SECOND CHAPTER! YAY! Sorry about the nearly two week period! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
posted (2/26/05)
After an hour of sitting in the pub reading the entire Daily Prophet and having a long conversation with a patron about Fudge's governing choices Harry went back to his room to lay down. He was sleeping peacefully until about one thirty when giggling in the hall awoke him. Grumbling Harry walked to the door to tell the person to shut the fuck up when he heard Blaise Zabini's voice.
"Draco's going to want sleep," there was a pause and some noise of kissing, "what should we do Abe?" Harry frowned, Abe was an unconventional name for a girl. There was some more kissing before a deep, very much manly voice that answered. "We'll just get a different room," kissing pause, "and soundproof it."
Harry shuddered at the thought of Zabini and this Abe person needing to silence their room. He crept back to bed and laid down, willing himself to sleep and not picture what may be happening just across the hall. After a restless hour or so he fell to sleep again, and ended up dreaming of the entire Slytherin house being flamming gay and using the dungeons for things other than potions.
It was morning when he awoke next, the sun was trying to burn a hole in his forehead which made him wake-up. Blinking against the painful light Harry dressed quickly and grabbed his wand, school list and money-sack before leaving his room. In the pub he saw Lucius Malfoy sitting with Vaden talking humanly over coffee and scones. They were both smiling warmly and sipping their drinks as if they hadn't just killed some poor muggle or muggle-born at their Death Eater meeting. Harry felt his insides turn in anger, how could they be so normal after murdering someone?
Behind him he heard Zabini and Malfoy coming down so he moved quickly to the bar and ordered a mug of Pepper-Up Soda. Tom handed it to him in the bottle over the counter and glanced over at the two boys joining their fathers.
"So boys, how was your night?" Vaden asked, offering his son a seat next to him.
"I had a great night father, thanks for the time," Blaise said with an angelic grin.
"We had a great dinner and went to a concert at the Sunlight club," Malfoy junior said, sitting with his father.
"The Sunlight club? I remember the Prophet saying that was a vampire club, is that true?" Lucius asked raising an eyebrow.
"Sure it is, but there's a blood bar so they don't try and feed off of us, it's great though, they had Ballum playing, you know Blaise and I have been wanting to see them again ever since Munich last year," Draco Malfoy said, waving off his father's concern. Lucius smirked and looked over at Vaden, the two exchanged fatherly looks but obviously trusted their sons so didn't put up a fight. Harry felt rather jealous before he took a drink of soda and was warmed by the potion mixed with carbonation. He walked out and towards Flourish and Blotts to meet his friends in a few minutes.
When he arrived he saw Ron standing with the twins Fred and George as well as Ginny and Hermione talking over a copy of what appeared to be Witch Weekly. A little ways inside the books shop Harry could see Mr. and Mrs. Weasely talking to someone. Harry smiled and rushed over to his friends, Nearly jumping on Hermione and Ginny before they saw him coming. The two girls screamed in surprise and hugged him tightly, drawing the three boys and their parents over.
"Hey Harry, what've you been doing these days?" Fred or perhaps George asked, quirking one eyebrow.
"Yeah, you need something to-" Fred started.
"Surprise the Slytherins with-" They both spoke at the same time.
"Once you get back?" Only George finished.
"We'll talk over drinks at the Cauldron later," Harry whispered as Mrs. Weasely came into earshot. The twins gave him identical smiles and then turned to grin innocently at their mum.
"Hello Harry dear," Molly wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. "We've missed you this summer."
"I've missed you too Mum Weasely," he'd taken to calling her that over the summer in the letters he exchanged with Ron, this made Ron of course just as happy as it made is mum since it meant they were pretty much brothers. Mrs. Weasely got a little flustered and happy and hugged him again.
There was a pair of evil snickers heard and the group turned to see Mr. Zabini standing with Blaise next to Draco with his father next to Zabini Senior. The two Slytherin boys were smirking and standing as if they owned the ground beneath them. Lucius was sneering, though his was less angry than Mr. Zabini's, which was more of a silent snarl.
"Mr. Malfoy, I didn't expect to see you out of Azkaban for awhile," Arthur said, putting a hand on Ron's shoulder, and another on Ginny's. Harry was still held to Molly, who silently reached out and put a hand on Hermione.
