Chapter 21

The Potter's manor

After spending almost an entire week at the Potters, Cygnus realized that they were nothing like he had expected.

The first thing was more different than he had imagined, was the house the Potters lived in. After they had left King Cross station, without garnering any attention from the Malfoys-surprisingly- they had apparated to the where the Potters live. When Cygnus eyes landed on the house he was shocked. He had expected it to be a charming, albeit average house, one that middle class witches and wizards lived in all throughout England. He had in no way expected them to live in a manor, especially not one as big as this one! And by the size of the manor, he got his second realization. The Potters are rich. Maybe not as wealthy as the Malfoys –for no family in all of England is- but they are certainly one of the most wealthy. In fact, none of his friend's family manors were as grandiose, or large as the Potters, which he was sure would shock them to know. Of course the sheer size of it didn't in no way mean that it's larger than the Malfoys manor, but he had to admit that it probably came very close. This made him wonder what else he didn't know about the Potters. Having been excluded from Pureblood society, not much was known about the Potters, because who wanted to know anything about blood traitors? When he was younger he accepted that prejudice from all the adults around him, but now it just annoyed him. There was an entire different spectrum to the wizarding society that he, nor most of the purebloods know, and now that his eyes were open he wished they would just open their eyes, so they realize that they are not so different from the rest of society.

Apart from the slight size difference, there were a lot of differences, and similarities between the two manors. And that big difference was the aesthetics of the manors themselves. While the Malfoys manor is dark, cold, and imposing, the Potter manor is filled with lights, warm, and inviting. Of course that was not the only difference, there were many which Cygnus could point out, like: the Malfoys manor is littered with old portraits, while the Potter's is not. The Potters have a room –James dubbed as the family room- while the Malfoys would never dream of having such a room in their pristine manor. But the biggest difference had to be that the Potters have a real quidditch pitch, while the Malfoy's only have a makeshift one he and Draco made when they were eight years old.

But despite all the differences, there were a few similarities here and there. The room –he found- were more or less the same as any manors. His room in particular -although it wasn't as big as his room in Malfoy manor- it reminded him a lot of his old room. It was an elegant room, and one that was filled with books, to which he was thankful of. Because of the similarities, he spent most of his time in his room, and only came out to eat, which for some reason the Potters were allowing. Because he spent so much time in his room he found that he actually liked it, and he expected all other rooms to be more of less the same, but he had been mistaken.

One day he had ventured around the manor, when he was mistakenly sure no one was around and came across Leon, who quickly took him by the hand and dragged him to his room so he could show him his chocolate frog collection –of course Cygnus had no say on the matter. When Cygnus had entered the room, he was shocked to see how different it was from his own. First of all, the walls in Leon's room were almost completely covered by quidditch posters, and other memorabilia that would put the best fanatics to shame. Another things that was different was that Leon's room was filled with simple, and almost childlike furniture, which confused him, and made him wonder. Were all rooms in the manor this way, and they changed his room so he would feel at home, or was Leon's room the only exception? By Merlin, there was no way of knowing, unless he rudely entered every room in the manor. He might not like being at the Potters but even he wouldn't do that.

After Cygnus had manage to get out of Leon's room, Cygnus had wanted to go back to his room¸ but to his great displeasure, Leon had followed him, and Cygnus couldn't very well go to his room and shut the door on his nose could he? So Cygnus went to a room that resembled a seating room, and tried to read a book from one of the shelves –tried being the key word. Leon, had not been interesting in reading at all, and talked Cygnus ear off for at least two hours!

"So what's your favourite subject at Hogwarts?"

"What's your favourite quidditch team? I bet it's the Appleby Arrows. It's the Appleby Arrows ain't it? That's my favourite team!"

"So what's it like living with the Malfoy's? I bet it's really boring!"

"Hey wanna go put a dung bomb in dad's study?"

"Ugh! Why do you keep reading? I swear you're just like Lucy!"

