Disclaimer/looks around room/ oh please. The only thing I own are the figments of my imagination, in this case, basically anyone you don't recognize. wait, scratch that. I own Draco's new name, The Andersons, and Amanda. Amanda is mine. anyone who steals her faces my Sei-chan plot bunny. beware the Sakurazukamori!
Summary: To protect Draco from Voldemort, Dumbledore sends him on a foreign exchange student program to America. Draco learns some things from his new family, and he teaches them some things too. But can he protect them from the truth?
Author Notes: Since this should take place during the trio's fifth year, and Draco was mentioned, this is an AU fic. This is in response to a challenge on my friend's Hogwarts site. The challenge was to send Draco on a trip. I chose a student exchange program. Hope you like it! Also, just fair warning, this was posted elsewhere, but i haven't updated it since January. so please don't bug me, b/c my muses seemed to have abandoned my HP fics. /mutters/ they have no problems with my Sei/Su angst fics though.../grumbles/
Crazy Americans
"I don't know how he found out, sir!" Draco Malfoy pleaded with Dumbledore. They were in Dumbledore's office after two Death Eaters had been defeated.
"They were obviously after you, seeing as they went towards the Slytherin table rather than the Gryffindor one. For your protection, I have made arrangements for you to become part of a foreign exchange student program. I do not know where you will be staying; you will find that out at their office. Also, if Voldemort tries to make me reveal where you are, I will not be able to. You may want to assume a different name for the registry, but once you are at your new home, it is your choice. I do not know how long you will be gone; you must give that information to me yourself."
"Yes, sir. I will pack immediately. One question, though. When do I leave?"
"You will go to their office tomorrow. You may not want to pack just yet; where you are going will have some effect on what you should pack. Do not tell me where you will be going, but do tell me when you will leave. Do not tell any of your fellow students; this should be kept at utmost secrecy."
"One more question. How will I get to the offices, and then to from wherever I'm leaving from?"
"You will travel by Floo powder to the offices; the bakery next door is run by an old witch, and is connected to the Floo network. We will discuss how to get to where you are leaving from when we learn where you are leaving from. That is all. You may return to your dormitory. Come to my office after breakfast, and wear Muggle clothes. If you do not have any, borrow some."
Draco nodded and walked toward the doorway. He walked down the stairs and half-consciously wandered back to the Slytherin dungeons. He said the password, 'Pure-blood,' and walked up to his dormitory. He lay down on the bed, and almost instantly fell asleep.
Draco had borrowed some Muggle jeans and a black shirt from Blaise Zabini, who was also in his dorm. He walked to the gargoyle which marked Dumbledore's office, and whispered 'Gummy Worms' as the wall slid back and he walked up the stairs.
"I'm ready sir," Draco called out to the seemingly empty office. He looked around and spotted Dumbledore looking through an oddly shaped spy-glass. Dumbledore stood up and walked over to where Draco was standing.
"You will be traveling alone, as none of the teachers can go with you. The exchange office is right next door to the bakery in which you will exit. Tell them you are the student that Albus recommended. They will ask you your name. You must think of one, as well as names for your 'parents.' I will give you something that you must memorize," Dumbledore said. He handed Draco a piece of paper with writing on it. "This is a fake address and telephone number. The address is to an illusion which makes people forget what they were doing there, and the phone number connects straight to an answering machine."
"Thank you, sir. But before I leave, may I ask something?"
Dumbledore nodded, and Draco continued, "What does Voldemort want with me?"
"Alas, I do not know that myself. My guess is that he wants you to serve him, and since you have openly resisted him, that angers him. The only way to be certain what he wants would be to either read his mind or ask him, neither of which anybody would be able to do. Ah well. You may use the fireplace in that corner. There should be a bowl of Floo powder next to it."
