Malfoy 1

Chapter 2: 1 July 10:00 AM -- 5 July 5:00 PM – Malfoy 1

"Hermann Busch, I presume," he stated as he offered me his hand. "I'm Draco Malfoy. This is my mother."

I greeted them, was shown my rooms, and brought back for morning tea. It was a little after 10 on 1 July.

"Draco can take you on a tour of the house and grounds," offered Mrs. Malfoy.

Draco looked as enthusiastic as I felt about a tour of the house.

"Can we ride our brooms on the grounds?" I asked.

Draco perked up.

"Yes," they both said at once.

"Lunch at one," cried Mrs. Malfoy as we took off ... Draco on his fast-looking steed and I on my serviceable one.

I expected Draco to ride sedately until his mother was out of sight, put on a burst of speed around the lake, do a fast climb and dive, and then take an obstacle course through the woods. I was not disappointed. What my broom lacked in speed, it gained in maneuverability. I came out of the woods just behind Draco. The look on his face told me I had been accepted.

My broom work was from training for hunting vampires through the German forests. I was a mediocre hunter, but I was still trained. I didn't see any reason to mention the training. The German Ministry was flexible on the matter. Its position was that the Brits could learn anything we transfer students knew by sending an English student to Durmstrang. We could tell our hosts whatever we felt comfortable telling them. Later, for vampires. Right now, lunch.

Draco was in a good mood after the ride, and it was infectious. He kissed his mother on the cheek and took over overseeing the elves.

"Do you ride?" I inquired.

"I used to, but not anymore," Mrs. Malfoy replied.

"I was hoping you could take us on a tour," I told her, hoping I wasn't being too forward. I glanced at Draco. He seemed to like the idea.

"Yes, Mother," he said. "You should relax and get some air."

"Perhaps you know some scenic spots," I suggested as casually as I could.

"There are some places I would like to visit," she confessed.

"That's great," said Draco.

After a pause he pleaded, "It would be good for you."

"I don't know if I'm up to it," she replied.

"Isn't Hermann a potions master?" quipped Draco, gesturing in my direction. "We could brew you some restoratives."

"I'm not that fragile," she retorted, and then she caught on. "That's a good one," she said, smiling at us.

Draco and I caught each other's eye. Let's leave it at that. Gentle persuasion.

"I hear you play Quidditch," I said, changing the subject.

"Oh, yes!" responded Mrs. Malfoy. "He's the team Seeker." She leaned over and squeezed her son's arm.

"Do you train with Snitch-Birds?" I asked. They gave me blank looks.

"Snitch-Birds," I explained, "are specially bred to mimic the movements of the snitch. Our Seekers train with them."

Draco looked interested, but his mother looked appalled. "You chase those poor little birds around and catch them?" she exclaimed.

"The birds live for it," I assured both of them. "There's an active Snitch-Bird Society dedicated to their welfare. They tried raising them without using them in Seeker practice. The birds died young."

Mrs. Malfoy still looked skeptical.

"The Seekers are very careful with them. It's considered clumsy and dishonorable to hurt a bird. There's an active debate whether or not our Seekers are being trained correctly. We're afraid they won't pursue the real snitch aggressively enough."

"But the birds still get hurt," countered Mrs. Malfoy.

"The injury rate for the birds is much less than for the players, but Quidditch is a sport," I replied. "In sports, people and animals get hurt."

"Could we practice with them?" asked Draco.

"Draco!" said Mrs. Malfoy. "Those poor little birds!"

"We'll be careful, Mum." He turned to me and asked, "Could we practice with them?"

"If you two agree to try them, I can ask the German Ministry."

Draco left for a few minutes. "Do you think I'm being a spoilsport about the birds?" asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"Not at all," I replied, looking into her kind eyes. "I'm glad you're concerned." She seemed to blush a little.

"Do you really want me to ride with you? Do you think I can?"

"Believe me; we both want your company. Take it easy at first."

"You look athletic to me," I added. She smiled at that and seemed to get slightly pinker.

I spent the rest of the day in a reading room, sorting through the Hogwarts' textbooks. The Hogwarts and Durmstrang curriculums were different, and I had to fill in some gaps. As I worked, I noticed the room was cozy. It had lots of natural light, comfortable chairs, a wood floor, and some quiet oriental carpets. Somebody liked this room and had made it friendly.

The next morning after tea, Draco and I discovered that Mrs. Malfoy had dug out and polished her broom. We made a small tour. That afternoon the Snitch-Birds arrived, and Mrs. Malfoy immediately appointed herself their guardian. Caring for the birds was not something she was going to leave to a pair of ruffians.

