I was on the Hogwarts Express coming home for
the Easter holiday. I was nervous about coming
home because Father had threatened to hurt me
when I did. But I didn't love Hermione anymore,
so he couldn't hurt me.
I remembered the time when Harry and Ron told me to kiss Hermione. It was January and we were waiting outside the Potions classroom...
"Hey, Draco," I heard Hermione call.
I turned around and saw her standing near me.
"What do you want, Mudblood?" I snapped.
"I want to know why you don't love me anymore," she said in a hurt voice.
"Honestly, Hermione," I said with a sneer. "You're supposed to be the smartest girl in the year, yet you can't even answer a simple question like that?"
"Look," she reached for me. "I know it's all my fault - " her hand rested on my shoulder.
"Don't touch me, Mudblood!" I knocked her hand away.
"But Draco," her eyes filled with tears. "I love you."
"Yeah, Malfoy," said Harry, who started to circle around me like a panther circling it's prey.
"She loves you," said Ron, who joined Harry with the circling.
I remember that even though Ron had a sneer on his face, his eyes looked so sad.
"Come on, Malfoy," Harry said. "Kiss her."
"Why?" I asked. I knew this wasn't going to end well.
"Because she loves you," said Ron.
"But I don't love her."
"Yes you do," said Harry. "Now kiss her."
"No!"
"Yes," said Ron.
"I don't want to!"
They grabbed my robe and threw me into Hermione's arms. She stumbled as I fell on her.
"Now you're in your lover's arms, Malfoy," Ron said. "Kiss her."
"Draco," Hermione said quietly. "I know you don't love me anymore, but they'll never stop talking if you don't kiss me."
"They'll never stop talking if I do," I replied hopelessly. "There's no way out. I'll get taunted either way. Maybe hexed. I hate my life." I looked into Hermione's eyes and they looked hopeful, I knew she wanted me to kiss her. I didn't know what to do, because either way I would be laughed at. I didn't think I could take that kind of torture.
"I can't," I mumbled, looking at my shoes. "I won't kiss a Mudblood." I stood up and walked away but Harry and Ron just pushed me back into her arms.
I came back into reality and put my hand against my cheek, pondering if I still loved Hermione. I noticed my cheek was wet. I had been crying. I gave a shuddery breath and brushed away my tears.
Why do I keep crying? I asked myself. Why do I think I'm still in love with Hermione? Am I? What's wrong with me?
The train was slowing down. I got my trunk from the baggage rack. I sat back down and waited for it to stop. I closed my eyes and wondered if Father was going to carry out with his threat. I hoped not.
* * *
"Oi, Mother," I shouted as I dragged my trunk across the platform to her.
"Hello, Draco," she said. She looked a little more strained than I remembered, but I disregarded it, knowing that Father was under a lot of stress from the Ministry, and when Father is stressed, Mother usually is, too.
"How was school?"
"Not so good," I said, a little downcast.
"Oh? What happened?"
"I got taunted a lot. Mostly about Hermione." I felt a little foolish saying this to her, because it seemed like something I would say if I was seven.
"Well, what can you do? There'll always be kids like that."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Let's go home and you can tell me everything that happened."
* * *
"I'm hooooooooome!" I yelled up the stairs and made sure the door slammed so everyone in the house could be aware of my presence.
"Hello, Draco, hello, Narcissa," Father said, appearing at the top of the stairs. I didn't like the way he was talking. Every word was coated with ice.
"Hello, Lucius," Mother said. I saw something in her eye that I didn't like. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, though.
"Draco," Father said, still in that icy voice walking down the stairs. "I heard that you're still in love with the Mudblood." He was now right in front of me.
"No," I said. "Not anymore."
"You liar," he whispered dangerously.
"Lucius, please," Mother pleaded. "Don't - "
"Keep out of this, Narcissa!" Father snapped. He grabbed me by the throat. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
"No," I managed to say. He was cutting off my air stream. I was finding it hard to breathe.
"Yes, you are. Stop lying."
"Father," I pleaded. "Stop. I - said - I'm - not - in - love - with - her - a - ny - more."
"Impossible!" he shouted. "Your love couldn't end that quickly!" I nodded vigorously, gasping for air.
He threw me across the room. I started taking deep breaths, happy that he let go of my throat. He advanced upon me.
"Crucio!" he said, pointing his wand at me. Suddenly, it seemed as if my whole body was covered with pins and needles. I screamed so loudly, I was sure that they could hear me all the way in Japan. Father lowered his wand and I shakily got up, weak from all the pain and screaming.
"Do you still love her?" Father asked. I shook my head, silent tears flowing down my cheeks.
"You lie," he sneered.
"No," I said. Father raised his wand again. Mother knocked his hand away.
"Lucius," she said, her words sharp as daggers. "You did enough damage. He doesn't love her anymore, alright? Leave him alone, and maybe I won't report you to the Ministry for using an illegal curse."
"You can't report me, Narcissa," he said, pointing his wand at her. "I'll make sure that you don't."
"Draco," she said to me. "Don't bother to unpack your trunk. Take it outside with you and wait for me."
I nodded as she ran upstairs with Father asking what she was going to do. He said that he was the man of the house and whatever he says, goes. She couldn't do whatever she was going to do. I went outside.
* * *
I sat on my trunk and waited for her. I noticed that it was dark outside. I could hear echoes of yells coming from inside our manor. I couldn't quite make out what was being said, though.
Mother came outside after a few minutes dragging a trunk. She looked scared angry, and concerned at the same time. She took one last look at our manor, then turned around and walked away, dragging her trunk behind her into the night. I hurriedly followed.
After walking for about two minutes, Mother held out her hand like she was trying to flag down a cab. Then, two headlights appeared cutting through the darkness. I held up my hands to my face to block the blinding light. I could hear something squeal to a stop. I wondered what it was.
I put my hands down and looked up in wonder. I was looking at a purple triple decker bus with gold writing above the windshield that said The Knight Bus.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus," said a conductor in a purple uniform, who had just stepped out of the bus. "Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening."
"Hello," said Mother. "How much is it to ride the bus?"
"Eleven Sickles," said Stan. "But for fourteen you get hot chocolate, and for fifteen you get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush in the color of your choice."
"Here," said Mother, reaching into her robe pocket and pulling out two Galleons. "Keep the change."
Stan came out of the bus' doorway and dragged our trunks onto the bus.
"Woss your names?" Stan asked, dropping his formal manner.
"Narcissa and Draco Malfoy," said Mother. I could see his face pale for a second as he looked us over. Yes, we Malfoys were very respected, but also highly disliked. If Father didn't work for the Ministry then I'm sure we'd all be dead.
"Let me show you to your beds," Stan said, leading us to the third floor of the bus. He set our trunks down at the far end, by the front. The bus wasn't crowded at all, so I think he did it to get us as far away from him and the driver as possible.
I looked around at my surroundings. It looked like a normal bus, except that it had brass beds instead of seats. Our trunks were placed in front of our beds.
There was a bang and the bus started moving. Everyone and everything that wasn't bolted down was thrown forward about three feet.
"Now," said Stan, still looking a little shook up from the mention of our names. Or maybe it was the sudden start of the bus. I'm not sure. "Where do you want to go?"
"Diagon Alley," Mother replied.
"Right," Stan, looking relieved to go downstairs. "I'll go tell Ern."
"Ern?" Mother asked with an excited look on her face. "He's still here?"
"You - you know him?" Stan looked shocked at the idea of a Malfoy knowing someone he did.
"Yes," said Mother. "I met him on the Knight Bus last time I ran away."
Last time you ran away? I thought.
"Oh, well I'll go tell Ern where, you - eh - want to go." He went down the stairs to tell Ern (who I guessed was the bus driver) where we wanted to go.
