"And Draco, which of these is a red pyramid?" The young boy looked at the shapes floating before him before reaching out and plucking the correct one from the air. "Very good!" Alec St. Clair surveyed his charges with pride. Their cognitive and social development was astounding, and Alec thought once again that the boys would be more than ready to attend primary school in September.
Four year old Draco Malfoy studied the red pyramid in his hand. Quickly growing bored with the immobile block, he reared back and threw it across the room. His brother, Harry, squealed with joy and plucked the green cube from the air, mimicking his brother's movement. Alec laughed and waved his wand, spelling the shapes into their container.
"I guess that's enough for the day, eh? Alright, let's go find your father." Harry and Draco jumped up immediately, scooting out the door before their tutor. "Wait up, boys!" he called. The trio moved down the stairs and into Lucius' study, where the eldest Malfoy was signing some papers. As his sons entered, he rolled up his parchment and stood, walking around to meet them.
"Why have you interrupted my work?" he asked simply, looking down at them. "And where is Mr. St. Clair?"
"Here, sir," the young man answered. "The boys have finished their instruction for the day. I just wanted to let you know that they have passed every milestone for children their age. They'll be ready for primary school this year."
"Very good," Lucius replied looking down at his sons. "Have you eaten lunch?" he inquired of them.
"Yes, sir," they intoned.
"Then run along to the nursery and entertain yourselves until your mother returns," Lucius patted them on the head and moved back to his desk.
"Yes sir!" The boys scurried out, nearly plowing over Alec in the process.
"Mr. St. Clair, you are dismissed. I have appreciated your services this past year in preparing the boys. Should I require your services again, I will contact you." Alec gave a formal bow to his employer.
"It's been an honor, sir," he replied, "And I appreciate the opportunity. I would be honored to assist your children in any way throughout their schooling; you only need ask." With a curt nod, he backed out of the room and left the manor.
Upstairs, books and toys had been strewn about in haphazardly fashion. One book in particular was center in the room, and both boys were crowded over it. Draco was reading aloud to his brother as they looked at the colorful pictures moving about on the page.
"But Slyth'rin wanted only children of pure blood. After many ar…arg…."
"Arguments," Harry sounded out.
"I know! Arguments, the founders decided to split the children into houses." Draco turned the page and continued, "So they each picked the children that they would teach. And that is how the houses of Hogwarts were formed." Draco closed the book and looked at his brother. "Think Slyth'rin was right?"
"Dunno," Harry answered, "I mean everybody can't be pure blood. Dad says some wizards come from muggles."
"Yeah, but they're not better than pure bloods," Draco argued.
"Well, sure, but I mean they learn magic, don't they?"
"Yeah, but they're not better!" Draco shot back. He pushed the book away and stood up. "Slyth'rin left cause Gryffindor was being mean. Pure bloods are better. Slyth'rin knew it, and Dad says it. And I think so too!" Harry smiled and stood up, running over to the toy chest and pulling out a plastic sword.
"I'm Gryffindor! And you're Slytherin, okay? Now get out!" He giggled as he chased his brother around the nursery. On his way by the toy bin, Draco pulled his own plastic sword and swung it around toward Harry. Harry ducked quickly, throwing up his sword to block. The plastic toys made a loud thwack as they connected.
"I'm not leaving! Pure bloods are better!" Draco swung again, and this time Harry met his with his own swing. They "fought" for a while before Harry jumped up on the divan.
"Everyone's the same!" he declared. "And Slytherin is wrong! Now you have to leave!"
"Never!" Draco yelled back, delving whole-heartedly into his role. "You're wrong, and I'm not leaving!" He reached up and pulled Harry down, sending them both tumbling to the ground. Laughing, the boys jumped back up, and Harry raced out the door. Draco followed, grinning madly and brandishing his sword. He swung at Harry once, missing by only a few inches. Putting on a burst of speed his closed on his brother, shoving him down.
