2. The White Bikini

A/N: I don't own Harry Potter in any way, and am earning no money from this fic. I also fully admit that this story is extremely OOC. The views presented throughout are not necessarily the views held by the author, and just because I may paint a certain character in a negative light does not mean that I have any sort of grudge against that particular character.

"Draco…" A soft hand shakes my shoulder, jolting me from sleep. "Draco, honey, it's time to wake up now."

I open my eyes, blinking in the sudden light. My mother is leaning to face me from the front seat of my aunt's car, her eyes sparkling in a wide smile. "Morning mum." I grin, straightening myself out and peering out the window. We're driving through the oddest place that I have ever seen—large houses (though nothing but specks compared to Malfoy Manor) are lined along neat streets. Everything is either whitewashed and clean or a lush brilliant green.

"So what do you think about it, Draco?" My aunt winks at me in the rear view mirror as I gape at my new neighborhood. "You're fortunate that your mother and I found a place so quickly—especially in this nicer part of London."

I clear my throat and run my fingers through my hair. "I- I like it, I suppose. It's so… strange, Auntie Andromeda!"

She laughs lightly. "Yes, I suppose it must be for you. My gosh! I just haven't seen you in years. You were just a little thing then—I could have held you in one hand. You're turning out to be a rather handsome young man."

I blush, covering my laugh with a cough and turning to look back out of the window.

"We're almost there." Aunt Andromeda turns to my mother and flashes her a comforting smile. It must have been hours of driving, considering that I woke at two thirty and the tiny clock on the car's dashboard reads quarter past nine.

Mother sighs, rubbing her eyes wearily. "Oh good. Thank you so much for this Anny. It's such a relief just to know that we're out of harm's way. You truly are the kindest to help me out with everything, considering that we—I haven't-"

My aunt silences her with a comforting pat on the shoulder. "It's all right, Cissy. Blood runs thicker than water, you know. And—oh! This is it." The car slows and begins to make a funny clicking noise as it pulls into a wide driveway, paved with pale concrete. The lawns in front of the house are thick and soft looking, and the building itself is white and comfortable.

"Whoa… it's so- so different!" I fumble at the door of the car as we lurch to a stop, finally figuring out how to work the strange lever. I tumble out into the warm sun, shading my eyes and gazing in amazement at my new home. The houses next to ours are very similar, and I'm rather curious about how these Muggles can find their homes without getting lost.

"Do you like it, Draco?" Mother wraps her arms around my shoulders, smiling down at me. I nod mutely, feeling a bit anxious. "Well come on then, let's get your stuff inside! Andromeda was such a help finding this place—do you know that it came with furniture?"

My aunt laughs, opening the hidden compartment at the back of her car and exposing my large suitcase. "For quite the pretty penny too, Cissy. You don't even want to know how much the amount that you paid equates to in the Muggle world. I'm just glad that the Gringots goblins were able to make the currency exchange. Here- Draco, the door should be open, you can take your luggage right on in and pick out your room, if you'd like!"

I nod, hefting my trunk and dragging it along the paved path to the front door. It opens easily as my aunt said it should, and I peer inside. The room is large and light, with lots of windows and two white couches. A bit bare, but pretty. There is a huge white kitchen with a kind of tiny bar at the center. I drop my bag at the foot of the bar to go explore. Knowing women, Aunt Andromeda and Mother probably won't be in for quite a while. There is a glass door leading from the kitchen to the backyard, and I pull it open hastily. The yard isn't nearly as large as our old one at Malfoy Manor, but I like it much better. There is a lawn, and a little patio, and even an odd hole in the ground full of water. Sort of like a paved lake! The land is enclosed by a wooden fence, but it's short enough for me to look over it with ease. I can see that both of our next door neighbors have the same miniature lakes. At the house on the right, a girl in a white bikini whose face I can't see is bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, balancing on a bendy board over the water. Her skin is dark and her hair is long, wet, and brown. With a graceful arch, she flips from the board and dives into the clear pool with a splash.

