Legacy

'A word, father.'

'Draco!' Lucius Malfoy smiled at his son. Beside him, young Scorpius' eyes lit up in surprise. 'Dad!'

'Hello love.' He smiled at his boy, but then his eyes darted to the child's right hand. 'What is that?'

'Grandfather's wand-'

'Expelliarmus!' The force of the spell slammed the little boy against the leather sofa. Lucius saw his wand crashing against a bookcase. 'What on earth –'

'Stay out of this!' Draco hissed. Then he strode over to his son. 'What did I say about wands?' he snarled.

'Not till I'm eleven,' the boy said, rather tearfully.

'Exactly!'

'Let's all just calm down, shall we?' Lucius stood up and walked over to his son, who was visibly shaking. 'My wand, Draco,' he said.

Draco snapped his fingers at a House Elf, who picked up the wand and placed it, bowing, into Lucius' hand. 'Fetch the Mistress,' Lucius told it quickly. Then he pulled Draco aside. 'What are you doing?'

'Teaching!' Draco spat.

At that moment, Narcissa came in. After one look, she strode over to Scorpius and took him by the hand. The boy was really crying now. 'Come with me, darling. They're just being silly,' she whispered, quickly glancing to Lucius.

I've got this, dear, he nodded.

You'd better, she frowned. She then quickly led her grandson out of the room.

Lucius let go of his son. 'Sit down,' he said.

'I don't want you to – '

'I said sit!' Instinctively, Lucius reached for his wand, but Draco had drawn his faster.

'I wouldn't try that, father,' he whispered.

Lucius took a deep breath. 'You wanted to talk. So sit down and talk.'

Draco stared at him for one more moment, but than he sat down – in his leather armchair, Lucius thought ruefully. But the boy was unstable, so he gritted his teeth. 'Whiskey?'

'A double,' Draco said.

Lucius raised his eyebrows, but summoned a decanter and poured his son's glass. Draco was following his every movement. 'Something wrong?' Lucius enquired.

'How could you give that to him!' Draco spat, nodding at the wand.

'This?' Lucius said, jerking his wand in surprise. He was so baffled he almost smashed the bottle.

'That,' Draco said.

Lucius felt anger rising in his throat. 'You don't want your son to have your father's wand,' he repeated deliberately. 'Tell me… is this your only insult or will there be more?'

'I saw what you did with it,' Draco said.

'I did nothing!' Lucius said, even more confused.

'Not just now,' Draco sighed irritably.

'Indeed.' Lucius put down the decanter, picked up his glass and drained it. Then he took his wand and handed it to his son. 'This particular wand is purer than a unicorn's fowl.'

'I doubt that,' Draco answered, not taking it. 'It knows exactly what you're capable of.'

'So does yours.'

'I know,' Draco said. 'That's why he's not touching that, either.'

'You're being ridiculous,' Lucius hissed. 'Do you really mean to tell me that you are sending your son to Hogwarts without him ever having touched a wand?'

'He can use Astoria's wand to practice,' Draco said.

Lucius sighed. 'You know how much I respect your wife, but she is not a Malfoy. Besides, she is a woman!'

'I've used Mother's wand,' Draco said matter-of-factly.

Go on, rub it in, Lucius thought, but he controlled himself. 'That was an exceptional situation,' he said.

Draco shrugged.

Lucius poured himself another whiskey. 'You're making a mistake. The combined power and legacy of the Malfoy family is imbedded in our wands. Scorpius should learn to feel that. Yours even has the Black heritage…'

'Yes, of course, I forgot,' Draco said. 'Aunt Bellatrix was such a marvellous example!'

'She was a formidable witch!' Lucius snapped.

'She was a raving lunatic!'

'That, too,' Lucius conceded. But then he bored his eyes into his son's. 'And you wish to tell me that you judge me no better.'

Draco stared back. 'I have my son to think of.'

Lucius took a deep breath. 'What makes you think I do not care for his welfare?' he demanded.

'He's been having nightmares,' Draco stated.

'All children have nightmares,' Lucius said.

'He's been dreaming of battles. And he is asking me all kinds of questions about duelling.'

'As he should,' Lucius said. 'He should know how to defend himself.'

