A/N: I figured you might like to read what kept me busy the past weeks so I decided to upload the interview as well. At first it was ONLY the interview but I figured it would be better to tie it into the story somehow, that's why I had Snape find it.
As always, I am looking forward to your constructive criticism (and don't worry, Silver Eyes Bright, I wasn't offended by your comment – it actually made me laugh. I hope my response didn't offend you in turn, though)!
Insanely yours,
Pace
Chapter revised: 2005-12-01
Inspiration: Came to me while cleaning the bathroom
Interlude – Teen Magic Special Issue No. 4
It was well past midnight when Severus Snape made his way back down to his chambers in the dungeons of Hogwarts, well-sated from the welcoming feast. A warm sleepiness had settled into his limbs an hour ago, a sleepiness he had been fighting for as long as possible. But the nearer he drew to his chambers and his bed (which presently seemed to be the most inviting place in the world), the weaker his resistance grew. The corridor was empty and dark, lit only by the magical light of his wand, as Snape yawned a jaw-breaking yawn, ignoring every rule of etiquette his mother had ever taught him by keeping his hands heavy at his sides.
Out of habit, his eyes scanned the walls and the floor briefly (he had fallen victim to tripping pranks too often in his childhood to be able to carelessly walk down a corridor like other people did) when he caught sight of what seemed to be some high-gloss paper. Carefully, he picked it up and turned it over in his hands. A picture of Draco Malfoy, who was sitting to a witch with a quick-quote quill dancing on the parchment before her, smiled up at him.
With a curious quirk of his eyebrow, Severus Snape leaned against a wall and began reading.
That thin line – an interview with Draco Malfoy
By Ann Christie, Photos by Alan Rotterdam
When I was first presented with the task of interviewing Draco Malfoy I must admit I had very mixed feelings about it. On the one hand Mr. Malfoy just so happens to be the only son of one of the oldest and richest British pure-blooded wizarding families, which should be interesting enough, but on the other hand his family happens to have a reputation for being not only very exclusive in their choice of associates but also for being into the Dark Arts way past their ears. So when I wrote that request I fully expected a negative reply – which I never received or else you wouldn't be reading this – and most definitely not an invitation to Malfoy Manor.
Please take a moment to imagine lil' ole me toddling along a worn path up to the manor's gates, white as a sheet and shaking so much that I must have made Jemma Jollie's Jiggly Jelly look very stable in comparison. (Please also note that Alan Rotterdam wasn't off any better – so much for the supposedly 'most dare devilish wiz since Gilderoy Lockhart'!)
Yes, I was ready to face my creator. I knew this interview would force me to commute between Hell and Malfoy Manor for the next hours and I really wasn't sure which of these two places I was going to prefer but I was fully prepared for it. I mentally steeled myself for the most painful experience available right next to tooth ache. Yes, I was ready; I was prepared; nothing would throw me off track!
Well, except that wonderful lunch in Mrs. Malfoy's rose gardens in the company of the most pleasant young man – that did throw me off track quite effectively, for I really wasn't prepared to be enjoying myself so much.
Ann Christie: First of all, thank you very much for agreeing to this interview, Mr. Malfoy. I must confess I was quite surprised when I got your letter.
Draco Malfoy: (laughs softly) So was I when I received yours. I guess we're square then, huh?
A. Christie: (laughs) I guess we are. Let's jump right in then, shall we? How does it feel to have become the head of one of the most prominent pure-blooded wizarding families in Britain over night?
D. Malfoy: To be quite honest with you it doesn't feel nearly as good as people believe it to be. If I were anyone lesser I might say that it is a burden, but that isn't so. It's more something along the lines of very hard work.
A. Christie: Too hard for someone your age?
D. Malfoy: I do not shy from work, Miss Christie; no Malfoy does. We haven't been raised to.
A. Christie: So then what have you been raised to do? What is it like to be raised as a Malfoy?
D. Malfoy: (laughs) Personally I think it's quite enjoyable. (Pauses to calm down) I can't really explain what it is like to be raised as a Malfoy since I have nothing to compare it with. You're raised only once after all. However, I have been raised to walk with my shoulders pulled back and my head held up. I have been taught to dance, to hold polite conversation while speaking in a clear and calm voice, when to use which fork during a banquet and how to correctly stir my tea in public and in private.
A. Christie: (bursts out laughing) You have been taught how to stir your tea?
D. Malfoy: I understand that you find this amusing but it is in fact not a laughing matter. There are social circles in which your… position may actually depend on whether you stir your tea clockwise or counter clockwise.
A. Christie: Now you're kidding me…
D. Malfoy: I assure you I am not. Dragging your spoon along the china is also considered improper. Stirring your tea should not create a sound similar to dragging a fork over a plate… which you should avoid doing at all cost, too, by the way. (Winks playfully)
A. Christie: All in all you've been taught the finer aspects of life then?
D. Malfoy: Among other things, yes. Of course I am also tutored in other skills, such as Arithmancy, Accounting and basically everything I need to know to be capable of running the family. You could say I was taught the 'proper way' to life as a Malfoy. Still am as a matter of fact.
A. Christie: And what would be the 'proper way' to have fun for a Malfoy?
D. Malfoy: Are we speaking of Malfoy's in general or a particular one?
A. Christie: I guess we are speaking of you in particular.
D. Malfoy: What do I do for fun… there's only one thing: flying.
A. Christie: You're a Quidditch player?
D. Malfoy: That, too. I play Seeker in my house team, but to be honest Quidditch can't exactly compare to flying - at least not in my book.
A. Christie: You make it sound like there's a huge difference between the two.
D. Malfoy: Oh but there is. You see when you play Quidditch you can move only within a designated area – the pitch – and you are bound to adhere to certain rules. When I fly, especially here, at the coast, there are no rules, no limitations. There are no balls to chase for scores; in fact there are no scores. It's only about skill. It's just the wind, the broom and me. And one day maybe it'll be only the wind and me.
