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Narcissa was a smart woman. People always assumed that Luscius Malfoy was the dangerous one, but it was Narcissa Black Malfoy.
The woman who was hidden in the shadows but had more kills than anyone else in the death eaters, surpassing even Bellatrix, the dark lord's favourite.
Once she believed in something, she poured in her heart and soul to make it succeed.
She had never lost before.
That was, until the dark lord was thwarted by a baby.
Narcissa Black Malfoy knew the position they were in. Her husband had already been arrested, probably on his way to get a dementor's kiss.
The aurors were seconds away from entering the manor.
The way she saw it, she had two options: to either go out in a blaze of glory or to flee to France.
Normally, it wouldn’t be much of a choice. She would never let Luscius's murderer walk free.
But there was one thing to be taken into consideration.
Draco Malfoy. Her son. Their pride and joy and their whole world.
She would never do anything to jeopardise safety.
She could flee to France, she knew, and they could be hidden, safe. But it meant that Draco wouldn’t be able to get an education, a childhood.
He’ll be hidden in the darkness, never knowing a true home, hopping between countries in the middle of dangerous curses, one of which might cause his death.
She would never risk that.
She had one other option, a risky one, but she knew it would work.
With her mind made up, she disapparated with Draco in tow.
~
“I might not be there to see you grow up but I’ll always love you, my Draco.” Narcissa pressed a kiss to his forehead, her eyes prickling as her Draco stared at her with solemn eyes.
He always had been too smart for his own good.
She might have hated her sister, but she knew she would never turn away a kid, despite their heritage.
She knew better than anyone that one couldn’t help who they were born to.
With one last look at Draco, Narcissa Black Malfoy rang the bell, before disapprating back to the manor.
She had a husband to avenge.
~
Little did she know, at the same time, another boy at the same age was put at the doorstep of an estranged relative's house.
However, one would have a happier ending than the other.
~
“Are we keeping him?” Ted asked, as he stared at the bundle in his wife’s hands.
“Cissy would never have left him with us unless there was no choice. Besides, we can’t let a baby die on its own with a clear conscience can we?” Andromeda said as she stared at the body, the gleaming blonde hair and posh pureblood features easily revealing his parentage.
“We can always give him up for adoption.”
Andromeda pursed her lips. “You know we can’t. A death eater's son would be a prime target.”
Ted sighed, he knew it was pointless to argue otherwise.
“Mom? I saw the lights on and I figure I’d -”
Dora’s voice died off as she saw the baby in her mom’s arms.
Almost unconsciously, Dora’s hair turned blonde while her eyes changed from a warm brown to a bright gray.
Andromeda took a double take. It wasn’t everyday her daughter changed her appearance to look like a Malfoy.
“He’s amazing. Can we keep him?” Dora asked in wonder as Draco clutched her finger and smiled toothily at her.
Andromeda pursed her lips, still not over the shock of her daughter’s new appearance.
“What’s his name?”
“Draco.” Ted answered and Dora’s smile widened.
“Aw, are you going to grow up to be a big dragon?” Dora asked and Draco let out a soft giggle as he tried grasping her hair.
“Mom? Is Draco my new brother?”
Andromeda sighed. She had always been weak to her daughter’s wishes. Call it overcompensation for her own childhood.
“Yes, Dora. He’s your new brother.”
“Yes!” Dora’s hair changed to a bright purple to show her excitement and Andromeda couldn’t bring herself to regret her decision.
~
“I want to go to Hogwarts!” Draco whined as they made their way to the Hogwarts express.
“You’ll get your turn later, Draco.” Tonks grinned,ruffling his hair.
Draco’s hair was currently charmed blue, to match Tonks.
And sure that was one reason. The other was to hide the blonde hair that was the telltale sign of a Malfoy.
It had been three years since the war, but that didn’t mean that tensions were low.
There were still death eaters who ran away, and people who wanted revenge for the pain and misery they had caused.
Call Andromeda paranoid but she wasn’t going to take the chance.
And plus, Draco had grown on her.
He and Tonks had become inseparable, and Tonks seemed to love being an older sibling.
Draco had somehow easily fit into their home dynamic and he was always a joy to be around.
