CHAPTER NINE
Silverstone is known as one of the most famous and oldest Formula 1 racing tracks that Muggles go to in order to watch other Muggles race arguable death machines against each other. For the wizards, Silverstone was home to famous Abraxan races hosted at the Silverstone Amphitheatre, first built in the 1760s. In order for racers to be able to compete, they had to be invited or had to win at least three internationals. As for the spectators, they were expected to fork an insane amount of money just to be able to sit in some of the worst seats in the house, never mind have the opportunity to sit in one of the elite boxes.
It was moments like attending Silverstone that Harry was thankful the Potter coffers were as extensive as they were and that he was friends with prominent families such as the Malfoys and Greengrasses, even if their pretentiousness did get on his nerves sometimes. They made life more interesting, especially since he had an excuse to attend the races without a Glamour this time!
The morning of the races, Lily was running through the drills with Harry one more time. "Now, remember, if the papers try to badger you, you do not-"
"Turn the reporter's hair blue, hex the reporter, or try to banish them to Siberia," Harry listed, sighing and looking very sulky. "Mama, why do you insist on taking my fun away?"
Lily raised an eyebrow. "Harry!"
"Yes, yes, Mama, I understand. I will behave myself," Harry reassured. "And if I don't, I am pretty sure Draco, Daphne and Marcus will put me in a nice Body Bind, make me take a time out in a chair in a corner, so don't worry."
"Well, I would rather not get a letter from Lucius up in arms or Severus visiting me wrecked with nervous exhaustion," Lily stated, shaking her head at her son.
"So, what will you be doing while I suffer a public appearance for the sake of my friends?" Harry asked curiously.
Lily shrugged nonchalantly. "Just some business I have to take care of at the Ministry, and perhaps following up on Rosier's little clue."
Harry nodded. "I see you share Old man Selwyn's sentiment that courting and sleuthing do not mix."
"Harry, the events that led to your father's death is my concern. All you need to do, is keep your eyes and ears open and not put yourself into more unnecessary danger. I don't think my heart could handle it," Lily sighed. "I lost your father and Dorea, I refuse to lose you too."
Harry hugged his mother closely. "Don't worry. I will stick to Draco and the others as much as possible. Promise."
"Good," Lily hugged her son closer for a moment before releasing him. "Now, go and get ready. I am not sure when Draco, Blaise and Adrian will be arriving; those boys never seem to be able to plan anything until the last minute! Maybe it was a miscalculation to invite them to Mossbridge?"
Harry chuckled and darted up the stairs to shower, dress and do his hair before his friends arrived, giving him more than a moment to think. Especially since all three of his suitors would be there. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. It was already bad enough that Bartok, Synok, Layna and Rocla had teased him mercilessly that there would be as many witnesses to his courting as there had been at Owain's.
Harry had wished he could turn his dragon children into tea cosies for that comment, because they were right. Unfortunately. It was accurate because Harry tried to pretend he had Masha's spirit, but in actuality he was just as nervous as Owain had been, maybe even more. Rodolphus, Evan and Barty were older, more experienced in life and … other things and Harry was still just a kid. Harry would be lying if he thought he wasn't at a disadvantage there. Still, Lord Slytherin must have known what he was doing when he picked those three, so Harry tried to ignore some of his more potent insecurities about the age difference between him and his suitors.
Since his dates with them, Harry had been exchanging letters with Rodolphus, Evan and Barty about everything and nothing. Harry had not expected them to oblige the first time he sent Hedwig on the delivery mission but had been pleasantly surprised at Rodolphus relaying some funny stories about his family, Evan was complaining about having to attend tedious Ministry meetings the entire week and Barty told him excitedly about some new Warding projects he was working on behind his father's back. Harry had found himself writing at least three pages full of information about his day, his hobbies and his irritations with each reply he sent, and none of them contained the same content. For example, Rodolphus and Barty got updates about Harry's dragons because they were now acquainted with them, and Rocla and Bartok had asked after Rodolphus and Barty respectively. Evan was informed about the dragons' impatience to make his acquaintance and that Inyala had offered to give a formal apology if Evan visited the reserve.
So between studying, his duties at the reserve, spending time with his animals and trying to keep tabs on his mother's investigation into his father's death, the day of the Silverstone races had come much quicker than Harry had expected. As Harry was styling his hair after dressing, he heard the distinct voices of Draco, Blaise and Adrian outside; it seemed they had arrived sooner than anticipated as well! Apparently the offer to see Mossbridge for the first time was too good an opportunity to pass up.
