CHAPTER TWO
Draco Malfoy was in the manor's living room having a heated debate with his parents. It was about the Dark Lord, a topic that Draco had been keen to avoid since the return of Voldemort.
"I'm not ready to become a Death Eater yet father! Draco argued.
His mother threw up her hands in defeat, seeing that it was useless to have this conversation with her son while he was being so stubborn. Draco's father, however, did not give up that easily.
"Why, may I ask, not? I was your age when I joined the Great Lord's league. It is an appropriate to begin your initiation into the most inner circles of our Dark Lord's workings." Lucius Malfoy said, trying to remain calm while his son pleaded his case.
Draco would become a Death Eater whether he wanted to or not. It was far better to let him assume that he had a choice in the matter, though, first.
"I'm only sixteen! I haven't had time to consider my possibilities in this world. I'm not even certain I want to become a Death Eater." Draco told his parents as his mother poured herself a glass of wine a flopped down onto a leather chair.
"Don't you want to make us proud, Draco?" Nacrissa asked her son in a pleading tone.
Draco dropped his gaze. He knew what his parents were doing. They were taking him for a guilt trip but he wouldn't let them get to him.
"Of course I do mother!" Draco insisted.
"It isn't just us, Draco. The Dark Lord has requested you join his league. He seems to think that you would do very well working closely next to him." Lucius said.
Now this was a different story. Draco had never thought that the Dark Lord himself would request his services. Maybe following in his father's footsteps wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.
"How would I be able to aid the Dark Lord whilst I am still at school? Dumbledore keeps a tight grip on all of his students, there is very little one could do that would escape unnoticed." Draco asked.
His father and mother beamed at him. They knew they were finally getting him to agree.
"Plenty. The Dark Lord is most curious as to what Dumbledore has planned for you this year. With that letter you received about being chosen to participate in a Ministry experiment, you could become the missing link the Dark Lord needs to find out the motives behind the Ministry's plan."
Draco sighed, his mind made up.
"Fine. I will join our Lord's ranks. Now, may I please prepare for school? The muggle lover, Dumbledore, wants me to brings along muggle clothes."
Draco's parents allowed him to escape to his room where he continued to prepare for his journey to Hogwarts the next day.
X
Professor McGonagall had asked the eight students who Dumbledore had chosen to participate in the Ministry experiment to remain behind in the Great Hall after the welcome back feast. Draco glanced around the room, noticing that all the students picked happened to be in the sixth year. Besides Draco, the only other Slytherine was Blaise Zabini. The other students were Draco's archenemy, Harry Potter and his two followers, Hermonie Granger and Ron Weasley, all from Gryfindor, Sally-Anne Perks and Susan bones from Hufflepuff and Lisa Turnpin from Ravenclaw.
Draco couldn't believe his unluckiness. Not only was he to spend a year away from the castle, which he had come to call his home for the majority of his teenage life, but also he was to share this outing with a group of people that would never be of an equal stance with him.
McGonagall called them to gather around and they all did with intense interest. Draco listened especially hard, after all, he was on a mission for the Dark Lord, and he didn't want to screw it up. His father had warned him of the severe penalties that would be used should anyone under the Dark Lord fail the task that had been set for them.
"The Ministry of Magic has, in light of the recent threat of attack against the muggle and magical worlds, decided to perform an experiment that would assess how our two worlds would come together if ever threatened on a monumental scale by Lord Voldemort. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has enlisted the help of Professor Dumbledore and, therefore, Hogwarts. The Minister has requested eight students to take part in his experiment. Professor Dumbledore has chosen you eight before me because of your diverse backgrounds and experiences with muggles. As of today, you will be living as a small community in a secluded camping ground. Eight cabins have been set up close to a string of small community shops, there for your own convenience because once in the camping ground, you will be living everyday lives outside the castle. In this small community, some of you may come into contact with a few muggle gadgets that you have never seen before. Should you have any queries on this, you should ask your muggle partner who would kindly inform you of the items purpose.