There are a few trees in the yard, and one of them has a wooden swing hanging from it. I walk over to it slowly, shooting a quick glance over at my neighbor's yards to make sure that no one is looking. I'm fourteen after all—way too old to play on a swing! The girl in the white bikini is standing on her patio with her back to me, talking to someone in her house through an open window. I doubt that she'll see me, so I clamber on to the wooden seat.

I had a swing once. Mother hung it from the tree outside my window when I was seven. I would pull it backwards into my room, then stand on my window sill and swing out over the lawn like a bird. It was amazing… until Father got drunk one day and burned it down.

I sway lightly back and forth, staring at my new home. I'm not sure if I like it… but I trust that it's a place where I won't have to worry about getting another bruise or welt for the rest of my childhood. Through the glass door, I can faintly see my mother and aunt looking around. They seem deep in conversation, and don't notice me.

I wonder if I'm a Malfoy any more… or if Mother will chose to adopt her maiden name: Black. Perhaps father was right after all—perhaps I'm not really a member of his proud family. Maybe I'm just… Draco. What if I don't belong anywhere? I freeze, shaking my head slightly. I can't afford to let my thoughts get out of control like this. I do belong somewhere. I have a home at Hogwarts and here with my favorite person in the entire world: my mum. I hop from the swing and hurry back across the lawn to the house.

"What do you think, Draco?" My mother tucks a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear and beams at me.

"It's really nice. Thanks, mother." She laughs in relief and pulls me into a hug, ruffling my hair. "Mum! I'm too old for that!" I protest, trying to free myself from her warm embrace.

"You're not too old for anything, Draco." She looks searchingly into my eyes, a crease of worry appearing on her forehead. "I know that your entire life, you've been pushed to keep people away, to silence your emotions, and to grow up before you were ready. Now I'm telling you to be yourself! If you feel like you want to do the things that other boys your age do- then do them! As soon as you wake up tomorrow morning, I think that you should go on a walk down the street. See if you can meet any other kids, hm?" She ruffles my hair one last time before releasing me.

"Well… I guess I could do that." I mumble with disinterest as she begins opening up random kitchen cupboards and peering inside.

Aunt Andromeda laughs from her seat on one of the stiff white couches, pulling herself to her feet. "Look, I've got to get back to Ted. I might stop by again one of these days, Cissy. Will you come give your Aunt a hug, Draco?" She holds out her arms, and I shrug in compliance.

"Just this once, auntie." I embrace her, breathing in the comforting smell of her perfume. "Thank you for driving us!" I hurry over to the tiny bar to get my suitcase to a room. It seems like a good idea to let my mum and her sister have a private goodbye. For years I didn't even know that I had an aunt besides Bella, who is locked up in Azkaban. I guess that Mother must have had a falling out of some sorts with Andromeda—perhaps I'll ask her about it someday.

I drag my trunk down a brightly lit hall, opening to first door that I come to. It's a bathroom, so I move on. The third door on the left discloses a small room, painted grey and blue. There is a twin-sized bed and a picture window looking out onto the street with a window-seat. I drop my bag to the floor and hurry to the empty dresser, opening its drawers to get unpacked. This room is about a quarter of the size of my old one in Malfoy Manor, and even my old four-poster bed dwarfs my new one—but I don't care.

This is all that I need—all that I ever wanted. A home not a house. I guess that homes are shelters that you share with the people you love—and I love my mother more than anything, so I have enough to be happy. I fold my slightly jumbled clothes neatly and tuck them away in the dresser, then set my few books on the shelf over my bed. After several minutes of straining I manage to free my Nimbus 2001 from its resting place in the large leather trunk. I prop it in one corner of my room with an air of finality. I packed light, choosing to leave nearly everything I own back at the Manor, so fortunately this job is taken a lot less time than one might have expected. All that's left are my myriad of school supplies—I arrange them beneath my bed and safely out of sight. They won't be needed till the start of term in two months.

