Family Ties

Three years later, Harry had grown into a strong, healthy and very bright boy. As his summer began, he revelled in his freedom from lessons and made preparations to visit his great-grandparents in the south of France, as he did every year. This year his cousin Draco would accompany him for the entire summer, which made both boys ecstatic.

Harry and Draco were the best of friends, as close as brothers, and though they technically lived in different homes, they still managed to spend almost every day together. Of course, like all brothers, they had occasional disagreements, but they were really very fond of one another, and usually resolved such disputes quickly.

On the morning they were to leave for France, Harry was supervising as Mopsy the house elf packed his trunk. Draco waltzed into the bedroom just as Harry had finished his final inspection.

'Bonjour, Aries,' he greeted Aries cheerfully. 'Comment ça va?' The boys often spoke French together, especially in front of the house elves.

'Bien, Draco, et toi?' Harry replied.

'Bien. Tu es prêt?'

Harry nodded. 'Bien sûr, mais tu es venu ici très tôt. Le Portoloin ne partira pas avant midi.'

Draco shrugged. 'Je le sais, mais je n'ai pas envie de rester avec mes parents pendant toute la matinée.'

Harry could understand that. He wouldn't have wanted to spend all that time alone with Uncle Lucius and Aunt Narcissa either. He closed and locked his trunk. Mopsy took the trunk downstairs.

'Care for a game of Exploding Snap?' Harry asked.

Draco agreed, and the two cousins settled on the floor and began to play.

'It's brilliant that your parents agreed for you to come to France for the whole summer,' Harry said as he dealt. 'Last year you could only come for a month.'

Draco smiled. 'You know my parents. They're just happy not to have to deal with me.' He picked up his hand.

'They do care about you, you know,' Harry assured him.

'Of course,' Draco laughed bitterly. 'I'm their heir. Everyone cares about the heir.'

Harry rolled his eyes. 'I have no idea how that works,' he retorted sarcastically.

Draco chuckled. 'You have the Squibs though. They don't seem to care about the whole inheritance thing. I think they'd dote on you even if you were just a Mudblood foundling they discovered on their doorstep.'

'They just might,' Harry agreed with a grin. 'The Squibs have big hearts.'

'Well, they don't have magic,' Draco said. 'I suppose they need something to take up the extra space.'

After three games, of which Harry won one and Draco two, the boys went downstairs. Uncle Marius and Aunt Clytemnestra were waiting in the parlour.

'So, boys, are you excited?' Uncle Marius asked them with a fond smile. 'Two months of sunshine, no lessons and an enormous country estate practically to yourselves.'

'Not to mention Granny 's cooking,' Draco added wryly. Technically, Melania Black was only distantly related to Draco, but she insisted that both boys call her 'Granny,' and treated them both the same. (Aunt Cassie said it was her Hufflepuff roots.) Unlike most other wealthy pureblood witches, who left the cooking to the house elves, Melania carefully supervised her kitchen, and only used her elf for the menial tasks, freeing her to devote her energy to perfecting her artistry.

'Though, strictly speaking, we're not completely free from lessons,' Harry pointed out. 'Granny always works with us on our potion-brewing.'

Draco laughed. 'Those lessons are fun, though, not like with Aunt Cassie.' Ordinarily he would not have been so blatant about his dislike of his great-aunt, but today the old witch had gone over to Grimmauld Place to work on a project with her brother Pollux.

Uncle Marius checked his watch. 'The Portkey leaves in ten minutes. Better get ready.'

The boys gathered all their belongings and stood close together. Aunt Clytemnestra straightened out their robes and gave each boy a small hug before Uncle Marius ruffled their hair and handed them an empty bottle of firewhisky.

'Bon voyage,' he said, and the boys felt the familiar tug of the Portkey pulling them to France. They landed in a pile in the entrance hall of Arcturus Black's chateau. Melania Black was standing there to greet them, a soft smile on her face.

'Welcome, my dears,' she said, and embraced them both warmly. 'It's so very nice to have you back here.'

'It's good to be here, Granny,' Harry said, hugging her back. 'Where's Great-Grandfather?'

Melania frowned, and Harry thought she looked a bit more tired than she had the last time he had seen her.

'He's not doing very well,' she explained. 'He's lying down and resting at the moment. You'll see him later.' She summoned Roquefort, the house elf, and ordered him to take the boys' belongings to their rooms before she led Harry and Draco into the kitchen and sat them down at the table. 'You must be hungry,' she said. 'Why don't you tell me your news whilst I fix you up a little something?'

The boys chatted eagerly with the old witch as she slipped on her apron, drew her wand, and set to work. She was clearly ready for them. With a flick of her wand, she sent over a plate of thinly-sliced sausages, a loaf of freshly baked bread and a dish of tapenade. The boys' goblets filled with pumpkin juice.

A bit later came the pâté, followed by duck with mushroom sauce. Then came the salad and a plate of goat cheese, and just when the boys thought they could not manage another bite, a tray of chocolate éclairs appeared: Granny's speciality. When the boys finally got up from the table, they decided to take a nap before heading outside to play one-on-one Quidditch. The summer was off to an excellent start.

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