DRACO -- the blood's run stale

[LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY]

don't get too close

@dracomalfoy;; note: it'll get better next time!

Maps. All kinds of them lied in a disorderly way on the wooden desk in the largest reading room of the Malfoy manor. His white fingers slowly ran along a thin line on an undone map, which he was working on. From that line, he would make a river come alive on the parchment. Grabbing his special tools for measurement, he started to measure the length of the river before getting to solving a problem with proportion involved. Everyone seemed to be amazed how a seventy-nine-year-old man could do such a job that required high accuracies. All of them thought all he had was blurred vision and shaky hands, not mention a heart that could stop beating any moment. Others wondered why he had to work when his home was already five times bigger than anywhere that could possibly sell his maps. Lucius knew all the rumours and gossips, but he tended to turn a blind ear to the folk's sayings.

His little eyes drifted from the maps to the other side of the room, where the faint light of the early came in through the glass windows. Lucius Malfoy hesitated for a while before he decided to ignore the sun and let the room be filled with warmth and brightness. It had taken him a very long time to get used to daylight after the battle of Hogwarts. He had been too used to darkness and the cold that warmth and light no longer brought him comforts but fears and insecurities. Not a day went by that he did not recall the glory days when he had had everything, and lost everything to the hand of justice in the end. Everyone knew that Lucius Malfoy had never fought but run away like a coward instead. While people stayed to fight, he chose to give him his very last pride to save his own life - his family's lives, to be exact. Shame on him. But he just did what he had to. It is the ones who live that make history, not the ones who die. So he never regretted running away, although it had meant throwing his self-esteem out the windows. 

But everything did turn out fine again. Here he was, still rich and unharmed. His son - his dearest son - was a respectable man. Everyone now saw him as their Minister, not a dreadful Death Eater. The name Malfoy, which had been damaged by Lucius, had got back its reputation and influence thanks to Draco. Needless to say Lucius was proud to call him his son. He had never expected his spoiled son to become a man like he was today. People grow from scars, and it was true in Draco's case.The first scar, and maybe the most painful one, that he had ever let happen to his son was the Dark Mark - the symbol of Death Eaters. The child had been pained, learned and grown from it. Marvelous transformation. Lucius wished he could have thought the same about himself. 

But aside from age, the old man felt nothing changing. A sinister could not become a saint. His soul was stained with innocent blood and he had blood on his hands. The lust to kill and to rule was still lingering inside his chest. But there as nothing he could do. The demon in him was only a trapped animal who was trying to roar for the last time with his tongue ripped from his mouth. He was nothing if not pathetic - ambition with no spine. Yet he had a feeling. A feeling that the demon was about to be freed. Because a hurricane was coming on the wizarding world, ready to turn everything up side down.

With a smile, the man got back to his map, right before he heard someone's knocking on the door. "Come in."

credit to Delusional

[Deleted]

Draco loved his father. Despite all that had happened, despite his father corrupting him by making him a minion of Voldemort, Draco still loved him. That was because unlike his father, he was not a bitter man. He had grown to be a reformed man, a man who saw the good in former enemies and saw the good in himself. His goal now was the good of all wizards and witches be they Purebloods, Half-bloods or Muggle-borns. Perhaps there was still a bit of favor towards Purebloods still left inside him, but if it existed he didn't show it in a professional setting.

Draco stepped into his father's room at the Manor after Lucius bid him to come in. The place was a mess with maps, and the disorder perhaps reflected what his father himself was like. With love came a measure of pity for the man who raised him. He had seen his father at his highest as a child... and now saw him at his lowest. It was a depressing site. Still, Draco would not remind his father of his failures and break him further. Draco was no longer one who "rubbed it in".

"You wished to see me, father?" he asked.

LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY

[LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY]

don't get too close

@dracomalfoy;; note: it'll get better next time!

The large wooden doors were slowly opened after he had given permission. The doors revealed the face of his dearest son and Lucius found himself smiling slightly, but the wrinkles on his skin made it look more of a frown than a smile. Everytime the old man looked at his son, he was astonished by how fast time had flown. He thought it was one a day ago when the three of them - he, Narcissa and Draco - walked away from the bloodbath of Hogwarts. At that time, Draco had been only a child who tried to be a man. Lucius remembered how Narcissa had held the boy's pale hand in hers to give him comfort and safety.

Before him now stood a true man, not a scrawny scared child anymore. That man had brought the Malfoy up from the bottom of despair and failure with his own hands. Every parent wants their children to become something great. Lucius had wanted the same for his boy but he had started to doubt if it was too much of a fantasy after the downfall of Dark Lord Voldemort. And the boy had made the impossible possible, which made Lucius feel so proud yet so ashamed of himself for causing a mess and doing nothing but wait for his son to clean. He knew he could have made things right again. There had been a thousand ways to fix the mistakes he had made, but he had chosen to do nothing. He told himself that it was because he had not wanted to, because he had been too supportive of the Dark Lord that he had not been able to bring himself to do anything displeasing to his master. But deep inside, the old man knew that he had simply been afraid. Afraid of justice, the light, the truth and the consequences. He had prefered living a life of a despicable coward to walking with his head held high. He had utterly been okay with no one crying over his death. He had not needed anyone to remember him, so long as he could avoid Azkaban.

