Chapter Text
True to Mama’s word, Harry spent the summer either in his room, in the library, or by Mama’s side. She was keeping a close eye on him, clearly determined to not let Harry get into anymore trouble. He couldn't really blame her, though. He had been nearly killed at school. Again. For the second year in a row.
So Harry didn't argue when Mama insisted that he stay close, though it wasn’t all bad. She didn't make him hold her hand when out in public, and she didn't make him stay inside all day. They still had the family over to celebrate Jasper's graduation. He already had a job lined up at a menagerie, taking care of animals. Harry thought it was quite fitting. Jasper was quiet and loved animals. He'd do well working in a menagerie.
Early July, they went out to visit Dorian and Marissa, so Mama and Papa could hear about Dorian's new job as a Quidditch instructor at Dungstrum. Neva and Emit were there as well, but on behalf of the Daily Prophet's sport section. The article and accompanying photo of them at lunch was put in the Prophet the next week, in the same issue with Ron's family in Egypt.
It wasn't long after that did his parents and siblings start to act strangely. Mid July, Harry noticed the way Moria or Emit and Neva came to the house more often then before. Quinn even stopped by a few times, seeming worried and concerned, and was soon shooed off when Mama had enough of his strange hovering.
Harry didn't have a clue what was going on. Mama seemed to think there was nothing wrong, and Papa was as stoick as always. Inside the house, things seemed fairly normal. Skyla was getting ready for her Newts, and Derrick was busy with his potions. The elves were still running around and cleaning like they would rather die then let even one speck of dust into the house. But they got jumpy when he was alone in a room with them, and Skyla was constantly running away from him under the guise of needing to study more. Mama and Papa would stop talking when he entered a room.
Ron and Hermione came to stay at the house, just before his birthday. They would stay two weeks, for his birthday, the Summer Gala, and Russell’s wedding. He was excited to see them, grinning wide when Hermione finally arrived by car and Ron arrived by floo. They would each have one of the guest rooms in the wing Harry's room was in, so they could still have fun, but also keep out of the way when Russel and Maria's guests arrive.
But with Ron and Hermione came an explanation to the strangeness of his family.
“It's a good thing you changed your name in secret,” Hermione said as Harry was leading her to the library. “Though I don't know why Mrs. Alistair let you have your photo in the paper with Dorian. It's so dangerous now.”
“Dangerous?” Harry prompted, confused. He knew Mama was worried about him being in danger, but he wasn't right now. He wasn't at Hogwarts. “Why would it be dangerous?”
“It was all over the Prophet yesterday,” Hermione said, only to get distracted as they arrived to the library. She was gone in the shelves before Harry could stop her.
Turning Ron, Harry rose a confused brow. Maybe Ron would know what danger was now lurking in a place that wasn't Hogwarts. But Ron just shrugged and went off to the shelf Harry knew had books about Quidditch. If Hermione was to distracted, and Ron had no clue, then Harry was going to find out himself.
“Dizzy,” he said, softly enough so as not to disturb his friends.
“Master Harry need Dizzy?” The elf asked as she popped into the room. “Or may Dizzy be going to work again? Dizzy is very busy. Very, very busy.”
“I was wondering if I could have a copy of yesterday's Daily Prophet.”
There was a pause. Then, Dizzy began to shake. Her eyes were round, big with what Harry could only described as… fear. Dizzy, afraid? It was practically unheard of. The little elf had had nerves of steel since Harry met her, even giving them orders when it came to the house or their health.
“Dizzy does not have yesterday Prophet,” Dizzy said, shaking her head so fast that her big floppy ears slapped at the side of her head. “Master Harry would like tea instead. Master Harry loves Dizzy tea. Master Harry could offer tea to his friends. Dizzy will make tea now!”
“Dizzy,” Harry said, only the elf was already gone.
Harry tried to ask Hermione again later, but it never worked. She was usually stuck in a book she'd pulled from the library, or one of Harry's relatives were nearby. He didn't want to keep secrets from them, but they were clearly hiding something from him. And he was determined to find out what.
His plan was a bit convoluted. Harry couldn't order a copy of the Prophet, because Mama would notice Hedwig coming back with something like that, and if Hermione was to distracted to tell him, Harry was going to get someone else to tell him what's going on. His birthday party this year was going to be a bit different then the years before, and Harry thought it would be the perfect place to find some information. This year, Mama had arranged for Harry's friends to come to the house to celebrate. That list was more then just Ron and Hermione, as she had invited Zabini, Malfoy, and Nott to come as well. Nina and Dahlia came back from Holyhead, and Marissa and Jasper came as well. But Harry knew what to do, and planned on asking Zabini or Malfoy to send him a copy of the Prophet in secret.
The party was a fairly simple one. They would eat lunch, play some Quidditch and maybe a few muggle games Hermione had brought, open presents, then have dinner and cake. It was a very simple start. Malfoy and Zabini arrived together. Something about their mothers having tea together that morning. Nott was late, so they started lunch without him. It was just a simple lunch, sandwiches and tea, and while Malfoy didn't seem all that impressed by it, he still still liked it. Nott showed up halfway through with his father. The man didn't look pleased, and had Nott apologize for his tardiness.
“You don't play Quidditch,” Harry said to Nott, as the rest of them were getting ready to head outside. “Maybe Hermione could show you the library? We could come get you when it's time for presents.”
Instantly, Nott's face morphed from a plain and uninterested one, into a look of cautious glee. “Are you sure, Alistair?”
