§§§.

Chapter 5: Diagon Alley.

§§§.

Draco woke to a delicious smell, which immediately reminded him of how hungry he was. His stomach growled as he stretched and looked around; nothing had changed from the day before. However....

He got up and the mere thought of having to wear Ron’s clothes again disgusted him. Although the clothes fit his body well enough, he was too proud to keep wearing them. He had to go buy new robes; although the very thought of going to Diagon Alley was giving him the creeps, he knew he had no choice. Luckily, he didn't think many people would recognise him. Who would suspect that this vagrant wrapped in a second hand robe could be one of the richest men in the country?

He put on the warm maroon jumper and the robes, also made in the same sickening colour. Where the hell is your taste Weasley? he thought, quite disgusted. He then went straight to the kitchen, after having fixed his hair by running his fingers through it; recently, he spent very little time on his appearance, having more important things to do. Right now Draco's most urgent need was to find food, as he was starving—of course, sleeping in such close proximity to the kitchen wasn't helping.

‘Morning, Malfoy. You’re such an early riser!’ Ginny’s voice called to him from a distance. The young woman was busy cooking what appeared to be tonight's dinner, and she didn’t even bother turning around.

‘Seems you’re an even earlier bird, Weasley. The smell of your cooking woke me,’ he said, trying to be polite. He still remembered what he'd done the night before, and he was so ashamed of himself for having shown his weakness… and in front of a Weasley no less.

‘If you’re hungry, eggs, sausages and rashers are on the stove. You can set up the table and have your breakfast,’ she ordered, talking to him without looking at him.

Draco didn't move initially, wondering if he should do as he was told or just stubbornly wait for Weasley to do it for him. He eventually decided that he was too hungry and the wait wasn't worth it. He approached the stove and put two eggs and some rashers on a plate.

‘No House Elves, huh?’ he muttered as an annoyed frown furrowed his brows.

Hearing that, Ginny raised her gaze from the meal, and stared at him in surprise. ‘You won't find House Elves here, Malfoy. First of all, we don’t have enough money to own one.’ She noticed that Draco was sighing at her words and added, 'Besides, Hermione would never agree to it.’

Draco rolled his eyes at that and Ginny smiled, watching him walk away from the stove with a plate in his hands and seat himself down at the table. As she had now finished preparing dinner, she decided to be kind and get him toast and an orange juice. After that, she wiped her hands on her apron and sighed.

‘I’ll have to go shopping today. My wand needs cleaning so I’ll have to go to Diagon Alley,’ she told herself absentmindedly.

Draco’s interest in her words grew. ‘I’ll come with you,’ he declared; it seemed more like an order than a request, and this annoyed Ginny.

‘Says who?’ she retorted, glaring at him.

‘I do,’ was his curt reply. They stared at each other, both determined not to be the first to look away. But eventually Ginny lowered her gaze and Draco chuckled. ‘It’s not like I’m looking forward to going out with you, Weasley. I need to buy some new clothes and I’ve got to go to Gringotts. And....’ He stopped for a moment to drink some of his juice. Then he stayed silent, not willing to say any more.

‘And...,’ Ginny prompted.

‘I have to go somewhere else too,’ Draco replied, looking at his eggs with fake interest.

‘I’m afraid I’ll have to follow you,’ she said as she used her wand to order the plates to move to the washing bowl and wash themselves. ‘You’re a wanted criminal.’

‘That’s why I should go alone. There’s nothing more conspicuous than a Weasley out shopping.’

‘We can’t let you go to Diagon Alley by yourself,’ a voice said from behind them. Draco turned and saw an almost half-asleep Harry, his eyes half shut and his hair was even messier than usual. He wore blue robes with purple lining, the hems softly touching his dark shoes. ‘Don’t misunderstand me. I do trust your oath...I’m pretty sure that you won’t say anything willingly. I’m trying to trust you. However....’ As he served himself some breakfast, Harry trailed off and sat down next to him at the table. ‘However, Voldemort knows well how to wring the information out of you. We just can’t risk it.’

‘What d’you want to do then, are you all going to come with me?’ Draco stifled a laugh. ‘I’m sorry to have to point this out to you, Potter, but I don’t believe that Weasley would be that useful against the Dark Lord. Or maybe you want to keep me tight on your leash?’ He shot a nasty look at the Boy-Who-Lived. They crossed each other's gaze, exchanging glares of pure and utter loathing. Seeing that this was going nowhere, Ginny cleared her throat.

‘Whatever you say, Malfoy. I’ll follow you everywhere you go, and that’s final.’ She took off her apron and clapped her hands clean. Then she hurried off towards the door. ‘I’m going to go get ready. Harry, please tell Hermione that everything’s almost done, she only has to put the pots on the stove and keep an eye on them.’

