Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!
The day started abruptly for the new occupants of the Malfoy Manor. They were awoken by a certain blonde-haired man with a wand pressed to his neck and a Sonorous incantation, exclaimed:
"Everyone up! It's already nine. We have a busy day ahead and if you sleep any longer, we won't get through it all! A bit of forewarning: if you're not down for breakfast soon, I take no responsibility for Mittsy's actions."
Thomas ignoring the call, turned and buried his head further into the pillow. Pulling the covers up to hide himself from view. The rest of the children were gathered around the table when a loud shout from the first story bedrooms got their attention.
Soon, the sound of stomping reached their ears, continuing until a soaked Thomas emerged from the doorway. "I'm awake," he grumbled, unamused.
"Good, because today we need to go shopping," Draco informed them as he cast a hot air charm on Thomas, drying him. "You all are in dire need of new clothes. The ones the Ministry gave you should be burned. I will not have anyone that's staying with me wearing such things."
Macy cheered in excitement. Mouth still filled with toast, she exclaimed, "It's been forever since I've had a true shopping spree. Where are we going, Diagon Alley? Hogsmeade?"
"Neither. We are traveling into muggle London, where we'll be shopping in a large building sectioned off into individual stores. The muggles call it a 'mall,'" Draco said, his excitement a little more restrained than Macy's own.
"I've never been to the muggle world," Max nervously said.
"There's nothing to worry about. Muggles may be inferior to our kind, every now and then they get somethings right, like clothing."
"I agree. Muggle clothes are designed with different styles and colors. Which means, they can express themselves more thoroughly then with we can with robes," Macy recited.
Draco doubted she'd ever been to the muggle world, instead using magazine articles to fill in her knowledge.
After breakfast, everyone dressed in their ragged robes. Then, headed toward the closest train station, where Draco bought six tickets for a trip to London.
Walking back to the group, Draco noticed that the kids were getting strange looks from the other bystanders. Their stares taking in the unusual robes and the unrestrained wonderment on the children's face as they watched the bright screens that lined the wall.
Thankfully, none of the children noticed the attention they were attracting too distracted by the unique culture surrounding them. It was truly a sad day when Draco Malfoy was the muggle expert of the group.
"Okay, I have the tickets for the train. Follow me."
As they found their seats, Jasmine asked Draco how the train worked because she hadn't seen a chimney for the steam.
"It's some weird muggle thing called Elekricity." He declared with confidence, proud that he knew the answer despite mispronouncing the foreign word.
Their seats were arranged with a set of three facing another set of three, a retractable table between them. Isabelle immediately claimed a window seat, kneeling on the chair to stare out. Max sat in an aisle seat, afraid of getting sick by seeing the scenery as it blurred past them. Thomas took the other window seat and already had his eyes closed ready for a nap. Macy took the middle, still dazed from all the new stimuli. And once Jasmine finished asking questions about the train, she pulled out a book and began to read.
Draco had no idea where she stashed these books.
About twenty minutes into the ride, Isabelle became bored with the scenery out the window; setting her sight on Draco and Max.
The girl taught the two males a game involved in slapping their hands together in a rhythm. Max picked up on the game quickly, enjoying the repetitive motions and the rhyming lyrics. Draco did not, however.
He didn't understand it, insisting elephants wouldn't jump over fences and that the words didn't even rhyme correctly. After a while of his rambling, the two children decided they preferred to play with each other, over Draco's lap.
An hour into the trip, Draco and Jasmine were the only ones still awake. Draco was awake because he was a responsible adult, and Jasmine was still immersed in her book.
Macy used Thomas' shoulder as a pillow, mouth opened wide. Max and Isabelle curled up with their heads resting on Draco's lap. The blonde stared out the window, hoping the last hour of the train ride would pass swiftly.
He spent the rest of the trip with cramped legs from the lack of blood flow and watching Thomas' head bob haphazardly with the movement of the vehicle.
The ride eventually came to an end, the squealing of the breaks waking the passengers.
