Chapter 11: Summer at Malfoy Manor
Outside the sun was shining brightly and Severus Snape kept pacing nervously from one window to the next.
Living room.
Library.
Up the stairs into his room.
Down the stairs into the kitchen.
Up the stairs into the living room again.
He pressed his nose against the glass, leaving a little greasy spot, and sighed. His father, sitting in his usual armchair reading the "Wizarding Gazette", let his paper sink down on his knees and sighed as well.
"Can you stop wandering around and sit still for five minutes?" he asked exasperated.
"If you feel that you have too much energy inside you, we can go down to the vault for another training duel."
The boy sat down hastily. He had chosen a chair very close to the window, however, and positioned himself on the very edge of the seat so that he was still able to glance out onto the street, if he raised his head high enough. His fingers started drumming against the wooden windowsill and his father was just throwing him an impatient glare, searching his robes for his wand, when there was a soft pop outside and the boy jumped to his feet.
"They are here!" he yelled, running towards the door and down the stairs, nearly knocking his father over who had finally risen from his chair.
A split second later the doorbell rang mournfully. Lucius Malfoy still had his index finger on the brass push button when a pale and scrawny dark-haired boy ripped the door open with a vengeance. He was smiling all over his face and apparently fighting the urge to hug the blond teenager with similar fervour.
"I guess you've been expecting us", grinned Lucius as he bowed slightly to Snape's mother who was just coming to the door.
"Sorry we are late. Crabbe here couldn't be persuaded to leave without a rather large breakfast and then we had a little trouble with the Portkey – Narcissa insisted on wearing it."
He held up a bright red straw hat and gave the girl on his right an irritated look. She smiled apologetically and shrugged her delicate tanned shoulders.
"Red?" Snape asked her in fake shock. "Narcissa, that's the colour of the enemy!"
She giggled and her face tried its best to imitate the hat's colour.
"Are you ready?" interrupted Crabbe who was still munching on something that might have been a muffin once, but had melted into an undistinguishable chocolate-coloured lump in his big sweaty hand.
"All packed up?"
The boy nodded and started to head back towards the stairs, presumably to get his trunk, but ran into his father who had noiselessly come up behind him. The smile on his face was imperceptible but undeniably unpleasant. Narcissa's smile froze and Crabbe tried to hide his little snack behind his back, smearing brown gooey bits all over his robes in the process. Severus hastily unfurled from his father's dark-crimson velvet cloak and retreated, his head hanging down, a soft, "Sorry, father" escaping his lips. A large long-fingered hand came to rest on his shoulder and he tried not to show how painful that grip obviously was.
"Master Malfoy, if I remember correctly."
It had been more of a statement than a question, so the teenager just bowed respectfully. The smile he flashed afterwards was a little more elegant than the one he had given the man's son, but definitely less warm.
"It is good to see you again, sir. I hope you and your wife are both well?"
His voice dripped with politeness, his eyes, however, flicked over to the woman's right hand before facing his opposite again. She quickly hid her hand inside her long green robes.
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I assume you came to pick up Severus. Your father didn't join you?" the older Snape asked, craning his neck around the doorframe and scanning the street outside.
"No, sir, he had an urgent owl from the Ministry and left way before breakfast. He sends his compliments, however, along with a dinner invitation for the coming Saturday."
The face of Snape's mother lit up and an almost girlish smile took nearly ten years off of her, while her son at the same time looked as terrified as if Filch had just told him to clean the Gryffindor common room. The older Snape inclined his head slightly to the left, not looking at the other members of his family but intensifying the grip on his son's shoulder.
"We are very honoured. Very honoured indeed, Mr. Malfoy. However, we must decline. We are not very social people and especially my wife feels a little bit … uneasy around larger groups of people. Isn't that right, my dear?"
She had just been about to protest, having already taken a little step forward, but her husband's words combined with her son's imploring look at her made her change her mind.
"Of course, darling. I wouldn't feel comfortable and thereby spoil the fun for everyone else. But thank you very much for the invitation, please tell that to your father and mother, Mr. Malfoy."
