The New Mrs. Malfoy

Chapter 6

Author's Note: I know I usually put this at the end of the chapter but I wanted to take the chance to apologize for not updating sooner. Many things have been happening: moving back to school, starting back to school, turning a year older, new job, family stress, Mockingjay release. Argh... so much crazy stuff. Any hoo here it is. Nice and long to compensate for the tardiness. Enjoy!

Harry sighed and looked out the window again from his seat in the nursery. Even though it was Christmas he was alone hiding up in his rooms while Narcissa was downstairs entertaining her rather extensive extended family. Severus warned him of the annual Malfoy family get together a few weeks ago, and despite his best efforts he hadn't been able to figure out a way to get out of going.

After the dinner incident he had made it his business to stay as far away from the family as he possibly could. He couldn't stand the lies anymore. He wanted to run, to grab his sweet little daughter and runway, far away where the world would never find him.

With a frown he looked down at the strange wand in his hand. He glanced over to the crib on the other side of the room to make sure the baby was still asleep before flicking it to the left. He wasn't surprised at all to see that he wasn't able to conjure even the simplest of sparks. This had been the sixteenth attempt in the hour. He didn't know why he was expecting a new result.

The long ebony wand was beautiful, so very different from his lost holly wand. He had long since given up hope of ever seeing it again. As per tradition the wand was probably snapped and burned with the body of poor Octavian Malfoy whose identity and wand had been passed on to him by that strange twist fate on Halloween.

"Lumos."

Nothing.

He wanted so badly for a controlled stream of light to flow from the tip. In his frustration he threw the infernal piece of wood across the room. Not watching were it rolled off to.

"Stop it Harry! This is stupid…." With a laugh he remembered what his old potions master used to yell at him, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. You are not a lunatic Mr. Potter, you have shown time and time again that you are indeed quite sound of mind so why don't you try actually following the directions for a change.

He had never been one for rules. Harry looked over at his daughter who was the living proof of the simple truth. His sweet little girl, she was the bastard child of a muggleborn school dropout and a Knockturn Alley half-blood drug dealer.

Looking around again Harry felt out of place. He shouldn't be here. He shouldn't be lying to these poor people. What was it that Draco had said, "But why lie? What use could it have possibly served?"

Oh if that man only knew.

Harry may not be very smart or well educated but he sure as hell wasn't stupid. He knew for a fact that he was one false step away from the streets or even worse Azkaban. And where would that leave Cassie? If protocol was followed the government would send her to her next of kin. That meant Seamus would have to take her or she would be sent to the Dursley's. The absolute best case scenario would be if both parties rejected her then the government would be forced to send her live in a group home.

The thought of Cassie in any of those situations made his heart shatter.

With tears in his eyes he glanced back over at his sleeping daughter. Taking a deep breath he pushed back the tears and swore that he would be strong. He would hold out until his magic returned and then he would take Cassie and run, run away, far away where no one would ever find them again. He just needed to hold out a few more weeks until his magic stabilized again.

The doctors had told him it could take up to six months for his magic to return to normal and that he would just have to be patient. There was nothing that could be done to speed up the process and that it would be best just not to fight it.

Faintly Harry could hear the familiar sounds of a piano ring up through the house accompanied by the joyous laughter of young adults. The noise was enough to cause Harry to walk over to crib to check on Cass. He smiled when he saw the familiar signs of the little baby beginning to wake up.

"Well hello sweet heart."

The tiny girl was seven weeks old and her hair was as thicker than he ever thought possible. The mop of dark hair provided a stark contrast to her perfect alabaster skin. She looked like a porcelain doll Especially when she looked up at him with that sweet sleepy smile. How he ended up with such an angel he would never know. Carefully he bent over and scooped Cassie up into his arms.

"Can you hear that darling? That's a piano. Did you know that I can play?"

Carefully he laid her down on the changing table and saw to her nappy never once ceasing in his one sided conversation. After all, those books that Narcissa kept sending up for him did say that talking to her would help her develop her language, even if she didn't understand yet, she would in time. "Yes. I know. When would I have ever had the chance to learn? Well you see when I was little my Aunt Petunia wanted Dudley to learn to play so she hired this sweet old lady Mrs. Spencer to come and teach my cousin."

