Snakes Keep Their Secrets

by SomebodySnicket

Abused by the Dursley's and ignored by everyone else, Parseltongue becomes Harriet Potter's escape and brings out her Slytherin side. After a chance encounter with Draco aged 8 brings her abilities to light, the Malfoys, and later Severus, take an interest and induct Harry into the magical world. Fem!Harry, Powerful!Harry, Slytherin!Harry. Severitus. Dursley abuse warning.

8. Between Two Worlds

Authors note:

This is the longest chapter by a really long way, and also jumps a few weeks ahead in time, but does do quite a lot to push the story forward from introductions to Harry really beginning to find her feet.

Next chapter is the entrance of Severus! I'm really excited for it so It probably won't take too long to write, but more comments always help motivate me so if you're up for writing one it will get all this going faster. I'm also happy to answer any questions or provide deeper analysis on character motivations if that's anyone's sort of thing.

Oh, and I am not JK Rowling. Enjoy!

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Chapter 8 - Between Two Worlds

-HPHPHP-

She should have known it was coming. Actually, she had known it was coming but she should have taken it seriously and come up with a way to not end up in this situation, being pulled by Dudley towards his mother's car where she stood, arms folded and face pursed in an ugly imitation of a horse with eyes filled with suspicion, malice and disgust. That was a look that said that there was going to be no lenience, that to run would be pointless - not that she could with Dudley crushing her like this - and punishment was inevitable. That wasn't Harry's main problem, though. The main problem was that this was Friday and on Fridays she went to the Malfoys and if - when - she failed to meet Motty at the appointed time she had no idea how another time could be arranged. And that was assuming they were even willing to let her visit again after she shunned them like she was about to, after all they were the sort that cared more than made sense about manners and procedure and perceived slights and she was surely failing on every count now.

"In," Her aunt hissed the second they were close enough that the other parents at the school pick up wouldn't be able to hear the pure venom in her voice "And don't you dare get the car dirty, Vernon's only just had it cleaned." Harry was well aware of that fact, after all she had been the one to clean it, but fortunately her glower was blocked from view by the car door as Dudley pulled it open and shoved her in with a gleeful chortle. Harry went sprawling into the back seat and nearly cried out when she felt the door slam on the leg she hadn't pulled in fast enough. Involuntary tears sprung to her eyes and she used her readjusting into position as an excuse to surreptitiously wipe her face with her sleeves. Meanwhile both Dudley and Petunia had entered through their own doors in the front and the car jumped to a start with a lurch, jarring Harry's leg again as it moved and setting Harry's internal timer going. Five minutes. Unlike Vernon, Petunia was either paranoid or cautious enough about neighbours that she would never yell in the car and so she had five minutes of glares and tutting and building tension before they arrived at number 4 Privet Drive and the real trouble began. The zebra crossing near the school was, as usual, busy with chatting parents and shrieking children and their car had to stop to allow them past. Harry briefly considered opening the door and making a run for it, but there were too many witnesses and besides the child lock was on the door so the move was likely anticipated anyway. Instead, she watched as Petunia waved at some of the passing pedestrians and called out greetings through a huge and utterly unbelievable smile. Harry ignored her and carried on counting, letting the numbers ground her and distract from her increasingly frantic thoughts. Soon enough, 5 minutes 24 seconds had passed and the car came to a stop. Harry exited without prompting, and did not let herself limp as she walked into the house. The door slammed behind her and she tensed but did not flinch. Aunt Petunia liked a show but she never took things that far, just passed on her displeasure to her husband when it reached high enough levels. Harry hid a sigh at the thought that she had almost definitely reached that level today.

"Why don't you go and play with some of your video-games Diddums?" Her aunt simpered, pulling her son's coat off for him and hanging it on the hook.

"No." Was Dudley's short response. "I want ice cream."

"Okay darling whatever you like, I'll fix you a bowl and you can take it up to your room. You," She said, turning and morphing instantly from saccharine sweet to vaguely demonic "Wait. Here. Leave and you're never coming into this house again." She seemed smug at having Harry cornered, and though she snidely thought that that what she said was more temptation to leave than anything else, Harry knew the importance of a roof over your head and a fixed address so reluctantly conceded that she had. 2 minutes 14 seconds passed until the crunching ice of the freezer, clattering of spoon against ceramic and whines of her cousin ceased and her aunt was before her again.

"Living room. Now." Was the hissed command, and Harry obeyed, noting with reluctant acceptance that Dudley had seated himself on the stairs, grinning in a way he only did when a new episode of his favourite show was on or a shouting session was about to begin.

"4 weeks. For 4 weeks you disappear every Friday and you think I won't notice when you try and do it again?" Harry hid a wince. In those stark terms it seemed even more idiotic than she had imagined it being. While she might credit Dudley and Vernon with the combined intelligence of a medium sized boulder, her aunt had an eye for intrigue and, if her uncanny ability to retain and recall gossip was anything to go by, far more going on behind her pinched face then her boring suburban life would suggest. She should never have let a pattern develop, never let her desire to seem normal and not raise suspicion with the Malfoys by proposing an irregular schedule override her sense. Now she was stuck with no idea how to go about finding them again and an aunt asking questions she would sooner die than answer as to answer would mean much the same thing only with a degree more violence. "After everything we do for you! A roof over your head, food from our table, money spent on you when it should be going to Dudders! To our family! And how do you repay us?! By shirking your chores and thinking you can get away with gallivanting around town and bringing shame on this family!" With each pause in her speech her screeching increased by a few notes and by the end it was in an octave she thought would be more suited to being heard by bats than humans. Harry looked down slightly which served the double purpose of making her look contrite and preventing the indignation flooding her eyes from being visible. Biting her bottom lip slightly had much the same effect and she waited patiently for her aunt to finally run out of steam. The pressure she now knew was magic increased within her at the thought that she should feel any gratitude to the Dursleys and she focussed on clamping down on it for fear some might leak out and make everything much worse.

Since being around the Malfoys she had become far more aware of what the magic around and within her felt like, never strong enough to overpower her awareness but definitely enough to know that there was something distinctly different from the normal world. She might have been reserved about Draco when she had first met him, but she was that way with everyone and something had kept her talking to him far longer than usual, something that had grown from some strange unidentifiable draw she hadn't even consciously acknowledged at the time to the pulsing, erratic bursts of energy she now felt whenever she was around her first best friend. The Manor also had a presence, though it was far less personable and half the time she was sure she was imagining it - this uncertainty largely bolstered by the fact that the edges of number 4 Privet Drive had a similar strange tug on her and the idea of anything abnormal other than her coming anywhere near the Dursley's perfect neighbourhood was almost more unbelievable than magic existing at all.

One drawback of this, however, was how much more restless her own magic felt now she was constantly aware of it. She was still committed to not releasing any until she was confident she could do it without causing the types of damage her previous outbursts had had, but despite learning more and more about magic thanks to her time with Draco and his parents, she still found herself at a loss for what was going on or how she could prevent it. Draco had told her about a few incidents of 'accidental magic' as he called it, but none seemed to really resemble hers or matched the frequency and intensity she had suffered for years, not to mention she couldn't remember a time when strange things hadn't occurred around her and Draco had told her avidly about the celebration he had when he was 6 when his first display - obliterating a toy that had offended him - had occurred. She had remained quiet and avoided talking about herself in all these discussions, something she was sure all the Malfoys had noticed and had varying theories about, but were leaving be for now. She wasn't sure what would happen when they stopped but hoped to have managed to do much more research by the time it happened.

There would be no chance of further research today, however, as she was stuck here being yelled at by her aunt and the only magical books in her cupboard was the one about Hungarian Horntails Draco had insisted she read after she had selected that as her favourite dragon, a children's retelling of the legend of Salazar Slytherin that the Malfoys had no doubt presented her because of her Parseltongue ability and a tediously boring book about etiquette that Harry had read through three times regardless. She had had access to a few other books over the last few weeks as well, but only a few were replaceable enough to take away from Malfoy Manor and when there there was hardly the time to corner herself away and read when she had to consider common decency and the fact that Draco would hardly appreciate it. The result was that although she was coming to understand far more about the sort of things that came up in everyday conversation with rich pureblood wizards, the bit she really cared about - how magic itself worked and how she could do it - was still largely a mystery to her.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?!" Her aunt's voice finally cut through her reverie, and Harry gulped knowing that there would be no satisfactory reply.

