The Trials of Draco Malfoy

Not a sound was heard in the entire Malfoy Manor, except for a small cry from one of the upper bedrooms, for I was all alone.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Narcissa asked, coming into my room. She was my mother but I didn't consider her to be.

"Nothing," I answered, turning my back to her.

"Draco, your father's in prison and he's not coming back anytime soon."

"I know that!"

"He'd be ashamed of how you are now. He finds you too sickly and pathetic already."

"Nothing will ever make him happy, will it?"

"Not much does, Draco."

"Then what should I do?"

"I'd stop trying to be what your father wants you to be and be who you want to be. It's your life, not his." That was the longest conversation I had ever had with her.
~*~
So here I am now on something Muggles call an airplane, heading towards America. The worst part is that I can't do any studying for Hogwarts, even though I really need to. If I did, the Muggles would know. So I'll just have to sit here, while this fat man next to me snores.
~*~
"Welcome to the United States, Mr. Malfoy," an attendant greeted. I smirked.

"Yes, hello." I walked quickly into the airport. A tall dark-haired man greeted me.

"Draco?" He asked, staring at me amazed. "Hello. I'm Lorenzo Frost, one of your father's colleagues. This is my wife Star." Behind him was a pale, sickly woman with copper hair, gleaming orange in the light. "My niece would be here too, but she's spending the summer with her friends in Australia."

"Okay," I muttered, unsure of what to say or why I should care.

"We live in a small town of young witches and wizards with Muggle parents," Frost
continued, boring me to what seemed like tears. "All the kids are friendly with each other and the parents are well informed about us."

"Right," I mumbled. This guy was so boring!

"Well, welcome to California, Draco!"
~*~
"The town is called Bumbleville. Don't ask me who thought of the name but it's a horrible choice for this town." Frost was still babbling on about his petty community. Quite frankly, I was beginning to fall asleep. "Our house is the second in town, next to the MaRazzle's. They have a daughter about your age. And she goes to Hogwarts," Lorenzo hinted. "Star, tell him what you do for a living."

"I work at a morgue for wizards," Star said quietly. "I try to save people using potions but most are too dead to save."
"Our niece is living with us ever since her parents died. You can have her room while she's in Australia. She's real quiet and tiny, you can tell by her room!" Lorenzo laughed as his car pulled into the driveway of a large manor. It was huge, larger than my own mansion in England. The estate was just elegant in general; a large black house surrounded by luscious green plants making it seem so magical.

"Wow," I gasped. I was truly amazed.

"Oh, this isn't our house. It's the MaRazzle's," he answered, sounding rather embarrassed.

"We're picking up Kay to show you around the house. I have to go to work, as does Star. We're busy witches and wizards, you know." Out of the large doors walked a short, long-haired girl. Her skin was slightly tan, her brown eyes looking at our car. The girl's hair was dark and pretty, waving down her back. She smiled at Lorenzo.

"Hi Lorenzo. Hi Star. Is that Draco?" she asked with a large smile. Suddenly, I placed her. She was one of Ginny Weasley's friends from Gryffindor!

"Yes, let's go Kay." The girl skipped down the walkway into the car. She sat next to me, giving me the opportunity to notice how good she looked in her bright orange tank top and jean shorts.

"I'm Kailyn MaRazzle," she introduced. "Everyone calls me Kay. I'm in Gryffindor at
Hogwarts. What house are you in?"

"Slytherin," I replied. Then, I think she realized who I was, for her smile faded.
~*~
"Bye Kay. Bye Draco. Have fun," Lorenzo called, driving away. She waved and the second they were out of sight, she turned to me.

"You realize how much bad things Gryffindors have to say against you? You, Draco Malfoy," she spat.

"How old are you anyway? You look and act like a first year," I snapped.

"I'm going to be a sixth year, jerk."

"So are you like Lorenzo's little pet?" Tension was beginning to build.

"No! We've been neighbors for years. And that little accent of yours isn't going to impress anyone around her. This is California!"

"I don't care, Miss-I'm-so-rich-I-have-to-rub-it-in-peoples'-faces!"

"Don't blame my parents for being smart!"

"You're a Mudblood for God's sake!" I screamed. "Just another Gryffindor Mudblood!" At that, she turned.

"You really are a jerk, Draco. Ginny wasn't lying."

"Get away, Kay," I yelled. She ran off with tears in her eyes. For once, I actually felt bad about what I did. She was only trying to be nice. Then, I realized I had just acted exactly like my father.
~*~
I wandered into the Frost's house, which was twice as small as the MaRazzle's but had the same style. I found the kitchen and the living room easily but their niece's room was another story. I made my way up the spiral staircase which lead onto a dark hallway. There was only one room upstairs and it was at the end of the hall. Opening the door slowly, I revealed an amazing room. It was sky blue with lots of little clouds. The bed had the same pattern. The bookshelves had wizardly books, movies, and scrapbooks galore. It just amazed me at how enchanting the room was. I took one of the scrapbooks off the shelf.

