'That's a good idea, Molly,' he admitted after a few minutes. 'I will try it.'
'There. That wasn't so hard.' She smiled at him as if he'd finally gotten his homework done after much struggling against it. 'Now, tell me about your disciplinary methods . . .'
Severus sighed. This was going to be a long day.
---
Out on the grounds, the boys were playing a loud game of tag, along with Fang, while Hagrid and Nelli the House-elf kept an eye on them. Nelli looked a bit fretful, to tell the truth, but Hagrid kept a discreet distance, for him, just a glance or two every few minutes, and weeded his garden. Fang tired of the game far earlier than his human counterparts, and lay panting in the shade of the cottage. Drool collected in a puddle near his head.
Hagrid laughed at him good naturedly and tossed a half ripe tomato at the beast's huge paws. Fang lapped it up; he enjoyed a good steak as much as the next boarhound, but never let a tomato go by either. Darlin' beast, he was. Gentle as a lamb. 'There's a good lad. Eat up!'
From the shrieks of laughter and equally loud, happy calls of 'Not it, not it!' it seemed the game was going well. Harry was enjoying himself, Hagrid thought, watching him chase after Ron Weasley, who was skipping and grinning madly, and he was glad to see it. He'd worried for the tyke when he'd first come down to visit, with his injured hand and talk about being a House-elf, and his wary, not-quite-trusting smile. Fang had put the lad more at ease, he thought, as had a spot of tea.
And then he'd returned, with Draco Malfoy, no less! He had no liking at all for Lucius, no, that one was bad to the bone, as it were, but he had nothing against the nipper, 'less he did anything more to get Harry in trouble. Going after the squid, honestly! But Draco seemed to have decent manners, at least, even let Fang drool on 'im. Now, with the other boys, he looked more carefree than his father would ever deign to be, and was running and grinning as much as the others.
Charlie Weasley was a good lad, enjoyed that Care of Magical Creatures class Professor Kettleburn taught, from what he'd heard. And he was a dab hand at Quidditch, too. His little brother, Ron, was cute as a button, if the button was red haired and gap toothed from missing front baby teeth.
After another hour, when Hagrid was down to snapping peas on his front stoop, the boys staggered over to collapse in giggling, tuckered out heaps in the shade nearby. Hagrid listened to them discuss Quidditch – Harry's knowledge being on the low end, no surprise, since he couldn't have heard of the sport before Professor Snape had taken the mite in, but Draco and Charlie both seemed to know quite a lot about current standings and statistics, and a lot of other facts that went clear over Hagrid's head. Ron was somewhere in the middle, very enthusiastic, but not very strong on facts, to hear his brother's objections.
Up close, it was easier to see Harry's face, and though he smiled at his new friends, there was something off in his expression. It took a few minutes of close observation to figure it out, and by then two House-elves appeared with a basket of lunch for the bunch of 'em. Harry invited Hagrid – and the elves! – to join them, but he knew they would not have brought enough food for a half-giant and so declined. The House-elves looked properly aghast at the very idea of sharing trenchers with the people they were serving. Hagrid did take a serving of pumpkin juice, though. He loved the stuff.
All the boys looked hungry, though Hagrid noted that Harry not only waited until the other lads had their sandwiches, crisps and fruit piled high before taking anything for himself, but once he did have a plateful, he laid down on his belly and wrapped one arm around the outside of his plate, clearly protective of his meal. The gazes he aimed at the bigger boys had grown steadily warier, even though the midge tried to hide it.
Hagrid decided to keep an eye on the lad, and if he didn't settle easier pretty soon, he'd mention it to the Professor. Odd how Snape had taken in the boy; but they both seemed glad of the arrangement. Going back to his peas, he watched the boys eat
Harry jumped a span the first time the cards exploded, as if he'd been bit by a Horntail. But then he grinned and laughed along with the other boys, and the game started up again.
---
In the afternoon, under Nelli's watchful eye, the boys played chess in Harry's bedroom. Draco and Ron paired up, and Charlie, having admitted he knew less than nothing about chess, played against Harry. Their game dissolved into a 'Pieces Fighting Match' at Harry's suggestion, and when their hoots and catcalls got too much for Draco and Ron, the 'serious' game was moved to the sitting room.
Charlie grinned at Harry, who was feeling a little forlorn – and if he was admit the whole truth, a little nervous – at the abandonment. Charlie was a lot bigger than him, and older, too, and he probably could do all sorts of things with magic that would hurt. He was glad Nelli had stayed with him. She was currently sitting on a small chair by his wardrobe and watching him with a soft smile.
'Miss them, huh?' Charlie asked suddenly.
Harry stared at him and shrugged. It wasn't like they were far away, but
'Don't worry on it. After this game, Ron'll be back right quick. He's a bit mental about chess, actually. Percy won't play him any more, and no one else even knows the first thing about it.'
'Percy?'
'My little brother, just after me.' At Harry's blank look, he said, 'There's seven of us, six boys and a girl. First born is Bill, he's the heir, you'll meet him when term starts up again. Then me, then Percy, who'll be a Firstie in September. Then the twins, Fred and George. Ron's the youngest boy, and then there's Ginny. She's the baby.' He pulled a face. 'Except don't tell her I said that; she's six now; she'd kill me.'
'I won't tell,' Harry promised, smiling. Charlie was all right, he guessed, especially since he thought brooms and were really cool, and played Quidditch, too. Ron he wasn't too sure of; he tended to call 'no fair' a lot when they were playing something, and Draco called him out on it, saying things weren't always fair in life and he'd better get over it. Harry knew that was true, and figured it was something Draco had learnt from his father, the way Harry had learnt from Uncle Vernon.
Charlie set one of his bishops out to clobber a couple of pawns. Harry quickly moved in a knight of his own to cover them, and maybe smash it with the rooks a bit, too. 'So . . . how're you getting along with Draco Malfoy? I gotta tell you, it was a surprise to see him here.'
