Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter.
I pulled the 'Sold' sign from the front yard of my new house, sighing at the large hole it left in the ground. He'd have to fix it later, when the neighbors weren't so busy watching me.
Muggles. What on earth had possessed me to move around Muggles?
Well, at least this way, no one would expect to find me here all the way up in northern England. . . . Though, technically speaking, I wasn't actually hiding out. I wouldn't care if Potter and his friends found me. What I was hiding from, was the after-affects of the bloody war, the loss of my childhood home, my family, my life. . . .
What I needed was a fresh new start. Here, nothing would be expected of me except to be a good neighbor, which meant, hopefully, nobody would bother me and I could go on with my business.
Throwing the old sign into the shed at the back of my house, I went inside of my small home, dusting of my hands. The house was indeed smaller than anything I had ever lived in before. If I had to call it anything, I'd call it a two-story cottage. Walking into the living room, I took in the plain living room, with its green couch and matching armchair and it's bookshelves against the wall. The kitchen wasn't much more extravagant, with one wooden table and a chair to go with it, a refrigerator off to the side next to the oven and the sink. The den, my favorite place in the house, was still overcrowded with boxes of books and old paperwork, but in its midst was a comfortable leather chair and a mahogany desk. The bathroom and a linen closet rested down a small hallway off the bathroom. I looked towards the stairs where the entrances to my bedroom, another bathroom, and a spare bedroom lay.
Of course, I had no use for the spare bedroom so, as of now, it was simply another storeroom.
As I was heading for my den to straighten things out, there was a small, knock on my door, as if the person were scared to actually get my attention. I caught myself just before simply using magic to open the door and pulled it open myself. Living as a Muggle was definitely going to take some work.
The woman standing at my door looked shocked, to say the least, at the sight of me, but he had to admit I was shocked at the sight of her. This woman looked more like a Muggle than any other person I had seen. To tell the truth, she was dress as if from one of those old . . . what do you call them? Oh, right, magazines. She wore a blue, flower pattern dress and flat toe shoes, her black hair drawn back into a bun. She looked so . . . conventional.
She smiled brightly, suddenly. "Welcome to the neighborhood," she said, happily with an Irish accent.
When I didn't reply, she seemed to get nervous. She looked to the ground for a second, before thrusting out a plate of cookies. "I made these for you, as a welcome present."
I still didn't respond, just watched her. She was pretty, I suppose, but it was mostly her eyes, which seemed to sparkle though there was no unique color to them at all; they were just brown, but it was like someone had thrown glitter into her eyes.
She shifted nervously from one foot to the other. "My name's Samantha Justins, by the way. I know what it's like to be new; just moved here a couple of months ago. This neighbor is a tad bit . . . predictable, if you can't tell. That's why I'm dressed like this. The others that live here are all old squares."
Samantha laughed, slightly, trying to lighten the mood. I looked down because I wasn't used to this sort of thing, to speaking with Muggles.
Suddenly, a little boy poked his head out from behind Samantha, looking up at me apprehensively.
"Oh," Samantha said, following my gaze. "This is my son, Benjamin. Come on out, Benny, don't be shy."
Benjamin stepped out from behind her, his own brown eyes drifting up towards me. I looked from him to Samantha, wondering how on earth he could be her son. Sarah could only be my age, around twenty-two or twenty-three, but the boy looked to be about six.
"One of the many other reasons why people here don't like me," she whispered, seeming to catch what I was thinking. "But it doesn't matter because we love this neighborhood. I'm sure you'll grow to like it too."
Another awkward silence fell. Samantha held out the plate of cookies again and, this time, I took it. "Thank you," I said.
Samantha smiled widely at me, taking Benjamin's hand. "We'll just be going to let you finish settling in. See you, sometime?"
I was hesitant, but I nodded. Samantha nodded back, saying, "Well, see you then. Say bye, Benny."
The little boy waved at me, quickly before turning and trying to pull his mother. "Oh," she said. "I didn't quite catch your name."
Seeing as how she had given me her name, I figured it would only be polite to give her my name. But then I stopped, wondering just how far my name could have gotten in the Muggle world. So, instead, I said, "Malcolm. Drake Malcolm."
Samantha smiled again, saying, "Nice meeting you, Drake."
With that, she let her soon pull her way, back halfway down the street to number one, Losin Street.
Shaking my head, I moved back into my own house. So much for not being bothered. But I had to admit, i hadn't actually minded. I removed the wrap from the cookie plate, taking out a cookie, and bit off a piece.
Yum, chocolate chip.
A/N: lol, so kinda weird ending, right? Yeah I know. Anyway new story, hope you liked it so far. Just tell me what you think. Um, I don't think I have a teaser for this one yet so just stay turned for the next chapter. Thank you.