14

14: Meeting the Malfoys (July 6, 2003 to July 7, 2003)

Easter was a two week holiday that Harry had been looking forward with dread and apprehension. He really didn't want to repeat the Christmas incident that had nearly killed him, but he knew that he had to go back. He didn't even want to think how anxious his friends, Sirius was! It was unthinkable what they must be going through. But that didn't stop him from being uneasy about the whole matter.

He didn't know if he was relieved or disappointed when Dumbledore had told him plainly in one of the few letters that he did receive that they were not going to attempt another try so soon. Obviously, Dumbledore was concerned about him and unlike Severus- he believed that the Headmaster was very different from Voldemort. How could Severus even suggest that Dumbledore and Voldemort were similar? It was like comparing a psychotic serial killer to a specially trained soldier. One had no reason and the other had every impulse. There was a difference; there had to be a difference.

It actually turned out to be a good thing because Draco had again started pestering him about staying over for the holidays at his sprawling family estate. He hated to disappoint his best friend, but he hadn't known what to tell him only that he didn't know his plans. Like he expected, he was shaken awake by a properly groomed Draco, who after getting their relationship sorted out didn't pounce on him anymore.

"Hey you sleepy bugger," Draco shouted, "wake up all right? Even if it's the day before the hols, we still have to get to class." Harry groaned, even if he had been thinking for the last thirty minutes, getting out of bed was still another story. But Draco being Draco wasn't going to give up. He tugged the blankets off of him and proceeded to drag his friend out of bed. "No wonder you always look a royal tousled mess, you take all of 60 seconds to make yourself presentable."

Harry glared at him. "Better than the hours that you spend, Dray."

"I spend half an hour!" Draco exclaimed fiercely. "Not hours like some nancy boys do. I am not a ponce, I am a bloody sex god! There's a marked difference, Bast!"

Harry rolled his eyes and let Draco pull him up to a standing position. "Yeah, whatever."

Draco growled at him and then abruptly stopped as a more serious glint came into his silvery eyes. "Bast?"

Glancing over his shoulder where he'd been searching through his wardrobe for his robes, Harry quirked an eyebrow up. "Yes?"

"I know," Draco began with a heavy inflection, "that I've been pestering you a lot to spend the Easter vacation with me, but you have no idea how lonely it is to be an only child stuck in a great big manor house even if it is only for two weeks. Especially since when I'm at Hogwarts now, I've got such a great chum in you, Bast. Even in, Hermione. Christmas was dreadfully dull you know with only Hermione owling me."

"I'm sorry," Harry whispered softly, not realizing how lonely Draco would be growing up in such a stark environment without any interaction with other people of his own age. "I didn't know."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "How could you? Not many people know, and it's not like my father's abusive. Some people think that, but my parents adore me. I'm their prince, their precious little baby. Smothering affection isn't all what it's cracked up to be." He paused and his eyes sought out Sebastian's. "I know I've asked this several times already, but won't you come spend Easter with me?"

Harry broke out into a huge grin and nodded. "I'll come."

For a moment there was an eerie silence as Draco dropped his jaw as if he didn't believe what Sebastian was saying. He was coming... he was coming! With that exuberant thought, he ran to Sebastian and enveloped him into a hug that caused them both to topple onto Sebastian's still rumbled bed luckily. "All right! Yes!" Draco exclaimed cheerfully, still hugging Sebastian happily. "So what changed your mind?" he asked abruptly a second later, resting far too comfortably on top of his best friend. "I mean, just the other day you were saying you didn't know what you were going to do..."

"Remember the post I got yesterday?" Draco nodded, he remember it quite well since Sebastian hardly ever got an owl. "Well, that's what I was waiting for to confirm what I was going to do for Easter and it turns out that I can spend the holidays wherever and with whomever I want."

"That's good," Draco murmured. "Very good."

~

They did everything together. The keyword being everything. When they weren't out and about the expansive grounds of the Malfoy estate, they were inside creating a general ruckus. Harry had never remembered having this much fun ever. It was a delight to simply be free and do things that normal boys did- play and have a good time. Through it all, he laughed and let himself go. He let himself, for once, rid himself of the shield he'd built around himself.

It didn't hurt that for the first time in Harry's life, he was surrounded in a world of elegance and extravagance that knew no bounds. Draco's family was certainly not stingy as Harry was given a whole guest wing to himself to stay in while he was over, though he mostly ended up falling asleep with Draco in his room. But to put it mildly, everything was breathtaking at the Malfoy estate. It was simply gorgeous how the ground were kept immaculate and perfect. Harry smiled as he looked around at the inviting exquisiteness.

Radiant was how Draco had started describing Sebastian in his mind as he watched his friend try to get the knack of wizard's polo. Like many muggle games that had been adapted by wizards by more magically creative means, there was a definite twist to it. The only thing that really stayed the same was the use of an ordinary pony. Though, Draco thought with pride as he surveyed the gleaming chestnut main of the polo pony, there was nothing commonplace about the horses that his father kept for the sport.

