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runaway dragon
Disclaimer 1: Draco, his parents and teachers all belong to JKR. (As if you didn't all know that.)
Disclaimer 2: Severus Snape owning a raven belongs to J.L. Matthews. (Go read her story everybody. It's great.) I found a new name for him this time though.
Disclaimer 3: The gang name Sharks is borrowed from the musical West Side Story of course. I don't remember where I found the name Rakers, but I know I read it somewhere.
Disclaimer 4: The idea for Snape having a family comes from Al's fic Time of Trial. (Thanks Al. I always seem to get the best ideas when reading your fics.)
Disclaimer 5: The Glizzard family and Gringolf Glizzard belong to my friend Pega Pony. Thanks for letting me borrow them!
A/N - Very special thanks to Zebee for finding all my mistakes for me. So if you notice that this chapter has a lot less of them than is normal for me that's all thanks to her. And don't forget to check out her new chapter of Alternative Dragon!
Chapter 19: Jeremiah and his Brother
Draco didn't get to see a blue haired Shark that day. They probably were hiding hoping that the colour would wear off. Well, they were in for a disappointment, but Draco was disappointed too. He was of course hoping that Jeremiah would let him stay, but he'd also wanted to see the results of his potion. At least the other Rakers would see it.
They went to the train station early this time and had to wait for the train. Severus was hoping that that way it would be less scary for 'That Dog' who was sniffing around the platform obviously feeling comfortable enough.
Draco kept looking back towards the familiar skyline of Merlin Park wondering what was going on there right now. Of course Jeremiah's cottage would be very nice to live in, but he would miss the small flat, the park and his friends. There wouldn't be many kids around that he could make friends with at Jeremiah's.
"You'll like it there, Draco." Snape said as if he'd read his thoughts. "It's nice and green, has lots of space and so few muggles that you'll be able to fly your broom anytime you like."
"I don't even have a broom anymore." Draco reminded him.
"I'm sure your Cousin Jeremiah will see to that soon enough. You won't get around much without one there."
Having his own broom again would be nice. Draco tried to imagine flying over Wales. Green meadows he could practise his Quiddich moves on, herds of sheep he could startle by swooping down at them all of a sudden and only a few villages and cottages around that he'd have to avoid.
"There won't be anybody to practise Quiddich with though." he sighed.
"You can always do that when you return to Hogwarts after the summer and Wales in summer is a very nice place to be."
Draco sighed and nodded. Definitely better than America and no Hogwarts, no Professor Snape, no Hogsmeade weekends ... He didn't even want to think about that.
The train was nearly empty when it arrived and so even 'That Dog' got his own seat. He didn't look too happy when Severus picked him up and placed him on a human seat, but after a little coaxing and some rattling from the train accepted that he was supposed to lie down on it. Severus gently stroked his shivering back and maybe 'That Dog' felt a little better for it.
Munin stared down at 'That Dog' with obvious contempt. The raven had chosen his own seat and was perching on its back comfortably. He didn't mind trains at all.
Draco sat beside the bird once again dreaming about having his own raven someday, and watching the scenery speed by the window.
At the last station before London a stern looking old witch boarded the train and poked her head into their compartment. There were enough empty compartments left, but maybe she was looking for some entertainment on the way. What she found however was a dog in a seat meant for witches and wizards.
She frowned at 'That Dog' then glared at Severus which of course had no effect at all. Severus didn't even acknowledge her presence. Slightly confused by that reaction she turned towards Draco. A young boy like that would certainly be intimidated by her stern look, she assumed.
Draco treated her to his most winning smile. "The dog's afraid of train journeys so we take weekly trips with him to help him learn to control his fears." he informed her.
The old witch snorted derisively and withdrew her head from the door in disgust.
Munin fluttered over o sit on the handle of the open door which was still sliding about slightly. "Caw! Fly!" he called after her. Draco calmly stood and closed the door.
Munin cawed disappointedly at that, but did climb onto Draco's arm when the boy offered it to him. The door must have been some kind of swing to him so Draco moved his arm about a little which earned him another happy "Fly!".
They arrived in London soon after and once again Draco was fascinated by the departure board and this time Severus let him stare at it for a while. They already knew the way to Jeremiah's cottage and if everything went well, they could use Jeremiah's floo for the trip back. Severus hadn't told Draco yet, but this time he wasn't intending to just leave the boy with his relatives right away. He wanted to make sure Jeremiah wasn't another Lucius or Eugene, before he handed Draco over permanently. For now they'd just take a look at the inhabitants of the cottage.
