Chapter 13
"You sleep naked?" he asked in horror. This was too much. He had been a sport about all the rest of it. He had bathed in the river, washing his clothes, hair, and body with the same bar of soap. After the bath, there was no way to slick his hair back, so he was unable to keep the hair out of his eyes, so Mithrael had tied a thin strip of leather around his forehead. He had eaten some sort of meat at supper he did not recognize, and although it and the strange vegetables were delicious, he was afraid to ask what it was. He had gotten sunburned after he and Harry had gotten hot and spent most of the day wearing nothing but trousers and boots. Elsbeth had spread a salve on his sunburn, which had healed it immediately, and for the first time in his life, Draco noticed that his skin had begun to tan. But sleeping naked in a tent with a woman, even if she was his cousin, was more than he could handle.
"Do not worry, Draco," Elsbeth said gently. "It is dark, and I cannot see you."
"But what about in the morning when it's light?"
"I will keep my eyes closed until you are dressed," she said. "Please do not be upset, Draco. It is the way of our people. We are not embarrassed by nudity the way the Wizards are."
"But aren't we a little old to be sleeping with Harry's parents?"
"Children stay in their parents' tents until they are married, and then they have their own with their new family."
Draco sighed.
"That is enough talk," Mithrael said. "Draco, remove your clothes and wrap up in your furs. Elsbeth will not see you. It is time to sleep, now."
Draco sat down and removed his clothes, then crawled into his furs.
"Goodnight, Draco," Harry said.
"Goodnight," he answered softly.
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A week later, Lucius sat before the Queen and Elders in a conjured chair under the branches of Eldartha. "I found three rituals that would give the Dark Lord a body," he said. "But two of them, he would never use. They require him to possess the body of a dead Wizard, and he fears nothing more than death. He would never touch anything dead. I have written the ritual that he is most likely to use on this parchment." He handed it to the Queen who looked over it.
"He will need someone to help him. Who do you think he will choose?"
"He would prefer to use either Severus Snape, who is a potions master, or my sister-in-law, Bellatrix Lestrange. However, Severus has admitted to working for the Light as a spy and Bellatrix is in Azkaban. He would have to find a way to get her out, and I'm not sure that's possible. So, I believe he will come to me."
"It says here that you would have to sacrifice a portion of your own flesh as part of the ritual," the Queen said.
"Yes, and I don't intend to do that, Aunt Thespa, so I hope that you will come up with a solution before he comes to me."
"I do not know if our solution will save you, Lucius. It is time for you to make your choice known."
"I can't," he said, shaking his head. "I can't risk my family. He will destroy all who betrayed him."
"I fear you will regret that decision," she said. "When you return home, make sure your son and wife know where the portal is that leads to our world. Show Draco how to open it so that he and his mother can come through if they need our protection."
"I will, Aunt Thespa," he said. He stood and banished the chair he had conjured. "I will find my son, and then we will go back to our world."
The Queen smiled. "You did not think he would stay this long, did you?"
"No, I didn't."
"He has enjoyed his time here. The first two days were difficult for him, but he adjusted quickly. I believe that he will want to come back to visit more often. I hope you will allow it."
"Thank you, Aunt Thespa. I will allow him to come whenever he wishes." He bowed, and then left to look for his son.
The Queen turned to her Elders. "We will need help from the Wizarding World. I will have Mithrael contact Sethrael's godfathers and the long-bearded one."
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Lucius watched his son run out of the forest, accompanied by his cousin. Their tunics had been wrapped around their waists, and their bare chests, arms, and faces were smudged with dirt. Draco's skin was brown and his cheeks were flushed. His hair had been bleached white by the sun and was held out of his eyes by a leather band wrapped around his forehead. His light eyes shone like crystal against the tanned skin. They were each carrying a leather bag filled with nuts and racing toward the cave, both laughing with abandon.
When they saw him, they stopped and stared at him with dread.
"Have you come to take me home?" Draco asked softly.
Lucius nodded. "It's time, Draco. There are only two more weeks left before school begins, and there's much to do."
Draco nodded. "We have to take these to the cave," he said. "And I need to get my clothes."
"Go, then," Lucius said. "I'll wait by the portal."
The two boys moved at a much slower and sadder pace toward the cave.
"It'll be all right, Draco," Harry said, emptying his bag into one of the baskets. "You'll come back next summer, maybe for longer than a week next time."
Draco took his clothes out of the basket. "I should have washed these before I returned them," he said, looking down at the clothes he'd been wearing for the past week.
"No, they're yours," Harry said. "Take them home. You can wear them when you play in the woods or practice riding your broom."
Draco's eyes lit up. "I'll wear them home, then. Mother can see what I look like as an elf." He untied the arms of his tunic from around his waist and slipped it over his head.
"Don't forget to practice with your sling," Harry said. "Next year, you might be able to beat me."
The two headed out of the cave and met Lucius near the portal. Harry watched sadly as Draco followed his father out of the Elven Realm.
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"Why are you sitting here looking sad?" Mithrael asked his son that afternoon. Harry sat on the grass beside the lake, tossing stones into the water.
"I'm sad for Draco," he said. "He didn't want to go home."