In front of Lucius, Draco's smirk turned into a glare and his white teeth could be seen from beneath his lips, they were surprisingly sharp which made Harry raise his eyebrows. However, the older man touched his cane head to his son's shoulder, calling him down.
"However did someone like you get to be pureblood?" Lucius asked, moving past his son toward the group.
"Don't move to close Malfoy, you're outnumbered," Arthur warned him, glancing around the group, all of whom seemed ready to draw their wands. Lucius paused and looked them over, smirking.
Before he could say anything, three boys, two slightly older than Blaise and Draco and one slightly younger, walked over. All three looked very much like Blaise and Vaden, probably brothers.
"Father, what's going on?" One of them asked in a smooth and even tone.
"There's a group of lowly ruffians blocking the book shop, but stand down my sons, Lucius knows what he's doing," Vaden answered them, his dark brown eyes never left Lucius Malfoy's back.
"We're not lowly ruffians, Death-Eater, you and your sons can stuff that right up your arse and sit on it," Fred called out, glaring angrily.
"If there were any positive attributes about you before, they've all disappeared now," Lucius sneered again. Several people in the street had stopped to watch what was happening. A reporter for either the Prophet or Witch Weekly ran forward and snapped pictures of either side in the moment of silence.
"At least we had positive attributes, unlike you and your son," Molly spat with venom. Lucius' eyes blazed at this, glancing briefly at his son with an expression just as angered. But after a second the Malfoy heir's features softened and he smirked.
"Father, here comes mother, you wouldn't want her to see us in the presence of muggle-loving jokes like them, would you?" Draco indicated to Narcissa Malfoy who was walking through the thickened bystanders towards her son and husband.
"No, we wouldn't. Vaden, I'll see you at the Harvest Ball in a few days," Malfoy nodded to them and walked back to his son. Narcissa walked towards them, her white and scarlet robes fluttered around her thin frame as she reached their side.
"I'll see you then, Narcissa," All five Zabini's bowed lightly to her and she curtsied in return.
"Vaden," she smiled to him then turned to his sons, "Kristopher, Nikolas, Blaise, Julius." She smiled to them and then turned back to her husband whom she kissed on the cheek and gave him a secret little smirk. "Hello Lucius, whatever are you doing here with...them," she said the last word while giving the group of disgusted look.
"We were just leaving. Draco, you and Blaise buy your school things then come back to the manor, Blaise may stay with us until the Harvest Ball, alright?" Lucius spoke to his son.
"Thank-you father, Blaise?" Malfoy called to his companion.
"Sounds great," Blaise answered, getting a small sack of galleons from his father and walking over. Then the Malfoy parents and the Zabini father and his sons parted ways. Leaving the two boys standing together and smirking.
Harry wondered what was going on, all this nonsense and leaving but not leaving and going and staying and giving and then abandoning. It was very strange, it convinced him even more that Malfoy was nutty. Fred and George gave each other evil grins, the two most disliked Slytherins were standing unguarded in Diagon Alley where they would be for the whole day.
"What do you say Blaise, robes first?" Malfoy asked.
"Sure," Zabini nodded and they walked away without another glance back. The people who had stopped did the same, continuing on their way without considering the Weasleys, Harry or Hermione.
"We're going to the store, pick up a few things, okay?" Fred said, smiling at his mother.
"All right, but no mischief," Molly gave her sons a warning look and let them go.
"You kids have money?" Arthur asked them, looking between his two children, Hermione and Harry.
"Yes sir," the four nodded.
"Go get your things, Mum and I will be at the Leaky Cauldron at five, so you can meet us there."
"No trouble you hear me? Leave those nasty Slytherin kids alone, and try not to provoke any mischief," Molly warned them all. She and Arthur walked away then.
"What do you think Fred and George are going to do?" Ron asked, standing on tiptoe to try and catch a glimpse of his brothers in the crowd.
"I have no idea," Harry answered, looking in the direction Ron was.
"Let's get some ice-cream and catch up on our summers, then we can get what we need," Hermione suggested, taking Ron and Harry by the hand. Harry grasped Ginny's hand and the group moved off towards the ice-cream shop.
PLEASE REVIEW! Again, sorry about the wait!