Warning: I am not JKR, I own nothing. If you recognize anything I may have unwittingly "borrowed" I apologize. English is not my first language, mistakes will probably be legion.
I had hoped to have a blatant commercial for the Voss extreme sport week but this wasn`t instigated until 1998 (Darn)
I managed sneaking Voss in anyways )
His father`s son
His father had dominated Draco's childhood, and now influenced Draco's every move. Lucius had always been suave, aristocratic, cool and collected. Draco had always strived to be like him and to get his attention and approval. Lucius however never showed any approval if Draco did something right, only disapproval when Draco`s actions did not fulfill his expectations. Draco often felt that he could never be good enough, strong enough or a good enough son.
Draco's mother Narcissa had always been a distant figure, never allowed any say in Draco's upbringing. Father had always hindered mother from being as he said too motherly. Father seemed to think Draco would become weak if his mother was allowed to comfort him or support him in anything. In an attempt to make Draco be like his idea of the perfect heir Lucius had made sure most of Draco's time had been spent with tutors who extolled the qualities demanded of a pureblooded scion of the high and mighty Malfoy family. Some of the first things Draco had to learn were that muggles were scum and mudbloods were a danger and should not be allowed to live. It was always portrayed as a certainty that he as a pureblood would always be better at anything than any mudblood or half-blood. His first year at Hogwarts had therefore been rather interesting. He'd learned that muggleborns weren't necessarily worse at magic than purebloods. In fact that Granger was an excellent example, faster at learning new things that anybody else. Purebloods were also not necessarily better, in fact Vince and Greg were the worst in class and they were both pureblooded. Draco would never have dared admit it, but this made him think that the things he had learned before might not necessarily be true.
Father had been rather sharp with Draco on the matter of getting better grades than Granger; the threat of punishment if not had been strongly implied. Luckily his joining a homework group that contained most of the people in the first year had led to much better grades. Father hadn't been happy about Draco being in a group with Granger. Using an idea given him by Larry Snape, Draco argued that unless he knew what she knew, he would be at a disadvantage. Father had grumbled of course, but agreed that Draco should keep his competition close. The implication had again been clear that he should never let any half-blood or mudblood come closer than necessary.
The homework group had been a revelation for Draco. He'd never had friends, only associates. Father had always said that friends were a waste of time; and that a Malfoy should never stoop so low as to be associated with just anybody. Draco had never understood why it was beneficial to be associated with brainless idiots such as Crabbe and Goyle senior; they were useful as goons but nothing else. Watching the others in the homework group however Draco saw how friends interacted, challenged each other or supported each other. The contrast to his interactions with Vince and Greg was clear. The wish to gain actual friends became too hard to resist, and he found himself secretly making friendly overtures to Larry and some few others. He always hastened to excuse any "inappropriate" friendliness to the Slytherins and especially his father. Luckily father actually condoned his association with Larry as Professor Snape was an associate of his. The others he interacted with were happy to keep their association quiet, as they were as uncomfortable at being friendly with a Slytherin as he was with being friends at all.
Draco Malfoy was his fathers` son in most things; his self image was shaped by whom and what his father wanted him to be. It therefore came as an especially big blow when his father was found dead. Actually the almost worst part was the fact that he was not only found dead, but also was clad as a Death Eater and in the company of the dark lord himself.
In an instant the power and influence of the Malfoy family had vanished, Draco could no longer look down his nose at others, declaring that his ancient family name was better. The grief over the death of his father was intense and crippling for Draco in the first few weeks. He was somewhat aware that others in Slytherin had lost fathers, brothers or uncles. But his own grief was more than enough to handle, and Draco had nothing to spare for the others. For a long time Draco hoped his mother might swoop in and fetch him home, but he only received a small missive saying that she had been hospitalized as she was so paralyzed by her grief. As a result Draco felt utterly alone and very angry. He was angry at his father who had been mad enough to take up with the dark lord, and who had been stupid enough to get killed along with that same dark lord. The anger at his mother was different, mostly he felt angry that she wasn't strong enough to be there for him. Thinking back though Draco had to admit that mother had never been allowed to be there for him. Father had always hindered her from coming too close, and admonished her about not coddling Draco because he needed to learn to be strong.
