Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Harry was having the best summer he had ever had, vacation had been a blast and he felt so close to his family. Newquay had been so much fun! The beautiful beaches, seeing all the different marine life at the Blue Reef Aquarium, the animals at the zoo… it had been like a dream come true for Harry. He had learned to swim and now loved being in the water. And he felt so close to his parents and brother, so loved and wanted.
Now summer was coming to an end and although Harry felt excited to return to Hogwarts, he also felt a little anxious at not being home. He didn't want to be away from his parents. He kept quiet about it though, he didn't want to seem like a little whiny kid.
"Can we go yet?" Draco asked impatiently. They were going to Diagon Alley to get their books and do some shopping. Draco wanted to go to the Quidditch store and see if anything new came in.
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "We'll be going as soon as your mother is ready. Unless you would rather stay here at the manor while the rest of us go?" He asked in an admonishing manner.
Draco's eyes widened and he shook his head frantically. "No, I don't mind waiting for her," he said quickly.
"Good choice," Lucius said wryly.
Harry chuckled.
"I'm ready!" Narcissa said brightly as she came downstairs a few minutes later.
"Ron and his family are supposed to be going today. Hermione too," Harry said happily. "Do you think any of your friends will be there?" he asked his brother.
"Maybe," Draco said. Hopefully, the nicer ones will be, he thought.
The prophet had already run the story about Harry being Hadrian Malfoy and of course, the wizarding world was in shock. Some people were happy for the Malfoys to have their son back but others were enraged that the boy-who-lived was a Malfoy. There was also speculation that it was a trick, but Dumbledore had done an interview confirming that it was true. The wizarding world, at least most of the wizarding world, respected Albus Dumbledore, and his words went a long way to calm the upset.
Of course, now that the truth was out the Malfoys couldn't act as spies anymore. Snape either. Several known followers of Voldemort had sent letters but Lucius had destroyed the letters on the spot, not wanting to risk any being cursed. He and Narcissa knew who they could trust and who they could not. The Nott's, the Parkinson's, the Bulstrode's, and the Flints for sure could not be trusted.
Lucius and Narcissa were worried about their boys especially once they went back to school but Snape had assured them he would keep a close eye on them and write them if anything seemed amiss. Lucius and Narcissa also planned to visit the castle regularly.
/
In the Quidditch store, Harry was standing with Narcissa looking at the gloves while Draco was across the store looking at the broom kits. Lucius was meeting them there, he had stopped at an apothecary.
"Draco!"
Draco turned and groaned inwardly. Pansy and Theo were hurrying his way.
"Oh Draco, you must be so upset," Pansy said sympathetically.
"Why?" Draco asked curtly.
"To find out that Scarhead is your brother," Pansy shuddered.
"So what's the plan? Are your parents going to disown him?" Nott asked eagerly.
"Or perhaps arrange for a little accident," Pansy added maliciously.
Draco glared at them. "You two are idiots." He spat out at them.
"Hey!" Pansy protested.
"He's my brother and if you do anything to hurt him, you'll have me to deal with," Draco warned them.
"So then it's true, you and your parents are blood-traitors," Theo said coolly. "You should want the boy-who-lived dead no matter who he is."
Feeling intense fury, Draco started to lunge for Nott but was grabbed by his collar and pulled back.
"Draco," Lucius said, his eyes on Pansy and Theo. "You two should run along to your parents before you find yourselves in trouble."
"Traitor!" Theo spat at him.
"Hmm. You are foolish just like your father," Lucius said with narrowed eyes. "I would caution you and your parents against causing trouble for either of my sons." He leaned forward menacingly. "I am much more important and influential than either of your family's. Do not mess with me or what is mine. Pass that on to your parents, if you would be so kind. Now get out of my sight!" He snapped.
Pansy and Theo quickly scurried away out of the store.
"That was brilliant!" Harry exclaimed with a huge grin from behind him, where he and Narcissa were standing. They had heard the commotion and had walked over to see what was going on.
Lucius cleared his throat but a twinge of amusement was in his eyes. "Yes, well. I want you two to stay away from them when you are at school." He said.
"Not a problem," Harry said with a snort.
"I never liked them anyway," Draco said dismissively.
