Title: All I took for Granted was a Lie
By: Cheddar
Summery: In the summer after his fifth year, Draco Malfoy ran away. He went west to America, to California, to Sunnydale. But what happens when the boy-who-lived becomes something darker? It's up to the Slayer and her friends (both new and old) to save the wizarding world
Rating: PG/PG-13 I'm sure about later though
Spoilers: Book four for HP and Season five for Buffy. Well, basically all you need to know is that Buffy died and Willow brought her back. I may bring up some other episodes from after season five but they won't be a huge plot point.So some of you might have already seen this but I'm scrapping most of what I had and starting over so if you read the first chapter, know that I've changed a few things. Also, this is for my friend Sarah... hope you feel better. You better be at school tomarrow!
"I once knew all the answers
I stood on certain ground
A picture of true happiness
Confidence so effortless
No brighter could be found
Oh, no
I never asked the questions
That trouble me today
I knew all there was to know
Love worn lightly, put on a show
My conquests on display
And who would have thought that
confidence could die?
Not me, Not me
That all I took for granted was a lie"
~From the musical Aida by Elton John and Time Rice
***
"Cedric Diggory was a fool," my father told me. I nodded but said nothing because it was what was expected of me. "Got in the way. Do you understand that, Draco?" Another nod from me. "He wasn't killed because he was a muggle-lover. He was killed because he was in the way of what our Master needed. Do you get that, Draco?" I nodded again. With a wave of his hand he dismissed me telling me to wash up for dinner; to which I would be the only one in attendance.
Back in my room, his words haunted me. Up until that time, my father and I both had prided ourselves on how very alike we were. But as I sat back and actually listened to the words the older 'me' had said, something bothered me. Something really bothered me.
I had nothing against Diggory. Hell, he was the only person who ever managed to beat Golden Boy Potter. Even if it was a mistake. He was only a few years older than me, a pure blood. I didn't want to end up like that, but deep down inside I knew I would. Draco Malfoy, dead because he.. He what? What would I do? I knew better than to get in the way. I had to get out. Suddenly looking around at the dark green and black room I'd grown up in, I felt stifled. Something akin to fear and loathing crawled over every inch of my skin. I felt dirty. Almost as if I'd bathed in the blood of Cedric himself and now he mocked me for it. Looking down at myself I saw only the black midnight of my robes. Tearing into my closet I found more of the same. The best of black robes that money could buy. All of them a variation on a theme. Black. Black like the absence of light as the clods of dirt cover the grave. Breathing was becoming an issue.
Grabbing some of the muggle clothes at the back of my closet I kept for reasons unfathomable, I shoved them onto my bed. Spying my school trunk in the corner, I raced over. Inside lay my books and other things that I wouldn't need until the next school year. In a flash I had it over turned and was dragging it over to my bed. Throwing my clothes in I glanced around. Snatching some of the only sentimental things I had, I closed the lid of my trunk. Slipping silently out the door, I made my way down to the front entry way.
I needed money but I didn't have any. Father made sure of that. But I knew where he kept it. It was in the top right draw in his desk in the study. Only problem was that he was in the room right next to it with the door wide open.
All right. So I know you're asking why didn't I wait until that night. Well, the truth was, I couldn't stand to be in the manor any longer. So stashing my trunk in a darkened corner I slipped into the study. I could hear my father in the next room talking through the Floo. Good. He'd be distracted.
I had the draw open and the money in my hand when I heard him end his conversation. I shoved the coins into my pocket and cringed at the noise it made. I head rather than saw my father freeze up at the sound. "I'll get back to you," he said to the flames.
I dove out the door into the entrance way just as he came back in the room. Looking around with a critical eye he spied the draw open slightly. Growling he called for the house elf who promptly appeared. Stuttering the elf asked, "Is the room not cleaned to Master Malfoy's pleasing?" He was a wimp and a simpering fool but I'd never loved another elf as I did that moment. It gave me a chance to slip out the door. I don't know what happened to the elf I'm sorry to say. But I'm sure it wasn't pleasant.
I made my way into London and from there to the airport. Father kept muggle money in that draw and I thanked my lucky stars that that was what I'd grabbed. I was able to book a flight to New York City where I spent three weeks before deciding to head further west. I must have taken a thousand buses. Or that's how it felt at any rate. When I finally ran out of money, I was on a bus headed for Sunnydale California. With a smile on my face I made plans in my head about my future.
