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.)
A/N - For all those of you who liked Harry Potter Hogwarts Caretaker: Tubesox has written a slightly different version of that story, which I enjoyed reading very much. Go check it out! The title's Breaking the Heart of Darkness.
Chapter 5: Ball Games and Other Things
Draco curled up in his bed and stared at the wall. For once he had woken up before Munin or any of the other pets could wake him and he could hear the Snapes moving about in the living room, but he didn't feel like getting up and talking to them. He was feeling guilty for what had nearly happened to Billy the day before. Professor Snape had left him to watch the baby and he shouldn't have let him out of his sight. He shouldn't have taken him out of the meeting room in the first place. They had been safe there surrounded by all those adults. Mark would never have dared attack Billy if there had been adults around to protect him.
Professor Snape hadn't said anything about it yesterday, but maybe he'd just been too tired then? What if he was planning to punish him now? What was Sarah gonna say? Draco hadn't seen her anymore yesterday. He'd gone straight to bed after Billy had gone to sleep. Sarah had still been at the meeting unaware of the whole incident. Would she be very angry? If so what would they do? Would they send him off to his uncle right away? Somehow that seemed to be the worst punishment possible.
But he was supposed to go to his uncle anyway. He belonged there and his uncle was probably already worrying what had become of him. Lucius' arrest and trial had been on the front page of the Daily Prophet. There was no way Uncle Thomas could be unaware of it. Maybe he'd be really happy to see that Draco was safe.
Still Draco didn't want to go. He supposed that was because he didn't know what to expect. He didn't know his uncle nor did he have more than a vague idea where he lived. That was probably making him nervous. He knew the Snapes now, knew their small flat and their pets and even the market place where they bought their food. He felt safe here. Everything was familiar. Nobody meant him any harm.
Well, except for Mark the Shark. But he was supposed to stay clear of the gangs anyway. Sarah would certainly make sure that he didn't get out of the flat again now. Maybe she wouldn't even take him down to see the washing machines again. She'd just keep him locked up in the flat. But that was okay with Draco. He could practice his Mathematics and watch Billy. And if he ever really got bored he could watch the kids in the park through the window. He could watch Mark and his Sharks as much as he liked and he'd be perfectly safe.
He finally crawled out of bed and decided to do some Mathematics instead of going out and facing the Snapes. As long as they thought he was still asleep they couldn't punish him.
Munin fluttered in to find that Draco was already up and sitting at the table writing. He landed on the table eying the parchment. Was that a letter he'd get to deliver? No, there wasn't any envelope visible anywhere and those strange symbols were hardly ever used in letters, he knew. They definitely weren't the only things anyone would write in a letter.
"Caw? Eat?" he suggested to Draco.
"No thanks, Munin." answered Draco looking up from his equation. "I'm not hungry. And I have to finish this exercise.
"Caw?" Munin cocked his head at the boy. He was supposed to stroke his feathers and come out to eat now. Why wasn't he doing what he was supposed to? And what was Munin himself supposed to do now? He couldn't just leave this be. It was wrong. He didn't know why it was wrong, but he knew that it was. Well, he knew who'd know at least. There was somebody who always knew what to do when something was wrong. He just had to tell him.
Munin flew back into the living room and landed on Severus' shoulder.
"Caw!" he announced and took off again circling Severus' head twice then flying over to the door of Draco's room and circling again.
Snape looked up at once. Munin was signalling 'Follow!'. He knew better than to question the bird despite the odd request. Munin had been his only companion and assistant during some of the most dangerous undertakings of his life. He'd always trusted his ravens with his life. They were well trained intelligent birds and had saved him often enough. Munin would not alert him if there wasn't anything unusual going on.
He got up and followed the raven into Draco's room. Draco was still sitting by the table in the old t-shirt Severus had given him to use for a nightshirt and doing equations. Munin once again landed on the table.
"Caw!" he complained. "Eat!"
"Really Draco, Munin's right. This is going too far. You can't just start skipping meals over that Mathematics book. It's only the fifth of July. You're supposed to be enjoying your holidays at the moment, not spending all your time studying. Now, get dressed and eat your breakfast and then please try to have a little fun!"
"But I've nearly solved this equation." protested Draco.
Snape strode into the room grabbed both the book and Draco's parchment and with a flick of his wand made them disappear. Draco looked up at him startled.
