Chapter 14: Meeting Malfoy
The week had been busy for Kiba, to say the least. Cleaning, gardening and cooking were only a few of the things Kiba helped Helaway with until she began walking herself again. It was Wednesday morning and Kiba felt as excited as he did last year, maybe even more, to go to Diagon Alley and he was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Mr. Malfoy. In his mind Kiba drew several pictures of what Mr. Malfoy might be like.. he guessed him as rather tall, and well dressed like Mr. Kenway. Most likely short blonde hair like Draco's or long black hair, and long as in far past the shoulders.. Maybe glasses?
Kiba had just finished breakfast and returned to his room to finally get a look at his supply list. 'what are all these books?' Kiba thought as he read the list. 'one book of standard spells and the rest by one and the same Wizard… Gilderoy Lockhart' Kiba made sure to put the list into his pocket so he'd have it later when-
DING DONG
Kiba heard the doorbell ring through the house and quickly grabbed his wand and made sure Hotaru was safely in his jackets inside pocket. He practically ran down the stairs when he heard the voice of a man, "are you sure this is the right place, Draco"
"Yes Father, i am sure" Draco replied. It was them, Kiba would recognise Draco's voice anywhere, it had a certain attitude to it which nobody else had.. except maybe his father. "Kiba!"
"Hey Draco. Hello, Mr. Malfoy" Kiba said
"ah, Mr. Scamander. I'm pleased to finally meet you, Draco's told me allot" The man replied. He had long blonde hair and was indeed very well dressed, but wore no glasses. Instead he held a cane in his right hand which was decorated with a silver serpents head. He flung his cane into his left hand and extended his right. Kiba shook it and smiled
"call me Kiba, sir" Kiba said
"you may call me Lucius" Mr. Malfoy replied with a nod "shall we?"
"just a second, I've got to let Madam know that I'm leaving" Kiba quickly ran into Madam's office and told her he was off to but school supplies, she nodded absently and Kiba left the building with the Malfoy's "so, how will we get there?"
"ever Apparated before?" Lucius asked
"Apparated?" Kiba asked
"a sort of teleportation" Malfoy said quickly
"i think so," Kiba then said "twice" Lucius placed his cane on the ground in front off him and Draco put his hand ontop of his Father's. Kiba hesitated but then placed his hand onto Draco's and next he knew they were in Diagon Alley. Unlike his first two times he didn't feel nauseous after Apparating, nor did he feel like he'd throw up, maybe he had already become accustomed to it.
"where to?" Lucius asked turning to Kiba,
"well… i haven't got any coins on me, so I'd say Gringotts" Lucius nodded and led the way towards the oddly shaped building 'wait, i haven't got my vault key either… maybe i can still get into my vault' they entered the bank and headed all the way for the main desk, usually where the head Goblin sat.
"ah, Mister Malfoy" the goblin said as it looked up "and Mister Scamander, i hoped you'd come"
"We wish to enter our vaults…" Lucius said,
"of course. Mister Scamander would you mind presenting your wand?" the Goblin asked, Kiba nodded and retrieved his wand from his pocket. The Goblin inspected it, and then nodded as it handed it back along with a Key. "Griphook, would you please?" The other Goblin named Griphook, who also took Kiba to his vault the year prior, took the three Wizards to the cart and brought them to Mr. Malfoy's vault. As he opened it Kiba sneaked a look inside and saw mountains of coins that were probably equally, if not larger then his.
"Vault eight-hundred and eighty-eight, Kiba Rolf Scamander" Griphook said.
"woah, is this all yours Kiba?" Draco gasped as he stared, wide eyed into the vault. His father turned him around with a quick nudge of his cane
"we don't look into the vaults of others Draco, not unless they say we can" He said with a flicker of anger in his voice. Kiba gathered some Galleons as quickly as he could so they could all return to the surface. They left the bank and this time Lucius took the lead, leading them away from the shops into another alley called Knockturn Alley. Unlike Diagon Alley it was dark, filthy and tight.. and definitely not a place for children to be in.
"don't worry Kiba, i just have to take care of some business here and then we'll return to Diagon Alley" Lucius said when he spotted Kiba's worried expression. Kiba looked through the different windows and located some strange items. Tiny heads, limbs and weird, creepy toys. But one window stopped him when he saw movement inside the shop, a young wizard with black Hair was checking some items, he whipped his head around when the shop door opened and Kiba recognized his face immediately 'Harry?'
