Returning Home
Nineteen-year-old Harry Potter was driving down the crowded streets of Montreal, Quebec. Not that he particularly enjoyed or wanted to be stuck in traffic, in the blistering summer heat, within this non air- conditioned rental car. But it was definitely better than being at the Dursleys.
Either way, he no longer had to worry about them. The very week he had graduated from Hogwarts, Harry had packed up every little item that hinted himself or the magic world, including scraps of parchment and old, useless quills. Not a single trace of him remained on Privet Drive. He had temporarily lived at Ron's house, before finding his own place. He'd then landed a job in the Ministry of Magic. And it was because of that job he was currently in Montreal. The Ministry needed him here for at least eight months but promised no more than ten. So far, he had only been here for two.
Harry sighed, and leaned back in the car seat. He observed the people walking around. He spotted a few street kids, some looking worn out, others looking as if they were ready to die. A few still seemed to have a glimmer of hope underneath their tired faces. Harry felt sympathy for the kids. What had they done to deserve a street life? Did their parents or family really care so much to have them thrown out on the street? Or did the kids themselves just not care, and decided to come here?
Harry thought about how worried their families could be. He thought of Lucius Malfoy, and how upset he had been when Draco had disappeared only just a month after graduation. 'Two years, and still no sign of him.' Harry thought. He remembered how Lucius had sent out many search parties to look for his son, but they all came empty-handed, not even the tiniest hint that Draco could still be around.
A few minutes later, Harry became aware of a squeegee kid with long blond hair walking toward him. "Oh, lovely." He muttered softly. When the squeegee arrived a few feet from the car he asked, "Excuse me, would you like me to wash your windshield?" Harry normally would have said no, but found himself saying, "Sure go ahead." For a moment, the squeegee blinked at Harry, then proceeded to wash the windshield, with obvious experience. Harry couldn't put his finger on why he said yes. He suddenly realized that the squeegee looked rather familiar, and spoke with a British accent.
'No wonder he hesitated when he heard me speak.' Harry observed him more closely. The blond hair, the pale skin. Even with white army jeans and a tattered black t-shirt, he looked familiar. Harry's eyes fell on a side pocket of the jeans, where he could have sworn, there was a wand sticking out. Harry finally recognized him. "Draco?" he said, "Draco Malfoy?" The street kid's hand slipped, but he caught himself before he fell the hood of the car. He stared at Harry, very suspiciously. "Who?"
Harry sighed. "Draco, I know you recognize me."
"I have no idea who you're talking about. I don't know any Malfoy."
"I see your wand."
The street kid quickly shoved the wand farther into his pocket. He stood up, and said, "I think I'm done here. Gonna pay me?"
Harry handed him a ten-dollar bill, clearly much higher than the kid expected. The street kid walked away quickly, not looking back once. Harry memorized the area rapidly. He would come back tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
It was exactly as Harry had promised himself. The following day, in the afternoon, he returned to where he'd seen the street kid. No more than five minutes had passed when he recognized the army pants and blond hair. He was wearing another tattered t-shirt, this time dark blue. Harry waited from him to finish with a Honda Civic, and approached him.
"Draco?" Harry tested. The blond paused in front of him, then continued to walk. "What do you want Potter?" He said, irritated.
Harry frowned. "What are you doing?"
"My job." Evidently, Draco wasn't up for a chat. He quickened his pace. Harry followed him.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here? In Montreal? As a squeegee kid?"
"Get out of it Potter. I don't like talking about old times."
Harry kept pressing. "What happened with your family? You just disappeared so suddenly, nobody knew." Draco swivelled so suddenly, that Harry almost walked into him.
"I know. That's exactly what I meant to do. Now go away. You're one of the last people I want to see."
He strolled down the sidewalk, apparently not in the mood to wash cars anymore. That didn't stop Harry, who remained right behind him. After five minutes, Draco turned again, and snapped, "Would you stop following me? What do you want?"
"I want to know why you're a street kid, when you had it so good back in England."
Draco laughed haughtily. "Potter, you don't know anything about my. previous personal life. So shove off."
Of course, that was the last thing Harry intended to do. Instead, he said, "Your father's terribly worried about you."
"Let him. I doubt if he really is worried about me or not."
"He is. You wouldn't believe the number of search parties he sent out to look for you. I saw him about six months ago, and he's a wreck. Completely distressed that you're gone. He still can't believe it."
Draco smiled, satisfied. "Good. He deserves it."
Harry stared. He almost couldn't believe what he's just heard. "What? Stop staring like that."
"I thought you got along well with your father."
"People change, Potter, as I have. I refuse to go back."
"You have at least let him know you're alive!"
"Are you mad? If he ever got the wind that I was here, he'd march me straight back home and lock me up to make sure I wouldn't leave again. Bad image you know, having your son run off twice. He wouldn't be able to afford losing me a second time." He explained bitterly. He stalked off, and Harry to run to catch up.
"You're nutters, Malfoy, did you know that?"
"No, I'm not. It isn't easy having to walk up to complete strangers and ask them if they want their cars washed. Do you know how many times I've been sneered at? But, believe it or not, it's much easier being here than with my father."
Harry caught him by the arm. "Malfoy, do you think that you're the only one who's had hardships before? Besides, how do I know if you actually ran away or if you're just begging for attention?"
Malfoy's eyes flashed with rage. "Fine! Fine! You want to hear my story? Obviously you're not going to leave me alone. Follow me, I'll explain. But not here." He took a few steps forward before turning to Harry again, and saying, "Oh, and quit calling me Malfoy, or Draco. I prefer Drake."
"How creative."
"Well, I didn't want to keep that dreaded last name, but you see, I happen to like my first name. unfortunately it reminded me too much of home."
For many streets they walked without saying a word to each other. A number of street kids who evidently knew Draco waved at him, or called out. Draco merely nodded in their general direction. Harry noticed that even though Draco was no longer living rich, he still seemed to gain some kind of respect from others.
~*~*~*~
After a while, they finally turned into an alleyway. Draco led Harry to an abandoned building whereas upon entering, he threw down what he was holding. The former Hogwarts student leaned back on a wall. His legs collapsed beneath him and he sat on the floor. Harry couldn't help feeling sad as he saw that the mean fire that had once been in Draco was gone. During their schooldays he had been so full of nasty comments but now. he was devoid of anything except hatred for his father. His appearance was that of a very exhausted person. Draco tilted his head back against the wall and rested his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, he pulled his wand out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. Harry had a sudden thought, "Are you able to conjure up food?"
"I could, probably, but I don't bother trying. I barely use my wand anymore. I'm always careful to practice magic every now and then to make sure that my power isn't all gone. I always enjoy throwing fireballs in the air when no one's looking. I usually aim for muggles because they're so funny to scare."
