When the first garden party invitation arrived, Alduin explained to Harry why exactly it was that they were so crucial.

"The rules about returning invitations do not concern them, and so you can meet people there we would not be justified to ask for a small family dinner such as those we were having in the last months, because we are not close enough to them. Also, it is normal to bring children to garden parties, contrary to dinners."

Harry frowned. "But, I mean, I have always been to dinners with you? And other children too..."

"Yes, because they were small, family affairs," Alduin replied, vanishing most of the parchment and banishing the rest of it towards a table by the window. "Full formal dinners have different rules."

"And when do I stop being regarded as a child?" Harry asked curiously, peering at the pile that already contained a number of longer personal letters. None for him, though. Of course, he and Neville saw each other too often these days to exchange letters. Perhaps he could write to Ron?

"Once you are fourteen, in this sense," Alduin said, tapping his table in a rhythm that made the breakfast food disappear.

Harry pouted. More than three years to go! He had hoped being eleven would make the difference.

"It will be your first time in wider society, Harry," Alduin continued, "and it's very important how you comport yourself. I fully trust you to be capable of not embarrassing me, so do to disappoint me."He paused. "The Malfoys are going to be there."

Harry wondered why was Alduin telling him this. "Yes, I know, I won't ask Mr. Malfoy about being a Death Eater."

Alduin raised his eyebrows. "I should certainly hope not, not if you ever want to see your broom again, but that is not what I was going to say. They have a son, Draco. He is your age, and a rather clever boy from what I know, but..." He hesitated. "His parents spoiled him rotten, and he tends to think of himself as very grand, and has a tendency to command those around him. Do not be put off by that too much – in some ways, his case is similar to Ron's, only in exact reverse. If he tries it on you, do not let him, and remember that you are the head of your house and family, so that, if nothing else, puts you above him. It would be a shame to sour your relationship with one of the few boys your age in our circles if you got off on the wrong foot..."

Alduin certainly knew how to arouse Harry's curiosity, and conflicting emotion. Harry did want to meet more people his age, but...Ron in reverse? What did it mean? That where Ron was badly raised and poor, Draco was badly raised and rich? Harry was inclined to have much less sympathy for that, but when he thought about it a little, he had to concede, though unhappily, that Draco couldn't be blamed for the way his parents raised him any more than Ron could. Still, Harry thought, at least he had the money to compensate for it.

Arriving at the garden party, Harry was astonished to see how huge it was. Enormous, really. He now understood that when Alduin had said wider society, he had really meant it. "How many people are here?" He asked his cousin.

"About a hundred and fifty, give or take a few," came the answer, and Harry's jaw fell further.

He was very glad that he had gone through all those visits before. It meant he knew some of the people present, or at least, he had seen them a few times, since he could hardly be said to know them after that.

Neither Neville or the Weasleys were there as far as he could see, but lots of other children were, and they were all seated in a separate section a bit apart from the adults. Harry found out from Mrs. Theodore that there was quite a group of them who would be starting Hogwarts in September – apart from him, it was Vincent Crabbe, Zacharias Smith, Pansy Parkinson, Hannah Abbott...and Draco Malfoy himself. A blond boy was speaking when Harry reached the group to which the helpful Mrs. Theodore had directed him. When Harry heard him, he wondered whether that was, in fact, the infamous Malfoy. "I absolutely count on being in Slytherin," he was saying in a superior tone of voice, "even though I don't really expect to meet any of you there, except maybe for Crabbe."

Harry was noticed then, and introduced, and tried to guess which of the names Mrs. Theodore had mentioned belonged to which face before he was told. He hadn't been wrong, the blonde boy was really Draco Malfoy. Harry immediately understood what his cousin meant when he spoke about him.

"I resent your doubting our Slytherinness," the girl called Pansy said in an irritable voice to Draco, when the introductions were over and Mrs. Theodore left. "Both of my parents were in Slytherin, and I think I might like being there myself. I think I have very good chances, too, with that heritage."

"Oh please," Draco sneered. "You're a Hufflepuff family. One generation won't change that."

The blonde girl – who if Harry remembered correctly was called Hannah – frowned at this, and Zacharias Smith said: "Well, I for one certainly don't expect to be in Slytherin, and neither would I want to be. I don't boast Death Eaters among my relations, so I don't want to go to Hogwarts just to learn to be one!"

Harry stared at him. He could also see why Alduin had said that no one liked the Smiths! To say something like this, when from what Harry knew, almost everyone had some Death Eaters in their family tree! Harry himself certainly had a number of that, and had no plans to join that career! Before he could say something, Draco, whose cheeks gained a slight pink tinge, retorted: "Better be a Death Eater than be stupid!"

