Draco was shaking his head at the dismal effort put forth by the Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaw had won the match by a score of 190-0. Harry's housemates were noisily celebrating, and the young dandy wished that he could be anywhere else. He hated loud noise. He decided to go down and congratulate Cho and then return to the castle. He turned to leave, and met Professor Quirrell's eye as the turbaned stutterer surveyed the crowd. Harry again felt that sharp pain in his forehead that seemed to follow every time the Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor glanced his way during the course of his parody of a class. The shock was much more pronounced this time, and Harry thought he could see a certain hint of malice within the craven teacher's eyes. A sudden vision of hateful red eyes glaring pure death into his soul caused the young aristocrat to stagger and fall backward into Malfoy.

"Sorry, Draco. Just slipped, is all."

Draco nodded and made nothing of it. Harry shook his head to clear the malevolent image from his mind.

"You don't look so hot, handsome."

Harry turned to Penny with a slight grimace, meeting the Prefect's concerned face.

"It's nothing to worry about. I'm going back to the castle. The cold is unbearable."

Harry walked down from the stands and made his way back to the castle alone. Those pitiless red eyes would come to haunt him at night even several years into the future.

Chapter Nine: Strolling With Serpents Redux - Welcome to Knockturn Alley

Disclaimer: If you've seen it before, it belongs to J.K. Rowling. Otherwise, it's mine. Naturally, I'm making no money off this. Am I the only one that finds these things to be extremely repetitive and pointless?


Less than two days remained until Christmas as Harry strolled towards Hogsmeade Station alongside his friends from Ravenclaw. He would not be taking the train back to London with them, however. Instead, he would be traveling directly to Diagon Alley with the Malfoys in order to conduct his holiday shopping. He had been rather irritated upon discovering that the fall term didn't let out until the twenty-third. The restrictive scheduling meant that he would be quite unable to call on friends until the next several days had passed. To drop in and interrupt a time meant for family togetherness would be hideously uncouth, after all. He did miss his own home as well, though, and wanted to spend as much time with his grandmother and the girls as possible, so the situation wasn't truly all that regrettable. That he believed sending presents through owl post to be rather droll and impersonal constituted his only real complaint. He would be much happier spreading some Christmas cheer in person.

He was again wearing thick his black winter robes and turquoise peacock feather hat. The falling snow blanketed the freezing December morning air, though not in the minor blizzard that had plagued the earlier Quidditch match. Harry's parasol would prove too great an encumbrance to be carried throughout the day, and so the young dandy had opted to charm his clothing to both repel the snow and keep him warm and snug. He resolved to make the effort to procure more suitable winter apparel whilst conducting his primary business in the alleys. His current robes were satisfactory in a purely functional sense, but were an aesthetic disaster. Pure black was such a bland and unimaginative color. The robes made him look much too similar to Professor Snape. He was already tall and pale and had lengthy black hair. He certainly didn't need similar clothing to augment the most unwanted resemblance. The small group reached the train station, located between the castle and Hogsmeade village. Students were already streaming into the docked Hogwarts Express. Harry said his goodbyes and expressed his holiday wishes in succession, and received the same in return accompanied by several hugs. He was then alone with his most special friend.

"I'll send you an owl right when I get home. I'd really like to have you over to our estate sometime during the holidays."

Cho eyes shined with warmth. Harry thought that she might have smiled, but the woolen scarf covering her face made the gesture impossible to see. Only her eyes were visible. The garment covering her mouth muffled her voice but he could still detect the singsong tone.

"So the Boy-Who-Lived is inviting me home to meet the family. I'm sure to be every girl's envy after this."

Harry shrugged lazily and responded in his own teasing voice.

"I would think just a small majority. I can't quite yet lay claim to having enchanted all the world's beauties. Allow me a couple more years or so."

"It's really too bad you won't be riding home on the train with us. I wanted to introduce you to my family at the station too. Properly, I mean. My parents didn't even get your name when you visited the shop back during the summer and my little brother would almost die to meet you. He's always been huge on your superhero status."

Harry wasn't too particularly enthralled with being hero-worshipped despite his sizable ego. Exasperating bints such as noisy Lisa Turpin and that homely little Weasley girl tended to sour him on the notion. His most precious people were able to see through all that savior mess. Besides, he still held to his thinking that being praised for his own natural charm and elegant refinement was much superior to being hailed as a savior. He then heard some person audibly clearing his or her throat from behind him and inclined his head to glimpse a scowling Draco Malfoy standing there with his arms crossed.

