A Change of Feeling

The Conversation at Diagon Alley

***

Time passed quickly and soon the group of friends had finished their purchases. Ron had had to go to the store all by himself for his new Comet. His parents had agreed to the purchase as a reward for his appointment as Prefect. Hermione's nose was buried in her edition of 'Hogwarts a History', she had already made some enthusiastic noises and said she would go to the Leaky Cauldron to read on.

Harry was happy that the group was about to break up. He could easily slip away to his appointment with the Malfoys and Corvus. He decided to join Ron's group. Ron was very happy and bounced his way to the store. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had their attention on their son and Harry didn't have to make a lot of effort to slip away.

He quickly walked to "The Golden Plate" and entered the restaurant. It was chic, the ceilings were high and space had a high-quality finish. Harry was glad Kreacher tailored his outfits for him, he would feel out of place in Dudley's clothes. He was approached by the host. After mentioning his name, he was led to his table. The table was in a prominent place, the Malfoys were already there.

"Thank you for the invitation. I never dreamed that my apologies would be so well received." Harry politely waited for Lucius Malfoy to allow him to sit.

Lord Malfoy gestured to the chair. "Sit down, a polite conversation is always done seated."

Lord Malfoy looked intrigued at Harry. "We, Draco and I, did not see your letter coming. We were pleasantly surprised by your apologies. It did make me wonder where this change was coming from. Until now you seemed to be... dismissive... to the customs of high society. Why this change of heart?"

"I was ignorant of many customs of the magical society until this summer. I was directed to correct my mistakes. When Draco offered me his hand, I only saw this as his hand in friendship. I failed to see that this was also a rejection to the entire Malfoy family."

Harry looked at the two blondes. "I was too quick in my judgment of Draco and would like to fix this." Harry looked at Draco. "I'm sorry I rejected you right away. I can see that I didn't give you a chance and that in the years that followed my behavior was not always appropriate. I hope we can at least be polite to each other."

Draco snorted and said, "I don't see why we can't be cordial to each other. I accept your apologies and offer you mine also. I would like to see this as the beginning of a friendship." Draco reached out his hand. "Can you agree to that, Harry?"

"Yes, Draco, I can." And Harry shook his hand.

"What a heartwarming scene", said a dark, velvety voice behind Harry. "I came here to eat, but instead I see a new friendship blossom." The voice sounded amused.

"Corvus, friend, what a surprise! If I had known you would be in the Alley today, I would have invited you." Lucius sounded pleasantly surprised to see his acquaintance.

"Doesn't matter, Lucius. I came here at the request of Harry. He came up with a question and I'm here to give him his answer." With these words, Corvus turned to Harry and handed him a book. "It is wise to keep the book out of sight of your friends, Harry. They may not be able to appreciate it."

Harry looked at the book with interest. It was a copy of 'Blood Magic, a Complete Work'. He read the introduction page of the book and looked at Corvus in pleasant surprise. "This is exactly what I was looking for! Thanks, Corvus, I don't know how to pay you back."

"I think your project payment enough, Harry. I look forward to the day I get my hands on it. Two weeks you said?" Corvus winked at him.

Harry couldn't help but blush. The man was elderly, at least in his sixties, but he still looked good. Harry could only imagine that Corvus' sons would look good as well, adding to his mortified feeling. He looked at Corvus and hoped the man hadn't noticed. But a twinkle in the dark eyes told Harry the man had noticed his reaction.