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The Slytherin Prince
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"Thoughts"
Letter
^Parseltongue^
~~~ August 1, 1990. 11 a.m. ~~~
~~~ Harry's POV ~~~
As we exited Gringotts I got a better look of the area surrounding Gringotts, as previously I was too nervous and excited to go inside the Bank that I didn't take a good look of my surroundings.
It was a marvellous sight that greeted us once we cleared the Bronze doors and nodded to the Goblin Guards. There were shops in many colours and sizes selling so many different things that I almost got whiplash trying to look at everything.
"Madam McGonagall, or can I call you Aunt Minnie" I joked much to everyone's amusement. "Aunt Minnie, can I shop for the essentials now or can we come back later. And we still haven't decided where I'm staying yet, or with who. But I sure as hell am not staying separate from my brother" I said, which had the ladies giggling and the men sighing in defeat.
"Lord Pott-" Lady Malfoy started, but I cut her off, "Call me Harry, all of you here I'm just Harry to you all unless we are in a public setting or in a situation where I need to enact rank," I said, leaving no room for argument.
"Well, then I insist that you call me Narcissa". "What about Aunt Cissa?" I asked cheekily. "Even better" she replied, just as smug as me. I chuckled. "So Harry, as I was saying, you can always stay with us, at Malfoy Manor" she offered. But I got pretty nervous.
"Uhm, I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality. But, moreover, if my Godfather, father really at this point, is proven innocent like I think he is, he will live with me too, so will Mr Lupin", "Call me Remus, Harry, or even Moony. I'll tell you all the full story later". "So, Remus will be living with me too. And if I have it my way, my brother, another brother will be living with me too". As I said this the other boy looked up so fast he might have broken his neck. At the same time another stern-looking lady, but not as aged as Aunt Minnie, smiled.
"Neville right?" I asked him as we walked down the place called 'Diagon Alley', according to Lord Mal-Lucius. We were walking down to a place called 'Apparition point' so we can do another type of travel by magic, like portkeys but different.
"Yes, Neville Longbottom, Heir to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom" he replied shyly, if a tad bit formal. I just chuckle and slung my hand over his shoulder, he tensed slightly, but relaxed when he saw that I meant no harm. "Neville, Nev, please don't be so formal. If my parents were alive, or if I had been given to my proper Guardians after my parents' death, we should have grown up like brothers. I think it's not too late to try, what do you say?" I asked tentatively.
He was silent for a while, during which I was starting to get nervous, but I didn't let show. Then he grinned, "I think being called the Boy-Who-Lived's brother can have its advantages too," he said chuckling. I laughed along too because I knew that he was just joking and wouldn't take advantage of my fame like that.
Draco smirked, "Already used that joke Nev, gotta find a new one!" he said smirking. Neville grinned shyly and shrugged. I just smiled hugged Neville tighter before letting go. We spent the rest of the journey home getting to know one another.
Once we reached the Apparition point before we apparated out, Mrs Tonks' daughter, who both insisted I call them Aunt Dromeda and Tonks respectively, had an idea. "Hey Harry, instead of just apparating, what do you think about taking the Knight Bus?" she asked. I just looked at her weirdly until she got it.
"Oh! You don't know what it is. Even better then! Time for a new experience, boys!" she said happily. Before the proper adults could intervene, she stuck out her right hand for a few seconds. When I thought she was going to make us wait forever, a huge bang startled everyone, including those who knew what to expect.
A huge, violently purple, triple-decker, that smelt of burning tyres pulled up in front of us. Draco and I gasped as Neville stumbled back in shock. That's when the door was thrown open and an extremely thin wizard with a worn purple suit the exact shade of the bus stepped out grinning.
"Ah 'Nymphy, 'ow you 'oing?" he asked in heavily accented English.
After a harrowing journey, Dora, as I like to call her, and I were grinning like psychopaths, while Neville and Draco were gasping for breath and shaking from shock and fear of cracking their head open on a handlebar.
Even the ever-poised Lord and Lady Malfoy looked slightly dishevelled. I just stood there and gaped at the magnificence that was Malfoy Manor. But what stumped me wasn't the Manor itself, but the fact that I owned multiple properties all around the world, much grander than Malfoy Manor.
"Like my Home?" asked Draco cheekily. "Oh I love your home Dray," I said trying out the new nickname, making Draco blush in embarrassment was an added benefit. "Lord and Lady Malfoy, your home absolutely stunning!" I complimented. As I expected Narcissa started to chiding me call them Narcissa and Lucius but was beaten to it by Lord Malfoy himself.
"Harry, how many times do we tell you to call us Cissa and Lucius, or, if you want, Aunt and Uncle" he added the last part tentatively. This earned him a well-deserved snog from his wife while the kids all 'ewwwwwed' as one along with Dora, who acted like a child anyways. The others chuckled at this display and made their way down the winding driveway.
