The Model Son
~ Chapter Three: False Conclusions ~
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters in this fiction are the property of J.K. Rowling. I make no profit from this fiction.
Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to a friend of mine from school. He worries that I stress out too much, and that I should have more fun. He doesn't know about fan fiction. xD I just want him to know that I'm grateful to him for caring. Bleh, that sounded cheesy.
As always, a great big thanks to Lady Grace of Masbolle who so wonderfully edited my stories, and for knowing what Historical Presence is (there's an oxymoron).
Last time…
Draco had asked Mattie to help him get rid of Pansy. While waiting for Mattie to come back, Draco meets a beautiful girl who he befriends in the closet. Upon Mattie's arrival, Draco finds out that the girl is in fact Astoria Greengrass, the girl who his father had asked him to marry.
It had been five minutes since Astoria… Tori, had left the closet, with Draco and Mattie still inside. Tori had asked Draco to leave the closet by now, but Draco was currently immersed in pacing around the closet. The size of the closet made it look like he was just turning circles. Mattie watched in amusement from a corner in the closet. The look on Draco's face was one that was seldom there: distraught.
Oh my lord! I've done it now. She'll never want to marry; not after I crashed her party. Damn it. Why did I tell her? I could have just pretended that Mattie was talking about something else. Father definitely won't be happy about this. He'll probably disown me now.
Abruptly, Draco stopped pacing and sat down on the closet floor. He brought his knees up, tucked his chin in and wrapped his arms around himself, trying to take up as little room as possible. Mattie was reminded of the times there would be a thunder storm, and the younger Draco would go and hide in the same position he was in now. Growing up, when his mother had been too busy, he would rely on himself to get him through tough times.
Mattie wasn't having any of that today… she was going to be there for her master, even if he didn't want her to be. She didn't know what exactly the problem was, but she wasn't going to let Draco endure it on his own. She decided to speak up.
"Young Master sir, what be the matter?" Draco grunted for an answer and Mattie became cross with him; she was just trying to help! She realized it would be no good trying to talk to him when he was in this state. No good at all. That's why she wasn't going to talk to him – she was going to hit him.
Thump!
"Owww! What was that for, Mattie?" Draco rubbed the back of his head, a furious and confused expression on his face.
"Young Master sir was being stupid," Mattie realized her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth. She had become too comfortable with Draco, and she'd said the words without thinking them through. A house elf should never even touch her master, never mind tell him off. She waited for Draco to start reprimanding her.
The focus of her thought had his mouth open in shock, and he was looking at her in awe. His mouth closed, opened once more and closed again. Draco didn't know whether to be mad or not. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. He laughed for a long while, and he laughed hard. Mattie watched as he literally rolled on the ground, clutching at his abdomen, tears rolling down his cheeks.
She jerked as Draco pulled her into a hug. For a moment she thought he was going to hit her. She relaxed as he began talking.
"I'm sorry Mattie. I didn't mean to be cross with you. Let me explain," Draco pulled away and faced Mattie. "Do you know who that was?" Mattie shook her head no. "That was Astoria Greengrass, the girl father wants me to marry," his face was somber, and he didn't meet her eyes when he told her this.
Mattie nodded in understanding. It was obvious now why Draco was upset. All of a sudden, a knowing twinkle appeared in her orb-like eyes that Draco did not see. It seemed to her that Draco was upset for more than the fact that his father would be mad. She had seen the look Draco had given the girl as she was about to leave. She smiled. It is good that Young Master sir can finally find a mate. She'll be good for him.
Mattie remembered something. "Young Master sir, did not Young Mistress Greengrass be asking you to leave this room?" Draco's head shot up and he looked at her as if she was crazy.
"Mattie, I don't think you understand. I can't go out there. She already knows I crashed her party. I'm surprised she didn't kick me out already. She'll hate me, and then father will find out!"
Mattie did not answer him immediately. She just watched him as he ranted and let him catch his breath before she said anything. "So?"
"What? What do you mean so? Father will hate me if I don't do what he says!"
Mattie sighed. "Young Master sir, Young Master's father will not hate Young Master. He will only be disappointed for long time, then he be happy with Young Master sir once more," she explained.
"Mattie… it's not like that. Father doesn't care about the reasons; he only wants to get back into the world. You've seen how hard it's been around the house lately. No one wants to talk to us, and mother's taking it hard. The only thing we have left is money, and that isn't any good if you have no one to spend it with, is it? Father and mother miss their friends, Mattie. I miss my friends," he trailed off in a whisper.
Mattie sighed once more, and sat down. She looked over at Draco who was busy playing with the laces on his shoe. Suddenly, he stopped fiddling and stood up.
"Young Master sir?" Mattie questioned.
"Mattie, I don't think it would be good if I stayed here. I should probably leave. You go on ahead. I'll meet you at the manor in a few minutes," Draco walked towards the door, and with a wave goodbye to Mattie, he slipped out of the closet. Releasing one last sigh, Mattie popped away to the Malfoy Manor.
oOoOoOo
Draco strode towards the ballroom, and he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He was about to go back into the ballroom where he was sure everyone knew about him and his antics. He expected to receive some ribbing, of course. People would make fun that the great Malfoy son treats house elves as equals and pulls pranks on innocent girls. He'd be shunned, and he would have to go back home, his tail between his legs.
Draco turned the corner that led to the ballroom when someone ran straight into him. The crash upset his balance, and as much as he tried, he couldn't stay upright. He fell to the floor, the other person falling with him. Draco sat up from the floor and shook his head to clear it. Immediately, the scent of vanilla overwhelmed his nose, and he had that odd calm feeling again.
The woman on top of him had her head bent, and all he could see was the crown of her head, covered by jet-black hair. Draco only just stifled a groan before it could escape. This is not good. Why'd she have to come back? She probably wants to rub it in my face some more. And now, I can't leave the ball… not without having to come up with an excuse.
Tori lifted her head up and startled when she saw that it was Draco. After a moment, her mouth split into a wide grin. Their faces were inches away from each other, and Draco had the urge to lean in and kiss her. Get a hold of yourself! She's off-limits; not to mention she hates your guts.
Tori was now sitting up, allowing Draco to prop himself up on his elbows. "Oops," she laughed. "I didn't see you there," She got to her feet and after brushing herself off, she offered a hand to Draco to help him get up. Draco ignored her hand and picked himself up. He patted himself down and turned to face Tori. The scuffle had mussed up her hair, and a few strands had fallen out of the bun, hanging across her forehead.
To her credit, she hadn't even flinched at Draco's subtle rejection. It seemed she found it amusing, for she was smiling at him. He frowned slightly at her and started to apologize, but she interrupted.
"You took long enough getting out of there. I thought you'd gone home or something. What were you doing?" she leaned against the wall, and Draco could now see past her into the ballroom, currently filled with couples dancing.
"I beg your pardon, Ms. Greengrass," Draco started, completely ignoring Tori's question, "but I must be going. It seems I have some urgent to-do back at home," he fibbed. "My house elf's just warned me of it a moment ago," Draco added; whatever it takes to make her believe him.
To his amazement, she snorted. "How old do you think I am, Draco?" she emphasized his name, to let him know that his formality wasn't necessary. "I heard you were a stick in the mud, but no one ditches any of my parties!" she blew impatiently at the strands of hair that hung in her face.
"Pardon me?" he was relieved. She was so frank about everything and for a moment, he thought that she knew about his ranting to Mattie.
"I said, that you're a stick in the mud, Malfoy!" she was teasing him, but Draco couldn't see that. He was becoming annoyed. He didn't need this. He knew she was making fun of him, and he just wanted to leave.
Tori watched him have the internal argument, and though Draco couldn't see it, her blue eyes softened. "All right, I'll stop. Come on, father would like to meet you," she was about to turn around when Draco's voice stopped her.
"What? What do you mean?" he couldn't believe it. He was going to be lectured by Mr. Greengrass himself. Oh, the humiliation.
"Why are you so worried?" Tori squinted at Draco, trying to figure him out.
"Well, isn't it obvious? Your father wants to yell at me; of course I'm worried!" Draco was at the end of his leash. It seemed that the girl was purposefully trying to irritate him. Why couldn't she just let him leave?
Tori burst out laughing, surprising Draco. "Wow, you're unbelievably dense, did you know that?" she looked up, expecting him to retort, but when he didn't, she continued. "My father doesn't know that you were the one who harassed Pansy. And even if he did, he wouldn't mind at all. Quite frankly, he'd probably congratulate you," Tori beamed. She was proud of her father, that much was obvious.
Draco was dumbfounded. "Does that mean you didn't tell anyone, then?" he clarified. He didn't want to jump to conclusions again.
"No, I didn't tell anyone. Don't worry so much!" and with that, Tori grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him along towards the ballroom.
Draco tried to pull his wrist out of her grasp but he couldn't, not without hurting her. So he allowed her to drag him out, in front of the numerous couples dancing. Some of them stopped and watched the couple's progress across the floor. Draco felt his face heat up; how did it look to these people, him being dragged by Tori. He didn't think he wanted to know.
Draco caught sight of Blaise standing by the wall, near the refreshments. Blaise caught his eye, looked at Tori, back at Draco and raised one eyebrow. He hadn't said anything, but the message was clear. Draco blushed more, and tried to pull his wrist away once again, to no avail. Tori was strong.
At last, they had reached their destination. Draco found himself shoved forward, right in front of a tall, imposing man with salt and pepper hair. He would have been very intimidating had it not been for his eyes. They were Tori's eyes, and they held the same twinkle.
"Papa, regarde! Ce qui est je vous parle. Son nom est Draco Malfoy. [Papa, look ! This is who I was talking about. His name is Draco Malfoy]," Tori started speaking rapid-fire French to her father, and Draco couldn't follow. He only managed to hear his name before his hand was engulfed in a handshake. Mr. Greengrass watched Draco, carefully appraising him. Draco had the same feeling of his soul being examined.
Damn. Why does the whole family remind me of Dumbledore? For some reason, the similarity between Mr. Greengrass and Dumbledore gave Draco unease. He wasn't totally comfortable with the subject of Dumbledore. Thinking about the old coot gave him a feeling of shame. It had always been like that, ever since that day in the tower where he had refused to kill him. He didn't regret not killing him, but that incident was the reason for the Dark Lord's hatred of him.
"Hello, son. It's nice to finally meet you. Your father was a very good friend of mine. It's a shame about what happened," Mr. Greengrass sighed, and he let go of Draco's hand to fiddle with the wine glass he held. "I tried to warn him, but he was young, and he wanted power. I'm glad that he's out of the horrid place. Please ask him to come visit some time. He and I can get caught up on all that's happened," Draco immediately looked to Tori, to gauge her reaction of all that her father had said. He didn't want her to get the impression that his family was to be pitied.
She was watching him, her head at an angle, rather like she was evaluating him. Draco missed the small smile that passed Mr. Greengrass' face as he saw Tori's hand, still holding onto Draco's wrist.
"Of course, sir. I'll make sure to tell him of your invite. It'll do him good to get out more," and I can see more of Tori.
Whoa… I didn't say that just now, did I? No, I didn't. She's out of my league, and this disaster of a ball just proved it. Mr. Greengrass was talking to him again, forcing Draco to listen.
"All right then, tell him to come by next week. I'm having a few friends from school over, and it can be a reunion for him," Draco nodded, and Mr. Greengrass continued. "Enough about your father; how are you enjoying your night?"
"It's been wonderful, sir," Draco fibbed. Tori snorted, and Mr. Greengrass gave her a questioning look. She started to explain.
"Papa, Draco's been sitting in a closet for most of the night because he was hiding from Pansy. He was the one who set the spiders on her," Tori said all this so fast, Draco didn't have a chance to interrupt.
Now, with the damage having been done, Draco stood before Mr. Greengrass and waited for the yelling to begin. Instead, Mr. Greengrass chuckled. He once again pulled Draco's hand into a handshake and looked into Draco's shocked face.
"I'm glad, son. She was getting on all of our nerves. It's about time someone did something about it," Draco shot Tori a bewildered face. She mouthed "I told you so" back to him. Surprised, Draco couldn't help laughing a little at this quirky new family. It seemed that Tori wasn't the only fascinating member of the clan.
"Papa! I see you've met Draco," a new voice interrupted. Draco turned to see Daphne Greengrass, walking towards them. After meeting her sister, Draco couldn't help but marvel at the similarities between them. They both had the same hair and eyes (surprise, surprise) but Daphne had a more mature look to her. Draco had the sneaking suspicion that she had attained the look after years of dealing with Tori.
He smiled at Daphne, who shook his hand. "Hello, Daphne, it's been a while. How have you been doing?" he asked politely. He didn't really know much about her or her him, so there was a slight awkwardness between the two.
"I'm doing well, Draco. I've been working at Madame Malkin's. How about you?" she seemed interested. After all, he was the Slytherin Ice Prince in the flesh.
"I haven't had the chance to find a job. I've been too busy taking care of the estate. But now that Father's back, I suppose it's about time I look for one. Any suggestions?" He was slightly embarrassed at not having a job, but what he had said was true. He really had been too busy taking care of everything, especially his mother, to find a job.
"Why don't you try the ministry? The post-war hype is over, and they're looking for new recruits, especially Aurors. Even though You-Know-Who is gone, there are some still gits out there who think they can become the next Dark Lord," she grinned, and Draco was surprised. It seemed that she wasn't so boring after all. Beside him, Mr. Greengrass chastised his eldest daughter to watch her mouth.
"Well, well, what is this? I wondered why there was a crowd gathering and who is to be in the middle but Draco Malfoy himself," a new voice, male, disturbed their conversation. Draco turned to be confronted by none other than Theodore Nott himself. Draco had always liked Nott, though the feelings weren't reciprocated. Nott was a clever boy, and one of the few Slytherins who could think for themselves. He had always defied Draco's little gang at school.
The tall, curly-haired man walked up to Daphne, and to Draco's shock, slid his arm around her and placed a chaste kiss to her temple. He whispered something in her ear, and Daphne blushed. Tori cleared her throat, and when Draco glanced at her, she shot him a wink.
"Hello, Nott," Draco said by way of introduction. "I didn't know you were so… close… to Daphne," he had to stifle a chuckle. It would seem that the solitary Slytherin had finally found a woman. Nott turned to him and shot him a grin. He took his arm off Daphne and shook Draco's hand.
"I've only been this close for a couple of years," at Draco's raised eyebrows, Nott laughed. "Daphne and I are engaged," he explained.
"Congratulations, Daphne, Nott. I wish you two the best of luck in life." And with that, the small group dispersed, each with their own destination. As he stood there with Tori watching him, Draco felt elation fill him. If Nott, a son of a Death Eater himself, could find a happy life, maybe he could too…
oOoOoOo
A/N: My last chapter received a lot more feedback in the first two hours than the other two chapter received in ten days. I'm thinking it's because Astoria was finally introduced. Now that I have an idea of what you guys like, I'll try to incorporate a little more of it into the story.
I know that my author's notes are particularly long, but I wanted to share this little bit of trivia that I found while researching for this chapter. It is from an interview of JKR:
Melissa: What does it do to you to see a character that you love, for people to express sheer hate -
Emerson: Or vice versa.
JKR: It amuses me. It honestly amuses me. People have been waxing lyrical [in letters] about Draco Malfoy, and I think that's the only time when it stopped amusing me and started almost worrying me. I'm trying to clearly distinguish between Tom Felton, who is a good-looking young boy, and Draco, who, whatever he looks like, is not a nice man. It's a romantic, but unhealthy, and unfortunately all too common delusion of - delusion, there you go - of girls, and you [nods to Melissa] will know this, that they are going to change someone. And that persists through many women's lives, 'til their deathbed, and it is uncomfortable and unhealthy and it actually worried me a little bit, to see young girls swearing undying devotion to this really imperfect character, because there must be an element in there, that "I'd be the one who [changes him]." I mean, I understand the psychology of it, but it is pretty unhealthy. So, a couple of times I have written back, possibly quite sharply, saying [Laughter], "You want to rethink your priorities here."
My answer to that would be, "It's Tom Felton's fault for being so hot." xD
One more thing to add: I was on just now, and I stumbled upon a link leading me to Tom Felton's Youtube account. I wanted to share it with you guys. He's actually pretty talented. Granted, there are only four videos, but they're all really good.
http: // www . youtube . com / user / feltbeats just take away the spaces
I would like to thank:
Starry Smiles for reviewing last chapter. I actually thanked you in chapter 3, but for some reason, it didn't show up.
sweet epiphany11 for loving my story xD
Angelpris for telling me their opinion. I like your story. You really should continue.
The Awesome Threesome (one of them) for telling me what they liked about the story. I'm glad you like Draco's perspective on post-second war. This story is going to have more of that, so look forward to it.
Heartsday for reviewing. It's nice to be recognized for grammar as well as plot :-)
Aspieturtle for reviewing again. I will never forget the fact that you were my first reviewer :-D I'm really glad you like Astoria.
emLILYEVANS for reviewing all three chapters. I guess I found one faithful reviewer. By the way, I love your new profile. Who're MCR and A7X?
Lady Grace of Masbolle who not only betas my story, but reviews it as well xD
Feedback: 719 Hits to 15 Reviews
Written 2009 – 3 – 14
Published 2009 – 3 – 19