"I haven't seen the Manor this lit up in a long time."
Harry looked over at Draco's words. The sound of the Sleipner-drawn carriage pulling away rang in the stone courtyard. He turned to look at Draco's childhood home. It was quite massive and Harry had never seen more than a tenth of the mansion, he was sure. He got the shivers whenever he went into that cavernous place and never wanted to hang around, but tonight it was lit warmly and seemed almost inviting. Floating candles were dancing in the air around the outside and all the windows were bright. The distant sound of probably hundreds of people drifted out into the night air.
"Come on. Can't have the party without us, eh?" Draco took Harry's elbow and they walked towards the grand stone staircase that framed and swept right up to the imposing front entrance. The doors were open and house elves stood at attention.
"Master Malfoy," the head elf greeted as he took Draco's cloak. He turned to Harry. "Master Malfoy," he said again. Harry gave up his own cloak and Draco led him further into the house.
"Why do they always do that?" Harry asked in an undertone. "I've told them my name at least a half-dozen times."
Draco smirked. "In this house, Harry, you will only be a Malfoy," he said imperiously. Before Harry could hiss out a response, the great doors at the end of the entrance hall opened and the impressive figures of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy appeared. They slid forward and the doors closed silently behind them, muffling the noise from the people behind them.
"Ah, Draco, Harry, you've come at last," Lucius said graciously.
"Fashionably late, of course," Draco drawled. Harry watched the two men greet each other. They didn't hug or slap each other on the back, but there was a strong feeling of affection and respect that enveloped the two that only someone familiar with the family could see. Harry was always amazed at how alike and yet different father and son were. Draco had filled out even more over the years and was now the same height as his father, although Harry suspected that Lucius had taken to wearing a higher heel on his boot to make sure of it. Their features were very similar, and yet Draco's were broader now and he was not as slim as the elder Malfoy. Both men wore their hair traditionally long, but Draco habitually tied his shoulder-length mane back and rarely wore it loose as Lucius did. Watching the two together was a fascination for Harry as he looked for glimpses of what Draco would become as he grew older. Still, Harry would never stay alone in the same room with Lucius and didn't trust him further than he could throw a Hippogriff. And Draco looked much more handsome in his sapphire-blue frockcoat and black trousers than Lucius in his similar outfit in green, Harry thought.
"Harry, dear. How are you feeling?"
Harry turned and offered a small smile to the family matriarch. Narcissa Malfoy. Harry had yet to fully figure her out. She seemed nice enough now, but there was always a look in her eye as if nothing ever quite came up to her standards. Except, of course, her precious son. The sun rose and set in Draco's eyes as far as Narcissa was concerned. Only because of his relationship with her son, did the woman seem to accept and concern herself with Harry. Her association with her husband and sister made her extremely suspect in Harry's eyes, and he never fully trusted her, but he was willing to be civil for Draco's sake.
"I'm well. Thank you for asking," he said politely. She pursed her lips, in what Harry had learned meant that she was smiling, and nodded.
"Then shall we?" Lucius raised his arm and gestured toward the ballroom. The four people moved to the doors and they opened once again to the sound of many people talking. As Harry stepped through the doorway, he saw that the ballroom had been redecorated and was stunning. Everything was in cream and red tones and made of the highest-quality materials, from woods to fabric to metals. Everything was brushed, polished, and waxed, even the people.
