A Summer in the Life of Draco

August 2^nd. Today, John Bancroft, Lucius, John's brother Derek, Ella's brother Scott, and Ella's father Keith were arriving. It was early in the morning. Maybe eight o'clock. The whole of the Malfoy household was already up and active. Once the men arrived, they would be leaving for a two-week stay in Paris to make some final adjustments for the wedding. They were all extremely excited.

"Ella! Did you get your dress robes? We will be going to some nice restaurants while we are there!" Melanie yelled up the stairs at her daughter. She was frustrated with her by now. Whenever they were leaving somewhere, she always forgot something.

"Yes, Mother! Have you seen my Durmstrang dress robes? Daddy said we had some fancy dinner to go to!" Ella yelled back. Whenever they went to some Ministry dinner, she had to wear her blood red robes with the fur collar. They were to show that she was proud to attend the fine Durmstrang institute.

Draco walked around his room gathering up his belongings that he would need for his stay in Paris. He always enjoyed staying there in the summertime. It was his escape from reality. Sure, it was going to be mainly about getting things ready for the wedding, but he loved the Quidditch atmosphere. France was a leader in the Quidditch league this year, and he was hoping to be able to get into the game that they would be playing. He wasn't sure whom they were up against yet.

Draco grabbed his packed trunk and dragged it into the hall where he saw Ella. She was wearing a pink knee length skirt with a matching blazer and magenta high heels. She looked more girly today than he had seen her in the two months she had lived here. Maybe it was the fact that her father and brother would be here today...

"Ok, the boys should be here any minute!" said Narcissa. She was hurrying around making sure that everyone was ready to go. When she was in Paris, she didn't like to leave... for anything. She saw that everyone was standing in the entry hall, ready to go. At eight thirty, the front door opened and the four boys walked in.

"John!" yelled Dominique as she rushed at her fiancé with open arms. They met in a sweet embrace that included a kiss. Ella signed. Love was her favorite subject.

Draco shook hands with his father, John, and Derek. There were two that he didn't recognize... he figured that they must be Scott and Keith, Ella's brother and father. The whole Stone family was gathered in a circle, conversing. They all were very similar in the way they looked and acted.

Ella and Melanie both played with their earlobes a lot... it got somewhat annoying. In addition, Scott and Keith were both very muscular men who stood with their arms crossed and brows furrowed a lot of the time. Three out of the four Stones had blonde hair. Melanie was the lone brunette. Scott kept glancing over at Draco a lot with a look of sheer disgust on his face. Draco just played it cool. To him, it didn't matter that Ella's brother and father both looked like they could easily break him in half... he had protection from his father, who was the top duelist at Hogwarts in his day.

Ella was watching Draco out of the corner of her eye. He seemed very relaxed with his father, John, and Derek. Ella had always had a little crush on Derek... even though it was no news that he was a Death Eater. Derek was covered in tattoos and he had a piercing in his nose and left ear, but there was a certain attraction to him. His long, dark brown hair was untidy and out of place. There was a bad-boy characteristic about him that was quite appealing. He was also extremely thin and his skin just seemed to stretch over his frame of bones.

"So Scott, how has things in Romania been?" Ella asked her older brother. Scott was a dragon handler and researcher in the eastern part of Romania. Since he had graduated at Beauxbatons four years ago, he had been living there most of the time.

"Things have been ok. I took a blow from a Horntail last week, though. He got me right in the thigh," he said, grabbing where he had been hit. Ella knew that her mother worried about Scott. What he did was dangerous business. He practically wrestled with dragons every day. If it were Ella's child, she'd be having a heart attack herself.

"Ok, everyone! Can I have your attention?!" said Narcissa, over the hum of conversation. Everyone quieted down and looked at her.

"We all seem to be ready to go, so I say let's hit the road!" she finished, giving a swish of her robes. Everyone gathered their trunks and walked out to the front of Malfoy Manor where a large limo was waiting for them. There were "ooo's" and "aww's" from the four girls.

"The ministry decided to loan me this for the day," said Keith. He worked in the Department of Magical Games and Sports.

"AWESOME!" said Ella as she ran to the long, black car's door. She was always excited when her father got to use some of the ministry cars. They were always so roomy and comfortable... and they came with a limo driver, who opened the door so Ella could climb inside.

Shortly after she climbed in, Draco followed her. They sat towards the front of the passenger cab. He flashed a sweet little smile. Ella was worried about he would get along with Scott and her father. Her family was very protective of her... that's why she had been transferred from Beauxbatons. An old family friend went to Durmstrang... and he was known for his strength. That and the fact that Ella needed to be somewhere that would encourage her interest in Quidditch.

