Dinner

The following late afternoon, I went downstairs when I heard my sisters arrive back from my grandmother. I found my grandmother waiting for me in the dining room with my dad.

When I saw how she was dressed, I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Although the clothes she usually wore were expensive, they were typically modest and low-key.

Today she had gone for a different look, everything about her broadcasted wealth and power. Typically when someone tries to pull off that look, it comes across like their trying too hard, but she seemed to make it appear natural. It had been a while since I had seen her go all out.

Hugging her, I said, "What are you doing here, grandmother?"

She replied, "I'm here for you. I thought you might join me tonight, I'm visiting with some of my fellow governors, and I would like the company of my grandson."

Across the table, my dad grumbled, "Politics."

Grandma pointed her finger at dad and said, "Shush Henry. I swear sometimes you're too much like your father. There is nothing wrong with making socializing with other families. It will be good for Alex to make connections with other families, and you never know when you may need a favor. Besides word got out about the incident earlier this year, and some of my fellow governors would like to meet him."

Before dad could argue, I piped up, "Dad, Grandma is right." Meeting his gaze, I quietly continued, "One can never have too many friends; we never know when our family might need a favor."

As our eyes meet, I knew we were both thinking about the Whithorn family. Sighing heavily, dad said, "I just wanted you to focus on being a kid."

Thinking about the war that was coming in a few years, I said, "I wish I could too, but like it or not, we all have to grow up at some point."

A look of defeat appeared on his face, and he groaned, "Fine, but don't have him out too late,"

Grandmother turned to me and said, "Go get ready and make sure to dress appropriately. A good first impression can go a long way."

After nodding my understanding, I took off upstairs and dug out a set of my best dress robes. By the time I was ready, the sun was starting to set.

When I got downstairs, I found my grandmother waiting on me and asked, "Are we going to use the floo network?"

She looked me up and down, making sure I was appropriately dressed before responding. Once she was satisfied, she replied, "No, we'll being going by apparition."

Having always wanted to travel by apparition, I eagerly asked, "Really? I thought that I had to be older."

Motioning me to follow, we headed outside while she explained, "No, that's only taboo for kids who haven't started schooling, we learned a long time ago that when children who hadn't begun using magic are subject to apparition, their magic can sometimes burst out and interfere with the process. Once children have begun using magic on a regular base, they're no longer prone to random bursts of magic, and it becomes safe for them to travel by apparition."

Holding out her arm for me to grab, she continued, "It also serves another purpose, it's a subtle demonstration of power, less than half of the magical community has the talent to apparate."

Turning towards me, she said, "Hold on tight, the sensation will take some getting used to."

I felt her twist away from me, and then everything went black, immediately I felt like I was being stuffed into a tiny tube and sucked through it. Unable to breathe, I tried to scream in frustration, but there was no sound, only darkness.

Just as it almost became unbearable, we reappeared outside a large estate. Grandmother let me recover for a few seconds and soothed, "I know it's rather unpleasant, but the more you apparate, you'll become used to the feeling."

It's know wonder why so many people choose not to use this method of travel. Not only is it difficult, but the claustrophobic feeling of being squeezed through space was also extremely unpleasant, if it wasn't such a convenient way of travel, I don't think I would be interested in learning apparition.

After my breathing returned to normal, I noticed the enormous estate we had apparated outside of, and asked, "So, whose family is hosting tonight."

She gestured for me to follow and clarified, "One of my fellow governors, Lucius Malfoy, was generous enough to host the gathering."

tried not to let the distaste show on my face. The Malfoy family was full of deatheaters, and now, I was going to have to play nice with them and pretend like they weren't apart of the group that killed my grandfather.

I remembered my meditation technique and tried to center myself. After a few deep breaths, I buried my feeling deep within me.

Thankfully, my grandmother assumed that I was still recovering from the apparition.

When we arrived at the door, it opened to reveal a small elf on the filthiest toga that I had ever witnessed. Although I had never seen this elf before, I knew from the books, that this had to Dobby, the Malfoy's house-elf.

Bowing deeply, Dobby said, "Welcome to Malfoy Manor."

