Beta'd by Wolfiekins
Thanks love
It was five minutes before seven when the smiling face of Oanis, Lucius Malfoy's bed slave and manservant, announced that the Manor had guests. At the same time, Nicodeamus dropped down onto the perch next to Lord Malfoy. Lucius frowned at his son.
"Draco, would you kindly refrain from attempting to catch flies; it will just ruin your appetite." Draco just harrumphed and shut his mouth. He could not help it that at any moment he was about to see the Count de Godric's Hollow. Looking up from his place at the far end of the dining table, Draco stood as the main dining room doors gracefully swung open. Oanis stood in the doorway. Clearing his throat, he introduced the Malfoy's very important guests.
"The Count De Godric's Hollow."
Lucius paraded around the table, walking towards the person who had just entered the room. The sheer elegance of the figure walking slowly and proudly towards him made Lucius more than a little hungry. In more ways than his appetite for food could ever satisfy him. The pristinely white sheikh's robes framed the classically dark features and beautifully tanned skin of his guest's handsome face. The mere thought of what this Arabian God would look like without the robes gave Lucius a definite interest in an altogether different department. The Lord of the Manor smiled warmly, bowing his head in respect.
"Shalom Aleichem."
As a mark of respect towards Lucius' insightful use of the ancient Arabic greeting, Hassam returned with the traditional response, bringing his right hand to his face and then away to the side. He finished with a slight nod of his regal head.
Keeping his head lowered, Lucius translated the greeting into English, offering his hand to the sheikh at the same time. "Peace be upon you, dear Count. I am Lucius..."
With a wave of his hand, Hassam interrupted the aristocratic Wizard in mid-sentence, dropping to his knees and bowing his head towards the still open dining room doors.
Gazing at the kneeling figure before him, Lucius grinned. 'The bedroom is the other way! But hey! Who am I to complain if you want to give yourself to me? When in Rome!' he thought wickedly. Lucius was snapped back to reality, as much by the sound of Draco's loud gasp as by the vision of the impeccably tailored young man that was now entering the room through the huge, panelled doors. The Lord of the Manor looked up from the beautiful creature on the floor in front of him to take in the most handsome of men now standing in the doorway.
Draco thought that the new arrival was the most magnificent man he had ever seen. He swallowed hard and remembered to breathe. Hassam cleared his throat importantly.
"May I present my Master, his Excellency, the Count of Godric's Hollow."
"Out of my way..." Lucius' attempt at barging past the Count's manservant did not go unnoticed. He felt as if he was instantly wading through treacle. The Count chuckled.
"Lord Malfoy, it is never wise to man-handle a possession of mine. That pleasure is reserved for me alone." Lucius could not speak; he seemed incapable. The Count turned to his servant.
"Hassam, release him! You naughty serf you! Remind me to punish you later."
"As you wish, my Lord -" Severus, in his sheikh disguise, clapped his hands together, effectively ending the temporary binding spell on Lucius Malfoy. If anything, Severus thought, the look that Lucius gave him was even more smouldering than before.
Lucius recovered himself quickly, bowing slightly and gesturing to his son. "Ha, good help is so hard to find don't you think? Please Count, may I present to you, my son, the gracious Draco Malfoy."
The Count moved towards Draco and performed an elaborate, flourished bow. He rose from the gesture to take Draco's hand in his own, kissing it gently as he did so. "Mine," he whispered to himself as he gazed up into the younger Malfoy's beautiful grey eyes.
"It is indeed an honour to be presented to one as handsome as you; I am at your mercy sir." Draco feeling suitably in control, made a gesture for the Count to sit at his right hand. Of course, the Count completely side-stepped him as Hassam pulled out the head chair of the table for him to sit in.
"Stop with the games boy." Severus muttered under his breath as he brushed a stray peace of lint from the Count's exquisite robes.
Harry quickly whispered his response. "I'm having fun Sev. Go and play with Malfoy senior. I know you want to."
"As you wish, sire." Severus spoke as he backed away from the Count, freeing the way for Draco to take the submissive seat next to him. Lucius stayed at the other end of the table, more concerned with the dark Arabian delight approaching him.
"My lord, the Count, has asked me to attend you. How may I be of service to you and your house?" Severus noticed a strong handsome servant standing back from the main room, looking cautiously at him over his Master's shoulder. He looked like he would be about the same age as Loui, if he had lived. Severus was shaken from his memory when Lord Malfoy reached out his hand pulling him closer, cupping his groin in his hand.
"My master told you that I was his property Lord Malfoy, it is not wise to handle what belongs to the Count." Lucius looked deeply into Severus' eyes. So familiar, those obsidian pools, so beautiful.
"So beautiful…" Severus let out a gasp as he recognized the same look in those silver-blue eyes that he had missed for nearly twenty years now. Severus became unsettled, realizing that he had started to swoon at the touch of the older Malfoy. Hidden from the Count's view, Lucius' hand was groping gently at Severus' quickly hardening length. The more attention it was getting, the more tented Severus' cassock became. Lucius stepped closer, his voice low, musky.
"Just exquisite, the last person I saw as beautiful a creature as you was he-"
"Excuse me Lord Malfoy, I must return to my Master." Severus felt his strong Arabic accent slip slightly as he said this.
"And that voice, you indeed are familiar to me, are you sure that I have never seen you before?"