On and on Leon went. For a moment Cygnus thought there wasn't an end to Leon's energy, the kid didn't even need to breathe! At one point Cygnus felt physically ill after listening to him talk about nonsense for so long, and he had almost snapped at him more than once. He always thought he had great patience, well Leon manage to prove him wrong.

It was only after almost three hours that Lucy came to his rescue, and took her twin brother away almost by the ear.

"Stop talking so much! Don't you see you're annoying him?" Lucy had scolded, and Leon looked quite chastised as he apologized.

Cygnus wanted to remain annoyed, but after seeing how self-conscious and guilty he looked, Cygnus couldn't help but forgive him. After all, he knew that Leon probably grew up hearing about him, and he probably always wanted to meet him. Because of this, he knew he was excited about him being at the manor, so he probably wanted Cygnus to like him, and he tried to go about it the only way he knew how, and if Cygnus had been someone else it might have worked. Sure Leon's carefree, and happy go lucky attitude maybe charming, and fun for others, but to Cygnus it was just exhausting. And yet, he couldn't really blame him. He found that was soon becoming a usual occurrence.

Before coming to Potter manor, and ever since he learned the truth about his past in fact, he always resented Leon and Lucy in some way. And how could he not? They had the life that was meant for him, and parents that truly cared for them –not that the Malfoys didn't care for him, but he couldn't help but be jealous of the fact that the Potters outwardly care more for the twins than they did for him, which he didn't understand why it bothered him. Not to mention that Lucius had told him for years that Leon, and Lucy were replacements for him, and after growing up with that thought, it was quite hard getting rid of that resentment, even though it didn't seem to be truth. But regardless, he had surprisingly come to grow closer to the twins, more so than he thought possible. They were not at all how he thought they were after he met them at the gala before the start of school. They were definitely not the stuck up, self-entitled children of James Potter, and Lily Potter, the saviours of the wizarding world, as well as the siblings of the legendary Boy-who-lived. No, they were nothing like that, in fact they seem to shy away from any sort of fame their parents had, and though they did appear impressed by the fact that he is Harry Potter, they didn't bring it up often. In fact they only brought it up once.

"So, you did defeat You-know-who?" Lucy had asked one day, when they were both in the study reading.

"I don't know, everyone seems to think so. So I suppose I did."

Lucy had given him a curious look, but she didn't say anything and left it at that.

Leon had also, asked him something similar, and like Lucy he didn't get into too much depth with the conversation.

Now James, and Lily Potter were a different matter. Instead of them bringing it up, Cygnus was the one trying to talk to them about it. He had after all, wanted to know more about that fateful night, and to get their recollection of what happened, to see if his parents had lied about something else. But every time he so much as said Godric Hollow, James would practically break anything in his hand, and Lily look at him with such sadness that she looked to be at the brink of crying. And that was only by saying Godric Hollow, it was worse when he mentioned the Dark lord, or any of the death eaters name. So for those reasons, Cygnus didn't bring it up –he knew that they wouldn't reveal anything- and kept on avoiding the Potters as much as he could. Well, he didn't avoid the twins as much as he thought he did.

Apart from James, Lily, Leon, and Lucy there was one member of the family which he thought he wouldn't like, and that was the cat. The feline was an odd breed he had never seen in the magical world before, and had an exotic look with its fluffy snow white fur. The cat's name was Milo –a strange name, or so he thought- and though he hadn't like the cat at first, in time he found that his dislike began to fade, and that was because for some reason it reminded him of Draco. The cat carried himself with an arrogant air, and behaved like he was the most important member of the family, by going and seating wherever he pleased, while the Potters simply allowed him to do whatever he wanted. One day the cat had even jumped up on his lap, sat down upon it, while giving him an arrogant look, as if daring him to push him off his lap. Of course Cygnus did no such thing, and he actually smirked, when he imagined Draco's face on the cat. He never thought he would see the resemblance of Draco in a cat. But now that the cat reminded him of Draco, every time he saw him his mood dampened.