Harry grinned for a moment as he felt himself falling, but his glee lasted only a moment. Rather than impacting the soft carpet as he anticipated, he hit cold tile. In a moment of panic, he scrambled a little, trying to get his feet under him. Unfortunately, this only caused him to skid further toward the stairs. For a precious second, he balanced precariously on the edge.
Then he fell.
Draco screamed as Harry tumbled down the stairs. He could only watch his brother fall head over heels, bouncing off the marvelous stair case. When he finally settled at the end, Draco threw his sword down and began the descent, his hand firmly gripping the handrail.
"Dad!" he screamed. "Dad, come here! Harry fell!" The study doors flew open and Lucius came running out. He stopped in horror as he saw his youngest son lying motionless at the bottom of the stairs. After only a second, he started again, hurrying to Harry's side.
"Harry!" he knelt down and assessed the boy without touching him, in case he had injured his neck. "Harry, open your eyes son! Can you hear me?" When there was no answer, Lucius looked up.
"Dobby!" he called, and a small house elf appeared and bowed low.
"Yes, Master?"
"Fire call St. Mungo's immediately. Tell them we have an emergency and we need an urgent care team now!" Dobby popped out as Draco finally finished his descent and came to rest beside his father.
"Is Harry okay, Dad?" he asked. Lucius reached out and pulled his eldest son into a sideways hug.
"He'll be fine, Draco. What happened?" Draco swallowed hesitantly at his father's tone, but he told the story as best he could.
"Well, Harry and I were reading that book, you know, Creating Hogwarts? Well, we got to playing and he was Gryffindor and I was Slyth'rin and we had the swords out and we were play fighting. We started running around and he came out here and it was an acadent."
"Accident," Draco nodded. "Where is that blasted team!"
"Here sir," he heard a voice behind him and turned to find three of St. Mungos' healers standing behind him with a stretcher and a bag. "We're going to need you to step back, sir. Take your son and move to the side please." Lucius lifted Draco into his arms and stepped back a few feet, keeping his eyes on the still form of Harry. The man who spoke pulled his wand out and whispered a few incantations over Harry's body.
"Broken right arm, below the elbow. No conceivable spinal/neck injuries, but he did hit his head on the way down. Several bruises, especially on the knees and back. Safe to move." At the last, the two men carrying the stretched moved forward and set it down beside Harry. Casting a stasis charm on his right arm, the leader carefully straightened Harry out in preparation for transportation. After levitating the boy onto the stretcher, Lucius and Draco followed them into the main hall. A sigil of transport had transcribed itself into the foyer's floor, and Lucius spared a thought briefly if he was going to have to remove it himself. The three healers plus Lucius and Draco moved into the sigil and, at the password, were transported fluidly into the main emergency room at St. Mungo's. Lucius was impressed at the display of old magic, but brought his thoughts quickly to his son. The healers were moving the boy further into the hospital, and Lucius made to follow. A few medi-wizards stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.
"Sir, you can't go in there. If you would like to wait in a private room, one can be arranged for you. The healer will come to see you when he's done." Lucius looked at the door through which his son had gone, the vision of his son's motionless body flashing through his mind. Wordlessly, he followed the man to the personal room. It was well furnished and had a Floo station. He set Draco on the couch as the man left them alone, and Lucius moved over to the Floo. Grabbing a handful of powder, he threw it in.
"Parkinson Estate!" he called out, and a young butler answered.
"Yes, sir, how may I help you?"
"I am Lucius Malfoy," he answered, and the man bowed in respect. "Is my wife available?"
"She is in the antechamber with the Mistress of the house and her guests. I shall retrieve her."
"No need. Please just tell her to floo here immediately; I will leave this open." Lucius pulled out as the man bowed and moved to deliver the message. Moments later, Narcissa came threw and looked around. She spotted Draco sitting on the couch crying and immediately began to panic.
"Where is Harry?" she demanded, looking at her husband.