When Draco had finally seen enough of the departure board they still had almost an hour to wait for the next train and Draco complained about being hungry.
"Lets have muggle lunch then." Severus suggested.
"You mean go to a muggle restaurant?" Draco asked a little shyly. He wasn't quite sure he knew how to behave in one of those without attracting attention.
Severus nodded and steered them through the crowd, obviously knowing exactly where he wanted to go.
"But will there be enough time? Father always said the service at muggle restaurants was terribly slow."
"Your father actually had experiences with muggle restaurants?" Severus asked surprised.
"Well, I guess he must have had to know that they are so slow. Or aren't they?" Had his father just passed on some more anti-muggle propaganda from Voldemort?
"They are a little slower than magical restaurants, because they can't use magic, but that's why we're going to a fast food restaurant." Snape smiled.
"Fast food restaurant? How can food be fast?"
"You'll see. I think you'll like it. Most kids do."
"What's that?" Draco asked when he realised they were heading straight for a building with a big M on it.
"That's a McDonalds." Severus grinned.
"A McDonalds? I thought we're in England not Scotland anymore?"
"McDonalds is a chain of fast food restaurants that you can find all over the world. And they're not Scottish at all actually. They're American."
"So this is where we're going to eat? How do I behave in there?" Draco asked nervously. He'd never seen anything like this place before. What if some muggle realised that he was a wizard?
Snape smiled again. "Just let me do the talking. It's not difficult at all."
In fact eating at McDonalds turned out to be very difficult, but not because of Draco's lack of knowledge in muggle customs. The problem was the food itself. How did one eat a hamburger, as Snape told him his lunch was called, without it falling apart?
Luckily some of the older muggles were having problems with that as well so Draco's struggles didn't attract any interest from the other customers. Annoyingly Severus had no problems with his burger at all, though. How did he manage to keep the sauce and meat between those two round pieces of bread?
"Practice." was the only answer Severus gave him when he voiced that question.
The food was good though, very good. If he could learn how to eat it without making such a terrible mess every time, McDonalds was another reason to spend some time exploring the muggle world once he'd finished school. Yes, definitely worth a return, Draco decided after he'd tasted the strange ice-cream Severus had bought for desert.
The muggle train was once again very full, but Draco knew by now not to stare at people talking to little black boxes. Still it felt a little odd and listening to two totally mindless conversations conducted via the little phones at the same time was a bit annoying. Draco tried to close his ears to them and concentrated on looking for black sheep. Of course you never find what you're looking for. There were plenty of sheep, but no black ones anywhere.
Draco was very relieved when they finally left the train at the small station. This time they didn't need to ask for directions and it seemed to Draco that they reached the cottage much faster. Suddenly he felt nervous again. What if Jeremiah didn't like him? What if he was like his father?
Snape smiled at him reassuringly then put on his usual disapproving business look and knocked.
This time a small house elf appeared and bade them inside. "Linny tells Mister Malfoy Sir right away, Sir!" she squeaked and popped away.
The little ghost appeared the moment she was gone. "You were here yesterday." he announced around the little silver thumb in his mouth.
"Actually it was a week ago." Draco corrected him.
"It was. Yesterday's what was, now is today and what wasn't is ... next week?"
Draco turned towards Severus for help with that answer.
"It seems young Mr. Malfoy hasn't quite mastered the concept of time yet." Severus explained in a tone Draco knew meant he was biting back laughter, but would seem absolutely indifferent to anybody else. "It is a rather difficult idea for the young ones."
"You were here yesterday. I remember you." insisted the little ghost. "You were looking for my little brother. Jerry is upstairs with the mistress. That's his wife's name, says Linny."
"Ah yes, thank you for your kind help, but Linny has already gone to inform him of our arrival. I expect that she'll be back to tell us where he wants us to meet him." Snape explained to the ghost.
"Oh Jason, will you stop bothering our guests!" came a voice from the top of the stairs. "I'm sure they have better things to do than play with little baby ghosts. Why don't you go bother Linny instead? She's dusting in the library. There'll be lots of dust clouds you can glide through."