Harry almost grinned. Some of the old Draco Malfoy was still there. Draco seemed to have sensed this too, because he smirked. But just as quickly, he shook his head. "Anyway," he started, "I'm assuming to want to hear everything from the start, right?"
Harry nodded. He sat down a few feet from Draco, who looked up at the ceiling and began to speak.
"It started around the summer, just before our fifth year at Hogwarts. I was standing outside of a shop waiting for my mother. I saw a small number of muggles strolling by. Of course, back then I was still very disapproving of non-magical people. They were laughing and pushing each other about, just being happy and acting like best friends do. I looked down at them for a moment until one of the girls noticed I was staring and said, "Have you got something to say, sweetie?" I came so close to telling her off but instead I found myself saying, "Sorry, I got sidetracked. I couldn't help it." She and her friends laughed and they continued on their way. At that precise moment, I remember thinking, 'They looked a fun lot to be with.' And I became surprised at what I'd just thought. A Malfoy, to even consider considering being around muggles. I immediately dismissed the thought and went back to being the spoiled, snobby brat that I was."
Draco paused to take a few breaths. He had loads more to say. Harry sat patiently, and Draco continued.
"I was acting horrible as I was in school. December came and I went home for the holidays. I was walking around town with my father and I saw that muggle girl again and all her friends who had been there in the summer. We passed by the, and they recognized me. They all waved, and I waved back. Father didn't say anything at first but when we got home, the first he asked was, "Who were those people?" Without thinking, I replied, "Oh, just some muggles I saw during the summer. We met when I was out with mother." Nameless to say, because of my carelessness, father wasn't happy at all."
Draco chuckled at the memory. Harry had an idea of what Lucius' reaction could have been. As he predicted, it wasn't so pretty.
"He got angry, and yelled, "You dare to associate with insignificant people such as muggles! That will not happen so long you are living here, do you understand?" Mind you, he sounded like a muggle parent himself. It did kind of scare me, so yet again I went back to my normal self. And, when I went home that summer, my father introduced me to perform a new type of magic. Inevitably, the Dark Arts.
"That entire summer consisted of me intensely studying dark magic. I barely had a free minute. If I wasn't studying, I was eating or sleeping. I almost didn't have time to complete my homework, and it took a long session of arguing before I was allowed to practice Quidditch. My mother had to help me with that one. When I returned to school, I began to actually practice the Dark Arts, as we're not allowed to perform magic during the summer holidays. Every day, I would devote nearly all my spare time to the Dark Arts. I became exhausted, and was a wreck by the end of two months."
Harry interrupted him. "So that's why you looked so bad that year. I recall during our sixth year, we didn't bother each other so much."
"That's right. I was so wrapped up trying to impress the Dark Lord that I didn't care much about anything else. That's why I resigned from the Quidditch team. I just didn't care anymore. Come the Christmas holidays, my father intensified my training for about a week. and then I was ready. The day before I left to go back to school, I received."
He pulled back his sleeve, revealing the tattoo on his forearm. The Dark Mark. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"You became a Death Eater during school?"
"Yes, I did. And stop ogling at it; you look like you just ate a live toad."
"But. I just can't believe you made the decision so young."
Draco scowled. "Oh please, it was only three and a half years ago. Anyhow, during the course of the sixth year, I continued to practice the Dark Arts. I went home for the Easter holidays, and my father brought me on my first. er. muggle hunt, let's call it. He showed me how he tortured innocent muggles with the Cruciatos curse. He showed me how to use Imperious. And then he taught me Avada Kedavra. Luckily, I never had the nerve to use the killing curse. Father was slightly disappointed at first, but told me I would grow to use it.
"That summer, I joined him and other Death Eaters in their countless tortures and killings. He wanted me to get used to it before my last year at Hogwarts. The number of people I saw die, hurt, or humiliated. Not just muggles. They went after Ministry wizards whom they believed knew who were Death Eaters, and who weren't. I myself, performed many curse and tortures. But I never killed anybody. Thank goodness I never did."
There was complete silence for several minutes. At last, Harry broke the ice.
"And. did you enjoy torturing all those innocent people?" he murmured. Draco gazed at the floor. His expression became very sad, and he looked as though he was about to be sick.
"Unfortunately, I did at that time. It made me feel great, being so young and having so much power in my hands. At the slightest flick of my wand, I could drive a full-grown wizard into sheer agony. It sent adrenaline through my veins hearing people screaming, screaming because of me. Father was so proud to have me as a son. For a year, I was a fully-fledged muggle hating Death Eater, loyal to Lord Voldemort, never dreaming of betraying him. But still, I never killed anybody. Though offered many times to finish off traitors or enemies, I, under no circumstances, could not bring myself to ever murder a person.
"At long last, summer vacation was ending; I was heading into my last year of school. And then, I saw that muggle girl and her group of friends again. That changed absolutely everything."
Another moment of silence, and Harry saw that Draco was having a harder time speaking now. His voice wavered. He carried on with his story.
"I saw them, about a fortnight before school started. I was downtown by myself, wearing muggle clothing. They approached me eagerly, and the girl said, "Hey, we meet again. How would you like to spend some time with us? After all, we keep running into each other." I tried to look disgusted. I wanted to tell her off, put her down, disgrace her for speaking to me. but I was incapable of such a thing. I told her yes, and they lead me away from town. I was finally introduced to all of them. There was Shawna, Christopher, Troy, Lola, and, of course, the girl who had been first to speak to me, Kaylie.
"They spoke to me easily. I barely had to say a word. I fit right in with Kaylie and her crew. They showed me how pathetic it was how the world was falling into disrepair, how greedy and heartless some people really were. After an hour or so of walking and talking, Christopher announced that one of their favorite bands was performing nearby, and the doors were opening soon. Chris asked me to join. Without giving it a though, I said yes.
"It turned out that an American band called Anti-Flag was playing. By the first few songs I fell in love with the music and my newfound friends informed me that Anti-Flag was categorized as punk rock. We separated into groups of two, and I was with Kaylie. She took my hand, and led me to the front row. We swerved around many people, sometimes knocking them down. Kaylie told me not to worry, that type of stuff always happened at punk concerts and no one really minded. She took me right into the moshpit. Kaylie amazed me with all the energy she had. She appeared delicate but proved to me that appearances can be deceiving because she was shoving people around, laughing, screaming, helping others who got knocked down. I began to do the same.
"Suddenly, I felt someone pick me up and throw me into the air. I had no idea what was happening. I panicked for a short moment. However, all panic subsided when I received my first crowd-surfing experience. I felt dozens of hands below me, supporting me in the air. They passed me around the moshpit, and not once did I ever dip down, or did they suddenly decide to drop me. It was pure bliss- I forgot everything. I forgot that I was supposed to hate muggles; I forgot that I was a wizard and had magical powers that many people would never possess. I failed to remember that I was rich and 'upper class'. It slipped my mind that my father was proud to have a son like myself. I completely disregarded the fact that I had caused so much pain to so many innocent people. I felt nothing except the same circling motion as I was passed around and around in the pit. Song after song, I came to realize that everything I had been doing my whole life was wrong. It wasn't right to hurt so many people.
