Goodnight, Mr Severus
By So Yun
Chapter one: The meeting of a stranger
The little boy tugged and cooed at his green blanky, fisting it with his little pudgy fingers. His father held him tightly, one pale hand supporting his legs and the other the baby's back.
The baby slipped his tiny finger into his father's hand as it reached up to fix his long, blond/silver hair. The elder man stared down at his baby son and immediately pulled his hand away and resumed back to its original task.
The baby stared at his father with inquisitive eyes that welled with tears, but he knew if he cried his father would only yell at him. The tears quelled and Draco fisted his hands and rubbed them away.
Draco stifled a yawn and stretched his little legs inside his green pumpkin patterned jump suit; he ached for his dragon toy badly. But his father just stood on the same spot for what seemed like many hours to baby Draco.
The aristocrat stared down at his baby boy coldly through his grey eyes with disdain. His baby son was only just fighting sleep and Lucius wished his dear friend would hurry up. He had a business to run and his wife Narcissa was much too busy to tend to a baby.
His son was just over nine months old and already showed aristocratic instincts. He did not cry, and hardly ever whined but was a polite and to most an adoring baby.
Most nights baby Draco was left with just the house elves to tend for the baby while his parents dined out with high society. To Draco his parents seemed like strangers, though he loved them and wished that they would love him too.
He loved getting away from Tinkly, his house elf trained to baby sit him. He would crawl on all fours everywhere through the carpeted halls of Malfoy Manor. He loved hiding in nook and crannies until Tinkly would finally catch up to him.
Whenever his parent's presence was not felt, Draco found himself at ease. The house elves adored him and found him such a gentle baby.
But Draco himself had only seen a small part of the world. Once his mother pushed his pram around the garden before she departed for a Ladies lunch date. The only affection he ever got was when his mother kissed his forehead before leaving every evening with his father.
Draco stared up at his father's face and took in every detail, every line, and every wrinkle. Though there were hardly for his father was still yet young, only seven years out of Hogwarts.
Draco looked down and fisted his father's hair, not unlike his own and sucked on it to give him some distraction. He was plaintively frightened when Lucius slapped his hand hard, but not too hard and glared at him.
Draco dropped the hair from his mouth and turned to snuggle his little face back into his blanket.
He was interrupted from his slumber when a loud crack filled the air and he felt his father walking forwards. He looked up blearily through his sleep filled eyes and focused on the thing that instigated the noise.
He found his gaze trained on a stranger, a menacing looking tall man. Draco felt himself wince and he pulled back into the recluse of his warm blankets.
He felt his warm blankets being pulled away gently by his father's long fingers and he stared up again blearily.
His father smiled down at him gently and said to the stranger, "Meet your Godson, Severus. Is he not a beautiful child? I am sure when he is older he shall be the heir of all Malfoy estate".
The stranger in black looked down with disdain at the slumbering child and stepped back a step, only to have the bundle thrust forward.
"I am sure you will teach him the proper principles of pureblood, I must take my leave. Look after him Severus", Lucius said and without a moment's wait he apparated with a softer crack.
The stranger, Severus Snape had long, oily black hair and a hooked nose. His pallor was pale and his thin lips were set in a grim line of disdain and his obsidian eyes surveyed his now sleeping Godson.
"What on earth have I gotten myself into?" The Severus muttered to himself and held the baby as carefully as he could. He then pulled the bundle closer and apparated back to his own Manor a fair while away. The whole time Draco just sucked on his thumb and slept on.
When Severus landed he gently manoeuvred the baby in its blankets and conjured a cot with tall bars. The man smiled in satisfaction at his creation and gently moved baby Draco to lie in the cot but was stopped when a chubby fist grasped a strand of his hair.
Severus paused in motion and used his other hand to attempt to peel the baby's fingers off from being wrapped around his hair. But to no vain, the sleeping baby continued to have a tight hold on him and only pulled closer to the man the more he tried.
Severus huffed and gave up, finally falling back softly into his armchair by the fire. Baby Draco lay on his chest, still wrapped in his green blanket contently sleep with his fingers fisted around his guardians strand of hair. He felt safe, even in sleep.
Severus felt slightly uncomfortably to have the infant against his chest, clasping his hair. But the baby was adorable and Severus knew when Draco grew up he would be handsome indeed.
The man had to look after his godson for a year while his good friend and wife travelled around the Wizarding world on a holiday. Undoubtedly they could not take their son with them and had left him with his Godfather.
Severus himself had been appalled to find that his godson would be separated from his parents for so long. But indeed he knew his good friend well, he was folly and selfish, so high upon his throne that he did not have time even for his own son.
Lucius was the type of man to indulge with his wife in high society and mainly forget about his own infant son. To him, he had not the time nor place for him even if he was born and bred from him.
Lucius always had the thought that when his only son and heir were older he would teach him, no use teaching a babbling baby. Severus on the other hand was quite content with the sleeping, wistful baby.
He knew his godson was past the point of bawling, he was a quiet, reserved type of child. That is how Severus grew to love him.
"Draco?" Severus uttered softly and rested beside his crying Godson. He put a gentle hand on the small boy's shoulder and looked down at him.
Draco's impeccable grey eyes looked up at him, rimmed with unfallen tears. He held a wrinkled and crumpled letter in his head and he said in his, childish voice, "Father is angry with me".
Severus frowned and bent closer deciphering the words in the crumpled letter: You are dead to me from now on. How you can ever think the Dark Lord is wrong I do not know. Unless you re-think this sentiment, heed the first sentence of this letter. Let Severus know I shall have a talk to him when I get back.
Signed,
Lucius Malfoy
Severus frowned even more and gently squeezed Draco shoulder and watched his seven year old Godson carefully.
Many years had passed since Severus first met Draco outside Malfoy Manor. Draco's parents had returned, but a little after the chosen date. So Draco had grown from a baby to infant in their midst, for they abandoned him for nearly two years.
Now Draco had been left with his Uncle Severus again for a period of time they did not know. But Lucius was obviously been furious when he had received his son's letter, which pitifully and innocently asked why The Dark Lord was so bad.
The Daily Prophet helped him in this summarization. He read it every morning while munching on his breakfast politely with an aristocratic air that his father had managed to teach him.
Severus strived to make Draco a proper, polite, pure blood mannered boy. But also tended to make him gentler and have a sense of world being, the man did not wish for his Godson to turn out like his father, anything but that.
Little silver tears dripped from Draco's cheeks and Draco rubbed them away forcefully, mumbling, "Father says crying makes you weak".
Severus looked away and sighed, his good friend's wrath of fatherhood had already taken his toll. The man doubted whether Draco had ever properly cried in his whole life.
He pulled the boy up then went to Draco's eye level and said forcefully, "Take no heed to that letter my son, how about you like to go for a ride?" Severus summoned the child's broomstick and watched a wrought smile overtake his face. Then Draco was off, having the time of his life.
When it grew darker he called the boy down and he did indeed look weary. As the boy passed him he bent down and kissed Draco's mop of silvery hair and they walked up together.
To him sometimes, after Draco had been with his father, the boy seemed like a stranger. Sometimes Draco saw him as a stranger, but they both had a mutual relationship with each other. They always would, Lucius would never break them apart unless he commanded his son to.
As they parted ways he heard Draco say, "Goodnight, Mr Severus".
End of chapter one.