Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter…wish I had thought of it first!
Thank you to all of you who have read and reviewed and to my amazing BETA KR1571AN
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Muggle Way
Draco stood proudly beside his horse, holding up a large, blue ribbon with a gold number 2 in the center as his mother snapped a picture. He had taken second in Show Jumping, which was a heck of a lot better than he had expected to. Narcissa was beaming with joy.
"Oh Draco, I'm so proud of you," she gushed pulling her thirteen year old son into her arms.
"Thanks, mum. I actually did a lot better than I was expecting, but I suppose that just goes to show how great I really am."
Narcissa rolled her eyes at her son's haughty comment, but said nothing knowing it was said mostly in jest. Unlike her husband, when Draco said such things you could see the glint of mirth in his grey-blue eyes.
"I suppose that's true," came a different female voice, a much younger and oh so familiar voice, "but then what does that make the muggle girl who won 1st place?"
"Mione!" Draco instantly broke out into a huge grin before pulling his best-friend into a tight hug. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm not thrilled to see you just…surprised."
"Your mum called my parents two nights ago and asked us if we would be willing to make the trip to see you compete."
"Really?"
"Oh yes," Hermione nodded, "it was amazing to see you on your horse, Draco, so gracefully yet so powerful. You were amazing, really."
"Thanks, Hermione, that's really nice of you to say."
"She's simply speaking the truth, dear," Narcissa spoke up, "you did do magnificently."
"Only because you taught me, mom."
Narcissa smiled down at her so, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder before moving her gaze up to the muggle couple standing just behind Hermione."You must be Dr. and Mrs. Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you both."
Draco could see the unease that suddenly filled his mother's eyes, his mother didn't loath muggles like his father but he supposed she was rather indifferent to them, mostly because she simply didn't understand them.
"Yes, we are, I must say it's nice to finally put a face with the name," Hermione's mother chimed in. "Hermione mentioned meeting you once or twice," she added glancing down at her daughter.
"Yes, at Kings Cross, though we didn't really have much of a chance to…chat." Narcissa spoke as she gazed down at the curly haired Gryffindor, "though I can honestly say I feel as if I know her quite well as Draco talks of almost nothing but her."
Hermione couldn't help the blush that rushed to her cheeks, nor could Draco. "Thanks mum," he mumbled under his breath.
"Well, Draco, why don't you go shower and change, I'll put away Hercules, and then all of us can meet by the front gates?" Narcissa suggested.
"Okay," Draco agreed taking his horsed reigns and handing then to his mother, "but what are we doing next?"
"I'm not sure, but I do believe the Grangers have a lovely afternoon planned."
Draco's brow furrowed, it sounded as if they would be spending the rest of the day with the Grangers, but without knowing what the unfamiliar muggles had planned. That seemed a little too trusting on his mother's part.
"Indeed we do," Mr. Granger spoke up, "Hermione made a very thorough itinerary, didn't you sweetheart?"
"Oh course," Hermione said, "hopefully we won't go over on time, I really would like you both to see everything I have planned."
Narcissa held back a small laugh, Draco had said the girl was highly organized, but what thirteen year old child plans out a daily itinerary, and what parents would allow their child to do so in the first place? "Well, if by some chance we don't, you can finish up whatever is left on your itinerary when Draco visits next week," she quickly suggested.
"Yes, that's true, but you won't be with us next week, Mrs. Malfoy and I was really hoping to show you around muggle London. Draco said you'd never been."
Narcissa eyes turned to her son, who in turn let out a nervous chuckle, "I may have mentioned that I didn't believe you were very well acquainted with the city outside of Diagon Alley," He admitted.
"Well," she said looking back to Hermione, "I will admit I have not spent much time in London other then the small section of our community, but I'm sure our time today will be…interesting if nothing else," she said looking back at her son, "now go change, we wouldn't want to take time away from Hermione's itinerary, now would we?"
