The Masks We Wear
Chapter one
"Nothing is more real than the masks we make to show each other who we are."
― Christopher Barzak, The Love We Share Without Knowing
He was done.
Done with the side glances and the utter contempt. He was done with how the world he grew up in, the world he loved, now hated and shunned his very presence.
The war was over. The graves had been dug and Hogwarts had been repaired. And with spring coming the whole caste seemed to be shimmering with newness and hope. The walls were filled to the brim with happy children with bright futures ahead.
Not for Draco though.
He had been a child too. He had only been seventeen when the war ended, yet his entire future had been ripped from his grasp! Old friends and acquaintances refused to visit, some even going to great lengths to dissociate themselves with the Malfoy name by slandering his name to the papers. The previous wealth and status that his family had held for centuries had been immediately stripped as soon as the Ministry got back on its feet and Draco was left with nothing… and no one.
His parents had hightailed it out of England as soon as that bloody war ended. They had enough in savings left to purchase a small cottage in Helsinki and never have to deal with Dark Lords and pushy governments officials ever again. But Draco couldn't let himself run away like that. He had made some wrong decisions, that was infinitely true. And yet, he had been thrown into his parent's war, immersed in a twisted doctrine since birth. Now that the battles had ended he could change. He would change. Plus he was much too proud to let Potter gain that one last victory over him—his own country.
The problem with that is that it had been two years now and still nobody would let him change. In the world's eyes he was still a "despised criminal who would take any opportunity to exploit the weaknesses of innocent people". No really. That was an actual quote from the Daily Prophet last week.
And that is why Draco was done. And so he decided that if the wizarding world didn't want him, he would be someone else. With that decision made Draco furiously went to work brewing the several types of potions he would need.
The next day found Draco with bags under his eyes, but also with a plethora of multi-colored potions lined up in front of him. He was good at what he did. That wasn't bragging, it was just a fact. Having Severus Snape as your godfather turned teacher allowed him to learn from a young age from one of the greatest potion master who ever lived. Not only that, he practiced and spent long days memorizing plant names. They say it takes ten thousand hours to master a skill. Well, Draco had done the math and he had put 10,412 hours into potion making. It was worth all the effort.
It was all quite simple really. If you knew the properties of each ingredients and how they reacted with each other it became like a game. Experimenting until you got the perfect product. Unfortunately sometimes it took several tries and the outcomes were not always the most pleasant. The amount of times Draco had made his nose grow twice its size or had all of the hair on his body mysteriously vanish were too many to count. But that was half the fun! And he was good enough to eventually turn himself back into his charming self.
So with that in mind he had decided that changing his appearance might be exactly what he needed. He had crafted these specific potions to alter his face in a way that nobody would recognize. Dark brunette hair instead of striking blonde. Storm blue eyes instead of molten silver. Tan complexion with a splattering of freckles across the nose instead of fair skin that seemed to never see daylight no matter how long he spent outside. Another potion softened his sharp, aristocratic features and yet another to alter his drawl into something deeper.
The deception was perfect. It wouldn't last forever of course. It would eventually fade after about twelve hours or so of use, but the ingredients were fairly cheap and Draco was confident that he could become his new person for as long as he should desire.
He contemplated using Polyjuice potion. It would certainly be easier brewing just one potion instead of several at a time. But it took quite a while to make. Also it tasted just plain disgusting. Draco instead made his potions to taste like cinnamon, which wasn't his favorite taste in the world but the potions reacted badly when he tried to add mint flavoring. Very badly. Draco shivered at remembering the bad case of oozing warts that had popped up. That was something he never wanted to experience again.
Everything was almost ready. He even had paid a hefty sum (from the money he had left over) to have documents forged for his new persona. From now on he would be known as Damion Mathews, English of birth but sent away to France for school. Newly graduated from the top French university with an emphasis in Potions. All the details had been accounted for down to the signature of the French headmaster as well as several "references" set up (in the forms of his loyal house elves) that would sing his praises if anyone bothered to owl them.
Draco would prove himself to the world that had shunned him. He would gain the respect of his peers and become the best in his chosen field. He would become everything he knew he could. If he had to wear a mask to be able to achieve all that oh well. He was placed in Slytherin for a reason you know.
With his new face he had applied to a position in the largest private potion company of England and tomorrow he had an interview with the CEO. Draco was excited. He hadn't felt this way in months, maybe years. This was going to change everything for him. And with that Draco grinned and went to take a nap.
A.N. Please let me know what you think! Thanks!