I opened it to a picture of a small girl with fiery red curls and a pretty set of blue eyes to go along with her adorable smile. She looked really just like Star. Next to her was a woman with the same hair, eyes, and smile helping the child walk. The woman also looked like Star. Underneath it read:

Me and Mom, age 1 ½.

The next picture was a grave. Underneath it read:

Mom dies, age three.

Next was a picture of the house. Its caption was:

Dad succumbed to grief. I live with Aunt Star and Uncle Lorenzo, age 4.

There were two photos left. The first was obviously the same little girl, just a few years later. Next to her was unmistakably Kay. The caption was:

Sky and Kay, best friends forever, age six

The last was Sky and Kay back to back, both pouting.

Kay turns into a snob and ignores me, age 10.

That explained a lot.
~*~
I spent two days shopping around town. Both days were uneventful but the third day was better. I was at a small diner having a strawberry milkshake (those things are addicting!) when in walked Kay. She took one look at me then sat in a booth in the corner. Flo, the squib waitress took her order, then I went to see Kay.

"Kay, I'm sorry," I apologized. She didn't even acknowledge me. "To let you know, Sky hates you."

"Pleasant, but who's Sky?" Kay snapped.

"Apparently you get mad at lots of people."

"Apparently you like strawberry milkshakes," she smirked. "This is your third time this
week in here and you've only been in Bumbleville four days!" I laughed. Kay seemed to be acting nice. Maybe she'd forgive me.

"So do you forgive me?" I asked. Kay smiled.

"I can never stay mad at people for long, except her. She was just mean," Kay laughed.

"What'd she do?" I asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Kay murmured.

"Oh come on. I could help," I suggested.

"Fine. She destroyed my petunia plants. They were going to win me first place in the gardening show," Kay muttered. "It's stupid but that's how it happened."

"You got mad at her for killing your flowers?" I burst out laughing. Kay stared, but then started laughing too.

"Yeah," she smiled "Do you want to take a walk around town. I never properly showed you around."

"Sounds good to me," I smirked, as we waked out into the pleasant afternoon.
~*~
"That was so awesome!" I said to Kay. "A town with a cemetery of great witches and wizards, a wax museum, this town would be great to live in."

"It is, except that tourists drive us crazy. Not you thought," she smiled.

"What, you don't like the accent?" I asked, giving her a cunning yet devilish smile.

"I love your accent," she replied, smiling even larger.

"We got off to a bad start," I told her, with a tone of complete sincerity in my voice. "Since this is all proper, let me reintroduce myself. I'm Draco Malfoy, Kailyn MaRazzle's boyfriend." What was I saying! Me, pureblood Slytherin Draco Malfoy, asking out Kailyn MaRazzle, a mixed blood Gryffindor! My father would kill me! Or just maybe, he wouldn't! My mother's words came back to me, be who you want to be. I loved Kay, which was the first time I had ever loved anyone, and I wanted her. I also wanted to stop blackmailing people and acting like a jerk. I just want to be different. What I want was to stop being considered mean.

"I'm Kay MaRazzle, Draco Malfoy's girlfriend," she smiled.
~*~
"I see you and Kay have hit it off well," Lorenzo smirked as I pretty much floated into the living room. Of course, he didn't know I had kissed Kay a few times before dropping her off at her door.

"Yeah," I sighed. I ascended up the spiral staircase and into Sky's room. On the bed was a letter. I opened it slowly. It read:

Draco,
Lorenzo is not a nice man. You may think that but he's a Death Eater colleague of your father's! He should have been arrested. He pretends to go to work and is really going to Voldemort. Star wrote a letter to me last night telling me everything. He's been using the Imperious Curse to make her change the death certificates of people he killed. You have to stay there and stop him. How are things there? Your father, I went to visit him, will never be proud of you, but I will. I love you Draco, no matter what you do.
Love,
Narcissa

My mum's letter was strange. Lorenzo, talkative weird guy was pure evil? Kind Star was being controlled? Everyone's evil! Maybe even I was evil! Or Kay! I put an ice pack on my head and let myself allay my headache.
~*~
Lorenzo was in Azkaban but not forever. Just long enough to visit Lucius.

"Frost," Lucius greeted coldly.

"Lucius, we have a problem. Narcissa sent Draco to live with us for the summer," Lorenzo muttered.

"What!" Lucius raged.

"And Narcissa told him about us and the plan."

"Narcissa doesn't know the plan!"

"Yes, she does. She told the boy what Star and I do. Since he knows he could tell and get me in Azkaban!" Lorenzo yelled.

"Draco wouldn't tell. He's one of us. He's bad. He's not a goody two shoes like your neighbor's girl. He's more like Sky," Lucius muttered

"He's hanging around with Miss MaRazzle. She might be training him to be good."

"Then we should kill Miss MaRazzle."

"She's a Mudblood too, sir," Lorenzo murmured.

