Prologue: Return of the Prodigal Son

Claxons wailed and Hermione could begin to hear the children stirring, crying and frightened, as she hurried down the hallway, wand in hand, her bare feet only skimming the cold floor as she flew to the source of the commotion. She shout-whispered orders at the dormitory attendants as she went: "Take the children back inside their rooms, keep them there. Keep them safe, whatever you have to do. Understand?"

She didn't slow to see their nodding heads. She was silently praying that the Aurors would arrive by the time she made her way down the massive hallway and stairs to the ….wait…main entrance? What kind of a burglar, terrorist, Death Eater breaks in through the main entrance?

Maybe one of the children inadvertently set it off…no…the wards had been set to send a different signal for a stray child. Her mind worked madly to come up with a reasonable, harmless explanation as she came sliding to a halt, wand drawn to the front entrance to find a cloaked figure , doubled over with his hands covering his ears, shouting something completely unintelligible. She had a strange feeling of deja vu so powerful, she struggled to stay focused. Taking a deep breath, she steadied her wand and yelled "Stay where you are. Don't Move. The Aurors are on their way!" But the person obviously couldn't hear her over the alarms. He was still shouting and she was able to catch one or two words, specifically "ME" and "AIR". She waved her wand to silence the sirens, and began to repeat her warning to remain still, but the words died in her throat, as the cloaked figure stood, pulled down his hood and drawled "THANK GOD! FIRST ORDER OF BUSINES WILL BE TO HAVE THAT OBNOXIOUS MONSTROSITY DISABLED!"

Hermione stood there with her mouth hanging open as the man finally noticed her and immediately screwed his face up in obvious confusion.

"Granger?"

"Malfoy?" She answered.

"What…what are you doing in my…" but he was interrupted by the apparition of no less than a dozen Aurors.

"FREEZE!" "DON"T MOVE!" they were screaming.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, but didn't say a word as he threw his hands in the air as though he'd done this before.

The Aurors started toward him, but froze when the lead man recognized the suspect.

"M…Malfoy?" Lee Jordan choked out.

As if things couldn't get any worse, just as Jordan reached out to see if he was hallucinating, a high pitched wail sounded from the stairway.

"Miss Hermynee! We're scared!" cried a little red-haired girl in pink pajamas.

Hermione lowered her wand and half-ran up the stairs to the little girl and her two companions, none of whom looked to be more than three years of age.

Hermione scooped the little girl up "Oh Scarlet, it's alright," she cooed. "Let's get you all back to bed. Come on Emma, Portia". She paused half-way up the stairs and said, "I'll be right back, why don't you all wait for me in the Library. Malfoy can show you where it is".

The Aurors all looked stupidly at Draco. He couldn't even begin to shuffle through all the questions racing round his head, so he pointed in the direction of his father's pride and joy, the Malfoy Library, and urged his feet to move, one then the other to the large double doors. His shock when he pushed open the doors was apparent from the gasp that he couldn't quite manage to keep in. His father's, make that his grandfather's, once elegant, gentleman's library was barely recognizable. Oh, it was still a library, but the books were colorful and only filled up to the fourth shelf, about chest high. His father's desk was missing and the room was littered with short, round tables. Instead of the Rembrandt Narcissa had presented to Lucius upon his fortieth birthday, there were several dozen pictures of various animals, painted on parchment hanging here and there. He looked for a place to sit, but the leather wingbacks had been removed. The Aurors were now whispering amongst themselves and one of them, a woman Draco thought he recognized from somewhere, stepped forward and said "You know, we all thought you were dead".

"I was" he answered "Is this.., have you turned my home into some sort of …" but then changed his mind… "Where is my mother?"

The woman looked at her feet. "I'm afraid Auntie N. is (aha. The blood traitor, Andromeda's, child) is in St. Mungo's. When your father told her of your death, she went… well, sort of catatonic. She is better now, but has never been quite the same, you see. When your father died, she began to speak again, but she sort of drifts in and out of reality."

"When did my father die?"

"About three years ago. He managed to hang on for a long time after his final arrest. He received The Kiss, you know." Again, she looked at her feet, as though she felt guilty or worse, pity.

