AN: It's all JK's except for the plot of this story and original characters.

I finally have some time on my hands again and I sincerely apologize that it took me more than a year to update. I'm currently editing and rewriting Meddlesome Affairs to close a few plot holes. I have more than five chapters done so I hope I'll be able to update at least weekly without long breaks until the story is finished.
Enjoy and let me know what you think!


Meddlesome Affairs

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of someone or other of their daughters. (*)

England's pureblood society of the wizarding world agreed on the fact, that a single man was in need of a wife and a single, honourable woman was in need of a husband and yet there were cases in which no pureblood would have given a daughter away for marriage.

One case was Severus Snape. Despite his status as a war hero and his achievements he was known for his stoic and antisocial mannerism. The other case was known by the Name of Draco Malfoy. He was taken out of the game because he was closely acquainted with the potions master, considering that he was his godson.

While Severus Snape had given up on love and marriage and didn't care about continuing his bloodline, his godson had reached the tender age of 25 and was more than eager to marry an adequate, beautiful and aristocratic witch to continue his family's noble line and therefore he was faced with the problem that the general opinion about him, his intentions and family hadn't been the highest since the end of the war and he was desperately looking for a way to re-establish himself in the better part of society.

He did everything in his power to stick to the rules of pureblood etiquette and thus he found himself making one of his rare social calls to Azkaban on a cold and stormy Sunday afternoon at the beginning of September since abandoning ones parents wasn't part of the list that would help him to climb the ladder back to his rightful place at the top.

:

Azkaban was still Draco's least favourite place in the world next to Hogwarts. The Dementors were back along with a few more human guards than before. How anybody could stand the freezing cold, the rotting smell of fish and the salty sea topped with happiness draining creatures floating around was beyond him. Even the small visiting-cell with its warm fireplace reeked of fish and algae, the person across from him on the opposite side of the wooden table didn't smell any better. What intrigued him most was the fact that the place was dark no matter how many candles or fires were lit. It never lightened up to more than the scheming light of dusk inside and out.

Lucius Malfoy looked just as shabby as his current surroundings and Draco was fairly sure that his nose had caught a whiff of piss on his father alongside the typical rotting smell of the prison. He briefly wrinkled his nose before he straightened his features back into place and focused his eyes on the man in front of him.

The face of the once proud and polished master of Malfoy Manor was grimy and he was sporting a rather unbecoming stubble. The long blond hair looked as thin as it was messy and had started to get a greyish yellow hue to it. The ragged clothes didn't look any better than the rest of him. Everything gave the impression of something translucent and rotting, yet the man walked in with the grace of an aristocrat, sat down on the hard, unupholstered wooden chair in perfect manner and looked at his son with recognition and his usual arrogance. If anyone would have been asked about a proper description 'bizzare' would have probably been the most fitting word for the scene that unfolded in front of Draco's narrowed grey eyes.

"Well, my son, I hope you're bringing good news?" Under normal circumstances no Slytherin would have talked so boldly but they both knew that their time to talk in private was limited; there wasn't time to waste with formalities or a proper greeting. "No father, there's no change in my status."

Lucius' brows rose at his son's declaration but he carried on in his slightly bored, snobbish way as if he hadn't taken any notion of it. "That's disappointing to hear. How is your mother?"

"Fine." Neither said a word for what felt like a few minutes.

Lucius still wasn't used to being wandless after all the years in prison, he hated the feeling of being left without his power. Draco wasn't comfortable in general and seeing his father like this made his stomach churn with a feeling he couldn't place. He knew the man was manipulative and wasn't playing on the right side but it still struck a nerve to see him like this. After all they've been through it just wasn't fair.

"Is that all you have to tell me or is there anything else? Probably something of importance for once," Lucius sneered as his face twisted into a nasty grimace.

"Indeed there is something. I've heard a rumour that I'm not improving because Severus is part of the family." Again a statement so bold that Salazar Slytherin would have turned in his grave if he could have heard two of the finest members of his noble and pure house converse like that.

"I see."

"What are you thinking about that, father?"

"The question is not what I'm thinking Draco. The question is what you are thinking about it." Lucius looked straight in the middle of the face of his son and stared, his gaze not focusing on anything in particular. Draco shivered slightly and secretly wished for a bit more space between them.

"I honestly do not know what to think of it. I see no harm in him," he replied with as much aloofness as he could muster under the scrutiny of his father's cold eyes.

