"Malcolm, I have a surprise for you," Lois said, as he stumbled into the kitchen. "Mrs. Malfoy sent us an invitation to their New Year's Eve Party. "
"But Draco stayed at school," Malcolm said. "Why did they invite me?"
"They're inviting friends and their families," Lois told him, "They missed having Draco home, and decided to throw a party."
"A party?"
"Yes." Lois said, "And your job is to keep an eye on Dewey."
"NO," Dewey yelled, "I'm not going. I don't want to wear a dress again."
"You're going, Dewey," Lois told him, "and you don't have to wear a dress if you don't want to."
"Mom," Malcolm said, "You do know what their friends are like. Do you really want to go?"
"Of course I do," Lois told him, "And I know we're only being invited because of you. But I want to see what these people are like, first hand."
"What about Dad?"
"He'll do what I tell him."
*
"Is everyone ready?" Lois demanded.
"I'm ready," Malcolm said, adjusting his dress robes.
"Me, too," said Reese, coming out of the bedroom wearing his own set of robes
"Where did you get those robes?" Malcolm asked.
"Steve Longbottom," Reese said, "This way, I can fit in easier, when I go to the games."
[That's right, Steven is Neville's cousin, and it turns out he lives in our neighborhood. On top of that, he actually thinks that Reese is intelligent. All I know about him is that Neville is glad he lives in America.]
"Do I have to go?" Dewey asked, "I hate these robes."
"Then take them off," Reese said sarcastically, adding, "Oh, that's right, you're not wearing any pants underneath."
"You could have let me put on some underwear, at least," Dewey said angrily.
"I warned you not to try taking those robes off," Lois said. "Now, if you are done talking, we're going to the party. And hurry up, I don't want to get there after midnight."
"See, Dewey, you're causing trouble already," Reese said.
*
The butler escorted the family from the foyer to the Main Hall, where they were greeted by the Malfoys.
"We're so glad you could make it," Narcissa said politely, "We are happy to finally meet Malcolm's parents."
"Draco wasn't lying when he said how you lived," Hal said, "it must cost a fortune to keep this place up."
"It does," Lucius Malfoy answered dryly, "but we manage."
"And there he is," Narcissa said joyfully to Dewey, "Welcome back to our home, my little gentleman."
"I couldn't wait to get here," Dewey said happily.
"Don't you believe it," Lois said, "I practically had to throw him into the fireplace."
"Mooom," Dewey complained.
"Please, mingle with the guests," Narcissa said, "the buffet is at the far end, and the waiters will get you anything to drink. If you don't mind, I'm going to steal little Dewey from you. We have a special area for the children."
"I like this party already," Reese said.
*
Malcolm looked around as his family dispersed.
[Great. All of these people, and I don't know anyone.]
"Malcolm. How dare you, I mean, How are you?" Malcolm Baddock said.
[Correction. All of these people and I don't like anyone.]
"Hey, Malcolm," Malcolm said, "Look, I'm sorry I won the Quidditch Match and you lost the bet."
"It isn't that," Baddock said, "How dare you bring your brother here."
"It was a family invitation. I had no choice."
"Then where did he get those robes?"
"They're from a friend of his, for when they go to Quidditch games," Malcolm explained.
Malcolm Baddock looked at Malcolm in surprise. "He has friends who are wizards."
"Wizards can be jerks too," Malcolm said pointedly, "or haven't you noticed."
"I admit I went overboard during the Quidditch Match," Baddock said, sadly. "But it was such a wonderful plan. I should have known it was too good to be true."
"Draco warned you," Malcolm said, "hey, watch this, Reese is going to try and talk to those girls."
"What are you going to do?" Baddock asked curiously.
"Nothing," Malcolm said, "I trust Reese. If he's lucky, he'll last about fifteen minutes."
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS," one of the teenage girls shouted.
"So much for luck," Baddock said.
*
Dewey sat in the chair holding a glass of punch, doing his best to look totally miserable. On one side of him were two brothers trying to decide who to throw cake at. He moved out of range and sat next to a girl his age who was arguing with her older sister.
"But these robes itch. You know that new robes always make me itch."
"That's too bad, Violet. If you had been a little nicer to mother, you would have had something else to wear. Now you have to suffer."
The older girl walked back to her friends, who were using Reese as a cup holder. Violet gave a whimper and squirmed in her seat.
"These robed are itchy," she yelled after her sister.
"My robes itch, too," Dewey said softly.
The girl looked over, and smiled. "They do?" she asked happily
"Yeah," Dewey said, returning the smile "I wish I could get out of here and take them off."
"I bet we could find a place," Violet said.
"This house is big enough," Dewey agreed.
They grabbed each other by the hand and ran off.
*
"Malcolm, are you enjoying yourself," Lucius Malfoy asked.
"A little," Malcolm said, "I'm sorry about Reese."
Lucius looked to where Reese had been placed in the corner, and said, "He is a useful coatrack. But don't worry, you can take the spell off when it's time to go."
