Family First Chapter 5: December 20

Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Warning: This chapter contains talk of spanking.

A/N: I am sooo sorry that I haven't posted in forever. On the up side, schools out! So I will be updating much more often.

Beta'ed by Jasper's Mom

It was somewhat surprising, but there were a few things Harry and Draco agreed on, not that either of them would actually admit it. One of the things they agreed on was dancing lessons. Both boys were sure that the lessons were boring, horrid, torturous, and a waste of time. In fact, they would both describe the lessons with the exact same word: useless.

Both boys had been awakened at 7:30; (much to their horror) they both shoved a bowl of porridge down their throats, and were forced into the ballroom by Narcissa for dance lessons. Mrs. Malfoy had informed Harry that children rarely took part in any ball before the age of 11. Before they reached Hogwarts age, children played in another part of the manor, while their parents attended the ball. As this was the first ball Draco would be participating in, he would also receive dance lessons.

Both boys had been forced into the cool, open space of the ballroom. There they had to endure hours of their instructor droning on, and on, having them practice various different steps, the proper positions for your hands, and so on. It was utterly pointless; neither boy had any desire to dance with a girl (or anyone else for that matter). Over the last four months he had spent at Hogwarts, Harry had learned something that Draco had known for years; that most girls were, frankly, silly. They were always wearing strange smiles, whispering, and giggling, as if they had some big secret. It wasn't uncommon to see a group of five or six girls hunched over a piece of parchment, writing a letter, or poem. Fred and George also spent a great deal of time like this, but they were planning pranks, all the girls were doing was writing utterly silly things, like love letters. They were forever messing about with each other's makeup and hair, fixing it, and then redoing it. Why anyone would want to spend that much time doing something so ridiculous was beyond him. They all seemed to be afraid over the silliest of things, such as bugs, mice, and mud, Harry didn't enjoy those things, but he didn't squeal over them either. But what was possibly the worst thing, was that girls always, always traveled in packs. You would never find just one girl by herself; even Hermione would walk with a group of Ravenclaw girls, when not with Harry and Ron. Many of the girls at Hogwarts even went to the extent of asking another girl to accompany them to the loo. None of the boys (not even the seventh years) knew what they were doing in there that required more than one girl. What all of the boys at Hogwarts did know, is that they certainly wouldn't want anyone following them into the bathroom.

As they ate breakfast that morning, Harry, and Draco worked together in an effort to inform Lucius of the very serious situation they were in. Unfortunately for them, the older man didn't seem to get it. Instead of being suitably horrified by their explanation, he seemed to think it was funny, straining at various different times not to burst out laughing. His only advice in the matter was that they would be grateful for the lessons one day. How unhelpful was that?

As you can imagine, the unwilling boys didn't make cooperative students for the poor dance instructor. The black-haired man was several years younger than Lucius, and had no children of his own. As an experienced, highly valued dance instructor, his students were usually much more corporative, and he was in no way prepared for the two boys.

The two spent well over half the class arguing with each other. It started with normal things every 11-year-old would argue over. Favorite quidditch teams, the best class in Hogwarts, favorite teachers, parents and so on. The problem was that the arguments weren't the friendly banter of most 11 year olds, but it was an all-out screaming match, in which both boys did their best to personally insult each other. The instructor had been happy to note when they ran out of the trivial matters to argue over, but it didn't end the arguing, like he had hoped. The boys quickly began to argue over subjects that neither boy had an opinion on, and things that they cared little about. They argued over whether muggle or wizarding birthday parties were better, even though Draco had never seen a muggle one, and Harry had never seen a wizarding one. They argued about the differences between the bathroom on the third floor of Hogwarts, and the bathroom on the fifth floor. They argued over the benefits of a cloudy day versus a sunny day.

It went on, and on, and on. When they weren't busy arguing with each other, they banned together, to argue with the instructor. Every single word out of his mouth, be it a request to try a dance, or a demand that they stop arguing, was met with protest, whining, and an argument from both children. After an hour and a half of listening to the arguments, Evan Rosier had enough.

"You are both going to quiet down, and practice. Now, get into your positions." Unfortunately, Draco had enough too.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You're just some poor, insignificant, nobody, from a family that's barely pureblood! Why don't you just sod off?" Before the older man could say anything, a tattered slipper popped into existence. It flew over to the Malfoy boy, and began to land heavy swats on his backside. Evan considered banishing the slipper, after all, he certainly didn't want the Malfoy heir to come to harm while under his responsibility. But before he could make a decision, five swats had been applied to the sit spots of the blonde, and the slipper disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared.

