

"The only reason he escaped Azkaban is because of his mother and Harry's testimony, and you know I'll never forgive Harry for that. After what Malfoy witnessed, after what he nearly did to you..."

Her mother's voice was a lot quieter now as she said, "Nearly, Ron. Nearly."

As a contrast, her father's wasn't even a whisper anymore. "That man stood there and watched you get tortured at the hands of his Aunt! And, if that isn't enough, he was seconds away from joining in when Harry and I came up from the cellar!"

Draco nearly tortured my mother? Draco watched my mother as she was tortured, and did nothing?

Rose felt really sick as she quietly backed away from the door, her hand still over her mouth. What she had just heard was insane... it had to be. It couldn't possibly be true -- Draco, her Draco, a torturer? No, that wasn't right. She knew she had to talk to him, to ask him why her parents would lie about him like that, to get clarification from his own words that those horrible things they said he did just weren't true.

Without even grabbing her coat she crept downstairs and over to the cupboard by the fireplace, snatching some Floo powder from the pot in the corner. When she was sure she was calm enough and able to speak clearly, she stepped into the fireplace and said firmly, "Malfoy Manor."

She was just grateful she'd been set up to access Draco's Floo from anywhere in the world, regardless of location. As long as it was her attempting to get through, she'd be successful. She knew Apparating in such a state would have increased her chances of splinching, and after her father had told her such a horrible story of his own experience of that, she didn't want to go through it herself.

Upon arriving in the parlour at Malfoy Manor, Rose took one look at the clock and went straight to the study. He always headed there around eleven, to have a Firewhiskey and 'tide down' he said, though Rose really thought it was more of a need of his than a want.

With heavy force she pushed the study door open and found him huddled over his desk, clearly on more than his second tumbler of Firewhiskey.

"Rose." Draco looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot. "How very nice to see you. Fancy a drink?"

"No," she replied sternly, closing the door behind her with a loud bang. "And you need a Sober-Me-Up Potion. Now." The harsh tone in her voice must have startled him, for he reached into the desk and grabbed two bottles of the stuff, drinking them down. In only a matter of moments she'd have her true Draco back, and he could explain to her what lies they were.

"What can I do you for?" Draco asked once the potions had begun to work. His eyes returned to normal, and he was able to walk and talk as though he'd never had a drink in his life.

"I overheard a conversation between my parents," she said softly, sitting down on the sofa in the corner of the room. "It was... it was about you."

Draco frowned and looked a little bemused. "About me? What about me? How handsome I am, I suspect. I knew your mother always had a thing for me."

Rose stifled a laugh. "It was rather serious."

"Since when are you ever serious, Rosie?" replied Draco, arching an eyebrow as he sat down next to her. She shrugged and he continued. "Look, whatever it is, you can tell me. They're not getting divorced, are they? Because of your mothers long time crush on me?"

Rose snorted and shook her head. "No, nothing like that, you egotistical bastard."

"You call it egotistical, I call it the truth," he murmured, but he wasn't taking this as seriously as Rose had wanted him to. "What is it, then?"

"My dad said... he said your Aunt tortured my mum, and that you just stood there and watched..." Rose watched Draco's face as it turned from full of colour due to the drink only moments ago, to white as a sheet at what she'd just said. "It's true?"

Draco lent forwards and placed his elbows on his knees. "It's complicated. Things back then were... hard."

"Hard? Oh yes," Rose spat, "I'm sure it's very hard to stand there and watch someone get tortured. And pray tell, is it even harder to torture them yourself?"

"I didn't torture her!" Draco practically screamed, turning his eyes straight onto hers. She was frightened now, he looked positively manic, running his fingers through his hair and tugging on the ends.

"My dad says that's only because he and Uncle Harry escaped from the cellar. Otherwise, you would have, wouldn't you?" She knew she was pushing him, perhaps over the edge by his reaction, but she couldn't stop. She had to know the details. She had to know if push came to shove, would her boyfriend really have tortured her mother? "Wouldn't you?! You would have taken your wand and cast the Cruciatus curse until she couldn't walk or talk anymore, just like your horrid Aunt did with Neville's parents!"

Although Draco's breathing was ragged, he said in a cold, calm voice, "Don't speak ill of the dead."

"Why not, Draco? Love your Aunt, did you? Want to be like her? A master torturer and killer?" She was speaking very loudly now, and at the word killer, Draco lunged forwards and grabbed her neck, pushing her hard into the sofa.

