Family First Chapter 4: December 17

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Warning: This chapter contains talk of spanking

Beta'ed by Jasper's Mom

Light was invading the room. He groaned, and threatened the stupid light with out-and-out war if it didn't go away. The light didn't listen to him. Obviously he was going to lose this battle. With that in mind, he opened his eyes slowly. Looking straight up he could see the blue ceiling of his room. In the light of the day he could see the room's layout better.

He was laying on a king sized bed, covered in black silk sheets, and a heavy white down comforter. The bed had a solid headboard made of some kind of thick, solid wood. The footboard was made of the same wood, but it was slatted. Past the footboard, attached to the bed was a shelf, meant to hold a trunk.

The walls were utterly perfect, no dents, no chipped paint, they were painted a royal blue, fading to an almost white in some areas, and to an almost black in others. Directly in front of Harry was a door that he remembered opened to the hallway. A massive floor to ceiling bookcase occupied the wall space to the left, and continued on to half of the next wall. Sitting in the corner of the room closest to the bookcases was a large desk; it was clearly a functional piece of furniture, as it was loaded with parchment, quills and ink. The chair sitting in front of the desk was expensive; he had seen one similar in Diagon Alley. They were designed to make you sit properly when writing. Feet on the floor, back straight… that was all Harry remembered of the brief writing instruction he received in primary school. Beyond the bookcases and desk, was a long narrow cabinet, Harry assumed it was used for storage of schoolwork, games, and so on.

On the other side of Harry's bed there was a nightstand made out of the same wood as the head and footboards. It had a fairly large surface area, two drawers, as well as an open space at the bottom. In the corner nearest the nightstand, and directly to Harry's right, stood another cabinet, this one clearly meant for clothes. Directly next to it was the door that Harry assumed lead to a closet. Beyond that he saw the door that lead into the bathroom near the closet door. Near the door to the hallway sat an L shaped couch, and a chair directly opposite, against the wall. In between the two was a small fireplace, with a metal safety grate in front of it. The evil light was coming from a massive window, placed at the head of his bed.

He sat up, threw off the covers, and walked over to the window. Spying a latch along the wall that served as a locking device for the window Harry turned it. To his surprise the window did not unlock, but it faded completely away, leaving an unblocked path to the balcony.

The balcony, like his room, was massive. It took up what he would guess, was half of the east side of the manor. The banister was carved out of some kind of marble, and came up to his chest. Looking to his left he could see where his balcony stopped, followed by a small gap, and then another balcony identical to his.

Overlooking the grounds he could see that he was in the front of the mansion, which was facing to the east. Below him slightly to his left was the driveway. Wide at first, it split into two pieces around a fountain and grassy area, before it merged into one smaller road as it neared the front entrance to the manor.

Directly below him was a small foot path to a.. Quidditch Pitch? Really? He had always known Draco was spoiled, but really? Well, at least he would have something fun to do. It was nothing like what Hogwarts had of course. Just a grassy field, with three goal posts at each end, but it was more than functional.

Harry stepped back inside, deciding to explore the doors. Harry had guessed correctly about which door led to what. The closet was large, holding room to hang, and fold clothes, as well as a shoe rack, and several cases to store watches, jewelry, and so on. The bathroom behind the other door was the biggest surprise he had all morning. It was nowhere as large, nor as lavish, as he had expected. It wasn't small by any standards, but it wasn't massive either. The whole room was less than half the size of the bedroom Harry was staying in. Half the room was taken up by a wall to wall bathtub. The standing shower was a little over a third of the tub's size. A small table stood between the two, heating the towels sitting on it. The rest of the room was taken up by a small toilet, sink, counter, shelf space, and a vanity.

Harry considered taking a shower, until he remembered that he didn't have any clothes with him. Slightly disappointed, he walked back into his bedroom. The hallway door opened slowly

"Harry, it's time to g- Good morning Harry. I thought you would still be sleeping. I have to drag Draco out of bed some mornings. I guess that I just assumed that all boys his age would be the same." Mrs. Malfoy prattled on with a smile. She was obviously one of those annoying people who felt that mornings were an enjoyable time. Uggh. Still, Harry resolved to be at least somewhat nice to her. She had been kind to him, and she had no way of knowing that every person even slightly normal considered mornings to be a horror filled time.

