Porridge, as a rule, is better with honey and without parchment. Andromeda very calmly set her spoon down and glared first at the offering letter now sitting in her porridge and up to an equally put out looking owl. "Cadmus."

Cadmus hooted and ruffled his sleek white feathers. A moment passed as both stared. Andromeda broke first. "I don't know where Lucius is. Now," she made shooing motions, "off you go. Try again at lunch." She made to move the offensive bowl of porridge and owl but Cadmus go to her first, nipping at her fingers and causing her to glare at the snowy owl, fingers in mouth. "Fine." Andromeda snatched the letter from Cadmus' now outstretched talon and made her way out of the Great Hall and down towards the dormitory.

Winding through the stone labyrinth that was the Slytherin dormitories, Andromeda barreled in to number 610. "That owl of yours is horrid, Lulu." She ripped open the drapes and deposited the letter onto the dazed and confused form of Lucius Malfoy. Who groaned, batted weakly at the offending bit of parchment and burred deeper into the covers. "Oh for the-" she grabbed one of the many cologne bottles off of Lucius' dresser and chucked it at his duvet encases ass. "If I had to get my breakfast interrupted by that vindictive excuse for an owl, then you have to wake up and read the letter."

"Don't you mean 'deal with you and your particular brand of madness this early in the morning'?" Grumbled Lucius even as he sat up and lazily rearranged the mass amounts of pillows and blankets until he was comfortable reclining gracefully against the headboard. She glared. He waggled the fingers of an outstretched hand, "My letter?"

With a pinched look on her face, Andromeda took her wand and magically extracted the letter from beneath the blankets and sent it rather forceful into Lucius' outstretched hand.

"I could have done that." Lucius glared but broke the wax seal nonetheless.

"Then why didn't you?" Asked Andromeda as she joined Lucius on the bed. Crawling over his legs and reaching for his nightstand with the purpose of snooping. He was always good for something new and shiny to capture her attention. "And why weren't you at breakfast? Temperance was. That's who you were with, right? All wide-eyed and, well, puffy eyed, actually. She looked very upset, what happened last night?"

A pained intake of breath broke her questioning and snooping. She swiveled her upper body towards Lucius. "What is it?" Nothing. "Lulu?" She sat up. His skin was chalky and when she looked harder she could see he was trembling. Her stomach tightened and sank, concern and worry etching themselves on her face as she took in her friends shocked state. "Lucius?" She crawled closer, "What is it, darling? What's-" her hand ghosted along his jaw.

"He's dead."

"Who?"

"My father." Lucius' lips trembled for a moment before everything came spilling out. "He was at the platinum mine, there was a breakout in the village, dragon pox, they were quarantined, the healers got there too late." Unfocused eyes swiveled up and over to Andromeda and a heart beat later they filled with tears. "He didn't make it."

Shock and sympathy and sadness swept up Andromeda's spine and she could feel the tingling of tears filling her own eyes as Lucius' words sank in. Wordlessly her arms rose and wrapped themselves around her friend, offering comfort. His own arms soon wrapped around her, fingers digging into the layers of her uniform. He was still trembling, from shock or grief Andromeda didn't know. She held him tighter.