Chapter 2 : Pureblood Politics
Malfoy Manor was one of the largest wizarding manors in Britain. Everything about the manor exuded class and elegance. The long stretching velvet carpeted hallways, the tapestries of the ancient Pureblood families, the foremost of which was in the living room, a large and sparkling silver scaled dragon which was the symbol for the Malfoy household. Even the less carefully furnished rooms were an expression of class. The furniture in the playroom, while nowhere near as classy as the shining silver leather displayed in the foremost living room, still had an air of wealth attached.
The Malfoy playroom was unlike any Muggle one. Entering the room was a bizarre experience. As soon as anyone entered they had turn on a forty five degree angle north east to enter through a gap. On entry the wall from behind and the wall directly infront were the largest and were decorated in a piercing dark green. The walls were decorated with ornate porcelain figures. The wall to the north of the entry point had a statue like figure of a large shimmering dragon, rubies and emeralds embedded in the figure's scales. The décor was by no means the only impressive asset inside the room although it was the feature of the room that made the most striking impression. The room was carefully furnished so it was a sea of green and silver not only to emphasise the Malfoys' status as a wealthy traditional Pureblood family but also so the connection to Salazar Slytherin's house was immediately apparent.
The objects inside the room made an equal statement of wealth. In the centre of the room an flamboyant chess set stood on a wooden table. On both sides of the room, were large bookcases that were long but thin and short so that the emblazoned logo of Slytherin on the side walls was not obscured. Other notable objects included a Stratuscope, a triangular machine which looked ordinary but once engaged gave the user the illusion of running a race track or lifting weights depending on the setting, a luminous Cleansweep broom which further expressed wealth and a mirror which when the user was engaged luminous bright lights, like those you would see at a Muggle disco flashed and the challenge was to match their speed by casting sparks from a fake wand.
Yes Draco Malfoy was undoubtedly a spoiled child. Nonetheless he could not help but feel slightly inadequate. Despite the expensive objects he owned, he knew that part of the reason for this was for show. His parents, particularly his father delighted in showing off his wealth. Draco's childhood was also hampered by the fact he was not allowed to make his own friends. He had been taught from a young age not to mingle outside with children that wore ordinary clothing or were anything other than Pureblood stock. Muggles and those who were born from Muggles, he was taught to sneer and disrespect as they were not human beings, only convincing imitations of human beings.
Those whom Draco did socialise with were far from the most enjoyable company. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were stupid, moronic and thuggishly built. They were hardly enjoyable conversationalists but they did act as his enforcers bullying and threatening those whom Malfoy chose to intimidate, which was useful. The one guy that Draco Malfoy shared some common ground with was Blaise Zabini. He certainly shared interests such as chess and Quidditch with him but while they hung around together and seemed to have something resembling a friendship, the two had an underlying determination to be better than the other. This was as a result of their parents. The Malfoys despised Arabella Zabini, Blaise's mother but maintained a false friendship with her as she was both wealthy and famous both for her beauty and her constantly remarrying wealthy figures before they mysteriously disappeared. Arabella Zabini was a prominent member of society and had established herself as one of societies richest and most powerful individuals, especially with her French bloodline and friendship with the Delacours, one of the leading powerful families in France. The Malfoys thought of Arabella as a gold digger and a social climber but decided it was better to keep her on side. Arabella similarly wished to remain one of the most powerful individuals in society and thus kept up the charade despite seeing Malfoys as arrogant, power-hungry and looking down her nose at them as former Death Eaters. Both had instilled in their children that they were to ensure that they achieved more than the other. Maintain a lukewarm friendship, if necessary but be better regardless.
Despite this, both insisted on keeping up the charade of the meeting of the Pureblood families. On this particular day the two Malfoys, Udo Nott ; Malfoy's old friend from the Death Eaters, Crabbe and Goyle ; who followed Lucius around and sucked up to him in a similar manner as his sons did with Draco and Arabella Zabini. This left the children together again. In the Malfoy playroom Draco and Blaise were engaged in a game of chess.
" I am three moves from victory," boasted Draco. This drew a scowl from Blaise.
