kippinator- Thank you for your review. Glad you think it's funny. I try.
Youko Gingitsune- Thank you for reviewing. It is always nice to know that people are enjoying the story.
Fire 'N' Ice- Yeah, Lucius is usually made out to be a real brutal bastard in most stories. I thought I'd change that and perhaps give my Lucius a few fans.
Elendor- Thanks for reading and reviewing. Let me know when you have your fic up because I would like to read it. There really aren't too many nice Lucius fics out there.
Thank you all again, and please keep the reviews coming. I check my e-mail several times a day just to see if I have any reviews. It's like Christmas. Love you all.
Author's Note: There might be some delays in my updates because I am leaving on Sunday to Connecticut where I am working as a counselor for the next seven weeks at a horse camp. I just may not have access to a computer, GASP!, so I will have to snail mail my chapters to my sister so that she can put them up. So don't worry, I'll still be working on the fic. It's just too much fun to set aside for seven weeks. I'm going to try to get one more chapter done before I leave. Keep your fingers crossed.
Chapter Nine: Riding Horses and Skipping Rocks
The clip-clopping of hooves against cobblestones resounded loudly throughout the open courtyard located in the center of the Malfoy's stables. Each horse was led by a servant to the middle of the courtyard where they stopped and awaited their rider's approach. The servant who held Lucius' large, black Andalusian stallion, Diablo, was having a particularly difficult time as the horse pranced excitedly in circles attempting to break free from the servant's grasp.
Draco walked up to where his huge, blood-bay, Hanoverian gelding, Rascala, was quietly standing. He reached up with one hand and began to stroke the horse's massive head and with the other hand, offered Rascala a sugar cube, of which he was very fond. He then began to the stroke horse's neck and made his way over to the shoulder where he was preparing to mount. Draco suddenly turned towards the servant who held his horse and whispered,
"Tom."
"Yes, sir." Tom answered as he came around from the other side of the horse and looked at Draco questioningly.
"Look, I know that this is going to sound a little odd," Draco stopped and glanced warily over to where his father was mounting Diablo and then looked back at the servant. "but if by any chance my father returns home alone or none of us return at all, send a search party to the lake."
"Sir?"
"In fact, if we're not back by 9:00, please," Draco's voice faltered from one of command to one of an almost desperate plea, "come look for us."
Tom's face held an expression of complete bewilderment. He could not understand what his young master was on about. Sure, he would admit that Lucius accompanying his wife and son on a ride across the estate was, in fact, rather odd, but the look of nervousness on Draco's face and his strange request was really baffling.
"Oh well," he thought to himself. "this family has always been a bit off." He then gave Draco a leg up onto his horse and let go of the reins.
"Remember, the lake." Draco whispered as he gathered the reins and urged Rascala forward to join his mother.
Narcissa looked at her son disapprovingly. She had seen and heard Draco whisper something to the servant and she didn't have to take three guesses to know what it was.
"What?" Draco asked innocently as he noticed the look upon her face.
Narcissa didn't say anything but continued to stare at her son.
"What?! Hey, c'mon, it doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?"
Draco jumped and spun around to see his father right beside him.
"Um, uh," Draco stuttered, trying to think of a way out of this. "Uh, prepared for potions class this year." Okay, that was really lame, Draco thought to himself. "Mother says I'm studying too much. Says I shouldn't worry about it so much. But I know that it's going to be a tuff year so I just want to get a jump on it. Right, mother?"
"Right, dear." Narcissa said as she tried not to roll her eyes and laugh.
"Well, good for you, son." Lucius said as he reached over and patted Draco on the shoulder which earned him probably the fiftieth shocked look of the day. "I'm glad to see that you are taking real initiative with your school work. Narcissa, don't discourage the boy. Instead you should encourage him with his studious behavior. Who knows how long it will last." Lucius began to walk his horse forward and out of the courtyard.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Draco said as he and his mother began to follow the prancing horse in front of them. Narcissa looked over at her shaken son and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"It will be alright." She whispered. They then urged their horses into a quick trot in order to catch up with Diablo.