I heard voices floating up from the stairwell. I couldn't hear what was being said, but Ern must have told Stan that he knew Mother or something like that because Stan soon came back and helped us drag our trunks to the first floor and set them in front of two beds behind the armchair of the person I thought was Ern. (Yes, Ern was sitting in an armchair behind a steering wheel. I know that's weird, but I'm not the one who designed the bus.)
Ern turned around and looked at us.
"Narcissa?" he asked. "Is that you?" Mother nodded happily.
"Ern," she said, her face breaking out into a smile. "After all these years...it's still you." Ern got up out of his armchair and went to give Mother a hug. Unfortunately, he forgot to stop the bus before doing so. I noticed that there was a big pine tree right in our path.
"AHHH!" I screamed. "WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!!!!!" I held my arms in front of my face and waited for the crash to come. But it didn't. I looked up and saw that the bus had missed the tree entirely.
"What - what happened?" I asked, shook up from the near encounter with the tree. "Did we miss the tree?"
"Yeah," Ern said. "If something's in the path of the Knight Bus, it's charmed to move out of the way."
"Good thing, too." I flopped down on a bed, still shaking.
"So, Narcissa," said Ern taking his seat at the wheel again. "Tell me what happened between last time you ran away and now."
"Well," Mother began, sitting down on a bed next to mine, "It all happened when I was a seventh year at Hogwarts." A dreamy look came over her face as she told us her story.
"When I was a seventh year, I was in love with Lucius Malfoy. My mother knew and said I was being ridiculous. She told me not to waste my time with a bad boy like that and find someone else."
"She was right," said Ern. "There's always been something bad about the Malfoys. No offense," he said quickly, looking at me.
"But I was in love with him anyway," Mother went on. "I was determined to go steady with him by the end of the year. He never noticed me, but I promised myself that I would get him without the aid of love potions. One day, I screwed up enough courage to write him a letter telling him that I liked him. He wrote back telling me that he had seen me in his classes and wanted to know me better. Soon, we started dating. Everybody told us that we were the perfect couple, except my parents. They told me that he would just be up to no good. 'He has bad blood' they told me. 'You'll just end up hurt.' But I didn't listen. I only saw Lucius as a smart, nice and handsome teenager. They told me that I shouldn't be around his kind. They told me to leave him, but I couldn't. I loved him too much. When I told them that he proposed to me and I accepted, they were furious. 'Fine,' they had said. 'But if you have problems with your marriage, don't come crying back to us.' Then they tried to stop my contact with him or any of his friends. I couldn't stand that, so I ran away. That was the first time I rode the Knight Bus. I found him in Diagon Alley, where I was taking refuge, and married him in a Muggle church, where I knew my parents would never think of looking. He was so nice to me, I didn't get why my parents told me to stay away from his kind. He was nice, smart, handsome, and had a good job working at the Ministry. But then, he started to turn mean. I don't know why. One day he came home and started treating me differently. He would call me names, or threaten me. I thought he was going through a phase, so I put up with it. But then, as we were married longer and longer, he started to abuse me. Sometimes he would put hexes on me. I always wore robes with the longest sleeves I could find to hide the bruises he gave me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have close friends at Hogwarts, and my parents wouldn't talk to me anymore, no matter how many owls I sent them. And anyway, Lucius wouldn't let me send owls or go off our property after a while unless we were invited to a dinner, or something like that. He became a Death Eater soon after that. After being married for a year, Draco was born. At first I didn't like him, because he was a spitting image of Lucius. But then I realized that even though he looked like the demon I married, he didn't have to act that way. I tried to be as kind to him as possible. Lucius couldn't stand the way I treated him. He said I was being too soft and no son of his was going to grow up a pansy. He said that a beating every once in a while would make his son a real man. I refused, so he beat me instead. He would only beat me when Draco wasn't around. Then Draco started school at Hogwarts. The beating became more often, more severe. Especially when he heard this year that he was in love with a Muggle - born. Then, when Draco came home from Easter vacation this year Lucius almost strangled him because of the Muggle - born situation. That's when I snapped. I couldn't stand to see Draco suffer like that. So I packed my trunk and ran away with him. And that's why I'm here now." A long silence followed. Nobody said anything. It was like the time Dumbledore brought Harry in the Great Hall, unconscious, after Ron, Hermione and I beat him up. Except this was more of a thoughtful silence. Not a shocked silence like the other time was.
"God," I said, breaking the silence and making everyone jump. "Seventeen years you were able to put up with that kind of abuse. I don't know if I could have stood it for that long. I probably would have killed myself. "
"There are many times when I did think of killing myself. But then I remembered you, Draco, You were the one who kept me going. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you in Lucius' care. I had no idea what he would do."
"Diagon Alley, next stop" said Ern, changing the subject. There was a bang, and the bus was in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Stan helped unload our trunks and we dragged them to the door of the Leaky Cauldron, where you could hear a babble of talk inside, even though it was late out.
Mother knocked on the door and Tom, the landlord opened it. He greeted us warmly and asked what we were doing here. Mother said that she would explain later and she just wanted a room for me and her. Tom led us into the bar through the chattering crowd, up a flight of stairs and into a room with a number 11 on it. He gave us the key, then left.
"Well, Draco," Mother said, unpacking her trunk. "It looks like this is going to be our home for the next few months."
I didn't say anything, but nodded as I looked in my trunk for my pajamas. Everything was going to be different. So different...
* * *
I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed. I knew what had happened, but it was sort of like it never did. Like it was all a dream. But as I looked around and saw Mother sleeping soundly next to me, I knew that there was no escaping the truth. It had happened, and I could never trust Father again.
I got out of bed and looked at my watch. It was 8:00 in the morning. I knew better than to wake Mother up, so I searched through my trunk for something to read. I found the copy of Romeo and Juliet that Hermione had gotten me for Christmas in the very bottom of my trunk under all the schoolbooks, robes, parchment, and God knows what else I have there.
I took it out of the trunk and looked at it. So much had happened since she got it for me. I opened it and read the message she had written on the inside of the front cover. It said:
To Draco, Merry Christmas. May our love last forever. Love, Hermione
So much for our love lasting forever, I thought. Why is it here, anyway? I thought I promised myself I would burn it. Oh, well. At least now I have something to read that's not my schoolbooks.
"Good morning, Draco," Mother said. I looked around and saw her awake.
"Good morning," I replied.
"Sleep well?" I nodded.
"Let's get dressed, go downstairs for breakfast, and I'll tell you the plan for the day."
"Fine." I quickly shucked off my dirty clothes and put on fresh ones. Mother changed as well and we went down to the bar to have breakfast.
* * *
After breakfast, Mother and I went back to our room.
"I'm going too go out," she said. "And take care of some things. While I'm gone, I want you to do your homework." I groaned. She put on her cloak. "I expect two pieces of homework done when when I get back." Then she took her wand and went out the door.
I got out my schoolbooks and decided to work on my essay from Professor Binns first. That way, I could get the boring stuff out of the way.
I was almost done with my essay when Mother came running into the room looking as pale as a ghost. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it for support. I could see she was shaking.
"He saw me," she said shakily. "Lucius saw me. I started to run away and disappear into the crowd but he followed me. I could hear him behind me all the time, telling me to stop. I kept running. I think he's here right now." Soon, someone was banging on the door.
"NARCISSA, OPEN THE DOOR!" I heard Father's voice yell through the keyhole. My blood froze. He had found us out, and there was no escape.
"GET AWAY FROM US!" Mother yelled back.
"NARCISSA, OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"
"LEAVE US ALONE!"
"FINE, THEN I'LL APPARATE IN!" Now I was really scared.
I heard a pop and he was standing in front of Mother. I backed as far away from him as possible without being seen. I didn't know what to do. I was so scared.
"Why did you try to run from me, Narcissa?" Father asked, his voice silky and soft. Mother looked at him as though he had gone crazy. It was obvious why she did, and took me with her.