Narcissa gave Lucius a worried look and he took her hand, squeezing reassuringly. "Ready to go get your books?" He asked his boys, changing the subject.
On their way to the bookstore, they ran into the Weasleys and Grangers. Harry had been a little nervous about his parents meeting Hermione and her parents, with their low opinion of muggles, which the Dursleys certainly had not helped. But he shouldn't have worried, his parents were very polite to the Grangers. And Ron's dad had a million questions for them, which was amusing.
"Harry, look at you!" Hermione said as she hugged him.
"Weird, right?" Harry said a little self-consciously, running a hand through his hair.
"Super weird," Ron agreed.
"I wasn't asking you," Harry rolled his eyes.
"It's a little crazy, but you look great! You look so happy," Hermione smiled. Her gaze went to Draco. "Hi Malfo – I mean, Draco," she said politely.
"Hi, Hermione," Draco responded.
Hermione's eyes widened slightly at the use of her name. She shared a surprised look with Ron and Harry as the rest of the Weasley family greeted them.
"All of Lockhart's books are going to be expensive," Fred commented, looking at his book list.
"We'll manage," Mrs. Weasley said, a flash of worry in her eyes. "I expect we can get a lot of Ginny's books second-handed."
As soon as they entered Flourish and Blotts, they noticed an excited crowd surrounding one man who sat at a desk surrounded by books, signing them. Not only his books but also posters of himself, and all versions of him were smiling and winking at the audience.
"Oh, he's here!" Hermione said excitedly, ignoring Ron while he pretended to gag.
"We should get in line," Molly said, patting her hair, a flush on her cheeks.
"Mum fancies him," Ron whispered to Harry.
"Oh my, he does have a brilliant smile," Narcissa commented, standing with Molly.
Lucius scowled which caused Harry and Draco to snicker.
Lockhart stood up and smiled brightly as soon as he noticed them.
"Well, well. Look who it is! Harry Potter! Although you do look different now, don't you?" The blond-haired man chuckled, causing the crowd to turn and stare at Harry. Lockhart made his way over to the Malfoys, still smiling brightly.
"His name is Hadrian Malfoy," Lucius said to him coldly.
"Ah, yes. But the Potter name is a big part of what makes you famous isn't it?" The man winked at Harry. "Just like my name, Gildroy Lockhart is famous! Names are important, are they not?"
Harry scowled in response at him. He already knew he didn't like this man.
"You and I are both quite well-known! And as I will be teaching at Hogwarts -" Lockhart smiled brightly at the clapping that followed his words. "Thank you! After all, with my vast knowledge, who else would be better?" He continued to smile brightly.
"A flobbeworm," Harry muttered.
"Come, Harry, you and I are front-page news!" Lockhart beamed as he took Harry and began pulling him forward.
"Hey!" Harry tried to get his arm free.
"I suggest you unhand my son unless you want me to remove all your pretty teeth. Permanently," Lucius hissed, gently grabbing Harry's other arm. "You wouldn't be able to take such nice little pictures then, would you?"
Lockhart paled and quickly let Harry go.
"Are you all right?" Narcissa asked anxiously, checking over Harry.
"I'm fine," Harry said, still glaring at Lockhart.
"What a git," Draco was also glaring at the man.
"That's fine, nothing wrong with being shy," Lockhart said loudly with a chuckle. He grabbed a pile of books off the desk he had been sitting at. "And to show my generosity, here is my set of books for free!" Lockhart said, shoving the books into Harry's hands.
"He does not need -" Lucius began. He narrowed his eyes dangerously as Lockhart ignored him and went back to his fans. "I must question the Headmaster's thought process." He muttered and then glanced at Harry. "Why don't you give those to someone else? We can afford to buy your own books," he said softly.
"Give them to Ginny," Narcissa suggested quietly to Harry. "That way she can have some new books."
Harry smiled at her. "That's a great idea, Mum!" He walked over and quickly dumped them in Ginny's basket. "Here. You can have them."
"Thank you," Ginny said shyly. She let out a small yelp when a man bumped into her.
"Watch it!" The man snapped.
"You watch it!" Harry told him with a huff.
The man sneered at him and then walked off.
