Lucius was on his way to the Greengrass ’again to meet Harry. .his godson had already pissed him off about it. Draco said as often as this week Lucius wouldn’t have come to see him in two years.
Of course that wasn't true, but it was understandable that the teenagers, including the girls, made fun of the aristocrats a little. Ariel and Antonius also joined the taunts. .whereby the blonde always felt that they were just doing it for fun, there was not the slightest malice behind it. From none.
Really every one of his friends had something to say about Lucius' new, incipient, relationship. .where at the moment it was just advertising. Even Sebastian couldn't hold back.whereby the vampire kept pointing out that his blonde friend could have lived like this in the past if he hadn't fallen for Narcissa Black.
.which meanwhile made a name for itself again because she tried to land with a senior ministry employee. And the fool seemed to get involved with the faithless bitch.
.but Lucius really didn't want to think about his ex-wife right now. Instead, he wondered if his plan for today would resonate with young Harry.
With Storm in his arms, he stepped out of the fireplace. .the Niffler complained loudly. Probably he hadn't liked the journey through the chimney at all. And the fact that his fur was covered in ash certainly contributed to his bad mood.
.“The little one seems to hate this tossing around as much as I do. Smart animal, ”Harry commented on the Niffler's behavior and stroked the dirty fur.
“Good afternoon, Lucius. .sorry for the strange greeting, but Storm really couldn't be ignored. "
"Hello Harry. Don't apologize, I would probably have reacted that way too. .and as far as you are concerned, hold still and I'll clean your fur, ”he warned the animal on his arm.
Immediately the little creature stopped and looked at the person with big begging eyes.
."All the weather, it's cute," sighed Daphne, who just came through the door.
"Maybe Mum and Dad will give us some for free too, if we ask very kindly," said her sister.
.in the meantime they had all gone to the terrace together, where the whole family had gathered to enjoy the sun, so that the two adults had heard their daughter.
“Lucius did you have to drag the little one with you? .now we will hear these requests for the rest of the summer. And since the little creatures are not only cute but also useful, we will soon run out of arguments, ”moaned Antonius.
."Really, we get some?" Draco intervened.
“Definitely not, you can't even take her to school with you. In addition, your monster books don't obey you properly yet. .get that done first, then we can go on, ”Ariel intervened.
She knew her husband, he would give in all too quickly. .but the woman of the house was not willing to buy an animal for her children just because they had it in their heads. Plus, the little guys would be separated from their owners during the school year. .and who would the work get stuck with then? Right, about her and the house-elves, no, she wasn't in the mood for that.
The three teenagers knew their mother well enough to know that begging wouldn't help. .not when she made that face.
"Graduating maybe?" Draco begged.
Ariel smiled.
“If you still want one then, that's fine with me. .you know how I think about animals, if you want one you have to take care of it yourself. This also applies to your horses. But I'm afraid by the time you graduate you will have forgotten the Nifflers a long time ago and want something different. "
.“Definitely not,” came the determined from the siblings.
Ariel and her husband exchanged amused looks. They had known these assurances from their girls since they were little. And Draco was no different. .that's how children were, very fickle. It was then up to the parents to step in and say no from time to time. Something that Draco hadn't known at all in the beginning. .when he came to them the boy was used to everyone jumping if he even coughed. He didn't even have to clean his room himself, the house-elves had done everything. And he always got everything.
.In the Greengrass house it was different because the children were not raised to be work-shy aristocrats. .they should appreciate the work of the house-elves, and they could only do that if they picked up the broom or the wooden spoon themselves.
Ariel was the first to admit that not everyone had a knack for cooking. .daphne was a walking disaster, with her even the water burned. And Draco was usually so hungry, or gnawed, that he ate half of the food while he was cooking. And then he still complained of hunger. .this boy really was a bottomless pit. Fortunately, you didn't look at it.
"What are you thinking? You're grinning to yourself ”, Antonius wanted to know curiously.
"To the cooking skills of our children," smiled his wife.
.“Hey, I can cook. Don't throw me in the same pot with Ms. Clumsy and Mr. Wolverine, ”Astoria snorted.
Lucius, who had sat down next to Harry in the meantime, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“You can all cook?” He marveled.
.“Not really, as you have heard, I totally lack the talent. Skunk cooks best of all. Even the elves like it. "
“Now she's starting to do it too. .my dear, sweet Daphne, what have I ever done to you to deserve that nickname? ”Harry wanted to know plaintively.
