Draco sat alone under the apple tree, thinking hard about his future, and his prospects. He could do so much- if only his mother would let him. She had become so overbearing after the war. Worried if he was 10 minutes late home from work. If he disappeared for the weekend, which he was in the habit of doing currently, she would send numerous owls demanding that he return home immediately. Yes, he could do so much more- but his mother was holding him back.
Sighing, Draco glanced upwards towards the clear, blue sky. It was a warm summer's day, a year after the war and he had disappeared from the Manor once again. He was alone in an old Muggle farmer's field on the outskirts of an entirely Muggle village, of which he was unsure of the name. He tended to avoid Wizarding company recently, and so the deserted Muggle field seemed the perfect choice. A lone bird swooped low across the sky, and Draco noticed how the sun shone on the horizon- he had been there longer than he had planned, and it was nearly sunset. His mother would be out of her mind with worry.
"Let her worry," muttered Draco under his breath.
A breeze swept across the field suddenly, and he shivered involuntarily. Looking around, as though expecting someone to be there, he caught sight of something. It was so mesmerising, so beautiful… The sun glistened off of its skin, making it look even more delectable… Draco knew he had to have it.
Standing up, he reached for the beautiful object, but it was out of his reach. He could not understand it- it had seemed so much closer than it actually was. Confused, he took a step closer, and reached again, but once again the beautiful orb was out of his reach. Several times this happened, until Draco gave up. He instead reached for his wand, and attempted to summon the object, only to become ever more bemused when this did not work. He blinked, and looking in frustration at his wand; why was it failing him in this time of need? Didn't it realise how much he wanted- how much he needed- the delicious looking fruit? For it was indeed a fruit that Draco coveted; a beautiful, grass green apple, hanging on the tree he had been resting under, a single leaf adorning the perfectly formed stalk that reached out of the apple and kept it attached to the tree. Why could he not get it?
Realising that the sun was now almost completely set, and a warm darkness was now pervading the field, Draco cursed, and turned on the spot. Instantly, the field was once again deserted.
Draco appeared in front of the Manor, and his mother came storming out almost the second he had appeared. He watched her draw closer, a bored expression on his handsome face, a single eyebrow lifted in disdain.
"Where have you been?" demanded the witch before him.
"I was out," he replied coldly.
"It's night time! You should have been back hours ago! What on earth are you playing at? Don't you understand how the rest of the Wizarding world views the Malfoys now? If they see us in the streets alone, unprotected by numbers, then we shall be overcome and made to suffer for the crimes we committed during the war!"
"I was not anywhere Wizard related," Draco replied, walking off towards the Manor.
"You were in a Muggle area?" she shrieked. "Have you no shame? A Muggle area! My son, wandering around with the Muggles!"
"I was not wandering around with them, Mother. I was on the outskirts of a Muggle village, resting my head; I get no peace here anymore, not with you demanding to know what I'm doing every minute of the day. I am surprised I am even allowed to go to the toilet without you keeping an eye on me!"
"Do not be so disrespectful, Draco! I am your mother, and you will treat me as such! Do not go near any Muggle areas again, do you understand?"
Draco began to panic- if he was forbidden from entering Muggle areas, how would he continue with his efforts to reach the delectable apple?
"Mother, now, be reasonable-" he began desperately.
"I am being reasonable Draco- it is you who is behaving unreasonably. You shall not go to any Muggle related areas again, and that is final!"
With that, she swept back into the Manor, leaving Draco alone in the gardens, stunned. He had to return to the field, had to return to the apple tree- to that amazingly perfect apple, which had seemed to mock him as he had reached in vain for it, and then failed in his attempts to summon it. He made up his mind, there and then, that he would return to the field the next day- and every other day that followed- until he had obtained the apple, and could call it his own.
True to his word, Draco returned the next day. He had to sneak out from under the watchful eye of the house elf who had been set to guarding his room, which had had anti-disapparating charms placed upon it, but that had been easy enough- house elves were notoriously easy to place memory charms on. He had escaped from the Manor in merely 20 minutes- it would have been less, but he had had to navigate a path through the Manor which was certain not to bring him into the range of his mother.
He apparated directly into the field, not caring if anyone saw him. Looking around, he found himself right beneath the apple tree. He looked immediately for the coveted apple- but it was missing. A single, broken stalk was left in its place, indicating that only half of the apples stalk remained with the apple. Draco let out a bitter cry- how was he to find the apple now?