"Uhm, no I can't," Malcolm said, "I don't have my wand."
"Then we'll send him home with you and you can change him back when you get there."
"My wand isn't at home, either."
"Don't tell me you left it at school," Lucius said, mockingly. "I would have expected better from you."
"No. Sir," Malcolm answered, "It was confiscated."
"Why."
"General Principles, Sir."
Lucius stared at Malcolm for a minute, then said, "I believe you, Malcolm. I don't blame them, either." He looked around the crowd and then asked, "Where is your little brother? Narcissa has taken a liking to him, I don't know why, and wants to introduce him to some of her friends."
"He's over there by those kids throwing cake around."
"No, he isn't."
"Maybe he went to the bathroom?"
"I'll check," Lucius said with annoyance, and left.
[Great. Reese is a statue. Dewey might be lost. And the only people I know are the ones who don't like me.]
"Do you think they'll find him?" Baddock asked.
"I hope not. Then I'll have to deal with him again."
Baddock snorted at that, saying, "Malcolm, you are amazing. How can you say that about your own brother?"
"Force of habit," Malcolm said.
*
"First of all," Francis said, "if we're talking family, I assure you I could spout a fairly decent pedigree, but that isn't everything."
"Isn't it?" One young lady asked.
"Of course not," Francis explained, "if it were, I would be the most popular guy here. Skill is also important. And that is the reason I'm here. Not because I have any skill in magic, but because my brother does. All I have is potential."
"He's right about skill," someone said, "I have a cousin who is almost a squib, and despite his breeding, he is rarely invited anywhere. He has friends, but . . . "
The young lady asked, "What do you mean, that you have potential."
"We're talking about family," Francis said, "If I have children, depending on the mother, they will be able to perform magic. Chances are they will also have a higher degree of intelligence as well. I'm not at my brother's level, but I'm not that far behind either."
"If the rumors about your family are true," the young lady said, moving closer to Francis, "you could be quite a catch."
"I am exploring the possibilities," Francis said, "but I can't commit to anything until I'm sure."
"I hate commitment," the young lady said.
*
"So, you're the animagus," Amanda said, "we missed you at the seminar."
"I wanted to go," Malcolm said, "but I had my charity work at the hospital."
"Isn't that precious," Amanda said, "My father says that charity work is for the 'lesser classes'."
"Then your father is a jerk," Malcolm said.
"How dare you," Amanda sneered. "My family could buy and sell you fifty times over."
"Try it," Malcolm sneered back, "You don't have enough money to by me."
"MALCOLM," Lois said, "apologize to that girl, right now."
"But Mom," Malcolm whined.
"Don't but mom me, little mister. You are a guest here. You don't tell someone that her father is a jerk, regardless of how true it is."
Malcolm turned to Amanda and said, "I'm sorry I said your father was a jerk."
"Do you really expect me to accept that apology?" Amanda laughed.
"Yes he does," Lois said in a voice that would freeze the air.
"Apology accepted," Amanda said, as she began to shiver. After Lois left, she added, "That was scary."
"You're lucky my mom is in a good mood," Malcolm said.
Amanda looked at Malcolm and wavered in her thoughts.
"If you want to leave, I won't be insulted," Malcolm said.
"Actually," Amanda said, "I was thinking about staying. You remind me of a friend of mine, I've realized. If it's fine with you, I would like to get to know you better."
"We could start over. Hi, my name's Malcolm."
"A pleasure to meet you. My name is Amanda."
[This is going to be a strange conversation. If she calls me Louis, I'm in big trouble.]
*
Violet sat cross-legged on the bed, her robes lying on the floor on top of Dewey's. She glanced in anticipation at the boy sitting across from her.
"Do you have any Three's?" she asked.
Dewey looked up and smiled. "Go Fish," he replied.
"Drat," Violet muttered as she drew a card.
*
"This people are disgusting," Hal whispered.
"Excuse me," Lucius Malfoy said, "I get the feeling that you are not enjoying yourself."
"To be honest," Hal said, "we're out of our league here. All these people talk about is money and family. The last thing I want to talk about is my family."
"Then tell them," Lucius said, "If they can't talk about anything else, they're not worth talking to. And you don't have to be nice about it. On the other hand, they are my wife's friends. I have to be nice"
"Oh, I get it. Find someone who can afford to talk about something else," Hal said. "Is there anyone into sports?"
Lucius pointed Hal to a promising group of men, and turned around to find someone truly obnoxious waiting to talk to him. "Cousin Egonia, how are you, darling," he drawled.
*
"It must be a disappointment," Egonia said to Lois. "I mean, you do have two children without any magical abilities."
"Yes it is," Lois answered, "I only wish it could have been four."
"You can't mean that," Egonia said, "You're only saying that because of your own lack of abilities."
"Lack, Nothing," Lois said with a laugh, "I'm saying that because they're the original children from hell. Do you think Reese is over there as a statue because he's a nice boy? I noticed your kids are no angels, either."
"They are rambunctious, I admit," Egonia said, "but you can't control them in an environment like this."
