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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 3, 2011 9:22:09 GMT -5
Blaise was already bored with the summer. He amused himself at times by reading the papers. It was a new thing for him that reading what was going on in the rest of the world was more interesting than what was going on in the part that had him. It was with this in mind that Blaise went to Knockturn Alley following his shopping expedition.
With all that was going on his mother didn't want him to be out by himself. The Death Eaters would have no reason to harm him, so Blaise became annoyed with his mother's fretting and went school shopping regardless. He walked through Knockturn Alley after, not making eye contact with the other witches and wizards he passed. He didn't know what he wanted to get, but he was out to get something today.
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Post by draco on Feb 3, 2011 9:29:58 GMT -5
Summer was drawing to a close. For Draco, this meant that he had to leave the house (for the first time all summer basically) to go to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. He would have just sent a house elf, but there was always the risk they would get something wrong. Besides, fresh air was probably a good thing and it also gave him a chance to escape the gloomy feeling of the mannor that had settled in with its newest and scariest occupant.
When Draco told his parents he was off to Diagon Alley for school shopping, his father handed him a piece of paper addressed to Borgin and instructed him not to open it but to merely pass it on before he returned home. Draco pulled on his traveling cloak and dissaperated to the entrance of the leaky cauldron. Ever since he had passed his test last year he had been anxious to do some apperating and disapperating to prove how skilled of a wizard he was but he was frightened of using it in the mannor itself. So here was the perfect oppurtunity.
He finished his shopping relatively quickly. Most of the alley was shut down and boarded up by now and so he only needed to make a few quick stops and once the parcels had been boxed up for him and shipped magically to the mannor, he wandered down Knocturn Alley towards Borgin and Burkes.
He was across the street from it when he heard someone calling his name.
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 3, 2011 9:54:12 GMT -5
Blaise was considering whether to go into Borgin and Burkes or not, as a shady looking man and some old bat had gone in there just as he was watching. No... It would probably be best to wait a little while. The shop was often empty or close to, so he was sure that he wouldn't have to wait very long. He leaned against a building kitty-corner and drew a nice, functional black bag toward him. You know the sort, which is basically a man purse dressed as an ordinary carrying bag. Inside were his school books. Already he could tell that the school year was going to be different than before.
He read through a few lines of a textbook drawn out at random, then looked up quickly. It was like a sixth sense, he know that he should look up. There was Draco Malfoy. He hadn't seen him since the school year before. That wasn't much of a surprise considering the short leash that Blaise's mother had him on. He would never, ever admit that to anyone, even if he was certain he could kill them the second after. “Draco!” [/color] he said, nodding along with it. He didn't know why, but he didn't want to be there alone. And maybe a tiny insignificant part of him was worried. He put the book in his bag and crossed over to where Draco was. “Where are your parents?”[/color] he asked in a slightly mocking voice because it would have seemed strange otherwise. Then, wasn't the question strange? They were both adults, and yet it seemed odd to be shopping for school supplies without some sort of guardian presence.[/blockquote]
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Post by draco on Feb 3, 2011 10:03:07 GMT -5
Draco recognized the caller of his name immediately as school-mate Blaise Zabini. Blaise had never really hung around too much with him, Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy at school but Draco still respected him...mostly. It was Blaise who had been sitting with him and Pansy in the slytherin part of the Hogwarts express last year when he spoke boastingly of his importance to a certain mission and Blaise had snorted at him. But aside from that, the two got on relatively well.
As Blaise crossed the grimy street to greet him, Draco slid the notice from his father to Borgin into an inner pocket of his inky black traveler's cloak. Despite trusting Blaise, there were certain things that he was not privy to and this was one of those things. He lifted his chin in a polite greeting of his own. "Blaise."
He was a little surprised at how lofty his voice was. It was almost as though outside of the mannor, he was completely back to his old self. He was returning to the confident Draco Malfoy now that he wasn't anywhere near his parents or his aunt or the dark lord. It was a good feeling.
The question irritated him. He didn't need to be escorted places by his parents. After all, he was a death eater himself. He was in no danger under this new regime. "At home" he drawled lazily. "What about your mother?"