That afternoon I sent a message to the German Ministry that things were going well. We had been worried. After all, Mr. Malfoy was in prison, along with a number of other people I had planned to visit. The German Ministry and I had canceled all the summer plans. The Malfoys and the Notts, however, had insisted that I come as planned. As far as the Ministry and I could tell, it was their aristocratic heritage. For a thousand years, Malfoys and Notts had been going to wars, revolutions, big game hunts, and adventures. For a thousand years, some catastrophe had just happened, was happening, or was about to happen. It was a way of life to them, and it would not interfere with their hospitality.

A few afternoons later, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle appeared with sacks of old Bludgers. They were Beaters on the Slytherin team. The object of this afternoon's game, the three explained to me, was for Vincent and Gregory to knock Draco and me off our brooms with the Bludgers as we two targets flew about in an area the size of a Quidditch pitch. Draco and I could charge Vincent and Gregory if we felt like it. By the time the rules had been explained, Draco had a feral grin. This aristocratic heritage stuff could be scary. I noticed that Mrs. Malfoy was outside reading in a spot that let her observe everything.

Let the Games begin. Vincent and Gregory were good. There was not any way Draco and I could get close to them, at least not two-dimensionally. The laws of chance said that, sooner or later, Draco or I would get hit ... probably sooner given how good those Beaters were. It was time for Durmstrang defensive tactics. I got directly above them. It's hard to send a Bludger straight up with any accuracy. I dove behind them to the ground where I pushed myself off. As I went past Vincent, I switched hand positions and thrust my broom out like a quarterstaff. It hit the front of Vincent's broom, knocking it out of his hands. Vincent spiraled to the ground. I was counting on Gregory being too surprised to react. I flipped over in the air without reseating myself. In a dive with the broom in front of me, I struck Gregory's broom behind him with a quarterstaff blow. It knocked him off his seat, although he still had both hands on his broom. He, too, spiraled to the ground. I flipped over again, regained my seat, and managed to land not too hard. I only bounced once.

Vincent and Gregory were up, whooping with glee and pounding me on the back in congratulations. They were joined by Draco. I absolutely had to show them how to do that. Those flips, however, did not agree with my inner ear. I stumbled. Somehow, Mrs. Malfoy was there holding me up. I wondered if I was becoming a sissy since I didn't mind at all that Mrs. Malfoy kept a hand on me all the way back to the table. Once back at the table, we returning heroes clicked our mugs together and quaffed a mighty brew.

The cozy reading room became my favorite place. When Mrs. Malfoy and I were alone she talked about her years at Hogwarts, and she asked about Durmstrang. "Do you really emphasize the Dark Arts?"

"Yes," I said, trying to be diplomatic, "but Durmstrang has expanded its courses the last two decades. Defense for the Dark Arts is now part of the Incantation Disciplines along with Charms and Transfigurations."

Mrs. Malfoy nodded and said, "They built around their strong point."

I agreed. "Yes, they first made the Incantation Disciplines world class. Then they decided we needed to relate to the rest of the world, and they built up the Social Disciplines ... magic and non-magic social studies, and magic and non-magic history. These disciplines have recently become world class. We're even doing revisionist history."

"Revisionist history?" asked Mrs. Malfoy.

"The latest study out of Durmstrang argues that the goblins were justified during the last goblin-wizard war, that the treaty ending the war is unfair, and that it should be changed."

Immediately after saying this I realized what a mistake I had made. The Death Eaters did not recognize anyone not a pureblood wizard as having a right to a full and decent life, and the Death Eaters believed in violence and intimidation instead of compromise and peaceful settlement. I expected Mrs. Malfoy, the wife of a Death Eater, to become angry and dismiss revisionist history as Durmstrang craziness, but she thought about it and said, "They're trying to prevent the next war. They want to remove its causes before it happens."

I couldn't believe it. That was one of the most insightful and sympathetic comments about revisionist history that I had ever heard. "Yes," I said.

Of course I was a little disappointed that I had not heard a spirited argument about why pureblood wizards should rule the world. It would have been interesting to get a first hand account of their position.

I admired this lady and liked her company. I tried encouraging her visits by paying attention to her. I made a pest of myself by asking if she wanted any tea and by adjusting the lights for her, but she accepted all this graciously. She even acted as if she enjoyed it. After a while, we were talking about our families. Soon, Mrs. Malfoy was in the room almost all the time I was in the room. I actually got irritated one day when she didn't appear. Strange.