Sulyn Donnely wanted nothing more than to go home.  It was early in the day, still hours away from noon and her lunch break, and Sulyn found herself wondering why she hadn't taken a different job.  There were twelve small children running about her, and these were only the kids who didn't have tutoring.  After noon, there would be a slew of school-age children arriving, ranging from ages five to ten.  She despised school-age children.

It was early autumn in London and there were dreary skies outside the window of the Ministry Child Care center, located in Diagon Alley for the parents of busy ministry officials.  Sulyn felt the rain reflected her mood.  This wasn't what she thought she would be doing after graduating from Hogwarts two years ago.  With the Dark Lord gone, things were supposed to be prosperous.  How her mother had talked her into watching rowdy toddles, she would never know.

"That's mine!" cried one of the children, and Sulyn shook her head, looking over to see five-year old Lee Jordan in a fight with the Weasley twins.  Part of her didn't want to break it up.  It was rare that Fred and George got along after all, but she felt that their new found alliance should not be at the expense of another.

"George, give Lee back his toy broomstick," said Sulyn, crouching down next to the three boys.

"We aren't even apposed ta bring toy brooms in," said George.  "I know.  You took mine away!"

"I didn't, didn't I?"

Fred and George nodded while Lee snatched the broom and wrapped his arms protectively around his toy.

"I'm sorry, Lee, but I have to follow the rules.  You can have your broom back when it's time to go home."

The twins snickered as Sulyn took the broom away, sighing as Lee kicked Fred in the shin, and ran to the other side of the room.  Placing the broom with other confiscated items, she was about to scold Lee for kicking Fred, but her attention was caught by a small and unpleasant looking middle-aged woman coming her way.  Holding her hand was a child Sulyn had never seen before.  This was going to be a long day.

"Are you Sulyn Donnely?" asked the ill-tempered woman.

"Yes, I am."

"My name is Hyacinth Bishop.  How do you do?" she said, extending her hand.  Sulyn shook it graciously.  "I've been sent to you by your superior, a Miss Rochelle Young."

"Ah, you've found her," cried Miss Young, Sulyn's boss, as she came into view.  "Sulyn, dear, I've got another one for you.  I hope you don't mind.  Kimberly will be back from break in ten minutes so I didn't think one more would matter.  You aren't having a problem, are you?"

"Not at all," Sulyn lied, hoping the kids would refrain from beating each other while Miss Young was there.  Glancing down at the child holding Hyacinth Bishop's hand, she offered him a smile and he looked her over, appraising her.

"His name is Draco Malfoy," said Miss Young.  "Mrs. Bishop is a neighbor of the Malfoys; she'll be bringing him in most mornings and picking him up most evenings.  I believe you know of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, so there will be no problem if they should stop in for him."

Sulyn nodded.  She liked to avoid the Malfoy family at all costs as Narcissa had been several years ahead of her in school and the two didn't get along.  This didn't seem to be avoidable, however.  She couldn't turn away the boy just because he happened to be Narcissa offspring.

As Mrs. Bishop shoved his hand at Sulyn, she instantly felt bad for the child.  He had to be one of the cutest little boys she had ever seen, silver blond hair and very wide gray eyes.  Not a word had been uttered from him as Miss Young and Mrs. Bishop filled Sulyn on everything she needed to know.  He was three years old and would be coming in every day from opening to closing.  The reason for his entry had been that the house elves were too busy to be watching a child of Draco's age.  It was kids like this that reminded Sulyn why she took this job in the first place.  She absolutely abhorred people who didn't take proper care of their children.

"Well, Draco," said Sulyn once Mrs. Bishop and Miss Young had gone, "make yourself at home here.  If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

"Why aren't you yelling at me?" he said at last, still looking at her with the big eyes.  She knew he was only three, but it was rather unsettling.

"Why - why should I be yelling at you?"

"I don't know.  Everyone else does.  I thought it was normal."

Biting her lip, Sulyn ran her hand over his hair and the back of his head.  She forced a smile and gave him a small nudge in the shoulder.

"I don't intend on yelling at you unless you do something wrong.  Why don't you go play with some of the other kids?  I'm sure they'd be happy to have you to play with."

Draco nodded and he walked over to an unoccupied spot.  As time went on, Sulyn watched him for weeks.  His routine never failed, as she learned from the other girls who worked at the child care center.  As soon as the center opened in the morning when the sun was just coming up, Mrs. Bishop would be there with Draco.  Taking his usual spot, he entertained himself for most of the day.  Even three weeks later, neither his father nor his mother had brought him in.  Then, at closing, just around dinner time, Mrs. Bishop would pick him up.  Mrs. Bishop, Sulyn learned, also had a dependable trademark.  There wasn't a time she wasn't dragging the poor child along, practically pulling his arm out of its socket, and complaining about how she hated having to watch over him.