"-it looks a little run down; I mean, look at all those climbing plants!" Harry knew those scornful tones anywhere. Draco was never once for subtly when it came down to appearances.
"I don't know, I think it has character," Adrian answered with a tone that could almost be described as fond. "It is as wild and as untameable as the people who inhabit it."
"Which room is his do you think?" Blaise asked.
"No idea-" Adrian began to answer.
"Never mind, I can find out quite easily. OI! POTTER! YOU UP?!" Harry heard Blaise shout into a Sonorous Charm.
"Blaise! Were you secretly raised by werewolves or something?" Harry heard Draco scold, without the use of a Sonorous Charm.
Harry smirked. He went to the bathroom window, lifted it up and poked his head out. "Yo, Blaise – any louder and you will wake my Runespoor! She has a nasty temper if awoken too early!"
Draco, Blaise and Adrian immediately craned their necks upwards, scanning the windows for Harry and lit up when they saw their friend leaning out of one of the upper windows on the right hand side, grinning his countenance off.
"You ready, dragon lover?" Draco teased.
"Just about!" Harry laughed. "You want to come in?"
"They had better!" the boys looked to see the Lady Regent of House Potter also sticking her head out of a window, this time one of the upper windows on the left hand side of the house. "You could wake the jackalopes with this noise."
"You have jackalopes?!" Blaise exclaimed, eyes shining with awe.
"Oh, bloody hell, Mama, now you have done it!" Harry sighed dramatically as Nipsy opened the front door to let Harry's friends inside. Harry withdrew back into the bathroom, closed the window and left to head down stairs.
As expected, Draco, Blaise and Adrian were taking in their surroundings. They gaped at the spidery crystal chandelier, the tapestries on the walls, and greeted the paintings of Potter and Peverell ancestors on the wall. On the shoe cupboard there were several photographs of Lily Potter, James Potter and their friends that were taken with Muggle and magical cameras; some of the photos moved, some didn't. The parlour was stunning – Draco could not take his eyes away from the Art Nouveau windows at the back. The room itself was very light on the account of the grand windows that looked out onto the sides of the vast garden. None of the boys were remotely surprised that the majority of the room was decorated in Gryffindor red and gold. The chairs and sofas, all antique and of a high status were faced towards the grand fireplace and the door. There were book cases filled with leather books, some of them clearly albums and others were old tomes. The parlour conjoined the music room, which had a stunning Broadwood Grand, a violin and two types of guitar.
"Taking in the sights?" Harry asked teasingly as he watched them from the doorway, Lily grinning next to him.
"You have seen my home so many times; it is only fair if I get to see yours once," Draco pointed out, eyes still on the exquisite red and white dragon depicted in the image of the windows. Draco then turned around. "Lady Potter, who was responsible for creating your beautiful window?"
"No idea. It was commissioned by Richard Potter in 1890 as a gift to his wife, Marianna," Lily explained with a smile. "Marianna was an artist and always kept her eyes out for any new changes in styles, both in the magical and Muggle world. When Art Nouveau came into fashion, Marianna was one of the first to adopt it into her own art, her fashion and even in elements of architecture. The window it replaced had been old anyway so Richard used the opportunity to rejuvenate Mossbridge a little."
"Awesome," Draco breathed.
"It is a stunning design," Adrian replied politely. He cast a quick Tempus. "Guys, we need to leave. We have half an hour before the races begin."
"And we cannot be late, or Daphne would have us for lunch," Harry added as he grabbed his sunglasses and put on his usual combat boots.
"Look at you, Lord Potter! You can work with dragons just fine but an angry girl makes you wary," Blaise teased.
"Anyone who doesn't fear Daphne is a fool," Harry countered with a slight grin as he got to his feet. "I would sooner want to face the Giant Squid in an arm wrestling match than to risk the ire of Daphne, or Hermione for that matter."
"Yeah, angry girls are terrifying," Adrian agreed meekly as Harry led the group outside. "Every single time Regina and I argue, I always have to put up Protection Charms because of all the flying objects!"
"That's a good question: why do girls turn into banshees when they get angry?" Draco sighed. "I just don't get it."
"Harry's lucky he never has to worry about a shoe being flung at his head," Adrian grumbled, while Harry took great pleasure in looking unbearably smug.
"Behave yourselves!" Lily could not resist calling after her son and his friends. "And don't do anything the papers would love to write about!"
"Don't fret, my Lady, we will keep His Lordship away from the treacle tarts!" Blaise called back, earning himself a whack around the head from Harry. "Joke, Harry, joke!" he exclaimed while rubbing the back of his head.