Thinking of Draco was a bit painful. He had of course gotten a few letters from his brother, all of them telling him how boring the manor is when he isn't around, and how their mother was boring him to death with more dance classes. Of course both he and Draco have had dance classes with Narcissa before, but when they were together they made it a lot more fun by making a game out of it. But now that he wasn't there, he could imagine how boring it must be for Draco, and he felt a little sorry for his brother.

Apart from Draco, he got letters from Ron, Blaize, Terence, Adrian, Daphne, and Aeron, but surprisingly none from Hermione. He knew of course, that she must still be mad after he treated her parents so coldly, and he felt a little guilty that he had treated her parents in such a way, but there was nothing he could have done otherwise. They are muggles, and he couldn't very well treat them like he treated magical folks could he? That would go against everything he was taught, and what he believed. Still, he wished that Hermione would write to him. She is, after all, one of his friends.

When it was finally Christmas Eve, Cygnus woke up rather excited for the day. When he had been at Hogwarts he envied Ron, and wished to go to the Christmas party his family was holding, and now he got to do just that, which was probably the only good thing about spending the holidays with the Potters. He wasn't of course, excited because he got to go to a party; no if he had wanted that he would have been happy to attend the Malfoys ball. He was excited because he got to spend Christmas with the Weasleys, who he was beginning to get along with.

Excited, and not wanting to wait to get the day started, Cygnus hopped off his bed and got ready for the day; which even though the Malfoys weren't around, he still took a long time to looked proper.

When Cygnus walked to the dining area, he was welcomed by and enthusiastic Lily, and James.

"Good morning Cygnus." Lily beamed, as she peeled an orange, which Cygnus found strange. He never saw Narcissa doing such a menial task. All foods were always prepared perfectly, and in a manner that wouldn't require them to do anything but to simply eat it, but that was not the norm in the Potter manor.

"How did you sleep kiddo?" asked James.

"Alright."

Cygnus sat on a vacated seat, far away from both Lily and James, and began to put food on his plate. Neither Lily, nor James said anything, and simply let him be. He knew they wanted to talk to him more, but every time he was around them it just felt awkward.

As Cygnus took the first bite of his food, he noticed that neither Leon, nor Lucy were up yet. He understood Leon, since he tended to wake up late, but Lucy was strange

"Where's Lucy?" He asked, taking a bit of his beans.

"She woke up early, and had her breakfast. I suppose she's getting ready for the party right now." James said.

Cygnus frowned, and put his spoon down. "So early? The party isn't until eight." He remarked.

James looked at Lily, and back to Cygnus. "Well yes, but we always go as early as possible, so we can help the Weasleys. That means that we ought to leave in two hours at most to be there on time."

Cygnus gave James a pinched expression. 'They forgot to mention that.' He thought irritated. Being the meticulous person that he is, he always wanted to know ahead of time if plans were to be changed, and James had told him that the party was at eight, and now he was telling him they had to leave in two hours? Just perfect.

Seeming to notice his irritation, Lily jumped in. "Sorry for the misunderstanding Cyg. I know James told you that the party was at eight, but he forgot to mention about going to the Burrow early." Lily apologized, and Cygnus deflated a little.

"It's alright I suppose, I'll just need to go back to my room to get ready then." Cygnus said, and went back to his food, only to look up as James chuckled.

"But you look perfect as is! In fact, you'll probably look the best out of everyone there, at least better than Sirius or Leon, that's for sure." James smirked, and Lily huffed in agreement.

"He'll what dad?" Leon yawned, as he came into the dining room, still wearing his pyjamas, with his red hair dishevelled, and slightly dirty from grass. If Leon had been raised by the Malfoys, he would have gotten a very extensive and harsh scolding from them. But since Cygnus isn't really a Malfoy, he found it amusing as Leon slumped down on his chair uncaring of his physical state, while Lily looked both disgusted, and annoyed.

"You see?" asked James with a chuckled.

Leon looked up from his plate, with half lidded eyes, clearly still half asleep. "See what?"

