a/n: Hello! So I've had this idea floating about my head for quite some time now and decided to finally put it to paper. I hope you enjoy it! It's meant to be a fun read, it won't be too many chapters. But-it is my FIRST shot at a Dramione fic, so please let me know! If you've read my other work, you know I'm a big fan of OC, and there's TONS of OC in this. TONS. This is post war, and it doesn't really follow anything super specific. Again, just a neat idea I've had floating around. Without further adieu:
Chapter 1: The Duke Family
Well, this is quaint. Draco thought as he walked through the small café he had landed just outside of by portkey. He looked around the small area, no one paying him any mind as his eyes roamed freely. Small wooden tables were pushed against the windows, strange artwork lined the walls and along the bar, the baristas chuckled and shared loud conversation with the patrons.
It was almost as if he weren't halfway across the world in some ridiculous city he hadn't heard of before his briefing. He looked at his watch, he was few minutes early but he expected she would be here any moment. The letter had said she would meet him at this café at exactly noon. Judging by the timeliness of her responses and her reputation through his ministry connections, he expected punctuality.
He approached the service bar and was greeted by an enthusiastic man in his early twenties, with long dark hair pulled back into a bun, wide set dark eyes and slightly crooked teeth.
"Hey Man, I'm Marco. Any questions about the menu?"
Draco looked at the black board behind Marco, staring at his options with confusion. He hadn't heard of anything on this menu. Did they not serve plain coffee in this blasted shop?
"Er… I'll take a coffee…" He said, unsure.
Marco laughed. "Our menu is extensive. We've got about twenty different blends. Do you know what kind of roast you're into?"
Draco stared back at the man, blinking rapidly. "No."
"That's alright. I can help you out. I've really been digging this Ethiopian blend lately. It's a dark roast but its mega subtle, hint of cherry and it's a little earthy. Or we have-
"Marco don't scare the man away. I need his brain to be functional for our meeting and god knows your explanations of coffee types will fry anyone's mind to mush."
Draco turned around to see a tall woman standing behind him. This was certainly not what he had been expecting when he was told he would be meeting with an American MACUSA official. He had expected someone more… Well, like himself. Put together and business like.
This woman was certainly not dressed for business. Nor did it look like she had ever set foot in an office in her life.
"Draco Malfoy, yeah?" She asked, holding her hand out to shake his.
"Yes." He said, gripping her hand.
"Ashley Duke." She said.
Ashley was tall and had light brown skin. Her hair was several different shades of blue and held in tight matted coils, the dreadlocks were pulled back with a thick elastic. She had dark, square glasses that looked much too large for her face and a gold hoop pierced through her nose. She was wearing a baggy white shirt that showed much of her midriff and a pair of baggy jeans that were too short for her and looked as if they had lost the battle between a kneazle's claws. Her right arm was completely covered in tattoos, as was her chest, and from what Draco could see, much of her left leg.
Simply put she was the most eccentric looking woman Draco had ever seen.
"Let's have a seat. Marco, make the man an Americano. Whatever blend. I want that Moroccan blend you have in the back a-
"Double shot, no sugar, oat foam, dark chocolate drizzle. Yeah, Ash. I know. Any cream for your friend?"
She looked to Draco and Draco shook his head. "No, thank you."
"Good." Ashley said, as they took a spot at a table for two dead center of the large front window. "They're a vegan kitchen. The cream here is awful."
Draco unbuttoned his suit jacket as he sat and clasped his hands in front of him. "I don't mean to be rude," He began. "I was under the impression we'd be having a business meeting."
Ashley nodded. "We will. The rest of our party will be arriving shortly, I just wanted to get some coffee in me before we head out. I also have come to learn that you have a history with the Ministry official that's coming along?"
Draco arched an eyebrow. "Do I?" That wasn't hard to believe, if he were being honest. Much of the ministry was now made up of his past classmates and it was the exact reason he chose to remain independent.
"A sour one, at that. Hermione Granger ring a bell?"
Ring a bell? He nearly choked on his breath. "Yeah. I knew her. We attended Hogwarts in the same year."
"Yeah, I've heard. I've done my digging on the two of you. Turns out you were a bit of an asshole back then." Ashley was blunt, Draco could respect that, but he wasn't sure he cared much for it.
"Yeah." He said. "Yeah, not my finest moment."
She shrugged. "Ah, but when are our teenage years ever our finest moments?" She laughed.