At the very bottom of my suitcase is a single framed photograph, so faded that the three feebly moving figures are almost unrecognizable beneath the cracked glass. I don't know why I brought it along… but it was the first thing that I seized when I went to pack my bags this morning. It's a picture of my mother and father… and me, the day I was born. They look young and happy—though more than a bit tired. I swallow, choking back the uncomfortable lump that has risen in my throat as I stare at the photo. I thrust it roughly onto the top of my dresser, making sure to turn it so that its face is to the wall.

I rise and leave the room, leaving my empty trunk open on the floor.

"Mother?" I peer into the kitchen, hoping for her familiar form. "Are you in here?"

No reply. My shoulders slump as I trudge into the room, eyes lighting on a white slip of parchment pinned to the counter-top.

"Draco—

There're muffins in the oven. Make sure to eat enough, then go make some friends. I've gone out on the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley. I might be a while—

Love, Mum."

I sigh, dropping the note into the waste bin and tugging the oven door open. A rack of my mom's blueberry muffins sits in the warm cavern. I'm not very hungry, but I snatch one up anyway, taking it back to my room as I go to get dressed. I didn't sleep very well last night… but I suppose that the nightmares I had could be expected as that was my first sleep in this strange new world.

I pull on a black muscle shirt and skinny jeans, crumble half my muffin into mush and then throw out the rest, and brush my hair and teeth. I'm not sure how I feel about trying to meet these Muggle children. They might be nice… but I've always heard that Muggles are rather stupid.

With a slightly trembling hand, I open the front door and step out into the bright morning sun. A group of Muggles are playing on the quiet road-side, but they look hardly older than eight years old, so I ignore them. After a moment of consideration, I decide to try the house next door—maybe the girl in the white bikini will be home.

I bite my lip and hurry almost guiltily up their grey paved driveway and along their immaculate garden path to their front door. I raise my hand, and then drop it instantly. Three deep breaths later, I finally work up the nerve to knock. I bring my fist down on a heavy thump against the cream-colored door, then jump back as if I've been hexed. I'm just contemplating making a run for safety when the door swings open and I'm greeted by a smiling face.

"Hello, dear." A short, middle-aged woman with mousy hair and hazel eyes peers at me as if she's trying to remember whether or not she recognizes me. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

I swallow, unsure if I'd rather that the girl was the one greeting me instead of this lady. "Uh—hello. I just moved in next door… and my mother wanted me to meet the neighbors."

"Oh! My daughter's probably about your age—why don't you come in? She's on a bike ride, but she'll be back any moment now." She beckons me forward, and I step into the cool and airy hallway. "You can have a seat in the drawing room. I'll get you some cookies!"

I bow my head in gratitude and follow her into a cozy little room with plump couches and sunflower wallpaper. "Thank you, Mrs.—Mrs.?" my voice trails off and I look at her questioningly.

"Please, call me Myranda." She calls over her shoulder as she hurries from the room.

I draw my legs up slightly, poised and tense in this new environment. I hear a dull thumping noise outside, and the door being opened. "Mum? I'm back!" Light footsteps clatter towards me, and in a moment I find myself staring at the girl.

My gaze travels slowly from the bottom up—white and pink trainers, smooth deeply tanned legs, tight white shorts, white tank top, a mass of curling dark brown hair, and a pretty face with big brown eyes and large front teeth.

"Oh! Hey, I'm Hermi—ooh. Malfoy?" Her mouth falls open as she stares at me in utter disbelief.

I shake my head in denial, mouthing my thoughts of confusion as our eyes lock. Finally, I'm able to choke something out. "Granger?"

A/N: Please review! It would mean a lot to me, and to be honest, your feedback is what keeps me going. I'll take every suggestion and criticism to heart—I promise!