(A/N: Hey guys, I'm back again! I have been writing these at a pretty good clip, so hopefully you're satisfied with the update schedule. I haven't reached the end of my stamina yet, so that's good. Anyway, on with the show!)

The North Wind Blows

Part 28

Tea in the gardens had been a quiet affair, with the boys devouring their sandwiches instead of talking. Not that Narcissa minded when they talked to her or each other, that was. She continued to be amazed by the appetites that children could have when they were comfortable around the people that they were with. Back with Septimus, Draco had not dared to take too large a bite or eat too quickly, now he was eating at the same rapid pace as Harry and Dudley.

After their break, they got a new basket and resumed their collection task. Narcissa had three pages of ingredients that she needed to make the 20 potions that stood a chance of being featured on her practical exams. They had made short work of the first page and were quickly halfway through the second. The third page was made up of ingredients from animals and thus could not be gathered from the gardens. No, she would have to either borrow from Severus's stores or make a trip to Diagon Alley.

With the boys' eager assistance, the task was completed in no time at all.

"Alright you three, back in the house, out of the sun before you get burned," Narcissa said, shifting the full basket on her arm so that she had one free to shoo them with. Of course it wasn't likely that they would get burned in the early afternoon sun, not with the charms that protected the gardens, but with Dudley and Draco's fair skin, she just never knew.

"Okay Mother. Do we get to help you with your potions?" Draco asked as the boys obediently made their way into the house, Draco politely holding the door open for his mother.

"Unfortunately not darling, these are for school exams so I've got to do them on my own. But you may go to the Library or Harry's room if you wish to spend some time together before dinner. I will see you then," Narcissa said delicately and kissed each boy on the cheek before disappearing in the direction of the Potions Lab.

"I think the Library sounds great," Harry said and Draco and Dudley rolled their eyes.

"You always want to go to the Library," they said together and Harry laughed.

"So, maybe I do. But there's a lot of books in there that I'm not allowed to take back to my room," Harry said in response.

"That's fair. There's a Potions book that I was halfway through. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to go to the Library," Draco said after a minute of thought.

"And I was looking for a book on Magic Theory," Dudley piped up, he was still learning about the Magical World and seemed to soak up the information like a sponge. It was a far cry from what Harry remembered of him going to school. But, Harry realized, that Dudley's poor behavior as a student was as much a product of Dumbledore's influence as his treatment of Harry had been, so it only made sense that now he wished to learn about everything.

"I can probably help you find it. I've read most of them trying to learn everything I could about the Old Magic," Harry admitted and Dudley beamed.

"Thanks Harry, that would be excellent," Dudley said and the three boys made their way to the Library at a brisk walk. They had been chastised for running in the halls before and they never knew when an adult was going to pop up to witness them misbehaving. Just because they were still in recovery, and supposed to have more liberties, didn't mean being exempt from rules that kept them from hurting themselves.

As it turned out, they got to the Library in time to see Tom, Lucius, and Severus also entering the room. Severus held the door for the boys, having been the one to spot them coming. Of course he should have expected them to show up at some point. The boys were very studious.

"Hello you three," Lucius greeted from one of the couches as Harry, Draco, and Dudley all piled into the room.

"Hello," the boys chorused dutifully.

"Draco, your book is over here. Thank you for not marking the page, it is very delicate," Severus said and gestured to the large tome that Draco had previously been reading.

"Yes it is. I was careful not to turn the pages too quickly too," Draco said as he made his way over to the armchair that stood beside the table where he had left the book. The chair was almost magically comfortable; it was Draco's second favorite chair in the whole house. The first being the one next to Harry's bed, which had extra cushioning charms on it.

"Were you two looking for anything in particular?" Tom asked as Harry and Dudley searched the shelves together. It was difficult with them only being able to see books at a certain height, but at least the Library was organized by category, so they knew about what area to look in for the books that they wanted.

"I'm looking for a book on the Theory of Magic. Specifically one that explains why and how magic chooses who gets to have it, like why are there muggle-born wizards and squibs," Dudley stated plainly and Tom smiled.

"That's quite an advanced subject. But I believe that we have a couple of books on the matter. Here, let me help you two," Tom responded and moved into the stacks, looking high while the boys looked low. Very quickly they discovered that there were four books for Dudley to look through, three smaller ones and one very large one that required Tom's strength to carry to a table.

"Thank you for your help Tom," Dudley said gratefully and took a seat at the table, opening the smallest book first and pulling a slightly rumpled notebook from his robe. Narcissa had regularly gone to muggle shops and bought the children school supplies, things that would stand up better to wear and tear than sheaf after sheaf or parchment. Of course the boys were still expected to practice writing with a quill and parchment, but it wasn't all the time.

"You're very welcome Dudley. What about you Harry, what are you looking for today?" Tom questioned softly.

"I think I would like to learn something about the art of Wand Making today. Now that I've learned about magic and can talk to it that seems like the logical next step" Harry said and Tom's smile faltered.

"Harry, that's a very complex art. I don't want you to be disappointed if you are unable to practice it yourself. After all, there are very few Wand Makers in the world," Tom hedged and led Harry to a darker section of the Library, where the light from the windows only barely reached.

"Oh I won't be disappointed Tom. But when I get my wand I should like to know the process that went into creating it. My magic will be more powerful if I'm attuned to the right wand from the start and I want to know how to find it," Harry assured and Tom laughed.

"Excellent Harry, that's very forward thinking of you," Tom said and pulled a thick leather bound book from the shelf. It was lighter than it looked and he gently placed it in Harry's outstretched hands.

(A/N: Well that's all for now. I hope that you liked it and will do me the honor of leaving me a comment or a review. As always, thanks for reading!)