Jason seemed to like that suggestion. With a quick "Bye!" he disappeared through the wall.
Jeremiah came down the stairs greeting them with a wide smile. He looked young and friendly. Draco felt more at ease at once. He could imagine living with this man.
Severus however wasn't as easily convinced. To him Jeremiah looked like a younger blue eyed version of Lucius though Lucius admittedly hardly ever smiled like this at anyone.
After a few words of greeting Jeremiah led them into a comfortable sitting room and Linny the house elf popped by to bring some refreshments. Draco wondered for a moment how she could be serving them and dusting at the same time, but then remembered all the impossible tasks the house elves at Malfoy Manor had performed everyday. Lucius had often demanded more difficult tricks of them than doing two jobs at once.
"The little ghost is your little brother he says?" Severus asked Jeremiah as if just making polite conversation.
"Older brother actually. A rather tragic story. You see, when he was about three our roof was damaged by a storm and my father was going to fix it. There were a lot of muggles coming around that day to check if we were all right after the storm. Nice neighbours really, but it meant that we had to keep up appearances. So my father conjured a ladder to lean against the house while he was up on the roof that would give the muggles the impression that he'd gotten up there without flying. Well, he fixed the roof and just when he'd flown down again another muggle came by. My father pretended he'd been using his broom to clean up all the leaves that had been blown onto the garden path and asked the muggle inside, but of course he couldn't allow the ladder to disappear in plain sight of the muggle and had to leave it outside. While they were inside Jason got curious and climbed up the ladder. He must have been at the very top when it suddenly slipped under his weight. After all it had never been meant to actually be used and hadn't been secured at all. Jason landed very hard and was dead at once. I think he snapped his neck or something, but back then I wasn't old enough to understand these things and my parents never liked to talk about the details of the accident when I was older. They never entirely got over it. The only good thing about it is that Jason can't have felt much pain. He's a friendly little ghost actually, but unfortunately since he died so young it's hard for him to understand certain things. His mind is still that of a three year old even though he's almost thirty now."
"Ah yes, we noticed he had some trouble remembering exactly when we'd last been here."
"These young children live in the here and now, my mother always explained it. They have no clear concept of the past or the future. You can't rely on Jason to answer questions about when something has happened." Jeremiah smiled charmingly once again. "My cousin Eugene however remembers your visit surprisingly clearly. You must have caught him when he had just gotten up."
"I don't know about that. He was obviously unfit to be Draco's guardian however." Snape glared a bit to emphasise that statement.
"Yes, he is a bit .... irresponsible, if you know what I mean. A nice guy, but I wouldn't entrust him with anything important."
At that moment the door opened and a stern looking young woman came in. Draco thought she was wearing a little too much makeup which said a lot since he was used to the amount used by his Mum. It didn't help to disguise her too long nose much and her small tightly pressed together lips only increased the unpleasant look.
Jeremiah jumped up at once. "Ah darling! How nice of you to join us. Come let me introduce you to our guests."
Mrs. Malfoy regarded them icily.
"This is Professor Snape of Hogwarts. Very important people those Hogwarts professors as you know." Jeremiah was obviously trying to raise his wife's interest in his guests. "And this is my young cousin Draco. You know, the son of that very unpleasant relative we never visited? Sorry, about that, Draco, but I'm sure you understand. Lucius always had a way of making himself ... well, unpleasant."
"You promised we wouldn't have any children, Jerry."
Draco and Severus exchanged a glance. Eugene. Would all the Malfoys be forewarned of their visits from now on?
"Yes, that's true. As Jason's story shows this place isn't save for children and neither my wife nor myself ever wanted any. We just don't have the time for that. I understand that it must be a difficult situation for you, Draco, but we cannot take you in."
"I'm not a little baby anymore. I can take care of myself and all I really need is a place to spend the summers. I'll be at Hogwarts during most of the year and intend to go to muggle school after that." Draco tried to convince him.
"Muggle school?" Mrs Malfoy exclaimed.
"There are a lot of interesting things muggles know that could be of advantage to the wizarding world." Severus intervened. "At the very least the experience would be valued by the ministry, if Draco ever wants to work there. Muggle affairs is one of their major problem areas."
"Well, that's all very interesting, I'm sure, but it doesn't change the fact that we do not have the time to raise any children of our own, much less those of others. We really wish you the very best for your future, but we certainly aren't the best that could happen to you. I suggest you try some of our older relatives. Old people have lots of time on their hands and would certainly be happy to take you in." Jeremiah insisted still wearing his wide smile.
