Summer Again
Chapter 2

The mansion wasn't at all how he had remembered it to be. Sure, he didn't have the fondest memories here, but it was home. Now, as he stood peering up at it from the driveway, it didn't feel like home. It harbored some sort of dark aura. His eyes found their way to the front door, where his mother stood, ready to welcome him home. He took one last deep breath before he trudged up the walk and enveloped her in a hug.

"I've missed you, my son." She murmured into his hair. He couldn't help but smile. Maybe this Christmas wouldn't be such a bad one.

That thought was quickly shot down as he smelled the familiar scent of peppermint. However, the smell wasn't what shot his hopes down; it was the person he associated the smell with. He opened his eyes to find his father, waiting inside. His familiar blonde hair trailing down his back, and the fake smile plastered onto his face.

"Hello father." Draco acknowledged as he walked inside, his mother following closely behind. "When were you released? I thought I would be sent a letter." He didn't hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Well, my son, that is because I was only released two days ago." He replied in his usual half-whisper. "And I didn't want to bother with an owl when I knew you would be here in such a short time."

Draco gave a 'Humph' sound as he looked around. Not much had changed inside. Perhaps it was a bit cleaner, but nothing out of the norm. "I'll just take my things to my room, then."

"Don't be silly. We'll have a maid do that for you." Lucius said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Instead, why don't you come to the kitchens and have a cup of tea while you unwind from your journey. Surely you're exhausted." His mother said, coming to from the door to face him.

"Actually, I am exhausted. I don't need tea; I should just like a rest."

"Do as your mother instructed." Lucius cut in, his voice even harsher than normal.

"Lucius, if he is tired, then perhaps he should rest. He will be of no use to anyone tired-"

"Enough!" Lucius commanded. Draco realized he was trying to keep his voice down. But why? He was the head of the household, and he never bothered to keep it down before. "Now, we will adjourn to the kitchen and we shall all have some tea." With that he strode off in the direction of the kitchen.

Narcissia gave Draco a sad look, as she took his hand walked with him as, they too, went to the kitchen.

The silence was almost tangible as they sat around the counter, occasionally sipping on tea. Obviously Draco's parents wanted to talk about something, but didn't know how to begin. Draco was intent not to make the first move, so he looked around the kitchen. He never spent much time in here, apart from when he helped Chef make dinner once out of pure boredom.

"So, Draco, how is school going?" Narcissia finally decided on asking. Draco nodded his head before answering,

"It's fine."

More silence stretched on for what seemed like hours. Finally, he could take it no longer.

"Alright, what is it, then? Out with it." Lucius seemed to be about to reprimand Draco for using such a tone with his parents, but thought better of it.

"We are expecting a guest any minute now. He requested that you be here to greet him."

"Guest?" Draco asked his mother. He didn't play these games with his father. However, Narcissia looked to Lucius for help and the conversation was in his grasp again.

"Someone you have met long ago."

"Enough with these games, father. Please, just tell me who he is so I can be on my way."

"We are expecting…the Dark Lord,"

There were several things Draco didn't like at that moment. He didn't like the way his tea smelled. He didn't like who, he was told, would be staying with them for Christmas. He didn't like the chocked sob that his mother gave when his father said 'the Dark Lord'. And most of all, he didn't like the 'pop' sound that came seconds after his father finished his sentence.

The Dark Lord stood in his kitchen with an evil grin slowly spreading across his face. Lucius jumped up immediately and bowed, Narcissia was only seconds after.

"My Lord, welcome to my home. Please, make yourself comfortable" Lucius said after his bow.

"Draco," the Dark Lord called, ignoring Lucius completely. "Why haven't you acknowledged my presence yet?" His tone of voice wasn't threating, only curious. Draco looked up at the pale man in black robes and inclined his head slightly.

"Welcome, my Lord." He said through gritted teeth. He hoped it went unnoticed, but he feared what he would say should he relax them. He didn't trust this man, and he loathed the fact that he would be staying here with him for a week and a half.

The Dark Lords laugh erupted throughout the kitchen. The tiled room was a perfect conductor of sound. "You are indeed your father's son!" He said through his laughter. Once he calmed down a bit, he strode over to stand next to the scowling silver haired boy. He stuck out a long cold finger and placed it on Dracos chin. "No matter, you will be broken soon enough." Draco yanked his face out of the Dark Lords grasp and hopped off his bar stool.

"I wish I could stay and be a better host, but I am far too tired. I wish to retire, father." Draco said as he faced his father.

"You will do no such thing! Ho-" Lucius' face was growing redder at having been interrupted.

"Now, now, Lucius. The boy is tired, and I do not wish to detain him from a proper nights rest. Let him go," The Dark Lord said calmly as he took a sip of Draco's tea. Lucius simply nodded and Draco was gone.

He slowly lifted his eyelids to find darkness. He was still half asleep, so at first thought, he assumed he went blind. But upon further investigation, he realized it was night. He flipped on his light switch and pulled on a pair of shorts before exiting his room. His house was void of any activity, so he made his way to the study.

"Ah, the sleeping prince has finally awoken." Draco froze in his tracks as he saw the Dark Lord sitting at his father's desk with a book perched in his lap. "It's been nearly two days. I assumed you would sleep your whole visit away." His voice was menacing and it somehow managed to chill Draco to the bone.

"Forgive my intrusion. I thought everyone was asleep." Draco said, inkling his head again.

"I do not sleep. " He rose from his chair and stepped in front of the desk, peering at Draco with an interesting gaze. "You do not bow to me." He observed.

Draco shook his head. "I mean no disrespect, my Lord."

"No disrespect was taken. I admire your strength, your…strong willed personality." He laughed as he leaned back on the desk "One must only question which gene pool you inherited it from."

"I am just as strong willed as my father," The silver haired boy mumbled.

"I disagree. Your father is not as defiant as you are. You even refuse to wear a shirt in my presence. You're a very brave young person."

Draco awkwardly realized that he had, in fact, neglected to put a shirt on. "Forgive my indecency." He turned on his heels and left the room. But not before he hear the Dark Lord say,

"You will be a hard one to break."

He pretended he didn't hear it, and continued walking back to his room where he lay in bed until morning. At which time, he decided he had better write Pansy and wish her a happy Christmas. It was a short letter, and he didn't even bother putting much emotion into it. Sure, they were 'dating' but that didn't mean he had to kiss her ass. Quite frankly, he didn't even care for her that much. He was only dating her because people expected him to. He sent the letter off with Nigel, the black owl that belonged to him when he first started Hogwarts. Nigel caught a disease, however and sent him back home, where he regained his health and was now doing just fine. But Draco didn't want to risk another infection, so he refused to take Nigel back.

He got a couple of presents, nothing extravagant or worth mentioning. He had told his parents long ago that that idea of giving gifts on Christmas was a waste of time and money, to which his father could only agree with. Narcissia still always insisted on getting him at least a few, and Draco couldn't complain. She was his mother, after all. The Dark Lord was, luckily, absent during this holiday and only appeared at dinner time. The dining table was filled with all kinds of food and smells that filled Draco's nose with pure delight. His stomach growled as he smelled honey glazed ham; one of the best smells, in his opinion. He took a seat and ate happily despite the fact he was sitting at the same table as the Dark Lord; the one person he despised most of all.

"Enjoying the food, Draco?" The Dark Lord asked, amused. Draco merely glared at him.

"Our son has a very gifted sense of smell, my Lord." Lucius interjected, noticing his son's rude behavior and directing the attention away from it. "He sometimes loses himself in scents he enjoys."

"Ah," He said, refocusing on Draco. "So tell me, what are your favorite smells?"

Draco had every intention of ignoring the question, but his father gave him a deathly glare from across the table that seemed to say: 'answer the question or you'll be spending the rest of your days in the dungeon'. So he said, "I love many different smells."

"But no favorite?" He asked sadly.

"I suppose the smell of honey glazed ham is my favorite right now, my Lord." Draco replied flatly, taking another bite of his dinner. The Dark Lord only laughed.

"Quite defiant, indeed." He smiled. "And it's Voldemort."

Draco was quite confused at the notion of using his name, but accepted it anyway. 'The Dark Lord' was a mouth full. So he nodded his head and continued eating.

A faint knock came to his door, conveniently right before he fell asleep. He sighed loudly and called "Come in," He sat up, and saw Lucius enter.

"We're you asleep?" He asked, without an ounce of concern or interest in his voice. Draco nodded and rubbed his head. "I want to talk about the Dark Lord with you for a moment."

"He asked we call him Voldemort," Draco corrected, without even thinking before he spoke.

"No, he asked you call him Voldemort. And this concerns me." He closed his eyes for a moment, to gather his thoughts, before continuing. "I think…he has taken a liking to you."

"A liking?" Why would Voldemort single him out? He's nothing special. "Why would he take a liking to me? I don't even have the mark."

"I don't know why it is as such. However, this could be very helpful for our family. We could be protected for the rest of our lives if you suck up your dammed pride and let him take interest in you"

"Let him…? Father you make seem like he wants to-"

"I told you. I don't know what he wants. But whatever it is, you had better let it happen. For the sake of your family. Good night." He said as he shut the door behind him, ending their conversation. Draco rolled his eyes as he lay back down.

For the sake of my family. He inwardly scoffed. My family has officially gone to the dogs

Draco sat down in one of the few empty compartments in the train and closed his eyes. He was thrilled to be going back to Hogwarts. Well, he was thrilled to be away from home, and by extension, Voldemort. A disturbance in the air to the left caused him to open an eye. The plump red head walked past his compartment mumbling about something. He reclosed his eye and thought about what Voldemort wanted from him. He couldn't possibly-

"Um, can I sit here?" His thoughts were cut off as the voice filled his compartment. He nodded; knowing who it was without having to open is eyes. "Thanks."

He had hoped to go back to his thoughts, but that was a wasted effort, seeing as Ron was adamant on making as much noise as possible. Draco sighed and sat up to see Ron having trouble with placing his trunk above the bench.

"Need some help?" Draco asked flatly, not really wanting to help, just wanting to get back to his contemplation.

"Yeah, thanks."

He helped Ron with his trunk and resumed sitting on his side of the compartment and fished for something in his bag. Once he had his chocolate frog, he sat back and enjoyed his ride. That is, until Ron opened his mouth…

"Where'd you get that?" He asked excitedly.

Aww Ron wants a frog too. :(

So yeah, I was gonna keep writing, but then I got lazy and didn't want to write anymore...plus I don't like cliffhangers. :/ I'm probably gonna have to use them though, according to BoogerBreath. Nice name, by the way.
Storys kind of boring so far, but it'll get better, don't worry.

Thanks for the review, Devil Subaru Chan. I hope you like this chapter :)

Bubbie, I'm still lazy, so I'll just reply to your PM here. :)
It was the owl! Who would've thought? And, I've never seen it, but I'll look into it if you send me a link.

SO ANYWAY, hopefully I'll have another chapter up tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!