Fathers, Godfathers, and Godsons...Oh My
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Harry Potter › General
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
29
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3,108
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Currently Reading:
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Category:
Harry Potter › General
Rating:
Adult
Chapters:
29
Views:
3,108
Reviews:
12
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 14
Chapter 14
Draco sighed to himself. The same room. The same music stand. Although there was a lack of sheet music so that was an improvement. And Viola now sat on a stool next to him, looking down her pointy little snout at the music teacher, daring him to upset her master like the first one had. Nathan sat comfortably, sheet music in front of him though the pages were suspiciously free of the little squiggles Draco couldn’t decifer. Nathan waved his wand, mumbling something and tapped the paper lightly, “Alright, Draco, play anything for me you like.”
Sighing again, he turned a bit away from the Professor and closed his eyes, deciding on a piece he’d been working on over the summer. It was a bit strong and certainly more uplifting than he usually played and he found himself feeling better as he lost himself to the music.
Nathan watched the boy out of the corner of his eye. He had a natural grace with the bow. His positioning was a little awkward but it didn’t impede his skill and that was the most important. He wasn’t a traditionalist who felt poise was everything, as long as it didn’t interfere with the playing. Frowning, he could here the odd notes thrown in, almost making it seem like there were...no, it couldn’t be.
He looked to the music for proof and found it. Gliding across the main chord of music, almost but not quite parallel was a second set of chords. He was trying to play two violin parts at the same time. To the laymen it would sound like two different violins but to a musician there was the minutest of phase differences, making it sound like mistakes. No wonder Lepew thought he was lacking. Blinking. Three parts. He felt himself grow pale. The child would need a new bow.
Swallowing, “Alright, Draco. That was...astounding.” Draco blinked and froze before looking at him. Nathan was rather amused. He’d forgotten anyone was here.
Frowning defensively, “So, have I no talent?”
Shaking his head, still stunned, “No, young sir, you have more talent than I could have dreamed.” Draco fought against the smile he could feel ached to spread across his face, “Tell me, how quick of a study are you?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning your talent is quite astonishing, but I would not be a professor if I simply allowed you to play without trying to teach you how to read sheet music. Mind I cannot force you as this is a voluntary situation, but I think your skill could only improve if you learned the meaning behind the notes. And you would be limited in what groups you could play with should this be your chosen profession.”
Shrugging slightly, “Why? I can play, and from your opinion better than most. What does it matter if I can’t read the sheet music?”
“It would be a disadvantage to you. You could play professionally and create your own music but it would be more profitable if you also had sheet music at your disposal. Perhaps to sell or perhaps to teach. And there are professional orchestras but they are traditionalists, who adhere to the written word almost, dare I say, religiously.”
Pointing his bow, “Or you could teach me that charm and the writing is done for me.”
Nodding, “I could. But I will not. Only a graduate of the Academy is given that knowledge and one of the final tests is to decifer sheet music, playing blindly just from reading it.”
Draco smiled and nodded. He had to be sure this man wasn’t just going to use him, after all, “Alright. Do you have a book on deciphering...that?”
Nodding, “I do, although I’ll need it back tomorrow so I don’t think-...”
Responding absently, taking the offered book and thumbing through it, “I only need one day.”
Nathan blinked at him, “You can memorize books in one day?”
Shrugging, “I memorize anything just by looking at it. It stays like a picture in my head.” Grinning in mischief, “It’s why I do well in school.”
***
Polishing off the apple core, he took a running start and threw it as far as he could. A tentacle reached out of the lake and snared it, dragging it down into the murky depths. He could imagine Fred grinning at his snack, his nickname for the large squid. It was getting late, the sun low in the sky. He should head back in soon.
“Hey there, Draco.”
Spinning around, giving a little bow, “Hey, Hagrid.”
The half giant leaned in conspiringly, voice dropping to a loud whisper, “Listen, wanna see somethin’?”
Worry that Hagrid was going to drag him into the Forbidden Forest rose up for just the barest of moments before he dismissed the thought. Hagrid was a simple man, but not stupid. Shrugging, “Sure.”
