All That I'm Living For
"A letter," Draco said. "From Olivier." He handed the parchment to Tonks.
"Wotcher," she said, taking it from him. She knew he read her letters to and from Oli, and though it annoyed her, she couldn't really blame him. She unfolded the letter and read:
Hello Tonks!
I hope this letter finds you well. Hogwarts is suiting me very well still. Thank you for your last letter. It made all of my companions very jealous to know that I knew a metamorphmagus. None of them have ever met someone who can do that. I shall write at the end of this week. Give my love to Ginny and the baby.
Olivier
She folded the letter and set it on top of the other ones. His letters to her were always short and formal. She had a feeling that he knew Draco was wary of them getting too close. She was always kept at arms distance from the boy, even when she was tutoring him, and he had to have picked up on it. She got up and walked down the hall to the nursery, where Ginny was feeding Celeste.
"Wotcher, Ginny," she said quietly. "Oli write to you?"
"He did."
Something in Ginny's tone made Tonks worry. "He sounded fine when he wrote to me."
"That's because he knows Draco doesn't want you to get too close to him. And he's starting to wonder why. He's been having problems with one of the other boys in Slytherin."
"How do you know this? Doesn't Draco read your letters anymore?"
"He does, but Oli's…very clever in how he hides what he wants to know. It may be that Draco knows and hasn't said anything yet, but I don't think he's figured it out."
"How does he do it?"
"You remember how Harry revised the map before he…before he died?"
"Yes."
Ginny finished burping Celeste before setting her gently into the crib. "Oli's figured out the Order's code that Harry wrote it in."
"Every Death Eater from here to Russia has tried to figure out that code!" Tonks said in an awed whisper. "You're telling me an eleven-year-old bested them?"
"They didn't have the map to study every day. All they had were scraps of our correspondence and the few papers they found when they raided our dens. Oli has the map, and he already knows the building and his friends' names."
"Two plus two equals four. I get it," Tonks said, nodding. "So what's going on with his classmate?"
"It's one of Draco's colleague's children. He keeps saying Oli's from a traitor family. It's got Oli asking questions."
"That could be bad."
"I don't know whether or not to tell Draco. I'm waiting to see if Oli can handle it before I bring him into it."
"That's probably a good idea."
"What do you think?" Draco asked.
Blaise chuckled, looking up at the wall. "I think you've got too much time on your hands, mate."
Draco smirked at him. "Time well spent though. Besides, it might help if I can apply it to other things. A map of Hogwarts won't really be useful to the Dark Lord, but hopefully I'll be able to apply it to other things."
"And why the need to watch your adopted son's every movement?"
"I don't watch his every movement," Draco said, glancing toward the wall. A silver symbol was currently stationary in the History of Magic Classroom. "I like being able to check on him though. He's going to start having questions soon, I can feel it. Keeping him under control might be difficult."
"Well…" Blaise said, sitting next to Draco. "Maybe that won't be necessary?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, there's…many different styles of bullying, as you know. Oli's sensitive. I've talked to him, he craves affection. Understandable after what he's been through. There's no need to…take Lucius's line of parenting, shall we say? No, better to be a father to him. That's what he wants. Then your guidance is right, no matter what other…er…unwholesome influences may spring up."
"I so enjoy your company, Blaise," Draco said, laughing. "You remind me why logic is important."
"Well, I do what I can. How's the other Reformer doing?"
"Who, Charlie? He's…" Draco broke off, rubbing his face. "He's not adjusting as well as I'd hoped. I think the only things keeping him grounded are Ginny and the baby. I'm waiting to see how things progress."
"Indeed. I should be going," Blaise said, checking his watch.
"Hot date tonight?" Draco smirked at him.
"Yes, in fact. She was a Ravenclaw, a few years behind us."
"Well, I won't hold you up. You've got to go primp, I'm sure."
Blaise slugged Draco good naturedly on the arm. "Cheers," he said, exiting the office.
Draco looked back at his own Marauder's Map and smiled. He watched Oli walk with a few other boys down to the Great Hall for lunch. Clearing the map, he pulled a blank sheet of parchment toward him and picked up his quill. Oli, he wrote,
It's very good to hear from you. Ginny sends her love, and Celeste is doing well. I hope you're enjoying your courses. It can be a little hectic once the year gets into motion, but don't worry, you'll do fine. I miss you dreadfully. If you need anything of me or Ginny, don't be afraid to ask. Write soon. I'll see you at Christmas. ~Draco
Draco read over the letter a few times as the ink dried, surprised that he actually meant all of it. He had already, unconsciously, been trying to father Oli. The fact that someone else thought the boy wanted this attention was comforting in a way. He blinked a couple of times, before folding the parchment and sealing it. With a deep breath, he set the letter in the mail pile and walked out of the office. He crossed the landing and went down a back set of stairs into the library. "Ginny?" he called softly.
"I'm over here," she said.
He walked through the maze of shelves, and found her curled up on one of the couches, reading. "What do you have, there?"
"The Grimme Mystique." She held up the romance novel for him to inspect.
He chuckled. "I've had a letter from Mother. She wants to see you and Celeste."
"When?"
"This weekend. I'll be working, and Father will be with me. Would you like to see her? Tonks could be there with the both of you, if that would make you more comfortable."
"Sure," Ginny said.
"Good, then I'll write back to her. Join me for dinner?"
"I will."
Draco smiled and left Ginny to her reading.