The Second Realm

Disclaimer: Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, etc. belong to JK Rowling. The rest belongs to me.

A/N: Thanks go out to: Dana, for giving me encouragement and suggestions, Dallas, for reading it, and to Lyddie, for giving me the wonderful title to use! Caroline, thank you for waiting so long! And thanks to the members of the HPFWA for giving me suggestions and help.

The Second Realm

Chapter One: Camp Arbez

Lucius Malfoy glared at his young son Draco.

"I'm disappointed in you, Draco," Lucius snarled. "Malfoys are not supposed to be helping others for no apparent reason, and yet you had to give money to a Muggle bum! Why?"

"Father, he was bleeding. His eyes looked so pitiful," Draco explained. "I couldn't help it," he added miserably.

"You very well could help it! Just because of that, I found a wizard camp where you will learn discipline," Lucius said, glaring menacingly. "And if you still do things out of line, I will punish you more severely."

"Yes, Father," Draco said stiffly.

"You are dismissed," Lucius replied. Draco left the room, his heart heavy. What was going to happen to him at the camp? He could only wait and see.

A few weeks later…

Draco stepped out of the carriage, nodded to his servant, Timothy Orangethorpe, and sighed as he looked at the camp. The camp appeared to be slightly run-down and made out of wood. Draco groaned inwardly. He could tell he was going to hate it already. His thoughts interrupted (and mind you, they were not nice) when a crowd passed, walking around him. They pushed their way, jarring him from side to side. Draco dusted himself off after the crowd had passed. Stupid Mudbloods, Draco thought angrily, but it was only because of the crowd's rude behavior.

Then he saw a man with a whistle around his next and a large pointed hat that magically projected the words Counselor Bowers. Draco realized he ought to go to him, so he picked up his two suitcases (one filled with the shabbiest of his dress robes, as Draco did not want to dirty his finest). He stood next to a boy who was tall with dark brown hair. On Draco's other side stood a boy with bright red hair ("Like Weasley," Draco thought, sneering) who was taller than Draco was, as Draco was short. Now, since the only red-haired boy Draco had contact with was Ron Weasley, he naturally assumed that the boy had a large family with hardly any money. Later, as Draco found out, his stereotype was not correct. To Draco's utmost surprise, the brown-haired boy caught his gaze and smiled good naturally. Draco reacted quickly, due to his quick reflexes, for he played Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team. He tried to smile, but the most he could smile was a weak grin with only the edges of his mouth turned up. Draco never had anyone smile at him, or had to smile at anyone himself. He also never really had a friend in his entire life. In reality, he did have Crabbe and Goyle hanging around him all the time, but they could not hold an intelligent thought to save their lives. Just then, Counselor Bowers cleared his throat, making Draco turn his head to look at the man.

"Welcome to our wonderful camp, Camp Arbez," Counselor Bowers said. Draco coughed loudly, hiding a laugh. Wonderful? If this was wonderful, he did not want to see what awful was.

"Hear! Hear!" The brown-haired boy said, grinning. Draco looked at him, surprised. Counselor Bowers just smiled at him.

"Thank you, Julian," Bowers said. "Please listen carefully as I call out your name and number. The number you get will be the number of the cabin. So… Here goes." Draco fidgeted nervously as Counselor Bowers called out the names of the students and the numbers. Draco was reminded of the Sorting Ceremony, which had the hat calling the names. Someone shouted Julian's name, shattering Draco's thoughts.

"Yeah! That's me," Julian shouted enthusiastically. Julian's eyes bore into the face of Bowers. Draco could not help snickering, as the expression on Julian's face resembled that of a dunce.

"Julian Earlingston," Bowers said loudly, glancing at the brown-haired boy. "Cabin 4," he added, seeing Julian's face light up. Julian whooped, making the campers around him laugh. Draco naturally kept silent. Time went by, sorting different campers into different cabins when it was Draco's turn.