"Hey!"
"Breakfast. Now." Snape ordered.
"But the book! My equation!"
"You'll get them back when I come home. If you promise to be a good boy and don't spend all your time on studying."
Draco grumbled something incomprehensible, but obeyed. Sometimes he just didn't understand Snape. Weren't teachers supposed to encourage their pupils to study? And what was that about using the holidays to have fun? Children were born to study and bring good grades to make their parents proud, weren't they? Children who didn't study everyday were neglecting their duty towards their parents. Didn't everybody know that?
Well, Snape was even planning to send his son to an inferior school. So maybe he didn't.
Would Billy grow up studying only on school days? Somehow Draco envied him that chance even though it was something entirely unnatural to him. Everybody used the holidays to study, didn't they?
Draco was just done with the dishes when the doorbell rang. He looked to Sarah expectantly wondering who might be standing outside wanting in. Were they expecting anyone?
"Oh Draco, could you open the door please. I'm almost done changing Billy's diapers. I really don't want to have to start over again." Sarah called to him.
He? Answer the door? Strange, why hadn't that thought occurred to him before? Curiously he walked over and opened it. Outside stood the Raker boy who'd tackled Robin yesterday.
"Hi." Draco said feeling stupid. What was he supposed to do now? What did the boy want? His father was Professor Snape's friend, he remembered. Maybe he'd sent him?
"Hi, Draco!" the boy answered smiling. He didn't seem to feel awkward at all.
"How do you know my name?" Draco asked confused. He was sure that he hadn't introduced himself to the Rakers so how would they know?
"Well, Cathy told me. And my father mentioned it too. Uncle Severus told him about you."
"Uncle?" now Draco felt really confused.
"Oh, he isn't really my uncle. I just call him that. I don't know why. I've been doing it as long as I can remember."
"Oh."
"I'm Mike by the way. Clever Mike. That's what the guys call me, because I always come up with the best plans."
At that moment Sarah appeared behind Draco with Billy in her arms.
"Good morning, Mike. What can we do for you?" she said smiling.
"Morning, Aunt Sarah. I think I can do something for you." he said holding out Billy's little squishy toy to the baby. "I found this in the basement and I think I saw you playing with it yesterday. Right?" He squeezed the toy and it squeaked.
"Da!" announced Billy happily and grabbed for it and this time it wasn't pulled away. "Da! Dako!"
"Hey, I'd have gotten it back for you, if your Daddy hadn't come and dragged us off." Draco defended himself.
"Dada!"
"Right, Dada. It's his fault."
"Thank you, Mike. That's very nice of you. Maybe you'd like to come in and play with Draco a bit? I think some company from someone his age would do him good. He doesn't have any friends, you see."
Draco blushed. Did Sarah have to tell Mike about that? It would be nice to have someone to talk to until Snape came home with his book though.
"Actually I was going to ask Draco if he wants to come out and play Soccer with us."
"Soccer?" asked Draco. "What's Soccer?" That word sounded really odd.
"It's a ball game. We'll show you. It's real fun."
"Well Mike, if you want to drag Draco out into the park, you'll have to watch out for him. He's from some big lonely place in the country and isn't used to you rough city kids. He doesn't know how to protect himself from the Sharks."
"Right." grinned Mike. "He only knows how to give Mark the Shark two black eyes in the time it takes three Sharks to grab him and pull him off. ... Maybe he ought to change his name. Mike the Racoon would fit him much better right now."
"He has two black eyes?" Draco asked surprised. He'd never seen that before.
"Yes, just wait till you see him. He looks so funny."
"Really, Mike. You have to watch out for him. He just doesn't know how not to get into trouble around here. I won't let you take him if you don't promise." Sarah insisted.
"Okay, okay, I promise."
Sarah looked slightly doubtful, but nodded anyway. It wasn't right to keep a healthy teenager locked up in a small flat for a whole week. During the holidays and bright sunshine at that. And as long as he was only on the soccer lawn and stayed close to the Rakers it couldn't be all that dangerous. She just hoped that he really would stay on that lawn.
Draco and Mike ran down the corridor towards the stairs where Draco discovered to his surprise that the two Raker girls were waiting. Cathy Cat greeted him with another wonderfully dazzling smile.
"Hey, Draco. Wow, you really handed it to Mark. He's so ashamed of his face he doesn't even dare to go out today."