Harry smiled and laughed when Cassie smiled and kicked her feet loose from his grasp. "That's right little wiggle worm! Dudley was terrible at it." With another smile he began the battle of getting her tiny feet and legs into a pair of white stockings. "Well one day he yelled at her very rudely and said that no one could ever learn how to play, and to prove him wrong Mrs. Spencer found me in the kitchen, pulled me into the living room and taught me how to do the exercises."

Having won the big battle of the stockings Harry started in on the easy part. With another smile Harry started to pull a tiny green plaid dress onto the girl, "I have been playing ever since. I taught myself until I went to Forrester's. There Ms. Brink, the music teacher took an interest in me when I joined the choir. She taught me to the accompanist. That's the person who plays the piano for the choir."

The girl focused on her cloth covered toes and began to pull them toward her mouth. Harry smiled at her and carefully clipped a green and white bow in her hair. "I'm no where near the best but I'll teach you one day. I will, I will."

Harry looked over at the tiny black shoes and decided that there was really no point. She would just fuss if he put them on her and she certainly seemed happy with the change in the texture of her toes.

The last thing he wanted to do was to go down there and live the lie but he had no choice. So, just like he did every day for the past three weeks he took a deep breath, thought of his daughter and walked out the door.

Draco stood next to his cousin Pollux and laughed loudly at the tales of the wild exploits of the the brothers Lestrange.

"Bast was so embarrassed when he came to the next morning he disapperated away leaving his behind his best boots and his coin very full purse."

The younger of the two Lestrange men laughed, "I'd forgotten about that?"

Rodolphus laughed again, "What was the bitch's name again? Mathilda something or another?"

Rebastian shook his head, "Mafalda Hopkirk. A right cow she was too. I never did go back for the best ten galleons I ever spent was on not going back to face that troll."

Draco was about to comment when he heard a loud commotion over by the door.

Pollux craned his neck to look over as well, "what it the world?"

All the women in the room were bustling about excitedly, huddled around something near the door.

"Alicia is probably already drunk and making a spectacle of herself." Draco smirked and tried his best to not look interested.

Pollux laughed, "It's too early for that. She only just arrived. Are the cooing?"

Realization struck Draco and he frowned deeply. "You think they would have more respect for a grieving man!"

After exchanging a few pointed looks the other men all understood what was going on and nodded to Draco to go to the rescue. With a smile to his amused cousin Draco finished of his drink and handed off the glass for safe keeping before stalking over to where all 32 females of the extended Malfoy family were examining their newest members with unrestrained glee.

Karina was standing coolly off to the side with a smirk on her face, "It appears that the New Mrs. Malfoy doesn't know how to make a quiet entrance through the side door yet."

Draco frowned at her, "Octavian, shouldn't have to deal with this."

"You can't blame them really. It was all anyone could talk about since august when we caught word that Corvus eloped. And well, since the accident your mother has kept him and your sweet niece under lock and key. It's only natural for everyone to try and meet him. After all we don't know how long he'll grace us with his presence and if they miss him it could very well be weeks before your mother lets them out again." The bitch smirked back at him knowing that she would win this argument, "You didn't think that the WHOLE family showed up just to share Yule tide toasts over Christmas tea did you? Why they bothered, I'll never know. But hey it will be nice to have the chance to gossip about the new mudblood addition to the family."

"That poor boy has been through enough. The last thing he needs his to be poked and prodded by the entire family. And don't you dare call him a mudblood."

"OOOH since when did you decide to be so defensive of him. Just last week it was you calling him mudblood scum."

Draco frowned, "I didn't use that term and I would appreciate it if you would not mention the events of that dinner to anyone here."

Karina smirked, "Or you'll do what exactly?"

The blond raised an eyebrow daringly, "You don't want to play this game Karina I have enough trash on you to make you the juicy piece of gossip for the next four years. And don't you think I won't. All it takes is a fire call to my dear friend Blaise Zabini."

He knew he it the nail on the head when Karina's face transitioned itself from sweet to dangerous at the mention of Blaise, "What are you playing at?"

"If I do recall correctly, Blaise mentioned that he ran into you in London back in September and you two had yourselves a little fun. A little fun that resulted in some very interesting photo's being taken."

"You wouldn't dare!"

