A/N Since I had a major case of writers block I decided to post the first chapter of my newest fic. If you love to walk on the dark side, and love Draco / Hermione, and Lucius / with a passion then read this . Just to let you know there will be no slash, or freaky stuff. just hope of a struggling and budding relationship between Draco and Hermione and a new chance for life with a fresh start and perhaps even new love for Lucius and my OC. Enjoy.

This Chapter was edited by my new friend and Beta Reader Addicted2ItAll. Thank you for your valuable help! :)


The Muggle Way

By Esrelda Snape


Summery:

Lucius and Draco thought that living their lives in the service of the Dark Lord was tough. The Dark Lord is nothing compared to the punishment that the Ministry decides to give the two Malfoys in exchange for not sending them to Azkaban. Will the Malfoy men survive their chosen sentence or will they choose to be taken to Azkaban instead? This story is rated M, for Sexual content, descriptions of sex, and language. In later Chapters.


Chapter one Distress of The Malfoys

Chapter one Distress of The Malfoys

After the downfall of the Dark Lord, Lucius ran for his home with his wife and their son. He didn't want to face the chance of returning to Azkaban Prison, or the horror of seeing his wife and child being imprisoned. The thought of his son, whom he loved wasting away in Azkaban, was more than he could bear.

When they got home Draco stomped up to his room and slammed the door so hard that the portraits on the walls shook. He stripped out of his tattered robes and stepped into his bathroom to attempt to drown his feelings and memories beneath the hot water. As he scrubbed himself clean, he looked down at his left forearm and frowned in disgust.

To be marked for the rest of my life as a follower of the Dark Lord. To lose everyone and everything that I care about. Why did I listen to my mother while my father was locked up in Azkaban? I'm a coward, a loser," thought Draco as he soaked in the tub, listening to the angry voices of his parents as they argued in his father's study on the floor below him.

Lucius had been absolutely enraged with his wife when he had escaped from Azkaban to find that instead of running, that she had forced their teenaged son into the service of the Dark Lord. Seconds after escorting his family home he grabbed Narcissa by the arm and dragged her passed their son, who had run up to his room into his study.

"Narcissa, how could you," he raged as he pushed her into the room and slammed the door to close them off from the rest of the house?

"How, could I what, Lucius," she asked with a puzzled expression on her face as she rubbed her arm?

"How the bloody hell could you force our son into the service of the Dark Lord," asked Lucius angrily?

"Lucius, be reasonable, you were in Azkaban Prison, I was given no choice," said Narcissa.

"YOU COULD HAVE TAKEN OUR GOLD OUT OF THE WIZARDING BANK AND TAKEN DRACO AND RAN," shouted Lucius at the top of his lungs.

"The Dark Lord swooped in and took over the Manor. The only choice that he gave us, was that either Draco joined and served him or we both be executed then and there. If you cared about our safety you should have never joined his forces," spat Narcissa as she plopped down onto the sofa in the study.

"If, I didn't care I would have taken you both and ran as far from him as I could," said Lucius.

"Oh, yes, my husband, the lowly coward," scoffed Narcissa in disgust. Lucius stiffened at his wife's spiteful comments. He then spun around and glared at her with his arms crossed.

"Consider yourself lucky that I consider myself to be a gentleman, who doesn't believe in striking or cursing a woman," said Lucius as he abruptly left the room, leaving Narcissa standing there with a sour expression on her face.

For the rest of that night the Malfoy's spent their time apart in separate wings of the manor. Narcissa was the only member of the family to take her evening meal in the dining room. She sat alone eating and thinking on what her next step of action should be. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling that Lucius was not going to take her choices lightly. Before she had decided to eat alone, she had attempted to make peace with her husband.

Lucius had refused. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't even speak to her. Draco was in much the same mood as his father. When she attempted to persuade him to come down to dinner, he had refused saying that he wasn't very hungry after seeing one of his best friends die. He had slammed the door in her face leaving her stunned and angry.

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Lucius awoke early the next morning to a screech owl tapping at the window of his bedroom in the east wing of the Manor. He opened the window and took the letter from the beak of the bird giving it a few owl treats before breaking the wax seal on the envelope. He read over the letter and frowned. Then he flicked his wand and made the letter burn to a cinder.

He dressed as the sounds of birds chirping in the morning breeze floated through the open window. Then he walked into the west wing where Draco was brooding in his room. He tapped gently on Draco's bedroom door, and waited for his reply. Draco opened the door expecting to see his mother, and wearing a sour expression on his face.

"Draco, I need to speak with you," said Lucius as he waited for Draco's consent to enter his rooms. Draco opened the door wider and waited for his father to come inside so that he could close the door.

"What's going on, father," asked Draco as he leaned against his closed door?

"Our old family friend John Avery's funeral is to be held today. The Avery family has invited us to attend. I was just wondering if you were feeling up to attending with me," asked Lucius?

"I'll go with you father. I can't say that mother will be so obliging though," said Draco as he pocketed his wand, and followed his father from the room to get some breakfast.

