Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
Chapter One
Malfoy Manor
"I am so proud!" Pansy's mother said when Pansy told her parents of Draco's invitation. "To be invited to the Malfoy Manor is an honor!"
"Yes—Lucius's wife, Narcissa, is a Black, a family of most pure and noble blood!" Her father commented.
Pansy lifted her head. "Yes, Draco mentioned."
"Of course, I've been there before," Mr. Parkinson continued. "When I was a boy, Lucius used to invite me every summer. I'm so glad that our daughter is carrying on the tradition."
"Yes, and I am so pleased that we get to see Young Draco Malfoy! Surely he is as charming and well-kept as his parents."
An owl came for Pansy two nights later—it tapped its beak on her window at two o'clock in the morning. She peered up at the large, black owl, its big yellow eyes blinking steadily at her, a parchment rolled and tied to its leg. Groggily, Pansy got out of bed and opened the window; the owl hopped inside, and after giving it a knut and taking the parchment, Pansy sat down on the bed to read the letter.
Are you having a nice summer so far Parkinson? Keeping in touch with anyone? I've spoken to my parents and father says that you and your family are more than welcome to come visit for the summer. Crabbe and Goyle are already here. Write back.
--Draco Malfoy
"An official invitation—isn't that lovely?" Mrs. Parkinson said the next morning over breakfast. "Write him back and tell him that we'd be delighted."
That night, Pansy took out her own parchment and quill.
Dear Draco,
Thank you for the invitation. I have had a nice couple of days back, thank you, Millicent is the only person I have been exchanging letters with. My parents and I would be happy to visit you for the summer. When do you expect us?
--Pansy Parkinson
The next day, Draco's response arrived.
Tomorrow, preferably.
Draco favored both his mother and his father—they were ethereal beauties of fair skin and hair and light gray eyes. Lucius answered the door the day the Parkinsons arrived, appearing to Pansy as both intimidating and captivating.
"Ah, my dear old friends," he said in a deep, creamy voice.
"It's so good to see you again, Lucius," Mr. Parkinson said.
"Please, come inside," Lucius said. He smiled down at Pansy. "Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father," he said to her, holding out his hand. Pansy shook it, a bit timidly.
"Pansy Parkinson."
"Yes, yes. Draco's told me about you. He's outside with Crabbe and Goyle." He turned to Pansy's parents. "What a beautiful daughter you have."
"I'll show you, come on dear," Narcissa said, emerging from the kitchen. She smiled down at Pansy and took her hand.
"Draco!" she called. The Manor's backyard was vast and glorious, with a wide green lawn that stretched until it reached a forest. Suddenly, a flash of blonde streaked by.
"Draco!" Narcissa yelled. The figure came to a halt and Draco rested easily atop his shiny broom.
"Sorry mother," he said, dismounting. Crabbe and Goyle also came to a stop, following Draco's lead.
"I'll make you some lunch," Narcissa said. "Then Draco, you can show Pansy her room."
"All right, mother."
Narcissa went back into the house and Draco looked at Pansy.
"Hello Parkinson. Come on—I'll show you around."
The Manor was beautiful, much bigger than the Parkinson home.
"We have a lake," Draco said. "Plenty of land to practice Quidditch…" he laughed. "Oh yeah, you don't play. Well, you can watch me."
They circled back to the house.
"Come in for tea!" Narcissa said, giving Draco a quick kiss on the head before shuffling them all inside. Lucius sat cross-legged in a large leather chair, he and the Parkinsons talking and chuckling quietly to each other.
"Thank you," Pansy said as Narcissa poured her a fresh cup of hot tea.
"Come on, Pansy, I'll show you the rest of the house," Draco said.
"Drink your tea downstairs!" Narcissa called, but the children had already scampered off. The Manor had a huge, spiral staircase, the steps draped in deep emerald carpet.
"Have you been here before?" Pansy asked Crabbe and Goyle as the four of them ascended the stairs—the boys laughed.
"Only about a million times," Crabbe said, his chubby cheeks perking as he grinned proudly.
"Sh!" Draco snapped, stopping still. "Did you hear that?"
They all stopped in their tracks to listen—all of a sudden, they heard a loud Thump! and a house elf appeared in front of them, dropping a large basket of bed sheets.
"I thought so!" Draco snarled, glaring down at the wide-eyed creature. "Be careful with my sheets, Dobby! Don't want anything falling into the hall!"