He looked at the red face of the blond boy, and the curious green eyes of the dark-headed child. It was the first time they had been quiet all day.

"I think it best that you both go to Lucius' office. When you are ready to cooperate, you may come back."

It only took a few moments for both boys to make their way down the flight of stairs, down the portrait hall, and into Mr. Malfoy's study. He was sitting at his desk, drafting a document. Draco could tell that it was something to do with his father's job. The older man was using imprinting, binding blue ink, official ministry sanctioned parchment, and his favorite African Gray quill. Lucius didn't even bother looking up when the boys entered, giving out instructions, as he continued to work.

"In separate corners, nose 6 inches (15cm) from the wall, hands at your sides. If you two choose to act like contradictory five-year olds, then that is how you will be treated."

The next half an hour was spent in relative silence, with the occasional 'be still' or 'enough' from Lucius, when one of the boys began to fidget. After what seemed like hours of enforced silence, and stillness to the two active boys Lucius called them to stand in front of him, and began to lecture.

Harry was certain that Professor Snape had nothing on Lucius when it came to lecturing. The man didn't hold his words back, leaving them in no doubt of how he felt about their behavior that morning. At the end of the five minuets lecture both boys had tears stinging their eyes. Lucius let out a sigh, stood up, and rounded his desk. He stood straight in front of the boys, looked down at them, and drew them into a hug. It was a strange experience for Harry, who had never been hugged before (not including Hermione and Narcissa). After a few moments, he walked back behind his desk, and sat once again.

"I have to go to the ministry for a bit. You two will be going back to your dance lessons, and you will be acting civil towards one another, and towards Evan. If you choose not to do as I have asked, and/or give Cissa, and Evan a hard time you will be receiving a spanking, and a grounding from me, in addition to whatever punishment you receive from them. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sir."

"Yes Papa."

"I'm glad. All you have to do is learn the basic waltz. Once Evan approves, you will be done with the lesson, so my advice is to just get it over with. You may leave now."

It didn't take long to finish the dance lessons. The basic steps to the dance were simple, and Evan wasn't that bad. He had a habit of chattering on about the dances that the older children and the adults would do. The Cotillion, the Foxtrot, and the English Baroque seemed to be his favorites. Evan also talked about different duelists that he had taught to dance, in an effort to aid their training, in particular their footwork but also their flexibility and endurance among other things.

It was late afternoon when they were released to run about the manor. For the first time since he had arrived at the manor and to his surprise, Harry was extremely board. Lucius was still at the ministry and Narcissa was working on plans for the ball. Harry was completely finished with his homework, and had already studied as much as he was willing to. Fortunately, it didn't take long to find a solution to his boredom. It took even less time for Harry to find himself at the pitch. Almost every day since arriving at Malfoy Manor Harry had gone flying, by himself or with others, the company didn't matter. It was the act of flying that he found entertaining, even when no one was with him.

It was only once he was on the pitch that Harry discovered he wasn't the only one that wanted to go flying. When he saw the blonde boy flying, Harry considered turning back around and finding something else to do. But Harry was already on the pitch and he had just as much right to fly as Draco did. After the morning they had spent together, he had absolutely no desire to interact with the other boy. After all, they would have never had to spend all that time in the corner if the blonde boy hadn't told Evan to sod off. On the other hand, he did want to fly, even more than he wanted to avoid Draco. So he walked over to the building housing all the quidditch gear, including his broom. The building was small, three rooms, two showers- cold water only, used mainly for washing mud off before entering the house. The biggest room housed several brooms, quidditch equipment, as well as equipment for other flying games that Harry had never heard of before he came to the manor. He grabbed his broom, hesitated slightly, and then grabbed a training snitch.

He mounted and kicked off quickly. By the time Harry had gotten up a comfortable distance off the ground Draco had made his way over.

"What are you doing here?" The nearly freezing wind whipped around them as Draco glared at him, demanding an answer to the utterly stupid question he had just asked.

"The same thing you're doing, I'd wager. Flying."

"Did you ever stop to think that I might want a moment away from you?"

"If me being here bothers you so much then you can leave."

"I'm not leaving, I was here first. You on the other hand, are."

"Actually, I'm not and honestly, there's not much you can do about it."

"Do you want a wager?"

"Do you want a spanking?" Draco shut his mouth after that and chose to glare instead.

