A Summer in the Life of Draco

Draco Malfoy stirred in the early morning light. He was awake, but he did not open his eyes just yet. It was his first day home from Hogwarts. He breathed in the familiar smell that was his room. He could smell his cologne on his clothes, the white roses Narcissa insisted he keep on his bedside table, and the smell of the forest outside his window.

Malfoy Manor was set on over one hundred acres of private forest. Draco had a private Quidditch pitch, a stable that housed his father's many prized species of horses, a large guesthouse, and a large lake where he had learned to swim. He decided that sleeping-in would not be an option. There was no doubt in his mind that Narcissa, his overly protective mother, had ordered the servants to create a lavish breakfast in his honor.

Draco pulled his blanket off and rubbed his eyes. It felt good to be back in his house again. He sauntered across his room. He stopped by the tank that held his black snake, Angerona. She was a black Egyptian cobra that Lucius Malfoy had given his son on his fourteenth birthday. She was curled on a rock getting some sun. Like many Slytherins, he found beauty in snakes that he could not describe. Draco watched her fondly as she slithered off the rock and along the wall of the tank. He ran a hand through his blonde hair and was once again thankful to be home.

He opened his door and walked down the extravagant staircase that led into the Manor entry hall. It was tiled in black stone and was constantly shiny. The intricately carved wood banister felt smooth to the touch. Tapestries were hung on the walls and contained the Malfoy family crest. He often forgot just how beautiful his house was.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, took a left, and walked the long hallway that led to the dining room. He stopped occasionally to look at the old family photos that were hung on the walls. He saw Lucius with Draco's grandfather, his parent's wedding portrait, and then he started to see the ones of him. The younger version of him was smiling and waving up at him from out of the frames. As he walked a little further, he saw the one picture that always made him stop and take notice.

The picture was of him when he was just a baby. His mother was holding him with his father standing close by her side. The two people looked so happy and were nothing like the people he knew. It was rare to see his father smiling anymore unless he was putting on the happy act for important Ministry officials. The people were waving up at him and then he saw the younger Lucius reach over and kiss Narcissa, so young and beautiful, on the cheek. He knew this was just an old picture, but it always got a lot of emotion out of him for some reason.

He walked into the dining hall to find Narcissa and Lucius sitting at the table. They were so unlike the people in the picture. Lucius had become a cold, bitter wizard and Narcissa... well, let's just say that he had been asked many times if that scowl she wore was permanent.

Lucius sat at the head of the table, like always. He had his nose buried in the Daily Prophet and did not even look up to welcome his son. Narcissa was sitting to Lucius' right hand side reading one of her many romance novels. He didn't blame her. With Lucius for a husband, there must not be much romance in her life anymore. She looked up when he walked in and gave him a slight smile.

"Welcome home, Draco," she said with a bit of light-heartedness in her voice. Her long bleach-blonde hair was starting to gray in places and she was beginning to show the signs of wrinkles around her eyes. She had a comforting smile and was not as most would think. Narcissa had power, and she knew this. She was a well-trained witch from an old pureblood family. She knew never to question her husband's opinion and she knew when to speak and when not to.

In the Malfoy house, she could speak as freely as she wanted and was often light-hearted and a very devoted wife. She was proud to be married to a great man like Lucius and he was exactly the type of man her late father would have wanted her to end up with. The act she put on around her inferiors was nothing but that... an act. She was trained in the art of aristocracy and knew that she had a reputation to uphold.

Draco took his seat and ran his fingers through his hair again. His father glanced up from the paper he was reading and gave him a vicious scowl, his lip turned up in disgust.

"Draco, how many times have I told you to be dressed properly before you come down for breakfast?!" he said through gritted teeth. Draco looked down, realizing that he was wearing no shirt, and his Slytherin sweatpants were sagging very low and exposing his underwear. If there was one thing in this world that his father hated more than Mudbloods and muggles, it was wizards who sag their pants.

"Sorry, father. I'll remember that next time," he said trying not to start a fight on his first day of vacation. He decided that a quick change of subject was in order.

"So... how are things at the ministry?" Draco asked, hoping it would ease the tension. His father had not written much to him over his fifth year and he had to admit that he was curious to what Lucius had been up to over the past six months.

"Oh, things have been wonderful. Since that outburst at the Department of Mysteries, people have been looking at me funny. Luckily, I made it look as if I had just arrived. Still, I am working my tail off trying to get any tarnish off the Malfoy name. But enough about that," he added hastily, obviously not wanting to give his son too much information, even though he had given him nothing. "How were things at school?"