~*~

"Give him back his teddy bear, Fred," said Sulyn one Monday only moments after starting her shift.  According to Kimberly, Fred had been stealing his brother's - Ron's - teddy bear all day.

"I don't hafta," said Fred, knowingly.  "He took my toys first."

"It's mine!" shrieked Ron, making an attempt to take back what was rightfully his.

"You do hafta," said George, getting in on the fight.  "Mum said so!  I'm gonna tell on you!"

"No one is going to tell on anyone," said Sulyn, snatching the teddy bear away from Fred and handing it to Ron.  "Stop taking your brother's toys, Fred."

"I'm still telling on you," said George as Sulyn nudged them over to Oliver Wood, who was engaging the other children with his fantastic tale about the broomstick he got for his birthday.

Sitting on the ground, Sulyn went back to playing blocks with Ginny Weasley.  Ten minutes later, her eyes strayed up to land on Draco.  He was still sitting in his usual spot, a stuffed dragon sitting his lap, watching the other children play.  It was the same every day, and Sulyn considered going over to play with him like she and Kimberly often did.  Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, he stood, dragging his stuffed dragon by the tale, and walked over to where Ron Weasley was trying to fix the damage his brother had done to his teddy bear.

"You have really red hair," said Draco, the first thing he managed to say to one of the other children.  Sulyn bit back a laugh as she watched the exchange.

"You have really white hair," said Ron, looking up at Draco.

"My father says it's because I'm a Malfoy."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know," said Draco, sitting down next to Ron.  "Why does your bear look like that?"

"Cause I'm poor."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know.  I think it means that when Fred breaks my toys, I can't have new ones."

"That don't sound very fair.  Was Fred that boy who stole your bear before?"

"Yes.  He's my brother.  I have lots of brothers and one sister.  Her name's Ginny but you shouldn't talk to her.  All she does is cry and she's stupid."

"I don't have any brothers or sisters."

"You want one of mine?  My mummy might let you have one."

"Okay.  My name's Draco."

"I'm Ron."

"You want to be my friend?"

"Okay," agreed Ron.  "How comes you usually sit all by yourself over there?"

"I was watching you."

"You were watching me?"

"Yes.  I used to play with my house elves but mother and father said I was coming here to make new friends.  I wanted to pick the bestest person for a friend."

"Am I the bestest person?"

"I think so.  I think you should kick your brother when he steals your toys, though.  If your mummy says I can have a brother, I don't want him."

"You can have George," offered Ron.  "Mummy says they fight lots and Fred's sort of nice when George isn't around."

"Okay," agreed Draco.

~*~

Sulyn watched the boys over a course of months.  It was common knowledge about the feud between the Weasley and Malfoy family, and it made Draco's choice in his best friend all that much more amusing.  Since Lucius Malfoy had never been in to either drop off or pick up his son, and Narcissa had only been there once, she assumed that they neither knew nor cared.  Part of it made her sad, though, thinking that when Draco was older, he probably wouldn't be the same sweet child she knew now.

Closing the storybook she had been reading to the class, Kimberly Dawson placed it aside, and the various children who had been listening scattered.  Sulyn watched Draco and Ron from across the room, a dream team that had become inseparable over the months they spent together.  Ever since his arrival, Draco was one of Sulyn's favorite kids.  As he turned his head slowly to stare at Ron, she suppressed the chuckles that wished to escape her throat.  She sincerely hoped he wouldn't become corrupted in a few years.

"That was a really good story," said Draco, his big eyes seemingly even wider as he nodded.

"It was okay," said Ron, not as interested in the fairy tale as Draco had been.

"It was better than okay.  It was the bestest story I've ever heard."

"I think you need to hear more stories.  My mummy knows some really good ones."

"Why don't you two get washed up for lunch," said Sulyn, coming up behind them and placing her hands on their backs.

"Okay," they said.

They scrambled up and raced to the lavatory with some of the other children.  Kimberly stood in the doorway, helping them wash up, and putting small dollops of soap in their small hands.  Sulyn smiled at the two as she went about setting the table with their lunches, but her attention was caught by a small shriek, and she soon found Ron Weasley's arms wrapped around her legs.

"Ron, what's wrong?"

"It was only a little spider," said Draco, drying his hands on his shirt.  Sulyn vaguely wondered what Lucius Malfoy would say seeing his son doing that.

"It was a big spider," Ron breathed, peering out from behind Sulyn's legs.

"It was a little spider, Ron," said Draco, rolling his eyes.  He flopped down in one of the small, children's sized chairs and began eating his sandwich.  "Anyways, I killed it, so you can go in there now."

"It was a big spider," protested Ron, still clutching to Sulyn's legs and looking up at her.  "Will you come with me?"

"I told ya I killed it," said Draco, shaking his head.

"But what if there's more?"

"Then I'll kill 'em, too."