The blonde boy continued to fly for a bit longer, making a point of not leaving just because Harry got there. It didn't take long for Draco to leave though. Harry enjoyed the rest of the afternoon to his self, flying about, chasing the snitch and just enjoying the day.

It was 5:37 when Harry walked into the worse thing he had seen all day, including the corner in Lucius' study and dancing lessons. Daphne Greengrass and Blaise Zambini were strolling around with Draco. It was fairly obvious that they hadn't noticed Harry, who was currently hidden behind a door. He cursed in his head. He hadn't gotten the memo about the slimy, Slytherin, snakes invasion.

Until today, his stay in the Malfoy home had been more than pleasant. He had enjoyed the company of Lucius and Narcissa, and had ignored Draco to the best of his abilities. He knew that was about to change. Slytherins always took advantage of the situation. And currently, the situation he found himself in was 3 against 1. Harry resolved to lock himself in his room, and when it was required of him to leave, he would use the house elves as spies. They would be able to tell him where the snakes were.

It was going to be harder than he expected. Harry had lots of experience being locked in confined spaces, but he had underestimated the boredom he would feel. Usually when he was locked away, Harry spent his time sleeping, or bemoaning his injuries. Without injury, hunger and lacking sleepiness he was beyond board. Harry tried to read a book, but it didn't work to distract him very well. In the back of his mind, there was a constant dialog, moaning about how unfair this was and how bored he was.

Eventually, he gave up his efforts to appear interested in his book. He got up off the bed, laying the book on his nightstand, without bothering to mark his place. He grabbed a set of pajamas from his closet, and walked into his bathroom, shutting the door behind him. He turned the water on, allowing the tub to fill with hot water, while he explored the contents of his cabinets. He spent an hour and a half soaking in the water, experimenting with various different bubbles (Fantastic Roaches' Forest Rain Extra Bubbly Bubbly Bath; Albert's Amazingly Awesome Bath Bubbles; and Sicily Certain Cinnamon Bubble Bath Curtin), oils( Almond, and Lemon both by Atee), and salts (Ocean Breeze, and Sea Salt, again by Atee) he had found. Harry took an extraordinary long time coming through his hair, something he never did, in an attempt to make it lay flat. It didn't work.

Eventually he did leave the bathroom, still board. He sat on the bed and looked around the room. After a few minutes of near complete stillness, he suddenly stood, walked over to his desk, and sat. He had come to hate the chair that he had been provided with. It was beautifully made, probably by the hand of a skilled carpenter. It was perfectly level, and sturdy. It was comfortable enough, with cushioning charms in abundance. The reason he hated it was simply put: it was a pain. It forced you to sit back perfectly straight, and feet on the floor. The chair was created specifically to teach children and teens the correct position to assume when writing. The enchantment on the chair would go so far as to force your arm into the correct position for writing.

Harry had asked for a different chair at his desk weeks ago. Lucius had flat out refused, without stopping to consider the request, something he didn't do too often. Mr. Malfoy told Harry that his handwriting was atrocious and a huge part of that was due to how he sat when writing. Harry had tried to argue that his posture made little difference in how he wrote; therefore any difference the chair would make would be marginal. In the middle of his explanation the man had pulled out a chair and ordered him to sit 'just as he normally would when writing.'

Harry did just that, tucking his left leg underneath him and sitting on it. He hunched over and leaned heavily on his right arm, that was propped on the desk. He left his left arm lying lightly on his left leg. Lucius put a quill in his right hand, and had him copy a simple sentence. Then he corrected Harry's posture and had him write the same sentence. Just because his writing was better the second time, didn't mean that he liked sitting like some sort of robot.

Despite his lack of joy about the chair situation, he sat in it anyway, and began to craft a letter to Hermione.

Mione,

First off don't tell Ron anything, I haven't had time to write him yet, and I don't know how he'll react to the news. I'm living with the Malfoys. Yep, that's right, Draco Malfoy, and his parents.

The first day of vacation Mr. Malfoy, and Draco showed up to apologize, of all things. I think Mr. Malfoy was making him. You're the smartest person I know, so I'm sure that you already know that the Dursley's aren't the best. Anyway, the Lucius saw how they were treating me, and took me away. Now he and his wife are my guardians, and I'm living in their house, and everything… it's strange.

