Chapter Text
Prologue
Draco didn’t like sand. All the other kids at the park looked like they enjoyed playing with the yellowish dust, while nothing would ever convince him to touch it. He had heard Mother say it was filthy and no Malfoy should play with filthy things.
So there he was, sitting on a bench, watching the other kids play in the sand. They were all approximately his age, but he didn’t know any of them. His Nanny Debby would take him to this park quite often because it was big and not far from home. His Nanny Debby was getting old, he had heard Father say, so she couldn’t walk him to the park on the other side of the neighborhood, where the very big trees were. Instead, they were now coming to this small park.
Draco liked it anyway. Even if he didn’t like sand. He liked that there was a pond and ducks in the pond. He liked to watch them as they silently slid on the water in a crocodile line. In the past few months he had seen the baby ducks hatch and then learn how to swim. They were of slightly different colors, but his favorite one was one almost completely black duck, with a little tuft of white feathers on his collar, who was always trying to get away for the mother duck.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go play, Draco?”
Draco looked at Nanny Debby curiously. She never insisted on him playing with the other kids. Everyday, they would come to the park, Draco would go say hello to his duck friends, and then they would sit on the bench, Draco watching the other kids, Nanny Debby knitting. Draco would always imagine all the adventures he could have with the other kids if he had the courage to go talk to them. But Mother would not agree. She said that he could not mingle with people not worthy of him. And when he had asked how he could know if the other kids at the park were worthy, she had simply stated “No kid you meet at the park is good enough for your attention, Draco.”
“I am too old to play in the sand, Nanny Debby”, the young boy said petulantly.
“Draco, dear”, Nanny Debby began, with a small smile on her face, “Six years old is nowhere near too old to play in the sand. As long as you are careful not to put sand everywhere inside your clothes, and I know you are, everything will be alright.”
Draco was really not convinced. He’d rather stay on his bench like he always did. As he continued to observe the other children playing, something in his peripheral vision caught his attention. It was just another kid, who seemed to be approximately the same age as Draco. He was wearing clothes far too big for his small size. His old grey t-shirt was hanging loose around his shoulders and the small sleeves were reaching his elbows. It was clear that without his belt, the jeans he was wearing would never hang on his narrow hips. His skin was a light brown that reminded Draco of their gardener, Fawad. He had some really black and really messy hair, that were standing all over his head in disarray. The small round glasses that were perched on his nose had obviously been broken multiple times and were fixed with some sellotape. The boy looked hesitant, his body almost trembling at the sight of the other children playing in the sand. Draco could only see him from his left profile but this weird child intrigued him.
As if he had felt Draco’s look, the black haired boy suddenly turned around and Draco gave him a startled look. The other boy had big emerald eyes, and the fact that they were hidden behind his glasses didn’t prevent Draco from noticing the fear in them, as if Draco was going to beat him up or something. He also had a small red scar on his forehead that resembled a lightning bolt. Trying to remember his manners, Draco decided to give the boy a small smile and a nod, like his father had told him to do with people he didn’t know, but could be good associates. Draco didn’t really know what associates were, but when the green eyed boy smiled widely at him, he felt pride at how he had managed the situation.
As Draco was set on proving to Nanny Debby that he was not a child anymore, he addressed the boy with the clearest pronunciation he could mutter and asked, “Would you care to join us on this bench?”
The boy oppened his green eyes wide open, as if he couldn’t believe someone would talk to him, before he quickly nodded. He sat next to Draco but not too close. As the other boy wasn’t saying anything, Draco began to panic. Of course, Draco had already made friends before. But they were the kids of his parents friends, and they had been properly introduced. Every other Wednesday, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were invited to his house to play some games, and he had been ice-skating with Pansy Parkinson last winter. However, all these activities had been organized by their parents, hoping for all of their kids to get to know each other, knowing they were all going to get the same education. Draco had never made friends with strangers. He didn’t know how to begin a conversation and the silence that settled between them seemed too intense to be broken.
Fortunately, Draco was not alone in the situation. He looked expectantly at his Nanny Debby, raised his eyebrows, trying to convey the fact that he needed her help at befriending the outsider. She smiled knowingly and said, “May I ask what your name is, young man?”
Once again the boy looked surprised at being addressed directly. “I’m Harry”, he said, looking down and smiling shyly. He turned to Draco and asked, “What about you?”
“My name is Draco Lucius Malfoy, and she is my Nanny Debby.”
“Pleased to meet you, Harry. I’m Deborah Jacob. But if you want, you can call me Nanny Debby, like Draco does.”
“Pleased to meet you”, Harry parroted, while he smiled happily, his eyes crinkling.
“Do you come to this park often, Harry?”, Nanny Debby asked. Then she looked around, apparently looking for something. “Where are your parents?”
Harry looked panicked for a second but he quickly said, “They’re not here. My aunt and my uncle are not far, though. They’re in the house over there”, he said, pointing at a small brick house next to the nearest park entrance. “They’re visiting my Aunt Marge but she has dogs and her dogs don’t like me very much.” Harry suddenly covered his mouth with his hand, as if he had said too much. “I mean, it’s not their fault, they just don’t like my scent.”
