Harry had never been in a muggle limousine before. It was wicked cool. It had leather seats, and a little cooler with drinks and snacks, though Harry didn't take anything, and a sliding glass divider that separated them from the driver. Harry got lost in the simple joy of exploring the cab and fiddling with all of the buttons and little compartments.

"Harry," Mrs. Malfoy said with a smile in her voice, "settle down. Save your energy for your lesson."

Harry grinned at her and at Draco. Right. Karate lessons.

He was so excited!

Just a couple hours ago, Harry had been bracing himself for a summer of boredom and loneliness at the Dursleys. Now, the Malfoys were rescuing him from that fate by arranging him to take karate lessons with Draco. The Dursleys couldn't even be mad about it, because Mrs. Malfoy had expertly arranged for the neighbours to witness her casual display of wealth and class. Aunt Petunia would have to go along with whatever Mrs. Malfoy said and did in order to keep up appearances with the neighbourhood and take advantage of her new 'posh friend'. Professor Snape might be Harry's hero, but Mrs. Malfoy was a mad genius. She had met Aunt Petunia only once, and briefly at that, and already had her completely figured out.

This summer was going to be awesome.

It was more than just the martial arts to Harry, this was summer freedom and a chance to explore the muggle world without the Dursleys looming over him, and a chance to learn something new!

Harry loved quidditch, but he house teams taught themselves, and even though Marcus was brilliant, he'd learned so much more technical stuff from Mr. Bagman in a couple sessions than he'd learned from the Slytherin team all year.

He was hoping that karate would be the same. Sparring in the Slytherin Heir rooms was fun, but it was chaotic and unstructured.

That was good for practising improvisation, but Harry wanted to master technique and strategy, too.

He was certain that muggle martial arts and wizarding DADA would have enough overlap in their theory that this fun summer hobby would be very worthwhile.

Plus, Draco was doing it with him, so even if he didn't learn much, he knew he'd have fun.

The limo was too big for the cramped dojo parking lot, so Harry and the Malfoys had to walk a little to get to class. He didn't mind.

It was a beautiful day.

Or it was, until Harry caught sight of Piers Polkiss.

Harry been so excited to get away from Dudley that he'd forgotten about Dudley's friends.

Polkiss spotted him and sauntered over. "Hey, Potter. Dudley around?"

Harry shook his head, no. "Nah, I'm here with a friend."

"Cool," Polkiss said. "How was St. Brutus'?"

"Huh?"

Polkiss gave him an odd look. "The reform school you got sent to. Your uncle said it was for the criminally insane or some shit."

Harry gave a startled laugh, thinking fast. "Oh! I didn't know they'd told anyone. It's a posh private school, actually. My parents secured me a scholarship before they died. It's filled to the brim with future politicians and nobility types and the like so yeah, the criminally insane."

Polkiss laughed. "That's rough."

Harry gave an awkward shrug. "It's not all bad. The friend who brought me here goes there with me. He's rich, but he's cool. He's related to someone important, but he won't tell me who. There's a rumour at school that he's secretly a Royal, but I think that's bollocks. He'd never shut up about it if he was. Hey Draco, come meet Piers Polkiss. He's one of Dudley's friends."

"Charmed," Draco said snidely, sticking out his hand.

Polkiss burst out laughing. "You two are hilarious! You here for Karate lessons, then?"

"Yup."

"Me too. I didn't think I'd know anyone here. I asked Dudley to join but Mrs. Dursley didn't want 'Duddikins' getting hurt. Personally, I think she and Mr. Dursley just didn't want Dudley doing anything 'foreign'. They're so weird sometimes. It's cool that you're here, though. This'll be fun!"

Polkiss ran back to his spot in line, and Draco gave Harry a questioning look.

Harry shrugged. "He's always nicer when Dudley's not around. It's weird."

"I'm going to keep an eye on him," Draco promised, crossing his arms.

"Just don't get too distracted. We're here to hit things, remember?" Harry said cheekily. He was glad that he had such a protective friend.

"Is everything alright?" Mrs. Malfoy asked. Merlin, she was good at blending into the background when she wanted to be, even dressed like a posh muggle princess like she was.

Harry nodded quickly. "Yeah, it's alright. Thanks."

"Alright. I'll stay long enough to get you boys signed in, and then I'll let you have your fun. I gave Draco some muggle money, and there's a little shop right over there, so if you get finished early and I'm not back yet, grab yourselves a snack and wait for me here or at that park over there. Don't wander off and don't talk to any strangers. Got it?"

"Yes, Mother," Draco said impatiently.

"Yes, Ma'am," Harry echoed. He was amazed at the balance she managed to strike between being responsible and safety oriented and being hands-off and letting them feel like they were growing up. He was eternally grateful that he'd gotten the opportunity to know her. He liked to think that his own mother would have been a lot like her, but of course, he could never know for sure.

They got registered without issue and quickly changed into their new pyjama-uniforms. Gis. Apparently the white belts meant that they were beginners, and they would have to earn better colors as they went.

Harry thought that sounded awesome. He hoped he'd be the first of their group to advance.

As the lesson started, they were gathered together as a group to do some simple warm-ups and stretches.

Harry was expecting them to get right into it, but after they were limbered up, their sensei brought them all close together to talk about the importance of discipline and a clear mind.

"I won't make you wash my car," the sensei said, causing most of the students to laugh, "but we're not Cobra Kai, either. Balance is important. You can't land a solid hit if your momentum isn't lined up correctly. You can't make a solid decision if your thinking isn't lined up correctly, either. You must learn to stay calm under pressure, to think quickly under threat, and to always remember that violence should be a last resort. This is meant to be fun and it is meant to protect you. It is not meant to turn you into bullies who feel free to terrorize everyone else. Got it?"

Everyone nodded solemnly. One kid snickered condescendingly, and the sensei immediately told him to stay after class for a private chat, if he wished to continue the lessons.

Harry was impressed.

He'd seen adults get utterly steamrolled by kids like that before, and it was nice to know that this authority figure, like Professor Snape, knew how to put his foot down.

They got down to theory, to Harry's delight, and went over the basic tenants of, to Harry's dismay, meditation of all things, before moving on to the proper stances they'd need to stay grounded. Finally, they ended the class with some sets of basic punches and kicks, but with no actual fighting.

It wasn't as exciting as Harry had been hoping, but he could see the potential, could tell that the sensei was building a foundation of knowledge within them before setting them loose on the dangerous and fun stuff, and he wanted to stick with it.

Draco agreed.

It was still early when they'd finished and changed back into their street clothes.

They went with a few other kids to the corner shop to buy some junk food and drinks, and then Polkiss invited them to hang out at the skate park.

Draco was dubious, but Harry was intrigued. He had seen kids skateboarding before, and it had always looked difficult but fun. It looked like flying but standing up and with wheels.

"Let's at least watch," Harry begged, tugging at Draco's sleeve. "It's still part of the park where your mother told us to wait. We'll be able to see the limo from there and everything."

"I suppose," Draco said reluctantly, "but don't expect me to join in."

Harry rolled his eyes. "I won't. You might want to after you see what they can do, though. Come on!"

They chased after Piers and the others.