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runaway dragon

Disclaimer 1: Draco, his parents and teachers all belong to JKR. (As if you didn't all know that.)

Disclaimer 2: Severus Snape owning a raven belongs to J.L. Matthews. (Go read her story everybody. It's great.) I found a new name for him this time though.

Disclaimer 3: The gang name Sharks is borrowed from the musical West Side Story of course. I don't remember where I found the name Rakers, but I know I read it somewhere.

Disclaimer 4: The idea for Snape having a family comes from Al's fic Time of Trial. (Thanks Al. I always seem to get the best ideas when reading your fics.)

A/N - Please don't get confused now. This isn't the sequel nor prequel to My Name's Severus or Harry Potter Hogwarts Caretaker. It doesn't fit in with either of those. It's that Draco fic I've been planing for so long.
You'll notice that Hogsmede is quite a bit bigger in this story than in the books. It's not a village. It's a big town, not quite a city, but it's still inhabited by magical folk only.
And Snape will sem a little (OK a lot) OOC. That's because I'm showing him as a private man with a family and he couldn't be lonely and bitter for that. He's still the same old bastard to the Gryffindors, but hes kind and loving to his family and Draco is his favourite after all.


Runaway Dragon


Chapter 1: 'That Dog' in Diagon Alley


Draco Malfoy was sitting in his room at Malfoy Manor staring angrily out the window at a perfectly blue summer sky. He much preferred dark rain clouds. They would have suited his current emotional state much better.

He had only just arrived home from school about two hours ago. A chauffeur had met him at the train station and taken him home to Malfoy Manor without saying a single word. Draco suspected that the reason the servant hadn't even greeted him properly was that he had been fighting so hard not to burst into laughter at the sight of Daco after he'd been hexed by Potter and his gang on the train.

The family's butler who had welcomed him back upon entering the house had shown less self restraint. He had actually grinned and led Draco straight into the kitchen where the cook who also happened to be very good at wizard medicine had quickly removed all traces of the spells. Draco didn't really mind the butler's grin. It hadn't been a condescending grin. More a conspiratorially kind. The same grin he'd had when Draco had been younger and had scraped his knees climbing out of a window after his father had given him house arrest one day. He had taken him to the cook back then as well. And never reported him to his father.

Draco liked the butler and he suspected that the butler liked him as well though they hardly ever talked unless it was about business. Lucius Malfoy did not approve of his son chatting with common servants.

"Your father has gone to London to take care of some business with the ministry, I believe." the butler had informed him once he'd been presentable again. "He will not be back until the evening and has suggested you have dinner without him, if he should not be back in time."

Draco had nodded. That meant that he probably was away on business for Lord Voldemort and not at the ministry. He wasn't sure if the servants had any idea of his father's affiliation with the dark lord. Probably not.

"And Mother?" he'd asked to take their minds off wondering what could be so important that Lucius was not present for the arrival of his son whom he hadn't see since the Easter holidays. Not that Lucius usually was there to greet him when he arrived home from school.

"At some tea party, I believe."

Of course. Where else would she be? Narcissa Malfoy was always at some party or other. Unless of course she was just in the middle of getting ready for one. Draco hardly ever saw her. He knew that she loved him though whereas he wasn't all that sure about his father. Sometimes he thought that he was just some prestige object to his father. Like a trophy to show around and boast about among his friends and business associates. Draco was never sure which category the people his father sometimes introduced him to belonged in. The difference was hard to tell. Maybe Lucius Malfoy didn't have friends at all. Draco wasn't even sure if he had any friends himself. Somehow Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle didn't really fit the part.

As neither parent had been home to talk to, Draco had gone to his room to watch the house elves unpack his trunk and wait for his parents to come home. His mother had rushed in a few minutes ago. She had hugged and kissed him and raced off to have her hands manicured by her house elven maid. She hadn't had time to talk with Draco.

And that was exactly what Draco wanted right now. To tell somebody about his school year. About what Potter and his gang had done to him on the train ride home, about all the times they'd teased him, about that horribly good broom Potter had, about needing a new broom as well to be able to beat him at Quiddich, about that annoying mudblood Granger who had come out top of all classes again ...