Draco stood at the entrance of the mall and sent a silent apology to the parents who he'd given dirty looks for their messy appearance and wild kids.
He now understood their struggle. His hair was a mess from his fingers running through it, and clothes rumpled from wrangling the five to their destination. It was a miracle that they had made it without him having a mental breakdown.
After leaving the train station, Draco had to watch out for Max who stuck as close as possible to the older man, tripping him up every now and then. He also had to keep Macy from falling behind, shop windows distracting her. A hand kept Isabelle restrained because she continued to run off to explore as he guided Jasmine around. The bespectacled girl refused to stash away her book, so she had to be pulled out of the way of light poles and other people.
Thankfully, Thomas took pity on the crazy-eyed man and scooped Isabelle up, allowing Draco to hold Max's hand. Both took turns nudging the two older girls in the right direction.
Returning her book back into its hiding spot, Jasmine stood before the map of the mall. Draco took some time as the girls studied the chart to recover his wits and prepare for the upcoming battle that will be this trip.
Their route planned, Jasmine said, "If we follow this path, we can visit the most stores in the shortest amount of time."
"Come on guys! This way," Macy called over her shoulder, already heading toward the first store, a shoe outlet.
Macy's eyes shot around the room and she asked softly, "How many can we have?"
Draco shrugged. The Malfoy fortune was vast. He could buy everything in the mall, including the mall itself, and still have enough to buy out ten others. The many properties and stocks he owned around the world continued to thrive, despite the war.
"Well, we are shopping to fill up your entire wardrobe for you, so pick the ones you like."
Macy scrambled toward the shelves, the others followed at a more subdued pace. Draco stayed with the two youngest, herding them into the kids' section.
They'd searched the shelves for a while, until Draco spotted Max trying to reach a pair of converses on the top shelf. The left shoe had a rainbow design with a white lace, while its counterpart was white with a rainbow lace and sole.
By the time Draco had the correct size down and helped Max into them, Isabelle called out to him for attention. Looking over to the girl, he found her struggling to walk in shiny, pink, seven-and-a-half centimeter heels.
"Look, Draco, they're so pretty!"
"No, just no," he said, confused about where she had gotten them.
"B-but," she stuttered, looking up sadly at Draco. Looking around for something that could stop the impending tears, he saw a pair of trainers.
He grabbed them from the shelf, hoping that Isabelle would like them more than the heels.
"How about theses, Kiki? Look, they're pink, and they light up." He finished the statement by hitting the shoes together, causing the lights on the soles to flash.
Isabelle stepped out of the heels and rushed to Draco, saying, "I love-love them."
Gathering the two's chosen shoes, they went in search for the others. They finally found Jasmine and Thomas sitting with their shoe selection sprawled around them. In Jasmine's lap was a pair of light blue Vans, and Thomas had on a pair of gray Nike sneakers and black converses.
"Where's Macy?" Draco asked. Simultaneously, Jasmine and Thomas pointed toward the other end of the isle.
Hearing her name Macy turned from the mirror to the group. On her feet, she wore two different types of boots.
"She's already picked out three other pairs." Jasmine nods at Macy's pile.
"Jasmine, how many times do I have to tell you? A person needs shoes for every occasion. Which include athletics, formal, casual, and semi-formal attire," Macy chided, using her fingers to count them off.
Both Jasmine and Thomas rolled their eyes, giving Draco identical looks of 'See what we had to deal with this whole time?'
"Draco, you're someone who appreciates the finer things. Which do you prefer?" Macy asked, modeling off the shoes by turning her body left then right. Both shoes were stylish, one reached mid-calf with no heel. The other boot was ankle-height, with a slight heel.
"The taller boots are best. They can be worn for casual and semi-formal events."
"I knew you would understand." She took off both shoes and added the pair of boots to her pile. "OK I'm ready."
"Finally," Thomas groaned, causing Macy to stick her tongue out at him.
Once kids finished gathering their shoes, they brought them to the service desk to pay. Looking down his nose at the cashier when he saw her judgmental look for the kids' untidy appearance.