"Father's already waiting in the village. Let's get moving before he gets impatient."

Harry let out a theatrical sigh and nodded.

"I suppose there's just no help for it. I'll see you again within the week, I promise."

"Have a nice holiday, Harry."

Harry grinned as he reached down and lifted her snow cap up from her forehead before leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her hairline. Her skin was warm despite the freezing cold outside and her hair smelled like shampoo. He then hugged her for a moment before leaving with Draco, oblivious to her blushing face. The junior Malfoy had watched the exchange with disgust written all over his pointed features, and presently withdrew a medium-sized flask from his expensive winter robes and tossed it to his eccentric friend. Harry looked at it for a moment and then glanced at his companion with confusion.

"It's leftover apple juice from breakfast. Drink it and swish that egg roll stench from your mouth."

Harry scowled and flung it back at him. Draco ducked with a sneer and the glass container shattered on the ground before a Gryffindor party. Harry paid them no mind as he stomped away towards the village, rather exasperated with his friend's racist inclinations. His ill temper passed quickly enough and he took in the village. Many might find the little thatched cottages to be quaint and inviting, but the environs offended the young prodigy's rather highbrow tastes. The drafty old castle where he attended lessons was less than ideal, but at least overall its bearing was properly suited to one with his breeding. This peasant hovel was wholly unacceptable, only slightly better than the smog-ridden steel cesspool that was metropolitan London.

"This architecture is so plebeian. Malfoy, let's look out for stray horse manure."

"Father's letter said that he'd be outside Dervish & Banges."

The Hogsmeade apothecary stood across the village near the rear. Some local wizards and witches conducted their own late shopping at the small businesses that littered the main street running through the small town. Lucius Malfoy indeed stood outside the potions shop and was engaged in a rather terse conversation with Professor Severus Snape.

"…The boy has some potential, Lucius, but lacks any enthusiasm for…"

"…And I suppose your confrontational teaching methods have nothing to do with..."

"…I refuse to give him preferential treatment…"

"…I simply demand that you relinquish your pathetic childhood…"

Harry and Draco looked at one another with raised eyebrows as they reached the pair. Lucius immediately ceased his ranting at the hapless Potions Master and gave them his full attention.

"Ah, there you boys are. Professor Snape and I were just now discussing your midterm marks. Let us be on our way quickly. We've only until roughly the noon hour before the school train arrives in London and the alleys become swamped with other shoppers, and we should be well-served to preempt the common hordes as much as possible. You may depart for now, Severus. We shall certainly resume this conversation later."

Snape gritted his yellowed teeth as he responded.

"I expect no less, Mister Malfoy. Have a…most…pleasant…holiday…boys."

A more astute person might have picked up on the sheer venom in the greasy professor's silky voice. Harry simply nodded with a grin and turned his attention to the two Malfoys. All three wizards were dressed nearly identically, with Harry's colorful hat and the elder's serpent-headed cane being the only differences among them. Lucius reached quietly into his robes and withdrew a small scepter heralded with the Malfoy family crest.

"This will be our Portkey for today's excursion. We will appear just outside the clothier."

Harry naturally knew what a Portkey was but had never traveled via one. The process to make one was complicated and illegal without Ministry authorization. The latter didn't concern the young wizard, as conventional laws applied only to mundane citizens and not to enlightened caricatures such as him. His current books contained no directions to help him in experimenting with the procedure. Perhaps he could ask Lucius to show him later. He gently grabbed the ornate scepter's handle in synch with the others and felt a sickening tug behind his navel as Hogsmeade waned into nothingness before his eyes.

The aristocratic trio materialized in Diagon Alley at the entrance to Madam Malkin's. Harry landed gracefully on his feet, as it certainly wouldn't have done at all for him to lose his balance and fall like some common klutz. Draco wasn't quite as nimble and had to grasp onto Harry's robes to support his body, earning a disapproving glance from his father. The elder Malfoy returned the Portkey scepter to his robes and gazed about the alley whilst absorbed in apparent thought.

"A few hours should be sufficient. We'll get Harry fitted for his formal robes first and then peruse theusual shops until lunch."

Harry scrunched his face in confusion.

"I wasn't aware that I had needed formal robes for anything, sir."

"I meant to inform you today that you've been requested to attend the New Year's gala held annually at the Ministry of Magic. It is most unprecedented for one your age to receive an invitation. Propriety naturally demands that you accept. Our secluded magical world has been most excited about your recent return and society's elite wishes see you in person."

