Lazy Summer Days!
At the end of June, Sirius had the brilliant idea to inhabit Grimmauld Place. Remus was adamantly against it. If Draco didn't know better, he would have thought that Remus was merely against Sirius. Fortunately, Draco did know better. Unfortunately, the silencing charms at night weren't always effective as effective as Draco wanted them to be. The occasional sounds of passionate encounters, a bit too risqué for Draco's age, were proof enough that Remus was still infatuated with these two idiots.
Remus's reservations about Grimmauld were declared one night after dinner in late June. "I just don't know if it's a good idea," Remus explained. Surprisingly, Draco had become a sounding board for these three. For some unfathomable reason, the adults believed Draco was mature enough to listen to their troubles and wise enough to brainstorm solutions. "If, as you say, Dumbledore is not to be completely trusted, won't he check for Sirius at Grimmauld in the first place?"
"But that's where it's beneficial for us," Sirius argued. "Grimmauld has the best warding in all of Britain, so it's practically impenetrable. Also, we can make it a sort of headquarters when you all go back to Hogwarts. We can have the Floo connected to Snape or your office for safe and easy access." Draco looked at Sirius; maybe this guy wasn't as foolish as he seemed.
"Are you sure you can have it reconfigured?" Draco asked with a pointed look.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it'll be easy enough. At least that's what they tell me," Sirius replied, the last part spoken in a whisper for Draco's ears only.
"If you're sure, then I'm in," Draco shrugged.
Snape and Lupin exchanged glances and turned to Sirius. "Will the house even listen to you? I mean, are you sure?" Remus asked, uncertain at best.
"Oh, I know that one," Draco said excitedly. "Me and Sirius are the only living male specimens of the Blacks, so if it's not Sirius, then the house has to listen to me." ("Right, Vii?"
"I'm not sure, but I'll check for you.")
"We should probably make a visit to confirm it first," Snape deliberated. "It might work, it might not. We should still set up a backup."
"Shrieking Shack?" Draco suggested, intentionally sounding hesitant.
"That might not be the most appropriate," Snape gave Draco a sharp look. "but it might work."
"So that's how we're doing it?" Remus confirmed.
"Looks like it," Snape sighed.
"Oh, come on. We can stay here for the next two months," Sirius said, his voice overly cheerful for Draco's potential future. (He should probably look for a stronger silencing spell, just to be safe.)
"What about Peter?" Remus continued before Sirius could interrupt him. "I know you said it was that rat, but what if it isn't? We need to be sure."
Sirius looked at Draco, panicked and afraid. "I can try to find him through my contacts, but it might alert him. And any location spells are a bust," Remus said resignedly.
"We can start our research once we get to Hogwarts… I know it's him," Sirius assured them.
.....
"I hope your summer is going better than mine," Harry pouted. "Archie and Phil are gone for the week, and Marie is hell-bent on fattening me up."
"Maybe she's the witch from that Muggle tale and just wants to eat you for solstice," Draco said.
"Har har…" Harry glared at him through the mirror. "Very funny…"
"No, I'm serious," Draco said, "Where did Archie and Phil go?"
"Archie had some stuff to clear out from his family home. And Phil is too protective of Archie to go alone," Harry replied sleepily, eyes barely open.
"By the way, I'll be visiting Blaise and Pansy this week. Wanna come?" Draco asked, knowing that might not be possible.
"I wish…," the pout was back. "Can you take the mirror with you? I would love to talk to you guys?"
"Sure, Harry, anything for you."
.....
The next couple of weeks were a blur of activities. Remus, Sirius and Snape had much catching up to do. On the off chance they weren't reminiscing about wasted time and years of miscommunication, they were gone for lazy walks and tours to their favourite rendezvous spots.They kept their outings limited, mostly to the Muggle world. Sirius was not hesitant to use his puppy eyes to convince Remus to go shopping with him. Snape was more than ready to tag along, from daily Muggle wear to specialty leather works to pet collars (which Draco later realized might not have been for Padfoot only).
