Chapter 10: Christmas at the Malfoys
Finally, it was Christmas break. After a long train ride, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy picked Draco up at Kings Cross. They did a little window shopping in Diagonally before returning to Malfoy manor via floo powder.
Now, they were sitting at a well-set Christmas table. Tilly, one of the house elves, had just served the second course, and was leaving the room, floating a pile of dirty dishes in front of her.
"Have you heard that the oldest Flint boy got married to a muggle-born last week?" Lucius said, picking up his fork, inspecting it, before impaling a small piece of turkey. "And that event though his father assured me he was seeing young miss Selwyn" his father continued gesturing with the fork before leading it to his mouth.
"Wasn't he the captain of the Quidditch team Draco?" Narcissa asked, dabbing her mouth with a white napkin.
"No mother. It was his younger brother, Marcus" Draco said, poking at his potatoes, lacking the appetite for this kind of feast.
"His family must be mortified" Lucius said
"I'm sure they are" Narcissa replied
"I don't understand how you could possibly allow yourself to end up in a position where you would fall for someone like that" Lucius continued. "Has he no self-control?"
"Apparently not" Narcissa replied.
"Just like your disgrace of a sister" Lucius said lifting his glass towards Narcissa.
Cautiously placing her silver wear next to the plate, Narcissa lifted her glass to him, but remained silent. Draco did the same, lifting his glass towards his father.
After they had toasted Lucius went on about the importance of pure bloodlines. Draco, who had heard the exact same speech multiple times, watched his mother, who silently continued eating, occasionally nodding, apparently in agreement.
When they had finished, Lucius announced that he would go to his study.
After he had left, everything went silent. Narcissa sat in a chair facing the window, looking out into the garden, watching the trees that were heavy with snow. Draco sat in an armchair flipping through a book called "Dark spells, a beginner's guide" that he had found on a bookshelf in his father's study. It was filled with gruesome pictures of people suffering the effect of various darks spells.
"I always liked Ted" Narcissa said quietly. Draco looked up confused, not really sure if she had spoken at all.
"He was in the same year as Dromeda" Draco didn't know what to say. Did she even realise he was still there?
"I always found it rather harsh the way my parents treated her…" she trailed off, still looking out the window, her reflection blurry and uneven.
"I never dared saying a word. I saw what happened to Dromeda… but sometimes I can't help wondering what would have happened… I still miss her sometimes" she turned around, her face pale and vulnerable.
"Whatever you choose for yourself, be sure to do it for the right reasons" she said quietly. Then she turned away from him, once again facing the window.
Draco was confused. He had barely heard her mention his aunt before. With an almost soundless thump he closed the book and left the room. This was the last thing he needed on his mind right now. All he wanted was a quiet holiday, where he didn't have to worry about anything. Least of all his blood traitor aunt Andromeda.