Ok so short note I've been very sick this past week and extremely busy so I actually haven't had time to do much work with the second book but I will hopefully be able to write a bit today and tomorrow. Wish me luck!
Mistress Slytherin
There will eventually be homosexual situations:
consider this your warning,
If homosexual situations are not your cup of tea
Than I suggest you turn back now.
I don't want to hear people's biased opinions because honestly, I don't give a crap
Now, for some additional warnings:
ABUSE
VIOLENCE
BAD LANGUAGE
HOMOSEXUAL MALE/MALE RELATIONSHIPS IN FURTHER BOOKS
Mistress Slytherin
Chapter 6
Merry Christmas
Hogwarts much to Harry's surprise mourned the death of the muggle girl far less than he'd thought they would. He knew very little about the girl himself, but from what the other Slytherins had rather snidely reported, no one had liked her very much at all.
"She was a stuck-up ninny that was constantly harping everyone about studying or about the rules." Draco had said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Her own house didn't like herso much for Gryffindor loyalty!" He'd said with an easy shrug of his shoulders. Harry nodded and let Draco talk as they headed to the Great Hall. His eyes wandered down a corridor where he knew that the Mirror sat awaiting him. He'd gone back to it a few times since Halloween- for scientific purposes he assured himself. He'd gone with a charmed bag full of books and sat for hours researching the mirror. Of course he'd found very little about it so far, but he'd learned a lot about other magical mirrors- not that it mattered. He sighed quietly and continued to follow Draco. Crabb and Goyle had apparently taken off to the kitchens again and Harry knew by experience that Draco hated not having anyone around to prattle on to. Of course this had several perks considering he was more likely to give Harry information when in this mood. Harry supposed that the other Slytherin had taken it upon himself to take Harry under his wing, especially after Harry had apparently impressed his father. In fact it was all he could do to shut the boy up most days.
"Oh their putting up the tree!" Draco hissed loudly startling Harry with his sudden childlike glee. Harry frowned and looked to the side before paling at the sight of an enormous Christmas tree.
"Hagrid said he chopped down one of the largest ones in the forbidden forest this year!"
One of the other Slytherin first-years said with similar cheer. Harry hesitantly took a step back from the slowly growing crowd of people. The tree of course was magnificent, but to Harry it only served as a frightening reminder of the Dursleys. They rather didn't like having him around for Christmas. He could almost feel the cold from the shed in the back yard; they would shove him in there the day he and Dudley got out from school. Since Vernon rarely actually did any gardening, the shed was really quite empty so it wasn't as cramped as his cupboard. And the lumpy old mattress they left propped up against the wall wasn't so bad to sleep on- just a bit smelly. And at least around that time he'd be allowed as much food as he wanted, his aunt would always leave him a large crate of tins and a can opener. The only thing he could complain about really were the two large mop buckets that he had to use as a toilet until the holls were over, and the fact that he had nothing but a pile of old blankets and tarps to stave off the cold. And it got cold. Many times he wasn't even able to leave the cocoon of blankets he'd constructed for fear of losing the little bit of heat he had. He'd hold his piss for hours some times for fear of freezing to death.
"I can't wait to get home; Father's bound to get me a Nimbus this year I just know it!"
Draco startled him as he bounced on his heels clapping his hands like a two year old.
"What do you think you'll get?" He said swinging around only to catch Harry's confused look.
"Get?" he asked cautiously. Truthfully no one had ever asked him that question before.
He didn't really know how to answer. Slowly he shook his head coming up with an excuse on the spot. "I'm not going back to the muggles for the holidays, I'll stay here." He said avoiding Draco's gaze.
"Not…going home?" Draco said as if it was the strangest thing he'd ever heard. Harry winced slightly.
"So you think your father is going to get you a Nimbus 2000?" He prompted. All at once
Draco's face shifted and he was off chatting about the different things he'd get for Christmas. Harry smiled indulgently and followed wincing at the sound of Christmas songs. He could remember on Christmas day every year, no matter how cold it got, climbing over to the small frost covered window to watch the Dursleys. It was a blatant reminder that they didn't want him- that he was a freak, but he couldn't help but watch them, a deep aching longing in his chest that never fully went away. He sneered into his food at the weakness and ate quickly without sparing a glance at the Christmas decorations.