A young farm hand had been strolling across the field when Draco had appeared, and he was stunned by the strange display he had seen before him. How did people appear out of thin air? He headed towards the teenager hesitantly- who knew what kind of person he was- and watched as he cried about something.
"What's up?" asked the farm hand nervously.
Draco spun around on the spot, dashing away the tears that had been collecting in his eyes.
"Who are you?" he demanded, with all of the authority befitting a Pure Blood.
"Jed," replied the farm hand cautiously. "I'm Jed. I work for t'farmer what owns this field."
"You work here?" repeated Draco, his hopes rekindling. "Then do you know what happened to the beautiful apple which was growing on this apple tree?"
Jed looked at him, confused. What a strange question, he thought! Nevertheless, he answered the boy, for he did indeed know what had happened to the apple.
"Sure. Farmer's wife, she come down 'ere early this mornin', like. Picked a nice handful of apples, and took 'em back to the farm house."
"The farm house! Why?"
"To make an apple pie, probably," said Jed, who was feeling ever more concerned with the direction of this strange conversation.
He was, after all, only a simple farm hand, barely out of school; his was looking forward for a slice of the apple pie that evening. Why did this boy want one of the apples that was going to be baked into it?
Draco let out a half strangled cry- that beautiful apple, cut into little bits and baked into a pastry?
"Quick- in which direction is the farm house?" he demanded, glancing all around him, as though hoping a farm house would pop up out of the ground.
"'S'over yonder," replied Jed, pointing in the direction of the farm house.
Immediately, Draco sped away, leaving the confused Jed behind. He ran so quickly that he doubted he would have gone any quicker on his old Nimbus Two Thousand and One; perhaps he should have played all those games of Quidditch on his feet. He reached the farm house in next to no time, and rapidly hammered on the door.
"Alright, alright, I'ma coming," replied a grumpy sounding voice behind the door.
The door was thrown open, and there stood what Draco assumed was the farmer's wife- a short, ruddy faced woman, who looked like she'd eaten one too many of those apple pies.
"I believe you are making an apple pie," said Draco, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah- what of it?" asked the woman, eyeing him cautiously.
"You have taken a sumptuous apple- I wish you to return it to me at once."
"What?" she asked, clearly bemused.
"The apples on the apple tree in the farmer's field! You picked them, and one of them was the most delectable looking apple I have ever laid eyes upon- I decided I must have it, only when I returned to claim it today, it was gone! Jed, the farm hand, told me you had taken it and intended to savage the poor thing, and then burn it!"
"You were going to steal one of my husband's apples, were you?" said the woman, who now drew herself up to her full and inconsiderable height.
"I do not have time for this!" snapped Draco, and he pulled out his wand, pointed it directly at her chest and barked- "Stupefy!"
She fell at his feet with a heavy thud. Rolling her to one side with his foot, Draco proceeded into the farm house. He did not have to go far before he found himself in the kitchen- and there, on the counter, was a pile of apples!
Draco ran towards it and began plucking apples from the pile, trying desperately to find his special apple. The discarded apples fell to the floor with muted thuds; he paid them no attention. Just as he was beginning to give up hope, he saw it. The apple.
Giving a cry of joy, Draco grabbed at the apple, and this time he managed to pick it up in one go! He was thrilled, beyond overjoyed! Turning on his heel, he ran back out of the house, pausing only to renervate the Muggle woman as he left.
Reappearing in Malfoy Manor gardens, Draco looked at his prize. The sumptuous, delectable, beautiful apple, with its crisp, grass green skin and perfectly shaped leaf on its now decapitated stalk. He had won his prize- the apple was now his!
Closing his eyes, he brought the apple up to his face. He smelt it- such a clean smell, like fresh air- it could only have come from somewhere as open and breezy as the farmer's field! He brought it to his mouth and brushed it against it- such smooth skin, no lumps or bumps- why, it was perfect! Opening his mouth, he bit down into the apple, and immediately, an explosion of delicious taste flooded his tongue. It was too much! Too delicious, too perfect! He could have wept for joy at the pureness of the apple, but he did not- he resumed his frenzied eating of it, until only the core was left.
Opening his eyes, Draco surveyed the apple core, but he did not feel regret at his decision. Instead, he walked towards a secluded corner of the gardens, and buried the apple core in the soft earth there, vowing that he would grow from it the perfect apple tree, on which grew hundreds of apples, just like that one.
Gazing down at the small mound of earth which now hid his delicious snack from him, he smiled. He had won, he had got what he wanted- but then, when did Draco Malfoy not get what he wanted?