Everyone piled into the car and Keith motioned for the driver to get going. The ministry cars worked a lot like the Knight Bus: they moved quickly and stealthily to get you to your destination.

In a matter of about thirty minutes, they were at Sang Pur Estate. The gates opened wide for them and they parked in front of the villa. They stepped out of the limo and the servants began to unload their trunks. The group made their way into the house.

They settled out on the screened-in porch. This was where Draco liked to spend his time at the villa. Here, and at the pool. He was naturally pale, but he could sometimes work up a little bit of a tan if he set his mind to it. He collapsed in one of the many wicker rocking chairs that were set up around a central coffee table. The sun was shining in on them and Draco was almost sleeping in its warmth. Summer was by far his favorite season... next to Quidditch season, that is.

"It sure is good to be back," said Lucius, who sat in a chair beside his son. Even though he loved his high style life back in Britain, there was a certain serenity to the country of France. It felt as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Everyone gathered in the small room now. They all carried on with their conversations while Draco looked longingly outside at the pool. It was hard to stay indoors when it was so nice out. Draco sat up in his chair.

"Father, do you mind if I go out to the pool for a little while?" asked Draco. It's not that he was avoiding the wedding party; he just wanted to feel the warmth of the sun for a change.

"Sure, son. We'll just be here planning what we need to do while we're in Paris," said Lucius. Draco rose from his chair and walked through the house.

Their villa wasn't near as dark as Malfoy Manor. Most of the walls were still white, or done in a pastel color. Flowers and colorful paintings replaced the odd instruments and dark tapestries that littered the walls of his permanent residence. Life in Paris was so simple. All you had to do was worry about how long you were in the sun before you fried, or when you were going to go into town and see the sights.

When he reached his room, he found that his trunk was waiting for him at the foot of his bed. He didn't like the décor of his room here very much. The pale blue color had been there as long as he could remember. He had begged his mother for years to change it, but she had either politely refused or intentionally forgot. Finally, he had just given up the battle... this house would one day be his to do with what he pleased.

Draco undid the lock on his trunk and began digging through it until he found his swimming suit..., which, of course, was at the very bottom. He walked down the hall to the little bathroom on the right. After he stripped down and pulled on his suit, he began digging through the cabinets for a beach towel. Someone seemed to have rearranged the house in his absence because there was none of them in sight. He let out a sigh and walked a few more yards down the hall to the linen closet. He found it stocked full with beach towels in every color. He grabbed a green one and walked back downstairs.

He passed the group, who were still in the screened in porch. Ella was talking and laughing with Derek. Draco had to admit, the guy was pretty cool. He was either always happy, or pissed off about something... a very typical Death Eater.

Draco stepped outside and breathed in the warm, French air. It was clean and pure and filled him up with a feeling of great warmth. The little estate hadn't changed much since the Malfoy family had first purchased it over one hundred years ago. The only major change that had been made was adding a pool, which Draco enjoyed very much.

When he had walked fully through the many gardens of Sang Pur, he came to a gated area. He punched the code into the pad and it swung open for him. Draco breathed a sigh of relief and nearly jogged over to a chair that was set up poolside.

He threw his towel onto the chair and dove into the pool headfirst. When he rose up, he was laughing and began swimming to the shallower end. He swam around for about fifteen minutes and then decided that it was time to add some color to his milky skin.

~*~*~*~*~

Ella sat talking with Derek, but wasn't really paying attention to very much of what he said. Occasionally, he would crack a joke and she would giggle halfheartedly. Draco seemed to be ignoring her lately, and she didn't like it. She wanted to make the most of the little time they still had before the summer ended.

Wow, summer would end. Then what? What would happen to her and Draco's friendship then? She would go back to her life at Durmstrang, and he would go back to his at Hogwarts. They would write letters every now and then... possibly only on holidays. She didn't even want to think of that. Ella had been thinking that this summer would last forever. It seemed like it would, she was enjoying it so much. She shook the thought from her head. She would deal with the end of this newfound heaven when she had to.

Ella watched as Draco walked out into the garden and down to the pool. He hadn't wasted any time in enjoying his vacation. Why shouldn't she? However, she didn't quite feel like a dip in the pool... she felt like doing something to keep her mind occupied. Ella thought about it for a moment, and decided that unpacking her trunk might be a good idea.

"Excuse me, I think I'm going to go take care of my unpacking, or it won't ever get done," she said with a little giggle. Everyone said their farewell as she left to go find the upstairs bedrooms.

She found her trunk in a room that was painted a pastel pink color with a cute little canopy bed. The comforter had different types of flowers all over it. The room reminded her of a B&B that she had been to once.

Ella noticed right away that there was not a closet in her room. She put her hands on her hips and began to wonder where she was going to put her extensive clothing collection. She relaxed when she found the large, wooden wardrobe that was sitting in the corner of the room.