#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#%#
Snape looked entirely shocked to see him on the twenty third sitting on the floor of the store rooms while he went through a crate of different varieties of teeth. They'd met an uneasy truce in the past few weeks and Harry constantly found himself worrying that the man would say something about his relatives. In fact this was one of those times. Dark eyes seemed to darken further in understanding before the man nodded and much to
Harry's surprise climbed to the floor with him to help go through the crate.
Snape was a conundrum Harry decided, a variable that he hadn't accounted for in his future. Even after he'd talked back- no, nearly yelled at the man to his face Snape hadn't punished him. He even gave Harry the box of his parents things just as he'd promised after Harry had recited the list of feathers and their uses. Merlin, Harry had wondered at the fact that Snape actually made him recite the entire book. But he'd done it and Snapes only response was to hand him the box along with a thicker volume on the varieties of hair that could be used in potions. According to Snape there were three volumes he'd have to get through in order to have every variety of hair memorized. For once Harry didn't question the man on the price, instead he simply accepted it. Now as he sat in the quiet echoing rooms he couldn't help but feel almost at ease with the man.
"I assume that there is a reason that you are not returning to your aunt's home fore the Yule holidays?" Snape asked sounding distinctly uncomfortable. Harry glanced up at the man in shock, he'd thought that Snape of all people wouldn't press for answers- well, perhaps he wasn't. Harry tensed but nodded. If the man hadn't run telling the world about
Vernon…well, he supposed he could give him this.
"I wouldn't want to ruin her Christmas." Harry said a bit wryly. Snape paused and nodded slowly.
"Will you tell me how you usually spend the holidays?" He asked almost hesitantly. Harry tensed, his hand pausing over the label he was peeling off. Something thick sat in the back of his throat as he remembered the soft glow of the window as he pressed his face to the glass to try to see the Dursley's better.
"No." He said his voice low and raspy. Slowly he returned to peeling the label off of the jar. "It doesn't matter anyway." He said tossing the label away and sinking the filthy jar into the cleaning solution. He could feel Snapes eyes on him, dark, intense, and unreadable.
"It matters to me." Snape said setting the jar he was holding in his hand onto the floor.
Harry paused and frowned before looking up at the man suspiciously.
"Why?" He wondered aloud. "Worrying about how I spend my holidays goes a bit beyond head of house duties doesn't' it?" He said cautiously. "A lot of what you've done for me goes beyond your requirements as my head of house." He added thoughtfully. "I don't understand it really, what would you want with a scrawny four-eyed freak?" he shook his head and continued to clean unaware of Snape's suddenly still hands.
"You are not a freak." Snape said his voice suddenly harsh causing Harry to jump and turn around wide-eyed in fear. Snape seemed to compose himself then and took a deep breath. "You are a child, a child who deserves being spoiled for Christmas. A child who should be staring at the Christmas decorations with wide eyed wonder as he thinks about how many sweets he can possibly consume in the shortest amount of time. You should be at home being coddled by your parents because you've been gone and they've missed you, not here in the cold dungeons with your bitter head of house!" The man snapped his eyes flaring to life. Harry shrank back a bit at that before looking away trying and failing to wipe away the tears that poured from his eyes. Ouch…that had stung, more than Harry was willing to admit.
"We can't all have that Professor." He said softly making sure to hide his face as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeves. "Some of us just make do with what we have." He said smiling sadly as he continued to wash the jars and set them aside drying them with a flick of his wrist. He rarely needed his wand any more; in fact the only time he used it was when he was in the class room. "Christmas is a day, just like any other." He recited, after all that was what he'd been telling himself for years. Snape pursed his lips but said nothing more though Harry could wonder at the slight glitter in the man's eyes.