While walking along hand-in-hand with Draco and Neville, finally getting to behave like a kid and not a servant, I broached the topic he had started while walking down Diagon Alley. "Dray, I understand what you said about people fearing this Manor and the people who live here".
"But I know those who live here are good people".
By now everyone else was completely silent, I knew they were listening to every word I said. "I know your father supported Voldemort-" I ignored all the gasps, "-Voldemort, I know that he was a Death Eater and wasn't under the Imperius curse like he claimed. But I also know there is a reason that basically my uncle in all but blood hasn't attacked him yet and that my parents wouldn't have stated your mother as a viable option for guardian without thorough reasoning" I said, smiling at Lucius, using this as a way to tell him that I believed him and clear doubts from the others' minds.
He smiled at me knowing my reasoning and gave me an almost imperceptible nod of thanks. We continued forward silently through the front door, which was made of Great Oakwood, so polished that its shine was near opalescent.
The Entry Hall, framed by magnificent, symmetrical staircases on both sides with luscious red carpets that made the whole place look regal. The crystal chandelier's iridescent shine throwing rainbow sparkles everywhere.
It felt like walking into a luxurious heaven. With the soft light from the curtained windows mixed with the shimmer of the chandelier and the soft complementary tones of the hallways and thick red carpet to walk on which muffle the footsteps of the women's' high heels, it felt like home. A feeling he'd never felt before, even when living with his Aunt.
Our entourage walked to the sitting room in the Manor's East wing and settled themselves comfortably, with the snack and refreshment that the Malfoy elves brought. "Dobby!" Lucius called. That's when a cute little Elf with tennis-ball-sized eyes and flappy-ears appeared with a *pop*. he was wearing clean pillowcase-type clothing with the Malfoy crest proudly displayed on the front.
"What is Master Malfoy be wanting from Dobby sir?" the Elf asked in a high-pitched squeaky voice, though a little annoying, was very cute. "Dobby from now on whenever Lord Potter wants anything you are to help in any way you can, and, if he wishes so, you can bond with him and wear the Potter crest instead", he said a bit emotionlessly.
I watched this with a hint of sadness and gratitude to Lucius for giving me his Elf, and a very young and healthy one at that. "Thank you very much, Uncle Lucius," I said smiling. I turned to the little guy. "Hey Dobby, do you agree to be my personal Elf?" I asked kindly.
Dobby turned to me, eyes as wide as saucers. "Harry Potter wants Dobby to be his ELf?!?!" he said hysterically. He threw himself at my feet saying that I am great and kind and very generous and said that he'd be honoured to be my Elf. I just sighed in exasperation and gestured to Lucius to perform the bonding.
With a flick of his wand, a golden thread flew from his chest, through Dobby and into my chest. It didn't hurt, surprisingly, but it did feel uncomfortable. After it was finished I said over Dobby's grovelling, "Dobby stand up!".
As if an invisible force pulled him up, Dobby stood suddenly and blinked at me. "I have your rules Dobby. First, you can always tell me if you do not want to carry out any of my orders or do not like what I am doing and can discuss it with me" I said much to the little guy's and the others'astonishment.
"Secondly, no grovelling at my feet and absolutely no punishing yourself" I knew about how most wizards punished their Elves for not carrying out their orders perfectly and knew that it was odd of me to do this, but I was not going disrespect a magical creature that has had its intelligence and magic repressed by wizards. "If you feel that you have done something bad, you can come to me and we discuss the appropriate 'punishments', is that understood?" I asked, getting an affirmative carried on.
"From today, you will be paid three galleons a month and given two days off for your work each month and you can take days off if you are sick, is that understood, and before you object, there will be no objections to this. You will get paid for your service. And let me get this straight, you are not my slave, or in the essence, mine. You are my butler and my chef and my maid, not my slave. Is that understood?" I asked the little Elf again.
This time his eyes were leaking as he nodded. "Thank you, Master Potter, you is giving Dobby a great boon, and Dobby is being very grateful," he said while sobbing his eyes out.
I just smiled at him. I turned to Lucius who was staring at me with a look I couldn't decipher. "Uncle Lucius, can you change his clothes to more of a t-shirt and shorts that still looks formal, which has the Peverell, Potter, Black, McGonagall and Slytherin crests on it".
He did as I said, which made Dobby look much more normal, and much cuter too. "Dobby, I have your first set of instructions" I specifically used the word 'instructions' and not 'orders' to make him remember that he just works for me, and is not my slave. "Dobby always call me Harry, not 'Master'. If in a professional setting you can call me 'Sir'".
"Of course Harry Potter Sir," he said smiling happily. "Next I want you to go and set up an appointment with the best tailor in the British Isles for me, to get myself a completely new wardrobe". "Dobby is being happy to help, Mr Harry Potter Sir", squeaked the Elf and *popped* away. Then I turned to the others. "I want to know all about you all, and you, me".
"Time to become a proper family!" Dora cheered.