Draco nodded, looking up as Marco brought the coffee to the table. "Here you go. Are you paying today?"
Draco thought the question rude until Ashley laughed. "Little brother I bought the damn shop for you, if I wanted to pay for my coffee I'd go to Starbucks. They have real cream."
He scowled at her. "I am trying to run a sustainable and eco-friendly business, Ash. Eating animals is not eco friendly."
"Maybe not, but they taste better."
Marco gave her a very dirty look as he huffed and turned away, stalking back to the counter and mumbling under his breath.
"Brother?" Draco asked, sipping his coffee.
"Yeah. We're adopted. There's eight of us total. Rebecca will be here soon, and you'll probably meet everyone else once we get to the mac."
"The mac?"
"Magical Alliance Center. It's a mouthful, so everyone just calls it the Mac. Anyway, I know your past is a bit… Sordid… what with the war and everything. Hermione assured me she had no issue working with you, but suggested I wait to tell you that you'd be working together. Funny, given your background, that you're the investor."
Draco straightened his shoulders, placing his mug down. "Is it?" He asked. "Funny how?"
"Oh, don't get offended, that's not how I meant it." She laughed, taking a long drink from her coffee and licking the foam from her top lip. "It's just interesting, I guess. That your family was known for their blood purity support, yet you're here to check out our little center to see if the ministry should waste their time opening one in London."
"Yes, well, they needed financial backers and it seemed like a decent way to spend the money." He said.
She smiled. "I can think of worst ways to spend a large amount of money. For instance, opening a vegan coffee shop."
Marco shot her a glare from the counter and she laughed.
They sat in silence for several minutes, Ashley tapped her finger against her mug to the beat of the strange music playing in the café and Draco stared out of the window.
"Why here?" Draco asked. "Why did you ask to meet here?"
"This is the quickest way to the Island." She explained. "The Mac is in the middle of Lake Erie, on a small bit of land MACUSA procured years ago. When my family and I started the plans to open the center, MACUSA jumped in and suggested we build on the island. It's pretty central for the midwestern states. Not far for east coasters either. And we have quite a few people from Canada. Over the years, it's started to pick up and there's a few other spots that have opened up. One in California, one off the Gulf Coast of Texas and one in Mexico, I believe. But since we're from Cleveland, it seemed right to take the offer to use the land in Lake Erie. I bought this shop a few years back and while Marco runs the practical side of it, selling his ridiculous coffee to anyone that can stand the sound of his voice longer than twenty seconds, I took the magical side of it."
"You serve to muggles and wizards?" Draco asked, intrigued.
She smiled. "I've done my homework, Mr. Malfoy. It seems that maybe you have not."
He narrowed his eyes at her. Done his homework? He had set the bloody meeting up! He was here to do his homework! To see what the fuss was about and see if it would be worth investing in!
"You said your family opened the center?" He asked, choosing not to let his frustration get in the way.
"Yeah." She said. "There's eight siblings. Our mom and dad both help out around the center as well. Marco, Sierra, and Justin are all Nomaj-
"Nomaj?" He had heard the term before but couldn't place it.
"Non magical. You call them muggles, I believe?"
He nodded.
"Anyway, Marco, Sierra, and Justin are all nomaj. Marco and Justin run the coffee shop, keep the nomaj customers entertained and teach a basic service class at the center. Sierra is an artist. It's her paintings on the walls," She motioned around to the eclectic array of paintings. "She teaches an art class a few times a week, but she's not around much past that."
"Three of your siblings are muggles?" Draco asked, surprised.
She nodded. "Adopted, remember? Mom is a witch, dad is a nomaj. They adopted all of us not caring about our blood status or magical ability or ethnic backgrounds. Rebecca and I are purebloods. Mike is a halfblood and we believe Alana is as well, but we haven't been able to obtain her records to know for sure. She doesn't care enough about it to look further into it. Oh, and Stella. Stella is nomaj-born."
"Your family adopted eight children of separate social and magical background? Why?"
She shrugged. "Mom and Dad always said there's enough room in their home for anyone. So, they just kept adopting, regardless of our backgrounds. They always adopted the older kids. A lot of kids in the system are put there because they're magical and their parents didn't know what to do with them. Or, like Sierra, they weren't and her parents still didn't know what to do, so they abandoned her."
"That's quite sad." He said, looking out the window again at the busy street.