With a smirk Draco turned away and began pushing his way into the multilayered circle of women. He felt better knowing that the bitch was sufficiently harnessed. He knew that if given the opportunity Karina could and would start enough rumors to irrevocably damage not only Octavian's chances of ever being accepted but also ruin any chance for the baby of fitting in as well. He was going to have a hard enough time as it was with out the bitch interfering. At least this way she wouldn't dare to speculate about his brother-in-law to the family for at least a month. At which point a well placed comment would shut her up again pretty quick. Hopefully that would give Octavian enough time to grow on some of the more influential members of his family and secure his place.

When he finally reached the middle of the group Draco was greeted with the terror filled eyes of the new Mrs. Malfoy and his young fussy daughter. Draco looked around for his Mother who was doing her best to try and placate the excited older women with a photo album and having little success. see no other option Draco was forced to resort to drastic measures and save the poor boy himself.

With a deep breath he plastered on his award winning smile and swooped in for the kill, "I believe I haven't yet had the chance to wish my niece a Merry Christmas!"

The women all smiled at him and looked on adoringly as he scooped up the infant from his rough looking father and began to coo at her. "Happy Christmas Cassie girl."

Knowing all eyes were on him he laid a gentle kiss on her head then looked down at Octavian who was looking just as terrified as before, "Octavian, please allow me to get you a drink and to introduce you to my uncles."

The boy looked shocked but nodded and stepped close to the blond reaching for his daughter. "I'd love to."

Draco graciously handed the girl back to his brother-in-law and led him over to where the men were all congregated in several social circles laughing over drinks. Draco knew that the women's smiles of approval had turned to frowns of annoyance as he led their new toy away from their clutches and into the world of men. He knew it would only save the boy temporarily. It was after all unheard of to take a baby over to the men's circle.

"What would you like?" Draco asked the boy sweetly.

The boy looked at him sceptically, "Thank you for saving me but you don't have to get me a drink."

Draco laughed, "It's an open bar, Mum has already paid for it."

Octavian blushed and Draco felt a little bad. "I meant you don't have to help me. I know you don't like me."

With a frown he asked the question again, "You have your arms full. Please allow me to assist you. What would you like to drink?"

Octavian smiled a little before resigning, "Fine. Uh…. Do they have pumpkin juice?"

Nodded and led Harry over to a sitting chair near enough to the men's circle to keep him away from the hens but far enough away that the presence of the baby wouldn't interfere with the adult conversation.

Draco smiled kindly at the small red headed girl behind the counter. She was a new maid, his mother hired her only just last week. "Hey Leslie, could you please get me a twisted gourd and a dry martini please."

The girl smiled and began expertly mixing the drinks. He was loath to admit it but he knew that the reason this girl was hired was because she was an experienced bar tender. It was no secret to him that this was the reason him mother had hired the girl. But considering his family he really couldn't blame her. This was just a 'small' family gathering and they would likely consume in alcohol what most low income families earn in three months.

"My Mother hasn't been drinking has she?"

The girl smiled and handed him the two glasses, "No sir. Master Snape has informed me that she is restricted to only non-alcoholic beverages."

"Thanks Leslie."

With a final nod Draco walked back to where his brother-in-law was sitting and was surprised to see that the boy had found himself some company with none other than Pollux Lestrange.

"So you actually played with the Wasps?"

Pollux smiled and laughed, "I did. But I was only there for half a season."

"Why did you leave?"

"I had to, I took a bludger to the head. Shattered my jaw and fractured two vertebrae in my neck. I was lucky to get out if it without paralysis."

Draco smirked, "Too bad it didn't permanently injure your mouth. Things were so nice when you could only communicate via note pad."

Pollux laughed, "Oh yes, absolutely."

Octavian smiled but didn't laugh. Draco immediately caught himself and explained, "Pol is dyslexic."

"Dis-what-sic"

Automatically Draco elaborated, "Dyslexia is a neurologically-based, often familial, disorder which interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Varying in degrees of severity, it is manifested by difficulties in receptive and expressive language, including phonological processing, in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic."

When Octavian blinked at him in utter confusion Draco was reminded of his tendency to be an extreme know it all and looked to his cousin to explain.

Pollux smiled, "It just means I see letters backwards sometimes and that I have trouble reading and I can't spell."

Draco laughed and nodded, "Ask him how to spell does."

Octavian blinked and looked at Pollux who was mock glaring at his blond cousin, "why?"