Draco frowned wondering how he might convince them to keep him, but Severus had already made up his mind. Those two obviously didn't care for Draco at all. Mrs Malfoy was almost openly hostile and Jeremiah's charming smile was nothing more than a politician's mask. 'He ought to run for minister of magic in the next election.' Severus thought. 'He has all the required qualities: He's rich, charming and doesn't give a damn about anyone except himself.' The pair were barely better than Eugene. No way was he going to leave Draco to them.
"Ah well, we were thinking about possibly sending him to your relatives in America. You wouldn't happen to know the exact address of Eusebia Coleman and her husband?"
"Eusebia? Ah yes, I believe it was somewhere in New York ... or was that New Jersey? New Orleans? Something with new definitely."
Draco had to bite back a groan at that response. Some place in America with a New? That could be almost anywhere.
"I don't know it right now, but I have the address somewhere in my office. I'll send you an owl sometime next week. Are you staying at Hogwarts over the holidays?"
"Hogsmeade, but I have to check on the castle every once in a while anyway and it's much easier to find for your owl. Do you think you could manage to send him right on Monday? The trip to America will take some preparation and I'd like to find Draco a new home as soon as possible."
"Well, I'll see about that. If my owl is back from her current delivery by then, it won't be a problem, but if I have to use one of the business owls, I'll have to consider the momentary demand. Mondays are generally very busy days for us and I can't guarantee we'll be able to spare the bird."
"I could send you my raven if that's your problem."
Jeremiah cast a distrusting glance at Munin. He obviously wasn't familiar with post ravens and didn't quite trust the bird. "Oh no, that won't be necessary. My owl ought to be back sometime tomorrow morning. Only if she should be late your letter might have to wait until Tuesday morning. No later than that, I promise."
Meanwhile Mrs Malfoy had ordered Linny to serve them tea and during that they returned to polite meaningless conversation. Mrs Malfoy was a little more approachable now that it was assured Draco wouldn't stay with them and started talking about her roses which it seemed had won a prize in some muggle event last year.
Draco was reminded of having tea with his mother. The same mindless boring conversations had always been the center of Narcissa's social life. He'd learned to handle those situations long ago, so he effortlessly made the appropriate comments while keeping most of his attention focused on his piece of cake and 'That Dog's' begging looks.
"That's one very unusual looking dog." Jeremiah commented when 'That Dog' turned his efforts towards him. "What breed is that?"
"None that I can decipher." Snape responded lightly. "I found him injured in the street a while ago and have been unable to find his owner. Maybe he was abandoned because of his looks."
"Well, I certainly would abandon such an ugly little creature." Mrs Malfoy sneered.
'That Dog' gave her a cute look, sniffed her leg cautiously and then retreated towards Severus. 'Amazing!' thought Draco. 'He's actually found a person he doesn't love.'
"Don't you think that's a rather extreme action?" Severus asked her. "I'm sure there is someone somewhere who'd love to have a dog like that. All it takes is a little patience to find that person."
Mrs Malfoy regarded 'That Dog' doubtfully, but didn't comment. Maybe she thought it was Severus' business whatever he wanted to do with such an ugly little dog.
Jason floated in again to watch them have their tea. Draco felt sorry for the little ghost. He would probably have loved to have a piece of cake, but he couldn't taste it anymore.
Mrs Malfoy gave Jason the same look she'd given 'That Dog' and Jeremiah tried to send him back to Linny, but Jason wouldn't go.
"Linny's cooking in the kitchen." he reported. "It's boring. No more dust clouds. I wanna watch tea."
"Very well, but don't be a bother. Just watch quietly."
Jason nodded happily and didn't say another word all through tea which didn't last much longer anyway. Once they'd finished Severus asked the Malfoys about using their fireplace, but it turned out that it was cold and they didn't want to bother with lighting a fire.
"It's too hot this time of the year and we don't get many calls. If someone wants to contact us, they can always send an owl." Jeremiah explained.
"Ah well, but in that case we'll have to leave you now. We'll need to catch the next train to London or we won't make it there before dark."
That seemed to suit the Malfoys just fine and they said a few good byes and were on their way. Only Jason looked sad to see them leave. He even followed them out into the garden.
