New Clothes
The day finally arrived; the announcement for the new Head of Slytherin was to be made, and the school year would start. Everything was like Harry remembered on his first day at Hogwarts, with many wide-eyed first-years lining up to get sorted into houses. After they’ve all been seated, McGonagall stands and introduces the other teachers and Heads of Houses, and then it was Harry’s turn.
“Everyone, welcome your new Head of Slytherin, Harry Potter!” She projected to the grand hall.
When he stood to greet the room, Harry was met with gasps and shocked faces, as to be expected. What wasn’t expected, however, was the slew of scowls from the older Slytherin students, he couldn’t tell if it was from the fact he was a Gryffindor or that he was Harry Potter. Either way, this was going to make for a very long year.
The next day, Harry was met with piles of letters from the Slytherins’ parents, many of them wanting to meet with him to discuss his qualifications and intentions, which he guessed was pretty fair given that Harry didn’t even think he was qualified. The meetings went as expected; the parents mainly lectured Harry, and any time he would try to explain McGonagall's reasoning behind her decision. They typically respected the reason but were very hung up on the fact that he was the one to do it.
Weeks would pass, and he still got letters about everything, not to mention the papers calling him ‘The Griffon in the Snaked den’ and mainly commenting on Harry’s professionalism and him ‘not having the Slytherin way,’ which he had absolutely no clue what that even meant. Still, he figured he better find out in order to connect with his students. The students being a whole other issue entirely. Typically, they go to literally any other teacher for their problems, which is ok, but he’s noticing how connected they are to a certain potions teacher. Draco is one of the only Slytherin teachers at the school, and the students absolutely adore him, even the non-Slytherin students, many go to eat lunch with him or just hang out with him during his prep period, which doesn’t make Harry angry or jealous at all.
Ok, so maybe he needs some help charming Slytherins after all, especially the parents. Harry swallowed his Gryffindor-sized pride and went down to the dungeons to Draco’s room. It was dark and cold like Harry remembered, and then he finally reached what he was dreading: Malfoy’s room. He raised his hand hesitantly to knock, similar to how he did when he was going to the Three Broomsticks, why must Malfoy have this power over him still he’s bloody 33 years old. A bit after he finally knocked on the door, Draco answered with a bewildered look. He was dressed down given that it wasn’t a class day, and it was quite odd to see given that Harry has never really seen Malfoy in casual dress, come to think of it. It was just a simple dark gray long-sleeve shirt that had a very worn and stretched-out neckline that showed off his collar bone, paired with very baggy black pants that almost looked like a skirt. He didn’t know why it caught him so off guard, but it left Harry standing there speechless.
“May I help you, Potter?” Draco asked pointedly
“..yeah uhm, possibly ahem,” Harry stuttered out. “Did you, um, mean what you said about helping me with my…wardrobe?”
Malfoy gave an amused smirk “Come in.” he left with the door open for Harry to follow him in, and despite every bone of his body telling him not to, he did.
It was normal, pretty much the same as Harry’s, given that it was the ‘teacher’s quarters’ except it was decorated like Draco, of course. There was a mix of fancier, expensive, expensive-looking furniture with some more worn items that looked used or handed down like Ron’s place. It was surprisingly cozy, just like his classroom, full of plants and crystals. It was lit with many candles, given that it didn’t have windows, unlike the classroom, which meant the plants were different. Draco came in with an armful of clothes and set them down on the couch, and Harry forgot what he even came in here for.
“Alright, these are just a few things I could find unless you wanted to go shopping for some, in that case, I would need a bit of an advance to get approval,” Draco said as he ran his fingers through his hair, Harry didn’t even realize it wasn’t in it’s normal slicked back style, it was more like how it was at the Three Broomsticks but more in his face.
“Approval for what? We don’t have classes today,” Harry asked.
“Well, Potter, I’m under strict supervision given that I’m a Death Eater”
Harry felt his stomach drop, he forgot about Draco even being a Death Eater, let alone the restriction placed on them after the War. Most were banned from the wizarding world and forced to live as a muggle; others like Draco, who didn’t have much of a choice, could stay as long as they stuck to the rule that Harry and Ron set up together when Harry was an Auror. Rules such as not being able to freely travel without approval from the Ministry, he guessed that, extended to going to and from Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. Harry then wondered what Draco had to write to get approval for their meeting.
“Right..sorry, um, no, this should be fine for now, but maybe later just because these are a bit.” He picked up a few dress shirts that were all pure black “..dark”
“Yeah, well, I don’t exactly wear bright yellow and red”
“I guess it should work for my meeting with Amina’s parents”
“Merlin, good luck, in that case, I think this should work best.” Draco handed him a nice shirt and pants, Harry assumed, it all just seemed like a bunch of black fabric to him “You can try it on in my room, but come out when you’re done so I can see”
“Ok, thanks.” It was still awkward between them, but less than it was when they were at the pub, Draco was almost excited when Harry asked him for help, maybe due to the fact that it was Harry finally wanting to be more Slytherin, what Draco always wanted him to be.