"Nothing, ma'am. I'm sorry for the disrespect."

"You really think I'm going to believe that?! You've not been sorry for a single one of the evil things you have done to us since you were dropped here. Now you're going to tell me exactly what you've been doing so I can make sure everyone who's seen you knows your actions are no reflection on us and are in hand and then you are going to complete every chore I give you and do so without a word of complaint! If you finish them in time I might consider letting you go to your cupboard before your uncle gets home, he has a business dinner tonight but if you shirk at all I'll make sure he knows exactly what you have done!" That wasn't so bad, Harry thought. Assuming her uncle's business dinner went well her aunt wouldn't want to upset his good mood by bringing up her supposed transgressions, and even if it hadn't her aunt would be hoping it had so would put her in her cupboard before he got home just in case. The only thing that was at all concerning was how long she would end up being in her cupboard, after all it was possible the Malfoys might ask Motty or one of the other elves to stay near the meeting spot for a while but after a few days they would surely give up and then there would be no leads for her to follow.

"I didn't go anywhere anyone could see me ma'am, just went walking around that path they're considering making a reserve. You can ask the neighbours I swear they won't have seen me."

"Like I'm going to ask them and bring attention to the fact that you think you're above the rules and already following down the same path as your parents." The irony of that final statement almost startled a laugh out of Harry and she wondered again just how much her aunt really did know about the sort of people it was likely her parents really were and what she would do if she knew that Harry was indeed going down that path. Nothing good, she knew with enough certainty that she would take nearly any efforts to prevent her guardians from discovering the truth. She hastily turned her face into one of contriteness and nodded solemnly, letting her aunt's assessing gaze wash over her before she huffed and shoved the list into her hand. Harry nodded her grudging thanks rather than give a verbal response, knowing her aunt thought that, where she was concerned, the mantra 'children should be seen and not heard' didn't go nearly far enough and being neither seen nor heard would be far preferable. Starting to read, she was very careful to conceal a grimace as she looked down at the list which had obviously been made to make her as miserable as possible. Cleaning Dudley's room was at the top, a job that would be the worst of them all even without Dudley there to interfere with her efforts. After that was the family bathroom - which Dudley's continually failing aiming practice with the toilet made a close second to the bedroom - and then hoovering the stairs which was not so disgusting but made up for that fact in difficulty given that the hoover weighed more than she did.

That was not as many tasks as she sometimes got, but Harry had long ago snuck to the library, procured a copy of the DSM and diagnosed her aunt with OCD so she knew her aunt's exacting standards were not going to relent any time soon and she had better start quickly if she was to have a chance at living up to them. Getting past Dudley who was still sitting on the stairs posed a bit of a problem, until he finally caught sight of the list and saw that it would be far more fun for him to let her try and complete her tasks than keep her from them completely. When she walked straight past his bedroom and towards the bathroom he let out a shriek of annoyance, apparently not realising that although it might have been at the top there was no way she was going to start with his room and give him more time to mess it up again once she had her back turned. The major benefit of the bathroom was that it had a lock and, given Dudley's infamously short attention span, he would likely only bang on the shut door for a few minutes before giving up and forgetting about tormenting her completely. She rushed into the room before he could catch on and get inside too, and made it just in time. Shutting out the external noice she turned and surveyed the damage she would be expected to fix. It was not as bad as it could be, having been cleaned only a few days earlier, but Dudley had gotten muddy the day before during PE and tracks of dirt could be seen at various inconvenient and confusing spots. The toilet itself was something she didn't want to acknowledge until she had to and so she stated on the end furthest from the door, pulling the variety of bleaches and other odd products frequently advertised on her aunt's favourite shopping channels from under the sink.

As she worked, she thought with a small chuckle how horrified Draco would be if he was asked to do so much as pick up a sock off the floor let alone handle cleaning an entire bathroom of mess that he didn't even make. She liked Draco, and having now spent quite a few hours in his presence could say this honestly rather than just through wishful thinking or imaginings about what a best friend would be like, but of all the Malfoys it was definitely Motty's life that she felt most resembled her existence. Not that she could get away with calling Motty one of the Malfoy's anywhere other than inside her own head. Being the elf to pick her up and drop her off at the forest each Friday so far, she had gotten to talking a little to Motty and although the elf seemed terrified to exchange anything other than idle pleasantries - the one time she had questioned her ambiguous warning to be careful around the Malfoys her response had been to whimper and stammer until Harry assured her she would never do anything to jeopardise whatever orders Motty was under to not speak badly of her masters - she had been told enough of what life as a house elf was like to know that she effectively was one as well. Even though magical, Harry was in fact pretty sure her aunt would prefer one to someone who had to go to school and would talk back and had to be punished by them rather than doing that herself for every supposed transgression. The matter of punishments did disturb her, especially as the elf's own actions seemed to be bound somehow by what was expected by her masters which seemed like an awful restriction on free will, and when Harry had seen Motty's bandaged hands and coaxed the reason out of her she had been so immediately appalled she was ready to confront Lucius Malfoy and demand better treatment for her. That or work out how to free her and stage a rescue mission. Motty had had to beg her not to before she calmed down, and they ended up being later to the Manor than planned because Motty had to take the time to explain to her what it meant to be a house elf and how it all was extremely normal, even if she still kept insisting that 'you must still be being very careful and is you's still having enough of your Medimask Master Harry?'. Harry still wasn't happy, and was not inclined to become any more trusting of either of the elder Malfoys than the very limited degree she already was, but Motty did at least seem content, if not happy, and the idea that her complaints could cause more trouble for her friend kept her silent on the matter. She did make an extra effort to be polite to every elf she encountered, however, rather than copying the actions of the Malfoys as she did for much everything else, and pretended to be oblivious to the odd looks it got her from everyone around. So far only one elf had started bawling and drew attention to it so far - according to Motty this one was called Dobby - but her behaviour had apparently made her the unanimous favourite of all 6 of the Malfoy elves and they all promised to serve her in any way they could to the very best of their abilities. In return for this, Harry had told Motty about muggle cleaning agents and her excitement over the different types had prompted her to promise to bring one the next time they met.

She felt yet another pang of sorrow and guilt as she thought about Motty's excitement over the lemon-scented bleach and how disappointed she would be when Harry never arrived to give it to her. As soon as she found a way out of this house she vowed to take some with her and work out a way to contact them all and give it over, and with that thought she tucked the unopened bottle from the back of the cupboard under her shirt and secured by her belt and exited the bathroom, running downstairs as quietly as she could and hastily edging open her cupboard door to throw it inside before running upstairs to take the hoover from where it lived beside the boiler. The rest of her jobs passed without much incident - she was right about Dudley getting distracted, he was so immersed in a video game he did nothing but grunt when she came into his room and started the odious task - and even though her aunt made her re-do the stairs for no apparent reason she still finished with enough time that she was confident she would be long forgotten about in her cupboard by the time her uncle got back.

In the gloom of her cupboard she suddenly found herself mourning the loss of distraction from her upset and worry over the whole situation, and immediately set her mind on finding a solution for fear of giving into despair otherwise. She had learnt from Draco that wizards communicated with each other by writing letters and giving them to owls to carry - something she thought was very strange and made her wonder at just how smart owls were to know how to find anyone a letter was addressed to - but the thought of having to find an owl and working out if it was magical (she guessed some must be wild and not inclined to carry letters for random humans) was daunting enough that she would leave that for a last resort. A simpler answer would be to hope that the Malfoys cared about getting in touch with her as much as she did them and would either have a lookout or some way of knowing if she came to their meeting point. Even if there wasn't someone on watch all the time, it was possible one would come and check every now and again so she could either stay and wait or leave a note for Motty or whoever else to pass on explaining that she got sick and wasn't allowed to go outside or visit anyone but was now better and would be there on a certain future date. Delving through her school bag she found her homework book and carefully prised out the middle page before using the flat surface of the wall and light shining across from the slits of the door to compose a note.

"Dear Motty, or whoever else gets this,

I, Hadrian (Harry) Owens, am writing this with the hopes that you see it and are willing to pass my message on to the Malfoys.

Dear Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy,

I'm sorry to have caused you all this trouble by not arriving on Friday at 4:00, and for not getting this message to you sooner than I have. I got sick and wasn't allowed to leave the house, and have only just got well enough to be able to return to the meeting point. I hope you don't see my absence as a sign of disrespect, and that you would be willing to give me another chance by letting me come again. In the hopes that this note is received I will come to the meeting point at 4:00 this Wednesday. I of course understand you will probably be busy then, but if Motty or one of the house elves is there to suggest a time that works better for you then I will make sure I can be there.

