Albus Potter, Classmates and Elves

Ch 12 A Goblin is Using a Wand at Hogwarts

I want to thank again my beta Deb, who has made significant improvements in this chapter.

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Dinner the night the children came home to Malfoy Manor was, as usual, a tense affair. Everyone, except Narcissa, pointedly ignored Cleo, although Great-grandmother Malfoy did look at her often, usually looking as though she was smelling something foul. Great-grandmother Black was obvious in her inability to even look pleasantly at Cleopatra, and Astoria was not much better.

Draco was looking over at Scorpius, and after taking a sip of his wine, slammed his glass down and snapped at his son, "Still not seeker on the Quidditch team? I was when I was at Hogwarts. I brought glory to the Malfoy name by my play."

Scorpius and Cleopatra looked at each other, and both stifled a laugh. James Potter, ever the student of Quidditch, had looked up the records of the school matches when his father was at Hogwarts, and had found out that Draco had only caught the snitch two times in five years of playing seeker. James tried to taunt Scorpius with that information when Scorpius was with Albus, Rose and Cleo, but Scorpius had just grinned at James.

"The team already has two good seekers, Albus Potter and Adel Brandt," Scorpius countered with a sigh, playing with the food on his plate. He knew that bringing up his father's Quidditch record would be a mistake. "I'm using some Saturday mornings to practice fighting with broadswords, with the goblin Thorin Oakenwand."

"What good will that do?" Draco scoffed. "Besides, you should not be friends with a goblin."

"It is good exercise," Scorpius explained. "It can also be handy in real close combat, or in getting through spells that are otherwise hard to counter. You put your wand in the handle of the sword, and the right sword magnifies your wand's power. It is like the staff that grandpa used, and that you now have. It helps make your spell more powerful."

"You will learn to be a true Malfoy yet," Draco threatened with a snarl.

Scorpius sighed. There was no way he wanted to be what his father considered a true Malfoy. The only person in his family who truly loved him without reservations and a whole list of expectations was grandmother Malfoy.

"You are taking lessons from a goblin?" Great-grandmum Malfoy complained, her hand elegantly placed on her chest, obviously mortified, before turning to her granddaughter-in-law. "Astoria, you need to have another child, so we can raise this one to be a true Malfoy."

"Not MY body," Astoria snapped, looking at Draco with daggers in her eyes. "I put up with all that once, and I'm not doing it again."

Draco sighed. Narcissa shook her head, sympathetic to Draco's frustration.

Scorpius had noticed that his parents usually sat at the opposite ends of the table, and avoided being physically close to each other. He thought about how Mr. and Mrs. Potter touched as often as they could. All of the Weasley families were touchers. Even Uncle Percy and Aunt Audrey, the most conservative and reserved of the Weasley family, sat next to each other and were affectionate. Rose was rather cautious about touch, although she wanted to be the best of friends with him.

Grandmum Narcissa would hug him, unlike his parents.

Scorpius and Cleo looked at each other when the 'adults' began talking about 'adult things'. They could not wait to escape this unhappy house and spend time with the wild and loving Weasley family.

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The Potter and Granger-Weasley families ate dinner together that first night the children were home.