On the twenty fourth Harry was unsurprised to wake up to an empty dorm, the others had left already to their homes and their families. For the first time he didn't bother to get dressed, it had taken him a few days to get used to having the dorms to himself and after being surrounded by so much noise so much of the time it was almost nice to be able to relax in the common room with a book or twelve. Today however Harry had decided that it was high time he opened the box Snape had given him. He hadn't had the courage to do so before but after several days of knowing it was there and looking at it out of the corner of his eye he knew that today he would open it. At first his hands shook as they caressed the lid, but the yearning inside of him grew and grew and grew until at last he slipped his fingers under the edges and pried the lid open. A smell, a familiar smell wafted out and an incredible ache rose in his chest once he was able to identify it. It smelled like home. For a moment he simply sat in his pajamas staring at the contents. On the very top of the pile was a knit blue blanket with silver stitching.
H.J.P
He had a similar one hidden away in his trunk, the one he'd been using the night Petunia had found him on her stoop. With trembling fingers he lifted the blanket and pressed it to his face.
Home.
He had no memories of home; home was something that had been torn from him before he could know what it meant. He only knew that as a child no matter how terrible things had gotten the smell of home had wrapped him in a sense of safety that calmed him. He smiled into the soft cloth feeling calmer an echo of a gentle voice sounding in his ears. Carefully he set the cloth to the side and reached in to pull out the next item. A photo album. The faint smell of ashes made him uneasy but when he opened it- it was all he could do to keep from crying.
Lily and James Potter
In the photo they were young, fresh out of Hogwarts according to the dates. James Potter was visibly very similar to Harry but he knew immediately that he was more like his mother in every other way. Whereas James was carefree and mischievous, Lily was calm and obviously intelligent. He caressed the picture for a moment before turning the page.
There weren't many pictures of them in the photo album, and the ones that were there were for the most part damaged from the explosion that had destroyed the Dark Lord, but with each picture he could feel something inside of him soothed over. Once upon a time he had been loved, he'd had a family, and just like he'd come to understand, he had been special. When he finally closed the album it was with a sense of closure.
He, Harry James Potter, had been loved.
He frowned slightly at how fragile he felt before reverently setting the album aside. He would have to place the album in his vault on his next visit, it was something truly precious and he would protect it. The rest of the items in the box were simple; nick-knacks that were both familiar and unfamiliar to him, but somehow each thing was precious. It had belonged to a time in his life where he had been loved and he knew without a doubt that they too would be going into his vault. Satisfied now that he'd finally opened the box he replaced them his fingers lingering for a moment on the small blue blanket. Without a second thought he summoned the one in his trunk and folded it putting both blankets into the box. he didn't need them any more he realized, he knew he had been loved and that was enough. He knew that he could take care of himself now and that the people in the pictures were nearly strangers to him. They would always stay in his heart, cherished for their sacrifices, but he knew it was time to move on. They were dead and he was alive. No matter how much he might wish that night had never happened, it had. Smiling slightly he gazed at his books with renewed determination.
Someday he would be strong; he would prove to them all that he was better!
$%^&%^&%*^&*%^*
Snape was waiting for him on the twenty-fifth. At first he hadn't noticed the man having come down with his nose already trapped between the pages of a book, but Snape cleared his throat and Harry very nearly dropped said book catching it at the last moment.
"Professor?" He said blinking owlishly at the man belatedly noticing that he'd gotten used to wearing his pajamas around the dorms. With a squeak he rushed up the stairs and dressed himself needing several of the charms Snape's book had taught him to have it done on time and looking neat. The second time he came down Snape was smirking at him behind his hand.
"Much better." He said crisply. Harry gazed at the man suspiciously.
"Sir? Is there something you needed?" He asked cautiously. Snapes eyes glittered and
Harry knew immediately that he was up to something.
"Well you see, every year I join the Malfoy family for their Yule celebrations. This year apparently, Draco mentioned that you would be staying at the castle which in turn lead to
Lucius demanding that I bring you with me." He said with a slight shrug. Harry stared at the man in complete shock.
"Christmas." He said blankly.
"MMMhmmm." Snape said raising an eyebrow.
"With the Malfoys." He said just as blankly.
"Yes." Snape drawled and Harry couldn't help but snort.
"And Draco invited me?" He said tilting his head to the side his eyes narrowed. Snape looked away pointedly.
"Hmmmm." He hummed in what could be construed as agreement.
"The very same Draco who can't see anything past his own pointed nose?" He questioned feeling slightly touched and slightly wary. Christmas? Snape frowned and crossed his arms.
