A/N: First of all: THANK YOU Guest (whoever you may be) for the first review I've ever gotten! I was doing a wild happy-dance while grinning like a Cheshire cat for much too long :)

Second: As "Harry Potter and the cursed child" has now been released (and most of us will have read it) I just want you to know that even if this story proceeds to this timeline (which I highly doubt) it will not follow the script. Nor will any of my other stories as I sadly didn't like it that much. I liked the cover though... And I guess it could be a good play... maybe... (If anyone wants to talk about the "Cursed Child" feel free to PM me!)


He was hunched over the sink, gripping the ends tightly with his hands. The mirror above showed an image of his almost unrecognizable self. With emotionless eyes the boy regarded his reflection, sucking in the small ugly details that made all the difference. Most prominent was his skin. It had always been pale but now the aristocratic puppet-like colour had turned ashen, sick. As if he was covered in dust, as if he hadn't been used in quite a long time. Dark bags lay under his eyes, giving them a hollow look. Eyes always made a difference in one's appearance but his didn't help adding life to his image. Maybe it was the steel grey colour which merged seamlessly into his skin, the blue specks having almost disappeared. Maybe it was the red in his whites that erased any bright pure colour from his face. Maybe it was the dull look. Briefly he wondered about this. His eyes still reflected the bathroom lights, visualized as glossy specks. So how was it even possible that the grey orbs were this lifeless? His white blonde hair was still of the same colour but somehow seemed faded anyway. Stubbles were appearing on his face, the last missing piece to provide him with the look of the drunkard he was.

His gaze shifted to the small bottle on the right side of the sink. The milky, pale-green liquid would erase his hangover symptoms in an instant. One flask of it accompanied by some disguising spells and the Malfoy heir would look representable once more. He knew it would work. He had used it almost every morning over the last year and although more sporadic but still quite often the last two years. A large stack was ever-present in his cupboard. All of them had one. You weren't allowed to appear less than perfect as a Pureblood, as a Slytherin and especially as a Malfoy.

Draco knew he shouldn't linger. It had become a habit of him. Delaying getting ready, stretching the pain. It was laughable. The pounding headache and the feint nausea wasn't nearly a strong enough punishment for him. But he bathed in it a few seconds longer before he knocked the liquid back and went on with his morning routine.

When he finally stepped into the patio his mother was already there, a book on her lap and a cup of tea in her hand. Oolong tea, most likely.

"Good morning, Draco darling. You are - again - late. Everything alright?" Narcissa regarded her son with a mix of sorrow and irritation.

"Good morning, mother. Everything is perfectly fine. You shouldn't always wait with breakfast." Draco sat down across from his mother. Instantly one of their houseelves appeared with the breakfast and a cup of coffee.

"So you would prefer it if I weren't joining you?" Narcissa's perfectly trimmed eyebrows were raised at her son.

"That's not what I meant." He pinched his nose with two of his fingers. It was much too early for such a conversation. "You're up early, I'm not. No reason to get uncomfortable because of it." He sipped his coffee regarding the food indifferently.

"You could just rise at a normal hour." If it had been Pansy across from him she would have pouted. But his mother was superior to such things. "Anyway - I missed your company yesterday evening. Did you visit Blaise?"

Draco flinched slightly at the question and was thankful that his mother had directed her attention to the scone on her plate.

"No. I was just taking a drink at the Leaky Cauldron."

An astounded look lay behind Narcissa's eyes as she lifted her head. "Really? I hope you were careful. You know people are not always… happy to see us these days."

The Malfoy heir snorted at her comment. Not happy? That was the understatement of the century. "Don't worry, mother. I can look after myself. I think I had enough opportunities to learn it."

A strained silence engulfed the table. Narcissa froze for a moment and Draco thought he could see her eyes watering. But if he was right the tears never spilled. The Malfoys knew how to keep their composure.

They were saved by the doorbell. A houseelf appeared to announce their guest and the distraction was welcomed.

"Excuse Pokey, Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy, for interruption. Mr. Zabini is at the door. Should Pokey let him join you or better take him to Mr. Malfoy's office?"

"Bring him to us, Pokey. And bring another cover." Narcissa beat Draco in answering and her son frowned at it. Blaise was, after all, his friend.

The Italian boy entered the patio with a blinding smile and went over to the Malfoy matriarch to plant a barely-there kiss on her hand.

"Narcissa, you look breathtaking, as always."

"And you, Blaise, are a charmer. A lying one, but a charmer nevertheless." She smiled at him, gesturing for the tanned boy to sit.

"But I would never lie." Blaise said. When Narcissa arched her eyebrows he added. "Ok, maybe, once in a while, I do. But this was not one of them." He winked at her.

"Would you stop flirting with my mother and tell me what you want." Draco interrupted their banter.

"Ah Draco, always the morning person. What's bitten you, sunshine?"