Guardian?
A couple of weeks after the incident (as Draco had begun calling it in his mind) Draco was surprised to be called in to see his head of house. The interview was short and rather surprising. Draco would never have suspected that Sirius Black of all people would become his guardian. In the end Draco left the interview with so many thoughts running around his head that he was surprised he hadn't gotten lost on his way back to the dormitories. Shortly after small letters from his new guardian began arriving, they contained small news about his mother's progress and asked how Draco was doing. In addition Black filled him in on the fate of the manor which had been cleared of dark artifacts and then sealed. Draco could read between the lines, and from the tone and what the Prophet was saying he understood the manor was only standing because Black had fought the ministry hard for it.
Draco could still not understand why Black was doing this, but nevertheless he was grateful that at least someone was on his side. Slowly the paralyzing grief changed and reached a more manageable level, what mostly remained was the anger at his parents for not being there. Luckily Black didn't seem to mind that Draco sent letter after letter airing his grievance against Lucius, Narcissa and the world. Every letter that Draco received back was full of encouragement and support, and Draco felt glad he had an adult who was willing to listen without judging him. On the other hand Draco felt a bit put out that a veritable stranger actually listened more to him than his own parents ever had.
As the exams were looming, Draco had mostly managed to better his grades and come up to speed with schoolwork again. Surprising enough this change was due to Granger again. He sort of felt that she shouldn`t be left with no competition for grades, and the others in the homework group were not able to compete at their level. In addition to being worried about grades, Draco had begun dreading summer. If his mother still couldn`t get out of her selfish funk, he had nowhere to go. All of his Slytherin classmates would have at least one parent to go home to, but there was no room for him in their homes now. Draco hadn`t mentioned his worry about summer to Black, so it came as rather a surprise to find the man waiting for him outside the great hall one day.
"There you are Draco, I`m sorry to pop in without warning. Would you walk with me for a bit please" said Black.
"Of course" Draco said "why are you here, is there news about mother?"
"There is actually some news, she has gotten discharged from the hospital, and I tried to get her to come home. She insisted she still felt unable to be a proper parent for you yet, so she went to stay at your chalet in the Alps. I have provided house elves for her, and restricted her allowance severely until she gets a grip and grows up". Black shuddered severely and continued " if my old friend James had heard me of all people call for someone else to grow up he would have laughed himself silly. I wasn`t actually here to talk about your mother again, I have been planning for you to come stay with me this summer. But I never thought to ask you if this was something you wanted, until another old friend gave me a hint that actually inviting you might be a good idea. So far I plan to get to know the muggle world a little better, my godson Larry tells me my knowledge of muggles and their world is deplorable. This might not sound too fun to you, but if you wanted we could fit in some quiddich and other fun activities too."
Draco thought for a moment before replying " I won`t lie and say learning about muggles will be easy, you probably know what things I have learned about them from before. But I have nowhere else to go, so I will stay with you and learn about muggles if that is what you wish".
Black beamed at him and gripped his shoulder companionably "good boy, I`m glad you agree to come with me. If you let me know what activities you enjoy, I`ll make sure to add some of these to our itinerary. I also wanted to check with you if it was OK for my godson to join us one weekend, his parents feel that he needs some time away from them and his new sister."
Draco actually brightened a bit at that notion, Larry wasn`t too bad and a weekend spent with him might actually be fun. "I don`t mind Larry coming for a weekend, but where will we stay?"
Black grimaced and said "my house is being refurbished so not there, and I would be uncomfortable inviting myself into your house. I have let a small house near London for the period, it`s nothing like what you are used to but it won`t be for so long."
