Chapter Three: Welcome to the Caribbean!
Draco sighed as he paced a London hotel room. Things had been complicated when Lucius had been sent to the New Zealand Rehabilitation Centre, but things had gotten comparatively worse. His mother had been a sobbing sod for a few days, but at least she had been sane. It seemed as though she was going out of her way to prove that she wasn't. He had also had the Memta crew to cheer him up-they would no longer be of any consolation.
He ruffled his hair as he put on his Malfoy family robes and jeans. He and his mother would soon be meeting the rest of the Memta group at the Bubble Room. That was, of course, if his mother planned on waking from her "beauty sleep." An annoyed shriek from across the house assured him that she had. He sat down on the bed, not bothering to wear socks, and slipped his feet into ill-fitting loafers as his mother swept into the room.
The Bubble Room was an elegant, strictly old money restaurant. Its name had originated from the thousands of bubbles that lay underneath the glass floor. Draco admitted the décor was nice, but the menu had far too many choices for his liking. Add the fact that they changed with the cook's temperament, and one could see why Draco had a strong disliking for the restaurant.
This ordeal presented itself every time he entered the case was no different this time.
"Mother, I cannot decide what to order." Draco said, and scowled as the Piccioni glassato changed into something he couldn't pronounce, and he did not eat anything he could not pronounce.
"So not everything's changed," she said for his ears only. Draco only shrugged at her annoyance.
Draco had began counting the bubbles underneath the crystal floor just as Jacques, a friendly waiter pulled a chair out next to him.
"Somezing to keep you happy, mm?" he said, winking and gave Draco a sugar quill. Draco smiled gratefully and turned to the female who had just sat next to him.
"How did the packing go?" Draco asked Yin, and Arty, who had stolen a seat next to her. He smirked when he saw Yin blush and Artemis shove a hand through his hair.
"Quite well, thank you. Mother and Father were not home, apparently. Well, at least not physically." The last statement was made in a whisper, and Draco tilted his head pensively.
"So they did it, did they? They kicked you out."
"Not directly," Artemis said flatly. "They just let me see my own funeral plans."
Draco's eyes widened, but their conversation ceased as Blaize, Rem and Zane joined them.
"Good evening." Artemis muttered graciously.
His greeting received a nod, a hyper "Hello!" and a smile.
After he was seated, Blaize turned to the menu. Finding nothing that pleased him, he said to the waiter, "Would you happen to have fish that doesn't taste quite so much like…well, fish?"
The waiter gave him an 'are-you-kidding-me look', but to no avail. It was blissful to be as ignorant as Blaize.
"No."
"No? Well then, I suppose some pate and a salad couldn't hurt."
The waiter looked bored. "Is that all?"
"Yes." Blaize replied reassuringly, but as the waiter walked away, Blaize began scrutinizing the menu again, and called the waiter back.
"Oh bloody hell," Draco mumbled. "Here we go again."
Blaize changed his orders six times, and would have done so again, if Aryana hadn't told him to keep quiet or lose his car disk for a month.
The rest of the evening passed silently, save for the occasional sniveling 'the steak would have tasted better.' remark from Blaize.
Narcissa finally broke the stillness. "Perhaps it is time to say our final good-byes."
Blaize howled in reply, but otherwise her statement was not argued with. Narcissa stood up, smiling.
"Well then, I hope we shall see all of you very soon." She continued to smile, lifting her purse and motioning for Draco and Artemis to rise.
"Good night." Draco said to all, giving a small wave to Yin and Blaize.
Ash took a final swig of her champagne and followed the Malfoy's out, sauntering to each friend, giving them a peck on the cheek and wishes for a pleasant summer. She hadn't told anyone where she was going, and Narcissa said that she was probably staying here, keeping an eye on the other aurors.
The group slowly dispersed. The Ming's headed to France, Blaize and Aryana were going to Italy, and Zane bluntly told them he was going back to his rehab center in New York. Rem was going there, too. 'Only place you can really peace out, dude!' had been his exact words.
After leaving the Bubble Room, Narcissa led Artemis and Draco to a nearby Floo station. Draco eyed the station with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.
Artemis finally asked for both of them, "What is it?"
Narcissa smiled. "A Floo Powder station, silly."
"And that is?" Draco prompted.
"Our means of transportation."
"To?"
She ignored the last question. "Come on; hold onto my hands you two!" Artemis held. Draco clung.
A strong pull, much like the one experienced in a portkey took them over, and Artemis and Draco landed in a heap on the sandy ground. Narcissa looked on with a glint of amusement in her blue-grey eyes. She had, of course, landed perfectly standing.
Draco hacked out sand from his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand. He stood up, followed by an apprehensive Artemis.
"Where are we?"
Narcissa grinned. "Welcome to the Caribbean boys."
The Caribbean turned out to be Heaven.
For Narcissa.
She had rented a small speedboat and driven them to a port town. Draco nearly had a heart attack, and Artemis didn't open his mouth, afraid of what would come out if he did.
"She's mad, completely insane." Draco thought furiously. They'd been shopping all day. She'd bought seven bikinis-a fact that scared him more than the fact that she could drive a speed boat. She had also insisted on buying him and Arty at least six bathing suits each, with matching sunglasses from something named Dolce&Gabbana.
And the worst came when they entered a surfing store. The clerk there looked around twenty and seemed repulsively obsessed with his mother, and it didn't help when she practically bought the entire store.
"So let's see…" she muttered to herself. "We've already bought swimwear, snorkels, windsurfers, catamarans, a sail boat, water skis and kayaks."
