The Prodigy Chapter 3: Neighbors, a harry potter fanfic

thanks for the reviews folks :D

to harrypotterchick4ever--interesting guess. and yes, i said that they should have been able to trace it, but it didn't work. that plot hole will be filled, however. no worries :D

Chapter 3--Neighbors

Surprisingly, Draco did not bring somebody home with him to take to his bed after the Ball. It was the Seventh Annual, and Draco thought that the novelty had worn off a bit. Every year it was the same thing. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the current Minister of Magic, would go up to the front and start talking about the dedication that the opposition had shown in the Final Battle against Lord Voldemort. Draco couldn't help but get into a sour mood whenever Kingsley brought up Wonder Boy and his sidekicks and how they had defeated Voldemort.

Now Draco wasn't an expert, but his father had told him about the Horcruxes that Tom Riddle had made and used to become immortal. Him and his father had always had an interesting relationship. He didn't hate the man, but he didn't exactly like him, either. He was, after all, his father, despite the irrational choices he had made in his life. Draco never really latched on to the whole Death Eater idea; he preferred to be an individual and not run by some monster. He had been his own sort of ringleader at Hogwarts, and he never wanted to work for anybody.

Although, in Draco's sixth year, he had been manipulated by the Dark Lord. After his father's failure at the Department of Mysteries, Voldemort decided to take it out on Draco and have him kill Dumbledore, or else he would kill Narcissa. Draco loved his mother and he did not want her to be killed because he acted like a coward. Don't get him wrong, he didn't want to be a follower of the Dark Lord, but to him, and his pride, running away and being a coward was worse. So, he took the Dark Mark and attempted to kill Dumbledore, for his mother's life. Despite his efforts, Snape eventually was the one to kill Dumbledore. Then, Snape had dragged Draco along and had been on the run until the Final Battle. When they arrived, they immediately began fighting alongside the Order and the Ministry. Draco had taken down many Death Eaters, including Crabbe and Goyle Srs., Dolohov, and a number of others. Snape had killed Bellatrix, much to the pleasure of Draco. He had never really like his Aunt that much; she was a bit too insane for his liking.

Lucius had also fallen in the Final Battle. He had escaped from Azkaban after Dumbledore's murder and fought with his fellow Death Eaters. Supposedly, Harry Potter had been the one to kill him in order to get to Voldemort. It had been tough for Draco to not kill Potter on the spot. He didn't love his father, but he held a deep respect for him. For seven years, Draco had struggled to not go after Potter, and it had been especially hard at the Ball the previous evening.

Currently, Draco was sitting in his flat in London. He could have stayed at the Manor, and Draco is not a sentimentalist, but, it held too many memories for him. His mother had died two years after Lucius, and it was too much for him to bear. She had become extremely depressed after her husband's death and she basically became a shell of a human being. Eventually, exhaustion and starvation took her life, no matter how hard Draco tried to help her. The only person he had loved in his life was now dead.

Draco sighed deeply and stood from his sofa in the small living room of his flat. He stretched, and grabbed his empty mug of tea from the table and walked to the kitchen to put it in the sink. Looking at the clock, he noticed that he had an hour and a half to get ready for work. Draco owned his own business; over the past few years, he had gathered all the books he could find in the manor, as well as his own collections and he opened a library in Diagon Alley that was about half the size of Hogwarts' and growing. Also, for his library, he had developed a system that helps readers find the books they need quicker. They would fill out a piece of parchment that asks what kind of things they're looking for in a book, and a selection of books would appear for them. Hogwarts had payed for Draco to install his system in the school library to make it easier for the students to do their research, as well as a number of rich families who had vast libraries in their mansions.

As Draco showered, he stared at his left forearm. There was a faint outline of the Dark Mark. It wasn't inky black like it was when Voldemort was at large, but it was still a scar that he would have to live with for the rest of his life. He finished his shower and dressed in a black suit. During his time of hiding out with Snape, he had lived as a Muggle and he decided that he liked the way the businessmen had dressed. He thought it looked a lot more professional than traditional wizarding robes.

Draco stepped into the hallway and grabbed his wand so he could set the wards, after making sure there were no Muggles around.