I'd get a nice job and meet a nice girl. We'd grow up and get married and spend the rest of our lives in the sleepy little town. Nothing to do with magic or evil wizards taking over the world.
In Sunnydale, I wandered the streets in the early hours of dawn. The bus had gotten in late last night and after stowing my trunk at the office of the station with a nice old man who probably couldn't read his own name, I set off to explore the town. And now as the sun rose of the single story Town Hall, I couldn't help but feel a chill of unease at the sight of so many cemeteries. What was this place. For the first time, I was almost regretting my hasty departure from the Manor.
As the sun came up and the day wore on, I began to feel the urge to find some food. But in order to do that, I needed money. So that meant I had to find a job. Horror of horrors. If only my father could see me now. To my right was a Starbucks and to my left, a magic shop with the oh-so clever name of, "The Magic Box." Grinning, I ignored the coffee shop and went into the magic store. A bell tinkled someplace deeper in the dim room and the scent of Burberrys and rat's fur made me feel right at home.
"Hello!" said a very cherry blond from behind the counter. "How my I take your money today?" I snorted. I couldn't help it. It just kind of came out.
"Actually I was looking for a job," I told her.
"Oh well we're not hiring. But feel free to spend some money here!"
I think she would have continued on that track if she hadn't be interrupted by a male British voice. "Anya," it said sternly.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"Actually, son, if you're looking for a job I might be able to find you one," he said slowly. He looked at me as if he could see something underneath me skin. "Do you know anything about magic?"
I didn't know what to say. The girl, Anya, was glaring daggers at me. I wasn't impressed. "A little," I admitted to the man.
He smiled. "I need some one to help keep stock and do odd jobs around the place. We're... err, out a lot and we'd need some one keep the place up for us." He took off his glasses and began to wash them until I thought they might break. I fear for those lenses sometimes.
"I could do that," I told him. I couldn't believe how easy this was. But I wasn't going to press my luck.
The British man smiled. "I'm Rupert Giles but every one around here just calls me Giles. This is Anya."
"I'm Draco," I don't know why I didn't lie about my name. I wasn't going lie if I could help it. Not this time around. "Draco Malfoy."
Something sparked in Giles' eyes at the sound of my name but I ignored it. If he wasn't going to say anything then I wasn't going to press the issue. "When can you start?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Now I guess. I haven't got anything better to do."
"Where do you live?" Giles asked.
Now I was stuck. What was I supposed to say? "Umm, well you see, I just got to town and-"
"-And you ran away from home and haven't got a place yet," he finished for me. I nodded. " I thought as much. You can stay here. There's an apartment in the attic you can have. I'll take the rent out of your pay. How's that?" I smiled.
"That works," I told him smoothly but I couldn't keep the glee off my face.
"And I want you to go to school. You're what, fifteen?" I was fourteen but I wouldn't correct him on that. Fifteen worked just as well for me. So much for not lying. "Good, You'll be in Dawn's class."
And so I got my start working at the Magic Box. I lived in this tiny little apartment above the shop and went to Sunnydale High. Giles made no secret of what it was that really went on in the Magic shop. He never came right out and said it but I picked up on what was happening quickly. I'm not stupid you know.
Life was a steady rhythm for me and as time went on I found myself helping out the so-called Scooby gang more and more. It wasn't long before I noticed that I could do magic here without detection which suited all of us just fine. Willow, Tara, and I had a lot we could teach each other.
I was fifteen (Really fifteen. I'd told them my real age a while ago) when Dawn and I started to go out. I admit that I'd had a crush on her since the first moment saw her but was too afraid of Buffy to act on it. Thank the gods Dawn asked me first!
And so the years ticked by. I was in my first year of college, the popular guy in school, going out with a perfect girl, and all and all, a very happy guy. When the whispers of things in the east going very wrong reached us, life couldn't have been better for me. But there was an increase in demon actives in Sunnydale and then the opening of another Hellmouth in Scotland some where. From what Giles and I could tell it was someplace in the forbidden forest. Our own Hellmouth was drying up the supernatural left to answer the call of the new Mouth of Hell. But in one day, over a game of cards, the perfect life I had created for myself came to a crashing halt.
tbc....?