To their shock Narcissa did agree to accompany them to John Avery's funeral, though she did so for a different reason. For year's unbinounced to Lucius, she had been having an affair with John Avery's brother Archer. She only agreed to go to the funeral so that she could act on her decision. She was planning to leave the funeral with Archer Avery and take as much of the Malfoy family gold with her as she could.

At the funeral Narcissa and Archer kept stealing secretive glances at each other. This did not go unnoticed by Lucius and Archer's sisters. Lucius and Draco watched the funeral procession and tried to ignore Narcissa's obvious attraction for the other wizard. Suddenly they looked up as they heard the gathered patrons of the funeral gasp and mutter in shock and disbelief.

Draco turned in his seat to notice a lone woman slowly walking down the isle of the gathered members of John Avery's family and friends. She was dressed in what he assumed to be muggle attire, because in his mind no self-respecting witch or wizard would dress in such a fashion. He tapped on his father's shoulder to get his attention. "Father, is that a muggle at a wizarding funeral," he whispered in his father's ear making him turn in shock to see what Draco was talking about.

Lucius turned and gazed up in shock at the sight that everyone except for the Avery family was muttering about. She was dressed in a long flowing black skirt that flowed to the ground, and a burgundy button down blouse that hang down over the skirt and was tightened by a black leather belt with silver Conchos on it. Her eyes were covered by dark round sunglasses and her bright auburn hair was covered, for the most part by a black felt Stetson hat with silver Conchos on the band. Her hair was pulled back and tied with a black silk ribbon.

To most of the witches and wizards in attendance she was a truly puzzling sight. As she passed between Narcissa and Archer's gaze she noticed the two ogling each other as if they were undressing each other with their eyes. She glanced directly at Archer and shot him a reproachful glare. He tore his eyes away from Narcissa and turned his gaze back to the front where his elderly father had taken note of the new arrival.

Narcissa frowned and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "What in merlin's name is that piece of muggle filth doing here," she said as she finally turned to face her husband who had a disgusted expression on his face?

"If you must ask, it would appear that the rumors about John Avery being married to a muggle were indeed true," said Lucius in a cold tone. "Enlighten me, my love. Is there a particular reason why you and Archer Avery seem to not be able to take your eyes off of each other, or is it my imagination playing tricks on me," asked Lucius calmly?

"I'm not going to discuss this with you now," said Narcissa as she turned away from her husband and looked up toward the front where the muggle woman was standing gently shaking with silent sobs of grief. She snorted with disgust as John Avery's sisters, who were pure blooded witches and their husbands hugged the muggle woman in a soothing manner.

Avery's father walked over and spoke into the muggle woman's ear, as she slid the goblin made wedding ring off of her finger. Her elderly father-in-law withdrew his wand and conjured a single red rose and held it out to his muggle daughter-in-law. Lucius watched as she pulled the end of the black ribbon letting her long auburn locks flow down to her thin waistline. She then threaded the ribbon through the ring that she had removed from her finger and tied the ring to the rose knotting it into a bow.

As the casket was being lowered into the ground she reached forward and tenderly placed the rose with the ring tied to it on top of her departed husband's final resting place. She then stepped back and wiped a stray tear from her cheek, before turning away from it to be enveloped into her sister-in-law's warm arms. "Thank you, for sending me the owl, Wendy. Your youngest sister sends her regrets, but an emergency came up and she was unable to attend with me," she said as she pulled away from John's sisters and slowly walked back up the isle to leave.

Before the funeral had ended Narcissa attempted to leave. Lucius stopped her and confronted her just outside of the gates of the cemetery. "Where are you going, Narcissa," he asked as he grabbed her arm and pulled her roughly towards him?

"It's simple Lucius, I'm leaving you and taking half of our money," said Narcissa as Archer walked up the isle behind the muggle wife of Lucius's departed friend.

"I'm afraid that it doesn't work that way. If you no longer love me then that's fine, but you'll not take any of the gold from the Malfoy family volt. You have your own family volt that was left when your deranged sister and her sick husband were killed in the war. You'll leave with what you came into my home with," said Lucius

Narcissa crossed her arms defiantly. "All of these years that I've been a devoted wife to you are worth-," she started before Lucius cut her off.

"DEVOTED! YOU WERE NEVER DEVOTED TO ME," yelled Lucius angrily as a tawny owl swooped down and landed on the low hedge beside them with a letter addressed to the Malfoy family in its beak. Lucius took the letter from the owl and ripped it open, scanning the contents rapidly. Narcissa watched as his face grew redder, and his eyes grew larger as he reached the end of the letter.

Lucius pocketed the letter and frowned. "It may interest you to know, that the Ministry of Magic shall be arriving at our home shortly to arrest us all and take our wands," said Lucius as Draco walked up.

"Correction, Lucius, the Ministry will not take me because I am no longer a member of the Malfoy family," sneered Narcissa as Avery's muggle wife got closer. "As for your money, I don't need it. As you said, I have the money that my sister left to me, and my lover has a clever way to double what I already have," said Narcissa as she watched Archer disapparate and then apparate so that he was standing directly in front of his brother's muggle widow.

When Archer Avery suddenly appeared in front of the muggle she didn't even jump or flinch in fright. Instead, she hardened her expression and rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. "Archer, if you were hoping to scare me than you are wasting your time. John used to do that to me all the time," said the Muggle with a soft southern drawl to her voice.