He was just testing them for reliability when he heard a gasp and a voice. "What is that you're doing?! I'm calling a Priest, this isn't natural!" the dramatic voice exclaimed.

Draco jumped slightly and turned to look at the speaker and smirked. "Really? Is that what you think? I didn't know you converted to being a Muggle, Weasley."

Ginny laughed. "I just wanted to see your reaction." Then, she looked at him curiously. "I didn't know you lived in this building."

"I didn't know you lived here, either. Otherwise, I would have made sure that I chose a flat on the complete opposite side of the city," he grimaced.

"Oh, grow up, Malfoy. Honestly, you'd think we were twelve years old again," she rolled her eyes. "Well, it's been a lovely chat, but I need to get to the hospital." As she was walking past him, she said, "See you, neighbor," and she winked over her shoulder.

Then, Draco remembered someting. "Hey, Weasley." She turned to acknowledge him. "Where's your son? Daniel or David or whatever his name is."

"It's Darien. And Luna usually takes care of him when I go to work."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Loony Lovegood? You let Loony Lovegood take care of your kid?"

Ginny rolled her eyes again. "Yes, I do. She's very good with children. She can always keep Darien amused with her Quibbler talk. And don't call her Loony. She's my best friend. How would you like it if I called your Zabini friend something stupid like Zebra...beanie." He raised both his eyebrows at her and she sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, I know that was really lame, but I'll come up with something better. Mark my words, Malfoy." She looked at her watch. "Oh, bollocks, I'm going to be late again. See you around, Malfoy."

"All right, Weasley."

At the end of the hallway, she turned around again. "Oh, and no more Loony jokes. I know where you live," she said jokingly, pointing her finger at his door.

Draco grinned lightly and nodded at her as she turned to walk away again.

As Draco walked to the Apparition point outside the building, he wondered why we wasn't as rude and cruel as he usually was toward a Weasley. He supposed because his father was dead that it didn't really matter anymore. Draco only acted the way he did towards them because it was what his father had commanded. So, subconsciously, Draco must have decided that things like blood purity and family name didn't matter. And that's why he felt free to think that Ginny Weasley was a beautiful and witty young woman.

Yes, he thought that Ginny was in fact beautiful. When he saw her at the Ball, he was momentarily shocked. The way her scarlet tresses fell around her creamy, angelic face. The amount of freckles on her face had reduced some, so it was a light sprinkle of cinnamon across her nose and cheeks. And Draco couldn't deny that she had a great body. When he heard that she had a child, he thought he must have a hearing problem because a woman with that great a figure could not have had a child.

The child...that was another thing. Draco couldn't fathom why anyone would abandon a newborn. That's why Draco donated a lot of his money to the orphanage and hospital so children can have better chances of having a family. Ever since the war, Draco had had a soft spot for children. There were so many kids that were left homeless and orphaned that it made him feel angry, extremely angry.

!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!i!

Ginny was still chuckling as she Apparated to St. Mungo's. Her encounter with Malfoy was odd, yes, but she still found it entertaining. She wasn't sure when little Draco Malfoy, the bullying ferret, had grown up, but she was sure glad that he had. She also had no idea that he lived in the same building. Granted, Ginny did live on the seventh floor, and Draco lived on the third, but they were bound to run into each other sometime. And when they did, Ginny was surprised that his usual insults had a sort of teasing tone to them, like it was all in good fun. He also hadn't been that rude at the Ball, she noticed.

She also noticed how unbelievably gorgeous he was. In Hogwarts, he was considered cute, yes, but not handsome. When Ginny had seen him in his sharp tuxedo, she was floored. Sure, his features were sharp and a bit on the pointy side, but it suited him. And his hair. Oh Merlin, his hair. Ginny had wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair, and she would immediately smack herself for thinking such things.

Most of all, Ginny was attracted to his eyes. From afar, they just seemed like ordinary grey eyes. But if you really looked, they were a brilliant silvery shade, with a ring of green around the iris. Typical Slytherin, Ginny thought with a laugh.

Oh yes, Draco Malfoy had definitely grown up.

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A/N: yeah i know it wasn't as long as the last one, but hey, i try.

thanks for reviews so far :D