Lucius held the parchment in his hand, ignoring the owl that delivered it only moments ago. His house arrest was finally finished, after 3 long years confined to his lonely manor. It had been 5 years since the war ended, and since then he had barely seen the light of day. Despite his claims that he switched sides by the end, he was thrown in Azkaban by the newly restored ministry during their roundup of Death Eaters.
His wife died of what had been reported as stress related illness not long afterwards, but he had a feeling foul play was involved. There were many Death Eaters evading captivity who were seeking revenge on him for what they saw as treachery. He had since dealt with the grief. He cared for her, but he was never really sure he was in love with her.
It tore him up in prison because he had nothing else to cling to. Since his release he was able to put his emotions back in order and move on. They released him from prison after 2 years, partly because of good behavior (he would never stoop to the level of the other imbeciles in that dump) and partly because veritaserum induced confessions revealed he had very little involvement in the final war.
He was placed under house arrest following his release from the jail for an undisclosed amount of time. Any contact he made with the outside world was monitored, and visits were limited to immediate family. Draco came regularly for the first year, but he tired of it and hadn't been heard from since. Most of his contact was with the ministry, wanting updates on his health and wellbeing. It had been the same boring interactions every week, and it was driving him mad. He wanted to get back into the business world, rekindle his many connections in society, and rebuild his reputation. He had a lot of time to kill coming up with plans; all he needed to do was wait.
Finally his day had come.
The letter was not brief in any way. It outlined their reasons for ending the house arrest (no evidence of criminal activity since convicted, good behavior, wasting resources on a potential contributing member of society). It also described the measures the Ministry was taking to currently ensure harmony within the wizarding world.
However, the largest chunk of the letter was describing his continued probation. He assumed most of it anyways, since they never would leave him alone completely. There was the required contribution to the wizarding community. That was easy enough, since he was going to do that anyways.
He was also required to participate in a new program called "Muggles and You: Tolerance and Integration". That would be trying, but supposed it was important to feign interest with the new direction society was taking. He was to report to the ministry once a week for an evaluation on his activities. It all fit in perfectly with his plans. Now all he needed to do was choose which specific plan he was going to put into action.
He needed to spend time weighing out his options, but for now he really just needed to get out of the house. He walked to his front door slowly, savoring each step towards freedom.
Normally he would have apparated out, but he really didn't know where he was going. As he got to the front door, he had a brief moment of panic. What if it still didn't let him out? Maybe the spell hadn't been deactivated yet, and this would set off an alarm. He stood, staring at the door, willing the alarm to be off. He reached for the door handle and prepared himself.
He pulled the old door open, and it creaked from lack of use. A rush of cool winter air filled the entrance hall, as light poured in. It was a moving moment, and the crisp air was truly refreshing. It was February, so the air was starting to warm up. A fresh layer of snow covered his yard, glittering as he stepped into the sunlight.
He was free! Now, where would he go? As always he was dressed to impress, so his options were limitless. He decided to try Diagon Alley. Where better to make his first public appearance? He could pop into Flourish and Blotts, buy a few books that would make him look like he was renouncing his old ways… maybe a few about muggle relations or some similar drivel. Perhaps he would even make polite small talk with other shoppers. Whatever plan he went with, making them think he was changing his attitude was the first big step.
He appeared in the middle of the street, smirking at the frightened expressions of those who witnessed his arrival. Being dramatic gave him such satisfaction.
He strolled to the bookstore and spent a few minutes browsing the books obviously commissioned by the Ministry to promote positive opinions of muggles. He chose the biggest one he could find, along with some books he actually wanted to read, and proceeded to the counter.
The shop owner was familiar with the types of books Lucius commonly bought before the war, so his surprise when he saw today's purchase was not uncalled for. Lucius flashed an award-winning smile and thanked him for his help. He had certainly accomplished his goal of having all eyes on him as he walked down the street.
He decided to go have some lunch before he went back home to continue plotting his return to society.
Every restaurant and café he passed was completely full. There were lines outside waiting to get in, which rarely happened at this time of day. He was so determined to eat lunch somewhere other than his Manor for once that he resorted to wandering the streets of muggle London.
If he looked confused, disgusted and out of place no one seemed to notice. Everyone was in a massive rush, and once again every café he found was completely full. He noticed all the tables were taken up by couples. There were very few seats that could service larger parties, and that was a bit strange.
He realized at this point that even if he found a table, he had no muggle money.
He walked back to the Leaky Cauldron and sat down for a drink.
"Mr. Malfoy, fancy seein' you here!" Tom the barman poured him a firewhiskey. "Just let out of your house recently?"
"Yes, today actually. " He tried to keep interactions with this sort to a minimum, but it was necessary to establish his façade.
"Congratulations! I guess that would explain why you aren't out on a date of any kind this evening."
A date? What on earth was this man talking about? Had he not heard his wife was dead?
"What on earth are you talking about?" He expressed his confusion.
"St. Valentines day of course! Didn't you notice how busy everything is? It's the big day of romance and consumerism." Tom smiled at the happy couples at tables in far corners of the bar.
"Oh well that explains quite a bit actually. Thank you, but I'd better be off. Lots of business to see to." He paid the man and got out of there quickly, apparating back to the Manor.
Valentines day. It ruined his lunch plans, but it had given him an idea. The perfect way to convince the Ministry that he was a changed man.