The Minister has requested you live out the year with a muggle companion who will hopefully provide you with a wealth of knowledge on how they live. Magic is permitted and will be of a great help later on in the experiment, as will the muggle skills you will all no doubt acquire. The muggles that have been recruited for this experiment, however, have not been informed of your magical abilities and it is up to each of you to break the news to your partner and help the adjust to these circumstances.
Professor Dumbledore wishes me to inform you that any magic used against the muggles will be dealt with as a serious offence. You all must remember that you are not only participating in a Hogwarts assignment, which I might add you will be graded on at the end of the year individually and as a group, but you are also performing a Ministry experiment and the Ministry of Magic strictly forbids the use of magic against muggles.
A number of tasks will need to be completed throughout the course of the year and these will include a number of surprise attacks that you will have to join together with your muggle counterparts to help defeat. The Minister asked me to pass on the message that by forgetting your differences and working together, you will better achieve your ends.
Now, it is time for you to meet your new muggle friends and become part of this newly formed community. A port-key will take you to a small area about ten minutes walking distance from the campsite. A Ministry official will meet you there and take you all to your designated cabins. Your trunks will hopefully be arriving at your cabins now. Good luck and have fun knowing that you are doing the Ministry a service by participating in this experiment. See you at the end of the year!"
Professor McGonagall held up a smelly looking old boot, which each student took hold of. As soon as Draco touched the shoe, he felt a sharp pulling sensation behind his naval and the Great Hall began to spin before him. A feeling of light-headiness came over him and Draco let go of the boot but instead of losing his balance and falling onto the hard Great Hall floor, Draco found himself faced down in a patch of grass. They were in a leafy green forest.
"Welcome to Stanley National Park. My name is Harman Tape, officer from the experimental committee at the Ministry of Magic, and I will be your escort to the Kedron community." A middle-aged man with a long black beard and piercing grey eyes informed the group of Hogwarts students.
"Kedron community?" someone asked through a mouthful of dirt they had no doubt collected when falling to the earthy ground.
"Why yes! We couldn't have your little community form without giving it a proper name. Now if you would all right yourselves into the standing position and follow me through here, I will lead you to your designated cabins."
And so the students, led by Harman Tape, trekked through the thick trees of the forest until the came to a large clearing of trees that held the Kedron community they would soon be officially part of. The campsite was similar to the ones Draco had seen in a picture book of all things muggle when he had been young. His father had been keen to point out all the useless and horribly uncomfortable things muggles put themselves through for entertainment but Draco, at the time, had found the arrangement of little houses fascinating.
A row of four cabins that stood side by side made up one wall of the small campsite. Almost one hundred metres away stood a string of buildings with funny names like newsagency and supermarket and laundry-mat that Draco presumed were the community shops. Another hundred metres from the end of the string of buildings were four more cabins that were arranged in the same manner as the previous ones. A veranda wrapped around the front of these cabins creating a country setting. A field of park area with picnic tables and plenty of grass sat squarely in the middle of all the buildings.
Had he not been a Malfoy, Draco may have appreciated the cosy setting but as it happened, he was, and he had been taught that all things muggle were to be looked down upon with a fierce superiority. Now was a perfect opportunity to sharpen his sneer and snide remarks before meeting his miserable muggle.
"We have to live here for an entire year? It is utterly barbaric!" Draco sneered with perfection.
"Shut-up Malfoy, we would all rather you hadn't come along but as you have you may as well get used to your surroundings." Harry Potter said with exasperation from Draco's left.
Draco shrugged and waited for Harman Tape to tell them what to do next. At that moment, the odd looking man was searching his pockets for something. Finally a pleased look came upon his face and Harman Tape pulled out a sheet of parchment with names on it.
"Alright, alright, gather around. When I read out your name, step forward and I will point you in the right direction of your cabin. Your muggles will already be inside so it is advised you knock. They can be pretty jumpy I have experienced and will not hold back from lashing out." Harman said while gingerly rubbing a small lump that resided on the top of his head. The students listened as their names were called and stepped forward to met the muggle they would be living with. Draco was the last name on the list and when Harman Tape called him, he stepped forward.
"Right, Master Malfoy. You are in cabin three, just behind me here. Watch out for this muggle, she's a feisty one, gave me this lump on my head with a frying pan!"