Draco would have preferred to talk about these things to his mother. Mother never accused him of inadequacy when he told her things. His father's attitude towards his complaints was usually: 'I'm sure that it's all your fault. You're just a good for nothing little rat, but I have to keep up appearances to the outside.'

Appearances were the most important thing in the Malfoy family. That was the one thing both his parents had in common. In his mother's case it was her looks and in his father's it was the appearance of respectability and a well functioning family. That last thing included a well functioning son who was at the top of all his classes in school. Unluckily Draco couldn't comply. Hermione Granger was just too good for him. No matter how hard he tried, Hermione was always better.

And Profesor Snape just didn't seem to understand. He kept telling him that he was a fine student and that he should stop working so hard and just enjoy himself sometimes, that it wasn't good for him to be studying all the time. Draco usually pointed out to him that he was after all on the Quiddich team and got enough physical exercise from his training. But Snape insisted that what he needed to do wasn't to get physical exercise, but to relax and have fun. 'And you're not having fun when you're playing Quiddich, Draco.' he'd say. 'I've watched you often enough. You're turning it into just as serious work as your studying. Sometimes I think you could get better results if you didn't try so hard.'

That could get really annoying. Not that he didn't usually like Snape. He was always there for him when he needed help or advice, but he absolutely hated it when Snape told him the exact opposite of what his father said. It made him confused. He knew he had to obey his father. His father was of course always right. Why then did Snape disagree with him sometimes?

Well, right now neither Snape nor Narcissa were available to talk to so he had to wait for his father. Lucius was the only right address for requests for new brooms anyway. Narcissa might listen to those and nod sympathetically, but she wouldn't go out and buy him a broom. That was his father's job.

Hours passed before Draco finally heard a door slam downstairs. His father had arrived. Nobody else dared to slam doors at Malfoy Manor. It also indicated that his father was angry and would probably not be in the mood to listen to Draco's complaints, but Draco had waited too long. He was going to risk being sent back to his room briskly. He jumped up and raced down into the entrance hall.

"Father! You're home!" he yelled happily and hugged him.

And then he smelled it. His father was drunk. This was the very worst time to approach him. Lucius Malfoy was dangerous when he was drunk, very dangerous. Draco knew that he was to keep out of his father's way under those circumstances at all costs.

But it was too late. He, could no longer retreat. Lucius looked at him eyes gleaming with anger.





It was getting late. Severus Snape was strolling down Diagon Alley unsure what to do. The pupils had finally left and he had the whole summer to look forward to and enjoy himself, but his wife unfortunately had decided that this was the perfect time to 'get rid of that dog' as she'd put it.

'That Dog' was a cute little bastard of indiscernible descent. He had yellow fur with a few white spots. One ear standing up in a perfect triangle the other hanging down almost to his eye. He had, in Severus' opinion the cutest little doggy eyes and an adorable smile when he was looking up at him as he was doing right now. His long bushy tail was wagging excitedly. He was one very happy little dog.

Severus had found him a few weeks ago right here in Diagon Alley when he'd been shopping for potion ingredients for the school. The little dog had been limping badly and there had been nobody around who could have been his owner. Thus Severus had picked him up and taken him home to take care of the inured leg.

His wife however hadn't been too happy about it and thus Severus had promised to return the animal to his owner as soon as his paw was healed. And Sara had decided that this was the perfect day to do that.

Severus had been trudging through Diagon Alley and all it's little side branches for almost the entire day. He'd asked every shop owner and resident at least twice and annoyed lots of shoppers, but nobody knew who 'That Dog' belonged to. Nobody except 'That Dog', that is, who was quite convinced that he belonged to Severus and that nothing was allowed to stand between him and his master as one very angry pet shop owner had found out when he had tried to remove the animal from his shop after he had given his precious breed cats a nasty scare.

That shop owner of course had not proved to be very helpful and Severus had had to grudgingly agree to pay the mediwizard's bill. Sara would not be happy to hear about that incident. They were already short on money anyway.

