Choices

The House

That Monday of Mid-March, Draco stepped out of the bus and walked the streets of Little Haven.

It seemed to the seventeen-year-old that he was finally getting his life right, he'd spent years listening to his father and received a suicide mission and a torturous year, but perhaps if his life had gone differently he would not be standing where he was now.

He had a girlfriend that he loved and they were raising a child, he had a job he enjoyed and people in his life that he cared for and knew that he could trust them too.

But they were missing one thing.

A home.

The flat had seen them through several tumultuous times but also some truly beautiful moments, as much as he hated it, Draco could treasure those memories and the lessons he'd learned there, but ultimately the flat just wasn't a home.

Draco wanted the whole cliché, the house with the garden where Harry could play, his own room, a fireplace, his dreams were much smaller than before but they meant so much more.

He no longer had the money to afford a mansion but he could make do with this new life.

And Little Haven was the start.

It was closer to his work than the flat was, it was a beautiful place, close to the beach, and despite her fervid imagination, Mrs. Rees had always been kind to them with nothing to gain from it.

Little Haven felt like home to Draco.

The last time he'd visited it had been hard to focus on anything besides Ginny, and while she was still in his thoughts it was for a very different reason this time.

One house had particularly stood out in his blurry memories.

The house stood slightly away from most others, perfect for a magic family, the garden, while currently unkempt, was wide and would be greatly enjoyed by an enthusiastic toddler, and what worked the most for him and his plan:

The house was completely dilapidated.

For muggles, he had read, a house in such a decrepit state was usually a very troublesome acquisition as the cost of reparations would greatly outweigh the cost of the house itself, but for Draco that was perfect as such houses would have lower prices that fit better with what he could buy.

The real estate agent didn't seem impressed when he arrived, it was laughable how easy it was to see that, Draco knew he didn't make the best of impressions at his age and his financials were just good enough, but there was one thing he'd learned from his father.

He knew how to make sellers listen to him.

Draco walked like he already owned the place and his smile was a weapon.

"I am sure we could find another place," the agent said with an overly polite smile "Mr Hewitt, maybe a flat would... suit you more?"

He looked down on the agent with more confidence than he actually had, the key was to never look intimidated by the other and always show them you believe you belong there.

"And I am sure you wouldn't want to lose a client," Draco smiled too, but his was mocking, and gave the agent less space for scorn "It doesn't look good but I'm sure you already knew that"

The agent was annoyed but clearly wouldn't try to sneer at him anymore that visit, Draco couldn't care less what happened afterward, he only needed the house.

"As you can see," the agent began, guiding him on the gravel path towards the front door "The garden is a lot of disrepair, there hasn't been anyone in the house since the forties"

Draco agreed with a hum, he was imagining if he'd add a swing set in the garden and it sounded like a fun possibility, although he might have to learn to do one himself, the prices he'd seen weren't good for that idea.

"The door jams in the entrance," the agent trying to spite him by pointing out the houses' flaws was so funny to Draco, every bad thing they said would just be another thing to lower the price of the house for him "So that will need changing"

"This is the living room, the fireplace doesn't work anymore"

Draco looked around and smiled, the room was just terrible and that was perfect for him, what really mattered was how spacious it was and on that front, it was as he'd hoped, the fireplace was beautiful and he could imagine adding furniture and their pictures and Harry would be able to paint the walls if he wanted without worries.

"This way is the kitchen" Draco followed the agent into the next room "It's divided into a kitchen and that part can be turned into a dining area I suppose, but the whole kitchen needs updating"

Draco touched the counters and agreed that it would need something new and better but he loved how well he could move through the space and wondered what was the first thing they would make, maybe he should learn some new recipe?

"The bathroom and the bedrooms are upstairs," Draco was pushed away from his musings again and continued the tour "Of course, the bathroom is in such a state, please attention on that step it is not safe, in such a state that it will be necessary to change everything"

He nodded politely, the wood under his hand was solid and he knew he could make a good work out of it.

The bathroom was indeed extremely old and destroyed, Draco wondered if he might need help for that but thought that ultimately the house as a whole was more than that small thing. But what the bathroom lacked, the bedrooms made up for it.

There were only two but they were beautiful, both looked over the city and Draco could picture adding the beds already, and his bedroom was smaller than what he used to have but after repairs were done it would be very cosy and even had a window couch that they could read stories to Harry that would finally have his own bedroom they'd take him to when he fell asleep.

"It's definitely not a starter house as you can see, Mr Hewitt," the agent said when they went down the stairs "But I'm sure I'll--"

"I'll buy it," Draco said, already having his heart set on the house.

"But the cost of the house, not to mention the repairs" the agent struggled for words, sure they had done a terrible job and taught the boy a lesson.

"I'm sure the cost of the house won't be a problem" Draco smile was poison as he continued "I mean, you said it yourself, it's in such a state, I can't... imagine," his sarcasm making the agent grit their teeth "Selling a house as awfully maintained, as you told me, for much"

The agent couldn't even deny their own words and selling the house for more after they'd spent all that time tearing it apart would be worse for them.

"Very well, we'll talk prices and then I'll get the papers ready," they said, having to smile even as they wanted to strangle the blond.

The next time Draco stepped into the house he had the satisfaction of knowing it was his, it was the house he'd build for his family, the house he'd see Harry grow up, that he'd share with Ginny, outside the tiny flat and into a place that belonged only to them.

His hand trembled when he reached into his pocket and took his wand.

Draco had to take a deep breath, it wasn't easy for him to repeat those spells, the reason he'd learned them was so distant from his purpose now and it was almost hard to actually do them.

But he knew that inside they were still the same.

He was doing it for his family, it didn't matter if he learned to repair with a cursed cabinet, they were what mattered for him, what had always mattered.

It would need time to fix the whole house but watching the splinters slowly going back to their place, the floor getting firmer under his shoes and the windows clearing, he knew he could do it.

Because it was home.