Christmas lights already sparkled with anticipation along Fifth Avenue, and the cold air carried the scent of roasted chestnuts, coffee, and nostalgia. Nathael, Celestia, Hermione, and Draco walked through Central Park, enjoying the rare silence winter brings to the city.
Hours had passed since their return from the toy store—talking, laughing, even sharing a magical ice cream that Celestia swore was "the only one that doesn't ruin my fur." Draco watched the skaters with a mix of awe and fascination. Hermione, beside him, explained the rules of ice hockey; he nodded along, though he wasn't really listening. He was simply watching the Muggle world unfold—chaotic, imperfect… but alive.
"I never thought something so simple could be so… special," Draco said, almost to himself.
"That," Nathael said with a smile, "is exactly what I wanted you to see."
But before they could go deeper, a sharp scream shattered the peace.
"Ayyy!"
They all turned.
Running between the trees, wide-eyed and gasping for breath, was Kevin McCallister. Behind him, two grotesque figures pursued him with clumsy but determined steps.
The first was tall and thin, with a wild beard, bloodshot eyes, and clothes—a faded red jacket and stained trousers—that reeked of rancid oil and desperation. The second was shorter, bald, wearing a wool hat pulled low over his forehead, with a crooked smile and a look of pure malice that marked him as the more dangerous of the pair.
"That kid!" the shorter one—Harry—shouted, pointing at Kevin. "Come here!"
Kevin, seeing Nathael and the others, sprinted straight to them and ducked behind Hermione, clutching her scarf like a talisman.
"It's Harry and Marv!" he panted. "They want to rob the toy store! And they're gonna kill me!"
Nathael frowned.
"Rob a toy store?"
"Yes!" Kevin cried. "Mr. Duncan—the owner—is donating all the holiday profits to a children's hospital! And they want to steal the money!"
The two men stopped a few meters away. Harry reached into his jacket and pulled out a dark, metallic object with a barrel that gleamed under the moonlight.
A gun.
Hermione paled.
"Oh no…"
Draco stared, confused.
"What is that?"
Celestia snorted with disdainful amusement.
"A toy for bored humans."
Nathael, however, didn't flinch. He simply smiled.
"I'm sorry," he said calmly, "but the boy is our friend. You can't take him."
Harry aimed the gun straight at Nathael's chest.
"Don't make me use this, pal. You don't know who you're messing with."
"Oh, I know exactly who I'm dealing with," Nathael said. "Two clumsy thieves who didn't even notice they're covered in motor oil."
Marv glanced at Harry, bewildered.
"Oil?"
"Yeah, idiot," Harry muttered. "But it doesn't matter."
Nathael sighed.
"Draco—knock them out."
Draco nodded.
He drew his wand with elegance, lifted it barely a centimeter, and murmured, clear and precise:
"Expulso."
A barely visible jet of blue light shot from his wand, striking both men with the force of a truck. Harry and Marv flew several meters backward, crashing into the stone arch of a pedestrian bridge with a dull thud. They collapsed to the ground, unconscious—eyes rolled back, limbs comically twisted.
Silence.
Kevin blinked, mouth agape.
"Was that… magic?"
Nathael didn't answer.
At that moment, an elderly woman in a metal pail approached quickly. She wore a worn coat, wool gloves, and a tired but kind expression.
"Kevin!" she cried in relief. "Thank goodness! Are you alright?"
"Yes, Mrs. Bird!" Kevin said, releasing Hermione's scarf. "They helped me!"
The woman looked at Nathael and the others with gratitude.
"I didn't see what happened… but thank you. These two have been causing trouble all day. Tried to rob Duncan's toy shop."
"And Kevin tried to stop them," Nathael said proudly. "That's very brave."
Kevin puffed up with pride.
"I had more plans to catch them later! But now it doesn't matter!"
"It doesn't," Mrs. Bird said, ruffling his hair. "The police will handle it."
Just then, sirens wailed in the distance. Red and blue lights flashed through the trees.
Kevin suddenly remembered something. He looked at Draco, eyes shining.
"That was magic, right?"
Nathael acted instantly.
With a subtle flick of his wrist, he cast a gentle, precise Obliviate, wrapping Kevin and Mrs. Bird in a veil of momentary forgetfulness.
"They won't remember anything," he said quietly. "Only that some passersby helped scare off the thieves."
Then he turned to the others.
"Let's go. Quickly."
"Why?" Hermione asked.
"Because we used magic in the middle of Central Park," Celestia said. "And if MACUSA sees us, we'll be filling out paperwork until next year. I hate bureaucracy."
They hurried toward the park's exit. Sirens grew closer. Police already surrounded Harry and Marv, cuffing them as they muttered incoherently about "a magical wind."
Back in their Waldorf Astoria suite, they all sighed in relief.
But Draco didn't sit. He stood by the window, expression serious.
"Nathael," he said, voice tight, "why did you make me attack those men?"
Nathael, emerging from the bathroom with a towel around his neck, paused.
"The one with the gun?"
"Yes. You said a shot from that thing can kill an ordinary wizard. Why risk my life?"
Nathael looked at him with a mix of surprise and pride.
"First," he said, "what I mentioned was a trained soldier—not a street thug with a rusty pistol. That man didn't even know how to hold it. Second…"
He paused and stepped closer.
"Before you cast the spell, I'd already wrapped us all in a silent Protego. If he'd pulled the trigger, the bullet would've deflected."
Celestia leapt onto the sofa and added,
"And besides, you're no longer just an 'ordinary wizard,' Draco. You're a Malfoy in training. Your magic is faster than a bullet. Your mind, sharper than their fear."
Draco looked down, thoughtful. Then nodded.
"I understand."
Hermione, who'd been silent, stepped forward.
"Draco… weren't you afraid?"
Draco looked at her, confused.
"Afraid? Why would I be afraid?"
Hermione smiled, with sadness and admiration.
"Because you didn't know what that gun was. To you… it was just a strange object. But to me… it's proof Nathael was right."
"What do you mean?"
"That Muggles, with their machines, can match—even surpass—a wizard if he's unprepared. And you… weren't afraid because you didn't know the danger. But now… you do."
Draco paled.
"That… changes things."
"Yes," Nathael said. "And that's exactly why you're here. Not to learn to despise the Muggle world—but to respect it. To understand that true power isn't in who casts the strongest spell… but in who sees danger before it appears."
Silence.
Then Celestia purred:
"Now that you're done philosophizing… can we order dinner? I'm starving. And please—nothing with motor oil."
They all laughed.
Outside, the city carried on. Harry and Marv would be jailed. Kevin would reunite with his mother beneath the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, both apologizing and reconciling in the glow of a million lights.