"No, you thinking that you had a chance at asking Lisa Turpin out on a date is a joke," Harry shot back, causing Draco and Adrian to guffaw loudly. Blaise stuck his tongue petulantly but made no effort to make a comeback.
Adrian held out his arms for the side along Apparation; the three fifth years took hold of him and in about five nauseating seconds, they were outside of the grand Silverstone Amphitheatre, where there was already a long queue of witches and wizards waiting to show their tickets and go through security. It was blisteringly hot, with not a single cloud being in the azure sky nor a puff of wind in the air, so there were many with fans and cooling charms around them. However, because Harry, Draco, Blaise and Adrian were guests of some of the owners of a competing horse, they got to go in the fast lane with their VIP passes, getting through checks and security very quickly, thus avoiding the blistering heat. All of them were very happy they wore the lightest fabrics that their proper attire would allow; they had their sleeves rolled up mostly.
Unfortunately, it had not been quick enough to avoid some of the reporters, who had been sent to cover the races, seeing Harry. Fortunately, Harry's friends had factored that possibility in and had made sure they had encircled the Potter Lord quite thoroughly.
"Lord Potter, look over here please!"
"Lord Potter, who will you be supporting today?"
"Lord Potter, will we be seeing you at the races more often after today?"
Any other inane questions that the vultures may have had were quickly halted with the arrival of Lord Greengrass, who gave them such a withering look that it could have made Venomous Tentaculas wilt. "That's enough of that! If any of you attempt to ask another question or even look in His Lordship's direction again, you will have to deal with me personally. Good day, sirs."
Harry sighed a small sigh of relief as he was swiftly ushered into the lift that would take them to the level with the owners' boxes. Draco gave Harry a small but firm reassuring squeeze on his arm.
"They never give up," Blaise sneered. "It would be admirable if it wasn't so pathetic."
"Hear, hear," Adrian agreed with cold amusement.
"Thank you for your help, Lord Greengrass," Harry smiled.
The normally stern and dower man allowed a ghost of a smile onto his countenance. "Your welcome, sir. Your mother would have vituperated me at the next Wizengamot meeting if I had let them continue, and she would have been right to do so."
Harry chuckled in agreement. "So, what strategy will Pride of Maia and her rider be using today?" he asked curiously as the lift opened and Draco, Blaise and Adrian all huffed at the humidity and put their own shades on.
Lord Greengrass smirked. "You will have to see for yourself, my Lord. Daphne will not be happy if I ruin the surprise."
Harry deflated. "Boring."
"Daph's a killjoy, you should know this by now," Blaise teased as they stepped out of the lift and followed Lord Greengrass past stands and entrances to other boxes towards the Greengrass box.
"I just hope she has ensured that there's plenty of water bottles in the box," Draco stated, fanning himself with his hand. "I knew it would be warm this weekend, but this is absolutely ridiculous."
"Greengrass! Good luck today; we will be rooting for you as well!" Greengrass and the four Slytherin boys halted in their tracks and turned around to see Lord Slytherin, sleeves also rolled up and sunglasses on his eyes, grinning and waving at them from a seat in the Malfoy box. Harry tried not to blush when he noticed Rodolphus, Evan and Barty staring at him so focused on Death Eater spotting. MacNair was busy eating an ice cream cone, Yaxley looked bored, Rowle and Dolohov were trying to spot acquaintances in the crowd, Narcissa and Bellatrix were fanning themselves and were in deep discussion, the Carrow twins regarded him curiously and Augustus gave him a small smile in greeting when their eyes met. Crabbe and Goyle's fathers were already tucking into some food. Lord Nott had given them a curt nod. Lucius looked like he was praying silently, which Harry already suspected was the case.
"Thank you, my Lord," Lord Greengrass answered politely, giving him a bow. "That is very kind."
Lord Slytherin turned his attention onto Harry. "Lord Potter! I am very glad to see you here as well. Are you well? How is the Lady Regent faring?"
"I am well, sir," Harry replied with a small smile. "And Mama would be doing a whole lot better if people knew how to keep to the letter of the law."
Lord Slytherin chuckled, as did some of his allies. "Indeed, my Lord. She did give the Minister and the Supreme Mugwump quite the ear full for failing to notify her of a very important vote."
"Yes, something they quickly regretted, I believe," Harry smirked. No one survived the ire of Lily Potter unscathed – ever!
"Forgive me, Lord Slytherin, but we really must be joining my family," Lord Greengrass stated. "I am sure my daughters are nervous enough as it is."
"But of course!" the Dark Lord smiled serenely. "We will see you after the races."
