Malfoy Flavor Chapters 1-14

Chapter Eight

  Chapter Eight

Harry woke up excited about the day coming up. Today he and his father would be out of the house together for the first time as father and son.

Harry went bounding down the stairs and into the kitchen. As a bonus, he wouldn't be doing any work today. It was going to be a day just for some shopping and some fun.

"Good Morning, Father!" Harry greeted his father in a chipper voice.

"Morning to you as well. Are you sure you are ready for today?" Severus knew that today would be a big test as to whether or not they would be able to pull things off as they hoped.

Harry thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I know this is a big day. The hardest thing will be remembering that I'm not supposed to know anybody or anything about this place. It's the choice I've made though. Hopefully if 'Harry Potter' is away from everything, things will be at least a bit safer for everyone." Then Harry grinned. "Also Dustin Snape is ready to start his new life. I'm proud to have you my father and I'm not afraid to show it to everyone. It should be interesting to see everyone's reactions to the 'greasy git' having a son!"

Severus allowed a small smile to grace his features. "Indeed."

They set about eating their breakfast before finishing getting ready to go.

"Ready?" Snape asked.

"Are you ready?" Harry asked him. "I'm fine. For once in my life, I don't have to live up to a reputation. Not my own anyway. You on the other hand have the reputation as a right mean bastard. It's bound to take a beating having a son now," Harry said with a cheeky grin.

Severus thought about it for a moment. "Many will still see me that way. It is a reputation which I intend to encourage, thank you very much. But I'm not ashamed of finally having a son. I'm proud of that fact and I will be happy to be with you today. So let's get out of here."

They apparated to right outside the entrance to Diagon Alley. They shared a look then started off in step with each other.

Already they were garnering looks from some of the people out shopping. The teen with Snape may have been much shorter, but it was clear from first glance that they were related.

"Let's start with the apothecary first. You need to get more supplies for your potions this year." Severus told Harry with a smirk on his face.

Harry groaned. "Why do I have the feeling that I'll be getting more supplies than just what I need for class."

"Yes indeed. You will be continuing your studies outside of class. You've improved greatly this summer, but there's always more to learn." Severus approached the apothecary with a mission to gather the supplies Harry would need.

Harry simply followed along. He actually wanted the extra lessons, so really wasn't going to complain too much. As he wandered around while Severus gathered everything he deemed necessary, Harry's attention was drawn outside the window. It looked like his first test was heading his way in the form of two blonde heads. Lucius and Draco Malfoy were heading towards the apothecary.

Harry sidled up close to where his father was gathering supplies. "Father, it looks like we have company coming," he said quietly. Harry took a deep breath and watched as his father did the same after glancing out the window. Harry took another deep breath and muttered, "Showtime."

The bell over the door jangled as the Malfoys entered the store.

The Snapes watched as the Malfoys took a moment to let their eyes adjust to the low lighting in the store and then realize that Snape was standing there with an unknown teen.

Severus stepped forward and tilted his head forward slightly. "Lucius, Draco."

"Severus, it's a pleasure to see you as always," Lucius murmured. "Who do you have with you today?" Both Lucius and Draco were attempting to size up this new teen that was standing there quietly.

"Lucius, Draco, allow me to introduce my son, Dustin Snape." Severus replied. He turned to Harry. "Dustin, this is Lucius Malfoy and his son, Draco. You will be attending school in the same year as Draco."

Internally, Harry absolutely loved the looks of shock that were crossing each of the Malfoys faces. Those cold, aristocratic masks had definitely fallen with that little piece of information. Harry stepped forward and held out his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

It still took a moment but then the usual Malfoy grace stepped forward for both father and son and they each shook Harry's hand.

"Severus, I think a small discussion is in order," Lucius drawled. "Perhaps Draco could take Dustin on to the ice cream parlour to get acquainted for a bit."

Severus glanced at Harry with a question in his eyes. He hadn't planned to leave Harry on his own first thing. Then again, he also hadn't planned on the Malfoys to be the first people that they had met. Harry gave a slight nod. He'd been preparing for this, and he was as ready as he would ever be. Besides, after facing the Malfoys, everyone else should be pretty easy.

"Certainly, Lucius. Dustin, Draco, we'll meet you in an hour at the ice cream parlour. Draco, this is an unfamiliar location for Dustin. Please try to keep the two of you out of trouble." Severus told Draco.

Draco just nodded. He was still in a bit of shock over the revelation that his professor had a son. Who would have ever guessed?! He mentally shook himself and gestured towards the door. "It'd be my pleasure to show you some of the sites of Diagon Alley."

Harry grinned and said goodbye to his father and nodded towards Lucius. This was going to be an interesting day!

As they stepped back into the bright sunshine and the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley, Harry noticed the sidelong glance that Draco was sending his way. "So which way do we go, Draco?" Harry knew that Draco was sizing him up. He was sure that Draco was trying to decide how much competition this new boy was going to be.

