Malfoy Manor is quiet, which is unusual. Nevertheless, Draco is splayed out on his bed, reading a book that Hermione recommended to him not long ago and enjoying the peace.
His phone buzzes suddenly, making him jump. He almost doesn't check it, considering he's feeling more relaxed than he has for a long while, but the temptation is too strong. So he picks up the phone, turns it on, and that's when he sees it.
The Barbie movie is coming out today.
He tosses his book somewhere across his room, not caring for saving his page, and darts downstairs. Every few steps, he stumbles awkwardly as his legs try to catch up with the speed he's attempting to make them run at.
"FATHER!" Draco yells, his voice straining with the volume he speaks at. "THE BARBIE MOVIE! IT'S COMING OUT TODAY!"
He skips down the hallway, heading right for the largest living room where his parents spend most of their time. The only one who seems to be there, however, is his mother.
"Why on Earth would Lucius care about a Barbie movie?" Mother asks, turning around from her position on one of the white sofas to question Draco. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as if searching for a logical explanation, although really, she should know her husband better if she thinks he won't care.
Father emerges from a room nearby, possibly the kitchen, but Draco is dizzy with excitement and unable to focus on much else so he can't be sure.
"Today?" Father says, a faint smile instantly creeping onto his face as he enters the living room; such a strange sight for a moody man. "I'll call everyone. Draco, go and get ready. If you don't have any pink robes, you can borrow mine, just this once. I have multiple."
Mother looks as if she's about to protest, her mouth opening to form words, but Father is already on the phone. "Severus. Meet us at the cinema at 3 o'clock sharp. Wear pink, and don't be late."
"Really, there is no need-" Mother begins, before being rightfully interrupted once again.
"Bellatrix. Meet us at the cinema at 3 o'clock sharp. Wear pink, and don't be late." Father says sternly down the phone. Once he puts it down, he turns and gives Draco a sharp look. "Go on! Hurry!"
Draco rushes up the stairs, just as quickly as he descended them earlier. Thankfully, he doesn't stumble this time.
He didn't want to admit it, but there was no need to borrow Father's clothes because he already has his own pink robes. A few days ago, he was shopping with Harry in Hogsmeade, and his eternally kind boyfriend offered to buy him something. Once his gaze landed on a pair of sparkly robes, hot pink and frilled on the sleeves, he insisted on getting them.
Harry thought he'd been joking, and just wanted to spend his money for no apparent reason. But now, as Draco searches through his wardrobe for the robes, he was glad to be proving him wrong.
He changes as soon as he finds them, then takes an ungodly amount of time on his hair and skincare. He also may have put a little bit of eyeliner on, but it is hardly noticeable.
The last order of business is to call his boyfriend, and force him along.
At first, he tries the same approach as his father did. "HARRY! Meet us at the cinema at 3 o'clock, wearing pink. Don't be late," he says over the phone.
"What? Who's us? And there is no way I'll be wearing pink." Harry replies, his confusion visible in his tone.
"Oh, whatever, be boring then. At least wear something fancy. And don't worry about who us is, just come."
"Draco, I'd love to really, but I'm going to need an explanation." Harry is so difficult! Why is this so much simpler for Father? Everyone always listens to him.
"The Barbie movie. My parents and a few others will be there. Just come, please," Draco explains, putting emphasis on the word 'please' in an attempt to convince an unnaturally stubborn Harry. Maybe pleading will make him listen.
He hears a sigh from the other end of the phone. "I don't know why on Earth you'd want to see Barbie, but whatever, I trust you. I'll be there at 3."
Draco quietly cheers and hangs up. Mission accomplished.
He checks the time: 2:15pm. The cinema is only a few minutes away, and he isn't worried about Harry making it on time, because he doesn't have a 12-step skincare routine nor care much for the state of his hair. So he relaxes, waiting for the time to come, practically jumping from excitement.
Barely fifteen minutes later, Father is yelling up the stairs. "Draco! Come down now, if we get there early we can get the Barbie popcorn!"
Draco leaps up from his bed and quickly admires his hair and outfit in the long mirror on his wall before sprinting downstairs, a little more carefully than last time in case he ruins his perfect robes.
Father is dressed in a similar hot pink colour to his son, except his robes are made of satin instead of sequin fabric. Mother, of course, has decided to go more simple with her fashion choices, but Draco can't help noticing her pink t-shirt underneath her grey coat.
They hop into the car, driving to the cinema as quickly as possible. The Barbie soundtrack blasts on the radio, courtesy of Father. Draco was pretty sure he skipped at least 2 traffic lights on the way, being too distracted by Lizzo's voice to pay much attention to the road.
Finally, after a lot of singing in the car (which actually sounded more like screaming), they reach the cinema. Severus and Bellatrix are already standing at the entrance, each holding a popcorn bucket with the Barbie logo on it.
