The morning fast had already been broken when the pair entered the great hall. "Thank you for your time, headmaster." Narcissa intoned as she had been taught. "It was a pleasure madame." Dumbledore acknowledged in the same kind tone. His answer however was not truly heard as she honed in on her son. She was well aware her arrival was noted and curious whispering broke at her presence in the great hall.
Draco however was busy boasting something towards Pansy Parkinson and did not notice her approach. 'Another thing to chide him for.' Narcissa noted. The girl wisely pointed her arrival out and with clear surprise Draco whirled around. "Mother?" he blurted out surprised. "Draco Lucius Malfoy." Narcissa intoned and most of the Slytherin table winced in sympathy.
"Mother?!" Draco repeated under her demanding stare. Seeing that her son was not catching on that he had to be on his feet, a dainty hand lashed out, snatched Draco's ear and pulled him off his seat onto his feet. "Did you think I would just sit idly by while you ignored my precious time spent lecturing you on the matters of Campione?" She demanded.
"Mother!" Draco almost whined, aghast his own mother was scolding him in full view of his peers and foes. "Follow me child." Narcissa commanded, uncaring about his feelings on the matter, and Draco did not hesitate this time. Well aware that his mother would drag him by the ear if he did not obey. Said woman was also well aware of his mounting horror as she approached Harry Potter, recognizable by the clearly non-students flanking him and the now confirmed muggleborn girlfriend.
Narcissa did not blame him for looking amused. She noted that his attempts to hide it however were poor which was an advantage as that meant she should be able to read his body language well. He and his companions turned towards her fully as she came closer and like a pack of lions sensing a meal the rest of the Gryffindors turned towards the upcoming spectacle as well.
Kneeling just out of sword reach, a blade she was painfully well aware was presented subtly at the ready by the more combative looking henchwoman she dipped her head towards Harry once she was certain her son was mimicking her actions at her side. "Campione Potter, on behalf of my son I deeply apologize for his transgressions."
A silence stretched out and despite her training as a young girl she could feel a sweat drop of nervousness forming. Then the other henchwoman spoke up. "Madam Malfoy, Campione Potter." Narcissa did not miss how she emphasised the title. "Was more than willing to let Draco Malfoy's ungentlemanly manners of the previous years go. Yet he renewed his unsightly behavior once again on the train ride yesterday." the unknown, less brutish, henchwoman said formally.
'That woman is trained as well.' Narcissa noted as she made a mental note of the assets available to the Campione. She knew she was a third child of nobility but the wizarding world did not inquire too much about her publicly. A few snickers escaped around the table for the direct insult delivered. "If you truly wish to apologize for this then you shall lavish us with the information on the subject matter that had mister Malfoy believe he could deliver his insults unpunished." The woman unknown to Narcissa continued.
Narcissa let out a curse in her mind that would have resulted in heavy punishment had she done so aloud while she was under her mother's purview. She grudgingly gave the woman credit for phrasing it in such a way which kept the public unaware that the Dark Lord had returned and kept it muddled on how much she knew and did not know.
"I will have a letter with all this information you seek at your table this afternoon. Is this acceptable?" she groveled verbally. "It is madam Malfoy. I trust you will now properly instruct your child to behave in the presence of his betters." Narcissa kept herself from gritting her teeth at the veiled insult at her. Beside her the soft growl showed that Draco was less willing to just take it. She was relieved however that this was his only expression of displeasure.
"I will. Thank you for your time, Campione Potter." Narcissa finished with another dip of her head and rose even though he had barely spoken. Without looking if her child followed her she took a graceful step back and turned around towards the teacher's table. "Professor McGonagall. I have certain things to discuss with my impetuous child…" "I shall ensure that one of his friends will know what the classwork is and pass on the first assignment." the professor replied smoothly.
"Thank you professor." Narcissa noted. Grateful that she didn't make it any more painful than it already was. She left the great hall with Draco in tow towards the first empty classroom she could find. She marched into the room and with a wave of her wand closed the door. A few more spells ensured that no-one could overhear. "Mother. How could…" Draco's complaint was cut off as the same dainty hand that had seized his ear earlier now slapped him on the cheek.
Draco looked wide eyed at his mother as he tried to remember ever she had ever slapped him before. "You idiot boy!" Narcissa spat angrily. "Did you think I specifically told you to stay clear of the Potter boy for my own amusement?!" She saw her son was still stunned. "Did you forget that he could kill you with impunity? Did you think I wanted to one day receive a letter saying you went too far and I would have to bury you?!"