"But we saw him take out the trash in the morning, didn't we Mike." roared the large girl who was bigger than Crabbe and Goyle. "He was trying to hide his face behind the bin."
"Yeah, he should have jumped in the bin, though. Right where he belongs." grinned Mike. "Oh, I think you already know Cathy Cat and the giant's Bloody Mary."
"I'm not a giant." growled Mary wrinkling her big black nose at the thought. "I'm a half ogre."
Now that explained her size pretty well. Actually she was exceptionally small and delicate for an ogre. Maybe she wasn't fully grown yet. Draco wondered how old she was, but decided not to ask. She might get angry at the question and he definitely didn't want to mess with her.
"Come on." called Cathy Cat from down at the next floor. "They're waiting for us. I want to score some goals today."
They chased down the stairs trying to catch up to Cathy, but she had too big a head start and Draco soon noticed that Mary was threatening to be left behind. She was very strong, but also slow it seemed. Well, she did have a lot of weight to carry around with her.
Cathy waited for them downstairs impatiently holding the door open for them. Draco followed Mary and Mike out into the park and took a good look around. It seemed nice enough in daylight. What could be so dangerous about the place? Okay, so it looked rather scary in the middle of the night, but that was mostly because it was so badly lit. It sure looked like a nice place to play right now.
The Rakers led him towards a very small wooden hut hidden by a few trees that looked like it might collapse any moment.
"What's that?" Draco asked them eying it doubtfully.
"Originally the gardener's shed, but he hardly ever comes here anymore since the roof's leaking. His tools would rust if he kept them here. We use it as our headquarters though." explained Mike. "It might rain in at some places, but we know the dry spots and it still keeps us warm and dry in winter."
"And out of sight from the spies." added Cathy grinning. "They'd have to sneak pretty close to find out what we're up to."
"Spies?" asked Draco confused. "Oh, you mean the Sharks?"
"Them and others. Mostly the little kids though. They're curious and know we wouldn't really hurt them in case they got caught."
"Oh? Wouldn't we?" growled Mary menacingly.
Draco wasn't sure if she meant it or not. Bloody Mary scared him a little. Good that the Rakers seemed to be on his side.
"The little ones sell information to the other gangs." Mike smiled at Mary's scowl. "That's why we have to scare them away, but we don't really harm them unless they get too bold."
A boy of about thirteen or fourteen years sat on a low branch a few paces from the hut. He lifted a hand in greeting as they walked past him towards the entrance. He seemed uninterested in them, but somehow Draco felt that he was watching him very closely out of the corners of his eyes.
"That's Matt, the guard." said Mike nodding back at the boy and walking on casually.
"Guard?"
"Against intruders." said Cathy. "The spies, you know. He scares off the little ones and reports the bigger kids he can't handle alone. You can't have a meeting without a guard."
'Oh right, like letting Gregory stand outside the door when we're discussing things in school realised Draco. Nothing new really. He'd just never thought of Goyle as a guard before.
Mike opened the door and Draco stepped into a small storage room filled mostly with cobwebs and dimly lit by the light coming in through a single small window. Three boys and a girl looked at him measuringly.
Draco tried to meet their eyes without blinking. Were those all the Rakers? Or were even more still to come? He wished he'd counted heads when he'd watched them play from his window.
"So you're Draco, eh?" asked the largest boy finally. "Funny name that."
Draco looked him up and down carefully, trying to judge his position. He was obviously the oldest. Draco estimated him to be about seventeen, maybe even already out of school.
"It means dragon." he answered with a slight undertone of challenge in his voice. He wouldn't let anyone make fun of his name.
"Cool!" exclaimed the smallest kid who was sitting on an upturned dusty flowerpot and looking at Draco with shining eyes.
The older boy shot him an angry glance.
"Hey, I'm just saying dragon's a nice name." the little one defended himself.
Draco decided to ignore him for now. He looked twelve at most and obviously didn't have much say in the gang yet. The big boy was definitely more important for him right now. Draco kept looking at him.
"Well, Dragon then." he conceded. "If you like that name." He said it as if humouring a small child.
Draco wished he could jump him as he had Mark the Shark, but that wouldn't be a good idea right now. Better to keep up a facade of nonchalance, pretend that kid couldn't get to him.
