Draco pushed his food around his plate, occasionally glaring across the table at Ollie as the muggleborn proudly chatted away about his little brother trying out for some strange sport called “football.” Draco sneered, wondering what on earth could be so special about an ordinary muggle. He turned back to his food, pushing a green bean off his plate and to the floor where Shandy quickly gobbled it up. He smirked, then felt a tap on his shoulder. Looking over at the seat next to him, he saw Severus shaking his head at him.

               With a guilty shrug, Draco returned to pushing his food around on his plate.

               “I’m on the team already,” Ollie told everyone at the table, “and Cian wants to be just like me, so I hope he makes the Juniors Saint Dalua Football Club. They only learn the basics and play like one game in the year. Harry, you should join Saint Dalua Youth Football Club too and we can be on the same team! Wouldn’t that be so much fun?”

               “Yeah, but . . .” Harry blushed an looked down at his food. “I don’t know how to play.”

               “I could teach you,” Ollie said.

               “Really?” Harry gave Ollie a hopeful look.

               Draco snorted and said, “Why learn a muggle sport when you can play Quidditch? That’s what wizards play, after all.”

               “What’s that?” Harry and Ollie asked.

               “A sport played on broomsticks,” Draco answered with an air of superiority. “It’s the greatest sport in the world.”

               “Broomsticks?” Ollie made a face.

               “Well, of course!” Draco said. “What else would you fly on?”

               “You mean flying broomsticks!” Ollie exclaimed. He looked at Harry and they both said, “Cool.”

               Draco smirked, glad to have one upped the silly muggle sport Ollie was talking about. Football, how lame it sounded. Harry would obviously prefer a wizarding sport over something so muggle.

               “We don’t have any broomsticks here,” Peadar said, “it’d freak out the ponies, but you three are more than welcome to play football outside anytime.”

               Draco’s face fell. No quidditch pitch at MacAuley estate?

               “That’s okay,” Ollie said, “I can show Harry how to play football and he can sign up for the team. You’ll pass tryouts for sure when I’m through with you. Oh, do you want to learn too, Draco?”

               “I am here to learn magic,” Draco began to say.

               “You’ll have plenty of breaks where you can play with Harry and Ollie,” Severus said. “I won’t have you studying all day long as your father would have me do. You’re welcome.”

               “Thanks,” Draco said, giving Severus a weak smile. He huffed as he glared at the smiling boy sitting next to Harry across the table. Ollie was back to talking a mile a minute with Harry, completely oblivious to Draco’s disdainful stares.

               After dinner, Draco watched surprised as Eileen washed the dishes in the kitchen herself while Peadar took the dogs outside to the stable with him to finish up chores. Severus explained he needed to stop by the hospital to see if there were any late-night orders or emergencies and would be back in time to say goodnight, so Draco was left watching Draco and Ollie playing fetch with the black and white rabbit in the living room. The rabbit didn’t seem very interested in chasing or picking up any toys, but Harry used treats to encourage her to do so. It looked . . . fun, but Draco held his tongue.

               “Do you want to try?” Harry suddenly asked him. Draco blinked from where he sat on the sofa, then looked down at the rabbit.

               “When did you get a rabbit?” Draco asked.

               “Dad got her for me when we first came to Ireland. She was going to be turned into food, but we rescued her.” Harry picked up the rabbit and held her out to Draco. “Her name is Miss Trifle.”

               Draco hesitantly took the rabbit, holding it under its arms and out away from him as if it was a rabid creature. Miss Trifle’s nose twitched at him, and Draco made a face at the strange motion. He looked back at Harry.

               “Err, it’s very fluffy,” Draco said as he handed the rabbit back to Harry, brushing his hands on his robe after doing so. He clasped his hands behind his back and stood tall out of forced habit, studying Harry as he set the rabbit down and let her run around the living room again. Ollie tossed a toy and cheered when Miss Trifle chased it, though she didn’t pick it up.

               “We’re training her tricks,” Harry said. “One day, she’ll be able to bring back the toys to me. That could be useful. She could grab things for me.”

               “Yeah,” Draco agreed.