"Just do it."

"Oh..kay how do you spell does?"

Pollux glared playfully at Draco again before huffing and answering the question, "Thanks to Draco and his never ending amusement at my creative spelling of the word, I now know that does is spelled D O E S not D O S E. It's an easy mistake."

"Oh yes, it's just so normal for a 24 year old man to misspell a four letter words. Hey Pol how do you spell lose?" Draco smirked at him.

"It is a bit ridiculous I do admit. But I'm actually more amazed that no one bothered to try and correct me sooner."

The two men laughed again Octavian looked on in slight confusion.

"I'm very sorry, we are terrible when we get together like this. We don't mean to exclude you." Pollux apologized nicely before making eyes at the baby who was examining the tall bearded man.

"Oh, would you like to hold her?" Octavian smiled and began to shift in his seat.

"Only if you don't mind," The man smiled and took the baby from the young brunette wizard. "She is beautiful."

As his favorite cousin held his brother's daughter he felt himself begin to somber. Today was Christmas and where was Corvus? Draco looked over at his mother who was watching them fondly. He knew she was itching to take the baby and show her off. With a forced smile he looked at Octavian who had only now just begun to sip on his drink. He looked lost, and alone. And if Draco didn't know any better he would say the boy was avoiding eye contact with him.

"She looks just like you. It's remarkable." Pollux smiled over that the boy who smiled back.

"Everyone says that."

"No she really does. Have you started thinking about schools?"

Draco laughed and finished his drink, "Now don't you think it's a little bit early for that?"

Octavian smiled shyly, "Are you supposed to be thinking about that now?"

Pollux smiled, "I'm only asking because of the waiting list at Hogwarts. It's the best and everyone knows it. If you want to get her a spot you are going to have to start applying now."

Draco laughed. "I'm sure mother has already contacted the school. You have nothing to worry about Octavian."

"Hogwarts? That's awfully prestigious. What makes you think she could even get in? Don't you have to pass a lot aptitude tests to even get considered or something?"

Pollux looked at the boy stupidly before breaking into a laugh, "you're joking right?"

Draco frowned, "Every Malfoy for the past 12 generations was educated at Hogwarts. They will accept her. And if for some reason legacy isn't enough secure admittance we can always stop making our very generous annual donation to the should make them reconsider you application quickly enough."

Harry was shocked at how serious these men were about school selection, and even more surprised to see that they weren't the only ones. As Narcissa introduced him to dozens of people, all of them asked the same questions. What schools was he considering for Cassie? What kind of organizations was he considering joining? What philanthropies was he most interested in?

He initially surprised at the lack of questions about his past but after catching a few of the pointed looks Narcissa was giving her relatives he knew that she must have talked with them about not mentioning his supposed past. He was grateful for this. He was able to be himself and not to lie. It was nice to have the chance to speak honestly.

As the hours ticked by Harry found himself standing alone in the corner sipping on what had to have been his seven pumpkin juice looking for familiar faces. He didn't know what it was about the drink but he couldn't help but ask for a refill each time he found the bottom of his glass bare. As he looked around he tried in vain to recall the names of the men and women he had introduced to but quickly gave up in favor of looking for the permanent members of the Malfoy household.

It wasn't too difficult to find Severus as the over grown bat stood several inches taller than most everyone else in the room. The man was buried deep in male territory talking passionately with a short man with a very studious look about him. Harry smiled at the sight. He had never seen the man look so excited before. With a smirk he deduced that Severus and the man must be discussing potions.

Harry was surprised to see that Pollux was quietly sitting in a circle of women listening to their banal chit chat. The man was situated on a large green sofa next to his mother and sister, Bellatrix and Ursula Lestrange and seemed to be enjoying himself. Harry smiled and wondered exactly how good of an actor the man really was He couldn't possibly be enjoying himself. He smiled at the scene though, seeing the man side by side with his family made Harry notice that Pollux looked a great deal like his mother. Harry snapped out of his musings and blushed when Pollux looked right at him and winked. Having been caught in the act, Harry made a mental note to try and be more inconspicuous when staring in the future.

He looked around the room once again in search of more familiar faces when his eyes finally fell on the blond man who had succeeded in confusing him. Draco was in the far corner of the room smiling and nodding as he listened to a very old hunched back man who was speaking to him from a large winged back chair next to a large ornate globe. Every once an a while the young man would make a comment and the old wizard would turn and point out something on the over sized ball. Harry smiled, maybe the blond wasn't such a snob after all.

