Harry laughed at that, properly laughed, and he sat smiling as a plate of bacon and eggs was brought out for him by Pimsey, the Malfoy's house-elf, along with a side plate of toast and a bowl of fruit salad. He thanked the little elf and made himself a mug of strong coffee, hoping it helped him as much as it seemed to help Lucius as he started eating his large breakfast. This was something that he enjoyed too, regular meals. He didn't have to pace himself because he'd been starved over the summer, he didn't have to watch out for who came into the room and he didn't have to worry about having his meals snatched from him on a whim.
"I'm told that you conducted yourself wonderfully well in the emergency meeting last night, darling." Narcissa told him and Harry chewed, swallowed, and then smiled.
He nodded his head as he looked at Lucius with a grin. "I did have an attack of nerves and I started second-guessing myself, but I should have known that it was all politics."
"He conducted himself brilliantly, dear. Even Dawson Shacklebolt agreed with his eloquently presented opinion. I am very proud of you and I am proud to call you my son. That halfblood deserved Azkaban. Imagine firing off spells in a muggle city, putting us all in danger."
Harry shook his head. "I can't believe that anyone would be that stupid and I will not accept lack of judgement as an excuse just because the imbecile thought that it was a good idea to drink two bottles of Firewhiskey before going out into the muggle world. No, alcohol or not, he should be held accountable for his actions. Let him off with a fine and a warning." He scoffed. "What a joke, I was trying to save my fat cousin from Dementors and they wanted to expel me from school for trying to save him! There was no way that I was going to let that slide." "I actually agree with you." Lucius told him. "Believe it or not, I was livid with Fudge for holding a full Wizengamot trial, minus the lords of course, as none of them would have accepted such an example of misconduct, for a mere case of underaged magic. I told him so too."
Harry smiled. He liked hearing these little things, small truths that proved that Lucius was not the bastard that everyone had always made him out to be. He'd assumed when he'd seen Lucius talking to Fudge after his trial that he was trying to find out the outcome of the trial and if he'd been expelled or not. He'd had no idea that Lucius, as Lord Malfoy, was actually a member of the Wizengamot and should have been told about his trial and should have been present for it. All of that had only come out recently.
Harry finished his breakfast and he stayed sitting and he sipped at his coffee delicately. He still wasn't used to the taste and this cup was a lot stronger than he'd tried thus far, but it was still a nice coffee. Then again, Lucius had bought it, so it was likely going to be the best coffee that Galleons could buy.
He was feeling a little more awake and a little more lively, but he still could have done with another hour, or several, in bed. That meeting had gone on for much longer than he'd ever expected, but then it hadn't really been a clear cut, black or white decision like the other meetings he'd been called to thus far.
It had been an easy decision to make for him because the way he'd seen it had been very clear in his mind, but, naturally, others had disagreed with him and thus, they'd spent half the night debating back and forth.
"I woke you so early because I wished to speak with you before you went back to school." Harry nodded, though he had to wonder what this was about. He had the sinking feeling that it was going to be about the Dursleys and not about the meeting they'd just had last night or anything about Rabastan.
He was actually nervous as he made his way to Lucius' study and he took a seat with Lucius on the other side of the sturdy desk.
"I believe that I'm right in thinking that you already have an inkling of why we're having this little talk, am I correct?"
Harry nodded glumly. Lucius sighed.
"What have I taught you about using gestures instead of actual words?"
Harry grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm a little slow this morning."
"I will let it slide for today only then, as a reward for your impeccable conduct last night. Now, onto more serious matters. I've been hoping for a chance to sit you down and ask about your childhood since your letter arrived at the beginning of September, would you like to explain it to me?"
Harry chewed on his lip and averted his gaze for long moments before he lifted his head and caught Lucius' steel grey gaze for a moment. "I don't know where to begin." He said a little overwhelmed by the whole situation.
"Start from the earliest memory you have of this type of behaviour, even if it is something small." Lucius encouraged.
Harry's face screwed up as he thought about it. He shook his head and fell back into his old habit of nibbling his lip and the inside of his cheeks.
"I suppose I was about four, though I can't be certain it wasn't earlier. They've always looked down on me and sneered and belittled me, that was nothing new. Dudley pinched and kicked me whenever he could, but he was only a few months older than me and I fully believe that it should have been Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon who should have stopped that before it escalated, but they didn't care. They always turned a blind eye when Dudley and his behaviour were concerned. I learned early on that I was different, that I wasn't the same as them. Nothing compounded that to me more than when Dudley caught me off guard and hit my nose really hard. It was a snap minute decision, I don't think I even thought about it; I was angry, I was in pain, my nose was throbbing and my eyes were watering from the pain. I hit him back."
Harry fell quiet as he remembered that day. How he could clearly remember certain things, but other, more inconsequential things were blurry or lost. He could remember the pain of Dudley catching his nose as if it had only just happened, he could remember where they were both standing and exactly what had happened, but he couldn't recall the colour of his shirt or what day of the week it was. He couldn't remember if it was sunny, but he did know that it wasn't raining.
"What happened?" Lucius prompted.
"He ran to Aunt Petunia, she told Uncle Vernon and…and that was the first time that I was smacked."
"Don't refer to those people as your family members. They are not." Lucius told him mildly. "You are a part of the Malfoy family now. Can you remember where you were hit?"
Harry sighed loudly. "My hand. He took my hand and he smacked it as hard as he could before he hit the side of my head and he threw me…he threw me into the cupboard under the stairs."
"Did he throw you into this cupboard often?" Lucius asked.
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