Family First Chapter 12: December 27

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

A/N Please Please don't throw things at me...Please? I know it has been absolutely forever since I updated this story. Now, I could give you a whole list of excuses as to why, but I'm sure you are much more interested in the chapter. That being said, before you read the chapter, I do have some important update news (please read). Today is my 18th birthday, and as a present to my readers, and as a way to say thank you for sticking with Family First, this story will be completely posted by Christmas. You will be getting new chapters on the 12th (tomorrow), the 15th, the 18th, the 21st, the 24th, and the 25th.

Warnings: There are a couple of swats at the end of the chapter. I will not be placing an in chapter warning. Sorry.

Thanks to my beta, Jasper's Mom

Being grounded was utterly, disastrously, boring. Alright, so Lucius and Narcissa had both pointed out that he wasn't actually grounded. He still had access to all the books and games in his room, that seemed to have multiplied over the last few days. Instead, he was just confined to his room, or, more accurately, (at least from Harry's view) confined to a state of boredom.

Lucius was, as always (at least from what Harry could tell) true to his word, and the older man joined Harry for lunch after his nap on the day of the fight, as well as the next day. Harry, who assumed that lunch would be at least a bit awkward, was pleasantly surprised at how comfortable both Lucius and himself seemed to be. The food was simple, mostly mess free, and surprisingly convenient to eat while confined to one's room. Conversation was free-flowing, as Lucius talked a bit about James, Dorea, and Charlus, as well as Lucius own parents. Much to Harry's annoyance he seemed to skirt around the subject of any of James' friends, even when Harry was quite sure he had asked a direct question that couldn't be avoided.

Dinner was eaten in the sitting room as always. Conversation flowed as it had earlier in the day, and any attempt by Harry or Draco to argue with one another was quickly cut off by one of the adults.

Waking on the 28th Harry was sleepy, at least until he realized that his official confinement to boredom ehmmh... his room, was over. He could go wherever on the grounds he pleased today, and wasn't that a pleasant thought. Freedom of movement, someone should make a club, Harry would certainly join.

At first he had been leery of the punishment, remembering the Dursleys who had been fond of locking him in a room (or a cupboard) for days at a time, allowing him out twice a day to cook and relieve himself. However this punishment at the hands of the Malfoy's had been nothing like what he had previously experienced. The door had not been locked, although it was warded to set off an alarm whenever it was opened. There had been plenty of company, perhaps even a bit too much company now that he thought of it. Fresh air was abundant on his balcony, which he could enter and exit as he pleased. So after his first few hours in confinement he had lost any fear that he may have previously had. Along with the loss of fear though, he had also lost any thoughts to keep his mind occupied, and had soon fell into a deep boredom. That didn't matter anymore though, because now he was free.

As he made his way towards the door there were two knocks before the door was thrown open. Lucius Malfoy, clad in casual clothes strolled into Harry's room.

"Before you run off I wanted to talk to you." There was a rather long pause before Lucius continued. "I'm still not quite sure what to do with the two of you. You know better than to fight, yet even when your both confined to your rooms for fighting, you're at each other's throats any time you so much as catch a glance at one another." He paused again, and when it was clear that the man was going to require a response Harry opened his mouth to speak.

" I know it's probably childish or immature or whatever, but we just don't get along."

"Harry you are a child… Maturity is not like a ladder you climb, constantly going up until you reach your destination. It's more like the tide coming in; the water comes forward some, and then it recedes before coming forward a little more. But, at least when it comes to you two getting along, sometimes it feels more like the tide is going out rather than coming in. I can't make you like one another, but in life you will have to work with people you don't like." Again Lucius waited for a response from Harry. After almost two and a half minutes of silence (Harry knew because he counted) from Harry, Lucius continued on.

"Like it or not, you two will at the very least not be hostile towards one another. If Narcissa, Severus, or myself see that either one of you cannot act appropriately around the other, both of you will be in trouble." Lucius stood, before giving Harry a hug, and walking to the door.