Harry would have been surprised to realize that while he may have been right about Draco sizing up the competition, Draco was also registering Harry's appearance. This boy obviously had Snape's lean grace, but he had an awful lot more going for him. The leather trousers, black t-shirt emphasizing lean muscles, the gorgeous sleek black hair hanging to his collar—even the black onyx eyes just like Professor Snape's made this boy a true vision in black. There were just the right touches of silver added to complete the look—the snake earring, snake trinkets embellishing the short ankle boots, and the truly intriguing final touch was the real silver snake wrapped around his upper arm.

Draco was raised to appreciate the finer things in life and this boy was very fine indeed. This boy had animal magnetism and sex appeal just oozing from every pore of his body and Draco was soaking it all up.

As Harry waited for Draco to realize that he was staring and for him to lead the way, he took the opportunity to give Draco another look. He'd spent a lot of time fighting with this boy over the years and only earlier this summer had he gotten in touch with his sexuality. He noted Draco's appearance with a new appreciation.

Draco didn't have the same bad boy image that Harry had going for him lately. But there was an air of elegant grace and sophistication about him. He was wearing black, obviously tailored, trousers that rested low on his hips. His silver long sleeved silk shirt clung nicely to his body. The silver blond hair that had always been slicked back was now framing loosely around his face. Harry found it was a much more attractive look which was sparking his interest. Harry decided there may be some added bonuses to this new persona of his than he had previously bargained on.

Draco finally came to his senses and started leading the way further into Diagon Alley. Harry was reminded strongly of his first trip to Diagon Alley as Draco described many of the sites. This truly was a remarkable place. Gradually they made their way to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. It was one of the local hangouts, especially for teens. They each ordered an ice cream then sat down at one of the outside tables.

Harry decided to break the ice. He knew that Draco had to be brimming over with curiosity. Nobody had known that Snape had a son. "So, I've never known my father before this summer. What's he like at school?"

Draco paused briefly before answering. "You've never known your father before?" he asked.

Harry and Severus had gone over all the details of their supposed past history. They didn't want to give out too much detail though. The less detail out there meant less for them to get caught up in the lies. "Well, I grew up with my mother. She died earlier this summer. I never knew my father, but her will stated who my father was. He was contacted and I was sent to live with him. It's been a major change in my life, but I'm adjusting ok. My father has been really great. He's such a nice man." Harry knew this would sidetrack Draco's attention.

Sure enough, Draco seemed flabbergasted. "Professor Snape is nice?!"

Harry laughed inwardly even as he gave an outward grin. "Of course! It's been an adjustment to both of us, but he's been great. He's so friendly and he's been really understanding and helping me out. So what's he like as a teacher? I'm sure all the students must really like him."

Draco just stared at him for a moment. Eventually he answered, "I'm not sure we're talking about the same person anymore." Finally he grinned. "It seems to me that you must be a good influence on your father. He's not exactly the most popular teacher at school. In fact most of the school hates him because he's so strict with the students. Honestly, he's not even fair most of the time, but he's always treated the Slytherins fairly. I'm sure he's told you about the different houses."

"Oh, yes," Harry answered. "My father has been telling me a lot about the school. I'm looking forward to starting next week. I don't really care which house I end up in though. It seems to me that it's kind of a stupid system to keep everyone separated like that." Harry knew that he'd be shocking the blond Slytherin once again with that statement.

Sure enough, "What?! You mean you don't want to be in Slytherin like your father?" Draco asked.

Maybe he could help counteract some of Draco's own preconceived notions. "No, I'm saying I don't really care. People are people no matter how some arbitrary hat decides to sort them. I've grown up fairly isolated and don't really like the idea of isolating myself once again according to some preconceived ideas. On the other hand, I don't see why I wouldn't be sorted into Slytherin since my father was one too. Then again, there might be some other benefits to Slytherin," Harry said slyly looking Draco up and down.

Draco flushed lightly and stared at him for a moment. "I have the feeling that you're going to get things wound up at school this year." He grinned to show that he thought that sounded like a blast. Draco was always for stirring things up a bit. And he saw an opportunity walking their way even as he spoke.

This was just too good to pass up. "Well, if it isn't the Weasel and the Mudblood," he sneered. "Allow me to introduce you to Professor Snape's son, Dustin Snape." He watched with glee as shock and recognition registered on their faces. He knew they were thinking that it was bad enough they had one Snape always against them. Having two Snapes in the school was bound to mean trouble.

Harry watched with a bit of heartbreak that his best friends showed absolutely no signs of recognizing who he really was. He knew that's what he wanted—what he needed to do in order to protect them, but it still hurt. He felt like he'd completely lost them. And he realized that he may have actually lost them. Who knew if they'd be able to ever forgive him. Assuming he could ever even get rid of Voldemort so he could one day tell them the truth. Maybe he could do something to ease things though.