Draco walked over to the small fireplace and stepped inside, ducking as he did so. He hated traveling by Floo powder, but as Apparating and Disapparating inside the castle was impossible, this was the only way to travel. He grabbed a handful of powder out of the bowl, threw it down, shouted the bakery's name, and was gone in a rush of green flame. He exited moments later at a bakery in the heart of London and brushed off the soot and ash from his clothes. He nodded to the elderly witch who ran the place, and as it was still fairly early, there were few customers. He walked out the door and walked over to the foreign exchange student office. He opened the door and walked up to the counter. He said to the secretary, "I was sent here by Albus. I'm supposed to take part in one of your programs."
"Ah. Your name?"
Draco had thought about this one last night for a while before choosing a name that sounded normal, yet still close to his own. "My name is Jacob Silay."
The secretary started typing, while sounding out his new alias. "J-A-C-O-B Silay. How do you spell that dear?"
"S-I-L-A-Y"
"Okay. S-I-L-A-Y. Thank you, Jacob. Here's a form for you to fill out. There are pens in that cup next to you."
Draco walked over to one of the chairs against the wall and began to fill the form out. About ten minutes later he returned to the desk and handed the secretary the clipboard on which the form was attached..
"Thank you, Jacob. I see here you have checked that you want to go on our longest program, which is one full school year. We only have three countries which allow that program. Would you like to go to America, Japan, or Russia. Do you speak any foreign languages?"
"No I do not." Well, he spoke Latin, but that wouldn't help. "I would like to go to America."
"Very well. I need your parents," here she looked at the form to find his parents' names, "Amanda and Brian, to sign this consent form. Please return it to us within a week, and you should return in a week after you send in your form to finalize the details. Thank you, Jacob."
Draco walked out of the office feeling a little dazed. He wondered where in the United States he would be going. He decided to wander around a little bit before returning to Hogwarts. Walking down the street, he looked in different shop windows until he came to a travel shop. He decided when he learned exactly where he was going, he'd come back here. When he got back to the bakery, he bought a roll and ate it before stepping into the fireplace and traveling back to Hogwarts.
"Dumbledore, who will sign for my parents?"
"Professor Sprout will sign for your mother, and Professor Flitwick will sign for your father. Please give them the form tonight. We will send it by owl to the bakery, where it will be put in the office's mailbox."
"Yes, sir."
Draco walked out of the office, form in hand, to the teacher's lounge, (if they have one, do they?)and found Flitwick and Sprout, had them sign it, and took the form to the school owlery. He tied it onto the leg of an owl along with a note that read: 'Please put this in the exchange student office's mailbox. Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore'
Draco walked up to the secretary once again, who greeted him with a nod and a "Hello, Jacob. If you would wait just a second, our program director will be with you shortly."
Draco sat down and wondered exactly where he would be going. After what seemed like an eternity, but was only five minutes, the secretary told him he could go in. "It's down the hallway, and the fourth door to your right."
Draco got up and walked through the door. He walked down a hallway which held pictures of students of all ages standing in front of international monuments. He knocked on the door the secretary had told him to go to. The door opened, and a woman whom reminded Draco strongly of Professor McGonagall told him to sit down. She walked around a desk and sat down.
"Now Jacob. I understand you want to participate in our one-year program to the United States. Is that right?"
Draco nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am."
"Unfortunately, we only have one location that is not starting their school year until now. Do you mind?"
"No ma'am. I like to travel and do not mind where I am." Secretly he was hoping somewhere civilized, instead of out in some farm county.
"Well, then. You will be staying with the Anderson family in San Francisco, California. They have a fifteen year old daughter, and ten year old twins. You will attend school at," here she checked her sheet, "The College Preparatory School with Alyssa, the eldest. Of course, with it being the prestigious school it is, you will need at least a 3.5 GPA, which I see you have. However, if the directors see fit, you will be dismissed and attend the local high school. You will do as the Andersons do. Here are your plane tickets. You will be leaving this Friday. I'm sorry for the short notice, (A/N: I know that you need serious applications in advance, but hey, this is Harry Potter fan fiction! Anything can happen! winks) but that is when the rest of our exchange students in that area are leaving. We will be meeting in front of the airport at noon on Friday. Please be there, or you will not be able to enjoy this wondrous opportunity. I trust you will be there on time?"