With one last bow, Lord Greengrass beckoned Harry, Draco, Blaise and Adrian to follow him. Harry did so rather enthusiastically, trying not to look back as he felt the eyes of his suitors bore into his back. Draco, Blaise and Adrian, however, did look back and snickered to themselves when they saw the wounded puppy faces on the three Death Eaters' faces at the fact Harry had barely looked in their direction.
"Ooooh boooy, they have it bad!" Blaise exclaimed in a smug, sing-song tone.
"Blaise, shut up. Do you want half of Silverstone to know?" Harry grumbled.
"Awww, our Harry is growing up," Adrian teased, ruffling Harry's hair and laughed as Harry immediately started to bat his hands away.
Draco peeked over his shoulders back at the Death Eaters. "Erm, Adrian. I wouldn't do that again if I were you; Uncle Rodolphus and the others look set to curse you into the next century."
"Oh, brother," Harry sighed deeply as he collapsed into his chair in the Greengrass box, Lady Greengrass and her daughters smiling at him fondly. Theo, Lawrence, Gregory and Vincent all chuckled as they continued to decorate the box with banners featuring cute cartoon drawings of Pride of Maia, and putting plushies of the Abraxan around the box. "Thank Merlin and Morgana for cooling charms!"
"I see you survived the cameras, Harry," Theo grinned.
"Yes, thanks to Lord Greengrass," Harry answered as Astoria gave him a pair of binoculars.
"How is courting life?" Lawrence wanted to know.
Harry shrugged a little. "It is early days but so far, there is nothing that makes me reconsider the decision of accepting the three of them as suitors."
"So, you like them?" Vincent asked eagerly. "Dad won't tell me anything, and Draco and Blaise refused to cough up any gossip for once in their lives."
"I had a … interesting first impression of them all, and that interest has not faltered yet," Harry answered with a small smile. "I am genuinely looking forward to seeing where this goes."
"Who is your current favourite?" Gregory grinned.
"I put my money on Barty," Astoria piped up.
"No way, Rodolphus!" Adrian protested. "Tall, dark and sexy all the way."
Harry flushed bright crimson. "Can you not talk about my suitor that way, Adrian?"
"I say Evan," Theo threw in. "He show boats a lot and if there is anything Harry likes- OWW!"
Harry dusted off his hands after sending a nonverbal, wandless jolt to Theo's arm.
"All right, boys, that's enough," Lady Greengrass scolded lightly, amusement dancing in her eyes. "They're about to start!"
Harry was grateful for the distraction. He got up from his seat and stood next to Astoria at the balcony, looking through his binoculars for Pride of Maia. The Abraxan in question, which had wings as dark as night, strode out with confidence, her jockey waving to the crowd momentarily. When Lucius' Abraxan took its place next to Pride, Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in slight embarrassment when heard the cheers of his father and mother from their box. Harry clapped and cheered, though, much to Draco's amusement.
"I just hope Pride listens," Daphne whispered, her breath quivering nervously slightly.
"Moment of truth, Daph," Astoria stated, giving her sister a reassuring hug.
When all twenty of the Abraxans had lined up and the red sparks shot up into the sky, Pride of Maia, Halo and Arisoul's Crown were the ones who got off to the fastest start. "Arisoul's Crown has had an amazing start, but so did Pride of Maia, who manages to get past Halo into turn 1 and up into second place! There is already a mighty battle in the midfield and the back, with Ominous Lightning moving up from last to position seventeen already, and has taken P16 from Serpent's Eye already! OH MERLIN! Nimueh's Creed took Ridley's Corner too sharply and has crashed into Child of Medusa! Yellow sparks; time to check the condition of both steed and riders."
"For fuck's sake," Blaise grumbled shaking his head. "How Nimueh's Creed keeps qualifying for Silverstone is beyond me; that Abraxan is clumsy and her rider is just as bad!"
"Be glad they are not in a racing car," Harry informed darkly. "A crash like that could have cost them their life otherwise."
"Pride is still in P2," Theo sighed with relief. "Just fifty more laps to go, hopefully she can keep this up."
Nimueh's Creed and Child of Medusa were soon back up into the air, although in P20 and P19 and the battle for the top three ensued again. Somehow Pride was putting continuous pressure onto Arisoul's Crown, who was a firm favourite amongst Abraxan race enthusiasts and had always many backers in bets, while Lucius' horse almost had to give up fighting Pride to worry about Typhon's Spirit, the brother of Ominous Lightning, catching up from position four on the straights.
Draco winced. "The straight line always has been Halo's bottleneck."