The next few hours were spent following their route moving in and out of different clothing stores. Only stopping at other shops if the kids found them interesting.
Jasmine wanted to spend some time in a bookstore, a two stories tall shop, to buy a few of her own books. Draco used that tome to look for children books for Max and Isabelle. His library was sorely lacking literature of that level. Macy and Thomas were even able to find a book or two for themselves.
Thomas also acquired a sketchpad, drawing pencils, charcoal, and two felt-tip pens, which an employee claimed all beginner artists needed. As the group left the arts and crafts store, Draco realized this was the most excited he'd ever seen the boy.
"Do you know how hard it is to draw with a quill?" Thomas questioned when asked about it his bag, now full of materials, clutched close to his chest. "These muggle inventions called 'pencils' are amazing."
Macy wanted to spend the rest of their time in a store filled with makeup products. It was here that Draco felt like he needed to restrict the purchases slightly; Macy was only thirteen, after all. Eventually, she convinced him to buy her a small collection, if she promised not to go too overboard with it.
Max and Isabelle loved the toy store. Isabelle ran around pulling stuffed animals off the shelves while Max examined the dragon figurines. He chose five of his favorites and carried them around in his arms until it was time to purchase them.
In the same store, Jasmine found two one-thousand-piece puzzles that she could work on. One was a picture of a bunch of cats and the other was of a castle surrounded by a green meadow with flowers blooming in it.
Macy and Thomas were looking at the board games. They decided in a card game called Uno! and a board game called Snakes and Ladders (because they were good Slytherins and needed a game where a snake could eat you).
Making a quick stop at a deserted corner half-way through their shopping trip, Draco shrink their many bags, so they could walk around more freely.
Once everyone had found nine to ten casual outfits, some formal clothing, and several sets of pajamas, they called the trip a success. Even Draco couldn't resist the temptation, getting several articles of clothing for himself. Shoving their shrunken purchases into their pockets, the group headed to the food court for an early dinner.
Draco didn't understand how muggles could stand such greasy food, although the kids didn't seem to mind. Thomas scarfed down a slice of pizza that had a layer of grease coating the top and the three girls decided to get burgers and fries that left their fingers sticky and wet. While Draco and Max opted to eat Chinese food, the least greasy option in all the choices.
Max tried to imitate Draco by attempting to eat his orange chicken with chopsticks but found the task too difficult and switched to a fork. Draco assured the boy that it took a while to master the utensils and that the more he practiced, the better he'd become. This managed to lift the boy's spirit, and he continued with his meal happily.
They were once more on the train heading back to Malfoy Manor. Unlike the relaxed atmosphere they'd experienced on the way to London, the air was tense between the six passengers. Every pair of eyes skimmed over the group of people, untrusting.
When they had finally claimed a cluster of seats on the busy train, Thomas withdrew something from his pocket and slammed it on the table in front of everyone. He removed the hand, revealing a colorful stack of cards that had Uno! scrawled across the back of each.
Little did they know that they'd soon experience the taste of betrayal because of this seemingly innocent game. The rules were fairly simple, so it wasn't long before they were flying through rounds and the game was getting cutthroat.
This all started when Jasmine threw a red reverse on the pile, forcing Draco to play the only red in his hand, a plus two. He felt slightly bad for Max who was on the receiving end of this card, but in this game, he'd take no prisoners. But then Max also laid down a plus two, followed by Isabelle, and then Thomas.
When Macy presented the group with one of her own, Draco felt a ball of dread in the pit of his stomach.
"How is that even possible?" he asked in disbelief as the others laughed, having escaped punishment. And that's when the stare down between Jasmine and Draco began.
Draco glared at Jasmine, who gazed right back. "Don't you dare! I swear Jasmine if you-" He cut off his statement as Jasmine played her own plus two on top of Macy's.
Reluctantly picking up his twelve cards, Draco said seriously, "You better pray it doesn't reverse, Jasmine. Because, I have an arsenal here with your name on it."