"Will you come back?" he asked when they'd reached the gate.
"I don't think so, young Mr. Malfoy." Snape responded formally. "We're done with our business here so it's not likely we'll have a reason to return anytime soon."
Seeing the ghost's unhappy look Draco added. "I might come back to visit someday, though. You are my relatives after all and I probably ought to stay in touch."
Jason brightened a little at that. "Next week?"
"Someday."
"What isn't today or yesterday is next week." Jason reminded him.
"Next week then." Draco confirmed with a smile.
The little ghost remained standing at the garden gate waving after them as long as they still were in sight. Draco wondered if he'd ever get a chance to keep his promise to him. Jeremiah would move out once he inherited the manor house and who would take over the little cottage then?
Well, Jeremiah would need an heir and since he didn't want to have children of his own, he'd probably leave the cottage to whomever he'd choose. Maybe they'd be nicer people and Draco really would come back to visit them then. Maybe Jason would like them better as well.
"I wish they'd have kept me. Why did you let them convince you so easily? Maybe we could have talked them into accepting me." Draco complained, but Severus just shook his head.
"They'd just have neglected you even more than your mother did. That's no good, believe me."
"How do you know? I got along fine with my mother."
"Yes, I got along fine with my parents as well, but I didn't turn out that well in the end. You're better of with a family that really wants you, someone who takes an interest in your future."
Draco started. Severus thought that he hadn't turned out well? Why? He was the absolutely most perfect person Draco knew. "My father was very interested in my future and look where that got me."
"Your father was interested in your future as a death eater. As was mine. That's more of an interest in the future of Voldemort than in yours. Don't let people like that deceive you. If they want to lead you right into a long bloody war, they don't care for you at all."
"But now I'll have to move to America."
"Which is about as far from the war as you can get. And Americans love children. You'll have lots of fun and muggle objects there."
"Muggle objects? How do you know that?"
"Because American wizards haven't withdrawn as far from muggle society as we have here in Europe. They live too far apart to form a closed society of their own."
"But I'll have to go to a different school. I won't see my friends anymore."
"You'll make new friends and you can always owl. And about the school you'd have to ask the headmaster first, but I don't see any reason you couldn't finish your education at Hogwarts, if it's okay with the Colemans. You could come by floo powder instead of the Hogwarts Express. There's no rule that says all students have to come by train. Most of the Scottish students use floo powder as well and the ones from Hogsmeade usually come by coach."
"But will they agree to that, if their own son is going to some American school?"
"We'll have to wait and see. It would be easier for them, if you both needed the same equipment for school, but better for you to stay in the school you've started. The American educational system is different from ours and your classmates there would be on a different level in most classes. We'll see which argument is more important for the Colemans."
They had to run a bit to catch the train and stopped talking to catch their breath and find a compartment. The train was almost empty and they didn't draw many odd looks from the muggle passengers for travelling with a free-flying raven this time.
"So this journey was all in vain then." Draco finally stated.
"Not quite." grinned Severus. "We did get free tea and cake and hopefully will get Eusebia Coleman's address."
"And if we don't we just check out every place in America that has a New in it's name? You do realise that could take years, don't you?"
"If we don't we'll check the Where do I Send my Owls of New York and New Jersey and if we don't find her there we wait until Dumbledore gets back and ask him to find out through the ministry."
"Why can't you just ask the ministry?"
"I could, but I don't want to. I don't get along too well with them, but a lot of them owe Albus and will be glad to help him."
"I thought they don't like you, because you are Dumbledore's spy? Why would they like him then?"
"Politics, Draco. Politics are a very strange thing. The ministry as a whole doesn't approve of the existence of an independent spy ring, because that usurps one of their main power structures. On the other hand Hogwarts itself is a major power factor and having the headmaster to back him is a big political advantage for the minister. Dumbledore's spy ring was also approved by the general public, because it allowed him to save many lives back in the days of the first war. He was always better informed of Voldemort's plans than the ministry and to most voters that makes Albus a hero. That doesn't please the aurors though and they are Hogwarts' main enemies within the ministry."
"Wait a minute! Voters? What do voters have to do with anything?"
"What do voters have to do with politics? Everything Draco, Everything. They are supposed to be the ones who chose our politicians so politics is mainly the art of manipulating them. You do understand that, don't you?"