"Whatever." he shrugged. "I'm more interested who you guys are right now."
"I'm Jack the Ripper." claimed the big boy.
Draco burst out laughing. The group stared at him. Mike grinned.
"What's so funny about that?" Jack demanded angrily.
"You don't really think anyone's going to buy that, do you? Jack the Ripper? Why really, can't you think of something a little more original?"
"You think Dragon's more original?" Jack challenged.
"It's what my parents named me." Draco shrugged. "But if you think about it. Do you know anybody else by that name?"
"Who gives a damn what you think of my name anyway. I'm Jack the Ripper and I'm the boss around here." Jack shouted.
"Okay, whatever you say, boss. You're Jack the Ripper." Draco shrugged again.
Jack kept glowering at him, but turned to introduce the rest of the gang. Draco suddenly got the feeling that Jack didn't want a fight with him. He seemed almost afraid.
Just how dangerous was Mark the Shark that Jack would feel afraid of Draco? He hadn't even beaten Mark. Or had he?
"That's Charlie the Dancer," introduced Jack nodding towards the girl. "Little Larry and Sammie."
"Sammie the Weasel." amended the small boy. "Cause I'm fast. Nobody can catch me."
Draco looked him up and down, but decided not to comment. Sammie was too young. It wouldn't look good to get too close with him. He'd stick with Mike. After all Sarah seemed to like him and Professor Snape hadn't objected to seeing them together either. He was friends with Mike's father after all.
Draco turned his head to sneer at Little Larry. Larry was almost as big as Goyle, but not quite as fat. More muscled and probably more intelligent he looked like a dangerous opponent in a fistfight. No match for Marry in size, but most likely faster and more agile. No, Draco didn't want to cross him, but he wouldn't show fear.
Charlie was a rather plain girl despite being very well shaped. Her hair colour though it was difficult to make out in the dim light was some indefinite colour between blond and brown that didn't shine at all and looked almost gray most of the time. Her eyes were greenish brown. It looked as if she couldn't decide on any colours so everything about her was a mixture of two different shades.
"Dancer?" he asked still sneering.
"Ballet." she explained. "I'm the best dancer in my class. Maybe I'll be a professional someday."
She said that with a slight shrug feigning indifference, but the look in her eyes betrayed her true feelings. It was her big dream, probably the only way she'd ever be special in any way. If she could move gracefully enough, she'd appear beautiful on stage even if she'd never be in real life.
Draco shrugged.
"I don't care much for ballet myself. I guess it must be a girl thing. I heard one can get really famous through it though. Is that what you want, Charlie?"
What a strange name for a girl. Charlie. He wondered what her real name might be. Charlene? Charlotte? Or maybe something entirely different? It was impossible to guess and Draco decided not to ask. It was none of his business.
"I just want the same as everybody else." Charlie answered still feigning indifference.
"And that would be?"
"Money, of course. Famous dancers are well paid and they get to see all the world."
"You can see all the world by apparating." Draco shrugged.
"You can." said Charlie this time really indifferently. "I'm a squib. I need muggle transport and that costs muggle money which I could earn by dancing."
Draco had to admit that that made sense. And it reminded him that he'd need muggle money too, if he was going to go to muggle school. Well, you could buy that at Gringotts, but Charlie most likely didn't have any wizard money either. Draco did. He never had to worry about money.
"So?" he asked Mike. "Didn't you promise to teach me that game of yours? Soccer I think is what you called it."
"You don't even know what Soccer is? Don't you have sports at your fancy school?" Jack tried to intimidate Draco with a sneer of his own.
Draco nearly laughed. Jack needed a lot of practise if he ever wanted to sneer as well as Draco. Then of course Draco had learned from the best. Lucius' sneers could really scare people and even he was no match for Severus Snape.
"Of course we do. I'm Seeker on the Slytherin house Quiddich team. But we don't play that Soccer stuff. Too muggle, I suppose."
"Muggle games are the best." declared Charlie.
"For you for sure." sneered Draco. "It's hard to play Quiddich, if you can't ride a broom."
"Hey, that's low!" protested Cathy. "Charlie's a great pal, you know. Even if she can't do magic."
"Okay, sorry, if I've offended you guys. I just meant to say that Charlie has no way to compare as she's never played Quiddich."