"come now, Kiba" Lucius said as he entered that exact shop. Borgin and Burke's stuck Kiba as a illegitimate shop immediately. It was cold and dark inside, and the items had no pricetags on them or any indication that they were buyable. "no touching Draco!" Luicius said smacking his Son's hand away from a jar of eyeballs. Kiba Instead focused on the closet that Harry had decided to hide in, it shook a little and then the door closed. But it wasn't just Kiba who saw this, Draco slowly made his way to the closet but stopped when Kiba called him over.
"Draco, come look at this!" he called pointing at a severed hand which was moving ever so slightly. Luckily he took the bait and didn't pay any further attention to the closet.
"Hey! What do you two think you're doing here?!" they suddenly heard a voice shout "this ain't a place for you!" He grabbed Kiba by the arm with his wrinkly, bony, old hand and tried to drag him out of the shop
"let me go! you're twisting my wrist!" Kiba yelled. Though the man's hand was bony and old he had a grip and the strength of a buff thirty year old man.
"and let me tell you, if i ever see you in here again I'll- oh, Master Malfoy. Just a moment, i have to discipline thi-" Lucius had stepped inbetween the man and the shop door and looked down upon him devilishly.
"this boy is with me, Mister Borgin. So I'd appreciate it if you'd let him go" the man flinched and Kiba immediately pulled his wrist from the man's grip.
"of course Master Malfoy. what can i do for you? Would you be looking for anything, Valuable?" Borgin smiled up at Lucius who revealed a box he was carrying
"actually, i'd like to sell, the ministry Raids have doubled in the past few weeks and i fear they might interfere in my business" Lucius said as he walked to the nearby counter with Borgin. He turned to Kiba and Draco "have a look around boys, Kiba feel free to pick a book you'd like to have,"
"what about me fat-" Draco began but stopped when his father shot him a deadly glare
"we've talked about this Draco, now hush and behave" Lucius turned back to Borgin who was admiring the artefacts he had brought him as Kiba began browsing the books of the shop. Most of them were dusty and almost fell apart when one touched them but for one. Kiba grabbed it and blew against it's cover to clear some of the dust before he opened it to look inside.
"Most Potent Dark Magic" Draco said, "isn't it a bit to early for Dark arts Kiba?"
"the better you know the spell, the easier it gets to defend yourself from it" Kiba replied snapping the book shut, he didn't know why he said what he just did, nor did it actually make any sense to himself but Draco shrugged and continued browsing. Kiba took the book and brought it over to the counter where Lucius stood alone. Borgin returned with a sack of Gold Galleons and placed them on the counter and then spotted the book.
"no books for kids in here," he said
"surely, Mister Borgin, you'd want to apologize for the inconvenience you caused Mister Scamander?"
"but this book is one of my personals, you see, i'd hate to –" from the corner of his eyes Kiba saw Mr. Malfoy glare at the shop owner "not sell it, that'll be 28 Galleons. Master Scamander." Lucius dropped a few golden Galleons onto the ones on the counter to make the total 28, he grabbed the book and handed it to Kiba. It was amazing and somewhat inspiring to see how Mr. Malfoy got his will without saying a word.
"good day, Mister Borgin" Lucius said leading the way out of the shop
"good day, Master's" he called after them. As they walked past the display window Kiba saw the closet door open, and Harry step out. At least neither Draco nor Lucius or Borgin had seen him, only few could imagine how that would end up.
"thank you, Mr. Malfoy." Kiba said placing the book underneath his left arm "with this I'll have a headstart on Defense Against the Dark Arts every year" Lucius shot him a brief smile and the three continued towards Diagon Alley which was visible on the distance as it's smell of beer and sweets began to flew into the other alleys.
"anything you need to get before we get our books, Kiba?" Draco asked "The line at Flourish and Blotts is still to long"
"ahem, yeah… Yes, i might buy an Owl" Kiba said heading straight for the shop in which he bought Hotaru.
"Mister Scamander, welcome" the owner said "have you come to buy or sell?"
