Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Harry was blissfully lost in slumberland when he felt himself being jostled. "Harry, breakfast is ready!" Someone nudged him again.
Harry slowly opened his eyes and stretched. "Draco?" He sat up to see his brother standing by his bed, already dressed for the day.
"Mum and Dad stayed over so we're all having breakfast together in Uncle Severus's kitchen," Draco said happily.
"They stayed?" Harry smiled.
"Yeah." Draco hesitated. "I heard about what happened last night. Are you okay?"
"Yes, except for feeling like an idiot," Harry sighed. "Sneaking out, night flying…what was I thinking?"
"That it would be adventurous and exciting?" Draco offered.
Harry nodded ruefully. "Exactly."
"See, this is another reason we should be in the same house," Draco said. "I could stop you from doing stupid things."
Harry laughed. "Gee thanks, Draco."
"You know what I mean," Draco laughed. "So, did Father, um…"
"I, uh, got walloped pretty good," Harry said, flushing slightly.
"I figured," Draco said sympathetically. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt anymore," Harry said as he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. "It did last night though, is Dad's hand made of wood or something?" he asked with an exaggerated wince.
"Right? He must cast a spell on it or something," Draco agreed.
"I do not," Lucius said from the doorway, amusement in his voice. "Draco, go help your mother and Severus set the table while Hadrian gets dressed."
"Okay," Draco said.
Lucius stepped into the room as Draco left. "I'll let you get ready in a minute, I wanted to talk to you about something. I should have addressed this over the summer, but so much was happening that I forgot." He told Harry.
"What is it?" Harry asked curiously.
"Your cloak."
Harry's eyes widened. "My cloak?"
"I know the Headmaster gave it to you last year, and that it was James Potter's cloak. I would like you to give it to me to hold for you until you are older." Lucius said.
"Because I used to sneak out last night? I – "
"No, I meant to take it over the summer but as I said, I forgot. You are too young for such a cloak." Lucius said to him. He didn't know what Dumbledore was thinking, a child should not have been given a cloak like that at such a young age. No wonder he was able to sneak out so much last year.
"But I need it! It helped me last year, with – "
"With sneaking around the castle after curfew?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "With sneaking into places you should not be? With putting your life in danger?"
"But Dad," Harry couldn't help but whine.
"You will get it back when you are a little older," Lucius said firmly. "Your mother and I have talked about it and we both agree that this is the best decision."
"But – "
"Hadrian." Lucius leveled a stern look at his son. "This is not a request." He held out his hand and waited.
With a dejected sigh, Harry got his cloak out and reluctantly gave it to his dad.
"This isn't a punishment," Lucus said quietly, folding the cloak. "Your mother and I do not believe you are ready for such a cloak. It's too much temptation for a child."
Harry scowled. "But Dad, I'm not a child!"
"No?" Lucius asked with a smirk. "An adult then? Ready to get your own place, get a job, get married…"
A smile broke out on Harry's face. "No. Not yet."
"Not yet," Lucius agreed with a smile, hugging him. "You'll be an adult soon enough, my son. Enjoy being a child for a little while longer, okay?"
"Okay."
/
"Harry! Are you okay?" Ron asked anxiously when Harry entered their Gryffindor dorm room after having breakfast with his family.
"Yeah. Sorry, I didn't come back last night, I stayed in my room in Snape's quarters," Harry explained.
"Ugh, was that your punishment? Having to stay with that – "
"No, it wasn't," Harry glared at Seamus. "I chose to stay."
"So, what did he do to you?" Ron asked.
"He floo called my parents," Harry said, flopping on the sofa. "My Dad came and, uh, talked to me."
A knowing look came across Ron's face. He got plenty of talks himself. "Was it bad?" he asked sympathetically.
"I never want a repeat of it," Harry said with a rueful smile. "My Mum came too, and they stayed the night, and then in the morning Uncle Severus got Draco and we all had breakfast together."
"Oh, that's nice," Ron said, a spark of resentment in his eyes. "I received a howler from my parents. In the Great Hall during breakfast. It was wonderful." He said sarcastically.
"A howler? What's that?"