Draco nodded. Manipulating people was something any Slytherin, with perhaps the exception of Gregory Goyle, understood.
"Now, since the voters favour Dumbledore and as headmaster of Hogwarts he is in an ideal position to influence future voters no politician can afford to officially take position against him."
"But you're a head of house. You've got an influenial position in the school as well."
"As an ex-death eater and West Hogsmeade resident I also have a very bad position in the opinion of the general public. The aurors are in the perfect position to use that against me and through me they could get to Dumbledore, if they wanted to risk it. It would most likely weaken both their positions and as long as the minister wants both to remain strong they won't go to such extremes. With the recent falling out between the minister and the headmaster however and the minister's refusal to accept that Voldemort has returned my current position is very tenuous. On a different level however all the political factions consist of individual people who each have their own goals beyond those of their fraction and will work against their own in order to further those. Remember that no group of people ever truly works together in perfect harmony. The larger the group the more discrepancies between individual members. The ministry is a very large group consisting of different subgroups, like the aurors or muggle affairs, as well as different political parties, and that includes the extreme right, who more or less openly support Voldemort, as well as the extreme left, who don't really see a reason to have a ministry or keep ourselves hidden from muggles at all. Each of these groups once again consists of individual people some of whom really back the ideals of the group, but the large majority are only there to further their own careers. For each of those it is a personal power factor to have connection to one of the bigger players even if said bigger player is of a rival group. And Albus Dumbledore is big enough a player that connections with him are valued by the minister himself. He can play on that, ask a favour of one of the smaller players who sympathise with him, one who's hoping to keep up good connections or even one who doesn't have any really big connections at all yet and will see this as his big chance. He'd owe that person a favour afterwards of course and that is the main political currency, but for such a simple thing as an address in America he could pick almost anyone and thus chose who he'll owe it."
Draco thought that over during the rest of the journey. His father had sometimes spoken about owing favours to other death eaters and even ministry people from time to time and the power structures within Slytherin house functioned in a very similar way, but for some reason he'd never seen the ministry as a Slytherin house on a larger scale before.
"Does anybody ever act without any hidden motives of their own?" he asked Severus dejectedly when they changed trains at Kings Cross station.
"The Huffepuffs almost always do and other people do it sometimes. Those who do it in politics however never get anywhere. Politics are a difficult and treacherous game, but that is the Slytherin way."
"And being a Hogwarts professor is a political job?"
"Not necessarily, but being head of house certainly has a political component. There's no getting around that, but then I was a political pawn long before I ever became a teacher."
Draco sighed looking out the window as the train rolled out of the station. It would be dark by the time they got home and he was no closer to having a new home than he'd been the day Severus had taken him in.
"Maybe we should have tried some Slythern manipulation on Jeremiah." he suggested.
"I did. I got him to promise to send me Eusebia's address tomorrow."
"If he'll do that. He seems like the kind of person who'll tell you everything's perfect with a lot of charm and smiles and then conveniently forget he promised anything."
"Yes, he's a perfect politician, but he'll do it for fear of having to deal with a visit from Munin, if he doesn't. Didn't you notice the raven disgusted him as much as the dog did his wife?"
Draco could have kicked himself for not realising that sooner. He'd noticed that Jeremiah had disliked Munin, but would never have thought of using that reaction to his advantage, nor had he realised when Severus did. He liked to see himself as a master manipulator, but just watching Severus deal with people showed him how much he still had to learn.
He suddenly wondered how much and to what ends Severus was manipulating him. He'd been very open about things most of the time so far, but could that be a sort of manipulation as well? Whatever Severus wanted of him, he'd gladly do almost anything for him if asked. Surely Severus was aware of that? And was it a good thing at all? Maybe he should try to be more independent. There had always been things he'd have outright refused to do for his father and others he would have demanded compensation for. When had he started to depend on Severus like that?
'That Dog' whimpered softly from his comfortable seat beside Severus. He seemed slightly disappointed that they hadn't gone on to Diagon Alley today. Despite all the nice stroking he still liked floo travel much better than trains. Munin looked over at him, but decided that such ridiculous cowardice wasn't worth commenting on. Instead he hopped onto Draco's shoulder. If Severus insisted on stroking the dog all day, he'd just go get his comfort from the boy instead.