Draco groaned but moved forward towards the door Harman Tape had indicated. Some sort of music was blaring from behind the door making a very loud racket. Draco knocked on the door three times but no body came to answer. Cautiously, he pushed the worn, wooden door open and was greeted with an even louder sound of pumping music. Quickly he closed the door behind him and surveyed the room.
Draco had just stepped into the living room, which was decked out in worn furniture and joined onto an open plan kitchen and dinning room. The source of the music was quickly discovered to becoming from a silver metal box that Draco had never seen before.
Taking another step further into the room, Draco noticed a girl crouching beside an open cupboard in the kitchen, clearly arranging the contents inside. Her back was turned and she hadn't noticed Draco yet. Just as Draco was deciding whether or not to move towards her and announce his presents so as not to meet the same fate as Harman Tape, the girl, who was singing off-key at the top of her lungs, stood up and turned around.
The girl let out a piercing scream that outmatched the loud music. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, placing a hand to her heart. When her eyes reopened she gave a smile and picked up and silver thing from the kitchen bench and the music volume decreased.
"You scared me half to death." She said moving forward and extending her hand, "I'm Georgia Thompson."
Draco looked down at the petty white hand and then into the girls face. She was quite pretty with large green eyes and long brown hair that curled at the ends. However, a large bruise that encircled her eyes and came down the bridge of her nose ruined the image.
"What happened to your face?" Draco asked bluntly, ignoring the hand.
Georgia's smile faltered and she lowered her hand. Shrugging nervously, she raked a hand through her hair.
"Um... nothing, it was just... just an accident, that's all." She stuttered, her confidence now in tatters.
Draco didn't believe the girl for a second but chose not to press her, he would find out later what had happened to her. Instead, he walked past Georgia, heading for one of the three doors that framed the back wall.
Pushing open the first one, Draco found himself in a bedroom that had a faded flowery bed cover and an old wooden wardrobe. Draco closed the door and walked into the next room, which happened to be a small bathroom. The last room was another bedroom, slightly bigger than the first and with a blue bed covering and more wardrobe space.
"I took that room, I hope you don't mind." Georgia called from the kitchen.
Draco gave a heavy sigh and stomped back to the flower room, his trunk was on the bed but Draco didn't feel like unpacking, he needed to set a few ground rules with the muggle first.
"Before I get settled, I want to lay down a few ground rules, muggle." Draco said sitting down at the kitchen bench.
"Muggle?" Georgia asked, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. She had taken the comment as an insult.
"Non-magic person," Draco said dully, "I'm a wizard and you are nothing but a common muggle."
Georgia looked at Draco as though he had gone crazy. She had no idea there was such a thing as witches or wizards. As though answering her unspoken question, Draco produced his wand and performed a simple spell that shot a red ribbon from the tip of his wand. A dawning realization formed on Georgia's features.
"So this is what this is all about. I finally get it." Georgia said, but left it at that.
"Yes, well, back to my rules. Don't speak to me unless I speak to you, don't come near me, don't go near my room, don't touch my things and don't even try to rub your muggle ways off on me because I will not be a part of it. You can handle the house work, I'll be in charge of everything else." Draco told her simply.
Georgia raised her eyebrows, clearly preparing for a fight.
"Oh really?" she said, "Well here are a few rules for you. Don't come near me, don't go near my room, and don't touch my things. You will learn from me as you have been instructed to do and you wont order me around. I am not here to be your slave and if you so much as lay a finger on me, god help you."
It was Draco's turn to raise his eyebrows. How dare this muggle tell him what to do. He was a Malfoy, he was on his way to becoming a Death Eater. The Dark Lord would never let a lowly muggle speak out of turn to him like this. Draco controlled his anger though, opting to let the muggle think she had gotten her way. He turned on his heel, heading for his room to unpack.
Just as he reached the door to the flower room, Georgia called out to him.
"You didn't say what your name was!"
"Draco, Draco Malfoy." Draco replied and with that he retreated to the security of his room, slamming the door.
From that moment, both Draco and Georgia knew that this year would be quite eventful.
A/N: Don't forget to leave your name if you want to be included!
