Seven Steps || Drarry

Part 13

They stopped in at Honeydukes for mountains of sweets and the quill shop for ink. Potter stayed close by his side the whole time, glaring at anyone that hesitated or frowned at Draco. It reminded Draco of shopping with his father when he was young, although his father's respect mainly came from his wealth and political clout- which came from bribes and blackmail, blackmail bought with yet more money. When he was young it was so easy to think his father was great. He had his moments; he was a good husband and a good father- most of the time, but not a great man.

It was getting dark when they made their way into the Three Broomsticks. The pub was overrun with seventh and eighth year Hogwarts students. Potter's lot had taken over one of the large corner tables, dragging another table up to it to fit everyone.

Potter edged through the crowd ahead of Draco and received a sarcastic cheer along with calls of what took him so long.

Potter grabbed a chair and Draco braced himself to join them without Pansy at his back.

Luna shot to her feet before Draco could sit down, "Your cloak is wonderful!"

Draco smiled faintly, "Yes. Thank you."

Luna walked behind him and gasped, "How pretty!" She grabbed his hand and guided him in a turn to show the whole table the back of his cloak.

Quite without realizing he ended caught up talking with Luna and Thomas, making copies of Kate's information and telling everyone to get a piece commissioned.

"You said she's just moved back to England and only been working for a month," Granger said.

Draco leaned back as orders of chips and pitchers of butterbeer were passed around and people shouted over one another about what else to order, "She was trained by Reboux. The famous designer? Robe fashions for the last two generations were shaped by her work! And you saw my cloak. If that's what she's making as inexperienced as she is-?"

"It's nice but..." Granger said doubtfully.

"She's going to be England's next leading designer." Draco said, "All she needs is the money to get started. If she can get a lot of clients-"

"Why don't you just give her the money?" Weasley said.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Because individualised piecework requires a large number of regular patrons. Our population is small, and magic means that clothing can be repaired and renewed for generations. Unique, individualised clothing that can't be bought off the rack in a shop is how a tailor becomes a trendsetter."

"You certainly know a lot about this sort of thing," Granger said.

"I know a lot about a lot of things," Draco said.

Draco sat back as the empty pitchers of butterbeer were replaced with beer and cider along with a multitude of greasy fried food.

Potter got his own plate of chips and started arguing with Weasley about the Cannon's, while Granger began talking with Longbottom and Abbott about the exams their teachers were giving them in the few days before the holidays. Weasley kept reaching over and taking chips from Potter's plate, and every time he did, Potter's hand would twitch just a little, though the expression on his face never changed.

Draco waited until Weasley went to grab another and pulled the plate just out of reach.

"Hey!" Weasley complained.

Draco smirked and moved the plate even further away.

"I'm just saying-!" Weaslette said raising her voice, "-that having a type is bullshit!"