Chapter 1
Harry Potter had rarely ever been into downtown London, and never had he been in a place called Diagon Alley. The cobbled streets were lined with stores bursting with the strange and unusual. With magic. Real magic. He saw strange people dressed in strange clothes, much like the stuff Uncle Vernon wore to bed. A robe of some sort, but a little nicer, and slightly different. Harry looked up to the giant of a man standing next to him. His name was Rubeus Hagrid, but he said to just call him Hagrid. Hagrid was well over seven feet tall, and his large feet shook nearby potted plants.
Just mere hours ago, Hagrid busted down the door of the small shack the Dursleys had dragged him to. For a while now, Harry had been getting letters delivered to him, almost five a day. It was strange because nobody Harry knew would talk to him, so who was sending him letters? The strangest thing of all was that they were being delivered to him by owls. Not the Postman. Owls. After that, several more came. Even more after that. Finally, Uncle Vernon couldn't handle it. He dragged all of them out to a tiny island to 'vacation'. Harry knew it was so they, whoever 'they' was, couldn't find him. Even so, he still got a letter, but it was not delivered by an owl. It was delivered by Hagrid. That was when his normal life went crazy, because Harry Potter was not a normal boy. He was a wizard.
Hagrid directed Harry to a large shop, labeled "Madam Malkin's Robes". Harry turned to ask what he was doing here, only to find Hagrid gone. Harry became nervous. What was he to do? He didn't know anything. He only just gotten his hands on some money. The Dursleys never left anything lying around, especially not any money so Harry could find it and buy himself something. They would hate for him to have anything nice or something he wanted. Suddenly, a woman's voice floated around the corner.
"Please hold still dear, I can't measure you correctly with you wiggling all over the place like this." Harry followed the voice to see a middle-aged woman bending down to measure a black robe on a blonde haired, grey eyed boy. The boy saw Harry and smiled. Well, it was more like a smirk. Nonetheless, Harry smiled tentatively back at him. He gave a small wave and stepped a little closer. The woman stood and turned around, just now noticing Harry.
"Oh, I am so sorry dear, I didn't see you there. Hogwarts, I presume?" The lady said. Harry only nodded. Hogwarts was the Wizarding school that he had been accepted into, as well as the where his parents had went. He had only just figured out what had really happened to his parents, and where he had gotten his odd lightning shaped scar. He didn't really want to think about it, either. The lady directed him to the pedestal next to the blonde boy and told him to sit tight.
"Hello. I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. What's your name?" The boy, Draco, said haughtily. His tone of voice and the tilt of his pointed nose suggested that he was raised in a way that made him superior to everyone else. But Harry didn't mind all that much, he was used to it, after all. He was glad it wasn't him who had to start the conversation. He didn't know what he would say. His cleaning and cooking skills were great. His social skills, not so much.
"I'm Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you." Harry replied. He waited for a gasp of surprise, a intake of breath. He knew what had done as a child, and knew how people reacted to it. But no. The boy did nothing but smile at him and nodded his head.
"Would you like to meet my Father, Harry? I am sure he would love to meet you." Draco said. Harry smiled slightly and shook his head shyly. At that moment, the lady came back and hurried to finish his and Draco's robes.
After their robes had been finished, Draco had led Harry to the front of the store to meet his father. Harry was filled with joy. His first friend! Draco was nice, but at the same time, he had an air of confidence, and it made Harry feel very intimidated indeed. But he taught Harry all about the Wizarding world. He told him about Quidditch, the most popular sport in the Wizarding World, according to him. The houses at Hogwarts each had a house team, and Draco was sure he'd get a place on the Slytherin House team. How he knew he would be in Slytherin, Harry didn't know.
Soon, Harry heard a bell chime, and saw someone who was unmistakably Draco's father walk in. Same blonde hair, although his was long and held back into an elegant ponytail, and the same sharp, grey eyes.
"Hello, Father. I have made a new friend, and he would like to meet you." Draco said to the man. Harry looked into the man's sharp eyes and smiled.
"Hello, sir. I'm Harry Potter. It is a pleasure to meet you." Harry said to him and held his hand out. The man grabbed his hand and shook it firmly.
"I am Lucius Malfoy. How do you do?" He replied politely, but the glint in his eyes wasn't so nice. Harry pretended not to notice and instead smiled at him.
The trio walked out into the streets of Diagon Alley and got to know each other. On the way out of the door, they ran into Hagrid, who had a large cage in his hand, and in that cage was a beautiful snowy owl. Hagrid beamed at Harry and handed him the cage, much to Harry's delight. He had seen her in the window of the Magical Menagerie, and apparently Hagrid had noticed. And he also noticed Draco and Mr. Malfoy as well. His smiling face went stone cold behind his beard, and Harry noticed Mr. Malfoy's grey eyes glinting with malice.