By: Cheddar
Summery: In the summer after his fifth year, Draco Malfoy ran away. He went west to America, to California, to Sunnydale. But what happens when the boy-who-lived becomes something darker? It's up to the Slayer and her friends (both new and old) to save the wizarding world
Rating: PG/PG-13 I'm sure about later though
Spoilers: Book four for HP and Season five for Buffy. Well, basically all you need to know is that Buffy died and Willow brought her back. I may bring up some other episodes from after season five but they won't be a huge plot point.So some of you might have already seen this but I'm scrapping most of what I had and starting over so if you read the first chapter, know that I've changed a few things. Also, this is for my friend Sarah... hope you feel better. You better be at school tomarrow!
"I once knew all the answers
I stood on certain ground
A picture of true happiness
Confidence so effortless
No brighter could be found
Oh, no
I never asked the questions
That trouble me today
I knew all there was to know
Love worn lightly, put on a show
My conquests on display
And who would have thought that
confidence could die?
Not me, Not me
That all I took for granted was a lie"
~From the musical Aida by Elton John and Time Rice
***
"Cedric Diggory was a fool," my father told me. I nodded but said nothing because it was what was expected of me. "Got in the way. Do you understand that, Draco?" Another nod from me. "He wasn't killed because he was a muggle-lover. He was killed because he was in the way of what our Master needed. Do you get that, Draco?" I nodded again. With a wave of his hand he dismissed me telling me to wash up for dinner; to which I would be the only one in attendance.
Back in my room, his words haunted me. Up until that time, my father and I both had prided ourselves on how very alike we were. But as I sat back and actually listened to the words the older 'me' had said, something bothered me. Something really bothered me.
I had nothing against Diggory. Hell, he was the only person who ever managed to beat Golden Boy Potter. Even if it was a mistake. He was only a few years older than me, a pure blood. I didn't want to end up like that, but deep down inside I knew I would. Draco Malfoy, dead because he.. He what? What would I do? I knew better than to get in the way. I had to get out. Suddenly looking around at the dark green and black room I'd grown up in, I felt stifled. Something akin to fear and loathing crawled over every inch of my skin. I felt dirty. Almost as if I'd bathed in the blood of Cedric himself and now he mocked me for it. Looking down at myself I saw only the black midnight of my robes. Tearing into my closet I found more of the same. The best of black robes that money could buy. All of them a variation on a theme. Black. Black like the absence of light as the clods of dirt cover the grave. Breathing was becoming an issue.
Grabbing some of the muggle clothes at the back of my closet I kept for reasons unfathomable, I shoved them onto my bed. Spying my school trunk in the corner, I raced over. Inside lay my books and other things that I wouldn't need until the next school year. In a flash I had it over turned and was dragging it over to my bed. Throwing my clothes in I glanced around. Snatching some of the only sentimental things I had, I closed the lid of my trunk. Slipping silently out the door, I made my way down to the front entry way.
I needed money but I didn't have any. Father made sure of that. But I knew where he kept it. It was in the top right draw in his desk in the study. Only problem was that he was in the room right next to it with the door wide open.
All right. So I know you're asking why didn't I wait until that night. Well, the truth was, I couldn't stand to be in the manor any longer. So stashing my trunk in a darkened corner I slipped into the study. I could hear my father in the next room talking through the Floo. Good. He'd be distracted.
I had the draw open and the money in my hand when I heard him end his conversation. I shoved the coins into my pocket and cringed at the noise it made. I head rather than saw my father freeze up at the sound. "I'll get back to you," he said to the flames.
I dove out the door into the entrance way just as he came back in the room. Looking around with a critical eye he spied the draw open slightly. Growling he called for the house elf who promptly appeared. Stuttering the elf asked, "Is the room not cleaned to Master Malfoy's pleasing?" He was a wimp and a simpering fool but I'd never loved another elf as I did that moment. It gave me a chance to slip out the door. I don't know what happened to the elf I'm sorry to say. But I'm sure it wasn't pleasant.
I made my way into London and from there to the airport. Father kept muggle money in that draw and I thanked my lucky stars that that was what I'd grabbed. I was able to book a flight to New York City where I spent three weeks before deciding to head further west. I must have taken a thousand buses. Or that's how it felt at any rate. When I finally ran out of money, I was on a bus headed for Sunnydale California. With a smile on my face I made plans in my head about my future.
