Chapter 102
Severus had most of his evenings to himself during the time that Harry attended Mrs. Longbottom's program, and he realized with a start how much things had changed in the past months. There was a time, not all that long ago, where long evenings to himself were totally enjoyable to Severus, but now, to his amazement, he missed having Harry around. Of course, he was no Hufflepuff about it – he used those evening very productively, but still. He was really taken aback by how much he missed Harry.
After he'd graded each day's essays, and supervised any detentions, he always had a few hours that he could spend in his lab before Harry returned. Severus spent those hours working his way through Ventus' notes, and with that kind of time to devote to them, the work went very quickly. After he completed brewing the potions proposed in the notes, he realized that the work was riddled with mistakes and misdirections. This clearly captured Ventus' most preliminary efforts. He duly recorded all his work on the formulas described in the notes, as he was confident that Lord Aventine and possibly the Potion Masters Guild would want to see them, but then he began to focus on the parts he felt were wrong. He developed his own theories and tested out alternative approaches where his understanding of potion theory suggested a different path. Once Severus was free of the burden of the thinking underlying the Ventus notes, he made amazing progress.
The first breakthrough came when he explored the parallels between his mother's and Ventus' work. The common use of magical roses by both brewers turned out to be a red herring – the real connection was in the spell component of the potions, and the intention captured in the spell. Severus identified a similarity in the curse transmitted through blood that produced the first and all subsequent vampires, and the spell in the potion that was transmitted through the blood of his mother to assure that she would produce a beautiful child. The failures in the potions that she consumed during her quest, those pregnancies that produced Severus, Claudius, Marcellus and Diana, were the most interesting and useful, because they illustrated instances where the transmission of the spell was not achieved.
Severus studied Harry's scrawled translations side-by-side with the notes he'd found in his mother's neat hand, and began to see some options that might control or even reverse vampirism. These became the focus of his work for the remainder of the time that Harry was occupied elsewhere. He brewed and tested and refined and brewed some more, all with a feeling that he was getting closer and closer to some simple, but elusive secret.
The final week of Mrs. Longbottom's class gave him the time he needed to finish his work. That Friday, he had no detentions to supervise (deliberately – that third-year Ravenclaw really, really deserved a detention, but Severus rationalized that the dunderhead would do something equally deserving of detention soon enough, and he'd nail him then) and was able to devote four solid hours to finishing up the potion that he thought solved the riddle. With the liquid decanted into a large crystal decanter and carefully stoppered, Severus brought his own notes out to the sitting room, to finish writing them up in his comfortable chair before a blazing fire.
That was how Harry found him when he got back to their rooms with seconds to spare before curfew, although once the notes were written up, Severus had rewarded himself with a large snifter of his finest brandy. This was the first time that Harry had returned to their rooms at the end of the day over the last several weeks that Severus was not in his lab, so Harry quietly sat on the couch, watching Severus watch the flames in the fire. He wasn't sure if this was a bad mood, or evidence that Severus was tired, or upset, so he waited for Severus to speak first.
"So, Harry, how was the final class? Did everyone pass?" Severus finally asked, more to break the silence than out of any particular interest in who did or did not do well in the class.
"Everyone was able to cast the spells for her, if that's what you mean. It got pretty competitive there at the end." Severus' eyebrows arched at that. Who on earth could be competing with whom? "The Aurors were horrified that any of them might be bested by one of the Hogwarts students, so they took the whole thing very, very seriously. Minister Bones stopped in tonight." Severus stifled a laugh – what passed for significant in the eyes of the Ministry was beyond him.
Harry smiled at Severus, understanding his amusement. The Aurors were at first besides themselves with excitement when they heard that Minister Bones would be attending the last hour of the class. That ended when one of them made a comment, in jest, that she certainly wanted to be sure that her spells were more accurately cast than the Hogwarts students' spells were. She and a few of her colleagues had nothing at all about which to worry, as they were excelling, but others were doing just an average job. Like the Aurors, some Hogwarts students were excelling and others just getting by, but that did mean that there were students doing better than some of the Aurors. Excitement turned to concern very quickly, and competitiveness sparked. No one embarrassed themselves, and Minister Bones was complimentary to all, so presumably, all that worry was for naught.
