"Everything all right?" asked Snape.
Harry nodded, his eyes gleaming. "Yeah, brilliant. So... is Draco going to drag us to a bunch of plays, then?"
Snape grimaced slightly and answered in a low voice. "All he could talk about was Rhiannon Miller and how he wished he had some pull in the Muggle world so that he could see her onstage in the West End, getting the 'acclaim her talent deserves.'"
"So you didn't buy any tickets?"
Snape's shrug looked resigned. "Draco didn't find a single production that suited him."
"Because Rhiannon wasn't in them." Harry sighed, and kicked off the ground, hovering in front of his father. "All right. Well, tell him that he can come fly with us, if he wants. I think Hermione's had enough by now and would be glad of an excuse to stop."
Snape nodded, but Draco never did come out to claim a broom.
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Coming Soon in A Summer Like None Other: "Poolside"
Comments very welcome,
Aspen in the Sunlight and Mercredi
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Author's Notes:
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Chapter 7: Poolside
http://archive.skyehawke.com/story.php?no=13093&chapter=7
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A Summer Like None Other
by Aspen in the Sunlight
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Chapter Seven: Poolside
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Severus insisted on accompanying Harry to his swimming lesson. Draco was expecting that, of course. The Dark Lord might be secreted away somewhere on the Continent, recovering from his bizarre decision to delve into Muggle medicine, but that didn't mean that all England was safe from his followers.
Draco actually thought it very unlikely that anything would happen in Exeter, of all places, but maybe Severus had more than one reason to come with them. And his reasons had nothing to do with the fact that neither Harry nor Draco was officially licensed to Apparate alone. That was just an excuse. No, the other reasons had everything to do with Harry.
Severus had probably noticed, as Draco had, that the closer the promised swimming lessons got, the more nervous Harry seemed to become.
That was understandable, though. If you didn't know how to manage in the water, then gulping down Gillyweed and diving into a lake inhabited by hostile merpeople was a terrible way to start learning. Draco really couldn't even conceive of it. He could remember that day very well. He'd been angry at Harry--ha, at Potter, it was then. --that day. He'd wanted with all his heart to see Harry drown. What he hadn't realised was that Harry was half-expecting to do just that. And yet he'd gone into the water anyway.
Now, just thinking about it gave Draco chills.
"It'll be all right," he said after Harry emerged from a changing stall and stood there shifting from foot to foot. "You'll see. Don't forget what I told you."
With Severus right alongside him, he couldn't be more specific, but he caught the glimmer in Harry's eyes, and thought the other boy understood. Draco wouldn't let him drown, not even if it required casting a buoyancy charm right in front of a pool full of Muggles. Then again, Severus wasn't about to let anything happen to Harry, either.
So it was a bit ridiculous for Harry to be looking so... well, not worried. More like this called up bad memories, maybe. Draco wondered if Harry was thinking of the Second Task, or if he was remembering how his cousin had been the only one in his family to get lessons. That would be a little rough.
"Ten sharp," said Draco, glancing at his new watch. "You'd best get out there."
"Oh, God," said Harry when they all emerged into the sunlight.
Draco followed his line of sight and saw a group of small children grouped against a wrought-iron gate. They seemed to be waiting for something. Draco wasn't sure what, but he did notice that the pool inside the fenced off area looked like it couldn't be more than two or three feet deep. He almost said, go on, get with your class, Harry, but decided he'd better not. His brother looked upset enough as it was. "I think you're in the big pool," he said instead, and pointed to where a lone young man wearing red swim trunks was waiting.
"Hallo, you must be Harry," said the young man, thrusting out a hand as soon as Harry got close enough. "I'm Roger, your swim instructor. I think you'll want to take off your glasses."
Draco stepped forward and took them, then joined Severus, who had taken a seat on some concrete bleachers. "Damned uncomfortable," muttered Draco, slipping the glasses into his shirt pocket. "Are you sure I can't just . . ." He wiggled his index finger, just a little.
"Be thankful we're in the shade."
Draco was, even though he'd used some sunscreen potion before leaving Devon. Severus' had brewed it specially for Harry and him, but Draco thought it was probably more for him, since he was more prone to sunburn. Not that he'd ever suffered one. His parents had seen to that, just as they'd made sure he'd never sicked up when he was feeling ill.
Severus would probably make him get a sunburn if he misbehaved, Draco thought caustically, memories of Venetimorica making him grit his teeth. Or perhaps not, but the mere idea kept him from trying to surreptitiously draw his wand so he could cast a softening charm on the hard surface beneath his bum.
"That instructor's a bit young, don't you think?"
"Nineteen. He's taught swimming for three years and holds qualifications in that and lifesaving. He trained at--"
"All right, all right," said Draco, holding up his hands to stem the tide of information. "I understand. You didn't just pick a class from a list and sign a vault draft to cover it--"
"Ehem."
"Right," said Draco. It was harder than he would have thought to stop using wizarding references. They just came naturally. "Say, why didn't you tell Harry you'd paid for him to have private lessons?"
"Because I didn't. I merely made certain that he wouldn't be mixed in with much younger children. I suppose he's the only beginner his age, this session."
That made sense, so Draco turned back to watch Harry's lesson. Severus hadn't taken his attention from the pool, not for an instant, which made Draco realise he was being a bit lax. Constant vigilance, like Moody had said at that Order meeting, seemed called for.
Draco tried hard not to laugh when he saw what was going on in the pool. The swim instructor was trying to teach Harry to float on his back, and Harry was really having a time of it. His head kept dipping beneath the water, just enough for ripples to crest over his face. That wasn't so bad, but every time it happened, Harry tensed up, which of course made him really start to go under. Roger's hands, beneath Harry's back, would prop him back up so he could try again. And again.