Hello my beautiful readers! I AM BACK AFTER A YEAR!
I'm sorry for leaving you guys that long but here I am once again with a new story! Sorry in advance if the grammar is terrible as I just wrote this a couple of hours ago and I'm so excited to post it!
I'm sorry if it's quite short but I will update as soon as I can.
I really did miss you all! I hope you give this story a chance and you give it a review as well so I would know what you think about it!
Enjoy!
Draco Malfoy looked at the bright bursts of fireworks all around him nonchalantly. The bloody war was finally over and everyone (both muggle and wizard alike it seemed) was out and about celebrating their freedom. Owls can be seen in the sky by the hundreds as messages of love, grief, and thanks were sent from one part of the world to another. It's already been a few months since the fall of the dark lord and yet the celebrations have yet to dwindle down.
The excitement did seem to be justified considering the fact that the war stretched to almost twelve years. This was the first time in approximately more than a decade that wizards and witches unabashedly strolled muggle streets without paying attention to repercussions or with any fear at all for that matter. Their robes were bright and their faces even brighter. The exhales of relief were loud and the shouts of glee were even louder. Some loons were even going above and beyond and were shouting about their new found freedom from the dark lord in the muggle streets. The name Harry Potter was once again on everyone's lips and for once in a very long time, was no longer muttered in shadowed whispers and was instead shouted with joy and familiarity. One would think that all these people truly knew Potter by heart,Draco sneered. He longed for the day that Potter and his scar would give him and the rest of the world a rest but alas that day would probably never come in another decade or so or probably at all.
But I guess the feeling of freedom really is quite something, Draco mused as he continued to briskly walk to the Queen's Crown, the pub in the middle of muggle London where he was supposed to meet his mates for a "celebratory romp" (their words not Draco's). He bundled himself up tighter in his black cashmere coat and silently cursed himself for forgetting yet again to utter a simple warming spell before apparating away from the warmth of his office.
After what felt like an eon of winter to Draco, he finally found himself at the door of the small pub. He pushed himself inside its warmth without any hesitation to get away from the evil bite of the night air. Upon entering, he discreetly surveyed the inside of the pub looking for both familiar and threatening faces; a habit he still carried with him even after the war. Another sweep of the pub confirmed that none of his so called friends have yet to arrive. "Fuckers," he whispered to himself as he made his way to one of the tables near the back. Of course none of them were punctual. Never in the whole history of their friendship were those fuckers ever punctual.
You'd think the whole freedom from the war thing would motivate them to actually come on time but of course that's wishful thinking, Draco mused. Some things never change.
Draco chose a seat with his back to the solid wall and gave him a clear unobstructed view of the window and the door. Yes, another habit he picked up from the war. Nothing can surprise you if you keep a vigilant look out for yourself after all.
Another 10 minutes passed by before Draco spotted a familiar figure emerging from the chilly London street. A few seconds more and a tall dark man in a pea coat ducked into the pub. His dark eyes immediately spotted Draco as he walked unhurriedly from the door to where he was sitting.
"Hey there pretty boy. You here with someone? Can I buy you a drink perhaps?" Blaise Zabini mocked with a wink.
Draco only rolled his eyes and gave the chair right in front of him a small kick.
"Just sit down. You're already 10 minutes late."
Zabini gave out a small chuckle. "I was already celebrating by myself before getting here so my apologies for being late."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "By yourself?"
Zabini further relaxed in his chair with his long legs spread out. "Ok you got me there, I wasn't alone. I was with this muggle girl with the most amazing rac –"
"Ok ok I get it." Draco groaned in annoyance while Zabini continued to laugh.
The two men were already more than halfway through their first glass of ale when three more men stepped into the pub. The first two were tall and were built like walls, their shoulders barely fit through the door of the pub. This was quite a feat considering all five of them were already considered tall and built with quite wide shoulders. The two men seemed to be arguing good-naturedly about something, their big hands gesturing from time to time as they made their way to Draco and Zabini. The last man was silent and broody. He stood a few inches smaller than the first two, his built and features a lot softer than the other two as well. His brown hair was windswept and damp probably from the light drizzle outside. His features were timid and almost boyish.
