Disclaimer: I do not purport to own any of the harry potter universe. That's all JKR!
Draco laughed, picking up the plastic toy and handing it back to the child for what must have been the hundredth time that afternoon. Almost immediately, the toy sailed across his head again. The little girl smirked, causing Draco to laugh even more.
“Louisa, do you enjoy making me run after your toys?” Draco asked, ruffling her mounds of brown curly hair. The little girl’s smirk changed into a full toothy grin. She wrinkled up her nose in concentration and suddenly, the green plastic cow whizzed high in the air, leaving bright sparkly trails, before coming back into her hands.
“Louisa, Louisa, no, don’t do that, Sweetie.” Draco looked around rather nervously.
“You know that you’re not supposed to do magic here at the park, love.” He sighed, grateful that no one else seemed to notice a flying plastic cow or the now-fading waves of color above them. He could see disappointment in the little girl’s face as her bottom lip started to quiver. He cringed, knowing how frustrated she was because she was unable to explore her magical abilities. He made a mental note to look up some kind of spell that might hide magic from muggle eyes so that she could have some space in which to safely play.
“Louisa, Dearest, I’m going to see what I can do about finding a safe way for you to do some magic, okay?” Her smile returned and she vigorously nodded her head when he said, “But you must promise me that you won’t tell ANY of the other children and especially not those dreadful Muggles back at the home.” He took her hand then, helping her up off the ground where she’d been playing. He brushed off the dirt and grass from her new dress, again sighing. It was time to return her to those muggles. He found a small smile for her, though, and he lifted her up in his arms and starting walking towards the home.
He was quiet as they returned to her home. Home, he sneered to himself. Some home this is. Draco knew that the place was the best of its kind. He’d done his research- well, maybe he hadn’t actually done the research- but he trusted the person who had. This place was bright and cheery and full of other children from situations similar to Louisa’s. Not that anyone could ever be truly like Louisa, he thought, or understand what she is and where she came from. The thought made him shudder for a moment and he gave the child in his arms an extra squeeze.
Louisa was still holding her toy cow and chattering rather nonsensically to it as Draco carried her home. When they were just a few blocks away, she quieted down. She put her head on his shoulder, wondering when he’d come back to see her again.
Draco felt her mood change but said nothing. When they got to the porch, he placed her on the porch swing. Kneeling down so he could be at eye-level with her, he grasped her little hands in his own.
“Louisa, I have to go now. But I’ll be back very, very soon. You know what Friday is, don’t you?” The child looked at him for a minute before she smiled. “It’s your birthday, love. You know I wouldn’t miss that. Now I want you to think about something special that you’d like to do for your big day,” he said.
“Anything?” she asked, smiling mischievously. He laughed at her impishness, knowing that he’d do anything in the world for her.
“Anything,” he said.
She looked thoughtful for a moment, “Okay, Daddy, I’ll tell you when you come back on my birthday.” With that, she jumped up into his embrace. He held her close to him, breathing in her delightful childish smell- just a touch of irises mingled with fresh earth. He thought nothing could smell better.
At that moment, the front door opened and a rather portly woman with graying brown hair stepped into the doorway. “Dinner,” she said. “Mr. Malfoy, will you be joining us this evening?”
“No thanks, Ms. Dorothy. But may I talk with you for a minute before I take my leave?” With one last hug for Louisa, he playfully scooted her inside the door. She giggled and ran down the hall towards the sounds of playing children. Draco waited for the matron to settle herself on the porch swing before speaking.
“Ms. Dorothy, Friday is Louisa’s fifth birthday. I’d really like to get her pet- an owl, actually. I think it’d be rather easy for her manage.” He held his breath and the older woman looked at him.
“Hmmm… well, that’s an interesting pet for a young child, Mr. Malfoy. But Miss Louisa is a rather interesting child, isn’t she?” She smiled at the tall, good-looking young man in front of her. “You know, she’s not the first one in my charge to have a pet owl.” She saw the look of relief come over his face. “Of course, she’ll be the only one right now to have a pet owl,” she said with a small chuckle.
“Thank-you, Ms. Dorothy. Good evening.” Draco turned and walked off the porch, heading back towards town. The old matron watched him, clicking her tongue. That man loves his daughter, I know. I’ll never understand why he doesn’t just take the child. She sighed to herself, walking back into the house.
Draco always felt so empty when he left Louisa. He thought about his conversation with Ms. Dorothy. She wasn’t so bad, really- for a muggle. She was strict, to be sure, but she knew that Draco was a wizard and that his daughter was surely a witch. She didn’t punish Louisa for “magical” accidents. Her sister, Ms. Nancy, was a different story altogether. He winced, hoping that she didn’t know about Louisa’s abilities. He consoled himself with the knowledge his daughter was safe and well taken care of by both women. The other children were fine, too. He had noticed that they sometimes gave Louisa strange looks and whispered behind their hands when she wasn’t paying attention. He just hoped that she didn’t feel too out of place.
When he was a few blocks away from Louisa’s home, he ducked behind a tree and Apparated back to his apartment.
He had no idea that a woman with brown eyes and slightly bushy hair had been watching him. Indeed, she’d been observing Draco Malfoy the entire afternoon as he played with a lovely blue-eyed brown-haired little girl- and this was not the first time she’d watched him with the child, either.