Oh boy guys here we go lets kick this story off
(From now on this is set before Draco's 5th year, and I'm about to stress him the hell out)
Danny was very much unprepared and underdressed for the time when some wizards fell out of his fireplace.
He paused in the doorway, spoon still in his mouth and cheeks full of cereal, as his brother stood up and brushed the soot off him with a displeased nose scrunch.
Danny swallowed. "And you couldn't just use the door?"
Honestly they're lucky his parents had left to chase down the Box Ghost earlier. Otherwise they'd be covered in a lot more than soot and ash.
Danny couldn't help the snort that escaped at the mental picture of Draco covered in ectoplasm and boiling in rage.
Draco narrowed his eyes, seeming to pick up that Danny was making fun of him. "Using the Floo was quicker."
"...quicker than walking through the door."
"It's a wizard thing you wouldn't understand." Draco snapped back, his go to response whenever he couldn't argue against Danny's logic at the moment.
"Uh huh. Anyways what are you doing here?" Danny asked, "You aren't supposed to be here for another two weeks."
Which was time previously planned for Draco to prepare for his summer in America while Danny finished school. Spend the two weeks after Hogwarts let out recuperating and making public appearances with his parents, then spend the rest of the summer with the Fentons.
Actually now that Danny was looking, it seemed Draco had come straight from school. His hair was lacking half its gel, he was still wearing his green tie, and his robes were a very boring black as opposed to the various greys and blues he flaunted around in the previous summer.
"Denebola, pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Drawled the man standing behind Draco.
"Hello creepy man that I have never met before," Danny said, echoing his tone.
Draco choked on air as the discount Kylo Ren sneered at him.
"This is Professor Snape Danny." A familiar please-don't-say-anything-that-will-get-us-in-trouble tone coloring Draco's words. "My godfather."
Oh the potion guy. Danny remembers Draco talking about him now. He was friends with Draco's parents, which didn't really impress Danny that much as all of the Malfoy's friends seemed to be really rich snobs or really racist. Mostly both.
But he was Draco's godfather, the reason he got into potions, his favorite professor and someone Draco would willingly go to get advice from. So, Danny decided to reserve judgement till he met him. Well….he met him.
Danny looked Draco dead in the eyes, "My apologies."
Draco closed his eyes in mortification, which made Danny grin internally. They were really getting the hang of the whole 'speaking without talking to each other twin thing'.
Professor Snape just scowled at him. "Where are the….muggles?" Disdain dripped off his words, instantly making Danny defensive. He had heard enough at Malfoy Manor about disgraceful, savage muggles from Lucius. Even Draco had echoed his father till Danny dragged him kicking and screaming into being a slightly decent person.
"My parents," Danny said, stressing the word, "Are working right now."
Okay maybe they were just being their usual trigger happy selves and running after Boxy, but there was no way he was telling Professor Snape that without it leading to an hour long discussion about ghosts. And Danny did not have time for that. He shoved a giant spoonful of cereal in his mouth as he met Professor Snape's eyes and-huh.
Draco never told Danny his godfather could read minds. He could feel the light brushes of a foreign mind attempting to gleam information from his surface thoughts. Danny didn't know if it was his wizard ancestry or halfa weirdness that made him sensitive to this kind of stuff. Either way, it was useful in keeping his secrets in his head from privacy invading school teachers.
Danny glowered at Snape and immediately thought of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up music video.
The two of them stared at each other for a minute, making Draco more and more anxious as no one said anything.
Finally Snape broke contact, "Where should his things go?"
Danny tried very hard not to smirk after winning that staring contest, "You can just leave them here, we'll get them later."
With one last displeased sneer, Snape turned to Draco. "I'm needed back at Hogwarts. I trust you are in good hands."
Draco nodded, still looking tense and anxious as hell.
Snape walked back to the fireplace. He paused next to Draco, "Take care of yourself Draco."
Draco softened under his glare, "I will Professor. Thank you."
Snape nodded and shot one more glare at Danny, who still had Rick Astley echoing in his head, before vanishing into the fireplace in a swirl of green fire.
Draco turned back to Danny and said, "You stress me out."
Danny snorted before walking back into the kitchen to put his bowl in the sink. Draco followed after him, looking at all the kitchen appliances with a barely hidden curious look.
"Something else we have in common."
"What are you wearing?" He asked with a nose scrunched in displeasure.
Danny shot him a look, "My pajamas, cause I just woke up. I haven't finished getting ready for school. You should probably change too."
"Why?"
Danny started for the stairs, Draco still following at his heels. "You can't wear robes to public school. I think you can fit in my jeans."
"What?!" Draco screeched, halting at the bottom of the stairs, "I'm not going to muggle school with you!"
"It's either that or stay here by yourself for hours." Danny said as he paused outside his room. Draco scrambled up after him. "Cause my parents won't be home for a couple more hours, after which you'll be alone with them till I get home."
Danny smirked at him, "My parents are going to be thrilled to see you, can you really handle their enthusiasm all by yourself?"