               “Hey, did you want to sleepover in my room?” Harry asked. “We have plenty of room, and we can build a bigger fort. Ollie and I—”

               “Maybe not tonight,” Draco quickly said. “I have to do reading for tomorrow’s lesson and I wouldn’t want to be distracted, you know?”

               “Oh.” Harry looked disappointed. “I mean I get it, that’s okay. What are you reading?”

               Draco smiled at the opportunity and stood a little straighter.

               “Severus and I go over potion ingredients and their uses, so I will know what certain ingredients are for and how they interact with other ingredients, that way, I’ll be triple ready for my magical education at Hogwarts or wherever Father ends up putting me. Sometimes, we even brew a potion together. You should really consider joining our studies tomorrow. It’s good to get a head start on your education in magic.”

               “That sounds great,” Harry said with a grin.         

               “But,” Ollie interrupted, “I thought we were going to work on, you know, a solution to our problem tomorrow. We can’t go back to school without a plan.”

               “Right, I forgot. Maybe we can do both? Ollie could get a head start on his education, too.”

               Ollie grinned broadly.

               “I don’t know,” Draco said as he narrowed his eyes. “He’s a muggleborn. He might slow us down.”

               “What do you mean?” Ollie asked, his smile morphing into a frown.

               “Muggleborns are known for being magically inferior to purebloods, like me, and even halfbloods, like Harry. You would probably just get in the way.”

               “Inferior?” Ollie questioned, his own eyes narrowing.

               “That’s probably not entirely true,” Harry said quickly. “Ollie is actually pretty good at—”

               “Yes.” Draco spoke over Harry as he stared directly at Ollie. “Inferior. My father says so, and he knows all about the useless potential of muggleborns. All they do is taint good magic.”

               “I don’t even know what that means,” Ollie said. His fists clenched at his side. “But I don’t like it.”

               “See? Not very smart already, are you?” Draco looked back at Harry. “You’ll find some wizard types are much better than others, Harry, and you really don’t want to go around making friends with the wrong sort, do you?”

               “What?” Harry blinked in bewilderment. “What are you talking about, Ollie is a great friend.”

               “He’s a muggleborn,” Draco clarified.

               “So?”

               “So . . .” Draco licked his lips, trying to remember what his father had said about muggleborns and why they did not make good acquaintances. However, he could only recall bits and pieces and nothing that really made sense if strung together, so he settled with, “As a halfblood, you deserve better.”

               “Well, Ollie is the best, then,” Harry said, crossing his arms and glaring at Draco.

               Draco glared back before huffing and turning away, retreating up the stairs. He said over his shoulder, “Fine, be that way. You’ll see what I mean soon enough.”

               Ollie and Harry shared a look.

               Draco returned to the guest room he had been given, closing the door hard behind him then leaning against it with crossed arms and a pout. He couldn’t believe Harry chose a muggleborn over him. It was ridiculous. Harry had so much to learn about the wizarding world. His father never lied about anything, he knew everything, and his father said that muggleborns were bad, so they had to be bad friends too. He had to make Harry see that.

               Later that night, long after everyone had turned in and gone to bed, Severus sat in front of the fireplace in the living room, Shandy and Finn sleeping at his feet. He wanted to finish grading today so he could focus on the boys tomorrow. He felt bad for brushing them off as he had the last couple weeks, and maybe his mother was right that he wasn’t listening to them as he should. Perhaps he was hasty in scolding Harry about their new teacher. He’d make it up to his kid. He couldn’t let his first year as a parent turn him into a bad father. He was not Tobias Snape.

               A creak on the stairs caught his attention, as well as the dogs who whipped their heads up in the direction of the sound. Harry continued to slowly tiptoe down the stairs.

               “What are you doing up?” Severus asked as Harry walked over to him. “It is way past your bedtime.”  

               “I couldn’t sleep,” Harry answered honestly as he paused in front of Severus, resting his hands on his father’s knees, silently communicating what he would like Severus to do.

               Severus set his work aside and lifted Harry into his lap, wrapping his arms around Harry snugly. Harry curled up against him, resting his head on Severus’s chest and pulling his legs up slightly. Severus rested his head against Harry’s, enjoying the embrace.

               “Daddy,” Harry began, glancing up inquisitively at Severus.

               “What is it?”

               “Draco doesn’t like Ollie. And I don’t think Ollie is liking Draco very much.”