"I realized that my father was a greedy, ego-tistical bastard, and he did not care for me. He only cared that I kept the Malfoy name proud and powerful. He molded me like a piece of clay, into the perfect figurine he always wanted. What he failed notice himself, is that even masterpieces fall apart. And that night, his work of success shattered. I became filled with utter fury at the fact he had been using me my whole life. He made me believe that hurting people was all right, that it was perfectly normal to inflict pain on others. He was wrong. He was absolutely mistaken. I was conscience of the truth. The reason why he wanted power was because he was afraid. And he didn't like muggles or muggle-borns because. why? I never knew. He disliked them, which was complete idiocy. Muggles are humans just as we are. The only difference is that wizards have the gift of magic. We have certain skills, and there is nothing we can do to change that, and we can't do anything to make muggles have power. Is it really a big deal if a wizard wants to marry a muggle? Or if two muggles give birth to a magical child? I don't see the point of all this judgement. Muggles are trustworthy. Kaylie and the others have proved that to me a number of times."
Draco stopped speaking. He was completely out of breath, from his voice going from soft, to harsh and hateful, and onto confused. Harry waited for some time. He had not said a single word in a long time. He knew that if he asked anything, Draco would lose his concentration and he wouldn't be able to put in so much of his heart into the story. And Harry wanted him to tell it how it was. He merely said, "Carry on." Which was exactly what Draco did.
"When I finally got down from the crowd, I sought out Kaylie and the others. Kaylie found me quick enough, looking impressed. "Is this really your first concert?" she asked me. When I told her yes, she was astonished. "Well, the crowd really loved you. Do you know how long you were surfing for? About seven songs. I've never seen anyone crowd surf so long before. The most I ever got was four songs."
"When we all found each other, the others were just as amazed as Kaylie was. I didn't really get the big deal, and I never did. After all, it's just crowd surfing. Anyhow, after the concert, we went to a nearby park and loafed around a picnic table. I was still furious with my father. When the other asked me what was wrong, I told them about my spurious father, and how I had just realized I was a meagre pawn in his life. Even if we had just met, they treated me as one of their own. They showed me compassion. They told me how I was not the only one out of them who was in that situation. Troy's father was like that as well. And then: everything came out.
"I revealed to them that I was a wizard, that I had magical powers and could do many things with a flick of my wand. At first, they didn't believe me. I demonstrated my powers by elevating the picnic table a small way with the Wingardium Leviosa spell. They stood absolutely still. At first, I became very fearful that they were going to reject me. but they didn't. On the contrary, they all burst into big smiles asked me if I could show them something else. Since it was very late, and the park was completely deserted, I performed the Summoning charm, and made Lola's hat zoom into my hand. I transfigured a nearby squirrel into a flowerpot and back again. I transplanted Shawna's backpack onto Christopher's back. With every simple spell they found me more and more fascinating. They showed immediate respect to the fact that the wizarding world needed to remain a secret and swore never to tell anyone. They said how it must be awesome to have a world full of great wizards like myself. and then I told them the truth.
"I explained about Voldemort, and the awful things he'd done. I said how many wizards went evil and he was the worst of them all. They listened to every single word I had to say about the bad parts of our world. All the pain that so many people had been put through, including the non-magical world. I came to tell them the downfall of Voldemort, about how you survived that night. And then I gave them details of how my father was one of his most important followers.
"Everything that I had been taught my whole life, all of the training I went through and all the expectations I had to live up to in order to impress the Dark Lord and my father. The whole shebang just came spilling out of my mouth. All of the torment that I myself had caused, and how ashamed I was for doing so many wicked things. I showed them the Dark Mark, and how I so badly wanted to get rid of it.
"I assumed that after that, they would surely abandon me. But they didn't. Once again, they stood by me, and said that if I wanted so badly to get rid of it, I could perhaps get a tattoo covering it, since I knew I couldn't get it removed. They became concerned about my well being, and asked what I was going to do about my father. I said that I would wait until I got home, and see what happened then. Kaylie proceeded to tell me that the muggle world was also in disarray. She made it clear about their government, and how they had no concern towards the 'common' people and how rich people were more respected just because of their money. Kaylie brought up all of the messy laws, and, though she respected it, how she was against the concept of organized religion because she though how it led people to false hope and deception. The five of them took turns telling me about the good and bad of the non- magical world. They said that's why they acted that way. They planned to rebel against certain laws, start protests and things. I hung to every word, absorbed about the muggle world. I saw no difference. The Ministry was just as judgemental, demanding, and idiotic as the muggle government.
"Finally, after several hours of talking about any topic that came to our mind, we suddenly realized how late it was. It must have been about one o'clock in the morning when we had at last stood up to leave. Right before they left, I transfigured a rock into a red rose and gave it to Kaylie. I said that it was my way of thanking her for showing me the light, and that I would write to her by owl post when I was back in school. I noticed how shy she became just then, and mumbled a fast goodbye while her friends giggled at her. I swear that was the best night of my life.
"When I got home, it turned out that my father was up waiting for me. The minute I walked in the door, he came running to me and was about to say something. What it was I never found out because I shouted, "Leave me alone, you greedy, arrogant bastard!" and ran upstairs to my room. He didn't chase after me. I barely slept that night; I was still full of energy. The next morning, father was up and ready to ask me about last night, but I ignored him completely. We went to Diagon Alley, and I still ignored him. I could tell he was getting frustrated. Finally, I turned around and snapped, "What?" He was so surprised at my second outburst, that he didn't say anything to me for the rest of our outing. When we got home though, it was his turn to snap. "Draco, if you don't tell me what's wrong, things will only get worse." But I remained silent. For the rest of the summer, I didn't speak a word to him. When the time to go back to Hogwarts came, I said goodbye to my mother, paying no attention to my father. And that, is why I was so nice during seventh year."
Harry's jaw dropped. Things were starting to piece together.
"No wonder we never fought that year. You were being so kind to everyone, I thought you'd ate something you shouldn't have."
"Exactly," Draco grinned, "I was more concerned with my marks, and the muggle world."
Harry nodded. He recalled how, even though Hermione still got the highest marks, Draco had not been too far behind. He also remembered, how Draco used to occasionally ask Hermione for help with particularly difficult lessons. He had, in fact, almost become a friend.
"Wow," Harry muttered, "A Slytherin gone good. I don't think anybody saw that coming."
There was a few minutes silence, then.
"Draco," Harry said, "I'd still like to know what caused you to move to Montreal."
Draco sighed. He gave in to Harry's unblinking stare.
"Okay, okay. You may as well hear the whole story." he faltered for a moment, as he remembered that dreadful day.