" I do believe it is two one Malfoy" . Draco laughed it off but couldn't hide his irritation. He hated losing. Blaise saw the look of disdain from Draco and smirked satisfied.
"Checkmate!" drawled Draco with satisfaction.
"Another game Malfoy?"
"Nah Blaise there's only so often I can whip your scrawny ass."
Blaise did not take kindly to this, protesting : " Hey my ass is not scrawny Malfoy. I'll have you know that despite being only the ripe age of eleven, I work out," .
As if to prove his point Blaise flexed his muscles. Draco chuckled but before he could put in a retort, another boy interrupted.
" Zabini, you do amuse me! Your arrogance is overwhelming, I mean you are not even worthy-" Theodore Nott drawled. Nott despite being eleven was a fair height. He had a harsh face, piercing grey eyes like daggers and had the ability to change tone. At the moment his tone was halfway between menacing and mocking. Blaise reacted angrily.
"What the hell was that supposed to mean Nott?!"
"Well the Zabinis aren't a proper pureblood family. Everyone knows that they only have a position in society because your mother is a gold digging sl-"
Nott however did not get to finish his insult as he was tackled roughly to the ground by Blaise who began punching Nott everywhere he could. Nott however reversed this, bringing up his knee and ramming it hard into Blaise's crotch. Nott then took the advantage punching Blaise in the face repeatedly. Malfoy normally didn't care about the fights between the two but this time the commotion was likely to alert the adults and that would mean serious ramifications for Draco.
" Look Theo, yes Blaise's mother is a bit of a looker" . 'A bit of a looker' was putting it mildly. Her skin was like silk, her eyes were voluptuous and vibrant and her scarlet lips had the Medusan ability to ensnare any man. After receiving a murderous glare from Zabini, Draco chose a different tack, " Look guys there is no need to attack each other. Let's just not insult each other's families. With our parents just along the corridor it just isn't worth it. ".
This seemed to convince them, who grudgingly sprang apart giving each other looks of unrelenting hatred. Satisfied, he had diffused a potentially costly situation he changed the subject.
" You got your Hogwarts letters yet?" asked Draco.
" I got mine three days ago." replied Nott
" What about you Blaise?" asked Draco
Blaise, still glowering at Nott answered with a grunt. " Yes. Mother tells me it's actually a very well run school-"
"Father actually wanted to send to Durmstrang, you know because of Muggle lover Dumbledore and this Defence rubbish they teach. At Durmstrang they at least teach you the Dark Arts, including the Unforgiveables." drawled Draco.
Nott was practically salivating with glee at the thought of mastering the Unforgiveables. Draco saw this and it made him uneasy. He had always thought Nott was weird, not helped by his father's forthright views on Muggles. He had recently become worse and he spoke with a venomous hatred for a group of people whom he had never met. The only reason Draco was civil to Nott was because while he wasn't afraid of the boy he suspected he could be a dangerous enemy.
" So what house do you think you will be in?"
Nott answered first with a sickening enthusiasm, " Slytherin! Where else? That filthy blood seeping around the castle. Muggle blood, dirty blood, muddy blood. No other house for me!"
Sickened by Nott, Draco chose to politely ignore him and instead turned to Blaise : " Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Ravenclaw is for the smart although Slytherin is the elite"
" Zabini what makes you think you're worthy of Slytherin? You are an illegitimate bastard with whatever knows what blood in you -" sneered Nott, before Zabini angrily lunged at him knocking the chess pieces to the floor but he was restrained by Malfoy while Nott was restrained by Crabbe and Goyle.
" Just you wait till I get a wand" growled Blaise low and menacing
" Try it blood traitor"
" You don't even know what that means" laughed Zabini who had changed from angry to condescending and mocking.
" Yes I do, its you, you bloody traitor" retorted Nott but his obvious use of one of his father's terms without knowing the mean had taken a little of the sting of his menace.
For the remainder of the hour Draco made sure neither attacked the other before both finally left. Malfoy sighed deeply. He had always longed for a best friend or a sibling, someone who was equal to him in intelligence and not someone who he was rivals with or could overpower. Before making his way to the dining room for dinner with his parents, he could not help but reflect that Hogwarts would surely bring the opportunity for a true friend.