Instead of using a cane to move the ball around the ground to the goal, the wizard's had taken to using their wand which was much easier than it seemed. To be able to keep hold of the ball magically, the wizard had to keep his mind focused on the ball and his wand pointed at it. And of course, this was all while galloping full speed around varied terrain that would have broken the horses if they weren't magically enhanced and protected by what they were fed. The horses weren't magical themselves, but they could be made magical by what they were given.

Once, a longtime ago they use to be normal muggle raised horses, but not anymore. The magic feed they were given increased their agility, strength, and durability. The only thing it seemed not to do was make the horses fly. It was more fun anyway, staying grounded, Draco thought as he spurred his own mount forward. Gave the sport a different feel from Quidditch, and he liked that it was different.

The challenge of the game was that the ball wasn't any normal ball, it was charmed to be like a bludger and a snitch at the same time. It evaded and it pursued, doing exactly the opposite of what the players wanted it to do. It was like the thing had a mind of its own. With laughing ease, Draco pointed his wand at the ball getting ready to snatch it away from Sebastian at the same time his pony knocked into Sebastian's mount. Sebastian's balance wavered long enough for his eyesight, therefore his wand's aim at the ball to be broken.

His moment of glee was short lived as he felt Sebastian guide his mount to shove Draco's own pony to the side, using the same tactic on him to grab control of the ball again. Of course, playing one against one was exciting in its own way but when other players were added to the field it was much more exhilarating. Polo teams weren't broken down and regimented like Quidditch teams, but since the game involved wands- usually whoever wasn't in possession of the ball was trying to impede the opposing team or aid their own teammate while the opposition did the opposite.

Scoring was tricky too since the goalposts never liked to stay the same, shifting around constantly. The only thing any player could count on was that it'd remain on the proper end of the field, other than that it was constantly moving and changing size which sometimes made it very easy or difficult to get the ball past it to score. It was rather unfortunate as broom technology had made its advances that polo had dropped its popularity. However, it was still played by the older wizarding families.

"Better, Bast," Draco commented as Sebastian flicked his wrist and sent the ball flying into the rather narrow goalposts. "Much better. You're getting right good at this. I might make you a polo player yet."

As always, any compliment made Harry blush. "Thanks, Dray," Harry responded, pulling up his mount and patting her golden mane affectionately. "But that's only because I've had a good teacher."

"Yeah, I know. Who else but a Malfoy could teach you to ride well enough to be playing polo in a fortnight?" Draco remarked with a deliberately arrogant voice. It wrung a smile like Draco knew it would out of Sebastian. "It's too bad that it's the end of the holidays," he continued mournfully. "Too late to try to get a friendly game together. And you know," he winked salaciously, "that Snape is a damn good polo player."

If anything, Harry blushed even more. "I should never have told you about my crush," he muttered, dismounting from his mount and started leading the mare back to the stables where the house elves would tend to her. "Will you bloody stop insinuating stuff? It's not like he sees me as anything more than a student!"

Draco cocked his face to the side with a manner of grave reflection appearing on his expressive features. "Oh, I don't know about that, Bast. I've seen the way he looks at you sometimes when he doesn't think anyone is looking." Snape looked at Sebastian the way he had looked at his best friend, he added silently. And he had to know if the Potions Master showed any interest in his best mate before he was willing to relent his attentions. Now that he was certain that Snape did, he was more willing to let go. "He likes you a lot."

Before Harry was able to grumble that that was an insane notion, he heard the crisply feminine voice of Draco's mother, Narcissa calling out to them with a voice clearly aided by a Sonorous charm, "Boys, it's time for tea!"

Both exchanged a grin before hurrying over to the house elves that popped in front of them to take their mounts. Once their horses were being led back to the stables, Draco quirked his eyebrow up and drawled, "Race you back to the house."

"You're on, Dray," Harry responded with a chuckle. "And it's not a house, it's a bloody mansion."

~

Daily tea time with Narcissa was an absolute delight, Harry reflected blithely, something that was quite unexpected. Draco was if anything, understating how much his mother adored him, it was obvious that Draco was her beloved darling. He had first not known what to expect when he'd been introduced to Draco's mother at the very beginning of the holidays, after all his only glimpse of her had failed to strike up a warm image. But he'd been pleasantly surprised when she opened up to him and actually smothered him in a hug.

"Scones, dears?" Narcissa inquired, pouring them tea with an elegance befitting her status as a Malfoy. When they both nodded, she beamed at them and snapped her finger. "Dobby," she called, "bring scones and finger sandwiches, I'm sure my Dragon and Sebastian have worked up a healthy appetite, haven't you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Harry answered politely, a smile curving his lips up as he took a seat across from where Draco was sitting next to his mother. "Quite."

"Call me Ciss," Narcissa reminded him again. He nodded and when she was satisfied, she turned to lavish attention on her son. "How was your afternoon activities, darling? Did you and Sebastian have a good time?"

