Chapter 31: Chapter 30
As they turn right into a wide driveway that leads off the lane, Dudley has to admit… he's nervous. In fact, the time traveler would even say that he's the most nervous he's been since coming back in time. So far, most of this life has, admittedly, been a cake walk. But this? This is a wee bit different. Dudley isn't stupid, not by a long shot. And ever since returning in time and joining the Wizarding World, he's made sure that was the truth, by studying up and preparing himself for what was ahead.
As such, he knew full well just who Draco Malfoy's parents were, and indeed, how important they were in the Wizarding World. Their wealth was abundantly obvious in the décor all around them. A high hedge curves along the road, running off into the distance beyond the wrought-iron gate that had magically opened to allow their access.
Along that hedge, Dudley could see a pure-white peacock, strutting without a care in the world. Meanwhile, at the end of the straight drive, a large manor hour could be seen, lights glinting in what seemed to be diamond-paned downstairs windows.
It was, all of it, just too damn much. But it was also exactly what Dudley needed. As they drive closer, Dudley reaches out and places a gentle hand on his mom's arm. Petunia Dursley startles, though not terribly, showing that his mother was just as… taken with everything they were seeing as he was.
"Do you see what I mean, mother?"
Blinking, Petunia looks over, hopefully taking in the dead seriousness in Dudley's gaze. After a moment, she nods, but also smiles softly.
"You don't need to worry, my precious boy. I'm not unused to handling my betters."
Dudley can't help but scoff a little at that, shaking his head. Handling Vernon's bosses in the rare instance where he was expected to host them for a dinner at the Dursley Home was NOT the same as navigating one of the most powerful family of aristocrats in all of Wizarding Britain. This wasn't the muggle world… but he HAD already prepared Petunia for all of this, doing his damn best to convey all the knowledge he'd gained since returning to this time period to his newly magical mother.
What happened next… well, that was up to her. He could only trust that she wouldn't screw it up, especially after all of his coaching.
"Just… be careful, mother. They'll probably split us up rather quickly. You'll see."
Petunia just nods, her smile remaining on her face. Soon enough, they're out of the car and walking up to the large doors that occupy the front of the building. Just as they're stopping in front of said doors, the doors swing open on their own, revealing the Malfoys standing just beyond in the foyer. Or rather… Narcissa and Draco Malfoy.
This little excursion, while an important display of diplomacy and a crucial next step in his carefully curated friendship with Draco Malfoy, didn't have to involve their fathers, thankfully. Not that Vernon would likely be welcome at Malfoy Manor, so long as he was a muggle. Oh, the Malfoys might put up with it, might allow it even… but Dudley was smart enough to know that trying to bring his father along would only cause damage to the relationship he was trying to tentatively build between their two families.
On the flip side of this, by leaving Vernon out, he gave cause for Lucius to bow out of any such things as well. Which was good, Dudley really didn't have any desire to go toe to toe with Lord Malfoy any time soon. He imagined the Wizard Lord to be quite intimidating, and with the money and power to back that up besides.
No, this was best. Narcissa Malfoy is a beautiful witch with a beautiful smile, and she looks at both of them with warmth in her face and interest in her eyes.
"Ah, our guests have arrived at last. Petunia Dursley and Dudley Dursley, I presume? Draco has told me so much about you, Dudley."
Smiling cheerfully, hiding a little behind his façade of still being a teenager, Dudley nods his head.
"All good, I hope."
Narcissa's answering smile is kindly, at least.
"No doubt. Come, come!"
With that, Petunia and Dudley are led further into the house. The hallway that they walk down to reach their ultimate destination is large, dimly lit, and gratuitously decorated. The floor itself is made of stone but covered by a truly magnificent carpet to make up for it. Meanwhile, the walls are covered in pale-faced portraits, magical one and all. The eyes don't just SEEM to follow them as they walk down the hall, they DO follow them.
Thankfully, not a single portrait speaks up, as they're passing by. Dudley had, of course, taken Petunia robe shopping ahead of this meeting. He wasn't about to let his mother come to a Wizarding House in one of her floral muggle dresses. As such, both he and Petunia look the part of a proper wizard and witch, clad in expensive robes that fit them perfectly.
Petunia even looks somewhat comfortable in the garments, after Dudley made her wear them around the house any time Vernon was away on a week long trip for his company, so that she could get used to them.
Of course, none of their preparations could ready them for a battlefield they'd never seen before. There had been a handful of wonders to the Malfoy Estate so far, but its when they reach their ultimate destination that the Dursleys' breath is truly taken away. Narcissa leads them to the drawing room… which was almost certainly the largest, most ostentatious room in the entire house.
It had to be, was Dudley's first thought. His second though, was that magic might mean it was all bigger on the inside then it was on the outside, so he really couldn't know what to expect. Still, it was one of the grander rooms Dudley himself had ever been in, and that was counting years of experience at Hogwarts now. With ceilings that were at least two dozen or more feet high, two chandeliers, and a pipe organ at one end, it was almost more like a chapel than anything.
Except there was no pews and no pulpit. Instead, there was furniture galore, with couches and tables and chairs all arrayed. As well, there were more portraits along the dark purple walls. Hell, one of the chandeliers was made entirely of crystal!
It was a flagrant display of wealth, but far from turning Dudley off to the Malfoys, it only made him hungrier. This… this is what he wanted for himself and his family. This was what the Dursleys deserved. No more, no less.
