Chapter 4: Something Slytherin
Draco was bored out of his mind he was pacing the halls of the manor trying to find something to do to stimulate his intellect. Since the war had ended and he had finished his education at Hogwarts as an 8th year he had read every book that had even moderately interested him in the library of the manor (and that was quite a feat if he would say so himself), he had written his own potions book, he had taken up drawing and even learned to cook. Now he was out of ideas to what to do next.
He needed to found something to occupy him, a scheming or some plan that involved some cunning strategies or manipulative ways. He needed something Slytherin to do.
Damn the ministry for holding him on house arrest because deeming him a "dangerous influence". He snorted he had never even killed anyone, and thank merlin for that.
He was not allowed to leave the manor expect to go to muggle places, which he was not comfortable enough doing afraid he would seem like a fool for not knowing anything about their strange things and traditions. He was not allowed to read The Prophet or send owls. He was an exile to the wizarding community, at least his sentence had only been 2 years and it would be over in a few months' time but every day seemed longer than the one that had just ended.
He understood what they wanted to accomplish here, to set him as an example and in the same time force him to educate himself about muggles if he wanted to socialize and start living again. This was hard to do though while trying to forget the horrible things that were still haunting him from the war.
It would have been a much better way to just make him take a course in muggle studies and order him to see a mind healer. Their way of thinking did not make any sense to Draco at all. He was even allowed to use magic, admittedly just small spells and such but the whole purpose of learning to see things the muggle way of his punishment was totally lost on him.
To have his wand was such a relive though and he would always be grateful to Potter for returning it to him even though he hadn´t had any obligations to do such a thing. It had been totally unexpected when he had turned up on Draco´s doorstep just a month into his house arrest.
He hadn´t had 1 single visitor in the first month since he had been stuck in the manor. He wasn´t lonely not really he was used to fend for himself never having any siblings or other people around spending most of his time with house elves as a child.
So to say that he was surprised when he felt the wards flutter was an understatement. He had not been expecting company.
He was in his study working on making the instructions for the Baruffio's Brain Elixir in his book "Good Potions, Bad Intentions" were he listed all potions that had a bad reputation but in it´s pure form was quite brilliant and were it really was the usage of it that was at fault.
When he thought of it the potions was like him in a way, he was disliked by almost everyone and the Malfoy name was not something to brag about these days. He as the potions was not evil to the core, it had been evil influences and circumstances that had made him become a part and used in the process of creating something evil. He had a long way to redeem himself and what he had done and it felt right with starting to do something good for the world if so only by redeeming some old potions.
It was a few minutes later and he could still feel the wards and he cursed under his breath. He had totally forgotten that he was not allowed to have a house elf while on probation, that meant in this case that whoever was at the gate to the manor had not been greeted and this was not acceptable.
If there was anything Draco still had left even if he was a lot more humble since his earlier school days it was the Malfoy pride and he thought it very important to behave like a proper pureblood.
He thanked merlin for being allowed to apparate inside the manor otherwise it would take him minutes only to get to the front doors.
With a crack he appeared in front of the gates and stood frozen. What was he doing here?
The man on the other side fidgeted and looked really out of place before breaking the silence "Um, Malfoy" he looked uncertain and added "it´s good to see you?"
Draco stared some more and took in the man's appearance. He looked older than the last time he had seen him. Admittedly the last time he had really seen Potter was in 6th year after that everything in his mind was fogged by a haze where nothing had really registered, and furthermore Potter had decided not to do the 8th year instead taking a year to "mentally heal" the papers had said.
He had a more mature, sophisticated and calm atmosphere around him now, like he had found himself and was fine with his life. His body had matured as well. The first thing he noticed was that his hair was now cut so that even an unstylish Gryffindor could maintain it or at least so it seemed. His eyes looked clearer as if what had haunted them in the past was now gone and they were currently looking at him questionably. Oh yea he should probably say something.