"The drapes are open, so…" Harry trailed off, shrugging his shoulders, and flashing a small grin.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I will have a house elf charm them not to open until you get up. How will that be?" She shot him another smile.

Harry didn't really know what a house elf was, but he replied anyway. "Perfect, Thanks."

She smiled again. "You need to get ready to start the day, run and get a shower; breakfast will be ready in 15 minutes or so." She turned to walk out, but before she could leave the room entirely Harry called out to her.

"Mrs. Malfoy, I don't have any clothes."

"You and Draco are about the same height, similar build too. I'll see if I can't find something of his for you to wear. While Lucius is showing you around, an elf will get your things, and bring them here."

A few minutes later she returned with a pair of trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, a heavy robe, as well as a cloak, a scarf, socks, and gloves. You're going outside today, so make sure your bundled up. Harry tried his best not to roll his eyes. They haven't even had the first snowfall of the year, there was no need for the heavy, enchanted clothes she had handed him.

15 minutes later Harry found himself being led down to the third floor.

"It's actually the informal sitting room" Mrs. Malfoy explained "We prefer to eat there, unless we're hosting a party or such."

The room was large, spanning the entire width of the manor, but it was abnormally narrow. The west side of the room held several groups of couches, tables, and chairs. They walked to the East end, where there was a table, and ten chairs. Lucius sat at one of the two chairs at the head of the table, Narcissa sat at the other. Draco sat at his father's immediate right, and Harry at Narcissa's.

Breakfast went quickly. Narcissa jabbered on about anything and everything from a birdhouse she saw, to her new dress, to something about finance that went completely over Harry's head. Lucius smiled, nodded his head and occasionally made a remark about something. Draco looked sullen and pouty. Harry wasn't sure if it was because it was morning, or if it was due to the new living situation. As soon as everyone was finished Narcissa stood, declaring she was going to go over some last-minute details for the Winter Ball. Draco stood, and walked away mumbling something about homework. Who did their homework on the second day of vacation?

"I suppose I should show you the manor now, Mr. Potter. Dobby! Clear the table."

"Yes Master Malfoy sirs!" Harry started when the small green thing appeared.

"It's a house elf." The older man explained. Harry nodded, this would require more research.

"I have no interest in walking all over the place today, so I will show you a map of the first few floors, and you can explore later if you wish." Without waiting for a response Lucius tapped his wand sharply on the table, and an image appeared. "This is the fifth floor. The two rooms on the south end are for human servants. They are so sparingly furnished because many people have their own furniture when they come. The rooms next to them are bathrooms, obviously. Feel free to explore these rooms now, but the moment we take on employees that live in those rooms consider them out-of-bounds. As you can see the rooms next to the bathroom seem to be made of several little squares, they are elf quarters. There are no doors to those rooms, the elves pop in and out. The room beyond that on the east end is a kitchen. The other room is a working room, it's filled with tables and cabinets, used for various different task. The large open area is storage.

Every room on the fourth floor is almost exactly the same as yours. They all have the exact same furniture, the exception being Cissa's and mine. We have an extra nightstand, an extra chair at the desk, and an extra closet. Of course, each room also has personal touches, posters, toys, games, books, and the like. You can add such items to your room with Cissa's or my approval. The green room is the exception, Severus often stays in it, but has put very few additions in it. If you get in trouble when he is not here, then you can expect to spend some time thinking in it." Lucius stood "Follow me."

"I heard Cissa telling you that this was the informal sitting room. This is where we host friends and family." The blond man strode quickly out of the room, and into a long hallway. "To your left and right are both guest bedrooms. Again you are welcome to explore, but the moment someone is occupying them, they are out-of-bounds." They continued walking, until they reached midway down the hall. There were no doors here, so Harry was curious as to why they stopped.

"There is a bathroom on both sides. The next two doors, again one on the left, one on the right, are guest bedrooms. The two bedrooms on the east are connected by a bathroom, The west side is also designed like that." They resumed their brisk stroll. There was no door at the end of the hallway. It just opened into a large room, filled with shelves, books, and tables to study on. The library was large, functional, and warm in a cozy kind of way. It wasn't endless in the way Hogwarts library was, but it was still quite large.