“That’s okay, Harry”, Nanny Debby said. “Now that you’re here, maybe you want to explore the park. Draco, maybe you could give Harry a look around?”
At the thought of showing his beloved duck to his almost new friend, Draco perked up. Surely, Harry didn’t count as an unworthy person, as Mother described. He had never been to the park before, and he had definitely not played in the sand. So this was okay. He could do this, he could make a friend, and prove to everyone he was not a baby anymore. “Yes. Can we go to the pond?”, he said hopefully. As his Nanny Debby smiled and nodded, he took Harry’s hand, “Come on Harry, you’ll love it, I’m sure.”
After all of the thirty seconds it took them to reach the pond, Draco started to introduce Harry to his duck friends. “This is the Mama duck, she makes sure that all the baby ducks are growing nicely. She gives them food that she has already kind of eaten. I think it’s a bit disgusting but Nanny Debby says that the baby ducks can’t feed themselves because they’re too small. Like baby humans when they’re small. But the baby ducks won’t be babies anymore soon. Because they’re adults when they’re six months old.”
Harry listened to him carefully, hanging on Draco’s every word. “Why is this one black, and the other aren’t?”, he asked curiously.
“Oh, you’re talking about Henry.”
“Henry?”
“Yes, I named him Henry because he looks like a portrait of King Henry that I have in my house. You know with the stuff on his collar being white and all.”
“You named the duck? Is it your duck?”, Harry asked, looking puzzled.
“No, but he’s my friend. I come to see him almost everyday, and when he wants to, I pet him. Nanny Debby says he’s a Pomeranian duck,” Draco said proudly, happy he managed to say the name correctly. “It’s a special species.”
“But why is he the only black duck?”, Harry asked again, focused on this particular mystery.
“The other ducks are Mallard ducks. They’re easy to recognize because they have a very green head. It’s almost the same color as your eyes”, Draco realized as he looked directly as Harry’s eyes. “But Henry is not the same color, because they’re not from the same species.”
“So she’s not his Mama?”, Harry asked pointing at the mother duck.
“Not really”, Draco answered. “But Henry is kind of adopted, because the Mama duck takes care of him. And I take care of him too, don’t worry for him.”
“But where are his parents?”, Harry asked anxiously.
Draco was beginning to feel stressed because he didn’t really know the answer. “I don’t know, they’re probably missing, or maybe they’re dead.”
At his words, Harry broke into tears. Draco sat there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. He tried to remember what Nanny Debby would do if he was the one crying. He took Harry’s hand in his small hand and said, “What’s wrong?”
Harry took a deep breath, visibly trying to stop his tears. He struggled for a bit, but when he managed to get calmer, he looked back at Draco, his eyes still wet and almost whispered, “I’m sad for Henry.”
“Because his parents are dead?”, Draco asked. Once again, Harry clearly struggled not to burst into tears but he nodded. “But Henry is okay. Look at him”, he said, squeezing Harry’s hand. “He’s got brothers and sisters and a Mama, so it’s all okay for him. Also, I’m his friend and I come to see him often so he’s happy.”
Harry rubbed his nose and dried his tears with the sleeves of his overlarge tee-shirt. He was beginning to smile again, and that made Draco happy. He had handled the situation like an adult!
“Can you be my friend too?”, Harry asked him with eager eyes. “I’ve never had a friend, before.”
That declaration made Draco a bit sad. Harry seemed like an okay person, and it was weird that nobody would want to be friends with him. “Yeah, I can be your friend. I never had a friend that I met at the park”, Draco said, smiling. Harry smiled back and their friendship was sealed.
They then spent the afternoon talking about the ducks. Draco told Harry all about the hatching and the nesting. Draco had been observing the ducks habits for at least the past three months. He had seen the fluffy feathers the baby ducks had when they were only just born and the way they had learned how to swim, all together or in lines. Harry seemed interrested in everything Draco was explaining, asking questions about every little detail. At some point, after it had been a while since they had stopped moving, they saw Henry coming towards them. Harry froze, grabbing Draco’s hand, probably for moral support. Draco smiled at Harry and streched his arm in Henry’s direction. The small black duck slowed down when he approached Draco’s hand. But after a few seconds, he rubbed his head on the small blond boy’s fingers. Draco began stroking him slowly, feeling the dry feather of his neck, then slowly switched to Henry’s back feathers. Some of them were soaked with the pond’s water, but Draco didn’t care because Nanny Debby always had some tissues in her purse. Henry quacked happily and Harry’s echoing laugh made Draco smile even wider.
“Come on, Harry, touch him. I promise Henry won’t bite you. He makes a really weird noise before he does, I’ll tell you”, Draco said. Seeing Harry was not moving, he smiled and say calmly, “Don’t worry. Touch him. I promise I’ll protect you.”
Harry slowly approached Draco, his eyes fixed on Henry. When his shoulder touched his, Draco continued to encourage him, “That’s good. Now, stretch your hand, just like I did and Henry will come to you.” As soon as Harry tried to guide his left hand near Draco’s, Henry turned his head towards him. “Don’t worry, Henry. This is Harry. He’s my friend. He would like to pet you. Can he pet you?”, Draco asked soothingly. He really hoped that Henry would go to Harry’s hand, because his new friend seemed to really like Henry. “You can talk to him, if you want”, he whispered to Harry.