"We hear that you're the talk of the ministry. There are rumors going around that you received all 'O's on your O.W.L.'s," said Narcissa, trying to make small talk amongst her family. She glanced across the table at Draco. Her son had grown up to be quite a handsome young wizard. His bleach blonde hair had grown in the past year. In addition, he had filled out much more and matured beyond her imagination. His arms and neck were bigger and his shoulders had broadened considerably. He was slightly pale from his lack of sun exposure, but that would soon change. For a boy of just fifteen, he was quite polite. He also had the same steely gray eyes that she had seen only once before... he had the same eyes as the man she had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Lucius rang the bell that was at his side, calling the serving girl in. It seemed that they had found a new one in his absence. This one was an elderly woman that appeared to be in her late fifties. She wore the traditional black robes with the Malfoy crest on the chest that all the servers wore. The woman hustled into the dining hall and was carrying a large tray of French toast, pancakes, oatmeal, sausages, bacon, and eggs. Behind her, three goblets and a pitcher of orange juice were floating after her. She set the trays down and bowed her exit after pouring the juice into each Malfoy's silver goblets.

Draco ate at a hurried pace. He wanted to get on his broom and get flying again. There were rumors that he would be made the Quidditch captain next year and he wanted to be sure that he was at the top of his game. Draco Malfoy was not the kind to get out of shape just because he had three months to do whatever he wanted.

When he was halfway through his scrambled eggs, the maid hurried back in. She was holding a tray with the daily post on it. She set it in the middle of the table and made her way back into the kitchens. Lucius leafed through the mail looking curiously at some and tossing the others aside as if they were nothing. Draco hadn't expected any of those letters to be for him. He didn't really have any regular correspondents during the summer. Lucius stopped going through the mail and glanced curiously at one letter. He turned his gaze to Narcissa who was sipping on her orange juice. He grabbed the letter in question and held it out to her.

She took it and glanced at the name without one word to her husband. Her eyes got big and she began to tear the letter open. She took out a very long, thick piece of parchment and began to read it to herself, her eyes growing bigger with every sentence. Both Draco and Lucius had taken to watching her read the letter. Narcissa got a very happy look on her face and let out a slight screech of excitement and put the letter down, regaining her composure. She could tell that she was supposed to explain her reaction to the letter, so she began.

"That was a letter from Dominique," she said with a calm tone. Dominique Black was Narcissa's younger sister. Unlike Bellatrix and Narcissa, she had managed to stay away from anything having to do with the Dark Arts. She was not often talked about because of her "squeaky clean" image. Nevertheless, today Narcissa felt nothing but happiness for her younger sister.

"She has been seeing this man for around a year. He is from a very well respected pureblood line. It's lucky she found one... it's getting so hard to find a decent wizard with clean blood anymore... anyway, he asked her to marry her last night! I could not be happier... I must go write her back!" she said and with one final swish of her robes, she was gone to the study to write her reply.

"Wow... who is dumb enough to marry Dominique Black?" said Lucius, more to himself than Draco. Being alone with his short-tempered father didn't seem right to him, so he excused himself from the table and worked his way up to his room once more. He hadn't even bothered to take a shower this morning, so that was the first thing on his agenda. He waltzed into his bathroom and turned on the shower.

The showerhead was shaped like a serpent and water erupted from its mouth. He started humming a song he had heard on the W.W.N. last night. As he waited for the water to warm up, he took to staring at himself in the mirror. He had to admit, he was extremely good-looking. He was often told that he resembled his father when he was around Draco's age. He had a hard time believing it considering that Lucius now had long, white hair and a pointed nose. He also had a threatening gaze that would make anyone spill the beans faster than if they used Veritaserum. Draco could be threatening when he wanted to, but he refused to let himself be compared to his father.

The water had warmed up, so he stripped down and stepped into the shower. His bathroom was tiled in gray granite everywhere you looked. In the Malfoy household, nearly everything was dark. The only bit of color you could ever find were in the rooms that Narcissa had designed herself.

Draco's shower was rather large, so he walked around as he let the water run over him. He was thinking about the previous year. Luckily, he had managed to get rid of his overly clingy girlfriend, Pansy Parkinson, at the end of it. Like always, Harry Potter had managed to steal the spotlight once again with his show at the Department of Mysteries. He had also managed to steal the Snitch out from under his nose yet again... next year, this would not happen. "He is always the one who out shines me... well next year, Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lives-To-Make-My-Life-A-Living-Hell, will have no chance against me... I'll show him what it means to be born with talent..." Draco thought to himself.

He used his spicy-smelling body wash and rinsed himself off. Then, he climbed out of the shower and wrapped up in his black bathrobe. When he walked into the sitting room that was off his bedroom suit, he noticed that the house elves had brought up a tray of tea and pastries. He situated himself in front of the large French doors that led out onto the balcony. He sat down and grabbed the Daily Prophet. Nothing seemed to be too interesting, so he tossed it aside. Then he decided that a sip of tea would be a good idea.

He grabbed a cup and walked out onto the balcony. The early summer air was crisp and filled with moisture since it was still early in the morning. Off in the distance, he could see the Quidditch hoops raised high in the air. A little to left of that was the large river-rock stable that housed Lucius' prized animals. When Draco was young, Lucius had insisted that he learned to ride horses. "It is expected of you that you learn to ride a proper hunt seat," he had told Draco. The Malfoy stables didn't just contain your average horses. There were rare magical breeds as well: Abraxans, Aethonans, Granians, a Unicorn, and (a very rare and expensive breed) Pegasus. For obvious reasons, they were separated into two separate stables: magical and non-magical.