Severus and 'That Dog' rounded the very last comer on Diagon Alley for the third time that day and Severus wondered slightly what to do next. He could either go home and come back another day, or he could try asking around in Knockturn Alley now which was a bad time, because it was already getting dark and that was when the customers usually began to arrive there. Of course he needed to ask as many people as possible if he really wanted to find 'That Dog's' owner, but somehow he didn't wish to talk to the particular sort of people who frequented Knockturn Alley. He'd rather keep 'That Dog'. Sarah on the other hand ...

Suddenly he heard soft sobbing. 'That Dog' started to whimper in sympathy. Severus followed the sound and found a small very familiar figure crouched in the far comer sniffling.

"Draco?" Snape asked surprised. "What are you doing here at this time? You're supposed to be at home. How did you get here anyway?"

Draco looked up at the blurry image of his teacher with tear filled eyes and continued sobbing. 'That Dog' whimpered even louder pitying the crying boy.

"Come on, Draco. I'll take you home." Snape offered.

"N ... no." sobbed Draco. "He'll kill me. I can't go home ... ever."

"Why not?" asked Snape confused. What was he supposed to do with the boy? He couldn't just take him to his dorm or Madam Pomfrey in the middle of the holidays.

"He killed her." sobbed Draco.

'He killed her?' thought Severus. Hadn't Draco just said 'He'll kill me.' before that?

"Who killed whom?" he asked the boy pronouncing every word very slowly and clearly. He needed a clear answer.

"My f .. fa ... father." sobbed Draco even harder. "M ... m ... mother."

'What?' Now this was getting very confusing. Snape tried to remember if there was a spell to make somebody stop crying. Maybe Draco could explain if he could only stop sobbing?

"What about your father?" he tried patiently. What else could he do? He didn't know a spell for this and this was neither the place nor the time to brew a potion even if he'd had all the necessary ingredients with him.

"My father ... killed ... my mother." Draco finally got out.

"What?!"

"He was drunk. ... And I made him angry. ... He hit me. ... And then ... Then Mother came. She stepped in. ... I ran away. ... Father was shouting. ... I heard him hit her. ... And she screamed. ... And ... then I heard nothing and ... I sneaked back. And there was blood everywhere. Mother was lying on the floor and she wasn't moving and Father was standing over her. He looked at me and I just knew he'd kill me if... if I stayed. ... Please, don't take me back!"

Snape just stared at Draco during the whole halting speech. Lucius Malfoy hitting his son and wife? Well, he knew that Lucius was a stern and sometimes cruel man, but to lose control like this?

"Draco, calm down now. I'm sure it looked terrible, but you must have overreacted. Your father would never kill you or your mother. Maybe she just fell and hit her head. Head wounds do bleed terribly, but that doesn't mean she's dead. Come on. Lets just take you home and you'll see that your mother is fine. I'm sure she's been cured by now." he held his hand out to Draco once again.

"No. He killed her." Draco insisted shaking his head violently.

"Okay, I'll go in first and see how she is. You wait outside and if everything's fine I come back and get you." suggested Snape.

"No. He'll kill you too." Draco refused obviously scared by the very suggestion that Snape would enter Malfoy Manor.

"What? Do you want me to get the aurors to see if your mother's still alive?"

Draco nodded. He seemed to like that idea.

"Alright, I'll tell the aurors, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. They get rather grumpy when called about nothing at this late hour." But what to do with the boy in the meantime. "I'll just have to take you home overnight."

"No. Father'll kill me." shrieked Draco.

"Not your home." sighed Snape. "Mine."

Draco blinked at that, stopped sobbing and started to rub his tears off his face with his hands. Snape handed him a handkerchief.

"Thanks."

'That Dog' stopped whimpering and when Draco got up and gently pushed his hand into Snape's he started smiling again and raced around the two wagging his tail.

"Is that your dog?" Draco asked on their way back to the Leaky Cauldron.

"He thinks so." Snape sighed.