"My brother was a fool to marry below him. He should have never left his volt to you, a filthy muggle bitch," said Archer as he reached out and grasped her by the wrist.

"His choices were his alone to make. You are just angry because I chose him over your lazy perverted ass. Furthermore, you are angry that he chose to leave me with something more than a memory. I'm not going to let you man handle me, so get your hands off, if you know what's good for you," she spat as she attempted to wrench her arm free from his grasp.

She turned away from him and pulled attempting to get free, then before anyone could react or blink, she quickly spun back toward him with her balled fist, striking him so hard in the nose that she heard a satisfying crack of bone. Archer released his grip on her arm and fell backward holding his bleeding nose and screaming in shock.

She smirked slightly before stepping over his body. "I gave you fair warning to let me go. I told you that no man, wizard or not man handles me," she said as she walked away and stepped into a waiting limousine.

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Once Lucius and Draco reached their home, Lucius had explained the content of the letter from the ministry to Draco. They had no idea what to expect so they both packed everything that they thought that they may need in their trunks just in case it was needed. Officials from the Ministry were led into the house by one of the family house elves.

"Mr. Lucius and Draco Malfoy, I am here on behalf of the Ministry of magic to discus with you your choice of sentence for your crimes," started the ministry official as he looked around for Narcissa. "Wait a minute, where is Mrs. Narcissa Malfoy," he asked as he noticed her absence?

"My, ex-wife, Narcissa Black has left with her lover Archer Avery. If you wish to serve her with a punishment as well, then you'll have better luck searching Saint Mongo's due to the fact that Archer Avery's muggle sister-in-law broke his nose," said Lucius calmly hoping that they would go after her as well.

The ministry official nodded to two of the Aurors that were accompanying him and they left through the floo in the Malfoy's sitting room to go after Narcissa and Archer. "Well, if you two gentlemen would have a seat, we can discuss your options," said the Ministry official.

"Of course, would you like something to drink while we talk?" asked Lucius, attempting to be a gracious host?

"Yes, a hot cup of tea would be nice," said the other wizard as he took a seat across from the two Malfoy males. Lucius snapped his fingers and a petite house elf popped into the room.

"Minxy, would you be so kind as to bring our guest a hot cup of tea," he asked with a refined drawl to his voice?

"Minxy, will bring the tea straight away. Is there anything else that master would like," asked Minxy?

"No, thank you. Just bring three cups of tea," said Lucius excusing the elf with a wave of his hand.

"As I was saying, Mr. Malfoy, you and your son have two choices for the sentence for your crimes," began the ministry official before Minxy popped back into the room with a tray of tea and sat it down on the coffee table in front of them.

"Yes, you see, we are not offering this choice to everyone. You and your son are a special case. An offer has been made to rehabilitate you and your son. You therefore have the choice of going to Azkaban Prison, or you could go into the new rehab program started by the American Ministry for Magic."

Lucius arched his eyebrows with interest. In his mind anything was better than seeing his son rotting away in Azkaban. "What would this rehab entail," he asked looking directly into the Ministry official's eyes?

"Well, since your crimes were against muggles and muggle-born's, under the terms of your rehab you and your son must agree to willingly give up your wands, and must learn to live with and as muggles do. That means you must learn to live without magic, and learn to live with muggles in a peaceful nature. You must learn to trust and be trusted by at least one muggle. You must not fight or start fights with any muggles," said the Ministry official in a calm tone.

"If the two of you can do this, when your patron feels that you are ready, you will earn the right to have back your wands and your freedom. Until you have successfully managed to fulfill the requirements of your rehabilitation, and can prove that you have both changed for the better, you will both be free to live your lives and your records will be expunged," said the ministry wizard.

Lucius removed his wand from the head of his cane and handed it over without hesitation. Draco looked at his father in shock. "Draco, give him your wand, son. I refuse to see you rot away in Azkaban," said Lucius giving Draco a stern, I'm not joking kind of look. Draco removed his wand from his sleeve and gingerly handed it over as well.

"Very good, you will need to pack some clothing, nothing formal. Any casual muggle clothing will do. If you don't own any muggle clothing, don't worry. Your patron has agreed to take you to purchase anything that you need to help you fit in," said the ministry official.

"We've already packed our trunks, when do we have to leave," asked Lucius?

"If you both will gather your trunks I shall take you to the muggle air-o-port, so that you may travel to the States for your rehabilitation," said the Ministry official as Lucius and Draco walked over to where their trunks were sitting by the front door.

"Excuse me, sir, but may I ask, what is an air-o-port," asked Draco pronouncing the word slowly?

"An air-o-port is where muggles go when they want to travel across great distances. They ride in something called an air-o-plain, because they can't fly on a broom or apparate, or use port keys like the citizens of the magical world," explained the ministry wizard as he grasped Lucius and Draco before aparating away with a loud crack.

A/N Thanks for reading. This chapter has been edited and reposted for better flow and reading. I hope that you enjoyed my first chapter. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Chapter 2 Fly Like A Muggle is up next.