"None of us have as far as I know." Mike said. "Our school has only five brooms, you know. Enough to teach us to fly on, not enough to play Quiddich."
"Don't any of you have your own brooms?"
"Those who can afford them usually can afford to live in a better part of town and go to a better school."
"But Professor Snape said West Hogsmede had a very good school?"
"Yes, but it's a school for poor people. Rich people don't want their kids to have contact with such as us."
"We're dangerous, little rich kid." growled Jack. "We hang out in mean packs and beat people up."
"Oh?" Draco grinned up at Jack. "And you think we at Hogwarts don't?"
That silenced them for a moment. They looked at each other surprised. Draco could almost hear what they were thinking. Yes, they'd always thought that rich kids didn't fight, but then again how had Draco been able to beat up Mark the Shark like that? Mark was one of the best fighters they knew and Draco was a lot smaller than him. It couldn't have all been luck.
Jack finally shrugged and picked up the ball which had been lying in a comer.
"Okay then, lets play."
Draco soon found that Soccer wasn't as easy as it looked. The first time he kicked the ball it just flew off to one side and disappeared in the bushes. Draco stared after it confused. He'd intended to kick it straight ahead.
"What? How do you steer this thing?" he asked Mike and the whole gang laughed.
"Try kicking it with the side of your foot, not the tip of your toes for starters." Mike advised him through his giggles.
"The side?" Draco thought that idea very odd at first, but the gang insisted and after a few more attempts and demonstrations he managed to send the ball in roughly the direction he wanted it to go.
"You're still not up to a real game though." Cathy commented. "Maybe you could be the referee instead."
"He can't be." protested Jack. "He doesn't even know the rules."
"He could try keeper though." suggested Mary to everybody's surprise.
She had been watching silently the whole time and Draco had concluded that she was a rather quiet person that only ever got excited over a fight.
"Keeper? We didn't even explain that position to him yet." snarled Jack.
"We don't have to." insisted Cathy. "He says he plays Quiddich. They've got a keeper too in that game. And he's used to catching balls with his hands. They don't use their feet in Quiddich."
"He doesn't play keeper on his team." growled Jack getting even angrier.
"That doesn't mean I can't do it. I've just never played it on an actual team."
"Lets give it a try. Jack. We can still change positions if it doesn't work out." suggested Mike.
Jack glowered at them, but agreed to let Draco try. Mike showed him the stones that marked the position of the goals and which Draco hadn't been able to see from his window before and quickly explained to him that he was allowed to use both his hands and his feet to block the ball from going through between the stones.
Draco found that keeper was a lot easier for him and he proved to be quite an obstacle for the opposing team. They were used to face either Mary or Larry as keepers who were both able to block most of the goal with their size, but rather slow to react. A quick agile keeper like Draco was entirely new to them and Draco's team won easily. Jack left after the game wearing a big frown, but Cathy, who had been on the losing team as well came over to them wearing a huge smile and congratulated Draco on his performance.
"You're a great keeper, Dragon. This is the first time in years that I haven't gotten a single shot through during an entire game. Next time I want to be on your team."
Draco found that her smile was contagious. He was really beginning to like Soccer. Maybe he'd teach that game to his classmates. But then again it was too muggle for them to appreciate. Maybe he'd just try to switch his position on the Quiddich team to keeper. Then he wouldn't have to put up with Potter all that much anymore.
"You should try to be a little nicer to Jack, though." advised Mike as they climbed back up the stairs. "He's the boss, you know. It's not wise to challenge him."
"I didn't challenge him. He challenged me and I won't just back down without a fight." protested Draco.
"He feels challenged by your victory over Mark." said Cathy. "You defeated a gang leader already. You might go for another."
"I fought Mark, because he was picking on Billy. I couldn't let him hurt the baby. I was responsible for him. And why would I want a fight with Jack at all?"
"To take over the gang." Mike said calmly.
"What? Why would I? I'll only be here for two or three more days."
"I'll try to remind Jack of that, but you still ought to try and be more submissive." Cathy promised.
"Submissive? Never."
"And I'm supposed to keep him out of trouble." Mike sighed and shrugged at Cathy and Mary. "I wish I hadn't promised that."
Draco smirked at him and rang the doorbell of the Snape's flat. BRRING! He still loved to do that. Electric things were so much fun. He wished he could understand that Physics book. Just where was Professor Snape with the Math book? Draco wished he'd come home soon.