"Anyway, every single person in the class demonstrated competence with the material, and that's what counts." Harry pronounced that last as a final punctuation on the experience. They all now had the skills they needed, and there was no time for foolishness over who learned something faster or seemed able to cast a spell with greater power.
"How did your evening go? Did you finish your potion? You mentioned last night that you were nearly there. Tell me!" Harry demanded.
Severus gave him a very strange look, a measure of pride, which was very typical, Harry had learned, when Severus finished a difficult task to which he had set himself, but there was a sadness, or melancholy there too.
"I did finish the potion. I tested it every way I can short of administering it to an actual vampire, but I think I've got it," he allowed.
"That's fantastice! Then why so glum?" Harry asked.
"I told you that Ventus made a number of mistakes." Harry nodded. "Whenever a Potion Master is doing experimental work, that is very common. The early efforts to create a potion are a trial and error process. You make progress and have breakthroughs when you go back over your notes, brew things again with little refinements, and finally identify the right path." Harry nodded again. Watching Severus deal with the failures with no anger or upset had been one of the more shocking things he'd seen since he'd become the man's bondmate; he never would have imagined Severus could remain so calm when a potion failed. "The techniques, tools and ingredients we use today are refined and improved in many ways; after all, there have been four hundred years of advancements in the field, so I had a big advantage. But I think Ventus was heading in the right direction. He had quite a bit of work still to do, but even allowing for the state of potion-making four hundred years ago, had he been allowed to continue with his work, I suspect he would have discovered this potion or something like it in no more than a year or two."
There was genuine pain in Severus' voice as he made that observation, and it surprised and moved Harry that he showed such empathy. He quietly stood from the couch and moved to sit on the arm of Severus' chair, putting his arm around his shoulders as he did so. He suspected that Severus might need the comfort of touch, although he'd never say such a thing aloud.
"What went on four hundred years ago that made him stop?" Harry asked in a quiet voice. He'd gathered the general story from the comments made by Lord Aventine at the Wizengamot, but assumed this was probably some part of wizarding history he'd missed in one of Professor Binn's more boring classes.
"A family of elitists rose to power, and they were utterly fixated on purity of blood. The Forte family did not seem to have great concern about the parentage of those who had magic, so muggle-born witches and wizards were safe from them, but they felt that anyone with magic who was afflicted with any sort of impurity in their blood should be killed outright. They were particularly savage when it came to werewolves and vampires; some historians have speculated that it was possible that someone in a family with which they had a long-standing feud might have had one of those conditions. Their time in power was short-lived, although it lasted long enough to force the Wizengamot to pass a series of laws that severely limited the rights of vampires and werewolves. The Fortes were never able to persuade a majority to pass laws that mandated their death, although they tried. Their efforts to eradicate everyone who was afflicted with lycanthropy or vampirism made research about those conditions a very dangerous undertaking, and finally the Ministry actually ordered researchers to stop. I suspect that many others in addition to Ventus were working on this, but his might be the only work that has survived over the years for us to find today. He must have had strong allies in the Potions Masters Guild who were willing to hide his notes, rather than burn them. The fact that he wrote his notes in Parseltongue might have been what saved them, because no one could identify them as pertaining to vampirism."
"I never knew that. Is this something that Professor Binns covered in our classes?" Harry wondered. "And if they weren't in power very long, why weren't the laws just repealed?"
"I doubt that you missed this in one of Professor Binns' lectures, Harry. It was a dark time for the wizard political system, when many things happened of which the magical world is not proud, and as a result, the history books tend to omit the Forte story. Unfortunately, those laws stayed on the books even after the family's fortunes reversed completely and they faded into obscurity. In every generation, there were always a few who might have been willing to repeal the laws, but usually just as many who supported those laws. Because efforts to understand the conditions were stopped, suspicion and fear were the common reaction to anyone afflicted. Your commitment to Lord Aventine to translate the notes he found and to have Lucius Malfoy champion the repeal of those old laws was quite remarkable, an approach that broke with hundreds of years of precedent."