"i thought you never wanted Hotaru back?" Kiba replied
"hah, you see.. i sold you that Dragon for much less then she's worth" he said "Wolf-Dragons are worth at least 350 Galleons nowadays"
"actually, I've come to buy an Owl, sir" Kiba said
"ahh, of course. And i think i got just the right type for you" he quickly waddled into the back of the shop and brought back a cage with an Owl in it. The Owl's feathers had many variations of Red and Orange, making it look like a small Phoenix. "this beauty is a Spanish Phoenix-Owl. I guess you understand why"
"he's beautiful" Kiba gasped
'Beautiful? What kind of guy calls an Owl Beautiful?' the Owl hooted back
"an honest one, i mean look at you"
'yeah, act like you understand me'
"but i can. I can understand any animal… except my friends Rat.. you know, performance issues, one out of a Hundred" Kiba joked, the Owl didn't respond and instead just looked at the boy curiously "how much?"
"well, it's a rare breed from-"
"how much?"
"I'd say, 'bout a Hundred-Eighty Galleons" the Owner replied
"how 'bout a Hundred-fifty?" Kiba said dropping a small sack on the counter while he kept looking at the Owl.
"fine," the Owner said snatching the bag and counting the Coins. "of you go then"
'erm, thank you… i guess' the Owl hooted softly
"hey, you're worth more then i just paid." Kiba replied picking up the cage by its handle "and i was being honest, by the way" Once again the Owl remained silent but greeted Hotaru once she joined him in his cage. "let's buy you two some food" Kiba entered the next shop and bought some Owl food and dead bats for his two pets and returned outside to the Malfoy's.
Lucius bend down and examined Kiba's pets "you have a thing for these rare breeds then?" he asked "i wouldn't keep them as pets, show them to the right buyer and he'd pay double their worth"
"Maybe.. but they're not my pets, i consider them friends" Kiba replied smiling down at his new friend who happily hooted back to him.
"anyways, let's head into Flourish and Blotts" Lucius led the way through a crowd of young and middle aged witches and made his way to the front like he was royalty, while Kiba and Draco followed close behind. Lucius showed the supply list to to the man at the counter and asked for all the books twice.
"Draco?" Kiba asked "are they all here for this Lockhart guy?"
"probably, seems like he's signing books today…" Draco replied pointing to a sign near the counter "he's the most famous Wizard of our time I'd say"
"hmpf, I've never heard of him until today.. can't be that famous" the two boys shared a laugh and were then handed their books by Lucius. "how much did it cost?" Kiba asked, intending to pay the man back
"don't bother, let it be my treat" he replied "you two wait here, i have got to make an order at the Broom shop"
"I'll go get a better look from up top" Draco said after placing the books in his bag "you coming, Kiba?"
"sure," Kiba replied also stuffing his books away in his bag. He ran up the wooden stairs to the higher area of the book store and looked down at the shuffling Witches which were desperate to get a look at the famous Wizard which would begin his signing session in just a few minutes. He spotted a few red heads among them and suspected them to be the Weasley's, and he was correct. He spotted Ron among them just as Hermione and Harry joined them. Kiba wanted to call out to them and say hello, but a sudden and loud cheering drew his attention to the front counter of the shop.
A Man with dashing blonde hair had appeared in aquamarine clothes and smiled at the man who snapped a picture of him. He winked at a pretty witch at the front of the row and then stopped "goodness me, is that Harry Potter?"
The cameraman whipped around, grabbed the scar bearing boy and dragged him to the front where Lockhart took him and pulled him in close. Kiba could see him whisper something to Harry before he began addressing the crowd while the cameraman kept flashing him and the crowd with pictures. 'Pictures…' Kiba thought 'Camera! I'll buy a Camera for Faye and Myself and then we can send each other Pictures' Kiba practically jumped with joy at the idea
"That Potter" Draco spat "no matter where Scarhead goes he's always the main attraction" Draco said ripping a page out off a book that he held. He turned and headed back downstairs.