*Flashback*
Draco, seventeen, just days ago had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was eagerly running around the house, getting rid of all the pent-up energy that had been anxiety for the holidays. He was anxious to see Kaylie and the gang again. His mother smiled as he dashed past her. She didn't seem to mind Draco's sudden change of attitude and personality in the past ten or so months.
The house-elves squeaked in alarm and scurried out of the way as the tall, blond teenager adorning muggle clothing tore down the hallways of the Malfoy manor. Draco was nearing the front door, when Lucius Malfoy came into sight. He halted, and looked at his father. Draco had begun talking to him again, yet not given any reason of his change of heart. "Draco, what are you doing?" Lucius asked. He seemed unnerved by his son's amount of liveliness. "I want to get out of the house!" Draco hollered, "I don't want to stay inside anymoooooorre!" and with that, Draco scuttled out of the front door, leaving Lucius looking shocked and appalled.
Sure enough, Kaylie and the rest of them were running down the street to meet Draco. Draco scooped Kaylie up in his arms and swung her around. He proceeded to give a hug each to Lola and Shawna and gently punch Troy and Chris in the shoulder.
"Oh my God Draco, I missed you so much!" Kaylie cried, "It's been so boring without you! Thanks for all the letters. and roses." Draco shot the others a silly grin. Every Friday, he had sent Kaylie a red rose that had been transfigured from a different object, though he had not bewitched them to make them last. Therefore, he found it necessary to send her a new rose every week.
"Those candies you sent us were fantastic!" Troy said, as they all began to walk in no particular direction, "Those 'Every Flavor Beans' scared the living daylights out of me, though. Do you know what flavor I got? Earwax!"
The others laughed at his candy demise, Draco laughing the hardest out of them all, as he knew his muggle friends weren't used to candies of these sorts.
"By the way," asked Shawna, "What were those peanut type things you sent us? I thought they were delicious."
Draco smirked, and said, "Oh those. I didn't think any of you would like them. That was Cockroach Cluster."
He almost went into hysterics when he saw everyone's expression. Chris looked just about ready to throw up. Kaylie smacked Draco upside the head. "You better not send us anymore surprises like that!" she threatened, though the threat was lost because she too, was smiling. The five muggles and one wizard arrived at their mutual destination: the park in which they had first learned Draco was a wizard. They sat down at the very table they had been sitting at that night, and continued chatting. Nothing had changed between them.
They remained there for several hours, complaining about government and corporations, swapping stories about school and family. Draco shared all of the times he had been in History Of Magic, brought up countless good points about different subjects that were worth discussing, flustering Professor Binns so much, and so many times that he had been kicked out of the class almost everyday and even threatened to be banned from the History Of Magic class. Which was something of a big deal, because nobody ever got kicked out of class at Hogwarts.
Personally, Draco thought that Professor Binns had been making a mountain out of a molehill. And he knew that Dumbledore had agreed, and was rather amused at Draco's questioning mind.
"My God, the teachers at your school seem kinda.. Stuck up or something." Chris said.
"Ah, not really. There are just strict. Honestly, Binns was the only one who was freaking out about it. There might have been a few more teachers who would have liked me to shut up, but they all pretty much ignored it."
"Oh well. Your principal sounds really awesome, though. A lot better than our principal was. Mr. Keen was a real bastard, and especially hated us."
"That's too bad. Dumbledore is incredible; he will accept anyone in the school. He even accepted a werewolf into the school, and let him return to teach for one year. Too bad he left, he was a really good teacher."
Kaylie nudged Draco's elbow to get his attention. Lola rolled her eyes and smiled. It was remarkable that despite the fact Draco and Kaylie knew they had crushes on each other, they refused to admit it and turned beet red whenever it was brought up. Draco turned to Kaylie, who asked him, "Why did he leave?"
"Well. I don't think your parents would be very thrilled about you having a werewolf for a teacher either. It was only a matter of time before letters started flying in demanding for the poor guy to leave."
"Did you guys know he was a werewolf?"
"None of us had a clue. oh, except for Hermione of course. The brainy girl I told you guys about? Anyway, she figured out that he took days off during every full moon, and that his number one fear was the full moon. We only found out at the end of the year, because Snape accidentally let it slip."
The others nodded, and they continued to chat.
~*~*~*~
As the day progressed and afternoon became evening, Troy announced, "Hey guys, Layaway Plan is performing tonight. It'll give us something to do if we go. We could probably sneak in."
Draco shook his head, and said, "Don't bother, I'm sure I have enough money to pay for all of us. After all, I am the rich bitch of the group."
"Dude, don't be so harsh on yourself! What better use to put your father's money to than spoiling us?"
Draco laughed. It was true. He spent more money on his friends than he did on school supplies and Hogsmeade put together. It was settled then. The group got up from the table and headed toward the concert hall.
Little did they realize though, they were being followed. Vincent Crabbe, who had been asked by Lucius to follow Draco, smiled. He almost felt sympathetic. Lucius wouldn't be happy to find out that his son had changed his attitude due to a group of muggles. 'And wait until he finds out that Draco has a romantic interest.' Crabbe thought, 'May the fates have mercy on their souls.'
~*~*~*~
Draco and his friends emerged from the concert a few hours later, sweating and panting after another evening's worth of moshing and crowd surfing. "Merlin's beard." Draco gasped, "Tonight was. a pretty rough crowd." He bent over and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The others were also out of breath, leaning on each other, or on a wall.
"Yeah, I know." Lola exclaimed between breaths, "I think it's because. there hasn't been. a punk concert here. in ages. Everyone probably let out their frustration."
"Sexual frustration?" Draco grinned stupidly. He and the boys laughed, as the girls rolled their eyes and scowled.
"Men." Shawna said. After a moment, Draco stood up straight and announced, "Listen, I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay? If I don't get home soon, my dad will send out scary people to come find me."
After Draco had once returned home at around two-thirty a.m. Lucius had threatened Draco by saying if he ever stayed out past one o'clock ever again, he'd have a pack of Deatheaters sent after him to bring him home, no matter where he was. Draco had taken that threat very seriously, and made a point to show up no later then midnight thirty.
Kaylie tried not to show her disappointment, but failed. "Okay," she mumbled, "bye Draco."
"Bye-bye everyone." As he walked away, Draco half twisted to wave at his friends, and then began to jog towards the Malfoy Manor.
A.N.: Terribly sorry to leave it at such a crappy spot, but I will try to keep working on it even though I am kept quite busy with school and such. I will, however take the time to explain a few things. First off: Why Montreal? Because Draco wanted to go somewhere far away, of course, and I wanted to pick out an area that I knew, hence Montreal (considering I also live in that region). Second: Why exactly is Harry in Montreal? We will find out in future chapters. Ta-ta!