Harry sensed approval in that last comment, and smiled at Severus.
"So, what happens next? Does this get submitted to the Potions Masters Guild like the other potion?" Harry wanted to know.
Severus thought on that for a moment. "Possibly not. I will need to discuss this with the Headmaster, and possibly with Lord Aventine. This potion might be better utilized privately. I'll arrange to run some tests to verify my assumptions, validate my conclusion that it is a cure, establish a dosing and delivery protocol. Then we'll have to consider distribution."
"What do you mean, use it privately? Won't that limit access to it?"
"Actually, I fear that the Ministry would be completely ineffective if we wanted them to distribute it. Vampires don't trust the Ministry at all. You saw the reaction to Lord Aventine's presence in the Wizengamot chamber – Aurors are trained to kill them on sight. Also, there are many vampires who never adjust to vampirism. Those are the ones who have given all vampires the reputation as mindless beasts; they have been driven mad by their condition. They are the menace to the rest of us, the ones we really need to treat. I am hoping that Lord Aventine can assist in devising a way to get this potion to vampires who appear to not want to ingest it."
Harry sighed. Things were always so damned complicated. "So, you've finished your project, and it appears to have been a successful effort. I think that merits a reward, Severus. You look rather tense, so I think your reward should be a nice soak in the tub, followed by a massage. What do you think about that?"
The melancholy melted off of Severus' features as he looked up at Harry, still perched on the arm of the chair, and a warm smile spread from his lips to his eyes. He stood and took Harry's hand in response, as the two headed off to the massive tub.
Harry spelled it full of hot-to-almost-too-hot water, just the way Severus liked it, and carefully added several drops of essential oils to add to the calming and relaxing effect. He stripped out of his clothes faster than Severus could (smiling to himself as he watched Severus fumble with all the buttons on his jacket), so he got into the tub first, and scooted to the back of it. When Severus finally joined him, Harry held his ground and got Severus seated before sliding behind him and drawing the larger man back to rest on his chest.
Harry did not get many opportunities to take care of Severus. First, there was that nonsense about Severus being more financially stable so he always paid for things. Then came the fact that Severus was physically so much larger than him, which seemed to automatically put him in the role of protector. When they were floating in the bathtub, or stretched out on the bed, things seemed more equal, or at least Harry's shorter stature did not so fully dictate the role he could play. He threaded his arms under Severus' arms and held on to his chest, so the man could relax back in the scented water, with his head safely nestled against Harry's chest. Neither man moved or spoke for long minutes, relishing the comfort of their close contact in the soothing warmth of the bath. Harry finally risked breaking the moment by commencing his massage, sending his magic through his hands into his bondmate. Severus stirred every so slightly when he felt the magic move within him, but it felt so wonderful, he stilled quickly and let Harry proceed until the water began to cool.
Rather than re-spell the water to stay warm, Harry directed a warming spell at a stack of fluffy oversized towels and levitated them to the side of the tub. He helped Severus stand and get out of the tub, and immediately wrapped Severus in one of the warm towels before grabbing one for himself. Harry helped Severus dry off, and was a bit surprised how passively Severus stood and allowed him to blot and rub (and yes, occasionally grope) him. Leaving the used towels in a heap on the floor, Harry took his hand and led him to the bed, where he guided Severus on to his stomach. Harry hopped onto the bed himself and straddled Severus' hips.
Harry's fingers expertly kneading and probing his tense muscles would have put Severus to sleep, except for the fact that just enough of Harry's magic was finding its way to his prostate to arouse him almost past the point of being capable of speech. He wasn't entirely sure if Harry realized the effect he was having, or if he was doing this deliberately, but he had no choice other than to give in to the sensations pulsing at breakneck speed through his body. It did not take long for Severus to experience a shattering release, after which he finally, limply surrendered to sleep.
