Jennifer's note: Hello! I'm a new author here on FanFiction. I'm absolutely in love with Draco's character( what with all his mystery and darkness), and I wanted to delve deeper into that with this story by starting off with his childhood and his childhood best friend Julia. It picks up really quick after the 5th chapter so bare with me! And I'm American so I'm really sorry if I fail miserably at English slang : ) Please enjoy, and leave me whatever criticism or love you may want to leave. I don't own any of Rowling's characters, just mine.
Chapter One
The day was pristine. The sun set off its rays in perfect slivers of white crystal through the slants in the roof of the gazebo, and on my face. The meadow outside smelled of the muggy summer air that clung onto each blade of tall grass. Each blade swayed with the serenity. I lay there in the middle of the ground of the gazebo with my arms behind my head basking in my personal heaven, my mother and father back across our land and in our house probably making lemonade.
I was a child of six. That day my mother dressed me in a gauzy white dress and stockings and a red ribbon in my light brown hair. My toys and dolls lay littered across the gazebo entrance, totally abandoned when I realized the complete beauty of being out here.
I closed my delicate eyelids, thinking. I was insanely perceptive and zany by the time I was six. At the dinner parties my parents would host, I could barely keep my mouth shut to cousins, aunts, and uncles of all my adventures in the forest….the garden, and couldn't keep myself contained when my cousins insisted I bring them out here to play hide and seek.
Today I wanted to venture the meadow.
I got up and picked up my toy wooden sword I brought along to each adventure and walked down the gazebo steps. The grass went all the way up to my chest, as I was so little. Each blade was a jade color, small flowers sprouting every now and then. In the distance to my left I saw the thick forest and to the right the forest thinned and the tops of tall mansions sprouted from them. I picked the small yellow flowers, forming a small bunch in my tiny hands. I hadn't walked far- I was going to the left when I heard a cry of distinct pain to the right.
"AHHHHHHH!" Growled the voice. The voice was timid, childlike, but unlike mine.
In trouble? In pain?
I was worried. I instantly took off running, well, as fast as the meadow would let me. Now the blades jumped out of my way, trying to let me to get to the noise. I tripped once, ripping my stockings a little but I smashed the blades out of the way with my sword.
I was now approaching the dimmer light casted by the shadows of the forest. The forest was not as thick and impenetrable as towards the left and the sun still filtered through. I went past the edge of the forest, seeing nothing in particular just trees and leaves scattered on the earth.
"Hello?" I called. I raised my sword slightly and walked, whipping my hair every time I'd turn around at the slightest sound. The shadows would cast dark corners of the forest that would frighten me slightly but I continued. I heard the stream that ran through the forest, bubbling and rushing.
A few seconds later I heard cackling….Taunting, slightly masked by the stream.
"You're such a little git. We found you, now bloody calm down." A boy's voice said, laughter behind his menacing tone.
"No…no." The timid one I heard before.
"It'll only be for a second." A second commanding voice said.
I ran to the direction of the voices, making sure I was still hidden by the trees.
At last I found him.
Two burly boys held a smaller one in their large ham-like grips, trying to drag him across the earth to the bubbling stream. The smaller one tried to dig his legs in the earth, joshing about and thrashing his arms saying "no." The other boys just laughed, continuing to grab and pull him. I realized at that moment what they were trying to do. Their hands were at his shoulders, they wanted to put his head beneath the water.
At that instant I jumped from the cover of the shadows and my hiding spot and into the light of the sun through the trees.
"Stop!" I commanded. My six year old voice was hoarse and out of breath with running but I kept my sword at my side and my body steady.
The boys turned around, surprised for a moment at my presence. The one they were holding was blonde and red in the face, blood running from his nose and onto his ice skin. His day clothes were dirty and so were the two burlier, black haired boys'.
Shock spilled across the blonde's face and relief for a moment of my diversion.
The burly boys smirked and advanced, keeping the blonde in a death grip but moving towards me. I immediately gripped my sword tighter.
"Let him go." I said, my eyes fierce.
"Well look at what we have here, Matthew. Draco's got a little knight in shining armor to protect him. Didn't know you were a gay one, Malfoy." One of the boys said, taunting. He spit to the side and looked at me grotesquely.
'Draco' as they called him looked slightly embarrassed but still tried to keep out of their grip.
"Get of'r me." He choked out.
"Leave him alone please."
"We're playing hide and seek why don't you leave us alone." The second one said, angry obviously debating whether to dunk Draco, or me. Or both.
"But he's hurt!" I said, my eyebrows pulling together, watching the red from Draco's nose spill. These boys were so mean.
"What are you, his mother?" The 'leader' said, angry and ready to strike.
"She's a girl, mate. Leave her alone just get it over with." Draco muttered, his grey eyes worried that they'd attack me too.
"I hear a sore loser, Charlie!" Matthew said grinning, triumphant.
Charlie just smirked at me and the boys turned around and began dragging him again, Draco looked back with fear in his eyes mouthing for me to do something.
He began to kick again and while the two boys' backs were turned I immediately ran towards them, crying out in a little-girl-war-cry and hit the backs of their heads with my wooden sword.
