Pansy was bored and uncomfortable. She was sitting on a sofa in the Malfoy Manor. She wished to be in the Suzuki Mansion celebrating Harry's birthday, but unfortunately, their family was 'invited' for a dinner. She already knows that this reunion is because of their business association with the Suzuki's, who are catalogued as blood traitors.
'Is father trying to make the association as a business only, or are they really going to cross the line?' asked Pansy to herself. In her mind, she believes that the move was rather bold, but the possibility of the association with the Suzuki family, who has a presence in all the muggle world, was something that only a fool could pass on. She despites the idea of becoming a Muggle lover, but control over them is not a bad idea. That is something Pansy believes that the Pure-blood faction is unable to see. 'How the Muggles revered the Suzuki's and their products. How even laws are blended so they can walk freely. How wizards should rule over them. That's how the wizards should be treated, we should not be hiding' thought Pansy.
In the same room were Goyle and Crabbe. They were talking about the latest Quidditch game. The noise of their talk is not what Pansy is making uncomfortable, she was already used to them. What is making feel that way was that Nott was sitting in front of her. The young shy kid has been looking at her when he thinks she is distracted, and the worst is that he was looking at her legs.
Nott has never talked to Pansy in the past, and that day is the first time he ever said a word to her. With a stiff body and red face, he only said, "Hi, Miss Parkinson". To Pansy, the worst was not Theodore Nott but his father, Thaddeus Nott.
When Mr Nott smiled at her, it made her feel bad, as if she was going to be sold. She only hoped that her classmate won't be like his father, but she could swear that he was already like him. The guy was a creep in Pansy's eyes.
Vincent and Gregory got close to Pansy when they noted that Theodore was looking at her legs when she was trying to read a book. They stood in front of her to block Nott's view.
Pansy raised her gaze to see the young bodyguards and raised one eyebrow. She could only chuckle at the scene. "I really wonder why you are not in Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. No offence", said Pansy to both.
"Why are you not on Harry's birthday?" asked Vincent.
Pansy put her book down and answered, "for the same reason you two are here".
"I really don't know why we are here. I mean… I know why we are in this room, but…. I mean, why come to the manor… I mean, I know why we…"
"I get it", cut Pansy with a sigh. "Did you two go to the new library?"
Both bodyguards shook their heads. Pansy lamented her question.
"Right, my bad for asking you that. Very well… Did you know about the new broom?" asked Pansy.
"Oh yeah," both answered. "I heard that they are making rule adjustments in the Quidditch rules only because of it", said Gregory very fast.
"Oh, you mean for their 'pro' model? Yeah, the first rule changed in centuries. I think it was two centuries ago, the last time they made the last change", said Crabbe.
"Yes yes, that one", said Pansy to stop their enthusiasm. "Well, the manufacturer company belongs to Harry's family. And, my family helped them establish the said company. That's why we co-own it with the Suzukis".
Both bodyguards nodded at her. Pansy looked at them, and even when they were nodding, she was undoubtedly secure that they didn't get it. "You know that Harry's family lives in the Muggle area, right?"
"Ye-yeah", said Vincent.
"So, they know that they are classified as 'blood traitors'. For that, and because my family helped them open some businesses, my family is also listed as 'blood traitors'".
"Yo-you don-don't need to wo-worry about it", said a voice behind Vincent and Goyle.
"Excuse me?" said Pansy while standing up. The two bodyguards let her walk between them and then fallow her behind.
Theodore looked at her face and turned his face away. He was trembling, sweating, his ears were red, and his eyes were shut.
"What did you say?" asked Pansy with an air of superiority. The shy Slytherin did not answer and kept shaking in his position.
"You have been a creep all day, watching me from that couch", Pansy turned around and said over her shoulder, "never speak to me again".
Pansy wanted to get out of the room and decided to go to the garden, but before reaching the door, Theodore spoke, "That's not the way to speak to your future husband!".
"Huh?" was the only thing that Gregory, Vincent and Pansy could say. The three turned around and saw the shy Slytherin standing, panting and with a grim smile.
"Your family will be branded as a blood traitor for what they did. The only way for your family to survive now is for you to marry a better family!", said Theodore.
Both bodyguards frowned, but Pansy could not resist and started to laugh loudly. "A better family? Yours? HAHAHA!"
"Let me tell you this straight. Marrying you will be worse than marrying a squip. Heck, I would marry a Muggle before marrying any of your family", said Pansy trying to compose herself. Crabbe and Goyle only winced at the insult. "I hope that lets you know how impossible your wet dreams are", said Pansy before leaving the room.
.
Hermione walked behind a maid wearing glasses. She arrived at Harry's mansion to celebrate his birthday. He assured her that he would present to her two of his friends, and she decided to go with an everyday outfit. Her mother was against that decision, but she was clear that his friend will not care about it.