"Not much more than a bunch of kids fighting a war." She said. "We felt the impact of it in terms of pureblood versus nomaj hatred springing to life, but we never had to deal with the actual repercussions of being apart of a war. You all were much too young to be fighting for those rights."
He nodded. It had been years, nearly twelve, since the battle of Hogwarts. Draco didn't much like to be reminded of it. He had worked hard to put the past behind him, to move forward and not think about the awful things he had done. The time he spent in Azkaban. He tried to bury it.
"Not everyone fought for the same side, you know." He found himself saying.
"I know." She agreed. "That's why I found it funny that you took up interest in our little center."
Silence hung over them again, and his eyes went back to the window, watching the people walk about. He was snapped from his thoughts when he heard a familiar voice coming from the back of the coffee shop. He turned his head and saw Hermione Granger cross the space, offering a kind smile to Marco. She was followed by another woman who Draco assumed was Rebecca.
Draco stared at Hermione as she crossed the room. She looked somehow exactly how he remembered and also nothing like it. She still had the same chestnut hair, it was longer now, and far more tame. Her eyes still the same milk chocolate brown, large and round. She had the same confidence about her, walking like she knew more than everyone in the room. Her face was older, obviously, but still unwrinkled and unblemished. She wore a black pencil skirt with a blush colored blouse and tasteful nude heels. Draco found his eyes lingering on her a bit longer than he had anticipated.
Had it really been so long since he had seen her?
He pulled from his thoughts when the second woman spoke. "Draco Malfoy?" She asked. He looked up to her. She offered a hand for him to shake. "Rebecca Duke. Good to meet you."
He stood and nodded. "Pleasure."
Rebecca was the exact opposite of her sister, Ashley, if he had ever seen it. She was several inches shorter with pale skin and golden blonde hair that was braided and pulled back into a bun. She had almond shaped golden eyes and stood with her back pin straight. She was wearing black slacks, a pale blue blouse and a black blazer. She had an air about her that Draco instantly felt as authoritative and diplomatic.
"We're here for business meeting Ash, you could have dressed appropriately." She said, grimacing at her sister's attire.
"We're going to the mac and having lunch. A suit felt like a bit much." Ashley replied.
Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Can we get-
"Rebecca!" Marco called to her.
She arched an eyebrow in annoyance and Draco nearly sniggered. She turned quickly on her heel. "Yes?"
"Your latte." He said, handing it to her. "Sorry, sheesh. I forgot to order the Italian blend you like. I used a similar French blend that I had and-
"It's fine, Marco." She cut him off. "If you don't get your inventory figured out, I'm going to let Justin take it over."
He scoffed. "Justin is an idiot!"
"Justin can count, which apparently you cannot. It isn't that difficult, the numbers haven't changed since you learned to do it."
He glared at her. "Okay, okay. God." He grumbled, turning his back and walking behind the counter once more.
Draco chuckled into his mug, he quite liked Rebecca.
"Now," Rebecca said, returning her attention to the small group. "You two know each other already, or you were at least acquainted at some point and I haven't got all day. We need to get to the center before Stella sets the damn place on fire."
Ashley and Hermione both laughed, and Draco felt as if he were missing out on some inside joke. He buttoned his jacket and followed Rebecca's steps to the back of the shop.
"Mr. Malfoy," Rebecca began. "You've yet to visit our center. You'll step through this door here…" She motioned to a door that looked like it led to a broom cupboard. "And you'll flip the light switch twice. Once you do that, step back through the door and you'll be in my office. Got it?"
"Understood." He nodded.
"Good." She said. "Go head, we'll be behind you."
He stepped through the closet, closing the door behind him, located the switch, flipped it twice and turned the knob. When he stepped back through the door he was indeed, in an office.
It was a large room, with a few paintings on the wall, similar to those in the café, and a large rug. Many medals and trophies littered the shelves of the bookcase and there seemed to be a few framed pieces of paper behind the large oak desk. It was clean, neat, and organized. Exactly as Rebecca had come across. He shuddered to think of what Ashley's office must look like.
He moved further into the room and noticed a portrait on one shelf of the bookcase. It was certainly an older picture, but he could tell it was the Duke family. Two adults standing behind their eight children of varying ages, color, and looks.
He felt a pang of envy. He wondered what it would have been like to live in a family so accepting, so happy to take on anything they didn't understand. So willing to make room in their hearts for others.
That was, after all, the entire premise of the Magical Alliance Center.