Draco polished off his tea and left for his room. He changed into his Quidditch robes and shouldered his new Firebolt. When he walked out to the backyard, he noticed that his mother had purchased a new fountain, which featured a centaur. He had to admit, it was beautiful.

He could fly to the pitch; it would be about ten times faster. However, he decided that a stroll through the forest was in order. The Unicorn that his grandfather had raised still roamed through it and was often friendly with Draco. The Unicorn was a lone stallion that went by the name of Brutus. Mr. Ollivander had used Brutus' hair once in a wand core. It was rumored that the wand it resided in had belonged to Cedric Diggory.

As Draco walked through the forest, he felt oddly at peace. It was summer and that meant no more schoolwork, no more problems, and, most importantly, no more Potter.

The sun was shining brightly on Draco's face. He halted in his path and breathed in deeply. It was weird. Every September he couldn't wait to leave this place, but every June he couldn't wait to get back. This had always been his home and it was the only one he ever wanted.

He continued once more down the path and stopped at the old oak tree where his mother and father's initials were carved. Draco often wondered what had happened to the romantic, caring person that his father used to be. If anyone could have had a personality transplant, it was Lucius Malfoy.

He watched as an owl flew overhead coming from the direction of Malfoy Manor. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the letter his mother had written back to his aunt Dominique. This was to be expected. Whenever a woman was going to be married, it was as if he was back at Hogwarts listening to the women rant and rave about their dresses and how they have fallen in love. Draco had never fallen in love. Not once in his fifteen years of existence. And he didn't plan on it any time soon.

For the next twenty minutes, he walked until he finally reached the Quidditch pitch. It was made entirely out of brick and towered over the trees of the surrounding forest. Luckily, there were a few varieties of concealment charms to keep it hidden from the prying eyes of muggles. As Draco approached the pitch, he saw someone in the air already flying. At once, he knew who it was and a huge smile broke free as he mounted his Firebolt and flew up to meet him.

Draco cut across the boy's path, causing him to swerve severally. "Hey Malfoy, that was uncalled for!" yelled the boy as he rode his broom over to meet him. Draco was doubled over in laughter.

"Yeah yeah, laugh all you want. You won't be laughing much longer once I knock you off your broom," said Chase Ackart in retort. Chase was the groom at the Malfoy's stables. He was twenty-one years old and had worked for the Malfoy's since he had graduated from Hogwarts four years ago. Chase had been the seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team in Draco's first year and had helped him train every summer since he made the team. In a way, he was like the big brother Draco never had.

"Well Chase, next time you should pay more attention to whose coming your way," said Draco as he rocked back and forth on his broomstick.

"Attacking the enemy with their back turned... that's lower than I expected even you to go, Draco," Chase said with a sly smile. Chase had had a bright future as a Seeker, but turned down every offer because his true love was Winged Horses. Most thought he was throwing his life away, but flying on a broom didn't have the same effect on him that flying on the back of Winged Horse did. He never did expect anyone to understand, but luckily he had found a job at Malfoy Manor... he just hadn't planned taking on the babysitting role on as well.

"Whatever... do you have the Snitch out?" Draco asked. It was time for a little friendly competition. Chase got a huge grin on his face and sped off around the pitch to one of the hoops.

"I'll take that as a yes," Draco said to himself as he, too, took off around the pitch. In a matter of twenty minutes, Chase had managed to capture the Snitch.

Draco left the pitch in a defeated huff. He managed to get away with only minor ridicule from Chase about how the Snitch had been on his tail for nearly two minutes. In the end, he decided that it was time to go home for a well-deserved nap.

~*~*~*~*~

It had been a week since summer's beginning and Draco had been having a decent time. Chase and he had done a few more Quidditch drills and gone for a fly on two of their favorite mares, but other than that, there had not been too much activity.

Draco sat in the family's library reading A Serpent's Tale while his father worked at his desk. All of the sudden, Narcissa burst in holding a piece of parchment in her hand and had a very excited look on her face. Her intrusion had caused both Malfoy men to look up from their work and stare at this woman who looked slightly insane.

"Narcissa, what is the meaning of this?" asked Lucius, his voice calm.

"Dominique and I have been corresponding over the past week, and we have reached a conclusion. The wedding is to be held here, at Malfoy Manor!" said a very excited Narcissa. Lucius looked at her as if she was crazy. She obviously wanted a better reaction from her family, so Draco chimed in.

"That's fantastic, mother. I'm very happy for Aunt Dominique," he told her, trying to seem polite. "When will she be arriving here to make the adjustments?" he asked out of curiosity.

"Tomorrow! She and all her bridesmaids are coming and they are going to stay with us until the wedding! We decided that the wedding won't be held until August, so it gives us plenty of time to plan everything. John, her fiancé, won't come until about the middle of July, but everything is going to be perfect! Oh I just can't wait!" she said as she left the room. Draco and Lucius looked at each other and both shook their heads before returning to their work. Draco could have sworn he heard Lucius mutter something that sounded remarkably like "Women..."