"As you can see, this is the library. At the far east end there is a fireplace, and a sofa. Please note, all the fireplaces in the house will light themselves on the Galician command of 'lume'. On the west end, near the windows, is a day bed."

Lucius jogged down the stairs, not looking back at Harry once.

"The second floor consists of three rooms where we do all of our formal entertaining. In the wizarding world, it is important to make alliances. You should remain in the good graces of everyone possible and embed yourself in the gossip networks. It's important to know what is going on around you. The best way to do than is to invite everyone to parties you host, even the people you despise."

The stairs ended at a massive room. It took up half of the second floor. The sides of the room were lined with tables and chairs. Three doors sat at the far north end of the room. The center was empty.

"This is the ballroom." Lucius didn't waste any time walking across the floor, and into the center door.

It turned out that the center door opened to a small hallway. He pointed out the formal dining room on the left, and the conference room on the right, and jogged down yet another set of stairs. The hallway they found themselves in was much longer, turning sharply to the right about half way down. The blond man pointed out that this was portrait hall. Where most of the portraits spent the majority of their time. Harry could clearly see countless frames, each different, hung on the wall. Blonde women, children, and men all stared at him from the confines of the canvas. Lucius pointed out his study on the right, and Narcissa's on the left, not bothering to open either door.

He did open the formal sitting room. Another massive room, nearly the size of the ball room, but furnished very differently. The one massive portrait that hung on the wall drew his attention.

"My father, Abraxas. Father," He turned to face the portrait. "this is my new ward, Harry Potter."

"A Potter, any relation to Dorea Black Potter." Lucius waited for Harry to answer, but when it became clear that the boy didn't know he answered for him.

"His paternal grandmother."

"Your family, you may call me Mr. Malfoy, or Grandfather." Harry was somewhat startled by the portrait's forwardness. He quickly agreed.

Instead of touring the grounds Lucius tapped another table, showing him a map. Near the quidditch field Harry had spied by his window there was a building for storing equipment for the game. There was a large pond, with a deck extending to the middle of it. A small river connected the pond with a moat around a gazebo, and a piece of land. There was also a pool, and stables. The grounds were filled with magical plants. Harry had been assured that none of the plants were dangerous. The most amazing part of the grounds was the trails. Countless paths, twisting and winding their way around the grounds. Some lead off into the forest, others lead to neighboring estates. Some were dead ends, others dropped off suddenly, and amongst all the confusion a select few lead to amenities on the property. He had been warned by Lucius to be careful of the trails. If he got lost he was to call for a house elf. He was also to call for help if a trail dropped off suddenly, he was not to explore an area without trails. No trails meant one of three things, he was entering into the forest, he was crossing onto another property, or he was somewhere on the Malfoy Estate that he was not supposed to be.

"We need to go over rules, expectations, and punishments. Take a seat." Harry sat on a sofa, and Lucius sat directly across from him in a chair.

"The rules are very simple. Number 1, you do not put yourself in danger. Number 2, you do as you are told. Number 3, you are respectful. Number 4, when speaking to Severus, my wife, or myself you are honest. Number 5, private conversations, as well as private interactions, will stay just that: private.

We also have a few expectations. You may or may not know that we present a certain façade in public; you will not reveal that we act differently at home. In public you will act like a well-educated, well spoken, young gentleman. Or you will not go into public. You will also put effort into everything you do, be it quidditch, school, or talking to friends. As my ward, you represent the Malfoy family, and Malfoy's are not lazy. Last we will expect you to do well in school. Going to Hogwarts is a privilege not afforded to everyone. You will show your appreciation for getting into the school by staying in the top 10 percent of all of your classes, at least. That being said you will obviously have an O in every subject you take. I don't know what your grades currently look like, but from Severus' grumblings I can guess at least your potions grade is not meeting this standard. It would be in your best interest to get it up. If you need help in school, that can be arranged.