"Mother… he wouldn't…" Draco sputtered. "He pulled out a poisoned weapon and held it to your throat! He clearly is capable! As a muggle raised child he would see the goblins as sentient beings instead of the monsters they are. And do I need to remind you he has shown quite capable of cutting his way through those hordes with no ill effect?" Narcissa did her best not to screech so that her words would be heard clearly, her temper fraying at the assumptions her child was making with his own life at stake.
Draco's objection died in his throat. "And what do you think your father will do when he learns of this? It is clear you were forced to tell them that the blasted Dark Lord has returned did you not?" A mute nod was her reply. "So what do you think that insane excuse of a man will do? If he views your father's efforts favorably, he will only suffer a minute under the Dark Lord's crucio."
"He…" Draco started to object. "Wouldn't? Are you daft, child? Should the Dark Lord be too displeased it could mean the end of the Malfoy line as he will punish all of us. The Dark Lord is not half as generous as Lucius made him out to be." Narcisa explained loudly. "That is a lie, when father hears of this!" Draco replied fervently, rallying and talking back to Narcissa's surprise.
"Then he will whip you with his cane! Do you think he enjoys being under the cruciatus curse?" She saw that Draco made to object again and drove the point home with another slap on his unharmed cheek. "Think as a Slytherin Draco Malfoy. I know my brain is behind your father's looks. Now use it." Narcissa demanded.
She held back a sigh at Draco's incomprehension. "Did our time in the library seep out of your brain already?" Draco gulped at the ire in her voice. Before he could reply however she waltzed on. "Then I shall give you a refresher. Potter is a Campione, one backed by both the Ministry and the Witenagemot. As a Campione most magic will not work, or will be much less effective. This includes the killing curse. The Dark Lord, as strong as he is, does not have a chance in open combat against him." Narcissa did her best to make sure the lesson stuck this time with a harsh look.
"That is why he is looking to become one himself!" Draco rebutted. "So you have been paying some attention. Did you tell Potter this as well?" Narcissa demanded and relaxed slightly when Draco shook his head. "Well you are not entirely stupid then. However there is a small hitch in the Dark Lord's plan. Most men and women who became Campione became one like Potter, a confrontation forced by the heretic god and the person succeeding against all the odds." the worried mother reminded her son.
"The Dark Lord is not the first wizard who tries to get this shortcut to power, nor will he be the last. He will most likely also join the ranks of all the fools who failed and died in some nameless forest or desert." Narcissa explained as she started to run out of steam. She worried her words were not truly reaching her son.
"But…" Draco started to protest "He is the Dark Lord? And since he is 'the' Dark Lord his success is guaranteed? Most heretic gods will laugh in his face if he tries that claim. His impressive reputation in our world means nothing to them. No Draco, as much as it loathes me to say it. The 'Light' side has the advantage now in the form of Harry Potter, who will be forever your social superior now." Narcissa pointed out bluntly, slightly changing tack in the hopes that it would work that way.
He pinned him with a look. "So do whatever it takes to disappear out of his sight again. He clearly ignored like the lesser to him you simply now are until you put yourself squarely into his vision. I will not allow you to join your father into his foolishness of binding himself to the Dark Lord's will."
She could see her son had trouble understanding why she laid down that commandant. "Draco, have you ever wondered why Sirius Black was never thrown out of the family like my sister Andromeda?" "I thought my grandfather couldn't bring himself to…" Draco answered unsurely. "A fair assessment." Narcissa granted. "However there was a second part of it, in what was then thought of as an unlikely event, in the case of the Dark Lord's defeat that the family would still prosper."
"How is the Black family prospering now? They are destitute if it was not for the Malfoy family." Narcissa's boy demanded. The dismissive unladylike snort brought Draco up short. "My father was quite capable of fixing the financial mess his predecessor had made. No, the Black family now prospers as Sirius can wield the Campione's influence on his behalf and Andromeda birthed a child with a rare gift that was thought lost to the family. Had the Dark Lord won then I and Bellatrix would ensure the Black family would not be forgotten."
"So you are doing the same now." Draco spoke up after a moment of realisation. "Hardly. I am not going to suggest you descend yourself to becoming a muggle lover like Dumbledore. Merely staying out of Potter's way will ensure that our family can continue unharmed." Narcissa replied, a touch disappointed in her son. The next words came bitingly. "Which means you should not antagonize the man who could cut us all down to the applause of the crowds of plebeians."
