A/N - Written for the Hoopla game in the Hogwarts Fair on HPFC. This had to be either a Muggle!AU or a Pureblood being stripped of their magic for a day, so I went with Muggle!AU.
Prompts used:
(situation): One character has Nomophobia - fear of losing mobile phone contact.
(character): Lucius Malfoy
(pairing): Gilderoy/Gilderoy (see, that part isn't my fault!)
(setting): A Muggle magic shop
(game): Monopoly
So this turned out way longer than I thought it would be and a bit, um, odd in parts. I hope you like it!
"Do not give me that look Lucius," Narcissa said coolly. "It is one day. I think you will survive."
"Remind me again just why his nanny cannot look after him," Lucius retorted. Narcissa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"As I have told you multiple times, I gave her the weekend off," Narcissa said through gritted teeth. "Her sister is getting married today and I thought it prudent to allow the poor woman to attend, given she is the maid of honor." Lucius grumbled under his breath, taking his mobile out of his pocket and glancing at it.
"For god's sake Lucius, he is your son!" she snapped. "I can count on one hand the number of times you've actually spent more than ten minutes with him his entire life." He looked up, ready to protest when she held up a hand. "Sitting and answering emails while he practices reading to you does not count."
She turned and picked up her coat from the back of the chair. She waited for him to help her into it and when he didn't, she looked over her shoulder at him. He was on his phone again, checking his texts it looked like. He was nearly caressing the damn thing. Huffing, she pulled on her coat and spun around to face him. He barely glanced up. Annoyed, she grabbed his phone and tore it from his grasp.
"Give that back!" he insisted, but Narcissa dropped it into her coat pocket.
"Now that I have your undivided attention," she said, pulling her long blonde hair out from under the collar of her coat. "Please do something with your son today. Take him somewhere, play a game with him, something. Do not park him in front of the telly and ignore him while you work." Narcissa's eyes narrowed as she realized that Lucius' gaze hadn't left her pocket. He swallowed visibly and his right hand was shaking slightly.
"Please, return my mobile at once," he managed, not taking his eyes from her pocket. She rolled her eyes and held the phone out towards him. He visibly relaxed and went to take it from her, but she snatched it back at the last moment.
"Narcissa," he growled. "I run a multi-million dollar company. I need my phone."
"I mean it Lucius," his wife said. "Play with your son." His eyes flicked to hers for a moment and then back to his mobile. She shifted it to the left and his gaze followed it. Shaking her head in disgust, she held it out to him again and this time let him take it. He sighed in almost, contentment, as he took it back from her and his posture straightened.
"Good lord Lucius, you would probably rather lose a finger, than that phone," she snapped. Lucius glared at her. She simply shook her head.
"I'll be back after dinner," she said. "Draco!" The small boy walked into the room, glancing hopefully at his father as he did so. The man ignored him and Draco's face fell. Narcissa squatted down in front of him.
"Give Mummy kisses," she said and Draco kissed her once on each cheek then hugged her around the neck. "Enjoy your day with your father."
"Mummy, do I have to?" Draco whispered. Narcissa glanced up at her husband then turned back to her son and smiled widely at him.
"It will be fine, you'll see," she said. She kissed the top of his head and then rose and walked to Lucius. Stepping close to him and putting her hand over his, so that the screen of his phone was covered, she put her mouth near his ear.
"If you do not attend to your son while I am gone, you can forget about coming to my rooms for the foreseeable future," she whispered. Then she leaned back and patted his cheek a bit harder than was strictly necessary, waved to Draco and left the house.
Lucius watched her, scowl on his face. How dare she threaten him that way! Still, it wasn't a threat to be taken lightly. She had employed the same once before and it was the most miserable three weeks Lucius had ever spent. Not only was he barred from his wife's favors, but she purposefully made it more difficult on him, teasing and walking around wearing, well, he wouldn't think about that right now. He shifted uncomfortably. No, he knew better than to test Narcissa on that particular promise.
Sighing, he looked down at his progeny. All this playing with your children nonsense was quite ridiculous. His father had never played with him and he turned out just fine.
"So what would you like to do?" Lucius asked the seven year-old. Draco's head snapped up and he looked at his father in surprise for a moment, then dropped his gaze back to the floor.
"You can choose Father," Draco replied, his hands clasping and unclasping nervously in front of him. Lucius' eyes narrowed.