"You'd best gather up your presents, I assure you that Draco won't want to wait long." He said causing Harry to frown again his gaze traveling towards the Christmas tree where he could just barely see a few wrapped parcels tucked under the branches. His heart gave a rough squeeze.
"Presents?" He said slightly breathlessly his eyes growing wide. Snape's look softened.
"Yes Potter, presents." He assured. It took a moment for Harry to move again and when he did his legs were numb his hands shaking as he reached out and pulled out the parcels and cradled them in his arms. Belatedly he noticed the tears streaming down his cheeks.
His legs went weak and suddenly he was slumping to the floor sobbing. "Potter!" Snape rushed forward and Harry shook his head wiping away the tears.
"Its silly...I just...I always dreamed, always wanted..." He smiled weakly and flicked his wrist casting a few charms to rid him of any evidence that he'd just been crying. Snape gazed at him for a moment his eyes becoming hard.
"If that man weren't dead..." he muttered quietly. Harry shook his head.
"But he is dead, and things will get better, they already are." He said clutching his presents to himself before standing and taking a deep breath. "Shall we? Draco must be seething by now." He said chuckling slightly. Snape gave him a tight smile before leading him out of the room.
$%^%^$%^
Harry stepped out of the floo and balked at being immediately accosted by a bouncing
Draco. "You're here, You're here, You're here! Faaaaather they're heeeere!" Draco said bouncing around Harry who wasn't sure whether to laugh or simply stare in shock.
"Draco please!" A female voice cut in exasperated. Harry had been around Draco long enough to know immediately that the tall elegant woman was his mother, she was constantly doting on him. Harry couldn't help but snort at Draco's large puppy dog eyes. This was the scene that Snape flooed into and surprisingly the man didn't seem phased by it in the least.
"Draco please, for once in your life show an ounce of decorum." Lucius Malfoy said striding into the room his eyes lighting on Harry briefly. "Ah welcome, I was beginning to wonder if you two were coming at all." he said glaring slightly at Draco who remained unrepentant and petulant.
"PRESENTS!" He cried out shocking Harry so much that he almost dropped his own gifts. Snape snorted loudly and covered it with a cough as Draco went running leaving Lucius twitching.
"Darling, just how much candy have you given Draco?" He asked sounding pained.
Narcissa lifted her nose.
"Well, I didn't have a study to escape to now did I? I had to keep him occupied somehow." She said before turning and following her son. Harry watched in shock, whatever he'd been expecting, this hadn't been it. Draco was like a polar opposite of his father but it was obvious that Lucius didn't have the heart to stop it. He hid his smile as
Snape settled a hand on his shoulder.
"Well Lucius?" Snape prompted causing the man to look away from his wife's retreating form.
"Ah yes of course, I apologize for their behavior mister Potter, Draco can be quite...excitable on holidays." Snape snorted causing Lucius to glare weakly. Harry nodded his head.
"It's alright sir, I'm sorry if I'm intruding on your Christmas-" he started feeling heat rise to his cheeks.
"Nonsense!" Lucius said with a wave of his hand. "We're delighted to have you. Now, I suppose we ought to adjourn to the other room before it's too littered with wrapping paper to get through." He said with a slight wince before leading them out of the room and down a long hall. Harry stared in awe at the high vaulted ceilings and portraits of blonde men and women wearing severe expressions. He'd always known that Draco came from money but to see it first hand...a part of him clenched. He would have this someday. Malfoy sighed heavily and it was all Harry could do not to laugh as they stepped into a large drawing room with a tree so large it would have dwarfed Hagrid. Draco was already knee deep in wrapping paper his face alight with giddy glee as Narcissa watched on with obvious warmth well out of the way. Draco seemed to know the moment they stepped into the room because suddenly he was running, jumping and soaring through the room on his new broom causing Lucius to twitch visibly.
"Harrrrrryyyyyy!" Draco said swooping down with a slightly maniac look in his eyes.
"See I told you! I told you he would get if for me! Thank you, thank you, thank you father!" Draco said turning towards Lucius and bouncing on his heels. Lucius sighed.