Draco cringed. "Yes mother." He mumbled meekly. "Good. I expect no further letters from you involving Potter in a negative way." Narcissa said as she turned to the door. It was clear she was dismissing her child in a harsh way. "I shall notify your father of your foolishness after I have compiled a believable story for Potter, we do not know how much he learned from Dumbledore. That man is far more wily…"
She paused before letting out a sigh, her back still turned towards her son. "I would have thought this was just a Gryffindor's impulsiveness. But I can't help but wonder if you gave them an opening to act while letting us think they did not know. Potter has done well to take that woman at his side. She seems to be clever enough to create such a plan. And Potter did defer to her…" she mused out loud.
She turned around and Draco straightened up. "Learn as much as you can about this woman. Subtly." she emphasized the last word and Draco winced again at the implied rebuke. "Yes mother." Narcissa sniffed haughtily as she judged if the lesson had sunk in. "Very well. Remember that I love you Draco, no matter how harsh I am." "Yes mother." Draco repeated.
Narcissa turned away and opened the door, letting the spells she had put up to ensure privacy fall away. She was not surprised to barely get a hallway away before Dumbledore amiable walked towards her. "Ah Miss Malfoy. Are you done?" At the nod he seemed to mull something over. "If young Draco makes haste he should be able to attend professor McGonagall's lesson without missing too much."
"That is good to hear." Narcissa said neutrally. "Hopefully this will put an end to the feud between the two young men." Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Did you know it apparently started by a few insults between the two on the train ride to Hogwarts. They continued the traditional Gryffindor - Slytherin rivalry before they were even sorted."
"I must have missed that letter from Draco." the woman replied neutrally. "Ah, that is a shame." Dumbledore noted. He gave the candy-themed password to the gargoyle guarding his office. "Thank you for your time Headmaster, I shan't take more of it." Narcissa finished with a courtesy before disappearing through the floo.
Harry's smugness at seeing Draco's mother appear in person and berate him disappeared like a snowflake in hell when professor McGonagall dumped The Book into his hands and informed him he will be tested in a month. It was a rulebook with literally every rule Hogwarts had ever had. Some rules that resulted in physical punishment were amended while others had been completely scrapped.
The transfiguration professor however had made it clear he needed to know all the rules, obsolete or not. Harry gave The Book a foul look in the hopes it would spontaneously burst and thus leave him free of his punishment. The Book however resisted all attempts at immolation.
With a weary sigh Harry stuffed The Book away and set off to his first lesson. He would have to make his own study schedule. The thing was big enough to even convince him a last second cram session would not do. Professor McGonagall's threat upon failing the impromptu test was open ended, and thus by experience the worst it could be.
He didn't have to glance towards Cressida to know the woman did not agree with him taking his lumps for what he did. Sometimes he wondered why a woman supposed to be his sort of leash was pushing him to be more wild. He didn't give it too much thought however as he wanted to focus on his upcoming lessons.
It also gave him time to double check the letter from Sirius that everything was alright and he should not have to worry. And ponder the news of Sirius's supposed bastard child that the daily prophet crowed about. He knew his return letter would at least contain one cheeky reference to that.
The only upside was that he had seen Malfoy lug around a similarly sized copy, meaning he had the same kind of punishment on top of his glowing cheeks courtesy of his mother and whatever Snape was willing to pile on top.
Harry was curious on how the woman would handle the first lesson. So far they had a professor being possessed by a Dark Lord who stuttered his way through the material. A floozy pretending to be an expert while selling his pack of lies, a werewolf who gave good lessons and knew his material. And last year they had a death eater in disguise who was quite good as well.
His first eye twitch came as the woman treated them like a bunch of preschool children barely trusted not to wet their own pants. The second came as she told them to put away their wands and pick up their books. She then told them what chapters to read and left them alone. Harry spent almost half a minute blinking disbelievingly.
"Mister Potter, eyes on your book if you could." she said not unkindly. Harry turned his eyes away from the pink woman and wondered where Dumbledore managed to pick her up from. Although the book wasn't bad, and he knew this as he had read the first few chapters out of curiosity during a lazy evening. Defence against the dark arts was not something you could do purely on the theory.
'Maybe she wants us to have a good grounding first. The second chapter does start with using the spells in a practice environment with the right understanding of what you are trying to do.' So with that in mind Harry carefully reread everything. He was disappointed however that at the end of their lessons they had not drawn their wands. He was not the only student looking disappointed at the lackluster lesson. As they left the classroom they missed the thoughtful expression from their teacher.