Chapter 22
The next morning was awkward to say the least. After last night’s events, Draco had hardly gotten any sleep at all. It’s not like it was the first time he had had an argument with his parents, but it was the first time they had ever ignored him. He stayed awake because a part of him wanted one of them, or all of them, to come up and check on. When none of them did it felt like a knife straight through the heart. He wasn’t sure how long he had stayed up and cried. All he could remember was that when he woke up his head hurt and his eyes were swollen. Dobby had come to get him up with the announcement that they were waiting down in the dining room for breakfast. So they couldn’t even bother to come and get him themselves, they had to send a house elf. He wasn’t sure what was worse, the fact that he suddenly felt that his parents didn’t love him anymore or the fact that he wasn’t even mad. And he wasn’t. He understood why they loved Harry. Hell, he himself had grown to love him as well over the last months so he understood perfectly. It just felt like a right punch to the gut that the very people who raised him to not be insecure of himself were in fact making him quite insecure.
He said his morning greeting to everyone and ignored all of the looks he received from his family. He opted to sit next to Harry but the boy was sitting in between Narcissa and Lucius. He hadn’t wanted to be in the presence of any of his parents, but he knew that they would never allow him to miss meals. The only option he had left was to sit at the end of the table by himself, and that was what he did. He didn't see any of the looks that passed between them nor did he see the concerned look at Harry sent his way, but he could feel it. Regardless, he placed his head on the cool table which helped ease his headache a bit. Dobby popped in moments later with a bowl of cereal and milk. Draco said nothing. He just wanted to get the day over with and go back to bed.
“Are you feeling better today, Dragon?” His mother asked gently.
Despite the use of his nickname, Draco felt sick. She said that as if it was his fault that he felt so shitty in the first place. The day had barely begun and already a lump had formed in the middle of his throat. He didn’t want them to see his tears so he opted to just nod his head. The adults shared a look with each other. Neither of them knew what to do as they hadn’t a clue as to what was wrong with their son.
“We are leaving for Eleanor’s shortly after breakfast,” Lucius commented. “Make sure you both have everything you need.”
Both boys nodded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
Unfortunately the rest of breakfast was no better, there was stifled conversation and awkward tension. Harry tried to engage in conversation with the little slytherin but quit trying after he made it clear that he was in no mood to talk. Eventually the table was cleared and they all headed upstairs to get their things. Draco was in the middle packing up his bathroom essentials when a small voice called out to him.
“Draco?”
The blond didn’t turn around, but he did pause in what he was going.
“D-Dray?” Harry urged. “Are you mad at me?”
When the boy didn’t answer right away Harry could feel his heart begin to race.
“Draco?”
Said boy sighed and dropped his head. “No. No, I’m not mad at you Harry.”
The small child wrung his hands and didn’t look convinced one bit.
“I-I’m really sorry about last night. I-”
“Let’s just not talk about it, okay?” Draco interrupted. A feeling of dread filled Harry. He wanted the boy to know how sorry he was. Malfoy looked up at Harry and tried his hardest to make the smile on his face seem genuine. It was kind of hard when the events of last night were still present on his face if the bags were anything to go by.
“Seriously Harry don’t worry about it. We get to see aunt Elle today and she’s the greatest!”
He wasn’t sure why but Draco saying that made it all the more real that Harry was going to meet more family members. He didn’t do well with new people, but he was hoping that it wouldn’t be too bad. For his sake and theirs. He felt himself relax considerably when Draco grabbed his hand in his and gave it a comforting squeeze. The smile he gave was genuine and it reflected back on the blond’s face. They grabbed their bags and left the room to meet their parents in the foyer. The duo walked down the stairs hand in hand, talking quietly to themselves and giggling every so often- it pleased the trio of parents. Draco was pleasantly surprised when they reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Tom standing there talking to their parents. He wanted to run to the man, but he refused to let go of Harry’s hand; the boy’s touch was as much of a security blanket for him as his was to Harry.
“Grandpa!”
Tom turned his attention to the two boys, his face breaking out in a smile. When they reached the bottom floor, Draco let Harry’s hand go and shuffled quickly to the man for a much needed hug. Tom let the child squeeze him after hearing the things that took place the night before and this morning. That behavior was so unlike his grandchild, but he knew, more than any, that there was always a reason for things whether you understood them or not. He returned the hug with the same energy only letting go when Draco pulled away first. He turned his red eyes towards Harry and opened his arms with an inviting smile.
“Do I get a hug before you leave, Harry?”
The boy smiled shyly but walked into those arms nonetheless. His hugs felt as grounding as his parents’. He almost reared back at the thought. When had he begun to refer to them by such a title? It’s not like it didn’t fit. They did feel like his parents and that was essentially what they were going to become if they adopted him. So, it didn’t really matter what he called them. For now, he was fine with referring to them as such; at least in his mind anyway.
“Well, I just came by to see you off before your trip.”
“We’ll see you in ten days, Father.”
Tom smiled at his son before giving him a hug, dropping a kiss on Narcissa’s hand and shaking hands with Lucius. He bent down and place a kiss each on Draco and Harry’s forehead before he walked out the door and to the apparation point. Severus turned and looked at the two boys.
“You boys got everything?”
Each nodded with a smile and the family walked out the house as well to apparate to their destination
——————————————————————
They apparated in the front yard of one of the more lavish Malfoy villas. The entire perimeter was nothing but lush green grass and an array of flowers. It all came together with neatly trimmed hedges and a fountain in the front yard. There was a double staircase leading down to the gravel walkway. Harry has never seen anything with such aesthetic beauty before. Of course the Malfoy manor was lovely in and of itself but it was so prestige and precise. Here it felt like there was just a natural beauty, almost as if Mother Nature herself had put this place together. The family walked a little ways up the driveway, Harry could felt his palms sweating. What if they didn’t like him? What if they thought poorly of him because of his blood status or maybe…
His thoughts were cut off by the grand double doors opened and a woman of exceptional beauty walked out. She was pale but a little darker than Lucius and very slim. Harry could see that the platinum blond had was definitely a Malfoy trait as hers was the same color as Lucius and Draco’s. It was styled in a long braid that seemed to reach just above the woman’s tailbone. The only startling contrast was the woman’s eyes. Whereas Lucius has silver colored eyes her were a beautiful brown that reminded Harry of slow honey. She had a delicate face with a light rogue to her cheeks and a smile that was gentle and warm. It complimented her eyes perfectly.
She walked down the stairs and stopped in front of Lucius.
“Welcome back, little cousin,” she said while pulling him into her arms. He wrapped his arms around her despite his face showing mock annoyance at being called little.
“I am not little, Eleanor.”
The woman, Eleanor sucked her teeth. “Oh please, Lucy, you’ll always be little to me.”
“By a month and a half!”
“And not a minute more.” She said with a laugh and a wink. She then turned her attention to Narcissa. She reached out to grab her hands, placing a kiss to each of her cheeks. “Cissa! Looking as beautiful and radiant every time I see you.”
The woman smiled. “You flatter me, Elle, and I must say you look absolutely stunning, my dear.”
Eleanor released her and moved over to Severus. “I see our dear potions master is out and about again. Last I saw you you were nose deep in a cauldron.”
The man chuckled and took her hand placing his lips to the back of it. “Charmed to see you again, Eleanor.”
She giggled and then looked down at Draco who was beaming up at her. She opened her arms and he dove right into them. “Well if it isn’t my favorite little dragon. It’s good to see you again sweetheart.” She then looked behind him at Harry who was trying, in vain, to hide behind his potions professor. “And I take it that this little one trying to hide from me is mister Harry Potter.”
Seveus places a hand on his shoulder, the presence both reassuring and grounding. It also helped that Draco had taken his hand as well.
“This is Harry, auntie Elle. He’s gonna be my new brother.” Draco cast a beaming smile at her that just melted her heart. She held her hand out for him to take and he wrapped his fingers around her thin hand. When those small fingers were in her grasp Eleanor smiled, something that was immediately reflected albeit a little shyly.
