Chapter one
"Mr Malfoy, Mr Malfoy." Draco opened his eyes at the sound of his name. He looked blearily and rather confusedly at the man not too far away. It was his driver. He was is holding the carriage door open. "Mr Malfoy we have arrived." He said.
Draco sat up a little straighter, pulling away from the wall and trying to look a little more dignified. What Draco didn't realise was that his pale blood hair, although recent cut to a neat shape, had been bent to all sorts of angles where he lay against the carriage a moment ago, that his blue, grey eyes had the cloudiness of someone who has just awoken and that his pale skin had been dirtied by the long journey. He will, however, find this out when he finds the looking-glass in his room and will invariably take his frustration out on his footman.
"Thank you Mr Thestral." Draco said and stepped out of the carriage.
A grand seen awaited him. His uncle's house was huge and perhaps even more splendid than his father's estate. At the fount of the house stood his uncle and his wife along with a handful of the staff. Noticeable missing were all of his five cousins. Which was expected as Draco hadn't gotten along with them when he was younger.
"Draco." His Uncle called as he drew nearer.
"Uncle Carlisle" Draco greeted in response and the two shook hands. Carlisle Cullen was a lot younger, a lot more handsome and a lot richer than Draco's own father, which annoyed Lucius Malfoy beyond belief. Draco on the other hand had no problem with this.
From the corner of his eye Draco saw one of the footmen break away from the rest, presumably to help Mr Thestal unload the his luggage.
"Mrs Cullen." He bowed to his aunt.
"It's nice to see you again Draco," She replied with a shallow courtesy.
"How was the trip up from town?" Carlisle asked as they walked into the house
"It was much longer that I remember it being as a child."
"I'm sure you must have slept for much of the journey back then." Mr Cullen commented.
"I'm sure I did." Draco gave her his most charming smile
"You must tell me all about town. Is your mother well?"
"Let us leave the gossip till dinner." Carlisle said to his wife. "Let us give Draco the change to freshen up from his long journey."
"Of course Carlisle." She replied, "Let me show you to your room."
After a short walk through long corridors and up a few flights of ornate stairs Draco was shown to a room.
"Jacob will be up shortly with your luggage." Mrs Cullen said.
"Thank you." Draco said, bowing and Mrs Cullen left.
Draco's vanity quickly pulled his attention to the looking-glass hanging above the dresser and he was shocked to find his state of appearance the way it was and even more horrified at his greeting his uncle looking that way.
As Draco was trying to flatten his hair with the palm of his hand there was a sharp knock at the door.
"Come in." he yelled at it.
The door opened and a footman stepped in. presumably Jacob.
"Your luggage Mr Malfoy." He said. "Where would you like it?"
Draco turned to the footman to make a sarcastic remark but was slightly distracted by the boy before him. He couldn't have been more than seventeen and yet he had the body or a man, huge arms and legs and chest and his skin had a reddish hue that Draco had never witnessed before.
Draco, realising that he was staring at the boy snapped, "Give me the small one." he grabbed it out of the boys hand throwing it onto the bed. "And place the trunk over there." He said waving at the floor absently.
The footman place it on the floor.
"I can't believe I looked like this in front of Carlisle" Draco mumbled to himself as he found his comb and turned back to the looking-glass trying to flatten down his hair.
"I think you looked rather dashing sir."
Draco tuned slowly to the footman stood in the centre of his room incredulously. The footman's eyes were wide and his cheeks were truing even redder as he blushed.
"I'm so sorry sir that's not how I meant to…"
"Get out." Draco said to the footman in a voice that implied that it was the obviously thing to do in this kind of situation. "And get the maid to run me a bath." He said before turning back to the mirror.
The footman walked to the door "Oh, and dinner will be served in an hour." he said.
Draco nodded his head in reply but didn't speak again with the footman.
The maid soon came to tell Draco his bath was ready, she surprised Draco with her well-spoken accent not unlike his own. She led Draco to the bathroom, Draco requested an item of clothing from his trunk and then he asked to be left in private.
After a short time in the bath there was a knock on the door and Jacob's voice said, "I have the clothing you requested sir, may I come in."
"No," Draco snapped, "just leave the clothes outside the door, I'll dress myself."
"Um," the footman hesitated a moment, "Yes sir. Dinner will be ready in quarter of an hour."
"Yes, thank you."
Draco listened to the footsteps of the footman disappear down the hallway before he stepped out of the bath and just opening the door a jar pulled his clothes through the small gap.
He was soon dressed and sitting around the dining table with Mr and Miss Cullen, his appearance a lot more respectable that an hour before.
Mrs Cullen asked a lot about her sister, Draco's mother, and Carlisle asked about how life in town was treating him.
After dinner Carlisle asked Draco if he would retire to the library with him but Draco declined clamming fatigue from the long journey and retired to his room.
Too tired to even change into his sleeping gown he fell asleep on top of the sheets only in his under garments.