That seemed to be last straw for Lily, as she looked at her younger son disapprovingly. "Leon Potter, I dearly hope you don't intent to go to the party in such a state?" Lily scolded. "You were raised by human being, not pigs! So after you eat your food, I want you to get a bath and dress decently for once."

Cygnus looked at Leon with a small smirk, as he looked at Lily slightly shocked and annoyed. "But mom, were gonna get dirty anyways after playing quidditch, what's the point of taking a bath or getting dressed properly?"

Cygnus ears quirked up a little after hearing quidditch. Were they really going to play quidditch at the burrow? He dearly hoped so, and if they did, well this will probably be a great Christmas for once. Not because of the Potters of course, he kept telling himself.

"I don't want to hear it young man. You're getting a bath, and you will dress properly. I refuse to let you go looking like a mangy dog."

Leon groaned. "But uncle Sirius always looks like a mangy dog! Why can't I?"

James chuckled, and coughed after Lily glared at him. "Sirius is a grown man, and he can very well dress anyway he wants to. But you are still eight years old, and have to do what I say Leon. So you will march up to your room, get a bath and get changed." She declared, and Leon groaned once more, but didn't say anything.

The rest of the meal went about the same way, no one spoke and Cygnus got to eat his food in peace. Well relative peace. Leon would catch his attention every time he took out a snitch from his pocket, and let it flutter a little out of his palm, only to grasp it mid-air before it could get away.

Two hours later, Cygnus stood in the middle of the front doors to the manor, waiting for Leon, James, and Lily. Both he and Lucy were the only ones who were on time, and they both stood awkwardly while waiting for the Potters.

"So the Longbottoms will be at the party too?" Cygnus asked, breaking the awkward silence. Of course he already knew the answer to that, Ron had told Hagrid. He simply wanted to engage Lucy into a conversation.

Lucy looked up from the floor, and looked at him a little shocked that he had started a conversation. "Yea, they'll be there like always." She told him.

Cygnus narrowed his brows, and looked at her intrigued. "Like always?"

"Well yes, every year we hold a Christmas party at either of our homes, the Weasleys, the Longbottoms, or ours. This year is the Weasleys turn, but next year it'll be the Longbottoms." She explained.

Cygnus nodded, but didn't say anything. Instead he looked at the staircase when he heard sets of footsteps coming towards them. Leon, James, and Lily were making their way down the stairs, and to where they were waiting. Cygnus amusedly noticed that Leon was acting a little antsy, and was clearly annoyed of the nice sweater Lily made him wear.

"So, were all ready to leave?" Asked James, as he fixed the sleeves on his robes.

"Yup." Responded Lucy, while Leon grumbled something, and Cygnus simply gave them a curt nod.

"Well then let's be off." James said excitedly while Leon and Lucy walked towards him and grabbed his arm so they could apparate to the burrow.

Cygnus on the other hand waited for Lily to come to him, and only took her hand when she offered it, albeit a little reluctantly. He could apparate on his own, but he couldn't very well show them, and not to mention that he would get in trouble with the ministry.

The Potters, and Cygnus all stood in a circle, and in no time Cygnus felt the familiar feeling of apparating and they soon landed on grass. Well he, Lily, and James landed on their feet, while Lucy and Leon fell unceremoniously to the ground, and looked like they were going to be sick.

"Alright there Leon, Lucy?" Asked James amused.

"Just give us a second." Rasped Leon, while clenching his stomach, while Lucy was already trying to stand up.

"You kept your mouth open didn't you? Now, how many times do I have to tell you? Kept your mouth close, and don't-"

"JAMES!" a gruff, and rather excited voice called out.

Cygnus, and all the Potter turned around to face Sirius, who was walking towards them, with a goofy smile on his face.

"I see you're early Padfoot." James said surprised.

"Well what can I say? I wanted to see my godson slash nephew." Sirius grinned, and stopped in front of James while smiling down at Cygnus.

