Chapter 3

                                        

                                              
Published: 6/4/2025

Four years later

"Do you want some more, mon cœur?" Draco asked.
"Oui, s'il vous plaît!" his son asked.
"D'accord," Draco said with a smile as he dumped more sausages from the takeout dish on his plate.
"Mademoiselle?" he asked, turning to his neighbor. 
The older woman scoffed, "Tosh... Yes. You an' yer posh French."
He laughed quietly and passed more onto her plate as well. She was usually cankerous, but for food and some supplies, she was willing to watch his son while he was working. The muggle wasn't always there mentally sometimes, but she was great with his son.
"Thanks for eating with us, Madam Jenna," his son said, politely when they finished.
"Thank you for having me, child. Yer a sweet boy, like yer Pa."
Draco felt pride at her wands. He had been living with Muggles for the last four years, using magic sparingly. He had his bag and wordlessly shrank or enlarged their supplies under their pop-up tent. He rarely had to use his magic to Confound muggles if they saw too much. He set wards... he knew the Aurors still wanted him. He didn't dare misuse magic, lest it bring a spotlight onto them.
Currently, he had found a defunct building project to hide out in. Most of the walls and windows were intact, though many were boarded up. The roof and floors above them kept the rain out. The building was eight stories high, and Draco picked the sixth floor to camp out in. Seven other muggles had claimed spots on the floor. Even more were below. The sheer amount of people would alert him to an Auror sweep.
Thankfully, most muggles were off in their own worlds. A few tried to push them out, but his son was a cutie and seemed to deter violence. Thankfully, no one was outwardly hostile. Draco still slept with his shoes on and his son in his arms. His pack was his pillow. Apart from being ready to defend himself, he also was ready to flee. 
He hated that his son grew up in such unpleasant circumstances, but he did the best he could to make him happy and loved. When it was nice, he took his little guy to the park to play and read him stories in the sun. His boy was incredibly smart and kind. Nothing like the monster he had been. Draco wanted to give him everything, but he couldn't and even his son knew that. 
He couldn't use magic to exploit the Muggles as it could alert the Aurors. Draco cleaned his son and himself in private wandlessly and never changed in front of him. Their pop tent was warded from eavesdroppers. At night, Draco would read and teach his son until he went to sleep, and then Draco left to go to work. Jenna would watch out for him. An older tweaker nearby wouldn't allow anyone near his son, either, but the Muggle-Repelling Wards on the pop-up seemed to work, too.
Draco worked as a bartender at a gay club in London's dodgy West End. He figured that it was far enough away from Diagon Alley and Ministry-built-up areas. The bar was dimly lit, and Draco always covered up his Mark and scars. He got good tips as the guys loved to hit on him and try to get into his pants, but he took no offers.
He placed an unobtrusive magic sensor ward around the place. He couldn't let his guard down, even after five years. The Aurors would never give up looking for him, and he couldn't risk his son being raised by someone who hated him. Quite a few times, he considered leaving his sweet child with a muggle family, but he just couldn't let his son go. He spent every waking moment not at work, telling his son stories or teaching him how to read and understand magic. His son was so careful using magic around muggles. He understood that it was a secret.
His son was his only star in his life. Everything he did was to keep him safe and loved. His worst fear was that his son would be abused or hurt like he was. This muggle abandoned building was the safest place he had found. He had tried muggle shelters, but no matter how many times he Confounded the muggle staffers, police were always called to investigate his situation. 
Squatting wasn't easy or safe, but the old muggle squatters nearby were willing to watch his son and take care of him if he had to run, as he brought food and supplies back. They were just as enchanted by his son's innocence and friendly presence and wouldn't let anything happen to him.
It was nearly two when Draco came home and laid down to sleep. His eyes were almost closed when his magic proximity wand went off. He instantly was alert. He felt out with his magic. There was a lot of movement down below and magic being cast. Witches and wizards were crawling through the building. He noted that his other wards had been disabled. Aurors. He grabbed his bag and debated trying to take his son.
The other squatters were waking up, too. 
"Waz goin' on?" Jenna asked.
"Raid. Can you bring him to the park at six?" he asked.
"Hundred pounds."
"Fine. Here's fifty. I'll leave the food."
"Papa?" his son's tiny voice cried, scared. 
"Game time, mon cœur. Just like we practiced. Stay with Madam Jena and stay quiet, okay?" he said as the yelling got louder. 
He couldn't risk his son being caught with him by the Aurors. They were guaranteed to terrify everyone and taunt his son. Draco knew his son would be targeted if they were captured together. But if only Draco was caught, Jenna would take his star to the muggle police, though he still didn't have much faith in that plan either. The muggle system didn't exactly have the best reputation.
"I love you, Scorp," he whispered, kissing his head.
Though they had practiced this, Scorpius knew that this was the real thing.
"I wuv you, Papa," he whined, hugging his leg desperately.
"Stay here and be quiet, okay?" Draco said. 
"I will, Papa," His star promised.
Draco gave him another kiss before taking off to the elevator shaft. Draco peered down and saw the mountain of trash and shit at the bottom. Dumping ground. He had sealed the elevator access points on the floors below. He clipped on a safety harness and repelled down the shaft at high speeds. Magic might have alerted the Aurors. He landed at the bottom of the shaft, unclipped and ran to the sewer access.
Luckily, it was not flooded, and he crawled through the pipes until he reached a manhole access several blocks away. He cleaned the filth off magically and climbed out onto the street. He saw no sign that he had been followed and quickly left the area.