"Who was that?"
"That was Mr. Nott," Mr. Weasley said with a frown as he walked up to them, putting a hand on Ginny's arm. "Not a friendly man."
"Oh," Harry said. "Yeah, his son isn't nice either." He shook his head as he returned to his family. The Nott's were definitely an unpleasant bunch.
"Bet you loved all that attention, didn't you?" Draco said to him with a huff once Harry had rejoined him.
Harry's mouth dropped open. "Are you mental? I did not -"
Draco burst into laughter. "I know, I was joking!" He snickered. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that his brother hated that attention. Months ago he would have assumed that Harry loved it but now he knew his brother. Harry just wanted to be normal, to be like anyone else. To have a family and friends.
"Very funny," Harry stuck his tongue at his twin before also chuckling.
"All right, enough you too," Lucius said with a sigh. "I think that's enough excitement for one day. Let's get your books and go home."
"Honestly, Lucius. The company you keep," Mr. Nott said as he walked by and eyed the Weasleys with contempt. "Just because you found out that muggle-raised brat is yours – Gahh!" He gasped as Lucius's hand grabbed his throat.
"Lucius!" Narcissa said in alarm. She pushed her sons behind her, not wanting them to see.
"My, my. What have we here?" A smooth voice asked.
"Severus," Lucius said without turning around. "I was just choking the life out of Hector. I'll only be a moment."
"I normally wouldn't stop you except for the fact that your sons are watching," Snape said quietly to his friend.
Lucius sighed and threw Nott Sr. to the ground. "Apparently your son didn't give you my message. Stay away from me and my family. That goes for your spawn and his little friends too. You do not want to upset me, Hector. You know I can make things very difficult for you at work."
Hector got up, shaky and red-faced. He tried to glare but his eyes were watering and he was gasping for breath so it ruined the effect. He finally just turned around and walked out of the shop.
"That was amazing!" Draco exclaimed to his father excitedly.
"No, it wasn't," Lucius said regretfully. "I let my temper get the better of me and I shouldn't have. I stopped you earlier from attacking Theo and then I go and attack his father."
Narcissa put her hand on his arm and he smiled at her. "I apologize." He told his family.
"But he deserved it!" Draco insisted.
"Yeah, he had it coming!" Harry added.
"It wasn't the right way to handle the situation," Lucius told his son. "It is certainly not a way I want either of you acting," he warned. "Don't lose your temper like I just did. It's not the right way to handle situations."
"Yes Father," Draco said with a sigh.
"Yes, Dad," Harry said. He smiled at Snape. "Hi Uncle – err, I mean Professor."
"Unless we are in class, Uncle Severus is just fine," Snape told his godson, pleased that Harry was so much more comfortable with him. He had been worried that the child would never warm up to him.
"We met the Defense professor," Lucius remarked. "I am not impressed."
"Neither am I," Narcissa said.
"Even though he has a brilliant smile?" Lucius asked sarcastically.
Narcissa grinned. "Not as brilliant as yours, my love," she said sweetly.
"Ugh," Harry and Draco both groaned.
"That was pretty cool of your dad," Ron commented as he joined them. He and his family had watched the whole incident.
Harry grinned proudly. "Yeah, it was."
/
After inviting Snape over for dinner and arriving home, Narcissa sent the boys upstairs to put their new books in their trunks, while the three adults stayed in the sitting room to talk. "I'm worried for the boys," Narcissa fretted. "Nott and Parkinson won't be the only ones to bother Draco and Harry. There will be other children of death eaters."
"I know," Lucius said unhappily.
"I will keep an eye out for both of them," Snape spoke up. "And you will be visiting, correct?"
"At least once a week, if not more," Lucius confirmed.
Snape smirked. "Ah, such doting parents."
"We are not doting, we are dutiful," Lucius countered.
"Of course, my mistake," Snape snickered. He knew his friends, they visited frequently when it was just Draco and now that they had Hadrian back, he had no doubt they would be visiting several times a week. He wondered if he could add another guest room to his quarters. He already had one, which Draco had used a few times when he was feeling homesick and now both boys would be welcome to use it. But knowing Narcissa and Lucius as he did, he had no doubt another one would be needed.
TBC: