tags: eighth year, drarry, fluff, swearing, drama, melodrama, angst, potion theory, magic theory, slow burn
suggested rating: teen and up, for heavy themes
Seven Steps on AO3 || Seven Steps on Wattpad
- Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Step 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 - Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28 - Part 29 - Part 30 -
Gladrags Wizardwear was fairly empty considering the busy crush outside. A group of Hogwarts students looked through scarves and gloves, and two older women complained about the robes young people preferred these days.
Draco went to the cloaks in the back corner. The selection was somewhat lacking, which he had expected, this late in the year most people already had their winter cloaks.
Potter wandered around the racks, squinting at the clothes like he expected them to jump out and bite him.
Draco turned with a sigh, lifting his chin, “Yes?”
“I’m afraid I have to ask you to leave,” The stuffy old clerk said. His expression was of someone who had something crawl up their nose and died.
Draco raised an eyebrow, “Why?”
The man clenched his jaw, “Sir, your custom is not wanted here.”
Draco stared at the man then called over his shoulder, “Potter? Where are you?”
“Do people actually wear these robes?” Potter said from the dress robes section, looking at some magenta monstrosity with an atrocious amount of gold filigree.
“It’s a Silvere robe,” Draco said.
Potter shook his head, “It’s ugly.”
“Oh everyone knows, except maybe Madam Silvere. It’s the height of fashion,” Draco said.
“That makes no sense,” Potter said walking over.
Draco shrugged, “It costs a lot of galleons. Therefore, it must have value.”
“Mister H-Harry Potter?” The clerk stammered.
“Yes, the Harry Potter,” Draco said, “He’s assisting me in finding a new cloak-”
“-unless you still want me to leave,” Draco finished.
Potter stiffened, “Why would you have to leave?”
Draco raised an eyebrow at the man.
“No! No one has to leave!” the clerk said quickly, “It was a simple misunderstanding. Can I help you find anything, Mr Potter?”
Potter narrowed his eyes, and the old fuck actually flinched.
“I’ll leave you to your shopping-” he stammered backing away and nearly falling over a rack of shawls. “-If you- If you need anything-”
“Is that what you needed my help for?” Potter asked, his shoulders still drawn back, stiff as a board.
“Is it always like this?” Potter asked.
“I assume.” Draco said as he flicked through the rack of robes, “I’ve only tried once before. I have my broker buy most of what I need, and if I want to pick something out personally I wear a glamour and Pansy buys it for me.”
Potter looked like a lightning storm in a bottle.
Draco took out a horrid mustard yellow cloak and held in front of himself, “What do you think?”
Potter pushed the robe down, “Why aren’t you angry?”
Draco frowned petulantly that Potter hadn’t laughed and put the cloak back, “What would be the point?”
“What? The way he treated you-!” Potter pointed at the clerk, “How can you stand it?!”
Draco rolled his eyes, “You getting angry might change things Potter, they might even change the way you want to them to. If I were to get angry, all I would get is a headline somewhere along the lines of: ‘Ex-deatheater, Draco Malfoy, causes affray in local shop’. Accompanied by statements of all the witness’ that have lots of words like 'shocked, afraid, disgusted, disappointed, et cetera.”
“You’re a customer. You haven’t done anything wrong.”
Draco pulled out another cloak and looked it over critically. “Help me pick out a cloak, Potter.”
Potter frowned at him but eventually said, “These are all horrible.”
“Very true,” Draco agreed.
Potter very quickly shuffled through the rack and pulled out a plain brown cloak, “This one.”
“I’m not wearing that,” Draco said.
Potter dropped it over his arm and walked up to the counter where the clerk was watching him with increasing pallor. “You can do alterations right?”
The clerk nodded and shot to the back of the shop, returning a few moments later with a grumpy witch in her twenties with short brown hair and both ears pieced five times.
“I was on my break,” she said sourly.
The clerk gestured at Potter rather frantically.
She looked at Potter, “Oh, the hero guy.”
Draco bit his tongue to keep from laughing.
“It’s Harry Potter, Kate,” the clerk said.
