Author's Note: Just a warning before you read, this story is very much set in an alternate universe, but nothing I've done is random. I sat down and put great thought and consideration into each family and each character, and if you want an explanation because you don't understand why something is, feel free to PM me about it. Also, the title comes from Feltbeats. Tom is a talented guy. Enjoy.

Pop. That was all it took to change two lives forever. One little pop. Well, two little pops, but they were pops in different ways. The first pop was the sound of bone snapping beneath angry, strong fingers. A little boy's cry followed soon after, loud, pained, confused. The simple broken arm was easily fixed by someone who knew the right spell, but the boy would be scarred forever. The second pop, the louder one, was the sound of a mother and her child appearing on the edge of a river, two large bags in the mother's hands and a smaller one on the back of the boy. The mother looked around quickly, surveying the area while brandishing a lovely piece of woodwork like a wand. When she deemed the place safe, she whispered, "Hold onto Mummy's cloak, pumpkin," to her son and started scrambling up the bank.

"Mummy?" The little boy's voice was loud and seemed to ring in the silence of the night air. His mother glanced down at him but didn't stop moving.

"Yes, dear?"

"Where are we going?"

They started heading down a narrow, cobbled street, never slowing down for a second.

"We're going to visit an old friend, sweetie," the mother whispered rather urgently. "Mummy just needs a little help."

"Is Dad coming?"

They slipped through an alleyway onto another street, and the mother hoped that the darkness would shield the pained expression on her face from her five year old son. "No," she said in a rough whisper. "No, Dad's not coming."

The boy fell silent after that and took to looking around the area instead of asking his mother anymore questions. Some of the street lamps around them were broken; the houses around them were made of brick and their windows were dull and blind. They turned another corner and the boy found that the entire neighborhood they had entered looked like that. His brow furrowed as his heart started pounding a bit faster. The whole place was creepy - especially at night. However, whining had never brought him anything but a sharp smack, so he kept his fear hidden. He didn't say another word until they headed up a street called Spinner's End which seemed to be their destination.

"We're not going to see Auntie 'Dromeda, are we?"

It was a well-known fact that his mother and father weren't quite fond of this particular aunt, and by the way they talked about her, this seemed like the kind of place she'd live. But his mother just shook her head, looking at each house carefully as they passed.

"No, sweetie, we're visiting an old, old friend. He's been around a few times to see your father."

The boy wanted to ask more, but again fell silent. His mother seemed to have found the right house and was now leading him up the walkway. Any of the questions he had would be answered in a few short minutes.

The woman knocked on the door, pulling on her cloak to bring her son closer to her. Together they stood waiting, shivering slightly in the cool air. After a few seconds, movement could be heard behind the door, and it opened a crack. A sliver of a man appeared in the small space, black eyes looking at his visitors. When he realized who they were, his eyes widened and he opened the door a little wider.

"Narcissa," he said, sounding a bit surprised, "what a pleasant...surprise." His mouth seemed to twitch as he spoke and when he looked down at the young boy clinging to his mother's cloak, he frowned. "And little Draco, too?"

"Severus," Narcissa said, her voice strained, "I didn't know what else to do, who else to turn to. Please...may I speak to you? I'm so...so lost a-and I just need a friend."

Severus Snape paused, seeming to consider her words. Then, he opened the door all the way and stepped back, inviting the two Malfoys in with nothing more than a simple nod.

When they passed through the door, Narcissa and Draco found themselves already in a tiny sitting room. Draco tried to hide his look of terror; the place looked like a padded cell. The walls were lined with books of every size, most bound in old leather. All the furniture from the sofa to the rickety table looked well over-used and somewhat broken, and in the dim light of the candle-filled lamp that hung from the ceiling, the room just looked incredibly eery, like the lair of a mad alchemist in which a horrible experiment had gone wrong. He clung to his mother's side, terrified to be in such a house. Malfoy Manor was nothing like this, nor were any of the other houses he had gone to for playdates and such with his father's friend's children. Narcissa, however, didn't even seem phased by the mess and moved over to the sofa, sitting down with Draco still holding onto her tightly and placing her two giant bags at their feet.

"So, what can I do for you?" Snape asked, setting himself in the armchair opposite his two guests. "Usually you try to avoid my, uh...humble abode. So I'm curious as to what drew you out of the Manor at this time of night."

"I didn't know what else to do, Sev," Narcissa said, her voice still quiet and strained. "We couldn't stay in the house anymore, not with Lucius so...so angry all the time. You've heard, surely, about poor Draco's arm?"

Snape turned his gaze to the young blond, and Draco buried his face in his mother's arm. "I hadn't," the hook-nosed man said, and Draco shivered. Something about the guy was just...creepy.

"He snapped it," the witch said, voice rising. "Just snapped it, like it was no big deal! And he continued to hit the poor dear even when he cried out. Oh, Severus, it was awful..."

She placed a protective arm around her son, kissing his head as she tried to hold back her tears. It would do no good to cry in present company. She had a feeling all men were immune to tears.

"Was there any particular thing that brought this on?" Snape said quietly, his voice almost caring.

This was when Narcissa grew tense - Draco could feel it. Even her hand seemed to clamp down harder on his small arm.

