True to her word, Hermione got in touch before she returned to Black Diamond, and as such Draco had made sure he was available to spend the evening with her. The pair ended up having a very enjoyable evening, with plenty of flirting taking place over the course of the night. At the end of the evening, they agreed that they should do it again sometime, but unfortunately for them both life had other plans. Just days after their evening together, Hermione received the biggest case in her career, while Red Diamond hit a few problems and Draco was needed to help sort them out. As a result, it meant the pair put a further meeting on the back burner as they were both swamped with work.
The business was pretty much all Draco thought about for nearly a month, therefore when his mother got in touch and asked him over to dinner one evening, he didn't think twice about agreeing. Since his talk with Lucius, his father had backed off and Draco was hoping that he'd put an end to his father's matchmaking schemes. Considering he was hoping to further things with Hermione once they both had a bit more free time and weren't swamped with work, the last thing he needed was for his father to be interfering in his love life.
When Draco arrived at the manor for dinner, he expected it be just him and his parents, so he was rather shocked to find the Greengrasses at the house. Jasper Greengrass and his wife, Emily, were in the front room along with their youngest daughter, Astoria. Draco was actually friends with the Greengrasses eldest daughter, Daphne, but there was no sign of her. Not that Draco was truly surprised by Daphne's absence as his friend now lived in France and she was considered the black sheep of the Greengrass family.
Much to her parents' disgust, Daphne had headed off to Paris the second she'd left Hogwarts to work for a major fashion designer. The opportunity was a once in a lifetime chance, although her parents didn't see it that way. They thought she should find herself a rich wizard and settle down, but Daphne had other plans. She wanted to be a fashion designer, so off she went to Paris to fulfil her ambition. The last Draco had heard, Daphne hadn't quite made it as a designer, but she was gaining valuable experience from living and working in Paris.
"I didn't realise we would be having company," Draco remarked as he politely greeted the Greengrasses.
"Did we forget to mention Jasper and his family would be dining with us?" Lucius asked, feigning innocence. "Sorry, I thought we'd mentioned it."
"Well you didn't," Draco replied.
"It's not a problem, is it?" Jasper asked, sensing some tension between father and son.
"Of course not," Draco said, giving the older wizard a polite smile. "It's very nice to see you all again, Mr Greengrass."
"Do call me Jasper, Draco," Jasper offered, taking Draco by surprise. Even though he'd known Jasper since he was a child, Draco had never been told to call him by his first name, it was always Mr Greengrass.
"How's Daphne?" Draco asked. "Is she still loving Paris?"
"Last we heard," Emily Greengrass replied, disapproval dripping from her voice like acid. "What she sees in that city is beyond me. And why she feels the need to actually work, is another mystery."
"Messing about with clothes isn't working," Astoria snorted. "She just likes the glamour of the fashion industry."
"Glamour isn't the word I would use," Jasper sniffed haughtily.
Grabbing himself a glass of fire-whisky from Lucius's bar, Draco fought the urge to comment on the Greengrasses snobbery. Unfortunately, their attitudes were all too common in the pure-blood wizarding community, and as always Draco had to work hard just to remain polite. He really had changed and grown up so much, it was often a struggle for him to be around his parents' friends and acquaintances. It looked like he was in for a long night, biting his tongue to stop himself from saying something rude.
The evening progressed pretty much as Draco expected, with dinner becoming a massive chore as he watched his parents and the Greengrasses display the beliefs and ideals he'd long since abandoned. To be honest, Draco had never felt as out of place at the manor before and it was leaving him with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd always known his parents hadn't changed their views as he had, but he hadn't realised just how much his views differed from theirs until this evening. For the first time, Draco began to see that he was never going to be the perfect son they wanted, not any more. Maybe at one time he could have fit into their mould of perfect pure-blood son, but those days were long behind him.
By the time dinner finished, Draco was lost in his own thoughts and all he wanted to do was head home. However, he did still have his manners and he knew it was impolite to leave before the Greengrasses. Instead, he somehow managed to get himself stuck giving Astoria a tour of the manor while their parents enjoyed an after dinner drink in the living room.
"I never knew this place was so large," Astoria remarked as Draco showed her around his childhood home.
"The clue is in its name. Manor's tend to be large houses," Draco replied as he led Astoria into his favourite room in the entire house, the library.
"This library is bigger than the one at Hogwarts," Astoria said.
"Yes, it is," Draco replied, a proud edge to his voice. Even though he no longer lived at home, he was still proud to call the manor his childhood home. "Do you want to venture further into the room, it's pretty impressive."