Harry absolutely couldn't agree with Draco, but he wanted to shut the stupid Zach up as well, and so he said: "I for one am glad I don't have to chose between the two!"

Draco turned to him. "Headed to Gryffindor, aren't you?" There were still traces of disdain in his voice, but it seemed to be mainly for his house of choice.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose. I would like to go there, anyway, even though I know my cousin would rather see me in Ravenclaw – but I think he knows I'm not made of that kind of stuff."

"Too stupid, are you?" Zacharias this time.

"Look who's talking," Draco came to his defence.

Harry wanted to say something rude to the Smith boy, but remembering Alduin's faith in him, he said instead: "I can't really know that, can I? It wasn't what I meant. But, well, seeing my cousin, he just likes to read all the time, and while I like books just fine, I think I will always prefer flying, on a nice day."

Flying was a topic they could mostly agree on, and so for a time, the discussion was amiable. Harry found that when Draco wasn't sneering and was, instead, talking about something that interested him, he could be really likeable. Then Hannah and Pansy were called by their younger siblings to settle some sort of dispute, and Zacharias and Vincent wandered off with them. Harry stayed with Draco, not knowing anyone in the group the rest was headed to. "I'm surprised there are so many Hufflepuffs, or future ones, here. My cousin always made it seem like all Ravenclaws liked to stay as far away from them as possible," he said, to start some kind of conversation.

Draco laughed. "Generally true, I suppose," he said, "and an attitude that is very praiseworthy. But well, Pansy's grandfather was actually a Ravenclaw, however that happened, and he married a Hilliard, so that's how they came to be invited to this elite society."

Harry laughed as well. "I didn't say I agree with my cousin," he said. "He's clearly biased."

"Still," Draco replied, "I have to say that you have a surprisingly relaxed attitude about your own house. I mean, most Gryffindors I know are all about their house being the only one worth something!"

Harry snorted. "Well, you were exactly like that yourself in that conversation! I guess it's natural enough. But, you know, living with my cousin, it's different for me. He won't allow me to forget Ravenclaw's good qualities!"

"Hm, yes, it's a decent house. I mean, if I wasn't in Slytherin, I would like to be there. I suppose it would be your second choice, too?" Draco gave him a look out of the corner of his eye.

Harry smiled. "Actually, I was thinking that if I couldn't get Gryffindor, I would like Slytherin."

That got Draco's attention. "Really? Wow. I didn't expect you to say that. Why?"

Harry thought about how to explained, and recalled the Ravenclaw families he knew, especially the Crouches and the Burkes. "Well, it just seems to me that proper Ravenclaws never ever do something, they just sit and talk, or, well, read. I don't like that. I like how Gryffindors seem to prefer action, but even I can admit that sometimes you can't just rush in and then the Slytherin approach is better, I guess. You might work slowly, but you still do something for what you want to do, instead of just, I don't know...writing long essays."

Draco laughed. "You have a point," he said. "I don't like this about Ravenclaw either, but Gryffindors seem to me, well, just too stupid, no offence. Like you said, rushing in. But I guess we can both agree on Hufflepuff being our last choice?"

"Totally! I don't see how anyone can want to be there."

"Neither can I, and I imagine meeting Zacharias didn't exactly improve its image for you, did it?"

"You bet it didn't." He looked around and lowered his voice. "My cousin told me no one likes the family, and now I understand why."

Draco laughed.

-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-hp-

It was two days after the party that Harry's name first appeared in the papers.

Alduin was reading them over breakfast, and was very glad he got down before his ward did and so could snatch the offending thing before Harry could see the headline on the front page: Harry Potter Appears In Public For The First Time.

The article itself was not so bad. He and Alexandra were loved by the press, being a rich pureblood couple about to get married and always taking care to treat its representatives as kindly as possible – having ancestral wards around your house that prevented any reporters getting too near helped significantly in this respect. Thanks to this, the news that Harry Potter was now his ward was presented in the best possible light, though with as much drama as could be, as well. The author of the article turned it into a romantic story about a devoted relative, a hero of the last war – for Alduin had been quite popular even before his engagement, owing to his long stay in coma – taking care of another poor boy orphaned by the terrible forces of evil. Alduin rather resented being called a poor boy by anyone, but was well aware this was the best possible spin to put on the story, and would make it difficult for Dumbledore to meddle too much, should he desire to do so in the future. So he tried his best not to let it worry him.