"Amazing how much he looks like Corvus, isn't it?"

Startled, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin. Harry looked over at Karina and smiled kindly at her. "Well they are twins."

Karina smiled back and nodded with a light laugh. "Yes they are. So alike in so many ways. Did you know that both of them are expert conversationalists? Well in the case of Corvus...was?"

Harry looked at the girl with slight hesitation and nodded, "Corvus was very charming."

The woman looked at him sideways before looking back over at the other Malfoy twin, "They did everything together. I remember back when they were in school, they were attached at the hip. Attractive, athletic, funny, intelligent, powerful, and rich. In short, the most eligible bachelors in the country."

Harry swallowed deeply.

"I'm just curious because I can't figure it out." Harry could feel Karina's icy glare on him, but he refused to look at her. "Why would Corvus, a man who could have literally anyone in the world, choose to marry you?"

"I don't know what you mean." Harry said quickly.

"Oh I think you do. You aren't exceptionally beautiful. You can barely hold a conversation even with the aid of someone like Narcissa steering your every move. You are sorely lacking in manners and, well to be frank, any refinement. You are ill educated and you talk like a muggle."

Harry didn't move.

"You aren't even his type."

Without a batting an eyelash Harry carefully sipped his glass of pumpkin juice ignoring her as best he could.

"You see I know all about Corvus. He was a lot like me. We were like birds, the two of us, trapped in a in gilded cage of rules and expectations. Rules that sometimes we had to escape from. But unlike me, Corvus wouldn't dare risk relations within our social circle."

Harry swallowed thickly and looked around the room in an attempt to find something to focus on. "You see, Corvus liked to slum it. Every weekend he would go to the lower east side and pick up a guy, have his way with him, and then just leave him the next morning never to speak to him again."

Harry took another sip of his pumpkin juice and schooled his features to a calm proud look.

"You don't fool me Octavian. You are nothing more than a mudblood slut he picked up one night during his travels."

When Narcissa looked over to him she pointed out that Cassie had fallen asleep on her chest. He smiled at her. He so wanted to walk away from Karina and retrieve his sleeping daughter. He had a feeling that she wouldn't have dared to approach him if he had had his daughter on him.

"The luckiest fuck of your life. You hit the jackpot when he knocked you up. Corvus was never one to back out on his responsibilities." She paused and looked over at Draco, "Well he was never one to back out on certain responsibilities. So he did the honorable thing and married you, but don't you think for a second that you will ever be one of us. You and your little daughter will NEVER fit in here. You will never be able to look like us, act like us, or be like us. You're mudblood trash, and no amount of designer colognes or name brand clothing will ever cover up that stench. So why do yourself a favor, pack your bags and go back to your muggle New Zealand where you belong."

Harry took a deep breath and looked at the girl with a cool glare and said two words before turning and walking out the busy room, "Fuck off."

The afternoon settled into evening smoothly. In that time Draco watched his brother-in-law slowly make his way around the room with the aid of his mother meeting all 74 members of the extended Malfoy family. It was odd seeing the boy wander around the blue blood circle, he didn't know if it was because of the infant he was carrying or because he just didn't quite fit in for some reason.

After continued observation he decided it must have been the baby. It had been a very long time since there had been kids at one of these things. The youngest person here was little Jimmy Crabbe. And he wasn't ever really little to begin with. Now at 15 the boy was roughly the size of an over grown ox.

Draco caught himself smiling when he saw his mother and Octavian cut their conversation with Karina short to go feed Cassie, especially since the girl was visibly ruffled. He loved getting under her skin.

Time and time again he caught himself staring at the strange sight of the brunette boy. A few weeks ago his presence would do nothing but bother him but now he felt as if the boy were just the right accent color that when considered independently didn't quite fit in but when looked at in context of the whole picture somehow made the painting come to life.

Over several hours Draco lost track of the boy. It was to be expected when talking to old Lysander Malfoy. His great uncle was one of the most well traveled men that he knew and was always good for several hours of tales. Draco loved talking to him. The man was remarkable in that during a time when the only option for a third born male was to get married and have children Lysander had packed his bags and disappeared. 40 years later he returned with a bag full of dirty clothes and a never ending supply of adventure tales that Draco could scarcely believe to be real. He could be content to listen to his uncle all night but even old Lysander Malfoy had his breaking point. With a smile he helped the old man to his feet and over to the floo.