"OW! OH MY GOD!" Charlie and Matthew cried and Charlie threw Malfoy to the floor and turned around. His pug like features twisted in a mask of pain, shouting profanities. At his momentary pain I looked over to Malfoy quickly and he shot up and him and I began to run in the forest.
I took his hand and led him through a way I knew, in the dimmer part so we'd be harder to see. Low branches and bushes attacked my ankles and ripped my stockings further, I used my sword to push leaves out of the way.
"Thanks." Draco muttered, looking at me from the side, he was already much taller than me although I could sense we were around the same age. He was tall and lanky with pale features, they were stressed and red from running. I just nodded at him and we could hear the other two boys' voices behind us. We tried to run faster.
"Bloody fuckers! Come on Matthew!" Charlie screamed. They were chasing after us, the leaves behind us thrashing wildly and loudly.
"Do you know a way out?" Draco said, out of breath. Looking around frantically, the forest was getting dimmer and dimmer, the trees providing more shade.
I also looked around nervous, I knew my way around the forest but I was so frazzled at the moment! I just settled for trying to get out of the forest and into my meadow back to my house.
"This way." I said lowly and gripped Draco's hand tighter, bounding behind the trees, I looked back at him and faced front and he grabbed me before I could hit my face in a thick low branch. Draco immediately got hit and fell forward, tripping.
I tripped over him and I couldn't help laughing. Draco looked so confused and he laughed with me, both of us on the ground of the forest covered with thick earth. I kept him down so we wouldn't be seen. I saw a bump forming on the side of his forehead.
"Are you alright?" I said giggling.
He chuckled, "yeah. We're going to get caught, come on"
As he gripped my hand again, I looked around and both Draco and I's laughter came to an abrupt halt. Matthew and Charlie were standing above us, grinning with nostrils flared. Draco and I knew we were done for.
"Shit." We spat in unison and Charlie and Matthew picked us up roughly and dragged us towards the stream once more.
"And that'll teach you for being a damn pansy running away from us." Charlie said, grinning from ear to ear as his ripped off all of Draco's sopping wet clothes from him leaving him only in his drawers.
Draco looked beet red at that point, shivering furiously, his pale skin offering him little warmth, and Matthew threw Draco's clothes high into the treetops away from reach.
We were by the stream and Charlie and Matthew dunked Malfoy repeatedly and furiously in the cold stream five or six times. They threw me in the water, threatening me if I tried to get out. The water went up to my waist and the cold bit at my legs, my dress floating around me my hands ice cold and numb from gripping my sword and the cold frosting them.
The boys threw Malfoy's shivering body to the ground and beckoned that I come out of the water. I slowly stepped in the stream, I tripped over a rock and stumbled, my knee scraping. I finally tripped my way out of the horribly cold water and out of breath I sat down. Charlie immediately picked and stood me straight and held me at my shoulders.
He smirked, "Brave of you, that little trick of yours."
"Real Brave." Matthew muttered with arms crossed.
"But I can't let little girls win, so, I think I'll be taking this."
"No!" I cried, gripping my sword but Charlie yanked it out of my hands, too strong for my small frame, and surveyed it, testing the handle. My eyes began to water as he held my toy sword my father gave me, eyeing it maliciously.
Draco got up at once and tried to retrieve it but Matthew held him down, Draco was thrashing furious, "You bloody git, get off me! Just leave her alone! Give it back to her!"
Charlie looked at me calmly. Water was leaking out of my eyes. Matthew nodded at him and with one last look at my sword Charlie broke it in half with his hands and threw it in the stream spitting on it as it went.
My knees buckled and Draco punched Matthew. Matthew just took it and pushed Draco back with ease, and him and Charlie exited into the trees, cackling with laughter.
"See you later, girls." Charlie said turning and looked at me, evil glinting from his eyes. They disappeared in the forest.
Draco looked at me quickly and apologetically but before I could say anything he jumped back into the cold water, no clothes but his drawers on, and went to grab the broken halves of my sword.
Draco walked me home with no clothes on. I insisted he just go home but he stayed by my side. We walked through the trees; we walked the whole meadow. The blades brushed at our sides softly, almost apologizing for the cold of the stream and drying Draco and myself. He had given me back the halves of my sword and apologized furiously the whole way home. He told me the boys were some of his playmates that lived in the surrounding lands. They were just out playing their own twisted kind of hide and go seek. I grimaced, they were neighbors….
We finally caught sight of the large manor, and the gazebo. At the edge of my sanctuary I turned to Draco.
"Do you want to come inside?"
"My mother will be worried enough…" He said looking back towards where we'd come, I could sense he was a little frightened of going back, his eyebrows knit together.
"Are you sure? I can ask my father to take you home."
He turned back to me and looked down, he caught a small flower in my hair and gave it to me, "Oh I forgot to ask, what's your name?"
"Julia." I responded, smiling at the small living thing.
He smiled too, his childlike and pale face finally lifting from the stupor of the afternoon events.
I walked towards my house from the meadow with him, my hair and ribbon in disarray, with brambles in it, my stockings ripped and bloody, my dress wet and muddied.
He crossed his arms over his chest, still looking foolish with just his drawers on and his scrawny snow- white legs, smiling at the state of things.