Bruised and Scarred Chapter 10
Lucius sighed in relief, tension easing out of his shoulders as he signed the last sheet of paper and shut the final folder of paperwork resting on his desk, before tossing it carelessly onto the enormous pile that wobbled dangerously on the edge before cascading messily to the floor.
Alex popped his head around the door, giving a low whistle at the mess "Well that wasn't a good idea now was it Luce" he chuckled, before cringing at the murderous look on Lucius' face.
"Alex" he growled "that is not amusing" he brushed a hand tiredly through his hair, massaging his temples gently as he did so.
Alex shook his head sadly, "go home Luce, you look like death warmed over", dark shadows so vibrant they looked like bruises stuck out on Lucius pale worn face, cheekbones shadowed with fatigue giving him the appearance of a skeleton,
"I can't, look at all this mess and I still have at least three more piles to go through!" he retorted grumpily, flinging a hand at the paperwork strewn haphazardly around the room, sighing in frustration.
"Go home Luce" Alex whispered gently, "you have done all you can for now, I will finish up here and have everything ready for you when you come back!"
He raised an eyebrow warningly when Lucius opened his mouth to protest and the click of teeth as Lucius snapped his mouth shut was clearly audible in the silent room. Lucius stood up, wincing at the popping in his joints that had Alex grimacing in sympathy, slung his green velvet cloak around his shoulders and strode to the fireplace.
Flashing a grateful smile at Alex, he threw down the floo powder and the flames roared a bright emerald green before he disappeared back to Malfoy Manor.
Lucius was spat out of the fireplace in his Manors cavernous sitting room, crumpling to his knees in exhaustion, catching his breath before levering himself to his feet and stumbling drunkenly up to his bedroom.
Once he reached the hallway, he entered a small room on the left hand side, a magical glowing orb lit up the room with a soothing cream glow, turquoise fluffy carpet and pale silver walls shone in the lamplight.
A small toddler bed sat in the middle of the room, green covers that matched the carpet swamping the tiny figure that lay sleeping peacefully, shining silver hair the only feature visible contrasting sharply with the slytherin green.
He slowly lowered himself into the wooden chair that sat conveniently close to the bed and gently stroked the silky silver hair that was so similar to his own, "soon my little Dragon" he whispered smiling wistfully, "soon we will leave here and you will be so much happier, I can't wait to see you smile again Dragon"
He sincerely regretted ever having married Narcissa, the only good thing that came out of their union being the tiny child lying on the bed before him, her influence over Draco had been so destructive, ever since his son had turned three and was able to read and write to some degree, she had been instructing him in pureblood hypocrisy and the Dark Lord's Ideals.
He had watched helplessly as his happy, smiling little boy had become more and more closed off as he was forced to mature too early and be restrained by the confinement of being the heir to a noble family, all the while his own father pressured him to be the perfect Death Eater and bring 'pride' to the noble family of Malfoy.
He hated them, he hated them all for corrupting the only good thing in his life and desperately wanted to escape them, but until he found somewhere safe to go and something else to live for, he could not.
But now, now he had a new purpose in life and a new reason to escape the looming shadow of his overbearing father.
Now he had Severus.
He stood up slowly once more, jolted out of his thoughts by the chiming of the antique grandfather clock in the hallway striking twelve, he pressed a gentle kiss to his son's soft hair and with a whispered goodnight, crept from the room.
He carried on down the hallway, the sound of his footsteps absorbed by the soft carpeted floor, pausing outside a gilt silver doorframe with the name Narcissa written in precious stones at head height.
A subtle flick of his wand had a strong locking charm sealing the door shut, he released a breath he hadn't realised he had been holding in a rush, now he could rest without fear of being murdered in his sleep.
He finally reached the last door on the corridor and slipped quietly inside, closing the door with a soft 'snick' behind him before collapsing face down on the silver silk bedsheets and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, not even bothering to take off his shoes.
Silence descended upon the house and the only sound in the little room at the end of the corridor was quiet breathing and the tick of a clock.
Lucius was jerked rudely awake the next morning by the ear splitting ringing of his alarm clock, he swore loudly and slammed hand down on top of it, knocking it off the cabinet with a loud clatter before following it ungracefully to the floor.
He sat dazedly on the warm floorboards next to his bed, brain struggling to wake up properly, bright sunlight streamed through the half open curtains illuminating him with an almost otherworldly glow.
Not twenty minutes later and he was once again the unruffled Malfoy of the public eye, clean shaven and well groomed, no sign of the dazed and drowsy man from before apparent. He grabbed the holdall full of his and his son's belongings that he had ordered a house elf to pack, and tiptoed from his room hoping against hope that his locking charm would hold, if it did not… well let's just say that Narcissa would be looking for a new husband.
His socked feet took him quickly and quietly down the corridor to his son's room where he was greeted by a happy cry of "Daddy!"
The small boy was sitting cross legged on the floor, dressed in little blue jeans and trainers with a silver shirt embroidered with a dragon; his feet were comfortably encased in a pair of black plimsolls specifically designed for active young boys.
The chubby little face had lit up at the sight of his father entering the room, cheeks flushed with joy at seeing his dad again so early in the day; it was very rare that he even got to spend five minutes an evening with him. Lucius chuckled and ruffled his sons hair, kneeling down to look him in the eyes, eyes so similar to his own shining a warm grey with excitement, and speaking softly to him.
"Hello little Dragon" he smiled resting his hands on his sons small shoulders, "do you want to come and visit Uncle Severus with me?"
If possible, the smile on Draco's face grew even bigger as the prospect of seeing his second favourite person in the world entered his brain, threatening to split his face into two.
"Yes, Yes, Yes Please Daddy!" he cried happily playing with a strand of Lucius' hair that had fallen into his face, "But…" the smile vanished as quickly as it had appeared, tears welling up in his eyes "But I have… lessons" he whispered furtively glancing around as if afraid someone else would hear him.
Lucius smiled sadly and gently cupped a cheek in his hand, softly rubbing a thumb back and forth as he spoke soothingly in an attempt to ease his son's obvious fear.
"My little Dragon, you don't have to worry about Mummy's lessons any longer, how would you like to stay with Uncle Severus forever?" he asked softly, this was the moment of truth, if his son said yes then he wouldn't hesitate to leave this life behind. The sweet smile that his statement was rewarded with and the obvious relief his son emanated cemented his decision.
Without further ado, he swung his son up into his arms and walked from the room, striding purposefully across the grounds of the Manor, his son giggling happily as the wind rushed through their hair, dragging it in flowing rivers of silver behind them.
They were on their way to heaven.