I've never met anyone who acts like they do. They act like, parents, I suppose. But, more than that, they treat me like I'm their child. They're both kind to me, but they have rules and such. It's nothing too out there, the hardest one by far is going to be about my grades. It's not a rule per say, but an expectation. Mr. Malfoy has said that I'll be in big trouble if I don't get them up.

As a result, you'll be happy to note that my homework is done. Plus, I've been spending a lot of time in the library. Lucius is a surprisingly good teacher. I have looked up Nicolas Flamel, but I couldn't find anything. It would be helpful to know what we were looking for. But, all the same, I didn't dare tell Lucius. I know you got a few books to read over the holidays. Have you found anything?

Today the house was invaded by Draco's friends. Daphne Greengrass, and Blaise Zambini. There both Slythrin first years. Now I'm outnumbered, three to one. I thought it would be best if I stay in my room until they leave, that way we don't run into each other. No telling how long that will be though. I'm a bit hurt that the Malfoys didn't offer to let me invite my friends over. So far they have been treating me and Draco exactly the same. I guess inviting a few Gryffindors into their home is asking a bit much.

As Harry wrote the letter, he realized how true the last few lines were. The Malfoy parents had been undeniably fair. They had spent just as much time with both boys. They also held both boys to the same standards. The fact that Draco would be allowed to invite friends over, but Harry hadn't been asked, did hurt. He hurried to finish the letter.

It's almost diner time, so I have to go. I'll write you soon.

Harry

P.S. Can you get me some muggle mail order catalogs? I need to get some Christmas gifts. I know it's kind of last minute, so maybe somewhere who can deliver on time? Thanks!

Harry called a house elf, who sent the letter off with an owl. Hedwig was going to be furious that Harry had been using other owls, but he couldn't do anything. He had left the owl at Hogwarts, terrified that the Dursleys would do something to harm the defenseless creature.

He stood and stretched, pushing his shoulder blades back to pop his back. He walked over to his closet, and, almost blindly, pulled out a floor length robe. It was still a little early for dinner, but he hoped to get to the dining room before Draco, and his friends arrived. He was fairly certain that Draco wouldn't start anything in front of his parents. Harry wasn't scared of the Slytherins, but he would rather not find out what Lucius would consider an appropriate punishment for fighting in the halls.

"Dobby!" he shouted out.

"Yes Master Harry Potter sir! How can Dobby be helping you, sir?"

"Do you know where Draco and his friends are?"

"Young Master Malfoy and Young Master's friends are being in Young Master's room, Master Harry Potter sir."

"Oh. Well thanks!"

"Dobby is being helping Master Harry Potter sir, in any way Dobby can!" The elf quickly left with a quiet pop and Harry followed his lead, leaving the room, now he was sure that he was safe.

Harry heard Lucius ranting to Narcissa about some new policy the ministry was trying to pass as soon as he opened the doors to the informal dining room. She didn't look too concerned about it, sipping on what Harry assumed was red wine. When Narcissa spotted Harry she called out to him.

"Did you recover from the horrors of the dancing lesson?"

"Yes ma'am."

"It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, was it?"

"I guess not." Something suddenly occurred to Harry. "Can I take dueling lessons?"

Lucius, who had been silently listening to the conversation, interjected himself into it.

"Competitive dueling?"

"Yes sir."

The blonde looked at his wife. "What do you think Cissa?"

"I think it's an excellent sport for a young man to participate in, if he's willing to put in the effort."

"I think it's a good idea, especially for Harry. However" he turned to make eye contact with Harry "It will require a lot of work, it's time consuming, and expensive. Most instructors won't take on a student until they are 12, or 13. We'll see about lessons then."

"So, I can definitely do it?"

"I know several instructors, that would love to teach you, but I can tell you now that none of them would have put up with your behavior in the dance lessons. Nor will they put up with laziness, or lack of effort."

"I'll behave!"

"Time will tell." Responded Lucius, rather gently.

It didn't take long after that for the doors to open, and admit Draco, and his friends. Both Lucius and Narcissa smiled and made polite conversation with the group. Harry chose to ignore everyone, except the adults. An idea occurred to Harry; he needed to leave the dining room before the little snakes did, if he wanted to avoid them.

He grabbed his silverware suddenly, ready to dig into his food when Narcissa stopped him.

"We are still waiting on a guest."

"We are?" Everyone else (except Lucius) looked up, also curious.

"Narcissa has managed to convince Severus to arrive a few days early." Lucius explained.

Harry's groan was covered by the other children's excited exclamations. If there was one person who would make this whole situation worse, it was Severus Snape.

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