He took a look around at his surroundings. It was early evening, the shadows just beginning to lengthen, and the day was overcast. On either side of the path, there were expanses of grass, littered with the occasional tree. Ahead of him was the tall stone wall that surrounded the Notts' property, dark moss growing down it, and tall bare trees poking up above the edge. A black wrought iron gate stood at the end of the path, its designs twisting and shifting in such a way that it hurt Draco's eyes to look at them, and he had a strong feeling that he would much rather look somewhere else. He chose the wall next to the gate and stood there, wondering if Nott knew he was got his answer a moment later, when the gate swung open smoothly and silently to reveal a thin boy with fine, mousey brown hair and a weak chin. He was dressed in plain black robes, nothing fancy but immaculately clean and pressed. "Hello, Malfoy," he said, his thin lips twisted into one of his trademark wry smiles, where you could never quite tell if you were meant to be in on the joke. "Welcome to Nott Manor.""Thank you for allowing me your hospitality. I cannot thank you enough," Draco said, cautious not to forget his manners. He had learned some important lessons about manners during the war. When somebody else had power over you, it was best to stay on their good side, and that meant being polite."My pleasure," Nott replied, and this time Draco got the distinct impression he was being mocked. It was not a pleasant feeling, but he let it pass as if he had not noticed. He didn't want to get into a fight with his host before even seeing the inside of where he was going to be staying for the indefinite future. "Care for the grand tour?" Nott asked, and turned his back without waiting for a reply, walking swiftly towards the large stone building ahead of hurried to keep up with the slightly taller boy, barely getting a chance to look at his surroundings, though he had, of course, been here before. The last time was when he was thirteen, and Mr Nott had invited the Malfoys over for dinner. That was back before everything had really started. From what little he could tell, the place seemed to have changed not at all. The large clear pond was still full of ducks and two long-necked white swans, and he could still see the hedge maze out beyond did not pause at the front doors, merely continued walking as they swung open for their master. Draco made to walk after him, and came up shortly against what felt like a solid wall. He grunted, and took a quick step back, slapping a hand to his nose, which throbbed unpleasantly."Oh, sorry about that," Nott said, not sounding particularly sorry. "I've got to allow you into the wards." He closed his eyes in apparent concentration for a moment, and then nodded his head, looking satisfied. "All right, try now. You're allowed in and out at will. You still won't be able to bring anybody else over without my letting them in the wards, though, and if you attempt to harm the Master of the house - that's me, by the way - the magic will probably react... unpleasantly. But I'm sure we won't have to worry about that." He smiled at Draco, his hazel eyes glinting with a somewhat dark humor."Of course not," Draco said stiffly. "I understand the rules of hospitality as well as anyone.""Better than some, I'd say," Nott said knowingly, and Draco could guess what "guests" he was referring frowned. He had forgotten what unpleasant company Nott could be sometimes. He tended to act as if he thought he knew everything, and didn't much care whether you agreed. No wonder he had never had any real friends in school. Still, he would have to attempt to make nice if this was going to work. "I would hope so," he said instead, and stepped across the threshold into the entry hall. It was a relatively small room with a hardwood floor and a high ceiling, from which an antique-looking chandelier hung, weighted down by hundreds of brightly flickering candles. There were also brass sconces lighting the hall, and a large doorframe opening up to a long hall, with more sconces along each inclined his head, and renewed his hurried pace down the hallway, not stopping at any of the shut doors until the hall widened significantly and they stood in front of a wide staircase, the underside of its dark banisters carved into what looked like all sorts of animals and gargoyle faces peering out from among thick vines. He might have been imagining it, but Draco thought he saw a couple of the gargoyles' eyes glint at him with malice. He looked away quickly, and followed Nott up the dark blue runner secured to the center of the they reached a landing and Nott took a sharp left, leading Draco through a door and into what seemed to be a large drawing room. It was carpeted in dark blue, and the walls were dark glossy wood intercut with strips of grey wallpaper. There was a huge fireplace at one end of the room, made out of dark, rough-hewn stones, with a thick oak mantelpiece. The center of the room was taken up by a long table, and there were chairs and sofas of various sorts throughout the room. "You can use this Floo," Nott told him, "and it is where I entertain guests." He grinned, as if amused by the concept of actually entertaining guests. "It's also where I eat my meals. My suite is down the hall through that door on the right. There should never be a need for you to go in there. I'll show you the library, and your suite next."The library proved to be quite large, possibly even larger than the one at Malfoy Manor, though he thought it probably had less obscure books on the Dark Arts and similar subjects. He was mostly interested in the extensive section on Potions books. "Feel free to read anything you want in here," Nott told him. "Just don't harm the books, or I'll be annoyed."Draco's suite was not as nice as the one he had had at home, and he thought it could hardly be defined as a suite. It was a small room with a desk in one corner and a comfortable-looking, but narrow, bed in the center of it, with an attached bathroom. Still, it was better than what he'd had at Hogwarts, so he could hardly complain."This is pretty much all you need to know," Nott said, when they were standing in Draco's new room. "Thoughts?" he asked, and Draco thought he detected a hint of anxiety in the other boy's voice for the first time, as if he was genuinely hoping that Draco would like it."It's a nice house," Draco said politely, giving Nott as sincere of a smile as he could. Which was not as terribly hard as it might have been, since it really iwas/i quite a nice place. "Thank you."Nott shrugged, the earnestness replaced with a coolly indifferent expression. "Well, it is what it is. Beggars can't be choosers, eh, Malfoy?""I would not use the term 'beggar'," Draco said tightly, suddenly more than ready to be left alone. "If you don't mind, I would like to do some unpacking, and perhaps read a book."A smirk flickered across Nott's face, but then he nodded agreeably. "I was in the middle of some reading myself," he admitted. "Dinner's at 7:30 sharp and mind you're not late. Turvy - that's my House-Elf - won't stand for it. Bossy old thing, she is." He gave Draco another sharp look and left the room, shutting the door behind him with a firm sneered at the door when Nott had gone. Imagine letting your House-Elf boss you around. If Libby had tried that, his father would have had her burn her ears in the oven. But it wasn't surprising that Nott was weak-willed enough to let his House-Elf tell him what to do. He had always been like that, really. He could've had a much higher standing in Slytherin during Hogwarts if he had chosen to use the fact that he was from a wealthy and well-respected Pureblood family, like Draco had. He was clever enough to pull it off, too. Instead, Nott had chosen to stick to his books and studies, rarely bothering to interact with his Housemates at all. He had stayed out of the war, too, as best as he could. If anything, he could be considered a coward. Draco might regret how things had happened, but he hadn't hidden in the sidelines. He had been right in the center of the action, and he had came out of it alive. That was something Nott would inever/i understand. Draco was a survivor, and nobody could take that from him. Let them try.