While walking and looking around, she felt amazed, but at the same time, it did not surprise her that much. The wealthiest company in the world, obviously, would have a big house. She was behind the mansion building and was walking towards the sports field. She passed the tennis and the futbol field. As she was walking, she began to hear a noise.
As she was approaching her destiny, the sound of 'skrr' was louder, and that sound only stopped when a 'clink' sound replaced it.
When she finally arrived, she saw Harry talking with a blond girl. The girl had brown skin, and her eyes had a different colour. Then she turned around and saw a blond boy, similar to the girl, but with a more rebellious hairstyle. The boy was the one making the noise, as he was skating around.
"Hello Harry!" said Hermione while approaching the two.
Harry stood up, and Hermione hugged him. "Happy birthday," said Hermione while handing him a box. "It's a book. Hopefully, you haven't read it".
Harry chuckled and said, "shouldn't it be a surprise until I open the gift?" Hermione's face went red, "Well the surprise will be the title."
The girl who was still sitting giggled. Hermione turned to see the girl. "Let me introduce you", said Harry, and the girl stood up and faced Hermione. "Mare, she is my friend Hermione. Hermione, he is my friend Mare. He is like a brother", said Harry.
Hermione was shaking her hand with Mare, but then she stopped, "is a boy?"
"Yeah. Is there a problem?" asked Harry.
"Oh no, no no no, there is no problem. It's just that, the skirt… never mind", said Hermione very quickly. She composed herself and tried again, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mare".
"Likewise", said the boy.
The sound of the other boy falling was heard, and Mare turned, "Are you ok, Onee-san?"
Hermione got a glimpse of pointing ears before Mare started to run towards the falling boy. The boy with a skirt helped the other one stand up and was pointing in their direction. The boy with white pants took the skateboard and walked towards them.
"Oh, the twins are coming", said Harry, and Hermione flinched. She looked around, waiting for a prank from the Weasleys, but then she realized that he was referring to the dark-skinned kids. Once close, she could notice the similar eye colour pattern between the two kids.
"So, you still think you can make it for the project?", asked Harry to the recently fallen boy. "Just give me more time to learn all the tricks of this Rodney Mullen."
"Project?" asked Hermione.
"Oh, It's a small project for a videogame", said Harry. Hermione nodded, and then the boy extended his hand to greet her, "Hi, my name is Aura Bella Fiora".
"Hermione Granger", said the Gryffindor girl, and in her head doubt if she heard bad, 'did she say Bella? Does that mean that…'
"She is my best friend. Unfortunately, she could not go to Hogwarts", said Harry.
Hermione's eyes widen, "Harry, the statute of secrecy", hissed the Gryffindor girl to Harry.
"Oh, it does not apply to them. I mean, It only applies to non-magical people, or 'Muggles', as they call them", said Harry.
"As they call them? And what do you mean that it does not apply to them. If they were wizards and witches, they would be in Hogwarts", said the bushy-haired girl.
"Well, my parents scolded me when I arrived and used the term. It seems that the etymology of the word 'Muggle' comes from 'mug', which could mean 2 things. It could be used as synonymous for stupid, or fool, like referred to in the books like, 'Beedle the Bard'. A book that any wizarding families have for their kids. In that book, a Muggle is a portrait similar to an animal that should be protected."
Harry saw Hermione frowning, and continued, "and that is not the worst approach. The word it's referred to by the most traditionalist as a derivative of the verb 'mug', which means 'steal'. The usage came from the idea that 'muggles' could steal a wizard's magic".
Hermione, still frowning, nodded at the explanation. She didn't know about that. She hadn't immediately associated the words, and she thought the word was completely original, a term to refer to the non-wizard.
"And", continued Harry, "the statute of secrecy can not apply to them, because they are dark-elves".
Hermione's eyes widened and looked at the siblings. "Are you really? I had no idea that you existed. I mean, I read some books about the elves but they are described...", said Hermione really fast, but she stopped abruptly, as the description she knew of elves was rather demeaning.
"I know, I read Harry's books," said Aura, but Harry and Mare stared at her. "Alright, it was Mare the one that read it and told me about how they described the elves."
"Yes, but that doesn't apply to you. And I don't recall any specification about a dark elf."
"Well, the description of the elves in the book does not apply to them because they are a completely different elf species," said Harry.
"Yeah. I saw one of them, and they are really... Bleugh", said Aura making a comical face with her tongue out.
"Onee-chan!" said Mare.
"What? It doesn't help that they are like a bunch of slaves without a mind. If they at least ser…"
"Aura-sama!" said the maid, who was still standing in her place.
"Slaves?" asked Hermione.
"Pretty much. But they are slaves because they wanted to be. They consider a great dishonour if they are without a master", answered Harry.