“Well to the family, Mr. Potter”
“Thank you,” he said in a soft voice. Eleanor straightened herself and looked at her family.
“Lets go tell the rest of the gang that you’re all here. You can leave your bags here and the elves will take them to your rooms.”
They followed her up the staircase and stopped in the open space. They looked around all full of smiles as they felt like they had just returned from their home away from home.
“Mipsy!”
! “Mistress Ellie calls Mipsy?”
“Yes. Please inform Marjorie and the boys that Lucius and the family are here. After that please have those bags sent up to the proper rooms. Then please get some refreshments as we will most likely move to the sitting area for tea.”
The little elf nodded and then bowed
“Mipsy will get mistress and family right away. Then set up snacks for out of town family.”
She popped away after and Lucius watched with slight bewilderment.
“I’m surprised you still have her after all these years.”
Eleanor looked at her cousin with a teasing grin. “What was I going to do? Free her?” She shook her head. “No. Mipsy has been here since mother was a child and is a family friend.”
Lucius didn’t say anything but understood her point well enough. Just then there was a slight noise coming from upstairs. The family watched as two children came racing down the stairs rushing in a bet to see who could reach them first. They were followed by a plumper woman with brunette hair who shook her head in exasperation.
“Uncle Lucius and Uncle Sev! Auntie Cissa!”
The boys each jumped out to hug the adults who laughed or chuckled at their antics. They then turned to Draco and Harry before tackling Draco to the ground. Harry watched with only a little bit of fear as the three wrestled on the floor.
“Some dragon you are.” Said the dark haired boy.
“You still can’t beat the mighty knights.” His brother boasted as they both looked down from where they had Draco pinned to the floor. The Malfoy child scoffed and wriggled in their hold.
“The dragon’s only having an off day. You’ll get your time.”
“Yeah when we’re old and crippled.”
They let him up and wrapped their arms around him in a hug and he laughed.
“Good to see you again, Dragon.” The brown haired boy said. Draco smiled at his older cousin.
“It’s great to see you too, Ash. You too, Jean.”
Jean, the taller of the two boys, smiled and hugged Draco. The two boys moved to stand in front of Eleanor and the dark haired woman.
“Harry,” Eleanor said, placing her hand on Jean’s shoulder. “I’d like you to meet my oldest son , Jean Octavius Malfoy.” The boy mock bowed with a smile. Eleanor rolled her eyes. “My youngest, Ashton Adonis Malfoy,” said boy smiled and waved. “And my wife, Marjorie.”
The dark haired woman smiled lovingly up at Eleanor who placed her hand on her hip. She turned her attention to Harry and bowed her head.
“Nice to meet you all.”
With introductions and greetings passed out, Eleanor and Marjorie offered to take the adults to the tearoom to sit and get reacquainted while the boys went to have fun. Both Jean and Ashton offered to take a tour around the estate for Harry and then suggested they head out to the quidditch pitch that they had outdoors. Draco smiled and was relieved to be away from his parents for a while even if it was just a few hours. He needed something to take his mind off of how he was feeling and flying always helped him relax. He also wanted to spend some time with his cousins and Harry. The boy knew he had been coming off as distant these last few days and that it was worrying the young Potter, but he could hardly help it. It’s not that he was necessarily mad at Harry. No, he loved that he and the young boy were slowly getting to know each other. It was just the fact that he couldn’t seem to get over the bitterness that filled his veins and threatened to clog his throat whenever his parents just seemed to be so much happier with Harry than with him. And maybe a part of him knew that he was being ridiculous, but he just couldn’t get Pansy’s words out of his head whenever it happened. It made him feel anxious and just terrified that they would rather have Harry for a son than him. And that thought hurt more than he could put into words. Sometimes he thought that it really was all in his head, but other times he really couldn’t be sure.
Letting out a tired sigh, Draco shook his head as he walked with his cousins. He threw a small smile at Ashton when the elder boy looked at him with concern. Now was not the time to worry about this, and he really just needed a distraction. So with that in mind he stopped and when the remaining boys looked at him in question he smirked before yelling ‘race ya!’ and taking off in a run. His companions smiled before following him.