"One more reason to kill her." Star watcher her husband and Lucius talking. They were up to no good, as usual but, this time, she would resist the curse. This time, she wouldn't go along with the plans. Just like the time she ran off with Lupin..."
~*~
"Draco!" Lorenzo yelled. I ran down the stairs, greeting the evil no good traitor.

"Yes, Lorenzo?" I asked rudely. He frowned.

"Why don't you invite Kay for dinner? We can watch a movie after," Lorenzo asked. I sighed. Lorenzo really liked muggle movies and was always showing them to me.

"Alright. I'll go over now," I answered, leaving the room. Star pulled me aside.

"Shh," Star whispered, "Lorenzo is going to try to kill Kay tonight. They think you're still evil. They don't know what your mother has taught you to be. You need to stop them and save Kay."

"But," I started but she cut me off.

"No buts, you have to save Kay! Mr. and Mrs. MaRazzle have already lost one child," Star muttered.

"Huh?" They had lost a child? This was new news for me. I thought that Kay was the only one.

"Riley MaRazzle was sixteen and in her sixth year of Hogwarts when she was killed by Voldemort. Kay was only eight. She doesn't like to talk about it."

"That explains her quietness," I muttered.

"Save her, please," Star begged. I hoped I had enough courage within to do what Star wanted
~*~
The table fit the four of us easily but the silence was eerie. Kay was picking at her food, not eating anything. I had warned her about what Lorenzo was trying to do and, needless to say, she was terrified about the whole thing.

"Star, will you bring in some more tea?" Lorenzo asked. Star glared at him for a second, then went into the kitchen. Lorenzo, in return, glared at me. I just glared back. I watched him mutter a curse, then a glass of tea fell onto my lap.

"I'll be back down in a second. Don't do anything to her," I yelled as I hastily ran up the stairs. I had been wearing jeans and a black tee-shirt. I was changing into a gray tee-shirt and a pair of black pants when I heard the terrible sound of Kay's scream.
~*~
Star and I burst into the room at the same time. The first thing I did before looking the room over was shout, "Expelliarmus!" Kay lay practically lifeless on the ground. Lorenzo stood above her amazed.

"I already called the Ministry. Fudge should be here any second, Lorenzo!" Star yelled.

"Besides, we knew you were planning on killing Kay," I sneered. Lorenzo turned towards me. "You are a selfish spoiled brat and will never be a good wizard," Lorenzo yelled, grabbing his wand.

"He's a great wizard and a good wizard. That's better than you'll ever be!" Kay defended weakly, standing up slowly. That's was the moment when I realized what I wanted. I didn't want to be evil and end up in Azkaban like my father. I didn't want to be just a henchmen like Lorenzo and if that meant being evil, then I didn't want to be evil. Good was better, because you could live your own life. All I had wanted was to live my own life.

"No. I'll kill you. Avada Ke..." he started.

"Expelliarmus!" Cornelius Fudge burst in, followed by many Aurors. "Take him to Azkaban and keep him there for a while. Surround the place with Aurors and take all their wands away." That was also when I realized it was my last day at the Frost's.
~*~
"I'm going to miss you Draco," Star smiled, ruffling my hair. "I'll leave you two alone for a sec while I go get a coffee." She walked away from where we stood at the airport terminal.

"I'm going to miss you more, Draco," Kay smiled.

"I'll miss you even more. We're a country apart," I laughed.

"International Flight 786 to London, England is currently boarding," an announcer called.

"Write to me every day, Draco," she laughed again, holding back tears. She kissed my cheek softly.

"I will. I promise" I told her, kissing her cheek. Then, I walked away, hoping that,
someday, I would see the love of my life again.
~*~
The Daily Prophet got things just right. I was reading it on the carriage ride home.

ATTEMPTED MURDER ENDS WITH MAN IN AZKABAN
In the small town of Bumbleville, California, USA lives a group of Muggle adults with many witch and wizard children. One child, Kailyn MaRazzle, was almost killed by Lorenzo Frost. According to Frost's wife Star, he was following plans from You-Know-Who. He was stopped by the Minister of Magic, Draco Malfoy, and several Aurors. Draco was spending the summer with the Frost's while his father, Lucius, is in prison. Kailyn MaRazzle is fine and was not hospitalized.

Of course she hadn't been hospitalized, I thought, She wasn't harmed and if she had been, she wouldn't been here to see me off. I smiled.

"We're here, Mr. Malfoy," my butler said. "Welcome home." Now, it was time to see mother.
~*~
"Hello, son," Narcissa greeted.

"Hi, mum," I replied with a smile.

"I see you've succeeded," she smiled.

"Yes. I also have a girlfriend but dad wouldn't approve," I muttered.

"It doesn't matter what your dad thinks. Tell me who she is," Narcissa looked like an eager thirteen-year-old girl wanting to know who her best friend had a crush on.

"The girl Lorenzo tried to kill, Kay MaRazzle. It's her," I replied, a smile crossing my lips at the very thought of Kay.

"Nice choice. She seems like a good witch."

"She is."

"Have you made your decision yet? On what you want?"

"Yes," I stated. "I want to be good."