Mithrael sat down beside him. "He will come back next year, Seth. It is almost time to go to Hogwarts. In fact, tomorrow, your godfathers are taking you to the Wizard Village in London to shop for your school books."
Harry brightened. "I'm going, too?"
"Yes. And tomorrow afternoon, I will meet you and your godfathers at Hogwarts. We have something important to do tomorrow night."
"What is it, Daka?"
"It is a secret," his father said mischievously. "You will have to wait and see, but it is very important." His father stood up and started removing his clothes. "I think I will have a swim before supper," he said.
Harry got up, stripped off his clothes, and followed his father into the lake.
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Harry had his own bedroom at Remus's house in which he kept his school trunk, Wizarding robes, and the Muggle clothes that Sirius insisted on buying him. There was no place in the Elven Realm for them, except for the cave, and since Harry didn't need them when he was home, they all thought it best that he left them with his godfathers.
When Harry arrived, he changed into a pair of Muggle jeans, a tee shirt, a light jacket, and a pair of socks and trainers. Remus brushed his hair back into a long ponytail and bound it at the nape of his neck with an elastic band. When he was ready, they used the fireplace to floo to Diagon Alley.
Harry had never been to the Wizarding Village before. His godfathers had shopped for him before his first year at Hogwarts, so he was amazed to see the sight that met his eyes after the bricks behind the Leaky Cauldron formed an archway leading into the village. "Bloody hell!" he said, using a term he had learned from Ron the year before.
His godfathers laughed. "Come on," Sirius said. "Let's finish the shopping, then we can have some fun."
Remus had to hold Harry's arm to prevent him from walking into people as he craned his neck to look inside every store window.
By lunchtime, they had completed their shopping. Remus had lightened the bags so they were easier to carry. "Let's go to Fortesques for ice cream," Sirius suggested. "Then we'll look around a bit more."
Remus and Harry agreed and walked toward the ice cream parlor.
"Harry!"
Harry turned to see Ron and Hermione running toward him. Hermione almost bowled him over when she ran into him to give him a hug.
"It's so good to see you, Harry! How was your summer?"
"Brilliant," he said, patting her back. "How was yours?"
"Wonderful!" she said, stepping away from him. "Paris was beautiful." She turned to his godfathers. "Hello, Professor Black and Mr. Lupin."
"Hello, Hermione, Ron," Remus said.
"Would you two like to join us for ice cream?" Sirius asked.
"Sure," Ron said.
"I'd love to," Hermione said.
At Fortesques, they sat outside at a table with a large umbrella over it and waited for Mr. Fortesque to take their order.
Harry looked around at all the people passing. "This is the most brilliant place I've ever seen," he said, using another expression he had learned from Ron. And then he saw Draco walking by with his parents.
"Draco!" he called.
His cousin turned and grinned at him. "Hi, cousin!"
"Come join us!"
Draco started toward Harry, but his mother grabbed his arm, stopping him. His father whispered something to her, and she let him go.
"Wait here, and I will see you after we finish at the apothecary," his father said.
Draco nodded and joined the others.
"Hello, Draco," Sirius said.
"Hello, Professor Black."
"You're not in school, Draco. You can call me Cousin Sirius."
Draco laughed and greeted the others.
"Draco's your cousin?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry nodded. "Queen Thespa, my grandmother, is Draco's great aunt."
"So, you're an Elf?" Hermione asked Draco.
"Yes, but I didn't know it until the end of last school year. This summer, I spent a week in the Elven Realm getting to know my family. Next year, my father said I could stay longer."
Ron looked like he was about to cry. Harry nudged him with his elbow. "Do you think your mum would let you come visit, Ron? There are two weeks before school starts."
Ron brightened. "I'll ask her," he said.
Their ice cream order arrived, and everyone began to eat. Draco turned to Ron and grinned. "You'll love the Elven Realm," he said. "But the first couple of days were hard for me. I had to get used to doing things I'd never done before, but after that, it was great."
Ron frowned. "Like what?"
But before Draco could answer, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson stopped at their table. "What are you doing sitting with half-bloods, mud-bloods, and blood-traitors?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
Ron's face turned read, and he started to stand, but Remus placed a hand on his arm to stop him.
Draco looked up at his fellow Slytherins. "I'm having ice cream with my family," he said. "Would you like to join us?"
"Family!" Nott spat.
Draco nodded. "Yes, Professor Black is my cousin on my mother's side, and Harry Potter is my cousin on my father's side."
"The elf?" he said, laughing.
"Yes, Nott. I'm sitting with my own kind. Now, kindly join us or go away."
"But, Draco," Pansy whined. "You're a pureblood."
"I thought I was, but I found out last year that I'm part Elf. I spent part of the summer in the Elven Realm getting to know my family. I've found that I'm quite proud of that part of my heritage."
"Half-blood!" Nott spat and steered Pansy away from the table. Draco nonchalantly waved to them and took another bite of his ice cream.
"What?" he asked, when he noticed the others were staring at him.
Sirius grinned. "I've never been so proud to claim you as my cousin," he said. "Congratulations, Draco. You've just joined the Black List of the Black Family."
Draco snorted. "I know," he said. "My mother's going to kill me."