That hand lasted for another hour. As the hand dragged on, everyone just wanted the game to end. They began to help whoever was close to winning.
Ultimately, Jasmine won the 'fun game.' Draco disagreed, mumbling that it was 'a game from his own personal hell." Nonetheless, he still demanded a rematch as they exited the train and began the short trek to the Manor.
Their bags, once enlarged, took up the table. A few threatened to fall, hanging precariously on the edge. Only Draco's quick wand work saved them from falling to the ground.
Thomas rushed outside with his new art supplies to sketch one of the albino peacocks, calling back that he'd take the rest to his room later.
Jasmine and Macy gathered their things to take them to their rooms.
Draco helped Max and Isabelle with their bags, levitating the clothes as the children carried their toys. Both refused to allow their brand-new playthings out of their hands. He set Max's bags outside the door, so he could stash Isabelle's clothes in her wardrobe first. Max simply continued to his room to find a place for his dragons.
The blonde man used a simple spell that hung the little girl's clothes in the closet, while she organized her stuffed animals on the bed, faced toward her. Once they were all placed to her satisfaction, she began to pace in front of them like a general in front of her army. She was still explaining the rules of the room to her new friends of when Draco left the room: no being mean to each other, clean up after yourself, and no staying up past bedtime.
Draco entered Max's room, weighed down by tons of bags and prepared to organize them once more, but seeing the small boy brought him up short. Max was sitting at the desk, the five newly bought dragons lined up in front of him. His left hand picking idly at the healing cuts, his teeth worrying his bottom lip; the boy didn't seem aware of his habits.
Setting his burden down, Draco approached the child. Placing a hand over the abused forearm to stop the subconscious movements.
Brown eyes looked up at him as he asked, "What's bothering you Max?"
Max looked to the figurines fretfully. "I don't know how to order them. I can sort them by color, but then their sizes are all mixed up, but if I sort them by weight, then the dragon's lengths are all off. I don't know what to do."
Draco thought about this seriously; it clearly mattered quite a bit to the younger male if it caused him this much anxiety.
"Well," Draco said, absentmindedly stroking the skin under his thumb, "what if we made a plan together so one day they'll can be sorted by size, the next by color, and so on and so forth?"
"We can do that?"
"Of course. These are your dragons and they'll be here every day, so you can have them lined up in any way you want, whenever you want them." With that, the two planned out a schedule that Max liked. By the time they were done, Max had visibly relaxed. The boy gave Draco a giant grin as they moved on to the organizing the clothes like Max wanted.
Draco wasn't having a good night's sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw an image of He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, Voldemort Draco cursed himself. He's dead, despite the phantom pain he felt on his left forearm during nights like this; he shouldn't be afraid anymore. The grisly man would always have Nagini coiled around his feet and remained silent. He'd look down at Draco from his perch and lift a single finger.
Nagini would then leap, jaws gaping. She'd be close enough that Draco could count the scales on her face and see the poison dripping off her fangs. The dream always ended there, with Draco jumping out of bed, arms raised in defense, his breathing labored.
But he still tried to go back to sleep. Draco was drifting between awake and asleep when he heard the door creak open. The light from the hall fell across his eyelids.
He opened his eyes to slivers, feeling crusty and heavy at this late time. Staring back at him was Isabelle, peeking over the side of the bed. She had wet streaks on her cheeks, eyes puffy and red from her fists rubbing at them. Her hair was messy and knotted.
"Draco?" she croaked, lower lip trembling. He sat up and pulled her toward him as soon as he saw this.
"Oh Kiki, what happened?" he asked, rubbing her back.
"Scared, had a bad dream," she responded, head in the crook of his neck. Draco winced in sympathy. Dreams were no cakewalk, even for an adult. Imagining the horrors Isabelle's mind could from her experiences, he couldn't help hugging the girl tighter to his chest.
"I know just the thing to help," he said, throwing the covers off.
The two stepped down the stairs toward the kitchen to make some warm milk. The beverage always helped calm him down as a child.