Nineteen-year-old Harry Potter was driving down the crowded streets of Montreal, Quebec. Not that he particularly enjoyed or wanted to be stuck in traffic, in the blistering summer heat, within this non air- conditioned rental car. But it was definitely better than being at the Dursleys.
Either way, he no longer had to worry about them. The very week he had graduated from Hogwarts, Harry had packed up every little item that hinted himself or the magic world, including scraps of parchment and old, useless quills. Not a single trace of him remained on Privet Drive. He had temporarily lived at Ron's house, before finding his own place. He'd then landed a job in the Ministry of Magic. And it was because of that job he was currently in Montreal. The Ministry needed him here for at least eight months but promised no more than ten. So far, he had only been here for two.
Harry sighed, and leaned back in the car seat. He observed the people walking around. He spotted a few street kids, some looking worn out, others looking as if they were ready to die. A few still seemed to have a glimmer of hope underneath their tired faces. Harry felt sympathy for the kids. What had they done to deserve a street life? Did their parents or family really care so much to have them thrown out on the street? Or did the kids themselves just not care, and decided to come here?
Harry thought about how worried their families could be. He thought of Lucius Malfoy, and how upset he had been when Draco had disappeared only just a month after graduation. 'Two years, and still no sign of him.' Harry thought. He remembered how Lucius had sent out many search parties to look for his son, but they all came empty-handed, not even the tiniest hint that Draco could still be around.
A few minutes later, Harry became aware of a squeegee kid with long blond hair walking toward him. "Oh, lovely." He muttered softly. When the squeegee arrived a few feet from the car he asked, "Excuse me, would you like me to wash your windshield?" Harry normally would have said no, but found himself saying, "Sure go ahead." For a moment, the squeegee blinked at Harry, then proceeded to wash the windshield, with obvious experience. Harry couldn't put his finger on why he said yes. He suddenly realized that the squeegee looked rather familiar, and spoke with a British accent.
'No wonder he hesitated when he heard me speak.' Harry observed him more closely. The blond hair, the pale skin. Even with white army jeans and a tattered black t-shirt, he looked familiar. Harry's eyes fell on a side pocket of the jeans, where he could have sworn, there was a wand sticking out. Harry finally recognized him. "Draco?" he said, "Draco Malfoy?" The street kid's hand slipped, but he caught himself before he fell the hood of the car. He stared at Harry, very suspiciously. "Who?"
Harry sighed. "Draco, I know you recognize me."
"I have no idea who you're talking about. I don't know any Malfoy."
"I see your wand."
The street kid quickly shoved the wand farther into his pocket. He stood up, and said, "I think I'm done here. Gonna pay me?"
Harry handed him a ten-dollar bill, clearly much higher than the kid expected. The street kid walked away quickly, not looking back once. Harry memorized the area rapidly. He would come back tomorrow.
~*~*~*~
It was exactly as Harry had promised himself. The following day, in the afternoon, he returned to where he'd seen the street kid. No more than five minutes had passed when he recognized the army pants and blond hair. He was wearing another tattered t-shirt, this time dark blue. Harry waited from him to finish with a Honda Civic, and approached him.
"Draco?" Harry tested. The blond paused in front of him, then continued to walk. "What do you want Potter?" He said, irritated.
Harry frowned. "What are you doing?"
"My job." Evidently, Draco wasn't up for a chat. He quickened his pace. Harry followed him.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here? In Montreal? As a squeegee kid?"
"Get out of it Potter. I don't like talking about old times."
Harry kept pressing. "What happened with your family? You just disappeared so suddenly, nobody knew." Draco swivelled so suddenly, that Harry almost walked into him.
"I know. That's exactly what I meant to do. Now go away. You're one of the last people I want to see."
He strolled down the sidewalk, apparently not in the mood to wash cars anymore. That didn't stop Harry, who remained right behind him. After five minutes, Draco turned again, and snapped, "Would you stop following me? What do you want?"
"I want to know why you're a street kid, when you had it so good back in England."
Draco laughed haughtily. "Potter, you don't know anything about my. previous personal life. So shove off."
Of course, that was the last thing Harry intended to do. Instead, he said, "Your father's terribly worried about you."
"Let him. I doubt if he really is worried about me or not."
"He is. You wouldn't believe the number of search parties he sent out to look for you. I saw him about six months ago, and he's a wreck. Completely distressed that you're gone. He still can't believe it."
Draco smiled, satisfied. "Good. He deserves it."
Harry stared. He almost couldn't believe what he's just heard. "What? Stop staring like that."
"I thought you got along well with your father."
"People change, Potter, as I have. I refuse to go back."
"You have at least let him know you're alive!"
"Are you mad? If he ever got the wind that I was here, he'd march me straight back home and lock me up to make sure I wouldn't leave again. Bad image you know, having your son run off twice. He wouldn't be able to afford losing me a second time." He explained bitterly. He stalked off, and Harry to run to catch up.
"You're nutters, Malfoy, did you know that?"
"No, I'm not. It isn't easy having to walk up to complete strangers and ask them if they want their cars washed. Do you know how many times I've been sneered at? But, believe it or not, it's much easier being here than with my father."
Harry caught him by the arm. "Malfoy, do you think that you're the only one who's had hardships before? Besides, how do I know if you actually ran away or if you're just begging for attention?"
Malfoy's eyes flashed with rage. "Fine! Fine! You want to hear my story? Obviously you're not going to leave me alone. Follow me, I'll explain. But not here." He took a few steps forward before turning to Harry again, and saying, "Oh, and quit calling me Malfoy, or Draco. I prefer Drake."
"How creative."
"Well, I didn't want to keep that dreaded last name, but you see, I happen to like my first name. unfortunately it reminded me too much of home."
For many streets they walked without saying a word to each other. A number of street kids who evidently knew Draco waved at him, or called out. Draco merely nodded in their general direction. Harry noticed that even though Draco was no longer living rich, he still seemed to gain some kind of respect from others.
~*~*~*~
After a while, they finally turned into an alleyway. Draco led Harry to an abandoned building whereas upon entering, he threw down what he was holding. The former Hogwarts student leaned back on a wall. His legs collapsed beneath him and he sat on the floor. Harry couldn't help feeling sad as he saw that the mean fire that had once been in Draco was gone. During their schooldays he had been so full of nasty comments but now. he was devoid of anything except hatred for his father. His appearance was that of a very exhausted person. Draco tilted his head back against the wall and rested his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them again, he pulled his wand out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers. Harry had a sudden thought, "Are you able to conjure up food?"
"I could, probably, but I don't bother trying. I barely use my wand anymore. I'm always careful to practice magic every now and then to make sure that my power isn't all gone. I always enjoy throwing fireballs in the air when no one's looking. I usually aim for muggles because they're so funny to scare."