"If you two could get over the little rivalry or whatever you have between you, I really think you could be magnificent friends." Lucius walked out of the room leaving Harry standing frozen to his spot.

After that little lecture, Harry and Draco, who had apparently gotten the same lecture, utilized the up-most of care to avoid getting in trouble with the Malfoy parents or Severus. They had both completely ignored each other at breakfast. Both boys were leery of doing anything to the other that could lead to trouble, even once they were out of the eyes of all three adults. After all you never know who was watching, or in this case when they were watching.

This caution made it difficult to annoy one another, none the less, they managed. Harry made a point of being wherever Draco wanted to go. If Draco wanted to go flying on the pitch, Harry would mysteriously appear, if he decided he would rather go swimming, then Harry would be not far behind. He didn't actually have to do or say anything to Draco to annoy him. In return Draco did his best to subtly annoy Harry by completely ignoring the other boy's actions. Now, it usually wasn't in Draco's nature to ignore something like this, however he had quickly discovered that ignoring Harry annoyed the brown-haired boy more than anything he could say, or at least more than anything he could say that would not get him in trouble. This made it so that he could easily defend himself, after all his parents had said not to be hostile, ignoring behavior all together was not hostile.

At any rate, they both had successfully managed to stay out of trouble all day, and while they did annoy one another on purpose, it was not to any extreme measure. None the less, both of their tempers had been on a slow burn all day, and they were beginning to boil.

That evening started out pleasantly enough. Everyone took their normal seats, and began a conversation, with serving dishes moving from person to person. Dinner finished with no unwelcome deviations unexpected or otherwise. After dinner was when the trouble started.

To be fair to both of the boys neither had actually intended to start trouble, but none the less trouble found them. After dinner, Harry had gone to his room, and lacking anything else to do had gotten ready for bed. Much to his dismay after showering, putting on p.j.'s and brushing his teeth it was only just after 8:00 PM. Obviously this was a completely unreasonable hour to go to bed, after all he would never get to sleep at such an early hour. So, clad in pajamas and socks he padded down the stairs to Lucius office.

Narcissa, as much as she was an early riser also turned in ridiculously early. She would probably already be in bed, half way asleep. Lucius on the other hand did not get up at the ridiculous times that his wife did (5:00 AM some days), but he also did not go up to his bedroom until 9:30 or 10:00 most days. Even if he wasn't working, Lucius usually spent the evening hours in his study, reading and thinking. Tonight was not an exception, and Harry found Lucius sitting at his desk writing in a journal similar to the one Harry had received just a few short days ago.

Lucius glanced up at the boy hesitantly standing in the open doorway.

"And what exactly would you be doing wondering the house?" Lucius teased. When Harry didn't answer Lucius looked up, only to see Harry shrug.

"Harry, you know you're more than welcome to come in, if the door is open you needn't stand waiting for an invitation." Lucius stood, shutting the journal in the process, and walked over to the couch, snagging a seemingly random book from a shelf.

"Was there anything particular you needed, or were you just looking for a bit of companionship?"

"Both I guess."

"Well then, come sit down." Lucius nodded to the open space next to him. Harry sat what would best be described as a proper distance away from Lucius, not all the way on the other end of the couch, but certainly not close either. Lucius carefully chose not to comment on the action though. It was Harry's choice how close he wanted to sit, Lucius wouldn't demand that the boy curl into his side like Draco.

"So, what did you need."

"I want to know about Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew."

"Harry." Lucius paused here, unsure what exactly to say to the child. How did one tell that kind of story to a child?

"You keep putting it off, and I want to know. They were my Dad's best friends and I deserve to know."

"Your right, you deserve to know, and I will tell you. But it won't be now Harry. It won't be until you're a good bit older I suspect. As I'm sure you already suspect, it's not a nice story for anyone, but especially a child."

"I'm not a child." The boy hissed out the words, and normally Lucius would have scolded him in half a second about the tone. Tonight he found himself letting it go, the relaxed tone of the evening combining with his utter exhaustion at the constant scoldings he had been handing out to the boys.