Draco felt a bit apprehensive at the idea of spending his summer in this fashion, but he was determined to keep this from Black so he didn't argue. Black smiled proudly at him and made Draco jump a bit by tousling his hair affectionately.
"I know a bit of how you must feel about this; I too was brought up to think of muggles and muggleborns as lower beings. It took me many years to successfully throw off my family`s teachings. I don`t expect miracles, but I`d like for you to keep an open mind."
After clapping him on the shoulder Black then said goodbye and walked away from Draco whistling merrily. Draco was left standing there baffled by the development. Father would never have praised him like that, and touches such as claps on the shoulder and hair tousling was new to him. The fact that Black in a short while had shown more willing to listen to his opinions, shown more affection and pride in him than his father had ever done had Draco feeling a bit cheated.
The exams came and went, Draco felt a bit proud that he`d actually managed to come through them without disgracing himself. He might not have received the best grades ever, but considering what had happened this year they weren`t too bad. One thing Draco was determined about was not giving the name Malfoy even more black marks, it was now up to him to make it a good name to have again. After conferring with Black, Draco had arranged for small donations to good causes to come from the estate each year. Draco would of course have more money available after he reached 17, but Black had argued that small discrete donations could do for now. More spectacular things could wait a while; he had argued that Draco should keep the information to a select few. Knowing how many glory seekers and parasites father had to deal with regularly Draco agreed to keep his philanthropy low key for now.
Summer begins
The day summer vacation started dawned sunny and fine, Draco walked to breakfast after packing his trunk wondering what the summer would bring. After breakfast he trooped off towards the school carriages with the others, but was hailed by Black who was waiting on the lawn outside. "Hello Draco, I hear you did very well on your exams. I wasn`t sure whether to meet you here or in London, so I decided to come here first. Did you want to use the train or would you like to walk to Hogsmeade with me, before going to our lodgings?"
"Hogsmeade I think, Mr. Black. The train isn`t as tempting now, the Slytherins are mostly still in a bleak mood" said Draco.
"Please call me Sirius"
At that moment Larry came running up to them, and panted out "hey, where are you off to next."
Sirius ruffled Larry`s hair affectionately and said "I`m spiriting Draco here off to Hogsmeade for a short visit before going to London."
Larry looked rather wistful and said "I wish I could come with you, all the others are leaving my dad had some last minute things to do so we'll stay at least another day or so".
For once in his life Draco actually felt like sharing something with someone, so he said graciously "I wouldn`t mind if you came with us now, it might be more fun that way". Larry beamed at him and looked at Sirius with big puppy-dog eyes "please Sirius, I don`t much want to stay here alone."
Sirius laughed and shook his head "you check with Severus if it`s OK with him, then you can join me and Draco if he says yes". "Hurray" shouted Larry jumping up in the air before taking off at top speed.
Sirius then laid his hand on Draco`s shoulder and squeezed it gently saying "I`m glad you like Larry. It is good to see two people who are so important for me getting along despite being in different houses"
Draco felt a warm glow in him when he heard Sirius` words, he was actually important to someone. He`d never felt that he was important to anybody before.
Soon enough Larry came running back, and as he stopped he managed to pant out "dad says I can go". They waited until Larry`s breath had calmed and then walked out towards the gates. As they went out through the gates Sirius said "if you want I can apparate you to the station so that you can say goodbye to your friends there."
"I`d rather not, I get so sick when I travel" said Larry grimacing, "we will have to floo, portkey or apparate later, and once is more than enough today"
"I got sick too for the longest time, my father finally beat it out of me" Sirius said grimacing. At this Draco suppressed a shudder, as he remembered his own fathers heavy handed approach to teaching his son not to get sick when travelling (or preferably at all). Surprised that he might have more in common with his new guardian than he thought he followed in the wake of the two others, but didn't know how to go about joining in their conversation. He had to admit that he was feeling a little envious of Larry's ability to chatter freely, but chattering had not been something that his father tolerated so the inclination to chatter had been beaten out early on. In fact he was just starting to feel a bit left out, when Sirius slowed down and put a hand on his shoulder saying "sorry Draco, it wasn`t my meaning to leave you in our wake. As I said I heard you had done well on the exams, and I`m proud that you did OK despite everything that has happened.