I'd get a nice job and meet a nice girl. We'd grow up and get married and spend the rest of our lives in the sleepy little town. Nothing to do with magic or evil wizards taking over the world.
In Sunnydale, I wandered the streets in the early hours of dawn. The bus had gotten in late last night and after stowing my trunk at the office of the station with a nice old man who probably couldn't read his own name, I set off to explore the town. And now as the sun rose of the single story Town Hall, I couldn't help but feel a chill of unease at the sight of so many cemeteries. What was this place. For the first time, I was almost regretting my hasty departure from the Manor.
As the sun came up and the day wore on, I began to feel the urge to find some food. But in order to do that, I needed money. So that meant I had to find a job. Horror of horrors. If only my father could see me now. To my right was a Starbucks and to my left, a magic shop with the oh-so clever name of, "The Magic Box." Grinning, I ignored the coffee shop and went into the magic store. A bell tinkled someplace deeper in the dim room and the scent of Burberrys and rat's fur made me feel right at home.
"Hello!" said a very cherry blond from behind the counter. "How my I take your money today?" I snorted. I couldn't help it. It just kind of came out.
"Actually I was looking for a job," I told her.
"Oh well we're not hiring. But feel free to spend some money here!"
I think she would have continued on that track if she hadn't be interrupted by a male British voice. "Anya," it said sternly.
"Sorry," she muttered.
"Actually, son, if you're looking for a job I might be able to find you one," he said slowly. He looked at me as if he could see something underneath me skin. "Do you know anything about magic?"
I didn't know what to say. The girl, Anya, was glaring daggers at me. I wasn't impressed. "A little," I admitted to the man.
He smiled. "I need some one to help keep stock and do odd jobs around the place. We're... err, out a lot and we'd need some one keep the place up for us." He took off his glasses and began to wash them until I thought they might break. I fear for those lenses sometimes.
"I could do that," I told him. I couldn't believe how easy this was. But I wasn't going to press my luck.
The British man smiled. "I'm Rupert Giles but every one around here just calls me Giles. This is Anya."
"I'm Draco," I don't know why I didn't lie about my name. I wasn't going lie if I could help it. Not this time around. "Draco Malfoy."
Something sparked in Giles' eyes at the sound of my name but I ignored it. If he wasn't going to say anything then I wasn't going to press the issue. "When can you start?" he asked.
I shrugged. "Now I guess. I haven't got anything better to do."
"Where do you live?" Giles asked.
Now I was stuck. What was I supposed to say? "Umm, well you see, I just got to town and-"
"-And you ran away from home and haven't got a place yet," he finished for me. I nodded. " I thought as much. You can stay here. There's an apartment in the attic you can have. I'll take the rent out of your pay. How's that?" I smiled.
"That works," I told him smoothly but I couldn't keep the glee off my face.
"And I want you to go to school. You're what, fifteen?" I was fourteen but I wouldn't correct him on that. Fifteen worked just as well for me. So much for not lying. "Good, You'll be in Dawn's class."
And so I got my start working at the Magic Box. I lived in this tiny little apartment above the shop and went to Sunnydale High. Giles made no secret of what it was that really went on in the Magic shop. He never came right out and said it but I picked up on what was happening quickly. I'm not stupid you know.
Life was a steady rhythm for me and as time went on I found myself helping out the so-called Scooby gang more and more. It wasn't long before I noticed that I could do magic here without detection which suited all of us just fine. Willow, Tara, and I had a lot we could teach each other.
I was fifteen (Really fifteen. I'd told them my real age a while ago) when Dawn and I started to go out. I admit that I'd had a crush on her since the first moment saw her but was too afraid of Buffy to act on it. Thank the gods Dawn asked me first!
And so the years ticked by. I was in my first year of college, the popular guy in school, going out with a perfect girl, and all and all, a very happy guy. When the whispers of things in the east going very wrong reached us, life couldn't have been better for me. But there was an increase in demon actives in Sunnydale and then the opening of another Hellmouth in Scotland some where. From what Giles and I could tell it was someplace in the forbidden forest. Our own Hellmouth was drying up the supernatural left to answer the call of the new Mouth of Hell. But in one day, over a game of cards, the perfect life I had created for myself came to a crashing halt.
tbc....?