They took the floo network to the public floo station in Hogsmeade and suddenly Draco realised that he had no idea where Snape lived when he wasn't at Hogwarts. They weren't going to Hogwarts, this much he could tell. One might not be able to apparate to Hogwarts, but one could floo there just fine. Whatever place Snape lived in obviously didn't have its own fireplace. That didn't bode well. Even the Weasleys could afford their own fireplace, Draco knew. He suddenly wondered how much money his teachers made at Hogwarts.

Snape stepped out of the fireplace and set down 'That Dog' whom he had carried through the floo travel. Dogs could just walk through the fireplaces with their owners, but Severus didn't want to risk frightening 'That Dog' because he was so small. That's why he'd decided to carry him through like a cat.

'That Dog' laughed at the two humans and led the way down towards the small river that ran through the town. He obviously knew which way was home. Draco hoped that that meant that they didn't have far to go. Hogsmeade was a big town even though the Hogwarts students only visited its center during their Hogsmeade weekends.

They soon reached the river and walked alongside it for a while. Draco had never been in this part of town before. There weren't any shops here that might interest children. 'That Dog' led them towards the bridge that crossed the river.

"We're not going over there, are we?" Draco asked Snape cautiously.

His father had warned him about crossing that bridge.

"I know it's not the best part of town, but you'll be okay as long as you stick close to me. They're not bad people if they know you."

Draco regarded Snape queerly. Not the best part of town was an understatement. According to Draco's father it was the exact opposite, a place where only the scum of the wizarding world lived. Sqibs, mudbloods, werewolves and unemployeds. Draco wondered how an actual professor from Hogwarts fit in here, but he didn't dare to ask. Maybe Snape had been born there and had just never bothered to move away? Somehow that didn't seem likely however.

They crossed the bridge and Draco soon saw what his father had meant. The houses were small around here and as they walked on they passed more and more shabby huts that were in bad need of repairs. They followed the river further and further away from the town center and suddenly the houses got bigger again. Apartment houses Draco realised with a start. He hadn't even known that they existed in Hogsmeade. Even the poorest wizards he knew lived in their own houses. Well, obviously he'd been wrong about that.

Snape now led him away from the river. This part of town was very dark, but Draco could make out the shapes of bushes and trees around him and he unconsciously stepped closer to Snape. This had to be the notorious Merlin Park, the poorest most crime ridden part of Hogsmeade. Even aurors, Lucius had told Draco, didn't dare cross Merlin Park alone after dark. Snape however didn't seem to have any second thoughts about it. At least this was the very worst part of town. It would get better again as soon as they had left the immediate vicinity of the park.

But it didn't happen that way. 'That Dog' barked excitedly and raced off towards one of the apartment houses surrounding the park. He stopped in front of the door and waited wagging his tail happily.

"Here?" Draco asked Snape doubtfully.

"I know it isn't what you're used to, but you need a place for the night and this is all I can offer."

Draco regarded the dirty entrance. It was better than sleeping on the floor in a street corner in Diagon Alley, he supposed. And at least he was no longer alone.

Draco watched Snape unlock the door with an ordinary muggle looking key. They stepped in, still led by 'That Dog' the stairway was narrow and dark. And whatever was that smell? Draco
wrinkled his nose, but decided not to comment. He was feeling more than slightly embarrassed at seeing all this. Especially when he thought about Malfoy Manor. He was sure that Snape would have done anything rather than show one of his pupils where he lived. Especially a rich kid like Draco.

There was a small red glowing spot on the wall right next to the door. What was that? Draco stepped away from it eying it cautiously. It didn't move.

"Is that supposed to be here?" he asked Snape who was relocking the door.

Snape looked up at him quizzically. Draco nodded at the red spot. ... And Snape laughed.

"Draco, that's just the light switch. It glows so that we can find it more easily in the dark."

"Light switch?" It seemed the object was supposed to be here and wasn't dangerous either, but otherwise Draco was none the wiser.

"You've never seen electric light before, have you?" Snape sounded slightly amused. "It's muggle technology. They use it to light their homes."