"Nothing, but you can say what you want, Skunks are cute, just like you. Oh, and thanks for the compliments."
.since the young woman gave him an angelic smile, Harry stayed behind pouting, he couldn't scold anymore.
"You let your guests cook?" Lucius changed the subject.
.“No, we don't, but our children are sometimes given the task of taking care of the food. They wanted to show him what they can do, ”Ariel informed the aristocrat.
."Which ended with Harry taking things out of their hands at some point. Apparently he took pity on the innocent food, ”joked Antonius.
"No, I didn't, but I'm only rarely allowed to cook myself," Harry defended himself.
."Your fathers won't let you into the kitchen?" Asked Lucius.
"Yes, but not Kreacher, he looks at me so reproachfully that I always get a very guilty conscience," grumbled the green-eyed man and tugged at Beast.
.his audience grinned, they could well imagine that. No house-elf thought it was great if you did their job. Even the elves in this manor only allowed it because it was part of the upbringing of the children.
."To get back to your hairy friend. Why did you bring him with you? ”, Antonius persisted.
Lucius stroked Storm's fur and then set him down next to Beast and Oskar. Much to the delight of the three.
.“So that he has playmates. You know how my owls are, they only think about work. And the elves are busy, just like me. The little one is literally lonely with me. "
.for the young people these words made perfect sense, they thought it was very nice of Lucius that he thought about the welfare of his animal roommate. The adults, on the other hand, burst out laughing.
."What is it now?" Daphne wanted to know.
Her siblings as well as Harry and Lucius merely shrugged their shoulders.
"Do you have these seizures more often?" Asked the blonde.
At these words the laugh became even more hysterical.
.“Mum, Dad, do we need to call a healer? What's wrong with you guys? ”It came from Astoria.
“We're fine, we don't need a healer. But Lucius ’excuse was just too delicious,” Ariel chuckled.
"What are you talking about?" Lucius looked at the two of them with a snub.
."Oh come on, you took Storm with you mainly to give you free rein with Harry. Otherwise his two companions are always there. And when it was evening Hedwig would join in too ”, laughed Antonius.
.now all eyes wandered in the direction of the blond politician.
He rolled his eyes, but then gave up.
“It's really true, I want Storm to have more contact with other living beings. .even if it's usually enough for him to sit on my lap for hours. But well, your assumption is not entirely wrong either. Although I don't want to have a free run, as you said. "
."What do you have planned for today?" Interjected Ariel, who immediately understood what Lucius was talking about.
"That's none of your business."
"Luc, we are responsible for Harry," Antonius reminded the man.
.he sighed, then took a piece of parchment out of his pocket and wrote something down. He then passed the document on to his friends.
Ariel and Antonius nodded when they finished reading.
."Good idea, then we wish you a lot of fun", the plan was approved.
Lucius rose and held out his hand to Harry, who took it with a smile.
“Shall we go horse riding again?” Came the shy voice from below.
The blonde shook his head.
."No, not today, I have another idea."
To be precise, Lucius was hoping for more than "just" a few nice hours with Harry today. He wanted the young man to have more self-confidence, especially when dealing with him. .the little one was still extremely embarrassed when he looked Lucius in the eye. He also started babbling or strangling his clothes. It got really bad when the blonde gave him a kiss on the back of the hand or on the forehead. .when he kissed the boy's cheek yesterday, he went rigid with embarrassment.
Harry was most calm when he sat on the horse in front of him, then he even dared to lean against Lucius. .so the politician simply hoped that his idea would succeed.
"Why are we going into the forest?"
"You will find out in a moment."
"Um, are you sure this is a good idea?"
And there it was again, the uncertainty. .Harry had blushed and was clinging to Lucius ’arm without being able to look at him.
As cute as this behavior was, it certainly wasn't doing Harry any good. .lucius knew how much it frustrated his little one that he couldn't be as open as his friends.
Lucius stopped in a small clearing and turned to Harry.
"Did you know that every manor has a forest?"
.“No, but I suspected it. Even Grimmauldplatz has a very large garden. Even though the house is in the middle of London. It fits the magician's way of life. "
The blonde laughed.
"You mean it goes with the decadence."
."Something like that," Harry admitted.