Harry almost could have pouted. He so despised stuffy formal events but the stern tone in Lucius Malfoy's voice made clear that his presence at the ball was both expected and mandatory. His grandmother would entreat him to attend and meet people anyway. Social obligations helped constitute the enormous burden that came alongside celebrity. He had little choice other than to accept his gruesome destiny with his trademark dramatic sigh.

"All right then. I'll have to make sure I'm the most enchanting person there."

Thinking more about the ball, Harry wasn't so annoyed about having to attend. It would grant him a marvelous opportunity to grandstand, seeing as it would be his public unveiling as it were. Besides, the ballroom dance was a refined art in its own right and one that he hadn't as yet had a real chance to broadcast his skill in. He hoped there would be some attractive girls present at the very least. An evening spent rubbing elbows with revolting men wasn't a prospect that he relished. Draco's drawling voice ended those unpleasant thoughts.

"I don't see mother anywhere. She usually adores holiday shopping."

The elder Malfoy's response was tinged with annoyance.

"She is most preoccupied with preparing the manor for our guests and will be joining us for lunch."

Harry didn't understand, but ventured to question in his usual tactless manner.

"Nobody told me you all were hosting a Chirstmas party. I do hope I'm invited."

Lucius chuckled ruefully as he led the small party away from Madam Malkin's. Harry followed obediently behind, naturally assuming that they were headed to Gringotts. He had little money left over from his pre-term withdrawal anyway and also wanted to explore his real vault.

"Nothing quite so festive, I'm afraid. We're to be playing host to an extended family gathering. Our overseas relations will be converging en masseupon our Wiltshire manse at suppertime Christmas evening. After that will follow an entire week filled with clan politics and the requisite backstabbing. There will be little yuletide cheer and holiday celebration about Malfoy Manor this season. I quite frankly abhor these little occasions. Some overzealous twit always endeavors to usurp my position atop the family hierarchy."

Harry furrowed his brow as they walked right past by the bank. He wasn't paying much attention to his location, instead pondering what Lucius had said. Some shoppers pointed and gawked at him as he trudged along, the feather on his gaudy hat swishing in time with his plaited hair. He had no visible scar so obviously his overall likeness had become common knowledge. Harry found the idea most pleasant.

"I hadn't thought anybody could up and take one's status like that."

Draco piped in his two Knuts' worth, pleased to be able to expound on the subject.

"It's not that simple, really. Any attempt always comes down to a proper wizard's duel."

"Our relations serve to amuse me more than anything else. The Malfoy family originates from that queer little nation across the Channel. Great Atlantis shall rise up from its undersea tomb long before Lucius Malfoy loses a duel to some bloody Frenchman. The clan's English branch acquired the lordship nearly six centuries ago and has not once relinquished it since. The last would-be claimant fell in the third spell exchange."

Any further questioning was immediately postponed when Lucius came to a halt outside another clothier's establishment. This locale was in Diagon Alley's upscale sector near the restaurant where Harry had taken lunch during his initial foray into wizarding London. He didn't like the shop very much judging from the view through the window. Twillfit and Tatting's seemed to offer a more austere and unimaginative selection than Madam Malkin's even though the workmanship and materials used were superior in quality. He then realized that they hadn't stopped in the bank.

"I needed to go to the bank, sir. I don't have very much gold on hand."

Lucius simply waved a gloved hand dismissively.

"Then today shall mark your introduction to a time-honored practice among the old families. Request a personal note when making your purchase and allow the shopkeepers to charge your Gringotts account directly. Allow the goblins to concern themselves with managing your assets and finances.Such matters are all their petty little minds are good for anyway. You need never be concerned with your gold aside from deciding where to invest it. Now let's proceed."

Harry was a bit torn. One the one hand, the practice seemed a bit dishonest. But on the other, it would guarantee that he didn't have to deal in the entire mundane mercantile process and would need never bother with thinking about finances. After all, such worldly interests were beneath his intellectual standard and were base and crude. He eventually shrugged his lithe shoulders and led the way into the boring tailor's shop.


Several busy holiday shopping hours later, Harry was seated for lunch at the same restaurant he had glimpsed earlier in the day and eaten at several months prior. Mrs. Malfoy had already been waiting at their reserved table. The raven-haired prodigy noticed her somewhat tired expression, but thought her to still be as elegant and attractive as ever. She brightened visibly upon noticing her husband and son, and Harry also.

"Good afternoon, boys. I do hope your shopping has gone well."

