All That We See or Seem by Aurora Middleton
Part Two: Draco Confronts Ron
~~**~~
"I have a bone to pick with you, Weasley," Draco Malfoy announced upon entering Professor Ron Weasley's classroom the next day during their shared free period.
Ron looked up reluctantly from a pile of papers he was marking liberally with red ink, peering at Draco over the tops of a pair of glasses he had been forced to invest in the year before.
"You've been hanging around Caleb far too much," he commented before turning his eyes back to his work.
"How do you mean?" Draco said, feeling as though his thunder had been stolen from him by the lack of a proper reaction on the part of his sort-of friend.
"You didn't used to be this abrupt," Ron told him. "You've lost all your Malfoy subtlety, I'm afraid."
"That could just be age," Draco replied, seating himself on top of a student desk. "Do you know I found a gray hair yesterday?"
Ron raised his head and his expression was one of deep puzzlement. "Draco, your hair is already silver," he said. "How can you tell if your hair is going gray?"
Draco glared at his colleague. "I can just tell, okay?" he said peevishly. "Anyway, that's beside the point. I really do have a bone to pick with you."
"I'm assuming this has something to do with Caleb," Ron said with a sigh, setting aside his stack of papers and removing his glasses. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before giving Draco his full attention.
"As you probably know, he had detention with me last night for the fourth time this week," he began, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle in his robes.
"Yes," Ron said. "He mentioned something about that when I spoke to him at breakfast this morning. Said you two had a bit of a talk."
"Yes, we did," Draco said, surprised. Maybe Caleb had gathered up enough courage to talk to his adopted father after all, he thought with rising hope.
"He didn't say what you talked about."
Damn.
There was a long pause as Draco worked out in his mind the most tactful way of going about the rest of the conversation he was forcing himself to have. He wondered idly if Caleb would be angry with him later when he found out his teacher had taken it upon himself to stick his nose in something that was really none of his business. Deep down, he knew it was necessary and so decided not to regret it.
"I assume you spoke to him about his behavior," Ron said slowly after the pause had dragged on for more than a minute.
"That was part of our conversation, yes," Draco said.
"What was the other part?" Ron asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. The gesture wasn't one of hostility, just intense curiosity. Draco got the feeling that Caleb didn't really talk to his adopted father much, thanks mostly to typical teenage rebelliousness, and therefore Ron envied anyone who was able to carry a conversation with the unusual boy he had raised.
Draco sighed and met Ron's eyes. "Well, after all of my questions concerning his behavior, Caleb had a question for me," Draco said. "A very serious question."
Now Ron was beginning to look alarmed. "Oh Merlin," he said.
"What?" Draco said.
"He didn't..ask you to sleep with him or anything, did he?" Ron asked.
Draco's jaw dropped. "Merlin, no! Where would you get an idea like that!"
Ron looked immediately relieved. "Sorry," he said. "It's just that, the way he talks about you all the time, I got the idea that he had a bit of a crush on you or something. I thought maybe from the way you were talking, he came on to you."
"No, nothing like that," Draco said. "In fact, it was almost the opposite. Unless you're a fan of Sophocles, but that's beside the point."
Ron's eyebrows furrowed. "What did he ask you, then?"
"He asked me if I was his other father," Draco said.
There was a short pause.
"That's ridiculous."
"Thanks a lot."
"Where would he get an idea like that?" Ron said.
"I asked him the same thing," Draco said. "Apparently he has a list in his mind of all the areas he and Harry diverge as far as personality and talents."
"Must be quite a list," Ron said wryly.
"Yeah, well, anyway, he decided for obvious reasons that these differences must have come from somewhere and apparently I match the criteria," Draco said.
"Except for the fact that you only slept with Harry a few times when we were sixteen and Harry was twenty when he had Caleb," Ron said.
"Right," Draco said, rolling his eyes a little at Ron's sarcasm.
"What did he say when you explained that to him?"
"He just kind of shrugged it off," Draco said, not wanting to hurt Ron by describing the boy's disappointment. "I told him if he wanted to know the answer to his question, he should probably talk to you."
"But?"
"He's scared," Draco said. "He doesn't want to hurt you." "He wouldn't hurt me," Ron said simply. "Actually, it would be a load off for me to be able to tell him."
"Then why haven't you told him before?"
"I was given strict instructions not to tell him until he showed open curiosity on the subject," Ron said. "And he never has before this."
"Whose instructions?" Draco asked.
Ron sighed and his gaze moved to the nearby window. "The other father."
"So you do know who he is," Draco said.
"Oh yes," Ron said. "You would, too, if you thought about it hard enough. I know you're dying to know."
Draco crossed his arms over his chest petulantly. "I never said that."
"But you radiate it," Ron said. "A lot of people do."
"So I've met this mystery man, then?" Draco said. "You realize it's going to drive me crazy until I figure it out."