"It was a bit difficult concentrating for a while, but I felt that Granger shouldn`t go entirely without competition for the best grades. And I sort of used school work as a way to distract myself from thinking about what happened"
.
" Draco is really smart, he gives Hermione real competition, unlike the rest of us. I`m sure I would never have managed doing school work properly if the same had happened to me. You definitively have better concentration than me if you managed to sit down with school work after what happened" Larry said giving Draco a small smile. "I had real difficulty in concentrating too earlier in the year, the business with my dad finding me, getting a new mom and everything distracted me completely. My dad had to put his foot down and make me prioritize school work properly."
"My dad tried that with me" Sirius laughed "suffice to say, I never managed to take school that seriously, until I developed the ambition to become an auror. Remus had to revise the entire curriculum from first year and up with me before exams seventh year. It was a miracle either of us had any hair left, or still were friends after that".
"You were an auror, I never knew that. Did Remus or any of your other friends join you"? Larry asked with a slightly hungry look in his eyes.
"A story for another time I think" said Sirius ruffling both boys hair slightly, "better enjoy the fine day for now we never know when the rain will start again". They strolled along after that in a companionable silence, until reaching the village.
Smiling Sirius made directly for the quiddich shop, and laying a hand on Draco`s neck he said softly "this is not meant as a bribe, but I thought you might like something from the shop as a reward for your hard work this year. A new broom maybe"? Draco just stood there dumbstruck not knowing what to say, if his father had been alive, he would have tried to get a new broom from him somehow, but that Sirius was offering him one without asking for anything in return was a surprise. Larry however beamed brightly "you`re lucky Draco, can I help you choose please"? Still a bit dazed Draco just nodded vaguely following into the shop.
An hour later they wandered back out into the warm sunlight, Draco was clutching his new racing broom while Larry was playing with a training snitch. Sirius and Larry was discussing the other brooms that they had seen that day, and Larry was extolling the virtues of the brooms he was hoping to assemble funds for buying for the Gryffindor quiddich team. Sirius slowed down a bit and laid his hand lightly on Draco`s neck saying " is there anywhere else you would like to stop before we go to London"?
"I wouldn`t mind a stop in the sweet shop if we can" Draco said and Larry gave enthusiastic assent to the idea. "Of course we can stop there, we can buy something for your mother too Draco if you want. I have arranged for her to meet up with us before we travel on further, as I thought you might like to see her". Draco fought a surge of anger at his mother, and had to bite back a wish to shout that his mother was a selfish bitch. Sirius must have noticed his discomfort and drew him to the side before saying " I fully understand that you are angry with her, let her try to explain, and try to forgive her. You two need each other now, and I know she must feel sad at not being able to see you for so long.
Explanation
Draco forced himself to nod graciously, but pointedly did not buy anything for his mother at the shop. Even after they had spent a good amount of money on sweets, and had walked to their appointed portkey that brought them to Sirius` house Draco still felt incensed. Had he been able to choose, he would not have met his mother at all as he was angry with her for her abandonment of him. He felt very tempted to refuse to see her, but that would have been discourteous. As it was he had to bite his tongue hard as he was shown into the parlor where she sat, in order not to yell at her.
Looking as beautiful as ever, but a bit thinner and paler his mother rose and stretched her hands out to him "Draco dearest, I am so glad to see you. I`m sure you have many questions about why I could not be there for you after your father died, and I am sorry. I have no excuses really, I was weak and left you to fend for yourself. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I will not be able to forgive myself for a long while yet. But now I am determined to become a stronger, better person".