Harry almost grinned. Some of the old Draco Malfoy was still there. Draco seemed to have sensed this too, because he smirked. But just as quickly, he shook his head. "Anyway," he started, "I'm assuming to want to hear everything from the start, right?"
Harry nodded. He sat down a few feet from Draco, who looked up at the ceiling and began to speak.
"It started around the summer, just before our fifth year at Hogwarts. I was standing outside of a shop waiting for my mother. I saw a small number of muggles strolling by. Of course, back then I was still very disapproving of non-magical people. They were laughing and pushing each other about, just being happy and acting like best friends do. I looked down at them for a moment until one of the girls noticed I was staring and said, "Have you got something to say, sweetie?" I came so close to telling her off but instead I found myself saying, "Sorry, I got sidetracked. I couldn't help it." She and her friends laughed and they continued on their way. At that precise moment, I remember thinking, 'They looked a fun lot to be with.' And I became surprised at what I'd just thought. A Malfoy, to even consider considering being around muggles. I immediately dismissed the thought and went back to being the spoiled, snobby brat that I was."
Draco paused to take a few breaths. He had loads more to say. Harry sat patiently, and Draco continued.
"I was acting horrible as I was in school. December came and I went home for the holidays. I was walking around town with my father and I saw that muggle girl again and all her friends who had been there in the summer. We passed by the, and they recognized me. They all waved, and I waved back. Father didn't say anything at first but when we got home, the first he asked was, "Who were those people?" Without thinking, I replied, "Oh, just some muggles I saw during the summer. We met when I was out with mother." Nameless to say, because of my carelessness, father wasn't happy at all."
Draco chuckled at the memory. Harry had an idea of what Lucius' reaction could have been. As he predicted, it wasn't so pretty.
"He got angry, and yelled, "You dare to associate with insignificant people such as muggles! That will not happen so long you are living here, do you understand?" Mind you, he sounded like a muggle parent himself. It did kind of scare me, so yet again I went back to my normal self. And, when I went home that summer, my father introduced me to perform a new type of magic. Inevitably, the Dark Arts.
"That entire summer consisted of me intensely studying dark magic. I barely had a free minute. If I wasn't studying, I was eating or sleeping. I almost didn't have time to complete my homework, and it took a long session of arguing before I was allowed to practice Quidditch. My mother had to help me with that one. When I returned to school, I began to actually practice the Dark Arts, as we're not allowed to perform magic during the summer holidays. Every day, I would devote nearly all my spare time to the Dark Arts. I became exhausted, and was a wreck by the end of two months."
Harry interrupted him. "So that's why you looked so bad that year. I recall during our sixth year, we didn't bother each other so much."
"That's right. I was so wrapped up trying to impress the Dark Lord that I didn't care much about anything else. That's why I resigned from the Quidditch team. I just didn't care anymore. Come the Christmas holidays, my father intensified my training for about a week. and then I was ready. The day before I left to go back to school, I received."
He pulled back his sleeve, revealing the tattoo on his forearm. The Dark Mark. Harry raised his eyebrows.
"You became a Death Eater during school?"
"Yes, I did. And stop ogling at it; you look like you just ate a live toad."
"But. I just can't believe you made the decision so young."
Draco scowled. "Oh please, it was only three and a half years ago. Anyhow, during the course of the sixth year, I continued to practice the Dark Arts. I went home for the Easter holidays, and my father brought me on my first. er. muggle hunt, let's call it. He showed me how he tortured innocent muggles with the Cruciatos curse. He showed me how to use Imperious. And then he taught me Avada Kedavra. Luckily, I never had the nerve to use the killing curse. Father was slightly disappointed at first, but told me I would grow to use it.
"That summer, I joined him and other Death Eaters in their countless tortures and killings. He wanted me to get used to it before my last year at Hogwarts. The number of people I saw die, hurt, or humiliated. Not just muggles. They went after Ministry wizards whom they believed knew who were Death Eaters, and who weren't. I myself, performed many curse and tortures. But I never killed anybody. Thank goodness I never did."
There was complete silence for several minutes. At last, Harry broke the ice.
"And. did you enjoy torturing all those innocent people?" he murmured. Draco gazed at the floor. His expression became very sad, and he looked as though he was about to be sick.
"Unfortunately, I did at that time. It made me feel great, being so young and having so much power in my hands. At the slightest flick of my wand, I could drive a full-grown wizard into sheer agony. It sent adrenaline through my veins hearing people screaming, screaming because of me. Father was so proud to have me as a son. For a year, I was a fully-fledged muggle hating Death Eater, loyal to Lord Voldemort, never dreaming of betraying him. But still, I never killed anybody. Though offered many times to finish off traitors or enemies, I, under no circumstances, could not bring myself to ever murder a person.
"At long last, summer vacation was ending; I was heading into my last year of school. And then, I saw that muggle girl and her group of friends again. That changed absolutely everything."
Another moment of silence, and Harry saw that Draco was having a harder time speaking now. His voice wavered. He carried on with his story.
"I saw them, about a fortnight before school started. I was downtown by myself, wearing muggle clothing. They approached me eagerly, and the girl said, "Hey, we meet again. How would you like to spend some time with us? After all, we keep running into each other." I tried to look disgusted. I wanted to tell her off, put her down, disgrace her for speaking to me. but I was incapable of such a thing. I told her yes, and they lead me away from town. I was finally introduced to all of them. There was Shawna, Christopher, Troy, Lola, and, of course, the girl who had been first to speak to me, Kaylie.
"They spoke to me easily. I barely had to say a word. I fit right in with Kaylie and her crew. They showed me how pathetic it was how the world was falling into disrepair, how greedy and heartless some people really were. After an hour or so of walking and talking, Christopher announced that one of their favorite bands was performing nearby, and the doors were opening soon. Chris asked me to join. Without giving it a though, I said yes.
"It turned out that an American band called Anti-Flag was playing. By the first few songs I fell in love with the music and my newfound friends informed me that Anti-Flag was categorized as punk rock. We separated into groups of two, and I was with Kaylie. She took my hand, and led me to the front row. We swerved around many people, sometimes knocking them down. Kaylie told me not to worry, that type of stuff always happened at punk concerts and no one really minded. She took me right into the moshpit. Kaylie amazed me with all the energy she had. She appeared delicate but proved to me that appearances can be deceiving because she was shoving people around, laughing, screaming, helping others who got knocked down. I began to do the same.
"Suddenly, I felt someone pick me up and throw me into the air. I had no idea what was happening. I panicked for a short moment. However, all panic subsided when I received my first crowd-surfing experience. I felt dozens of hands below me, supporting me in the air. They passed me around the moshpit, and not once did I ever dip down, or did they suddenly decide to drop me. It was pure bliss- I forgot everything. I forgot that I was supposed to hate muggles; I forgot that I was a wizard and had magical powers that many people would never possess. I failed to remember that I was rich and 'upper class'. It slipped my mind that my father was proud to have a son like myself. I completely disregarded the fact that I had caused so much pain to so many innocent people. I felt nothing except the same circling motion as I was passed around and around in the pit. Song after song, I came to realize that everything I had been doing my whole life was wrong. It wasn't right to hurt so many people.