Draco snorted. "You forgot everything else in Key West."
Narcissa pouted. "Now Draco, that's no way to be grateful!"
"For the years of arthritis you're going to cause me? Oh yes, I'm eternally gratefully for that."
Narcissa rolled her eyes. "You are so dramatic."
Draco's mouth dropped open. "I'm dramatic? Look at you! You practically laughed yourself into that guy's pants."
Artemis coughed, obviously uncomfortable by watching so intimate an argument.
Narcissa smiled at him. "Oh, Arty! I'm ever so sorry for keeping you waiting. If Draco hadn't begun this trifle little debate…"
Draco's hands flew in the air. "If Draco hadn't begun this trifle debate... Ha. At least I'm sane."
Narcissa whipped around, her eyes darkening. "That's enough."
He swallowed. Artemis looked away, and nudged him to follow Narcissa to the speed boat.
Narcissa unceremoniously threw their hundred bags of items into the back of the boat, and then they were off.
They landed at the docks of some pristine beach, with crystal clear water and white sand.
Draco smirked and Artemis whistled. Narcissa threw them a devilish grin.
"Welcome to Casa Negra. What do you think?"
"Quite lovely, actually. Seems somewhat like Bora Bora but Spanish." Artemis said with genuine praise.
Draco sniffed and looked away. "Whatever."
Narcissa was in too good a mood to notice his displeasure. She headed toward the villa, and Artemis pushed Draco in front of him. He smiled at Draco's scowl as if to say, 'she's your crazy mum, mate.'
"And you are sure of this?" Voldemort asked, eyeing the young man before him.
"Quite sure, My Lord of Supreme Darkness." He said eagerly. Voldemort ignored the praise and said to Bellatrix, "Bring her in."
Bellatrix opened the majestic doors to a dementor holding a whimpering teenage girl.
Voldemort's thin lips spread into a cat like grin. "Why hello, child. Tell me, what do you know of a boy named Draco Malfoy?"
"Ha!" Artemis declared. "You look like a lobster."
"Is that so? Well it's better than looking like a green tomato!" Draco retorted fiercely. The first week in Casa Negra had left marks on both boys. The frequent trips in the speed boat always left Artemis slightly green, and the hot sun had not been kind to Draco's perfect white skin.
Artemis shrugged at his remark and continued to swing lazily from his hammock. Draco looked critically at his sand-castle and added some more water to his mixture of sand and H2O. He looked back at Artemis. "You could help a little, you know."
"Sure, if I knew precisely what it was you were doing."
"Making a sand castle you dolt!" He patted the castle affectionately. "Quite a good one at that,"
Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Castle? It looks more like a camel to me."
"Camel? How?"
"Well, I thought that was what the lump represented."
Draco's retort was cut off by the beeping of his K-Line and a cool female voice.
"Yin Ming. Location: France. Time of K-Line message arrival: 3:15 p.m. Message status: Urgent."
Draco opened the K-line and quickly turned down its volume; Yin was apparently at a club.
"Bonjour Drayce! Bonjour Arty!" Yin said laughing.
"Bonjour." Draco and Artemis repeated.
"Comment ca va?" She asked.
"Your message said urgent, Yin. That does not mean you are to humor me by speaking French. You know for a fact I am fluent in more than twenty-five languages, French being–"
Draco's boasting was cut short by the appearance of Autumn, a close friend of Yin's and Draco's, she being the French Minister's Daughter.
"Bonjour, Bonjour! My, my, you two are looking how all those American's say…cute?" She looked at Yin, who nodded, giggling. "Ah, oui! Très cute."
Artemis raised a dark eyebrow. He did not appreciate being called "cute", even if it was a beautiful brunette saying it.
"Aux les toilettes" Yin waved to Autumn, and hurried into a nearby restroom, failing to notice that it said "Men" on the door. Artemis tried to call this to her attention, but Draco silenced him with a smirk.
"Have you heard the news?" Yin asked, calmly after placing a Silencing spell on the bathroom stall.
"That my mother's insane? Please Yin, that's getting old."
"No. No, not that. Here, look at this." She put a newspaper clipping in front of the K-Line screen.
Raven Saunders-Kidnapped, the headline read. Draco's eyebrows furrowed with perplexity.
"This is news. How long's it been?" Artemis asked.
"Three days. But there's more." She bit her lip, a sad look crossing her face. "Drayce…Teddy's dead."
Draco looked at her in alarm. "What?"
"I don't want to say it again. Here." She shoved another article in front of the K-Line. Theodore Nott, Found Dead on Ministry Steps.
Draco stared at the headline, anger and hatred swelling fiercely in his chest. He gritted his teeth to clamp down on the trail of words that would have surely caught his mother's attention. "We should have known about this. He did it. This exactly the kind of thing that monster would do."
Yin nodded. "I know." She smiled wryly. "But at least it gives us something to think about," she looked at the stall door, and the swishing of people entering and leaving. "I've got to go. Have a good evening."
Draco nodded. "See you at school tomorrow."
Yin smiled again. "Yes. Good night Artemis."
"Good night." he said. Draco waited a moment and then quickly shut off the K-Line after hearing Yin's squeal of horror. She had, no doubt, found out that she was in the men's restroom, without any warning from Arty or him.
Artemis gave Draco a lopsided grin. "You're going to get hell for that, Malfoy."
Draco smirked, and crossed his elbow under his head, lying down in the warm sand. "Yes, Fole, I will. But it'll have been worth it."