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 3, 2011 10:13:48 GMT -5
Blaise looked utterly amused – which was really not nice once he said what he did. “Probably at home wondering where I've gone. She was with a visitor and I slipped out. Seeing as I'm of age I don't think that will become an issue.” [/color] He had admitted in small part that his mother was worrying about him, but wouldn't go into any more detail than he just did. He wouldn't mention being followed around by some wizard that she hired and having to ditch him in order to have any time to himself. It was ridiculous, and he'd look pathetic once people found out his paranoid mother was treating him like a child. He nodded to Draco once again. “Have you already bought all of your school supplies? And if so, are you running an errand for someone?”[/color] It was as though he was reading minds, but he just gathered this from the way that Draco was hanging around in a place like this alone. He actually thought first of the Death Eaters since Malfoy had bragged about that earlier on, and the thought of his parents didn't occur until after. Maybe Blaise wasn't the only one who couldn't fully escape his parents. Too bad his mother didn't trust him to run errands on his own. But good thing he didn't care.[/blockquote]
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Post by draco on Feb 3, 2011 10:18:06 GMT -5
Draco's spine stiffened a little. "What makes you think that if I were running an errand for someone that I would tell you? I have important things to keep secret Blaise" he added with a superior smirk. Just because he was on good terms with the other boy didn't keep him from his rapidly inflating ego now that he was out and about on his own.
He shifted from one foot to the other restlessly. "And yes, I have already bought my school things. They are waiting for me back at the mannor. It will certainly be an interesting year..."
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 3, 2011 10:38:20 GMT -5
Blaise looked at Malfoy, then raised his eyebrows slowly. A smirk started to settle in. “Well, you don't really need to tell me after all, do you? You just did.” [/color] He didn't ask who it was for, but assumed that he had been right. In any case it was both good and annoying to have Draco acting like himself. For some reason since they didn't see each other during the summer at all until now, Blaise had been thinking that Draco would have changed. It was nice just to have something return to normal after the way that everything was changing... Diagon Alley was a clear reflection of this. He almost shrugged at Draco's next words. There wasn't very much that would make school interesting. Maybe he meant to do with Potter and the Death Eaters. It wasn't something that he would mind seeing... Everyone knew that Voldemort was out to get Potter, and because Harry was constantly greeted with undeserved praise in the first year when technically all he had done was survived something, Blaise was on the side of Voldemort on this single issue. “Right, well. Do you need to go into Borgin and Burkes alone? That was where you were headed, wasn't it?”[/color] Well that was obvious considering he'd caught Draco just across the street and going. [/blockquote]
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Post by draco on Feb 3, 2011 10:43:47 GMT -5
Draco inwardly berated himself. Now that he thought about it his answer had been kind of stupid, but it was his ego that had made him say it in the first place. Shaking off Blaise's first comment, he moved right to the second one with a dismissive shrug. "You can come if you want." He slipped one hand into his cloak's innermost pocket to make sure the note was still there. It was.
He began crossing the street, nodding vaguely to a few passer-by that recognized him from his pale blond hair and pointed chin: a clear Malfoy indicator. He shouldered open the door to Borgin and Burke's not really even checking if Blaise was following but assuming he was.
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 3, 2011 19:50:54 GMT -5
The way that Draco worded that made Blaise feel uncomfortably like a follower. But since it was only the two of them at the moment it didn't bother him that much. Had anyone been there, even Crabbe and Goyle, Blaise would have retorted. He just shrugged and followed Draco. He didn't notice the people who did nod to Draco because he was fixing his eyes firmly on the street below. It's probably a good thing that it isn't a muggle street.
When they went in Blaise glanced around. It had been a long time since he'd been in Borgin and Burke's. Years, possibly, because he didn't think he went there the year before. His mother tended to avoid any place that left her looking suspicious. He figured that he would let Draco do his business and keep his eyes averted for now. He wasn't snoopy about most things and was sure Draco would be secretive anyway. Instead he looked at the Dark objects and occasionally glanced over to see what Draco was doing. You know, if he appeared to be done or not.
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Post by draco on Feb 4, 2011 10:48:01 GMT -5
Dracostrolled up to the counter and cleared his throat loudly and importantly. When Borgin came out from the back room, he began bowing at once. The crooked salesman hadn't forgotten last year when Draco had come in during the summer and shown the brand on his arm.
"Mr. Malfoy" he rasped, bowing yet again. "Pleasure to see you again. What may I do for you?"