Hagrid smiled with a nod and walked towards his house, Draco trailing after him. Draco looked over his shoulder and whistled through his fingers, Viola pivoting in mid dive and flapping her wings. She rose up a few feet, landing gracefully on his head and tucking her tail into her body as she snuggled into his hair. Most people had hat hair...he had dragon hair. Draco screeched to a halt, seeing a large something sitting in Hagrid’s pumpkin patch. Well, at the moment it was just filled with dirt and crows. Whispering, “Hagrid?”
The giant turned with pride, “‘is name’s Buckbeak.”
Shaking his head, not believing what he was seeing. He’d read about them but to actually see one, “That’s a...a... Hyppagriff!”
Sighing, “Ain’t ‘e beautiful?”
Looking less than sure, “Ain’t he.”
Nodding to himself, “Come on, you hav’ta pet ‘im.”
Shaking his head almost desperately, “No, Hagrid. That’s alright.”
Hagrid didn’t even seem phased, plucking a rope of dead ferrets, catching Buckbeak’s attention. Draco felt like being sick, “Now, what’cha gotta do is bow.” The blond tilted his head, looking utterly perplexed, “Well, go on then.” Draco shook his head but obeyed, bowing deeply and stifling a giggle when Viola landed on the ground with a plop. She gave him a nasty glare, “Now, we wait an see if ‘e bows back. If ‘e does, then you can pet ‘im. If not...then...well, let’s see wha’ ‘e does.” Feeling his eyes widen in alarm, Draco froze, keeping a half eye carefully on the beast in front of him. He wasn’t stupid. Hypagriffs were dangerous but he knew Hagrid knew what he was talking about. He nearly fainted in relief when Buckbeak bowed back, “See! Look at tha’. Just like ‘arry.” He tossed a ferret, Buckbeak snatching it out of the air. Draco barely held onto his lunch.
Cautiously standing up again, “You convinced Harry to come near this thing?”
Shrugging, “Sure. Gave ‘im a ride an’ everything.”
Shuddering, “Great.” He jumped when a firm beak nudged his shoulder, gulping and reaffirming his attention on the large animal. Slowly he raised a hand and stroked along the soft feathers, a small smile tugging at his lips. Okay, maybe Buckbeak was an alright sort.
Draco sighed to himself. The same room. The same music stand. Although there was a lack of sheet music so that was an improvement. And Viola now sat on a stool next to him, looking down her pointy little snout at the music teacher, daring him to upset her master like the first one had. Nathan sat comfortably, sheet music in front of him though the pages were suspiciously free of the little squiggles Draco couldn’t decifer. Nathan waved his wand, mumbling something and tapped the paper lightly, “Alright, Draco, play anything for me you like.”
Sighing again, he turned a bit away from the Professor and closed his eyes, deciding on a piece he’d been working on over the summer. It was a bit strong and certainly more uplifting than he usually played and he found himself feeling better as he lost himself to the music.
Nathan watched the boy out of the corner of his eye. He had a natural grace with the bow. His positioning was a little awkward but it didn’t impede his skill and that was the most important. He wasn’t a traditionalist who felt poise was everything, as long as it didn’t interfere with the playing. Frowning, he could here the odd notes thrown in, almost making it seem like there were...no, it couldn’t be.
He looked to the music for proof and found it. Gliding across the main chord of music, almost but not quite parallel was a second set of chords. He was trying to play two violin parts at the same time. To the laymen it would sound like two different violins but to a musician there was the minutest of phase differences, making it sound like mistakes. No wonder Lepew thought he was lacking. Blinking. Three parts. He felt himself grow pale. The child would need a new bow.
Swallowing, “Alright, Draco. That was...astounding.” Draco blinked and froze before looking at him. Nathan was rather amused. He’d forgotten anyone was here.
Frowning defensively, “So, have I no talent?”
Shaking his head, still stunned, “No, young sir, you have more talent than I could have dreamed.” Draco fought against the smile he could feel ached to spread across his face, “Tell me, how quick of a study are you?”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning your talent is quite astonishing, but I would not be a professor if I simply allowed you to play without trying to teach you how to read sheet music. Mind I cannot force you as this is a voluntary situation, but I think your skill could only improve if you learned the meaning behind the notes. And you would be limited in what groups you could play with should this be your chosen profession.”