Her voice was a little tight, like from suppressed tears. Her smile, however, remained unchanged as she pulled her son into a clumsy embrace, whispering into his ear:
"Have fun, Severus, promise that to me. Enjoy every single minute of it. And then write me a letter about it, all right?"
He clung to her tightly for a few seconds, then, probably remembering that his friends as well as his father were watching, let go off her and nodded.
"I just have to get my trunk", he explained towards the others at large and stormed up the stairs, wiping a few tears from his face. He came back, dragging the heavy trunk after him, just in time to see his father let go of Crabbe's hand with a disgusted expression on his face. There was chocolate on his long fingers and he seemed on the verge of loosing his temper.
"It was very nice meeting you, sir", Narcissa twittered, pushing Crabbe out of view and facing the older man with her sweetest possible smile while twisting a lock of hair around her right index finger. Lucius smirked and reached out to help the heavily breathing boy with his trunk.
They placed the rather shabby looking case onto the gravel covering the front yard and waited for the others to join them. Crabbe waved a smudgy hand at the couple by the door, Narcissa did a curtsy which earned her another smirk and rolled eyes from Lucius, and before the young boy had had a chance to say another word of goodbye the front door had closed again.
"I guess he was right about them not being exactly social", Crabbe said in a moment of wittiness and looked at the youngest member of the group with a smile that might have been encouraging had there not been bits of dark chocolate on his front teeth, making him look like he had lost them in a fight. Snape tried to stifle a laugh. The others didn't.
Content, because being under the false impression that they found his remark hilarious, Crabbe wiped his hands on his robes once more and then reached out to get a grab on the Portkey. Judging by the smug look on his face he still hadn't realised his mistake by the time they popped back into existence at Malfoy Manor.
Harry grinned broadly, which felt relaxing after furrowing his brows for so long. Yes, that looked and sounded exactly like a Crabbe. Obviously there hadn't been any kind of evolutionary improvement from the last generation to the current one and somehow Harry highly doubted that this would change in the future.
Suddenly he realised he was softly laughing along with the group of young people inside the bubble and stopped immediately. Laughing with them somehow made him part of the group and he sure as hell didn't want to be part of a group containing Snape. Or the Malfoys.
Then he consciously looked at the house in that memory for the first time – maybe mansion would have been the better word for it – and gasped. It was incredible! If Draco Malfoy had grown up in a place like that, no wonder he was such a spoiled and arrogant little brat.
Three storeys high with a wonderful slated roof Malfoy Manor stood amidst a magnificent garden. Ivy covered the grey stone walls, patches excluded only where large windows looked onto seemingly endless seas of well kept lawns and flowerbeds. Further to the back a little forest was to be seen and there was even a lake. A small fleet of house elves was working on the garden as well as the building, pulling out weed, cutting the grass, sweeping, cleaning and polishing. By the look on the young Snape's face the boy was equally impressed. He let out an amazed little whistle as he followed his friends into the house.
Lucius and the other teens stormed into the hallway, Snape's trunk trailing between them, with the air of people who were used to seemingly self-cleaning surroundings. Their shoes left muddy spots on the freshly wiped floor and Crabbe left a small trail of cookie crumbles in his wake. Severus wiped his shoes on the floor mat and raised a surprised eyebrow as a house elf bowed low in front of him, muttering thanks for the courtesy and transforming the floorboards into an immaculate surface again with a few swipes of his cleaning rag.
Slowly, his eyes wide with wonder, he followed the others through the hallway into a bright room with high ceilings, lemon yellow wallpaper, several chairs and couches and a big fireplace at the far end. Lady Malfoy stood beside the latter, arranging something on the mantelpiece, when the group bustled in.
"Mission accomplished!" her son announced triumphantly and dropped onto one of the dark leather couches, pulling Narcissa after him and forcing the red hat onto her blond hair. His mother smiled and walked over to the lost looking boy on the threshold, her hips swinging slightly, and reached out for him. With a gentle hand she directed him towards a big velvety armchair where she settled herself on the armrest as soon as he had sat down. Her ring-clustered fingers played with his hair again as she looked at him thoughtfully.
"Finally there you are, little one."
