Unforgivables

Chapter 5: Tasteful Affair

Once everyone reaches the dining room they automatically start taking their seats.

Tom takes the heads with Lucius and Severus to his right and left respectively. Narcissa takes her place next to her husband with Draco on her other side and Bella sitting next to Severus across from her sister. The twins skip a seat and sit at the end of the table facing each other.

During the walk, Bella had managed to bring Harry back to the land of the living although his eyes still seems a bit unfocused. She attempts to place him in between herself and Rodolfus only for him to tighten his hold on her, mumbling nonsense. The Lagrange matriarch catches bits and pieces of his babbling.

"Not 'llowed... not 'llowed... Freak... on the floor... go to the floor... no go in a chair... no go..."

"Shhhhh," she bounces him a second as everyone tries to pretend they aren't listening in. "You're perfectly fine here. Don't you want some lunch? We eat everything on our plate to grow big and strong."

Harry hangs onto her words like a life force. The only thing keeping him from dissolving into either a panic attack or tears. While he's focused more on what the black-haired witch is saying rather than doing she is able to place him down in the seat and start serving the both of them.

Instead of reaching for his silverware when she finishes Harry takes his glass of water and slips his feet into the chair, attempting to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible while taking small sips of the cool crisp liquid. The adults all give sad looks at the display but choose to say nothing. Draco feels incredibly awkward at seeing his former nemesis is such a sorry state.

"You should try the fruit, Po-Harry," he changes his mind at what to call the boy. Potter might bring back bad memories and the last thing he wants is to be the cause of one of the smaller boy's freakouts. "Uncle Sev and I grow most of it in the gardens here along with a lot of his potion ingredients."

"Ok." Harry glances around the table seeming to ensure that everyone has been served before hesitantly reaching for his fork. The clearly frightened child cast quick glances to the men at the head of the table as if expecting one of them to snap at him for some unknown reason.

At the first bite of a strawberry, Harry decides that these are even better than the fruit at Hogwarts before quickly devouring his entire bowl.

"Let us not filled up on only fruit, Harry," Severus calls out trying not to immediately take back his words when Harry scrambled to put his fork down and push the half-empty bowl away, gazing longingly at it. "Why don't you try the soup?"

Harry complies even if the vegetables in the steamy broth looks completely unappealing. He takes two bites before declaring himself done with that and moves onto his bread roll.

In order to make it easier to eat Harry starts ripping it into smaller pieces. Due to the bread being made to pair with the soup it was a bit tougher than he's used to causing him to strain a bit in order to break apart the fairly large loaf.

"Here allow me?" Rodo tries to help the slight boy with his meal only for said child to stuff the entire thing in his mouth.

Harry wasn't paying much attention to the conversations around him all he saw was a male hand reaching for his food. The only way he can guarantee that it isn't taken away is to stuff everything into his mouth. Which he does only to start choking slightly.

"Harry, no," Rodolphus picks up the child, feeling completely terrible for causing this, and places him on his lap as the conversations stop. "Spit it out."

Harry refuses to give them the satisfaction of his hunger so he continues to hork down the bread clumps despite a cloth being placed under his mouth for him to spit. Once he's successful in swallowing his food Harry takes a moment to catch his breath, refusing to look at anybody. With slight reluctance, Rodo sets his back into his chair where he resumes his scrunched up position.