"You are very welcome Draco." He said before watching as his son took off. Snape guided Harry at a more sedate pace towards the couch.
"Go on Potter open your gifts." he muttered before joining Narcissa and Lucius at a small table where tea was set up. Harry gazed at the gifts in his hand in awe for a moment longer before carefully peeling back the paper. His hands fingered the cool shimmering cloth for a moment before he pulled it out.
"What'd you get!" Draco said hopping over to him snatching up the small note. "Harry, this once belonged to your father, use it well?" he said confused. "Hey! They didn't sign their name!" Draco said looking up only to gawk. "No way!" He said in surprise. Harry looked down at himself startling when he realized that his body was gone. he'd just slipped the cloak over his shoulders and- "An invisibility cloak?" Harry pulled off the shimmering material and stared at it in shock. It had been his fathers?
"Blast that old man." Snape muttered darkly behind them. Harry flinched dropping the gift as if it had burned him and looked up at the man. He'd known it was too good to be true, the presents the Christmas- But Snape was suddenly there handing him the cloak.
"Not you Potter, the meddling old coot called a headmaster." He muttered soothingly.
Harry shrank back though still unsure of himself.
"Merlin Severus look what you've done, the boy's scared witless!" Narcissa Malfoy said rising up and pushing Snape aside. "Don't worry; hush now you're all right." Harry stared blankly at the woman who was shushing him and smoothing his hair down the way
Petunia was prone to do whenever Dudley was in a tizzy. No one had ever fussed over him like that. He blinked slowly. He didn't know whether to lean into the touches or to step away; in his indecision he stood still eyes wary.
"I'm fine thank you mam." He said quietly not wanting to be rude. Lucius seemed to sense his discomfort and easily guided his wife away.
"Now dear, let the boy finish opening his presents." Harry blinked and looked down at the cloak in his hand before carefully folding it and placing it back in the wrapping.
Cautiously he lifted the second gift which was actually three wrapped parcels tied together with a bit of ribbon and opened the first gasping slightly at the sight of the green shirt. Living with the Dursleys had taught him from a young age how to tell the difference between finely cut brand names and cheap knock-offs, this was no knock-off. He pulled the shirt out carefully his eyes darting across the even stitching and the clean cut of the shape only to widen his gaze when another shirt, this one black caught his gaze. Quickly he searched for the gift tag only to frown when he didn't find it, had it fallen off in the common room? Who would possibly get him something like this! He was a freak he didn't deserve-
He was not a freak
He was special
He was better than them
The Dursleys were wrong about nearly everything
Right was the opposite of what they said
He deserved better than this
His gaze hallowed a bit at the familiar thoughts. Yes, he deserved this, finery like these...but who would have gotten them for him? He glanced up at the Malfoys to find them pointedly looking away. Oh? And what did they want in return? A glance at Draco told him all he needed to know, they wanted him to protect their naive son. He smiled slightly. He didn't mind that, Draco was rather entertaining at times. He lifted the black shirt and nearly gasped again at the sight of the white one beneath that- three shirts couldn't have fit in the packaging unless- he lifted the white shirt and found a gray one and beneath that a blue one, and then a soft turtleneck, and then another and another. Merlin they had bought him a whole new wardrobe and spelled the packaging to hide it!
"Is something wrong dear?" Narcissa said sipping her tea to hide her slight smile. Harry shook his head slowly.
"No mam- I just-" he shook his head. "It's too much I couldn't possibly-" Snape cut him off.
"Oh but you will Mister Potter and before you say what you're thinking no, there is no ulterior motive other than Narcissa here loving to shop." He said pointedly. Narcissa glared half - heartedly.
"Severus he wasn't supposed to know it was us!" She said pouting visibly telling Harry exactly where Draco got his childish side. Harry shook his head and Lucius smirked slightly.
"Accept it Potter being our son's friend does have its perks you know." He said inclining his head slightly. Harry nodded numbly before carefully folding the many shirts and placing them back into the endless wrapping paper. He almost hesitated to open the second one and nearly sighed in exasperation at the sight of a pair of trousers also finely cut and also hiding at least twelve other pairs of trousers.