Malfoy was torn between wanting Blaise to hear bits of their conversation to witness how important he was and not wanting any of the conversation heard at all. While pondering this, he made a big show of reaching into his cloak pocket and removing the note so that the left hand sleeve rolled up a smidge, showing his dark mark again. All of these actions were done with his back to Blaise but he felt that he could sense the other boy's curious eyes every now and again. Then he spoke up, deciding to keep part of the conversation loud enough for the room's other occupant to catch snipets of. "My father needs me to..." Here he dropped his voice though what he said next wasn't very significant. "...deliver this note to you and only you." He raised his voice again. "He said you would understand." He tipped his head politely but firmy in the old man's direction and then pivoted to face Blaise. "I'm done here."
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 4, 2011 10:59:41 GMT -5
Draco had succeeded in making the conversation seem more interesting than it really was. It made it seem as though he was there for something other than -just- to drop off a note. And because of the angle, Blaise wasn't sure if Borgin had given or received anything from Draco. So once Draco turned to face him, Blaise smirked and looked over the other Slytherin. “Not bringing any cursed jewelry out with you, are you?” [/color] he asked with a mock-worried tone. He remembered Katie Bell's experience the year before. It still amused him in a dark way because she was on the Gryffindor quidditch team, thus someone who could pose a challenge to him, and so she deserved it. “Anyway, are you headed home now? There are going to be a lot of students coming by to get their school supplies,”[/color] he said, though he didn't indicate for what reason that might matter. [/blockquote]
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Post by draco on Feb 4, 2011 11:06:11 GMT -5
Draco's stomach dropped a little at the mention of cursed jewlery as it flooded his mind with memories of the past school year, which hadn't been too kind to him. But he managed to keep his head held high arrogantly and reply with a dismissive tone that he had perfected over his six years at school. "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. As I said Blaise, I have my own secrets to keep."
The idea of returning home - to the mannor - was not one that particularly appealed to Draco. Out here he was back to normal and he enjoyed that feeling immensely. At home, he was a cowering pathetic person who refused to eat dinner with his family anymore because that meant being in the dark lord's presence for more than the half an hour meetings. "I'll probably stick around." Again, his tone was lofty and care-free.
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 4, 2011 11:23:08 GMT -5
Blaise was becoming bored with the secretive nature that Malfoy had now, so he shrugged and let the subject drop. He wasn't completely sure how much Draco had done in the year before, though because he was one of the few who had known early on about his Death Eater status Blaise figured that it must have been a lot. “Alright, keep your secrets then. And if you really mean to be secretive try not speaking so loudly with people like Borgin.” [/color] He was secretly pleased that Draco wasn't going home yet, though he wouldn't say so. Blaise hadn't been around someone his own age other than a few people he hardly knew all summer. His mother had been keeping him busy inside so that he would have no reason to wander out. “Well then, would you like to go to the Leaky Cauldron?”[/color] Sure a lot of drunks were there, and people needed to go through there to get to where they could shop, but at least it was something.[/blockquote]
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Post by draco on Feb 4, 2011 11:27:46 GMT -5
Although Draco did have the good graces to pretend to look slightly ashamed, he was inwardly pleased that Blaise had bought that his mission into Borgin and Burke's had been of the upmost importance and wasn't really just a bunch of crooked sales being passed by note to and from his father. He shrugged his thin shoulders and said no more on the subject.
Instead he considered Blaise's offer. The Leaky Cauldron would have some Daily Prophets on abandoned tables and it was always fun to read what havok was going on in the rest of the world, wizarding and muggle alike. Plus, he was a bit thirsty and although the butterbeer at the leaky cauldron was not nearly as good as the three broomsticks, he agreed. "Sure, why not."
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Post by Blaise Zabini on Feb 4, 2011 11:47:51 GMT -5
Blaise looked pleased that Draco accepted the suggestion. He started for the Leaky Cauldron. Their appearance was something unexpected, especially among some of the riff raff inside. There weren't actually many people in there at all – but two well-dressed purebloods did make an impression no matter what. Blaise pretended not to notice the looks that they got.
“Two butterbeers,” [/color] he ordered without asking Draco what he wanted. If he didn't like it he could change the order. Blaise brushed a chair off with a grimace before sitting down. As Draco had predicted there was indeed a Daily Prophet on the very table that Blaise had chosen. He looked at the front page, then instead surveyed their surroundings. “Well, good to see what we were able to come here before it closed,”[/color] he said, referring to how few customers there were. [/blockquote]
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