"Yes, Young Malfoy, sir," the house elf said, bowing. He struggled to pick up the basket. "Maybe if Young Malfoy allowed Dobby to use magic to do the laundry, sir…"
"No!" Draco yelled. "This is your…" he grinned maliciously. "…punishment."
He shoved past Dobby, Crabbe and Goyle snickering.
"Punishment for what?" Pansy asked, sneering back at the filthy creature. Draco shrugged and opened a door—they stepped into a large bedroom, one that was bigger than Pansy's parents' bedroom. It had deep blue walls and a king-size bed with tall, black posts. The walls were decorated with posters of Draco's favorite Quidditch team, the players smiling and waving at them all.
"This is my room," Draco said proudly, hands on his hips. Pansy felt something touch her leg, and looked down.
"Oh, beautiful!" she cried, kneeling down to stroke the humongous white snake that had slithered over to her.
"Hm. You're all right, Pansy," Draco said. "Crabbe and Goyle almost soiled themselves the first time they met Sophie." He picked up the snake and it draped itself over Draco's shoulders, nuzzling her owner's cheek affectionately.
"She's an albino boa constrictor. Father bought her for me last year—I hate to leave her here all alone during the school year." Sadly, he gave Sophie a pat on the head and placed her on his bed. "Oh stop cowering, you two," he said to Crabbe and Goyle, who were standing warily in a corner.
The next couple of rooms were Draco's playroom, which was basically a storage area for all of his brooms and games and such, and an extra kitchen so that Draco could get midnight treats without having to go all the way downstairs.
"You'll be staying here," Draco said when they reached a room at the end of the hall. Pansy smiled. The room was large and bright, with light pink walls and a large bed with a pearly white frame. Her things had already been brought up and they rested beside a wall.
"It's nice," she said.
"We're next door," Goyle said.
"Don't mind us if we come fetch you in the middle of the night," Crabbe told her.
"Don't scare her like that," Draco said. "My room is all the way at the end of the hall so I usually stay in the room with them."
"Not that we sleep, anyway," Goyle noted.
The boys were right about not sleeping—after a full day of exploring and showing Pansy around some more (with only a few breaks from Narcissa when she made them eat), Pansy was absolutely exhausted, but a few minutes after falling into bed, she heard her door creak open. A tall, chubby figure walked in.
"What is it, Goyle?" she asked.
"Come on," he whispered. "Next door."
Pansy sighed and got out of bed. She could hear low mumbling from inside the next room. They went inside—the room was large, but not quite as big as Pansy's, and it had two beds which looked as if they had not been slept in in a very long time.
Draco and Crabbe sat together on the floor, cross-legged. They casually glanced up at Pansy and Goyle as they walked in and closed the door. Draco scooted over, making room for them around a small burning candle, the only light in the room.
"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting down beside Draco. His pale faced looked very eerily bathed in the candlelight.
"Just talking," he said, glancing up at Crabbe, who looked a little frightened.
"Do you think he'll come back?" Crabbe said. Draco shrugged.
"Father doesn't think so, but with what happened with Potter and Quirrel at the end of the term…" Draco said, his voice trailing off, eyes flaring.
Pansy wrapped her arms around herself. She knew what they were talking about—her parents had been servants to the Dark Lord many years ago, before she was born—in fact, so had Crabbe and Goyle's, but Lucius Malfoy had been the closest link to the Dark Lord that Pansy knew, and now he was doubting his return even though he had appeared at Hogwarts…
"He's very weak," Pansy said. "Too weak to come back."
"Maybe," Draco said.
"Snape would know," Crabbe said.
Draco shot him a look. "I tried to talk to Snape about it. He wouldn't give me any answers."
"Is he coming to visit this summer?" Goyle asked.
Draco shook his head. "He can't, not this summer," Draco said, frowning. "He's busy with…other things."
"Snape comes to visit you?" Pansy asked.
Draco nodded. "He and my mother are friends."
"What about your father?"
Draco's look hardened. He didn't answer.
Summer vacation went byquickly at Malfoy Manor. There was much exploring to be done and many late nights to do it. When the week before the new school term came, the Parkinsons said their goodbyes to the Malfoys.
"Thank you so much, Lucius, Narcissa, we had a lovely time…" Mr. Parkinson said.
"Do come back next summer," Narcissa said. She gave Pansy a hug. "Be a good girl at school." She smiled wickedly.
Draco stopped Pansy on her way to the car.
"Meet me at the train station at 10," he said. "When we go back."
"Okay," Pansy agreed.
And she traveled back home, ready to begin her second year at Hogwarts.