Grace of the Devil
Part Eighteen:
As Lucius poured tea into the two large, delicate cups, he glanced over at his daughter and smiled to himself. She was finally home again, after a nine month stay at school. Gone all fall, winter and spring, she was finally home again for the summer. Blessed summer, Lucius thought, focusing his attention back to his daughter's teacup before the liquid spilled over.
"One lump or two?"
The question seemed to startle Grace out of some faraway dream land, for she jumped and stared at her father. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked, one lump of sugar, or two?" Lucius examined his daughter. A glazed, dreamy look was leaving her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized again. "Two, please." Lucius stirred the lumps in, and handed the teacup with it's matching little plate to his daughter. "Thank you," she said softly, leaning back in her armchair. Lucius took his own tea and sat in the chair across from Grace, with the little coffee table between them.
"I can't believe you're finally home," Lucius said, for about the millionith time since she'd arrived the day before. Grace smiled shyly and sipped her tea silently. She'd been acting strangly since she'd come home...like she had something to hide. Lucius tried to tell himself that it was because she'd been away for so long that she was acting strange, that she needed time to get used to things, then she'd act like herself again.
But he didn't particularly like that explaination. After all, Malfoy Manor was her home. And she was away from home way too much.
But Lucius steered his mind from his thoughts and started a conversation with his daughter. "So, you took the O.W.L.s this year, darling?" Grace nodded again.
"Oh, yes," she sighed. "They were quite brutal."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Lucius said sincerly. The thought of his little girl working so hard worried him even more. "But I'm sure you did fine. You're so smart."
"I hope so," Grace said. "I need to keep all my classes, and I have to have done well if the professors will take me on."
"You need to keep all your classes?" Lucius was curious now. "Aren't you going to drop some? Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts...Potions, at least."
"Oh, no!" Grace cried with a little laugh. "No, I have to take them all. Even Potions," she said, making a face.
Lucius wondered what career his daughter could possibly be thinking of that would involve all of those tough classes. He'd been hoping that, after O.W.L.s, she'd be able to take it easy for her last two years. And here she goes, bogging herself down with MORE classes! he thought. "You got your career advirsory this year, as well?"
Grace nodded. "Oh, yes. I hadn't really been thinking about what I wanted to be before, you know? But after speaking with Professor Flitwick..." She seemed hesitant to continue about the meeting with her Head of House, and took a long sip of her tea. As a further stalling, she reached to the coffee table for a ginger biscuit and nibbled it slowly.
"Well? What advice did old Fliwick give you?" Lucius asked, fighting to keep the impatience out of his voice. Why was she being so shy about this? It's ME! he thought, exasperated.
"We had a really long meeting," Grace said, avoiding the subject. "He said it was sort of hard to decide a career for me. But after going through the pamphlets and things, we figured something out. I think it's perfect for me."
"Well...?"
"But it'll take a lot of hard work," Grace continued, and Lucius could tell that she was avoiding his eyes. "I have to get at least an "O" in all of my classes for my N.E.W.T.s. Hard work, but I think I can do it."
"What job could possibly require such hard work?" Lucius demanded. Grace looked at him after taking yet another slow sip of her tea.
"I was thinking of...and please, don't judge harshly-"
"Grace!" Lucius scolded. "Oh with it!"
"I was thinking of becoming...an Auror."
Lucius nearly dropped his teacup. He stared at the girl across from him, his small, swarthy, dark-haired daughter. "Grace-"
"Please, Daddy, don't!" she cried, nearly spilling tea on her dress. "Please, don't say anything about it!"
"I can't put my two cents in?"
"No!" Grace cried. Lucius was hurt...she doesn't even care how I feel about this, Lucius thought. But he was going to tell her anyway.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Gracie."
"Stop, Daddy!" she cried.
"Aurors are supposed to be big, and men," Lucius continued calmly. "You're a tiny little girl."
"I'm not-"
"Now, Gracie," Lucius said gently, "please, be reasonable. Being an Auror just isn't right for you."
"Flitwick thinks I can!" Grace cried defensively. "HE doesn't think I'm too small."
"My darling," Lucius said softly, "NOBODY looks too small to Flitwick."