Zabini stood up with his hand already outstretched to greet the new comers.
"Crabbe! Goyle! And look at this! My little boy, Theodore Nott!" Blaise's voice boomed.
Back pats, handshakes, and a few hugs were exchanged all around the small table as the five men finally took a seat. Draco looked all around him at the four men he was seated with. Men who grew up with him, laughed with him, and had even fought with him during the war. Men who aren't men yet but were forced to be men at the nick of time. Men who bore both the sadness and hope of the war. All of them looked tired out of their minds. All their eyes were too bright and calculating as if expecting the freedom from the war to be shortlived and the dark lord to rise again. They probably looked comical at that very moment. Five tired men with dark circles under their eyes barely fitting around a small pub table while silently looking at each other. To anyone who didn't know who these men were they probably looked like a couple of expensively dressed men having a quiet pint with their mates after a grueling day from the office. An office that's probably located at wall street or some fancy business sector kind of occupation that's scattered around Europe. But in reality they were just boys that are barely men who just survived a war with barely any of their dignity and prestige still intact.
"So now what?" Vincent Crabbe asked in a low voice.
Draco couldn't help but laugh. That was the million dollar question wasn't it? Now what indeed.
Blaise relaxed upon Draco's laugh, his tired eyes gaining back its mischief.
"What do you mean now what? Of course now we celebrate! That's why we're here isn't it? There's no point of talking about the past so how about we look forward to the future?"
Gregory Goyle smiled, "Crabbe and I were just arguing about the British and Irish Quidditch League and how long it will take the organisers to start tapping on our doors for donations again so they can start it right back where we left off. Of course I'm staying true to Puddlemere United. Crabbe here thinks the Ballycastle Bats are better but I think that's up for debate."
"I just think that more players in the Bats will be handpicked for the Quidditch world cup this time 'round rather than from Puddlemere that's all." Crabbe defended.
"That's the spirit! Into the future we go! Let's keep moving forward and keep talking about Quidditch!" Blaise laughed, taking a swig from his glass.
Draco relaxed and smiled, it really did feel like they were already back to normal now that he was with his friends.
"I think you would all be pleased to know that the League will be starting in a few months time. Hmmm, I don't know probably around December? It really all depends on the players and their trainings." Theodore Nott announced.
Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini all whooped and laughed, already placing bets and discussing Quidditch plays.
"How'd you know 'bout this, Nott?" Crabbe asked, his cheeks red from the ale and the excitement.
Theo took his time drinking his ale before answering, this of course earned an eyeroll from both Zabini and Draco. He's still quite the dramatic little fucker, Draco thought.
"I have been contacted by the Ministry of Magic this morning. They offered me a position in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. I will be starting work as one of the head officers as well as an organizer in the British and Irish Quidditch League Headquarters sometime next week if all goes well."
This news was not surprising in the least for any of them, considering the fact that Nott's family owned a few Quidditch teams before the war and had been one of the biggest sponsors in every league since the beginning of wizarding time. If there was anyone that could organize a Quidditch league it was bound to be a Nott.
"You know what this means, boys! Free tickets to the top box for every game! Thanks Nott, my dear mate! I knew being friends with you will come in handy one day!" Crabbe guffawed.
Theo only laughed and shook his head. "What about you knuckle heads? Any of you got any employment news and such?"
Zabini sighed, "Unfortunately I do. It looks like I will be taking over the family business since my dear father will be retiring in a few months. I've been spending the past weeks since the war ended all holed up in the main office learning about the trade. It's quite sad really that the first break I get in a week is being spent with you losers instead of some pretty lass."
The Zabinis have always been known as land moguls in both the muggle and the wizarding world. The Zabini and the Malfoy families have been business partners and friends for as long as anyone can remember. The Zabinis mostly dealt with the muggle side of the business as everyone was aware of Lucius Malfoy's aversion to muggles. The two families own resorts, high rises, land, and even malls in certain parts of Europe. Their wealth doesn't stop in the wizarding world and instead was also very evident in the muggle world.
"Oi, what about you Malfoy? We are in this together aren't we?" Blaise asked.