She was about to leave the room, when she stopped and turned around again. ‘If you want to come, be sure to be ready in half an hour. We’ve got to leave early to avoid the Muggle's morning rush hour,’ she told Draco. Then she left, leaving the two boys speechless.

§§§

‘I doubt anyone could recognise me if they tried,’ huffed Draco, brushing off the soot from his clothes. Ginny cleaned his face and ruffled his hair, which he tried to fix again a moment later, making it look even worse. She tossed him the hat that he had to wear as part of his disguise. Draco was still cleaning his clothes and muttering about how much he hated Floo powder when Tom, the innkeeper, appeared behind the bar and shot them a curious glance.

‘Oh, I thought that I heard voices over here,’ he said. ‘Let’s see...good morning, Miss Weasley. Who’s your comp—?’ Tom's cheerful greeting died in his throat when Draco glared at him. The innkeeper froze, eyes wide; reaching nervously for his handkerchief in his pocket, he wiped off the sweat from his forehead before opening the side door of the bar and approaching them.

‘Merlin’s beard...I thought you were dead, or kissed by a Dementor,’ he muttered when he gained back some composure.

‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ said Draco. His face showed nothing but confidence, but his heart was thudding in his chest. So people could still recognise him, even dressed like that. Damn. ‘If it makes you feel better though, you were nearly right.’

‘Young man, I can’t say that I liked your father. However, you’re not your father, Mr Malfoy, are you?’ As he said that, Draco’s eyes blazed with anger and this scared Tom to death; his face blanched. ‘Oh...er...I’m sorry, Mr Malfoy...I...didn’t mean to offend,’ the man stammered. Ginny put a hand on Tom's shoulder and shushed him quietly.

‘We don’t want anyone to notice us. You know that he’s wanted by the Ministry, so...can you please let us go and say nothing more? We’re in a bit of a hurry.’ She stared at the old innkeeper very seriously as she said these words and her lips stretched in a small grin when Tom picked up his handkerchief again and wiped at the sweat drops that were forming on his forehead. Just to make sure, she added, ‘Of course, Tom, you understand that...’

‘O-of course. Of course Miss Weasley. Of course, I-I came here at the back because...I saw a...mouse. Yes, I’m trying to kill that bloody mouse, yes!’ said Tom, trying to not look in Draco's direction as he grabbed a poker from the side of the fire. Draco sneered and put on his hat, sending Tom a glare that was too similar to Lucius's one for comfort, and caused the older wizard to stop breathing for a moment and pale considerably.

Then, Draco grabbed Ginny’s arm and walked straight to the door on the other side of the backroom. Ginny just had time to hide her hair under her hat and to shoot a disapproving look at him that they had already exited the inn and were in front of the wall. A few moments later, they were walking amongst the crowd of witches and wizards that filled Diagon Alley. Only then did Draco let go of her arm, and Ginny kept watching him with narrowed eyes, shocked by his behaviour.

‘Malfoy, why did you dash out like that?’ she asked; she hurried after him, not wanting to lose him in the crowd. All around them, children ran excitedly from one shop to another, giggling and marvelling about the window displays. One of them bumped into Ginny and caused her to stumble, so she had to quicken her pace to catch up with Draco again.

‘If I hadn’t done that, you would’ve stayed there all day chatting with that git. And stop calling me Malfoy, it’s dangerous!’ Draco glared at yet another boy who was sticking his tongue out at them from across the road.

‘What should I call you then? And where are you going at this speed?’ she asked, already out of breath. She was doing her best to keep up with his pace, but she couldn’t match this speed for long and she didn’t want anybody to pay even further attention to them.

‘Call me Dray. And of course, I'm going to Gringotts! Where else?’ He suddenly stopped after saying that and spun around stopping Ginny in her tracks. ‘I warn you, Weasley, you’ve got permission to call me by that name only on this occasion.’

‘Fine. Call me Ginny then. Only on this occasion.’ She glared back at him, her arms folded across her chest. ‘And will you go slower, Mal...er, Dray.’

‘Okay, okay.’ He resumed his walk but lowered his pace. A few minutes later they were in front of the tall, crooked building that had been used as the Wizard’s bank for centuries.

They climbed up the stairs and opened the large gate, crossing the black and white marble floors, as covered in dust as usual. Draco paced the hall in a haste, as a few goblins stopped to avoid bumping into the two newcomers.

Only then, Draco allowed himself to take a sigh of relief and lull himself briefly in the wonderful feeling of finally being at home. As much as the Wizarding World would change from time to time, Gringotts never did. You could breathe a different, ancient air in that enormous hall.