"Yes, ma'am, I will be there on time." Draco knew how much depended on his getting to America safely and without mishap, so he planned to be there early. When he had heard that he was going to a city he had actually heard of, he let out an internal sigh of relief. San Francisco, he knew, had tall buildings and was a center of civilization.
When he arrived at the airport on Friday, he saw the group of teenagers he supposed were also going to San Francisco in this program. He knew that he would have to meet at least once weekly with this group to discuss how life in the States was different than the lives they had been living here in England. He did not have as much luggage as everyone else, but he knew that was because he had used magic, probably his last for a while, to get the largest amount of clothes possible into his suitcases. He had a smaller bag with things such as an extra change of clothes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, books, and most importantly, his wand. He knew that he probably would not be using his wand, particularly because he did not know if he legally could. He knew there were witches and wizards in the States, but they apparently had different rules for using magic. He checked to make sure he had everything, and once he was sure, started towards the small group of teenagers.
Once the place was in the air, he learned that it would take about ten hours to get to SFO (San Francisco International Airport). He turned to his neighbor, a rather ordinary-looking girl, and opened his mouth to ask he what her name was.
"I wouldn't ask her anything if I were you. Once you've got Manda started on a topic, even if it's just her name, it's almost impossible to shut her up. By the way, I'm Peter, Manda's spokesperson." said the boy who was sitting on the other side of Draco. He had black spiky hair, and had a mischievous look on his face and he stuck out his hand for Draco to shake while Manda punched him in the arm, glaring at him, but smiling.
"Dra...Jacob Silay. Nice to meet you both. Where are you guys staying?"
Manda replied on this one, before Peter could say anything, "sadly, the 'expert' and I are staying with the same family. We're staying in a suburb named ...Berkeley, right Peter?"
"Yeah, Berkeley. 'Liberal Capital of the World', or so the guidebook says. Where are you staying, Jacob?"
"I'm staying with a family in San Francisco. Are you guys attending a local school?"
Peter took this one. "Both Manda and I are going to a school called Head Royce with the daughter. We're gonna be Year 10's, or sophomores, as they're called there. I'm not too sure if it's local or not."
" I'm going to a school called The College Preparatory School. I think it's in San Francisco, but I don't know."
When she heard the name of Draco's school, Manda said, "OOOO! You're going to CPS! We're gonna be rivals!" with this, she punched him in the arm. "College Prep and Head Royce are serious rivals!" When Peter gave her a questioning look, she replied with a shrug "I wrote a letter to Esther, the girl we're staying with. She told me all about the school. Looks like we'll be seeing more of you during the school season, Jacob." she ended this statement with another punch to Draco's arm. Peter just looked at Manda and shook his head at her in amazement of her weirdness.
Draco checked his new digital watch. "Only four more hours till we land."
"I'm gonna take a nap. Jet lag always throws me off; maybe I can beat it this time." Manda reached for her bag under the seat and pulled out a flat stuffed panda. At Draco's questioning look, she replied "Peter got it for me for my birthday. He thinks it's so funny how Manda and Panda are the same except for one letter. It's a good luck charm." With this explanation, she promptly turned over and said to neither Peter or Draco in particular, "Wake me up when we're landing; I wanna see the lights."
"Oooo! There's the Golden Gate Bridge! And there's the airport! Ouch!" Draco laughed as Manda, who had been enthusiastically pointing out famous San Francisco landmarks, bumped her head against the window as the plane landed.
"Please remain seated with your seatbelts fasted until we reach the gate and the captain turns off the fastened seatbelt sign. Local date and time is Friday, September 3, 10:47 A.M. The weather is mostly clear and about 75 degrees farenheight. On behalf of our captain and our flight crew, we hope you had a pleasant flight and hope you have a pleasant stay in San Francisco." The flight attendants voice came scratchily over the intercom as the plane skidded to a halt in front of the gate.