Her voice seemed to send shivers up and down the boy's spine for he shuddered slightly and threw Lucius a help seeking look. His friend leaned back against the black cushion, accepted a glass of juice from one of the house elves and smiled.
"I think he is not used to that much … positive attention, mother", he informed her in a matter-of-fact tone. A casual slap stopped Crabbe from grabbing yet another cookie out of the seemingly bottomless pockets of his robes.
"Maybe we better get up to our rooms first. I'll show him around, explain a few things and maybe then we can take a little tour on the brooms."
His mother looked at the smaller boy thoughtfully, finally releasing his hair, which made him sigh in relief.
"Yes, you are right, darling. He looks like he could do with some sun on his face. Have you been inside all summer, little one?" she finally addressed him directly.
"Yes, I have. Father likes me to help him on his projects. And I like helping him", he added hastily as a disapproving scowl crept across her face.
"I learn a lot from him and … at least that way we get to spend some time together."
He busied himself with studying the tip of his shoes after that statement. Lucius set the glass aside, rose from the couch, kissed his mother on the cheek and tapped the boy on the shoulder lightly.
"Come on, eagle nose, we'll give you the big tour."
Together the four Hogwarts students left the room, Lucius dragging the smaller Severus along, Narcissa following with a proud smile and Crabbe still searching his pockets for something that might interest his taste buds.
Unfortunately Harry and the others didn't get to see all of Malfoy Manor, because the picture got all blurry again, like someone had pressed the fast forward button on a video player. The next clearly visible image showed a very comfortable looking bedroom. Books rested in a neat pile on the desk in front of a window, some of them open, and dark robes lay carefully folded over the back of a chair. The shutters were still closed and on the bed only a little lump could be made out, like someone huddled together under the blankets.
Suddenly the door was opened wide, the handle connected loudly with the wall on the other side and Lucius Malfoy yelled:
"Rise and shine!"
With a nasty grin he pulled the covers away, revealing a sleepy Severus Snape in a long grey nightshirt, rolled up into a tight little ball. The boy mumbled something unintelligible and pulled the pillow over his head.
"Severus, get up! It's already after nine. Have you been up reading again all night?"
A vague little hand pointed towards the desk. Lucius lazily wandered over, dragging the bedcovers behind him, and took a look.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "You finished my essay for Professor McGonagall. I know how to do all that transfiguration stuff, you know, but I so don't care about explaining the theory."
He sat down on the bed and started poking the unmoving form.
"Severus, it's really time to get up. My parents are almost ready and they don't like waiting for people."
A pointy face, almost completely hidden by untidy black hair, emerged from underneath the pillow.
"Where are we going?" Severus mumbled sleepily while he tried to focus on the blond boy beside him.
"London!" Lucius answered with a happy smile. "So get your butt out of bed and into your robes. And maybe you could stop by the bathroom and consult a mirror and a comb before you get down."
With a swish he was gone. Snape rolled over, groaning, and let himself drop out of bed. He padded over to the adjacent bathroom, pulled a face at the mirror, quickly washed and combed his hair and then put his robes on. When he sprinted down the stairs, considerably more awake than before, the Malfoys were just leaving some last orders for the house elves.
"Good Morning, Severus!" beamed Lord Malfoy. "Up all night studying again, I heard? Your father really turned you into a devoted little student, I must say. Wish Lucius would take a page out of your book."
His wife gave a sneering little laugh but didn't comment in any other way. Severus blushed.
"Come, the car is already there."
Lucius pulled him to the limousine that had already picked them up from Kings Cross at the beginning of the holidays and climbed in before the younger boy. Five minutes later they were on their way to London, the two boys chatting away about teachers, homework and houses, the grown-ups talking quietly among themselves.
When the car stopped Lucius got out and gestured at his friend to follow him. Lord and Lady Malfoy smiled at him but didn't move. Severus got out, slightly flustered, and watched the car move up the street and out of sight.
"I guess we are not going with them", he stated dryly. Lucius laughed.
"No, they have a few things to settle and afterwards they'll do our shopping in Diagon Alley. Don't worry, your father sent them the money over last week" he added as he saw the younger one look up at him uncomfortably.