“Right,” Kate sighed and gestured for them to follow her into the back where a few mirrors and changing rooms had been set up. “Sorry it’s not that I didn’t hear about the war and everything, I was in France doing an apprenticeship for, Merlin, seven years almost.”
“It’s alright,” Potter said quickly.
Kate conjured a box in front of a mirror and took the cloak from Potter’s arms and held it up. “Belch, yeah, no this is the worst.” She looked between the two of them, “Who it for?”
Potter pointed at Draco, “Him.”
Kate gestured to the box, and Draco stepped on. The cloak he was wearing floated off onto a rack and was replaced by the brown thing. With a few quick charms, the cloak was lengthened, and its seams grew to better fit his shoulders.
“What colour do you think?” Kate asked already twirling her wand, “Black? Always a classic.”
“No,” Draco said, “Not black or green or even dark grey.”
Kate looked nonplussed and then shrugged, “Well, with your skin tone warm colours are tricky…”
“How about blue?” Potter suggested.
Kate turned the cloak a pale blue and then gradually darkened it.
“There,” Potter said when it was a lovely shade of midnight blue.
Draco looked at himself in the mirror, “It’s…” he frowned, “too close to black.”
“I really like it though,” Potter said.
Kate put her hands on her hips with a frown. Then she flicked her wand out, and the colour lightened slightly, then darkened again. She grabbed the edge of the cloak, murmuring charms with the tip of her wand pressed to the fabric until the wool itself changed like it had been woven from different skeins of blue. Every movement of the cloak looked like a dark rolling wave, almost black and yet was inexplicably still very blue as the light hit it.
Draco nodded silently in agreement.
Kate didn’t seem terribly aware of them as she transfigured the lining into unfelted wool, white flecked with grey. She walked around the back of the cloak, and a spool of black thread followed her.
Draco held perfectly still as she worked, watching Potter’s amazed expression in the mirror. Ten minutes passed in silence before Kate took a step back and seemed to blink herself back to reality.
“Bordel de merde, not again,” Kate groaned.
Draco laughed and turned to see the back of the cloak reflected in the other mirror. Kate had embroidered what looked like the giant squid, emerging from a storm-tossed sea with its tentacles curling up towards the sky.
“Brilliant,” Potter said.
“I should have asked. This- Sorry, I can change it back,” Kate said quickly.
“Don’t you dare,” Draco said, “Rather, I’d like you to sign it.”
Kate blinked, “It’s an alteration…”
“Changing the colour and the fit is an alteration. This is an original work,” Draco said, “Who did you apprentice under?”
“Reboux,” Kate said fiddling nervously with her wand, “Are you sure you want me to sign it?”
Draco’s eyes widened, “Reboux? I thought she had retired?”
“My mother knew her; it was a favour,” Kate explained.
“I definitely want it signed,” Draco said. “Do you have a card? Do you do private commissions?”
“But I’ve only been working for a month? I can’t do-” Kate said numbly, putting a small signature under the kraken. She shook herself and asked as professionally as she should manage, “Do you want protection, self-cleaning, self-mending, heating charms-?”
“Everything,” Draco said.
Draco waited until she finished before sweeping off the box and pulling out his wallet.
“You pay up front,” Kate said.
“I will,” Draco said, reaching inside and taking out a small sack, “This is for you.”
Kate took the coins, eyes wide, “I- I shouldn’t…. my boss-”
“Doesn’t need to know.” Draco said firmly, “You’re too good for this place. Find regular clients, build up your savings and reputation, and get your own label as soon as possible.”
“Th-thanks?” Kate said, shoving the galleons in her pocket.
“Can you do dress robes too?” Potter asked.
“Yes, of course! Uh…” Kate scrabbled for some pieces of parchment and wrote down her information for both of them. “I have wednesday and thursdays off work here but I could owl in sick for whatever work you want, dress robes, cloaks, casual robes….”
Excellent, thank you,” Draco said.
Draco paid for the cloak and wrapped it around himself as he stepped back outside, Potter only a step behind him.
- Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Step 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22 - Part 23 - Part 24 - Part 25 - Part 26 - Part 27 - Part 28 - Part 29 - Part 30 -
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