Harry watched Severus in the throes of pleasure and release. He was very hard himself, but he had learned how aroused his magic could make his partner, and he wanted to focus exclusively on Severus' pleasure. Harry rather proudly realized that he had brought Severus to a very impressive orgasm exclusively through his magic. However, as he sat back on his haunches and surveyed Severus' back and buttocks, he realized he had to take care of his own arousal if he had any hope of falling asleep. Severus was clearly sound asleep, so Harry was emboldened to indulge in a fantasy he'd been having more and more frequently lately – he began to touch and stroke Severus' backside, imagining what it would be like to be truly intimate with him. He was pretty sure he was ready to ask Severus to take his virginity. He imagined that would be a fantastic experience, and he knew he could trust Severus to be gentle and caring.
He began to stroke himself, harder and harder, and his fantasy moved along to images of him making love to Severus. Harry was surprised how quickly those final thoughts caused him to explode, and once he began to recover his wits, he was mortified to realize that he had come all over Severus. A soft snore told him that Severus was not aware, so Harry padded off to the bathroom for a damp flannel with which to wipe the evidence of his own orgasm from the sleeping man's back. Harry nudged Severus onto his side, and slid in behind him, to hold the man close.
Before he followed him to sleep, Harry placed a soft kiss on the rose tattoo on Severus' shoulder.
X X X X X X X X X X
Severus sought an early morning appointment with Albus, who offered to meet with him immediately after they finished their breakfasts.
As he settled into the chair across from Albus' desk, Severus got right to the point. "I finished my work with Ventus' notes. They were clearly preliminary, but were directionally sound, and I developed a potion that I think merits testing."
Albus was surprised that Severus had a potion to test already. "What exactly are you proposing to test it for?" he inquired.
"I believe it will dissolve a curse that is suffused in the blood of the vampire. I need to validate that it does so, and then determine if that has the desired result of ending the condition. And then of course, determine what sort of dosing and delivery is optimal."
Albus now looked incredulous. "Are you saying that you not only worked through the translation of Ventus' notes, but you've brewed a potion that might cure vampirism?"
"That's what I believe I just said, yes," Severus replied, now a bit snippy. "Ventus' work was directionally helpful, and I had some materials of my own, from my mother, that were also very helpful with this. The great tragedy of this situation is that I believe, had Ventus been allowed to continue with his work, he would have reached this same place in a year or two, at the most."
Albus leaned back in his chair, and considered the man sitting before him, although the gleam of pride in his eyes never wavered. He had always regarded Severus as one of the brightest wizards he knew, and of course he had great faith in Severus' brewing skills, but the speed with which he'd achieved this was astonishing. In fact, Severus was known for his methodical approach to brewing, fully evaluating every option before selecting the one he felt was best and finally moving forward, only to repeat the same exhaustive process at the next step. His results were often spectacular, but they were not achieved quickly. What had changed? Could his relationship with Harry have had any impact on him? Harry had certainly become more confident and sure of himself since he was bonded to Severus; might that have worked both ways? Was Severus now more confident of his instincts, comfortable acting without having ruled out all other options?
He took a deep breath before answering Severus. "That is a tragedy, especially if your potion does cure vampirism; to think that scourge could have been eliminated centuries ago! Do you have thoughts on how you'd like to proceed with testing?"
"I believe Lord Aventine is our natural contact. I have no intention of inviting a vampire to visit Hogwarts; I was considering requesting a meeting at the Ministry offices, or if we need to meet elsewhere, asking Lucius Malfoy to host a meeting at Malfoy Manor. Malfoy has excellent contacts among mediwizards who provide high quality medical services and don't ask questions; we might want one of them to assess the test. If this potion works as I hope, I also think we must pursue private distribution."
