|
|
|
January 2nd, 2008
05:03 pm - 12 Days of Christmas Challenge: Day 8- Lonely People: Part 3
and finally,
Title: Jealous, Perhaps?
Author: Lord Localfreak
Fandom: Harry Potter
Ship: N/A
Summary: Draco Malfoy loved his job, apart from one particular type of event he was required to attend
Draco sighed, catching his eyes in the mirror in a commiserating manner, as he straightened the ornate knot in his white tie and fiddled with his cuffs. Appearance was important for his job, and he had several variations of different robes, ties, and tie-knots for different occasions. Today was the white tie, the light blue waistcoat with the gold embroidery, and the two-colour robe to match (white from the shoulders bleeding slowly to navy at the feet). He liked his job, really, he did although Pansy always looked at him as if he’d taken the most boring job in the world. Certainly it was a far cry from Lord of the Manor, or Professional Quidditch Star, or Lecturing Poison’s Expert and other careers he’d fancied for himself, particularly those out of his “Young Investor’s Guidebook” he’d had since he was twelve. But war had changed him, had changed all of them, and he found that those loud limelight jobs he’d dreamt about really didn’t suit the person he wanted to be. And he enjoyed the sense of power in his job, small though it may seem, whatever he wrote now, would be read a hundred, a thousand years in the future- his pristine writing, his spelling made people’s lives facts. Gave people a place in the history of Wizardkind, and he, his hand, placed them there and charted their lives.
He liked funerals the best (Blaise said he was morbid, but then his mother always agreed there was a certain pleasure in a good funeral, so perhaps it was just his Black genes coming through). Weddings were always fun for a good gossip as well, so many simmering emotions and anxieties and jealousies and, of course, the opportunity to dress really, really well.
Baptisms (or ‘Naming Ceremonies’ as the Ministry PC Brigade would have it, as he had to officiate at all manner of ceremony regardless of its religious or non-religious origins) were not as entertaining. For a start, there was only so well one could dress a newborn without risking it drown in mountains of lace, secondly, there were always relatives there who had no sense of decorum and spent the entire time employing flash photography, making the baby cry, clapping and talking inappropriately; there were simple ceremonies that were over quick, and then there were the insufferably long ones with the baby decked out like it was about to be married off itself and a cake as layered as any wedding (and it always tasted foul) and gushing and cooing Great Aunties getting in the way….and…
The couples. They were the worst of it. On a wedding at least, there were distractions, the hidden undercurrents, the clothing, the decoration, at a funeral such things were muted but the couples with their newborn babies…well…it was sickening really.
They’d clutch their precious squirming bundle to them, cooing over it as he, Draco, took down the details and smiled charmingly, all the while his gut roiling at their closeness to each other and the little babe in their arms, joining them together, giving them a history that went beyond dusty archive rooms, giving their line a future.
And when they were all laughing and cooing and baby had gone to be changed he would go home and hang up his robes and return to his dreary flat near the office, which was attractively decorated but always empty, or to visit his parents-fast becoming antiques of a bygone era before their time. He would cook something, maybe read a book, and speak to no one until the next morning when it was time to go to work again.
|
Comments:
Oh gods, Draco as a minister. Fantastic but... where does your mind GO?!? I can imagine this, imagine him liking funerals and loathing baptisms. It's too real. (in a good way)
Well I thought of him more an archivist than a minister, but it doesn't really matter.
I don't know where my mind goes ;) I'm just relieved when it comes back! :P Seriously though I've done a couple of years volunteering in parish archives, so some of it comes from that, except I'm not expected to officiate at the actual events, but I thought it'd be right up Draco's street- all the bitching and the fancy clothes ;)
| From: | (Anonymous) |
|---|
| Date: | January 2nd, 2008 - 11:36 am |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
(versipellis)
This really works, it's SO vivid and all the Draco-esque comments are so IC. And the last paragraph is horribly moving. Awesome.
| From: | (Anonymous) |
|---|
| Date: | January 6th, 2008 - 07:06 am |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
It's enough that he thinks his job is important - that, in itself, is all.
| From: | (Anonymous) |
|---|
| Date: | January 6th, 2008 - 07:06 am |
|---|
| | | (Link) |
|
Sorry, that was me.
Lee.
^^ No worries. And yeah, I think that's what I thought too- everyone wants to feel like they're doing something that'll make a mark and I just liked the idea of Draco doing this sort of job :) |
|
![[info]](http://piktures.deadjournal.com/openid-profile.gif){kind=small}
![[info]](http://piktures.deadjournal.com/userinfo.gif){kind=small}