"Well, surprised to see you here Potter, are you here to see that your charity case is behaving?" he just couldn´t help but make a snide comment and lifted one of his eyebrows in trademark Malfoy fashion.
Potter looked irritated, it felt good to see that something never changed and that he could still rile the wizard up without much problem.
He was surprised when Potter just shook it off though without taking the bait. "You're not a charity case, I actually came to apologize and deliver something I should have given you a long time ago" he actually looked a little guilty if Draco looked more closely, he had mistaken the fidgeting and uncertainty for nervousness earlier.
Draco cocked his head as if prompting him to go on, he couldn´t think of anything Potter should need to apologize for and anyhow he had repaid all debts there may have been by saving his life and what not.
"Uh maybe you could let me in?" Draco rolled his eyes and opened the gate to allow Potter entrance and they made their way back to the manor and the large sitting room.
On the way there he noticed Potter´s clothes and posture had also improved a lot since their last interaction. The trousers he had on was actually quite flattering to his backside and the way he walked made a chill run up Draco´s spine, he reeked confidence and power.
It was mostly destroyed when he opened his mouth though, was nice to know he wasn´t perfect. "Eh, so yea… I´m sorry, I um kind of forgot" Potter looked up him sincerely and Draco signed sometimes or rather more often than not Potter was quite daft.
"Potter, what did you forget? I can´t forgive you for whatever if I don´t know what it is you have supposedly not given me" Potter flushed and instead of saying anything presented him a wooden box.
Draco took it casually "So yea I know I should have given it to you right after… But you know the war… then it was the funerals and the trials… anyway found it a few days ago or rather Ron actually but…" any more of Potter´s ramblings was on death ears when Draco had opened the box.
He let out a gasp, inside was HIS wand the one he had thought was lost forever. He blinked several times, was it a dream or maybe he was hallucinating? But no when he carefully took out the wand he hadn´t held in over a year he felt the familiar excitement and connection with his magic.
He swirled it and let out a small chuckle, he felt like a child. Before he knew it he was giving Potter a big hug and the man was gaping at him. "Ugh, I guess you forgive me then" he said whit a smile.
Draco didn´t think it was anything there to forgive to be honest. "Thank you, you have no idea what this means to me" he said instead.
After that he had invited Harry for tea and they had actually had a good time.
Later that same night Draco had not been able to go to sleep before he had rather vividly fantasized about those green eyes now full of life and that arse in those fitted jeans.
He had at the time just shrugged it off to him being lonely and that it had been the first person he had seen and had had any contact with for weeks.
Later though when Harry had never came to visit him again and he had felt disappointed he slowly started to think it may have meant something more. He was not above admitting to himself what he wanted.
If he had been able to he had probably contacted Potter, but the no owls and not being allowed on wizard areas had made that extremely hard unfortunately. Potter´s 1 visit had also been the only one so he couldn´t really send forward a message through someone else either.
This was it though, what he was searching for. A Malfoy always get what he wants, a scheming plan to get to Potter would surely be able to keep him occupied for a while and it would be a lot of fun.
He had a lot to figure out though, he needed the means to get to an end. And he also needed to be cunning to get Potter to be in on that end whatever he decided he wanted it to be.
The planning was interrupted by the wards. Unlike when he had just a visitor though it was more than the feeling of someone wanting to breach the wards. The feeling was accompanied by a high pitched noise and it was giving him a headache, bloody heel but it was load.
First he couldn´t seem to remember what this meant, but then he froze in the middle of the hallway.
A muggle was at the edge of the wards to the manor, a muggle. He had never heard the warning mechanisms for muggles before but his parents had described them and he was certain that it was the sound he was hearing at the moment.
A muggle had not by their free will sat it´s foot on the grounds in over 100 years. Draco was at a loss of both why a muggle was there and how it had found its way there in the first place.
Bracing himself he took a deep breath, dealing with muggles he grimaced just at the thought. But he was curious too, as he apparated to the gate his last thought was well at least this is strictly not boring.