Draco smiled and scratched the raven's head. Munin ducked into better reach and closed his eyes. Yes! That was more like it.
It was indeed dark by the time they arrived at the Hogsmeade train station, but Draco didn't mind. Merlin Park could no longer scare him even in the dark and getting lost on the way there was nearly impossible. Both the river and the apartment houses were hard to overlook and 'That Dog' could find the way blind anyway. The moment Severus had carried the shivering little bundle out of the train and set him down on the platform 'That Dog' suddenly returned to his usual cheerful self. With a loud bark and a little jump he started off towards home attempting to pull Severus along.
Severus however was much too big for a small dog to drag off and 'That Dog' got no further than the end of his lead.
"He'll exhaust himself again before we reach the house if he keeps that up." Draco remarked nodding at the fruitlessly struggling dog.
"Doesn't matter." shrugged Severus. "The exercise will do him good and he'd make us carry him up the stairs anyway."
Draco couldn't argue with that observation.
Walking through dark West Hogsmeade was nice, Draco decided. In the darkness you couldn't see how run down many of the buildings looked and the lights in the windows gave him a warm comfortable feeling of coming home. Some were flickering candlelight, others the bright and steady glow of electric lamps and in some windows only the soft glimmer of a fireplace burning was visible.
Draco wondered why those fireplaces were burning despite the heat. Were all those people expecting visitors tonight? No, not likely. Maybe they were just going to call some friends or relatives before going to sleep.
Their own block had only electric lights burning of course. One of them in Mary and Beth's room. He wondered what they might be doing in there at the moment. Would Mary play board games or cards with her little sister? Or was that beneath her? He couldn't imagine her reading a book or doing homework. Maybe she was just dreaming of Larry.
Then again, those two hadn't talked much the day before. Mary seemed to avoid Larry. Was she still cross with him after their quarrel? He'd have to find out this week.
Munin suddenly took off as they neared the door heading upwards towards the living room window. He'd be home before them again.
Severus carried 'That Dog' upstairs, but set him down again when they reached the fourth floor. Free of his lead 'That Dog' set off running and barking and was the first to reach the door.
"Wasn't he supposed to be tired?" Draco shouted over the noise.
Severus just shrugged and pulled out his key to let 'That Dog' in before he brought all the neighbours out complaining, when the door opened on its own. 'That Dog' dashed in ducking through the space between Sarah's legs straight into the kitchen where he continued to bark demanding to be fed.
"That dog of yours is absolutely impossible." Sarah informed Severus and went to get the dog food.
About ten minutes later they'd finally settled down to have dinner, 'That Dog' done eating and curled up under the table just in case somebody dropped something for him. He always found room for a little dessert.
"Alice was here while you were gone." Sarah told Severus between two mouthfuls of food.
"Alice?" Draco asked. "Who's Alice?"
"A neighbour. Lives on the first floor." Sarah answered with a slight shrug.
"She's the mother of the Sharks' twins." Severus chose to describe her in a way that would have more meaning to Draco. "What did she want? I doubt she'd come up just for a social call busy as she is."
"Well, it seems that the very twins you mentioned have developed a very strange blue rash and blue hair all of a sudden." Sarah glanced over at Draco for a moment. "They don't appear to be sick or be suffering any other ill effects, but both Alice and I have been unable to get the colour to come off."
"And now you expect me to help?"
"Alice offered good money for our help. And you know how hard it is to get her to part with her money."
"Ah, and what makes both of you think that I could help at all. You are the medical potions expert. If you can't heal this mysterious illness, I doubt I'll have much success."
"Well, the twins swear that this mysterious 'illness' was caused by a potion the Rakers gave them." another glance at Draco who was giggling into his plate. "And since you are the potions expert ..."
"I see. I'll take a look and see what I can do. You told them to come back tomorrow evening, I suppose?"
Sarah nodded. "I did."
"Good, I'll have a chance to refill my supplies on the market first then."
To Draco's surprise neither of the two asked him what he'd done to the twins. He was sure that at least Severus had to know exactly who was behind that prank and Sarah's suspicious glances spoke volumes, but still they let him go to bed that night without even mentioning the twins again.
A/N: Did Severus recognise the potion from the description of the effects? Will he be able to counter it? And will Draco move to America? Please R/R!
In the next chapter: Draco goes shopping on his own, Severus examines the twins and e finally get to see blue haired Sharks.
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