"Stop fidgeting and look at me when you are speaking to me," he demanded. Draco flinched but looked up all the same. His grey eyes were wide, his mouth slightly parted. With a tiny pang, Lucius realized the boy was frightened. He held back a sneer and cleared his throat.
"It is customary to maintain eye contact when you are speaking with someone," Lucius explained, his tone just a bit less harsh. He wasn't going to coddle the boy as Narcissa obviously did, after all. "It shows you are confident in yourself." Draco nodded.
"Now, I will ask you again. What would you like to do today?" Draco tried to hold his father's gaze, but his eyes kept sliding off to the side, only to dart back again as soon as he realized. Clearly, Lucius was going to have to hire a tutor to teach the child etiquette.
"Well, I, erm," Draco paused and bit his lip. "Maybe we could, that is," he trailed off as Lucius crossed his arms in front of him and glared down at the child. Draco began to twist his fingers in front of him, looking back at the floor and then up at his father through his fringe.
Lucius bit back a sigh and moved to his leather armchair. He sat down and then motioned Draco forward. When the boy was close enough to him, Lucius took hold of his arms and positioned Draco so he was standing in between Lucius' knees.
"Now, think about what you would like to say and then ask me," Lucius said. "Do not stutter or hesitate. The first rule in business Draco is not to let the other person think you are anything but confident and sure. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir," Draco replied.
"Good, now proceed," Lucius said. He reached a hand back to his pocket to make sure his mobile was still there. Draco took a deep breath and let it out.
"I would like to go to a magic show," Draco said.
"A magic show," Lucius repeated. Draco nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, Father, one of the girls at school was telling me about it," he said, warming to his topic. "She said it's brilliant. And I really, really want to see it. Can we Father?" Lucius stared at his son. He gave the boy all the leeway in the world to choose something to do and this is what he picked.
"Where is this magic show?" he asked.
"She says it's at the magic shop in the shopping center," Draco replied. Lucius nearly groaned aloud. There was nothing worse, in his opinion, than voluntarily spending time at a shopping center with, well, the dregs of society. Even Narcissa refused to go there, preferring the more exclusive shops in London or Paris.
Lucius opened his mouth to tell Draco that it was out of the question. But the hopeful look on Draco's face brought him up short. Sighing, he pulled his phone from his pocket and did a quick search to find out just when and where this magic show was. The grin on his son's face when Lucius grudgingly agreed to go made his own mouth quirk up a bit at the corner. Perhaps it wouldn't be too horrible.
Two hours later, Draco and Lucius were ensconced in the back of their limousine on their way to the magic shop. Lucius had seen the shock in his driver's eyes before it was quickly masked when Lucius gave him their destination. Malfoys did not shop at shopping centers.
"Who is this girl that told you about this magic show?" Lucius asked once they were on their way. Draco attended one of the most exclusive primary schools in England. Lucius was having trouble understanding just who amongst the families there would even know of such an event, let alone bring their child to it.
"Her name is Hermione," Draco explained. "Hermione Granger. She's the smartest girl in our class."
"The smartest girl perhaps, but not the smartest," Lucius clarified. Draco looked at him and swallowed nervously.
"She receives better marks than you?" Lucius demanded.
"Not in everything," Draco said quickly. "I do better than her in science. Uncle Severus doesn't seem to like her much." Lucius chuckled. Of course Severus wouldn't allow anyone to do better than his own godson in his class, intelligent or not.
"Granger, Granger," Lucius said, tapping his fingers against his mobile which he had been holding in his hand since they got into the car. "I don't recognize the name." Draco shrugged.
"Do not do that Draco," Lucius chastised. "It makes you look common."
"Sorry, Father," Draco said quietly.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. Draco watched out the window as his father made calls on his mobile and returned emails and texts. Draco glanced at him every so often, but Lucius didn't seem to remember he was even there. Still though, he was getting to go to the magic show.
He was shocked really, that he had been allowed to come. Draco knew how much his father hated him consorting with anyone Lucius considered the 'wrong sort'. He was quite sure that he would consider Hermione the wrong sort, regardless of the fact that she went to his school. He knew she was one of the scholarship students, although he had neglected to mention that fact to his father.
His father finished his call, but didn't put the mobile back in his pocket. He held it in his hand and rubbed his fingers back and forth on the case. He hardly ever let go of it actually. Draco knew he even slept with it next to his bed. Draco had said something to his nanny about it once, but she said that his father probably used it as an alarm clock. Draco didn't think this was true because there was a clock by his father's bedside as well.