               “No?” Severus arched an eyebrow. “Well, I can’t say I’m very surprised. Draco was brought up very differently than you or Ollie. You see, some pureblood families do not like muggles or muggleborns, and Draco’s family is one of them. His father has conditioned Draco to believe certain views regarding muggleborns, that they are beneath them and not worth their time. Do you understand?”

               “So, it’s his dad’s fault Draco doesn’t like Ollie?”

               Severus chuckled.

               “As much as I’d love to put all the blame on Lucius Malfoy, Draco has to make his own choices, too. Perhaps we can show him that Ollie isn’t so bad, and he will come around. What do you say?”

               “How do we do that?”

               “You and Ollie keep being nice to Draco, all right? Keep including him in your games even if he doesn’t seem interested. And be respectful to him, even if he is not to you. I know how he can get sometimes. Maybe, if you two can do that, you’ll show Draco that muggleborns are just as good as purebloods, or at the very least, that they can make good friends.”

               “Do you think that’ll work?” Harry asked.

               No, Severus thought, but he wasn’t about to tell Harry that. Severus knew that with all the conditioning Draco has had, it would take more than playdates to stray his mind away from his father’s political views. But Severus had an idea that would lure Draco into a friendship with Ollie much quicker than what he had asked Harry to do. But Harry did not need to know that plan.

               “I think if you try your hardest, and tell Ollie to do the same, you’ll find that Draco and Ollie can be friends, too. It takes patience and understanding. I know you three will get along very well. You all have something in common—you’re very gifted children.”

               “You really think so?” Harry’s bright eyes blinked up at him.

               “I know so.” Severus said. He kissed Harry’s temple before standing up with Harry still in his arms. He walked back up the stairs. “Now, back to your fortress. Draco will have lessons with me tomorrow, so you and Ollie have a little free time to do whatever you please.”

               “Can we learn potions, too?”

               “Hmm.” Severus pushed open Harry’s bedroom door and had to carefully step over a sleeping Ollie. “If that’s what you want to do, I don’t see why not.”

               “Thanks, Dad,” Harry said through a yawn as he was settled down into his makeshift bed on the floor. “Ollie would like that. And me, too.”

               “Goodnight, son.”

               “Night, Daddy.”

               Severus shut the door, then walked across the hall to the room next to his own room. He quietly opened the door just enough to check on Draco, who was sound asleep buried under blankets in the bed. He snorted, not surprised that Draco had declined sleeping on the floor.

               Draco was up bright and early the next morning, dressing promptly, and grabbing one of his beginner’s guides to potion brewing books. He walked down the stairs, following the smell of breakfast. Eileen was in the kitchen plating eggs, sausage, and toast on several dishes. Severus was in the kitchen as well, pouring three cups of orange juice and three cups of coffee. Severus glanced over at Draco and smiled.

               “You were always an early riser, Draco,” Severus said.

               “As a growing, young boy should be,” Draco bowed slightly in greeting. He set his book down on a table with a vase for safekeeping.

               “Now that’s the first I heard of that,” Eileen smiled down at Draco. “Is your bed made?”

               “My . . .” Draco blinked, then his eyes widened as he shook his head. “No, I was not aware it was a house rule here. I can go make it right now, ma’am. I think . . . I know how to.”

               “It’s okay,” Eileen said. “One of the elves here will tend to it for you. But just this once. We try to do much of the little chores here and leave the gardens and house maintenance to the elves.”

               “Yes, ma’am.” Draco bowed slightly again before Severus directed him to the dining table. Draco sat and licked his lips eagerly as food was set in front of him. Draco picked up a knife and fork and cut up his fried egg and took a bite.

               “Morning, Dad,” Harry greeted loudly as he came running down the stairs with Ollie right at his heels.

               “Morning, Severus,” Ollie said right after Harry.

               “Good morning, boys,” Severus returned as he set two more plates down across from Draco.

               “Good morning, Nana,” Harry said, hugging Eileen tightly, who returned the hug as well, swinging Harry slightly.

               “Good morning, my little prince,” Eileen said, kissing Harry’s mop of hair. “You are in a happy mood today. And morning to you, Ollie.”

               “Morning, Mrs. MacAuley,” Ollie said.

