A letter from Sirius came a few days later. Draco was the one to receive it and read it quickly. It said he was safe and had headed south, somewhere tropical. He and Narcissa weren't to worry, and that he would see them again soon. It was signed with a paw print, but otherwise had no connection to the author. Draco destroyed the letter after he read it and told his mother about it later when they were alone.
The rest of the summer fell into a pattern Draco was not altogether happy about. His father would remain at home, terrorizing Draco and Narcissa for a few days and then disappear for a day or two. Narcissa would usually be recovering both days, so Draco would practice flying, both on a broomstick around the grounds and as a dove, deep within the forest. He was getting the hang of flying in his animagus form. He found it not as difficult as he imagined it would be. The instinct within him helped to know when to land gently and when he should fly for a few more seconds.
Although he loved practicing his animagus skills, his father's frequent returns meant that he and Narcissa hadn't been to muggle London since Draco's first week back from school. When Lucius was in the house, Narcissa refused to leave, stating that their reason from last summer, Draco needing to practice social skills and dancing, wouldn't work this summer. She, after all, had dealt with the repercussions of that lie from Lucius and Draco wasn't about to question his mother's decision.
Since Lucius was only away a few days before returning, Narcissa didn't feel well enough to venture out of the house. When she finally started feeling better, aided by potions that Draco had learned to brew his first year at Hogwarts, Lucius would return to the house.
This pattern continued until it was almost time for the Quidditch World Cup. A week before the start of the match, Lucius called Draco into his office and told him he would be away until the morning they needed to leave for the Quidditch World Cup. Until then, he would be out of the country.
Draco, elated by this news, nodded and spoke about his excitement to watch the cup with his father. Lucius humoured him for a few minutes and then told him to leave, so he could prepare for his time away. Draco nodded and left, happy with this turn of events.
Lucius left later that day, while Narcissa and Draco stood by the fireplace, wishing him goodbye. Once he left, Narcissa let her shoulders drop and suggested they head to Diagon Alley to pick up all of his school things. Draco agreed immediately and once they were done in Diagon Alley, Narcissa called a house-elf to take their purchases home, while they headed into Muggle London for the first time since the raid. Narcissa let Draco take point on everything, including interacting with the muggle bank employees. They deposited a large amount of muggle money into one of Draco's accounts and filled yet another safety deposit box with thousands of dollars worth of ornate jewelry.
After their journey into Muggle London, Draco and Narcissa headed back to Malfoy Manor. Narcissa told Draco to go through some of his father's books, ones that might help him in the coming years. After all, this was the last summer they planned to be in the manor.
Draco was hesitant at first since he didn't enjoy spending any time in his father's study, even if Lucius was absent. However, after finding many good books about topics he and Hermione had discussed, Draco spent the rest of the week before the Quidditch World Cup in his father's study, writing down book titles that Narcissa promised to pack before she left his father.
The morning that Lucius was due to return, Draco and Narcissa waited in the main drawing-room. Narcissa had sent a few house elves earlier in the morning to set up their site at the Quidditch World Cup. Draco had packed a suitcase, just in case the match went longer than a day. Narcissa had done the same for herself and for Lucius.
The fireplace roared and Narcissa and Draco stood to welcome Lucius. He nodded at them both, satisfied with their appearance and that they were prepared for leaving. "I stopped by the ministry on my way home and picked up a Portkey for our own personal use." Lucius sighed. "They thought we would walk and use a Portkey with another family that lives close. Can you believe it? I spoke to Fudge myself and he assured me that getting our own personal Portkey wouldn't take long. It's set to go off in a few minutes." Lucius gestured, moving the plastic broken handle of a child's toy.
"What is it even supposed to be?" Draco wondered out loud.
Lucius snorted. "Muggle trash. Completely ridiculous. This whole thing, the statute of secrecy. Ridiculous."
Narcissa raised her eyebrows, warning Draco to not ask any more questions. With this quick warning, she stepped closer to Lucius, so that she could hold onto the Portkey at a moments notice. Draco followed Narcissa, standing on the other side of his father.
Together, they waited, until Lucius said. "It's time." Narcissa reached out and grabbed the plastic handle and Draco quickly followed suit. The Malfoys so rarely used Portkeys, Draco wasn't completely used to them. He felt the hook behind his belly button and soon the nausea of Portkey travel hit him. They landed as a group and Draco staggered, soon doubling over, trying to keep his stomach contents in his stomach. After a moment, he straightened and look toward his parents. Narcissa had a stoic mask on her face, but Lucius looked a little green.
With a glance at the two Malfoy men, Narcissa smiled softly and turned to lead the way toward their site. Along the way, they encountered many people that Lucius knew, who wanted to talk. Narcissa brushed them off, cooly and kept both men following close behind her. Arriving at their site, she paused to make sure it was as muggle as possible. A nondescript tent with a campfire out front. They had passed several distinctly wizarding tents, which looked rather more like houses or even castles, so she was pleased to see they blended in. Opening one side of the tent, she allowed Lucius and Draco to enter, before following them in.
Inside, they entered into a small sitting room, with a kitchen beyond. There was a hallway which led to a few rooms. All was done in a hunting cottage style that Narcissa knew Lucius favoured. She walked quickly to the table and picked up a few vials. "I have a Pepperup Potion, that will make you feel a little better. You can also try the Vitamix Potion if you don't want the steamy ears?" Narcissa turned and held out the vials to her husband and son.