"Lady Malfoy!" He said shaking his head only to have her lift her nose at him though she was smiling as she did so. Harry sighed and gave up before folding the trousers and returning them to the paper before opening the last of the three parcels unsurprised to find several sets of proper wizarding robes. Something inside of him thawed a bit as he touched the soft cloth. Perhaps it was knowing that he too had once been loved, but somehow it wasn't all that unbelievable that the Malfoy Matriarch had done this on a pure maternal whim even though she'd never met him. "Thank you." He said quietly a small smile on his face as he gazed up at Narcissa Malfoy who smiled slightly in triumph.
"You are very welcome dear." She said warmly. Harry set the last of his gifts to the side hardly daring to think of how much they must have cost or that they were his to begin with. Eventually Snape cleared his throat and absently handed him another gift which Harry stared down at in complete confusion.
"Sir?" He asked looking at the parcel. Snape looked away.
"Well I couldn't let them outdo me could I?" He asked lifting his chin. Harry's eyes widened.
"You got me-"
"Open it Potter, there's no use arguing." Lucius said dryly though his eyes were amused and it was obvious that the gears in his mind were turning as he looked at Snape who was decidedly uncomfortable. Harry ducked his head and carefully opened the gift.
"Books Severus?" Narcissa said smirking. Severus nodded looking anywhere but at
Harry. Harry knew though, he understood that each one of the books he pulled out of the endless wrapping paper would teach him everything he needed to know about the wizarding world. From politics to etiquette, everything Harry would need in order to grow socially in the wizarding world was there in his hands. What Snape wasn't telling, that Harry could read without needing books to understand was that Snape was giving him a way out- He no longer needed Snape to teach him to make bargains with him, not when he had everything he needed in his hands. But he knew that no matter what knowledge he gleaned from these books, the knowledge Snape had to offer could in all probability be the most important knowledge he could gain. Snape was a powerful and intelligent wizard, Harry could have known that simply by listening to the way the man talked or watching the way the man carried himself.
"Thank you sir." He said smiling widely nearly throwing the man off, but then when had he ever smiled? Carelessly the way that seemed to come to Draco so naturally. Twin spots of red settled across the man's cheek bones.
"You're very welcome Potter." He said quietly before returning to his tea.
The rest of the morning was like a dream to Harry who found himself becoming more and more at ease with the Malfoy family which apparently included Snape. Harry had found himself fascinated by the verbal spars they had with each other and discovered quite quickly that Narcissa was no dim housewife but rather a sharp witted witch with power to back her. She and Lucius Malfoy were a perfect fit for each other. Both had charm, charisma intelligence and grace. They were everything Harry could admire in a couple and he quickly found himself envying Draco. Of course Snape easily kept up with them but where Narcissa and Lucius were light - hearted and sharp Snape was eloquent and had a darker sense of humor that could cut just as easily as the Malfoy couple's subtle barbs.
However the one thing he noticed for certain was that for all their sharp words, they genuinely enjoyed each other's company. It was easy for Harry to understand after a while that the three had been good friends for many years. Of course Harry had watched all of this while watching Draco nearly bounce off the walls for two hours, and then later in slight exasperation when the blonde boy suddenly ran out of energy and crashed on the couch like a cat curled up and sleeping. Harry simply shook his head at this and pulled out a book enjoying the calm atmosphere as he observed the family silently. Lucius and Narcissa seemed completely non-pulsed by Draco's actions and Harry wondered if they were a normal occurrence at Malfoy manor.
"Ah, Mister Potter won't you have some brunch with us?" Narcissa said standing gracefully. Harry blinked up at her in shock having thought himself forgotten. Carefully he marked his place in his book.
"Yes mam' thank-you, you can call me Harry by the way." He said feeling suddenly shy around the woman. Her eyes flared briefly with warmth. Harry had learned by this point that allowing someone to use your given name was the equivalent of announcing that you would side with that person in a duel should you be requested, it was also however a way of saying that you truly respected that person. Just one morning with the Malfoy family had told him that he respected them. Of course there were more public ramifications of allowing a person to use your given name but the finer details were ones that Harry was nearly certain he wouldn't have a problem with. The Malfoys had shown him great kindness, the likes of which he'd never seen. Even Lucius Malfoy who Harry was certain had some ulterior motive had treated him with more decorum than he deserved probably as an extension of his friendship with Draco and the sort of agreement he had with Snape. He of course didn't expect the sentiment to be returned, Lucius and Narcissa were far above him in rank and social status so he would continue to call them by their family name or by their titles as Lord and Lady Malfoy.