Draco Malfoy was in the manor's living room having a heated debate with his parents. It was about the Dark Lord, a topic that Draco had been keen to avoid since the return of Voldemort.
"I'm not ready to become a Death Eater yet father! Draco argued.
His mother threw up her hands in defeat, seeing that it was useless to have this conversation with her son while he was being so stubborn. Draco's father, however, did not give up that easily.
"Why, may I ask, not? I was your age when I joined the Great Lord's league. It is an appropriate to begin your initiation into the most inner circles of our Dark Lord's workings." Lucius Malfoy said, trying to remain calm while his son pleaded his case.
Draco would become a Death Eater whether he wanted to or not. It was far better to let him assume that he had a choice in the matter, though, first.
"I'm only sixteen! I haven't had time to consider my possibilities in this world. I'm not even certain I want to become a Death Eater." Draco told his parents as his mother poured herself a glass of wine a flopped down onto a leather chair.
"Don't you want to make us proud, Draco?" Nacrissa asked her son in a pleading tone.
Draco dropped his gaze. He knew what his parents were doing. They were taking him for a guilt trip but he wouldn't let them get to him.
"Of course I do mother!" Draco insisted.
"It isn't just us, Draco. The Dark Lord has requested you join his league. He seems to think that you would do very well working closely next to him." Lucius said.
Now this was a different story. Draco had never thought that the Dark Lord himself would request his services. Maybe following in his father's footsteps wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.
"How would I be able to aid the Dark Lord whilst I am still at school? Dumbledore keeps a tight grip on all of his students, there is very little one could do that would escape unnoticed." Draco asked.
His father and mother beamed at him. They knew they were finally getting him to agree.
"Plenty. The Dark Lord is most curious as to what Dumbledore has planned for you this year. With that letter you received about being chosen to participate in a Ministry experiment, you could become the missing link the Dark Lord needs to find out the motives behind the Ministry's plan."
Draco sighed, his mind made up.
"Fine. I will join our Lord's ranks. Now, may I please prepare for school? The muggle lover, Dumbledore, wants me to brings along muggle clothes."
Draco's parents allowed him to escape to his room where he continued to prepare for his journey to Hogwarts the next day.
X
Professor McGonagall had asked the eight students who Dumbledore had chosen to participate in the Ministry experiment to remain behind in the Great Hall after the welcome back feast. Draco glanced around the room, noticing that all the students picked happened to be in the sixth year. Besides Draco, the only other Slytherine was Blaise Zabini. The other students were Draco's archenemy, Harry Potter and his two followers, Hermonie Granger and Ron Weasley, all from Gryfindor, Sally-Anne Perks and Susan bones from Hufflepuff and Lisa Turnpin from Ravenclaw.
Draco couldn't believe his unluckiness. Not only was he to spend a year away from the castle, which he had come to call his home for the majority of his teenage life, but also he was to share this outing with a group of people that would never be of an equal stance with him.
McGonagall called them to gather around and they all did with intense interest. Draco listened especially hard, after all, he was on a mission for the Dark Lord, and he didn't want to screw it up. His father had warned him of the severe penalties that would be used should anyone under the Dark Lord fail the task that had been set for them.
"The Ministry of Magic has, in light of the recent threat of attack against the muggle and magical worlds, decided to perform an experiment that would assess how our two worlds would come together if ever threatened on a monumental scale by Lord Voldemort. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has enlisted the help of Professor Dumbledore and, therefore, Hogwarts. The Minister has requested eight students to take part in his experiment. Professor Dumbledore has chosen you eight before me because of your diverse backgrounds and experiences with muggles. As of today, you will be living as a small community in a secluded camping ground. Eight cabins have been set up close to a string of small community shops, there for your own convenience because once in the camping ground, you will be living everyday lives outside the castle. In this small community, some of you may come into contact with a few muggle gadgets that you have never seen before. Should you have any queries on this, you should ask your muggle partner who would kindly inform you of the items purpose.
The Minister has requested you live out the year with a muggle companion who will hopefully provide you with a wealth of knowledge on how they live. Magic is permitted and will be of a great help later on in the experiment, as will the muggle skills you will all no doubt acquire. The muggles that have been recruited for this experiment, however, have not been informed of your magical abilities and it is up to each of you to break the news to your partner and help the adjust to these circumstances.