"It's an enchanted letter so you can hear the voice of whoever wrote it. My Mum enchanted it to yell at me. In front of everyone!" Ron said in an embarrassed voice.
Dean snickered. "She said if he got into any more trouble, she would floo here with her wooden spoon."
Ron winced. His Mum could be fierce with a wooden spoon, he'd found that out when he and the twins flew the car. "It's not funny." He grumbled.
"What about you two?" Harry asked Seamus and Dean.
"Haven't heard back from our parents yet," Seamus shrugged, not appearing worried about it.
"Lucky," Ron sighed as Seamus and Dean left the room. "Oh, and Harry, and you can expect another lecture."
"From McGonagall?"
"No. Hermione." Ron rolled his eyes.
Harry chuckled. "Of course."
"You're so lucky. At least you weren't humiliated in front of everyone." Ron muttered.
"No, but I still got punished and lectured. And my dad took my cloak," Harry sighed.
"He took it?" Ron asked in a horrified voice. "For how long?"
"He said until I'm older," Harry said. "He said it wasn't a punishment, he meant to take it before school started back up. He and Mum think I'm too young to have it."
"Bummer," Ron sighed. "That cloak came in handy."
Harry nodded in agreement.
/
After Hermione joined them and scolded Harry for night flying, the trio went to the library at Hermione's insistence to study and do homework.
"Why do you seem nervous?" Ron asked as the trio studied in the library. He'd noticed Harry seemed really distracted, kept tapping his quill against the table and staring aimlessly.
"Draco is having his Quidditch tryouts this afternoon," Harry explained. Draco had told him over breakfast. His poor brother had been so nervous and excited that he had had a hard time eating.
"Oh," Ron said.
"I wanted to watch so I could show my support to him, but Flint insisted the tryouts be private," Harry said. He couldn't really be upset about that since Oliver Wood insisted on the same thing.
"Is he a good flier?" Hermione asked, opening her Charms book.
"Yeah, he's good. And he can throw really far," Harry said enthusiastically. "We flew in our backyard over the summer and tossed the quaffle around. He's got a good arm."
"Then I hope he doesn't make it," Ron said.
"Hey!" Harry glared at him.
"I want Gryffindor to win!" Ron protested. "If he's good, then that makes their team stronger."
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's just a game. And Draco really wants to be on the team."
"Probably just to show you up," Ron muttered.
"Ronald, knock it off," Hermione said with a mild glare. "They are brothers, they support each other."
"Yeah, Ron. What's your problem?" Harry frowned at his friend.
Ron sighed. "Nothing." He was jealous but he didn't want to admit it. He worried that soon Harry wouldn't need or want him as a friend anymore, not with Draco in the picture.
Half an hour later, Draco came running into the library. "Harry!" he said excitedly.
"Shh!" Madam Pince scolded from her desk. "And no running in my library."
Draco ignored her. "I made Chaser!"
"Awesome!" Harry said, jumping up and hugging his brother. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Congratulations Draco," Hermione said politely.
"Yeah, good going," Ron said in a less than enthused voice.
"I can't wait to tell Mother and Father. And Uncle Severus," Draco said happily.
"They'll be really proud," Harry said with a grin. "I'm proud of you."
"Really?" Draco beamed.
"Of course," Harry said. "We should celebrate!"
"We should do our homework," Hermione said disapprovingly.
"Nah, Harry's right. We should celebrate," Ron said, brightening up. If it meant getting out of doing homework, he would happily celebrate Malfoy making the team.
"Come on Hermione. Just for a little while?" Harry pleaded.
"Fred and George just had a Hogsmeade weekend and brought back a ton of candy. We could ask for some," Ron said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, let's do that!" Draco agreed.
Hermione sighed but put her books back in her backpack. "All right. For a little while."
/
A few days later, Draco went to Snape's office to ask a question about the latest homework assignment when he heard familiar voices coming from the room. Mother and Father, he realized in surprise. He quietly moved closer to the door to listen.
"I'm so proud of Draco making the team," Narcissa said. "And of Harry for being the youngest seeker in a century, but I'm worried about when their houses play against each other."
"We've already talked about that with them," Lucius said. "They realize it's just a game. I don't think they will fight about who wins."
