No Obvious Truths

Chapter 30

Harry Shows of His Drawing Skills

Narcissa yawned tiredly, knowing she would have to get a move on; it was time for Harry's potions, the routine was important to ensure consistency. She was ever so glad that this regimen was working better for Harry. She didn't know what they would have done if this one hadn't worked either. Clearing her thoughts, she decided not to dwell on it further, there was simply no need. Harry was on the mend, and that was the most important thing at the end of the day. Closing the door, silently wishing Severus was there with her, Lucius had snuck off to spend the night with Tom. Knowing Tom, she wouldn't see hide or hair until dinner, Tom got very possessive when anything happened. Just like her she mused to herself, when it came to Severus. She should be used to the routine by now, but the truth was - she wasn't. She wanted to spend all her time with Severus, but he was so busy. At least she wasn't on her own, as she would definitely have been if not for Harry.

Harry's bedroom light was on; or rather the candles were lit since there were flames flickering under the space in the door. This early? Concerned for Harry, she quickly made her way to his room, knocking loud enough for the child to hear if he was in the bathroom.

"Come in," said the eleven years old, he sounded cheerful enough.

"Are you okay, Harry?" asked Narcissa, opening the door and entering the room, three steps later she was at his bed, pressing the front of her hand to his forehead - checking for any sign of a fever. He didn't seem abnormally warm, sighing in relief, he looked cheerful enough…and his room looked as though a bomb had hit his bed. It was littered with hundreds of the magazines Arabella keeps bringing him. Some sort of magazine she said he liked, his art case that Lucius and Tom had bought was also spread out.

"I'm fine," said Harry with a grin.

"You are up early," said Narcissa, "Did you have trouble sleeping?" was he worried about Lucius and Severus still despite the whole debacle being sorted.

"Nope," said Harry, shaking his head.

"You don't have to worry about Draco, I promise, something like what happened last night doesn't happen at Hogwarts. It was an accident that is going to be thoroughly investigated by the Ministry of Magic - Lucius will ensure that." said Narcissa soothing him.

"I'm not worried," confessed Harry, giving Narcissa a shy smile for being so concerned.

"Good," replied Narcissa, relaxing fully on the bed and actually looking around the mess. Which when put into Harry's perspective looked like organized chaos. "What are you drawing?" she asked, catching sight of something that looked remarkably like Severus…well his face and tallness at the very least…and his cloak.

"A picture, I was just looking for a superhero that fits Lucius," commented Harry, sniggering softly. His green eyes gleaming in happiness, he loved it here.

"A superhero?" commented Narcissa, pursing her lips; nobody would have considered Lucius a superhero. Maybe Draco, but Lucius wasn't a popular person unless they were trying to get in his good books to borrow or ask for something. No he was nobody's version of a superhero, but he was protective of his family - just like Severus.

"Uh-huh," said Harry, nodding eagerly, "See, this one's like Lucius!" showing her one of his comics.

"Why is…Angel like Lucius? Apart from the hair." she commented, staring down at the comic, Muggles were odd creatures, but as she read it she realized it was sort of like the chocolate frog cards, just with little stories about hero's instead of real wizards who had done exceptional things in the magical world. X-Men, whatever that was, was it a good thing to let Harry read so much of this stuff? It's easy to write being a hero, but it was a very difficult position to be put in. She felt as if they were encouraging him. She would speak to Severus; he would know what was best.

"He's really, really, really rich, and smart, and skinny, powerful and….he's been through a lot, did bad things but not on his own bad people made him. People see him as something he isn't, just like Lucius." said Harry softy, it was true. The magical world didn't see Lucius as a good man, but Harry knew he was - just like Angel was.

"I see," said Narcissa, smiling at him proudly, he was a good boy. Was it just childhood innocence that enabled children to have that sort of view of the world? She hoped that it didn't fade from Harry too quickly, but considering everything that he'd been told over the past few months Narcissa wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't already disappearing. "Have you called Dobby for breakfast?"

"Not yet," said Harry, he hadn't wanted to wake him up.

"Dobby?" called Narcissa, waiting patiently for Dobby while watching Harry colouring in with a black charcoal.

"What can Dobby be doing for Lady Malfoy?" enquired Dobby, standing at attention.

"Bring Harry's morning potions," she said, "Would you like your breakfast up here, Harry?"

"If you don't mind?" Harry said, making it sound like a question.