"Lucius. What ar' you doin' here? Though' you'd mighta been down at the Ministry." Hagrid remarked, his voice gruff. Mr. Malfoy smirked.
"Well, as I have a son that needs to be taken care of, I have taken a day off. What about you Hagrid, I thought you would have been down at the forest, talking to family, perhaps." He replied, and Harry didn't feel good about this.
"Harry, let's go. Righ' now. You don' wanna be associated with his kind. No good for ya." Hagrid had a been pretty good at hiding his anger, but now it showed. Harry didn't like the way Mr. Malfoy had been talking to Hagrid, it was quite obvious they didn't like each other, but Hagrid had been rude almost as much as he. He looked over at Draco, who's confident demeanor had been broken into a little, and now Harry could tell he was just as uncomfortable as he.
"No. I am staying with them. I made a new friend, and his name is Draco Malfoy. He isn't bad, he is very nice. I'll go with them thanks." Harry told Hagrid. He was a little intimidated by Mr. Malfoy, but he put that aside once again. He was not going to leave his friend just because of something between two grown men.
Hagrid looked shocked, and so did Mr. Malfoy, but only for a minute. His face then changed from surprised to smug. Hagrid's, on the other hand, changed to one of anger. He went over to Harry and bent down to pick him up and whisper in his ear.
"If anythin' happens to you, use your owl to contact me. She knows where to go, jus' tell her who to go to. Be safe, Harry." He put him back down, and with one last look at the trio, he walked away. After a moment of silence, Mr. Malfoy coughed lightly, and looked to the boys.
"Let's go, boys. We have more shopping to do, and we have to get it done soon, or it'll be the death of me by the hands of your mother, Draco."
Mr. Malfoy bought the boys ice cream from a sunny shop down the street from Madam Malkin's, and Harry ate it excitedly. He had never had ice cream before. His cone was filled with vanilla, and Harry almost cried. He had never been given anything, except the essentials, not even a room. A small cone of vanilla ice cream was heaven to Harry.
"Pott-I mean, Harry? Are you ok?" Mr. Malfoy's startled voice said to Harry, who realized he was crying. He wiped his tears away, embarrassed and ashamed. The Dursleys would have punished him for crying.
" Oh, yes sir. It's just, I've never had ice cream before. It is amazing! Thank you so much, Mr. Malfoy." Harry replied, but he noted the slip of tongue he had. Almost as if he were about to say Potter instead of Harry. Strange. But then he saw Mr. Malfoy looking at him.
"You've never had ice cream before?" Draco said suddenly. Harry shook his head sadly.
"Draco, floo home with Harry. Mother will finish both of your school shopping. But before that, I need to ask you something, Harry. And please be honest. You won't get in trouble, I promise." Mr. Malfoy said, his tone leaving no room for argument. Harry's earlier suspicions of the man were banished. He honestly sounded concerned for him, which almost made him cry all over again. But he didn't, he just nodded along with Draco.
"Where have you been living, Harry?" Mr. Malfoy asked him.
"Uh, do I have to?" Harry replied, a little quietly.
"Please, Harry? At least tell me if you're safe." Mr. Malfoy pleaded with him. Harry took a big shuddering breath and told him about Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia and Dudley. He told him about his cupboard under the stairs.
"I get to eat, but only if I clean quickly enough. But most of the time, Aunt Petunia hits me with a frying pan for being too slow..." Harry said, then realized what he had said. Oh, he was in trouble now! Mr. Malfoy would never want Draco to play with him, all because Harry went and blabbered his big mouth!
Mr. Malfoy's face was red. He spun around on one heel, and left the two boys in the middle of the street.