As though realising what he was doing was wrong, he let go of her and moved towards the edge of the sofa. He kept his eyes firmly on her as he said, "I didn't kill anyone, and I certainly didn't torture your mother."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "But you did torture someone, then? Just not my mother? Oh, well that's just fine and dandy. Who was it, Draco? Someone else in your year? Perhaps even another Slytherin?"

"Shut up!" Draco pressed his hands over his ears and leant forwards on his knees again. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut UP!"

The last word was such a piercing scream that an untimely silence fell over the room. It stayed there for several minutes as Rose contemplated what on earth she was going to do now. This she certainly hadn't expected. She was sure it had all been lies. After all, this is, was, her Draco, and he didn't seem as if he had it in him to torture or kill anyone.

How wrong a person could be.

Finally, after what felt like forever, Draco appeared to relax and his breathing began to steady. He turned to face her with a solemn expression on his face. "I had no choice but to be in the drawing room at that time. If I'd left, they would have killed me, or my family." She started to speak, but he held up a hand to silence her. "Hear me out. I didn't want to watch Hermione get tortured, believe me, that was the last thing I wanted. I tried my best not to identify them when they arrived in my manor, but my father was so very desperate to get back in the Dark Lord's good books, and my Aunt was... well, she was my Aunt.

"And I tried not to look, I did, but that sort of thing is... It's hard. Complicated. You can't know until you've been in that situation! If you were worried you or your family would be killed if you put a foot wrong, you would do what was asked of you too.

"Do you think I sleep easy every night? Do you think I drink only socially? No. I can't sleep without Dreamless Sleep Potions because I hear her screams at night, the blood on the floor, the pleading eyes that found me as she shook in pain. I drink to rid the image of her from my mind, to get those eyes out of my head. I have never been able to get over that night, Rosie, and I never will. My only saving grace is that I was interrupted and I didn't torture her, because, and this is not nice to hear, I would've had to."

Draco was right. That wasn't nice to hear, at all. And it changed everything in their relationship, everything. "Why didn't you tell me?"

He arched an eyebrow, eyeing her cautiously. "I was afraid of this reaction. And I wanted to do some good."

"Some good?" Rose frowned. "What do you mean by that? That you're only going out with me to make up for what happened to my mother?"

Draco shook his head quickly. "No, Rosie, no --" he started, but she stood up, fuming, and interrupted him.

"Don't call me that. Only my father can call me that."

"What happens now, then?" There was uncertainty in his voice, as though he didn't have a clue how this would end. But Rose did. She knew exactly what she had to do, no matter how painful.

"There's no more us," Rose said quietly. "There can't be. Not after this. Maybe... maybe if you had told me, been honest with me, there might have been a chance. But knowing you watched my mother being tortured and nearly -- would have -- done it yourself... No." She stalked towards the door, but Draco stood and grabbed her arm as she did so. With a glare she yanked it out of his grasp and carried on moving, the last words she spoke being, "You don't get to touch me anymore."

She knew she shouldn't have walked out, that she should have gone home or to her mum's by Floo, but she was just so upset, angry and disappointed, and she wasn't thinking straight. She could hardly go back in now and ask to use his Floo, not after that performance. So with a heavy sigh, she took a few moments to calm herself. She controlled her breathing, tried to vacate her head of anxious thoughts and took the opportunity to Apparate.

Thankfully, she arrived at her parents safe and sound. Why she was there and not at home she didn't know, perhaps it was a comfort thing, but she did know she just wanted to get into her old bed and fall into a deep sleep, pretend she never knew of the dark horrors of her boyfriend and her parents pasts.

"It's late," Hermione said softly as Rose walked into the kitchen. Her mum was sat by the counter reading a magazine while the clothes folded themselves, ready for the next day. Rose ignored her and carried on walking by. "Look, Rose, we know you're seeing Draco Malfoy."

Rose stopped in her tracks; she hadn't expected it to be blurted out like that, but then again, Hermione had always been very direct.

"And to be on the safe side, I think there are some things you should know."

Rose put up her hand to silence her mother and looked her straight in the eyes as she said, "I know them, mum. I know. You can be sure your son-in-law won't be a man who nearly tortured you, don't worry."

Now it appeared to be Hermione's turn to be taken aback, but Rose could sense a little bit of proudness behind her eyes. With a mutual understanding between them, without words having to be exchanged, Rose headed up to bed and cried herself to sleep, knowing it was going to be the first night of many like this.