'Mother, how could you stay away so long without writing at all. ' he said a bit stiffly. "everybody else's families rallied around them, I was the only one that was left alone".
"I apologize for vanishing and for not writing. The death of your father was hard on us both, but as I heard from Sirius you have handled it much better than I. I felt like a rug had been pulled out from under my feet and like I had lost my place in the world. Sirius poor thing has been flooing back and forth trying to shake me out of my selfish wallowing'. His mother went up to him at this point, and taking his chin in one hand she said 'I have indeed been inexcusably selfish as Sirius has been telling me. I have been weak and a bad mother to you.
The only thing I can use as a flimsy excuse is that I was never expected to be strong or independent before, I was brought up to be dependent on a man. First your grandfather, then your father, it has been customary in our world that women are expected to be more of a decoration than a person. As I grew up everything hard was done for me by others, I was never allowed to do anything much myself. Both my father and Lucius wanted me to be decorative, their idea of a good daughter or wife. I was never expected to grow as a person. Becoming alone in that way catapulted me into a wholly unexpected role, I was now your sole caretaker. I was expected to fend for myself, and take care of you alone. I realized just how little I was prepared for being alone, without anybody to manage my life for me, and I went into a deep depression. I am glad cousin Sirius managed to take care of you when I couldn`t". As she said this she tried to embrace him, but he stepped back "I am not ready to forgive you for abandoning me like that so easily, how can I trust that you will do better in the future and that you won' t abandon me like that again".
His mother abandoned her attempt at hugging him and smiled sadly as she said " I fully understand that I have to show you that I am capable of being a good mother to you, I have to prove to myself also that I am capable of being more than I have been before. I have begun taking classes in business management, and hope to be able to manage my own affairs soon. Sirius has been kind enough to share his own experiences in learning to manage his affairs, and has given me tips on what I need to learn. I hope you will let me write to you while you are away this summer, and will write back to me. By summer's end I hope to be able to prove to everybody, especially you that I can do this".
Draco forced himself to nod at his mother and say "I still feel you should have contacted me, but if you want we can correspond this summer. I will try to forgive you, though I for now still find it difficult". Mother again smiled sadly saying "I understand why this is difficult for you, you idolized Lucius and now he has been flung down from his pedestal while we never were allowed to develop a real relationship. I am glad you agree to correspond with me over the summer, it can help us get to know each other.
Now I think I can hear your stomach rumbling from here, shall we join Sirius in the kitchen, and have some dinner maybe. Draco felt glad to escape from this confrontation with his mother, and followed her into a smallish kitchen. Sirius had been right when he had described the house as not what Draco was used to, it was comfortable though and Draco had to admit it was more cozy than the manor ever had been. In the kitchen Sirius was sitting at the table together with Larry and a stranger. The stranger got up when he saw Draco and Narcissa. "Hello, my name is Remus Lupin. I am a school friend of Sirius." Draco eyed the stranger skeptically and saw that his mother had the same reaction, the man was shabbily clad and had longish graying hair. Draco just managed to gain a grip on himself just in time to shake hands with Mr. Lupin.
The man smiled at him saying "I apologize for my appearance, I work with those who do not integrate easily into the wizarding society, and this sometimes necessitate me going out into the more shady parts of the big cities. It would be stupid of me to look too affluent there".
Sirius winked conspiratorially at Draco saying "I believe I may have a new contributor to your cause of integrating werewolves and other misfits Remus. I`ll just have to convince him that the cause is worthy of his money and attention". Draco did not feel too gracious towards his guardian, and just scowled back at him. Lupin just laughed softly shaking his head before starting a discussion of something dealing with politics. Draco and Larry who were supremely uninterested in politics discussed what they would like to do this summer.
Dinner was served by an ancient looking house elf, and after Sirius showed Draco and Larry to Draco`s room. "We will discuss plans for the summer tomorrow I think" he said "you two can snack on some of that candy we bought while we adult discuss boring things" he made a grimace as he said this and lifted his hand in farewell before exiting.
