Harry was sat at the dinner table at the Burrow, watching all the madness that was a normal meal at the Weasleys. He smiled as he watched plates be passed back and forth across the table. This wasn't proper etiquette, of that he was sure, but it was a family gathering behind closed doors; there was no-one to judge how they acted together. He listened to the flow of conversation around him, as each member of the family talked about their day. He loved this part of the day, listening to everyone's stories and telling his own. The Weasley family had never made him feel excluded and treated him as one of their own. He normally came for dinner most nights a week to catch up with what people were doing on a daily basis and for Mrs. Weasley's benefit. He could cook well enough, but he knew that the Weasley matriarch worried about him eating enough, at least this way he could appease her worry a bit, it wasn't as if eating her food was a hardship.
"How was your day Harry dear?" Molly asked as Bill finished talking about the curse he had detangled that afternoon.
"Not much," Harry replied, "I had a business lunch in Vertical Alley. One of the lords is willing to teach all the children in the orphanage about society, politics and law. I am going to be taking the lessons as well."
"Why would you do that?" Ron asked, "You're not a kid."
"No, but I don't know most of what I need to take my place in the House of Wizards, so I need to learn." Harry replied.
"You're not going to sit in classes with the kids though are you mate?" Ron asked around a mouthful of potatoes.
"Of course not," Harry replied, "I am going to have private lessons once a week. It will be quicker as I'll be the only person he'll be teaching at that time, so if I need more help I can ask."
Harry could tell that some of them were curious about why he was going for the lessons and with whom, but they didn't ask, so he didn't feel like telling them. He knew that there would be a fuss if he informed them that he would be going to Malfoy manor once a week to meet with Lucius Malfoy. The rivalry between the Weasley and Malfoy families was still as strong now as it was when Harry had first learnt about it, in fact after the war it was probably even stronger. No it was best to keep it a secret, for now at least.
He managed to steer the conversation away from himself and his lessons by asking George about the shop. He listened as George told everyone about some new products he was working on, and about the success of some of the pranks he sold. Harry could see the small frown on Mrs. Weasleys' face, she still wasn't happy about the way in which George was supporting himself, but she couldn't deny that he was successful.
Dinner was long over and Harry was getting ready to leave the Burrow for home when the eagle owl swooped in through the open window, flying straight for Harry. He took the package from the owl, wondering who it was from, his mind thinking Lord Malfoy, but not saying anything aloud. As soon as he relieved it of the package the owl flew straight back out the window. He could see the Weasley's eyeing the package, the very Slytherin colours of the packaging and the high quality of the fabric.
He saw the letter first, just under the black cord, noting that it was addressed to Heir Potter-Black once again, confirming to himself that the parcel was from Lord Malfoy. He placed the letter into his pocket, not wanting to open it when the others would be able to read it and see the signature, he was trying to keep his association with Lord Malfoy quite for now after all.
He hesitated before opening the package, knowing that they were all watching him, and hoping that the package wasn't anything that would give the identity of the sender away. He was tempted to leave the package until he got home, but the looks on the faces around him told him that wasn't possible. He opened the parcel, and gave an internal sigh of relief at the contents.
"I didn't expect them this quickly," Harry said, trying to deflect some of his earlier confusion about the package, it had no doubt shown on his face, "I only ordered these books this afternoon."
He rewrapped the parcel carefully, before he finished getting ready to leave. Once he was back at Grimmauld Place he opened the parcel again, looking at the books he had been sent, they would no doubt be useful. He then pulled out Lord Malfoy's letter to read, placing it down on top of the books when he was finished and grabbing some parchment and a quill to write a thank you note. As he gave the note to his new owl Athena and watched her fly off with it, he wondered how he was going to hide daily correspondence with Lord Malfoy from Hermione and the Weasleys.