Albus smiled, eyes twinkling again. "Ah, you have thought of everything, Severus! I agree completely with what you propose. If I might, I would like to observe the testing myself. Such a momentous, if long-delayed event – I would be thrilled to witness this."
Severus was mollified, as Albus knew he would be, with that praise. He nodded at Albus. "As you wish, Headmaster. I will dispatch owls immediately."
X X X X X X X X X X
A series of Death Eater raids in an around Diagon Alley Saturday morning had created a small panic in the Ministry, and with communications in and out disrupted, Severus was not able to confirm a meeting with Lord Aventine that weekend as he'd hoped. However, Lucius was one of the presenters at the Wednesday squib class, and replied that he would be arriving at Hogwarts early that afternoon for meetings and would be pleased to speak to Severus then.
X X X X X X X X X X
Lucius swept into Severus' office in the dungeons at the agreed-upon hour. Severus noted with amusement the utter splendor of the man's attire; he was outfitted in the most sumptuous of silks and brocades, in colors that made his long white hair glow, and caused his pale blue eyes to look even bluer. He also had a massive sapphire ring on his hand. The man was clearly taking his moment in the spotlight at Hogwarts very seriously, indeed. Lucius let out an aggrieved sigh as he sat in one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs that were placed opposite Severus' desk.
"Can't you get Albus to provide you with more comfortable chairs for your visitors?"
Severus smiled. "Most of the people who sit in those chairs are students." With a wave of his hand, though, Severus placed a cushioning charm on the offending chair, and Lucius made himself a bit more comfortable.
"Volpine and I were very excited at the outcome of the meeting several weeks ago; I've been keeping close watch on the progress that the Guild has been making, and they expect to be ready to test one of the potions in a few weeks. He and I have discussed forming a company to manufacture and distribute it as soon as the potion is approved and we have agreed to terms with you. Or are you planning to do that yourself?"
Severus was surprised to hear that the final tests were so near to hand, although if Lucius had a potential business interest in the progress, it was not surprising that he'd be right on top of it. "No, Lucius, I am not interested in getting into a commercial venture. Harry and I have agreed that we will give the rights to the potion to Hogwarts, so you can have your solicitors contact Albus about the arrangements."
Lucius seemed surprised at the donation, but took it in stride. Albus was always a reasonable businessman, whatever you might say about how he ran the school. Plus, Lucius had just met with Lord Landon, an introduction arranged by the man's son he had hosted as he recovered from the power drain through his Dark Mark. Landon's business was highly regarded for the quality of potions ingredients it sourced, and Lucius wanted to be sure, before he began to seriously consider any new business venture, that he had access to the ingredients he would need, and at favorable rates. A good deal with Landon gave him a bit more room to negotiate with Albus.
"I actually have another potion that I wanted to discuss with you while you are at Hogwarts," Severus continued.
A cruel smile came to Lucius' lips. "My, haven't you been busy! I would not have expected that you'd have all this time to be working on potions, Severus!"
Severus knew how Lucius' mind worked, and was one step ahead of him. "As you know, Mrs. Longbottom's class ended last week, and Harry was attending it in the evenings. I had the time, and used it profitably."
Ah, business again. That got Lucius' interest. "What kind of potion? How profitably?"
It was Severus' turn to offer a cruel smile of his own. "Something to benefit your other new constituency, I hope. I finished working on Ventus' potion. The notes captured just his preliminary work, so it needed refinement and much adjustment, but I believe I've brought it to its intended result. I need to test if of course, but I believe it will cure vampirism. We cannot invite a vampire to Hogwarts, and I'd like any tests observed and verified by a qualified, and discreet, mediwizard. I was hoping that you would be willing to host the tests at the Manor, and arrange for one of your private mediwizards to attend."
Lucius needed a moment to process what he'd just been told. Severus had come up with a cure for vampirism, on top of the lycanthropy potion? He sat for a moment, thinking that he presented the image of a statesman reflecting on a significant achievement that would benefit his people; Severus, on the other hand, was thinking to himself that he'd not seen a look of lust like that since he'd seen the man eyeing at Harry at the Wizengamot in the events that followed the Calling. Money, as well as power, were obviously aphrodisiacs for Lucius, although his hopes of profit with this potion were not going to be met.