"come on, Harry isn't that bad" Kiba said following him "maybe if you'd try to be his friend you'd see"
"Bet you loved that, didn't you Potter?" Draco half-shouted to the black haired Wizard, while ignoring Kiba's statement "Famous Harry Potter, can't even go into a bookshop without making the front Page"
"why are you with him?" Hermione asked Kiba as she joined him on the last few steps of the staircase
"they volunteered to accompany me. wasn't my idea" Kiba replied "though Mister Malfoy did pay for my books including an extra one" Hermione raised a brow "I don't know, he likes me… i guess"
"Now, now Draco. Play Nicely" Lucius said. He had appeared behind Draco and had pushed him aside by the shoulder with his Snakehead cane. Draco quickly made his way back to Kiba's side "Ah, Mister Potter. Lucius Malfoy," he said extending his hand toward Harry "we meet at last…" Harry reluctantly took Lucius' hand and was pulled towards him with force. Lucius carefully moved Harry's hair above his right eye away to reveal his scar "Forgive me, your scar is legend. As is the wizard who gave it to you"
"Voldemort killed my parents. To me," Harry replied, freeing himself from Mr. Malfoy's grasp "he's nothing more then a murderer" Kiba felt a familiar sting in his stomach and grasped it with his free hand.
"you must be very brave to mention his name, or very foolish" Lucius responded quickly
"fear of a name only creates fear of the thing itself" Hermione hissed back at the man. He turned his head towards the bushy haired Witch and then raised his chin
"you must be, Miss Granger" Lucius said with a smirk "Oh yes, Draco's told me all about you and your parents… Muggles, aren't they?" Hermione didn't respond, she only stared at the man with anger in her eyes. "let me see. Red hair, vacant expressions, tatty second hand book…" his eyes travelled all the way from Fred and George, past Percy and Ron to Ginny and then her cauldron. "The Weasley's" just then Arthur, Ron's father came to the group. Before Kiba could listen to the conversation any further, he was dragged out of the shop by his hand.
"sorry, i just wanted to get out of there" Hermione apologised once they stopped
"yeah, i think that might spiral out of control" Kiba added
"by the way, i thought you said you'd write" Hermione told him
"hah, yeah… they wouldn't let me, so i got an Owl now" Kiba said holding up the cage he had in his hand
"wow, it's beautiful" Hermione gasped, sticking her finger into the cage to let the Owl nibble on it.
"it's a Phoenix-Owl" Kiba added
"Mister Scamander, it was a pleasure to meet you" Lucius said once he came out of the shop with a disgusted look towards Hermione.
"yeah, thanks for taking me along" Kiba replied, Draco came out of the shop next and followed his father without a word. "say Hermione, do you know where i can buy a camera?"
"no, sorry. But surely my father does," Hermione said "I'm sure he'd be delighted to tell you over a bite to eat"
"yeah, i'd like that" Kiba said with a warm smile towards Hermione "I've been meaning to ask, how do you pay for your supplies?"
"with Galleons, duh" Hermione said, Kiba wanted to speak but she stopped him "i know what you meant, my Dad exchanges Muggle Money for Wizard Money"
"and does that work the other way around too?" Kiba asked.
"maybe, i don't know" Hermione replied. The shop door opened once more and out stepped Mr. Weasley,
"Hermione! And Kiba if I'm correct?" The man said, Kiba nodded "I'm Arthur Weasley, Ron's father. And i have to say, you really do look different in pictures"
"you saw a picture of me?" Kiba questioned him
"well yes, Ron showed me the picture of the four of you when he put it in his photobook" Arthur replied with a smile "well it was nice to meet the both of you, hope we'll see each other on the station next week" he began walking of with his wife, his sons and his daughter. Hermione and Kiba shared a brief weird with Harry and Ron and off they were too,
"and Harry said something about a House-elf showing up in his bedroom" Hermione said, finishing her story. They sat in the inn of the Leaky Cauldron with Hermione's parents as Hermione told Kiba what happened to Harry, he listened to her every word and wanted to know every detail. Hermione's parents were less interested, as Muggles they didn't seem to care much for Wizard stories. Kiba had asked Mr. Granger where he could buy two Camera's for a good price and the man had told him of a store and offered to buy them and bring them to the station for the boy. Kiba insisted that he take some of his Galleon's for the trouble and the man agreed. They finished their meals and parted ways, Hermione waved as the the Car began driving away from Kiba and he waved back with a smile. He took the next bus home... 'home..' as much as he disliked to call it that… it was all he had.
Had ever had…
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