"Draco Malfoy," Bowers announced. "Cabin 4." Draco shivered slightly, wondering what it would be like with Julian Earlingston in the same cabin. After a while, Cisalpine Perasat, Cassius Samson, the red-haired boy Draco saw earlier was Alexander Thespian, and Benjamin Frost joined cabin four. The cabin 4 group came together, all boys in the group wary except for Julian. In fact, he seemed to be unafraid, and immediately grinned.

"So, we're in cabin 4, eh? All right, just follow me," Julian insisted, and turned around to walk in the direction of the cabin. Draco followed, carrying his two somewhat light suitcases. They arrived to find a wooden cabin with a squeaky door. No surprise there, Draco thought gloomily as they stepped inside. Then what happened next was pure chaos. Cisalpine, Cassius, Alexander, and Benjamin rushed to get the best bunk. Alexander grinned as he plopped his things down on a lower bed, while Cassius threw his possessions above Alexander. The rest of the boys chose their beds accordingly. That left one bunk bed for Julian and Draco. Draco could not believe he had such horrible conditions. Either bed will surely hurt my posture, Draco mused.

"I get the top bed," Draco said flatly, placing his suitcases on the bed daintily. Julian sat down on the lower bed and sighed. It seemed as though he was worn out.

"What's wrong?" Cisalpine asked while unrolling his sleeping bag. "Long trip?"

"No, that's not it," Julian replied wearily. "It's just that I wonder what Mum and Dad are doing. Probably going off, having loads of fun, lots of parties. All they want is to get me out of the house," Julian added, resting his head on the mattress. Draco almost felt sorry for Julian. Of course, that was the same way as his parents. They probably wanted him out of the house so they could have business meetings and the like. Draco thought that he should say something.

"I know how you feel," Draco muttered. Julian looked at him curiously.

"What did you say?" Julian asked. Draco readjusted his cloak and tried again.

"I know how you feel," Draco said loudly. Julian's look softened slightly, and he got off the mattress to pat Draco on the shoulder. Draco moved away slightly. He did not want any sympathy.

"Don't you hate it when parents do that?" Julian asked, sighing. "It seems like parents don't love their children any more these days." Draco nodded glumly.

"Cheer up, you two," said Alexander. "We're not going to survive this camp if we're not going to be happy." Alexander brushed the sweat-soaked hair away from his forehead and grinned. Julian returned the grin. Draco just stood there numbly.

"This is going to be fun," snickered Julian. "I'll teach you guys the ropes." Cassius, Cisalpine, Alexander, and Benjamin whooped. Draco wondered half-heartedly what Julian could possibly teach him. The boys rushed out the cabin door, and Draco, not wanting to be left in the cabin alone, walked quickly after them.

"All r-i-i-ight!" Cassius yelled, running happily through the mossy green forest. Julian was the leader, running as fast as he could. Cisalpine, Alexander, and Benjamin followed closely behind him. Draco was far behind, becoming wearier and wearier. He had hardly ever run this fast for this long.

"Julian, where are you taking us?" Alexander shouted, panting a little.

"You'll see! It's the coolest place in the world," Julian yelled back, jumping over a fallen tree trunk. The boys continued running, but with less zest and zeal because they were getting tired. Draco wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. His lungs would surely burst eventually. Finally, Julian stopped. His fellow companions stopped running and caught their breath.

"Why are we stopping?" Draco asked, annoyed. They had not come to any place particularly exciting, only seeing a tall bush and some trees.

"Because we're there," Julian replied simply. He pulled back the leaves of the bush to reveal a waterfall and a lake. Draco gasped quietly. He had never seen a waterfall like this before. It was enchanting, and it had a small bit of sand at the left edge of the lake.

"Wow," Benjamin choked. Everyone stood with their mouths agape except for Julian and Draco. Julian had already seen the waterfall before, and Draco remembered that he had improper etiquette if he stood with his mouth open so flies could come in it.

"Let's go swimming!" Julian shouted happily. His comment was answered by an excited "Yes!" from three of his companions.

