Father

Year Two

Lucius has a problem now. His half-blood ward, Harry Potter, is proving a more dutiful son than his actual son, Draco. Both boys are home for the summer.

"Hermione says this whole blood purity thing is ridiculous," Draco tells them at dinner. "Hermione says if we only married purebloods, we'd all go insane from inbreeding."

Lucius squirms and rebukes, but nothing seems to get through his son's head. Draco's all a flutter with new ideas.

Harry looks appropriately scandalized. Narcissa shushes her son, which only works for a little while.

Lucius threatens his pocket money. Draco doesn't care. Lucius threatens Durmstrang. Narcissa says, don't you dare. Lucius considers canceling Draco's birthday party, but Narcissa encourages the approach of honey over vinegar.

Make the party extra grand, she whispers. Invite girls, lots of girl, pretty girls, pureblood girls.

Draco wants to invite Hermione.

No, never!

Draco wants to invite Ron and Neville. Harry scoffs, but Narcissa intervenes on their behalf. No, no, pureblood Gryffindors are fine. It's natural for Draco to make friends in his own house. Invite Ron's sister too. She'll be starting Hogwarts in September.

So the party plans are made, twice as grand as last year. Neville's gran won't let him come, but Ron's mother comes with him and brings Ginny. Little Ginny with the delicate face, sleek red hair, and spunky spark in her eyes. Narcissa sees a future beauty and longs to collect her like Lucius collected Harry. How she's wanted a daughter. Narcissa fusses over Ginny, plays with her hair, while Molly Weasley watches with tight lips.

Draco comes to greet Ron, and Narcissa releases her new found gem to flash under Draco's nose. Be a gentleman, Draco. Dance with little Ginny. Draco has no interest in red hair and freckles beyond friendship, but he does as his mother asks.

He dances with Pansy and Daphne, even Millicent, but only as a courtesy. Harry catches on and tries to help. Dance with Ginny, Draco. Bet she'll be a Gryffindor. Get Ginny something to eat, Draco. Show Ginny the game, Draco. Draco knows what they're doing, but he tries to help Ginny enjoy the party anyway. It's an excuse to stay close to Ron too.

No success. Draco learns to quiet his crush, but he stills asks if they can invite Hermione to Harry's party.

No.

But Harry's party must be as big and as grand, must include as many pureblood girls. Narcissa pulls Harry aside. Conspires with him. They tried too hard last time. They must try a different tactic. Invite the Ron and Ginny again as Draco wants. But this time, Harry, you dance with Ginny. Feign an attraction. Draco may show more interest if he thinks she's off limits.

Harry agrees.

Ginny comes again, but now, when Draco tries to speak with her, Harry whisks her away. If Draco offers to dance with her, Harry cuts in. Draco is curious but not concerned. Everyone sees, and Ginny's popularity has been cemented. Ron is befuddled. Harry is glad to be in Narcissa's confidence.

Draco is unaffected.

Lucius needs to make this Hermione go away. He plots and plots until he remembers something that may help. A plan forms; a diary is retrieved from safe keeping. It seems worth a try.

He takes the boys to Diagon Alley for school supplies. This proves fortuitous. The Granger girl is there. Draco practically skips to greet her. "Father, this is Hermione," he crows. Bushy hair, wires on her teeth, arms loaded with books, Lucius can't begin to understand his son's attachment.

He takes the top books from her arms to examine them. Aside from the school texts, she's carrying books that would intimidate full grown wizards. What could a Muggle-born child need with such things? "You're a rather plain looking girl," Lucius tells her, and Draco's face falls. He had been hoping his father would be won over like he was. But no luck.

Lucius drops the tomes back into the girl's arms along with his own addition. The girl's parents walk up from behind her. Lucius is repulsed by their extreme Muggleness and turns away.

Draco is gushing apologies, and Hermione is shrugging them off and introducing. "Draco, these are my parents."

"Draco!" Lucius calls, ordering his son to his side.

They join Harry and Narcissa inside the shop. Draco sighing. Lucius doing his best to ignore him.

Everything bought, Harry wants a new broom for Quidditch, so Draco must have one too. Back home they go. A few more weeks before the boys are gone again to Hogwarts. Harry wants to practice Quidditch. They test out the new brooms, and everything seems right.

The boys return to Hogwarts. Harry to Slytherin, soon the new Seeker. Draco to Gryffindor. Still friends with Ron and Neville, still spending many swotty hours studying with Hermione. Father can't complain about his grades.

Shortly after their return, Hermione shows Draco a new curiosity. "I found this book in with my others. I thought maybe mum had picked it up for me, but when I wrote in it, it wrote back."

Curious, Draco experiments with writing his own sentence. The ink swims and vanishes. A reply swims up. "Very curious," says Draco. "Might be dangerous. Let's show it to Professor Snape." Being a clever girl, Hermione agrees, and they show the diary to Snape. Snape in turn shows the diary to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore being far cleverer than anyone promptly destroys it.

A week or so later, the diary already forgotten, Draco asks Hermione. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

Hermione says, "Okay." And that's the end of it.

Snape, his eye still on the Dark Arts position, exposes Lockhart for the fraud he is and sends him packing.

For Harry, however, it was a rather normal year, filled with nothing more exciting than Quidditch matches.