Pressing his mouth into a thin line to show his disapproval of the showing of emotion in front of non-family, he continued "Well, aren't you going to arrest me?"

"For what?" Lee Jordan asked

"My alleged crimes?"

Jordan smiled. "Well, we can't arrest you for breaking into your own house and as for your, uh, past indiscretions, between Lucius and Snape, they confessed to every dark deed you'd been accused of. In fact, your murder is the very thing your father received The Kiss for. He claimed to have killed you for refusing the Dark Mark and presented your mother with your broken wand, crying "the Malfoy line is ended". Perhaps you'd like to explain where you've been all this time"

Draco could barely find words to answer. He knew his father and Snape might try to clear his name, but he hadn't expected this. He cleared his throat, but found his voice was still rather hoarse when he asked, "What has become of Severus?"

"He's teaching at Hogwarts" answered a bossy voice behind him, that even after all this time, still made him wince. "Professor Dumbledore left a letter to be delivered to the Order of the Phoenix upon his death, explaining Snape's role as a double agent and the sacrifices they made to save your sorry hide. Snape turned himself in and took responsibility for every foul thing you'd been involved in, excuse me, allegedly involved in."

"Granger, take my cloak"

"I don't know who you think you are, Malfoy, but I am not your maid!" she half-yelled, readying herself for a fight.

Malfoy silently walked toward her and draped his cloak around her shoulders, pulling the closure together in front. Hermione stood there for a moment and then blushed head to toe as she realized she'd been standing in front of twelve Aurors and her childhood nemesis in a cotton night dress, which left little to the imagination when soaked with her sweat, as it was.

For the Aurors watching the scene though, there was something perhaps more shocking than all the other oddities they had witnessed heretofore, and that was Draco Malfoy, supposed scion of evil, standing before them, wearing the collar and cassock of a Jesuit Priest.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

They were all staring in a way that seemed as though they weren't. Draco wasn't about to alleviate their curiosity. Let them stew. He smirked in their general direction, but did not bother to address the unanswered question everyone was dying to ask.

"Well, as fascinating as all this is, I think the explanations can wait for morning." He offered.

"You don't mind coming down to the Ministry in the morning and giving a statement, do you, uh Mr… uh..Father?" Jordan said loudly.

Draco opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"Wait! You can't just leave him here!"

"Whatever do you mean, Granger? This is my home, or have you been squatting here so long, it's slipped your mind? I give you my word, I will not hurt a hair on your bushy little head and even if I wanted to do harm to you or your silt-blooded brood, the requirements of hospitality would stay my hand. We can sort out the details of your departure in the morning."

At this her face turned a familiar shade of red. She literally, looked as though she had become a human howler and he waited for her to explode.

The Half-Blood Cousin decided to intervene. She smiled and said. "Don't worry Hermione. I'm sure everything will be alright. If it makes you feel better, I'll leave someone here. The rest of us, however, have to be going. We've got real bad guys to catch, you know." She took her friend by the arm and led her toward the door, but Draco heard her whisper "He's just trying to rile you up. Let it go"

In a matter of minutes, the Aurors had all gone, seeming to have forgotten their promise to leave one behind to guard Draco. He looked about the library once more and pulled out a tiny chair at one of the tables. He gently lowered himself into it and sighed heavily, dropping his head into his hands. Granger appeared at the door and said "You can sleep on the sofa in the Drawing Room. I'll leave some blankets there for you"

"The Master Suite will be fine."

"The Master Suite is now an infirmary"

"My old rooms…"

"Occupied. All of the bedrooms are occupied." She said nothing further and the look on her face made it clear to him that would be the final word on the matter tonight.

Draco was irritated at being made to sleep on a sofa in his own home, but he'd traveled far and was too exhausted to fight with her. He did, however, manage to get out one of the many questions which had plagued him for the last half-hour or so. "Granger, what have you done to my home?"

Her face softened for a millisecond before she remembered to whom she was speaking.

"The manor has been converted into a school, of sorts. It's now the Albus Dumbledore Home for Orphaned Children". Offering no other explanation, she left the library, his black cloak billowing behind her, closing the doors as she went.