He waved a wand at the candles to light up the way as he walked. When they arrived at the dining room, he just-about jumped a meter in the air when the light revealed a figure sitting at the table.
Macy looked a ghost, with her pale face and dark, purple bags under her hazel eyes. Her hair uncombed and tangled as if she tossed and turned the whole night, until she decided to venture here.
Her eyes squinted in the sudden light. She brought the steaming cup of tea, wrapped tightly in both hands, closer to her chest.
"Merlin, Macy! You scared the hell out of me. What are you doing down here in the dark?"
She shrugged. "I couldn't fall asleep."
"I see." Draco set Isabelle down on the seat beside Macy. "I'll be right back."
He poured the milk in a cup, adding a dash of honey and cinnamon. Casting a warming charm on it, an idea began to form in his mind.
He called for Mittsy to initiate the plan.
Draco gave Isabelle the warm milk and rubbed her back as she drank deeply from the mug. Macy sipped at her own cup, and the three of them sat in silence until Mittsy reappeared in front of them.
"Master it all be ready."
"Thank you Mittsy. You can go back to bed," he said, lifting Isabelle once more and leaving the empty cup on the table. "Let's go, Kiki." Looking back at Macy, who had a look of surprise when Draco gestured at her to follow them, "You too, Macy. Come on."
Too tired to argue, Macy followed the two to the living room. In the center of the room, before the unlit fireplace was a pile of blankets and pillows. The remaining three members of their group, Max, Jasmine, and Thomas, stood beside it.
Max looked dead on his feet, swaying side to side with eyes half shut. Jasmine inspected the mound of blankets and pillows with interest; Thomas looked mad.
The angry teen opened his mouth, ready to deliver a scathing remark to the older man when he walked in. That was until he caught sight of Isabelle and Macy, and his anger quickly cooled into concern.
Thomas strode to his sister's side, standing protectively beside her. He grasped her upper arm, offering the little comfort he could to the upset girl.
"What happened?" He demanded urgently.
"Just a bad night," Draco answered. "I'm sure we've all had them, with what we've been through."
With the silence that followed that statement, he assumed he had hit the nail on the head.
"For that, I'm proposing Code Insomniac. If any of us are having a particularly bad night or if you don't feel like sleeping alone, call a Code Insomniac. Mittsy will gather us, along with all the pillows and blankets in the house so we can sleep down here."
"We'll use these to build a makeshift mattress to sleep on?" Jasmine asked. At Draco's nod, she walked over to the pile and pulled out a single pillow. Throwing it to the side, she said, "I call being on one edge. I need room, so I can sleep."
Thomas was the next to move toward the blankets. "Well. I need to be on the other edge. My limbs are the longest and I doubt you all want me in the center kicking you."
The rest of the kids jumped into action. Macy joined the other teenagers at the pile and began to help dismantle it. Isabelle climbed on the couch, calling out orders for the construction of the bed. Max tested every pillow by squeezing them in his arms in a giant hug and pressing his face into them. Finding the softest pillow of them all, he laid it down at the head of the makeshift bed for his use. Then continued the search so that everyone had a Max-approved pillow.
Draco watched the scene unfold, amazed at how fast the five accepted his idea. A pillow smacking him in the face interrupted his thoughts. The unexpectedness of the attack caused him to stumble back a few steps. Looking up, he saw Thomas with a satisfied smirk on his face and a hand fisted on his hip.
"Are you going to stand there all night or are you going to help us, old man?"
Scowling, Draco threw the pillow back right as Jasmine walked between a couple of pillows in her arms. His throw hit the unintended target on the side of her head. At Jasmine's astonished face, Macy let out a high-pitched laugh.
"Oh, you think that's funny?" Jasmine frowned, launching one of her pillows at Macy, who caught it, using it to smack the blonde girl.
This was the beginnings of an epic pillow fight between them all. Max tried to build himself a fort to avoid the conflict entirely. Which worked until Isabelle destroyed the structure with one well-aimed throw. Seeing his haven in shambles, Max joined the fray. Grabbing a pillow to chase Isabelle up the couch, before she flung herself off with a cry of "Thomas!" latching on the other boy's back.
