Love by Numbers

Love by
Numbers

Chapter 2 - Surveying the ground.

Draco had a
new set of mailing parchments this year. Each sheet changed color, and
each had an intricate motif painted along the sides – unicorns hiding in a
forest, phoenixes on fire, snakes suspending from apple trees, and so on. The set
wasn\'t unique but it was very expensive, and was given to Draco as a present
from his father.

Today he
chose a blue sheet with mermaids leaping into a lake.

Dear Mother,

I\'m well
settled into my dorm, and can\'t wait to start on my school year. I assure you,
I will, as always strive to make you proud of my academic achievements.

Again,
thank you for your present, the covers are stunning. They will help me make this
place my home-away-from-home.

I know you
miss father, but do keep strong; I miss him too.

With love,

your son, Draco.

The covers were
indeed stunning, nothing less would be acceptable, but they had nothing to do
with the letter. If fact, the letter wasn\'t really addressed to Narcissa at
all. The message told Lucius Malfoy that Dumbledore already dived into the
pensieve, that Draco was to live in Hogwarts now, that there was still a search
for the missing senior Malfoy, and that Draco was eager to proceed further.

The pensive
was very convincing since it was genuine. The ceremony and the carnival after
it were real, and the only thing fake was Draco\'s lack of enthusiasm. He did
enjoy most of the festivities, and regretted having to hold back for the sake
of the memory. There were a few that were a bit chilling, but he attributed his
aversion to his young age. And it was very educational.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first few
days of school proved uneventful for the student body. The new DADA teacher was
a pleasant surprise, as he actually knew what he was talking about. Frank Provost
was a retired Auror, and had the ability not only to fight evil but to restrain
Slytherins in his class. Which would explain why most of the Hufflepuffs
survived the class unscathed.

Teasing in
the hallways didn\'t exceed the norm, and the infamous Slytherin Trio – Cabe,
Goyle, and Malfoy – so far only managed to send one third year to the infirmary
(not that anything could be proven, of course).

Harry
Potter\'s scar stayed dormant, and his friends were thankful for that. They were
also thankful that Harry\'s fights with Malfoy subsided, and the two were
getting by on verbal abuse without actual violence.

While Ron and
Hermione still tiptoed around each other, Harry was dating a seventh-year French
transfer student, and life could not be better for him. The couple went
everywhere together, and both beamed brighter than the sun. She was sorted into
Griffindor, and proved her courage by asking him out the very next day. Harry
blushed deeply but was more than happy to comply. And he discovered that he
took to being in a relationship like fish to water. It was a pure bliss to be
with someone who didn\'t just see him as The-Boy-Who-Lived, who thought him
handsom, who would listen to his sorrows and joys, who would turn to him for
support, and who would snog him senseless in class intervals.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks into the school year Draco sent another letter addressed to his mother. This time the parchment was yellow and had a picture of a deer running away from hunters.

Dear
Mother,

I hope you
are well.

School is
fine; I decided to forgo applying for extra credit in potions, because it would
interfere with my DADA assignments.

I\'m still
trying to perfect my new Quidditch maneuver. That strategy book you bought me
is a great help. Thank you.

Your
loving son,

Draco.

The book was
really helpful and interesting – "The Prince," by Nicolò
Machiavelli. But even without it, it was time to divide and conquer.

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