“Of course,” Harry said, giving the bookworm a smile. “Besides, Hermione and Jasper aren't playing either, so we'd have an odd number of players if you did join.”
With a grateful smile, Nott nodded and headed for the library with Hermione. Turning back to the yard, Harry followed the others out to the field. They would have teams of four, Harry as one teams captain, leading Dahlia, Malfoy, and Ron, while Nina led the other team, made of Marissa, Skyla, and Zabini. They had tried to make the teams as even as possible, while still letting everyone keep the positions they would normally play. Harry and Skyla would be seekers, Malfoy, Nina, Marissa, and Dahlia were chasers, and Ron and Blaise were keepers. The only one really out of their position was Dahlia, who was normally a seeker.
They played for a few hours, deciding to not let out the Bludgers, and instead focusing on the Quaffle. Harry and Skyla also pitched in as makeshift Chasers, but their eyes were mostly on the Snitch. They were going for a while, playing four or five games, all with a different set of teams each time. Harry's team won three times, and he was pretty proud of that.
After flying high for a good three and a half hours, they came down from the chilly air, and headed inside. Dizzy was ready with hot cocoa, having them all sit down and handing them cups filled with with the sweet liquid.
“Your elf makes wonderful hot chocolate,” Malfoy said, though he didn't look quite as pleased as he sounded. “I'll have to get her to teach Dobby.”
“Dobby?” Harry asked.
“Yeah,” Zabini said, grinning at Malfoy like there was a joke there. “ Dobby .”
Harry frowned, looking between his two housemates. Malfoy seemed to shrink in on himself, a light pink dusting on his cheeks.
“I may not have been completely honest,” Malfoy said, slow and careful. “About what I knew. I… know a little more about what happened. At the beginning of the year. And at the Quidditch match.”
“What?” Ron said, just as confused as Harry.
“I'm talking about the barrier to the train, Weasley,” Malfoy sneered. “And the rogue Bludger.”
Harry laughed. “Oh, those? I already figured out it was Voldemort. I mean, who else would want me dead or out of Hogwarts?”
Even though the others sitting at the table jumped, Malfoy was scowling at him, shaking his head. Harry frowned.
“It… wasn't Voldemort?”
“Stop saying his name,” Malfoy hissed. “But no. It wasn't the Dark Lord. It, er… was Dobby. My house elf.”
“Your… house elf.”
Malfoy seemed to go pink again, and gained a frustrated look on his face. “I may have… rambled aloud that you were likely to get hunted down for being friends with Granger one day while he was in the room. He seemed to take that as an order to… save your life by stop you from coming to school?”
For a moment, Harry did his best to process that. Malfoy had been worried enough about his safety that he’d rambled about it? It was a pretty nice to know Malfoy cared that much. And a little cute that the elf cared so much about Malfoy to try so hard to keep Harry safe on his behalf. Even though Harry had nearly died in one of those attempts.
“As long as your elf doesn’t try to ever save my life again,” Harry said, giving a bit of a grin. “Then it’s fine. But I have a favor to ask. If you don’t mind.”
“Of course,” Malfoy said quickly. “Whatever you need. You did save my life, after all.”
“Do you remember what was in the paper yesterday? I know it sounds odd, but I would really like to know.”
“I’m afraid I don’t. Blaise? Do you?”
“Something having to do with Harry Potter,” Zabini said, shrugging. “They still can’t find him, and something’s got the Ministry all shaken up about it.”
Harry went wide eyed, jerking a little in surprise, as he turned to share a look with Ron. His best friend was just as interested as he was now. The Daily Prophet never wrote about ‘The Boy Who Lived’, other then in passing, since Emit and Neva had a fairly tight handle on keeping information on who Harry was away from their coworkers. Just what had it said to make Hermione call it dangerous?
“Do you think you could track down a copy of it for me?” Harry prompted. “I’d really appreciate it.”
“Interested in The Boy Who Lived?” Zabini asked. “You share the same first name, and both of you’ve defeated You Know Who.”
“Only our Harry is far superior,” Malfoy said, looking prideful on Harry’s behalf. “He’s defeated the Dark Lord twice now. And he’s Slytherin. Potter can just stay missing. I’d rather have Alistair.”
Not knowing whether to be offended or flattered, Harry chuckled and got up to go get Hermione and Nott. They both had their noses in books, and it took a bit to get them up and out. But he did, and he opened presents from everyone.
Hermione and Nott had both gotten him books, both about snakes, though Harry didn’t really open then to see what exactly about snakes. Zabini had given him a new set of Snitches, which Harry really needed after their games this afternoon. Malfoy had gotten him a pair of golden snitch cufflinks, which confused Harry, since he didn’t really wear suits. His favorite so far, aside from the box of Snitches, was the big, big tub of Mrs. Weasley’s homemade fudge that Ron brought.
They had dinner after that, sitting around the table, and talking about the upcoming school year. Their Hogwarts letters had arrived a few days ago, so they knew what electives they would have. Malfoy and Zabini would be taking Care of Magical creatures with him, and there was a chance that he would have Diviation with Ron. Everyone was surprised to hear that Hermione had five electives in her schedule. Harry was probably going to have trouble with just the two extra classes.
After some cake and ice cream, Malfoy, Nott, and Zabini said their farewells, and were on their way back to their own homes. Tired after the long day, Harry went to bed early. He was curious about what would come when Malfoy finally got him that paper. He knew he could try Hermione again, but by now she probably would be to focused on new books to even remember what it was.
Harry could wait a little while to learn what the Prophet wanted with Harry Potter after all this time.