"I hope not," Narcissa sighed.
"And they will be too busy admiring their new brooms," Snape said. "Give it to them after their classes, otherwise they will be too excited."
"We figured we would come over for dinner tomorrow night and give it to them," Narcissa said happily.
"As soon as they see the Nimbus 2001, they'll, as the students say, go mental," Snape said dryly.
Lucius chuckled.
Me and Harry are getting the Nimbus 2001, Draco thought with excitement. He wanted to rush in there but knew he'd be in for it for eavesdropping. He would just have to wait until tomorrow night. Wait until Harry finds out! Draco thought happily as he walked back to his dorm. Wait until everyone finds out!
/
The next morning, Harry was lounging in the common room while Hermione was reading when Ron suddenly burst into the common room. "Harry! I knew it! I knew they would hurt you!" he practically shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Did something happen?" Hermine asked worriedly.
"I'll say. I heard from some Hufflepuffs that Draco received a Nimbus 2001 from your parents!" Ron threw his hands up in exasperation. "It's the talk of the school!"
"Wow, really?" Harry's eyes widened. The latest Nimbus was the newest, fastest broom out there.
Ron stared at Harry. "Don't you see? They're playing favorites! I don't see you with a new broom."
"Ron," Hermione said in a disapproving voice.
Harry was quiet for a moment. He felt a twinge of jealousy, a feeling of being unwanted yet again. His mind flashed to all the times Dudley got presents and he got nothing. "It's fine. Draco just made the team so they wanted to do something nice for him." He said finally, with a weak smile. I'm not going to be jealous, he thought determinedly.
"But –" Ron began indignantly.
"I got my broom from McGonagall after being made seeker," Harry interrupted. "A lot of people thought that wasn't fair."
Hermione nodded. "That's true."
Harry stayed quiet as they sat by the fire. He wasn't jealous, there was nothing wrong with Draco getting the latest broom. Harry liked his own broom anyway. It was just…did it mean something? Did it mean Draco was their favorite? It made sense, they had raised Draco. They had only just met him. He sighed and got up.
"Where are you going?"
"Class," Harry said shortly. Their next class didn't start yet but he felt like being alone for a little while. Luckily, he didn't share any afternoon classes with Draco this afternoon. He knew it was wrong of him, but he just wasn't ready to hear about his new broom.
"I'll come with – " Ron started to say.
"Nah, I need to think." Harry grabbed his book bag.
"Harry –"
The portrait closed behind Harry as he left without another word.
Hermione glared at Ron. "Way to go." She said sarcastically.
"He was going to hear about it anyway," Ron said defensively.
/
After his last class that afternoon, Draco was summoned by his godfather to his quarters. "You wanted to see me, Uncle Severus?" He asked after Snape had let him in. He flopped onto the sofa.
"Yes, I've heard a rumor that you are getting the Nimbus 2001," Snape said sarcastically. "Any idea where this rumor came from?"
"It's not a rumor, I heard –" Draco paused, looking at Snape guiltily.
"How did you know about the brooms?" Snape asked in exasperation.
"I heard Mother and Father talking about it when they were in your office last night," Draco admitted quietly. "I was going to ask you a homework question but heard them say they bought Harry and me the brooms."
"And you just couldn't wait to tell everybody," Snape said sarcastically. "Everyone is talking about how you are getting the new broom and not your brother."
"I told everyone that both Harry and I were getting new brooms!" Draco protested.
"Well, apparently that got lost in translation. If Harry has heard about this, then thinks you are the only one that is getting one." Snape sighed. "Imagine how that would feel for him, considering his upbringing."
"Where is he? I'll tell him he's getting one too!" Draco jumped up.
"Your parents wanted to surprise you both," Snape pointed out. "Now you've ruined that."
Draco's shoulders slumped. "I just got so excited."
"I know." Snape sighed. "But you should have made your presence known last night. And you shouldn't have said anything to anyone until you actually received the broom." He continued talking, not hearing the floo flare behind him. "Harry and your parents should be here soon, so we can get this sorted out."
"Get what sorted out?" Lucius asked, coming up beside Draco and placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at his son's guilty expression and sighed. "All right, what has happened now?"
TBC: