Summary: When a Wizarding University in America opens it's doors for Hogwarts students, Draco takes the opportunity to start fresh. Eventual DracoOC.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything that JK Rowling does but all my characters belong to me and so does the plot
Chapter one
Beginnings
New York City was never the place Draco thought he would end up. Yet here he stood, 5 foot 8, fresh scars from the battle littering his face. His wand was securely hidden in his suitcase, along with his other wizarding possessions. He looked up at the skyscrapers, trying to not be intimidated.
He had already been through Muggle customs to have his passport checked and to exchange currency, although what British money he had was little.
He stood in Times Square now, dressed in Britains football jersey (a Muggle pastime he had grown fond of in the summer months) and khaki shorts, flip flops on his feet. He had on sunglasses and his hair was a little longer and definitely messier, but still his trademark platinum blonde. The only thing he had with him was a small suitcase with clothes; he hoped that he would buy some new clothes during his time in America.
He was here on official business. Wizarding University had just opened its doors to non-American students for the first time and Draco had seized the chance of getting away.
He got rid of parental contact, his old friends, memories of the War and Hogwarts. The War was in the past and he wanted to keep it that way.
He started to walk towards a back alleyway, hoping his wizard escort would already be there.
"Mr. Malfoy, I presume?" A voice broke through the silence, making Draco stop.
Out of thin air, an older man appeared.
It wasn't like apparitions that they taught at Hogwarts. It seemed and looked as though he was part of the air, and he slowly appeared.
He looked like he was in his mid-thirties, dressed in a long black cloak. He had short black hair, slicked back with a small patch of hair on his chin. He had deep green eyes and was well-built.
"Yeah," Draco said, and he shook the mans hand.
"I am your escort, William," the man explained. "I hope that your trip wasn't harsh. "
In truth, Draco's totally Muggle trip was normal, even for him. He had flown rather than apparate; he wanted to know what his Muggle companions did when they traveled.
"Wizarding University is just on the outskirts of New York here, so grab my arm and we will go," William held his arm out and, after a moment of hesitation, Draco grabbed it. He closed his eyes; he didn't know if it would feel different.
"You can open your eyes now," he heard William tell him. Draco peeked his right eye open and then both.
They stood in front of a large brick building that looked Victorian to Draco. There was a fountain in the front courtyard with a statue of a man in the middle of the spraying water.
There were other brick buildings all around and Draco could see a Quidditch pitch in the distance. The place was buzzing with other teens his age and Professors.
"Welcome," William said. Draco said nothing but continued to look around.
"Would you like me to show you where you will live?" William asked.
"Yeah, sure," Draco replied. William started leading Draco over to one of the smaller brick buildings.
"We don't necessarily do dorms here, we have houses set up for three of our students to live in," William explained. "You have been placed in a house with Jaxson and Levi. Campus trouble-makers." William chuckled.
The rest of the walk was short and silent. William stopped in front of one of the buildings and faced Draco.
"This is your 'house'," he said, reaching in his pocket. He brought out a silver key and handed it to Draco.
"This key is attached to you; you can never lose it," William said. "There are no uniforms at the school and we will exchange any Muggle money to our campus money. Your schedule is laying on your bed on the second floor as well as a broomstick for Quidditch."
Draco looked at William, wondering how they knew about his deep passion for the sport.
"We didn't just accept you. We had all contact with Hogwarts during your admission process," William said.
"Do you need anything else then Mr. Malfoy?" William asked.
"I don't think so," Draco replied.
"See you around then," William said with a smile and turned to walk away.
"Wait," Draco said, a question popping into his mind. William stopped and turned back around to Draco.
"Is there anybody else here, from Hogwarts?" Draco asked. William paused for a second.
"A couple. " he replied, and then disappeared.
Draco stared at the spot William was standing in before turning towards the door. He unlocked it with ease and opened the door.
The room he stood in first was very small, a rug to the left for shoes and a small bench on the right side. It had hardwood floors and a staircase stood center. Draco took his shoes off quickly and stood there. He wasn't sure where he was supposed to go.
He heard the door behind him click open and a body hit his.
"Hey man I'm sorry!" A voice said. Draco turned around to see an athletically-built boy standing there. He was quite tan and had brown long hair.
"Ah, you must be Drake," he said.
"Actually, it's Draco," Draco corrected him, trying to be polite as possible.
"Oh man, I'm really sorry!" The boy apologized again.
"It's okay," Draco said.
"I'm Jaxson," the boy held his hand out. Draco shook it with a smile.
"Levi should be here any second," Jaxson said, looking at his wristwatch.
Almost as if on a tight schedule, another boy entered through the door.
This boy was short and lanky. He had scraggly short brown hair and grungy clothes on. His eyes were sunken and black circles plagued underneath them. He had a smile on his face though.
"Levi, this is Draco," Jaxson introduced the two.
"Hey," Levi simply greeted Draco. Draco gave him a quick smile.
"So, I'm not sure where exactly everything is in here," Draco said.
"Don't worry man, I'll give you the grand tour of everywhere," Jaxson said. Draco grabbed his suitcase and followed Jaxson into a room through an archway.
This room was much bigger than the last; it looked like it took up almost half of the first floor. It had white carpet and hosted a black leather couch and matching love seat. There was also a leather recliner and they all faced a large Muggle device that Draco had seen before a couple times. There was a large fireplace in one part of the room with a red couch facing it. There were other Muggle devices scattered in the room but Draco had never seen them before.
"This is the living room," Jaxson said. "Through there is the kitchen, please feel free to make yourself whatever," he pointed to another archway. "I'll show you your room now. "
The two headed back to the staircase and they climbed up. There was a long hallway with three doors on the right side and two on the left.
"The one on the left at the far end is your room," Jaxson said. The first door is one of the two bathrooms. The other bathroom is the middle door on the right side. The first door is mine and the one across from yours is Levi's. decorate however you want."
Draco walked towards his new room as Jaxson slammed his door shut to his room.
When Draco entered his room he was impressed by the space. There was a full sized bed with light blue sheets on it, with two windows with matching curtains. There was a decent sized desk against a side wall and two more doors were inside the room.
Draco closed his door and placed his suitcase on the bed next to a stack of papers. He went over to the first door by the desk; it opened to a large closet with a storage chest inside. He closed the door and went over to the other door beside the bed.
It turned out to be a door to the bathroom. The bathroom itself was matching shade of blue from the bedroom with a toilet, marble sink, and a large tub. There were metal shelves lined with soft blue towels and shampoos and conditioners.
Draco went back into his bedroom to get himself situated. He unzipped his suitcase and started unpacking clothes into the closet. He then placed his suitcase into his closet, not forgetting to grab his wand. He walked over to his bed once more and grabbed the papers, laying down.
The first piece of paper was a quick welcoming letter:
'Dear Mr. Draco Malfoy,
Welcome to Wizarding University. I hope that you will enjoy your time here during your studies. Attached is your schedule with a map and a brief history paper for your enjoyment.
Thank you,
Professor Vanderbilt, Headmaster'.
Draco three the paper into the back of the stack and was rewarded with his schedule:
'Semester One:
Session One: Muggle Magic
Session Two: Potions and Alchemy
Lunch
Session Three: Old Magic
Session Four: Explorations
Session Five: Free Period
Semester Two:
Session One: Old Magic
Session Two: Advanced Transfiguration
Lunch
Session Three: Old Magic
Session Four: Free Period
Session Five: Advanced Magical Creature Care
Please be prompt and obey school rules.'
Draco tucked the paper into his pocket and proceeded to the next paper, a school map. It proved the school to be even bigger than what Draco was aware, but upon a close look he discovered that all of his classes were at one corner of the campus grounds. He then tucked that paper away in case he would need it.
The next paper had a list of names, which Draco took as the staff. The next was a reminder about pets (students were allowed to have most animals, any except for poisonous creatures or magical) and then a paper about rules. He skimmed down through; they all seemed to be the same as Hogwarts.
When Draco arrived at the next page, he was struck with something Hogwarts never really had: a club list. The school took pride in not only its academics, but it's extracurricular as well. Quidditch, chess, dueling, and even Muggle sports were listed. Each one had a different day and time the clubs met, giving students many opportunities to be involved. Draco decided he would look over it again later an figure out which one suited him the best.
He had finally hit the golden page:
'As all American students receive a tour before arriving, I have enclosed brief paragraphs of some rich history of the school. Please feel free to ask any questions about anything on campus if you wish.'
Draco didn't read any paragraphs, instead folding it up and placing it in his pocket with the other papers.
When Draco reached the bottom of the stack, he took them over to the desk and place them in a drawer. He exited his room and knocked on Jaxson's door. The boy answered.
"Hey I was wondering if you could help me," Draco said, "I need to exchange my money." Jaxson smiled and nodded, and led Draco down the steps. Jaxson made a left turn towards the main campus building but they walked right past it to a smaller brick building beside it.
Jaxson entered first and went to the front desk.
"Draco needs his money exchanged," he said to the witch behind the counter. She looked up and smiled.