"I don't think so, libraries aren't my thing," Astoria replied as she turned on her heel and swept out of the room.
Biting his tongue, Draco followed Astoria out of the library and continued on with the tour. Astoria was pretty quiet throughout the tour, although Draco could see her eyes flicking all over the place and taking everything in. Ten minutes after leaving the library, Draco took Astoria into the large formal ballroom, which was where his parents held parties on special occasions. The room was twice the size of the Great Hall at Hogwarts, and the large floor to ceiling windows opened out into the beautiful gardens of the manor.
"This is spectacular," Astoria gushed, whirling around in the centre of the room and gazing up at the large, crystal chandelier that hung overhead. "I can't wait to host my first party in this room. I'm thinking a summer ball, and we can have the windows open so people can go outside. It'll be magical."
"Excuse me?" Draco frowned, not at all sure what Astoria was going on about. Why on earth would she be hosting any party at the manor?
"It doesn't have to be a large ball," Astoria said, thinking Draco was opposed to a large gathering. "Just a few friends and family."
"Just what are you on about Astoria?" Draco snapped. "Why on earth are you planning to host balls in my parents' house?"
"It'll be my house soon enough," Astoria replied with an elegant shrug of her shoulder. "And as lady of the manor, I intend to throw regular balls."
"Lady of the manor," Draco repeated in a hollow voice, a terrible thought creeping into his head.
"Won't it be wonderful?" Astoria gushed, not noticing, or just not caring, about Draco's apparent confusion. "I can't wait to become a Malfoy."
"And just how are you planning on doing that?" Draco asked snappishly as Astoria all but confirmed his worst fears.
"By marrying you of course," Astoria said with a girlish giggle. "I can't believe I'm going to marry Draco Malfoy. Of course you'll have to give up that seedy club you run with Blaise. Honestly, how your father ever let you get involved with that boy is a mystery. He's really not our class of person, Draco."
"Blaise is my best friend, and he's a damn sight better than you'll ever be," Draco replied sharply. "You're nothing but a money grabbing tart, Astoria, and I wouldn't marry you if you were the last witch on earth."
Astoria glared hatefully at Draco as her crystal blue eyes stormed over and her lips pulled back in a nasty sneer. "You don't have a choice, Draco. Our fathers have done the deal. Like it or not, I will be your wife."
"Over my dead body," Draco muttered as he turned on his heel and stormed out of the ballroom.
Not bothering to see if Astoria was following him, Draco stormed back to the living room. Bursting into the room, he found his mother sitting with Astoria's mother, quietly discussing something, while their fathers were over the opposite side of the room with their heads together.
"I don't believe you," Draco yelled, storming over to his father. "You just can't help yourself, can you?"
"Draco, what's wrong?" Narcissa questioned, quite taken aback by her son's outburst.
"He is what's wrong," Draco answered, furiously jabbing his finger in his father's direction. "Did you honestly think I would just lie back and let you run my life this way?"
"Draco, now is not the time," Lucius said sternly.
"Now is exactly the time," Draco retorted. "When were you planning on telling me that you'd arranged for me to marry Astoria?"
"You told me that Draco was on board with this plan, Lucius," Jasper said, turning to the blond wizard.
"He will be," Lucius said, trying to placate his old friend.
"He will not be," Draco corrected. "I've already told you, I will not get married just because you think it's time I settled down. I will also not be marrying someone of your choosing, especially if your choice is Astoria sodding Greengrass."
"And just what's wrong with me?" Astoria called from the doorway, having arrived back in the living room in time to hear Draco declare he wouldn't be marrying her.
"Where to begin," Draco chuckled humourlessly. "You're a vain, tiresome witch with the personality of a wet mop. There's a reason you're not already married Astoria, no bugger wants to be lumbered with a tart like you. You had a reputation as a slapper in school, always spreading your legs for the boys with money. Well, it's not going to work with me, you're not getting your hands on me or my money."
"This is outrageous," Jasper yelled as Astoria burst into loud tears and fled the room, her mother getting up and going rushing after her. "You haven't heard the last of this, Lucius." Turning to Draco, Jasper gave the young blond wizard a cold, deadly stare. "And you my boy are a disgrace. You're not a gentleman. You're a foul mouthed yob, and I wouldn't let my daughter marry you now even if you begged."
As Jasper turned and left the room with his head held high, Draco regretted losing his temper and lashing out. Everything he'd said about Astoria was true, but that didn't mean it wasn't hurtful and bad manners of him to say it. After all, it wasn't her fault that his father had tried to marry them off. It was Lucius he was angry at, and unfortunately, Astoria had gotten in the way and received a tongue lashing she probably didn't deserve.