She walked over to it and touched its smooth surface. It looked very old... maybe it had even came to the house when it was built over one hundred years ago. Oh, how Ella loved to find out the history of things. Some called her nosey, but Ella called it "wanting all the facts."

Ella grabbed the handles of the wardrobe and prepared to unpack her trunk. It wouldn't open, so she yanked harder. The doors finally flew open and she was flung backwards onto the ground. A large, leather-bound book fell on the floor in front of her.

Ella touched the dusty cover of this mystery object that seemed to have fallen out of nowhere. She opened it cautiously and a puff of dust flew up and hit her face. Coughing, she waved her hand to try to get it away from her nose. When she glanced back at the page, she noticed that it was a photo album.

The pictures seemed to have been taken at this very house. When she looked closer, she saw that they were of a very pregnant Narcissa and a semi-pregnant Melanie. They were smiling up at her and waving from their place on the page. She smiled, closed and picked up the album, and walked downstairs to show her mother the ancient history that she had discovered.

She found everyone out on the stone patio in rose garden. Ella walked over to where Melanie sat sipping what looked like iced pumpkin juice. She set the photo album on the table in front of her.

"Look what I found in my wardrobe, Mother," said Ella. Melanie opened the album and let out a gasp. She began to finger through the pictures excitedly.

"Oh Narcissa! Remember when this picture was taken?" asked Melanie with a little laugh. Narcissa glanced over and the picture in question and began to go into an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

"Aw yes, ladies night in Paris when you're nine months pregnant... that's an experience," she said.

The picture was of Narcissa and Melanie, both very young and very pregnant, and a few other girls that Ella didn't recognize. Melanie was wearing an oversized sombrero and holding a glass in her left hand. Narcissa looked as if she was going to explode, her belly was so big.

"Mother, what were you doing?" Ella asked. Melanie and Narcissa looked at each other.

"Cissy, let me tell the story!" said Melanie. She looked like a schoolgirl that was ready to spill the latest gossip.

"Well honey, it was two weeks before Narcissa's due date. We had had a few of the girls over for a baby shower, we got a little bored..., and when you are in Paris, you cannot be bored. Therefore, we decided to go out on the town. We ended up in this little Mexican bar called El Loro Borracho. The rest of our group was not pregnant, so of course the alcohol was flowing the minute we stepped in the door.

"Me and Cissy, being the good girls we are, stuck with drinking pumpkin juice the whole night. Oh, the girls felt so bad... and then we discovered there were drinks called "Virgin Margaritas" which have absolutely no alcohol in them! We were so overjoyed that we drank about six of them apiece. Afterwards, however, they got us to do a limbo contest... let me remind you that poor Cissy could burst at any minute. Nevertheless, we were the life of the party, and agreed to do it.

"Now sweetheart, when you are bending that low, in tight pants, are pregnant, and have just drank about four very large beverages, you need to watch your activity level. After that little adventure, we must have pissed our brains out for the next three hours!" said Melanie, finishing the story. They all laughed until their sides hurt and their eyes were watering. Finally, they all regained her composure.

"That night we had our own little Mexican adventure in the heart of downtown Paris! Aw, those were the days...," said Narcissa sadly, looking at the page. She grabbed the corner of the page and turned it.

"Cissy, we were two hot pregnant mamas!" said Melanie, looking at a much more serious picture of the two of them in the garden.

"Aw, yes, look at us! All barefoot and pregnant!" said Narcissa, turning the page. The next set of photos showed Draco as a little baby. He was a cute little boy with chubby cheeks. Ella smiled.

As they flipped through more of the album, they began to see some photos of Ella. The cute little girl had been a roly-poly baby. The book seemed to cover about two years of history. When they were into the last few pages, some pictures stood out more than others did. They were of two little blonde children playing together.

"Mother, who are these kids?" asked Ella, pointing to the picture. Narcissa answered the question for her.

"Why Ella, that's you and Draco when you both were about two. You guys would play together all the time in the fall months. That was before your family relocated so that Keith could be closer to his job," she said. Ella was surprised that she did not seem to remember any of her and Draco's history. Melanie turned to the final page and closed the album.

"Well, that was fun! I had almost forgotten about all the pictures you would take, Cissy," said Melanie, polishing off her beverage. She pushed the book aside. Ella gathered it back into her arms and held it to her chest. She began to walk back to upstairs to finish her unpacking.

When she reached her room, she replaced the book back into its place in the wardrobe. Ella walked over to the window and glanced outside. She could clearly see Draco out by the pool. "He's probably sleeping by now," Ella thought to herself with a laugh. She didn't have time to keep people watching, so she closed the shutters and began the never-ending task of unloading her infinite supply of clothing.