"Because you're a monster," Mother replied with such hatred I thought she was going to murder him. "You abused me for no reason, and Draco because he's in love with the 'wrong type.' That's why I ran." Father's eyes grew wide then narrowed into slits.
"You think that's wrong?" Father said, still in that silky voice. "I don't think so. In fact, my father told me that the only way to be strong is a beating every once in a while."
"Maybe you were the kind of type who grew stronger from that kind of abuse," Mother said in a weak voice that was trying to be strong. "But Draco isn't."
"BECAUSE HE'S RAISED BY A WOMAN!" Father yelled. "HE'S BEING TRAINED TO BE A MAMA'S BOY!"
"Maybe I wouldn't be," I said in a stern but quiet voice. "If I wasn't always neglected by the one who could've taught me to be strong." Father turned his hard, cold eyes on me.
"Be quiet boy," Father said in his silky voice again. "You have no idea what you're talking about." Even though he didn't touch me, I felt like I had been slapped hard across the face.
"I think you're the one who doesn't know what you're saying, Father. Since you've always neglected me, let me give you a little update on my life. I'm sixteen years old, been in love, had two girlfriends, passed my O.W.L's, became a suicidal maniac, and will graduate from Hogwarts next year. Don't tell me that I can't think for myself." Father raised his hand to slap me, but it was caught by Mother.
"Stop it, Lucius," Mother said, her hand tight around his wrist. "You've abused us both enough. You say it makes someone strong, but all it really does is make them sad and angry inside. You call it beatings, but the proper name is domestic violence. Now go. I don't want to see you around here anymore." Father turned to me.
"You're still in love with the Mudblood, aren't you?" he asked.
"That's irrelevant," I said.
"No, it isn't," he said. "Because I said so."
"Why am I getting the impression of a five year old?" Father wrenched his hand free of Mother's grasp and slapped me smartly across the face.
"GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW, LUCIUS!" Mother screamed. Father didn't move.
"OUT!" she screamed. "NOW!"
"Narcissa - " Father raised his wand at her, but she pulled out hers and blasted him against the wall before he could do anything.
"I want a divorce," she said as she walked over to him and shoved him out the door. "NOW!" Then she slammed the door in his face.
I stood there, with a look of pure hatred on my face, looking at the door. Mother turned and looked at me.
"Draco?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO LOOK LIKE HIM?" I exploded. "WHY? WHY DO I HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THE MAN WHO IS A HIGHLY WANTED DEATH EATER, WHO KILLED HUNDREDS, MAYBE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE, ABUSES HIS WIFE AND HIS KID AND MAKES HELL FOR PEOPLE LIKE DUMBLEDORE JUST BECAUSE HE DOESN'T AGREE WITH THEM? WHY? WHY? WHY?" Tears started to cloud my vision as I sat down on the bed and thought of everything that Father had done to me.
"Draco," Mother said soothingly as she sat down on the bed, too, and put her arm around my shoulders. "Don't be angry that you look like him, it's not your fault. In fact, I'm sure that if you looked more like me he would hate you even more."
"But he does hate me," I protested as tears rolled down my cheeks. "That's why he always neglected me. I wish I were dead."
"Don't wish you were dead. Instead, think of all the things you have to live for. Think of Hogwarts, of your grades, of Hermione." I looked at her in surprise.
"How did you know that I still like her?"
"Well," she said slowly. "There's a saying. It goes something like 'the one person you can't fool is your mother,' and it's true."
"Thanks," I said as I huddled against her. "I'll need that kind of support." She kissed the top of my head.
"You know, I was thinking that since Lucius knows where we are, we need a change of location." I looked at her.
"Where would we go? We don't know anyone who would take us in."
"My parents."
"But - I thought you said - "
"Maybe, but it's our only hope. Now go and get the rest of your homework done. I'm going to go out and buy us some things. Meet me in the bar at 12:00 for lunch."
* * *
"So," I said to Mother when we were eating our lunch at the bar. "What did you do?"
"Well," she said. "I went to Gringotts and took a bunch of money out of Lucius' account. Then I went to a Muggle store and bought us clothes."
"Muggle? But I thought you were a Pureblood."
"I am, but my parents like to live like Muggles. They feel it makes them understand Muggles better."
"Oh. Will they let us stay with them?"
"I called them from a nearby pay phone. They said yes. Well, Dad did. He said we should surprise Mom."
"Great. Uh...what's a pay phone?" Mother put her face in her hands.
"Sometimes I forget the ignorance of wizards raised in a non-Muggle environment." She took her face out of her hands. "It's a thing Muggles use to communicate to each other. I can show you when we get there."
* * *
"Oh my God," Mother said as we were walking up the steps of a perfectly ordinary Muggle house. "I'm so nervous. I haven't seen them in seventeen years. What if they don't recognize me anymore?" I was trying to keep calm, but I was nervous as well.
What if they don't like me? I thought. I look just like Father, who isn't the best person to look like right now, considering they refused to let Mother have any contact with anyone from Hogwarts when she said that he had proposed to her. Talk about a bad first impression. I tried to tug on the sleeve of my robe, which is a habit I have of doing when I'm nervous, but then I remembered that I wasn't wearing my robe.
I was wearing a shirt that mother called a polo, a pair of biege-colored pants and a windbreaker. Mother was wearing a black t-shirt, a knee-length skirt, and a denim jacket. She said that we would be less suspicious if we wore Muggle clothes. I didn't care that she was trying to make us less suspicious - looking, I was uncomfortable in these clothes.
Mother rang the doorbell. I could hear it echo inside. Then came footsteps and a man's voice saying "I'll get it!" The door opened and a man in his mid-seventies was looking at us.
He looked at Mother and gave a small gasp. Mother did the same.
"Narcissa?" he asked. "Is that really you? Has it really been so long?"
"Dad?" Mother asked. "God, it has been so long." They started to hug each other.
Geez, I thought. I feel like I'm in the middle of a cheesy movie about a girl and her long-lost father. Then I reminded myself that this was actually going on, except it was in real life.
"Come inside, come inside," the man said. We followed him through the door into a hallway. We stopped outside a door.
"Shhh," the man said, putting a finger to his lips. "I want to surprise your mother, Narcissa." He went inside and said to someone I couldn't see, "Amaryllis, guess who's here?"
"The Queen Mother?" I heard a woman say sarcastically.
"No," he said. "Someone even better." He mentioned for Mother and I to come in. As soon as we stepped in the room, I saw the woman's eyes fill with tears.
"Narcissa," she said. "I'm so happy to have you back." Mother went up to her and they hugged each other. While all this was happening, I was leaning in the doorway, feeling sort of out of place at this time and moment.
While I was waiting for them to finish hugging, I took a look at the room. I noticed that their living room had a blood red couch and two chairs of the same color. They had fancy wall lamps which gave off light without fire. There was a coffee table in the middle of the room. I also noticed that they had two bookshelves with many books.
"I was afraid I'd lost you," the woman went on. "Just like I lost Lily and Petunia."
"You didn't really lose Petunia, Mom," Mother said, still hugging her. "Just lost touch."
"Lily?" I asked. "As in Lily - "
"Who's this?" the woman asked, looking in my direction and cutting me off. "Is he your son, Narcissa?" Mother nodded. "He looks just like his father," the woman went on with a click of her tongue. "How old are you, boy?"
"Sixteen," I said.
"Sixteen years," she said with a slight shake of her head. "We've been out of touch for so long."
"But we're back together, Mom."
"I wish I could say the same about Petunia and Lily."
"Um..." I butted in. "I don't mean to be rude, but can I please be introduced to everyone here?"
"Oh!" the woman said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you would have no clue who we were. I'm Amaryllis Evans, and this is Edgar Evans." she pointed to the man, who was standing behind me. "And you are?"
"Draco Malfoy," I said. "Is there anything specific you would like me to call you?"
"What do you mean?" Edgar asked.
