Cheshire
Theodore Nott had the nastiest grin Draco had ever seen. It was the kind of grin that pulled back wide at the corners, one side curling up in a leering snarl. It was the kind of grin that could keep a boy up nights. Combined with Theodore's narrow, clever eyes and biting asides, he was trouble.
Theodore also had this bad habit of chewing on ice, and one day so late into the spring it was almost summer, he sat across from Draco in the Great Hall. He tipped his glass back, shaking the last slippery chip of ice into his mouth. He let it peep out from between his lips, a translucent little cube, before swallowing it whole. He grinned at Draco.
"Any plans for the summer, Malfoy?" he said.
Draco wiped his mouth with his napkin. "I'll be spending it at the manor."
When Draco didn't elaborate, Theodore said, "Are you going to invite me?"
Draco straightened the spoon still lying beside his plate. "Well, I don't think our fathers are on the best of terms."
"I didn't say you had to invite my father." Theodore propped an elbow on the table and leaned in. "Did I."
"You just want to beat me at wizard's chess again," Draco pointed out. "I remember the last time you were there." It had been years ago. Before they'd even started at Hogwarts.
Theodore's gaze was level. "I do like games."
Draco sighed. "Just send an owl beforehand."
"Is that an invitation?"
"Yes. Sure." Draco creased his napkin and tucked it along the underside of his plate. "You're cordially invited."
"Your tone doesn't sound very cordial," Theodore pointed out. "But I accept."
::0::
The end of the school year closed without much ado, which suited Draco just fine. He was happy to finish out his classes, pack away his textbooks as he finished with them, and spend the late afternoon hours seeing how far around the Black Lake he could walk before getting devastatingly bored. After Theodore had invited himself to Malfoy Manor, Draco supposed he might have seen him more around campus, but he didn't, not really. He didn't even see much of him on the train home, though they did pass in the hall and Theodore jerked his chin in greeting…but didn't say anything.
Returning home to Malfoy Manor was not the great boon it might once have been. After the bustle of Hogwarts' halls, Draco found the manor felt large and empty, despite being able to hear his mother reorganizing the closets upstairs. He took to playing the piano—badly, half-heartedly—in the hopes of rehabilitating his childhood talent with the thing. This pleased his mother to no end, but Lucius had walked by and slapped him upside the head more than once when he'd spent too long butchering a piece.
Draco spent two weeks doing this, wondering vaguely whether Theodore had been joking when he'd asked for an invite to the manor. Draco could never really tell farce from fact when Nott grinned the way he did. All the same, his questions were answered when not long after, an unfamiliar owl came with an envelope addressed to Draco ribboned to its leg.
Draco,
I hope summertime is treating you the way you deserve—whether that is good or bad, that's between you and the good Lord. Summer is treating me very poorly indeed, but only because I've been visiting extended family in America. It should come as no surprise that since moving there, a third of them have become morbidly obese and the rest are just morbidly stupid.
I saw Astoria Greengrass at the depot and she asked after you. I think she quite fancies your peaky features.
T.N.
P.S. Is the invitation still open?
Draco pulled out a quill and a scroll of parchment and took to penning his reply.
Theodore,
I'm sure your relatives were overwhelmed with joy to have you there, given your charming nature and your high regard. I can't speak to their obesity, but I would point out that genetics more than geographical location has to do with levels of stupidity. If I wanted to put even finer a point on it, I might remind you that whatever runs in your family—extended or otherwise—runs in you.
When you say "peaky," I think you actually mean "classically refined." Hate to be a nitpick.
And yes, the invitation is still open.
Draco Malfoy
Draco sealed the envelope, attached it to the leg of the owl, and sent it on its way.