But Draco had not accepted his fate as a loser who ran away from death only to die in the ruin of his life. He had stood up and fought for himself and his right to have a life again. Draco might have lost in the battle of Hogwarts, but he had won his life back. And thank God, Lucius was indebted to his own son for his life, too. How sarcastic. The man who had once been feared and respected could not even save himself. 

"Yes, son. It's getting harder and harder to see your face, seeing that you are having your hands full with works from the ministry." Lucius said in response to the Minister. His hands loosened the quill and he put it down. "Take a seat, Draco." His voice was pleasant and calm as he spoke and pointed at one of the two armchairs in the room, which lied near the fireplace. "How have you been?" It is strange to ask someone who lives in the very same house with you that question. But Lucius supposed he had yet to come up with something nicer to say. Honestly, he was not good at caring and loving words. "Scorpius has not come back from his school trip, has he?"

credit to Delusional

[Deleted]

Draco sighed when his father spoke of how often the two did not see one another those days. Draco loved his father, but he had his wife, his son, and his work to attend to. And everything seemed to be piling up upon him those days, especially with the dark happenings. And speaking of those, he wondered if it was wise to bring them up around his father. Draco had overcome his past, but he didn't know for certain if Lucius had.

"I've kept busy, father," he said, and that was all he said concerning his work. He stepped over and sat down. He managed to smile a little when his father asked how he had been.

"As well as can be expected," he said. "Pondering ways to amuse myself while on our traditional journey to Greece with the Notts and Zabinis. It seems we do the same routine there every year."

Draco then shook his head when Lucius asked if Scorpius had returned or not.

"He should be returning in a day or so," said Draco. "Apparently he has a bit of news for me, though I know not what." Draco had a good idea that the news involved Rose, and he had a feeling Lucius did too. This had certainly been an interesting time for the family ever since it was learned that Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley were dating.

LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY

[LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY]

don't get too close

@dracomalfoy;; note: <3333

Lucius cracked a gentle smile when Draco told him that he had been busy. Though the old man had never had a chance of being in that position, he knew it was a lot of pressure, especially when darkness was like a ticking bomb, which would explode and consume the safety of the wizarding world in the moment's notice. Lucius had been making efforts not to fall behind in the world that shifted so fast. He knew that the newspaper did not always bring good news. The people were informed of mysterious attacks, which were believed to have been caused by a new dark force. There was at last something worth noticing on the newspaper after the breakdown of dark lord Voldemort. Lucius could not help wondering who was behind all the deaths and damages as it appeared to him that this person was even a bigger concern to the ministry than Tom Riddle had been in his glory days. A new game was being played, and Lucius hated that he actually missed being a part of something dangerous yet exciting. But he guessed he would remain an innocent onlooker this time. 

Then again, anything could happen.

“Tradition is not something we can destroy overnight, son.” The Slytherin alumni spoke with calmness in his voice in response to Draco when the trip to Greece was mentioned. The trip perhaps would only be attractive to the youngsters. Greece or England made no difference to him. His rotted soul had been too familiar with the world that nothing could ever surprise him anymore. All the same, tradition is tradition. It was not something that could be built overnight, or could be destroyed overnight. Malfoy was not just a name for those nosy journalists to print on the newspaper once in a blue moon. That name was a history and a legend built upon tradition. Descendents are not supposed to crash it into million pieces as a way to say thank you to their ancestors. Lucius had sworn that he would eliminate every single thing that could be a threat to the pride of his family. “Besides, this could be a chance for you to get to know your family better, particularly my rebellious grandson.” Another smile grew on his lips, but this one was only trasient and very faint, almost forced and unnatural.

Not that Lucius and his grandson had a problem. Sadly, they never knew each other well enough to have a problem. Since his childhood, Scorpius had barely known what it was like to be taken care of by his grandfather. As matter of fact, Lucius was never sorry for not having been close to the boy. Every Malfoy must learn that mushy emotions could not save their lives. To endure, they must learn to survive, to face the world on their own, and they must get used to having no one beside them, too. That way they would not be betrayed. Draco was a strong man now. But it seemed like Scorpius was still working on getting rid of his teenage impulsiveness.

“Apparently by letting you be aware of the coming of some news, he wanted you to prepare for a heart attack.” The old man pulled a joke and laughed drily. 

credit to Delusional

[Deleted]

Draco smiled a little about tradition, though he was happy that some Malfoy "traditions" were broken years ago. He could only imagine where both had and his father would be if they weren't. He had toured Azkaban before, and that alone was a disheartening experience. To have to do time there...

But Lucious was right about other traditions. And his sister-in-law really did put her heart into that vacation.

"Oh don't fret, father," he said good-naturedly. "I'm going to go and enjoy myself. Blasie and I have our little tavern there after all. By now, everyone there knows us and knows what we drink."

Draco then sighed a bit when Lucius called Scorpius rebellious.

"Yes, he is rebellious," said Draco. "But some times I wonder if that is a bad thing." Draco didn't want to say what he was thinking next. As a boy, he was very loyal to his father and late mother... and again that loyalty almost cost him a great deal. "But Scorpius has a good head on his shoulders, father. The three of us are all from very different generations. Of course we're going to clash swords on a few things. But I do look forward to spending time with him."

Draco laughed a bit himself at the worry of the coming news.

"Perhaps," he said. "Let's hope not. Merlin knows my heart has been strained enough as of late with all the attacks."

LUCIUS ABRAXAS MALFOY