"Come on, Ron.  Let's get you washed up," said Sulyn, prying one of his arms off her leg and taking his hand.  He clutched to her hand as they approached the bathroom where Kimberly was watching the exchange with a sarcastic smile, shaking her head.

"I don't like spiders," said Ron as Kimberly squirted the soap into his hands.  From somewhere at the lunch table, she could hear Fred and George Weasley snickering.  Hoisting Ron up, Sulyn held him so that he could get his hands under the water, and Kimberly dried him off before patting him on the back and sending him out to eat.

"Were there more spiders?" asked Draco, staring at Ron with his big eyes.

"I didn't see none."

"I told ya I killed it."

"Thank you."

"I don't like spiders too much, either," said Draco, nodding.  "That's why I killed it."

"Look at Draco lying to make Ron feel better," said Kimberly, chuckling.  "Those kids are too cute."

Sulyn nodded, leaning against the door jamb of the lavatory.  Kimberly left her side to feed some of the two-year olds who weren't very good at feeding themselves yet.  The job of cutting sandwiches into little squares for the three year olds fell to Sulyn, and she wasn't sure which job she'd prefer.  Then again, working with ages three to five meant she spent a majority of the day with Ron and Draco.

"Leave him alone!" a voice cried, breaking her out of her reverie, and she rushed over to the lunch table to discover what was going on.

"He's a baby," said one of the bigger three year olds.  "I don't like him."

"Well he's my friend so leave him alone!" shrieked Draco's voice.

"He's scared of spiders," said the boy.

"I am not!" said Ron, throwing pieces of his sandwich in the process.  "I'm not scared!"

"You aren't supposed ta be friends with him anyways.  My father told me.  You're supposed ta be friends with us."  At this, the boy signaled to the boy beside him who was paying more attention to his lunch than to the dispute.

"I don't wanna be friends with you!  You're mean!" said Draco, knocking over the boy's juice.  "Besides, I can be friends with anyone I want to.  My father said so and he's a school governor."

"What's that?"

"It means he yells a lot and tells people what to do."

"No, it don't," said the other boy who finally looked up from his food.

"Yes, it does.  Is your father a school governor?"

"No."

"Then how would you know what one does?"

"Draco, what are you fighting about?" asked Sulyn, kneeling between Ron and Draco.

"They were makin' fun of Ron!" said Draco, pointing across the table.  "They were being mean!"

"He bit me!" said the boy who Sulyn remembered to be Vincent Crabbe.  Gregory Goyle had gone back to his lunch.

"You bit him?"

"It didn't hurt," said Draco.  "He's only pretending it did.  You're being a baby."

"He's a baby," said Vincent, pointing.  Ron's small, round face was becoming very red, causing his freckles to practically disappear.  The color clashed horribly with the ginger shade of his hair and Sulyn brushed her hand over his arms.

"Vincent, I think you need to go to time out.  Now," she said, looking sternly at him.  Gregory sniggered as Vincent stood up from the table and walked over to the time out chair.  "Ron, calm down."

"I'm not a baby."

"No, of course you're not.  You're a big boy."

"I just don't like spiders."

"Of course not," said Sulyn.  "Finish eating and I don't want any more fighting over here or you're all going in time out and your parents will hear about it."

The afternoon was strangely quiet after that.

~*~

Sulyn Donnely never forgot her first group of students at the Ministry Child Care Center, not even twenty years later when she still worked there.  Countless kids had passed through the doors and though she was now manager and there were some she absolutely adored, no one ever compared to three-year old Draco Malfoy and his big, grey eyes.

As the kids grew, Draco was there just as much as ever until his tutoring began.  Less and less was seen of the Weasleys thanks to tutoring as well.  First Fred and George had gone and when they came back for days when Molly needed a rest, Sulyn had been shocked to find out they banded together.  Instead of fighting, they were best friends, and used their tactics against other people instead of against each other.   Ron went next, and Sulyn could still remember the tearful goodbye that had been between Draco and Ron on their last full day.  Ginny went last and Sulyn found herself growing sad now that she only ever saw the children once a month if she was lucky.

A few times over the next two years, Draco and Ron would end up at the center on the same day, and, as always, they would be inseparable.  Some of Sulyn's fears for their friendship diminished knowing that they didn't have many years until Hogwarts.  If their friendship had come this far, she assumed it could go even farther.  However, the last time Sulyn ever saw Draco Malfoy was when he was seven years old.  Lucius Malfoy came to pick him up that day and he never came back.

From how she heard things, Ron and Draco went to Hogwarts together.  Much to her surprise, Draco had been made a Slytherin.  If the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly, or any source of the rumor mill was an indication, it was impossible to know Draco and Ron had once been friends from observation.  She had always seen it coming, but she never expected the impact it would have on her.   The birth of that friendship had been formed under her very nose, all prejudices unknown to two innocent children.  It made her believe that it was possible to overcome hate and family rivalry.  Now that dream was broken and all that was left were the fractured pieces unable to be reassembled.