Since Draco and the rest of the group was near the front of the plane, the group got off the plane fairly quickly. The group learned that their host families would either be picking them up from the airport or they would be dropped off at their house by a charter bus. Draco hoped it would be the former instead of the latter, as he'd had enough traveling with a group for one day. Their supervisor, Mrs. Stanton, was calling out the names of the teens who would be taking the bus to their new home. Apparently, the list was in alphabetical order, so it would be easy for Draco to tell.
"Salon, Jasmine...Shapiro, Ellen...Simon, David..." Draco let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't been called to take the bus, which meant he would be meeting his host family when the group got to baggage claim.
When the group got to baggage claim, there were about ten families with signs that had a student's name written on them, apparently waiting for the exchange group. Draco searched for the sign with his name on it, forgetting for a second that his new family would not know him by Draco Malfoy, but rather Jacob Silay. He found the sign with his new name on it, and looked at the family hold the sign. The family looked normal enough, but as Draco knew, looks could be deceiving. He tried to remember who was who in the family, and as he looked at the five people with whom he would be sharing the next ten months of his life with, he realized he was going to enjoy this.
The mother looked nice; she was smiling broadly and had a motherly look to her face. The father had his arm around the mother; not quite smiling with his mouth, but his eyes gave his excitement of being here away. The twins, who Draco immediately saw were identical, were running around a girl who was clearly bored with standing there, and wanted to leave, with or without the exchange student they came here for. Alyssa, Draco remembered, was the eldest, and as he watched, she, with the ease that comes from doing something multiple times, stopped the twins, and held them still. Draco thought about waving to them to let them know he was there, but he decided he should get his bags and walk up to them and introduce himself.
"Hi. I'm Jacob. Jacob Silay. You must be the Andersons. I'm very glad to meet you all." Draco stuck out his hand to the family.
"Hi, Jacob. I'm Christine. My husband here is Michael, and our children, Alyssa, Morgan, and Malcolm. Welcome to the family." Ignoring Draco's hand, Christine enveloped Draco into a friendly hug.
Draco picked up his bags and followed the Andersons out to the parking lot, where his bags were tossed into a green minivan. He climbed in as well, and ended up sitting between the twins, Morgan and Malcolm, whom he could not tell apart at all. When Morgan (or was it Malcolm?) gave his mother trouble for not being able to tell them apart, Draco groaned inwardly, thinking to himself, "Great; if their own mother, who has known them for nine years, can't even tell them apart, then I'm gonna have a hell of a time trying." When both of the twins smiled at him with the exact same smile at the exact same time, he shuddered; there was evil in the smile they were giving him. When Alyssa turned around and sent a death glare to the back seat, he cringed until he realized she was giving it to the twins, not to him. "Stop giving Jacob a hard time, you two." She now turned to Draco and gave him a knowing look. "Consider yourself lucky, Jacob. I've had to deal with these two for nine years; you've only had to deal with them for nine minutes." She grabbed one of the twins' heads and ground her knuckles into his head. Morgan/Malcolm tried to wiggle out of her grasp, and then cried, "Mom! Alyssa's being mean again!" "Alyssa, stop torturing your brother." "But Mom, I wasn't doing anything! They were the ones freaking Jacob out!" "No we weren't!" "Jacob, are you okay?" "I'm fine."
When the minivan started to cross over the Bay Bridge, Jacob asked, "I thought you lived in San Francisco?"
Alyssa answered, "We put that down because we thought we'd have a better chance of getting a transfer student if we were from a large city like San Francisco. You've never heard of Oakland, have you?"
"No, can't say I have."
"See, exactly what I mean. Oakland is just as much a large city as is San Francisco, but Oakland isn't as well known."
"Okay."
oh guys, PLEASE review. I don't know what to think of this story any more, so i need you to tell me whether to keep it, kill it, or bug my muses about continuing it. There's another chapter, but it's undergoing some SERIOUS revisions.