"C'mon, Harry. I can show you my room." Draco said after a few seconds of staring at Mr. Malfoy's retreating form. Harry smiled, which was only a little forced, and followed Draco, but apparently was too slow, because Draco grabbed his jacket sleeve and made him go faster. Harry almost tripped over the people in the streets, being pulled this way and that by the harried Draco. Finally, they stopped at a fireplace inside a store. Draco went to the mantle, pulled down a jar of whitish powder and threw some into the fire. The flames grew and turned a startling emerald green. He looked at Draco for a minute, then realized why he hadn't done anything yet. He was waiting for him. Harry stepped into the green flames as Draco grabbed his shoulder tightly and yelled,
"Malfoy Manor!" Harry was spinning, faster and faster, the green flames swirling around him, until finally he was thrown out of the pleasant warmth of the fire, and onto a cold marble floor. Harry pushed his glasses, which had gone slightly askew, back up his face. He looked around, and his mouth dropped open in awe. It was huge! White, towering, limestone pillars were on either side of the fireplace and the other two entry ways. Harry assumed they were in the living room, judging by the large couch and the glass coffee table on an antique shag rug. He looked up at Draco, who had a slight smirk on his face. He offered his hand, and Harry took it and stood up while taking in the huge room. Draco lead him through one of the grand entryways, and into a gleaming kitchen. The stove had six burners on it and the counters were made of shining granite. Harry gaped at the sheer size of it all. Draco gave him a quick tour of the house, and lead him up a pair of stairs. The ascent seemed to take forever, and by the time they reached the landing at the top, Harry was ready to sit down. It had been quite the day. Draco opened a huge oak door, and declared the room within his own. There was a huge bed draped in silver and green canopy in the middle of the room, which had several blankets on it. Next to the big bed was a smaller one, which Harry thought was perhaps for friends. Nonetheless, he ran over to it and collapsed onto it. Harry was asleep within minutes.
Harry awoke to the sound of a loud popping noise. He shot up out of the bed, and saw a big nosed, bat eared, tiny creature. It had what looked like a pillowcase wrapped around itself like a toga, and Harry couldn't help but drop his jaw. He even felt himself let out a little shriek when it looked at him with it's abnormally large eyes, which made Draco open his. He looked up and over at the large bed next to his and saw a slightly groggy Draco who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Buggo, what do you want?" He said to the creature. The thing, Buggo, pulled on its ears and spoke in an obnoxiously high voice.
"Madam Malfoy told Buggo to get the two sirs. She said that dinner is ready in the Family Dining Room." Then he disappeared with a loud pop. Harry just stared at the spot the thing had been at.
"What was that?" Harry asked Draco, who still hadn't completely woken up yet.
"Who? Oh, Buggo? That's just one of our House Elves. They pretty much do everything for us." Was Draco's nonchalant response. Harry just nodded, still confused and in slight awe, and followed Draco out of the room into the hallway. They went down some stairs, and turned left, then right, then right again, until they finally came to a small, but elegant dining room. A woman was sitting at the edge of the table. This had to be Draco's mother. The woman had the same blonde hair as the males, but instead of grey, had piercing blue eyes. When the boys entered the room, she smiled, and the whole room seemed to grow brighter.
"Good evening boys. Are you ready for dinner?" The woman said politely. As if on que, both of the boys stomachs rumbled loudly. The nice woman laughed and stood up.
"I guess so. Hello, you must be Harry, am I correct?" The woman said to Harry as she piled his plate high with delicious smelling food. Harry smiled and nodded. He stretched his hand out and the nice woman took it.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Harry. My name is Narcissa Malfoy. You can call me Narcissa or Mrs. Malfoy. Either one is fine." The woman, Narcissa, said. The three sat down to eat their food, but were only able to enjoy it for a minute, because at that time, the fireplace roared, and out walked Mr. Malfoy. He brushed himself off, and looked at Harry with a wide smile on his face.
"So, Harry, I was talking to a good friend of mine at work, and it just so happens, that he agrees with the fact that you should not be living with Muggles. I don't know what that Dumbledore man was thinking, sending the son of James and Lily Potter to live with Muggles. I personally never lik- I mean, we weren't very close, but Merlin's beard, Muggles?" He rambled on, until Mrs. Malfoy gave a small cough, to which he smiled sheepishly and continued on in what he had been previously saying.
"So, you are going to be staying with us for the time being." Mr. Malfoy said, his grin returning. Harry blinked. He rubbed his eyes. He was staying here?
"No more Dursleys? I can stay here, with you guys? You'll take care of me?" Harry asked hopeful that it was all real. Mr. Malfoy nodded. Harry leapt up and pulled Draco up with him. This was the best day ever! Draco looked almost as happy Harry felt.
"We can have sleepovers every night! And I'll never have to invite you over! This is the best!" Draco shouted, positively ecstatic. He grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him back to his room. They jumped on the bed (The smaller one had disappeared) and talked about what they thought would be at Hogwarts. ("I heard there's a giant squid in the Black Lake there.") Later, Buggo popped back into the room with two trunks full of school supplies. He told the boys that they needed to get to sleep soon. Harry and Draco crawled onto Draco's bed, ("I don't mind, it's big enough for at least four people, and you're dreadfully skinny.") got under the covers, and were both asleep within minutes. Harry dreamed of flying broomsticks and giant squids all night.