Draco could barely stand Danny showing various forms of physical affection, as proven last summer when Danny would throw an arm around Draco's shoulders and almost get hexed. And Ancients forbid Danny try to hug him. Draco might actually lose the wand and just punch him. Danny had spent most of their correspondence over the school year prepping Draco for the Fenton welcome wagon so he wouldn't hiss like a cat when he gets hugged. Okay, and maybe Danny just wanted to see his overdramatic brother's face as he is subjected to his parent's bear hugs.
Draco scowled at him, "Fine. But I'm not wearing any jeans."
Draco stomped into Danny's room and slammed the door in his face. He heard the lock click as it was shut.
"Hey! I still gotta get dressed!" Danny banged on the door, "C'mon Drake it's still my room!"
Danny groaned before walking over to the bathroom. He phased through the wall and landed on the fire escape. It took a few minutes, but he eventually maneuvered to his window and slipped in.
Draco had dug into Danny's closet and pulled out the most dressy tux Danny owned and was in the middle of putting it on.
"You are not wearing that."
Draco scowled at him, "Its bad enough I'm lowering myself by going with you-"
"Lowering yourself?"
"-But," he said loudly, "I absolutely refuse to wear common muggle wear. If I'm going to this school, I will not look anything less than my absolute best."
Danny stared at him. "Drake you will be thrown into the dumpster if you wear that to my school. Let me just-"
Danny jumped on him, trying to remove the suit jacket from a struggling Draco. Draco shouted and tried to twist away, only for Danny to pull it over his head. Once Draco was out of sight, and swearing loudly at him, Danny subtly used his intangibility to yank it off him. And if he happened to remove all of Draco's hair gel that he used to keep his hair slicked back….well, that would have gotten him thrown in a dumpster as well.
Danny tried not to laugh as Draco glared at him, his hair fluffed up and looking vaguely like an angry kitten.
"Do you know how long it takes me to fix my hair? I have to completely redo it now! And how'd you get that off me?" He pointed at the jacket Danny was throwing back in his closet.
Danny grinned at him, "Magic."
Draco gave him a flat look.
"Anyway we've got to go, otherwise I'm gonna be late again, and get detention again, and you'll be forced to either walk home by yourself or stay at school with me."
Somehow Danny had managed to get dressed and drag Draco out the door with him, texting Sam and Tucker his plans to walk so they could meet up on the way.
"What is that?" Draco leaned over to squint at the phone in Danny's hand.
"My phone. I told you about it last summer."
Draco hummed, "I thought it was broken?"
"Yeah, cause your magic blew it up. My parents fixed it." Danny shoved his phone back in his pocket like Draco was about to blow it up again. "Now what happened?"
Draco shot him a glance, before letting his eyes flicker around them. "I did try to tell you muggle 'technology' and magic doesn't always go together."
"Drake, you know that's not what I mean." He said softly.
Draco was silent, his jaw clenched and his hands shaking before he shoved them in his pockets.
They walked in silence for a while.
"You'll get hurt."
Danny looked at him.
"I…." Draco sighed, "I've never…."
Danny waited silently for him to get the words out on his own, knowing that pushing him will only make him clam up.
"You aren't like us. And I don't mean that in any bad way!" He said quickly when he saw Danny's face. "But you know what my parents are like, and their friends are so much worse, and you're the first person I've ever had to worry about. I just want you to be safe."
Oh Ancients, that was a lot to unpack there.
Danny had known something had happened during school. The two of them spent the school year exchanging letters, both of them wanting to stay in contact. Danny would tell him about his school, and his parents' antics, and explain random muggle technology to get Draco prepared for his summer with the Fentons.
Meanwhile, Draco had complained at length about Potter and a tournament and Potter being insufferable about a tournament. There was a furious letter about being turned into a ferret and how Potter and his friends keep bringing it up. Draco sent him about three feet of parchment around Christmas just making fun of Potter at a dance and how horrible he was. There was a lot about some famous Quidditch guy and then a lot about Potter's friend stealing the famous Quidditch guy.
Draco complained about Potter a lot, okay?
But Draco never sent him a letter about the tournament results or if Potter got eaten by a boggart or whatever it was he was hoping for the last task. He just showed up, two weeks early and clearly shaken about whatever it was that happened.
That isn't a good sign at all. And Danny had eavesdropped enough last summer to get a decent idea as to what was going on.
"This is….this is about him isn't it?"
Draco flinched, which was enough answer for him. Danny let out a breath.
"We can-we can talk about this later. I care about you too Drake, and I know your family is neck deep in this mess." Danny bumped his shoulder, "You're safe here, that's why Narcissa sent you here right?"
Draco leaned against his brother's shoulder, eyes still flitting across the street and his jaw clenched. "Yeah. We're safe here."
Place your bets now: How long will it take for Sam to kick his butt after meeting him cause I am really looking forward to that interaction :^)
UNTIL NEXT TIME MY VIEWERS OF THE CORN!