Harry hesitated only for a few seconds. “Hello Henry”, he said. The small duck kept on looking insistently at Harry, but the boy didn’t lose his courage. “You look really pretty. And I really would like to touch you... Please.” Harry said the last word with such a longing voice that Draco almost pushed Henry is Harry’s direction. Fortunately he didn’t need to, as Henry decided to explore the new friendship that had been offered to him. “It’s so soft!”, Harry exclaimed when his fingers reached Henry’s head feathers.
While Harry continued to pet Henry, Draco told him about the other different species of duck that existed, and that you shouldn’t mistake them for swans even though baby swans and baby ducks looked the same. When Henry got tired of being touched, he just went away and joined his duck brothers and sisters.
“You’re not sad anymore, right?”, Draco asked Harry.
The other boy looked hesitant, but he shook his head. “I’m just a little sad that I’m never going to be able to see Henry again.”
Draco stood straight, wondering why Harry would never see the duck again. “Why can’t you? You can always come to the park. Nanny Debby says you shouldn’t come at night, but it’ll also be open tomorrow. And I’ll be there tomorrow too. You can come back and we can pet Henry again. And we can talk. And we can play in the sand if you really want. I don’t like sand, but I could just be next to you while you play or something”, Draco babbled. He couldn’t stop speaking, thinking of all the things he and Harry could do together. They might even become best friends. Pansy had a best friend, and she said that best friends never stop being friends. “We could be best friends!”, Draco suddenly declared.
“You want to be my best friend?”, Harry asked with a big smile on his face.
“Yes! I had a lot of fun playing with you today.”
“My cousin Duddley has a best friend. They always play together. And they exchange games and toys.”
“We could do that!”, Draco happily said. “We can be best friends and then we’ll stay friends forever. And I can give you this”, Draco added, taking a small bundle of thread out of his pocket. “I bought it the other day with Nanny Debby. It’s Henry!” It was in fact a knitted ball that looked strangely like a duck. It could have been a chicken or another bird, but Draco knew it was a duck. For him, it was Henry. And if it cheered Harry up to have this knitted Henry, then Draco could lend it to him.
“I’ve never had a gift before”, Harry said smiling, and Draco didn’t if the other boy was going to cry but he sure looked like it. “Thank you, Draco.”
“You’re welcome. But you didn’t say why you can’t see Henry again.”
“Well, I came here with my Aunt and my Uncle, because they’re visiting my Aunt Marge. They usually leave me with Mrs Figg. Mrs Figg is our neighbour. She’s got lots of cats. But she was at the hospital today. So they had to take me with them. But I don’t think I’ll come back. They won’t take me with them again”, Harry finished sadly.
At those words, Draco felt tears gather in his eyes. He had made a friend, a best friend, and he was going to be taken away from him so soon? Seeing his distress, Harry took gently took Draco’s hand, “But you’ll still be my best friend, right? Even if I don’t live nearby?”
“Yeah. I could always come see you. I can ask our chauffeur to drive me to your house. We could play in your room.”
“I don’t know…”, Harry said with sad eyes. “But maybe, we could try to…”
“BOY!”
Harry turned around at the cry, looking panicked. The shout had got out of a big, beefy man with a large purple face. He had thick dark hair, a bushy black moustache and Draco couldn’t really see his neck. He was wearing khaki dress pants and a checkered shirt. He looked really angry, his blue eyes shining madly. He was approaching them quickly, walking with a rolling gait. Draco could not deny that the man scared him.
“Where have you been? We’ve been looking for you for ten minutes, and I had specifically told you to not move from the porch.”
“I’m sorry Uncle Vernon,” Harry said, looking down at his shoes.
“I don’t care if you’re sorry or not. Dudley is hungry and we were waiting for you. Now come, quickly, or else…”
“Yes, Uncle Vernon”, Harry answered. This Vernon sir seemed to finally notice Draco and he glared at him before he turned back and quickly went away in the direction of the house Harry had showed him before.
“I’m sorry, Draco”, Harry said sadly. “I hope we’ll see each other soon.”
“We’re best friends, then?”, Draco asked, hopefully.
“Boy! Don’t make me come get you”, Harry’s uncle shouted.
Harry smiled at Draco and said, “Yes, best friends.” Then, he followed his uncle, and turned around one last time to wave at Draco. Then he was gone.
Draco felt both sad and hopeful. As he slowly returned to the bench where Nanny Debby was still sitting, he thought about all the things they could do next time Harry would come to the park. They could play robber and policeman, or they could even go on the big slide in the park three blocks away.
“Where did young Harry go?”, Nanny Debby asked as Draco sat next to her.
“His uncle came and fetched him. Harry’s my best friend now, Nanny Debby.”
“That’s delightful, my dear. Let’s hope we see more of him soon, then”, Nanny Debby said, not looking up from her knitting.
Draco looked longingly at the door from which Harry had exited. “Yes, let’s hope so.”