“But such forests certainly have many advantages and one important use. For example, a lot of herbs grow in them that are needed for potions. Not to mention the diversity of animals. .the more natural a forest is, the more living things are in it. "
“Well, I understand that. But what are we doing here, do you want to look for herbs and animals? "
“No, I just wanted to explain to you why every property has a forest. .Incidentally, I spend a lot of time in mine. "
"Really?" Harry marveled.
"Yes, I'll show you the reason too."
The blonde released Harry and took a few steps back. .he began to transform and after a few moments a large white wolf stood in front of the teenager.
"Wow, I completely forgot that you can do that."
Carefully Harry stroked the wolf's thick fur.
.'Probably rather suppressed,' thought Lucius with a smile.
The wolf jumped around Harry and snapped playfully at him over and over again.
"Should I transform myself too?"
Lucius-Wolf nodded.
."Well, I hope there aren't any dangerous animals here, because I can't defend myself particularly well in the other form."
'That's what I'm here for.'
Harry took another deep breath then the transformation started for him too. .and already a clumsy little sand cat was standing in front of the big imposing wolf.
Lucius nudged Harry with the snout and animated him to play a running game.
.the blond's plan seemed to work, after a short time Harry seemed to have forgotten who he was actually raging through the forest with. .The little sand tomcat became more and more exuberant, he even playfully bit into one of Lucius ’legs and clung to his tail.
So the two spent the next few hours. .they ran through the forest, stopped at a stream to drink and then stormed on.
As Harry was recovering briefly, Lucius stole into the undergrowth where he had scented. .and before Harry really noticed that his companion had disappeared, he came back again. With a dead rabbit in its mouth. He put this down in front of Harry and terrified him tremendously.
.The Sand Cat looked up at the wolf with wide eyes. He didn't seem to know what to do with the dead animal. Or why it had been put in front of his paws. So Lucius showed him. .he grabbed the rabbit with his teeth and tore a large piece of meat from the still warm animal. He began to chew with relish.
.Harry made a jump back and watched in amazement as the wolf, which he knew was a man, ate.
'But, the rabbit is raw. And there is blood everywhere. How can he eat that? ’
.the young tomcat wavered between fascination and disgust. But after a short time the animal instincts took over and he no longer saw the cute bunny, but smelled the warm blood and the juicy meat. .he cautiously stalked the wolf and looked shyly up at him.
That was exactly what Lucius had been waiting for, he raised his head and pushed Harry closer to the prey. The little one should let himself go, and that worked best in this guise. .an animagus in its animal form always preferred the animal's way of thinking. Simply because animals weren't that complicated and didn't create as many problems for themselves. .that was also the reason why many witches and wizards preferred to live in their animal form. And it would certainly do the young lion good not to think twice.
Reluctantly Harry sniffed the rabbit and in the next moment began to salivate. .once more he glanced at the wolf and when he only nodded the cat couldn't hold it anymore. He greedily tore small pieces of meat from the fresh prey and gobbled them down.
.after the meal, Lucius led the little one under a shady tree and began to lick the cat's lips with it. Before Harry knew it, he was being cleaned by the imposing wolf. .under normal circumstances the boy would surely have passed out by now, but as an animal it was okay with him. He enjoyed the attention and at the end snuggled up against Lucius' flank.
The wolf curled up around the sand tomcat and closed his eyes contentedly. .it had been a wild day, they both deserved some rest.
When Lucius said goodbye that evening, it seemed like Harry had really calmed down. .he could look the blond in the eye and thank him with a smile for the wonderful day without blushing.
"Can we do this again soon?"
"I'd love to, it was fun romping around with you. .maybe you can visit me next time, then I can show you the woods at Malfoy-Manor. "
The young man beamed with his white streak and nodded eagerly.
.when Lucius leaned down to kiss Harry on the cheek, Harry didn't blush or hide his face for the first time. Instead, he smiled up at him and even took his hand briefly. .a slight pink sheen could of course still be seen.
"Will you come back tomorrow?"
The question actually astonished the aristocrat. So far the lion had never dared to ask. Even if Lucius knew that hope was always there.
.“Yes, I'll be back tomorrow too. Then we can take a carriage ride. If you want?"
“Cool, so far I've only known the Thestal carriages and I can't even see the animals. I am happy."
.Lucius raised the young man's hand again and breathed a kiss on it. It was meanwhile a ritual that he couldn't do without. Then he said goodbye and left the mansion with Storm in his arms.