Severus is dressed in the same robes as Father, which can not possibly be a coincidence. Bellatrix has a lovely, long pink dress on. Her hair is as wild as always, but there are pink streaks in it. Probably extensions, considering her hair is much too dark to bleach properly.
Father grabs onto Mother's hand, walking them both to the food stall excitedly as if he were a child. Mother shakes her head, but her expression of awe was obvious. Bellatrix follows them, quickly starting a conversation with her sister. This leaves Draco standing with his godfather.
"Your robes look... quite spectacular." Severus says in a genuine tone. Draco is always happy to receive compliments from him. It's not often this happens, making each compliment even more special.
"So do yours. I notice you're matching with my father," Draco observes.
Severus looks over in Father's direction, the ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "Yes, I suppose I am."
The happy moment doesn't last long before a shrill cry erupts from Father. "What do you mean, there's no Barbie popcorn left? This is ludicrous!"
Draco rushes away from Severus and towards Father. Anyone would think there's a crime scene, with the amount of noise he's making. Not that Draco is much better in most situations. Like father, like son.
"I'm sorry, sir. The woman standing next to you took the last bucket," Draco overhears the cashier say as he approaches the scene.
Father immediately shoots an evil scowl towards Bellatrix, who is happily munching her popcorn without a care in the world. She laughs manically after noticing the expression on his face.
"Aww, poor Lucius didn't get his popcorn!" Bellatrix says in her most sarcastic tone. Father does not seem impressed, his expression growing darker by the second. "Oh, come on! Are you really that scared to get some?"
As if to prove she isn't afraid, Bellatrix walks over to a nearby child who also holds a tub of Barbie popcorn. She innocently waves to the child, then snatches the tub and quickly escapes, her expression seeming completely unbothered.
Father takes the popcorn from her, immediately cheering up; the anger on his face clears as he holds up the tub like it's an ancient artefact.
"Draco," Severus calls out behind them, and he almost forgot that his godfather was here because of the chaos. "I'm guessing he is here for you."
Draco turns around, confused until he spots the green-eyed boy beside Severus. Harry is finally here.
He runs up to Harry, enfolding him in a loving embrace, although that might be the wrong way to describe it considering the fact that he was gripping so tightly that he was literally sucking the air out of him.
Harry wears a plain black suit, a stark contrast from almost everyone around him, but at least he still looks incredibly handsome.
"Now, hurry along," Father calls out, happily munching on a piece of stolen popcorn as he leads everyone to the correct room. Draco looks around for a child to steal from too, but finds everyone around him equally as popcorn-less and disappointed.
They find their seats pretty quickly; Father has booked out the entire top row, although really the amount of seats they have is unnecessary. At least nobody else will be sitting near them.
Harry insists on taking the end seat, so he is only sat next to Draco and not one of his supposedly crazy family members. "Narcissa is really the only tolerable one, and sometimes Severus, although he is a little extra today." Harry whispers once they are sat.
It's lucky that Severus, sitting on the other side of Draco, didn't overhear. Although he's most likely too engrossed in Father's ranting about the supposed plot of the movie.
Draco has no idea what to expect. In fact, he has avoided all mentions of spoilers, and tries to block out his father's voice.
"See what I mean? Crazy," Harry laughs quietly, gesturing towards Father. "Although, to be honest, you do act like him a lot of the time."
Draco decides to take this as a compliment, and relaxes into his seat, which is red and velvety. He takes a piece of popcorn from Severus' tub, which earns him a large sigh, but his godfather doesn't protest.
After what feels like forever, the movie starts and everyone goes silent.
The opening scene is fun and endearing, exactly how Draco expects. Harry, however, does not seem to be experiencing the same level of entertainment.
"Why did you make me watch this? We should've gone to see Oppenheimer instead," he groans.
"Say that again and I might just break up with you," Draco says quietly, rolling his eyes. "Now shush!"
The perfectness of the movie takes a turn for the worst, and suddenly everything in Barbie's life seems to be going wrong, and she has to visit Weird Barbie.
"HOW COULD THEY CALL HER UGLY? THAT'S KATE MCKINNON!" Bellatrix yells in shock, causing everyone in the cinema to stare at her for a few seconds. Weird Barbie actually reminds Draco of Bellatrix herself, but he doesn't say this aloud.
Barbie is in the real world now, with Ken following closely behind. The real world is not as they thought it would be - they discover that it's run by men!
"Okay, I understand the message and everything, but this film feels so childish. Can we please-" Harry begins.
"Shut up," Severus interrupts. Draco nods in agreement; he resents his boyfriend's ability to enjoy great movies.
Oh, it's so terrible! The Barbie company is made up of men entirely! Draco has become a huge advocate for equality, and seeing the truth is devastating. He wants to climb inside of the movie and tell all of the men to shut up.