"But why?" asked the Gryffindor, and Harry only shrugged.
"Who cares? They are ugly and weak", said Aura. "I really don't think that they are real elves. They may have been mislabeled as elves only for the pointy ears."
"Either way. We should go back, I will be receiving some friends from my previous schools, and the children of my parents' work associates", Harry sighed a little. "Some of them are nagging me into going out with their daughters".
Hermione, Aura, and Mare giggled. "Won't you pose as my fake girlfriend again?" asked Harry.
"And risk having Pansy knowing about it? No thanks", said Hermione smiling.
Harry sighed again in defeat. "Ok. I will try to come back. Hermione, you can stay with them or enter the party. I really think that Mare and you will be good friends. I only hoped that Pansy was here. She would be a great help in this situation."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Why didn't she come?"
"She said that she may arrive late. It seems that there was a reunion with some influential families in the Malfoy manor", said Harry while dusting off.
"I see. Draco told me he was trying to come if he could. I guess he was referring to that reunion", said Hermione.
Draco walked to the garden caressing his forehead. 'I'll end up looking like an old man at fifteen if this continues', thought to himself while walking. Inside the house, the adults were still talking with fake smiles, saying that they are trying to help each other. He needed to be there to talk about the report about Harry Suzuki.
After walking some more, he found Pansy crouched down looking at the flowers. Vincent and Gregory were flying with brooms.
"And here I thought you did not like Herbology", said Draco while approaching the girl.
"I don't, but I am not the mother of those two, nor their babysitter", said Pansy without leaving her gaze from the flowers. "Did the reunion already end?"
"It has passed 4 hours", Draco answered while looking at his two bodyguards. "They just ended the first topic, but I guess it means that"
"I will be leaving soon. Yeah, I thought so", Pansy cut Draco while standing up.
Draco turned to see her, "you know what it means? At school, you will be alone. Your family will be branded as blood traitors".
The Slytherin princess shrugged, and the young Malfoy sighed deeply. "I guess that our 'friendship' ends here", Pansy said while looking at the door.
Draco turned to see her, "I'll still be trying to be close to Suzuki. They want to see if their family can change their views about muggles."
"And it doesn't hurt that they have a lot of money", said the girl without facing the blonde.
"If they…" Draco was going to give her some reassurance, but Pansy's parents opened the door to leave the building.
"I guess I'll be leaving", said Pansy in a cold tone, and then she nodded at Draco, "thank you for having me, heir Malfoy. I'll be taking my leave."
The young girl walked with dignity and left the manor with her parents.
Lucius Malfoy looked at the Parkinson family from the room's window where the gathering was happening. He did not want the Parkinson family to leave. He knew that the Parkinsons still had some influence inside the Ministry of Magic.
"Good riddance", said Mr Nott, obviously fuming as the Parkinson had openly denied any offer for the union of both families.
Malfoy, on his side, wanted to put the family in a tight spot, but not outright vanish them. Unfortunately, only Crabbe, and Goyle were backing him up. Nott, vote for their vanishment of this and future gatherings after they refuse to engage their daughter. The Rowles, Carrows, and Yaxleys voted for their vanishment until proof pure again. The Greengrass, Flint, and Bulstrode remained neutral.
It was Malfoy the one to push the idea of them being present so they could defend themselves. But he never imagined that they will not want to defend themselves. Instead, they preach more about the commodities they are gaining thanks to the Suzukis.
It was difficult to press the idea of only putting them under probation. It was a miracle that the Greengrass, Flint and Bulstrode did not side with Nott, but it was very peculiar that only those who had a kid at Hogwarts are the ones that did not vote for the vanishment.
"Let's continue", said Mr Malfoy. "The bookstore they created is not a problem, as least to my point of view, but the broom could be".
The rest of the families sat down again. A house-elf would appear from time to time serving them something to drink.
"Apologies, right now we only have one house-elf. We may need to find another. Our previous one is no longer in our service", said Narcissa Malfoy. The rest of the guest seems to not mind, except for Nott that have a very sour face.
"That broom is trying to change something in our community. The rules in Quidditch had not changed in centuries. This transgression is only proof that we should not let that family stay in our community", said Nott.
"Agreed. Such a broom should not be allowed to be sold. The ideals of muggle sports should not be added to our society", said Yaxley.
"I will approve your concerns if this was about something more… significant than only a sport. We should be thinking in our real traditions", said Greengrass.
"That's the start. They would change something insignificant here and there until you feel comfortable with their ideas. And without knowing, you will be rooting for changes to be closer to Muggles", said one of the Carrow twins.
"Flint. Your son plays Quidditch on the Slytherin team. Do you have any input?" asked Malfoy.