"So, did you have a nice time?" Sarah smiled as she let him in.
"Oh yes. What's for lunch?" Draco asked hungrily.
"I'm not quite done with the cooking yet, young man. You're going to have to help me, if you're hungry."
Lunch however was ready ten minutes later and after that Draco once again began to feel bored. He even found himself wishing that there were more dishes to wash. Professor Snape was still at the trial of course and the Math book with him.
Draco went into the lab and stared at the bookshelves for a while, but there was nothing that seemed interesting to him except for the Physics books and those he couldn't understand yet. He tried several other Mathematics books, but they were all too advanced for him. Not knowing what else to do he went over to the window again and looked longingly down at the park. It looked deserted. Everybody seemed to have gone home for lunch. No Rakers, no Sharks, not even any of the little wannabes.
Suddenly there was a knock behind him and Sarah came in carrying Billy. Draco turned around in surprise. Were they going somewhere? Maybe another visit with the washing machines? That would really ease the boredom.
"Draco, I'll be gone for a few hours and I don't want to take Billy with me. Would you mind watching him till I get back?"
"I'd love to!" Draco exclaimed. 'That's it. I can play with Billy.'
"Oh thank you. That's a lot of help, you know. He'll need his nap right now, but you'll have to stay close so you know when he wakes up. You know how to change his diapers?"
"Of course. You showed me how, remember?"
"Good. Don't let him in here unsupervised even for a second. With all those glass jars and potion ingredients lying around that's much too dangerous. He might break something or eat poison or hurt himself."
"Okay, I'll just leave the door closed then so he can't get in at all. No problem."
"Don't let him play with any of the electric stuff. And don't leave the flat. Okay, I'll just put him to bed now and run off."
"That's okay. I can put him to bed. You just go wherever you're going and don't worry about us. We'll be fine." Draco promised gently taking Billy out of her arms.
"Oh, thank you, Draco! That's so nice of you. I don't know what I'd do without you. Bye!" and Sarah dashed out the door.
"You'd most likely hire Cathy Cat and make her very happy with that." Draco told the closed door smiling.
He wondered what was so important to make Sarah run off like this. He'd never seen her get this hectic before.
"I just hope everything's all right." he said to Billy.
"Dako?" Billy sounded tired.
Right. Time for his nap. Draco quickly undressed the baby and then fought a little to get him into his pyjamas. Billy seemed to prefer to sleep naked on such a hot day, but Draco wasn't sure if he should let him. Sarah always dressed Billy in his pyjamas for his nap so he thought it better to do the same.
He finally managed and gently laid the now very tired baby into his little bed and tucked him in.
"Teddy!" Billy protested sleepily.
Draco looked around. Just where was Billy's teddy? Oh, there. On the floor. Billy had to have thrown it out of the bed during the night. Draco went and picked it up. It was a little dusty and he quickly brushed it clean with his hands.
"Teddy!" demanded Billy again.
Draco smiled and gently placed the teddy in Billy's little arms. Billy grabbed it tightly, rolled up and went to sleep within seconds.
Draco sat down on the bed and watched the baby sleep. Billy looked adorable like this, but it got a little boring after a while. Draco yawned. Maybe he could go to sleep as well? If he slept right here, Billy would no doubt wake him once he woke up himself. But he couldn't just go to sleep on the Snapes' bed, could he?
BRRING!
Draco started. What was that? Oh right. The door bell. But who would come to visit them right now?
Draco quickly got up and raced to the door. If whoever was out there got impatient and rang again, the sound might wake the baby.
It was Mike once again.
"Hi." he smiled. "I just thought you might want to come out with me again. I could show you around a bit. You know, show you all the places we usually hang out around here. Do you want to come?"
"I'd love to, but I can't. Mrs Snape had to leave for a few hours and I've got to watch Billy for her. I don't know when she'll be back." Draco sighed.
He'd have loved to spend some more time with Mike. Those local gang kids somehow were a lot more interesting than his classmates in Slytherin. They weren't really all that different actually, but they knew all this exciting muggle stuff and for once he wasn't Lucius Malfoy's precious son and future death eater. For once he could befriend whoever he liked and nobody saw him as an important contact for the future. He was just another kid.
"So lets take Billy with us. We can just put him in his buggy and go. A little fresh air will do him good."
