The saddest day of Lucius's life was the day that Ara died. The happiest day of his life was the day that Draco was born.
At first, Lucius was very happy with Draco. Nothing made Lucius happier than to see his wife smiling brightly as she fussed over their little son.
"You already look so much like your father," Narcissa cooed to Draco one evening with clear affection in her voice.
Something caught in Lucius's throat. He knew that Narcissa moaned for Ara's lost just as much as he did, but it seemed as if having a little Lucius made things a little better for her.
Lucius wanted a little Narcissa. He wanted a daughter that looked just like her mother. However, that would never happen. The Healers had said that it would be too dangerous for Narcissa to ever have another child, and Lucius couldn't bear the thought of losing Narcissa. He didn't want to be left alone to raise Draco.
Lucius's mother had died in childbirth, leaving only Abraxas Malfoy to raise his son. And there was no way that Lucius was going to go down that same route. There was no way he was going to be just like his father.
Lucius was going to be happy with his one child. He was going to be happy with his son, and they were going to have the perfect relationship.
It wasn't long before Lucius was in total disbelief that he could have ever been that naïve.
Lucius was walking through the halls of the Ministry one afternoon when he suddenly heard a man's voice mention Arthur Weasley's name.
"Arthur and Molly could not be happier," the man spoke.
Lucius, who had not yet been spotted, quickly drew to the shadows. He frowned slightly to himself. How could Arthur and Molly Weasley be happy? Molly Weasley had just recently lost her two brothers to a group of Death Eaters. Unless, of course, Molly Weasley had hated her brothers like Lucius hated his father. The blond-haired wizard, of course, didn't really believe that, not even for a moment.
"They have wanted a daughter for so long," the man continued, "and now they finally have one."
Something caught in Lucius's throat. Arthur and Molly Weasley, two Blood-Traitors who lived in poverty and were disgraces to the name of everything magical, had a daughter; while he Lucius Malfoy, a proper, wealthy Pureblood, only had a son.
Later that evening, Lucius sat on the sofa in his personal study, sipping from a glass of wine.
Narcissa was sitting on the couch, holding a little Draco on her lap.
"Come sit beside me, Lucius, and say 'hello' to Draco," Narcissa smiled. "He has missed you today almost as much as I have."
"I'm fine right here," Lucius replied, his voice not angry but still somewhat sharp.
"What's wrong, Lucius?" Narcissa asked, frowning slightly. It definitely wasn't like her husband to take such a sharp tone of voice towards her. In addition, he usually was happy to see both her and Draco.
"Arthur and Molly Weasley have a daughter," Lucius said in a cold voice.
Narcissa didn't anything for several moments, but comprehension appeared on her face.
"They can't afford the ones that they already have," Narcissa finally spoke. "They're nothing but fools to have another one. Besides, no matter how many children they have, none of them will ever be as good as our Draco."
Lucius took another sip from his glass of wine. "You're right, Narcissa," he said. "Who cares if they have a daughter? We have Draco, and our Draco is worth more than an army of Weasley daughters."
Lucius then got up and walked over to the couch so that he could sit down beside his wife.
"Hello, Draco, how was your day today?" Lucius asked, smiling.
However, both Lucius and Narcissa knew that his smile was weak and very forced.
Lucius concentrated all his efforts into having the perfect relationship with his son. However, Lucius should have known better than to expect perfection. He, after all, had always failed to live up to his own father's expectations.
Lucius, though, had truly hoped and believed that he would be able to be a better father than Abraxas Malfoy had been to him.
The Malfoy patriarch knew that Draco was smart and perceptive, but the young boy also quickly and easily became bored with all his studies. He made it very clear that he would rather be outside playing.
Abraxas Malfoy would have never stood for such nonsense. He had not allowed his son to play. Lucius's life had been all about learning how to become the perfect Pureblood.
Both Lucius and Narcissa, however, had wanted Draco to have a happier childhood than either of them had been allowed to have; so they allowed Draco time to play and to be an actual child.
Was it really too much to ask for, though, that Draco cared at least a little about his education and about improving himself? Didn't Draco realize how fortunate he was to have been born into a wealthy Pureblood family where he was given privileges and opportunities that Blood-Traitors and Mudbloods would never have?
Lucius often found himself thinking that Ara would have been different. She would have had fun playing, but she would have also been a studious student. She would have wanted to read and to learn. She would have been perfect because she would have been a little version of her mother.
Lucius tried to be patient with Draco, but the younger Malfoy sometimes made that really hard. Draco would listen to his father's lectures and nod his head in agreement, but he never seemed to truly absorb Lucius's words. Instead, Draco kept on repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
Draco was never the son that Lucius wanted, just like Lucius had never been the son that Abraxas had wanted.
Lucius, though, wasn't completely like his father had been towards him. Lucius often raised his voice towards Draco and he sometimes smacked his cane just near enough to Draco that he scared the boy, but the Malfoy patriarch never actually struck his son. Draco was never covered in bruises like Lucius had been as a child, and Lucius would never dream of using the Cruciatus Curse on his son or locking his son down in the dungeons as forms of punishment. Lucius, after all, wasn't his father.
Draco, however, didn't turn out to be the real problem. No, the real problem turned out to be Lucius. Despite all of Lucius's fears that Draco would eventually be the one to bring down the Malfoy family, it was Lucius who ended up doing that.
Lucius could not help but envy Draco's courage. Draco did not murder Dumbledore, not even under pressure. No, Draco had been on the verge of making the decision to go against what everyone else wanted and instead go after what he wanted for a change. Lucius would have never dreamed of doing that. Lucius had hated his father, but he would have never dreamed of defying his wishes (at least not when he had been Draco's age).
Then, even under the fear of death, Draco refused to confirm with absolute certainty that it was Potter and his friends that had been captured. Lucius had hated his father, but he would have done anything to regain his father's favor and to end the pain.
Draco, though, didn't need to regain his father's favor. Lucius was proud of his son with him being just the way that he was. He was Draco, but more importantly he was Lucius's son.
Lucius had been denied the chance to ever have a daughter, but he would not be denied his son. Lucius was not going to lose Draco as he had lost Ara.
Abraxas Malfoy had never cared about his son, but Lucius did care about his son. Lucius refused to be exactly like his father.
No matter the cost, Draco would survive this war and go on to live a long and happy life.