"Well," she said, trying to choose her words carefully, "Draco's five now, as you know. And usually by age five, young wizards start to show more...magical properties." Draco found himself flushing in embarrassment. He'd always known that he was different from everyone else around him. While his parents and their friends were able to do magical things with their wands and his friends had random spouts of magical mishaps, he himself had never actually...done anything. He had never made something strange happen without meaning to, had never been anything but ordinary. He had always thought that he was just a particularly good wizard who was able to keep himself in check; but his father had made him feel otherwise, and now he couldn't bring himself to face either one of the adults in the room. "Draco, however...has not."

"So Draco is a squib?"

Narcissa seemed to hiss at the word, and Draco's heart pounded at the sound of it, waiting for the blow he was sure was coming like it always did when that word was mentioned. Squib, squib, squib. It was like a curse. Someone said it and Draco got hurt. Surprisingly, though, the pain he was expecting never came. It was then that he decided that he rather liked Severus Snape and that his house wasn't really that creepy. In fact, as he looked around it more, he even noticed a few toys left in the entryway to another room, a small toy broomstick in the corner of the house, and several drawings done on pieces of paper that were hung up where everyone who was looking could see them. There was a child around that was familiar with this place, and Draco figured that if that kid could like it, so could he.

"We're not entirely...sure," Narcissa admitted, rubbing Draco's shoulder soothingly. "I think so, but it's very possible he's just been...afraid. You know...of Lucius."

Snape nodded tightly, but before he could say anything, there was a small crash from another room. The man shut his eyes in a frustrated way and said, "Excuse me for a moment, Cissa. Malcolm's here for the night, and he's rather...fond of getting into things." He then stood from his chair and left the room quickly, leaving Draco and his mother alone.

"Mum?" Draco looked up at the worried face of his mother, wishing with a twisting stomach that he could smooth out the worry lines that had appeared on her face.

"Yes dear?"

"What's a squib?"

"It's a non-magical wizard."

The young boy frowned. "Oh."

His mother seemed to sense his distressed and planted a kiss on his head. "But there's nothing wrong with that," she said quietly, holding him close. "Absolutely nothing wrong at all."

Draco thought she seemed like she was trying to convince herself of that fact more than him, but he didn't argue. The safety of his mother's embrace kept him soothed and quiet until Severus entered the room again, looking tired but generally happy.

"Sorry about that," he said, taking his seat again. "Lily and James are off doing who knows what tonight, and Malcolm can never sleep at Grimmauld Place."

Narcissa nodded, but she was only barely listening to what he was saying. Her mind was elsewhere - on the items she had packed away quickly in their bags, on their current living situation, on how her family would react to something like this happening. It was only when Snape spoke again that she started listening; he was talking straight to her again.

"Narcissa...you did the right thing in leaving. I do not think any less of you because of it." The woman smiled at him, grateful. "But I don't understand what exactly you expect me to do about it."

"I just need somewhere safe," she said quietly. "Somewhere to go where Lucius won't think to look for me." Snape looked annoyed for a second and Narcissa continued quickly, "Please, Severus, you are one of my dearest friends. You are the only person I would trust to know our location, and I know that you know where some perfectly normal Muggle villages are. That's all I need, Sev. I just need to know where I can go where everyone is a Muggle that is just...normal."

Snape sighed, leaning forward in his chair. "You JUST need a normal place to live?" When Narcissa nodded again enthusiastically, he let out another sigh. "Well Lily's sister lives in this neighborhood..."

"Oh thank you, Severus!" Narcissa said, smiling for the first time since they arrived. "Thank you so, so, so much..."

"But," he said sharply, "you must never, ever give any indication that you are not one of them. No magically cleaning the house or cooking, no house elves, no wands, no anything."

Narcissa nodded her agreement to this, unable to say anything by that point but, "Thank you, Severus, thank you so much..."

Then Snape got up from his armchair and knelt down in front of Draco. The young boy hid his face for a second but then peeked to look at the man. "Hey Draco," he said quietly, conversationally, and the boy turned to face him fully. "You're going to be moving into a new house soon." Draco's eyes widened. "I know that must sound scary, but Draco? Draco, can you do something for me?" A few seconds passed and the boy nodded. "Okay. When you move into your house, you can't mention magic to anyone. You can't mention witches or wizards or Quidditch or anything. No more magic stuff. And if you accidentally let it slip, just tell them you're playing make believe. Can you do that?" Draco furrowed his brow. "Draco, please? It's for your mummy. She needs you to tell people it's all make believe if you forget not to say anything."

Telling him it was for his mother seemed to work, and Draco then nodded enthusiastically. "Make believe," he repeated, and Snape smiled.

"There you go, kiddo."

Narcissa watched the exchange with a small, sad smile. Snape really had a way with kids - surprising, as she had always pegged him as the child hating type.

Snape stood up again, looking down at the bags Narcissa had brought with them with a laugh. "I'm guessing you want to get moved in right away?"

Narcissa laughed shakily, as if unsure if she should be laughing during this period in her life at all. "It would help, yes," she said. "I don't want to intrude any more than I have to. Especially with your godson here."

Snape nodded again. "Right. Come with me then. I'll show you to Privet Drive."

And with another pop, the two Malfoys left the Wizarding world as they knew it behind them and allowed change to take over their lives.