Distracting the tall boy long enough so both Macy and Draco landed a hit to his chest and stomach. That is, until Thomas and Isabelle started to work together. Thomas swung his pillow defending from below and Isabelle tossed pillows from above giving them aerial advantage.
In the wake of this team up, the others admitted defeat, and construction continued until everyone was satisfied with their creation.
Draco laid in the center of the group, staring up at the dark ceiling. He knew none of the others were sleeping yet. On his left, Max lay snuggled into his side, but his breathing was too heavy for him to be asleep. Isabelle, tucked on his other side, kept shifting her hands and fingers around as if she was a conductor. Beside her, Macy toss and turned. Every now and then, Thomas would give her a nudge when her movements disturbed his sleep. Jasmine might have been sleeping - if it wasn't for her slight movements Draco could see out of the corner of his eye.
"Well, since no one is actually asleep, how about I tell a story?" Draco announced to the darkness.
"Yes! A story," Isabelle agreed.
"I'm too old for a story," Thomas said but rolled to face the rest of the group.
"When I was born my grandfather, Cygnus Black III, gave me this," Draco said pulling out an astrolabe pendant. It was old and clearly well loved. The pendent was circular and made with the finest medals, its design was intricate and complex.
Removing it from around his neck, Draco continued, "He said it was to remind me that though I'm a Malfoy, I also come from the noble House of Black."
He muttered the charm, Stellae, to activate the gift. The pendant gave off a soft glow before it seemingly expanded.
The once dark room was alighted with points of light surrounding the six people. There was a collective intake of air from the unexpected viewers at the wondrous sight. Draco smiled; it had been too long since he had seen this.
"You see, most of the members of the House of Black were named after stars," Draco said.
"See the brightest star in the sky? It's called the Dog Star, or Sirius. My cousin was named after it," he said, pointing to the correct star.
"My Aunt Andromeda got her name from this constellation," he said, tracing the outline of princess Andromeda. "It's also called the Chained Maiden, since the princess was chained as a sacrifice for her mother's boasting. Luckily, a young hero came along to rescue her."
He continued to point out the different stars and constellations that shared a name with his relatives. Such as the star Regulus and the constellations of Cygnus and Orion.
Draco tried to keep his voice low and steady to lull them all to sleep, but Max interrupted him with a question.
"Do you have a star named after you?"
"I was named after a constellation, and it is my favorite story of them all," he said, ignoring Thomas' snort of "it would be."
"Draco is Latin for dragon. Those nine stars there make up the Draco constellation. It's theorized that the constellation is Laden, the dragon tasked to protect the garden of Hesperides where the golden apples grew. Hera, Queen of the gods, placed him among the stars for his loyalty after Hercules defeated the dragon for his twelve labors. If you look just above Laden's head, you'll see Hercules' foot."
"You said Hercules had twelve labors he had to complete?" Jasmine asked.
This launched the story of Hercules' brave deeds that King Eurystheus tasked him as punishment for murdering his own wife and kids.
Draco's arm stayed up as he traced and followed Hercules' journey using the stars. Tracing the constellations that belonged to the labors that Hercules had to do. He'd made it to the eighth labor, the flesh-eating horses, when he noticed the stillness that followed deep sleep.
Looking around, Draco saw Max asleep, curled into his side, and Isabelle's limbs spread all over the place. Macy laid on her back, mouth open softly snoring, Jasmine had one hand under her head and the other grasping the blanket to her chin. Thomas was semi-awake. He had one eye slightly opened, gaze on Draco. The other closed, squished against the pillow.
"You didn't finish the story," Thomas said, words slurred slightly from tiredness.
"I'm sure there'll be plenty of time for me to finish it later. Now sleep."
"I wanted to know how he got the horses to the king." But as he said this his eyelid slid the rest of the way shut and he was asleep. Draco shut off the astrolabe and returned it to its rightful place against his chest. Closing his eyes, he soon followed the others into sleep.