He wasn't sure how long he sat and talked with his uncle but in that time the large party had dwindled down to a comfortable twenty or so, leaving only the closest of Draco's family to listen to the customary music.

Draco smiled at his mother who had found herself a comfortable chair and was now watching a sleeping Cassie who was curled up in her arms. He was almost proud of how well she was holding herself together.

Pollux had found his way to the piano and was playing familiar Christmas songs for Karina to sing. And as loathe as he was to admit it, Draco couldn't deny that his bitch of a cousin was a truly amazingly talented singer. He smiled at his cousins as they played the remaining lines of what child is this and walked over to the bar to refill his glass. Leslie had long since abandoned her post so Draco helped himself to the bottle of fire whiskey that was left on the counter. When he heard a set of familiar chords and Karina sing the opening lines of "The Christmas Song," his heart sank.

This had always been the song Corvus would sing, well one of many. But this song had always been his brother's favorite. Draco would always catch him singing it around this time of year and it was also the one song that their father would stop and listen to. With his rough voice and goofy smile, every year like clock work the family would gather on Christmas day night and always end this way. For the past three years, Draco hadn't missed him. He didn't even bat an eyelash when Karina took his brother's place at the piano but for some reason tonight, the song only made him feel sick. Hearing Karina sing this song was like the final nail being driven in to the coffin. His bother was never coming back. Draco would never hear his voice again. Before he knew what he was doing Draco felt his feet taking him quietly out the back of the room and down the hall to the back door grabbing his cloak on the way out.

He needed to get away. When the cold hit his face Draco felt tears sting his eyes. He felt so hallow. The snow was gently falling on the expansive grounds of the estate and Draco found himself wandering. He couldn't sit still. He knew if he did, he would break. He was far to intoxicated and far too heart broken. Two things together that formed a very lethal combination.

He walked for several minutes before he was able to calm himself enough to turn around and follow his foot prints back to the house. Along the way however he froze in his tracks when he heard a sharp rustle and a sob come from the frozen winter garden. The snow had yet to stop it's gentle decent to earth and only looked to be getting worse, so when he found himself entering into the maze of hedges he thought himself crazy.

The maze of hedges was easy to navigate. He knew them like the back of his hand having spent his childhood playing hide and go seek here. The sobs grew louder and Draco finally found the trail of foot prints that the sobbing person had left behind. Idly he noted that they must have come from the west entrance. The winter fairy's laughed and skipped around merrily providing just enough light for him to see the final turn into the center of the maze. He momentarily considered turning back and to leave the poor person to their grief but his curiosity got the better of him.

He turned the last corner and froze in shock. Sitting on the snow covered ground wearing nothing more than his horrendous green dress robes was his brother-in-law, hugging himself and crying as winter fairy's played games in the air around him and snowflakes fell silently on to his hanging head.

In that instant Draco knew he had over stepped his bounds. He shouldn't be intruding on this. He had no right to be here. But something pulled him forward. As quietly as he could he walked forward, took off his heavy winter cloak, and carefully placed it on the boy's shoulders, sinking into the snow beside him.

Draco looked at the boy with a sad smile noting that his glasses were missing. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The boy sniffed lightly and shook his head, "it's stupid."

He didn't respond. Refuting the statement would only lead to the boy becoming angry with him. Draco knew that smell. The boy reeked of vodka. He wondered exactly how many twisted gourds the boy had had. But ultimately the answer didn't matter. Arguing with a drunk is a futile endeavor. You won't get them to see reason. So instead he decided to try talking to him.

"Every Christmas since I was five we have had this party. And every year it would always end with caroling. Not the kind where everyone stands in a circle and holds hands and sings we wish you a merry christmas but the kind where someone would sit at the piano and another would sing. It's just the way we do things. I was never one for singing. I don't like that kind of lime light, but Cory...he loved it. He was always there, entertaining the whole room. He was so much more charismatic than me."

Draco laughed to himself, "I'm too smart you see. I think too much to be able to let my guard down enough to preform like that."