Well, most of the time.
When he didn’t run away from them.
Seriously, Andromeda spends one second hugging Dora and the next thing she knows, Draco disappears.
She hurriedly glances around, before catching sight of the blue hair in the middle of redheads.
Oh, that wasn’t good.
Those were the Weasleys.
They wouldn’t take kindly to a Malfoy.
“My name’s Draco.”
"Like a dragon?” The younger child asked, eyes lighting up.
Draco nodded vigorously. “Yes. I want to have a dragon pet one day. But mom says it's dangerous.” He frowned at the end of it, like she was the one being unreasonable.
The oldest child - Charlie was it? - waved his hand dismissively. “Parents lie sometimes. Dragons are amazing.”
“Charlie!” Molly said, scandalised as Charlie just gave her a grin.
Draco frowned harder, deep in thought. “Dragons are good?”
Charlie nodded wisely. “Dragons are good.”
Draco beamed, clapping his hands. “Dragons!”
“You and me little guy. We’ll get dragon pets later.”
“Dragons!!”
Andromeda figured it was time to interrupt their conversation.
“Hi Molly, sorry for little Draco here. He keeps disappearing off whenever I’m not looking.”
“Andromeda! I haven’t seen you in ages. I didn't even realise you had a second child!”
Andromeda opened her mouth - possibly to refuse but what could she say instead?
Before she got the chance though, Tonks came bouncing beside her.
“Hi! I’m Tonks.”
“Charlie.”
“Draco!” Everyone sent amused smiles at the blue haired baby, who was beaming up at them.
“Your brother’s amazing.”
"Oh I know. Don’t let his smile fool you though, he can be a menace when he wants to be.” Tonks muttered.
Charlie laughed. “I don’t doubt it.”
They were interrupted by the sound of the train whistle and then both families were suddenly preoccupied with goodbyes.
~
Somehow it became a thing.
Charlie and Tonks became the best of friends.
And of course, Charlie took every opportunity to owl Draco as well.
It was hard to find other dragon enthusiasts after all.
And somewhere along the way, Bill joined the little group.
They had met during the winter break, again at the Hogwarts express.
“Gringotts has so many protections, the goblins are so impressive -”
“Break into gringotts!” Draco said, taking it as a challenge, now with purple hair.
Bill stopped in his rant, staring at Draco with wide eyes.
Draco nodded, making up his mind. “You can help.”
They become fast friends.
~
The next three years continue like that, with conversations about dragons and gringotts.
Whenever possible, they show Draco bits of magic, which never fails to make him giggle.
No one realises how fast his magic progresses though.
At some point, Andromeda no longer needs to charm his hair to a different colour - Draco does it himself, despite not being a metamorphmagus.
~
The next Weasley Draco meets is Percy.
Percy Weasley is more silent than the others, but he shares a similar hirst for knowledge.
“There are numerous other transportations for wizards -”
“Wait, then why do people take the Hogwarts train?” Draco’s older now, more eloquent but he still retains his mischief.
Percy Weasley stops, brows furrowed. “Hold on. You have a point -”
~
After that, he meets the twins.
“Fred, is this the Draco - “
“That we have heard so much about George?”
“Already pranking? I like you guys.”
There’s silence at his statement, as the Weasleys and Tonks stare at him.
Tonks is the one who breaks the silence. “What do you mean?”
Draco rolls his eyes. “Well that, is Fred.” Draco says pointing to the red haired guy who spoke first. “And that’s George.”
He’s met with shocked expressions.
“Well, Georgie, I think we have found our match.”
“You’re right Freddie, I think we have.”
No one knows how Draco find out.
But the answer is quite simple, really.
The minute he saw the twin’s smirks, he just thought of what he would do if he had an identical twin.
It was surprisingly easy.
~
Finally, it’s Draco’s turn to go to Hogwarts.
By then, Bill, Charlie and Tonks have graduated.
But no worries, he still has the twins and Percy.
And he’s bound to make more friends.
As they make their way to the platform, Draco sees a small boy with a snowy white owl.
He looks confused, and Draco can’t see his parents anywhere.
He figures he’s lost and approaches the boy.
“Hi! I’m Draco Tonks. Are you going to Hogwarts too?”