During his research, Draco had discovered the center had been constructed shortly after the Wizarding War in Britain. Many countries had felt the impact the war had had, the united states weren't immune to that. He knew they had their fair share of Purists rise afterward, trying to follow in Voldemort's footsteps and create havoc.
The Duke's had opened the Magical Alliance Center in hopes of bridging communities. Which, now knowing about the diversity of their family, it made sense to Draco. They created the center and opened its doors for purebloods, halfbloods, muggleborns, and the families of muggleborns. He found it interesting that they realized there was a need for magical understanding outside of just cutting the poor muggleborns off from their communities that they were raised in.
He turned his attention back to the office space as the three witches trailed in. Hermione was the first to enter, after him. It seemed odd, standing here with her. He remembered reading about her work as a Muggle Liaison for the Ministry, years ago. She had been fighting to open a similar center in London for the last few years, and the ministry had finally granted her the ability to do so, if they could find the finances.
Draco had been approached by Theo Knott.
Theo was his best friend since childhood. He had managed to keep neutral during the war, escaping with help from the Order and other neutral parties. Bouncing from safe house to safe house. Theo had been working at the Ministry as a Muggle Liaison for almost a decade, ever since he met his now, wife Jessica. Jessica was a muggle whose family had helped shelter defected and neutral witches and wizards. Theo and Draco remained friends after the war, the only person Draco remained in contact with, when he thought about it. Theo had married Jessica, and Draco was his best man. They had two children, of which Draco was named the Godfather for both.
Theo understood much sooner than Draco had, that there was a need for proper integration.
Muggles couldn't be expected to just be dropped into a world they didn't understand, with no means to use any of the tools it possessed. Wizards couldn't be expected to do the same. There had to be some sort of mutual ground, something that would teach wizards how to live as muggles and muggles how to live among Wizards.
Enter the Magical Alliance Center.
"We'll have a relatively short lunch." Rebecca said. "And Draco, you can meet everyone. After that, we'll all retire to the conference room to get started."
Draco gave a nod of approval and followed the witches as they shuffled out of the room and down a long hall. He could hear many voices in the distance, as well as some music. He could hear yells of children outside.
"The cooking class has prepared lunch today." Rebecca stated as she led the way to, where Draco assumed would be a dining hall. "I believe we'll be having fried rice, with vegetables and chicken."
"That sounds lovely." Hermione said from beside Rebecca.
Her voice sounded light and lyrical. Draco wondered if she had always sounded that way.
"The cooking class is awesome." Ashley assured Draco. "They're led by a few Nomaj chefs."
"You have muggles that work here? Doesn't it break the statute of secrecy?" Draco asked.
"They're under contract. They can't speak of their jobs outside of the island. It was necessary though, to teach certain skills without magic, the best way to do it is without someone who can't perform magic if things get hard or go wrong."
"That seems logical." Draco agreed. "Do you only teach skill classes?"
She shook her head. "No, although Sierra would argue that art is a necessary skill. We have the basics. Computer training and typing, practical finances, vehicle operation and driving, cooking, first aid… Things like that. Our magic driven classes include Care of magical creatures, understanding charms, basic potions training. Our magical classes are about understanding. Our students are mostly grown, they've already attended Ilvermorny so those classes are more for the families of Nomaj born students who want to understand more.
We have combination classes for things like Literature, pop culture, political science and history. Best to know both sides of it if you plan on going between magical and non magical communities. We then offer electives like dance, painting, quidditch, baseball.. things like that."
"You play Quidditch?" He asked, a small excitement in his chest. He hadn't played in years.
"Of course, we do!" She said. "Do you know of any other wizarding sports?" She laughed.
"No, I suppose not." He chuckled.
He could hear many voices coming from the room that Hermione and Rebecca had entered ahead of him. He assumed they would be joining students in a dining hall, instead he was staring at an array of people young and old, talking and laughing with one another.
"This is your dining hall?" He asked.
"This?" Ashley laughed. "Oh no. This is the large conference room. We're taking our lunch here so you can meet-
"Mommy!" A little girl with light brown skin and braided black hair ran up to Ashley, wrapping her arms around her knees. Ashley smiled.
"So, you can meet the family." She continued, scooping the small girl into her arms and doting her with kisses and hugs. "This is my youngest, Phoebe. The twins will be around here somewhere…" She turned her head to and from, looking around the crowded room. The small girl buried her face into Ashley's neck and looked at Draco, giving him a shy smile and a wave.