Draco and Lucius both opted for the Vitamix Potion, which helped Draco a little. Still feeling queasy, he sat down on the couch in the sitting room. Lucius, however, seemed to perk right up thanks to the potion. "Thank you, Narcissa. I'm going to go outside and see what sort of neighbours we have." He then ducked through the door and disappeared.
Narcissa joined Draco on the couch, patting his knee. "Sorry, Draco. I know that you don't like to Portkey. I'll side along apparate you back home when the match is done."
Draco nodded and leaned against his mother, wishing he had opted for the Pepperup Potion. It might have come with the embarrassing side effect, but he suspected his nausea would have disappeared. Draco quickly sat upright when he saw motion at the front door. Lucius stepped back inside, glancing at Draco. "You have friends outside." He then disappeared again.
Draco sighed and stood up. The friends outside were sure to be Slytherins that his father approved of, which meant that Draco needed to become his haughty, awful self. He truly didn't think he could stomach it at the moment. Narcissa coughed and he looked toward her. "The match starts soon, you can be brief." Draco nodded again and headed for the door.
Once outside, he saw that Theo and Theo's father were standing next to Lucius. Pansy was also next to Theo. Walking toward the group, he noticed Lucius' smirk. Remembering that Lucius had been amused at Pansy's antics at the train station, Draco sighed and knew that he had to allow Pansy to fawn over him.
He joined the group and Theo drew him into a conversation, asking about his summer. As he spoke with Theo and Pansy, he noticed his father and Theo's father withdrew a bit more from the group and lowered their voices. Determined not to call attention to whatever the older men were doing, he turned to ask Pansy the same question. Her simpering drowned out any words that Draco might have overheard from the older men.
After a few minutes, Draco excused himself, telling his friends that he had to escort his mother to the game. Lucius overheard and followed suit. Inside the tent, they collected Narcissa and all together proceeded to walk to the match. Along the way, Lucius stopped to buy a few souvenirs for himself and Draco. Draco picked a button with Bulgaria's colours and a tiny figurine of Krum, the seeker for Bulgaria.
They continued to walk toward the stadium, joining the crowds of people heading the same way. Draco occasionally saw people he knew from school, however with the pace of the crowd and how many people there were, he didn't have to say a word to anyone.
Once they reached the stadium, Lucius led them upward. They climbed and climbed until the crowds thinned out and soon they were the only ones left climbing. Reaching the top box, Draco looked around and his eyes immediately fell on Hermione. She was sitting with a bunch of Weasleys and Harry, of course. He was delighted to see her, however, he didn't let that show whatsoever. Instead, he listened to his father make fun of Arthur Weasley. When Lucius glanced at Hermione, Draco felt his blood freeze. He didn't know what he would do if his father tried to hurt Hermione, or said something nasty. Draco worried as Lucius scanned Hermione and dismissed her. Relieved, Draco followed his father to sit down. Once he sat between his parents, he attempted to ignore the group of people further down their row.
Draco was on the edge of his seat for most of the game. He tried to keep Hermione and the ton of Weasleys out of his mind by paying close attention to Krum. Hopefully, he could pick up a trick or two and use it to beat Harry in a game, at least once. Although, with Harry watching the exact same thing, he doubted he would be able to try anything surprising.
When Krum caught the snitch and ended the game, losing to Ireland, Draco fell back into his seat. "I can't believe it!" He cried out. "He ended it, even though he knew they would lose!"
Lucius chuckled, still in a fantastic mood. "Entertaining, though?"
Draco nodded and watched the Irish team collect their trophy. Once they left to do a lap around the stadium, Lucius stood and gestured for his family to follow him. Draco and Narcissa fell into step behind Lucius. Draco decided to not even look toward Hermione, Harry, and the Weasleys. Lucius led them all the way back to their tent, where a few house elves had a meal laid out for them. They sat down and discussed the match like they were a normal family. At one point, Draco glanced over at his mother, not believing how nicely his father was behaving. Narcissa raised her eyebrows, a subtle warning to not call attention to Lucius' good mood.
After their meal, Lucius left and Narcissa and Draco retired to the sitting room, to read and listen to the partiers celebrating the Irish win. Narcissa asked if Draco wanted to go and find a few friends and have some fun but Draco shook his head and remained where he was. When Draco started to get tired, he stood up and bid his mother goodnight.
Later, Narcissa shook him awake.
"Mother?" Draco asked, groggily.
"Get up now. Get dressed." Narcissa barked out her orders and hurried out of the room, calling "Quickly!" over her shoulder.
Panicked, Draco dressed and grabbed his wand. When he arrived in the sitting room, just minutes after being woken up, Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "You need to be quicker. More alert. We'll need to work on that." Draco nodded, still confused as to what was happening. Narcissa continued. "You need to leave. Head for the trees. Wait inside the tree line. If anyone approaches you, hide." Narcissa nodded at Draco's wand. "If you know any advanced spells that might help you hide, use them."
"Mother, what is -"
Narcissa shook her head and grabbed Draco's arm. "No time. I'll explain later." Towing him toward the door, Narcissa pushed her son out of the opening. "Trees. Go."