Severus gestured No with a hurried shake of his head. At the other end of the table, Draco had lost all cognitive thought. He just sat staring dreamily at the new object of his every desire, the Count. Harry looked down the table and could see that Severus was looking and acting most strange.
b "Hassam. /b " Harry yelled. Severus spun on the spot and walked toward Harry. Draco was smiling like the Village Idiot. Harry started to giggle slightly at the sight of a tented Severus rushing up the table and positioning himself just behind Harry's chair, shielding his embarrassment from view.
"Having fun?" Harry whispered back to his trusty aide.
"Shut up boy!" bit back Severus, thankful when the younger Malfoy spoke up.
"So, what is your given name Excellency, I cannot be expected to refer to you by title all the time. Surely you must go by a less formal name away from the grandiose of your court."
Harry pondered this question. He didn't actually think about developing an alter ego for himself. No one knew who the Count was, and as far as Harry was concerned, he didn't believe anyone would even care.
"My name is Harold. But, please call me Harry." Draco beamed from ear to ear. Lucius cocked an eyebrow at the name. This was all starting to sound even more familiar. Names and images from the distant past came rushing back to him, things that Lucius thought he would never have to think of again. The elder Malfoy adopted his most deferential tone.
"Harry, as we are virtually old friends now you must call us Lucius and Draco."
"You are most generous Lord ... Lucius." Lucius rose from his chair, slightly startled to find that his manservant wasn't on hand to pull the chair out for him.
"Tell me, Harry, where did you buy your manservant from?" Lucius now stood at Harry's side, eyeing the tanned form of Hassam.
"He came to me of his own free will, like he did when he served my parents and my parents parents."
'Stop with the lies boy' Severus thought. Harry just smirked at him.
Lucius continued his advance on Hassam. "You must indeed be a very generous master to have one as lovely as he willingly serve you. Tell me – do you reward him with your body?" Lucius said as he continued walking down the table, awaiting his guest's reaction.
"Father!" Draco was mortified that Lucius had asked such a personal question, and more than a little concerned over his father's overly lascivious advances on the Count's valet.
Harry looked the slightest bit flustered. "My dear Lord Mal – Lucius, It has been foretold that I will meet a handsome prince whose kiss will win my heart. I am quite sure that, that prince is still out there awaiting his chance."
'There he goes again, making the story up as he goes along.' Severus gave a stern look at his younger friend and cleared his throat theatrically to alert him of his displeasure.
"Ahmm."
Severus was thankful when Oanis clapped his hands at the end of the table and food appeared before their eyes. The arrival of the dinner was a welcome happenstance. Severus let out a long breath of relief. The meal looked most sumptuous. The best salmon, the choicest cuts of meat and the freshest vegetables were all laid out with an artistic beauty that prompted Severus to whisper in his friend's ear.
"Don't expect this when you get home boy."
Harry chuckled, and carried on eating in companionable silence. Draco had stopped eating and had taken to just staring at Harry, even Severus forcing his eyes to go cross-eyed didn't break his gaze. Lucius didn't take his eyes off Severus the whole meal, which had a strange affect on Severus' groin regions forcing him to hide behind his master's chair for extended periods. It was Lucius who broke the silence with a probing question.
"Tell me Count, I mean Harry, how is it that you have been so elusive and hardly heard of before the last month? I only heard of your presence when my son, wise boy that he is, asked that I extend this invitation to you. You do seem to be surrounded by quite a cloud of mystery, do you not?"
Severus looked at the head of Malfoy Manor with a smirk. He had been waiting for the questions to start. He was surprised that it had taken Lucius as long as it did to ask where Harry had come from. Severus was looking forward to seeing how his charge handled it. He couldn't control a light snicker from escaping as he heard Harry's answer.
"Really Lucius, I would have thought that you would welcome the break from every Witch and Wizard in the land gossiping about your every move. I have to agree though, regarding my sudden rise to notoriety. I look at it like this: If people are talking about me, they are leaving others alone. Who knows who tomorrow's celebrity will be." Harry gestured for Severus to lean into him. Lucius' reply side-stepped Harry from what he was going to say.
"You must accompany me to my gentleman's club. I have some very influential associates who would like a chance to meet you, I'm sure. We can swap stories, and really get to know each then. Would you be free to dine with me tomorrow night?" Draco was knocked out of his daydream at this, complaining that his father had never invited him to attend a gentleman's club dinner.
"That is so not fair! I have never been asked to one." Draco's eyes turned from his father to the Count, pleading silently. Lucius was just about to launch into a verbal attack of his son when he was side swiped by Harry.
"Then I shall ask you to accompany me to one of these dinners, Master Draco. I will let you know, Lucius, when I am free."
"Really?" beamed Draco, much to his father's obvious distaste at the idea.
"Really!" replied Harry, who gesturing to Severus, indicated it was time for them to go.
"Lucius, I have had a superb time, and the food was just excellent, compliments to your staff, but I really must be going. I have other social obligations that simply must be met."
"You aren't going already are you, you haven't long arrived," Draco moaned quietly.
"I am sorry, I really do. But it has been lovely meeting you. Hassam, my cloak, if you please." Standing up, Harry felt the weight of the velvet cloak as it was placed on his shoulders.
"I will send Hassam to confirm the invitation for your kind offer of dinner."
Exiting the Dining room on route to the main hallway, Harry was stopped by an arm placed on his shoulder by Draco. Turning to meet the blond's eyes, Harry was taken by surprise when he felt a chaste kiss placed against his lips. The kiss was over as soon as it had begun, but the feeling it left in Harry's stomach was one he had not counted on.
"What was that for?" Harry chuckled.
"Maybe that prince could be me."
Indeed, Harry thought to himself as he Apparated with his trusted friend Severus back to the wards of Godric's Hollow.
Just maybe...