He smiled back to her. He had hoped by now he would have children of his own. He had thought he would, after the war. He assumed he would settle down, find a nice wife and have a child or two. He ended up locked in Azkaban for nearly a year and from then on, he spent his time trying to rebuild his reputation, changing it and building something completely new for himself. His love life had taken the back burner as far as anything more than casual sex went.
His eyes drifted around the room. It seemed chaotic, but warm. He found his eyes lingering on Hermione as she sat at a table, making silly faces at a chubby baby that had thick black hair and was giggling. The baby was held by an older man with a blue cap on and a tan polo.
The room quieted as Rebecca stood in front of the windows, her posture still straight as pin and the look of impatience returned to her face. Draco recognized Marco among the small sea of faces as he looked about, noticing the obvious pull Rebecca had over her family.
"We call her the enforcer." Ashley joked, switching little Phoebe to the opposite hip. "She was in both the Nomaj and Magical military. Plus, she's crazy smart. Graduated school a year early, went to Nomaj college to get a criminal profiling degree and still went through military training. She's schedule driven. So, if she asks you to a meeting, don't be late. You'll never hear the end of it."
"Criminal Profiling?" Draco asked. "What is that?"
"She links crimes to suspects based on patterns. I think." She chuckled. "She's dead good at reading people."
Draco nodded and felt a respect for Rebecca, and a tinge of nervousness.
"Now that we've all calmed down." Rebecca began to speak. "You have all met miss Hermione Granger. She's been with us on and off the last few months and her time to make a decision is coming near. For the next two weeks, Draco Malfoy will be joining Hermione in her observation of our center. Mr. Malfoy also comes to us from London as a financial backer to the center Hermione hopes to open there. His opinion matters." She raised an eyebrow, eyeing a girl who's back was turned to Draco.
"As representatives of this center and this family, I expect you all to be on your best behavior." She eyed the girl again. "And to bring forth any issues as they arise. Mr. Malfoy will spend time in classes with us, observing what we teach and how effective it is. He will join us at extra-curricular activities, and should he find that you all don't drive him completely insane by the end of the day, he will be welcome to spend dinner and any free time with us, as he sees fit."
The entire room remained quiet, only a soft cooing from the chubby baby in the man's lap.
"Ah, Will." Rebecca's face softened momentarily as a kind smile graced her features. She looked beyond Draco, to the doorway.
"Sorry, drills ran over." A deep voice sounded beside Draco.
Draco looked over to see a very tall, muscular man with broad shoulders and a squared face standing next to him. The man was wearing quidditch gear and Draco wondered how on earth a broom could hold such an enormous person. Draco, himself, was not small by any means. He had always been tall, taller than most in his class. He was muscular in build, but the muscles were lean. This man made Draco feel scrawny in comparison.
"Hey, Will." Ashley said, leaning in front of Draco. "You have the twins then?"
He nodded. "They'll be in shortly. I made them take a few cool off laps around the pitch. John had a baseball practice set up for one o'clock, so he's keeping an eye out on them."
"Thanks." Ashley said. "They give you much trouble today?"
"They wouldn't be running laps if they hadn't." He laughed.
She bit back a smile and turned her attention back to Rebecca who was now explaining the itinerary for the day and finally closed her speech with introducing lunch. She crossed the room to where Draco was standing with Ashley and Will and smiled at Phoebe. Phoebe reached her small arms out to her and Ashley handed her over.
"Better get her some lunch." Ashley said. "I'll fix the twins a plate too, if they'll be in soon."
"Should be." Will said.
She nodded and walked toward the far right end of the room, where young adults dressed in white coats and checkered pants were setting out heaping plates of food.
"Will, did you meet Draco Malfoy? He's the financial backer for the London branch." Rebecca said, her voice far softer than Draco had heard it thus far.
"No, I hadn't." He shook Draco's hand, his grip strong. "Good to meet you, man. Sorry if I stink. I just got done running drills for the quidditch team."
Draco gave a polite smile. "No worry. I hope to watch a practice or two. I used to love to play."
"No shit!" Will exclaimed, and then made an oof sound as Rebecca smacked his chest. "Sorry. What position?"
"Seeker." Draco smirked.
"Makes sense. You have a seeker's build for sure. You must be an agile flyer then, yeah?"
"I was." He said. "Quite good, actually. But I haven't played in years. What position are you?"
"I just coach now." Will replied. "I played professional for awhile though. I was a beater for the Sweetwater All-Stars for half a decade."
Beater. That made sense.