He had no further time to think on it, however, as they had reached the shopping center.
"Where shall I drop you sir?" the driver asked. Lucius curled his lip in disgust as he took in the building.
"Whichever entrance has the least amount of," he paused and glanced at Draco. "Dirt." The driver held back a grin and pulled to a stop in front of a large department store. By the time he had come round the car to open his boss' door, a small crowd had gathered, gaping at them as they exited. Lucius sneered and then felt a small hand clasp his. He looked down and saw his son staring at the crowd wide-eyed and resisted the urge to drop his hand. Instead he glared at the people around them and then walked regally into the shopping center.
It took a few minutes for him to get his bearings, but they were soon approaching the magic store where the show was to be held. A loud, garish sign announced that Gilderoy the Great would be performing in a little over thirty minutes. He and Draco walked into the shop, his son's eyes going wide again as he took in all of the wares on display. There were magic wands and top hats, decks of cards and kits full of magic tricks. Lucius rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. Magic, he thought with a snort.
Draco began examining one of the displays which held a large case full of different magic tricks. Lucius took the opportunity to check his email.
"Draco, you came!" an exited voice called and Lucius looked up to see a small girl with an inordinate amount of hair rush up to his son and hug him tightly. He frowned.
"Hello, Hermione," Draco said politely patting her on the back a few times. Ah, so this was the infamous Hermione Granger. Lucius walked up to his son and looked down at the young girl. Her hair was atrocious, wild and bushy around her head. She was wearing a denim skirt and a t-shirt with some kind of saying on it. Typical. Her shoes were scuffed and a bit dirty and there was some kind of blue substance above her upper lip. This, this, creature, went to his son's school? This was the child that was besting him in many of his classes? What kind of riff-raff were they letting in these days?
"Draco," Lucius said silkily, his hand on Draco's shoulder. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Draco glanced up and swallowed visibly.
"Yes, Father," he said. "This is Hermione Granger."
"Very nice to meet you Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said with a smile, thrusting out her hand towards him. Lucius looked at it in disdain. It looked…sticky.
"Charmed," he said tightly, grasping the very ends of her finger so as to avoid the mess. He stuck his hand in his trouser pocket and surreptitiously wiped it on his handkerchief.
"Hermione," a woman admonished as she came into view. She had hair very similar to her daughter's, although it did seem a bit more tamed. "How many times have I told you about running off?"
"Sorry Mum, but I was just so excited," Hermione protested. She turned back to Draco. "I can't wait to see the magician, can you Draco?" Draco shook his head but before Lucius could reprimand him for not speaking instead, the woman had thrust her hand towards him, mimicking her daughter's earlier action.
"I'm Jean Granger, Hermione's mother," she said. "You must be Draco's father." Lucius looked at the proffered hand. At least it was clean.
"Lucius Malfoy," he replied letting go her hand as quickly as possible.
"Come on Draco, let's go look around the shop," Hermione said excitedly. She took Draco's hand in her own, the sticky one Lucius noted with a grimace, and began to pull him towards another display. Draco resisted and looked up at his father.
"May I Father?" he asked quietly. Lucius' eyes flicked from the bushy-haired girl to his son. He wanted nothing more than to get as far from this place and these…people as possible, but Narcissa's warning still echoed in his head. He sighed in resignation.
"All right," Lucius agreed. "But do not leave the shop and return in ten minutes."
"Yes, sir," Draco said and then let Hermione pull him away. When he turned, Mrs. Granger was looking at him curiously.
"He's very…formal," Mrs. Granger said.
"Yes, well, he has been raised properly," Lucius said with a sniff. She looked at him sharply for a moment.
"Well, we hear all about him at home," Mrs. Granger continued. "Hermione talks about Draco all time."
"Unfortunately, I cannot say the same," Lucius replied. At her shocked look he continued. "Although I am an extremely busy man so perhaps Draco shares news of your daughter with his mother or nanny. If you'll excuse me, I have a call to make." He stepped away from the woman just as she was getting ready to read him the riot act, he was sure. Chuckling to himself, he pulled out his phone and checked his messages.
A bit later, he and Draco were seated side by side in the small room in the back of the shop waiting for the magician to begin. Much to Lucius' irritation, Hermione was sitting next to his son, her mother next to her. He pointedly ignored the woman, although he was sure he would hear about it from Narcissa the next time she attended some affair at the school.
His phone buzzed and he pulled it from his pocket, reading the email that had just come through.