"Still all nice and proper I see Cyg? It seems that James hasn't been doing his job as a marauder I see."

Sirius gave James a sideway glance, and James pouted. "Well no need to worry, today you'll get to meet the rest of the marauders, and we'll all make sure to introduce you into our folds." Sirius said proudly.

Cygnus opened his mouth, to tell Sirius he didn't want to be a marauders, but he was beaten by Leon.

"Hey! How come Cyg can be a marauder, but I can't?" asked Leon, who was now on his feet but still rather pale.

Sirius looked down at Leon, and smirked. "I told you Leon, you're not in Hogwarts yet. Being a marauder requires you to be in Hogwarts, so for now you'll just have to make do with being a marauder junior." Sirius teased, and Leon frowned.

"That's not fair-"

"Anyways, were being quite rude standing outside while our hosts are waiting. So let's all go inside, and say hello." Lily told them.

Leon huffed, but didn't say anything and followed Lily and everyone else inside the house, while Cygnus looked at the house in awe.

It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked as though it were held up by magic, which probably was. Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign stuck in the ground near the entrance read, THE BURROW. Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. The windows were lit by several candles of different colours, giving the house a holiday feel to it.

"You coming Cyg, or are you gonna stay out here in the cold?" Asked Sirius.

Cygnus looked at Sirius, and followed the man inside the Burrow where everyone was currently talking to one another. As soon as Cygnus walked through the door, the first person that came to great him was Ron, who put an arm around his shoulders.

"Hello Cyg!" he cried out, as if he didn't believe he was really there.

"Hey there Ron." Cygnus chuckled, amused. He too could not believe he was spending Christmas at the burrow, with Ron and his family. He remembered how jealous he had been of Ron, and now they were actually going to spend Christmas together. Still, he felt a little sad that he couldn't be at the Malfoy manor with Draco and their family. He was surprised that he actually missed them despite everything.

"Cygnus dear!" Mrs. Weasley came out of nowhere and she placed her hand on his shoulder, in a caring manner.

"It's so good to have you with us." She put her hand down and smiled.

"I'm happy to be here." He responded truthfully. He may not like the Potters –at least the Potters seniors- but that didn't mean he had to behave as hostile towards the Weasleys. He liked the Weasleys, there was no doubt about it, and he enjoyed spending time with the twins and Ron, and he supposed their siblings would be no different.

Mrs. Weasley gave him a warm smile. "That's good to hear dear, but were being rude aren't we?" Mrs. Weasley turned to look at Ron. "Now, Ron why don't you show Cygnus around the house, and present him to the rest of the family while we start getting ready for the party?"

Ron nodded, and began to lead Cygnus to the archway that lead them to the rest of the house. Cygnus followed Ron without a word, and without looking back at the Potters until he heard someone say his name, and he turned his head to look at the gathering of people.

"Don't go too far." Lily said softly, as if unsure if she could really tell him what to do, and it was definitely not taken well by Cygnus.

Cygnus grimaced a little, and Lily looked at him uncomfortable. She couldn't tell him what to do! By all rights he isn't really her son, and he may have to tolerate being with them, but that didn't mean he had to pretend to be her son Harry, and do what she told him like Leon, and Lucy had to.

Without saying a word, Cygnus turned his head and let Ron show him his home.

The first thing Ron showed him -because it was the most prominent thing in the house- was the kitchen. The kitchen was small and rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle.

The clock on the wall opposite him had only one hand and no numbers at all. Written around the edge were things like Time to make tea, Time to feed the chickens, and you're late. Books were stacked three deep on the mantelpiece, books with titles like Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, and One Minute Feasts — it's Magic! And unless Cygnus's ears were deceiving him, the old radio next to the sink had just announced that coming up was 'Witching Hour, with the popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck.'

Cygnus looked around the house intrigued, and slightly amazed. Sure it wasn't the same as the Malfoy manor, or the Potter manor, but it had a homey feel to it, and Cygnus liked that. Ron on the other hand, took his expression as one of contempt.