"Not very effective." Draco decided. "I can barely see a thing."

"That's because it's not active." Snape seemed to be fighting laughter by now. "That's what the light switch is for, to activate it. You have to press the glowing button. Like this see." He touched the glowing spot with his thumb and suddenly a round object above the door started to glow slightly, flickered a few times and then emitted a steady bright white light. It looked like a miniature sun. Draco stared at it, but that hurt his eyes so he turned towards the light switch once again. 'That Dog' was barking impatiently his voice resounding terribly through the whole house, but Snape ignored him. He was enjoying Draco's reaction to the little piece of muggle culture too much. Too bad he didn't own a TV. That would no doubt have fascinated the boy for hours at least.

Draco discovered that the glowing little red light was gone, but there was a small, dark, almost black button in the wall. Was that it?

"The lamps will continue to glow for a few minutes, then go out again to conserve energy. Then the red buttons will start to glow again. A clever little trick muggles use instead of a Lumos spell."

"What's it doing here? There aren't any muggles in Hogsmede. We could have just used Lumos." Draco asked tearing his attention away from the switch.

Snape started to climb the narrow stairway and Draco followed him trying to ignore the dirt and graffiti on the walls.

"There might not be any muggles here, but there are a lot of sqibs that live in this part of town. And it's rather comfortable for the kids too. What would you do if I wasn't here with you? You're not allowed to use magic during the holidays."

"Oh, father always found a way around that stupid law. Can't you?"

"I suppose I know how he did it, but I don't have the kind of money needed to buy myself out of trouble if we'd get caught. I'd thank you to obey the law as long as you're staying with me."

Draco stared down at the dirty steps under his feet. He should try to avoid talking about anything that might have some remote connection to his father's money, he decided. It was strange. Normally Draco enjoyed boasting about his father's riches and embarrassing people for being poor. It made him feel strong and superior, but this time he felt embarrassed and guilty for bringing it up. As if there was something wrong with being rich and not with being poor. What was that feeling? Where had it come from so suddenly.

"Yes, Sir." he said meekly. "Don't worry. I won't be any trouble at all."

Snape smiled and bent down to pick up 'That Dog' who was exhausted from jumping around him all day and was suddenly finding it difficult to jump up all those steps.

And then without any advance warning they were standing in the dark.

"What happened?" Draco asked startled.

"The lights went out. I told you they only stay on for a few minutes. Don't worry. There's a light switch on every floor. Just look for another red glowing button."

They moved on in the dark and indeed Draco soon discovered another red glowing spot.

"Over there." he whispered excitedly.

Snape smiled in the dark. The boy sounded like he expected the switch to run away if he talked too loudly. He pressed the button and the lights came back on on the floors above and below them. Draco stared up at the lamp above their heads, waiting for it to come alight as well, but it remained dark.

"What's wrong? Why's this one taking so long?"

"Because it's broke." Snape explained with a sigh. He'd had no idea how long a fifteen year old boy could be fascinated with a simple electric light. "It hasn't worked in years."

"Why don't you fix it?"

"Because I'm not an electrician. I know how electricity works theoretically, but I can't actually build or repair electric gadgets."

"You know how it works? Wow! But why can't you just repair it with a spell?"

"Because I'd have to know exactly what's wrong with it to make the spell work. These things are rather complicated and most of it is hidden inside the wall. It would take an electrician to repair this."

"What's an electrician?"

"Someone whose job it is to repair electric things."

"There are people who do nothing but that?!"

"Well, I suppose they'd do other things in their spare time." Snape smiled. The boy was kind of cute when he was confused.

"So why don't you just get one such electrician to repair that candle?"

Now Snape was actually laughing.

"It's not a candle. It's called a lamp. And I can't get it repaired, because it doesn't belong to me."

"Oh. Well, who does it belong to?"

"The owner of the house, I suppose." Snape shrugged.

"And why doesn't he get an electrician to repair that lamp?"

"Three reasons, I guess. He doesn't live here, so he doesn't care and probably doesn't even know its broken. He doesn't want to invest the money and it's really difficult to get permission to let a muggle into Hogsmeade." Snape started up the stairs once more and Draco followed him reluctantly.

