For Every Star in the Sky

Chapter 3

The Pleasure of Company

Living at The House took some time to get used to. The house itself was light and airy and not at all cluttered, which I liked after having lived in a cupboard in our dingy London apparent for so long. My room was very large with two big beds with fluffy pillows and a large en suite bathroom and a mirror that talked to you and a walk in dressing room. I shared the room with a boy called Peter who I came to think of as my brother. Peter had russet brown hair, cute freckles, blue eyes and was very likable. He was only two weeks older than me and had been at The House nearly all his life.

Peter took it upon himself to acquaint me with every aspect of life at The House and the names of all the house elves and maids, which there were many and often very strange. I discovered that there were nine actual 'family' members. These included; Mrs. Pendragon, who was in charge, which was why she was named after The House, her brother Almus, an ex-artisan, who was hansom and very kindly and taught us for evening lessons, and The House's two Artisans and Almus's son's, Alcedo and Ardor, and two other, older adopted students called Ares and Aphrodite. I asked Peter about Almus's wife, but all Peter said was that it was never mentioned

In my first months, I had been too amazed to discover a magical world outside my mundane muggle reality to feel any sort of resentment for my loss of freedom. Then, later, I felt the House had become my family, I was looked after well and one day I would hopefully become a rich and famous Artisan, performing for the very top of Wizarding society and my freedom felt like a small price to pay.

When I try to explain this to muggleborn wizards, they often have trouble accepting the concept. Words like 'slavery' are often tossed about, but in reality this is not how an Artisan sees himself, nor how a wizard should see an Artisan. It is true that I belonged to an Artisan House and I would have to repay them to gain my freedom back. However, I was not simply a servant, I was training to become an Artisan, one of the Wizarding world's greatest traditions and mysteries and a very respectable title. An Artisan, you see, is an entertainer, a male performer who is accomplished in a great many magical and non-magical arts and whose talent is paid for by the hour. The most successful Artisans may earn up to 6 Galleons an hour, more than some wizards make in a day. This came at a great price though as yearly tuition cost double what a wizarding student might except to pay at Hogwarts. If the Artisan Houses did not exist, most Artisan students could not expect to be able to afford such a life. For this reason, Mrs. Pendragon once told me to think of The House as my sponsor, of which I would be free once I had earned enough money to repay them.

Many less successful Artisans took a great many years to repay their House, but both my teachers and Mrs. Pendragon insisted that there really was no way I would be unsuccessful. The Mistress went as far as to say that I was the best business move she had ever made. I couldn't help being a little apprehensive, all the same.

I was now a month shy of celebrating my fifteenth birthday and would soon become a Debut Artisan, where I would gain my 'Artisan' status and perform under the watchful eye of my Mentor, until I finally earned my independence and became a Master Artisan.

I had butterflies in my stomach every time I thought about my first public appearance and my concentration kept slipping in my lessons. As the thought appeared, I realised I had in fact let my concentration slip again and the most hideous sound erupted around me as I stubbed my toe on the polished wooden floor.

"Pay attention Harry!" Mr. Manaito, my Salto teacher admonished, rapping me on the head with his long cane. Us students called him Mr. Potato, because he had a bald head, which looked a bit like a potato. He had tanned quite deeply with the summer sun, which only made his head look more like a potato. As for the awful noise, it hadn't come from my teacher, but from the shimmering air around me.

This was called a magical vortex and was created by the gold bands of metal than were woven around my hands and feet. The bands were worn around the wrists and ankles and wove up between the middle finger or toe. They were decorated with many precious crystals and were one of the most precious items money can buy. They belonged to The House and should I ever damage them I could never hope to be able to afford to repay their worth. Fortunately, the noise was not from damage, but was in fact just from my poor movements.

Salto bands were designed to be performed. For example, the movements the body makes will create a magical sound as the Artisan's raw magic is channeled through the bands and into the vortex, this type of dance is called Melosalto, 'songdance'. I also studied Lumosalto, 'lightdance', which used a different type of Salto band to create coloured rays of light in various patterns. With a great deal of practice the two forms could be performed together in a stunning duet, or a horrific display of clashing colours and offensive wailing in the case of Artisan students like me and Peter.

I could tell that Peter was barely holding back a giggle as I hopped around on my sore toe causing further wailing noises. Peter's body started to shake as his giggle intensified and sharp spikes of purple started to clash with the sunrise orange ripple he was supposed to be creating.

Mr. Potato shook his head in frustration and was about to admonish us more, but fortunately for us, the bell rang to signal end of class. Quickly, Peter and I packed away our Salto into their beautiful mahogany cases and made a bid for freedom out the door and down the white stone corridor until we spilled out of the Academy and onto the courtyard, laughing insanely. I lent against one of the great marble pillars to catch my breath as Peter clutched his side, nursing his stitch.

"God, we're awful." Peter laughed.

"We're not, it's just...we can't help it if we're too excited to concentration!" I grinned.

The beautiful smile that I loved spilled across Peter's face as he turned his head up into the summer sun. Being two weeks older that me, Peter had even less time before his Debut. He seemed nervous, but not as nervous as me. I had never been fond of being the centre of attention, which is an Artisan's main aim, however Peter thrived under all the attention. With his talent and charming looks, he was destined to become a very successful Artisan and had I not been around, he would undoubtedly have been Mrs. Pendragon's favorite. I think sometimes he resented me because of it, but no more than a brotherly resentment.

Wandering through the pristine streets of Eos we settled at our favorite cafe for lunch. The cafe was a favorite with the Artisan's as it overlooked a nice stretch of the themes and we could look across the water at Diagon and watch the wizards wandering around in their billowing robes and pointy hats. In the evening it became a restaurant where many Artisan's visited with clients and students were not allowed, but during lunch we very rarely saw many Artisan's entertaining as our lunch break was relatively early. Today however, as we were making our way through our sundae's we saw two Artisan's we recognised with a group of what were clearly Wizards from the style of their robes.

I nudged Peter's foot. "Look." I said, keeping my voice low and nodding in their direction. Peter looked over being annoyingly obvious and only beamed when one of the men caught his eye. I turned red with embarrassment, but snuck a quick glance at the table anyway.

The two Artisan's were Alcedo, and Aphrodite, who was now a Debut Artisan to Alcedo. Aphrodite was extremely beautiful with flaming red hair, a very pale complexion and very red lips. He had first made his Debut almost two years ago and was now nearing seventeen. It was unusual to remain a Debutee for so long, usually you turned professional in about a year. However, it was a widely known, but unspoken truth, that Aphrodite had the good fortune to be very beautiful, but the bad luck to be exceptionally untalented. He therefore needed longer before he had gained enough skill to survive on his own as a Professional. While this delay was costly to The House, because he couldn't make as much money while being a Debutee, thanks to his exquisite beauty, he was bound to make a large sum for his Private Debut.

Of course, it had taken me many years to learn all about the various stages of an Artisan's training and what it all meant. Finding out exactly what a Private Debut entailed was something i'd only found out recently, and even then I still was still a bit sketchy on some of the details. As far as Peter and I understood, it involved some kind of auction and then a very large party to celebrate afterwards, hosted by the person who had won the auction. This person was almost always a wealthy wizard. When i'd first been told this I thought it meant we were to be sold off to the wizard, which didn't seem to make much sense. Almus had corrected me fortunately and explained that actually we'd still belong to The House unless we repaid all our debts. This didn't seem to make any sense either as we couldn't understand what was being sold.

When Peter had asked Almus, he replied "The pleasure of your company."

Peter had turned bright red at that, but I was still confused, surely that was what wizards normally paid us for. Almus had just rolled his eyes and told me i'd find out when I became a Debut. I had hounded Peter about it for weeks afterwards, but he always maintained he didn't know what Almus had meant either. Obviously, now I realise Peter had just not wanted to be the one that would have to explain to me about sex.

What had caught my eye today was the fact that Aphrodite wore the most splendidly decorated outfit I had ever seen him in. As a Debut, the outfits were much flashier than a Professional Artisan's as they are designed to attract attention. Even so, full regalia, was reserved for very special occasions only. Me and Peter exchanged a significant look.

Glancing back at Aphrodite, I couldn't help the intake of breath as I took in his face. He looked every bit the Greek goddess he was named after, or at least how I imagined a Greek goddess would look. Peter, I noticed, was looking past Aphrodite to the hansom blonde man, who was transfixed by the Debutee. Peter had a wistful look on his face, as if he wished the man was looking at him instead. My eyes shifted to the man's right, passing over two men until my eyes landed on a dark figure that I recognised. He was the man from the auction, the one who had sat next to the headmaster scowling.

This was not the first time I had seen him since that day. I had seen him several times in Diagon Alley when I had been running errands. He had never noticed me though, until one day when I had walked right into him as he was coming out of the Apothecary down Vesper Alley, in west Eos. My thirteen year old clumsy body had fallen to the floor and I sat there dazed looking up a the familiar man. He wasn't looking down at me, instead he was scowling and dusting himself off. "Watch where you're going!" He griped, angrily. I flinched, my eyes flickered down to a cut on my arm, where I had fallen into the door. When I looked back up, he was scowling down at me, but when he looked at my face, his expression became unreadable. For a moment we both stared at each other, oblivious to the women trying to get passed. Then all of a sudden, the man reached down and grabbed me by my good arm and hauled me to my feet. He was surprisingly strong and I didn't know what to say. I was about to mutter an apology when he gently took my injured arm and drawing his wand, muttered a spell healing the cut instantly to my amazement. He had then turned and disappeared without another word.

Just as I was about to look away, he looked right at me and I felt that same jolt I had felt that day in the auction room. We must have been starting at each other for some time because the blonde man said something and gestured towards us. Quickly, I ducked my head down and hoped they would ignore us, however a moment later a waitress came over and told us the blonde gentleman had asked us to join them for a moment.

Peter seemed delighted by this and beamed, until I pointed out we both looked a mess from Salto practice. Peter swore and then reached up removing a clip to let the lower half of this long brunette hair, which had been kept in a tight bun, cascade down his back to his waist. My own hair, which had only been tied in a messy nest on the back head, now had many long strands falling out of it. I just rolled my eyes, turning away from our audience for a moment to wipe the sweat off my brow and re-arrange my robe. When I turned back, Peter was already making his way toward them, his most charming smile in place. Moving swiftly to catch up I pulled at his arm, nervous at our audience.

"Why, Alcedo." The blonde man said, smiling charmingly. "Aren't you going to introduce us."

Alcedo turned towards us looking us up and down as though he thought we were an absolute disgrace, which was probably how we looked. "These are my two youngest brothers. Brothers, this is Mr. Malfoy."

Peter nodded his head politely, smiling all the while, and I did the same, trying my own smile, but I was too nervous to be charming with the dark-haired man watching me.

Alcedo continued swiftly, "You'll have to excuse their state, they've been at school this morning."

The blonde man didn't seem to mind, although the others didn't seem impressed. The dark-haired man remained expressionless, but I noticed that Alcedo was looking uncomfortable. He'd made a point of saying 'school', not 'Academy', as if were young children.

"Really, and is this the young Harry Potter?" He asked me, smiling at me in way that somehow didn't quite reach his eyes. I nodded politely, trying not to meet his eyes. Peter looked annoyed at me for steeling his lime-light. "And how old are you boys now then?"

Peter spoke up. "I'll be fifteen in two weeks." He said proudly, then added. "Harry's not fifteen for another month."

Mr. Malfoy's gaze changed to Peter as he spoke, he seemed very interested in him all of a sudden. "Really? And how are you enjoying your lessons, I hope you're practicing hard...becoming a Debutee is a big transition."

Alcedo was looking even more concerned now, but quickly placed his hands on Artemis's shoulders and beamed proudly, drawing the attention of the group he said. "Yes, it's it amazing to think that in a couple of years time these two ruffians may become just as accomplished as our Artemis here?"

The man next to Mr. Malfoy, with a big quivering mustache spoke, "Yes, and with you as a teacher and Mrs. Pendragon's eye for beauty, i'm sure they'll be just as talented. I say, what a difference a couple of years makes for these young boys to grow up and become such stunning creatures." He was eying Aphrodite up, in an admiring kind of way, like he was an outstanding piece of artwork. Aphrodite, who was a very shy person, smiled sweetly back at him. Personally, I thought that he had always been that beautiful, it was just his outfit and make up that made him stand out. Next to him we looked positively plain.

Alcedo was smiling again now that the attention was back on Aphrodite and was gesturing with his eyes for us to leave. Peter, who was never one to be left out of the attention and seemed for some reason very taken with Mr. Malfoy, didn't show any intention of leaving just yet.

Before he could say anything though, the man directly next to the dark-haired man lent forward and said, "Oh, I don't know, Doyle, I think so many of these boys look a lot older then their true age, don't you think Severus?"

His question was directed at the dark-haired man. Mr. Mustache was looking at Peter, who did indeed look nearer sixteen than fourteen, 'Severus' was looking directly at me as he murmured something in response.

"Yes, well, hopefully you might have the pleasure of their company after their Debut ceremonies, however for now i'm afraid you'll have to beg their leave." Alcedo spoke firmly.

Mr. Malfoy looked a bit annoyed. "Alcedo, let them stay. I'm sure they're old enough for our conversations if they're only a few weeks shy of becoming Debutees. Besides I find them rather charming. I could give them a word or two of wisdom."

"Lucius, you're offer is very kind," Alcedo replied, apologetically. "Unfortunately, they're going to be late for class and as students they are not permitted to entertain clients anyway, as you well know. As I said, i'm sure in a month or two they would more than happy to have the pleasure of entertaining you."

Mr. Malfoy seemed a little put out, but sighed, "Well, boys, it's been a pleasure meeting you. I do hope i'll be seeing you again." With that we both nodded politely and left.

"So?" Peter asked, as we rounded the corner into the court yard.

"So what," I asked, stopping to pull a stone out of my boot.

Peter rolled his eyes, impatiently, "So do you think he liked me?"

I looked back at Peter's anxious face and smiled. "Yea, he liked you. But..."

Peter scowled, he looked like a spoiled child when he did that. "But what?"

I looked back nervously, bitting my lip. I wasn't sure I should say what was on my mind or not. I decided, since this was Peter I was probably safe. "He seemed...off somehow. His smile, it didn't reach his eyes. The way he looked at you too..." Of course, now I was a little older, I understood about sex, or at least the general idea. I understood that men, and in some cases woman, were meant to find us enticing. As students though, men rarely looked at us that way, it was considered improper. Those that did usually had a look of admiration mixed with desire, like Mr. Mustache had when he had looked at Aphrodite. Lucius Malfoy, however had a look of hunger in his eyes like I had never seen before. The way a predator might look at his prey. It scarred me a little to think of a man looking at me like that.

Peter just made an exasperated noise. "Honestly Harry, you're such a prude!" He grabbed my arm pulling me towards the Academy. "He was admiring me though wasn't he? I wasn't even dressed up or anything! He must have really liked me."

Peter seemed delighted and I hated to burst his bubble, so instead I asked. "So who do you think they were?"

The look Peter gave me made me feel like an idiot before i'd even said anything. "Only some of the most influential wizards in Britain!" I had the good sense to look embarrassed for not knowing it. "You're going to have to read the papers more often."

I didn't like reading the papers, mostly because they usually had something about me in them, even though all I ever did was go to school and run the occasional errand. I really had no idea what the fascination about me was, but it had never faded. Besides, we only had two papers. One was the Daily Prophet, a wizarding paper that often gave false stories about me and another was the The Eos Weekly, which generally only covered happenings in the Artisan district.

"Do you think they'll bid for Aphrodite?" I asked, thinking of his coming Private Debut that Autumn.

Peter nodded, looking sour. "Malfoy will, defiantly. If he likes Aphrodite enough he's got the money to out bid almost anyone."

"What does he do, to have so much money?" We were entering the school now, glancing at the magical clock over the entrance it read 'Hurry up!'.

"He doesn't do anything, or rather he's a governor for Hogwarts, he votes on rules and things. It's a very important title and he's very respectable. But his money comes from inheritance, he doesn't work for it. The Malfoy's are one of the richest families around." Peter paused at the end of the hall turning in a different direction to me. "I'll see you in next class."

I nodded as he left. Peter, who was not especially magical, was a reasonably talented artist and studied painting, while I had never progressed from stick men, had exceptional magical talent, and studied the elemental arts. Peter often complained he found the hour away from me boring, but I knew he really loved painting. I was also glad for the break as my elemental lessons were extremely hard and Peter's presence probably would only have served as a distraction.