Professor Dumbledore wishes me to inform you that any magic used against the muggles will be dealt with as a serious offence. You all must remember that you are not only participating in a Hogwarts assignment, which I might add you will be graded on at the end of the year individually and as a group, but you are also performing a Ministry experiment and the Ministry of Magic strictly forbids the use of magic against muggles.
A number of tasks will need to be completed throughout the course of the year and these will include a number of surprise attacks that you will have to join together with your muggle counterparts to help defeat. The Minister asked me to pass on the message that by forgetting your differences and working together, you will better achieve your ends.
Now, it is time for you to meet your new muggle friends and become part of this newly formed community. A port-key will take you to a small area about ten minutes walking distance from the campsite. A Ministry official will meet you there and take you all to your designated cabins. Your trunks will hopefully be arriving at your cabins now. Good luck and have fun knowing that you are doing the Ministry a service by participating in this experiment. See you at the end of the year!"
Professor McGonagall held up a smelly looking old boot, which each student took hold of. As soon as Draco touched the shoe, he felt a sharp pulling sensation behind his naval and the Great Hall began to spin before him. A feeling of light-headiness came over him and Draco let go of the boot but instead of losing his balance and falling onto the hard Great Hall floor, Draco found himself faced down in a patch of grass. They were in a leafy green forest.
"Welcome to Stanley National Park. My name is Harman Tape, officer from the experimental committee at the Ministry of Magic, and I will be your escort to the Kedron community." A middle-aged man with a long black beard and piercing grey eyes informed the group of Hogwarts students.
"Kedron community?" someone asked through a mouthful of dirt they had no doubt collected when falling to the earthy ground.
"Why yes! We couldn't have your little community form without giving it a proper name. Now if you would all right yourselves into the standing position and follow me through here, I will lead you to your designated cabins."
And so the students, led by Harman Tape, trekked through the thick trees of the forest until the came to a large clearing of trees that held the Kedron community they would soon be officially part of. The campsite was similar to the ones Draco had seen in a picture book of all things muggle when he had been young. His father had been keen to point out all the useless and horribly uncomfortable things muggles put themselves through for entertainment but Draco, at the time, had found the arrangement of little houses fascinating.
A row of four cabins that stood side by side made up one wall of the small campsite. Almost one hundred metres away stood a string of buildings with funny names like newsagency and supermarket and laundry-mat that Draco presumed were the community shops. Another hundred metres from the end of the string of buildings were four more cabins that were arranged in the same manner as the previous ones. A veranda wrapped around the front of these cabins creating a country setting. A field of park area with picnic tables and plenty of grass sat squarely in the middle of all the buildings.
Had he not been a Malfoy, Draco may have appreciated the cosy setting but as it happened, he was, and he had been taught that all things muggle were to be looked down upon with a fierce superiority. Now was a perfect opportunity to sharpen his sneer and snide remarks before meeting his miserable muggle.
"We have to live here for an entire year? It is utterly barbaric!" Draco sneered with perfection.
"Shut-up Malfoy, we would all rather you hadn't come along but as you have you may as well get used to your surroundings." Harry Potter said with exasperation from Draco's left.
Draco shrugged and waited for Harman Tape to tell them what to do next. At that moment, the odd looking man was searching his pockets for something. Finally a pleased look came upon his face and Harman Tape pulled out a sheet of parchment with names on it.
"Alright, alright, gather around. When I read out your name, step forward and I will point you in the right direction of your cabin. Your muggles will already be inside so it is advised you knock. They can be pretty jumpy I have experienced and will not hold back from lashing out." Harman said while gingerly rubbing a small lump that resided on the top of his head. The students listened as their names were called and stepped forward to met the muggle they would be living with. Draco was the last name on the list and when Harman Tape called him, he stepped forward.
"Right, Master Malfoy. You are in cabin three, just behind me here. Watch out for this muggle, she's a feisty one, gave me this lump on my head with a frying pan!"