"An electrician is a muggle?" he asked after only a few steps.

"Yes, electrician is a muggle job."

"Why? Wouldn't it be better to have some wizard electricians? Then it wouldn't be a problem to get them to come here."

"It's not a wizard job. Muggles need electricians to repair all their electric objects. Wizards don't need electric objects, so they don't need electricians and have no reason to become electricians." Snape explained patently.

"But you're a wizard and you have a broken lamp on your stairs." Draco protested.

Snape turned right on the next floor and led Draco down a narrow hallway. It was as dirty as the stairway had been and seemed a bit dark to Draco. There definitely should have been more lamps here, he decided.

"Draco, it's not my lamp and not my stairs. They belong to the owner of this house."

"But you live here and you said that the owner doesn't."

Snape was about to reply to that, but at that moment the lights went out again. Draco looked around and discovered a red glow right next to him on the wall. He raised his hand slowly and touched the switch gently with a finger tip. Nothing happened.

"You have to push it in." Snape commented watching Draco's cautious approach with a very amused look on his face that Draco luckily couldn't see in the dark. "It moves into the wall a bit, if you push it a little harder. That's what starts the lights. Just tickling it doesn't work. It can't register your presence or that of your finger."

Draco touched the button again. He gave it a very tiny experimental push. Nothing. Draco pushed a little harder and suddenly he felt the button give way and seconds later the lights began to flicker on in the already familiar way. Draco grinned proudly.

"I did it!"

"Oh, great." Snape rolled his eyes. "You did something any four year old muggle does several times a day without even thinking about it."

Draco blushed slightly, but didn't stop grinning. They were only a few more metres away from Snape's door and Draco didn't have any more time to ask questions until they reached it.

Snape sat down 'That Dog', once again pulled out a very muggle looking key and opened the door. 'That Dog' slipped in the moment the opening was wide enough and disappeared into the flat. Snape stepped inside gesturing for Draco to follow and seconds later another lamp came on in the tiny room the door led to. Draco hadn't seen any red glowing buttons, but he supposed that Snape must have turned it on when he hadn't been looking.

Snape quickly took of his shoes and slipped into his hose shoes, then looked at Draco who was still standing outside watching him through the open door.

"Come on in. There's nothing here's that might bite you. ... Well, at least I don't think the dog's gonna bite. He seems to like you."

Draco hesitatingly stepped in. The room seemed too small for even one person to him, but then again he couldn't just keep standing around outside all night. He closed the door behind him, took of his shoes as well and then took another look around. There were two more doors leaving only one side of the room free. That was used to hang up cloaks. Neither Draco nor Severus had been wearing cloaks today though, as it was a very hot summer day. One of the doors was standing half open and Draco could see that it led into a very small bathroom.

'That Dog' had retreated through that door to give them some room and was peering out expectantly at the other door which Snape was opening right now.

Again the dog was the first person through the door and seconds later a woman's voice startled Draco. He hadn't expected anyone else to be here. Draco had to smile at himself. Why had he just assumed automatically that his teacher was single?

"Severus, didn't you promise to take that dog back to his owners? What's he doing here again?"

"Sorry, Sarah. I didn't find them."

"I knew it. He's another stray. Do you realise how expensive dog food is? What are we gonna do with the animal?"

Severus sighed rolling his eyes at Draco once again.

"He's not a stray, Sarah. I just didn't ask the right people, yet. I'll find his owners next time. Something else got in the way today." Snape said and stepped into the room.

Draco immediately followed barefoot as he didn't have any house shoes with him. The floor under his feet was rather cold.

The room they entered now seemed to serve as both living room and kitchen at the same time. Draco looked around and thought that that combination had to be rather uncomfortable. The woman who had been scratching 'That Dog' behind his ears with one hand while attempting to open a can of dog food with the other looked up startled.

"Who's that?" she asked eying him cautiously.

"That's Draco, one of my pupils. His parents had a row and I promised he could stay for the night."