Thank you for reading this,

Hadrian Owens"

The note wasn't perfect, she knew, and she scowled at her handwriting which was so different from the elegant cursive she had seen Draco use when he wrote out a list of all the things they planned to do, but it got the message across. She really hoped that the Malfoys wouldn't be angry and offended, and would care enough to check the spot again now she had failed to show up. Rationally she thought they would, after all they were the ones who invited her first and carried on inviting her after and Draco said they were best friends so surely he would care, but they were the only people she knew who cared enough to give her more than a second glance and although she was sure that for the adults this was because they thought her Parseltongue meant there was something important about her, the consideration was still overwhelming. That didn't stop them being dangerous, though. The magic she felt around Lucius had a habit of setting her teeth on edge, and Narcissa was so good at being kind and oblivious she was positive the woman was observing and intuiting more than the rest of them combined, and if either of them decided she had wronged them she hated to think what would happen. So far they had asked around the topic of her family and her life in the muggle world, but whenever it seemed they were about to insist on names or addresses something always seemed to distract them and they let the subject drop. Her luck could run out at any time, though, and everything would collapse around her and the Malfoys would realise how pathetic she was and how little they had to offer to get her to do whatever they wanted, and the Dursley's would realise she knew about magic and either throw her out completely or lock her in her cupboard to waste away for the rest of her days. And that wasn't even considering the fact that the Malfoys might react badly to the fact that alongside every other secret she was keeping she was also concealing her gender.

Going along with being a boy was seeming like an increasingly stupid idea the longer she let it continue, but at the same time she couldn't bring herself to regret it. Originally it had just been an automatic response - always fulfil people's assumptions so they never suspect anything more - and later rationalised with the fact that it would be harder to trace her back to the Dursleys if they only ever searched for a boy, but being Hadrian Owens had become so much more than that. Even with an entire world and a huge library that surpassed any dream of paradise she had ever had, it was Draco that was the best thing that had come into her life since that first fateful day when she saved him from a snake. She had had Milton for a while - not that she was going to let herself think about him - and had imagined her parents enough times that they almost felt real, but of all the living breathing humans she could actually interact with, Draco was the only one she considered herself anywhere near close to. He was both like every child she had ever wanted to befriend and a completely different being altogether. In lots of ways he had the same flaws as all the children she judged and mocked in her head for being so naive and pigheaded, and was on par with her cousin for being spoiled, but he was also funny and interesting to listen to and, most importantly, cared about getting to know her and so gave her the time to actually get to know him as well. He had a ridiculous number of toys and moaned about work and reading even though he knew she liked it. He boasted about his parents and his wealth and was constantly blackmailing house elves into smuggling him strawberry tarts. He cared more about his appearance than any other child she knew, even Stephany Manuel who had worn leopard print for an entire month and had bejewelled her book bag simply because it was 'in'. He thought he was good at lying and reading situations because he had had a tutor to instruct him in it (learning that there were actual human tutors for that sort of thing had been a revelation and nearly prompted her to share the details of her own tutelage under the snakes) but was entirely obvious about everything he was attempting. His obsession with dragons was veering on dangerous and she was fairly sure that if he was ever allowed near a dragon enclosure he would find a way to smuggle an egg home with him. He believed what his parents said without question and would do almost anything for their approval, but would also break the rules whenever he thought he might get away with it. Harry wasn't like that at all, in fact lots of it were things that she thought she would have disliked had she not met Draco. But seeing him smile whenever he tried to explain to her how much better his things were than anyone else's, watching his eyes glint whenever he found a new dragon fact or got his hands on another tart, watching his lip quirk every time he tried to lie or cheat and his checks flush every time he was discovered; all of those things made him seem so human, so approachable, so enticing, that wanting to change any of it would just be wrong. Harry hated the thought of being dependent on anything or anyone, but she already knew she would not know what to do with herself when she lost Draco's friendship. And she would lose it. There was no way she could keep it when he wasn't friends with her but with a boy, even if that boy was all the bits of herself she liked most and wanted to keep. She knew what transgender was, and also knew she wasn't that as she wouldn't mind in the slightest being a girl for the rest of her days. Still, the only reason she could see for her gender mattering either way was how it caused people to associate with her and if being a boy meant Draco was her friend then she thought she could easily give up on being Harriet forever. Things were never that simple, though, and being a biological girl wasn't something she could simply erase or explain away when he inevitably found out. The only thing that made her lie worth it was that she didn't think Draco would want his first best friend to be a girl, and so even if this was all achingly temporary it was still better than nothing.

With that unhappy resolution still fresh on her mind, she heard the front door open and her uncle's heavy steps plod their way indoors as he called out to his wife and son, the former of which rushed to attend him. As quickly and quietly as possible she scanned the area to make sure none of her books were visible and her school things were all stuffed inside her bag and hidden away along with her letter, just in case her uncle decided to haul her out, then tucked herself up against the wall away from the door and waited.

"Welcome home my darling! How were the Andersons? Still as slow as ever or did they finally come around to your charm?" Harry had to smother a laugh at the thought that Vernon had any charm to speak of, and once again found herself praying that her mother was nothing like her sister and had a much more realistic worldview and taste in people.

Her uncle grunted, like a pig, in response, then there were the sounds of a coat being wearily and awkwardly shuffled off before he finally recovered his breath enough from the meagre activity to answer. "That wife of his is still as much of a bitch as ever, tried to convince him it wasn't a proper long term investment or something equally stupid, but another meeting alone with him and I think I'll have it. With the number of dinners this is taking I might find myself having to double his order just to make it all seem worth it."

"Who does she think she is getting in the middle of business talk? I'm surprised he's listening to her at all actually, he must know not to trust the advise of anyone who thinks they can pull of highlights like that without re-dying the mess every week."

"Quite right Pet, and that restaurant was too fancy to offer proper proper portions so I'm still half starved. What's left from dinner?"

"Oh you poor man! I can reheat the mash now, it'll just take a minute. A beer as well I'm guessing? Would you rather it in the kitchen or on the sofa with the telly?"

"Telly of course, 'The Price is Right' isn't gonna watch itself is it?"

"No of course not dear, you just lay back then and I'll sort out your meal." Harry's stomach grumbled as the smell of Vernon's second dinner began to waft through her grate, reminding her of the delicacies she could have been eating if she was where she was meant to be. It was strange how quickly she had become accustomed to being able to eat on Friday nights, and for a brief flash she wished she was still able to concentrate her power and make the cupboard door lock click open once her relatives had all gone to bed, allowing her access to all the food that they wouldn't miss the next day. She couldn't try that, though, not when her magic was angry enough she felt sure it would just as soon blow apart the door as unlock it if she let it out now. Instead she decided to risk delving into her rations once the Dursley's moved upstairs and pry open the empty paint can on the bottom shelf in the corner to find the collection of protein bars she had liberated from the snack table at her school's sports day the year before. They were depressingly bland, but better than nothing and she knew she should count herself lucky that her uncle hadn't asked about her, meaning she would be left alone tonight and quite possible tomorrow as well.

Eventually her aunt and uncle left for their bedroom, finally shutting off the unrelenting noice of canned laughter that had been giving her a headache. She used the sound of the pipes to mask her movement as she quickly found and scoffed her snack before lying back and trying to persuade her over-active brain into sleep. She gave up on that after a few minutes and instead felt around to the side of her mattress for the slit she had made and used to hide whatever books she was currently reading. Her cupboard was almost entirely dark now, but squinting slightly Harry found she could see all the details of the room just fine and the text of 'Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman' was just as clear as it ever was during the day. She guessed that seeing in the dark was another passive magical ability she had, like Parseltongue, that was something that always happened to her rather than something she had to do, and therefore worked just as well as it always had even with the lock she had placed onto the rest of her magic. This one, though, she was pretty sure she had developed rather than was born with as she distinctly remembered the desperation she used to feel to escape the looming and endless darkness when she was very young, and how happy she had been when she had suddenly been able to see enough of her environment to distract her from her boredom and pain and increasingly treacherous imagination. It had come along about the same time as she stopped sleeping the normal amount of hours everyone said children were meant to, though Harry was not sure whether this was magic too or just the fact that she needed less sleep because of the cumulative hours she spent nearly completely stationary in her cupboard.