"Come down to the pitch, anytime!" Will said, smiling. He leaned over to Rebecca and placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm starving, I'm gonna grab lunch. Did you eat today?"
"I'll get chicken and vegetables one everyone gets settled and the twins get here. I want to make sure I'm not going to have to glue them to a chair first."
"No rice?" Will said, making a tutting sound. "Your loss." He rolled his eyes and looked at Draco. "I don't know what you know about carb restricting your diet, but you'll learn about it in your time here and it's ridiculous. Hope you like vegetables." He said as he dodged another slap from Rebecca and stepped across the room to the buffet.
"I know this family is a lot." Rebecca said, setting the small Phoebe on the ground and watching her toddle off to Ashley. "But we're doing a good thing here. Hermione has enjoyed her time here so far, I think. And I hope you should too. I suggest you mingle with everyone in this room. They'll all be as helpful as possible. And please, have lunch. We'll begin our meetings after."
"Thank you." Draco said.
Draco followed her to lunch set up. The food smelled pleasant, and it was hot. He ladled a bit of everything onto his plate and went to find an empty seat. He took a spot at the furthest end of the table and began to tuck in as he observed the people around him.
He found himself surprised by how good the food was. He hadn't been expecting it to be restaurant quality, what with it being cooked the muggle way by wizards, but he was pleasantly proven wrong. He continued to eat and observe. He pulled his eyes away from the far corner of the room when he felt a presence in the seat next to him.
"Malfoy."
He looked to see Hermione sitting by him, her face tight and her eyes suspicious. "Granger." He nodded, bringing his fork up to his mouth and taking another bite.
"I'm surprised to see you here." She admitted, her tone clipped.
"I can't say I'm surprised to see you here." Draco returned. "Head of Muggle Liaison and all that."
She pressed her lips together. "Why are you here?"
"Your office arranged it, shouldn't you know?" He smirked.
"I was shocked to see that you had agreed to come here." She rephrased. "This doesn't seem like something that would interest you."
"I have many interests, Granger. Many of which I'm sure you would find shocking."
She glared at him. "This is important, Malfoy. Opening a center like this in London could change the way our community approaches muggle relations."
"I agree with you." Draco said.
"You… agree with me?"
"Yes." He said, taking another bite of his chicken. "I think it's important that we approach the introduction of muggles to the wizarding world far more carefully than we've been doing the last millennia. The same way I believe wizards and witches should know basic muggle skills."
She narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment. "You're serious?"
He set his fork down and lightly pat his napkin against his mouth before returning it to his lap and looking at her. "Do you think I would waste my time coming to Cleveland if I weren't?"
She seemed to be surveying her thoughts and finally sighed. "No, I suppose not." She tapped her fingers on the table a few times and then looked back to him. "What changed?"
"You mean aside from being forced to be on the losing side of a war I didn't want to be a part of and then voluntarily spending a year in Azkaban?"
"Your stay in Azkaban was voluntary?" She asked, disbelief painting her features as her eyes grew wide.
"It was." He said. "Theo Knott."
Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Theo?" She asked. "He's one of the best liaisons in our office. He's the one that got them to change the law regarding revelation of magical ability to a spouse."
"I'm aware." Draco said. "TJ and Maisie are my godchildren."
Her mouth gaped and Draco chuckled. "Theo Junior and Maisie… are your…" She shook her head. "I didn't realize you were still in contact with Theo. He hadn't mentioned…"
"Yes, well I suspected he may not be taken seriously if an ex-Death Eater was seen by his side all the time. I tend to like a more private life these days, anyway." He explained.
"You came as a favor to Theo?" She asked.
"Of sorts." He said. "I do believe it would be beneficial for my godchildren to grow up with a better understanding of how things work outside of magic. Given their mum is a muggle and all."
She stared at him for long enough that Draco began to feel uncomfortable. Finally, she gave her head a small shake and a thin smile tugged her lips. "Okay." She said. "All right, Draco Malfoy. I guess we'll be working together the next fortnight."
"Seems we shall."
She chuckled. "Of all the strange things that have happened since Hogwarts, this may take the cake."
Draco was going to respond when his train of thought was interrupted by a teenage girl taking the seat across from him. She was a pretty girl, long dark hair that was pin straight and fell to her elbows. She had large dark eyes that were framed with thick black lashes and bold dark eyebrows. She was fair skinned, and she smiled brightly at him.
