Draco

I was pacing. Again. The backstage buzz completely drowned out, I was trying to rehearse the short speech I'd prepared but instead, I was keeping to go back to peeping through the curtains of the stage staring at the people at the entrance. Even though my parents were hosting this charity event, my mum kept checking on me, regularly leaving my father alone at the entrance to welcome every guest personally to hurry backstage and see if I was still holding up. Smiling at me proud and encouraging. It was strange, and if I wouldn’t have been so nervous, I would have loved it. This had to be the first time ever she was truly proud of something I did; something that was my own and not something someone ordered me to do. But it has been years since I've been anywhere near what one could call “in public” in the magical world. Unless you count the bi-weekly reports and checkups at the Ministry of Magic. Which I don't, especially since I’m always going out of my way to ensure running into as few people as possible.

I always floo there, very early in the morning, then go straight to the meeting room and wait there for the assigned employee. Once the talking, scanning and paperwork were done, I take the shortest route, keeping my head down and floo right back out of there. I think I've only derived from this schedule on 3 occasions. Once to take a call in the hallway to not disturb the paperwork being done to shout at some delivery company for messing with the schedule and working out a solution to get the collection to the runway on time. This was the first big-of-a-deal fashion show where models would run with clothes of mine; this was about 2 years ago. I still remember the wary looks I got from people eyeing me and I'm pretty sure that wasn't due to the cell phone I was whispering shouts at. The next time I left the room about a year after that to calm down an actress that was a handful constantly insecure and throwing tantrums changing her order of a couple of dresses every other day; again I had to take the call in the hallway to not slow down the paperwork. I remember mocking looks from employees and visitors that passed me by but tried to not pay them any attention. The last time I had to go to the loo - that was only shortly after the incident with the actress - which led to me passing by my former classmates, to be specific Potter and Wesley who were having a rather noisy discussion with some of their Auror colleagues. A small shudder runs down my spine every time I think of their unnerving glares as I passed them by. “Long time no see, Malfoy.”, Potter had said coldly while Weasley just stared me up and down. I nodded at them politely and excused myself, feeling their hostile stares on my back as I hurried down the aisle.

The worst thing was that I couldn't even blame them for it. After the war, my family was lucky to not be sent to Azkaban with everything that had happened. Father handed over evidence and helped capture other Death Eaters on the loose. Mother and I were also under constant supervision by the Ministry back then. I'm sure they were there for our awareness rather than for actually keeping us in check since their magic would have sufficed for that. After one year I was given my wand back and after another year, a couple of months ago, the surveillance was reduced to magic alarms and bi-weekly reports and wand-scans.

Since I couldn't bear the hatred and anger of wizards and witches around me, I stopped going anywhere once school and war were over. I was done with my family's beliefs and upbringing and done with everyone expecting me to recover and redeem myself without really giving me a chance. I wanted to, sincerely, but people just kept judging and were offended by me trying to start a new life. That's when Pansy and Blaise, the only two friends that remained at my side, suggested I try to get a foothold in the Muggle world so I could have a fresh, unstained start in my new life. They also spend a huge amount of time telling me I was only being paranoid, but I could feel the hate and stares everywhere I went. Eventually, they stopped trying to convince me that there was still a place for me in this world and focused their energy instead on supporting me venturing out into unknown Muggle territory.

My parents didn't respond too well to that idea but since the Ministry approved and support the notion, I did just that. I still loved my parents, hell, they were the only reason I ever got myself into this mess, but I also noticed that they were slow to change and evolve. Especially my father, who despised my new self and beliefs. Although their guilt and sorrow felt real, they still couldn't fully let go of the pure-blood supremacy thing. I've learned about the Muggle ways, which were surprisingly interesting, and took a particular liking to the fashion industry. I studied the craft and used Muggle Social Media to share my crafted clothes. It didn’t take long until I was discovered, gaining the attention of more and more people. After a short while, I was contacted by some local Muggle celebrity and we’ve worked out a deal for her to wear my outfits to events. From then on it escalated pretty quickly. I was now a famous Muggle fashion designer, shipping fashion collections to various countries around the world. I’ve been featured in many magazines and had been contacted a handful of times for “behind the scenes”-like features that I all politely declined. Despite me not using all that much magic anymore, I still didn’t want to take any chances.

Still, here I was now at the first Wizard event in years feeling alienated and freaking out over what was going to happen. Where was Pansy when you needed her? This was all her fault anyway. Since the war pure-blood philosophy was being slowly, but steadily removed from all aspects of a witches and wizards life - which was a good thing in my opinion - magical people grew more accustomed to Muggle things, adopting movie theatres, cell phones and other Muggle things, there were also more and more people interested in fashion. There wasn’t too much fashion specifically for witches and wizards yet, so Pansy and Blaise saw this as another chance for me to return to the magical world. Pansy even got mother onto their team and for months they kept pushing me to craft a collection of Muggle-styled clothing with magical enhancements. I finally gave in, intrigued by the ideas that sparked in my mind for a magically enhanced wardrobe. I was still reluctant to get in touch with other people, but crafting magical clothes seemed secluded enough to give it a try. The paperwork with the Ministry was a nightmare and it wasn't easy to get a small boutique in the proximity of Diagon Alley either, but I’ve finally managed to get ready to open the store. So far I’ve sent Pansy, Blaise or my mother to sort things out, besides the extra trips to the Ministry.

As an early birthday present my mother wished for me to attend one of my parent’s charity events that they regularly hosted where they raised funds for rebuilding damage caused by the war. She wanted me to announce my magical store and to auction a magical enhanced suit and dress as a grand finale. In a weak moment of me bathing in my mother’s praise and affection, I had agreed. So here I was, still pacing up and down on the stage behind the curtains, regretting to have ever agreed to do so. I was still glancing nervously at the gathering audience and the people arriving, silently cursing my mother and best friends for getting me into this mess.

Even though the staff didn't seem particularly hostile, I was still trying to avoid them as much as I could. They were probably just trying to be civil and I didn’t want to push my luck. When the models arrived I greeted them shorty, instructing them on their outfits and its abilities and sending them off to get changed and practice the handling of the pieces. They seemed genuinely interested in the attire and professional enough to not be affected by who I was. I'd need to check on them shortly, but I was hoping to do so accompanied by Pansy and Blaise, so they could feel more comfortable around me - and I would feel safer, too. Glancing again at the entrance, to my dismay, instead of spotting my best friends, I spotted Potter with the Weasley girl holding hands, smiling at the cameras and greeting my parents politely. They were followed by Granger who was arm in arm with a guy I didn't recognise. Where was the Weasley sidekick and since when wasn’t Granger with him anymore? After exchanging pleasantries with my parents and some more photographs they also moved on. Oh, there was the redhead; although he didn’t look like a mere sidekick anymore. To be fair, I wouldn’t have recognised him from this distance if it wasn’t for his fiery red hair and his wide lopsided grin. That lanky boy with too big hands and feet I loved to hate so much turned out to have become a buffed, well-proportioned guy. He also seemed to have found a sense for fashion, as he wore a royal blue suit that matched the red of his hair and his short stubble beard. Good for him.

“Excuse me, Mr Malfoy, sir”. I shook my head with a small movement and tore my eyes away from Weasley who was posing like a model for the camera teams. When did he grow self-esteem? I abruptly turned around as I straightened up to shift back into my professional self and attended to one of the staff. “The models would be ready and waiting for you, sir”. She left eyeing me suspiciously as I nodded her off briefly and went straight to the dressing rooms.