Harry started to mentally inventory his purchases as Draco replied with a smile.

"Very well, mother. We've managed to beat all the Hogwarts Express crowds."

He had bought several items at Flourish and Blotts, especially books and specialty quills as gifts to his friends and study partners in Ravenclaw. He had purchased various pricey little trinkets for his Slytherin acquaintances. He did these largely without much thought as he preferred to save his originality for his family and closer girlfriends. For his attendants back home he had popped into Madam Malkin's and purchased some casual witches' apparel. He had paid little attention to dress sizes, relying upon his own ability to magically resize them to fit properly later, and had instead just bought what he thought best suited each individual girl. He purchased matching adornments at the nearby jewelry store in addition. He bought his grandmother a dress and hat with a matching handbag. The headpiece was topped with a large stuffed vulture. He vaguely recalled seeing something similar being worn by a guest at the estate once. The whole set just seemed to be something the old lady would enjoy wearing.

"I can see you've bought yourself a new ring, Harry."

Harry glanced up at being addressed by Narcissa Malfoy and nodded with a smile.

"I saw it on display at the jeweler's this morning and just had to have it."

He took a proud look at his new ring. It was a gorgeous piece, a solid golden band encrusted with several slim rectangular cut stones all placed in exact symmetry. A red ruby started the array on the left, followed by a green emerald, a yellow topaz, a blue sapphire, a resplendent clear white diamond, a violet amethyst, and finally a pure cut black opal. It was an expensive piece, priced at several hundred Galleons, but Harry couldn't stand thinking about such a perfect rainbow adorning any hand other than his own. The precious gems glittered in the dimly lit restaurant.

He had also bought a very expensive necklace as a gift for Cho, but would need to deliver that in person later. Harry surmised that her family likely didn't celebrate Chirstmas at home given that her parents were first generation immigrants from China, and thus to sent her a holiday gift would just embarrass her. Tactless as he was in some matter, Harry understood cultural disparities quite well, even though said conventions disgusted him. Such knowledge came naturally with reading such varied literature as he did and he had to act in accordance so as to show her due respect. He could just hand the necklace to her in secret upon having her over after Christmas and call it a personal gift. His final extravagant purchase at the jeweler's had been a platinum bracelet inlaid with small emeralds for Penny. He had spent exorbitantly on his holiday gifts in the end, but not really on a much grander scale than what he had observed Draco doing. It really was a game with the two friends, each vying to one-up the other using money that they had never lifted a single finger to earn. Harry felt that he had superior taste at the least.

"Only you would buy a Christmas gift for yourself, Potter."

Harry just looked askance at Draco.

"But any other ugly buffoon could never do justice to such a masterpiece. I'm the only one able to bring out its proper splendor."

"It's absolutely gauche, just like that hideous hat you can't seem to stop wearing."

Harry crossed his arms and glared.

"Be silent, philistine. You know nothing about aesthetics and your hair is a disgrace."

Lucius Malfoy's dangerous whisper brought the escalating argument to a close.

"That will be quite enough, boys. Remember that we are in public and do not bring disgrace to your blood by acting like imbeciles."

Harry disliked being lectured but sulkily held his tongue while Draco just murmured assent in a cowed tone. The waiter presently arrived with their drinks. Harry was surprisingly permitted to have an absinthe. Lucius had stipulated that a young man mature enough to wear his family's legacy ring should be allowed to have a proper drink with his meal and his tone had permitted the waiter no room to argue. Draco got the same as a special treat. Narcissa's demeanor showed disapproval but she dared not gainsay her husband in public. The emerald green liquor matched Harry's eyes almost perfectly. He thought the taste rather bitter upon imbibing but still did his best to drain the small glass. A quick charm afterwards negated the resulting intoxication, and Lucius then withdrew two parchment documents from his robes. His wife was the first to recognize them.

"Those must be the boys' midterm marks."

"Indeed they are. Draco is performing at or very near the Outstanding level in all his subjects. His instructors universally praise him for his attentiveness and dedication in the classroom. Son, you are making satisfactory progress, but I still expect to see you making that extra push to cross over the line in every course during the spring term…"

The younger Malfoy made no verbal reply as he looked over his marks and then passed Harry the parchment. The latter brushed a stray lock from his forehead and sipped his water as he glanced at the sheet. Draco's marks were more or less universally situated near the line separating Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding. He was slightly above in most cases and just below in Transfiguration and History of Magic. Harry thought the pale boy's overall performance to be decent, but he was a most diligent student despite all his aristocratic posturing. And on the other hand…

"…Mister Potter's marks meanwhile are rather inconsistent. On the positive end, his Charms and Transfiguration scores are both beyond impeccable, placing him easily above the second years. Both respective professors have requested me to inform him that they would like him to take the OWL exams at year's end with the fifth years in order to more accurately measure his aptitude. This is a rare opportunity that I had best not see you decline, young man."

