Where The Sun Drops | drarry post-war

one | the empty manor

The first thing Draco did, upon realising his predicament as a ghost with no key to the afterlife, was to revert to his childhood self and try to find his parents.

You want your Mummy, Draco? The little voice in his head sneered. You're seventeen years old, get a bloody grip.

But he did need to see his mother, more than anything. He needed to know if she survived the war, if she'd evaded Azkaban - God, how long had it been since he left his body?

He'd died on the 2nd of May 1998, he knew that, but he had spent what felt like quite a long time heading vaguely upwards since then. It could have been mere hours or even months; time seemed to affect him differently now he was just a soul.

When the ground came more clearly into view, however, it was clear the trees were still vibrantly green so Draco could tell that it was not yet Autumn: mid-summer perhaps?

Maybe it's my birthday, he thought, then felt oddly cold and sad. Birthdays had never been a particularly happy affair for Draco, but the idea that they'd stop for him at 17 was kind of depressing.

Without the constraints of his mortal body, Draco found it was possible to move with surprising speed and agility through the atmosphere, and distracted himself quickly from his sadness by attempting to locate Malfoy Manor from the sky.

In the sunlight the building always looked far less imposing, but Malfoy Manor was never what Draco would call a happy-looking place. Weak yellow rays reflected off the marble pillars, and glinted almost meanly off the sixth window along on the third floor too: that had always been Draco's room.

On a whim, the ghost boy drifted down to that particular window on currents of the warm wind and pressed his face against the glass. Much to his discomfort, the glass didn't feel solid to him any more, and it took no resistance to glide straight through it into the bedroom. It felt like moving through water, not years of weathered stone and glass.

Inside, the room looked largely as he'd left it last term before his return to Hogwarts. The silk sheets on his mahogany four-poster bed were made up as if he'd be coming home that night to slide under them, the pillows plumply propped and ready for him.

He suspected it was his mother's wish to keep it looking the same. She was probably losing her mind without him - if she was still alive, that was. The sudden image of his mother reminded Draco why he'd come down to the Manor in the first place, and he set out the same way he'd come in, in order to find her.

Draco didn't feel like taking the stairs, it felt a very mortal thing to do, and besides, he knew the house inside out by now so he knew he could locate the right windows. After a quick scan of the expansive grounds, however, it became apparent he wouldn't need to go back inside- he had caught sight of a dark head with the familiar blonde streaks through it.

She's at the family plot, Draco realised with a sickening jolt. That must mean that's where I am.

He couldn't even be happy that Narcissa was safe, such was the surreal nature of the realisation. She was there, unmistakably, but she was crying over Draco's grave, and he wondered for a second whether it would be dangerous to confront her so suddenly.

Once he was nearer, though, and could see the full torment in his mother's face, the decision was clear.

"Hi, Mum," Draco said. His voice came out in a dry sort of croak - being alone in the clouds for so long, he hadn't had cause to use his voice, and clearly it was worn a way a little. He had been through death, after all.

He tried again, more succinctly this time. "Mum, it's me. It's Draco."

But his mother didn't look up, and Draco's heart sank. He drifted down so that his face was directly in front of hers: still nothing.

God, it was weird to see those dates and his name on the gravestone.

DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY
5 JUNE 1980 - 2 MAY 1998

No extra inscription though. Nothing to say he was loved or missed. It didn't at all look like what you'd expect to see on the grave of a 17-year-old boy.

It occurred to Draco, suddenly, that it was strange that his grave had been allowed in the family at all. After all, he had died betraying the side of his family. It looked like his mother loved him, though, from the look on her face. That was nice, but also heartbreaking.

"It's me, Mum," Draco tried again, though he knew it was no use. "Stop crying, please. Please. It's Draco."

Why are you torturing yourself like this? Came the voice in his head. She can't fucking see you, leave her alone. She's grieving.

Draco shook his head as though trying to physically dislodge the voice.

"No," his voice broke on the word. "Mum, please."

There were lilies on his gravestone. White ones.

The name of the flowers conjured a sudden memory for Draco and he felt an enormous flash of anger at Potter. It was his fucking fault he was dead, after all.

In his miraculous leap "back to life", Draco would've thought Perfect Potter surely could have managed to aim a quicker Death curse at the Dark Lord, but no, it had been up to Draco to hurl him the fucking wand and save his reckless little life.

If only Draco hadn't been so goddamn thoughtless in helping him, he might still have a heartbeat now. It was so wildly unfair.

Mindless, impulsive Potter and his selfish decisions. He got to play the hero while Draco ended up murdered before he even hit 18.

Bet he loved the glory, Draco seethed. Boy who fucking Lived saves the wizarding world again. Stupid twat.

Draco found himself boiling up with rage, rage like he'd never felt before, and he shot up into the sky in an attempt to release some of it. He'd always hated Potter, but this time it was different. God, how dare he live a normal life after what he'd let happen to Draco? How dare he eat, and breathe, and walk around like he was innocent?

Draco resolved to track Potter down, and to make him feel a portion of the pain he was feeling. Boy, would he make him regret what he did.

"You'll be begging to trade places with me when I'm finished with you, Potter," Draco spat venomously, before setting off into the horizon.

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a/n: first chapter done! thank you for all the support on the prologue, it made me think i'd like to give you the first chapter at least but i am still mostly focusing on fatherhood so don't expect super fast updates on this one yet🤍

however, i do have a plan for this one so don't worry, more chapters will be uploaded when i have the time :))) keep yourselves safe, please leave a vote and comment if you enjoyed this start!

- paradisedraco