               “It’s Eileen,” Eileen said. “We’ve been over this many times.”

               “I always forget,” Ollie shrugged.

               Harry and Ollie sat at the dining table and dug into the food with gusto, using their forks to stab sausage links and shove what would fit into their mouths. Severus settled orange juice in front of all three boys, warning Harry and Ollie to slow down before sitting down at the table himself, tucking into his own breakfast in a much more dignified manner. Eileen set a plate down at the head of the table with a heating charm before she sat down herself to eat.  

               Draco picked up his orange juice and sipped it, glaring over his glass at Ollie as he watched the boy chug his orange juice. Honestly, were all muggles like this? His eyes strayed over to Harry, who lacked just as many table manners, though he at least settled a napkin in his lap. Draco rolled his eyes and returned to his breakfast, picking up his toast with two fingers and taking the smallest bite from it. Peadar joined them halfway through breakfast and started a chat with Eileen and Severus about adult things Draco paid no attention to.

               After breakfast, Draco made quick work to grab his book off the table and follow Severus to the potions lab downstairs. He settled himself on a stool seat at a clean table and opened his book to a page that identified herbs and their uses in potions. He folded his hands together and waited patiently while Severus gathered samples of herbs and set them out on the table.

               “I hope you’ve been studying,” Severus said, “because we’re diving right in to our lesson.”  

               “Yes, Severus,” Draco said smugly. “I can name and identify every herb in this book.”

               “Good. Then you can help catch the others up.” Severus waved his hand and two more stool chairs appeared on either side of Draco.

               Draco gasped, then shook his head.

               “You can’t be serious! This is our study time.”

               “Harry asked if he could join,” Severus said. “And I see no reason why I can’t kill two birds with one stone and teach you all at the same time. You’ll all be learning the same things soon enough anyway.”

               “But one of them is a muggleborn.” Draco huffed and glared at his book. “This is pureblood tutoring.”

               “Have you forgotten that you are being tutored by a halfblood, Draco?” Severus said, crossing his arms as if offended by Draco’s words. Draco looked away guiltily and shook his head as he muttered an apology. Severus nodded, then leaned against the table so he could talk softer to Draco. “I understand sharing residence with a muggleborn must be difficult considering how your father feels about them, but many great wizards were muggleborns or even halfbloods.”

               “Not the best though.”

               “Even the best. Let me tell you a secret even your father doesn’t know.”

               Draco leaned closer to Severus, a small smile on his face as he excitedly waited to hear what Severus knew that his father didn’t.

               “Muggleborns can be a great way to gain information and control over muggles. They can tell us all their muggle secrets, secrets that many pureblooded wizards do not know, and that gives us an advantage—over muggles and other purebloods alike. All we have to do to become privy to such private information is befriend a muggleborn, and they will confide everything to us.”

               “Why would I need to know anything a muggleborn knows?” Draco asked.

               “How else will we keep muggles beneath us?” Severus shot back. “We need to know what they’re up to, what they’re creating that could adversely affect us, right? We need to stay one step ahead of them.”

               “I get it,” Draco smirked.

               “Give Ollie a chance, Draco. He might surprise. You three boys have a lot in common.”

               “How?”

               Severus winked at Draco as he pulled back, just in time as Harry and Ollie ran into the potions lab. Harry and Ollie jumped up on the stools on either side of Draco, oohing at the herbs in containers scattered on the table.

               “Welcome to your first potions lesson Harry, Ollie,” Severus said. “Wait just a moment while I grab parchment and quills—oh, and a notebook and pen for you Ollie. You’ll need to practice with the quill before you start taking notes with one.”

               Severus stepped out of the lab and into a side room where extra ingredient supplies, and a small desk lived.

               “Look at all these plants,” Ollie said, peering really close at a rosemary. “Are they all magical?”

               Before Draco could reprimand Ollie for being so stupid, Harry spoke up.

               “No, silly. That’s just rosemary. It’s an herb you can use for cooking too.”

               “How do you know?” Draco asked. “I thought this was your first lesson.”

               “It is. But I used to help Aunt Petunia in the kitchen all the time to make soups and stuff.” Harry leaned over the table more and started pointing out the herbs. “That’s basil, that one’s parsley, mint, horseradish, sage, dill, thyme, and that’s obviously ginger.”