"Anyway, Cor would sing anything and everything. All the classics and the new contemporary stuff. He just loved it. Loved it all. When he left a few years ago, Karina kind of took his place. I didn't even care. Hell I was so mad at him I was almost happy to listen to her. Now there isn't anything I wouldn't give to hear him singing again."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Draco looked over at the boy who was looking at him with his red puffy green eyes and shrugged, "I don't know. I guess because, you look the way I feel right now."

When he didn't respond Draco smiled reassuringly, "You don't have to talk about it. I completely understand. Just know that you're not alone, we all miss him."

Whatever he had expected from the boy it sure wasn't the angry out burst he received. Without warning the boy clamored to his feet and stormed off toward the entrance. "You can't understand! How can you possibly understand? I'm alone here! I don't fit in. I'm mudblood trash you said it yourself."

Draco watched as the boy turned and stopped looking at him. It wasn't hard to tell that the boy was no longer talking to him. "I shouldn't be here. What in the world was I thinking? I couldn't pull this off in a million years. I'm so stupid! GOD!"

In complete shock Draco watched as his brother-in-law collapsed in on himself again sinking into heap, hiding his face in his hands. Slowly he stood up, walked over to the boy, and laid a hand on his shoulder. And to his amazement that was all that was needed to get the boy to start talking again.

"I just want what is best for her. That's all. I'm useless, completely incompetent." The boy laughed harshly and threw the wand that was sitting just inches away from him him back across the clearing. "How the hell do I take care of her when I can't even cast a damn warming charm?"

"Your magic will come back. It just takes time."

The boy looked up at him with a scowl, "That's what they all say. Just wait. All it takes is patience! But I can't wait. I can't take it anymore. I can't be here. It's too much."

Draco sank down next to the boy and smiled kindly, "We don't expect anything from you. You shouldn't feel pressured. We're happy you're here but if you really want to leave, I'll make mum understand. It can't be easy for you to be here without him."

Draco looked away and watched the fairies. He smiled and pointed over to a wooden doll house that had grown into the hedge, "I remember the summer the fairies first came here. We were seven when we found them. We'd come down everyday and bring them nuts and berries from the kitchens. We did this all summer and fall until one day it winter came and it started snowing. Severus refused to let us out of the house to feed them. I was so upset. I was convinced that the fairies would die if we left them in the cold with no food but Severus adamantly refused. He said that fairies were just stupid bugs that lived in the garden and that they could take care of themselves. It didn't make me feel any better. So later that night Corvus found an old doll house in the attic and brought it down to me. He said we could give the house to the fairies so they could stay warm and fill it with all the nuts berries they could handle. So that's what we did. We filled it up with everything we could think of, then we got our mother to cast a warming charm on it and brought it out here the next day. They moved right in and they never left."

The boy blinked and smiled a little at him, "That's a very sweet story. But what does it have to do with anything?"

"I know it's hard. And that I can't possibly understand what it's like to be you trying to fit in here. But I do understand what it's like to live with a constant reminder that he's not coming back. He's everywhere here." Draco bit his lip, "around every corner, in every room, in Cassie's smiles."

When the boy began to stand Draco knew that he probably shouldn't have mentioned the baby."I'm sorry!"

The boy held up a hand and walked over to where he tossed his wand, "Don't. It's nothing. Thank you for your concern but please, don't feel like you need to comfort me. I'm very used to dealing with things on my own."

Draco wanted to say something but was at a loss for words. Especially when the boy took off the over sized winter cloak and handed it back to him.

"I need to get back to Cassie. Thank you for letting me borrow this."

And before he could figure out what else to say, the boy was gone.

Author's Note 2: If this chapter seemed a bit forced...well...that's because it was. I'm very sorry if you are little disappointed by this but in order for me to make it better I think i would have needed several more days to fight with it and I have kept you guys waiting far too long as it is. This chapter was important to my character development but awkward in terms of plot. Next chapter will show some very big progress in terms of plot so that should be really exciting. Thank you so much to my wonderful reviews. I can't begin to tell you how much I love each and every one of you. And to those of you who didn't review I love you all too. As a side note if you haven't yet discovered them you should all go out and read Suzanne Collins' Hunger Game trilogy. I can't praise it enough.

This is a almost final draft so if there are any big mistakes please let me know and i'll fix them asap. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a review. Every time a reader reviews an author gets a FUZZY! :-)