"Excuse me sir," someone said at his shoulder. He turned slightly and saw a young, red-haired teenager with a nametag that said 'Bill' looking at him. "You'll have to turn off your phone for the show." Lucius sighed and then set his phone to vibrate but kept it in his lap. The boy cleared his throat and Lucius looked up at him again, one eyebrow raised.
"I'm sorry sir, but you actually have to turn the phone off," the boy said nervously. "It's distracting to the performer." Lucius' lip curled in disdain.
"I run a multi-million dollar company," he sneered. "I cannot just shut off my phone because some charlatan finds it 'distracting'." Lucius' outward visage was calm, but his heart had started beating faster at the thought of being completely unconnected, even for less than an hour. There was a snort from Hermione's mother.
"I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to leave otherwise," the boy said, standing a bit straighter. Lucius glanced to Draco who stared at him, his grey eyes pleading. Huffing, he picked up his phone and silenced it before shutting it off.
"Happy?" he snapped to the teen. The boy simply nodded and continued on his way to the front of the room.
Lucius heard none of what the boy said about the upcoming magician. He was too busy worrying about the deal that he was currently working. True, it was nearly ten o'clock on Saturday night in Tokyo but that meant nothing. He couldn't miss anything.
Everyone began clapping at the magician's introduction and Lucius took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He needed a distraction and as the magician came onstage, he got one.
The man was dressed in what looked to be vibrant lilac robes, complete with a cape. As he flourished the cape around him Lucius saw it was lined in glittery silver. The magician had blonde hair and the whitest teeth Lucius had ever seen. It looked as if he'd spent too long in the bleaching chair at the dentist. He grinned foppishly and Lucius couldn't help but snort. A glance from the corner of his eye showed him that Mrs. Granger was having the same difficulty. Perhaps she wasn't so bad after all.
"Good afternoon my little friends," Gilderoy the Great said to the crowd. "Welcome, welcome all to my magic show." He began by doing a few simple tricks which Lucius had figured out in seconds. By the third one Lucius' attention had returned to his phone. It had been a full ten minutes now and he could feel the sweat beading on his forehead. He had to make sure he hadn't gotten any messages.
The children all began to clap at some inane trick the magician did and Lucius reached into his pocket. He was just about to turn the mobile back on, show be damned, when Gilderoy brought something out from under his table. Lucius' eyes narrowed. Was that a ventriloquist's dummy?
"Now, this is my favorite part of the show," Gilderoy announced. "Meet Little Gilderoy." He set the dummy on the edge of the table and the children all clapped. "Say hello to the children L.G. That's what I call him for short," he stage-whispered to the audience. Lucius' mouth dropped open as the magician began to converse with the dummy. It was almost an exact replica of the magician straight down to the silver-lined cape.
"Yes, we're both looking most splendid today," Gilderoy agreed. "Lilac is our color." Lucius groaned. He looked down at Draco, who was watching the exchange raptly. Sighing, he thought about his mobile again. He could just turn it back on. He had silenced it and if he kept it in his pocket, the light would be blocked from view. However, that didn't help him if he did have a message that he needed to respond to. His fingers twitched around the phone, wondering if he could leave Draco with Mrs. Granger for a few moments.
Perhaps if you hadn't insulted her and her child, a chiding voice that sounded suspiciously like his wife said in his head. He growled at it and turned the phone back on anyway. Maybe he could check it while it was still in his pocket somehow.
He turned his attention back to the show, feeling a bit better now that the phone was at least powered on and his mouth dropped open. Gilderoy was looking at the dummy with a dreamy expression on his face and…cooing at it?
"Oh yes, I am using the shampoo that you like," Gilderoy said. "I know that scent drives you wild." Lucius met Mrs. Granger's gaze over the top of the children's heads. What on earth? They both turned back warily to the magician and Lucius could see other parents glancing at each other as well.
"Oh stop," Gilderoy giggled, yes giggled. "You shouldn't say those things here." Whatever the dummy was saying, no one else besides Gilderoy could hear it as he had lifted L.G. up and settled him in his arms. He had turned the dummy's mouth to face his ear. There was a tug on Lucius' sleeve.
"Father," Draco whispered. "When is he going to do more magic?" Lucius just looked back up at the magician who was now blushing and running a finger down the cheek of the dummy. What. The. Hell?
"I don't know Draco," Lucius said. "Perhaps we should leave."