"But you are Harry. You are eleven years old, and that is very much still a child. The hardships you have gone through may have chipped away at some of your innocence and stolen pieces of your childhood. No one can ever give you those pieces back, and that is one of the great tragedies of life. But it is my job as your guardian to ensure what is left of that childhood stays in place for as long as possible. You probably won't fully understand this, but sometimes protecting your childhood means protecting you from the truth, even if it is a truth you need to hear. It's part of your story Harry, and I will tell you, but you don't need to know tonight." Harry let out a huff of air, no doubt meant to show his unhappiness with the situation, but he didn't say anything else. Not even a minute of silence passed before Harry began to fidget , and start to stand.

"Why don't you lie down?" Lucius suggested as he stood, giving the boy room to stretch out. Harry did so quite hesitantly, casting a curious glance in Lucius direction. The older man ignored this entirely as he moved a chair to the head of the couch and sat. Had it been Draco he would have simply stayed sitting on the sofa, allowing the lad to rest his head on Lucius lap, but he doubted very much that Harry would do such a thing, and was almost certain that the boy would not have relaxed if he did do such a thing. Lucius ignored the look as he opened the tome, encased in a warm brown leather, and began to read.

"My father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire: I was the third of five sons."

Lucius was a good four chapters into the book, and after having read the book to Draco so many times, and indeed having it read to him, he found himself concentrating on Harry much more than the words he was speaking. His hand had made its way into the boy's hair, and receiving no discouragement, it had stayed there, petting, and carding through the locks. The boy was just a few moments from sleep, and Lucius suspected that by the end of this chapter the boy would be deep in dreamland.

It was quite a shock to everyone when Draco came bounding into the room. Harry tensed almost automatically, while Draco stood frozen just inside of the door. Lucius sat, hand still in Harry's hair, body language open and welcoming towards Draco, but making it clear that he would not leave Harry in favor of Draco. Both boys had equal right to his time and attention.

"Dra-" Lucius started, ensuring his voice was calm.

"Get up." Draco cut him off with a blatant demand clearly aimed at Harry. Lucius spent a futile half a second hoping that Harry would allow him to take care of the situation.

"No." Harry met Draco's glare with one of his own.

At that moment Lucius decided it was past time to intervene, less this turn into something worse than it already was. But just as that thought flashed into the older man's head Draco came flying from the doorway of the room. Harry jerked up from his previous position, ready for the younger blond. Lucius made it in between the two just in time, grabbing Draco and jerking him back with a hearty swat.

"Sit down, both of you, right now!" He snapped a bit louder than he meant to. Draco complied, flopping on the couch that Lucius had pointed to. Harry meanwhile stomped over to a chair, followed immediately by Lucius. He grabbed the boys arm and lifted slightly, allowing the boy to stand on his own, and swatted the child once he was standing.

"Sit where I told you to Mr. Potter." This time Harry stormed over to the couch, plopping down as far away from Draco as he possible could. Lucius glared at both children while pacing the floor a few times. Finally he sat in an adjacent chair, and began to lecture.

"You two cannot even begin to understand how far beyond thoroughly fed up I am with this ridiculous behavior. You get into a fight, so we discipline you, and then you get into another fight. The whole point of discipline is to teach you, to change behavior. If it doesn't change the behavior then what's the point? Do either one of you want to tell me what I am doing wrong?" Lucius paused here. It was a genuine question that he wanted an answer for. No answer was forthcoming. "No? Alright, here is what we are going to do." Lucius glanced at the clock. "First thing in the morning, before breakfast we, along with Cissa and Sev are going to problem solve. I'm going to want to know what you think the problem really is. I need to know what each of you want out of a solution, and I want a list of solutions. Then in the morning, we'll all talk about what we came up with, evaluate all the solutions and decide on a course of action. For now though, it's time for bed. He gave both boys a firm hug, followed by an even firmer swat, and sent them off to bed heads full of what tomorrow would bring.

If you didn't read the section of the AN entitled important update news (please read) then please do so, it list all the days I will be updating in the future.

Alright... What did you think? Love it? Hate it? Read and review. Thanks :P