Meanwhile at Malfoy Manor...

"Draco!" Lucius' voice boomed, "Get down here this instant! Our guests will be here soon."

"Coming, Father!" Draco answered, taking a deep breath first to make sure he didn't stammer. Draco left his bedroom and walked downstairs to Lucius.

"What took you so long, boy? And where is that stupid House Elf?"

Draco was scared. He knew he couldn't tell his father about the letter he just sent. But he didn't know what to say.

"Sorry, Father."

"It doesn't matter. You're dressed on time. That's all that matters. Do you know where that Elf is?"

"No."

"He's supposed to be in the kitchen preparing things. Typical. That's something to remember, Draco. You can't trust an Elf to do a job. They're the laziest creatures on earth. You'd think they'd know their place. You'd think they'd be grateful we let them live in our homes for the small price of working for us. They don't understand things, Draco. They don't want to accept that witches and wizards are superior to them. Do you understand that?"

Draco felt bad. The reason Dobby wasn't in the kitchen was that he was sending the owl for Madame Aleksia. Draco should have gotten his own parchment and quill and taken the letter to the owlery himself, rather than make Dobby do it. Then Dobby wouldn't be in trouble. Then again, if he had done that, he would be in trouble. And why take the fall for Dobby? Draco didn't understand most of what his father taught him, but he agreed that witches and wizards were better than Elves. They had to be, right? If they were equal, why does every good home have an Elf? Someone would have figured out they were equal by now if that were true, right? Someone would have stopped treating elves like that if they truly were equal to witches and wizards, right? Things were the way they were for a reason, right?

"Yes, Father. Of course."

"Good. Now, I want you to be sitting on that chair when our guests arrive. Then you will offer your seat to the adults, especially the witches. That's another thing to learn, Draco. Wizards give up their seats to witches."

"Why? That doesn't make any sense."

"What did you say?"

"Well, it's not like girls can't stand up. So there's no reason witches should get seats when wizards have to stand. Besides, there's a lot of chairs. Why do I have to give my seat to other people when there's enough chairs for everybody?"

Lucius laughed. "Do you know how stupid you are? Of course girls can stand. Of course there's enough chairs. Do you think I can't count how many chairs there are? That's not the point. We already discussed our most important rule today, right?"

"Yes, Father. Private matters are private."

"Very good. Now, can you tell me what our second rule is?"

"Always honor the Malfoy name."

"That's right, Draco. Tell me, how do we honor the Malfoy name?"

"By having a good image?"

"Is that a question?"

"No. We do it by having a good image," Draco said, this time fighting to sound more confident in his answer.

"That's right, Draco. In order to have a good image, we must remember all the right things to do, especially when we have guests. You see, it doesn't matter how nice you are. You're going to have a lot of people try to tell you all you need is to be nice. Most people think that. That's why most people don't live in manors such as ours. That's why most families aren't great like ours. Our ancestors understood the truth. As Malfoys, we aren't nice. Especially not to our inferiors. Instead of being nice, we're proper. That's how we stay on top. Being proper gets you further than being nice ever could. It's proper for a boy to give his seat to a respectable woman, especially when she's his guest."

"But that's stupid!"

"You dare call my rules stupid? If our guests weren't about to arrive, I'd make you pay for that childish remark!"

"I'm sorry! Your rules are right. I'll learn them."

"You're right you will. Now go sit down like I told you while I find Dobby. Crabbe and his family and Goyle and his family will be here soon."

"The Crabbe and Goyle families are our guests? Even Vince and Greg?" Draco was nervous. He had always lied to them about his house. He told them he had two play rooms. He told them he had lots of toys and played with whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. If they came here, they'd see that was a lie. He didn't want them to know the truth.

"Of course. You didn't think the adults would want to spend the entire evening with a brat like you, did you? No. After dinner, you, Vincent, and Gregory can go up to your bedroom while the adults talk."

"But, Father, what are we supposed to do while you adults talk?"

"Why would that be of my concern? I don't care what you do as long as you're all quiet and out of the way of the adults. You will be quiet, won't you?"

"Yes, Father."

"Good. Now sit," Lucius commanded, walking back to the staircase. "Dobby! Dobby, you're supposed to be in the kitchen! I'm not telling you again!"

Dobby apparated into the room. "Of course, Master Lucius. Dobby will close his ears in the oven door for not being here on time."

"Do that later! There's no time now."

"Yes, sir."