               Draco bit his tongue to hold back his jealousy at Harry’s knowledge, and when he looked up, he saw he wasn’t the only one surprised. Severus was standing just outside the storage closet door, his arms carrying writing supplies and his jaw slack. He closed his mouth and cleared his throat as he stepped over to the table, handing Harry and Draco parchment and quills and Ollie a notebook and pen.

               “That was very good, Harry,” Severus praised. “Though I was hoping you three would help each other identify the plants using Draco’s book, but no matter. We will review the plants once more and how to identify each one, then I want you three to work together to list three reasons why each ingredient is useful in a potion, what it aids in and such. Draco’s book will help you immensely in finding those reasons. Shall we begin?”

               Severus lectured the kids for the next forty minutes about how to identify the herbs, answering any questions each kid had. Harry did not ask much about identifying the plant, but how the plant could be used in a potion. Severus had to catch himself from answering every time as he wanted the boys to find those answers on their own. Finally, he told the boys to start looking for the plants’ uses in potions, and he left them to work, retreating to a bench where he began prepping a fever reducer, a high demand potion at St. Mungo’s.

               Draco led the way through the research, pointing out where the book talked about each plant. They started with dill and planned to work in order of the alphabet.

               “Dill is packed full of nutrients,” Draco read, “making it an excellent choice for nutrient de-fi-cien-cies, upset stomachs, and general healing, especially for regrowth.”

               Draco set the book down to write down his findings, while Harry and Ollie looked at the book for spelling aid. When they finished with dill, they moved on to the next plant, learning more about each one as they took turns reading from the book.

               “I had no clue rosemary was useful for pain,” Harry said. “If I had known, I would have used it all the time.”

               “What are you talking about?” Draco asked as he copied from the book.

               “I just mean it would have helped with some bruises and cuts now and then is all,” Harry clarified.

               “Sage is next,” Ollie said as he finished writing. “Which one is that again?”

               “Haven’t you learned how to tell it apart?” Draco asked, frowning at Ollie. Clearly not all muggleborns were meant to be great, but at least ollie could still be a source of information, he supposed.

               “I’m still trying to see the difference,” Ollie said. “I’m new to all this. You both had some practice, I didn’t.”

               “Well, figure it out.” Draco crossed his arms and looked away. “I’m not helping.”

               “Let me see the book,” Ollie said as he reached for it, but Draco snatched it and held it away.

               “No cheating,” Draco said. “Look at the plants.”

               “How am I supposed to learn if I can’t remind myself what I’m looking for?”

               “Sounds like that’s your problem.”

               “Come on, guys,” Harry tried to interject, looking around the room for Severus, but his father had gone into the storage room and had yet to come back out. Harry wondered what he was doing in there.

               Ollie lunged for the book, but Draco sat up on his knees on the stool and held it up higher out of Ollie’s reach.

               “Let me see the book!” Ollie demanded.

               “You have to try and look at the plants,” Draco argued.

               Ollie sat back in his seat and glared at Draco. Then his eyes intently stared at the book in Draco’s hands, and after a few seconds, he flicked a couple fingers in a jerking motion toward himself.

               The book lurched out of Draco’s hands and into Ollie’s, surprising Draco. He stared wide eyed at Ollie before he frowned again.

               “Accidental magic,” Draco decided.

               “Oh yeah?” Ollie challenged.

               Draco moved to take the book back, but Ollie threw the book up in the air then spun a finger around, suspending the book in the air as it spun around above them, matching the speed of Ollie’s finger.

               “You want it?” Ollie said. “Try and get it.”

               “That’s not fair!” Draco whined, looking back and forth at the book and Ollie. He rested his hands on his hip and said, “I’m not playing your silly game. You want to cheat, then cheat.”

               “It’s not cheating.” Ollie stopped twirling his finger and let the book fall into his hands. “It’s learning.”

               “Only a weak and lousy wizard would need to review something we just talked about.”

               “What’s your problem with me?” Ollie snapped and stomped a foot.

               “My problem? You’re not even trying to be a great muggleborn wizard, just a lazy one.”

               “I’m not trying to be anything. I’m just trying to learn like you and Harry.”