Back to Barbie land they go. But wait... Ken is taking over. He's using his patriarchal powers to dominate the land and make it into his own!
Draco looks down the aisle of seats, hearing a noise, which he finds out is actually just Bellatrix throwing the remains of her popcorn in a rage. He also notices that Mother, who had been reluctant to come, seems to have settled in nicely. She is completely focused on the screen, and her coat is even unbuttoned to reveal the pink underneath it.
Draco doesn't have time to comment on this - he needs to know what will happen next.
Get Ken out of there! What sort of name is Mojo Dojo Casa house?!
Barbie is so hopeless, and in this moment, Draco really empathises with her. Of course, he may never understand what it's like to live as a girl, but he can at least sympathise. He does this pretty well - the sadness radiates from the big screen in front of him.
Now, the woman from the human world is making some sort of speech about how unfair woman are treated, how complicated rules have been set for them since birth. Draco grabs hold of Harry's hand, feeling a tad bit emotional.
Bellatrix, on the other hand, is not afraid of letting her emotions show. Draco doesn't look down the aisle again, not wanting to miss a second of the movie, but he can hear her soft sobs clearly.
By the end of the movie, Barbie teaches Ken how to be his own person. She meets the creator of Barbie, and wants to become a real girl, facing real life problems, and the scene is just so moving that Draco really does cry.
He is still holding onto Harry's hand, this time gripping harder than ever before. Bellatrix's sobs have become full on wails, and there's even a little sniff next to him from the usually unemotional Severus.
"It's sweet, but I didn't realise it was so emotional," Harry says. Draco immediately lets go of his hand, and rubs at his tears instead.
"You just don't get it!" Draco cries out. The film finishes, and the end credits have started to roll with Nicki Minaj in the background, but nobody moves yet.
Harry reaches out his hand, placing it onto Draco's shoulder. "Hey, uh, it's okay..."
"No!" Draco shrugs his hand off. He leans into Severus' shoulder on his other side instead, much to Harry's disappointment. Usually, Severus would whack him straight off, but this time, he seems to accept it.
The music changes, and on comes Billie Eillish's song, which somehow makes Bellatrix even more hysterical.
Mother, who has a lot of care for her sister, suggests that they leave before things get worse. There is a slight strain in her voice, showing she may have been crying, too. Father clung to Mother's side like a sloth, apparently needing to be comforted.
They leave the room slowly, going back into the cinema's entrance, where they take a seat on a nearby sofa to come to terms with what they had just watched.
"It was just so moving!" Bellatrix explains, not bothering to wipe the tears still coming from her eyes.
Draco takes his chance to finally talk about his feelings towards the movie. "I agree. I think it was a perfect example of inequality in our society, of how women have unfair expectations, and are constantly placed under men in a hierarchy. There's so much pressure on them to be perfect, yet whatever they do, nothing is good enough. Men always have the power over them, having an advantage right from birth, even if they don't realise it. I think the movie did a great job reflecting-"
"Draco. Everybody is looking at you," Harry warns him, sitting down next to him on the sofa.
"I DON'T CARE! AM I NOT KENOUGH FOR YOU HARRY?" Draco yells, unbothered in the slightest about who is looking at him. The whole world could, and he still would carry on yelling.
"What?! Don't tell me you're using that ridiculous quote," Harry laughs softly - not in a mocking way, but Draco still feels mocked.
Harry notices his increasingly crestfallen look and pulls him into a hug. "Hey. I didn't mean to make you upset. You're-" Harry falters, as if not quite believing what he is saying. "You're Kenough for me."
Draco smiles at this, despite himself. "Buy me the Ken hoodie and maybe I'll forgive you for not understanding the movie."
Harry scoffs, opening his mouth as if about to protest, before Severus speaks instead, giving his input. "That was the most beautiful movie I have ever seen. Thank you for inviting me, Lucius."
Father's head is resting on Mother's shoulder, and she runs her fingers softly through his hair. "I think Lucius can agree," Narcissa says, speaking on his behalf as he seems unable to. "I never thought I'd say this, but I think I do, too."
Bellatrix stands up from her position on the armchair of the sofa, and strolls over to a Barbie poster lay out across a wall. "Someone take a photo of me. Now! Make sure Margot Robbie is in it," she demands through tears.
Draco gets up, being the only one willing to take a photo. He takes a few, then turns to Harry with raised eyebrows and a smile. "Fancy taking a photo with me?"
"Alright, whatever," Harry sighs, but he smiles, too.
As Harry wraps his arm around Draco's waist for the photo, he zones out and mentally calculates how much money he has left over, which is completely unnecessary when he is part of one of the wealthiest families, with a wealthy boyfriend. He knows that later, he will be buying 'I Am Kenough' hoodies for everyone who came along.