"Well, you are my grandparents, so by what I should call you I mean, like, Grandmother and Grandfather, or, I don't know."
"Edgar and Amaryllis would be fine," Edgar replied. "By the way, Draco, didn't you want to say something earlier? About Lily?"
"Yes. I wanted to know if when Amaryllis said Lily she meant Lily Potter." I silently hoped that the answer was a no.
"I did," she said.
"So Lily Potter is my aunt, right?"
"Right," Mother and Amaryllis said at the same time. I did some quick figuring in my head.
"Ooooh," I said, putting my face in my hands. "This is not good."
"What's not good?" Edgar asked.
"It means that Harry Potter is my cousin," I moaned, flopping down on the couch.
"What's so bad about that?"
"Lots of things. Firstly," I said, ticking the reasons off on my fingers. "I'm a Slytherin and he's a Gryffindor. Slytherins and Gryffindors are not supposed to get along. Secondly, I'm a Malfoy and he's a Potter. Malfoys and Potters are not supposed to get along. Thirdly, we hate each other. That needs no explanation. Fourthly, my father is a Death Eater, therefore, he is after Harry."
"Hmmmm," Amaryllis said. "That could be a problem."
"Could be? It is! Do you know how many times I've gotten into arguments or fights with Harry? This'll ruin my reputation!"
"Well," said Amaryllis. "That's life for you. Do you want anything to eat? Or drink?"
"Wait a minute!" I said, sitting up straight. "You can't be related to the Evans', Mother."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because Petunia's a muggle! Lily was a witch born into a muggle family!"
"Oh, is that what she's been saying?" Mother tried to stifle a laugh.
"Isn't that true?"
"No. In fact, it's the opposite. Petunia's a squib born into a wizard family."
* * *
"I don't get it," I said to Mother as we were getting ready for bed in her old bedroom.
Her bedroom had a wall-to-wall carpet in a tawny color on the floor, bunk beds against one wall with dressers and a bookshelf against the opposite one.
"Don't get what?" she asked me.
"Well, Dumbledore said that Harry was living with the Dursleys because they were his only living relatives, but they're not. So why is he living with them, when he probably would have had an easier time living with his grandparents, who he doesn't even know exist." Mother just shrugged and said that Dumbledore has his ways.
* * *
Easter vacation was over and I was at King's Cross Station, standing in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Mother, Amaryllis, and Edgar were there, also.
"Goodbye," I said. "See you over Summer break."
"Not now," said Mother. "We're going onto the platform with you." I went through the barrier onto platform nine and three quarters, closely followed by my mother and grandparents.
* * *
"Hey, Malfoy!" I heard someone call. I turned around and saw Ron Weasley yelling at me. "Glad to come back to Hogwarts?" he taunted. "Glad that you're going to see your girlfriend again?"
"Shut up, Weasel!" I called back. "You know you're just jealous that she likes me and not you!"
"What do you know about love, Malfoy? Nobody but your mother could love you!"
"Then how come Hermione said she loved me in front of both the Slytherins and Gryffindors?" Ron couldn't think of a response to that comeback, so he walked away, dragging his trunk behind him.
"Well, I'd better get on the train, then," I said. I said my goodbyes to Mother, Edgar, and Amaryllis, promised to write, then made my way for the train.
* * *
I walked the length of the car, looking for a compartment that wasn't occupied. I found one towards the end of the car, put my trunk on the baggage rack and sat down, waiting for the train to start.
After the train started, I pulled out Romeo and Juliet and started to read. When I was at the part where Juliet is first introduced, I heard a knock at the door. I looked over the top of my book and saw a girl who looked younger than me. She was holding her trunk and knocking on the door.
"Come in," I said, without putting my book down. She came in and put her trunk on the baggage rack.
"You don't mind my being here, do you?" she asked, sitting down. "Everywhere else is full." I shook my head.
"You look familiar," I said, putting my book down. "What's your name?"
"Diana," she said.
"What house are you in?"
"Ravenclaw."
"Nope, don't know you. Wait a second, were you at Hogwarts over Christmas break?"
"Yes..."
"Hmmmm.... I think I know you. Did I give you a ring then burst out crying?"
"You mean this ring?" she put her hand in her robe pocket and took out the ring I gave to Hermione.
"Yes!" I almost shouted. "That's it! That's the ring!" She looked at me and put the ring back in her pocket.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Draco Malfoy," I said. I saw her eyes widen. Then out of the blue, she came over and slapped my face.
"Ow!" I cried, holding my cheek. "What did you do that for?"
"I wanted to do that for a long time," she said, fire burning in her eyes.
"Because of my father?" She nodded.
"Look, I don't care what you choose to believe, but I'm not like my father at all. We look alike, but that's as far as similarities go."
Harry and Ron walked over and stuck their heads in the door.
"Hey, Malfoy," Ron said. "Were those people you were standing with earlier your grandparents? They didn't look like Malfoys."
"That's because they're Evans'," I said coolly.
"Oh," said Harry. "So you're saying that your grandparents have the same last name as my mom. Riiiiight."
"I'm serious! Amaryllis and Edgar Evans had three children: Lily, Petunia, and Narcissa."
"That's impossible. My mother was muggle-born."
"No, she wasn't. The Evans' are wizards, they just live like muggles." Harry's eyes narrowed.
"How come you're such an expert on my family all of a sudden?"
"I was staying with them over Easter holiday. And it's not just your family," I added as an afterthought. "But my family, too."
"So you're saying we're related?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Harry's eyes widened and he looked like he was struck speechless. Then, he burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked.
"If he's truly related to me," Harry said between fits of laughter. "Then he's related to Dudley." Ron started to laugh, also. It hadn't occurred to me before. I had heard about Dudley from eavesdropping on Harry and learned that he was not the best person to be around.
Harry and Ron left, laughing like a pair of hyenas. But then, when they were out of sight, I heard Harry speak.
"I have other family," he said. "I actually have other family besides the Dursleys and nobody told me!" I turned back to my book.
"Hey, Draco," I heard Hermione's voice say. I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway of the compartment. "Can I come in?" I nodded. She came in and sat down next to me.
"What is it this time?" I asked her. She gave me a weird look.
"You know," I said. "Every time you have to talk to me you're saying that you don't love me when I love you. And when I don't love you, you love me. Look," I said, grabbing her shoulders. "We both love each other, that's obvious. But can't we do it at the same time?"
"I'm sorry, Draco," she said. "Sorry about everything. About Ron, about the ring, about the suicidal phase..." She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. I put my arms around her.
"I still love you, you know," she said. She started to hum a song.
"How does that song go?"
"What song?"
"The one you were just humming."
"Bright are the stars that shine, Dark is the sky, I know this love of mine will never die, And I love her"
"That's a beautiful song. Who's it by?"
"The Beatles. It's one of my favorites."
"Let's make it our song, so we can remember this moment forever."
"Um," Diana said. We turned and looked at her.
"I think you two are going to need this," she said as she took out the ring I had given Hermione. Hermione took it from her.
"You've had it all this time?" Hermione asked her with a smile as she fingered it.
"Ever since Christmas break. I've kept it as a good luck charm."
I took it from Hermione and slipped it on her finger.
"Always keep this," I told her. "Don't ever let it go."
* * *
A week into school, during breakfast, I got a letter from Mother. I broke the seal and opened it up, wondering what she could be writing about.
Dear Draco, the letter said. I'm so glad that you and Hermione are back together again. You were so depressed without her.
I have some really good news for you. I divorced Lucius and got custody of you and the house.
"Yes!" I cried.
I also turned Lucius in to the Ministry for using an illegal curse. He's in Azkaban now. Maybe I should feel some regret or pity, but I don't.
Neither do I, I thought. He deserved it.
Hope the rest of your school year is a happy one.
Love, Mother
I remembered the time when Harry and Ron told me to kiss Hermione. It was January and we were waiting outside the Potions classroom...