"It's not much," said Ron.

"It's wonderful," said Cygnus happily, remembering how gloomy and cold the Malfoy manor is.

Ron looked at him confused, but then seemed to gather himself as he beamed at Cygnus.

"Is that Cygnus I hear?" George shouted from somewhere in the house. Cygnus looked around to try and spot the older redhead, but he couldn't find him, it was only after Fred and George came down from a set of stairs behind a wall that Cygnus finally saw them.

"Cygnus how are you?" Fred asked happily, and Cygnus opened his mouth to respond, only for George to beat him to it.

"So I see you are being shown around our humbled abode! Now. It isn't the Malfoy or the Potter manor, but it's still home. But anyways enough of that." George approached Cygnus, while Fred followed. "Tell me, are the legends true? Is the Malfoy manor really made out of solid gold?" Asked George deathly serious, and Cygnus snorted.

"Of course not, that would be very impractical. But if there was a way to make an entire manor out of gold, you can bet they would be the ones to do it." Cygnus remarked with a smirk.

"Those poor people." Fred murmured sarcastically. "They have so much gold, that they don't even know what to do with it. Now, people like us would be glad to help them out with that." Fred joked.

"I'm sure the Malfoys would rather die than see either of you hold even one knut of their wealth." An unfamiliar, older, and deep voice remarked.

Cygnus, and everyone turned around to look at the owner of said voice. Another redhead –much like Ron and his siblings- stood by the entrance of the kitchen. Unlike Ron and his siblings however, he was much older, but he wasn't exactly that much older either. Cygnus guessed that he must only be a few years older than Percy, and was perhaps in his early twenties. The older redhead, also looked different from all his siblings. He had long hair that almost reached his back, and he wore baggy trousers, with a grey shirt that Cygnus could tell had been washed time and time again from how worn it was.

Due to all this information, Cygnus knew right away that this must be Charlie Weasley.

"And how do you know Charlie? They might actually come to love us, if they met us." George joked, and Charlie snorted and walked up to the small circle they had formed.

"So you must be Cygnus." Charlie's eyes landed on him, and Cygnus looked up to meet them.

"And you must be Charlie." Cygnus smirked.

A little moment of silence pass through them, as they both gazed into each other's eyes. Cygnus looked at Charlie waiting for him to react or do something, while Charlie seemed to inspect him through sheer staring almost as if he was an unknown species of dragon he had never seen.

After a little while, Charlie smirked and offered him his hand which Cygnus took to shake. "Welcome to our home Cygnus."

"You can call me Cyg, it's a lot easier, and everyone calls me that anyways."

Charlie nodded, and dropped his hand.

"So I hear you like quidditch, so what team do you go for?"

Charlie's question turned the somewhat tense atmosphere to one of tranquility, and seeing as they were all quidditch fanatics, they spent a long while just talking about quidditch, and in no time Leon and Lucy joined in too. They spoke mainly about international teams, which Cygnus found out Charlie could have joined after leaving Hogwarts.

"Yup Charlie used to be captain of the Quidditch team, and the seeker. Barely lost a game while at Hogwarts. He could have even gone professional had he not been so dead set on studying dragons." Fred had told him, while Charlie was occupied with talking to Leon.

Overall, Cygnus liked Charlie. He was a very easy going, and a fun person to be around, and a well centered person. He was funny, but no as funny as Fred, and George, and he wasn't as outgoing as maybe Ron. Cygnus was intrigued to see that he was somewhere in between his three siblings when it came to personality. He wasn't so outgoing, but he wasn't shy either, which Cygnus liked.

A long while passed as they spoke, and he soon realized that he was actually having fun. Still, he felt like something was missing.

Hey there! It's been a while since I've posted a chapter, so let me explain myself. I just started college again, and I'm every bit busy, so writing has been very difficult. That being said, I will try to still post a chapter every time I can, which might be once a month.

So anyways here's the chapter, hope you like it, please review, and see you next chapter.