After we entered, Dobby shut the door and promptly disappeared. Proper wizard etiquette dictated that we remain in the foyer until we invited to proceed deeper within. Proceeding into a wizard's house without permission would have been a great insult.

We didn't have to wait long before a tall, blond-haired witch came into the foyer and said, "Welcome Danielle, it's good to see you again." Turning to me, she added, "And this must be young Alexander, it's nice to meet you."

I smiled a greeting as I studied her platinum blond hair and blue eyes; this could only be Narcissa Malfoy.

"Narcissa, it's so thoughtful of your family to volunteer to host tonight's dinner," my grandmother replied.

"Please, it's always an honor to host such a gathering," Narcissa denied waiving the praise. Turning, she invited, "Come on, let me show you where everyone has gathered."

Narcissa led us through the house to a large dining hall. Inside the room were dozens of witches and wizards socializing in smaller groups.

As soon as we entered, a sleek blond-headed wizard made his way towards us. Seeing his snake cane, confirmed that this had to be Lucius Malfoy.

As he approached, Lucius inclined his head and smoothly greeted, "Danielle."

Turning his watchful grey eyes to me, he praised with a smile, "Ah, And this must be Alexander. The young ward breaker that freed a vampire and caused such a ruckus this year. I have to say, when we all heard that a first-year wizard broke through a ward, all of the governors were rather impressed."

Several of the witches and wizards nearby turned to evaluate me. To my chagrin, my ears turned slightly red in embarrassment.

Not wanting to give away my distaste for him, I held out a hand and replied, "You must be Mr. Malfoy, of course, I've heard about you."

A satisfied look appeared on his face, no doubt thinking that I was complimenting him. When what I was alluding to was the fact that I knew him from the books where he was a death eater and one of Voldemort's highest lieutenants.

Lucius nudged me on the shoulder and said, "Of course, it's not too surprising to see such a wizard produced from such a prestigious lineage."

I had to force myself not to roll my eyes, Lucius's statement was a compliment, but at the same time, it also subtly implied that bloodlines were responsible for producing powerful wizards.

Lucius gestured across the room towards a miniature version of himself, and said, "That is my son Draco. He is eager to begin his schooling at Hogwarts, but unfortunately, he is to young to attend this upcoming year and will be forced to wait another year. I hope you will look after him, ancient houses like ours should watch out for one another."

I saw Draco standing next to his mother, speaking with a few others. If he was anything like he was in the books, I doubt we will get along.

Thankfully, it seemed like Lucius had business with other people and drifted off. As I watched him saunter off and continue to socialize with other people at the party, I realized why Lucius was able to fool so many people.

I have always been baffled about how Lucius was able to blend back into society after the first war. Lucius had claimed he was under the imperius curse like many others during the first war.

But, seeing how he maneuvered crowd, I understood, he was a master manipulator. Had I not known about him being a death eater, I wouldn't have suspected him. He always seemed to know what to say to put the other party at ease and make them view himself in a positive light.

Shaking me from my thoughts, my grandmother said, "Come, I want to introduce you to someone."

She led me across the room to an elderly witch and said, "Alex, this is an old friend and fellow governor, Augusta Longbottom."

My ears perked up when I heard the name; this must be Neville's grandmother. I was a little surprised when I heard that she was one of the governors of Hogwarts. The books had only revealed Lucius as one of the twelve.

Augusta silently evaluated me before turning to my grandmother, and bluntly said, "Danielle, you must be pleased with your grandson showing such skill."

My grandmother quickly replied, "It wouldn't matter how much potential he showed; I would be proud regardless."

Augusta sighed and said, "It is easy to say, but harder to do."

I quickly realized that they weren't speaking about me, I remember from the books, that while Neville's grandmother loved him. She always seemed disappointed that her grandson didn't seem to measure up against his talented father.

"So, how is Neville doing these days? Grandmother questioned.

Augusta cracked a smile and replied, "Well, last year, Neville showed his first sign of magic. We were beginning to fear that he was a squib, but my brother Algie dropped him out the window, trying to force some magic out of him. And it worked, he bounced all the way to the garden."

I looked at her in disbelief and thanked all the gods in the universe that I hadn't been reborn into the Longbottom family. I mean, my uncle can be a little crazy, but if he ever did something like that, I'm pretty sure my mom would kill him and destroy the body.

