Domestic Wizardry (Dramione)

Chapter 1: Will you call?

"Dad?" Scorpius set his book bag neatly on the hook by Draco's office fireplace, which was the one they most commonly for floo travel to school drop off and pick up.

The Manor was a very different place than it had been when Draco had had private tutors in every day as a child.

His son attended Our Lady of the Lake Preparatory school and had a small space set aside by the floo for his bookbag and the honking clarinet he'd elected to play in the ensemble. The wizarding primary school was new. It was built to help integrate muggle born children more consciously into wizarding society before they were sent away to boarding school at Hogwarts. These days muggle born children received a visit from a witch or wizard when they were 8, and were offered the chance to attend a day school that taught not only the muggle subjects but also wizarding history and law. Children of Wizarding families could attend as early as age 6, and Scorpius had been enrolled from that age. It was also established as a way to break down the pureblood ignorance of muggle technology and history as well. Two birds with one stone and all that, though it wasn't compulsory and many pureblood wizarding families still chose to go the route of private tutors. But not the Malfoys. Not any more.

His wife, Astoria, had been a patron of the school before Scorpius was born and she made Draco promise that he'd attend when he was old enough. Made him promise on her very death bed. Draco ran a hand across his face, he'd watched her fade away slowly after Scorpius was born. She hadn't even made it to his first birthday.

"Dad?" Scorpius repeated, dragging Draco's mind back to the present as he pulled his homework out of his backpack, the tall 8 year old looked up at him. "My friend Rose told me today that her dad burnt every book in the house over the weekend."

Draco stopped shocked, "why the hell would someone do something so barbaric?" He asked without thinking.

"I don't know. She said he's mad all the time though, and her mum loved the books so much and cried for a whole day. She's scared." Scorpius looked at him. He had Astoria's brown eyes and curly hair, though it was just as white blond as Draco's, and he loved the people around him with the same fire his mother had. "Do you think she and her mum could come stay with us for a few days? So they're safe? I don't think they're safe at home."

Draco tried to remember if he knew who Rose was.

Rose... Scorpius was a social butterfly and had more than a handful of friends. He couldn't remember right off if she was one of the muggle born kids or a wizarding one. Was she the red haired girl who's family avoided them like the plague at school events?

"I have her mum's number." His son held out one of his homework sheets, the mobile number written in his son's neat but childish script in the corner had an unfamiliar area code. He took the paper. Scorpius watched him waiting patiently for an answer.

"I will call and see. But I doubt her mother will accept, Scorp. If she's from a muggle born family, they'll have community resources they can reach out to." If she wasn't- the chances of her being willing to accept the Malfoy's hospitality were less than 50/50. He had rebuilt his family's good name over the years but there were still those who looked at him like he had been the sole cause of the second wizarding war.

"I don't know if her dad is a wizard- but he took her mom's wand and threatened to break it while he threw the books out the window. It was scary to watch."

"That's a whole 'nother cauldron then son." he sighed, "But I'll call." He sat down on the small bench that held Scorp's school shoes and wellies, and hugged his boy.

"Will you call now? Her dad doesn't get home till late."

"You're that worried?"

Scorpius looked down, "she's a legilimens. Like me. She's shown me the fights. He scares me." He said softly. Scorpius was very careful of his magic- being a natural telepath was highly unusual and the fact that his best friend was also one was even more strange. Scorpius had learned early that it was not safe to intrude in others' minds.

"Can you show me?"

"Will you call as soon as I do? Rose asked me not to show anyone else. But I know that's not safe." Draco put his hands gently on Scorpius' shoulders.

"I promise. If it's as dangerous as you say, We'll do everything we can to help."

"And we can do a lot can't we, dad?" He looked up at his father with those rich brown eyes and Draco brushed the blond curls from his son's face, looking for more signs of his mother. The sweet spirit was hers, the eyes, the curls, but the bones of his face were 100% Malfoy. Shave them both bald and paint them green, and you'd never think the boy was anything but his son.

"We definitely can, son."

Scorpius put his hand in Draco's and he felt the young boy's presence in his mind.

He heard the voice first, and almost recognized it. Then the vision of the tall red headed man slinging the final handful of books out a broken window, came into focus. He screamed obscenities at a curly haired woman who tried to get them from him until he backhanded her so hard she fell to her knees, the books falling from her arms as she instinctively moved them to protect her head from a second blow. "I already took your wand bitch. Don't make me break it." The woman looked away and her eyes caught Draco's- no, not his eyes. Her daughters eyes.

Draco ripped himself from Scorpius' mind, throwing up his mental walls, breathing hard.

"Dad?" Scorpius looked at him worriedly, "what's wrong?"

Draco fumbled his cellphone out of his pocket, and punched in the numbers with shaking hands. He felt sick, he'd seen that look on her face before and it still haunted his nightmares. "Why don't you find Nana while I make this phone call?" It was only by years of living with the Dark Lord that he was able to keep his tone light and voice level even as adrenaline surged through him.

"Do you think they'll come?" His son was so hopeful.

Draco swallowed hard, meeting his boy's eyes for a moment before looking away again.

"I don't know, Scorp. I went to school with Rose's parents- so her mum might not be comfortable staying with us, but I will make sure they're safe." This time he wouldn't stand by stupidly.

"But if you were school friends-" Scorpius's eyebrows creased, confusion written on his face. Draco put his phone down and set his hands on his son's shoulders.

"You know how James Potter makes fun of you for being a Malfoy?"

Scorpius' eyes went hard "yeah."

"Yeah, I used to do the same to Rose's mum and dad. James's dad too."

"But that was a long time ago!" he exclaimed.

"I know, buddy." he patted Scorpius on the shoulder, "Go find nana and tell her we should prepare for visitors just in case. You can tell her it's your friend Rose and her mother." Scorpius nodded and left, pulling the door shut behind him. Draco looked down at his phone, sitting on the bench beside him. Such a strange muggle device, but so very useful. Blaise Zabini had insisted he get one as soon as he'd learned about it from a muggle born friend he'd met in medical school. He looked at the number again, praying it was the right one as he picked up the phone and hit the dial button.

He had no idea where Rose Granger-Weasley and her mother lived, but he prayed she'd at least answer the call.