"No, we can't. He needs his nap and I promised we wouldn't leave the flat anyway."
"Oh. Well then, maybe I can help you with Billy?"
Draco smiled. Now that was an idea.
"Billy's asleep right now so it's rather boring. ... We could play with the dog though."
'That Dog' jumped up at hearing the word dog and started to bark. 'Yes, yes, play with me! I'm bored, bored, bored.' He raced through the living room wagging his tail excitedly.
"Will you shut up!" Draco growled racing after him. "You'll wake the baby."
He tried to grab 'That Dog' and silence him, but the dog was faster of course and Draco was left racing through the room grabbing at thin air.
Mike watched the situation from the door for a moment, then walked in casually closing all doors. That dog was now limited to staying in the living room. Satisfied with that Mike sat down on the floor and watched. 'That Dog' gave the place he was sitting a wide berth the first few times he raced past, but when Mike didn't move he started coming closer and closer with each round.
Draco made another lounge for 'That Dog'. 'That Dog' jumped aside and straight into Mike's arms.
"Got you!" Mike announced happily.
'That Dog' shut up immediately and licked Mike's hands asking to be forgiven. Mike scratched him behind the ears, but didn't let go.
"How... How did you do that?" Draco panted.
"That," Mike grinned. "is why they call me Clever Mike. I told you I always have the best ideas."
"Yes, but how? I tried so hard to catch him and you manage with one single try."
"Well, you can't outrun a dog, you know. You've got to trick him. I didn't go for him so he forgot I was there. He thought I wasn't going to attack. I just took him by surprise."
"I'd never have caught him, would I?"
"I don't know. I guess he'd have gotten tired of that game eventually. Shouldn't we better check on Billy? See if we woke him up?"
"He'd be crying already if we did, but lets check on him anyway. He looks adorable when he's asleep."
Billy was indeed still fast asleep and cuddling his teddy. Draco carefully pulled up his blanket which had been beginning to slip away then stopped to just watch him for a little while.
"You really love babies, don't you?" Mike whispered into his ear after a while.
Draco still noticed the slight chuckle in his voice.
"I guess it's just that I've always wanted a little brother. My parents never agreed though. They thought one was enough."
"Well, raising a child is kind of expensive." Mike mused. "All the money for food and clothes. And school's very expensive too. You've got to understand that."
"So? The Weasleys could afford to send seven kids to Hogwarts. My parents could have afforded two easily."
"The Weasleys are pretty rich, you know." Mike commented.
"Well, my father always said they were poor. We're richer than them so the money can't have been the reason." Draco complained.
Mike didn't say anything. He just sat down on the bed, where Draco had been sitting until he had arrived putting 'That Dog' in his lap. The dog seemed to like it there. He yawned and lay down comfortably. Mike scratched his head absentmindedly. He was probably trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Draco was a rich kid. Snape and Sarah both had told him so before, but Draco suspected that Mike had never really known any rich people before. It had to be rather hard to get used to that.
Draco sat down beside him with a sigh.
"I think they just didn't like me. That's why they didn't want any more children. Maybe I was too unpleasant. Too much of a burden."
"Nonsense. Rich people always adore their children. They give them everything. Like toys and even brooms. I bet you have your own broom. Right?"
"Yes, but right now the ministry has it. They've confiscated everything. But they never really spent time with me like the Snapes do with Billy. They just bought me stuff to keep me out of their hair. ... Mother must have loved me a little though. She died for me after all." Draco suddenly felt tears rise in his eyes.
Had Mike heard his voice catch? He hoped not. He shut up quickly so his voice couldn't betray the tears he was fighting. Still one tear escaped and ran down his cheek. Draco quickly wiped it away again hoping that Mike hadn't noticed.
"Hey, where do you sleep anyway?" Mike asked suddenly changing the topic.
"In the lab. Do you want to see it?"
"Sure."
Severus arrived back home before Sarah to find Draco and Mike sitting on the living room floor with Billy playing with squishy baby toys. They were so enwrapped in the game that they didn't even notice when he arrived.
Severus smiled. Two teenagers playing with baby toys. What a cute scene.
Munin however wasn't content to just watch. He fluttered over to them, landed on the floor beside one of the toys and regarded it with a very intent queer bird look.
"Caw?" he said prodding the toy with his foot.
SQUIEK!