"Of course I don't," said Narcissa, only Harry would get away with not coming down to breakfast and eat - which was a household rule in Malfoy Manor the only exception was if you were sick then you get breakfast in bed. Of course one could argue that Harry was sick, despite the fact he looked better than ever. She hadn't seen him this jubilant before, he was just exuding so much contentment it was infectious. The art set that Tom and Lucius had got was definitely worth the money to see him so happy. "Bring breakfast for both of us." there was no point to her eating alone. She would just enjoy her breakfast sitting on the sofa.

"Dobby will be doing that," said the House-Elf before he popped away to do what he'd been asked to do.

A hoot distracted them from Dobby, and they looked over to the window to see Hedwig perched on the ledge, her big round eyes staring expectantly - demanding to be let in.

"You weren't the only one up early today," teased Narcissa, standing up and making her way regally to the window. Opening it, she claimed the letter from the owl, letting it do as it pleased. Which was swoop into Harry's room and land on its perch, greedily digging into a mouse it had somehow gotten past them and into the dish. She was surprised it didn't smell the room; she would need to remind Dobby to give it a clear out later.

Harry laughed, putting the charcoal down, keeping it on the paper so he didn't mess up his bed. His hands were dirty and smudged, he knew he would have to wash them so he hoped off his bed and disappeared into the bathroom. Scrubbing them until they were nice and clean for breakfast.

"Here you are," said Narcissa handing over the letter from her son, honestly, there hadn't been a day that went by that Draco hadn't written home. She wasn't sure what she was going to do when Harry finally joined Hogwarts. She truly would be at a loss, her two babies all grown up. Well, Harry had grown up, in many ways he was more mature than Draco, having been dealt a heavy blow, coming so close to death it was to be expected. He had been accepting of his oncoming death when they found him, and the thought of it still was enough to reduce her to emotional tears. No eleven year old should have been forced to endure that, Arabella had done the right thing getting them involved. She was ever so grateful to her for that, Harry was like a son to her now and she'd have it no other way.

"Thank you," said Harry accepting the letter and hastily opening it, knowing it would be about what happened last night. No doubt Draco had spoken to Hermione last night or early this morning - from what he understood they were both early birds, Hermione and Neville more so - they spent a lot of time in the mornings at the library. It was the one place they got peace from Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson.

Oh, he couldn't wait to join them all there, see everything for himself; the little occasional trips weren't enough for him. He hoped his hair grew back out in time for that too, he didn't want to wear a hat or transfigured wig all the time, especially in a school where a simple 'Finite Incantatem' could turn it back into the hat it had originally been.

"Breakfast for Lady Malfoy and Master Harry." said Dobby, appearing at the far end of the room beside the sofa, placing the food on the table there. "Does Master Harry want it in bed?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, Dobby." said Harry, moving his comics aside, feeling very hungry.

Dobby didn't reply he merely handed over a tray, placing it in the spot Harry had tided just moments ago. With a small smile reserved for Harry, well, more like a grin really, before he disappeared - to eat his own breakfast now that his family had been served.

"Potions first," said Narcissa, staying at the side of the bed until she was sure they were all taken. As mature as he was, any eleven year old would try and get out of taking medicine not thinking of the harm that they will do. Although Harry had never once complained, in fact he didn't complain much for a young boy going through so much. She watched in pride as Harry took the potions in the correct order. Once he was done, she took the empty vials and moved over to the sofa and began eating her breakfast, content that Harry would be just fine. Her mind lingering on the drawing, she wondered what Tom, Severus and Lucius would think of it. Lucius with wings would probably turn Tom on and Severus…would get a great deal of amusement about of being 'batman'.

The wards shifted suddenly, catching Narcissa by surprise, she certainly hadn't expected them until later. Lucius wasn't by himself; he had brought Tom with him. Harry would be over the moon, he liked when Tom visited the manor, which wasn't often since they usually went to Tom's place. They had used the Floo; she knew due to the way the wards shifted abruptly, Apparation was more subtle. It was unusual enough for them to come, to have her curious. Leaving her unfinished breakfast she moved towards Harry's door and opened it. Peering down the hall, watching both of them approach, they seemed happy enough so nothing had happened.

"Is everything alright?" she asked regardless.

"Yes, Lucius has been to the Ministry, an investigation has been opened up into why and how the Headmaster let such an idiotic thing happen. It could have been ten times worse than it was, and I was also told about the fact he sent the Slytherins back to their common room despite the fact the Troll was reported to have been there." said Tom, he was simply furious about Dumbledore's negligence. Nothing had changed since he was at Hogwarts, still the same old prejudice wizard, well with the exception of him going from Professor of Transfiguration to Headmaster.

