Malfoy Manor was shrouded in the peaceful darkness of the cold September morning. The old stone foundations whistling softly as a sudden gust of wind blew through, it stood desolate, prominent in the middle of its vast lands, completely in accessible to the outside world. Within its opulent Master suite, amongst grey silk sheets he writhed, stretching his body as far as he could to the farthest reaches of his emperor oak bed. Sleep was not his friend tonight and he found himself entirely unable to fall over the edge into blissful slumber.
He had been alone in this house for almost a year now, his parents fled following the war. His Father left without a second thought yet his dear mother was tortured by the prospect of leaving him behind, he was the only Malfoy not to face Azkaban at the hands of the Ministry. As such they knew he must remain if they had any chance of retaining not only the prestige of their name but also the vast wealth associated with their largely profitable industries.
At first he had revelled in the freedom his independence brought. His small, loyal band of followers barely left the manor through the first month whilst he hosted never ending parties, consumed by fire whisky and a lavish saturation of debauchery, he'd affectionally named them "The lost parties" for the lost children of pureblood parents taken to hiding, left to pick up the pieces of their parents sullied businesses. Slowly but surely he had lost interest and one by one his friends had made their way back to their retrospective homes and the emptiness that awaited them all, then it was just him, all alone but for an army of house elves.
Here he was laid in bed in a cold sweat contemplating the situation he found himself in and trying to recall the last time he felt anything other than sheer contempt for the world around him. He was angry, angry at this parents, at himself, angry at everything really. He shivered in disgust as he thought over the current state of affairs, the war had cast a dark shadow over the whole magical world. The balance had been tipped and despite the "golden trio" leading the order to victory, the world remained in a horrible precarious position, threatening to topple at any given moment.
The issue simply, was that despite a great majority of the magical world whole heartedly supporting the order and celebrating it young hero's, the pureblood families still dominated industry and finance. They owned almost every large magical company and controlled most all of their worlds capital. One evening he'd tried to explain this very simply to Pansy whilst she laid beside him in his bed at the manor "Basically, they have all the manpower, whilst we hold the purse strings." It was a very simple but very fair evaluation. The pureblood families had essentially been outcast from polite society, yet were still relied on for practical matters. They lived in the shadows of parties, too important to be forgotten but too dangerous to be embraced.
He had found some comfort with Pansy over the first few months, like his, her parents had also taken to hiding after the events of the war leaving her elder brother as head of her family and inheritor of their estates. It was unclear as to whether they would ever return but as Malfoy laid in bed that night, he was under no illusion that his own parents would surely be the last to ever contemplate returning, they were by far the most serious offenders.
Following the war Hogwarts had closed for a year to allow the almost complete rebuilding of its east wing and main building. In this time legislation had been passed which saw another year being added on to the standard schooling to teach "responsibilities and repercussions" of magic to the newly graduated class. Draco sneered to himself as he laid there wrapped in his damp sheets, "bloody magical finishing school" that was what it was and he was almost sure it was the ministry's reaction to so many of his friends having suddenly acquired power and wealth. An attempt to control them and prevent any backlash from this younger generation. The school re opened almost a month ago, slowly but surely he'd heard of his friends returning to school. There had of course been an "official" start of term but with many of his classmates still undergoing rehabilitation and coming to terms with their own grave losses allowances had been made and the first few weeks were being treated as a grace period, with everyone arriving slowly and when they felt able.
Draco tossed and turned restlessly in his bed, he'd be damned before he returned to that place! When he first said that he whole heartedly believed it but as the weeks passed and he was left without the company of his friends, his resolve started to crumble. The logical part of him knew he had to return, he couldn't allow himself to be ruled by childish petulance he had the opportunity and resources to build an untouchable Malfoy empire if he was smart…. And he was indeed…smart.
He sat bolt upright in bed and shuddered, he clicked his fingers sharply muttering "Fumri" under his breath and a small house elf appeared instantly in the corner of his room. "Yes Master?" the elf cowered "Pack my chest Fumri, tomorrow I return to school."