As Narcissa moves them over to one side of the sitting room, she claps her hands and tea, and snacks are offered up by distinctly human servants. However, the tea service is only for two, interestingly enough. Or perhaps not so interesting. He might have gotten distracted by the grandness of the Malfoy Sitting Room for a moment, which even had a huge, ornate, marble mantelpiece with a gilded mirror atop it, but he'd known something like this was coming.
"Draco, why don't you take Dudley to go play in the Gardens? I'm sure you boys don't want to spend the entire time inside. It's such a lovely day, after all."
"Yes, mother."
To his credit, Draco rolls his eyes the moment that he turns away from Narcissa, making it clear to Dudley at least that he's feeling just as patronized by the Lady Malfoy at the moment. But there's nothing to it. Dudley throws one last look at his own mother, only for her to smile and nod him away.
Well, he's done all he can. In the end, he shoots Petunia one silent 'good luck' and follows Draco back out of the sitting room and through the house.
-x-X-x-
Dudley might have worried she wasn't taking this seriously, but in truth, Petunia was taking this very seriously. Perhaps she hadn't fully understood the gravity of the situation back when Dudley had first tried to impress upon her how important this all was, but now that she'd seen the Malfoy's wealth firsthand, it was entirely obvious why he'd been concerned.
Still, as Petunia takes a sip from the admittedly fantastic tea, sitting down with Narcissa before the room's mantel, she can't quite think of what to comment on. In the end… she goes with something that's right in front of her face.
"You have lovely staff."
The human servants that have brought them their tea and snacks were in and out quite quickly. Beautifully dressed, and also quite pretty themselves, they were nevertheless barely there, just doing their jobs and then moving on. It was worth a comment, Petunia figured, though Narcissa blinks for a moment before waving it off as if unimportant.
"Ah yes. Squibs, one and all. Hired from other families, of course. There are no squibs amongst the Malfoys or the Blacks."
The Lady Malfoy pauses for a moment at that, before giving Petunia a sympathetic look.
"Not that there's anything wrong with squibs, mind. But, better to employ them than to just cut ties, yes? And it's not like the House Elves are meant to be seen."
That was part of where Petunia's confusion had stemmed from. Dudley's knowledge had clearly been… a little imperfect. He'd told her that it was most likely that the Malfoys would have House Elf servants, and not to be concerned if she found herself face to face with one. To be fair, Petunia had appreciated the warning, and the little image of one Dudley had conjured up to show her what they looked like.
She might very well have let out a shriek, if she'd met such a creature without any foreknowledge of them. From what Dudley said, they had the ability to just… pop in and out of places via their own unique teleportation magic. That was concerning, but it would seem Petunia would not be having her nerves tested on this day.
Obviously, the Malfoys employing squibs as their visible servants while keeping the House Elves out of sight was just another status symbol. One that was so impressive that Dudley hadn't even known to be wary of it.
Equally obvious is that Narcissa's slip up was not a slip up at all. She was well aware that Petunia was a 'late bloomer', and had delved into the whole squib thing in order to gauge her reaction. Luckily, Petunia was used to far harsher barbs and snipes from women who actually wanted to hurt her with their words. By comparison, Narcissa's comments are like a nice summer breeze. Smiling, Petunia nods.
"I concur. It's better this way, than just abandoning them."
And then, because it was something Dudley and her had talked about extensively, and it's obvious Narcissa is fishing for any tidbits she can get, Petunia continues on.
"Although… it's not a bad thing to set up some squibs with families in the muggle world… just in case. From what my Dudley told me of the last war, quite a few Wizarding Families did not have a… hm, backup plan."
Narcissa's eyes widen ever so slightly at that, and the corners of her mouth turn up, showing how pleased she is to have 'extracted' that piece of information from Petunia. Indeed, in that moment, Petunia can tell… she's helped solidify Lady Malfoy's notion that the Dursleys are a squib branch of some family… perhaps even the Potter Family, depending on what the Malfoys knew.
But then, according to Dudley, the Malfoys likely knew everything. The Goblins could only be trusted to a point, and that point was precisely how much gold they stood to gain from being untrustworthy. The knowledge that Petunia and Dudley had emptied out the Potter Vault and transferred its contents to a new 'Dursley Vault' was almost certainly not private, not to people with as much wealth as the Malfoys.
Being aware of that fact was key to her and Dudley's survival. They couldn't do anything about the information getting out, in the end, all they could do was work with what they had. And as worried as Dudley might have been… Petunia was well-prepared to work with what she had.
Indeed, as she and the Lady Malfoy continue to chitchat over tea and snacks, the two of them find quite a lot of common ground, despite coming from very different lives. Petunia would even say they find a way to bond over some things. Petunia, for instance, is happy to commiserate with Narcissa upon finding out that she and her husband, Lord Malfoy, have a bit of a grudge against the 'criminal gang' that Lily and James were a part of.
Meanwhile, Narcissa most definitely comes to the conclusion that Petunia is descended from a squib line of the Potters, rather than that she and Dudley just used Harry and Lily to steal the Potter Fortune right out from under their noses.
It's all… quite the visit. But when it's over, Petunia can't help but feel pleased and quite satisfied with how it went. She definitely gets the impression that she left Narcissa with a good opinion of her. And Dudley too seems to relax, after grilling her over what she and Draco's mother talked about while he and Draco were 'playing in the garden'.
The first meeting between House Malfoy and House Dursley had gone well. Only time would tell if the seeds planted this day cold bear further fruit down the road…
-x-X-x-
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