"Not another stray!" Sarah protested angrily. "We've already got a cat and a dog." she glanced down at 'That Dog' who smiled up at her happily. "Not to mention the raven. And we've got Billy. We don't need a troublesome teenager."

Draco drew closer to Snape.

"I wont be any trouble." he promised. "I'll be asleep all night and I promise I'll find somewhere else to stay tomorrow."

"Oh, sure. I've heard that one before, boy." grumbled Sarah. She had finally managed to open the can and was now feeding 'That Dog' who was nearly ecstatic over her kindness.

"You're not going to find somewhere else, Draco. I'll take you home tomorrow." Snape declared and steered Draco towards the table with one hand.

Draco reluctantly sat down. He was feeling uncomfortable. He didn't belong here. Mrs Snape didn't want him. ... Well, Mrs Snape didn't seem to want the dog either, but she still fed him.

"You promised the aurors would check if mother's still alive first."

"And I'll owl them first thing in the morning. They'll be pretty annoyed though when they get there and all they find is that everybody's frantically looking for you."

"They'll find that Mother is dead." Draco insisted. "I saw it. He killed her."

Sarah who had been doing something in the kitchen stopped and looked over at Severus quizzically and slightly worried.

"Draco's convinced that his father beat his mother to death, but I know the man, Sarah. He's a cruel bastard, but too clever to do anything like that. He'd never risk Azkaban over a simple family squabble." Severus explained calmly. "I'm sure she just slipped and hit her head. She was probably only out for a few minutes."

Draco shook his head. He knew his mother was dead. Why didn't Snape believe him?

Sarah sighed deeply and served them a simple cold dinner. So she didn't only feed the dog even though she didn't want him, she fed Draco as well. Draco was normally used to more luxurious meals served and cooked by skilful house elves, but he was very hungry all of a sudden and somehow impressed by the very fact that Sarah knew how to prepare a meal at all. His mother would have been hopelessly confused if asked to perform such a task. Looking around the room once more he decided that Sarah most likely even knew how to cook. At least he didn't think there were any house elves or servants around to do the cooking for her.

Sarah herself was a rather plain woman. Small, rather plump looking, with mousy brown hair and eyes an indefinable mixture of brown and green. He wondered slightly what Professor Snape saw in her. Then again she knew how to cook and maybe she could do some other quite impressive things even if she didn't have his mother's looks. Snape would probably not have wanted a wife who didn't know how to cook no matter how pretty she was.

After dinner Snape showed Draco into a room that wasn't much bigger than the entrance room where he'd left his shoes. It reminded him strongly of Snape's office at Hogwarts even though that was about twice its size. It was just as clattered with potion ingredients, vials and flasks. There was a small worktable with a cauldron and lots of finished potions standing around.

"Do you sell that stuff?" Draco asked surprised.

"Sometimes. Most of the time we just help out the neighbours for free, though. They couldn't afford to buy potions anyway." Seeing Draco's confused look Snape added. "They help us too, Draco. It's sort of like trading goods for goods instead of money. Nobody around here has any money, but everybody has something to give even if it's only a hand at repairs."

Draco stared down at the floor. No money. Why was he feeling so bad about being rich all of a sudden? It was something to be proud of. Wasn't it?

There was a small couch squeezed into one comer of the room and Snape quickly made Draco a bed on it.

"I know you're used to better than this, but it's just for tonight."

Draco wondered if he could sleep on such a small bed at all, but it was probably all the Snapes had to offer and he reminded himself that he'd be sleeping in a street corner on Diagon Alley tonight if Snape hadn't come by and taken him to this odd house with the strange lights. Which reminded him...

"Professor? Why don't the lights in the rooms go out like those outside in the hall?"

"Because they're made to be switched off so you don't have to switch them on again and again if you're spending a longer period of time in one room."

"How do you switch them off? I didn't see any red buttons in here."

"With this." Snape pointed at a strange white something on the wall. "Try it. Just press it like the button."

Draco stretched out his hand and touched the white something. It didn't feel all that different from the glowing light button in the corridor. Draco pushed it experimentally and the room went dark immediately.

