I Don't Want to be a Hero - Second Year

Chapter Thirty-One

An Interlude 'Til Christmas - Part III of V

Exercise! 28 Nov 1992

Kili and Fili woke up Draco and Harry at the miserable crack of dawn at 5am. Draco tried to go back to sleep but Kili Vanished his sheets and night shirt. Fili did the same to Harry and his pyjamas when he was not moving fast enough to the bathroom.

The house elf brothers kept at the two boys through showers, a meagre touch of dry toast and water, and dressing in a pair of black shorts, and white t-shirts. The house elves then led the boys to a second, much smaller cottage that was reached by going through the kitchen in the main cottage, out the back door, and along a quaint path of flat Travertine tile.

"Where did this come from?" grumped Draco as they arrived at the front of the second cottage.

"You've never seen it?" asked Harry.

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I was sorta busy with other stuff, Harry."

"There you are, gentlemen!" Lucius greeted them at the door of the second cottage.

He wore a single-suit of black that hugged every curve of his body; a smooth cup over his gentleman's anatomy provided some modesty. Still, Harry blushed in embarrassment for the wizard since it appeared he had none of his own! He had braided his hair so it hung in a clubbed queue at the nape of his neck. He motioned Harry over, turned his back to his front, and braided the boy's hair.

"How long do you intend to let your hair grow, Harry?" asked Lucius as he finished the braid.

"Dad said I couldn't let it go below my elbows, sir," replied Harry. He reached back to touch the braid. "Thanks."

Draco was looking around the only room which had been converted from a living space into a wizard's dream for a gym. Some devices looked familiar but there was a dueling platform against the wall, a Hexing Dummy, a tall basket of many shaped objects for which Draco had no idea what they were for. In addition there were boxing gloves on the wall, and for Severus there was his rapier.

"Stretching exercises first," ordered Lucius. "Follow my lead."

With the boys in front of him Lucius began a series of stretching exercises that had Harry and Draco breathless by the time the stretching was finished.

"When do we get to hit each other, father?" asked Draco with a breathy whine.

"I don't want to… get hit!" protested Harry just as breathily.

Lucius was not at all winded. "No boxing, yet. First, you learn to dance."

"What?!" both boys cried in disgust at once.

"Footwork, gentlemen," Lucius smirked. "The key to boxing, to any fighting including with wands, is in your footwork. It must be speedy, delicate, and controlled. It is your footwork that will lay the groundwork for your bodily defence. It would not do to face an opponent, and then to trip like a drunken dragon over your own feet." He then winked, "And, in the vernacular, such footwork is also referred to as… dancing." Lucius then slowly began moving from his right foot to his left and back to his right. "Follow me, gentlemen."

When Draco and Harry were jerkily hopping back and forth on their feet Lucius began to increase his speed, and to increase the distance between his feet.

Harry and Draco did their best to follow but each lost track of what foot they were on, and before they knew it they were colliding with each other.

Lucius slowed his movements until Draco and Harry picked themselves up. "Let us continue, gentlemen. If you do not fall down for ten minutes I shall allow you to fly this afternoon."

Both boys heard 'flying' as a reward and so they focussed their concentration on the task.

Two minutes in Harry faltered on his feet but did not fall. He just slowed his step, then caught up with Lucius and Draco, and was back to matching their speed and the alteration in distance of the right and left feet that Lucius had thrown in.

Five minutes in Draco's feet faltered, and he almost stumbled but he kept from doing so. Using Harry's earlier trick, he kept moving until he was back in sync with his father and best friend.

Lucius stopped after exactly ten minutes, and both boys collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.

"Up! Up! You will do your stretching exercises before and after the main lesson. So, stretches, gentlemen!"

With huffs, and grunts, and mumbles the two friends rose to their feet, did their stretches, and were then gratefully dismissed by Lucius. They gathered their cloaks, scarves, and gloves but neither had the intention to don the warm clothing but Lucius insisted, warning them that it would be easy to catch a cold even though they felt warm. Once dressed the older wizard watched them slowly leave the second cottage - the gym.

Once outside Harry spoke softly to Draco, "No offence but I don't think I like your dad anymore, Draco."

"Me neither," hissed Draco as he moved to drape an arm over the back of Harry's shoulder so they could lean against each other. "Think we could owl Charlie to feed him to a dragon?"

Harry chuckled, then hissed in pain, "Ow."

"Yeah," commiserated Draco.

Narcissa welcomed Draco and Harry with a real, second breakfast that was pancakes with blackberries and pecans, rashers of crispy bacon, orange juice and milk. This feast was set upon with alacrity by the two friends. Lucius arrived near the tail end of breakfast, handsomely dressed in dove grey with touches of red in his silk cravat, and deep red waistcoat.

Lucius had no fondness for pancakes so he had oat porridge with fruit and pecans.

Draco crossed his silverware over his empty plate, suppressed a burp, and smiled at his mother, then to his father. "May we go flying now?"

Lucius nodded his assent. "Mind the boundaries, gentlemen." He caught his son by his middle as they started to leave. "Dragon, do me a favour and take care of your mother. I have some business to take care of and I will not be home until five."

"Professor Malfoy," asked Harry worriedly, "will we visit my father today?"

"That we will, Harry. Just a bit later than usual." He let go of his son, and waved them away. "Go now. Leave us in peace."

Draco trotted over to his mother, kissed her cheek, and then the boys left the dining room.

"Lucius, you're dressed quite beautifully today," began Narcissa. He nodded graciously to his wife, and his eyes sparkled wickedly. "It is not the time for the monthly meeting of your investors so what devastation are you up to today?"

Lucius sipped his tea and smiled secretly towards his wife. "I shall only say that it is something I have been working on, and should all go as planned today, then my efforts will be revealed at Christmas."

Narcissa chuckled slightly. "When does anything not go… ooh!" Her teacup clattered to its saucer as her hand flew to her baby bump.

"Darling, are you all right?" Lucius flew immediately from his chair, and to his wife's side. "Cissy?" He expected protestations of pain but the expression on his wife's face was one of wonder. "Cissy, what is it?"

In answer Narcissa took her husband's hand, and lay it palm down upon her abdomen towards her left side. A moment later Lucius' drifted to a crouch that brought him closer to Narcissa's belly as he felt a swift kick against his palm.

"Quite a morning girl, isn't she?" Lucius spoke in delight.

"She?" questioned Narcissa teasingly.

"Or he," conceded Lucius. "We may not have the problems waking this one up for the mornings as we do with our Dragon." At an answering kick that seemed to confirm his statement, Lucius laughed.

a/n: From Professor Snape - 9/11 is a day that hurt America almost to the point of being crippled. Americans did not fall. Heroes rose that day and to them the world bows to them, and our silence belongs to the brothers and sisters that were lost. 9/11 is a day of horror that none across the Earth shall forget. Think upon the heroes and the fallen today. ~Severus Snape