The book she was currently half way through was one in a long list of science books she had decided to root out, thinking that until she had enough time in the Malfoy's library to discover how magic works she might as well learn about the muggle rules for the universe so she could either discover how they were wrong or else see how magic might possibly be explainable within scientific laws. This one was certainly interesting, though not particularly useful so far in telling her anything about science that she might actually apply to her current situation, but even if she had hated it she knew she was going to finish it even if it was just because every book she read was helping her feel just a little bit less lost when it came to strange physics words and theories. Cosmic strings and dark matter and things smaller than atoms seemed, to Harry, pretty much as strange as magic and with a lot less evidence to support them, but muggles thought they could be true and if Harry had one real fear it was being uninformed. With this in mind, she continued determinedly through her book, pulling the dictionary she had liberated from her school library from the gap between the shelf and one of the walls to check out some of the more obscure words. Evening turned to night which became all encompassing as Harry continued to read, losing herself in stories from a life so very different from her own, and by the time she gave in to sleep and stuffed her reading material away from prying eyes, she had quite effectively quelled her worry and desperation over being stuck here rather than in the magical world she truly belonged to.

The rest of the weekend passed in much the same manner, with Harry let out of her cupboard for short periods of semi-supervised and house-based chores then put back in to be forgotten while the real members of the family enjoyed their time together. Dudley had jogged her once, causing her to fall into the forbidden zone near the TV which, every time came too close, short circuited and had to be reset, something had gotten her a few violent shakes from her uncle and quite a bit of yelling, but the matter of where she had been disappearing to on Friday nights for weeks was seemingly forgotten by him and all she had to suffer from that was a few more skipped meals and smaller portions from her aunt who was the one who had really lost out by being forced to complete the chores on her behalf. That wasn't even as bad as it could have been because Dudley was still smuggling her food in exchange for her completing his homework. It was one of the first schemes she had enacted when she started to take the advise of the snakes and learn how to manipulate the world around her for her survival, and that it still worked today despite Dudley's idiocy was a testament to how well she had planned. Despite always making sure not to do better than him on tests, it was clear that of the two of them Harry was the smartest. Dudley never did his homework and always tried to make Harry do it, but unlike pretty much anything else where all Dudley would have to do is demand Harry do it and his parents would agree, the Dursleys seemed to honestly believe their son was a genius and should do the work on his own. As a result Dudley would chase and threaten and beat as a means to persuade her, but never take it any further. Of course Dudley would do all that anyway so Harry wasn't very convinced and after 3 weeks of chasing her around and trying to force her into it he gave up and agreed that he would bring snacks - not in wrappers so there wouldn't be any evidence - along with the sheet and if he ever told she would never do any work for him again. She was always careful not to score too highly, just enough that his parents and teachers became convinced he was just a bad test taker, and had taken pains to perfect his handwriting, and the work had been routine ever since.

Eventually Monday came around and school allowed her to escape the confines of 4 Privet Drive. Her aunt was eyeing her somewhat suspiciously, as if she thought Harry might try to make another escape attempt and disappear at the end of the day again, but Harry made sure to radiate innocence and no threats were made. There should have been, of course, since Harry had every intention of disappearing and delivering her note to the forest meeting spot, but that her aunt thought she was thoroughly cowed and wouldn't dare disobey again was to Harry's advantage so she was hardly going to challenge the notion.

Harry had never particularly liked school, and in fact probably would have described herself as hating it if it wasn't so much better than the alternative of being at the Dursleys, but since discovering magic it had become so much worse. She had never been allowed friends at school, thanks to Dudley, but whereas before she hardly knew what she was missing, now she had Draco and every moment she had to spend watching her peers yell and chat and play while she stood alone or fled from her cousin's gang was a painful reminder of how much better her other life was. The lessons had been of some interest before, but she had always learned more from reading by herself and the Malfoy Library promised to teach her so much more than Ms Mallow so every lecture or badly printed sheet just felt like a waste of time. And even if she was content to stay silent in class and never draw attention to herself with questions or good test results, the Malfoys never seemed to mistake her introversion for idiocy and as much as it might be better for her safety if they did, that they wanted her to be clever and do well filled her with a bubbling, giddy warmth that she was quickly becoming addicted to. Draco had told her a little about his tutors and the lessons he had with his pureblood friends and that they studied things like history and etiquette and Latin and, he at least, got to do practical work in potions with his godfather, and since this would be all he needed to go to Hogwarts she felt that all the things she was learning here would be of no use and she would be better learning it all in a few books and then spending her time learning the things she would have to to be a proper wizard. Witch, she meant witch. Hogwarts couldn't come soon enough and although she still had no idea how she would convince her aunt and uncle not to lock her up to prevent her from going or how she would even begin going about paying for it, she would sooner die than give up her place and she fully intended to be as prepared as any of the magical-raised pureblood who would be in her class.

Eventually the end of the school day drew close and Harry, not wanting to fall into the same trap as last time and be apprehended by Dudley before she even made it out the door, cautiously caught her teacher's gaze and asked to go to the bathroom. Ms Mallow was not the sort of teacher who would usually give in to such requests so close to the end of the day, but Harry's near starvation and total deprivation from sunlight over the weekend had given her a deathly pallor that would not only evidence her story of being sick to the Malfoy's but also made her teacher more willing to excuse her for fear she might otherwise vomit or feint and would have to be dealt with. She waited for her teacher to be distracted by a fight that had broken out between one of the boys and a popular girl everyone said he fancied before darting to the draws at the side of the classroom and pulling free her bag, leaving the room before anyone could notice and realise she had no intention of returning that day. She went to the bathroom and stopped for a moment to swap the muggle plaster on her forehead for the Medimask Motty had gifted her, then forced her fringe down as much as it would go to completely cover the area as a precaution. The time assured her that no one else would be in the bathroom, but she still checked under each stall for feet just to be sure before making her now common window escape and landing by the bins. Rather than go round to the front, however, she went to the recycling bin (by far the least smelly of them) and pulled herself up until she was standing on the rim. From this position she could easily get onto the old wall that surrounded the property and edge her way around to a gap in the wire mesh that topped it that she had scoped out a while before. It was a struggle to get through, and her clothes and hair protested indignantly at what she was attempting, but she was silent and efficient and soon enough had jumped down onto the thankfully abandoned side street and was ready to make her way into the woods.

She walked quickly but also confidently, knowing that in this neighbourhood skulking would be immediately picked up upon by nosy neighbours and reported back to her relatives. Just to be safe she made sure to head in the direction of the potential nature-reserve path she had told her aunt she had been going to, only doubling back once she reached the edge of the houses and was confident she could no longer be seen. The rest of the journey was by this point automatic and it almost came as a surprise that she arrived at the designated spot so quickly. As she walked into the clearing she thought she felt an odd popping sensation as something washed over her, but it was gone as soon as it came and so she dismissed it as a threat. Not seeing Motty or anyone else, she reached into her bag to withdraw her letter but her hand had only just grasped around it when her hopes were realised and her favourite elf popped into existence in front of her.

"You is being here! You is being here! I is being so worried and all us elves is so worried and Master and Mistress Malfoy be worried and Master Draco was being so worried he was angry and then he was crying and then he was - oh! But I should not be saying that for Master Draco would be being embarrassed. But we will all be being happy now you is back! You is coming to visit now, yes?" The elf, Harry observed as she rambled, looked awful and Harry felt immeasurably guilty as she was sure she was the cause. She was frailer than she had ever seen her, and was jumping on the balls of her feet in a way that was far more similar to Dobby's frantic disposition than anything Motty ever displayed. Her huge eyes were wet but still earnest and shining with hope as she spoke, and her ears drooped looking raw and painful in a way that made Harry certain she didn't want to know how they had come to be that way.

"I'm sorry Motty. I didn't mean to worry you, I was sick and I couldn't leave my house to deliver a message but I wrote a note which I was going to leave here now. I promise this is the first chance I got to come, please don't be upset." The moment Harry said the word 'sick', Motty's ears perked and she jumped to attention, her gaze intense enough to be quite formidable.