"Of course Harry." She said before moving around him to wake Draco. Harry watched in fascination and yearning as she gently woke her son with soft words and motions. It hurt, he realized belatedly. It hurt to watch such a private moment. Quickly he looked away and stood settling his gifts carefully onto the couch as Draco groaned and mumbled behind him. Snape huffed quietly as he watched and Lucius rolled his eyes before leading them out of the room. Harry stuck close to Snape his eyes darting around curiously at all the portraits and lavish decorations that lined the hallways.
"Relax Potter they won't jump out at you." Snape said after a while. Harry frowned up at the man.
"So says you, I never know what to expect from this world. Ghosts, talking portraits, moving stairs..." He shook his head and Snape smirked.
"You'll get used to it." He said as they stepped into a brightly lit room surrounded by three walls of glittering glass panes that stretched up and curved into a stained glass mosaic. A large round table dominated the center of the room and Harry could only gape at the amount of food sitting on it.
"Now Harry, I didn't know what you would like so you can just grab whatever suits you."
Narcissa said as Lucius pulled out her seat for her and scooted her forward. Harry stared at her with wide eyes. It was only then that he noticed that three of the plates were already heavily laden with what he could assume were favored foods. He looked up in shock at Snape who simply smirked and unfolded his napkin settling it on his lap. All that food...for him? He gazed at it for a moment longer before carefully seating himself. He'd read about this of course. Just earlier in fact, it was a common custom in wealthy families for the matriarch to be able to predict the wants of the more personal friends of the family. If she did not know than an array like this one would be set out almost as an apology. Quietly Harry began requesting what he wanted from the piles of food. Years of living with the Dursleys had left him with little apatite after learning to survive on the scant amount of food they'd allowed him. He'd also developed a healthier appetite after watching Vernon eat as much greasy food as he had. Harry had come to prefer fruits to bacon and oatmeal to rashers, he was probably the only boy in Slytherin that ate plain dry toast and poached eggs instead of pancakes and fried eggs.
"The board has decided to allow Hogwarts to remain open." Lucius said catching Harry's attention. Silver eyes met his before darting away. Harry relaxed a bit. Ever since that day in the headmaster's office he'd been scared that they were going to close the school down.
"They agreed with mister Potter's reasoning about mudbloods not knowing better than to let a troll in though how she did it is beyond me." He said returning his gaze to his food.
Harry understood at once that the man had used his name to sway the governors which honestly he didn't mind all that much as long as it kept him from having to return to Petunia sooner than was necessary.
"The headmaster will be elated." Snape said dryly.
"Well at least the children will be able to return, after all the troll was dead, why would they close down the school if the threat was eliminated." Narcissa said easily. Harry found that he had to agree though a part of him doubted that the threat was truly gone, he shared a look with Snape who frowned in response.
"It just goes to show what happens when one goes looking for trouble." he said aloud a clear warning if Harry had ever heard one.
"Yeah." Draco giggled. "You get blown up!" He said causing Harry's apatite to fail him utterly. He closed his eyes as a flash of a memory slipped through him.
"Draco!" Narcissa chided bringing him out of the memory. It was a different sort of hunger that lingered now and there was no mistaking that Lucius had seen it this time. It was a hunger for blood, for the power it offered. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he should feel disgusted for it, but he remembered just how well things had been going since he'd killed Vernon, and the troll as well. After all he was here wasn't he? With some of the wizarding world's most influential people on Christmas, having the celebration he'd always dreamed of having. No, killing Vernon was the best thing that had ever happened to him and the more powerful he got the better things would get. He would be strong, unstoppable! He smiled slightly into his food content to sit back and enjoy himself. If the
Malfoy's were content to let him have a chance with them than he would do his best, and if Snape was willing to teach him, well then he would learn all he could wouldn't he?
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