Chapter III: Marcus Malfoy
"Horrible!" Hermione shouted from the Gryffindor common room as Harry entered.
"What's going on? What's horrible?" Harry asked, immediately jumping into the conversation whether his friends wanted him to or not.
"Not a what, but a who," Ron corrected him. "Look at this notice!"
He was tossed a parchment covered in black writing. Harry read it to himself slowly. "It says here that a Mister Malfoy will be directing the school as Head Minister of School Affairs. Not another Umbridge!"
"Not exactly, but close enough," Hermione said. "If Draco's father is in our school, then he'll make sure Slytherin wins every and all events. I'm doubtful he'll have any power after the whole Umbridge incident."
A new girl's voice interjected. "No. My mommy said it was a man named Marcus Malfoy. He's the brother of that man you're talking about."
"Draco's uncle? Just as bad! Wait, how would you know that?" Ron asked.
"'Cause I know all the juicy rumors before any of you do," she said in a snippy voice. "I am Kimberly Hooch. And don't you dare make fun of my mommy. If you do, I'll make you fail her class."
Hermione rolled her eyes and pushed the girl aside. "All right, thank you. Move along."
The girl obeyed unwillingly. Harry turned to Ron and laughed with him. "Looks like we'll have an inside spy this year."
"Yes, and we'll need one if there is a Malfoy in charge around here!"
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. We don't even know the man," Harry inputted as she tried to push his nose into the business further.
"He's a Malfoy. That's all we need to know, right, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"Right!"
"Wrong!"
A man's voice entered the room. All of their heads swiveled to the doorway to see a man wearing dark blue jeans and black button down t-shirt. Black cowboy boots bearing a sliver of his ankle covered his feet. He certainly didn't look like any wizard that had ever seen before.
"Oh, did I interrupt something? Carry on then," he said and swiped his blonde, long ponytail to his right shoulder.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Hermione demanded.
He sighed and cracked his neck. "The name's Marcus. Marcus Malfoy, but it seems most people here call me, oh let's see, bastard, evil, wretched man and Death Eater." He paused and stared at Harry. "I've heard much about you, young man."
"What do you want from us?" Ron asked.
"I am inspecting your room," he said slowly. "Things seem quite in order here. Upper-class students are abandoning their young classmates to discuss the big bad me." He paused and sighed. "Look, I don't want to be the bad guy here at all. I'm just an average wizard like many other teachers in this school."
"Ha! Average wizard? You look like my dad, and he's a Muggle, sir! You aren't part Muggle, are you?"
He shook his head. "Pure blood I'm afraid. It seems my family name is getting the best of me again. I must go visit the Hufflepuffs next. I hope we can meet again under more pleasant terms."
As he left the room, Hermione glared at Ron and Harry. She shook her head wildly, letting her hair frizz on all ends, although it was much calmer than it had been many years ago.
"He didn't seem too bad, Hermione."
"Too bad? He's Draco's uncle, Harry, so don't forget that. He's most likely a spy. I do not trust him at all."
"Listen mates, stop arguing. Let's not judge him yet. We really should be showing the new kids around."
Hermione nodded to Ron and headed off to the separate sides to talk with all the new wizards and witches. They again left Harry alone. He sat down next to the fire and stared deeply. After the groups left the room, Harry whispered to himself,
"If only you could just pop up, Sirius… If you're watching me now, somehow, guide me through this school year… Make sure everyone's all right, okay?"
But the fire did not respond. No face at all appeared. Harry waited, staring intensively. Flickers of yellow, orange and lilac purple sparked and swirled inside gray smoke that lifted away. But Sirius was not there.
"Damn you!" Harry shouted and chucked a log into the blazing flames. "You won't even help me now! To hell with you!"
Harry kicked a pile of logs over. He then reached over to the oval table and grabbed a silver pitcher. A thick current of water flowed onto the flames, extinguishing the fire and any belief Harry had of his godfather returning. Slowly, Harry dragged his sobbing body into a lounge chair and dropped his reddened head onto his folded arms as the fire completed died out.
"Sirius, what's for breakfast?" Harry asked as he scrubbed a pan full of greasy crust.
A dark-haired man turned around wearing a dingy robe and showing his bare feet. He cupped his hand into the bubbly dishwater and splashed it into Harry's face. A coating of soap oozed down Harry's forehead and then plopped down onto his lips. After wiping it off, Harry laughed.
"Oh, hilarious. You're supposed to be feeding me, not washing me."
"It's never too late to bathe you, Harry. A young man like you is filthy. More soap in that mouth of yours should do it," Sirius replied and dipped his hand again into the water.
In return, Harry grabbed a dishcloth and smacked Sirius's ass. He yelped in pain, yet did not seem mad at all. Rather, he smiled and ran his soapy hand through Harry's hair, making it stand up on ends like a Muggle cowlick.
"I'm gonna get you for that one!"
Silver jelly hidden in a cabinet bowl was thrown across the room, missing Sirius's head entirely. Right before Harry could toss another chunk of sweets, Sirius ran over and grabbed the bowl. Slowly, he poured the substance onto Harry's head, blending it into the soap nicely.
"Now, what were you asking about before? Ah, yes, breakfast. You're wearing it."
"Mister Potter, please wake up," a man's voice entered his mind.
"What?"
Harry reopened his eyes to find himself in the Gryffindor common room. He was never with Sirius, just dreaming about it. Before he realized it, he had been asleep for over three hours.
"Malfoy?"
"Yes. I came here looking for you actually," Marcus Malfoy responded as he tugged Harry's wet robe. "Upset?"
"No. Why?"
"You're covered in tears."
"I splashed myself."
"Oh, right. Well," Marcus fixed his shirt and tried not to enter Harry's privacy. "I just wanted to talk about my nephew actually. Strictly confidential."
"So you want me to be your little spy? Well, forget it! Get one of Draco's friends to blurt all his secrets. Try Crabbe or Goyle; they seem to be his boyfriends."
"Nonsense, Harry," he said and for the first time, used his first name. "I want to know if he's been bullying you. One of my duties is to report misconduct between students, and if I know my nephew, which I do, he's been bullying you and several others."
"Yeah, well, what are you gonna do about it? And how the hell do you keep getting in here? We have a password you know!"
"I will do whatever I can to make his behavior stop. Oh, and I know the lady portrait quite well… I dated a relative of hers," Marcus chuckled and looked over at the wry face of Harry.
"Lighten up, young wizard. Your classes start tomorrow, and I will be keeping an eye on you."
After he left the common room, Harry immediately jumped up and searched the Gryffindor Tower for Ron and Hermione. However, neither of them was around. Perhaps they were still showing the newbies around or had left for food without Harry. In either case, Harry's stomach growled, and so he changed into a clean robe and hurried off to the Great Hall.
When Harry arrived, he spotted a dirty owl sitting on top of the Gryffindor Table. In its beak was a letter addressed to "Hermione Granger". However, it was way past delivery hour, and Hermione most likely would not get it unless the bloody owl stood there all night. And so, Harry grabbed the letter from its beak, and it took off out an open stain glass window.
"Should I?" Harry asked himself as he stared at the small envelope. Just as his hands were about to open the seal, he heard footsteps behind him coming closer and closer…