"You is ill! But you is being out in the cold and you is not even having a proper coat! You is coming back right now and I is making you better! You is getting tea, or hot chocolate! Hot chocolate is good for being ill. And you is getting potions to feel better. And soup! We is having lots of good soups for feeling better. Us elves be worrying this weekend and we be doing lots of nice baking to make us feel better and so there is being lots of nice pastries to eat—" The elf continued to ramble, seemingly to herself, and Harry felt her eyes going wet. She hadn't been ill, not really, and she felt awful for lying but the obvious concern and care she was being offered was exactly what Harry most longed for at that moment. She had never had anyone do anything for her when she was sick other than yell at her for risking Dudley and locking her away until she got over it, yet here was someone who she had abandoned for a weekend and apparently worried and she still cared enough to want to look after her. She was hesitant to accept, after all the Malfoys would probably want explanations rather than to let her be coddled, but gratitude overwhelmed her and she realised that Motty was fast becoming someone she thought she could really trust.

"You don't have to worry about me Motty, I'm better now." Motty glared in response.

"You is not looking better! You is looking thin and white as soap bubbles and you is needing to be going somewhere warm right now! Master Malfoy and Little Master Draco are away but Mistress Malfoy is waiting and will want to make you well as well so come right now we be going." Harry had never seen the elf so impassioned before, and she wondered if she would dare disobey had she wanted to. She didn't, though, so she stepped forward without complaint.

"Okay Motty I'll come, but first I promised to get you that cleaning thing we talked about so let me just get it—" She pulled out the bottle and handed it over along with the note which she thought she might as well pass on as well so it could be given to Narcissa while Harry got changed into proper wizarding clothes.

"You is... for me...? OH MASTER HARRY!" The elf wailed and flung herself at her, clutching onto her legs and weeping unashamedly. "You is being sick and you still be thinking of Motty and you be giving me a gift and it is the most wonderful thing and I will treasure it and clean twice as hard and—"

"It's okay Motty, don't cry. It's not just really I just, you've been really kind to me and I was going to give it to you on Friday but that didn't happen and I just thought—"

"You is thinking of us elves! You is being kind and good! Oh how I wish we was being able to find you and look after you when you was being really sick and not just now."

"I'm... wait, you were trying to find me?"

"Of course we is trying," Motty said, eyes huge, "You is disappearing and we is not knowing where you were and Master and Mistress Malfoy had not been finding you before but then you didn't come and..."

"They were trying to find me before?" Motty's eyes bulged even more and her mouth opened in a strange mixture of shock and despair.

"I is not supposed to be saying. Oh I is breaking my orders! I will have to be ironing my hands again I—"

"NO! Don't do that Motty! You didn't tell me anything, I just guessed please don't punish yourself! I don't want you to punish yourself for anything and especially nothing to do with me! It's not right!" Motty had been plucking anxiously at her skin but stopped as Harry pulled the elf's arms apart and instead looked at her intently.

"You is not telling on me?"

"Of course not, you didn't do anything wrong."

"My masters would not be thinking that." She hung her head sadly "But you is a very different sort of wizard Master Harry, you is letting me call you your first name and you is being kind and you is bringing me gifts. All us elves not knowing how to find you but none of us mind even though we is being punished for our failures. We is all wanting to keep your secrets." Harry felt horror rush through her and her heart catch in her throat.

"You're being punished for not finding... me? Couldn't you just follow me after you drop you here."

"We is! I mean, I is sorry to be following and to be spying but we is obeying orders but it not be working! We is never seeing where you go." Well that was... weird. She had no doubt that the elves would report to the Malfoys had they truly been able to find her address - the strange form of slavery they were trapped under would likely guarantee it, but she wasn't trying to keep herself hidden from them and the house was muggle so surely it couldn't have some sort of wizarding camouflage on it like Draco had told her the Manor did. Maybe it was another weird accidental magical ability. She really had to do some research and work out what was going on with that, but she had more immediate concerns to address first.

"I don't want you to have to punish yourself on my account Motty, nor any of the other elves either. I... I can take you to my address, if you need, so you can tell them and not get in trouble anymore." She really didn't want to do that, in fact she was sure it would spell disaster and bring the two conflicting lives she was trying to maintain crumbling around her. Still, if it could stop Motty and the other house elves from hurting then there wasn't a choice to be made. She would just have to try and convince the Malfoys that they weren't worth talking to and hope for the best - a hopelessly optimistic statement she had sworn to herself she would never rely on but felt necessary in this moment. The elf, however, looked horrified and was avidly shaking her head.

"No Master Harry, you will not be doing that and you will not be offering neither. I is only keeping your secrets safe when I not knowing things I have to be telling my masters. They is thinking it is some type of trickery and we is not being in so much trouble, but you is staying safe and we is keeping each other's secrets." Harry felt immeasurably guilty for the feeling of relief that washed through her at the thought of being able to continue her facade, but she could tell she was genuine and that there was more at play than she knew, more at play than she was able to question Motty to get the answers about, so she solemnly accepted and vowed to herself to get Motty as many cleaning products as she could get her hands on.

"Alright Motty, but if you need my help I'll do it. Just ask." Her torso was suddenly being crushed again by Motty's bony frame as she was hugged, and although she still flinched involuntarily she quickly melted into it and awkwardly patted the elf's head in thanks.

"You," Motty began through sniffs "is helping by coming with me and letting me make you all better. I is not a good elf if I cannot be looking after my witches and wizards and it is an honour to help Master Harry any way I can."

"Okay then. Thanks" Harry replied thickly, and with a crack the two of them ripped away from the woods and landed in the small side room that Harry used to change into her borrowed wizarding robes. Harry wobbled a little, and thought that perhaps lack of food was really making her sick, but she quickly regained her balance and donned the robe and other clothes folded neatly in the corner while Motty went to retrieve Narcissa and pass on the note explaining her previous absence.

She was just about finished when she heard a knock at the door and hastily exited. In front of her was Narcissa in all her glory, hair shining and silk robes falling around her in waves. It was impossible to stand before her and not feel overshadowed, and Harry found herself shying away from her assessing gaze even as she felt an involuntary pressure to seek out her approval. Looking up through her fringe she saw her face transform from sharply inquisitive to welcoming, and her shoulders slumped in relief. She had arrived at the Manor expecting to have to work hard to keep the anger she felt over the plight of the house elves and the actions of the Malfoy's off her face, but being in Narcissa's presence made everything somehow seem smaller and less important, and she waited with baited breath for the woman to pass down her judgement.

"Ah Harry, I'm glad you made it here. Your letter says you were ill?"

"Um, yes ma'am I'm sorry—"

"Nonsense, you do look awfully pale." Harry suddenly realised that Narcissa might not be that happy to have a supposedly sick and potentially contagious child in her home, and took a hesitant step backwards. Narcissa looked momentarily confused then reached out her arm towards her and she flinched before freezing in place. Narcissa paused as well, before moving her arm more slowly and brushing away Harry's fringe to check her forehead for a temperature. Harry stayed stiff and hoped desperately that she didn't feel the more papery texture of the Medimask, but her kindly concerned face didn't even flicker and soon Harry was unconsciously leaning into the soft warm pressure of her hand.

"Hmm, nothing too bad but I think a pepperup is in order. You look tired as well so why don't I set you up in an armchair in the library and you can rest with a book, unless you'd rather just sleep?"

"I don't need to sleep ma'am, but thank you. You don't have to look after me, I'm really okay and I don't want to disturb your plans." The woman's kindness was just as shocking to Harry as Motty's had been, and she suddenly found herself wondering how she would react if Harry told her the real reason she hadn't been able to come and what her weekend had been like. She shoved that thought down just as quickly, after all no one without an obvious motive could be trusted and Narcissa was currently showing nothing but kindness and concern, but that didn't stop her hoping that Narcissa would ignore her objections and do just what she had said she was going to do.

"Go on into the library. I'll be there in a moment just let me get the potion." Narcissa touched her shoulder lightly then walked in the opposite direction from the library, leaving Harry unattended in their house for the first time. She briefly thought that she should take advantage of the situation and go exploring, but it was entirely possible this was some sort of test and even if it wasn't, the library was where she would most want to explore anyway so she headed there directly. Everything felt a little eerie without Draco's constant chatter beside her, and the library even larger without company. She could see the armchairs and moved towards them, but didn't want to sit down without express permission. Without Draco there to guide her she felt completely at a loss as to how to act and that at any moment she might commit some faux pas that would prove to the adults that she wasn't worthy of being in their presence.