They approached a goblin who was busy counting money. Reluctantly, the creature tore his sight away from the glittering gold and blinked at them, as Draco cleared his throat.

‘Good Morning. How may I help you?’ he asked with an oily tone, rubbing his long and spidery fingers together.

‘I want to take some money out of vault five hundred and thirty,’ Draco whispered, staring around suspiciously. He took a key out his pocket—he had retrieved it that morning from his old Muggle clothes. The goblin inspected it carefully, then he stared once again at the wizard and at his companion.

‘Everything seems to be in order. I shall have someone take you two to the vault. Dokidook!’ he called, addressing another goblin who was standing nearby. He then instructed Dokidook to take them to vault five hundred and thirty. The new goblin bowed respectfully and beckoned Draco and Ginny to follow him to a trolley.

They descended to the dungeons of the bank and, when they arrived in front of the right vault, the trolley stopped. The goblin let them get out and took his time to open the door.

When they finally entered the vault, Ginny’s eyes widened. It was the largest vault she'd ever seen. Even bigger than Harry's, and she'd thought that one was massive when she'd seen it. But Malfoy's…wow. It contained thousands, no, make that millions of gold and silver pieces that had been meticulously stacked in neat piles. And that wasn’t all. Surrounding the mountains of gold were paintings, frames, a massive gold candelabra, ancient and important documents and jewels of varying sizes.

The young woman tried not to show her astonishment, but it wasn’t an easy task; her entire family could’ve lived for generations on only a fraction of what the vault contained. Draco had clearly noticed her shock—he sneered at her as he filled his pockets. The blond wizard also approached some odd looking objects in the room and carefully chose three things, which he put into the pocket of his cloak.

‘Fine. We can go now,’ he said to the goblin, who showed them the exit. When the goblin closed the door, it immediately gave the key back to Draco, before stepping into the trolley again.

‘Malfoy, what are those things that you took from the vault?’ asked Ginny.

‘It’s none of your business, Weas—er, Ginny.’

When they came out of the dungeons, they quickly made their way out of the bank.

‘Good. Now, step n 2 on my list,’ Draco muttered, starting once again to walk much too quickly. Ginny had to remind him that she couldn’t walk that fast; he sighed and slowed down a bit.

But, suddenly, Ginny’s heart sank as someone grabbed her shoulder. She turned around to see who it was and she met the gaze of Cornelius Fudge. She felt the blood drain from her face.

‘I thought I heard your voice, Miss Weasley. Or should I say...Mrs. Potter?’ the Minister asked as his face moved into the grimace that he used when he wanted to appear cheerful. In reality, Ginny mused, it made him look like a smirking pig.

‘Miss Weasley, thank you very much,’ she replied, cooler than ever. She had been Harry’s girlfriend for two years now, but she absolutely hated it when people assumed things like that.

‘I see. Why are you here with a stranger?’ the Minister asked, gazing at Draco with interest. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief—Fudge hadn’t recognised Draco. She tried to think of a plausible answer while Draco was still, a few steps in front of her, attentively observing the contents of a shop window.

‘N-no... I’m just... to be honest... I...’ she stammered, her heart thumping madly in her chest. If Fudge suspected anything, not only Malfoy would be sent directly to Azkaban; they would all be in serious trouble for having assisted a wanted criminal.

‘She was waiting for me,’ said a male voice from behind her, allowing Ginny’s heart to calm down a bit. Glad to see Remus Lupin’s familiar face, Ginny gave him a brilliant smile. ‘Please, Miss Weasley. If you keep smiling at me like that, I’ll start envying Harry Potter!’ They both giggled. Fudge stared at them suspiciously.

‘I thought...’ he said, eyeing Draco who kept staring at the window, pretending to lack interest.

‘Who, Mr Fudge? T-that man? Oh, I o-only asked him for the time...’ she said, and finally the Minister seemed to believe her.

‘Well, have a nice day, Miss Weasley. Give my respects to Mr Potter. Lupin, I’ll see you at the Ministry,’ he said. He waved to her politely, nodded to Lupin and left. Even after that, he continued to stare at Draco until he disappeared into the white walls of Gringotts. They all gave a sigh of relief.

‘What on earth were you thinking? Going for a walk in Diagon Alley! Thank Merlin, Harry sent me Hedwig with a message to ask me to keep an eye on you two, it could’ve ended up worse!’ hissed Lupin as he followed them down the street.

‘I wanted to go alone. I told Potter it wasn’t a good idea to come here with her, but he insisted,’ Draco replied, still shaken. Cornelius Fudge was the most pompous, nosy and foolish wizard he knew; definitely the last person he wanted to meet right now.

And not only for the most obvious reason.

