Lymphoblasts

Chapter 1: The reunion

"Where are we going?" Draco asked his mother as they left Malfoy Manor. The moment they had come home, Narcissa had immediately packed her and Draco's stuff and told Lucius that she was leaving him, and that Draco was coming with her.

"We are going to visit an old family member", Narcissa replied. "Now take my hand, because we will have to apparate."

Draco grabbed his mother's hand and the two apparated. They ended up in a neighborhood that Draco didn't recognize. It was starting to get dark.

Narcissa seemed to know where they had to go. She walked to one of the houses and knocked on the door.

Draco couldn't help but feel nervous as he and his mother waited for someone to open the door. Here I am, right after the war, in a place where I've never been before, he thought. He felt unsure about his future and was even a little scared of it: what if he or his family was sent to Azkaban? He and his father were death eaters, after all. And even if they would go free, things would never be the same as before.

Suddenly, someone opened the door. It was a woman. She was probably between 40 and 50 years old and was holding a baby. She looked at Draco and his mother with a surprised look on her face.

"N-Narcissa?" The woman broke the silence.

"Andromeda!" Narcissa exclaimed.

Draco gasped. Andromeda?! But she is that woman who married a mudblood! I dont think we should be here, he thought.

"Draco, meet your aunt Andromeda", Narcissa said.

"W-what brings you two here?" Andromeda asked, still confused.

"It's a long story", Narcissa replied.

"It's getting cold. Why dont we get inside so you can explain everything?" Andromeda suggested.

"Thats really nice, Andromeda", Narcissa said.

Andromeda's house was small and simple. Draco and Narcissa sat at the kitchen table as Andromeda brought the baby to bed and prepared some tea.

"I'm not sure if youve heard it already, but the war is officially over. Voldemort is dead", Narcissa told her sister.

Andromeda nodded. "I just heard it on the radio. But doesn't this mean that Lucius might get in trouble? He was a death eater, after all."

Narcissa shrugged. "I'm leaving that man. Thats why my son Draco and I are here."

"You are leaving him?! What happened between you two?"

"The war has destroyed my marriage to him. He involved our son in the war and then he decided to let Voldemort and all the death eaters stay in our house, and he did not even discuss this with me! I'm so tired of him, so I immediately left him when the war was over. I'll have to ask you a favor, Andromeda. You see, Draco and I need a place to sleep. I would understand it if you found this difficult, because of all the bad things that happened in our family, but we have nowhere else to go. Please, I want my son to be safe! He doesn't deserve all of this, he's just a 17-year-old boy!" Narcissa said as her eyes filled with tears.

Andromeda hugged her. "I forgive you, Cissy. It's okay. I don't blame you for anything. You and Draco can stay here as long as you want to. My house may be a bit small, but we will find a way."

Narcissa pulled her sister closer to her. "I missed you so much, Andy", she sobbed.

"I missed you too, Cissy", Andromeda whispered in Narcissa's ear.

-oOo-

"We should be careful not to wake Teddy", Andromeda told Draco as they walked upstairs. Draco had offered his aunt to help with preparing the bedrooms so he and his mother would have a place to sleep. Narcissa could sleep in Nymphadora's old room, and Draco in the guest room. There was one problem, however: both the spare mattress and the guest room had not been used in years. The spare mattress, which used to be used when one of Nymphadora's friends came over for a sleepover, was stored in a closet in the attic. Andromeda asked Draco to get the heavy mattress and bring it downstairs while she tidied the guest room.

After the guest room was cleaned up, Draco said goodnight to his mother and aunt and went to bed. It was already late, and this day had been really exhausting. He could barely keep his eyes open anymore.

As Draco brushed his teeth, he looked in the mirror and noticed some small cuts on his face. It was nothing serious, but he did feel some stinging pain.

The moment Draco lay in bed, he closed his eyes and immediately fell asleep.