"That chair is meant to be sat on you know" rang Narcissa's voice from the library entrance and Harry spun around, flushing slightly at the woman's raised eyebrow and half smile. Ducking her head to hide it, she moved to the chair and sat rigidly on the edge, at attention in case Narcissa changed her mind and asked something else of her. Narcissa glided her way across the room and seated herself opposite, idly waving her wand and contouring a crystal coffee table between them upon which she placed a small bottle filled with a rich red liquid. "Tea, I'd say, and some light refreshments" she called out to the open air and a few moments later a daintily arranged platter appeared beside the potion, emitting an aroma that instantly caused Harry's stomach to rumble. Harry tensed in mortification but Narcissa merely smiled slightly and gestured towards the red liquid. Warning bells were ringing in her mind as she picked it up, after all she had no idea how to check that this potion was really the one she was meant to take for sickness nor, in fact, what pepperup was supposed to do even if it was indeed that. Still, she had been eating at their table for weeks and could have been slipped all sorts of potions by now so resisting this one was undoubtably entirely pointless. Downing it in one go she let out a gasp as she felt a sudden warmth rush through her before intensifying at her ears and filling them with a loud whistle like wind or a boiling kettle. Raising her hands to her ears she felt steam push against them and looked up at Narcissa in shock only to find her barely hiding her mirth.

"A well documented side effect I assure you. Any remnants of a cold will be gone by now and if you are at all chilled that should disappear shortly as well." Still thoroughly distracted by the strange sensation in her head, she nodded absently and made a mental note to find muggle medical books and look up what could possibly safely explain a sudden burst of steam from the ears.

"Um, thank you ma'am. I do feel much better."

"Good, and it's Narcissa remember. Now the only thing left for you to do is eat your fill here and then I can finally rest assured that you are indeed well." Harry smiled sheepishly and hesitantly reached out for a sandwich, withdrawing it quickly and starting to nibble on the corner.

"I hope I'm correct in thinking your family doesn't expect you to return especially early tonight. That tea is a herbal blend that is especially calming and considering how pale you still are despite the pepperup I'd guess you won't be in any mood to journey outside again for quite a while."

"No ma— I mean Narcissa, they don't mind when I return."

"Hmmm," Narcissa looked thoughtful, and opened her mouth as if to question further but then seemed to change direction and said something different instead. "That is good for I do not know if Draco would forgive me if I let you leave before he got a chance to see you again. He's at the Parkinson's currently but should be home in a little over an hour, and Lucius is due to arrive not long after that."

'Is Draco upset with me?" Harry burst out, regretting the words and desperate tone the second the words escaped her lips. Narcissa looked surprised for a moment but then let that be overtaken by sympathy.

"Not at all, at least not once he knows that you were ill. If I know my son at all he will be creating you a potions and dietary regiment and layering you in blankets as soon as he hears." Lightness filled Harry at the prospect of Draco's forgiveness and she had to stop herself from laughing at the realisation that what Narcissa was describing Draco would do was nearly identical to Motty's earlier reaction. She doubted either of them would appreciate the comparison. She nodded to indicate she understood and Narcissa continued. "I confess I am rather pleased to have this opportunity for a one on one conversation. My husband and son are of course sympathetic to your situation, but I think it's often easy for them to forget just how overwhelming this all must be for you. I can't say I have experienced anything similar to what you're going through, but if there's anything you're worried about or need to ask it might be easier to ask one rather than all three of us." Narcissa's words were not judgemental, and no matter how hard Harry thought through her inflections there was nothing to indicate deception or some illusive larger plan. This was yet more evidence to Harry that Narcissa truly was an expert at the dissembling game and was quite possibly the most dangerous person she had ever met. Lucius might be the head of the family and have a more physically imposing presence - not to mention his magic always prompted a more extreme reaction within her - but this woman was subtle like a knife and Harry was sure it could stab you before you even realised it was there. Milton and the snakes had spoken of people like this, and told her she wasn't ready to deal with them yet not because she couldn't keep her secrets close to her chest and her trust even closer, but because they played the same game she did and was impossible not to respect someone who did it so well. Even knowing the danger Harry was in around Narcissa, she still wanted to be around and talk and prove herself to her. She wanted to learn how to perfect her expressions the way she did and how to control the narrative of every conversation without ever seeming like she was dominating it or pressing for control. Harry didn't think she'd ever be happy living her life as a socialite hiding her intelligence behind dresses and idle gossip the way it seemed Narcissa often did, but there were parts of her that Harry could see her own messy childish characteristics growing and refining into, and for Harry Narcissa marked the first adult that Harry had any desire to learn from or emulate in any way. That was probably the plan, of course, making her dependent and willing to reveal herself in the hopes it would bring her closer in line with whatever their aims were, but that didn't change a thing. Knowing there was a plot and still wanting to go along and fall into the trap was the ultimate gameplay and recognising it for what it was only intrigued Harry further.

She wasn't going to make it easy though, so she kept her response sweet and vague and respectful. "Thank you Narcissa I appreciate the offer. It is all quite strange and new but it's all so wonderful I have hardly had the time to get really overwhelmed. All I really want to do is learn as much as I can and become the best wizard I can be." She thought about adding on that she also wanted to find out about her family and whether she was indeed from a magical lineage, but that topic opened up the risk of further enquiries about the Dursley's, causing the Malfoys offence if they thought she was rejecting them or else revealing that she was indeed a muggleborn and causing them all to hate her. She thought they would hate her, at least. Since that first conversation with Draco the topic of blood status had been largely skirted around and she had no real sense of whether that would still be a deal breaker.

"Well we're all here to help you with that," Narcissa smiled "And this library is a good first step. Without Draco around you might actually find you have the time to read more than a paragraph into one of these books. Is there anywhere in particular you would like to start?" Harry's heart leapt at the offer and she felt a strange urge to jump up and down in glee, though she dismissed that as another after effect of the strange warming she felt as a result of the pepperup.

"I... oh anything at all. Something I can't read anywhere else maybe? It's fine if not but Draco said that exclusivity is always a mark of quality and—" she was interrupted by Narcissa's chuckle.

"Speaking like his father. I despair for the family fortunes if he doesn't learn some restraint by the time he reaches his majority, but it's undeniable that he has taste."

"Maybe he'll just need a wife to oversee his purchases" she put in, then froze in shock at what she had just said. Had she just tried to tell a joke? Had she just revealed she thought Narcissa hid a lot more behind her mask than she liked people to believe? She was getting far too relaxed and needed to learn some better restraint fast. Looking up, horrified, at Narcissa, she saw the woman frozen in place as well, gazing at Harry for a moment before satisfaction lit in her eyes and she let out another laugh. This one was different from the friendly social laugh that sounded like tea parties and formal introductions, rather it spoke of understanding and a shared perspective and Harry wanted her laugh to sound just like it.

"An astute observation. To recognise the virtues of female influence so quickly you must truly be wise beyond your years. That gives me an idea, in fact, please excuse me for a moment." Narcissa elegantly stood and went to the shelves, leaving Harry to breathe deeply in relief that things hadn't gone as badly as they could have gone. A few minutes, and another sandwich, later Narcissa returned and held out a neat black and gold embossed book to her.

"Not quite unique, I would guess that at least every family in the Sacred 28 has a copy, but it is hardly common and I am sure you will get something from it." Reading the title Harry saw the words 'First Impressions: a compendium of mannerisms and messages conveyed in a single glance - by Tiffany Sun' and felt a slightly maniacal smirk twitch at her lips. "Some of the techniques it contains are more subtle and suggestive than is commonly taught, and as such it's a tradition of sorts to pass from the matriarch to the daughters of a family, but any man who takes this sort of thing seriously knows to read it as well and I think you have the eye for it."

"Th-thank you" Harry stammered, and didn't even bother to hide her enthusiasm as she opened the book, after all it wasn't like Narcissa would believe her if she acted any other way.

"Make sure to drink your tea," the woman reminded, reclining back on her own chair with a magazine Harry couldn't quite make out the title of but had a man and a woman holding hands in shimmering silver-black cloaks on the front. Harry nodded and took a sip, instantly feeling her shoulders slump and muscles loosen. She read avidly for around 20 minutes, but with each sip felt her eyelids grow heavier and soon enough had given into sleep completely, the book held protectively over her chest.