"I don't care what you say," Grace said stubbornly, looking away. "I'll be an Auror. I don't care."
Lucius sighed and placed his tea on the coffee table. Time to talk some sense into her, silly little girl, he thought affectionatly. "Gracie, look at me."
Reluctantly, the girl turned to face her father again. He smiled at her, a gentle smile. "Now, now, my dear," he said softly, "you mustn't get upset."
"But-"
"No, Gracie," Lucius said softly. "Let me speak. I've been thinking a lot about your future. For years. And being an Auror...well, that just doesn't fit with my plans."
"You don't think I can do it," Grace said, looking down again. "You don't think I'm smart enough."
"You know that's not true," Lucius said firmly. "It's just, being an Auror is a huge risk. You could die on any given day. Do you want to live your life like that? Do you want ME to worry about you, day after day?"
Grace sighed. "No, Daddy," she said obediantly.
"Now, darling," Lucius said kindly, "I don't doubt your intelligence, not in the least. Which is why I think you should be a Healer."
"A...Healer?" Grace looked at her father, a little interest in her eyes.
"Yes," Lucius said, encouraged to continue. "It's not an easy job, but it's not nearly as life-threatening as being an Auror. You still have to take a lot of classes. You could work at St. Mungo's. I've made many donations there, for years. I still do." Perhaps it will be my key back to better society...and Grace's, he thought. "It should be very easy to get you a job there. And your talents will be appreciated. Doesn't that sound good to you?"
"Yes, Daddy," Grace said softly.
"Didn't old Flitwick present you with this option?" Lucius asked. The old fool, he thought.
"He did," Grace said slowly. "But being an Auror just seemed more...appealing."
"I wouldn't find going out and getting yourself killed to be APPEALING," Lucius said sniffily. Grace flinched slightly, and Lucius felt a little guilty. "Now, darling, don't be discouraged. Flitwick couldn't possibly know what's best for you."
"Of course not."
"Daddy knows best," Lucius said, and Grace nodded in agreement. And that was that. "Enough of this subject," Lucius continued, picking his tea back up from the coffee table. "Now...how was that Yule Ball that you had to miss coming home for?"
"It was fun," Grace said simply.
"Did you, ah, have a date?" Lucius was afraid to know the answer. His daughter was lovely, and it didn't just take an overly proud parent like himself to see that. It was just a fact, and he was scared that many boys would be after her.
"Just a friend," Grace said simply.
"Really?" Lucius was relieved. His little girl was far too young for a boyfriend. Why does the damned school have to have balls for little children, anyway? he thought bitterly. "What is his name?"
"Micheal...Winston," she lied quickly. "Muggle-born."
"Ah," Lucius said, feeling a bit disaproving. But, ever since he found out that his own daughter was a half-Muggle, his discrimination towards non-purebloods had faded. Not completely, of course, but enough to at least TOLERATE his daughter hanging out with them. It could be worse, he thought. She could've gone with a Potter or Weasley or something...
"But just as friends."
"I understood that," Lucius said softly, feeling a bit suspcious that she'd repeated herself. No, she's just trying to reassure me, he told himself. Sweet girl. Darling girl. "Well, I just hope that you had fun."
"I did," Grace said. "Loads. But the dances were strange."
"Strange?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I thought I taught you how to dance."
"You did, but...the music, was just not...right."
Lucius laughed. "Perhaps we are a bit behind on the times, my dear. What is the dancing like now, then?"
Grace made a disgusted face. "Just a bunch of people bumping into each other, rubbing against..." She stopped, looking embarressed. "But Micheal didn't try any of that with me."
"Good," Lucius said. "This Micheal sounds like a very nice boy."
"He is," Grace said quickly. "He's a very good friend to me."
"That's good, darling," Lucius said with a smile. "It's always good to have good friends."
If Lucius had known HOW good of friends Grace and Micheal were, he would've freaked out. If he'd known that Micheal WINSTON was indeed a WEASLEY, he would've taken his wand, found the boy, and killed him, slowly. But he remained blissfully ignorant.
And Grace, it seemed, intended to keep him that way.