"The only concern is about the brooms. Nothing else in the rules would change", said Flint after drinking the wine he was served.
"We should call one of the members of the committees so they can stop that", said Nott.
"Unfortunately, the Parkinson has a better position in the matter for the Quidditch committee. Which is the reason why they are revising the broom. Their input in its creation made the committee think seriously about the inclusion of that broom as a standard", said Malfoy with a frown.
"What we can do is, put a stop to its regulation in the school. I can stop the broom to be the standard inside the school, even if it passes by the professional leagues", concluded Mr Malfoy.
"Due to the nature of this. The only ones that can vote are those with kids on Hogwarts", said Ms Malfoy. "Those in favour of banning the broom?" asked Narcissa, and only Nott's hand was raised.
"Those in favour of making this 'Pro PeroPeronchino' broom the standard for Hogwarts?" asked Narcissa again, but no hands were raised.
"Those in favour of letting the broom be used alongside other brooms?" And the rest of the hands were raised.
"It is decided. I will be talking with the Board of Governors about it. I don't think that it will be any problem with it", said Lucius.
The Parkinson's family arrived at their home using apparition. Perseus Parkinson knew that his daughter was now their key to success. Originally their family has always had a fortune in their vaults, but the opportunity to make a fortune as no other Parkinson has done in the past is something he does not want to let pass. The Parkinson family has always been part of the politics, but having power because of their money is different.
Perseus can only smile at the possibilities. With the influence that their family alone has, the influence he will have due to the money, they will have almost unlimited power.
Currently, with the bookstore and the broom company adventure, they are already receiving a lot of profit. Normally, they would need to wait two or three years to see profit, but the bookstore has enchanted the minds of many who came back over and over again. The sophistication of the store made it different from anything else.
He needs that his daughter can be a good friend to their family. If they become more than that, it would be a great plus, but he does not want to push his luck way too much.
For that reason, Pansy was encouraged to go to the birthday party of Suzuki's adoptive son. Harry Suzuki.
Fiona was helping Pansy choose the dress, and she never thought that they would be helping their daughter dress up for a party in honour of the Boy-who-live. Although their idea is not that he is Potter's son, but that he is now Suzuki's heir.
Pansy's mother chose a dark-green dress that left uncovered the left shoulder for her daughter. She added to the outfit the 'Rose Crystal' neckless, and the earrings, which turned the light into green. Pansy could only smirk as the light changed to match their dress, and the green light brightened a little more.
She took a purse, went to her fireplace and said, "Suzuki mansion". The green flames covered her, and the next thing Pansy saw was a big room, with three maids. One of the maids helped her step out of the fireplace, and the other two started to help her clean up.
"It's good to see you again, miss Parkinson", said Solution while bowing. Pansy nodded at her, and Solution then showed her the way to the party.
Harry was talking with a group of kids and teens. Some of them were males, but most of them were girls. The rest of the place was also filled with kids around Harry's age and some older. Harry saw the few kids he could have called friends or partners at least. They already congratulated him and spent the rest of the evening around the room, as they did have a small of entertainment watching Harry dealing with the other kids.
"Miss Parkinson has arrived", announced Solution, and Harry turned to see Pansy. The rest of the kids didn't turn to see her when they didn't recognise her last name.
Harry walked to salute her and present her to the group of people around him. Some of the girls, who were aiming to win Harry over, frowned when they recognized the girl. The same girl that was at the Christmas party, the so-called 'AOG's model'.
"Let me present to you my dear friend Pansy Parkinson. Do not let her beauty fool you. She is rather smart in chemistry", said Harry and then continued. "Professor Snape, our chemistry teacher, has always praised her work".
Pansy could only conclude that 'chemistry' was something similar to potions.
When one of the girls was about to talk, a teen boy approached Harry from behind, "It was about time for you to find a girl. We were getting worried."
"Really? Are you going in that direction?"
"What? You were always surrounded by beautiful women, and still, you didn't seem to be affected", defended the teen.
"I always thought you would end up with an ugly girl", said another teen. "Or ended up marrying somebody out of convenience. Good that none of that is happening."
"And they are?" asked Pansy, and it seems that the question was also in the mind of the kids around Harry.
"With respect, but they don't seem to be of any family I remember", said one boy.
"They are my ex-classmates and friends", said Harry.
While Harry was dealing with their guest. Aura, Mare and Hermione decided to go inside the building. Hermione was following Mare, who told her about his 'small' library. Unfortunately, on her way, she ended up left behind as she stopped when she saw a picture of Harry with his parents.
When she was walking, she saw the picture from the corner of her eye, and she could swear that Harry's mother was with black wings on her back and horns on her head, but the worst was his dad, who was only bones. But when she turned to see the picture again, she saw a normal picture. No wings, horns, or bones on display.