"I realized that my father was a greedy, ego-tistical bastard, and he did not care for me. He only cared that I kept the Malfoy name proud and powerful. He molded me like a piece of clay, into the perfect figurine he always wanted. What he failed notice himself, is that even masterpieces fall apart. And that night, his work of success shattered. I became filled with utter fury at the fact he had been using me my whole life. He made me believe that hurting people was all right, that it was perfectly normal to inflict pain on others. He was wrong. He was absolutely mistaken. I was conscience of the truth. The reason why he wanted power was because he was afraid. And he didn't like muggles or muggle-borns because. why? I never knew. He disliked them, which was complete idiocy. Muggles are humans just as we are. The only difference is that wizards have the gift of magic. We have certain skills, and there is nothing we can do to change that, and we can't do anything to make muggles have power. Is it really a big deal if a wizard wants to marry a muggle? Or if two muggles give birth to a magical child? I don't see the point of all this judgement. Muggles are trustworthy. Kaylie and the others have proved that to me a number of times."
Draco stopped speaking. He was completely out of breath, from his voice going from soft, to harsh and hateful, and onto confused. Harry waited for some time. He had not said a single word in a long time. He knew that if he asked anything, Draco would lose his concentration and he wouldn't be able to put in so much of his heart into the story. And Harry wanted him to tell it how it was. He merely said, "Carry on." Which was exactly what Draco did.
"When I finally got down from the crowd, I sought out Kaylie and the others. Kaylie found me quick enough, looking impressed. "Is this really your first concert?" she asked me. When I told her yes, she was astonished. "Well, the crowd really loved you. Do you know how long you were surfing for? About seven songs. I've never seen anyone crowd surf so long before. The most I ever got was four songs."
"When we all found each other, the others were just as amazed as Kaylie was. I didn't really get the big deal, and I never did. After all, it's just crowd surfing. Anyhow, after the concert, we went to a nearby park and loafed around a picnic table. I was still furious with my father. When the other asked me what was wrong, I told them about my spurious father, and how I had just realized I was a meagre pawn in his life. Even if we had just met, they treated me as one of their own. They showed me compassion. They told me how I was not the only one out of them who was in that situation. Troy's father was like that as well. And then: everything came out.
"I revealed to them that I was a wizard, that I had magical powers and could do many things with a flick of my wand. At first, they didn't believe me. I demonstrated my powers by elevating the picnic table a small way with the Wingardium Leviosa spell. They stood absolutely still. At first, I became very fearful that they were going to reject me. but they didn't. On the contrary, they all burst into big smiles asked me if I could show them something else. Since it was very late, and the park was completely deserted, I performed the Summoning charm, and made Lola's hat zoom into my hand. I transfigured a nearby squirrel into a flowerpot and back again. I transplanted Shawna's backpack onto Christopher's back. With every simple spell they found me more and more fascinating. They showed immediate respect to the fact that the wizarding world needed to remain a secret and swore never to tell anyone. They said how it must be awesome to have a world full of great wizards like myself. and then I told them the truth.
"I explained about Voldemort, and the awful things he'd done. I said how many wizards went evil and he was the worst of them all. They listened to every single word I had to say about the bad parts of our world. All the pain that so many people had been put through, including the non-magical world. I came to tell them the downfall of Voldemort, about how you survived that night. And then I gave them details of how my father was one of his most important followers.
"Everything that I had been taught my whole life, all of the training I went through and all the expectations I had to live up to in order to impress the Dark Lord and my father. The whole shebang just came spilling out of my mouth. All of the torment that I myself had caused, and how ashamed I was for doing so many wicked things. I showed them the Dark Mark, and how I so badly wanted to get rid of it.
"I assumed that after that, they would surely abandon me. But they didn't. Once again, they stood by me, and said that if I wanted so badly to get rid of it, I could perhaps get a tattoo covering it, since I knew I couldn't get it removed. They became concerned about my well being, and asked what I was going to do about my father. I said that I would wait until I got home, and see what happened then. Kaylie proceeded to tell me that the muggle world was also in disarray. She made it clear about their government, and how they had no concern towards the 'common' people and how rich people were more respected just because of their money. Kaylie brought up all of the messy laws, and, though she respected it, how she was against the concept of organized religion because she though how it led people to false hope and deception. The five of them took turns telling me about the good and bad of the non- magical world. They said that's why they acted that way. They planned to rebel against certain laws, start protests and things. I hung to every word, absorbed about the muggle world. I saw no difference. The Ministry was just as judgemental, demanding, and idiotic as the muggle government.
"Finally, after several hours of talking about any topic that came to our mind, we suddenly realized how late it was. It must have been about one o'clock in the morning when we had at last stood up to leave. Right before they left, I transfigured a rock into a red rose and gave it to Kaylie. I said that it was my way of thanking her for showing me the light, and that I would write to her by owl post when I was back in school. I noticed how shy she became just then, and mumbled a fast goodbye while her friends giggled at her. I swear that was the best night of my life.
"When I got home, it turned out that my father was up waiting for me. The minute I walked in the door, he came running to me and was about to say something. What it was I never found out because I shouted, "Leave me alone, you greedy, arrogant bastard!" and ran upstairs to my room. He didn't chase after me. I barely slept that night; I was still full of energy. The next morning, father was up and ready to ask me about last night, but I ignored him completely. We went to Diagon Alley, and I still ignored him. I could tell he was getting frustrated. Finally, I turned around and snapped, "What?" He was so surprised at my second outburst, that he didn't say anything to me for the rest of our outing. When we got home though, it was his turn to snap. "Draco, if you don't tell me what's wrong, things will only get worse." But I remained silent. For the rest of the summer, I didn't speak a word to him. When the time to go back to Hogwarts came, I said goodbye to my mother, paying no attention to my father. And that, is why I was so nice during seventh year."
Harry's jaw dropped. Things were starting to piece together.
"No wonder we never fought that year. You were being so kind to everyone, I thought you'd ate something you shouldn't have."
"Exactly," Draco grinned, "I was more concerned with my marks, and the muggle world."
Harry nodded. He recalled how, even though Hermione still got the highest marks, Draco had not been too far behind. He also remembered, how Draco used to occasionally ask Hermione for help with particularly difficult lessons. He had, in fact, almost become a friend.
"Wow," Harry muttered, "A Slytherin gone good. I don't think anybody saw that coming."
There was a few minutes silence, then.
"Draco," Harry said, "I'd still like to know what caused you to move to Montreal."
Draco sighed. He gave in to Harry's unblinking stare.
"Okay, okay. You may as well hear the whole story." he faltered for a moment, as he remembered that dreadful day.