"Bloody good time," Draco responded just as the finger sandwiches and sconces appeared on delicate porcelain in front of them. He reached for one and popped it into his mouth. "It's too bad that the holidays are going to be over so soon. I wanted to arrange an unofficial polo match for Bast, but I guess it'll have to wait until the summer then." He perked up at that thought and shifted his gaze to Sebastian. "Have you thought about where you're going to be staying during the summer?"

"Erm..." Harry didn't know what to say.

"Really we'd adore to have you stay the entire summer with us," Narcissa insisted sincerely. "My Dragon does it awfully lonely by himself, even if he tells me that he doesn't mind keeping me company, and you wouldn't be a burden on us." Her eyes, so similar to Draco's, were alit with a warmth of understanding. "You'd be doing us a favor, really, you'd keep Dragon suitably occupied."

"Come on, Bast?" Draco pleaded, knowing that Sebastian was horrible when he was boxed in like this. That had been part of an excellent strategy he and Hermione had devised together to get Sebastian to confess to his special lessons with Madame Pomfrey and Professor Snape. "You know you want to." He waggled his finger at him temptingly. "You know you do."

Harry laughed, but it faded when he remembered that could make no such promises without talking to the Headmaster first. "I'm sorry," he whispered apologetically. "I can't promise anything right now."

Narcissa sensed the dark overtones that the room was shifting too and was determined to stop it. "Well, even if you can't stay the entire summer with us you we definitely must arrange a polo match that you must attend. There's no real way to get better at polo unless you play!" She beamed at them and poured them both more tea. "Drink up. Let's see, we need 6 additional players. I'm sure my sister Bella, my niece Sahar, my cousin Siri, and Severus and your father wouldn't mind to play. With me, that makes 6 and I suppose we could play the Blacks against the rest of you."

"That's not fair!" Draco exclaimed. "You'll brutalize us! Even if father's on our team!"

The grin that came onto Narcissa's beautiful face was positively evil. "You didn't think I'd make it easy on you did I?"

Draco groaned and glared at his mother. "Then we get a 10 point handicap!"

"Darling," Narcissa chided her son, "you really need to think things more carefully through. I'm sure Lucius, you, Severus, and Sebastian are all good players, but only Lucius can even think of comparing to me and Bella. You ought to have asked for a 25 point handicap. Your loss, Dragon."

~

Normal tea time always ended up with Draco losing to his mother's overly clever tongue and wit, truly Narcissa wasn't one to mess with. What intrigued Harry was that Narcissa had mentioned his godfather, Sirius, but he'd thought that his godfather had had a falling out with his family years ago. Did this mean things changed? Was Sirius on their side then? While neither Lucius nor Narcissa had done anything to make it seem they were anything but upholding members of the Wizarding community, it was clear that they were in the Dark Lord's good graces.

They had to be since Lucius was the Minster of Magic. Anyone in that powerful of a position had to be within Voldemort's Inner Circle. But there had been no hint of dark magic, anything at all. Draco's life at home was the picture of perfection. He found himself yearning for what Draco had, wishing that he could spend the rest of his time here with the cleverly witty Narcissa and the bitingly sarcastic Lucius. What made it even better was that the Malfoys treated him like an adult, not a child even if Narcissa insisted on tucking him in at night just like she did with Draco.

Dinner time was another affair all together as Harry was really, really wishing he'd never told Draco about his crush on a certain Head of House. Draco had casually mentioned that he and Severus got along well, so Narcissa had ended up inviting the reticent Potions Master every chance she got to have dinner at Malfoy mansion. Of course when Harry had confronted Draco about it, Draco had feigned an innocent look and had said that Severus was a really good friend of the family.

Well, that was probably true since Severus was a Death Eater like the Malfoys were. But Harry had never known that even if the Malfoys were vindictive and cruel, that they had such a nice and decent side to them. Really, it was true that people had two sides to them: one for people the cared about and another for the people they didn't. Also, he didn't really believe the crap that Draco was trying to feed him since Draco was so clearly sitting Severus next to him to torture him. Damn the Slytherin!

Luckily, tonight Severus had suppose to be in attendance but had declined last minute saying that he had important affairs to attend to. Lucius was also absent from making an appearance, leading to worried glances being exchanged by Draco and Narcissa when they didn't think Harry wasn't aware. But he knew, it was undoubtedly a Death Eater meeting. Why else would both Lucius and Severus be missing in action?

Narcissa wasn't about to let the fact that Lucius was gone spoil the dinner though. The meal was still as extravagant like always, even more so if compared to the previous ones considering it was the last meal before they boarded the Hogwarts Express tomorrow morning and headed back to the magical boarding school. She was quite aware that it'd be the last time she was going to be able to feed them to her satisfaction, so she'd stuffed them promising to send them both care packages.

"Oh bloody marvelous," Draco moaned in complaint after Narcissa had tucked them both into their beds, "two care packages. Really, my mother is really insane sometimes, does she think we're bottomless pits? Remember the packages I get every week? That's what we're both going to get."

Harry's eyes widened. That was a lot of food even for Crabbe and Goyle to consume, seeing as Draco generously gave the two brutes most of the contents. And they were going to get one a piece? Good Merlin! What was Narcissa Malfoy thinking?