That was certainly happy news. Harry was bored to tears in his current classes, so the opportunity to take and pass the standardized examination was most welcome. Perhaps he might even learn something in the advanced NEWT courses. He could hardly wait to boast to his grandmother back home about this unprecedented development. He would possibly be the youngest student ever to take even one OWL, much less two, and would make certain to rub it in Granger's bushy-maned face as soon as he next saw her.

"I think I'll take the exams, then. I need something to keep me occupied, after all."

Harry didn't have long to revel in his good fortune as Lucius continued. He passed a moment wondering how the man had gotten access to his grades, but finally attributed it to his membership on the school's governing board.

"...For all your shining accomplishments, there are some glaring issues as well. You are barely holding at an Acceptable in Herbology and not faring much better in Potions. You also fall below the Outstanding level in both Astronomy and Defense Against the Dark Arts. These instructor comments indicate that you exert minimal effort in courses that do not emphasize direct spellwork. This attitude will not continue in the spring."

Harry treated this admonishment with general apathy and did not intend to change his ways. More often than not he complied with his aristocratic fencing master's directions without any complaint, but his education was a whole different matter. Harry had his own opinions as to what he considered important to learn, and would not accept being told what to do with his brilliant mind.

"I did not enroll at Hogwarts to waste my time in courses about mixing beverages and tending gardens. Back at my family's estate we have servants to handle tasks such as those. I attend a wizard's school in order to learn proper magic and refine my repertoire. My extraordinary talents are wasted in a dirty greenhouse and my overbearing charm is ruined by a noxious laboratory. I simply cannot agree with you, sir."

Lucius stared at Harry for a long moment before nodding curtly, but with a slight glimmer in his normally cold eyes. Narcissa seemed likewise impressed and Draco rather incredulous that his friend had actually talked back to the elder Malfoy.

"Very well, then. I am impressed with your sudden conviction, but my decision remains unchanged. You cannot shirk your responsibilities simply because you hold them in contempt. Now I wish to discuss a certain disquieting detail that I have discovered regarding your overall rankings. I demand to know how it is that a little Gryffindor girl with no proper wizarding heritage and no exposure to magic prior to Hogwarts has managed to surpass two celebrated purebloods heirs in the classroom."

"It's only because she literally memorizes the textbooks, father."

Harry chimed in his agreement. He wasn't very pleased with the thinly veiled racist comments that the elder Malfoy had uttered, but neither was he about to leap up and defend Hermione Granger. He would just stir the proverbial cauldron a bit more.

"He's telling the truth, sir. Granger spends all her leisure time at Hogwarts holed up inside the library memorizing textbooks and class notes. But she's really only suited to basic regurgitation. Granger has little ability for independent thinking and understands only what her books and teachers tell her. Loftier concepts are quite beyond her and so she really is nothing to be concerned with. Her limitations will manifest in the advanced courses when applied thought is more important than the lecture topics themselves."

Narcissa arched a perfect eyebrow.

"Surely such an obsessively studious girl should have been Sorted into Ravenclaw."

Harry couldn't help making a rather ungentlemanly snort. Hermione had become extremely disliked among the first year Ravenclaws over the fall's course. The girl was exceedingly smug and arrogant in the classroom despite her limited mental scope. Eventually she was going to annoy somebody one time too many and then she would by properly exposed for what she was: a large crawfish in a mud puddle. Being the cleverest witch in Gryffindor House was hardly anything to boast about.

"Perish the thought, Mrs. Malfoy. We Ravenclaws pride ourselves as being true intellectuals. We learn multiple languages and read real literature and independent histories and philosophy. Our common room's inbuilt library contains nary a book about the school curriculum. We feel that expanding one's mind is much more important than acing the test. A grasping and narrow-minded creature like Granger belongs no more in Ravenclaw than a Weasley would in Slytherin. We'd have immediately nicked her schoolbooks and made her read something interesting."

Lucius seemed convinced, though his countenance gave away nothing.

"Assuming all is as just you two report, I shall concern myself no further with this girl."