Meanwhile draco spent his time writing letters to his friends. Getting up to date won't heir shenanigans.
Dinner was the most excited time of the day for them. If they weren't regalling stories of their youths then they were teaching Draco new spells and Potion facts. With Snape and Remus there some of the fact telling turned into impromptu lectures and debates. Some of which got so heated that Remus or Snape needed to walk out or start dueling. Sirius would just curl up as Padfoot on such occasions and ignore them all. All in all it was the best summer in Draco's opinion.
.....
During the second week of July, Draco received a letter from Griphook with a time, date, and coordinates, and nothing else. The coordinates took Draco to the entrance of a cave in the middle of nowhere. "What? You thought we goblins lived in Gringotts?" was the only explanation for his inquisitive look around.
Draco was honestly quite impressed by the whole lair thing. It gave off LOTR vibes, but make it a little less creepy. It was nothing like Draco would have imagined a goblin's lair to be, but somehow, it was exactly as the books would have described it.
The cave entrance was small and led to a chamber through narrow, winding tunnels. It was open and airy but thick with the smell of damp earth and vegetation. One side of the chamber was a chaotic mess full of various items. Some looked like rustic weapons, tarnished silverware, and even sparkling new artifacts. It was a jumble of items. The other half seemed to be the living space, with a couple of stumps to sit, something resembling a bed, and a hearth.
A couple of torches were lit on the walls, casting dancing shadows all around. It was chaotic, creepy, and somehow still had a wholesome look to it.
"Not many wizards have the privilege to visit a goblin's lair and remain unharmed, Mr. Malfoy," the threat was clear in Griphook's voice. "Don't make me regret it." Draco acknowledged the threat with a polite nod.
"Now, here if you will," Griphook led him to a workbench made of stone and pointed to a broken bone with carvings shining through the surface. "As you can see, the bone took the carvings and spell well enough. Now, as for the other components, I will need more than a little involvement from you. This object… that you need is quite contrary to the normal artifacts that you see in the wizarding world."
"Ok…?" Draco frowned, not exactly sure where this was going.
"For normal magical objects, we start from the outer surface to the innermost depths. But for this particular piece of magic, it's the exact opposite." Griphook picked up the bone and pointed to the silvery web on it. "This here is the spellwork carved in the bone to set the enchantments in it. Now we need to add the other parts into it so the spells could absorb their essence. The interesting bit, though, the intended user needs to be involved in the collection of the other ingredients. What I mean is my work here is almost done, now it's up to you to collect and complete the rest."
("What he really means is he's a lazy ass and want you to gamble your life to get these thing."
"Yeah I got that genius.")
"And what are the rest of the parts?" Draco said, a little apprehensive.
"Bones of what never was and never will be, dipped in the water of seven seas, kept in the light of twelve moons, the essence of sixty poisonous lilies, and a shell given willingly of a horntail."
"So just the normal, easy-to-get ingredients?" Draco huffed, sarcasm clear.
"If it was so easy to construct, you wouldn't have come to me, Mr. Malfoy." Griphook gave him a taunting smile. "Lucky for you, I have done my work well, and as for the water of seven seas, I'll take care of that along with the moonlight. I need you to get the rest. The bones, the poison lilies and the horntail shell are for you to gather."
"Any friendly instructions?" Draco asked half-jokingly.
"The bones are up to your discretion, you decide which they will be. As for the lilies they take almost two years to bloom, so I suggest you start planting those. And yes, you need to plant them and grow them yourself; otherwise, the spellwork will reject it. They need to be harvested in your blood and sweat. Quite literally." Griphook gave him a sharp look. "I also suggest you start making friends with the horntails if you want them to willingly part from their eggshell. They are notoriously possessive of their treasures."
"So just the normal day, Easy peasy stuff, huh!" Draco mocked.