Severus decided to continue as Lucius continued to pose. "I would propose to invite Lord Aventine to ask some of his . . . associates afflicted with the condition to join us, and we can see if this potion works as I believe it will. Once we validate it and work out dosing, we'll need Aventine's help in distributing it. I do not intend to submit this to the Potions Masters Guild; I want to distribute this privately, with your and Aventine's help."
All pretense of statesmanship vanished as Lucius realized that there would be no profit, glory or even publicity associated with this venture. He had committed to Potter that he would champion the cause of vampires as well as werewolves, so he really had no way to avoid this request. A slightly deflated man replied, "Of course, old friend. I can suggest that Narcissa visit with her friends in Paris; she always likes that. Have you spoken to Aventine about this yet? Any idea when we can do this?"
"I sent him an owl on Saturday, and had hoped to speak to him over the weekend, but with the Dark Lord's activities in London this past weekend, that could not be arranged. He's aware of the general situation from my letter."
"I will owl him then, from the Ministry," Lucius offered. "He's a member of the Wizengamot, so correspondence from the Ministry would be routine. I'll offer to make the necessary arrangements at his earliest convenience."
X X X X X X X X X
It was yet another Wednesday on which Hogwarts Castle was full to overflowing, and the Great Hall had to be nearly doubled in size to accommodate all who arrived for dinner. Once again, it was a tribute to the house elves network that connected kitchens from manors and houses all across England that ample food could be presented on such short notice.
Petunia was seated with Amaranth, who was as usual a nervous wreck before each of her squib programs. The younger woman twisted her napkin in her lap, as she ran through all the potential disasters that could still occur.
"Now, calm down, dear," Petunia advised. "Every one of these sessions has gone smoothly so far and there is every reason to believe this one will go smoothly, too."
"Ooh, I wish I could calm down, Petunia. Really, I do. It's just that I have two members of the Wizengamot speaking tonight, and the Minister of Magic herself will be here. I have to do the introductions, and what if I get a name wrong? Or mispronounce something?"
At that point, they were interrupted by the arrival of Eustace Landon. "Amaranth, how lovely to see you! This place is totally jammed with people tonight – very exciting to hear from two members of the Wizengamot, such esteemed and powerful people! My father and I were invited by Lord Malfoy, one of your speakers, as we had business to discuss with him. We were thrilled that the meeting was scheduled at Hogwarts so we can attend the presentations. Might I ask a favor, dear? It's terribly crowded, and we've not found seats. May my father and I join you and your friend?"
Amaranth distractedly agreed, and Eustace rushed off to find his father. For her part, Petunia was glad that there would be more of a diversion at dinner, to take Amaranth's mind off the evening event.
Moments later, Eustace and his father approached the table. Thurston apparently had not been too big a part of his son's upbringing, as he seemed not to know Amaranth and was only vaguely aware of her brother with whom Eustace took fencing lessons. In the old-worldly manner of wizards, he immediately took to calling her Mrs. Savoy. As Amaranth was about to introduce Petunia, Thurston shocked her and his son by gallantly bowing over Petunia's outstretched hand, noting that he had already had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Dursley at a previous Wednesday evening presentation. The two gentlemen took their seats, with Eustace seated next to Petunia and Thurston seated next to Amaranth.
Thurston was just like Eustace when it came to dropping names, so most of the dinner conversation consisted of one or the other of the Landons going on and on about this or that Very Important Person that they knew, or met with, or did business with. Petunia was now competent enough with the scramasax that she was able to watch the others and nod at appropriate times, getting her food cut into bite-sized pieces and into her mouth without incident. Eustace nodded at her proficiency, remembering that he had introduced her to the implement. Thurston, himself eating exclusively with a scramasax as well, seemed quite impressed with Petunia, observing to her at one point that it was so sad that so few today adhered to the old ways. She nodded in agreement, having no idea what he was talking about, just to be polite.