Lunch remained a largely silent affair from that point on. The Malfoys ordered what amounted to a proper English holiday meal complete with rib roast and Yorkshire pudding. Narcissa had expressed a wish to indulge in proper domestic cuisine while she could due to being forced by propriety to serve French foods at the manor while her husband's relations were visiting. Harry had only a salad, having no desire to suffer through more heavy foods like those served during mealtimes at Hogwarts. Only his frequent care packages from home had spared him from a vastly premature coronary. Lucius spoke up once again when the meal had concluded.

"Draco, you are tto return home with your mother while I deliver Mister Potter to his estate and then attend to business at the Ministry. I intend to see several key measures pushed through the Wizengamot during the annum's last session this afternoon."

"We'll see you in a week's time at the formal, Harry dear."

Harry stood up and stretched as mother and son departed the restaurant, leaving him with Lucius. The pallid aristocrat wasted little time in standing as well, beckoning Harry outside into the now bustling alleyway.

"Come, Mister Potter. We have one last little errand to run this afternoon. Shrink your packages and conceal them."

Harry obeyed blindly, not having any clue as to what Lucius was talking about. Diagon Alley was crowded with shoppers now that the Hogwarts Express had come and gone. He spied several acquaintances but had no time to stop and say hello due to being forced to match his chaperone's brisk pace. He made a quick sprint to catch up with the man.

"I thought you had to go to the Ministry this afternoon, sir."

"The Wizengamot has already adjourned for the year. I simply required a valid excuse to foist Draco onto Narcissa."

Harry kept walking without thinking to ask why Lucius didn't want his son along as the latter took a right turn into a dingy smaller alleyway upon passing by Gringotts. Harry very well thought that they had traipsed into purgatory. This new place personified the negative images regarding magic in Muggle film and literature. Rundown shops sold various sinister and dangerous items ranging from shrunken heads to poisonous candles to restricted and illegal tomes and potions. Harry paled upon seeing a haggard crone peddling animal parts on a tarnished silver plate.

"I don't like this place at all, Mister Malfoy.

Lucius replied in a grim tone.

"Nor should you, my boy. Welcome to Knockturn Alley. Merely a decade ago the slum you see before you was a prosperous commercial sector that catered to Lord Voldemort's supporters. That stigma held firm after his downfall and now you'd be hard pressed to come across a more wretched breeding ground for vice and squalor. Despite its undesirable appearance there are wares and services available here that cannot be procured elsewhere. Do not ever think to venture here unchaperoned. Knockturn Alley is a perilous place to any child and even more so given your particular repute. Former Death Eaters lurk about these streets like shadows."

Harry couldnt agree more with the man's instructions. The alleyway reeked with a maleficent odor that he couldn't even begin to place, but he retched none the less. He also knew what Death Eaters were and that Lucius had once been wrongfully tried as one and acquitted. Natural curiosity had led him to read about the magical guerilla war that had claimed his parents and his interest had increased exponentially after learning about the Prophecy connecting him to Lord Voldemort. But all that was irrelevant. Knockturn Alley was just too disgusting a place for him to ever visit for any reason.

"I don't think I'd come back here with an entire Auror brigade given the choice."

They presently passed by an establishment that looked like a filthy pub. Harry had once thought The Leaky Cauldron to be a rather low-class establishment, but it was the bloody Ritz compared to this dump. Several hideous-looking women were loitering about in scanty fur robes near the entrance despite the cold. A pair leered and smiled through uneven teeth as Harry and Lucius passed by, the latter now outpacing the boy by several steps. He shuddered and kept walking and he drew his winter robes into his body.

"Here we are. I've decided that your fencing training is being hindered by those ancient school practice blades. They are too light and in poor condition. It's time you had your own customized sword designed. My associate here has chosen an unsuitable business site but his smithery is unparalleled."

Harry took a long look at the smith's shop that he had been brought to. It was a small brick building that cropped outward from the alley's wall. The chimney wasn't smoking so the forge was obviously not lit, not that Harry knew anything about such concepts. Lucius had just started to raise his serpent-headed cane to pound on the shop's heavy irconclad door when a boisterous baritone voice rang out behind them.

"Oi, Lucius. Haven't seen you out and about in a while."

The pointed-faced aristocrat stifled a grimace before responding in his usual drawl.

"Avery. My apologies, but I have been quite preoccupied these recent months."