Lois smiled maliciously, and said, "Follow me."
As the two ladies approached the children's pen, excuse me, the children's area. Lois spotted a nervous house elf standing out of range of the flying cake. "Is the floor clean?" she asked.
"Uh, uh, uh," the elf stuttered.
"Excuse me," Lois said, "Is this floor clean enough to eat off of?"
"Yes, Yes, Lady," the elf said excitedly, as it understood the question.
"What are you going to do?" Egonia asked.
"I'm going to ask them to clean up their mess," Lois said, and she walked into range of the two boys.
"Look," one of the boys said as the new victim approached.
"Go ahead," Lois said in her sweetest voice, "Try it."
The boy hesitated. His brother raised his hand to throw but was stopped by a well placed, "Don't you dare."
"Eat that cake," Lois said, as the two boys hastily ate everything in their hands, and licked their fingers clean.
"Now, the rest of the cake," Lois said smiling, as she pointed to the floor.
"Thank you, Lady, Thank you," The house elf said as the two boys got down on their hands and knees.
"I must practice that voice," Egonia said in admiration.
"That was impressive," Lucius said as Egonia went to supervise the cleanup.
"I'm amazed at how little effort people make to control their children," Lois said.
"It isn't that hard," Lucius admitted, "we've had problems with Draco, but never anything we couldn't handle, as long as we tried. Why is that house elf clutching your leg?"
"He's the one who was supposed to watch the kids," Lois said, "I think he's grateful."
"They do tend to be overly emotional. Ah, but you don't have any house elves, do you? This one's Nob, I think, I obtained him recently as a replacement for one I lost. He's my Christmas gift, belatedly, to your family."
"You're giving him to me?" Lois asked, incredulously.
"It's no great loss," Lucius said, "He isn't very good at his job. The best house elves are never seen."
Before Lois could reply, Lucius spotted someone he 'had' to talk to, and walked away, leaving a stunned Lois, and a very happy house elf, to themselves.
*
"I have the servants looking everywhere," Lucius said, "they will find the two children, shortly."
"I don't believe Violet ran off with a boy," the girl said. "It isn't like her. I can see her running off, but on her own."
"I'd agree with that," Hal said, "Dewey is exactly the same way."
"I'll take care of this," Narcissa said, "I know how children think, and I know where they most likely are."
She led the small group up the stairs to the wing where the guest bedrooms were. She gently paused by each door.
"They're not here, but then both of them have been to the house before. We'll try one more room."
She led them to her son's bedroom. When she thought she heard a noise she opened the door, spying the two children sitting on the bed.
"Where are your clothes, dears?" Narcissa asked calmly.
Dewey and Violet pointed to the floor.
"Then, please dress quickly, and come back downstairs."
"But the robes itch," Violet complained, while Dewey chimed in with a well-placed "Yeah."
Narcissa smiled and waved her wand at the robes. "They will be more comfortable to wear, now. I given them a flannel lining which should last the rest of the night. And please hurry, children. It's almost midnight."
*
"Lois," Hal said, "guess what they were doing when we found them."
"Playing cards?"
"You would think that, wouldn't you," Hal said with a laugh. "They were, but that did start me thinking."
"Later," Lois said sternly.
"Honey," Hal asked, "what is that thing around your leg?"
*
"I can't believe how much energy your children have," Narcissa said to Lois. "It's almost two in the morning and Dewey is still going strong."
"Different time zones," Lois said, "Dewey still has another hour before his regular bedtime."
"And I'm sure you are looking forward to that," Narcissa exclaimed, "He can be quite a handful. I should tell you, he reminds me so much of my own son when he was small. Finding him in the bedroom like that reminded me of that time when we took Draco to London."
Lois laughed, "I think you're the first person to admit liking Dewey."
*
"That's wrong," Dewey said to the men at the table, "If you have the strength, you have the right. Anyone can complain, but if they can't do anything about it, it doesn't matter."
"Do you mean we should disregard public opinion?" one of the men asked.
"If you're strong enough, you can make public opinion," Dewey admonished. "Everyone wants to follow a leader. All you have to do is remember that they are all pawns. Give them a strong leader and everyone will fall into line."
"We could learn a lot from young Dewey's attitude," MacNair said to his friends.
"Indeed," his colleague replied, "Dewey, we will certainly keep an eye on you. If there is anything you would like, we will try to provide it?"
"I'd like one of those tattoos," Dewey asked, "except I don't like black. Do you have anything in red?"
"A Red Mark?" MacNair said. "We could look into that."
"We could form a juniors group," the colleague suggested.
"Okay, champ," Hal said walking into the room, "It's time to head home."
"I don't want to go," Dewey said forcefully.
"Too bad," Hal said as he picked Dewey up and carried him out of the room.
"Daaad," Dewey complained, "You're embarrassing me in front of my minions."
"I'm sure they understand."
"Can I get a tattoo?"
"Ask your mother."
"I never get to do anything," Dewey complained.