Draco appeared right next to the tree where Apple had been picked from, so many years previously. He then proceeded to conjure a mass of silver ribbons and tied them all over the tree, much to Apple's delight. After Apple had had a chance to say goodbye to her family on the tree, she and Draco wandered off to see if they could find a place to sleep nearby. They walked past trees that were dripping in ruby red apples, past canary yellow pears and peaches the colour of sunsets. They picked their way through blackberry bushes with fruits that were ripe, and ready for picking, as black as onyx, and bursting with juice. Eventually, they arrived at a massive tree that was almost on the edge of the orchard. It did not appear to be a fruit bearing tree, and yet here it was, surrounded by fruit trees and bushes. Deciding that it seemed a bit odd, Draco and Apple walked up to the tree and realized after a moment that it was in fact, hollow. They climbed up a few low branches without any difficulty, and then slid into the tree trunk. There was a metre drop,then a ledge that stuck out for a few metres, then another metre drop. After saying
"Lumos Maxima", Draco and Apple scrambled down into the now well lit cavern. They soon realized that they were not the only inhabitants of the tree; a high pitched squeaking noise came from underneath the ledge. Apple knelt down and peered underneath, only to discover a family of mice curled up in a nest. When they saw Apple, they seemed to realize that she too was a forest born, and scampered happily towards her. She smiled adoringly at them, and then turned her gaze towards Draco and beamed at him. Any doubts he had had about leaving, and all traces of guilt about taking Apple away from her family vanished, as he looked into her sparkling eyes.
As Apple cooed over the litter of baby mice, Draco started sorting out the tree for them to live in. The ledge they had climbed into the tree via was not in fact the only one; there were occasional protrusions in the tree every metre of so for at last twenty metres. There was also a number of alternative exits, along with one right at the bottom of the tree which Draco had not seen before, due to the fact that it was the opposite side of the tree to where they had come in. This exit led to a sheltered clearing, which had been completely obscured by lots of enormous raspberry bushes.
Deciding that the ground floor of the tree belonged to the mice, Draco climbed up onto the ledge, and from there onto another. From here, he could see out of five different holes in the tree trunk, which would be perfect for keeping an eye on what was happening outside. He scrambled up another two ledges, which was becoming easier to do as they were becoming closer and closer together. On the fourth ledge from the ground, Draco set their belongings down, as the ledge was incredibly wide; maybe five metres square. Draco estimated the tree to be about seven metres in diameter, which he thought was probably why they had noticed it in the first place. Draco laid out their blankets and pillows, and placed his photos on the next ledge up, which was in the perfect position to be an over-bed shelf. Draco sighed in content. Finally, he was somewhere he was glad to be, and pleased to call home.
Jumping down to join Apple, he also noticed that there was a pure, bubbling brook in the clearing. 'Perfect' thought Draco. Now he would only have to apparate back to the 'Real World' every few days, rather than whenever they were thirsty. Also, having a free supply of water meant that it would save them money: Draco knew that his Father would stop putting his monthly allowance of 1000 Galleons in his Gringotts vault now he had run away. Draco didn't mind though, he knew that his Father had only ever put money in his vault on his Mother's orders, and yet 12000 Galleons a year didn't even put a dent in the main Malfoy vault.
Apple stood up, and went to go and explore outside. Draco followed, and as he walked out into the clearing, he realized two things simultaneously: one, he was going to have to cast protective enchantments around the tree; and two, he would need to buy Apple a wand. Draco had mentioned to Apple once before that she might be magical, after a plant that a first year had trodden on had regrown. Apple had been in her fruit form at the time and claimed that it was a coincidence, but Draco wasn't so sure.
Standing in the clearing, they could see their new home in all its glory; it no longer looked dead and decrepit, they could now see that it was in fact teeming with life: ivy and other creepers grew on every surface, butterflies made the tree itself appear to be fluttering and every branch was home to a family of songbirds and their nests. Draco found all of the colour and life to be a welcome change from the grey aura of death that enfulged Malfoy Manor. Draco walked over to the stream and cupped his hands to sip the water. It was deliciously crisp and cool, and a far cry from the stagnant liquid he had to drink at home. 'No, not home' , he thought, 'That mildew infested dump is not home anymore, this is home now'.
As he was thinking this, Apple appeared beside him and deftly plucked a raspberry from the bush nearest to Draco.
"Knut for your thoughts?" she said,smiling at him.
"They're not worth it." replied Draco, ignoring Apple's petulant look. Her bottom lip began to tremble.
"Alright", he sighed, giving in, "I was thinking about Malfoy Manor. Apple studied him for a while, trying to read his facial expressions.
"Don't" she said simply, and stepped closer to him. "You never have to go back there, so I don't know why you think about it so much! From what you've said, you don't have any happy memories from there at all, apart from finding me in the bottom of a cupboard and feeling sorry for me being all alone, seeing as you were feeling alone too because of your lousy Father. Cheer up Draco, let's pop back to Diagon Alley so we can stock up on food and so on before word gets out that you have run away. We could even go to Olivander's and get me a wand like you've been wanting to do for ages!"
Draco hesitated, then grudgingly agreed - they probably should buy as much as they could now before his Father heard he was missing and decided to ambush him. Draco realized that his money bag was almost empty after buying Apple's robes, so he decided to go straight to Gringotts, and get some more money. He reached for Apple's hand and together, they apparated straight to the marble pilliars of Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
