Chapter 2, The Visitors
Draco's tired grey eyes scanned the neighborhood from the back seat of a car, staring out the window. Lucius had told Dumbledor that they deserted Lord Voldemort , stopped being Death Eaters, and wanted to join the Order of the Phoenix, so Draco and his family were being hidden under the protection of the order. Lord Voldemort wanted Draco to become a Death Eater like his father, but Lucius couldn't bear to put his son through the same suffering he had been enduring for as long as he could remember. That's when he decided turning to the Light would be the best decision possible for his family.
Immediately after school ended, the Malfoys had been moved to Grimmauld place and questioned thoroughly. When it was determined that they were telling the truth about their change in alliances, Lucius was kept at Grimmauld place to help the Order. Draco and Narcissa were being sent to Number 4 Privet Drive for their protection.
Draco couldn't understand how staying at frickin' Harry Potter's house would "protect" him. Sure he may be safe from Voldemort under the protection enchantments or whatever surrounding the neighborhood, especially those around the house, but that wouldn't stop Harry from probably murdering him in his sleep. Draco shuddered at the thought.
Kingsley pulled the car up into the driveway, parked, and stepped out. Narcissa and Draco stepped out from the back seats, got their four suitcases from the trunk, and walked up to the front door.
Draco was quick to notice that it was the biggest house on the street, complete with a fabulous lawn and a pretty little garden. Draco snorted. No wonder Potter was so arrogant! He thought he was "big stuff" with all of his stupid muggle shit.
The door opened and a tall, skinny lady with short brown hair smiled at them. "Hello, I'm Petunia. Welcome to our home! Please come in, come in."
Aunt Petunia stepped aside to let Kingsley, Draco, and Narcissa in. Narcissa gave her a dazzling smile and complimented the yard. Aunt Petunia's face lit up, and Dudley walked over.
"Hello. I'm Dudley."
"Nice to meet you," said Narcissa in an airy voice, her long blonde hair swishing as she turned to him, "this is my son Draco. I'm sure you'll get along."
Draco nodded and couldn't help but notice that Dudley was quite good looking, and the only person that knew Draco was attracted to guys was Pansy. She had been telling him that she thought Blaise, their friend from Slytherin, was really sexy, and Draco quickly agreed. Before she could say anything he was already going off about how awesome his abs and arms looked. Pansy started to laugh, Draco quickly realizing what he had just done, and he made her promise not to tell anyone.
"Oh, you must be tired from your long trip," said Aunt Petunia, turning toward the staircase and yelling, "HARRY! COME DOWN AND GRAB THE GUEST'S LUGGAGE!"
Harry groaned and stood up from his desk. The raven haired boy walked over to the top of the steps, and as he surveyed the scene below him his mouth fell open. What the hell were the Malfoys doing here? Surely they couldn't be the guests that the Dursleys were talking about. Harry slowly walked down the steps, sighing in relief when he spotted Kingsley.
Narcissa gave him the once over, pretending not to recognize him and inquired, "Who is this?"
"This is Harry," Replied Aunt Petunia curtly, "If you need anything, just ask him and he'll get it for you."
Draco's eyes met Harry's, and Draco could see the tension in them. Harry was trying to contain himself, shaking slightly. He glared at Draco, causing Draco to look away.
Harry shot a look at his Aunt before Kingsley stepped forward, "I'll help Harry carry these bags up to the rooms that the Malfoys will be staying in."
Aunt Petunia nodded as Kingsley and Harry both grabbed two suitcases and trudged up the stairs. Draco and Narcissa went with Dudley, Petunia, and Vernon to have a tour of the house.
As soon as they put Narcissa's suitcases in the guest room and the door was shut, Harry hissed at Kingsley, "Why are they here? Draco could be a fucking death eater! I'm going to be killed in my sleep thanks to you," he turned and sat on the bed, burying his face in his hands.
"Harry, I can't stay and explain. But here is a letter from Lupin explaining everything. I really need to get back to the Order. Please, trust me when I say that they have no intention of spying on you or killing you."
"Have you gone mad?! He is the source of my misery at Hogwarts. He's no better than Dudley. You can't do this to me," Harry's voice had become soft and pleading. Kingsley put the letter next to Harry on the bed.
"Read this. It will explain everything. I'm coming back in two days to see if everyone is alright. Please calm down Harry, you'll understand soon enough."
With that, Kingsley walked out the bedroom door, found the Dursleys, and bade them farewell. He told them that he would be coming in two days to check up on the Malfoys for safety reasons and then left. Harry sighed and dragged Draco's stuff into his own room. Uncle Vernon said that the guest was to sleep in Harry's bed while Harry slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. Apparently Dudley's big sacrifice was giving up his second room.
Harry quickly tiptoed out of his room and down the stairs to see what the Dursleys were doing. They were in the backyard, showing off their perfect lawn to the Malfoys. Draco dozed off standing against the sliding glass window, his face pressed slightly on it, and his breath making a fog on the glass.
Since they looked occupied, Harry decided to read the letter and catch up with what was going on. He tiptoed back up the stairs and sat down on his bed, pulling the letter out of the blank envelope.
Lupin's handwriting was unmistakable, written in loopy cursive with blue ink.
Dear Harry,
I apologize for the sudden turn of events. The Malfoys have deserted Lord Voldemort and want to join the Order of the Phoenix. Before we allowed anything to happen, the Order interrogated them thoroughly for two days in a row under Vertasium. All of us agreed that they were being truly sincere, and that is when we began to decide where it was safest for them to go into hiding.