"Obviously his reputation seems to do harm to yours, Draco. Pray tell, is Severus of any use to you? Is his acquaintance beneficial? What do you get out of it?"

Silence followed and Lucius snorted.

"That's about as good as nothing, Draco. If he's of no benefit than get rid of him."

"But father! Severus is my godfather! He is FAMILY!" Pureblood etiquette had one rule above all: Family first. Lucius rolled his eyes.

"Tsk tsk tsk… didn't I teach you anything? Discretion, boy!" Draco's mask of callousness failed him and he looked horrified.

"No. You're asking too much of me, father," he answered in a weak voice. "I can't do that and you know it. I owe him. We both do. Hell, the whole world does!"

"You either get rid of him or you make him more agreeable to the public. Removing him from your person seems to be the easiest way, Draco. Or you could do," Lucius smirked and his eyes lit up as a plan began to form in his head. He hadn't plotted anything for quite some time given the circumstances and he was practically glowing with excitement. "Both."

"Both? How?"

"Yes, both. It's easy, really." The elder Malfoy's eyes gleamed dangerously in the half-light as a plan manifested in his head.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Well son, it looks like your own plans for marriage need to be taken away for a while. Making him agreeable and getting rid of him can be done in one single straw. Find him a bride."

"A bride?" Draco was positive by now that Azkaban wasn't good for his father's mental health.

"Yes," Lucius hissed. "It's really that easy, can't you see it? Envision it!" The sentence was followed by one of Lucius' grand flourishes which seemed oddly out of place.

"I don't see why my own future should suffer because of him," said Draco. He had a feeling that this was getting out of hand.

"Listen, you stupid boy! You'll find him a bride. A woman by his side would make him more human to the public and while we're at it - find someone who is utterly disagreeable to your dear mother." The gleeful smirk on Lucius' face grew. If Narcissa was displeased she would show it without hesitation to someone who was considered a member of the family.

"The ties between our families will slowly subside. Knowing Severus he won't make public comments about a falling out, so you can meet with him in secret if you still desire to do so," Lucius continued.

"That's," Draco paused. "Brilliant. But impossible. Where would I find a woman that's agreeable to him but disagreeable to mother?"

"You really didn't learn a single thing from me, did you? Spent too much time with the two bulky idiots, I take it? You are a Slytherin for Merlin's sake!"

"Sometimes I think he's not interested in women at all! She must be an awful lot like him to bear with him! He likes intelligent conversation which in his case is of the academic sort. On top of that she shouldn't be old or ugly but she must accept... well... him. And you know quite well that he's no looker. Besides, she needs to coop with his temper and his lack of social manners! Do you know any sane woman that would fit? I don't! Even the gold diggers aren't interested anymore!"

The young Malfoy was sure that such a woman didn't exist. Well educated and beautiful witches were usually purebloods and therefore not disagreeable to his mother. And who would bother to date the greasy git of the dungeons? Severus Snape was no knight in shining armour. Not that his goodfather wasn't in the possession of proper manners, he just never bothered to use them around others. He simply didn't care what people thought about him anymore and preferred his solitude.

"Yes, you do know such a woman. You are working with her." This time Draco's blonde brows rose.

"I am working with her? Father, I'm working with – Oh." He suddenly realised were this was going and he shook his head. "Oh no, that won't work! Are you insane? He hates her and she at least dislikes him!"

"Boy, are you a Slytherin or not? Change their opinion of each other. The Mudblood would be perfect. She's addicted to books, she has a little knowledge of academic things and she has no proper manners herself, so she certainly wouldn't mind his. And as far as you informed me she isn't attached to anyone. As for his temper… Think of all the things poor Severus went through and use it to picture him as the suffering hero." Lucius sneered nastily.

"Make her see, Draco. Gryffindors tend to have a rather big heart and lots of compassion for brave and tragic heroes. Teach her how to handle him. And she is a Mudblood. Your dear mother will be devastated."

Draco smiled brightly at his father. "I knew it was a good idea to discuss this with you."

:

He could see it clearly before his inner eye; Granger would fit the bill. If he could giver her appearance a slight make over somehow and work on her manners she would fit it even more. As he left the prison half an hour later the ferryman that brought him back to the apparition point outside the small island wondered how anyone with a sane mind could leave Azkaban, probably the unhappiest place in the world, in such a merry mood as Draco Malfoy did that day.


AN:

I LOVE meddling and plotting Slytherins! :D What about you?

(*) Jane Austen – Pride And Prejudice, Chapter 1