"Sure," she said. She finished stamping postage and turned her attention to a drawer with money. Draco handed her his money and she counted it out.
"You get 47 Tulks and 79 Bings," she said, handing the money to Draco. He pocketed it and waited.
"Our money is set up like American Muggle currency to help adjust Muggle-born students to it," she explained. "If you need help with it, I'm sure Jaxson would love to help."
Jaxson gave her a wide grin and he and Draco left the building.
"So Draco, how was the wizarding life back in Britain?" Jaxson started the conversation. Draco's memories flooded his mind. He thought about the War and his father's torment for him to become a Death Eater. Draco felt his arm burn, but didn't look at it. He had managed to cover it with magic, but it still inked his arm.
"How was it to fight in the War?" Jaxson didn't wait for a reply. "Nobody here really knows anything about it."
Draco's scars started burning. He wasn't sure if it was real or just in his head though, but the pain was almost unbearable. He wasn't aware he was making a face until Jaxson spoke up:
"Maybe I'll ask another time..."
"It's okay man," Draco said, "the memories are just very new and they aren't pretty."
"I understand," Jaxson seemed real cool about the whole conversation, which Draco was happy about.
They continued walking in silence until Draco spoke up:
"Hey Jaxson, you can go ahead, I want to hang back a little bit."
Jaxson smiled and then went on. Draco got out and unfolded the brief history page he had just received, reading the first paragraph:
'This University was originally built in 1807 and has hosted as a fortress as well as a school during the First Wizarding War. The founder was Albert Scott III, who envisioned continuing education for new American Wizards and Witches alike.'
Draco walked over to the fountain and sat down along its edge.
'The fountain, center courtyard, was built 55 years after the school, to honor Albert on his Death Day. His ghost lives on school grounds to oversee all happenings. Students throw coins into the fountains waters in hopes of gaining good luck in their studies, a tradition started by Albert himself.'
Draco folded the paper back up and sighed. He felt a couple of eyes in him but he took no notice of anyone.
"JAXSON! LEVI!" Draco heard a voice yell out in the calm of the courtyard. An older man, obviously a professor, stormed through the courtyard towards Draco's new 'home'.
Draco wasn't sure if it was his natural appearance, but the man had bright purple hair and his face was flaming red with rage. Draco watched as the man stomped away while students around tried to stifle their laughter.
Draco decided to go back to the house and see what the commotion was about. He stood up and adjusted his sunglasses, putting the paper back in his pocket.
Arriving at the house was quite the scene:
Jaxson and Levi were in the front yard, laughing at the older man with purple hair.
"I knew something was up with my coffee this morning!" The man yelled over their laughs. "If you don't think I won't tell headmaster, you've been mistaken!"
Jaxson and Levi seemed to not hear him; they continued laughing.
"Purple really is your color," Jaxson said through laughs. The mans face turned brighter red and he stormed off back towards the main building.
"DRACO!" Jaxson yelled out when he saw his housemate. "You should've been there! We put an exiliar in Professor Webber's coffee this morning!"
"So I saw," Draco said with a smirk. He followed the two troublemakers into the house and into the living room.
"So what is that?" Draco asked, pointing at the large object on the wall.
"It's a TV," Levi replied. "It plays movies and shows."
Draco stared at it, wondering how it worked. Jaxson grabbed a long black object with buttons on it an pressed one on the top.
The TV turned on, protecting an image on the screen.
"Really cool Muggle invention," Jaxson said, relaxing on the couch. "I heard that Wizards will be getting them soon along with Wizarding programs. Faster way to get news across too."
Draco sat down on the love seat by himself and immersed himself in the screen. He wasn't sure how the people were on the screen or what was going on, but he had no idea Muggles could invent something like what he was seeing.
"Hey man do you need some clothes?" Levi asked out of the blue.
Draco looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah, I packed light. I thought maybe I could buy some clothes over here."
"Jaxson we should hit the city and let Draco browse," Levi suggested. Jaxson turned the TV off and agreed.
"We'll show you all the good sites," Jaxson said, standing.
As Draco left the house, he thought to himself that maybe it wouldn't be as bad as what he thought.
A/N: I know, I know. The ending kind of sucked, and to be honest, the beginning of the next chapter kinda does too, but it gets so much better, I promise! This idea came to me after trying to think of an original idea I had never read before that had to do with Hogwarts. I will explain some more things in the next chapter (you may or may not notice my "original" characters)—most of them are based on real people, names and all.
I don't mind constructive criticism (NOTE: I didn't beta this chapter yet, might do it later. I just really wanted to post it), but if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all. I think I did much better than what I used to write. Thank you