Part Eighteen:
As Lucius poured tea into the two large, delicate cups, he glanced over at his daughter and smiled to himself. She was finally home again, after a nine month stay at school. Gone all fall, winter and spring, she was finally home again for the summer. Blessed summer, Lucius thought, focusing his attention back to his daughter's teacup before the liquid spilled over.
"One lump or two?"
The question seemed to startle Grace out of some faraway dream land, for she jumped and stared at her father. "I'm sorry, what?"
"I asked, one lump of sugar, or two?" Lucius examined his daughter. A glazed, dreamy look was leaving her eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized again. "Two, please." Lucius stirred the lumps in, and handed the teacup with it's matching little plate to his daughter. "Thank you," she said softly, leaning back in her armchair. Lucius took his own tea and sat in the chair across from Grace, with the little coffee table between them.
"I can't believe you're finally home," Lucius said, for about the millionith time since she'd arrived the day before. Grace smiled shyly and sipped her tea silently. She'd been acting strangly since she'd come home...like she had something to hide. Lucius tried to tell himself that it was because she'd been away for so long that she was acting strange, that she needed time to get used to things, then she'd act like herself again.
But he didn't particularly like that explaination. After all, Malfoy Manor was her home. And she was away from home way too much.
But Lucius steered his mind from his thoughts and started a conversation with his daughter. "So, you took the O.W.L.s this year, darling?" Grace nodded again.
"Oh, yes," she sighed. "They were quite brutal."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Lucius said sincerly. The thought of his little girl working so hard worried him even more. "But I'm sure you did fine. You're so smart."
"I hope so," Grace said. "I need to keep all my classes, and I have to have done well if the professors will take me on."
"You need to keep all your classes?" Lucius was curious now. "Aren't you going to drop some? Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts...Potions, at least."
"Oh, no!" Grace cried with a little laugh. "No, I have to take them all. Even Potions," she said, making a face.
Lucius wondered what career his daughter could possibly be thinking of that would involve all of those tough classes. He'd been hoping that, after O.W.L.s, she'd be able to take it easy for her last two years. And here she goes, bogging herself down with MORE classes! he thought. "You got your career advirsory this year, as well?"
Grace nodded. "Oh, yes. I hadn't really been thinking about what I wanted to be before, you know? But after speaking with Professor Flitwick..." She seemed hesitant to continue about the meeting with her Head of House, and took a long sip of her tea. As a further stalling, she reached to the coffee table for a ginger biscuit and nibbled it slowly.
"Well? What advice did old Fliwick give you?" Lucius asked, fighting to keep the impatience out of his voice. Why was she being so shy about this? It's ME! he thought, exasperated.
"We had a really long meeting," Grace said, avoiding the subject. "He said it was sort of hard to decide a career for me. But after going through the pamphlets and things, we figured something out. I think it's perfect for me."
"Well...?"
"But it'll take a lot of hard work," Grace continued, and Lucius could tell that she was avoiding his eyes. "I have to get at least an "O" in all of my classes for my N.E.W.T.s. Hard work, but I think I can do it."
"What job could possibly require such hard work?" Lucius demanded. Grace looked at him after taking yet another slow sip of her tea.
"I was thinking of...and please, don't judge harshly-"
"Grace!" Lucius scolded. "Oh with it!"
"I was thinking of becoming...an Auror."
Lucius nearly dropped his teacup. He stared at the girl across from him, his small, swarthy, dark-haired daughter. "Grace-"
"Please, Daddy, don't!" she cried, nearly spilling tea on her dress. "Please, don't say anything about it!"
"I can't put my two cents in?"
"No!" Grace cried. Lucius was hurt...she doesn't even care how I feel about this, Lucius thought. But he was going to tell her anyway.
"I don't think it's a good idea, Gracie."
"Stop, Daddy!" she cried.
"Aurors are supposed to be big, and men," Lucius continued calmly. "You're a tiny little girl."
"I'm not-"
"Now, Gracie," Lucius said gently, "please, be reasonable. Being an Auror just isn't right for you."
"Flitwick thinks I can!" Grace cried defensively. "HE doesn't think I'm too small."
