The Failed Education of One Draco Malfoy

Epilogue

Draco smoothed the front of his cardigan and adjusted his ring, twirling it once, twice, thrice around his finger for good luck. You were watching him from the doorway, an amused smile twitching on your lips.

"Don't be nervous. You'll do great."

He gave you a halfhearted grimace through the mirror. Hopefully things would go well, but the ache in his gut wouldn't let him believe it could go well. The headline from the morning's paper still skittered through his brain. Ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy Unveils War Novel on Motives: An Exposé by Rita Skeeter.

You reached forward to squeeze his arm, chase away the worries that danced in his mind. "Everything will be great. I just know it."

He managed to give you a real smile that time, hand reaching up to meet your own.

You liked to tell people Draco had taken to writing "like a duck to water," but that hadn't been the case at all. The stories seemed to pull him under, drowning him in the clamber to escape from his soul. Really, they wrote themselves. Draco just listened to what they wanted him to say. He could only hope that he would be able to explain it, coherently make sense of his intentions in some capacity.

Thankfully, The Quibbler was sending someone relatively relaxed to do the interview. At least, that's what the owl had claimed a few days prior when they reached out. He was a bit choosey with his interviews, though not increasingly so because few deigned to write genuine reviews about his novels. Thankfully Luna's paper was relatively unbiased against him, so there was that. He hoped whoever he was meeting—Argon? Adergon? He couldn't recall—wouldn't make things too difficult.

He felt your lips graze his cheek, pulling him from his thoughts. "You'll do great, darling. And I'll be here with lunch when you get back."

Your unwavering support always shattered any fear he possessed.

▪◾◼◾▪

They met at a coffee shop, informal but cozy, for the interview. Draco sipped on some green tea as he waited, idly watching the people meandering along the shop windows across the street.

It was a quaint weekend morning; it made him think of waking up early to play quidditch in the yard before breakfast when he was a child. He felt like he'd been transported worlds away from whoever that little boy had been. Maybe that was for the best.

When the shop's bell dinged, Draco started, retracting his hand from his cup as a man reached out to shake.

"Draco Malfoy?" Draco nodded, inwardly chuckling at the man's politeness in feigning ignorance on who Draco was. His face has been printed in enough papers, no one would ever be able to forget post-war Draco in all his gaunt, exhausted glory. The man carried on regardless. "Adeon Heinrik. Nice to meet you."

Draco's smile was stiff, but it always was with strangers. Polite formality had been ingrained in him since birth; using it nowadays always made him uncomfortable, a muscle memory he didn't care for.

Adeon settled into the chair opposite him, charming a quill like he'd seen Skeeter do all those years ago. Perhaps this was payback for all the times he'd subtly suggested Potter was up to more antics to get the paparazzi on his tail. Now Draco understood the discomfort of interviews.

Additionally, a recording device was placed on the edge of the table, charmed to catch their conversation and store it for later broadcasting. Radio interviews had become quite the literary rage; how could The Quibbler resist expanding their reporting style?

Adeon adjusted his tie, clearing his throat subtly. "This is The Quibbler Book Talks and I'm Adeon Heinrik here today to discuss Draco Malfoy's latest work. So, Mr. Malfoy, this article will be focusing primarily on your newest work, Snow on Peacock Street, a war memoir on your experiences with Voldemort, as well as the tale of your rocky relationship with your current wife." Draco nodded, and Adeon continued. "However, before we discuss your newest novel, I'd like to take a look at your other works. Dark Absolute and Scaled Terror were released seven and three years ago respectively. Two Young Adult themed works, you delve into the fictive worlds of Algernon and Evelyn where the protagonists face incredible choices between family, faith, and country. You also released a collection of essays titled The Purpose of Family, which was later synthesized into a children's picture book four years ago. Children, teens, you've focused on a young audience up until recently. What's your motivation for writing a war memoir now, for honing in on an adult audience?"