Lucius is here with us at Grimmauld Place to aid the Order and give us more information about Lord Voldemort's plans. We couldn't have Draco and Narcissa present during our secret Order meetings, and we don't have enough room for them to be able to sleep here with all of the different Order members residing in the rooms. That is why we sent them to the protection of your home.
Dumbledore put your Uncle Vernon's boss under a spell that made him believe the Malfoys were going to make a donation of fifty thousand dollars to the drill company whose vice president provided the most pleasant home-stay. They are pretending that they have stayed at three other drill company's vice president's houses, and now the Dursley's house is the last one. This is so they can stay at your house under protection without any suspicion from the Dursleys
They are on our side now, Harry. It's hard to believe, and I still have my doubts, but you really need to try to trust them. Just a little trust can go a long way.
Yours truly,
RemusLupin
Harry had to read the letter over three times to take in everything written down. He placed it under the loose floorboard beneath his bed, mind reeling, as he walked downstairs. Everyone was sitting around the dining table with glasses of wine, while Dudley and Draco had some soda.
Draco had been extremely bored throughout the whole house tour. Most of the hour went by looking at the lawn, every room on the first floor of the house, and at the two expensive cars parked in their garage. Finally they came inside and decided to gossip about neighbors over some drinks. Dudley was just as bored as Draco was, but made no move to talk to him.
All Draco really wanted to do was talk to Potter at that point. Now that would be entertaining. He just couldn't help wondering why Harry didn't join the "tour".
"Probably thinks he's too good for us," muttered Draco under his breath as he looked up toward the staircase. His eyebrow rose when his eyes met two green ones, now looking tired but serious. Aunt Petunia looked up at Draco and saw him looking toward the staircase, so she looked over and saw who he was staring at.
"Ah, perfect timing Harry. Go and make dinner; our guests must be hungry from the long car ride."
Draco watched Harry trudge toward the kitchen and heard as he started to prepare dinner.
"What school does Draco go to, Mrs. Malfoy?" asked Petunia, sipping her red wine.
"Draco is home schooled because I have a Masters Degree in Education, and I've studied all over the world," replied Narcissa casually. Lying came naturally for her, so it was easy to answer questions that might give them away.
"Oh," said Aunt Petunia, slightly awed.
"Well," said Uncle Vernon, raising his head high and smiling stupidly over at Dudley, "our son attends Pencey Prep. It is a high class private school."
"Some of my friends from Pencey are coming over to hang out tomorrow, Draco. If you want to, you can hang with us," said Dudley.
"Sure, sounds… fun," Draco said in his slightly drawling, captivating voice. It was the first time he had spoken throughout the day, so everyone's attention quickly turned to him. Narcissa noticed he didn't like this newfound attention, so she decided to ask more about Harry.
"So, what school does Harry go to?"
Uncle Vernon had a slight frown while saying, "Saint Brutus's for boys with bad behavior. They use sticks to beat them when they get out of hand. I don't that they'll ever be able to beat any sense into that boy."
Draco snorted and soda began to come out of his nose as he laughed.
"You're kidding, right? Oh man, that's…." He stopped when his mom shot him a warning look.
After coughing slightly to mask his giggles, Draco said, "Uh, I'll get some more soda."
He quickly got up from the table and walked into the kitchen. Harry was almost finished preparing the spaghetti, now pulling out bowls and silverware. Draco leaned against the door frame and held out his glass.
"Soda, Potter."
Harry looked up from his cooking, "What, snorted it all out your nose?"
Draco scowled, "Yeah, laughing at you. I think it would do you well to actually attend that school. "
Harry tore the glass out of Draco's hand and stomped over to the refrigerator to get some more soda. As he poured it in, he retorted, "Well, it would have its advantages. I wouldn't have to look at your incredibly hideous Ferret Face."
"I don't know what you're talking about," growled Draco.
Harry handed him the soda with a smirk, "Oh, don't you remember getting turned into a ferret in front of the ENTIRE school? Come on, you can't be that stupid."
Draco resisted the urge to punch him as he stalked off back into the dining room. Harry emerged a few minuets later with a large platter of pasta and two different sauces. He set down plates for everyone and started heading back toward the stairs.
"Harry, won't you be joining us?" asked Narcissa.
"Uh…" he looked at Uncle Vernon who turned a darker shade of pink as he nodded curtly. Draco noticed this and shot his mother a questioning look.
Harry grabbed a plate for himself and sat down at the table next to Narcissa and across from Dudley. The conversation consisted mostly of talk about Drill companies and other boring, non important things. Harry looked over at Draco a couple times to find him staring back. They would notice after a second and quickly look away, pretending to be interested in a long piece of spaghetti or in the placement of their napkin.
Finally dinner was over, and Harry was stuck washing all the dishes. Narcissa offered to help, but Petunia waved her hand in dismissively and just told her to relax. So they sat down together on the couch in the sitting room while Uncle Vernon sat on the armchair, turning on the television.
Dudley offered to play catch with Draco, so he did. They were outside for about fifteen minuets before Harry came out to join them. Dudley stopped and looked over at Harry.
"Harry, why don't we introduce Draco to our little game when the boys come over tomorrow?" Dudley started to grin wickedly as Harry visibly gulped, and Draco was taken aback. Honestly, what made Potter so scared of this big oaf?
"Uh, no, that's ok. But Aunt Petunia wants you guys inside because it's almost seven. She also wants Malfoy to unpack and get settled in."
With that he quickly walked inside. Draco walked with Dudley across the yard and followed him inside, brushing his pale blonde hair out of his grey eyes. This was going to be a long summer.