My Father's Only Rule {DRACO MALFOY X SNAPE'S DAUGHTER}

Chapter Two: Dumbledore's Daughter

August 1996 - London/The Weasley Burrow

The train ride into London was like the stress drain in my life. I was leaving the heart of the war and becoming a regular person. Jane and I had a tradition. Every time she met me at King's Cross, we'd spend the afternoon in London. It was mostly so I could unwind from everything that was going on before getting to Jane's house. It had only been about two days since I had seen her last, but I still got excited and ran to her in the middle of the train station.

We skipped along the streets of London on our way to our favorite pub. It was my favorite pub I used to go to when I ditched school living in London. And after I started returning there on a regular basis, I introduced it to Jane.

"So I'd ask you how your weekend was," she said as we sat down. "But every time you come back, you tell me the same thing."

"It's the same every time," I said.

"You got a letter."

"From Harry?"

"Yeah. Here, I brought it." She handed me an envelope and I ripped it open to see my letter.

Dear Grace,

Dumbledore moved me to the Weasley house. Not at Grimmauld Place. They live in the countryside. It's a cozy burrow. Dumbledore is acting a little more serious than usual. It just makes me feel as though things are about to get more real. I'm starting to see the strategies he's playing. And even worse, I'm starting to see my part in them. You, Ron, and Hermione make the load easier for me. Since I won't come back to London until we go back to school, I won't see you until we board the train. I hope you're enjoying the summer with Jane. Sorry I haven't written to you much. I do miss you, and I can't wait to see you again. Hopefully being back at school will make things easier for us.

Love, Harry

I sighed as I folded it up.

"Let me guess," Jane said. "Nothing about the sparkle in your eyes or the brightness in your smile?"

"No," I said. "No, I haven't gotten a compliment like that in quite a while."

"I'm sorry," Jane said.

"It's alright," I said. "He's under a lot. I think it'll be better when we get back to school. But I don't like thinking about things like that."

"How can you avoid it, though? Your boyfriend has the weight of the wizarding world on his shoulders."

"Well, it was fine at first," I said. "I kind of liked it, actually. I felt like we were a power couple. I felt like I was doing something important. But it just got too much. I don't want to be important anymore, I just want to exist. I just want to exist and watch this whole thing pass by me. Enjoy my time at Hogwarts and focus on my friends."

"I get it," she said. "Anyways, we'd better go home."

Although they came from a strong pureblood family, Jane's family was surprisingly similar to a muggle family. They found it beneficial to be integrated in both worlds. Mr. Baldwin's parents had a Manor similar to the Malfoy Manor. But The Baldwins chose to live in a muggle suburban area just outside of London. They lived in a normal muggle house with plenty of regular muggle things. Her dad was a muggle lawyer, and her mum was in the misuse of muggle artifacts office at the ministry with Mr. Weasley. Jane grew up going to a muggle primary school.

Mrs. Baldwin greeted us at the door with open arms as usual. The Baldwin residence was a house that always smiled, even in these dark times. They didn't know about my dad's involvement. I think they would have been much more hesitant to let me stay with them if they did. If Voldemort were to ever find out about me, the Baldwins would be in danger. It was getting late. Mrs. Baldwin had dinner ready, but I couldn't eat. Jane and I were upstairs in our room getting ready for bed. I was staring out the window letting my mind go at ease and watching cars pass. When one of them passed, I could have sworn that I saw Albus Dumbledore standing out in the road. But when I looked again, he was gone. I must be crazy. Dumbledore? Here?