"Hi Mr. Malfoy." She said, her voice a feminine sing-song tone. "I'm Stella."
Draco nodded in her direction. "Hello." He said, eyeing the girl.
She put her elbows on the table and leaned in slightly, a mischievous smile now pulling her lips. "Did you find your lunch to be satisfactory?"
Draco looked to Hermione, feeling very uncomfortable. "Erm- yes. It was fine."
"Good." She said. "If you have issues with anything, you can come find me."
"Thank you." He said.
She stared at him, not dropping her gaze from his. He felt like she was trying to look into his brain, staring intently at him with a strange expression he couldn't read.
"Leave him alone, Stella." Another new, female voice said from behind him. "Go find someone else to wrap around your finger. Rebecca's already told you to keep your distance."
Stella huffed and crossed her arms. "Rebecca is not the boss of me, and neither are you. I'm not a child."
"You act like one. Go away."
Stella narrowed her eyes and stood up, stomping off. Within seconds, another girl filled her seat. She was tan with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. She had freckles across her face and neck and she seemed graceful as she sat.
"Hello, Mr. Malfoy." She said. "Sorry about that. Stella is the youngest and she's also the worst. I'm Alana." She held her hand out and Draco was surprised by the firmness of her handshake.
"Please, call me Draco." He said. "She seemed… harmless." Draco offered, not trying to offend anyone in the family.
"That's because she was trying to be sweet. She's an asshole, in all honesty. Causes a lot of trouble around campus. She's also got a hell of a mean streak to her and she's skilled with her wand, so just… Don't piss her off."
Draco chuckled until he realized the girl was serious. "You're kidding? She can't be more than what? Fifteen?"
"No." Alana replied. "I'm not. And she's sixteen. Dad's completely blinded, she's had him wrapped around her finger since she came to us, but Mom and Rebecca and everyone else pretty much knows she's the devil incarnate."
"Talking about Stella, are we?"
Draco looked away from Alana and saw an Asian man about his own age standing to his left, leaning against the wall. He wore horn rimmed glasses and his black hair was styled back in a similar way that Draco wore his own.
"Mike, this is Draco. Draco, Mike." Alana made the introduction. "She's insufferable! Over here trying to… to… I don't know! But she's always up to something."
Mike laughed. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Alana. Just making the observation. Mom wants you to go help Will find the twins. They should have been back by now and Ashley's gone to lay Phoebe down for a nap. Can you go make sure they aren't getting into trouble?"
Alana sighed and stood from the table, her long legs practically dancing across the room. "I've got classes in thirty minutes. If they don't show up before then, someone else will have to hunting for them. My competition is in a month and I need to break my new pointe shoes in." She seemed to float across the room as she met with Will and exited.
"Pointe shoes?" Draco asked, turning to look between Mike and Hermione.
"She's a dancer." Mike said. "Ballet. Been dancing since she could walk. She performs with the Cleveland Ballet and she competes as well. She's very good. I think she has a show starting next weekend, if you'd like to go."
"I've never been to one." Draco said.
"They're lovely." Hermione said.
"Draco, I understand you're a financial backer?" Mike asked. "May I ask the percentage you're taking for compensation?"
Draco blanched. "Excuse me?"
"For pay back." Mike said. "Your investment return."
"I'm… I'm not." Draco said. "I'm not taking any money from the center once it opens."
Mike raised his eyebrows. "What percentage of the finances for the center are you backing?"
Draco furrowed his brows, wondering why it mattered. "One hundred percent."
Mike sat back in shock and stared at Draco. "You're fully invested with no compensation return? You're donating the money?"
Draco gave a short nod. "Yes."
"How much?" Mike asked, realizing his question must have been rude, he spoke again. "you don't have to answer that."
"Mike's a lawyer now, but he used to be an accountant. He is the head of the finances here." Hermione explained. "He teaches the basic finance classes and finds investors for the center."
Draco nodded in understanding. "I've pledged three hundred thousand galleons."
Draco watched as both Mike and Hermione's jaw dropped. "Malfoy… that's-
"That's upwards of one point four million dollars." Mike said, his face showing every bit of shock his voice conveyed. "You're donating over a million dollars with no return? Do you know how crazy that is?"
Draco shrugged, brushing lint from the shoulder of his suit jacket. "I've spent more on less."
"Draco Malfoy." Mike said. "Exactly how wealthy are you?"