"In the meantime we'll enjoy the city – and some freedom. Ah, there are the others."
He waved across the street towards a group of young people. As if all of this was totally normal or at least self-explanatory he started crossing the street, a deeply confused Snape in his wake.
"Who are they?" he asked the older boy when he finally caught up with him.
"They look kind of strange with those funny clothes. And what are we going to do with them?"
"That's Crabbe and Goyle, Narcissa with her sisters Andromeda and Bellatrix, Avery and a fellow student of Andromeda, McNair, I think. And don't laugh, you'll be looking that funny as well in a few minutes. We're going into Muggle-London!"
Lucius grinned even broader when he saw the disgusted look that spread across Snape's face.
"I have to wear something like that?" he asked unbelievingly and pointed towards Goyle who was wearing dark brown cord pants and a matching jacket, complete with orange turtleneck shirt and sneakers. Goyle smiled cordially.
"Hi, Severus. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Only feels terrible the first time."
Narcissa ruffled the boy's hair, gave Lucius a hasty kiss on the cheek, which caused the older boy to blush rather impressively, and pressed a bundle of clothes into their hands.
"If you would please be so kind and change now? We've only been waiting for you."
Lucius pulled the younger boy after him into the dead end street. While the others blocked them from view they changed into bellbottom jeans, sweaters and anoraks. Severus absolutely refused to change the shoes and Lucius finally gave in. They hid their robes behind a couple of dustbins where the others had already deposited their things and joined the waiting group.
"Ready?" the tall girl called Bellatrix asked impatiently. The boys nodded, Severus looking particularly unhappy, tugging at his jacket every few seconds and squirming uncomfortably in the tight pants.
"Then let's go."
She led the way out onto the street and into a park with long sure strides, arms linked with her sisters. The boys followed.
Harry bit down hard on his thumb to keep himself from giggling. Those kids looked so out of place, even though he couldn't decide if it was because they were wizards in Muggle-clothes or because of the dreadful 70's fashion they were wearing. Snape in jeans! Who would have thought?
The boys had finally caught up with the girls and Lucius was doing his best to coax Narcissa out of her sister's range and into taking his offered arm. Severus rolled his eyes and pushed a strand of hair out of his face with an impatient wave of his hand. The oldest of the sisters, the one Lucius had called Andromeda, let herself fall back and walked beside the boy for a while. She smiled at him from time to time but remained silent.
Suddenly she was gone. From one moment to the next she had disappeared out of the boy's view. He had not been looking for two seconds and now she was ….
To his left a flight of stairs led underground and he could see her bounce down towards darkness. A darkness that probably led towards the other side of the street. She turned around, put a finger to her lips and smiled. He smiled back and followed the others.
When Bellatrix noticed that her oldest sister was missing she threw a tantrum, yelling at everyone in turn, especially at Snape and then sank down on a bench. Goyle tried to comfort her but she wouldn't hear of it.
"My parents will kill me! I lost her again," she said between sobs. "That's the third time in a row. Why does she always do that to me?"
"How about you just don't tell them this time, Bella?" asked Narcissa, smiling nastily at the older girl while clinging to Lucius arm. "You know, she always came back before we had to return."
Bellatrix didn't say anything but took the handkerchief Goyle offered her. When she had regained her composure she got up from the bench, straightened up and announced:
"Right. Why should we let her spoil our fun? It's Muggle-teasing time!"
"That's the spirit!" declared Crabbe and slapped her over the back cordially with a sticky hand. Liquorice dangled from his mouth and he had managed to already spill something over his set of Muggle-clothes.
Snape looked down his own jacket; there was a dark stain near the wrist. Also the pants were dirty and by the frown on his face it was obvious that he couldn't think of any way how he could have produced those stains in the fifteen minutes he had been wearing these clothes.
"Severus, are you coming?" Lucius yelled from a few metres away and the boy hurried up, understandably not keen on losing the group.
A/N: I know you guys are all waiting for something nasty or disturbing to happen. Don't worry, it will. But I thought Severus deserves a little bit of happiness as well. So be patient, have mercy – and keep on reading and reviewing. *grin*