Draco sighed and nodded. "Yes, yes we are. Unlike you, I am already familiar with the family business so I don't get to spend my days slaving in the office like you. I'm more interested in my new business venture right now. I've just finished acquiring a new potion making company from this old goblin named Warwick, blasted little fellow." Draco shook his head and smiled. "He's a tough one to bargain with. Lots of paperwork and adjustments every few days. My energy has been concentrated there for the time being."
All four men nodded and congratulated Draco. All of them were very much aware of Draco's love for potion making and everything else that came with the craft. They also knew how important it was for Draco to do this by himself and without the influence of his parents especially now that the aristocratic Malfoy name has taken a big hit because of its past connection to Voldemort.
"I just need my inheritance to restart the company and to continue developing it." Draco frowned, "But there seems to be a problem with my inheritance. The Ministry sent me an owl this morning asking for a meeting with me about it. I already asked my father about this matter but he doesn't seem to know what's wrong either so I guess I'll find out tomorrow." He shrugged.
"How's old man Lucius these days anyway?" Blaise asked.
Draco shrugged once again, "Old. Disgraced. Licking his wounds silently with my mother in our Italian villa away from all the press. Haven't talked to him about anything other than my inheritance."
"Same with my folks." Goyle muttered silently. "Haven't talked to them either. I think it's for the best this way. They already handed me the reins to the family business, not much celebration or ceremony to it at all. They left for our ancestral house immediately after the war saying something about not wanting to disgrace the family name some more." Goyle paused, "Yes, it's probably the best this way." He repeated quietly.
"Which reminds me, Goyle. We need to have a meeting about the new shop we're planning to open in Hogsmeade. Some chefs and investors already approached me about some new recipes for sweets and candies." Crabbe interjected.
Goyle only nodded, his stare far into the distance. No doubt still thinking about his parents and the war that had asked so much from all of them. Pregnant silence fell over the group for some time before Draco found his voice.
"Well, in the wise words of Blaise Zabini, we must continue to move forward." Draco said quietly.
"No family is picture perfect after all." Zabini smirked. "It just so happened that all our families sucked major ass but c'est la vie." He finished with a wave of his hand and a boyish smile.
"That's the thing about war. It never gives anyone happiness no matter which side you're on. It just takes away everything and leaves everyone empty." Nott said sullenly.
All of them nodded in agreement.
"Tomorrow is another day and tomorrow we must continue rebuilding ourselves." Draco muttered.
"And the world," Goyle added. "We must continue rebuilding ourselves and the world. We need to fix the things that we did wrong."
All of them nodded in agreement once again.
Yes, tomorrow is another day to rebuild, another day to fix the things that they did wrong, Draco thought. And tomorrow he would start by going to the Ministry and settling his inheritance.
Hello!
I know this chapter has a sad and melancholic tone to it but I just wanted to start the story this way for some reason. I wanted to give a brief background of these first few characters just to establish a good foundation as well.
Don't worry the story isn't going to be sad the whole time. I just wanted to explore this side of the war if that makes sense. The sad and morose part that I don't see a lot of writers talk about I guess? We all know from the books that Draco was afraid and was pretty much unready for the task given to him. I guess it makes sense that his friends to some degree also felt the same way so I wanted to reflect that in this chapter. I wanted to reflect the fear and uncertainty during and after the war.
This of course doesn't excuse the bad things that they and their families did and I'm not trying to say that those were justified because it really isn't. I'm also not trying to paint them as the victims here and I'm so sorry if it comes off that way. I guess the point of this whole chapter is to say that war is terrible for everyone for both sides and even the sides that aren't included. I also wanted to reflect hope. As Dumbledore had said, 'Happiness can be found even in the darkest times if one only remembers to turn on the light.'
I don't want this story to be full of angst instead I want it to be full of hope and sometimes hope can come in the most peculiar places as Draco will hopefully find out in the next chapters. So don't worry I'll balance it out.
That's it from me for now! I am so sorry if my grammar is terrible please do correct me. I am happy to listen to any suggestions for the story.
Message me and leave a review! I really appreciate them.
(I might update again in a week just because I missed all of you ;) )
Lots of love,
TheMalfoys (Viktoria)