"Well that's an inappropriate question, isn't it, Mikey?" Another voice floated over to their conversation and a young woman with wildly curly red hair and kind brown eyes stood behind Mike. She was wearing a dark green smock that was covered in dried paint, over her jeans and tee shirt and she was barefoot. Draco could see her hands were also covered in paint and she had bits of purple paint dried to her face near her nose.
Mike grumbled and she smiled. "I'm Sierra." She said. "And if you're looking to burn any of that money, I've got a ton of paintings you can buy."
Draco smiled. "I could use some new art work in my flat."
She smiled. "We're just waiting on Justin to get here, and then we'll start the meetings. Alana won't be joining us, neither will Marco or Stella."
"Thanks for the update." Mike said. "If you get paint on my new shirt, you're cleaning it." He eyed her hands on his shoulders.
"Hush." She said, sitting next to him. "Draco, I'm going to be helping you after we leave here today. You and Hermione are both going to stay with me."
"Oh, I thought I was getting a Hotel." Draco said. "I had planned to-
"No!" She said. "Why would you get a hotel? That's ridiculous. Plus, all the hotels around here are Nomaj, so you'd need my help anyway. I have the most available space next to Rebecca, and Beck doesn't like to have visitors at her and Will's place. They raise dogs and it upsets them when strangers come over. You could stay with Justin, but he has the baby now and as precious as she is, she still doesn't sleep through the night. So that, leaves me."
Draco felt uncomfortable, but remained blank faced, nodding along with her explanation. He hadn't roomed with anyone since Hogwarts, and he hadn't planned on it. He was still wracked by nightmares nearly every night and wasn't sure how good it would look for him if he woke up screaming in the middle of the night.
An almost thirty-year-old man, crying in his sleep for his mum. He mentally rolled his eyes. He didn't want to have that conversation. Luckily, he had been thoughtful when packing, knowing that he could be in need of decent sleep at some point and had packed a bit of Dreamless Sleep potion.
"Hey! Let go of me you giant oaf!"
Draco turned to the source of the yelling.
"Aunt Lana! Let go of me! I'm sorry! We didn't mean to!"
Two young boys, about the age of nine and identical in looks, were being dragged into the room. Will held one by the back of the shirt and Alana had a grip on one's ear.
"You're lucky your mother isn't here!" She nearly shouted. "Xavier! It's unacceptable to let the bludgers loose during a baseball practice! What on earth were you thinking?!"
"It wasn't me!" Xavier cried. "It was Cruz!"
Alana rounded to the other boy who pointed back at Xavier. "No!" He said. "It was Xavier! It was!"
"I have the sneaking feeling that it was a joint effort." Alana said. She shoved Xavier forward, letting go of his ear as Cruz finally got out of Will's grip and joined his brother. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! Everything your mom has been doing to try and help you and this is how you pay her back?! What would your dad say?!"
"He's dead, so probably nothing." Xavier grumbled.
Draco looked at Hermione and she mirrored his expression.
"He died trying to give you both a better life. Remember that the next time you want to use your freedoms to hurt people. Get your plates and go to my studio. Now."
Draco's eyes followed the boys as they both mumbled "Yes Ma'am" and grabbed their preset plates off the table. They followed Alana out of the room and moments later Ashley re-entered with a younger man, maybe 23 if Draco had to guess. He was about the same height as Ashley and had a deeper brown skin tone. He had a thick beard that was cropped short to his face and thick black hair that was pulled back into a bun, like Marco's had been. His strong eyebrows and square facial features led Draco to believe the man may be of Indian descent.
He walked to the older man who was holding the baby and scooped the baby up, smiling happily as he kissed her face and held her close to his chest.
"We're all here." Rebecca said. "We can get started."
.
a/n: Okay, so I based it in Cleveland, because well, that's where I'm from and I wanted to be able to talk about shops and landmarks without doing research because I'm lazy and this was meant to be a fun little mental break from Hidden Heir.
Every member of the Duke family is based off someone I personally know, whether it be appearance, personality, name, or a combination of them all! So, I've been having a lot of fun writing them into my story haha
The coffee shop referenced in the story was actually one of my favorite places, and they closed like... i don't know, six months ago or so? The Moroccan blend with the oatfoam and the chocolate drizzle was actually what I ordered from them!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Not sure how frequent updates will be for this one yet. I'm still invested in Hidden Heir and will be continuing my super frequent updates of that, I just needed something to break up my mind a bit.
Please review! Let me know what you like or don't like about it so far!
xo
Mimi