Harry tried to remain inconspicuous, having little desire to participate in the looming conversation. His colorful hat stood out like a hippogriff in the corridor, but the man named Avery didn't seem to be paying him any mind. Avery was a somewhat heavyset individual, balding and dressed in black winter robes much less expensive than the Malfoy variety. He lacked a signet ring which indicated that he was not from the aristocracy. Avery sneered as he looked up at the smithy's sign.

"A bladesmith…still wastin' your time with all that ruddy sword-swingin' mess, I see. Not me, thank you. I'll take a good wand any day."

Lucius matched Avery's sneer with mocking contempt.

"Indeed, and your dueling skills are so legendary. I recall back in '78 when Arthur Weasley's heifer Stunned you cold in two exchanges at Cornwall. And then there was your initiation raid during which you were sufficiently foolhardy to pick a duel with Sirius Black.Unless my memory fails you passed an entire fortnight laid up on your arse in the infirmary. Quite astounding the things one can remember despite being mired under the Imperius."

"Imperius my bloody arse, Malfoy. Save that crap for somebody that…"

Lucius sighed and pretended to look at his pocket watch in despair.

"My, but look at the time. Much as I'd much love to bandy words with you further I've an urgent appointment to keep. Do have a most pleasant afternoon, Avery. Give my warmest regards to the missus."

Avery opened his mouth to reply, but the nobleman turned and swept into the smithy without further comment. Harry was left alone in the cold with this imbecile Avery. The middle-aged toady stomped towards Diagon Alley proper seemingly without ever even noticing the young wizard at all, grumbling indignant curses as he went. Harry blinked in confusion and strolled into the shop behind Lucius. The platinum-haired man was waiting just inside the entrance lobby.

"Well that was rather interesting."

Lucius let out a dry chuckle.

"My apologies, I certainly didn't anticipate running into that mindless name-dropper."

Harry scoffed and arranged his hat. He could see the small shop in its entirety from his current vantage point. Pure functionality, with nothing for aesthetics at all. Not that he expected anything better from a place in this locale.

"An acquaintance, I presume."

"A former associate who has long since outlived his usefulness. Now he's but an embarrassment and a social eyesore. He was once a Death Eater, likely acquitted only because the Wizengamot thought him too stupid to constitute any threat to society. But enough about him, we have business to conduct. Yaxley!"

Moments after the Malfoy patriarch's call, the proprietor stumbled out from a small enclave in the rear. He was an enormous man, though he still had little on Hagrid. He had long graying blond hair several shades deeper than Lucius's in the places where it still retained color. His body was visibly teeming with muscle underneath worn and frayed work robes. Harry could sense considerable magical force rolling from the man's aura. Nothing on the same order as Dumbledore, but this Yaxley character was significantly more powerfully magical than Lucius.

"Oh, it's you Malfoy. My best customer. Well, let's see what you need repaired now."

"Not maintenance today, Hephaestus. I have a much more interesting and potentiallyrewarding project for you. My young protégé here needs to have a custom blade forged. He has no legacy sword and I shan't have him training on the old Hogwarts blades any longer."

Harry flushed inwardly with pride upon hearing Lucius refer to him as his protégé. The aristocrat had removed his traveling cloak and was seated in a rather nondescript chair in the corner. Yaxley gave Harry an appraising look before beckoning him closer.

"Come on over here, kid. Let's get a better look at you."

Harry looked to Lucius, who nodded. He then walked over to the counter and stood near the hulking wizard. Yaxley took his arm and rolled up his sleeve and examined the developing muscles there. Harry strongly disliked being examined this closely by another man but kept his own counsel.

"…Limber, but with burgeoning strength as well. This looks good…"

Harry remained standing as the man took down some measurements on a nearby parchment. Yaxley then swept over Harry's outstretched arm and body with his wand. Blue eyes widened as the wand began to glow brightly.

"…Incredible magical power also. I'll need to put a core into your blade. Merlin, but you're a real prodigy. No small wonder Lucius seems so keen on you…"

Harry said nothing, but Lucius spoke from his position.

"That's not all. Look at his hand and you'll understand better."

Yaxley only needed one glance at Harry's legacy ring to understand. His hard face split into a wide grin.

"The Potter boy. This really is my good fortune. Maybe I'll be spared after all."

Harry wrinkled his nose.

"I don't understand what you mean."

"Use your head, boy. You're the Boy-Who-Lived and people will follow what you do. Once word gets out that you're big into fencing, countless others will take it up trying to imitate you. This could mean a rebirth for the art in England, and a boon for my business. I'd have probably starved to death without the Malfoy family's patronage during these recent lean years."