Secrets and lies
The two boys had an impromptu party going in minutes, Draco had first pick of beds as this was his room, at least for now. They packed up way too much candy and sat lounging on a small window sill. "Can I tell you a secret you cannot tell anybody Draco" Larry asked, "you trust me to not tell your secrets" Draco said startled. He had never had a friend trust him with something secret before. "Well, yes I do actually. I have a notion that you may be more used to keeping secrets than my other friends."
Draco blushed, very pleased that Larry felt he was worthy of his trust. "I swear on my magic that I won`t tell your secret to anyone without your permission."
"I`m not really Larry Snape, not from birth at least and dad isn`t my real dad" Larry said.
Draco looked at him in surprise saying "who are you then, and why do you lie about who you are"? Larry sat there fiddling with his hands a bit before looking at Draco and saying "you who everybody expects to behave like your dad probably understand about not wanting to be famous or infamous for what you are. I wanted to be able to go to school and have friends who liked me for me, and not for my name only."
Draco nodded saying "I do understand, I`m just Lucius Malfoy junior for many. I too want to be liked for myself, and I no longer want to be associated only with my father. But who were you before you became a Snape"?
"I was Harry Potter".
"HARRY POTTER! But.. But..."
"Yeah, I know. I had an outing with Sirius and Remus before I was transformed to Larry. People mobbed me constantly, I couldn`t walk in peace at all. I had never been told anything about my fame by my former guardians, I was unprepared for the attention. And I totally hated it, I asked dad and Gem if there was any way I could become Larry permanently. Luckily professor Dumbledore knew a spell that made it look like dad was my dad all the time."
Draco felt flabbergasted and his brain scrambled to get to grips with the information, he felt his mouth working but no sound escaped. Larry smiled knowingly and said " I guessed this was how anyone would react, anyone not me will probably never be able to understand exactly why I did this". Draco could only shake his head disbelievingly here he was sitting with Harry Potter and he was his friend, it was hard to fathom. "Will you still be my friend"? asked Larry, Draco looked at him in surprise "of course, it might be a bit difficult not to brag about being friends with Harry Potter but I think I will manage. Thank you for telling me this".
Larry grimaced a bit but said "no, thank you for listening. I`ve been wanting to tell someone for ages but I`m unsure that the others would be able to keep this a secret".
Draco could understand that way of thinking but said "not that I`m any judge on friendships, but if they are real friends I would think they would keep your secrets as if they were their own".
Larry nodded and seemed thoughtful, and they sat there in silence for a while before Draco deliberately changed subjects and started a conversation about Larry`s summer plans.
The next day Sirius drew Draco to the side before breakfast and told him that his mother had left early at his instruction "I thought you needed a bit of time before seeing her again, she will be living at the manor unless you object"? Draco didn`t really feel that attached to the manor, he didn`t have that many good memories from there. As far as he was concerned his mother was welcome to it, he`d rather start anew at a new place. Even after just a night in this place he thought he would feel more at home somewhere smaller. Sirius smiled proudly at him when he stated this "good boy, I for one think Narcissa will find that a fine manor is worth nothing without you in it". Together they went into the kitchen and spent heir breakfast discussing where to go in the summer. Larry as the `expert` on muggles had a few ideas and also suggested they should spend some time in the library researching muggle history. The rest of the weekend was spent playing with Larry`s training snitch, eating or playing exploding snap when it was raining. At one point Sirius dragged out an old geography book he`d acquired at a muggle shop and made Draco point out a spot in it (while blindfolded) which would become their next destination. Larry had a good laugh when he first landed on Antarctica, which was soon discarded as too cold. Luckily the next place Draco pointed out was a bit more accessible, "Canada it is" Sirius said grinning "I`ll arrange for a portkey for Monday."
