Nico at Hogwarts

Just a one shot

this is just a one shot I wrote for school last year and thought that it was good for Wattpad. 

Draco closed the door of his apartment behind him. Before he made his way to the kitchen, he took off his coat and put down his bag. Work had been hard the last few weeks, but not as hard as in the beginning.

Draco Lucius Malfoy is living as a muggle.

If you had told Draco this when he was still at Hogwarts, he would have laughed and insulted you. But now it was reality. For three, almost four years he had been living as a muggle in New York.

No one in his "former" life knew where he was. Not that he was on the run, exactly. He and his mother were let go for helping the 'light' side in the war. His mother for lying to the dark lord, helping to defeat the chosen one. Draco himself for giving his wand up to Potter, so Potter could give the final blow to the man that terrorised so many wizarding and muggle families.

But after the war they were shunned. There was only so much one good act could do against a lifetime of wrong ones. Everywhere Draco went he got suspicious looks, it became impossible to find a job with that cursed mark on his arm. Not that he needed it really. He became Lord Malfoy after his father was thrown into Azkaban. And since his aunt didn't have any children, he received all of the money from the Lestrange vault. The job was only so he would have something to do, so his mind wouldn't drift off to the nightmares he had started having after those tragic events.

His mother locked herself in the manor, only going outside to take a walk in the gardens. It didn't take long for his mother to become sick: all of the loneliness, grief and guilt became too much for Narcissa Malfoy née Black. No longer than a year after the battle of Hogwarts she died in her sleep.

Draco buried his mother in private. Immediately after he grabbed some money and clothes he left for New York. He didn't have any reason to stay in England. His 'friends' abandoned him or were thrown into Azkaban. He had no living relatives that needed him and his father, Lucius Malfoy was in Azkaban, so he was beyond Draco's help anyway.

The last thing he did before leaving for New York, was making a new vault account for the only members of his family who were free: His aunt Andromeda Tonks and her grandson Teddy Lupin. He dropped the key with a letter to explain what it was at their house and left before they even knew what it was him and decided they didn't want to accept the money. It was the best he could do for his family.

The first few months were a mess. Getting used to the way muggles live and learning their history was a challenge. It felt wrong at first but over the years he got used to it. He now went weeks without using magic at all. He did an online high school course, so he would be able to get at least a simple job. And he did. Within six months after moving, Draco got badly paid job at a small office somewhere in the city. He got promoted quickly and was given more difficult things to do, even though he didn't have a college certificate. In two years Draco became a secretary of the boss of a large firm that published books and sold them.

The job wasn't so bad. His boss, Gerard, was a nice old man who lived for the sake of books. He and his wife were good people who had the worst of luck. They had always wanted children of their own and once they found out Ann was pregnant they were so happy. But then a terrible thing happened. The baby boy was still born. Ann, a gentle and kind soul, didn't have any heart to try again.

Draco rested his head on the kitchen counter as he waited for the tea to finish. It seemed like the end of winter was the perfect time for writers to finish their new novels and they all wanted it published as soon as possible. Some understood that it would take several months before any such thing could take place, but you also had writers who wanted to see a copy within a week of whatever they sent in. Those were the kind of people who gave Draco a complete headache.

Draco grabbed his favourite mug and poured in the tea. Steam rose from it, giving off a bittersweet scent. It calmed Draco, reminded him of his mother. It was after all her favourite tea. The one she had drunk every morning ever since he was little. It was one of the little things he allowed himself to have from his past life. Little things that didn't hurt anybody or gave away what he truly was.

Draco jumped as his phone rang. Even after four years of living like a muggle it was still annoying and gave him jump-scares. Perhaps that was an old reflex he had acquired: loud and sudden noises often meant nothing good in his youth. But Draco had taken a liking to some muggle inventions. A telephone was handy and a lot faster than owls and the chances that someone answered were bigger then when you used the floo-network. Looking at the caller ID Draco saw that it was Ann, Gerard's wife.

"Draco, how are you doing sweetheart?" Ann immediately said as Draco picked up the phone, giving him no time to say something first.

"Hey Ann," Draco grinned. "I'm doing quite good, just a bit tired from work but other wise I'm okay." Ann reminded Draco of the Weasley's mother, just taller and thinner and without magic.

"That is good to hear, dear. I was wondering if you had any special dinner plans. Jeremy is coming over with his family today, and you know how much those kids love you." Draco knew that Ann was just demanding that Draco should come. Jeremy is a single dad and used to be their old assistant before he quit and started a small bookstore on his own. He still ate dinner at Gerard and Ann's place, taking his three kids with him. The oldest was a girl names Jamie of 12 closely followed by het brother Zach of 10. Between Zach and the youngest, Alan was a gap of 5 years. The kids loved him since the moment they laid their eyes on Draco. It was quite a shock for him: never would he have thought that kids liked him and that he would like kids. The kids had given him the 'nickname' Drakie. It had annoyed him to no end at first but then it kind of grew on him.

"I'll come. What time would you like me to be there?" Draco asked, already knowing the answer. Gerard and Ann always welcomed people in their home at half past five if someone came over for dinner. Draco ended the phone call and looked at the clock. It was quarter to four, just enough time to jump in the shower quickly and then make his way to Gerard's house. He didn't live far from their house or the office.

Jeremy's car was parked in the driveway. It didn't surprise Draco that Jeremy was already there. He liked to be early. When Draco asked why he was always so early, Jeremy only grumbled something about high school and a Mrs Heffernan. Draco walked up to the porch and knocked on the door. Fortunately, Gerard had bought a small house; or else they wouldn't have heard Draco's knock. One thing he always forgot. Muggles and their small inventions, they seemed so normal but took long to get used to when you lived all your life without it.

The door swung open to reveal Zach who was slightly panting. He threw himself at Draco as soon as his eyes landed on him. A shout of 'Drakie' came from him, muffled because he pressed his face in Draco's chest. Draco let out an amused chuckle as he hugged the boy back. It isn't something he would admit out loud but Zach was his favourite. Draco and Zach both shared a love for books. Sometimes Draco would babysit the kids when Jeremy had to work late or went out, and Draco would read to the kids until they fell asleep.

Zach grabbed his hand and dragged him inside as soon as Draco had let him go from the hug. "You've got to see this new book Dad got me. It it totally awesome! It is about this boy and he's dyslectic..." Zach continued to ramble about his book as he dragged Draco into the living room where everyone was sitting. Draco gave Ann and Jamie and Alan a quick hug before sitting down next to Jeremy who was talking to Gerard about some new book that had been published. Draco looked at the people that surrounded him, and suddenly became aware of a sense of contentment that he hadn't felt for about six years. Something he thought he had lost the moment his father went to Azkaban the first time when Draco was in his fifth year at Hogwarts. The feeling that he belonged somewhere and had a normal family, not one filled with psychotic murderers and power obsessed tyrants. 

A normal loving family. 

A place Draco could call home.