"Hey, Draco," I heard Hermione call.
I turned around and saw her standing near me.
"What do you want, Mudblood?" I snapped.
"I want to know why you don't love me anymore," she said in a hurt voice.
"Honestly, Hermione," I said with a sneer. "You're supposed to be the smartest girl in the year, yet you can't even answer a simple question like that?"
"Look," she reached for me. "I know it's all my fault - " her hand rested on my shoulder.
"Don't touch me, Mudblood!" I knocked her hand away.
"But Draco," her eyes filled with tears. "I love you."
"Yeah, Malfoy," said Harry, who started to circle around me like a panther circling it's prey.
"She loves you," said Ron, who joined Harry with the circling.
I remember that even though Ron had a sneer on his face, his eyes looked so sad.
"Come on, Malfoy," Harry said. "Kiss her."
"Why?" I asked. I knew this wasn't going to end well.
"Because she loves you," said Ron.
"But I don't love her."
"Yes you do," said Harry. "Now kiss her."
"No!"
"Yes," said Ron.
"I don't want to!"
They grabbed my robe and threw me into Hermione's arms. She stumbled as I fell on her.
"Now you're in your lover's arms, Malfoy," Ron said. "Kiss her."
"Draco," Hermione said quietly. "I know you don't love me anymore, but they'll never stop talking if you don't kiss me."
"They'll never stop talking if I do," I replied hopelessly. "There's no way out. I'll get taunted either way. Maybe hexed. I hate my life." I looked into Hermione's eyes and they looked hopeful, I knew she wanted me to kiss her. I didn't know what to do, because either way I would be laughed at. I didn't think I could take that kind of torture.
"I can't," I mumbled, looking at my shoes. "I won't kiss a Mudblood." I stood up and walked away but Harry and Ron just pushed me back into her arms.
I came back into reality and put my hand against my cheek, pondering if I still loved Hermione. I noticed my cheek was wet. I had been crying. I gave a shuddery breath and brushed away my tears.
Why do I keep crying? I asked myself. Why do I think I'm still in love with Hermione? Am I? What's wrong with me?
The train was slowing down. I got my trunk from the baggage rack. I sat back down and waited for it to stop. I closed my eyes and wondered if Father was going to carry out with his threat. I hoped not.
* * *
"Oi, Mother," I shouted as I dragged my trunk across the platform to her.
"Hello, Draco," she said. She looked a little more strained than I remembered, but I disregarded it, knowing that Father was under a lot of stress from the Ministry, and when Father is stressed, Mother usually is, too.
"How was school?"
"Not so good," I said, a little downcast.
"Oh? What happened?"
"I got taunted a lot. Mostly about Hermione." I felt a little foolish saying this to her, because it seemed like something I would say if I was seven.
"Well, what can you do? There'll always be kids like that."
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Let's go home and you can tell me everything that happened."
* * *
"I'm hooooooooome!" I yelled up the stairs and made sure the door slammed so everyone in the house could be aware of my presence.
"Hello, Draco, hello, Narcissa," Father said, appearing at the top of the stairs. I didn't like the way he was talking. Every word was coated with ice.
"Hello, Lucius," Mother said. I saw something in her eye that I didn't like. I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, though.
"Draco," Father said, still in that icy voice walking down the stairs. "I heard that you're still in love with the Mudblood." He was now right in front of me.
"No," I said. "Not anymore."
"You liar," he whispered dangerously.
"Lucius, please," Mother pleaded. "Don't - "
"Keep out of this, Narcissa!" Father snapped. He grabbed me by the throat. "You're still in love with her, aren't you?"
"No," I managed to say. He was cutting off my air stream. I was finding it hard to breathe.
"Yes, you are. Stop lying."
"Father," I pleaded. "Stop. I - said - I'm - not - in - love - with - her - a - ny - more."
"Impossible!" he shouted. "Your love couldn't end that quickly!" I nodded vigorously, gasping for air.
He threw me across the room. I started taking deep breaths, happy that he let go of my throat. He advanced upon me.
"Crucio!" he said, pointing his wand at me. Suddenly, it seemed as if my whole body was covered with pins and needles. I screamed so loudly, I was sure that they could hear me all the way in Japan. Father lowered his wand and I shakily got up, weak from all the pain and screaming.
"Do you still love her?" Father asked. I shook my head, silent tears flowing down my cheeks.
"You lie," he sneered.
"No," I said. Father raised his wand again. Mother knocked his hand away.
"Lucius," she said, her words sharp as daggers. "You did enough damage. He doesn't love her anymore, alright? Leave him alone, and maybe I won't report you to the Ministry for using an illegal curse."
"You can't report me, Narcissa," he said, pointing his wand at her. "I'll make sure that you don't."
"Draco," she said to me. "Don't bother to unpack your trunk. Take it outside with you and wait for me."
I nodded as she ran upstairs with Father asking what she was going to do. He said that he was the man of the house and whatever he says, goes. She couldn't do whatever she was going to do. I went outside.
* * *
I sat on my trunk and waited for her. I noticed that it was dark outside. I could hear echoes of yells coming from inside our manor. I couldn't quite make out what was being said, though.
Mother came outside after a few minutes dragging a trunk. She looked scared angry, and concerned at the same time. She took one last look at our manor, then turned around and walked away, dragging her trunk behind her into the night. I hurriedly followed.
After walking for about two minutes, Mother held out her hand like she was trying to flag down a cab. Then, two headlights appeared cutting through the darkness. I held up my hands to my face to block the blinding light. I could hear something squeal to a stop. I wondered what it was.
I put my hands down and looked up in wonder. I was looking at a purple triple decker bus with gold writing above the windshield that said The Knight Bus.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus," said a conductor in a purple uniform, who had just stepped out of the bus. "Emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening."
"Hello," said Mother. "How much is it to ride the bus?"
"Eleven Sickles," said Stan. "But for fourteen you get hot chocolate, and for fifteen you get a hot water bottle and a toothbrush in the color of your choice."
"Here," said Mother, reaching into her robe pocket and pulling out two Galleons. "Keep the change."
Stan came out of the bus' doorway and dragged our trunks onto the bus.
"Woss your names?" Stan asked, dropping his formal manner.
"Narcissa and Draco Malfoy," said Mother. I could see his face pale for a second as he looked us over. Yes, we Malfoys were very respected, but also highly disliked. If Father didn't work for the Ministry then I'm sure we'd all be dead.
"Let me show you to your beds," Stan said, leading us to the third floor of the bus. He set our trunks down at the far end, by the front. The bus wasn't crowded at all, so I think he did it to get us as far away from him and the driver as possible.
I looked around at my surroundings. It looked like a normal bus, except that it had brass beds instead of seats. Our trunks were placed in front of our beds.
There was a bang and the bus started moving. Everyone and everything that wasn't bolted down was thrown forward about three feet.
"Now," said Stan, still looking a little shook up from the mention of our names. Or maybe it was the sudden start of the bus. I'm not sure. "Where do you want to go?"
"Diagon Alley," Mother replied.
"Right," Stan, looking relieved to go downstairs. "I'll go tell Ern."
"Ern?" Mother asked with an excited look on her face. "He's still here?"
"You - you know him?" Stan looked shocked at the idea of a Malfoy knowing someone he did.
"Yes," said Mother. "I met him on the Knight Bus last time I ran away."
Last time you ran away? I thought.
"Oh, well I'll go tell Ern where, you - eh - want to go." He went down the stairs to tell Ern (who I guessed was the bus driver) where we wanted to go.
I heard voices floating up from the stairwell. I couldn't hear what was being said, but Ern must have told Stan that he knew Mother or something like that because Stan soon came back and helped us drag our trunks to the first floor and set them in front of two beds behind the armchair of the person I thought was Ern. (Yes, Ern was sitting in an armchair behind a steering wheel. I know that's weird, but I'm not the one who designed the bus.)
