Being a hit-wizard is not easy | Drarry

Chapter eight

It's evening by the time Draco gets up from the chair in the library. He's stared unseeingly at the rows of books for hours and he still isn't over the shock.

He forces himself to go back to his apartment, eat dinner and go out clubbing as usual, but his mind is elsewhere and he doesn't even notice when someone tries to approach him. He refuses all offers without a second thought, he's not in the mood for meaningless sex in a dirty bathroom stall with someone whose face he will not remember tomorrow morning. The only thing he wants to do is save Alysha Meadowes, but he knows he can't do it right now.

He decides to go home early, even the doorman raises an eyebrow when he comes back before midnight, but Draco doesn't care.

His mind doesn't stop working even when he is trying to fall asleep, too many questions, doubts and half-made plans keep coming back at him and keep him awake. He chooses to take a light sleeping draught, because tomorrow will be a long day and he needs to be as rested as possible.

The next morning starts just like any other, a hungry Pongo jumps on him and startles him awake. Great.

He takes a shower to wake up and goes to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for Pongo and himself.

He opens a tin of slimy tuna-something that smells horribly for Pongo, who apparently doesn't share Draco's opinion and enjoys it quite a lot.

He's in no mood for cooking anything for himself, he takes out a box of cereals, a bowl and dumps the last of the cereals in it, drowning them in milk. He needs to remember to buy some more tomorrow, on his grocery shopping trip.

He eats slowly, munching on the crunchy cereals while lost in thought. Now that he's awake, everything that's happened yesterday comes back to him. Waking up to Harry Potter in his living room, exchanging polite and pleasant conversation with the man and then seeing him go. Finding out about Alysha Meadowes and her family. Going back to Malfoy Manor and taking an unpleasant trip down memory lane. Finding out who Alysha Meadowes actually is.

To believe that it's all happened in the last 24 hours is hard, it seems like eons ago that Draco was laughing in this same kitchen with Potter. Still, it's better that it has only been one day since Alysha was kidnapped, Draco doesn't trust Yaxley with the care of a young girl, even if she is his daughter and he isn't likely to hurt her. At least Draco hopes so, it would be really stupid for someone to spend years tracking down a child only to abuse them when they have them back.

When his cereals are a soggy shapeless mass, he puts the bowl in the sink and goes to get dressed.

His casual attire consists of a black pair of skinny jeans, a white t-shirt, a pair of black Vans and his leather jacket. Draco finds the clothes comfortable and stylish enough to allow him to blend in with the crowds of young people and he quite enjoys not having anybody's attention on himself.

Today though it's different and Draco has to steel himself for something he hasn't done in a very long time.

At the back of his closet he finds three set of old black robes that he hasn't worn since he was sixteen or seventeen. He takes out the simplest set and regards it.

They obviously don't fit him anymore, but that's nothing a few tailoring charms can't take care of. The style is a little outdated, but Draco hasn't gone shopping for wizarding clothes for years, there's not much he can do about that.

The soft and lightweight material feels foreign against Draco's skin, it's not as tight as the clothes Draco wears nowadays and it takes him a few moments to get used to it again. Draco has chosen a set of robes with trousers instead of the more open and airy kind that's more a dress than anything and that, although convenient in the scalding hot weather, it's not at all Draco's style.