Last we have to go over the consequences of bad behavior. If you break rule 1 then you will be spanked, most likely with a slipper, or a brush, and grounded. If you talk back, or use disrespectful language you can expect to have your mouth washed out with soap. Other than that standard punishments include spankings, writing letters of apology, writing lines, writing essays, groundings, loss of privileges, and so on. Believe me Mr. Potter, if you push me, I can become very creative with punishments. You won't like it.

Now, I suggest you get to work on your homework. You won't have very much over Winter Break, and if you finish it now, then you will have time to edit, revise, and have it checked. You should also go over what you learned first term. The review will help the information stick in your head, and you can ask for help from Cissa and myself if you don't understand something."

Harry took Lucius' advice, and quickly fell into a routine over the course of the next few days. He would spend the coldest part of the day, mornings, and evenings, doing homework, and studying, respectively. He figured out that the Malfoy parents were nearly on Hermione's level when it came to schoolwork. Where Hermione would just give him the answer after Ron, and he pestered her enough, the Malfoy's wouldn't. Narcissa had made him rewrite his charm's essay three times, twice completely rewriting it, and once adding 6 inches on to it. Turns out that the Malfoys, like Hermione, assumed that the length that the teachers gave was just the bare minimum. Poor professors, he was just trying to save them some work. Lucius was surprisingly helpful with re-learning the theory he had forgotten, or not understood. The elder Malfoy enjoyed spending time inside the library in the evenings, and had stumbled across Harry studying. The elder Malfoy had a way of making Harry understand theory, that reading the books, and listening to a class lecture did not.

Harry spent the afternoons exploring the manor, and its grounds. He discovered that both Lucius and Narcissa enjoyed flying, as well as quidditch. Narcissa also enjoyed swimming, something they could do in the winter due to the heated water, as well as heated atmosphere around the pool. He was swimming within hours of telling her that no one had ever taught him to swim. Lucius taught him to ride horses, something that he didn't pick up as easily as swimming, but still enjoyed. He still wasn't allowed to ride by himself, but it wasn't hard to rope Lucius into joining him. Apparently Lucius had been the only one in the family who enjoyed the activity, and was elated to find company to ride with him.

His trunk, along with everything else he owned had arrived the night after he did. Narcissa had taken one look at his clothes, and burned them all. She had bundled him up and dragged him to get more clothes, as well as games, books, posters, shoes, and 3 dress robes.

He was becoming comfortable with the Malfoy's in a way that he hadn't been comfortable with anyone before. He was learning each person's personality. Narcissa was always chatty, and happy. Getting in trouble with her was a 'straw that broke the camel's back' situation. You could get away with bending the rules, but one little thing would push her over the edge. Once she had gone over the edge, you were in big trouble. The best thing to do was nod, and say 'yes ma'am. Lucius was surprisingly indulgent, and was often more bark than bite. Even so, he didn't put up with nonsense; he didn't even let you get away with even nudging the proverbial 'line' with your toe. He was a hard worker, and rose early, and went to bed late, and enjoyed hot chocolate, and a good book.

The one family member he didn't grow closer to was Draco. With the exception of meal times, which were always taken together, the boys avoided each other as much as possible. Harry didn't really know why. They had only known each other a few months, their rivalry didn't go that deep. Maybe he didn't like the boy because he thought he was a spoiled bully, to this day. Or maybe he didn't like the boy for another reason. Draco Malfoy had everything Harry had ever wanted. Not the material things, Harry could care less about the money. Draco had a family, someone who loved him. He had a home, where he felt safe, and loved. He had parents who tucked him in at night, and who also set boundaries to keep him safe. Harry was pretty sure that the blonde boy didn't like him very much either. Probably because Harry was in invader in his house, but it could have something to do with what had gone on at number 4.

It didn't matter though. Harry knew one thing, Malfoy Manor was quickly becoming his home. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, who were giving Harry the kindness, tempered with consistency, and discipline, that he had never gotten from any adult before. The two were quickly becoming the parental figures he had never had before.

A/N: The last few days have been crazy, so this chapter has only been looked over once or twice. If you see any mistakes, feel free to tell me in a review or PM, and they will get fixed. Otherwise it might be a while before I get around to fixing any mistakes I may see.

Read and Review please