"My darling," Lucius said softly, "NOBODY looks too small to Flitwick."
"I don't care what you say," Grace said stubbornly, looking away. "I'll be an Auror. I don't care."
Lucius sighed and placed his tea on the coffee table. Time to talk some sense into her, silly little girl, he thought affectionatly. "Gracie, look at me."
Reluctantly, the girl turned to face her father again. He smiled at her, a gentle smile. "Now, now, my dear," he said softly, "you mustn't get upset."
"But-"
"No, Gracie," Lucius said softly. "Let me speak. I've been thinking a lot about your future. For years. And being an Auror...well, that just doesn't fit with my plans."
"You don't think I can do it," Grace said, looking down again. "You don't think I'm smart enough."
"You know that's not true," Lucius said firmly. "It's just, being an Auror is a huge risk. You could die on any given day. Do you want to live your life like that? Do you want ME to worry about you, day after day?"
Grace sighed. "No, Daddy," she said obediantly.
"Now, darling," Lucius said kindly, "I don't doubt your intelligence, not in the least. Which is why I think you should be a Healer."
"A...Healer?" Grace looked at her father, a little interest in her eyes.
"Yes," Lucius said, encouraged to continue. "It's not an easy job, but it's not nearly as life-threatening as being an Auror. You still have to take a lot of classes. You could work at St. Mungo's. I've made many donations there, for years. I still do." Perhaps it will be my key back to better society...and Grace's, he thought. "It should be very easy to get you a job there. And your talents will be appreciated. Doesn't that sound good to you?"
"Yes, Daddy," Grace said softly.
"Didn't old Flitwick present you with this option?" Lucius asked. The old fool, he thought.
"He did," Grace said slowly. "But being an Auror just seemed more...appealing."
"I wouldn't find going out and getting yourself killed to be APPEALING," Lucius said sniffily. Grace flinched slightly, and Lucius felt a little guilty. "Now, darling, don't be discouraged. Flitwick couldn't possibly know what's best for you."
"Of course not."
"Daddy knows best," Lucius said, and Grace nodded in agreement. And that was that. "Enough of this subject," Lucius continued, picking his tea back up from the coffee table. "Now...how was that Yule Ball that you had to miss coming home for?"
"It was fun," Grace said simply.
"Did you, ah, have a date?" Lucius was afraid to know the answer. His daughter was lovely, and it didn't just take an overly proud parent like himself to see that. It was just a fact, and he was scared that many boys would be after her.
"Just a friend," Grace said simply.
"Really?" Lucius was relieved. His little girl was far too young for a boyfriend. Why does the damned school have to have balls for little children, anyway? he thought bitterly. "What is his name?"
"Micheal...Winston," she lied quickly. "Muggle-born."
"Ah," Lucius said, feeling a bit disaproving. But, ever since he found out that his own daughter was a half-Muggle, his discrimination towards non-purebloods had faded. Not completely, of course, but enough to at least TOLERATE his daughter hanging out with them. It could be worse, he thought. She could've gone with a Potter or Weasley or something...
"But just as friends."
"I understood that," Lucius said softly, feeling a bit suspcious that she'd repeated herself. No, she's just trying to reassure me, he told himself. Sweet girl. Darling girl. "Well, I just hope that you had fun."
"I did," Grace said. "Loads. But the dances were strange."
"Strange?" Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I thought I taught you how to dance."
"You did, but...the music, was just not...right."
Lucius laughed. "Perhaps we are a bit behind on the times, my dear. What is the dancing like now, then?"
Grace made a disgusted face. "Just a bunch of people bumping into each other, rubbing against..." She stopped, looking embarressed. "But Micheal didn't try any of that with me."
"Good," Lucius said. "This Micheal sounds like a very nice boy."
"He is," Grace said quickly. "He's a very good friend to me."
"That's good, darling," Lucius said with a smile. "It's always good to have good friends."
If Lucius had known HOW good of friends Grace and Micheal were, he would've freaked out. If he'd known that Micheal WINSTON was indeed a WEASLEY, he would've taken his wand, found the boy, and killed him, slowly. But he remained blissfully ignorant.
And Grace, it seemed, intended to keep him that way.