Summer ends
Afterwards Draco could never decide which part of summer had been the best, or worst. They had learned a lot about muggles, both good and bad and they had some fun too. The trip to Scandinavia had been extra fun because they had together with Larry and the rest of the Snapes visited with Larry`s new family; a great grandmother and uncle. It turned out that Gem`s half brother was only a couple of years older than Larry and Draco. He was also as much a muggle aficionado as Arthur Weasley, and he dragged them to a place called Voss, where he`d arranged for parachute jumping, base hopping and rafting for them. Draco swore he would never be caught throwing himself out of planes with only a parachute, Sirius of course tried almost everything (and looked distinctly green after the skydiving). Other highs were a trip to Australia to try surfing, Spain to view the Sagrada Familia and watch bullfighting, France and a visit to the the Louvre. In addition they even took a muggle sightseeing tour of London. Everywhere they went, they made a point of talking to people and learning about their history and ways. Sirius made a point of asking how women were treated in all the countries they visited, and Draco was a bit surprised to learn that in the western world at least women had more liberties than most pureblood witches were used to. It seemed to him that wizarding culture was in many ways less advanced than muggle culture. Finally he forgave his mother for being so weak, of course it helped that her correspondence showed her to have grown a lot herself this summer. She had spent a lot of time with Mr. Lupin to Draco`s surprise, he didn't seem at all her type of person. But it did seem that he had been a support for her while she had been learning how to fend for herself, Draco was both exited and saddened that summer was at an end and he would meet up with his mother before he went to school again.
Surprisingly mother had asked that they met at the foundation that Mr. Lupin was running for those excluded from wizarding society. During summer Draco had learned to a bit more free with his emotions and behavior, so he could not help himself and ran up to his mother and threw himself at her. He had missed her, despite being angry at her. Mother staggered back a bit, but laughed happily. "I see being with Sirius has been good for you, You`ve grown a lot and you seem much happier than last time I saw you."
"Mum you look smashing" Draco said grinning "working with Mr. Lupin seems to have given you a new glow, should I expect a surprise announcement of a new stepfather added to the family soon maybe." Mother blushed furiously at this but didn`t answer his laughing accusation other than that. A cough from the doorway alerted Draco to the presence of Mr. Lupin who said "I would have been delighted to ask for your mother's hand in marriage, but I don`t think I am good enough for her. I was formerly a werewolf, and even though my condition was cured by your professor Snape I still display some wolfish tendencies".
Mother blushed even more at this and tried hiding behind her hands, but Draco just smiled at them both " I must admit I am surprised, I was actually joking. But if you guys are in love, I think you should go for it. One thing I have at least learned from this business with father being such a screw-up is that people aren`t perfect. Life can be short, and some opportunities should be grabbed with both hands".
Mother still blushed but laughed and said "you`ve grown in more ways than just height I see. I am proud of you son, and if Remus wants an insecure, almost helpless woman like me I would be delighted to marry him".
Mr. Lupin tried to look stern and failed miserably "Narcissa, you are not helpless at all. You have learned a lot this summer, as have I. I am not a rich man, but if you will have me I will feel richer than Croesus". He then turned to Draco and said "I`m sure a stepfather was not what you were expecting this summer to end with. Neither was I expecting a wife and stepson to be possible at all for me. I will not try to replace your father or Sirius, but I hope we will be able to have a good relationship".
Draco grimaced saying "Mr. Lupin"
"please call me Remus."
"Remus then, my father ended up being a big disappointment, you could in no way do worse than him. If you make my mother happy, I will be happy for you both. I`m not sure I`m ready for a new father at this point, but we can see what happens when we get to know each other more".
Remus shook his hand solemnly and said, "that is good enough for me. If you will excuse me for talking bad about Lucius, I am sure that you will be a much better man than your father was. Sirius says that you have grown a lot this year, and he is very proud of you for that. I will be proud to call you my stepson when that time comes".
Draco nodded at him and his mother and said musingly, I am no longer only my fathers' son, I know that I have grown past many of the things he taught me".
The end