The boy with emerald eyes looks at him, visibly sighing in relief.
He nods vigorously. “Yes! I’m going to Hogwarts. Do you happen to know how to get there?”
Draco shows him the way.
As they enter, he catches sight of the Weasleys and immediately makes his way over to them, the new boy in tow.
As he approaches, the Weasleys all fawn over him.
And Draco spots the other two Weasleys.
“Hi!”
Ginny, the younger one, beams up at him. “I love your pink hair!”
Draco smiles and then charms his hair green. “Is this better?”
Ginny gasps, looking in awe.
Ron Weasley just glares at him.
“So you’re Draco? Tonks brother?”
Draco nods, unsure of where it was going. Before coming to Hogwarts, Andromeda and Ted had told him the truth of his parentage, but that didn’t stop his feelings for all of them.
“You don’t look much alike.” Ron said, glaring at him.
Draco bristled, but he felt a shiver of fear. Did Ron know of him?
“Ron!” Molly Weasley berated. “Be nice!”
Ron sulked and without another word, left to board the train.
“Don’t worry Draco.”
“Ronniekins will warm up to you later.” George finished as he helped Draco carry his suitcase.
“Do you want to sit with us?” Draco asks, turning to the new boy.
The boy looks unsure so Draco adds, “You’re more than welcome too.”
As he nods, Draco beams at him.
~
They all end up in the same compartment, Ron, Harry (THE Harry Potter, Draco didn’t know how to feel: he was kind of the reason his original parents were dead so…) and Draco.
The twins and Percy had left to find their own friends, saying that Draco “needed more friends of his own age.”
Assholes.
Ron, surprisingly, broke the silence. “So what houses do you reckon you’ll be in?”
That question leads them to educate Harry on the houses.
"Slytherin is where all the evil people go."
Draco stood up, eyes blazing at the statement. "Take that back!"
"You know it's true." Ron huffs, rolling his eyes.
And suddenly, Ron's flung back into the wall, face to face with Draco.
"My parents went to Slytherin so I'd watch my mouth if I were you." With that Draco takes his bag and stalks out of the compartment, barely glancing back.
There's silence for a while.
Before Ron says, "Good riddance."
Harry nods, feeling uneasy at the display.
It reminded him of how his uncle used to shut him up, and it wasn't a welcome reminder.
"Anything from the trolley dears?"
They munch on their chocolates, almost forgetting Draco's outburst.
Almost.
Magical prowess aside, Draco had said parents .
~
“SLYTHERIN.” The hat barely touched Draco’s head before it screamed slytherin.
“I knew there was something off about him.” Ron muttered, still annoyed with the whole train confrontation. Maybe now his family will realise he wasn't the person he appeared to be.
The surprising thing though, was that the other Weasley brothers were yelling themselves hoarse, as they clapped for Draco.
Ron scowled harder. (He wasn’t jealous of Draco he wasn’t - )
The next one to go up on stage is Harry, who's placed in Gryffindor.
Finally, its Ron's turn.
In another timeline, the hat would contemplate between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor.
In this one, its not much of a choice.
The hat sees a boy with a thirst to prove himself, who had been in his brother’s shadow long enough, who had been overshadowed by a Malfoy in his own family, even if he didn't know it.
The hat sees a boy who was clever enough to look beyond Draco Tonks , even if his intentions were misplaced.
The hat sees a boy who would be loyal to a fault, who would fight for his ideals and was determined, similar to another boy he had sorted a while ago, who took after his birth mother.
In the end, its relatively easy.
Ron doesn't get the chance to argue.
"SLYTHERIN". The hall falls silent.
Ron Weasley is the first Weasley to be placed in Slytherin.
~
"Already making a mark on Hogwarts!" Fred shouts first, breaking the silence.
"We're so proud." George adds, adding a wolf whistle for good measure.
The twins start cheering, followed by Percy and then the rest of the school follows.
After all, they already had a brother in Slytherin, what was one more?
~
Ron made up his mind the minute the hat sorted him after getting over his initial shock.
He was going to be the exception.
Not all Slytherins were going to turn out evil.
And while he was at it, he was going to figure out the mystery that was Draco Tonks.