'Really?' Draco said. 'By casting sectumsempra?'

Lucius froze for a moment. Then he shrugged. 'Well, I always did admire Snape's – '

'I suffered that, father! You're not telling him about it!'

'Will you stop being squeamish,' Lucius said. 'There is life beyond your safe and closeted home. We'd be doing your Scorpius a disservice by not telling him about it.'

'He is nine years old.'

'And he knows a good lot less than you did at that age. Honestly, if you don't start tutoring him more extensively, he'll be the laughing stock of all of Slytherin.'

'He'll do fine in Slytherin without knowing how to maim someone for life.'

'Merlin, Draco, you know that's not true.'

His son stared at him. 'I don't believe you. I just don't believe you.' He stood up. 'I have spent the last fifteen years without ever casting so much as a body bind curse and I've done brilliantly!'

'That was very prudent of you,' Lucius said. 'But most people never underestimated what you could do if you chose to. Don't tell me that hasn't helped.'

Draco looked away.

'You see, son,' Lucius smiled. 'These spells will give your son power. Whether he chooses to cast them or not.'

Draco looked him in the eyes again. 'You've never taught me any spell you did not intend me to use.'

'True.' Lucius smiled.

'So you wanted me to enslave, torture and kill people one day.'

'If need be,' Lucius said matter of factly. When he saw his son's face, he added: 'Everyone desires to do these things, Draco. Everyone. Why would I not give you the tools you needed?'

'I never desired to do these things!' Draco spat.

'You're lying,' Lucius said. 'At school, you would have been quite happy to do all of them.'

'Childish games,' Draco said. 'I never intended to kill anyone. I couldn't even do it for your sake.'

Lucius winced. 'That should never have happened – '

'But it has!' Draco shouted. There were tears in his eyes. 'And the only thing your spells did was make me into a tool! Something the Dark Lord used to destroy people!'

'If you hadn't worked with him he would have killed you!' Lucius yelled, in spite of himself.

'No, he wouldn't have,' Draco said. He'd started pacing, his movements fast and jittery. 'He would have tortured me and made you watch.'

'Would you have preferred that?' Lucius sneered.

'I don't know,' Draco said. 'I really don't.' He slowly walked back to the armchair, sat down and took a sip of whiskey. Then he said, almost absentmindedly: 'Do you know what it is like, torturing twenty people in a row, one of them you?'

Lucius scowled at the memory, but then he composed himself. 'You weren't very good, son.'

Draco's face turned cold. 'They made me practice.' He turned his head away. 'The screaming…'

'Draco, listen,' Lucius said determinedly. 'This was more than fifteen years ago. Why would you dwell on it?'

'I don't dwell on it,' Draco said. 'It dwells on me.'

Lucius sighed irritably. 'Don't be theatrical, Draco, it doesn't suit you.'

Draco didn't seem to have heard him. 'I wonder, sometimes,' he mused. 'The things I could do... To Astoria. To Scorpius, even.'

'Then don't,' Lucius said.

Draco shrugged. 'They slip out sometimes, you know.' He smiled. 'After last time, Astoria stopped me degnoming our garden.'

'Rightly so. I didn't give you Tibby for nothing.'

Draco turned to him. 'Is that all you care about? Proper housekeeping?'

'Whatever do you mean?'

'Do you think that's all you need to be normal again?'

'That's usually how these things work, yes.'

'The hell they do!' Draco spat. He jumped up once more, yanked out his wand and thrust it, point upwards, in Lucius' face. 'I can still feel them, father,' he whispered, 'all those writhing, stinking spells.'

Lucius curled his lips. 'Then why do you fight them?'

Draco sucked in a breath. 'What...?'

Lucius' smile grew wider. 'This is power, Draco,' he said, standing up. 'good Merlin, I thought you'd never master it! Don't you see – you can do anything you wish now! You have magic no Auror would use!'

Draco only shook his head in response, repeatedly jerking it from side to side.

'Of course you can!' Lucius beamed. He had an almost uncontrollable urge to embrace his son, but Draco had moved away from him, turning strangely rigid. 'You'll make us great again –'

Draco thrust op his hand. He wore a mixture of shock and contempt on his face, as if asked to bow down to a blood traitor.

