Boldness Be My Friend

"Boldness be my friend."

A simple line from Shakespeare, an eccentric old wizard who abandoned the magical world to pursue his own dreams of writing.
Draco admired him.

The line "Boldness be my friend" had become his mantra over the past year. He recited it before bed. He reminded himself of it in the morning. He even whispered it during dinner with his mother, whose distraught mood bled into his. The quote brought him a small sense of peace, as if boldness herself heard his plea.

He recited it to himself once more as he stood outside the door to the newly renovated Great Hall.
"Boldness be my friend. Please, Boldness be my friend."

He was late to dinner. If it wasn't for the pocket watch pointing towards ten past eight, the absence of students in the halls but blaring voices from behind the door was a dead giveaway.
Draco smoothed his vest with shaky hands. He glanced down out his ink ridden arm, ensuring that his sleeves were still neatly rolled up, just as he intended. 8th years were not required to wear a Hogwarts uniform, though some sort of semi-formal attire was encouraged.

The former death-eater opted for what he used to wear underneath his robes, a simple white button up, with black trousers and a green vest. He had made the decision long ago to not deliberately hide his dark-mark. He wasn't proud of it, but he couldn't change that it was there, so he figured he would use some of his new found boldness to not hide his mistakes from the world.

Finally, he recited his mantra to himself once more as he opened the door with shaky hands.

"Boldness, be my friend."

Art by @bluebutter-art