XXX
Harry had been listening to The Beetles on his mother's old record player for nearly an hour now. Although Potter Manor was not equipped with modern electricity, Remus had shown him a rather handy little Charm that enabled it to run without it. Apparently his mother had invented it for the sole purpose of being able to listen to her muggle music at Hogwarts. His mother truly was brilliant! She had only a handful of records in her trunk, half of which were by the Beetles, but a couple by The Rolling Stones, The Police and some group called the Sex Pistols, which the name of the band alone caused a slight blush to rise to his cheeks.
Remus had been more than happy to share the story of Lily and her music and had mentioned that she had once had a collection of over a hundred records. Harry had briefly wondered what had happened to the rest of them?
"Your mother loved music Harry, and she was quite talented in the area as well. Not only was she in the choir, but she played the piano and guitar. Lily was a truly magnificent woman."
Harry, of course loved to hear stories about his parents, it made him feel that much closer to them, but at the same time it hurt as well, because although it was great to known his mum could sing like an angel, he'd never actually get to hear her. Putting aside the old photo album, which he had looked through more times than he could count, Harry picked up the shoe box full of letters and pictures and started to sort through it.
XXX
Narcissa found herself surprisingly interested as she made her way alongside her son and the Grangers through the British Museum. She had never learned much about muggle history growing up and what she was told was far from positive, but as she listened to the guide and looked eagerly at the exhibits, she couldn't help but be interested by what she heard. It truly was ingenious the things these muggles came up with to compensate for lack of magic, she heard of a telephone but to see how exactly it came about and the concept behind it was incredibly fascinating. Not that she would ever admit this to anyone but herself.
"If any of you are visiting us for the first time," the guide spoke up suddenly, "you should note that we do not normally feature the exhibit on Alexander Gram Bell, however we currently have it on loan from the Smithsonian in Washington D.C, America."
As Draco, Hermione and the Grangers moved to the life sized figure of the American inventor, Narcissa's eyes moved a large poster that outlined his research and eventual creation of the original telephone transmitter.
"Considering installing a telephone at the Manor, Narcissa?" The blond witch smiled at the sound of Severus' soothing voice, she couldn't see him as he was under a disillusionment charm and had been since they arrived for the Riding Competition, but she could feel the soft, warm hum of his magic. She had asked, no pleaded for him to secretly come along, knowing that his presence alone would calm her in the unfamiliar situation.
"I do not believe Lucius would be receptive to the idea," she whispered, her eyes moving to her son.
Draco leaned in and whispered something in Hermione's ear, which caused the girl to blush and then playfully swat him on the shoulder.
"Are you sure it was wise to allow him to see her…here?"
"It's safer then risking someone seeing them together in our world."
"Perhaps, but truthfully I do not know why you are allowing him to see her at all after the stunt he tried to pull."
Narcissa sighed, "That's exactly why I'm allowing this, it will pacify him."
"So you believe he would attempt to threaten us with blackmail once again? I find that hard to believe especially after my little…chat with him."
"No, I don't, but…as …different as Draco is turning out to be from his father, I can still see Lucius in him from time to time, and…it frightens me."
Severus had been incredibly disappointed when Narcissa revealed what Draco had attempted to do; he had thought his Godson above such treacherous actions. Yes it was very cunning, very…Slytherin of him, and if his tactics had been used in a different circumstance, say against Lucius himself, then he may have even been proud of the boy, but that wasn't the case and so he had made the decision to deal with the issue swiftly and thoroughly.
She had brought Draco to Snape's home in Spinners End for a 'visit'. Severus wasted no time telling the boy exactly what he thought of his despicable actions, not shying away from the possible consequences that could have happened had he actually gone to Lucius.
"I'm, not excusing what we are doing," Severus had clarified, "but you had no right to use this against us, not in the way you did. She is your mother, Draco! Your Mother! You could have risked her very life, and for what, to see your Gryffindor know-it-all for a single day. A day! I thought better of you, I thought you were above such ruthlessness, but perhaps I was wrong, perhaps you are just like your father."
