26 Chapter 26

My new-found past-time of researching transfiguration theory. Applying it in hour-long sessions of practice. Cross-referencing muggle psychology books (thanks Dobby) to have a vocabulary to describe what I was even writing. Then having an hour-long power nap to recover from the experience, was a new activity that honestly slotted itself fairly easily into my day. It took three hours, was fun, challenging, replaced the time-slot that I'd previously kept open for the mind-arts, which I now only occasionally practiced, and unlike my PHD, only made me want to kill myself once a week. It was also something way more applicable. Anything in relation to magic was really. You understood something, learned to do it at least badly in about a day to a week, and then waved your wand and made it happen.

Unfortunately some things were not as easy as magic, and with some things I meant people, more specifically, the people I was occasionally forced to interact with. Not that I was someone who couldn't find joy in interactions just because they were forced. But still, I was a bit spoiled in this regard as well. My family loved me and I'd found a simple joy in the camaraderie that we had. Hermione was as always, a fun project, one that required work, but was also very rewarding. Especially now that she was close finishing the parts of the astronomy curriculum that she could feasibly do at home without a magical or very high spec telescope. We'd have to sit down to decide what we'd work on next. I'd seen Nymphadora a few times, as well as Severus, and both had a way of teaching me about the wizarding world, even if they probably didn't notice. Tonks provided the unintentional insight of a child in an average income family that I'd previously been lacking and Severus was an interesting entry-point into the academic reality of magic. Unfortunately I wouldn't be meeting any of these people today, I lamented as I finished casting the last comfort charms on my periwinkle robes and fitch-egg blue wizard's hat.

I honestly didn't know why not more people wore the latter. It was hella drip. You just couldn't replicate the lazily fashionable dip of the tip of the pointy leather hat without magic. It really was what sold the wizarding fashion experience. Without it robes just felt slightly more like bad cosplay than actually being a wizard. At least the audience I was to have tonight would likely appreciate the wizarding hat as a staple of cultural fashion, one of the redeemable qualities of the ministry was an eternally conservative attitude towards, well, everything. No matter how much I liked hats, even I could admit that by todays wizarding standards, they were a bit out of style. Since a few hundred years ago.

Thankfully I never cared much about what other people thought about what I wore, because as I admired myself in the mirror, I had to admit that I looked fine with an elongated e. The cuteness of a child that knew how to use it, athletic energy radiating off of me, piercing eyes due to the mind arts, and a colour pallet of blues that worked well with my grey eyes and blonde hair.

"Well hello there handsome." The mirror said in a feminine voice, agreeing with my assessment. I replied by shooting two finger guns at it as I left the room and made my way to the entrance chamber of our manor.

Once there I looked around, saw nobody, and sat down to wait. I had gotten quite proficient at the household charms I found useful. They were showing their worth in saving me about half an hour a day. Also, magic just did it better. It made making eyes seem just a touch bigger than they actually were oh so easy.

My mother was eventually the first to join me, complimenting me as always on my impeccable fashion sense and skill at household magic. Something that I had a better grasp on than her, since she'd always simply commandeered house-elves. Now that I thought about, I actually was this families fore-most expert on house-hold charms. I grimaced as I was picked up and hugged, not at the hug, I liked those, but at the fact that I was essentially on my way to mastering chore magic of all things. Well, whatever, my sorcery and mind arts were also quite good.

"Now remember Draco," My mother started, making me turn my attention away from my thoughts and back to her. "We're only bringing you along to the gala because our elves came down with a bout of skristeln, your grandfather was busy, and we don't trust babysitters." She said, making me tilt my head.

"But grandfather is busy." I eventually said with an amused tone. "He's discussing import rights in France."

My mother winked at me, and that was that.

Unlike what some people thought, children weren't actually brought to big events, such as a ministry gala for example. I'd been to some charity balls, small informal gatherings, stuff like that. I made for an incredibly likeable child, or at least so I liked to think, and had never failed to make a good impression. However, my parents thought that with my talents proven as they were, they were wasted on anything but the big stage, and thus, they were fabricating a scenario in which I couldn't be left home alone, and had to accompany them.

If anyone ever saw through the fact that they were essentially just showing me off, there would be actual consequences. After all, bringing your child to a fucking government event, where the youngest person would be above Hogwarts age, was the epitome of just plain weird. They'd still catch some flak for doing it, of course, but as long as I made my usual good impression, maybe even had some 'accidental magic', it would also strengthen our position by showing that house Malfoy had another strong, capable and magically powerful heir lined up despite the previous one basically just having ascended to the position of Lord.

So here I was, not even ten years old, about to go and attempt dazzle and razzle and all the other -azzle words that one could think of, a large gathering of politicians, bureaucrats, lords, and whoever else came really, it was a large event.

Well, I wouldn't actively participate of course, no one was going to attempt to have a serious conversation with a child. Just sticking myself to my mother's leg, which was the plan, acting politely, intelligently, and perhaps magically was the minimum bar set. Easily achievable, it would make this whole thing worth it. Considering I was Draco Malfoy, dimensional traveller extraordinaire, reincarnator, sorcerer and all around general common-sense practitioner, there was basically nothing that could go wrong.