Ern turned around and looked at us.
"Narcissa?" he asked. "Is that you?" Mother nodded happily.
"Ern," she said, her face breaking out into a smile. "After all these years...it's still you." Ern got up out of his armchair and went to give Mother a hug. Unfortunately, he forgot to stop the bus before doing so. I noticed that there was a big pine tree right in our path.
"AHHH!" I screamed. "WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE!!!!!" I held my arms in front of my face and waited for the crash to come. But it didn't. I looked up and saw that the bus had missed the tree entirely.
"What - what happened?" I asked, shook up from the near encounter with the tree. "Did we miss the tree?"
"Yeah," Ern said. "If something's in the path of the Knight Bus, it's charmed to move out of the way."
"Good thing, too." I flopped down on a bed, still shaking.
"So, Narcissa," said Ern taking his seat at the wheel again. "Tell me what happened between last time you ran away and now."
"Well," Mother began, sitting down on a bed next to mine, "It all happened when I was a seventh year at Hogwarts." A dreamy look came over her face as she told us her story.
"When I was a seventh year, I was in love with Lucius Malfoy. My mother knew and said I was being ridiculous. She told me not to waste my time with a bad boy like that and find someone else."
"She was right," said Ern. "There's always been something bad about the Malfoys. No offense," he said quickly, looking at me.
"But I was in love with him anyway," Mother went on. "I was determined to go steady with him by the end of the year. He never noticed me, but I promised myself that I would get him without the aid of love potions. One day, I screwed up enough courage to write him a letter telling him that I liked him. He wrote back telling me that he had seen me in his classes and wanted to know me better. Soon, we started dating. Everybody told us that we were the perfect couple, except my parents. They told me that he would just be up to no good. 'He has bad blood' they told me. 'You'll just end up hurt.' But I didn't listen. I only saw Lucius as a smart, nice and handsome teenager. They told me that I shouldn't be around his kind. They told me to leave him, but I couldn't. I loved him too much. When I told them that he proposed to me and I accepted, they were furious. 'Fine,' they had said. 'But if you have problems with your marriage, don't come crying back to us.' Then they tried to stop my contact with him or any of his friends. I couldn't stand that, so I ran away. That was the first time I rode the Knight Bus. I found him in Diagon Alley, where I was taking refuge, and married him in a Muggle church, where I knew my parents would never think of looking. He was so nice to me, I didn't get why my parents told me to stay away from his kind. He was nice, smart, handsome, and had a good job working at the Ministry. But then, he started to turn mean. I don't know why. One day he came home and started treating me differently. He would call me names, or threaten me. I thought he was going through a phase, so I put up with it. But then, as we were married longer and longer, he started to abuse me. Sometimes he would put hexes on me. I always wore robes with the longest sleeves I could find to hide the bruises he gave me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have close friends at Hogwarts, and my parents wouldn't talk to me anymore, no matter how many owls I sent them. And anyway, Lucius wouldn't let me send owls or go off our property after a while unless we were invited to a dinner, or something like that. He became a Death Eater soon after that. After being married for a year, Draco was born. At first I didn't like him, because he was a spitting image of Lucius. But then I realized that even though he looked like the demon I married, he didn't have to act that way. I tried to be as kind to him as possible. Lucius couldn't stand the way I treated him. He said I was being too soft and no son of his was going to grow up a pansy. He said that a beating every once in a while would make his son a real man. I refused, so he beat me instead. He would only beat me when Draco wasn't around. Then Draco started school at Hogwarts. The beating became more often, more severe. Especially when he heard this year that he was in love with a Muggle - born. Then, when Draco came home from Easter vacation this year Lucius almost strangled him because of the Muggle - born situation. That's when I snapped. I couldn't stand to see Draco suffer like that. So I packed my trunk and ran away with him. And that's why I'm here now." A long silence followed. Nobody said anything. It was like the time Dumbledore brought Harry in the Great Hall, unconscious, after Ron, Hermione and I beat him up. Except this was more of a thoughtful silence. Not a shocked silence like the other time was.
"God," I said, breaking the silence and making everyone jump. "Seventeen years you were able to put up with that kind of abuse. I don't know if I could have stood it for that long. I probably would have killed myself. "
"There are many times when I did think of killing myself. But then I remembered you, Draco, You were the one who kept me going. I couldn't bear the thought of leaving you in Lucius' care. I had no idea what he would do."
"Diagon Alley, next stop" said Ern, changing the subject. There was a bang, and the bus was in front of the Leaky Cauldron. Stan helped unload our trunks and we dragged them to the door of the Leaky Cauldron, where you could hear a babble of talk inside, even though it was late out.
Mother knocked on the door and Tom, the landlord opened it. He greeted us warmly and asked what we were doing here. Mother said that she would explain later and she just wanted a room for me and her. Tom led us into the bar through the chattering crowd, up a flight of stairs and into a room with a number 11 on it. He gave us the key, then left.
"Well, Draco," Mother said, unpacking her trunk. "It looks like this is going to be our home for the next few months."
I didn't say anything, but nodded as I looked in my trunk for my pajamas. Everything was going to be different. So different...
* * *
I woke up the next morning in an unfamiliar bed. I knew what had happened, but it was sort of like it never did. Like it was all a dream. But as I looked around and saw Mother sleeping soundly next to me, I knew that there was no escaping the truth. It had happened, and I could never trust Father again.
I got out of bed and looked at my watch. It was 8:00 in the morning. I knew better than to wake Mother up, so I searched through my trunk for something to read. I found the copy of Romeo and Juliet that Hermione had gotten me for Christmas in the very bottom of my trunk under all the schoolbooks, robes, parchment, and God knows what else I have there.
I took it out of the trunk and looked at it. So much had happened since she got it for me. I opened it and read the message she had written on the inside of the front cover. It said:
To Draco, Merry Christmas. May our love last forever. Love, Hermione
So much for our love lasting forever, I thought. Why is it here, anyway? I thought I promised myself I would burn it. Oh, well. At least now I have something to read that's not my schoolbooks.
"Good morning, Draco," Mother said. I looked around and saw her awake.
"Good morning," I replied.
"Sleep well?" I nodded.
"Let's get dressed, go downstairs for breakfast, and I'll tell you the plan for the day."
"Fine." I quickly shucked off my dirty clothes and put on fresh ones. Mother changed as well and we went down to the bar to have breakfast.
* * *
After breakfast, Mother and I went back to our room.
"I'm going too go out," she said. "And take care of some things. While I'm gone, I want you to do your homework." I groaned. She put on her cloak. "I expect two pieces of homework done when when I get back." Then she took her wand and went out the door.
I got out my schoolbooks and decided to work on my essay from Professor Binns first. That way, I could get the boring stuff out of the way.
I was almost done with my essay when Mother came running into the room looking as pale as a ghost. She slammed the door behind her and leaned against it for support. I could see she was shaking.
"He saw me," she said shakily. "Lucius saw me. I started to run away and disappear into the crowd but he followed me. I could hear him behind me all the time, telling me to stop. I kept running. I think he's here right now." Soon, someone was banging on the door.
"NARCISSA, OPEN THE DOOR!" I heard Father's voice yell through the keyhole. My blood froze. He had found us out, and there was no escape.
"GET AWAY FROM US!" Mother yelled back.
"NARCISSA, OPEN THE DOOR NOW!"
"LEAVE US ALONE!"
"FINE, THEN I'LL APPARATE IN!" Now I was really scared.
I heard a pop and he was standing in front of Mother. I backed as far away from him as possible without being seen. I didn't know what to do. I was so scared.
"Why did you try to run from me, Narcissa?" Father asked, his voice silky and soft. Mother looked at him as though he had gone crazy. It was obvious why she did, and took me with her.
"Because you're a monster," Mother replied with such hatred I thought she was going to murder him. "You abused me for no reason, and Draco because he's in love with the 'wrong type.' That's why I ran." Father's eyes grew wide then narrowed into slits.