"I hope you're happy now," Lucius said in a low growl, which Draco knew meant he was fuming and on the verge of losing his temper spectacularly.
"Not really, no," Draco replied, not caring if Lucius lost his temper. "Why would I be happy to discover my father doesn't respect my wishes? I politely asked you to stop interfering, and stupidly I thought you'd done so. I should have known better. I should have known you couldn't just back off and let me live my life."
"Maybe if you weren't making such a hash of your life, I wouldn't have to interfere," Lucius shot back, his temper hanging on by a thread. "Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for me having you as my son? You were once a boy I could be proud of, at least until you got involved with that Zabini brat."
"Don't," Draco hissed. "Don't you dare insult Blaise."
"Why? That boy has been nothing but trouble since he entered our lives," Lucius growled. "Don't think we don't know who was behind your change of heart regarding mud-bloods. We know he got inside your head and twisted your thinking."
"No, Blaise helped me to think for myself," Draco argued. "Without Blaise, I would just be another brainless puppet, doing what I was told and thinking what I was told to think. Blaise gave me a chance to be my own person, and you can't stand that."
"I can't stand that my only son has become an embarrassment," Lucius shouted, finally losing his cool. "I'm ashamed of you, Draco. Jasper was right, you are a yob. Thanks to Blaise, you're not the gentleman we brought you up to be. No self-respecting wizard runs clubs and bars. You're a joke."
"A joke you have no power over," Draco replied. His father's words hurt him deeply, but he pushed aside his hurt and focused on his anger. "You can't force me to get married just because it's what you think I should do."
"Can't I?" Lucius asked with a smirk, his grey eyes still flashing angrily as he glared at his son. "I've got news for you, Draco. Unless you toe the line, you're gone. Either you marry the witch I choose for you, which thanks to your outburst won't be Astoria, or I cut you off for good."
"I've already told you, I don't need your money," Draco replied.
"I'm not just talking money," Lucius said. "I'm talking cutting you out of the family. If you continue to rebel, Draco, I'll cut you off completely. You'll be dead to your mother and I."
Draco wanted to say Lucius was bluffing, but he just didn't think he was. He'd never seen his father so serious about something in his entire life. Hoping he would get some joy from his mother, Draco turned round to where Narcissa was standing behind him. Like him, she looked totally shell shocked by Lucius's ultimatum.
"Mother," he pleaded in a quiet voice.
"Your mother is with me," Lucius said sharply as he held out his hand for his wife.
Draco watched with horror as Narcissa reached for Lucius's hand and went to stand beside her husband.
"I'm sorry Draco, but your father is right," Narcissa said gently.
"He's right to force me to marry someone I don't love?" Draco demanded angrily. "Please. You've always been there for me, be there for me now. I don't need to get married to be a good son."
"I'm sorry Draco, but I agree with your father," Narcissa said, battling back the tears that threatened to spill. She didn't want to lose her son, but she knew he needed a wakeup call before it was too late. "It's time you took some responsibility in your life. It's time you married and had an heir. You can't live your entire life as Blaise Zabini's sidekick."
"Sidekick," Draco repeated the insult in a choked voice. Even with every insult his father had hurled at him, his mother's opinion of him stung the worst. "Is that all you think I am, Blaise's sidekick? His friend who just goes along with whatever he wants?"
"Isn't it?" Narcissa asked quietly. "The club business was his idea, not yours. You may be a partner, but how much say do you truly have? You're not living your dream, Draco, you're living Blaise's. Don't let him bring your entire life crashing down. Go home and think about what you truly want."
"I know what I truly want," Draco replied sadly. "I want parents who love me and respect me and my choices. I don't want to be forced into doing something I don't want to do. I'm sorry, I can't be the son you want. I will not marry someone you choose for me, and if you can't accept that then I guess this is the end."
"I guess it is," Lucius agreed with a single nod of his head.
Draco once again looked at his mother pleadingly, but she stood resolutely beside her husband. With heavy legs, and an even heavier heart, Draco turned around and exited the manor for what could very well be the last time in his life. He couldn't believe he'd just lost his parents, and part of him was hoping that it was just a blip and if he gave his father time he would come round. However, deep down he knew Lucius wouldn't just come round. His father meant what he said, and Draco knew that from this day forward he wasn't considered a part of the Malfoy family. He was on his own. He was all alone in the world, and he hated that his parents were more bothered about traditions and their reputation than about him and his happiness. It looked like he would have to make his own way in the world, without his parents in his life.