Shrugging slightly, “Why? I can play, and from your opinion better than most. What does it matter if I can’t read the sheet music?”
“It would be a disadvantage to you. You could play professionally and create your own music but it would be more profitable if you also had sheet music at your disposal. Perhaps to sell or perhaps to teach. And there are professional orchestras but they are traditionalists, who adhere to the written word almost, dare I say, religiously.”
Pointing his bow, “Or you could teach me that charm and the writing is done for me.”
Nodding, “I could. But I will not. Only a graduate of the Academy is given that knowledge and one of the final tests is to decifer sheet music, playing blindly just from reading it.”
Draco smiled and nodded. He had to be sure this man wasn’t just going to use him, after all, “Alright. Do you have a book on deciphering...that?”
Nodding, “I do, although I’ll need it back tomorrow so I don’t think-...”
Responding absently, taking the offered book and thumbing through it, “I only need one day.”
Nathan blinked at him, “You can memorize books in one day?”
Shrugging, “I memorize anything just by looking at it. It stays like a picture in my head.” Grinning in mischief, “It’s why I do well in school.”
***
Polishing off the apple core, he took a running start and threw it as far as he could. A tentacle reached out of the lake and snared it, dragging it down into the murky depths. He could imagine Fred grinning at his snack, his nickname for the large squid. It was getting late, the sun low in the sky. He should head back in soon.
“Hey there, Draco.”
Spinning around, giving a little bow, “Hey, Hagrid.”
The half giant leaned in conspiringly, voice dropping to a loud whisper, “Listen, wanna see somethin’?”
Worry that Hagrid was going to drag him into the Forbidden Forest rose up for just the barest of moments before he dismissed the thought. Hagrid was a simple man, but not stupid. Shrugging, “Sure.”
Hagrid smiled with a nod and walked towards his house, Draco trailing after him. Draco looked over his shoulder and whistled through his fingers, Viola pivoting in mid dive and flapping her wings. She rose up a few feet, landing gracefully on his head and tucking her tail into her body as she snuggled into his hair. Most people had hat hair...he had dragon hair. Draco screeched to a halt, seeing a large something sitting in Hagrid’s pumpkin patch. Well, at the moment it was just filled with dirt and crows. Whispering, “Hagrid?”
The giant turned with pride, “‘is name’s Buckbeak.”
Shaking his head, not believing what he was seeing. He’d read about them but to actually see one, “That’s a...a... Hyppagriff!”
Sighing, “Ain’t ‘e beautiful?”
Looking less than sure, “Ain’t he.”
Nodding to himself, “Come on, you hav’ta pet ‘im.”
Shaking his head almost desperately, “No, Hagrid. That’s alright.”
Hagrid didn’t even seem phased, plucking a rope of dead ferrets, catching Buckbeak’s attention. Draco felt like being sick, “Now, what’cha gotta do is bow.” The blond tilted his head, looking utterly perplexed, “Well, go on then.” Draco shook his head but obeyed, bowing deeply and stifling a giggle when Viola landed on the ground with a plop. She gave him a nasty glare, “Now, we wait an see if ‘e bows back. If ‘e does, then you can pet ‘im. If not...then...well, let’s see wha’ ‘e does.” Feeling his eyes widen in alarm, Draco froze, keeping a half eye carefully on the beast in front of him. He wasn’t stupid. Hypagriffs were dangerous but he knew Hagrid knew what he was talking about. He nearly fainted in relief when Buckbeak bowed back, “See! Look at tha’. Just like ‘arry.” He tossed a ferret, Buckbeak snatching it out of the air. Draco barely held onto his lunch.
Cautiously standing up again, “You convinced Harry to come near this thing?”
Shrugging, “Sure. Gave ‘im a ride an’ everything.”
Shuddering, “Great.” He jumped when a firm beak nudged his shoulder, gulping and reaffirming his attention on the large animal. Slowly he raised a hand and stroked along the soft feathers, a small smile tugging at his lips. Okay, maybe Buckbeak was an alright sort.