Harry woke to the sound of heavy stomping and shuffling. Her eyes snapping open she instantly stood but just as quickly felt lightheaded and stumbled back into the chair. She knew where she was, saw immediately that it was Draco opposite her making the noise, but knowing it and believing it were two quite different things. She had never, not since she had first arrived at the Dursleys, slept anywhere but in her cupboard. To sleep was to be vulnerable to attack and anywhere outside of that small enclosed space she couldn't afford to be vulnerable. It was preposterous to think that she could have allowed her to relax at the Malfoy's enough that she unwittingly fell asleep, especially not when she had slept a solid 5 hours the night before. She had been feeling tired, ever since she had started drinking that tea, but - oh, the tea! She sad been drugged! The tea had drugged her and she had fallen asleep but what had been done then? It felt like far to obvious a ploy for someone as sophisticated as Narcissa, but it was the only explanation that fit the facts and she felt the sudden urgent need to get away and try and convince herself that none of this was real and she hadn't let herself fall victim so easily.

"You're up! Good. Mother said you must be extra susceptible to chamomile, or that and gerbera or something. She told me I wasn't to wake you but I was allowed to be in here and if I happen to make noise and you happen to wake up that's hardly my fault." During Draco's speech Harry finally felt her heart start to beat it again. The way he had described it made it sound like an accident. More than that, an accident caused by something wrong with her rather than something wrong with the tea. It was possible, she supposed, and far preferable to being drugged. Narcissa had said it was a calming blend so it wasn't like she hadn't had warning. She wasn't convinced, but it made enough sense that she would play along until something happened that made her believe otherwise.

"Course it's not your fault," Harry replied through a badly hidden yawn, causing Draco to grin widely. "Sorry I fell asleep, how long was it for?"

"Well I've only been back about ten minutes, though I am frightfully cross with mother for not coming to pick me up early once you arrived. I do not care in the slightest about grammar and am committed to not remembering a single thing about it anyway. Before that I think mother said it had been about half an hour, but I couldn't say for sure. You must be extra tired because you were sick, probably some awful muggle disease. It's very unfair of them to dare to infect one of us, but I suppose it makes sense when you have to live among them. I've told mother we have to have soup as a starter with dinner to make sure you're well, do you prefer French Onion or Chestnut Cream?"

"I don't know, I don't think I've had either before."

"What? Never! What sort of soups do muggles eat then? Probably all those weird vegetable ones we leave for the elves. Actually I think you did have onion the first night you came here so I'll ask for chestnut just so there's a change." As Draco finished talking the doors opened and the elder Malfoys entered, turning swiftly towards them and walking forward in greeting. Harry absently tried to pat her hair down, causing Draco to smirk and whisper "it's a hopeless cause really, I swear it's doubled in size since last time" which she answered with a scowl but no actual disagreement.

"Ah Hadrian," Lucius began "we are pleased to have you here once again."

"Thank you sir, I apologise for not informing you of my inability to attend our last meeting."

"That is hardly of concern now, though I think it wise to implement measures to prevent such things from happening in the future." Now, Harry thought. Now he is going to demand she hand over her address and she will have to decide whether she can risk giving it or, rather, risk denying him. He was not a man she thought often got denied anything.

"We have discussed," Narcissa cut in, "and feel it would be beneficial for us to initiate a bond between you and one of our elves so that you can call them whenever you require and either send messages or come yourself when necessary." This solution was not one Harry had thought of and it surprised her, but she had to agree it was ideal. She wasn't sure how she felt about being bonded to a house elf, especially when their bonds with the Malfoy's seemed to cause them so much pain, but it didn't sound like ownership but rather shared permission, and given how much her relationship with Motty had grown she thought the elf wouldn't mind.

"That's a very kind offer, if it's alright may I ask what that involves?

"Nothing strenuous, on your part especially. It is designed in part for children who haven't yet learnt to actively control their magic so all it takes is for us to grant permission for the bond and provide the magic, and for the elf to channel that correctly. If we were actively transferring ownership that would be different, but enough close friends and acquaintances require access to elves that that would hardly be useful."

"Oh, okay then." That did sound okay, actually, and with all the elves apparently on her side as much as they were able it could work quite well with getting around the Dursley's without alerting the Malfoys too much.

"Splendid, we'll call one up now. Tiffy!" Immediately Harry wanted to object, say she needed Motty rather than an elf she had met no more than once before, but how could she explain to the Malfoys that she had a friendship with an elf in a way that they would approve of? The likely outcome of trying would be them deciding it shouldn't be encouraged and separating them completely. Then, with a crack, Motty appeared.

"I is sorry masters but Tiffy be doing job with the Abraxans and is not in good state to be in presence of fine lords and ladies, I is here instead." Harry's grin was barely hidden, and she waited with bated breath as Narcissa's eyes narrowed slightly but both adults nonetheless accepted. The moment they and Draco turned from view Motty caught Harry's eye and winked, and Harry flashed a smile of thanks. Draco came close to her then and whispered in her ear in a way she was positive both parents heard.

"You'll be able to call her any time and get her to bring you pastries!"

"I think that's a lot more important to you than to me."

"Give them to me then!" Harry grinned and went to answer but Lucius interrupted.

"Step forwards now, Hadrian. And you, elf." The two did so and the man withdrew his wand and levelled it between them. Harry fought back a flinch, instantly uncomfortable with the feeling of a wand being pointed anywhere near her. "Now extend your right arms." They both did, and with a few muttered words that Harry guessed was Latin but didn't know for sure Motty started to radiate a strange faded gold glow. The light gradually built and a few strands of light began to extend from Motty's arm and wrap around Harry's own, but instead of feeling caught or trapped like she expected all she felt was security and warmth. This was the closest Harry felt she had ever been to pure magic, not some spell or object that did amazing things but was still fixed and closed, but magic itself existing in the world and visible to see. She felt joyous and amazed, and strangely lost when it faded although something, she guessed that was the bond, remained nestled under her skin stopping her feel completely empty.

"Thank you," she murmured, looking at her still extended arm. She didn't see the questioning but rather pleased looks Narcissa and Lucius passed to each other over her head as they wondered at why the process seemed to have such an effect on her. Eventually the silence was broken by Motty.

"You is wanting to be eating soon Masters, should I be going to be fixing it."

'Yes, go," Lucius replied shortly and the elf popped away.

"Call it back," Draco said, still smiling with pride at the fact that there was now yet another thing bringing Harry closer to their family.

"Wha-Why?"

"To check the bond works of course."

"I can feel that it worked," This prompted another look of surprise from the Malfoys, which this time Harry caught and quickly backtracked on. "I mean I saw the spell cast, and I just think I should save calling her for the first time for something actually useful."

"Ugh fine," Draco grumbled, "Come on then I'm hungry." Draco turned and headed to the door but Harry looked to Narcissa.

"About the book, I'm sorry I fell asleep it really was very interesting."

"I'm glad you think so," She replied, "And you clearly needed sleep if the tea had such a big effect. It will be here the next time you come so not to worry." Harry flushed slightly at being told she needed sleep like a child, but nodded gratefully anyhow once she knew she would be allowed to finish. Even from just skimming the contents page she knew there was a lot of information she would put to good use.

They walked down to the dining hall as a group and Draco told her in great detail all about his day at the Parkinson's and the argument Blaize had gotten in with the tutor over the effect of translation on spells and rituals. That was not what they had been learning, but once the other children realised discussing it would distract from the congregations they were meant to be completing they very quickly learnt to form opinions on the matter. Harry asked Draco about the conclusion of the debate, thinking it really was a very interesting topic, but apparently Draco had by that point completely lost interest and instead tried to start a fight between Vince and Greg. The conversation about what Draco was learning continued for the first part of the meal, then moved onto Lucius detailing a minor scandal revolving around Minister Millicent Bagnold's handling of the muggle Prime Minister. The longer the man talked the more forcefully Harry was reminder that this was one of the most politically powerful people in the country and that, it seemed, it would take him a matter of weeks if not days to de-seat Margaret Thatcher should he choose to do so. Harry resolved to start reading the newspaper and politics journals more regularly so she could keep up with the conversation. At the same time, however, the relaxed discussion and occasional joke made the whole situation seem so very familial, so normal, and she wanted more than anything to belong. When she was younger she had longed for her aunt and uncle to include her in their dinner time ritual and let her be part of the family in that small way, but all they ever talked about were boring drill contracts and boring gossip and boring comments on Dudley's never-ending beauty and charm. In this family they spoke about things that actually mattered and would actually impact the world. She felt like she was getting smarter being around them and even if the Dursleys suddenly changed their minds and chose to accept her (fat chance of that but still) she wasn't sure she'd be ready to give up even this small glimpse into this sort of family.