"But I want to see the rest of the magic show," Draco protested. Lucius looked up at the stage. Clearly there was no more magic that was going to be happening unless Gilderoy the Great knew how to make his dummy life-sized. He shook his head to relieve it of that mental image. Yes, he should get Draco out of here. Leaving had nothing to do with being able to check his mobile again. His heart beat faster at the thought of the phone and everything he was missing.
"Draco," Lucius began but before he could continue, Mrs. Granger gasped and covered Hermione's eyes with her hand.
"Mu-um," Hermione protested, but Lucius quickly did the same to Draco as he saw what she was seeing. Lucius stared dumb-founded at the scene before him. The magician was kissing the dummy. In fact, he was snogging the life out of the thing. Some parents had gotten up and were rushing their children from the room, but others were sitting in shock as he was.
"Let's go Hermione," Mrs. Granger said and herded her daughter to the aisle, keeping her eyes covered.
"Oh, L.G.," Gilderoy groaned and Lucius quickly came back to himself. He picked up his son and moved to the exit. Many parents were yelling at the store clerks, but Lucius just hurried away as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Hide your face in my jacket and do not look up until I tell you to," Lucius commanded. Draco did as he was directed and it wasn't until they had made it a few stores away that Lucius stopped and set his son down. "Come Draco, we're leaving."
"Yes, Father," Draco said sadly. Lucius pulled his phone from his pocket and called his driver to meet them at the exit immediately. The car was waiting when they reached it.
Safely in the back of the limo once again, Lucius finally let out a breath and pulled out his handkerchief, wiping the sweat from his brow. He wasn't sure if it had more to do with the magician's actions or not being able to use his phone for the last half hour, but whatever it was, Lucius was glad it was over. He kept one hand in his pocket and on his mobile as he spoke to his son.
"Draco," Lucius said. Draco looked up at him. "I do hope this has cured you of your curiosity for magic shows."
"Yes, Father," Draco said automatically, but Lucius saw the disappointment in his eyes. Sighing and wondering just when he had turned into such a pushover, he put his hand on his son's shoulder.
"Perhaps we could play a game when we arrive home," Lucius said. Draco's eyes lit up.
"Really?" he said.
"As long as it is not one of those tedious ones," Lucius amended. Draco's brow furrowed in thought.
"Well, there is Monopoly, but Sarah says I'm too young for it yet," Draco said.
"Nonsense," Lucius insisted. "You are never too young to learn a thing or two about business." Draco smiled happily and Lucius actually smiled back.
A few hours later, Narcissa returned to find her husband seated in his leather armchair, talking on his mobile, a Monopoly board spread out on the table. Draco was lying on the couch, sound asleep, a handful of money in his fist.
"What, did you bore him to death?" Narcissa asked dryly when Lucius had finished his call.
"Of course not," Lucius returned. "He just fell asleep about twenty minutes ago. We've been playing for hours." Narcissa saw the large pile of properties and money in front of Lucius and the meager offerings in front of Draco.
"Really, Lucius, Monopoly? He's seven," she said with a huff.
"It was his idea," Lucius protested. "After the magic show took a turn." He shuddered.
"Magic show?" Narcissa questioned. Lucius rose and approached his wife.
"Yes, I took our son to a magic show. At the shopping center," he said. Narcissa glanced sharply at him. He nodded. "And then I had the privilege to meet one Hermione Granger and her mother. She was quite…sticky. The daughter, not the mother." Narcissa groaned and put her head in her hand.
"Lucius, what did you say to her?" she asked. He waved off her question.
"And then," he said stepping closer to her and putting his hands on her waist. Hers came round his neck. "I had to watch the most disturbing magic show I have ever seen. And I had to turn off my mobile for the privilege."
"Oh, the horror," she teased.
"Then I saved our son from being scarred for life by said show and came home and spent the better part of three hours explaining the finer points of Monopoly to him," Lucius finished. "And so, I think I deserve a reward."
"Oh you do, do you?" Narcissa asked. "For taking care of your own child?"
"Believe me, my dear, if you had witnessed what I did this afternoon, you would agree that I deserve the very greatest of rewards," Lucius purred, kissing her neck.
"Hm, under two conditions," she said, tilting her head to give him better access.
"And what are they?" he asked, nuzzling her jaw.
"That you put Draco to bed," she said rather breathily.
"Done," Lucius said. "And the second?"
"That you turn off that damn mobile," she replied. He pulled back from her, his heart instantly spiking for a moment. Then she gave him a look and Lucius decided that he just might not need to check his messages for a bit after all.