"He fell down the stairs," he replied simply. "Draco and he were playing and got too carried away. The healers say he will be fine; he's in now." Narcissa let out her held breath, moving to place a hand on Lucius' arm. He covered it with his own and took a deep breath.
"Why did the safety charm not activate as he fell?" she wondered, as Lucius himself had cast several similar spells throughout the house as soon as Draco was born. They kept children from getting injured from simple accidents, and the most common one was cast on the staircase to keep children from falling.
"I'm not sure, Cissa, but I intend to find out. I recast those charms only last year." Narcissa shook her head with worry and moved over to comfort Draco, who was looking up at his parents with a lost expression on his face. In one quick motion, Narcissa was seated with her son cradled in her lap. Draco quieted down, but clung to his mother helplessly. Lucius sat beside them and placed a hand on his son's back, offering the comfort of his presence to his child.
An hour or so later, the lead healer that had retrieved Harry knocked quietly and entered. "Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy?" they nodded. "I'm Healer Swanson. Your son, Harry, is doing fine. He hit his head on the way down the stairs, but scans reveal nothing more than a bump. We also set and mended his right arm. We're going to keep him here another couple of hours until the potion wears off, but he's free to leave after that. I suggest you let him take it easy on that arm for a few days." He paused and surveyed the family, sighing deeply. "Also, protocol requires me to send someone to your Manor to check your safety wards inside." Lucius started at the news and stood up straighter.
"You can rest assured I will be checking them myself," he stated. "There is no need –"
"I'm sorry, sir, but it is mandatory. It won't take more than a moment, and if they have indeed been spent, he will recast them." Narcissa laid one delicate hand on her husband's forearm.
"That will be fine, thank you. Can we see Harry?"
"Of course, follow me." Lucius glared at his wife but relented for the chance to see his son. The family walked swiftly behind the Healer to the children's ward, where many kids slept or talked with family members.
Harry had a private room, being a member of one of the wizarding world's elite pureblood families. The Malfoys entered and were immediately left alone with their son. Narcissa moved to Harry's side and took his small hand in hers, brushing his hair back from his head. Draco climbed up to sit next to his brother, looking as he slept. Lucius merely stood, gazing down at Harry's still form, his mind still remembering the emotion that had coursed through him as he feared his youngest son had been gravely injured. After taking a few calming breaths, he placed his hand on Harry's forehead. The boy stirred a little and opened his eyes.
"Mum?" he whispered. "Where am I?" Narcissa could see the panic welling up in his eyes and quickly soothed his fears.
"Hush, child. It's alright. You are in a room at St. Mungo's. Do you remember falling down the stairs?" Harry shook his head slightly, his eyes taking in his worried family.
"You okay, Dray?"
"Yeah," the other boy said quietly. "You?"
"Yeah. I can't really ruh-memer."
"Remember," his father corrected softly, and smiled as Harry looked up.
"Daddy," he lifted his arms up and Lucius moved swiftly to scoop the boy into his arms.
"You're alright now, Harry," he said, reassuring himself rather than his son. Harry clung tightly to his father's neck as Lucius rubbed his back comfortingly. Draco got on his knees on the bed and Lucius lifted him up as well. Narcissa smiled as she remembered their first day together as a family. Lucius caught her eye and smiled as well.
"You're really getting too big for this," he chided the boys lightly, but Draco only giggled and Harry shrugged.
"Can we go home?" he asked.
"In a while. They want to make sure the potion they gave you to keep you asleep doesn't hurt you."
"Why would they give me a potion that hurts?" he asked.
"Sometimes people react badly to common things. It's called an allergy. They just want to make sure you don't react to any of the ingredients." Harry nodded sleepily, and Narcissa pried him from his father's grip and laid him back down.
"Time to rest, son," she said, tucking him under the covers.
"Will you stay?" Harry asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.
"Of course, Harry. We'll be here until you wake, then we can go home."
"Kay," he said before succumbing to the potion's effect once more, relaxed in the knowledge that his family would be there when he awoke.