As the meal drew to a close, so too did the discussion and the faces of the adults once again turned to her. She gulped, knowing that look by now and knowing she was about to be questioned. Pulling herself up straighter and keeping her face neutral, she waited for them to begin.

"Over this weekend, Hadrian," Narcissa began, looking briefly to her husband who nodded slightly, "we were thinking about you and the time you spend here with us." Dread filled with Harry as she instantly jumped to the conclusion she feared most, they had had enough and wanted to send her away. Not trusting herself to speak she stayed silent. "And while you're adjusting remarkably well to the world in which you belong, with only a few hours each week there's only so much you can do." Harry swallowed again, keeping the fear off her face even as she wanted to beg that she was learning fast and was trying her hardest not to be a bad influence on Draco and be worthy of being his friend in their eyes. Something confused her, though, which was that Draco was looking at her too and his face was one of excitement rather than despair. He said he wanted to be her friend, so surely he wouldn't be so happy that that was about to be over. "You already have a pass in the wards, and now you can call an elf to get you here we think you should have a greater opportunity to catch up to where Draco is, to where you ought to be." Draco looked smug and Narcissa was smiling, but Harry still couldn't catch up to what they meant. Or rather, she understood the sentence, but couldn't believe that they had spent this much time around her already and were still willing to offer more. Logically she knew that everything they had done and said around her to this point did suggest exactly that, but that their wishes could align so exactly with hers felt like a miracle.

"We understand that you currently attend muggle school" Lucius took over, spitting the word muggle like it was a curse "but such places are no doubt completely ill equipped to educate a wizard in the things that matter. If you are to learn our ways you need to commit yourself to it, and you can't do that when for all intents and purposes you still are one of them." Harry's face was still frozen, this time in shock rather than fear, but Narcissa didn't appear to notice the change and jumped in quickly.

"Of course we are not suggesting you leave your family, we would never ask anyone to separate themselves from their blood," Lucius scoffed at his wife's words, but whether that was because he was not opposed to separating blood or because he did not believe she could share blood with muggles Harry was not sure. She was more inclined to agree with Lucius either way anyhow, after all both they and her would jump at any chance to reject each other as family "but an education that doesn't fit your needs can only harm you and we think you should consider at least reducing your enrolment so that you might spend more time learning from our library and from us. We would be happy to communicate with your family of course—"

"No!" Harry jumped in, excitement overcoming her manners, "they'll understand, if I ask them. And if you truly mean it I'd love to accept. I promise to work hard and take care of your books and—"

"Does this mean I get to tell my friends about him now?" Draco asked, "will he be coming to my lessons?"

"Not yet, dear. Harry has a lot to do to catch up first and even then there are still some investigations into his lineage that must be completed before we risk exposing him to the masses."

"What about potions? They're done here and if Harry is around when Severus comes then he'll know anyway."

"If Hadrian likes we were thinking that might be a good chance to get some practical experience. Severus is the Potions Master of Hogwarts, Harry, as well as Draco's godfather and to learn from him will certainly set you ahead of your peers by the time you begin formal schooling."

Harry looked up at Narcissa, gratitude filling her eyes as she nodded. "If he, and Draco, don't mind, I would love to learn."

"YES!" Draco almost yelled "The work he sets is always so hard and it will be so much fun to do it with someone else as well. He's the head of Slytherin too by the way and he'll be so impressed you're a Parselmouth... wait, we won't be telling him that will we?"

"Not yet at least," Narcissa agreed, looking at Harry slightly regretfully. "Hadrian needs the time to make an impression with his abilities and insights rather than with a singular talent, and skills are always more valuable when not common knowledge." Both children nodded agreeably, though Draco did have a bit of a frowns still, and the conversation moved on to planning. The adults proposed that Harry start the next week so there was time for her to arrange with her school, and then come from 10:00 until 3:00 Mondays through Wednesdays and then 2:00 until after dinner on Thursdays and Fridays with every other Thursday being their practical potions lesson with Severus. From the way they spoke it sounded like they assumed this could fit around muggle education and that she would still be able to partially attend, but to tell them otherwise risked either making them suggest fewer hours or otherwise that she was taking advantage of their kindness and pushing for more so she stayed silent. Draco was not very happy, and made sure they all knew it, that his lessons with the Parkinson's meant he would hardly see Harry at all on Mondays or Tuesdays, but since his parents reminded him that Harry would have to be working and that they wouldn't allow him to be a distraction anyway he agreed. He did insist, however, that Harry be allowed over on Saturdays for non-academic purposes if their whole week was taken up by work, and when his parents agreed Harry felt so delirious with joy at being wanted she started thanking them profusely and sharing intense looks of delight with Draco.

By the time she had to go all four of them were more jovial than they had ever been in the presence of all the others, even Lucius a little less sharp and domineering as he saw the genuine joy on his son's face. Harry knew she was being improper, that she was putting herself at risk by allowing herself to get this close, but the thought of having friends, having knowledge and of being wanted, anywhere, by anyone, was so new that she didn't think she could act any other way. As she left with Motty she told the elf what she had been offered and, though the elf did look nervous, Harry's obvious excitement stopped her from providing any more warnings.

It was only when Harry bid farewell to Motty and started walking home that rationality began to take over. She had just agreed to leave muggle school. She had said her relatives wouldn't mind, as of course they wouldn't care if she stopped learning at the age of 8, but they would care about where she was going and would not be happy that she couldn't answer. Even if they would accept her answer, they would never let her do it because they were opposed to anything that made her happy. She was not above skipping school, but with her cousin in her class to note her absence that would never work. She needed to be taken out of school by her relatives, but then neither be kept at home or sent somewhere else and whatever excuse she gave needed to cover two evenings a week as well as the odd Saturday. It sounded like a ridiculous thing to try and achieve, but most of Harry's life was ridiculous and there was no way she was going to let this hurdle stop her.

The first step to getting her way would be to pick a target. This was obviously her aunt. Of her two guardians she was the most receptive to reason and the least likely to lash out with her fists, and while her plan would no doubt end up leaving her at his mercy anyway she would actually take the time to fall into her trap. Next she needed to identify her weak-point, which was another easy answer as her aunt, as far as she could tell, cared about nothing except cleaning, gossiping, seeming normal and her disaster of a son. The gossip and seeming normal triggers were bad ideas as that would always push her towards maintaining the status quo, but the cleaning and Dudley were not mutually exclusive and both could work quite well. She could promise to clean more in return, but she honestly wasn't sure if there were enough hours in the day to do more cleaning and still go to the Malfoys, and even if she did that that wouldn't answer the question of where she was going. That left Dudley. She cared about making him happy, and she cared about him doing well... and then it came to her. She needed to convince her aunt that being in the same class as Dudley was somehow harming him. This would get her in a whole world of trouble, but would also prompt immediate action which was what she needed. After that she would need her aunt to think she was being sent somewhere else, probably a different school, but for that not to be the case. It was perfect, the only thing left was how to deliver the message. Her aunt would never believe a word coming out of her mouth and she was pretty sure her cousin actually liked having her there as constant target practice, but a seemingly official source was never questioned. The note had been a good plan for explaining her situation to the Malfoys, and could be used for this as well. All she needed to do was gain access to the school printer and letterhead and compose a note from Ms Mallow saying she was concerned Dudley wasn't 'fulfilling his potential' or something with her as a distraction, and that there was another school nearby for troubled children that could only be attended on personal recommendation that she was willing to give. All her aunt would have to do was reply to the letter in the affirmative and she could begin the next week. There were risks, of course, and lots of ways to be discovered, but she knew her aunt well and knew that panic for her son would get her to do nearly anything, and her apathy for Harry would mean she wouldn't care to check on the made up school or try and visit. Her aunt wouldn't have any reason to believe she was lying, either, as the amount of trouble she would get into with her uncle for harming Dudders was not something any sane person would bring about willingly. It was her biggest, and possibly only, hope, and she would see it happen.

She arrived at Privet Drive that night with a smile on her face, and even though she knew another unexplained absence practically guaranteed her uncle had been informed, she couldn't bring herself to feel even remotely sorry about it. She had a friend, she had people who wanted her to be around them, she had magic and access to a world that was full in it. Her future looked better than her past and that was enough.