"Sparkling mineral water. Bring the bottle, and a clean glass, and you may as well take this away, now." Draco shoved his glass of water away.
The waitress pursed her lips that time, but again, gave no real reply. Neither did Snape, but the look on his face spoke volumes. Draco, Harry noticed, kept his gaze carefully averted.
Sighing, Harry ordered next, and then Snape, both of them choosing bouillabaisse with an onion tart for a starter. Harry thought that was pretty funny, since they hadn't consulted about their orders. Maybe the next time they asked the elves to serve what suits, Harry and Snape would be the ones getting matching meals.
Draco didn't say anything about the matching orders, but Dudley's drink request seemed to spark a new round of hostility. "Diet Coke?" he asked, scoffing. "What's the point in Diet Coke, I ask you, when you're also ordering fish slathered in batter and a baked potato, besides? And why do you keep sludge like Diet Coke in the house if you're off your diet, anyway?"
By the end, Draco's voice had grown loud enough that people were turning their heads to stare.
"Draco!" hissed Harry and Snape both, almost at exactly the same instant.
"No, I don't mind," said Dudley, scooping up a piece of bread from the basket the waitress had set on the table. "I'm sticking to the diet soda because the sugary kind would just make it that much harder to go back, later. Besides, I kind of like it."
"Like it?" Completely ignoring his father and brother's attempt at a rebuke the moment before, Draco gave a theatrical shudder. "You have terrible taste."
"Well, then, so does Rhiannon," retorted Harry.
"In point of fact, Rhiannon tastes wonderful," said Draco, giving Harry a vicious little smile. He soon returned to needling Dudley, though. "You don't have a girlfriend, do you? And no wonder. I'd get back on that diet, if I were you. Not that it's likely to do much good, with your breeding--"
Snape yanked his napkin off his lap and tossed it onto the table. "Accompany me to the car, Draco, now."
Draco scowled, but slid out of the booth. With an apologetic glance, Snape did the same. As soon as they were both out of sight, Harry turned to his cousin. "Sorry. I don't know what's got into him."
Dudley just shrugged. "My friends treated you a lot worse, and so did I, so I guess I can hardly complain. Surprised, though. He seemed a lot friendlier the other times, you know."
"Yeah, I know," said Harry, sighing. What had happened to the Draco who had been delighted to show off magic for Dudley, or who had sat in the backyard at Number Four, last time, nodding as he listened to Dudley talk about the finer points of barbecuing steaks? "He's just . . . no idea. Going through something, I guess. But that's no excuse for such rudeness."
Draco came back to the table after a few minutes and didn't say another word throughout the entire rest of the meal. Not one.
Snape also seemed on edge--no mystery, there--but ignored Draco's sulk and conversed easily with Harry and Dudley both. Even so, it was a relief when the meal was over and they all got up to leave.
"Thank you for the dinner, Professor Snape," said Dudley when they were all back at his car. "I . . . I hope we can do it again, soon." Harry saw his cousin swallowing. "All of us."
Draco just stared straight through Dudley.
"Thank you for driving us," said Snape in his most polite tones. "But we have another errand now, and I do believe we'll walk. It was good seeing you, Dudley."
Harry gave his cousin a quick hug, and then caught up with Snape and Draco, who were waiting for him on the corner, by then. "You might at least have said good-bye, Draco," Harry couldn't help but say, his voice more than a little bit critical. "And why did you have to be so completely rude?"
Draco lifted his chin. "The relevant question, surely, is why you should have been so completely polite."
"Because he's my cousin, maybe?"
"Some cousin," muttered Draco.
Harry gritted his teeth. So much for Rhiannon having a salutary effect on Draco's attitudes. Instead, the other boy was right back to hating all things Muggle.
"Yeah, well, I don't care what you think. He's the only cousin I have."
"Better none at all than one like him--"
"Enough, gentlemen," interrupted Snape. "You can save the rest for your respective sessions with the good doctor."
"Draco had better go first," said Harry, lifting his chin the way Draco always did. "Since he's obviously gone 'round the bend."
"I'll go first to let her know how delusional you've got--"
"Enough!" said Snape again, raising his voice that time. "You're giving me indigestion and we're not in a locale where I can easily mitigate the matter, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," said Draco through his teeth.
"Sure, Dad," said Harry.
Draco made a noise that sounded like pure frustration, but after that, nobody talked until they had reached Marsha Goode's small waiting room.
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Coming Soon in A Summer Like None Other:
Chapter 20: "Doubles"
Comments very welcome,
Aspen in the Sunlight
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Chapter 20: Doubles
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=13093&chapter=20
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A Summer Like None Other
by Aspen in the Sunlight
and
Mercredi
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Chapter Twenty:
Doubles
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Draco kept ignoring Harry even after they had reached Marsha Goode's office, but strangely enough, he sifted through a stack of magazines and then started reading one, his eyes intent as he turned page after page. Weird, especially since he'd complained about the Mugglishness of their content, before. More than once, in fact.
Now, it seemed like he couldn't get enough of them.
Snape sat down, a disgruntled look on his face, and drew his wand to conjure a vial of something pink and foamy. With a glower directed at Harry and Draco both--which Harry thought was most unfair, in the circumstances--Snape downed the potion and tucked the vial into a jacket pocket.
Not long after, Marsha bustled into the waiting area. "I'm very sorry," she said, checking her watch, "but tonight I'm afraid I'll only have time for one session. I've been asked to consult on a difficult case in hospital, later this evening."
She looked at them a bit expectantly, then.
Harry was the first to realise that she wanted them to decide who would get the session. "Oh, I insist on giving up my place to Draco," he said, sitting back. "The week he's had, I'm sure he needs loads of therapy!"
"Oh, no you don't. You take the session. You need it a lot more!"
"I do not! I wasn't the one insulting Dudley with every breath!"
"No, you spent your time staring at your fork! At those sharp tines!"
"That's because I was seriously considering throwing it at you!"
Snape's deep voice cut across the argument. "I do believe a double session might be a good idea, at this point. See if you can get them to remember that they're brothers." That shut Draco up, Harry saw. But of course, it shut him up as well. "Dr Goode, I take it you have no objection if I step out for an hour? I could do with a pint of something strong."