Chapter 6
“Stupid ball, stupid Theo,” Draco muttered irritably as he shoved his nose deeper into the upturned collar of his overcoat. While it was sweet of Theo to go out of his way to buy him a new suit for the ball, the whole affair did seem rather coercive. And the idiot hadn’t even gotten his size right!
An older wizard brusquely swept past him, slamming into his shoulder as he passed. He glanced at Draco, his eyes widening when he recognised the younger wizard, then scoffed. Draco heard the faint “scum” hissed in his direction as the man went on his way and winced internally. Yet another reason he wanted to stay indoors and not go to this bloody ball. There were still many people in wizarding society who hadn’t forgiven him for his crimes – rightfully so – and the ball was likely to be teeming with them. After all, many survivors and participants of the war were often brought in as guests of honour.
As he hurried along Diagon Alley, he considered casting a covert glamour charm to conceal his appearance. It would make walking through the most populated wizarding community far easier. Before he could even deliberate any further, the cobblestones he was staring down at gave way to smooth pavement and a series of small steps. He had arrived.
Taking a deep breath, Draco pushed the shop door open, a silver bell jingling to announce his presence. A middle-aged woman with high cheekbones and a regal appearance hurried over, smiling at her potential customer.
“Welcome, dear, come in! How can Madam Malkin’s help you – today.” Madam Malkin’s voice trailed off as she stared at Draco with an unreadable expression – was that curiosity or disgust in her eyes?
“Hi,” Draco stepped forward tentatively. “I was just wondering if you could tailor a suit for me.” He raised the suit bag that Theo had given.
Madam Malkin’s eyes flicked to the back and she seemed to gather herself, bustling forward and taking the bag. “Yes, yes of course! Let’s take a look, shall we?”
Draco followed her deeper into the shop as the older woman guided him to a wooden worktable where she laid out the suit. “Thank you so much for doing this at such short notice.”
If Madam Malkin was surprised by Draco’s politeness, she didn’t show it. “Of course, dearie, that’s my job after all. Now, this is a beautifully made suit.” She waved her wand and the clothes magically floated over towards him. “Compliments your hair quite well.”
Draco scratched his ear nervously. “It does, but it’s a little too small for me. I think Theo used some out-of-date measurements when he had it made for me.”
Madam Malkin nodded knowingly. “The waist needs taking in as well. Resizing it shouldn’t be much of an issue, and I could get it done in about ten minutes. The only problem is that I don’t have any sample fabric that matches the materials of the suit. Even if I undo the seams, I’ll still need an inch or two of extra fabric.”
Draco watched her eyebrows furrow. Oh no, not another person who was upset with him. What if she refused to tailor the suit? “It doesn’t matter what fabric you use,” he said hurriedly. “Really, I don’t mind. Whatever’s easier for you.”
Madam Malkin smiled at him. “Of course, dearie. I can add some accents and move the fabric around, so it won’t look silly.” She flicked her wand, and a measuring tape came zooming over. “Let’s get your new measurements and we’ll be done in no time.”
Draco stood with his arms raised, feeling a little silly as Madam Malkin measured him, humming to herself and scribbling on a little notepad. After a moment: she stepped back, gathering the suit up and floating it towards a door which likely led to the back rooms of the store.
Madam Malkin turned and fixed Draco with a stare. “This should take a few minutes dear, would you mind waiting?” Draco nodded tightly and the witch swept into her workroom.
Once the door closed behind the witch, Draco let out a breath. This wasn’t too bad. Madam Malkin at the very least didn’t seem to hate him. And that was after the awful way he had treated her the last time he had seen her. All over a Dark Mark.
He rubbed his left arm absentmindedly, once again lamenting his idiocy when he had taken the Mark. It was a damn miracle that Madam Malkin didn’t hate him.
The bell jingled again, waking him out of his stupor, and Draco moved to the side to give way to the new customer.
“Oh!” Draco whipped around at the sound of the familiar voice and came face to face with none other than Hermione Granger.
“Hello, Malfoy.” Her voice didn’t sound full of hate. She seemed – nice. “Is Madam Malkin in?”
Draco cleared his throat. His mouth suddenly felt full of cotton. “Yes, she’s in the back. I think she’ll be out soon.”
Hermione nodded, gazing around the shop and fiddling with her wand. She seemed uncomfortable.
“What are you here for?” Draco blurted. Hermione looked back at him, a slightly perturbed expression on her face. God, he was so socially awkward. Maybe Theo was right about getting out and talking to people who weren’t house elves.
“I’m just picking up a dress for the charity ball this week,” Hermione replied.
“This Thursday?” Draco questioned. Hermione nodded. “That’s what I’m here for, too.”
“Oh, that’s a nice change,” Hermione noted. “You haven’t come to any of Kingsley’s balls since he initiated the tradition.”
She had noticed that? Did people really miss his absence? He doubted it. Perhaps she noticed because she wanted to avoid him as best as she could. Who would want to fraternise with their school bully, anyway? “I didn’t really feel it was my place,” Draco replied. Before he could say anything else, Madam Malkin came bustling over with a number of coloured squares.
“Which colour would you like your accents to be, dear?” She spread the fabrics across the counter.
Draco stared at Hermione, nonplussed. He didn’t know the first thing about fashion. How the fuck was he supposed to know what colour the accents should be?
Hermione seemed to catch onto his idiocy and quickly jumped in. “I think that navy would look best with any colour, wouldn’t it?”
Madam Malkin hummed. “Quite right, dearie,” she murmured, and swept away.
Draco felt hot around his neck. “Thank you,” he muttered to the curly haired witch. Hermione only nodded politely. Theo would have a field day with this. His first time actually engaging with the public and he was inconveniencing war heroine Hermione Granger of all people. And looking like an idiot in the process.
Draco thanked every star in the sky that Madam Malkin returned from the back room, saving him from any further embarrassment. His suit was wrapped up in several layers of navy tissue paper, which the seamstress slipped into a bag and handed to him with a beam. Draco noticed how her fingers twitched to avoid his as they exchanged the Galleons for the alteration.
Shifting the bag into his left hand, Draco smiled briefly at Madam Malkin and thanked her again for her services. He was about to leave when Hermione spoke.
“See you at the ball this week.” Was that a genuine smile on her face? Or had she rehearsed her public appearances so often that she was able to easily school her expression into one of delight? Surely it had to be the latter. No Muggleborn would smile that happily at a Death Eater.
Draco nodded. “See you,” he muttered, and swept out of the shop, the silver bell above the door tinkling behind him.
Madam Malkin watched the wizard’s retreating back until she could no longer see him. Then she turned to Hermione. “My apologies, dearie. How can I help you?”
Hermione shook her head and smiled at the other witch. “Don’t worry about it. Parvati placed an order for me yesterday. I’m just here to pick it up.”
Madam Malkin smiled knowingly. “Aaah, that beautiful number. Just a second, I’ll be right back.”
She retreated to the storerooms, picking up a stunning navy satin dress with an off-shoulder sweetheart neckline and glimmering moonstones cascading down the dress, giving the appearance that the dress was dripping diamonds. She hurriedly returned to the front of the shop and handed the dress to the young witch. It was a stunning piece, and although Hermione didn’t give it a second glance, Madam Malkin knew how gorgeous the witch would look.
And although neither of her customers had shown any interest in one another, she knew that a certain blond-haired wizard would appreciate the sight as well.