               “You’ll never be like me or Harry!”

               Ollie’s face fell for a second before the child snarled loudly and threw the book at Draco. Draco managed to dodge the book then quickly shoved Ollie back when the child lunged for him. Ollie stumbled back and fell, his arm slamming into the edge of another table behind him. Ollie yelped and cradled his elbow, which had a small cut that began bleeding. Ollie glanced at his wound, then shot Draco a hurt look, his blue eyes glassy.

               “Ollie, are you okay?” Harry asked, running over to his friend.

               Ollie sniffed and hissed as he eyed the cut again, showing Harry.

               Draco stared up at the ceiling as he sighed heavily, then kneeled down next to Ollie. He hadn't meant to hurt the other kid, and the guilt was getting to him, even if Ollie went at him first. At first, Ollie gave Draco a suspicious look and leaned away from the other kid, but Draco inched closer.

               “I’m not going to hurt you,” Draco said. “Let me see your arm.”

               “Why, so you can make it hurt more?” Ollie asked as he tried to scoot further away, but Draco caught his wrist and pulled his injured arm closer to him.

Ollie hissed and froze, watching Draco carefully. Harry kept a hand on Ollie’s shoulder.

Draco hovered his right hand over Ollie’s wound, then slowly waved over it, and the skin sutured itself together. Draco then waved his hand in a small circling, and the bruise that had been starting to form faded away. Draco lowered his hand with a huff as he asked, “Does it hurt anymore?”

Ollie looked at where the wound had been, then stretched out his elbow. He shook his head at Draco.

“Great,” Draco said rather dryly. “We should get back to our lesson.”

“You can heal people?” Ollie asked.

“I can heal little things,” Draco said. “Cuts, bruises, small burns. But I’m getting better every day. Severus teaches me to channel my magic during our lessons sometimes. You should start doing the same, since you can make things move.”

“That’s so cool, Draco,” Harry said, smiling. “And thanks for helping Ollie.”

“Yeah,” Ollie said, “thanks.”

“You know, I can apparate,” Harry said. “I wonder if Dad could help me channel that so I can control where I’m going.”

“You can apparate?” Draco’s brows shot up. “Willingly?”

“For the most part. All I have to do is run really fast and then poof! I’m somewhere else.”

“That is incredible! We don’t even get to learn how to do that until we come of age.”

“That’s what Dad said.”

“What’s going on out here?” Severus asked, walking around the table to where the three boys were kneeling on the ground. “I’m gone not five minutes grabbing liverwort from the back. What happened.”

Draco stood with his head lowered and hands clasped behind his back, prepared to confess, when Ollie jumped up next to him.

“We dropped a piece of sage and were trying to find it on the floor,” Ollie said. “I hit my arm on the table, but Draco fixed it.”

“I see,” Severus said, looking between the three boys standing side by side. Draco was staring wide eyed at Ollie but he quickly fixed his look and met Severus’s stare. He nodded. Severus continued. “Okay then. I’ll let whatever happened here slide, but just this once. Finish up with your research so we can review it. Then you boys may head outside and give me some peace.”

Severus went back to his potion at the other table while the boys climbed back in their seats and opened the book to the herbs page. They wrote down three uses of sage before Draco whispered to Ollie.

“Why did you stand up for me? I pushed you. I called you worthless.”

“I know. But then you healed me. I know that things are different where you’re from and that muggleborns aren’t well-liked, so it must be hard for you to like me. But even after you hurt me, you helped me, so I think maybe we can make this work. If we really try and not think about our differences, we could be friends.”

Draco paused, mulling over the words in his head. He nodded.

“Yeah, I think we can be friends.”

Ollie smiled, earning a small smile back from Draco.

“Maybe when we’re done with this,” Harry whispered, “all three of use can come up with a way to get rid of that magicless wizard substitute.”

“A magicless wizard?” Draco frowned. “There’s no such thing.”

“But there is,” Ollie confirmed. “He basically said that’s what he is. He’s our new substitute at school, and he has it out for me and Harry. We got in trouble for no reason because of him. But he’s nice to everyone else.”

“Really?” Draco tapped his quill against his chin. He smirked and whispered, “tell me more about this “magicless wizard.””