The blonde boy rolled his eyes. Really, why did everyone have to act so cheerful? The war may have ended but they had been on the wrong side. Draco admitted the world was better off without the Dark Lord but that did not mean everything was sunshine and roses.

"Well, we have a date. Forgot?" As Draco frowned at him, Blaise added. "With Theo, Daphne and Astoria. Remember?"

"I don't think I agreed to that."

"No, you didn't. But you skipped the last four gatherings, so I decided you hid long enough."

"I'm really not in the mood, Blaise."

"Darling, I think you should go. Meet with your friends. You always had so much fun together."

The past tense hung heavily in the air and all three of them knew it. The war had separated them. And to be completely honest they hadn't been this close to begin with. Their positions in society were spread as far apart as they could considering they all had been Slytherins and Purebloods. The Greengrass family had stayed neutral in the war which was a rare gift to get. But as they were part of the Sacred 28 the Dark Lord had had no interest in harming them as long as they stayed out of the way. Blaise and his mother had always been good in charming their way through life. And that time had been no different. Even though they had been more involved in the Dark Lord's activities, neither of the Zabinis had received the Dark Mark. Theodore was probably the one farthest away from Draco's position even though he had started off quite similar. They both were part of the Sacred 28, both their fathers were faithful followers of the Dark Lord. But Draco had taken the Dark Mark - for whatever reasons - and Theo… Theo had defected. He had chosen the winner side, Draco had not. However, the thing that separated him from all of them was that he was branded. And that meant he was an outcast, someone you spit upon if you meet them in the streets, someone from whom you hide your kids. Also, his family had been well known and had been high ranking in the social order. Therefor their fall was the hardest.

"Come on, mate. What do you have to lose?"

"Alright." Draco huffed. Blaise was right. There was nothing he had to lose. It wasn't as if Draco wasn't anxious to see the others again - he hadn't met any of them since the end of the war and especially meeting Theo made his stomach turn - but, apart from his trip to the Leaky Cauldron yesterday (which had been a straight-forward disaster), he hadn't really left Malfoy Manor. He was beginning to feel claustrophobic and, this being said, he was sure that, sooner or later, staying alone with his troubling thoughts in an almost empty house would drive him crazy.

So Draco found himself standing next to Blaise in front of the Greengrass estate one hour later. Being there now, he did not know what had possessed him to join the Italian. But before he could gather his senses Blaise had knocked on the door. A houseelf opened and showed them into the living room where the other three persons were already waiting. Although his mask did not waver, Draco felt his heartbeat quicken and panic rise up his neck.

"Draco! How nice to see you." Daphne had spoken first and the surprise on her face spelled out clearly that none of them had expected him to agree to come along. But she did not look like it was an unpleasant surprise and he felt his heart lift a bit.

"Daphne, Astoria. Nice to see you again." Draco nodded at them and even managed a small smile.

"Oh yeah, I don't like your face either, but you could at least keep up appearance. Did you forget all the manners that were thumped into us since our childhood? Really, and such a behavior by a Malfoy. Ts." Theo smirked at him, his eyes sparkling with mischief. In fact, Draco thought he had never seen the boy's eyes so alive. The difference to his own orbs was enormous.

"Still the jokester, are you Nott?" Draco answered and felt the relief wash through him.

"Well, somebody has to lighten up the mood, with all your miserable faces around. Speaking of it: How's your father?" Theo noticed the flicker of shock cross the other's faces. "What? No use in not acknowledging the elephant in the room, is there?"

"Theo." Blaise hissed at the lanky boy and shot him a glare that clearly told him to shut up.

"Alright, alright. No need to get your knickers in a twist."

"Ok, how about we settle down outside? It's a sunny day after all. And yes Theo, I know I'm talking about the weather to ease the tension, so shut it." Astoria said as Theodore opened his mouth to speak again. But though her voice was a bit strained, a smile was playing around her lips. "By the way, our father is fine, thanks for asking. He and our mother are enjoying their vacation in France."

Daphne and Blaise exchanged exasperated looks but all of them followed the youngest Greengrass outside. It did turn out to be a nice day. They did not touch any serious topics after Theo's comment though that was probably for the best. Draco still left rather early but none of the others said a word about it. All of them considered it a success that he had joined them at all.

However, as Draco sat in his room later that day the silence weighted down heavy upon him. Theo's question kept echoing in his head and the familiar mix of feelings of anger, self-hatred and despair settled back in his stomach. Before he knew it he had called a houseelf to bring him the desired alcohol. And as he drowned the liquid he wasn't even sure if it was because of his father and his own part in the war or because he envied Theo for his eyes which held all the optimism his own lacked. Maybe it was also because of their altered interaction with each other or because of all the topics which, even now, remained out of bounds. Maybe it was just out of habit. It didn't matter where the feelings came from. All that mattered was that alcohol made them disappear.