*Flashback*
Draco, seventeen, just days ago had graduated from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was eagerly running around the house, getting rid of all the pent-up energy that had been anxiety for the holidays. He was anxious to see Kaylie and the gang again. His mother smiled as he dashed past her. She didn't seem to mind Draco's sudden change of attitude and personality in the past ten or so months.
The house-elves squeaked in alarm and scurried out of the way as the tall, blond teenager adorning muggle clothing tore down the hallways of the Malfoy manor. Draco was nearing the front door, when Lucius Malfoy came into sight. He halted, and looked at his father. Draco had begun talking to him again, yet not given any reason of his change of heart. "Draco, what are you doing?" Lucius asked. He seemed unnerved by his son's amount of liveliness. "I want to get out of the house!" Draco hollered, "I don't want to stay inside anymoooooorre!" and with that, Draco scuttled out of the front door, leaving Lucius looking shocked and appalled.
Sure enough, Kaylie and the rest of them were running down the street to meet Draco. Draco scooped Kaylie up in his arms and swung her around. He proceeded to give a hug each to Lola and Shawna and gently punch Troy and Chris in the shoulder.
"Oh my God Draco, I missed you so much!" Kaylie cried, "It's been so boring without you! Thanks for all the letters. and roses." Draco shot the others a silly grin. Every Friday, he had sent Kaylie a red rose that had been transfigured from a different object, though he had not bewitched them to make them last. Therefore, he found it necessary to send her a new rose every week.
"Those candies you sent us were fantastic!" Troy said, as they all began to walk in no particular direction, "Those 'Every Flavor Beans' scared the living daylights out of me, though. Do you know what flavor I got? Earwax!"
The others laughed at his candy demise, Draco laughing the hardest out of them all, as he knew his muggle friends weren't used to candies of these sorts.
"By the way," asked Shawna, "What were those peanut type things you sent us? I thought they were delicious."
Draco smirked, and said, "Oh those. I didn't think any of you would like them. That was Cockroach Cluster."
He almost went into hysterics when he saw everyone's expression. Chris looked just about ready to throw up. Kaylie smacked Draco upside the head. "You better not send us anymore surprises like that!" she threatened, though the threat was lost because she too, was smiling. The five muggles and one wizard arrived at their mutual destination: the park in which they had first learned Draco was a wizard. They sat down at the very table they had been sitting at that night, and continued chatting. Nothing had changed between them.
They remained there for several hours, complaining about government and corporations, swapping stories about school and family. Draco shared all of the times he had been in History Of Magic, brought up countless good points about different subjects that were worth discussing, flustering Professor Binns so much, and so many times that he had been kicked out of the class almost everyday and even threatened to be banned from the History Of Magic class. Which was something of a big deal, because nobody ever got kicked out of class at Hogwarts.
Personally, Draco thought that Professor Binns had been making a mountain out of a molehill. And he knew that Dumbledore had agreed, and was rather amused at Draco's questioning mind.
"My God, the teachers at your school seem kinda.. Stuck up or something." Chris said.
"Ah, not really. There are just strict. Honestly, Binns was the only one who was freaking out about it. There might have been a few more teachers who would have liked me to shut up, but they all pretty much ignored it."
"Oh well. Your principal sounds really awesome, though. A lot better than our principal was. Mr. Keen was a real bastard, and especially hated us."
"That's too bad. Dumbledore is incredible; he will accept anyone in the school. He even accepted a werewolf into the school, and let him return to teach for one year. Too bad he left, he was a really good teacher."
Kaylie nudged Draco's elbow to get his attention. Lola rolled her eyes and smiled. It was remarkable that despite the fact Draco and Kaylie knew they had crushes on each other, they refused to admit it and turned beet red whenever it was brought up. Draco turned to Kaylie, who asked him, "Why did he leave?"
"Well. I don't think your parents would be very thrilled about you having a werewolf for a teacher either. It was only a matter of time before letters started flying in demanding for the poor guy to leave."
"Did you guys know he was a werewolf?"
"None of us had a clue. oh, except for Hermione of course. The brainy girl I told you guys about? Anyway, she figured out that he took days off during every full moon, and that his number one fear was the full moon. We only found out at the end of the year, because Snape accidentally let it slip."
The others nodded, and they continued to chat.
~*~*~*~
As the day progressed and afternoon became evening, Troy announced, "Hey guys, Layaway Plan is performing tonight. It'll give us something to do if we go. We could probably sneak in."
Draco shook his head, and said, "Don't bother, I'm sure I have enough money to pay for all of us. After all, I am the rich bitch of the group."
"Dude, don't be so harsh on yourself! What better use to put your father's money to than spoiling us?"
Draco laughed. It was true. He spent more money on his friends than he did on school supplies and Hogsmeade put together. It was settled then. The group got up from the table and headed toward the concert hall.
Little did they realize though, they were being followed. Vincent Crabbe, who had been asked by Lucius to follow Draco, smiled. He almost felt sympathetic. Lucius wouldn't be happy to find out that his son had changed his attitude due to a group of muggles. 'And wait until he finds out that Draco has a romantic interest.' Crabbe thought, 'May the fates have mercy on their souls.'
~*~*~*~
Draco and his friends emerged from the concert a few hours later, sweating and panting after another evening's worth of moshing and crowd surfing. "Merlin's beard." Draco gasped, "Tonight was. a pretty rough crowd." He bent over and put his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. The others were also out of breath, leaning on each other, or on a wall.
"Yeah, I know." Lola exclaimed between breaths, "I think it's because. there hasn't been. a punk concert here. in ages. Everyone probably let out their frustration."
"Sexual frustration?" Draco grinned stupidly. He and the boys laughed, as the girls rolled their eyes and scowled.
"Men." Shawna said. After a moment, Draco stood up straight and announced, "Listen, I'll see you guys tomorrow, okay? If I don't get home soon, my dad will send out scary people to come find me."
After Draco had once returned home at around two-thirty a.m. Lucius had threatened Draco by saying if he ever stayed out past one o'clock ever again, he'd have a pack of Deatheaters sent after him to bring him home, no matter where he was. Draco had taken that threat very seriously, and made a point to show up no later then midnight thirty.
Kaylie tried not to show her disappointment, but failed. "Okay," she mumbled, "bye Draco."
"Bye-bye everyone." As he walked away, Draco half twisted to wave at his friends, and then began to jog towards the Malfoy Manor.
A.N.: Terribly sorry to leave it at such a crappy spot, but I will try to keep working on it even though I am kept quite busy with school and such. I will, however take the time to explain a few things. First off: Why Montreal? Because Draco wanted to go somewhere far away, of course, and I wanted to pick out an area that I knew, hence Montreal (considering I also live in that region). Second: Why exactly is Harry in Montreal? We will find out in future chapters. Ta-ta!