"But Julian, aren't we supposed to go to the Dining Hall? We could get in serious trouble," Cisalpine said worriedly. Julian shrugged it off.

"Ah you are such a sissy, Cisalpine," Julian replied. "I know that we're supposed to go to the Dining Hall, but it's such a lovely day. We're going to have no time whatsoever to swim, so we'd better do it now." Cisalpine's frown slowly turned into a smile, and he started to take off his clothes, leaving only his boxers.

"Guys, you're very slow. Look at me, I was ready long before you," Cassius said impatiently. Soon everyone was in his boxers except for Draco. He stood in astonishment, because he could not believe that he was with people who actually changed in front of one another…and felt comfortable with it!

"Blimey, Cassius, don't be so impatient," Alexander said. "We're nearly ready." Draco was thinking quickly. Should he disregard the orders of Bowers and go swimming, or should he go to the Dining Hall and be bored? The more Draco mulled it over, the more he wanted to go swimming. So he took off his clothes, left his boxers on, and stepped into the lake. It was freezing, but Draco did not show any sign of emotion. Instead, he went under water to swim a bit. The cold water immediately refreshed him, and he stood up quickly, cursing himself silently. Smooth move, Malfoy, Draco thought bitterly. I managed to get myself cold, and shivering like a daft person. He stood shivering until Julian and Alexander came over.

"A little cold, Draco?" Julian said, grinning.

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" Draco asked sourly.

"For one thing, you're shivering like mad. That's always a giveaway," Julian replied, chuckling.

"Yeah, really. You need to be constantly moving, though. That way, you will not get as cold," Alexander advised. Draco hesitantly swam to the deeper end of the lake and treaded water for a while, which helped him immensely.

"That's the spirit!" Julian called, and Draco scowled. Alexander swam over to the spot where Draco was treading water.

"Draco, I'll race you to the edge of the lake," Alexander challenged. Draco, not being a person to refuse a challenge, agreed. At the count of three, which Julian said, Alexander and Draco began swimming. Draco willed his legs to kick faster, and his arms to propel him further. He opened his eyes underwater and saw that the edge of the lake was coming. When Draco got to the edge of the lake, he found that the water was shallow, so he stood up quickly. He noticed that Alexander was right next to him, breathing heavily. He turned to Draco and grinned.

"Alexander! Draco! And it's a tie," Julian announced, and Alexander and Draco both stared at him.

"A tie? How is that so?" Draco asked in disbelief. Alexander looked shocked.

"I thought I would be first," he admitted aloud. Draco shook his head.

"I'm very sure I was first," Draco retorted sharply. He certainly did not want to come in second just because everyone thought it was a tie.

"Yes, I think you're right. You did come in first," Alexander said meagerly. Instead of being proud and thinking that he was the best, Draco was only slightly satisfied. With a jolt, he realized that Alexander was being nice by saying that Draco came in first.

"No, Alexander. I saw you standing when I first stood up," Draco amended. Alexander appeared puzzled.

"You did come in first, I know it. You-" Alexander began.

"I don't want to hear it," Draco interrupted quickly. "That's all there is to it. If you don't believe me, I'll hex you." Alexander broke into a large grin and patted Draco on the back.

"You're a good chap," Alexander said. "I didn't believe it at first, but you're a good bloke." Draco looked at Alexander curiously, and then did something that surprised himself. He smiled. Alexander smiled back. From then on, Draco felt a close bond between Alexander and himself.

"How touching," Julian said, chuckling. "But, honestly, we'd better get back to the camp or we are going to get into trouble. Not that's a problem, mind you." Everyone laughed, including Draco, and they hurried to get their clothes back on themselves. Hair dripping, but heart full of mirth, Draco ran with Julian and the others to the camp.

"Attention! Everyone, please sit down," Counsellor Bowers ordered, and the campers did so. "When I announce a table, you will go to the front of the dining room to get your food. When you are done, return to the front to place your dishes in the proper places so they will be washed."