Munin jumped and hopped backwards. Then he stopped craning his neck to regard the toy even more intently and slowly edged closer again. What a strange object!
"Munin!" exclaimed Draco in surprise. If the raven was back, did that mean?
The boys looked up to see Snape looking down at them.
"I see you've taken my advice, but where's Sarah?" Severus looked around.
"Don't know." shrugged Mike.
"She said she had to leave for a few hours, but didn't say where she was going." explained Draco.
"And she didn't say when she'd be back?" Severus asked surprised. Usually Sarah didn't run off like that. She'd at least leave a note where she was.
"No. She just came into the lab about an hour after lunch and told me she had to go and that I should watch Billy. She seemed in quite a hurry. Do you think something's happened?" Draco asked feeling worried all of a sudden.
"Well, Voldemort didn't attack. That much I know for sure. As for what actually did happen we'll have to wait until Sarah gets back."
Both boys shuddered at the mention of the dark lord. Draco was surprised at his own reaction. He was a pureblood and the son of a death eater. Why should he be afraid? But then again Lucius was going to jail, he was consorting with squibs and muggle lovers and the Snapes most likely supported Dumbledore. Voldemort wouldn't be too pleased with them. Severus saw Draco's reaction and for a moment an almost proud smile lit his usually stern face. But then again Draco had hardly ever seen him look stern in the time he'd been here. At home it seemed Snape smiled quite often.
"I don't suppose you thought of cooking dinner?" Snape asked probably to take the boys' minds of death eaters and the looming danger of war.
"Cook dinner?" Draco asked bewildered. "Who? Me? You expect me to cook? I've only ever handed Sarah ingredients. I don't even know the difference between a recipe for soup and a page in my potions book."
"In that case I think I'll have to give you some extra Potions lessons while you're here." threatened Snape.
"Extra Potions lessons? Hey, no, I didn't mean it that way. I've got to learn Mathematics!" Draco nearly panicked.
And Snape laughed. Draco blinked then stared at him. He was really laughing. Severus Snape could laugh? Draco couldn't believe it.
"You ought to see your face, Dragon." giggled Mike. "You look like ... like ... I don't even know what you look like."
"I didn't really mean that, Draco. I never expected you to know how to cook." Snape assured him.
"Do you?"
"Do I do what?"
"Do you know how to cook?"
"Luckily yes. Else we'd have to ask Mike to cock our dinner for us."
Mike started.
"You really wouldn't want that, you know. I'm a very bad cook. The only thing I haven't managed to burn yet is salad." he protested.
"In that case you'd better start practising. At your age you should be able to prepare your own meals." Snape advised.
"Why? Draco can't either."
"Draco can afford a house elf to do it for him. You can't." Snape declared checking the content of the fridge.
"Mike's a boy." Draco jumped in. "He'll have his wife to cook for him."
"So he's going to get married the moment he leaves school? And his wife's always gonna stay at home? I don't think so. Lesson one boys: How to prepare emergency dinner real fast."
Cooking with Professor Snape turned out to be a lot more difficult than with Sarah. Sarah had always been contented with Draco handing her ingredients. Snape was not. Luckily he decided that it was Mike who had to learn how to use the stove. Draco only ended up cleaning vegetables, stirring the soup and setting the table. Still it was hard work and Snape insisted that they both remember the recipe. Cooking reminded Draco of Potions more than ever.
Once they were almost done Snape sent Mike home to tell his family that he was eating with the Snapes and just as he dashed out the door Sarah came in. She stopped in the door staring after the boy in surprise.
"What was he doing here?"
"Cooking." said Snape simply. "We'll have to wait with dinner until he gets back. Draco, lay out another plate for Sarah!"
Draco who had been cuddling Billy quickly sat the baby back down on the floor and grabbed another plate.
"Dako?" Billy looked up at him with big pleading baby eyes.
Sarah went over and picked him up.
"Mummmy!"
Five minutes later dinner was served and Draco noted to his surprise that it tasted just as good as anything Sarah had cooked. Professor Snape really did know how to cook.
A/N - So, do you think Draco will ever make friends with Jack? Will he learn to play better Soccer or will he have to stick to being keeper? Will he come to like it better than Quddich? Please R/R.
In the next chapter: We get to know the Rakers better, go swimming and see the Snapes at breakfast.
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