"You think that's wrong?" Father said, still in that silky voice. "I don't think so. In fact, my father told me that the only way to be strong is a beating every once in a while."
"Maybe you were the kind of type who grew stronger from that kind of abuse," Mother said in a weak voice that was trying to be strong. "But Draco isn't."
"BECAUSE HE'S RAISED BY A WOMAN!" Father yelled. "HE'S BEING TRAINED TO BE A MAMA'S BOY!"
"Maybe I wouldn't be," I said in a stern but quiet voice. "If I wasn't always neglected by the one who could've taught me to be strong." Father turned his hard, cold eyes on me.
"Be quiet boy," Father said in his silky voice again. "You have no idea what you're talking about." Even though he didn't touch me, I felt like I had been slapped hard across the face.
"I think you're the one who doesn't know what you're saying, Father. Since you've always neglected me, let me give you a little update on my life. I'm sixteen years old, been in love, had two girlfriends, passed my O.W.L's, became a suicidal maniac, and will graduate from Hogwarts next year. Don't tell me that I can't think for myself." Father raised his hand to slap me, but it was caught by Mother.
"Stop it, Lucius," Mother said, her hand tight around his wrist. "You've abused us both enough. You say it makes someone strong, but all it really does is make them sad and angry inside. You call it beatings, but the proper name is domestic violence. Now go. I don't want to see you around here anymore." Father turned to me.
"You're still in love with the Mudblood, aren't you?" he asked.
"That's irrelevant," I said.
"No, it isn't," he said. "Because I said so."
"Why am I getting the impression of a five year old?" Father wrenched his hand free of Mother's grasp and slapped me smartly across the face.
"GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW, LUCIUS!" Mother screamed. Father didn't move.
"OUT!" she screamed. "NOW!"
"Narcissa - " Father raised his wand at her, but she pulled out hers and blasted him against the wall before he could do anything.
"I want a divorce," she said as she walked over to him and shoved him out the door. "NOW!" Then she slammed the door in his face.
I stood there, with a look of pure hatred on my face, looking at the door. Mother turned and looked at me.
"Draco?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"
"WHY DO I HAVE TO LOOK LIKE HIM?" I exploded. "WHY? WHY DO I HAVE TO LOOK LIKE THE MAN WHO IS A HIGHLY WANTED DEATH EATER, WHO KILLED HUNDREDS, MAYBE THOUSANDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE, ABUSES HIS WIFE AND HIS KID AND MAKES HELL FOR PEOPLE LIKE DUMBLEDORE JUST BECAUSE HE DOESN'T AGREE WITH THEM? WHY? WHY? WHY?" Tears started to cloud my vision as I sat down on the bed and thought of everything that Father had done to me.
"Draco," Mother said soothingly as she sat down on the bed, too, and put her arm around my shoulders. "Don't be angry that you look like him, it's not your fault. In fact, I'm sure that if you looked more like me he would hate you even more."
"But he does hate me," I protested as tears rolled down my cheeks. "That's why he always neglected me. I wish I were dead."
"Don't wish you were dead. Instead, think of all the things you have to live for. Think of Hogwarts, of your grades, of Hermione." I looked at her in surprise.
"How did you know that I still like her?"
"Well," she said slowly. "There's a saying. It goes something like 'the one person you can't fool is your mother,' and it's true."
"Thanks," I said as I huddled against her. "I'll need that kind of support." She kissed the top of my head.
"You know, I was thinking that since Lucius knows where we are, we need a change of location." I looked at her.
"Where would we go? We don't know anyone who would take us in."
"My parents."
"But - I thought you said - "
"Maybe, but it's our only hope. Now go and get the rest of your homework done. I'm going to go out and buy us some things. Meet me in the bar at 12:00 for lunch."
* * *
"So," I said to Mother when we were eating our lunch at the bar. "What did you do?"
"Well," she said. "I went to Gringotts and took a bunch of money out of Lucius' account. Then I went to a Muggle store and bought us clothes."
"Muggle? But I thought you were a Pureblood."
"I am, but my parents like to live like Muggles. They feel it makes them understand Muggles better."
"Oh. Will they let us stay with them?"
"I called them from a nearby pay phone. They said yes. Well, Dad did. He said we should surprise Mom."
"Great. Uh...what's a pay phone?" Mother put her face in her hands.
"Sometimes I forget the ignorance of wizards raised in a non-Muggle environment." She took her face out of her hands. "It's a thing Muggles use to communicate to each other. I can show you when we get there."
* * *
"Oh my God," Mother said as we were walking up the steps of a perfectly ordinary Muggle house. "I'm so nervous. I haven't seen them in seventeen years. What if they don't recognize me anymore?" I was trying to keep calm, but I was nervous as well.
What if they don't like me? I thought. I look just like Father, who isn't the best person to look like right now, considering they refused to let Mother have any contact with anyone from Hogwarts when she said that he had proposed to her. Talk about a bad first impression. I tried to tug on the sleeve of my robe, which is a habit I have of doing when I'm nervous, but then I remembered that I wasn't wearing my robe.
I was wearing a shirt that mother called a polo, a pair of biege-colored pants and a windbreaker. Mother was wearing a black t-shirt, a knee-length skirt, and a denim jacket. She said that we would be less suspicious if we wore Muggle clothes. I didn't care that she was trying to make us less suspicious - looking, I was uncomfortable in these clothes.
Mother rang the doorbell. I could hear it echo inside. Then came footsteps and a man's voice saying "I'll get it!" The door opened and a man in his mid-seventies was looking at us.
He looked at Mother and gave a small gasp. Mother did the same.
"Narcissa?" he asked. "Is that really you? Has it really been so long?"
"Dad?" Mother asked. "God, it has been so long." They started to hug each other.
Geez, I thought. I feel like I'm in the middle of a cheesy movie about a girl and her long-lost father. Then I reminded myself that this was actually going on, except it was in real life.
"Come inside, come inside," the man said. We followed him through the door into a hallway. We stopped outside a door.
"Shhh," the man said, putting a finger to his lips. "I want to surprise your mother, Narcissa." He went inside and said to someone I couldn't see, "Amaryllis, guess who's here?"
"The Queen Mother?" I heard a woman say sarcastically.
"No," he said. "Someone even better." He mentioned for Mother and I to come in. As soon as we stepped in the room, I saw the woman's eyes fill with tears.
"Narcissa," she said. "I'm so happy to have you back." Mother went up to her and they hugged each other. While all this was happening, I was leaning in the doorway, feeling sort of out of place at this time and moment.
While I was waiting for them to finish hugging, I took a look at the room. I noticed that their living room had a blood red couch and two chairs of the same color. They had fancy wall lamps which gave off light without fire. There was a coffee table in the middle of the room. I also noticed that they had two bookshelves with many books.
"I was afraid I'd lost you," the woman went on. "Just like I lost Lily and Petunia."
"You didn't really lose Petunia, Mom," Mother said, still hugging her. "Just lost touch."
"Lily?" I asked. "As in Lily - "
"Who's this?" the woman asked, looking in my direction and cutting me off. "Is he your son, Narcissa?" Mother nodded. "He looks just like his father," the woman went on with a click of her tongue. "How old are you, boy?"
"Sixteen," I said.
"Sixteen years," she said with a slight shake of her head. "We've been out of touch for so long."
"But we're back together, Mom."
"I wish I could say the same about Petunia and Lily."
"Um..." I butted in. "I don't mean to be rude, but can I please be introduced to everyone here?"
"Oh!" the woman said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know that you would have no clue who we were. I'm Amaryllis Evans, and this is Edgar Evans." she pointed to the man, who was standing behind me. "And you are?"
"Draco Malfoy," I said. "Is there anything specific you would like me to call you?"
"What do you mean?" Edgar asked.
