Summer = Ruined.

A/N: Hey, thanks to all reviewers so far =] please keep feeding the author! Oh, and this is starting to have a plot! Wonders never cease! Spoilers dotted around here for the later books, so if you haven’t read past ‘Goblet of Fire’ and don’t want anything spoiled shout ‘LA LA LA LA THIS ISN’T HAPPENING’ and quickly click the ‘back’ button. For everyone else, Enjoy! ^_^









Draco hung his (designer) black trench coat up on the coat rack in the main hall and turned to Potter.



“Right. Some ground rules. Number one. Don’t go near my room. As in *anywhere* near. In fact, just don’t go down the entire west wing. Number two-”



“-Stop acting like a complete prat or I *will* make you fail this report, and then the ‘esteemed’ Malfoy name will be brought down a notch or two” Harry threatened.



“-If you want anything ask one of the house elves.” Draco continued sourly, ignoring the threat. “Oh. Keep out of the music room. If you go in there I will know. It’s charmed.”



Harry’s trademark curiosity was piqued. Wonder what was in the music room that was so important it had to be kept under a charm? it sounded interesting...



“Anything else you want to know, Potter?”



Harry considered. “Friends. Am I aloud to have them over? I don’t think I’ll survive otherwise”



Draco sighed. The weasel and that bushy-haired know-it-all in his home? What a dismal thought. Still, he *had* to pass the year and if that meant keeping Potter sweet well... it was a sacrifice he was going to *have* to make. His grades had already slipped (a tiny bit, but to Luscious Malfoy a tiny slip is still a slip) slightly, so he was trying his best to actually pay attention to (some) of his classes.



“Fine, They can come over. But they have to stay away from me. And no spells in the house.”



Harry nodded. Well, at least they were being civil about it. And it had been about 20 minutes since they’d last insulted each other. Well, *really* insulted each other, anyway.



“Good” Draco said chirpily, already walking away from Harry towards his bedroom “Now that’s settled, stay out of my way, scarhead.”



Harry gritted his teeth, a million insults bubbling on his tongue as he watched the irritating Malfoy heir saunter off to his rooms. A sudden thought occurred to him.



“Oi Malfoy. You haven’t even told me where my room is!” he yelled, before Draco vanished from sight.



“Pick whatever room you want.” Was the lazy, distant answer, before he heard a door slam shut.



Harry let out a frustrated sigh and looked around himself. He was stood in what he assumed was the drawing room. There were large glass mahogany cabinets full of crystal dragon ornaments. Surprised he wasn’t looking at a collection of shrunken skulls and bones or something, Harry leaned in for a closer look and actually felt his breath catch a bit. In the largest cabinet were 3 plaques with ‘Luscious’ ‘Narcissa’ and ‘Draconus’ written in gold letters. Each had a dragon emblem and the Malfoy family crest on it. It wasn’t the splendour of the ornaments that had captured Harry’s attention, it was the motto that ran underneath the plaques; ‘Family above all else’



It was simple, surprisingly simple for such a wealthy, old wizzarding family. If Harry had been expecting to come across a quote or family moto, he would have expected something pompous and written in Latin, not a nice, simple quote about family. If it wasn’t related to the Malfoy’s in any way, he would have gone so far to have called it sweet.



A sharp crack alerted him to the presence of an elf, who looked rather awed and nervous to be standing in front of *the* Harry Potter.



“M-master P-Potter sir, It is my p-pleasure to help you with anything you might need during your stay at M-Malfoy Manor”



The poor Elf reminded Harry a lot of Dobby, and he felt his heart sink slightly.



“What’s your name?” he asked, hoping to appear friendly to the timid creature. It didn’t look like he was going to have too many conversations with Malfoy, so the only other option (and probably more pleasant option) was to try and get the house elves to talk to him.



“M-me, Sir?” the elf squeaked, it’s grey eyes darting nervously around the room.



“Yes. You do have a name, don’t you?”



“Yes Sir! I-I’m S-Stumpy.”



Harry nodded, noticing the Elf’s stutter but choosing not to comment on it.



“I’d introduce myself, but I’m guessing you already know who I am” Harry had meant it as a joke, but immediately the elf began to nod franticly, it’s large eyes serious.



“Of course! Of c-course I do!”



“Uh, could you show me where the kitchen is by any chance? Malfoy hasn’t exactly been the best host.”



Immediately, Stumpy began gesturing with a gnarled hand. Harry followed him, and made a mental note to try and remember where he was going. He had never really thought about where Malfoy lived before, but he always knew it would be somewhere grand. He wasn’t prepared for how grand his home was.



It kind of answered the question why Malfoy thought he was better than everyone else. He’d probably been brought up as a pampered little prince.



Harry walked into the kitchen and was once again surprised. It was like something out of a movie where the mum and dad sat down for coffee, with children’s paintings and other personal mementos dotted around.



Harry noticed all of Draco’s report cards were charmed to the fridge or cupboard drawers, right from his first year to the card he had received last week.



“Stumpy, what are the Malfoy’s like?” Harry asked as he sat down at the table.



“The Masters, Sir? W-Would Sir like some tea?”



“Yes, tea would be brilliant, thank you. What are they like to work for? Do they treat you badly?”



Clearly distressed, Stumpy quickly set about making the tea.



“It’s okay if you can’t say, Stumpy. I used to know an Elf who used to work here at the manor. You may remember him? His name was Dobby.”



“Dobby!” The elf squeaked happily, then it’s ears dropped as it registered Harry’s use of past tense.



“He died last year I’m afraid” Harry said quietly as the tea was placed in front of him.



