37 Autumn
Although, at first, it appeared that no one noticed a phoenix's singing in the Summer Solstice Festival, the next day after the event Daily Prophet's front page proudly proclaimed: 'The Stray Phoenix or A New Bond?'.
Draco, who was eating breakfast when the newspaper was delivered, almost choked on his tea when he saw the front page.
"It seems that Zosar won't stay a secret for much longer," drily commented Lucius as he examined the article.
The bird in question raised his head from his platter and stopped eating his berries for a moment.
• So what if they find out, I don't want to live in secret forever! •
Draco quickly placated his sulking familiar:
"It's just for now. We don't want for people to come at our door begging for your tears or feathers. We will release the news slowly: now that all of my friends know, soon their families will also find out. At first, it will be just rumors, which will make people suspect and slowly accept the situation. Dropping your existence like a bomb will only cause an unnecessary commotion, so bear with it for a bit."
Zosar grudgingly nodded and returned to pecking on his berries. Draco also returned to his breakfast. However, he almost choked again when his mother curiously asked:
"Draco, what is the 'bomb' that you talked about?"
The blond boy speechlessly stared at his mother. How does one explain the knowledge of muggle weaponry when they were raised in the Magical Wold their whole life and shouldn't know a thing about muggles?
After a moment of silence, Draco once again picked up his fork and pretended that he didn't hear the question.
Lucius and Narcissa exchanged subtle glances but didn't pursue the topic.
---
After experiencing the magic of real rituals and sense of community with other witches and wizards, Draco returned to France, where he spent the rest of his summer. After relentless sword and magic training, his magical core showed an exponential growth in its density and size. The boy's physical fitness was also quite good for a wizard since he wasn't allowed to slack off by his strict-when-it-came-to-training grandfather.
After returning to Britain, Draco was promptly invited to the Black Manor by Arcturus and Melania Black.
"Draco, it's been a while!"
"How was your summer, Draco?"
As soon as he entered the living room, two elderly Blacks greeted him pleasantly. Over the last year, excluding the summer, he had been a frequent guest in the Black Manor. Arcturus often invited the blond boy to discuss politics and current issues. While Melania, the grandmotherly witch, liked to fuss over the child and often prepared various snacks for his arrival. Of course, the existence of these visits was strictly kept secret from Abraxas.
"Grandfather, grandmother, how are you?" Draco performed a half-bow and sat down after greeting the elders.
"We are well, although Pollux, your great-grandfather, is in poor health these days," lamented Melania.
Draco's face showed concern, which he didn't feel. Pollux was his real great-grandfather and Arcturus' brother. However, Draco had only seen him once - when he came to the Black Manor the first time. Later on, he only communicated with Arcturus and Melania, who were, at most, distantly related to him. Draco wasn't surprised at the news, after all, by the time Sirius escaped from Azkaban, most of the Black family's elders were dead.
The blond boy's thoughts were interrupted by Melania, who started questioning Draco on more cheerful subjects. Soon, a light atmosphere surrounded the living room, where everyone was chatting pleasantly.
After sharing the recent news and listening to Draco's summer experiences, the conversation gradually died down. Seeing that no one had anything new to add, Arcturus started another topic:
"Recently, I received an invitation from one of my friends in Russia. He will be hosting the Yule Ball this year and invited us to sight-see. Do you wish to come with us?"
Russia? Draco was quite interested. The country was quite mysterious when it came to the Magical World. Although he wasn't extremely familiar with the country's internal affairs, Draco knew that at the beginning of the century a Dark Wizard Rasputin rose to power.
He was unlike Grindelwald or Voldemort, who tried to seize power by force. Rasputin was a widely respected wizard, who seemed to be weak and easily-controlled, at first. When he became the Minister though, the opinions quickly changed. The fact that Rasputin was still a power in the shadows to this date was evidence to the fact that he wasn't a simple man.
Although the Minister changed, the one who controlled the Ministry was still the same. The whole Wizarding World knew that Russia was in control of a Dark Lord. Rasputin wasn't a violent Lord, but he promoted a culture of separation from Muggles. As a result, Russia didn't have many half-bloods. Most of the wizardkind was either pureblooded or muggle-born. The aristocratic culture was also much more prominent in the country compared to other places.
In response to Arcturus' question, Draco nodded: "Yes, I want to go."
"Good! In Russia, you will experience the life of true aristocrats. You will know what we, as purebloods, should strive for, instead of playing with muggles like Dumbledore insists," Arcturus snorted.
"Besides, you will be able to meet a Seer, who will help you divine your future," added Melania. Russia was quite famous for its psychics and seers, while Britain lacked such talents.
---
Draco soon forgot about the upcoming trip to Russia. He had other - more pressing - concerns, such as the development of Dragon Enterprises. Despite often communicating with Deborah Aston, the senior manager, via mirrors, Draco still had to visit the company when he came back from France. It was especially urgent since Eugenius and Dirk had finally developed the messaging system prototype, which was impossible to see via mirrors.
When Draco entered the impressive building, which stood right next to Gringotts, one of the consultants immediately greeted him:
"Good afternoon, boss. Shall I lead you to see the manager?"
Every witch and wizard was aware of who the company belonged too. One must live in a cave in order not to recognize the young Malfoy genius. After all, Daily Prophet and other magazines frequently featured him on their covers and front pages.
"No need, I know the way," the blond boy answered and went to the inconspicuous elevator.
As he waited for the doors to open, Draco curiously looked around. The store was doing well. There were many customers curiously observing the products and consultants, who explained different features of each item. Some customers sat on the couches while they waited for their friends and spouses to finish shopping.
When the elevator arrived, Draco went to the research floor, where Eugenius and Dirk were already waiting for him impatiently.
"Boss! We made it, come check it out!" As soon as Eugenius saw his employer, he quickly grabbed him and dragged him off to see the results of his labor. The man didn't show any care towards the supposed-to-be-respectful boss-subordinate relationship.
Dirk sighed and, without a change of emotion, followed behind the pair.
"Boss, see here, this is the prototype," Eugenius let go of Draco's hand and, with a grand motion of his hand, showed two mirrors which didn't look any different from normal ones.
Draco raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Dirk, hoping that the man would finally step up to explain. The expressionless arithmancer cleared his throat and approached the pair.
"Sir, try to think of a message while your finger is touching the mirror's screen," he said and picked up one mirror, giving it to Draco. The other one was held in Dirks' hands in a way, which allowed Draco to observe any changes in its surface.
Draco thought a bit and touched the mirror. After withdrawing his finger, he looked at the other mirror. It flashed with a blue light. A single word appeared in the air, above the mirror's surface:
'Hello'
"Not bad," said Draco as he stared at the holographic word. Rather than magic, it appeared more like a high-tech creation. "What if I don't want for the whole world to know what I am writing?"
"No worries, boss! These words are only visible to the receiver. It took us so long because we wanted to make the communication completely secret."
Dirk nodded and added, "It is also easy to use. If one wants to talk face-to-face, they just need to call the recipient's name - like before. On the other hand, if one wants to use the messaging system, they just have to say the recipient's name and tap the finger on the mirror's surface. As long as the finger is there, people can send their thoughts in the form of written messages."
"What if I have a lot of thoughts in my head and they get accidentally sent?" Asked Draco as he thoughtfully observed the prototype.
"The system which I made recognizes only extremely clear thoughts. Any scrambled feelings are automatically filtered," assured him Dirk.
"It's still better to warn people about the possibility of the messaging system malfunctioning," muttered Draco.
After more than an hour of further discussion, Draco finally declared the research success and approved the implementation of the project.