What was a very real issue, however, was how to tell Harry.

Even without opening the letters that waited for him, Alduin knew there would be requests for interviews with the boy there. They would be refused, naturally, but it had to be done in as pleasant a fashion as possible, if he did not wish to turn the tide. Alduin himself should probably talk to some reporters, as much as he hated to do so. And Harry needed to be told, and there was no predicting how he would react.

At this very moment, the boy entered the room, and Alduin folded the papers so that the front page with the headline was not visible. "Good morning," he said.

"Morning," Harry returned, turning immediately to the bacon.

"There's an article about you in the Daily Prophet," Alduin said, opting to be direct.

Harry stared. "What?"

"Yes. On the front page, too."

"But...why?"

Alduin smiled a little. "Harry, you are a celebrity. You have not been confronted with it yet, because the people I have introduced you to have too good manners to be obvious about their interest in you, but, nevertheless, you are one. They are going to be writing about important happenings in your life whether you like it or not."

"But nothing important happened to me recently!" Harry objected.

"No," Alduin agreed, spreading butter on his toast as he explained, "but you were seen in a sizable gathering of witches and wizards for the first time. You must realize that until now, they had no idea where you even lived. Now they know it is with me, and they have heard rumors about what you are like. Of course they will be crazy about that."

Harry hesitated. "Can I read the article?"

Alduin sighed. "Yes, but I should warn you: it is a pile of rubbish. They have been writing about me a lot ever since I left hospital, and about Alexandra and me ever since our engagement was announced, and now you've been incorporated into that story, and it has turned markedly more soppy."

"So they write about you as well?" That seemed to make Harry feel a little better about the situation.

"All heads of Noble and Most Ancient Houses are considered worth a mention in the papers, though none as much as you, naturally. I'm used to it. They've been writing about my great-great-grandparents and great-grandparents my whole childhood, so it's not a strange idea to me." Alduin took a bite from his toast, chewed for a moment, and added: "You will have to get used to it as well, and get used to dealing with the press...but all in a good time. For now, I'd like you to know that I'll agree to give an interview, and perhaps Alexandra as well, and that it will necessarily concern you a lot."

"But why?" Harry asked uncomprehendingly.

"Well, as I've told you, you're a celebrity..."

The boy shook his head. "No, I mean, why will you agree to it?"

Alduin put his toast down to concentrate fully on his ward. "It's important to maintain a good relationship with the press, as much as they might irritate you," he explained. "They will wish for an interview with you, but I have no intention to allow that, not until you're older, and even then only if you're willing. However, making it a flat-out rejection could be harmful to the way we are written about, so instead I will say that I'm trying to give you as normal a childhood as possible and that I will talk to them instead and answer any questions the might have. Alexandra might do an interview for the Witch Weekly."

"But why does it matter how they write about you?" Harry insisted.

Alduin smiled. "Having bad press can affect you very materially, Harry. Especially you. I'm an almost married adult with my own money, they cannot directly touch me, but you...you're about to go to school, and the people who meet you there will be influenced by what they've read about you in the papers. And you will spend the next seven years at Hogwarts, it matters very much whether it's a friendly environment towards you."

Harry mused about this for a moment. "Okay," he said then. "What are you going to tell them?"

"Probably a lot of soppy mush, the sort of thing they like to hear." Alduin paused. "It is sometimes even amusing, really. Making up ways in which you can serve the story to the reporter...I'll tell you some of my tips before you go to your first interview."

That seemed to throw Harry again. "But why don't you simply tell them the truth?"

"Because, Harry, reporters get to keep their job based on how popular their articles are, and they are popular when they write what people want to hear. If you don't present your interview in a form that the people will like, it will be edited to be so. It's better to have control over what happens to your story."

"I didn't know journalists lied so often," Harry said, frowning.

"There are many kinds of journalists," Alduin replied. "For one, it is easy to call it lying when your job does not depend on it. For another, yes, the stories in the Prophet are mostly worthless, but there are one or two monthly wizarding publications that are actually worthwhile, and the journalists there do a very good, investigative work. Needless to say, they're not the ones who'll be interested in the moving story of you living with me." Though, Alduin added mentally, if one of them caught wind of your treatment at the Dursleys...that would be when we would have to worry. Some of those people were very good, and would not rest until they got to the truth. And while Alduin did sort of agree that Dumbledore's neglect in this matter should be exposed, he wished to spare Harry the pain of it, and also, in spite of his objections to Dumbledore, he would much rather his aura of holiness outlasted the war that was surely approaching. It could come in useful.