Draco groaned but moved forward towards the door Harman Tape had indicated. Some sort of music was blaring from behind the door making a very loud racket. Draco knocked on the door three times but no body came to answer. Cautiously, he pushed the worn, wooden door open and was greeted with an even louder sound of pumping music. Quickly he closed the door behind him and surveyed the room.
Draco had just stepped into the living room, which was decked out in worn furniture and joined onto an open plan kitchen and dinning room. The source of the music was quickly discovered to becoming from a silver metal box that Draco had never seen before.
Taking another step further into the room, Draco noticed a girl crouching beside an open cupboard in the kitchen, clearly arranging the contents inside. Her back was turned and she hadn't noticed Draco yet. Just as Draco was deciding whether or not to move towards her and announce his presents so as not to meet the same fate as Harman Tape, the girl, who was singing off-key at the top of her lungs, stood up and turned around.
The girl let out a piercing scream that outmatched the loud music. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths, placing a hand to her heart. When her eyes reopened she gave a smile and picked up and silver thing from the kitchen bench and the music volume decreased.
"You scared me half to death." She said moving forward and extending her hand, "I'm Georgia Thompson."
Draco looked down at the petty white hand and then into the girls face. She was quite pretty with large green eyes and long brown hair that curled at the ends. However, a large bruise that encircled her eyes and came down the bridge of her nose ruined the image.
"What happened to your face?" Draco asked bluntly, ignoring the hand.
Georgia's smile faltered and she lowered her hand. Shrugging nervously, she raked a hand through her hair.
"Um... nothing, it was just... just an accident, that's all." She stuttered, her confidence now in tatters.
Draco didn't believe the girl for a second but chose not to press her, he would find out later what had happened to her. Instead, he walked past Georgia, heading for one of the three doors that framed the back wall.
Pushing open the first one, Draco found himself in a bedroom that had a faded flowery bed cover and an old wooden wardrobe. Draco closed the door and walked into the next room, which happened to be a small bathroom. The last room was another bedroom, slightly bigger than the first and with a blue bed covering and more wardrobe space.
"I took that room, I hope you don't mind." Georgia called from the kitchen.
Draco gave a heavy sigh and stomped back to the flower room, his trunk was on the bed but Draco didn't feel like unpacking, he needed to set a few ground rules with the muggle first.
"Before I get settled, I want to lay down a few ground rules, muggle." Draco said sitting down at the kitchen bench.
"Muggle?" Georgia asked, narrowing her eyes and folding her arms across her chest. She had taken the comment as an insult.
"Non-magic person," Draco said dully, "I'm a wizard and you are nothing but a common muggle."
Georgia looked at Draco as though he had gone crazy. She had no idea there was such a thing as witches or wizards. As though answering her unspoken question, Draco produced his wand and performed a simple spell that shot a red ribbon from the tip of his wand. A dawning realization formed on Georgia's features.
"So this is what this is all about. I finally get it." Georgia said, but left it at that.
"Yes, well, back to my rules. Don't speak to me unless I speak to you, don't come near me, don't go near my room, don't touch my things and don't even try to rub your muggle ways off on me because I will not be a part of it. You can handle the house work, I'll be in charge of everything else." Draco told her simply.
Georgia raised her eyebrows, clearly preparing for a fight.
"Oh really?" she said, "Well here are a few rules for you. Don't come near me, don't go near my room, and don't touch my things. You will learn from me as you have been instructed to do and you wont order me around. I am not here to be your slave and if you so much as lay a finger on me, god help you."
It was Draco's turn to raise his eyebrows. How dare this muggle tell him what to do. He was a Malfoy, he was on his way to becoming a Death Eater. The Dark Lord would never let a lowly muggle speak out of turn to him like this. Draco controlled his anger though, opting to let the muggle think she had gotten her way. He turned on his heel, heading for his room to unpack.
Just as he reached the door to the flower room, Georgia called out to him.
"You didn't say what your name was!"
"Draco, Draco Malfoy." Draco replied and with that he retreated to the security of his room, slamming the door.
From that moment, both Draco and Georgia knew that this year would be quite eventful.
A/N: Don't forget to leave your name if you want to be included!