However, Halo was not set on giving up that easily and blocked Typhon's Spirit's attempt at taking the inside line with a well-timed manoeuvre but soon also got pressure from the Abraxans in P5 and P6, who were catching up to number four and three quite quickly.
Harry waited with bated breath as Pride drew alongside Arisoul's Crown and the two Abraxans battled from one corner to the next, Pride in the lead then Arisoul taking the lead back, only for Pride to sneak into the inside line to reclaim the lead. Harry had to admit that Pride of Maia and her rider were, for once, absolutely in sync with each other. They were challenging a known champion for first place, for Merlin's sake!
In order to calm himself down now and again, Harry summoned water bottles for everyone from the coolers and started singing the Quidditch chant sung by most of the Houses, which was slowly but surely taken up by the other young Slytherins as well.
# Nanana,
Red-gold, green-silver, yellow-black, blue-bronze in the sky,
Lions, snakes, badgers and eagles on high,
We strive for victory,
To hold up high that trophy,
That's why we all sing: aaaay-ooo, let's go!
Aaaaaay-ooo, let's go!
Tooth and nail, claw to claw, we fight the good fight,
For it is our duty,
We are children of Hogwarts,
Nananana
Aaaaayy-ooo, let's go! #
Harry conjured some more flags with Pride of Maia's face – drawn as a rather cute cartoon – and handed them to his friends, who waved them enthusiastically as they continued to sing, much to both Lord and Lady Greengrass's amusement. Funnily enough, the other Hogwarts students who happened to be in the rows below the box and recognised the tune, also started to sing slowly but surely, causing quite a cacophony to arise from the stands. Pride of Maia must have enjoyed the song because she started putting more speed into her flying, stretching the gap between her and Arisoul's Crown more and more with each turn.
The commentator also made a note of it. "It seems that the fans of Pride of Maia, Ominous Lightning and Typhon's Spirit are on the edge of their seats and no wonder because Pride of Maia is making headway in leading this race, Ominous Lightning is now in P9 in the points and Typhon's Spirit is in P3 and heading straight for Arisoul's Crown! What a race this is turning out to be!"
"Let's go, Pride!" Harry and his friends chanted. "Head to victory; let's go, Pride, let's go!"
"Oh the exuberance of youth," Lady Greengrass had commented, shaking her head in amusement.
But she wasn't complaining, especially since at the end of lap 50, Pride of Maia crossed the finish at P1 with both Arisoul's Crown and Typhon's Spirit hot on her hooves and wings. When Pride won, the Greengrass box positively exploded with exuberant cheers from the Greengrass heiresses and their friends.
"Yes, Pride of Maia's owners are definitely pleased with that result," the commentator stated, sounding very amused. "A very well earned victory there; it was so close through out! Breath taking performance!"
"The pressure tactic worked perfectly!" Astoria gushed as the kids collapsed back into their seats, cold fizzy drinks being served this time instead of water; a treat, Daphne had said if Pride won.
"Arisoul's Crown collapses under pressure very easily, especially from behind," Daphne grinned. "Fly strategy is important but psychology is the clincher with this particular foe."
"This is why we love you, Daph!" Draco laughed heartily.
"Congratulations!" Lord Slytherin called from just outside the box, grinning brightly. His allies were with him, all looking either very tired, disappointed or ready to leave. "Pride really has improved by a country mile. I was told by your father you came up with strategy, Heiress Greengrass. Masterful work."
"Thank you, my Lord," Daphne agreed, with a small curtsey.
"I think celebrations are in order," Lord Slytherin stated. "How about I host a little celebration party at my manor? I recently have had a new pool built and since it is so blistering, maybe the young ones would like to try it out?"
"YES, PLEASE!" came the collective, relieved chorus from the normally controlled Slytherins.
"I will have to let Mama know I will be late," Harry stated.
"Or she could attend," Lord Slytherin stated brightly. "And we can tell any nosy reporters that you attended a little celebration do for your friend's achievement. To throw any … chickens off the scent."
Harry snorted a little at this. "An elegant solution, sir," he grinned.
In his peripheral vision, Harry was rather pleased to note that Rodolphus, Evan and Barty had cheered up considerably at hearing that they could be spending some time with Harry, although in a slightly more public setting.
Oh yes, attending the Abraxan races had already been worth it.
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It seems Pride of Maia has gotten her umph back, and Harry will be spending some more time with his suitors at Lord Slytherin's mansion but will it be eventful, or will Harry be blessed with an evening of normality? The chant I wrote myself, for those of you who are wondering.
Harry: As if!
Oh come on, don't be such a pessimist. Anyway, see you guys in the next chapter!
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