He decided to finally speak up into the insults the three before him were throwing at each other. "Why are you guys insulting each other so much?" The reactions he garnered with that question were hilarious. At least it was if you knew the history between them all which he supposedly didn't. It took a lot of will power to keep the grin off his face when all three stopped in mid action and turned as one to stare at him.

Harry looked at each of them and then asked, "Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry if I did. I realize I don't know any of you, but you all seem to be nice enough people."

Draco, Ron and Hermione all started spitting and spluttering out their apologies to him. Not a one of them really wanted to get on the bad side of Professor Snape's son. They all realized that would mean a very difficult start to the new year.

Harry decided to play with them a bit more. He knew his next statement would be difficult for all three to stomach. "My father just introduced me to Draco a little while ago. Draco, would you mind introducing me? I'm assuming they also go to our school and it is nice getting to meet some of my school mates before I start next week." He had to bite his lip as all three took on expressions of disgust. To give them credit, they all masked it fairly quickly.

Draco managed to bite out the introductions. "Dustin Snape, this is Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley." With a gesture towards Harry he said, "This is Dustin Snape, Professor Snape's son." To Dustin he said, "Yes, they will also be starting sixth year with us," but he had to tack on in a snide tone, "but they are Gryffindors."

Harry managed to calmly state, "Oh, you know what I already said about houses. I really don't care which house I get sorted into. The whole system seems a bit archaic to me." This, of course, got Hermione's attention.

"You don't like the idea of the separate houses?" she asked out of curiosity.

"No, not really. Like I told Draco earlier, I've been fairly isolated most of my life already." None of them realized how true that really was but Harry continued on, "I don't particularly fancy the idea of being isolated from three-fourths of my new school from the moment I get sorted. We'll see what happens, I guess."

Hermione looked like she wanted to question him further and Ron and Draco were looking fairly disgusted with the whole concept, but just then Severus stalked in with Lucius by his side.

Severus took notice of the four teens, wondering at what was actually going on. He was surprised to see no wands out. Both Draco and Weasley looked like they wanted to, of course, but they seemed to be restraining themselves. Granger didn't look comfortable in Malfoy's presence but she looked like she'd just discovered a new book she wanted to read. Harry just stood there calmly between his best friends and his arch enemy from the previous year with a slight look of mischief in his eyes.

"Hello, Father," he greeted. "Draco's just been introducing me to a couple of other year mates. I'm sure you must know them."

Severus raised an eyebrow as he looked at his son. What had the boy been up to in the last hour? And how had he managed to keep this unlikely situation under control? Certainly it was unprecedented for Weasley and Malfoy to be together for any length of time without wands drawn. Severus' lips quirked just a bit at his son as he commented, "Yes, they go to Hogwarts. I do know Granger and Weasley," as he nodded at each of them in turn.

Hermione and Ron nodded in return. Mostly out of shock that their professor hadn't said something nasty to them. They both mumbled goodbyes and high tailed it away from the Snapes and Malfoys.

"Father, are you ready to continue with our shopping now?" Harry asked. "I know I still have plenty of supplies that I'll need to get for school. Maybe the Malfoys would be able to join us? I'm sure Draco must need many of the same books and other supplies."

"Indeed," was all that Severus said in reply. He still was not sure what his son was up to, but he couldn't find where anything had gone wrong so far.

Draco spoke up, "Yes Father, I would be happy to show Dustin around the other shops and help him pick out his supplies. I'm sure we have many of the same classes." Draco wasn't ready to give up his time with this new boy—despite the strangeness of the episode with the mudblood and the weasel. He looked up at his father pleading with his eyes.

Lucius and Severus glanced at each other. It seemed that they both realized that it would be difficult to deny their sons what they wanted. And if truth be known, they were not averse to spending the time in each other's company as they followed their sons through the Alley.

They both nodded at their sons which caused both boys to grin first at their fathers and then each other. The boys knew that they had won this round. They started off once again and set out to get their shopping done.

Harry 'met' several more people that day, but considering the company he was keeping, most of them were Slytherins. One of the more interesting things was that he found he was truly enjoying Draco's company. When he wasn't being a stuck up prick, he was actually a nice guy. Harry was finding Draco's sarcastic wit hilarious. It was downright fun to listen to Draco's viewpoints on anyone and everything they encountered that day.

It was also a bit of a shock to observe Lucius throughout the day. The man was a powerful opponent in Death Eater garb, but as a father, he didn't seem to actually be so bad. Harry's father didn't seem to mind Lucius' presence. Maybe there was more there than met the eye. That was something that Harry was going to have to spend more time thinking about and definitely something to keep under observation.

It was a bit difficult to assimilate these new observations of the Malfoys. One thing was clear; Harry Potter had never been allowed to observe the real Malfoys before.

As the day wound down, Harry was once again glad that he'd made the decision to put aside Harry Potter for the time being. It felt good to be Dustin Snape.

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