Grandmother winced when she heard the story, but said, "Well, at least now you know he will be going to Hogwarts. I know he is getting close to the age requirement, will he be attending this coming year or the following."

Augusta continued smiling and replied, "He will be attending the following year. I just hope he doesn't tarnish his father's legacy."

Man, I bet she would be happy when Neville came into his own as a wizard. In the books, he was mediocre, barely passing many of his classes until the fifth book.

However, after the death eaters that had tortured his parents into insanity broke out of Azkaban. Neville's unrealized willpower and potential burst out.

A considerable component of spell casting is mental willpower, and in the fifth book, when Harry was training the D.A. Neville was so driven by his desire for retribution that only Hermoine was able to learn spells faster.

Speaking up, I said, "I'm sure your grandson will live up to the Longbottom name."

Augusta grunted in response.

Deciding to change the subject, I asked, "So, what do the governors of Hogwarts do?"

Speaking up, my grandmother explained, "The governors don't have many responsibilities. Our main responsibility is choosing the headmaster. And, if necessary, override the headmaster."

Remembering that the ministry appointed Dolores Umbridge as the headmaster in the fifth book, I questioned, "I thought that the ministry would handle that."

"No, Hogwarts predates the ministry by 700 years, and while I'm sure that the ministry would love to be able to take control and appoint whoever they wanted. Without the blessing of the governors, Hogwarts would never accept them." Augusta replied.

Well, that might explain why Umbridge was unable to control the school or even get into the headmaster's office.

My grandmother continued to introduce me to each of the governors throughout the night. One thing I noticed was that each of the governors happened to be a pureblood from one of the so-called sacred twenty-eight.

Turning to my grandmother, I asked curiously, "Is it a requirement to be a pureblood from one of the twenty-eight families to be a governor."

She shook her head and said, "No, there have been half-blood members before. But it's not uncommon for the governors to elect new members from ancient families."

Hearing our conversation, Augusta added, "Besides, the so-called sacred twenty-eight is a bunch of nonsense. When Cantankerus Nott published his book back in the 1930s, he left out dozens of pureblood families off his list. Nott fancied himself a historian, and only included ancient magical clans that were mentioned in the oldest text."

Sneering, she added, "Not to mention, several of the twenty-eight families have proudly pointed out that some of their ancestors married muggles and muggle-born wizards. And I would wager that if you go back far enough, all of the families have a muggle or two hidden in their bloodline."

As the evening wore on, I considered everything that Augusta and my grandmother said. They had given me a lot to think about, not to mention, my view of my grandmother had changed. The way she handled the room was incredible; she was as skilled as Lucius was when it came to saying the right thing.

At first, I thought that Malfoy's charm had hoodwinked her, but there were subtle indications that I was able to pick up on because I knew her. I don't think he fooled her at all, and I'm pretty sure she disliked him a great deal for what I couldn't say.

Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with Draco this evening. He spent most of the evening beside his parents. It seemed like their mission was to make sure Draco made connections. I almost smiled when I considered that I was here to do the same. The rest of the evening quickly passed by, and soon it was time to head home.

On our way back, I turned to my grandmother, and asked, "What do you think about the Malfoys?"

She looked thoughtfully at me, and said, "The Malfoys appear to be the very definition of a proper magical family."

Her voice trailed off, so I questioned, "Appears?"

She sighed, and explained, "You know, during the war, there were hundreds of witches and wizards that were controlled by he-who-must-not-be-named and his followers. After the war was over, trying to sort out who had been controlled and who was nearly impossible."

She glared back at the Malfoy estate we were leaving behind, and said, "But, I remember Jack telling me about the amount of people Lucius gathered to attend the early meetings where you-know-who was gathering support. I don't have any evidence, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that Lucius was a death eater. Until I'm satisfied that he was innocent, I will be keeping a watchful eye on him."

Baring her teeth she added, "What is it they say? Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

Seeing the steel in my grandmother's eyes, reminded me that she was not to be underestimated. There was an old cunning wolf lurking deep within, and it had not forgiven or forgotten the death of her mate.