"Are you sure it's wise to antagonise him?" Narcissa asked, staring over at Harry. Who didn't even seem to realize they were there, too immersed in his drawing. She wasn't fond of Dumbledore, and was suspicious of his…seemingly genial behaviour constantly trying to help, and asking them if they needed it. The fact he hadn't helped Harry when he could have just burned her terribly. He could make Harry's life uncomfortable and none of them wanted that.

"He cannot be allowed to fail the students this way, what if it had been worse? If your son had been harmed because of it? He very well could have been, he send Draco down to the dungeons, he sent the Slytherins there." said Tom, "It is inexcusable." especially with Harry attending, he wont have the same speed and agility as the other students. If something happened Harry would be a sitting duck. He'd been through enough and he wasn't about to let Dumbledore's negligence put him even more at risk.

"Severus probably thinks that as well," said Narcissa, nodding her head in agreement. She just didn't want to cause too many big waves, especially if the treatment continued as it was, Severus was confident that Harry would be able to start attending Hogwarts for his second year along with everyone else. If Dumbledore did anything, even the smallest thing she would go berserk at him and nobody wanted to get on her bad side - especially when it came to her kids. "Well the ball is already rolling, let's just hope it doesn't cause a massive backlash." she wanted to adopt Harry, and there were many people in the Ministry who listened to Dumbledore. Enough to make it difficult, but at least he couldn't get his hands on Harry, they were officially his foster parents.

"Don't worry so much, Harry will be fine, he isn't going anywhere." said Lucius, giving her a reassuring hug.

"Indeed," said Tom, his eyes narrowing at the thought of it.

"Are you here for lessons already?" asked Harry, finally joining in the conversation, putting his charcoal back onto the case and rummaging for his pencil.

"You look a lot better," said Tom, moving towards the bed, ruffling Harry's head and his hair which was just beginning to grow back. He didn't need to do that anymore, Harry was no longer in pain and he didn't need the bond to take the pain away. Whenever he drew you knew he was having a good day, and all things considered he was very accomplished for an eleven year old.

"I feel a lot better, can I do hands on Herbology?" asked Harry, his tone hopeful.

"Not yet, but by the looks of things it wont be long." said Tom, gazing at the drawing his lip twitching. "You know why you can't,"

"I know," said Harry, smiling impishly. It didn't stop his desire to learn everything he could about the magical world. He had missed nearly a year already. He couldn't wait to learn potions with Severus and Herbology too, they'd promised him as soon as he was better they would begin the lessons. He hoped he could learn with Draco as well, maybe during the summer holidays? Harry knew he shouldn't make plans, because when you least expected it they sometimes didn't happen. Unfortunately he couldn't help himself, he was just so excited, and he had so much energy today.

"Madam Bones will be visiting tomorrow, but afterwards you can come to mine," said Tom; he wanted to spend some time with Harry.

"When are the next holidays for school?" asked Harry, gazing at them expectantly, he wanted to see Draco for more than just a few minutes.

"Christmas, in less than a month," replied Narcissa, she was very well aware of them all, counting down the days to when Draco would be home again. The three adults could tell he missed Draco a great deal, to think he'd been at Hogwarts just as long as he'd known Harry before attending. It seemed so much longer, in retrospect, so much had changed, and for the better.

"Good," declared Harry, after swallowing his last piece of toast. He couldn't wait to talk to him properly, for them to ride their dragons, and maybe he could convince Draco to fly them now that he was feeling better. Draco would probably want Lucius there; he was like an older brother when it came to making sure he was safe.

Lucius arched an eyebrow, finding himself bemused, who wouldnt be when confronted with a picutre that he was sure was supposed to be himself and Seveurs, and he had wings? white wings sprouting out his back? glancing at Tom, looking for something...an explaination but he wasn't looking at him.

"Severus will be here later tonight for your lessons, will you show this to him?" asked Narcissa.

Harry would never admit it but it was the best feeling in the world to have Draco, Lucius, Tom, Severus and Narcissa in his life. He loved having a family, and he would never let anyone take that away from him, anyone. If anyone tried he would hurt them as much as possible. Which was why he would learn all the magic he could, he would keep them safe.

"Yes," agreed Harry, flashing back to Petunia proudly displaying Dudley's artwork, exclaiming how good it was. This was how he knew they were a family, besides the fact they really cared about him. Never take it for granted, thought Harry to himself, keeping to that mantra if his life depended on it.

I had such a difficult time with this chapter, trying to fill it up between whats already happened and getting to the point what I want to happen...but next chapter Draco goes home for Christmas i'm trying to think of something that will annoy Narcissa to have her yelling at Tom and Lucius ;) I would love to write something like that. Anyway there we go R&R