Harry entered Draco’s room and closed the door behind him. Okay, this is getting too weird, never did he ever think he would be in Draco Malfoy’s bedroom, let alone trying on his clothes. He had to admit his room was nice, far more clean than Harry’; it had a decent amount of mirrors that made it appear more open, given that it still didn’t have windows. There were a lot of blankets and pillows that adorned his bed. It was pretty cold in the dungeon, and most of them seemed decorative, though, given the intricate beadwork on a few of the pillows. The walls had a lot of artwork on them as well, but since they didn’t move at all, they must’ve been muggle. The only artwork that did move, however, was a picture of him and his mother looking rather happy. Draco looked to be about 14 in the photo, and from his clothes, Harry remembered him wearing that suit for the Yule Ball. It must’ve been taken before the dance, they looked happy.
He decided he was stalling long enough and that it was finally time to try on the clothes. They fit…okay, to say the least, let's just say that Draco didn’t have the same ‘fatherly build’ that Harry had. The shirt fits pretty well. It probably wasn’t as flowy as it was supposed to be, but it was nice, and the sleeves were a cool touch, it reminded him of a robe with them being flared towards the ends. Next was the vest, it was tight but not in an uncomfortable way, almost like a corset or something. It was snug and contoured his figure nicely. The vest had a very dark silver pattern in a shinier fabric that looked like roses, which complemented well with the dark black of the rest of the vest. Finally, the trousers, yeah, Harry couldn’t exactly get those over his thighs, but he was wearing black slacks anyway, so did it even matter?
When he looked at himself in the mirror, he wasn’t displeased; he actually looked quite handsome but not really like himself. He seemed dark and posh, like Malfoy, which reminds Harry that he’s probably been waiting for a while.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Draco’s bedroom door was Malfoy sitting on his couch, quietly reading his book, trying not to dwell on the fact that The Harry Potter was in his room trying on his clothes. Why did he agree to do this in the first place? It's not like their friends, but for the sake of his house, he’ll do it. After what felt like years, he heard his door open and was…not mad at what he saw. Of course, it was still Potter, hair an absolute mess and nerdish round glasses. He resembled a kid wearing his father's clothes. His tie was in a loose knot, and the shirt was untucked, combined with the tight vest, it made it stick out at the bottom.
Draco chuckled a little. “At least tuck in the shirt, it is a suit, after all”
“Right, sorry.” Harry turned and quickly tucked it in, which definitely improved the overall silhouette. After turning back around, Draco’s eyes narrowed down at Harry’s tie.
“Honestly,” Malfoy’s hands reached up to his tie and untied it to redo it. “Didn’t your fa- ahem anyone teach you how to tie a proper tie?” He was aware of his slip-up and turned a little red from it.
Harry took a breath, he didn’t think he’s ever been this close to Malfoy “No, I taught myself, and it’s not like it matters that much”
“Of course it does.” He finished tying it and stepped back as if to admire his work, “you’re representing my house, after all”
“Suppose you're right, but it doesn’t exactly represent me”
“Well, no, it is my clothes after all.” Draco began to circle around Harry, checking to see if there were any more imperfections in the outfit “We can figure out a good in-between when we go out”
“Out?”
“Yeah, when I get permission, we can go to Hogsmeade together, and I can tell you what looks good or not.” He said this like it wouldn’t be as awkward as their previous outing at Hogsmeade was.
“Right yeah, but for now will this be good enough?” Harry went back into Malfoy’s room to get another look at himself in the mirror, Draco followed behind.
“I think so, you don’t look completely horrible”
“Gee thanks” He rolled his eyes, and they were getting along so well.
“Well I just mean it’s not very you obviously, so it’s hard to get a good read on it” Malfoy went back into his dresser to search for something else that might suit him better “Aha!” he began to walk back over to pin something on the vest.
“What’s this?” Harry looked in the mirror to see a rose broach with a gold trim around it. Gryffindor colors
“There, it’s a start, and you can keep that I don’t exactly wear gold. More of a silver person myself” He waved his hand to show off some stacked rings on his finger, all silver and dark green.
“Thank you, not just for the broach but for all this”
“Trust me, finally getting you out of those rags is a thank you enough” He gave a laugh as he patted Harry’s back. “Plus when we go out, ‘you’ can pay for everything” there’s the Slytherin catch Harry was waiting for.
“Well I guess I’ll be off, again thank you”
“Don’t thank me yet, you still have to have the meeting with Amina’s parents and given what she has said about them, you are going to need a lot more than just new clothes to get you through” Draco said while tapping a wine glass he had out before Harry came in.
“Yeah maybe we should get drinks after our shopping trip”
“Maybe”
Maybe…maybe they can be good colleagues one day.