"Well…you're welcome, I suppose."

"Much obliged. I'll make sure you get the finest piece this shop has ever crafted. But first I'll need to know the blade type you favor."

Lucius stood up and strode over to the counter as well.

"He currently uses a saber but my wish is to see him adapt to a larger two-handed blade as his primary. A standard one-handed blade is too short for one with his stature. My personal vision is for him to use either a Scottish claymore or standard bastard sword and also have a custom fencing saber to be used in tournaments where particular standards are enforced. That will be as far as I go. I shall not place him in competitions that require him to use a foil or epee. Both restrict his repertoire far too heavily."

The swordsmith Yaxley shook his head in obvious disagreement.

"You've got the right idea in making his size work for him, but such a weak-arsed appeal to strength ain't gonna accomplish anything. Better to go all-out with it and have him take up a real Germanic Zweihander like the one that my father used in combat back during Grindelwald's day. I see two options. First, we could use an enormous heavy blade. Perhaps five feet long or thereabouts and train him to use it only with two hands. Or we might try something a mite shorter at maybe four feet. We can use a light alloy and my father's trademark design as a template and he should be able to adapt it to a single hand as needed. That would be really unique I think. He will need that saber also."

Lucius hummed and nodded. Harry was a bit annoyed that he wasn't being included in the debate all even though it regarded his sword. Still, he liked the idea. A gallant and powerful knight's sword correlated perfectly with his overall personality.

"And now for the core. Harry, you'll need to remind me about your wand components."

"A bamboo shell and peach blossoms stained in siren's blood as the core, sir."

Yaxley snorted and smirked ruefully.

"Oriental ingredients...you and my worthless son would be like peas in a pod."

"I should think not, Hephaestus. That irresponsible drunkard won't be coming anywhere near the boy so long as I have any say in the matter. I suppose he's gotten arrested again. At least he's not squandering your hard-earned gold at his gambling dens and brothels whilst in a Ministry detention cell."

"His gold, actually. He does make a decent living doing odd jobs and working as a hired wand. Just he tosses it all away on booze and women and then sloshes back here expecting me to feed and shelter him. He got jailed again two nights ago for fighting with an Auror while drunk. I'm letting him stew in prison for a while this time. It won't do any good but at least I'll have some peace. I'll go and bail him out after Christmas."

Harry was immediately interested in this phantom character. While whoring and gambling were beneath one with his refinement, he was always attracted to an existence without any real responsibility. Regardless, the person wasn't present and so asking more about him would be pointless and counterproductive given Mister Malfoy's obvious opinion regarding him. Lucius seemed displeased with the conversation and beckoned Harry away.

"Well then, I think we have a general idea as to what we need. I'll just leave the actual design to you, Yaxley. I must demand however that the result be both powerful and aesthetically pleasing. He may well end up as our art's ambassador and his weapon must naturally reflect that. Only the absolute best will do. Now come along, Harry. It'll soon be dark and we need to get you home."

Harry put up no protest, both stifled by the dirty atmosphere in the forge and wholly unwilling to be in Knockturn Alley after sunset. The road was deserted when the two emerged from the shop. Lucius put a hand on the younger wizard's shoulder and Apparated away. They reappeared at the Evans estate's front door in Surrey. Harry said farewell to his trainer and entered the mansion, barely unable to contain his anticipation. He walked over the threshold envisioning hot scented baths and being waited on like a king in his juvenile mind, all independence learned during the school term cast aside.

(End Chapter Ten)

Author's Note: Hey, I'm alive again. No real excuses for the slow updates except that I'm currently on another video game binge. Not a whole lot accomplished in this chapter, but sometimes I think that these minor conversations are important to flesh out the characters. Heavy emphasis on the Harry/Lucius relationship, which will be important throughout this series, especially in the sequel when Harry is a bit more grown up and politically important. The next chapter will probably be a short one outlining Harry's actual Christmas, and the one after will feature the New Year's formal. I'm figuring on maybe five or so total to finish out the year, as there's not too terribly much worth mentioning between the return to Hogwarts and the Philosopher's Stone incident. The Yaxley in the shop is not the same Death Eater that participated in the Hogwarts raid in the sixth book. That individual is the jailed son, who is a character that I envision having much fun with later.

Those clamoring for something on my other story, there should be that short little interlude coming up later today or tomorrow, which will be followed by a full update and then probably a start on my mentioned Naruto work. Hope this satisfies people somewhat, and please leave me nice long reviews to help keep my muse from absconding again.