"He's a pain in the neck," Julian whispered to Draco, and Draco nodded. He could certainly see that Bowers was, indeed, a wet blanket. Julian, Draco, and Alexander were sitting at one particular table, but their roommates (Cassius, Cisalpine, and Benjamin) sat at another table. The three boys waited patiently for their table to be called, but to their dismay, their table was nearly last.

"Stupid Bowers," Alexander grumbled. They went up to the front of the dining room, and saw what the meal was. It turned out only to be hamburgers and French fries, a tasty Muggle dish. Draco, having the finest food the wizard markets could supply, had rarely tried Muggle food, and so did not know what "hamburgers" or "French fries" were.

"Hamburgers…delicious," Julian breathed. "I can't wait to eat them."

"What do they taste like?" Draco asked, hesitant to try the hamburgers.

"Like beef," Alexander said. "That's what it is, after all."

"How quaint," Draco replied stiffly. "I suppose I will try them."

"It's not as if we have much of a choice," Julian said, sighing. "I hate the camp food too, Draco, so you are not alone."

"Here, would you like one or two?" Draco asked, trying to be pleasant. In fact, it was probably the friendliest gesture he had ever made. He was immensely disgusted with himself.

"One, thanks," Julian replied. Draco placed a hamburger on Julian's plate gingerly, and then took one for himself. Alexander, who was in front of Draco and Julian, had already taken his hamburger and was getting himself a drink. Next, Draco took a spoonful of the light, yellow, fluffy sticks, hoping that they would be somewhat tasty. Julian, being extremely hungry for the French fries, took as many French fries as his plate would allow. Draco snickered.

"Hungry, Earlingston?" Draco teased. Julian appeared to be abashed.

"Earlingston? I prefer to be called Julian, if you don't mind," Julian retorted. Draco was shocked.

"Yes, as you wish," Draco said quickly and politely.

"I take it you often call people by their surname," Julian mused. Draco merely shrugged, and took some utensils, walking to the drink table. Alexander was waiting for them, looking purely bored.

"It took you long enough," Alexander said impatiently.

"We were talking. Don't become frantic, Alexander," Draco replied

"All right, I guess I forgive you," Alexander replied cheerfully, and walked back to their table. Draco and Julian followed, and sat down next to each other. Draco decided that he actually had a friend, two friends in fact. At least they are better friends than Crabbe and Goyle, Draco thought.

"What schools do you two go to?" Julian asked. "I go to Kelick Institution."

"I go to Pickforth's Academy for Young Men," Alexander said. "Doesn't the name hit you right here?" Alexander added, putting his hands over his heart.

"It's inspirational," Julian replied simply. "How about you, Draco?" Draco took a bite of his hamburger, chewed, and swallowed before he spoke.

"I attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Draco said, looking at his companions' faces. Both were shocked.

"Hogwarts?" Alexander exclaimed, dropping the fry he was holding.

"You actually go there?" Julian asked.

"Yes, I do," Draco said cautiously. "I'd rather you not talk about it too often, though. I hear that people think Hogwarts' pupils are ill-mannered and wild, but it is not true." Julian and Alexander nodded.

"I understand. In fact, some people think I'm ill-mannered, but that's not true either," Julian remarked. "I mind my manners when I am eating, and at formal occasions."

"Same with me," Alexander said. "I just remembered, I ought to do something before I forget." Alexander bolted out of the dining room, to the cabin no doubt. It was a while later when he returned.

"Welcome back," Julian greeted him. Draco noticed that Julian did not ask where Alexander had gone.

"How kind of you to join us again," Draco said as a joke. (That is a joke?) Alexander recognised the joke and smiled.

"Thanks. You know what?" Alexander said, looking at both Draco and Julian.

"What?" Julian replied.

"When I came to this camp I thought I wouldn't make any friends," Alexander admitted. "But now it's all right."

"Same with me," Julian said, grinning.

"Have we all finished eating?" Draco wondered.

"Yeah, we are," Julian replied. "Why do you ask?" Julian gazed at Draco curiously. Draco smiled.

***