A. Christie: Is that even possible?
D. Malfoy: Well currently it isn't. I do have high hopes for the future, however. After all, a few centuries ago the preferred mode de transport was riding a Hippogriff and witches and wizards throughout Europe were convinced that there simply was no inconspicuous way for our kind to travel. And where are we now, approximately 10 broom pioneers later? We have brooms for almost every demand possible: brooms for long-distance flights, high-spell racing brooms, brooms for flight-beginners and children, safety brooms… So why shouldn't we be able to eventually create a charm that'll allow us to fly without any having to rely on additional aids?
A. Christie: You've got a point there.
D. Malfoy: (smirks) A pretty good one?
A. Christie: I'd say 'a damn good one', but my editor told me to watch my language so I'm afraid pretty good will have to do.
D. Malfoy: Funny… and here I was hoping that you'd be watching me instead.
A. Christie: Oh I am keeping an eye on you, don't you worry.
D. Malfoy: I don't.
A. Christie: There's one thing I always wondered about…
D. Malfoy: Don't hesitate, Miss Christie. Ask away.
A. Christie: Did you ever feel that all those traditions and stuff you had to learn as a child somehow restricted or limited your personal development? I imagine it must be terrible to be told not to do this or that at every turn.
D. Malfoy: (laughs) No, I don't think so. It is my way of living – I've never known anything else. Actually I've never even questioned those rules and traditions until I hit puberty.
A. Christie: What did you question?
D. Malfoy: Oh the usual. 'Why do I have to attend boring dinner parties?' 'Why do I have to be the one leading so-and-so to the dance floor?' and of course 'I sure hope you didn't arrange a marriage for me when I hit 20 because I've got other plans…'
A. Christie: Arrange a marriage?
D. Malfoy: It's not an entirely uncommon practice among pure-blooded families, although it has been scorned by the majority of the Wizarding Community for a couple of decades now.
A. Christie: I have to admit the thought of someone other than me picking the man I'll be spending the rest of my life with is quite… disturbing. I couldn't live with a man I don't love.
D. Malfoy: Who said that there can't be any love in an arranged marriage? I do believe that one can 'learn' to love someone else; that people grow attached to each other if they spend enough time together. Perhaps they start out as friends and then end up as lovers. It's not entirely impossible.
A. Christie: Still you object to someone arranging your own marriage.
D. Malfoy: I never said that. I said 'I sure hope you didn't arrange a marriage for me when I hit 20'. I'm not entirely against the thought of my parents picking my future wife, although they won't. My father was the one that ended the tradition of pre-arranged marriages in the Malfoy family; by accident rather than by intend.
A. Christie: How so?
D. Malfoy: If I remember correctly he was betrothed to a Russian witch he never even knew off until their introduction on his 20th birthday. By that time he was already in love with my mother and so opposed the betrothal. When my grandfather refused to give my parents his blessings, they eloped.
A. Christie: (gasps) Lucius Malfoy? Eloped? Oh my… Rita Skeeter would die to get her hands on this story. Do tell me more!
D. Malfoy: There isn't much more to tell, really. My grandfather reluctantly accepted my mother into the family and the Russian witch married someone else. Sometime later I was born and grandfather no longer had a reason to complain. End of story.
A. Christie: (dreamily) That's the stuff romance novels are made off…
D. Malfoy: No need telling me that. I hope for something similar but decidedly less corny to happen to me.
A. Christie: Does that mean you're already working on finding a bride?
D. Malfoy: No, I'm working on finding a suitable bride.
A. Christie: Even at such an early age?
D. Malfoy: Especially at such an early age. What better time is there to explore the world and your own personality other than your teens?
A. Christie: True. What would you expect of her then - other than the obvious?
D. Malfoy: (smirks) What, pray tell, would the obvious be?
A. Christie: Well, someone who comes from a pure-blooded family, such as yourself; someone who's already familiar with your world, who 'knows the ropes' so to say.
D. Malfoy: I admit I don't see myself ever marrying a woman that doesn't heir from a pureblooded family. But there's no need for her to origin in the same social circles as I do. Etiquette and decorum are things that, to a certain degree, can be learned. Of course I do expect a minimum of those skills but as long as she's got a sensible head on her shoulders and we agree on certain things her social background isn't that relevant.
A. Christie: How would you go about courting such a woman?
D. Malfoy: The only way there actually is. I'd ask permission from her father to court her and then make her see the charming and irresistible persona I am underneath the irresistible and charming persona you're talking to right now.
A. Christie: (smiles) And then you'd marry her?
D. Malfoy: If she agrees and if her parents agree and if my parents agree and if I feel like it, then yes.
A. Christie: What about love?
D. Malfoy: Without a certain degree of sympathy as basis to my courting the whole thing wouldn't make any sense, would it?
A. Christie: Right you are.
D. Malfoy: And love, as I already said, can develop through time.
A. Christie: So no love on first sight for you?
D. Malfoy: Should I ever experience that particular phenomenon I shall be inclined to redeem my point of view but until then my answer will remain: Merlin, no!
A. Christie: What would you do if it would happen? If you fell head over heels, so to say, for a - yes, why not - what would you do if you fell head over heels for a muggleborn witch?
D. Malfoy: Now you're the one kidding me! Is that a serious question?
A. Christie: Of course it is, although I don't expect you to answer this one.
What Draco did answer Snape didn't find out because that part of the page had been torn off. Tapping a long, bony finger against his lips the Potions Master contemplated the article for a while before pocketing it and resuming his way to the dungeons. Sleep first. Plot later.
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