Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (even if I wish I did). JK Rowling is the owner, and this story is based on characters and situations created and owned by her and her publishers. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. This is all for fun.

Change in Life, Change in Love

Reminiscing of when I was living in fear

Is he here yet?

I feel sweat building on my upper back

Children are under attack

With every question mark

When testing starts

Hearts burn and stomachs knot

Inner organs begin to morph in

-Sage Francis "Oliver Twisted"

Living as a Muggle. Previously, I had never thought those words would apply to me. In fact, things up until a week ago had been going perfectly well- being a high society pure blooded wizard, who could complain? I had enough money to last me several life times and I admit, I did like to rub it in every one's faces whenever I could, especially Weasel. But now I am rethinking all of that, rethinking everything I have been taught, questioning my principles and morals. I've gotten to a point where I don't know what to do and even my cocky exterior has been lost, my snide remarks finally meeting their match.

It all started the week of my 16th birthday. Scratch that, I suppose it started during my 5th year before daddy dearest got himself arrested. Voldemort was tired of Father not succeeding in tasks given to him so he came up with a contingency plan; if he failed at the Department of Mysteries and/or got himself arrested, then on my sixteenth birthday I would replace him. Voldemort needed a spy at Hogwarts and that would end up being me, whether I wanted it so or not.

The enthusiasm that should have come at the prospect of helping Voldemort in such a huge way was lacking in me, to say the least. I should have been excited about the trust he must have in me, eager to do my part for the cause. But the more I had thought about it, the more I finally realized I didn't want to follow in my father's footsteps. I didn't want to be one of Voldemort's henchmen, I didn't want any part in this crusade against Muggles and I most certainly didn't want to be in the thick of it spying at Hogwarts. While I still believe to some degree all the philosophies about society I was raised on, I didn't think killing was the real way to get it accomplished. After all, it won't make people see your point or join the cause. I started realizing this the week before I was to get the mark. What was I to do, if I couldn't go through with this terrible arrangement? And so I ran. The day before my birthday I flooed to Gringotts, closed out my personal account, and took off to live in Muggle London where no one would suspect a Malfoy to go.

Looking back on it, running was probably the worst thing I could have done, since no one goes against Voldemort. I realize now that I'm most likely second on his must-kill list only to Potter. I suppose that's one thing I don't mind being second at, unlike school with that Granger broad. And now here I am, living in a small dirty apartment within the Camden area, trying to make what little I had in my account for personal spending last until next term at Hogwarts. There I will hopefully be safe since Dumbledore and Potter will be there too..

Putting down his pen, Draco sighed. Though he found it helped to write things down, it still didn't come close to getting rid of the constant stress and worry. Draco knew Camden was one of the last places they would look for him, he had made sure of it. Narcissa, his mother, thinks he is in France, and no one would guess Draco had surrounded himself in a area that was heavily populated by Muggles who had worse Muggle fashion sense than wizards (and we all know that's saying something). They wore things that Draco, excessive pride aside, would never be caught dead wearing. Green spiked hair, super baggy bright orange pants and pieces of metal all over your face? No thanks, Draco thought with a disgusted shake of his head. The only good thing about this area is that his money can last longer.

The total amount he was able to retrieve from Gringotts was 20,000 Galleons, but apparently that's worth five times that when converted into muggle money, Draco was pleased to discover. Of course, with an upbringing like his, what Draco considers a small dirty apartment is what others would consider a stroke of luck: a nice, 2 bedroom flat above one of the many punk music and clothing stores in Camden. After paying the landlord for 2 months upfront, the remaining 95,000 pounds were plenty to get him some new outfits in order to fit in with people his age in the area.

A jazzy tune played out on the old radio beside him and Draco sat thinking, knowing that the threat of getting caught was still looming over his head, would probably stay that way for a while and having a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen in the near future. But tomorrow would bring a new day, a new day filled with shopping, and that shopping would (hopefully) be a way to take his mind off of things- even if it was temporary, because that was better than nothing. Downing his cup of tea (it had gone cold, he thought idly), Draco sighed before crawling into bed. He fell asleep knowing that he would wake up one day closer to the start of term and with one day longer he had escaped the threat of Voldemort under his belt.

A/N:

Just updated this chapter with the Beta'd version. Sorry for the short first chapter but had to get the intro out, so can get the plot started. This story will eventually be a slash story but nothing heavy or graphic. It will also pose some questions and issues that haven't been addressed much in other fanfiction stories. It will be a different type of story which will hopefully lead to a greater understanding with certain issues (you will find out what in the upcoming chapters). Thanks to my lovely Beta xxgabigailxx! Comments always appreciated, especially constructive ones, so feel free to comment and ask questions. New chapter will be up soon!