"See, that's all there's to it. Now turn it back on." Snape sounded like he was smiling again.

Draco liked that sound. He also liked the idea that Snape was enjoying his exploration of a muggle artefact. His father wouldn't have approved of this at all.

"How? I still don't see a red button."

"The same way you switched it off. The switches in the flat don't glow, because we know where they are. They're used both for switching the light on and for switching it off."

"Oh." Draco pressed the switch again and indeed the light came back on. "So when I push one of the red buttons in the corridor when the light's already on it'll go out again?"

"No, those are only 'on-buttons'. This one here's an 'on-off-button'. The lights in the corridor wouldn't react at all. The buttons only work when the light's turned off."

"Why? How are those lamps different from this one?" Draco asked intrigued.

"I don't know. They just are." shrugged Snape.

"But you said you knew how it works."

"I know how electricity works. I don't know exactly how all the little electric devices use it. There are lots of them and most are much more complicated than a light switch and a lamp. I suppose the red buttons are connected to some sort of clock, but I really don't know."

"Who would know?"

"An electrician, I suppose." said Snape. "Here, you can sleep in this. You saw where the bathroom is, but don't use too much water. Clean water is rather expensive around here. Electricity costs money as well so please turn off the lights when you don't need them. You know how to do it now."

Draco took the large old muggle t-shirt Snape handed him and wondered for a moment who it belonged to. Probably Snape himself he decided. Sarah wouldn't want to share her clothes with him, would she?

"Thank you. Sir." he said softly. He wasn't used to thanking people, but he felt like he ought to this time.

"Good night, Draco."

"God night. Sir."

Snape turned to leave, when Draco suddenly remembered something.

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"How does one become an electrician?"

Snape was startled. Draco's fascination with electricity was amazing and totally unexpected. What was going on in the boy's head to make him ask questions like this one?

"I suppose they learn it at some muggle school." he said. Where else would muggles learn their jobs anyway? "Or maybe from some older electricians? No, I think, a school most likely."

"What subjects do you think they have at that school?"

"I don't know, Draco. A lot of Physics I suppose."

"What's Physics?"

"A muggle science. It's actually rather interesting, but nothing a wizard would need to know."

"Is it about electricity?"

"Yes, among other things, it explains how electricity works. It's also about why things fall down when you drop them and how magnets attract things made of metal."

"What's a magnet?" Draco immediately asked.

"Another muggle toy. You really don't need to know about them. You're a wizard. You're above these things."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to annoy you."

"I'm just tired, Draco. I'll try to explain some more some other time, but I'm really not an electrician."

"That's okay. Sir. I'm just curious. That's all. Good night."

"Good night, Draco." Severus smiled and turned to leave. "Oh, and Draco."

"Yes?"

"You should have taken Muggle Studies."

Later when Draco was curled up comfortably in his strange bed on the small couch in the strange room trying to go to sleep he thought about that comment. Muggle Studies. Yes, it sounded really interesting. He'd love to know more about all the strange objects muggles used. But his father would most likely have killed him if he'd taken Muggle Studies. Well, hisfather was going to kill him anyway.

If they'd take him to some orphanage tomorrow or maybe to live with his great uncle in Scotland, maybe he could take Muggle Studies then? Would Dumbledore let him add a new subject in his fifth year? The class was two years ahead of him. Or would they let him take a third year class? Could he even still go to Hogwarts after what had happened? Maybe he would go to some other school. It might be easier to take a new subject when starting at a new school. But then he wouldn't see Professor Snape ever again. Would Snape mind if Draco sent him an owl every once in a while? Would he write back?

Draco finally fell asleep and dreamed of light switches and lamps and a muggle electrician
who could repair absolutely everything.



A/N - So what do you think? Did Lucius kill Narcissa? Will Snape find the owner of 'That Dog'? Will Draco take Muggle Studies? Please R/R.

In the next chapter: We meet the rest of the Snape family. Get a visit from a very impolite man and Draco wants to go to the park.


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