'I used to think it was the war,' he said finally. 'All those 'lessons', all those curses.' He shook his head. 'You just liked it.'

'Liked it?' Lucius sneered. 'You were a petulant brat that couldn't concentrate to save his life. It was certainly no pleasure –' He stopped when Draco raised his wand again.

'Stay away from my son,' he said. 'I mean it.'

Finally, here it was – the backbone, the resolve, the sheer might he had always tried, and failed, to install. It was strangely disconcerting to see it all directed at himself.
Lucius nodded slightly. 'You needn't worry. That is your job.'

Draco looked taken aback. Before he'd had the chance to reply, they both heard 'Oooooh– bubbles!'

As one they turned and sped towards the hallway. Outside the door Lucius saw his wife and grandson, both delightedly watching swirls of soap bursting out of Narcissa's wand.

Typical Cissa, Lucius thought. She was still unwilling to accept that her only grandchild was a nine year old boy instead of the four year old girl she'd always wanted. Still, Scorpius was excited. 'Let me, grandmama!' Before she had time to react, he took the wand from her hand and sent the soap shooting in all directions. Draco reacted fast as lightening.

'Finite incantatem!'

All bubbles popped simultaneously, leaving an uncomfortable silence. Draco lowered his wand as he looked at his son, who'd gone from grinning to biting his lip. Narcissa took her wand from him and put her hand on the boy's shoulder.

'Now, son...' Lucius said when Draco walked towards Scorpius. But after seeing Narcissa's slight smile, he noticed something was different. Draco was grinning. In fact, he was positively beaming.

'Can you do that again?'

With a quick look at Narcissa, Scorpius took the wand from her. He planted his feet on the ground and screwed his face up in concentration, but only managed some weak splutters.

Draco knelt beside his son, took his arm and guided his movements. The result was better, but still rather feeble. Scorpius was getting frustrated. 'Can I have your wand, Dad?' he asked suddenly.

Draco pulled back. 'No,' he said. He took Narcissa's wand and stood up. 'Go get your cloak...'

But the boy had straightened up, too.

'Let me try, Dad,' he said. 'I can do it!'

Lucius marvelled at the boy's nerve. Had his son ever been like that? He and Draco seemed to be fighting some internal battle.
At long last, Draco looked to Narcissa. 'Mother, would you watch...?' She took her wand from him with an ironic smile. Lucius too remembered the hours she had spent watching him practice, ready to disarm when necessary. Nevertheless, Draco's hand was shaking when he gave Scorpius his wand. 'Be very careful,' he said to his boy, 'don't point at anyone, and don't grasp too tightly...'

But Scorpius didn't seem to need any further instruction. In one fluent movement, he made a fountain of stars shoot out of the wand.

At first, everyone just stared. Then Scorpius cried 'I did it!', Narcissa cheered and Draco quickly took his wand back before sweeping his son up and embracing him tightly. 'Your first spell!' he beamed. 'You clever wizard you!'

Lucius felt his chest swelling, too, as he remembered his joy at the first spell Draco had cast – a rather botched attempted to Stun a House Elf. He smiled broadly at his grandson, who looked at him and said: 'I really did it, grandpapa!'

'Good, Scorpius!' he said, 'Next time, try –'

But Draco put his son down and stepped in front of him. 'Your cloak, Scorpius,' he said hoarsely.

'But I want to say goodbye!'

'Just go!'

The boy left hurriedly. Narcissa seemed torn against following her grandson and finding ways to diffuse the situation. 'Boys!' she said warningly.

But Draco ignored her. 'I swear,' he said to Lucius, 'if you teach my son so much as a stinging jinx, I'll skin you alive.'

'Don't you dare-' Lucius started, but he stopped as his son approached him, his wand drawn and his hand perfectly still.

'I still know how,' Draco whispered. With that, he made a curt bow to his mother and walked out of the room.

He left his parents in stunned silence. 'What was that?' Narcissa finally snapped at Lucius before running after her child.

Lucius didn't reply. He knew the answer, and felt frozen to the bone.

Draco was a Malfoy now.