"Well, you are my grandparents, so by what I should call you I mean, like, Grandmother and Grandfather, or, I don't know."
"Edgar and Amaryllis would be fine," Edgar replied. "By the way, Draco, didn't you want to say something earlier? About Lily?"
"Yes. I wanted to know if when Amaryllis said Lily she meant Lily Potter." I silently hoped that the answer was a no.
"I did," she said.
"So Lily Potter is my aunt, right?"
"Right," Mother and Amaryllis said at the same time. I did some quick figuring in my head.
"Ooooh," I said, putting my face in my hands. "This is not good."
"What's not good?" Edgar asked.
"It means that Harry Potter is my cousin," I moaned, flopping down on the couch.
"What's so bad about that?"
"Lots of things. Firstly," I said, ticking the reasons off on my fingers. "I'm a Slytherin and he's a Gryffindor. Slytherins and Gryffindors are not supposed to get along. Secondly, I'm a Malfoy and he's a Potter. Malfoys and Potters are not supposed to get along. Thirdly, we hate each other. That needs no explanation. Fourthly, my father is a Death Eater, therefore, he is after Harry."
"Hmmmm," Amaryllis said. "That could be a problem."
"Could be? It is! Do you know how many times I've gotten into arguments or fights with Harry? This'll ruin my reputation!"
"Well," said Amaryllis. "That's life for you. Do you want anything to eat? Or drink?"
"Wait a minute!" I said, sitting up straight. "You can't be related to the Evans', Mother."
"Why not?" she asked.
"Because Petunia's a muggle! Lily was a witch born into a muggle family!"
"Oh, is that what she's been saying?" Mother tried to stifle a laugh.
"Isn't that true?"
"No. In fact, it's the opposite. Petunia's a squib born into a wizard family."
* * *
"I don't get it," I said to Mother as we were getting ready for bed in her old bedroom.
Her bedroom had a wall-to-wall carpet in a tawny color on the floor, bunk beds against one wall with dressers and a bookshelf against the opposite one.
"Don't get what?" she asked me.
"Well, Dumbledore said that Harry was living with the Dursleys because they were his only living relatives, but they're not. So why is he living with them, when he probably would have had an easier time living with his grandparents, who he doesn't even know exist." Mother just shrugged and said that Dumbledore has his ways.
* * *
Easter vacation was over and I was at King's Cross Station, standing in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Mother, Amaryllis, and Edgar were there, also.
"Goodbye," I said. "See you over Summer break."
"Not now," said Mother. "We're going onto the platform with you." I went through the barrier onto platform nine and three quarters, closely followed by my mother and grandparents.
* * *
"Hey, Malfoy!" I heard someone call. I turned around and saw Ron Weasley yelling at me. "Glad to come back to Hogwarts?" he taunted. "Glad that you're going to see your girlfriend again?"
"Shut up, Weasel!" I called back. "You know you're just jealous that she likes me and not you!"
"What do you know about love, Malfoy? Nobody but your mother could love you!"
"Then how come Hermione said she loved me in front of both the Slytherins and Gryffindors?" Ron couldn't think of a response to that comeback, so he walked away, dragging his trunk behind him.
"Well, I'd better get on the train, then," I said. I said my goodbyes to Mother, Edgar, and Amaryllis, promised to write, then made my way for the train.
* * *
I walked the length of the car, looking for a compartment that wasn't occupied. I found one towards the end of the car, put my trunk on the baggage rack and sat down, waiting for the train to start.
After the train started, I pulled out Romeo and Juliet and started to read. When I was at the part where Juliet is first introduced, I heard a knock at the door. I looked over the top of my book and saw a girl who looked younger than me. She was holding her trunk and knocking on the door.
"Come in," I said, without putting my book down. She came in and put her trunk on the baggage rack.
"You don't mind my being here, do you?" she asked, sitting down. "Everywhere else is full." I shook my head.
"You look familiar," I said, putting my book down. "What's your name?"
"Diana," she said.
"What house are you in?"
"Ravenclaw."
"Nope, don't know you. Wait a second, were you at Hogwarts over Christmas break?"
"Yes..."
"Hmmmm.... I think I know you. Did I give you a ring then burst out crying?"
"You mean this ring?" she put her hand in her robe pocket and took out the ring I gave to Hermione.
"Yes!" I almost shouted. "That's it! That's the ring!" She looked at me and put the ring back in her pocket.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"Draco Malfoy," I said. I saw her eyes widen. Then out of the blue, she came over and slapped my face.
"Ow!" I cried, holding my cheek. "What did you do that for?"
"I wanted to do that for a long time," she said, fire burning in her eyes.
"Because of my father?" She nodded.
"Look, I don't care what you choose to believe, but I'm not like my father at all. We look alike, but that's as far as similarities go."
Harry and Ron walked over and stuck their heads in the door.
"Hey, Malfoy," Ron said. "Were those people you were standing with earlier your grandparents? They didn't look like Malfoys."
"That's because they're Evans'," I said coolly.
"Oh," said Harry. "So you're saying that your grandparents have the same last name as my mom. Riiiiight."
"I'm serious! Amaryllis and Edgar Evans had three children: Lily, Petunia, and Narcissa."
"That's impossible. My mother was muggle-born."
"No, she wasn't. The Evans' are wizards, they just live like muggles." Harry's eyes narrowed.
"How come you're such an expert on my family all of a sudden?"
"I was staying with them over Easter holiday. And it's not just your family," I added as an afterthought. "But my family, too."
"So you're saying we're related?"
"Unfortunately, yes." Harry's eyes widened and he looked like he was struck speechless. Then, he burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Ron asked.
"If he's truly related to me," Harry said between fits of laughter. "Then he's related to Dudley." Ron started to laugh, also. It hadn't occurred to me before. I had heard about Dudley from eavesdropping on Harry and learned that he was not the best person to be around.
Harry and Ron left, laughing like a pair of hyenas. But then, when they were out of sight, I heard Harry speak.
"I have other family," he said. "I actually have other family besides the Dursleys and nobody told me!" I turned back to my book.
"Hey, Draco," I heard Hermione's voice say. I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway of the compartment. "Can I come in?" I nodded. She came in and sat down next to me.
"What is it this time?" I asked her. She gave me a weird look.
"You know," I said. "Every time you have to talk to me you're saying that you don't love me when I love you. And when I don't love you, you love me. Look," I said, grabbing her shoulders. "We both love each other, that's obvious. But can't we do it at the same time?"
"I'm sorry, Draco," she said. "Sorry about everything. About Ron, about the ring, about the suicidal phase..." She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. I put my arms around her.
"I still love you, you know," she said. She started to hum a song.
"How does that song go?"
"What song?"
"The one you were just humming."
"Bright are the stars that shine, Dark is the sky, I know this love of mine will never die, And I love her"
"That's a beautiful song. Who's it by?"
"The Beatles. It's one of my favorites."
"Let's make it our song, so we can remember this moment forever."
"Um," Diana said. We turned and looked at her.
"I think you two are going to need this," she said as she took out the ring I had given Hermione. Hermione took it from her.
"You've had it all this time?" Hermione asked her with a smile as she fingered it.
"Ever since Christmas break. I've kept it as a good luck charm."
I took it from Hermione and slipped it on her finger.
"Always keep this," I told her. "Don't ever let it go."
* * *
A week into school, during breakfast, I got a letter from Mother. I broke the seal and opened it up, wondering what she could be writing about.
Dear Draco, the letter said. I'm so glad that you and Hermione are back together again. You were so depressed without her.
I have some really good news for you. I divorced Lucius and got custody of you and the house.
"Yes!" I cried.
I also turned Lucius in to the Ministry for using an illegal curse. He's in Azkaban now. Maybe I should feel some regret or pity, but I don't.
Neither do I, I thought. He deserved it.
Hope the rest of your school year is a happy one.
Love, Mother