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Draco in an unexpected situation
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Last time on Draco in an Unexpected Situation:
Dobby even confided in Draco one day.
"Draco- please don't start to slack. Keep progressing as you are. We can't afford to have you slow down. If your… father…" Dobby spat, "finds you before you are ready, he will kill you without hesitation. You have to learn everything that I am teaching you."
Draco appreciated this honesty, and promised not to slack off. And he truly meant it.
7) Draco meets Neville
Draco continued along the same pattern with Dobby well into mid December. After Dobby had given Draco the date, Draco had put together a calendar for himself in one of his 'free time' sessions, and had since marked the dates off.
In another 'free time' session, Dobby introduced Draco to the notion of creating his own Christmas decorations and putting them up. They spent the whole time decorating their small cottage with various green, red and gold ornaments and decorations. They enjoyed this time together.
The following day during 'free time', Dobby brought a large Christmas tree into the cottage that was so large it scraped along the ceiling. He then chopped the top off, so that less than 5 inches remained above the tree. Draco and dobby then decorated the tree with lights, small shiny baubles and various small toys that could be hung to the sticky spines and branches of the Christmas tree. They topped the tree, in the 5 inches remaining with a golden star that skimmed the ceiling.
Draco, then in the Christmas spirit, spent every other 'free time' session building gifts for Dobby and creating large Christmassy wooden structures that he dotted around the outside of the cottage. He was particularly impressed with himself for building a reindeer out of scraps of wood, some felt and a few bits and bobs that he found and transfigured.
Three days before Christmas during lunch time, when Draco and Dobby were enjoying a lunch of spiced chicken and salad sandwiches, a huge gasp could be heard from by the front door. Dobby and Draco locked eyes for a moment.
Draco, without saying a word or waiting for encouragement ran around the back of the property, through the window of the spare room, and rounded on whoever was at the door. He held his wand in guard position, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and anger, and slowly came around the corner to see the back of the intruder.
He slowly came to the corner, and moving with slight, quiet movements took a glance around the corner. Nothing. He was slightly confused. He now took a small step forwards, and again glanced. Still nothing. He stepped out, and walked towards the front door. No one was around. He could however tell that a wizard had been here. And they had grubby fingers. They had touched the reindeer that Draco made, and left dirt on its face. Draco raised his wand higher, and looked around for more clues as to where the intruder might have gone too.
He didn't have to look far. After a second or two of looking, he heard a noise. It came from inside. Draco then rounded back to the spare bedroom window. What he saw through the window was not what he expected. The source of the noise was there. The intruder. The brazen git who was hanging up his travelling cloak, and putting his hat on the bedside table. He turned and smiled slightly, the smile turning into a frown when he saw Draco staring disbelievingly at him through the window.
"Hey Malfoy!" the previously podgy boy called in a disgruntled tone, "What're you doing out there?"
"Longbottom" Draco growled. He walked away from the window.
Neville sighed, then smiled, looking around his room, "This is much nicer than our beach hut, Maant. I like the greenery. And that reindeer was just awesome! Where did it come from?"
Draco came in the front door, and saw the hairy little Elf with rich golden skin, wearing what looked like a young girl's yellow bathing suit. The Elf called Maant smiled at Neville, "But Nev-man, you can't catch the waves down here. Dude- K'tch ya later maaan". Draco had never heard an elf speak like this one. Nor seen magic like what he produced. Maant clicked his fingers once, and all of Neville's belongings appeared, organised, ordered and stylishly arranged. Neville's wall colouring changed to a rich, warm red, and had skirting boards and covings in a perfect shade of shiny gold. The rustic flooring, instead of looking odd against the finery, only seemed to complement it.
Draco didn't appreciate the way that Neville reacted to him. He wasn't overjoyed to have the clumsy boy here, but he certainly hadn't been openly hostile to him… guiltily he thought 'although I did reprimand him in my head'.
But it seemed that Draco, Dobby and Neville would be stuck together for a while. Neville, it turned out had improved in many ways since Draco had last seen him. Almost 4 months of working out, shaping his body and mind and training in physical combat had refined his muscles, he had lost most of his excess weight (although he retained a slight comfortable squidgy look around his middle) and he had shot up in height, through months of stretches, and, from the look of his tan, Draco observed, surfing at any given hour of the day. He also had become much more mature and focussed on his actions.
From their attitudes towards each other, Dobby observed that he might have a problem with these two… at least for a little while, he thought.
Dobby decided to try to fix the problem before it really got started. He asked the boys to take the rest of the afternoon off, and all three of them would have a small 'team building' session. Both boys had different skills and had learned different things from their tutors. Neville was well versed in reading auras, whereas Draco didn't have a clue, and Draco had been taught weapon crafting in many types of weapons. Neville would have an hour and half to teach Draco the basics of aura reading, and then Draco would have the same amount of time to teach Neville how to craft a thin sword. Neville had learned fencing and would gain use out of thin swords similar to those used in fencing.
By the end of the session, Draco and Neville were calmer with each other. Dobby then taught both of them how to cook a meal that neither of them had made before- chicken chowmein with vegetables and curry sauce.
They both enjoyed cooking it, and made a large mess. They enjoyed the taste also, having not eaten many foreign-inspired muggle foods.
The boys worked ok together over the next couple of days. They could tolerate each others company. After so many years of actively disliking each other, a few days couldn't smooth things over.
Christmas Day, they had a slightly calmer day than usual, but essentially it was just any other day. Dobby relaxed with them a little, and as they were not used to large meals at lunch time, they had meat sandwiches for lunch, and then had a goose Christmas dinner with all of the trimmings in the evening, followed by a small portion of strawberry trifle each.
After dinner, Draco gave Dobby the presents that he had made him. They included several full changes of clothing, except socks (he noticed that Dobby had far too many socks), a quilted bedspread and a perfect Long Sword for Dobby, with intricate detailed designs, and a leather holder for it.
Dobby gave Draco luxurious robes, and handed him a brand new, hand-made racing broom. Draco was excited to know that he alone had a broom like his- and what a broom it was. Draco could feel it hum through the brown paper packaging. Draco couldn't wait to fly on it.
Neville's previous tutor Maant came by, and Neville and he exchanged presents. They gave each other sporting equipment. Neville had made a highly polished surfing board that looked far too big and expensive for the small Elf, and Maant gave Neville an Elf-made construction that resembled a Quad-bike.
They then enjoyed their gifts for the remainder of the Evening. Draco shot around the small island, whipping around the trees, avoiding the occasional animal, and whooping loudly. Neville, unsure of the layout of the island, attempted to follow the dot that Draco was against the sky, but ended up on a large hard surface that was much more fun to zoom around on.
Overall they had a nice Christmas. But it was back to some hard work for them the next day.
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Next chapter: Expand the Search!
We see what Lucius is up to