"It really shouldn't take you that long to figure it out," Ron said. "Think about it, Draco. Sift out everything that Caleb has that's like Harry and look at what you have left over. Talent for potions. A perpetually raised eyebrow. A nasty sense of humor. Slytherin status. Black eyes. Anti-social behavior."
There was a long pause as Draco mulled these things over in his mind. As he thought, he commented, "You really shouldn't be telling me before you tell Caleb."
"Probably not. But I've no doubt that he'll go to you in search of consolation when I tell him, so you may as well know beforehand," Ron said.
Another pause.
"It's Snape, isn't it?" Draco said finally. His voice was heavy with the implications of what he was saying.
"According to what they both said to me," Ron said.
"Merlin," Draco breathed. "It really is quite obvious, isn't it?"
"A little too obvious sometimes," Ron said with an affectionate smile. "Sometimes he gets these looks on his face like he's going to take house points away from me if I dare open my mouth one more time. It's quite scary, actually."
Draco chuckled. "I can see that," he said. "No wonder they kept it a secret. Even after Voldemort was gone, it took forever for them to apprehend all the head Death Eaters. They wouldn't have hesitated to kill Caleb if they knew Snape had a son."
"Especially a son with the Boy Who Lived," Ron said. Then, bowing his head a little, added, "Or, rather, didn't."
"He did what he had to do," Draco said. "They both did."
Ron nodded, then sighed. "There are other things, too," he said. "It's going to be hard to tell him."
"What things?" Draco asked.
Ron looked at Draco for a long moment, obviously debating with himself over whether or not it was appropriate to share this much with his colleague. A few moments later, the battle was over and he said, very carefully,
"There was a twin."
Draco's jaw dropped for the second time in less than half an hour.
"A twin," Draco repeated, feeling stupid.
"An identical twin brother," Ron said. "Named Darien. He died shortly after he was born."
Draco took a moment to take all this in, realizing suddenly just how daunting the task in front of Ron really was. Finally, he let out an unexpected laugh and said,
"Can you imagine two Calebs running around? That would certainly be something."
"Please, I have nightmares about things like that," Ron replied with a laugh. Then his expression faded abruptly into one of deep grimness. "How am I going to tell him?"
"Do you want me to?"
"No," Ron said. "They both gave me the responsibility. I should follow through."
"He deserves to know."
"He deserved to know a long time ago," Ron said.
Part Two: Draco Confronts Ron
~~**~~
"I have a bone to pick with you, Weasley," Draco Malfoy announced upon entering Professor Ron Weasley's classroom the next day during their shared free period.
Ron looked up reluctantly from a pile of papers he was marking liberally with red ink, peering at Draco over the tops of a pair of glasses he had been forced to invest in the year before.
"You've been hanging around Caleb far too much," he commented before turning his eyes back to his work.
"How do you mean?" Draco said, feeling as though his thunder had been stolen from him by the lack of a proper reaction on the part of his sort-of friend.
"You didn't used to be this abrupt," Ron told him. "You've lost all your Malfoy subtlety, I'm afraid."
"That could just be age," Draco replied, seating himself on top of a student desk. "Do you know I found a gray hair yesterday?"
Ron raised his head and his expression was one of deep puzzlement. "Draco, your hair is already silver," he said. "How can you tell if your hair is going gray?"
Draco glared at his colleague. "I can just tell, okay?" he said peevishly. "Anyway, that's beside the point. I really do have a bone to pick with you."
"I'm assuming this has something to do with Caleb," Ron said with a sigh, setting aside his stack of papers and removing his glasses. He rubbed his eyes for a moment before giving Draco his full attention.
"As you probably know, he had detention with me last night for the fourth time this week," he began, smoothing an imaginary wrinkle in his robes.
"Yes," Ron said. "He mentioned something about that when I spoke to him at breakfast this morning. Said you two had a bit of a talk."
"Yes, we did," Draco said, surprised. Maybe Caleb had gathered up enough courage to talk to his adopted father after all, he thought with rising hope.
"He didn't say what you talked about."
Damn.
There was a long pause as Draco worked out in his mind the most tactful way of going about the rest of the conversation he was forcing himself to have. He wondered idly if Caleb would be angry with him later when he found out his teacher had taken it upon himself to stick his nose in something that was really none of his business. Deep down, he knew it was necessary and so decided not to regret it.
"I assume you spoke to him about his behavior," Ron said slowly after the pause had dragged on for more than a minute.
"That was part of our conversation, yes," Draco said.
"What was the other part?" Ron asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. The gesture wasn't one of hostility, just intense curiosity. Draco got the feeling that Caleb didn't really talk to his adopted father much, thanks mostly to typical teenage rebelliousness, and therefore Ron envied anyone who was able to carry a conversation with the unusual boy he had raised.
