Pygmalion
A/N: Back again - This story was originally written for the summer DG Fic Exchange many years ago. It's in the process of being revamped and updated, with a couple chapters at the beginning having only minor edits and most of the later ones being almost completely newly written or added, beginning with Act 1, Scene 5.
The original story was shorter and sweeter, with less character development and relatively quick-acting and simple plot. Beginning now, chapters will be longer and the story will extend into three acts, with the first ending with the Gala itself. The character list below will be updated as chapters introducing new characters are uploaded.
I own none of the rights to HP, Pygmalion, or affiliated content.
Summary
Five years after the end of the Second Wizarding War, the teenagers who fought have become young wizards and witches navigating a new world order. The Order now controls the government, but Ginny Weasley has fallen to the wayside, even as she works towards justice in this peaceful era. As a last attempt at feeling professionally and personally successful again, she approaches an extremely bored Draco Malfoy for help in promoting herself and her campaigns. Unbeknownst to her, Draco and his new housemate Blaise bet on her future success, which becomes a complication as they get closer to their new acquaintance. Old relationships and new are tested as Ginny, Draco, and Blaise grapple with who they are, and who they want to become.
Characters, in order of appearance.
Astoria Greengrass. A young woman of the pure blood Greengrasses of Essex. Limited by society expectations but equipped with the Slytherin traits of cunning and ambition, Astoria hopes to marry well, so to avoid the inevitable demise of the family name with brother Damien. Her ideal target is Draco Malfoy, sole heir to the only mildly disreputable Malfoy fortune, but his past tryst with her older sister Daphne Nott (neé Greengrass) reminds her how she's in Daphne's shadow.
Veronica Greengrass. Matriarch of the Greengrasses. The woman behind the house, Mrs. Greengrass (neé Fawley), married smartly and hopes to embellish the Greengrass name (and fortune) with the marriages of her children within the Sacred 28. No stranger to the games of flattery, Veronica's lavish appearance belies a strategic personality. Mother to Daphne, Astoria, Damien, and Caelum.
Damien Greengrass. The eldest male heir to the Greengrass fortune, Damien is younger and more impractical than his sisters. Widely known for having his head in the clouds and his fickle heart on his sleeve, Damien is, unfortunately, his mother's greatest pawn and the successor to the Greengrass name.
Blaise Zabini. The last of the disgraced Shafiq line, Blaise is of Sacred 28 blood. His mother, Stéphane Shafiq, was the only heir to the Shafiqs and became pregnant with him during her last year of Hogwarts. She was subsequently married off to the elderly Karim Zabini, who died of old age when Blaise was six. Refusing to grow attached to any of his mother's subsequent paramours, Blaise adopted the arrogant, carefree lifestyle he lives today. Close to few, and estranged from his mother, Blaise is pleasantly surprised by Hogwarts friend Draco's invitation to stay at the Manor while he resumes a life in England. His stay at Malfoy Manor leads him to Ginny Weasley, who leads him to question the untroubled life he's been living.
Ginny Weasley. Twenty one years old and suffering from a midlife crisis, Ginny Weasley has dedicated her post-War life to protection of the rights and liberties for people, no matter which side of the war they were on. Unfortunately, her passion for her work and her alienation from the post-War festivities that revolve around the Trio has led to her drawing into herself and becoming a defensive shadow of the fiery woman she used to be. Her professional and personal insecurities lead her to the last person she would have ever thought to approach: Draco Malfoy. With his and Blaise's help, she hopes that she and her endeavors will be taken more seriously. What she doesn't plan for is the open and confusing relationships she develops with the Slytherins and how her transformation changes more than just her looks.
Draco Malfoy. The former Slytherin aged fifty years since the end of the War and his father's imprisonment - mentally. Uninterested in the pureblood disgruntlement of the losing side and cowed by the sudden responsibilities bestowed upon him, Draco became a recluse, running Malfoy Enterprises with minimal government lobbying from the comfort of his Manor. Having Blaise as a houseguest and Ginny as a project has opened him up to society - and to new bonds - more than he has been in years.
Narcissa Malfoy. The only other living Malfoy outside of Azkaban, Narcissa Malfoy (neé Black) is dissatisfied with Draco's self-imposed exile, but she chooses to let her only son do as he wishes - so long as he does not follow the footsteps of her power-hungry husband. Preferring to travel and spend time abroad to playing society games or engaging with the reformed Ministry, Narcissa is nevertheless imbued with the elitism of her contemporaries. She remains protective of her son and the family honor, skeptical of outsiders like Ginny even as she witnesses a desirable change in her son.
Susan Bones. Since graduating from Hogwarts the same time as Draco and Blaise, Susan has become a young and talented wandmaking apprentice. Her brief fling with a charming Blaise two years ago ended suddenly when he left the country without telling anyone, and she opened Witch Weekly to find him strewn across the tabloid pages.
Luna Lovegood. Perhaps the person that's changed least since Hogwarts, Luna remains convinced of mystical creatures and phenomena that have never actually been recorded. Taking over for her father after he retired to conduct research on the merfae of Atlantis, Luna has made the Quibbler a streamlined one-woman operation, raising the publication's profile with her addition of weekly letters from the editor and a highly popular advice column.