Draco had shaken his head adamantly, as he fought back the tears. "No, NO, I'll never be like him."
Draco knew Severus was right, it was beyond selfish and although he hadn't thought about it at the time it truly could put his mother's and Severus' life in danger. And while he hated being lectured like a child, that was exactly how he had acted, like a self absorbed, little monster who only thought of his own needs, his own wants. He had acted just like the old Draco Malfoy, the Draco he swore on his mother's grave that he would never again become.
After nearly an hour of berating the boy and his actions, Severus Snape did something he hadn't done to Draco since the child was six-years old…he spanked him.
He wasn't brutal like Lucius was when he disciplined, he would never cause the boy lasting physical pain, but he would make sure the Draco's bum stung long enough for the seriousness of his situation to sink in.
"Mum, you coming?"
Narcissa turned to her son who was waving her over, the rest of the tour group had already started to move on toward the next exhibit.
"Yes, I'm coming."
XXX
Harry was glad Remus had gone, because he didn't want to have to explain the tears that had welled up in his eyes. He had been more than a little surprised to find several pictures of his mother as a child and young teen alongside a thin black haired boy with a hooked nose ; it didn't take long for Harry to realize the boy was Severus Snape. He had known Snape had gone to school with his parents, Remus had mentioned it a couple of times, but he had no idea they had been friends.
The letters were all written after May of 1975, most of them were from Snape begging for Lily to be his friend once again. That he missed her, needed her, that life wasn't the same without her. He apologized over and over, pleading that he did not mean to call her that name. That name. He never said what the name was, but Harry had a pretty good guess of it.
MudBlood
He had written over three hundred letters, in many he simply begged for Lily to meet with him, to talk to him, some he lashed out in anger, in pain, as his once best-friend dated, married and had a child with the very man she had once hated as much as Snape himself. Harry had been shocked to read Snape's numerous recounts of his father and the "Marauders' had 'pranked' the Slytherin, often to the point that he ended up in the hospital wing. Harry's first response was to call Snape a liar, explain away his words were nothing but dribble from a desperate man, but then…he thought of Dudley, and how his cousin had been able to bully and beat him with absolutely no consequence.
Had James Potter been just like his cousin Dudley?
Why had no one told him any of this before? Well, Snape had, he was always going on about how arrogant and full of himself Harry's dad had been. Harry's hadn't believed him of course, why would he when everyone else all but made it sound like the sun shined out of his backside. But then again, who would want to speak ill of the dead, well except Snape.
It was the very last letter Snape had written that had Harry in tears; it was dated October, 15th, two weeks before her death.
My Dearest Lily,
I have not given up hope that you will one day write me. In that you have not once returned my letters shows that there is, at least a glimmer of hope that we can one day be together. Lily, I must confess something to you, something I do not know if I would ever have the courage to tell you in person, if that were even possible.
I love you. I am in love with you. Deeply in love with you.
I always have been. Since we were children I had known that our souls belonged together. As a teenager I would dream of marrying you, moving to a small cottage by the beach, just like the one we used to go to as kids during summer holiday. It would have been the perfect place to raise our family.
I know you worked in the Department of Mysteries for a short time, but for some reason I always thought of you as a Healer. I would work in Potions of course, but from home so I could stay home with our children. We would have two, a boy and a girl, both as amazing and as beautiful as their mother.
Of course my dream will never come true for you have chosen another. I will die young and alone and I will welcome it, if I cannot have you then there is no point in living. All I ask is that you forgive me for my sin my sweet Lily. I made a mistake, I went down the dark path, but I have turned to the light, and I will fight for you with every ounce of strength I possess for as long as I wander this earth.
I love you Lily. Never forget that, above all else, I will always love you.
Your best-friend,
Severus Tobias Snape.
Please Review