“Stumpy is sad” Stumpy clasped it’s hands tightly. “Dobby was a v-v-very nice Elf”



Harry smiled thinly. “He was.”



“S-Stumpy finds the M-master to be… ” his voice dropped slightly, eyes suddenly very round and big.



“It’s okay, Stumpy. You can say.”



“Frightening. He s-shouts a lot to the mistress and the young m-master. He shouted a l-lot to Do-Dobby.”



Harry wasn’t really shocked to hear it. He wasn’t sure why exactly, but it was something about being in Malfoy’s house that made him want to understand his surroundings, and that meant understanding Malfoy.



“And how does Draco treat you?” Harry asked, remembering Draco’s contemptuous treatment of poor Dobby four years ago as the creature struggled to carry his school trunk.



“M-master Draconus is… is pleasant t-to Stumpy”



Surprised, Harry quirked a brow. Somehow, he just couldn’t picture it.



“Really? It’s hard to imagine him being pleasant to anyone.”



“M-master D-d-draconus is m-misunderstood, I think.” The elf quickly clamped a hand over its mouth, as if terrified to speak any more.



Harry understood and took a sip of tea, deciding a swift change in topic was needed.



But what did one talk about to a house Elf about other than they’re owners?



“So… Um…” Harry scratched his head. “Have any hobbies?”



The Elf blinked at him.



Stumpy asked him if he would like some dinner. Harry said yes, and watched as the creature disappeared further in the kitchen to prepare it for him.



Harry suddenly had the strangest inclination to laugh. As in really laugh. After all the years he and Malfoy had fought here he was, sitting in Malofy’s kitchen trying to strike up conversation with one of his house elves.



‘And you thought he was hot earlier on’ his mind, ever so kindly, reminded him. Harry cursed, burning his tongue on the tea and slammed the mug down. Startled, Stumpy ran back to him.



“Oh, Sorry Stumpy. Burnt my tongue. I’m fine.”



Once the house elf had gone back to work. Harry glared at the mug in his hands, suddenly feeling a blush creep up his neck.



‘Okay, so the thought entered my head once when we were in the car. It’s just because I like guys. He was the only one around so I was making do. He’s not even hot. I mean, he’s as white as a bottle of milk and has no muscle tone. He’s practically a female.’



Harry, pleased with his description of an effeminate Malfoy took a celebratory drink of tea, only for him to almost spit it out when said ‘effeminate’ Malfoy strode into the kitchen, clad in nothing but a pair of white silk sleep pants.



He wasn’t as well developed (muscle wise) as Harry, but Harry was wrong about his earlier assumptions. Draco had a very lithe figure, rather like a swimmers figure, lean and muscular in all the right places…



“Potter!”



Snapping back to reality, Harry gave Draco his best glare.



“What is it, Malfoy?”



“I said, I am going shopping tomorrow. I think it would be a good chance for us to get some of the project done.”



Harry had to laugh. “Oh I get it, so we go on a day trip and look like best buds, is that it?”



“Hell no, Pott-head!” Draco snapped, crossing his arms over his chest angrily (unfortunately ruining Harry’s view) “If you think I want that, you clearly are more stupid than I thought you are, and that’s saying something”



“So what are you trying to say then?” Harry asked.



“I think we should go to Diagone alley, find something we can do over the summer and write our project on it” Draco explained slowly, as if to a child, “so as soon as we’re done, you can leave and I can perhaps salvage at least *some* of my summer holidays”



“Oh well, as long as it all works out for you, you selfish bastard. Have you thought how I feel being stuck here with *you*?”



Draco shrugged, and ordered a cup of herbal lemon tea from another house elf that appeared before him.



“Lemon tea?” Harry had to ask it, his voice cracking in amusement. Oh, wait till he got back to Hogwarts. That was going to crack Ron up. He could just picture Ron’s impression now;



‘Oooh, I can’t possibly have any of that normal, manly stuff. Give me a lemon herbal tea please, with sweetener rather than sugar, I’m watching my figure’



Frowning at Harry’s quiet snickers, Draco put it down to insanity.



“ I happen to like herbal tea, Potter. Not that I should have to explain myself to the likes of you.”



Harry sighed. He suddenly felt very tired.



There was a slight pause, as if both of them were trying to get their heads round this forced-reconciliation.



“What time are we going?” Harry said finally.



“What?”



“What time are we going to Diagone alley?” Harry repeated.



“I’ll set up a port key for eleven in the dining room fireplace” Draco shifted slightly.



Harry wondered if Draco was actually… nervous about something?



“Okay” he said.



The word hung between them.



“I’m… going to have a bath. See you in the morning, Potter.”



“Night, Malfoy” Harry said, feeling slightly surreal. Wishing Malfoy a good night rather than teling him he hoped he spewed up slugs for the rest of the year? now that *was* weird.



Draco left quickly, shutting the door quietly behind him.



“Okay, that was weird” Harry murmured as Stumpy placed a steaming plate full of pasta in front of him. It smelt delicious.



“ M-master Draconus is… p-pleasant to p-people usually, S-sir, W-When Mas-ter Luscious isn’t around”



That little revelation gave Harry something to mull over as he began to tuck into his food.





A/N: Hey! I’m kinda thinking up the plot as it goes along. Spontaneity at it’s best! (Nothing to do with I haven’t got a clue where this is going… heh… -_-“) Oh yeah, I’m probably gonna anger/delight some people by saying at this point this is a Harry/Draco fic as in Harry being ‘in charge’ so to speak. So, give me your thoughts on that and what you think of the fic when you review! Nudge nudge, wink wink! :P



Luvs,



XXROXYXX