When dinner was over and the plates cleared, everyone was asked to step out into the vestibule for a few minutes while the Great Hall was reconfigured for the evening's presentation. Petunia walked along with the Landons, but Amaranth had to excuse herself to be sure everything was ready. The old man's bluster and swagger, and strongly-professed preference for "old ways" reminded her of her Vernon, although of course, Vernon was quite a bit younger than Mr. Landon.
At the appointed time, Amaranth took the podium and welcomed all to the session. "Tonight, we shall hear from two of the most esteemed members of the wizarding world, members of the Wizengamot, our governing body. First we shall hear from the Honorable Remus Lupin on Wizard History and Politics. Mr. Lupin, in addition to serving now on the Wizengamot, is a former professor at Hogwarts, having taught Defense Against the Dark Arts here. Following Mr. Lupin's presentation, Lord Lucius Malfoy will speak to us. Lord Malfoy is also serving now on the Wizengamot, and he is on the Board of Governors here at Hogwarts."
With that, a very nervous Amaranth took a seat and an only-slightly-less nervous Remus Lupin took her place at the rostrum. One deep breath was all Remus needed to calm himself, and he held his audience mesmerized for the hour that he spoke. He allowed time for questions and answers, and showed himself to be self-effacing and knowledgeable. Petunia held her tongue to her two companions only because of her desire to avoid the embarrassing consequences of saying anything negative. She was personally horrified that such a criminal held a position of authority in this world, let alone was held in high esteem by these people!
The next speaker, Lord Malfoy, was as different as night from day to Mr. Lupin. Lucius was every inch the patrician aristocrat, from his neat locks held in a ponytail, to his elegant robes, to his jeweled hands, even to the gold snake atop his walking cane. Frankly, Petunia was fascinated; she'd never seen anything quite like this and did not know what to make of it. Clearly, this man had money and lots of it, always a big positive in her book. He took great care with his looks, and it would surprise her if he did not spend more time than any woman she knew primping and getting ready for his day. There was something almost foppish about him, but she suspected that perception would not be shared by a wizard, because so many of them dressed in that way, just not as nicely. He went on and on about the wizarding legal system, not a topic of great interest to Petunia, but Mr. Landon (the elder) was actively listening and agreeing with everything Lucius said. At one point, he leaned over to Petunia to observe in a whisper, "Mrs. Dursley, this man is the most astute businessman in England; he knows all the ins and outs, how to get things done here!"
Now, that definitely sounded like her Vernon!
When the speeches were over, and the enthusiastic applause had subsided, refreshments appeared on side tables. Some people drifted off, while others stayed to mingle, and more than a few tried to make their way toward the speakers for a few minutes chat. Petunia saw Harry shaking the hands of the speakers, and it should not surprise anyone that he seemed very fond of the criminal. Peas in a pod, no doubt. And that truly awful man to whom Harry was bonded was up there, too, although for some reason, Lord Malfoy seemed pleased to be speaking to him, and as a result, her perception of Malfoy went down a notch. She was amazed that the royal princes joined the group, and greeted Harry quite warmly. There was obviously no accounting for taste, or maybe those were two boys who just looked like the royals.
Eustace had immediately elbowed his way to the front of the room, leaving her and his father behind. Thurston observed to Petunia, as he watched his son's departing back, "I'm too old to be chasing after prominent people in public places like this. Eustace finds it exciting, but he's young yet. I've met Malfoy, and a number of other important people, one-on-one, where we can get to know each other. This is for sycophants, in my opinion."
Goodness, the last place on earth Petunia would want to be right now would be at the front of the room, mingling with those, those . . . wizards. To Thurston, however, she just observed, "I know what you mean, and I could not agree with you more!" He seemed very pleased with that comment, and stood as he offered to bring her back a coffee and some shortbread.