Draco sighed and met Ron's eyes. "Well, after all of my questions concerning his behavior, Caleb had a question for me," Draco said. "A very serious question."
Now Ron was beginning to look alarmed. "Oh Merlin," he said.
"What?" Draco said.
"He didn't..ask you to sleep with him or anything, did he?" Ron asked.
Draco's jaw dropped. "Merlin, no! Where would you get an idea like that!"
Ron looked immediately relieved. "Sorry," he said. "It's just that, the way he talks about you all the time, I got the idea that he had a bit of a crush on you or something. I thought maybe from the way you were talking, he came on to you."
"No, nothing like that," Draco said. "In fact, it was almost the opposite. Unless you're a fan of Sophocles, but that's beside the point."
Ron's eyebrows furrowed. "What did he ask you, then?"
"He asked me if I was his other father," Draco said.
There was a short pause.
"That's ridiculous."
"Thanks a lot."
"Where would he get an idea like that?" Ron said.
"I asked him the same thing," Draco said. "Apparently he has a list in his mind of all the areas he and Harry diverge as far as personality and talents."
"Must be quite a list," Ron said wryly.
"Yeah, well, anyway, he decided for obvious reasons that these differences must have come from somewhere and apparently I match the criteria," Draco said.
"Except for the fact that you only slept with Harry a few times when we were sixteen and Harry was twenty when he had Caleb," Ron said.
"Right," Draco said, rolling his eyes a little at Ron's sarcasm.
"What did he say when you explained that to him?"
"He just kind of shrugged it off," Draco said, not wanting to hurt Ron by describing the boy's disappointment. "I told him if he wanted to know the answer to his question, he should probably talk to you."
"But?"
"He's scared," Draco said. "He doesn't want to hurt you." "He wouldn't hurt me," Ron said simply. "Actually, it would be a load off for me to be able to tell him."
"Then why haven't you told him before?"
"I was given strict instructions not to tell him until he showed open curiosity on the subject," Ron said. "And he never has before this."
"Whose instructions?" Draco asked.
Ron sighed and his gaze moved to the nearby window. "The other father."
"So you do know who he is," Draco said.
"Oh yes," Ron said. "You would, too, if you thought about it hard enough. I know you're dying to know."
Draco crossed his arms over his chest petulantly. "I never said that."
"But you radiate it," Ron said. "A lot of people do."
"So I've met this mystery man, then?" Draco said. "You realize it's going to drive me crazy until I figure it out."
"It really shouldn't take you that long to figure it out," Ron said. "Think about it, Draco. Sift out everything that Caleb has that's like Harry and look at what you have left over. Talent for potions. A perpetually raised eyebrow. A nasty sense of humor. Slytherin status. Black eyes. Anti-social behavior."
There was a long pause as Draco mulled these things over in his mind. As he thought, he commented, "You really shouldn't be telling me before you tell Caleb."
"Probably not. But I've no doubt that he'll go to you in search of consolation when I tell him, so you may as well know beforehand," Ron said.
Another pause.
"It's Snape, isn't it?" Draco said finally. His voice was heavy with the implications of what he was saying.
"According to what they both said to me," Ron said.
"Merlin," Draco breathed. "It really is quite obvious, isn't it?"
"A little too obvious sometimes," Ron said with an affectionate smile. "Sometimes he gets these looks on his face like he's going to take house points away from me if I dare open my mouth one more time. It's quite scary, actually."
Draco chuckled. "I can see that," he said. "No wonder they kept it a secret. Even after Voldemort was gone, it took forever for them to apprehend all the head Death Eaters. They wouldn't have hesitated to kill Caleb if they knew Snape had a son."
"Especially a son with the Boy Who Lived," Ron said. Then, bowing his head a little, added, "Or, rather, didn't."
"He did what he had to do," Draco said. "They both did."
Ron nodded, then sighed. "There are other things, too," he said. "It's going to be hard to tell him."
"What things?" Draco asked.
Ron looked at Draco for a long moment, obviously debating with himself over whether or not it was appropriate to share this much with his colleague. A few moments later, the battle was over and he said, very carefully,
"There was a twin."
Draco's jaw dropped for the second time in less than half an hour.
"A twin," Draco repeated, feeling stupid.
"An identical twin brother," Ron said. "Named Darien. He died shortly after he was born."
Draco took a moment to take all this in, realizing suddenly just how daunting the task in front of Ron really was. Finally, he let out an unexpected laugh and said,
"Can you imagine two Calebs running around? That would certainly be something."
"Please, I have nightmares about things like that," Ron replied with a laugh. Then his expression faded abruptly into one of deep grimness. "How am I going to tell him?"
"Do you want me to?"
"No," Ron said. "They both gave me the responsibility. I should follow through."
"He deserves to know."
"He deserved to know a long time ago," Ron said.