Until Lucius pleased him with huge donations to the Ministry of Magic, Fudge had been his best friend. But the second the Minister got the chance to ruin Lucius, he immediately took it. The first time, when he had sent his father to Azkaban at the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts, Lucius had succeeded in gaining his trust back with money. The second time, however, no price would’ve been high enough to save his life. In a way, Draco didn't blame Cornelius.

‘You shouldn’t have come here, Malfoy. You’re wanted,’ said Lupin, breaking the thread of his thoughts.

Draco looked at his former Professor and then walked straight to Madam Malkin’s shop. He eyed the window and decided that he ought to buy two of the robes that were shown there. It was useless to order new robes, as he couldn’t come back—Madam Malkin would call the Aurors before he’d return. No, he would have to take what was already available and be happy with it. The green robe wasn’t that bad and neither was the black one.

‘I needed some decent clothes, I'm sick of wearing maroon, Lupin. Now, please, let me buy my stuff before Fudge changes his mind,’ Draco drawled. He shot him a dry look and went into the shop, followed by Ginny.

Immediately, a short and friendly witch came closer, striding towards them. Then, she caught sight of their clothes, she glanced briefly at Ginny’s hair and her smile died on her lips.

‘Good Morning, sir and madam. Er... if you’re looking for the second-hand shop you’re in the wrong place. You go out and head towards Gringotts, then—’ she started.

Ginny blushed to the roots of her hair. But nobody could blame Madam Malkin; the Weasleys never or rarely came into her shop. Madam Malkin’s robes were amazing... but her prices were even more so.

‘I’m not in the wrong place,’ was Draco’s curt reply. He glared at Madam Malkin aristocratically and pulled his hat off.

The witch paled.

‘M-Mr Malfoy... Merlin... I thought you were dead,’ she muttered. Then she sat on a chair next to her and fanned her face until it returned to its normal colour.

‘Yes, you and the rest of the Wizarding world,’ he replied, colder than before. The old witch stood and rubbed her hands, coming closer to him.

‘I-I’m sorry for the terrible mistake. B-but I-I’m not used to—’ she stammered, blushing. Draco approached one of the windows and beckoned for her to stop talking.

‘Please, don’t waste my time. I want to try on those two robes, the green one and the black one.’

‘But Mr Malfoy! I’d never allow you to wear clothes that weren't made exactly for your size! I...’

‘I will repeat it one more time, and slowly. DO-NOT-WASTE-MY-TIME. You know well I can’t come back.’ Draco’s glare would’ve melted an iceberg.

Madam Malkin recoiled slightly. Then she breathed deeply and began taking down the robes from the window display for him to try on.

In the end, it turned out that they were too long for him, but Madam Malkin told him that her assistant would fix them while he was still there. Draco allowed it, but he forced the girl to work where he could see her, and to hurry up. Waiting for it, he bought various clothes to wear under his robes, including some black jumpers. He didn’t want Madam Malkin to leave the shop either—he couldn’t take the risk that she might call the Aurors.

In the meantime, Ginny pretended to have come into the shop to look for a present for Ron, and she asked the prices of the hats. When she saw that Draco had almost finished his purchases she pretended she wanted to leave. Draco played along, and forced her to stay in the shop until he left, hoping that Madam Malkin would fall for their acting.

The shopkeeper requested that a badge with the Malfoy crest was sewn onto his new cloak. Draco agreed, but only if the cloak could be made to be double-faced, so that he could wear it on the other side for now.

When he'd finally changed his clothes and was ready to go, he waved goodbye to Madam Malkin and stepped out of the shop wearing his new hat to hide his face. The witch bowed at him profusely, which annoyed him, because she didn't show the same respect for Ginny. His insides jolted when he noticed the way that the older witch had completely dismissed the red-haired witch. Since when did he care about the feelings of a Weasley?

‘Where are you going now?’ asked Lupin, breaking Draco's thread of thought for the second time that day. Ginny seemed happy to be out of the shop and Draco couldn't blame her.

‘I have to pay a visit to Ollivander’s to clean up my wand. Then I’m going to go to the Eeylops Owl Emporium to buy some food for Hedwig. D’you want to come with us, Remus?’ asked Ginny, smiling at her former Professor.

‘I’m afraid not, unfortunately. I have to go,’ said Lupin. His gaze was following someone who disappeared into the distance. ‘Please try and not get yourselves into any more trouble, okay?’ He watched them leave before he briskly set off in the opposite direction.

They were almost opposite Gringotts, when Draco suddenly grabbed hold of Ginny’s arm and dragged her down a dark alley on the left. She was about to ask what the hell was going on, when she bumped into a witch with a hooked nose and greasy hair who gave Ginny an evil sneer. She barely choked a scream.

To be Continued…