* * *
The late afternoon sun glinted off the water of the lake making it
sparkle brilliantly. The deep blue of the water's surface contrasted sharply with the bright green of the grass which covered its banks. A gentle breeze blew through the trees that grew in thick clusters round the edges of the lake, making the leaves rustle slightly.
The three Malfoys were quietly walking their horses on a path through a thickly wooded area when they came upon a large clearing which sloped slightly down to the water's edge and contained one very large tree. By that tree a group of house elves could be seen, busily working on laying out a large blanket and setting about preparing a fine supper for their masters.
"Ah, here we are." Lucius said as he looked around the clearing. "It has been a long time since I've been here, but it hasn't changed one bit." The horses walked further on until they reached the gathering of house elves. A few, very shabby looking elves scurried forward to the sides of the horses as the Malfoys prepared to dismount. Lucius quickly got down from his horse and went over to aid his wife in dismounting. Narcissa stared down at Lucius' outstretched arms, unsure of what to do. After a few moments of indecision Narcissa slid into her husband's strong arms, still staring unsurely into his face. A few moments passed and they still stood there in each others' arms, neither one breaking eye contact.
"Uh, Mother?" Draco said as he had grown quite uncomfortable with the scene that was before him.
Narcissa quickly let go of Lucius and backed away from him. She then began to make her way over to the blanket. As Narcissa walked away, Lucius was sure that her cheeks were growing pinker than usual. The house elves took the reins of the horses and quickly set about taking the saddles off them. Lucius strode over to the large blanket and settled himself down upon it and leaned back against the tree, looking at the back of his wife who sat rigidly, hands clamped together in her lap, eyes staring fixedly at the lake before her. Draco sat protectively down by his mother who had become slightly flushed. Silence fell upon the trio as the house elves scurried around them. Suddenly a piercing squeak could be heard. The Malfoys turned their heads to see the sight of the poor, unfortunate house elf, who had taken a hold of Diablo, being drug through the grass as the horse decided to take off at a fast trot across the clearing.
Narcissa and Draco began to laugh at the comical site. The house elf was trying in vain to gain its footing in order to attempt to stop the massive black horse. Several other house elves were running and squealing behind him trying to get the horse to stop, but this only served to make Diablo go faster. Soon horse and house elf disappeared into the woods, but the sound of twigs cracking and muffled squeaks could clearly be heard.
Narcissa and Draco suddenly fell silent as they heard the sound of someone else laughing with them. They turned to see Lucius chuckling away. Draco's jaw dropped involuntarily. Never before had he seen his father laugh. The only thing that could shock Draco more than seeing his father laugh would be to see him cry, and if he did suddenly cry, Draco was going to strongly recommend a priest to perform an exorcism.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with that horse." Lucius said laughingly. He then looked over at his wife's and son's gaping expressions and laughed a little more. He soon stopped and began to stand up. "Well, we still have a little while before the food is ready. How about we go for a walk around the lake?" He held his hand out to Narcissa who hesitatingly took it. Lucius pulled her to her feet and began to walk towards the lake. Narcissa and Draco hung back for a moment.
"This is it, mother." Draco whispered, "He'll take us to some secluded spot and kill us. He'll dispose of our bodies and then come back here and get rid of the elves. He'll probably then make up some story where our horses went crazy and disappeared with us."
"Draco, honestly!" Narcissa exclaimed. "I just may take away all of your tv privileges. You really are too obsessed with it."
"Am not!"
Narcissa rolled her eyes and began to follow her husband. Draco quickly followed. There was no way that he was leaving his mother alone with that man.
* * *
The sun dipped further down in the horizon, causing the sky to turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and pink. It was almost 8:00 and the Malfoys were nearing home. The horses walked lazily along. Even Diablo had fallen into a slower, rhythmic step with the other two horses.
For Lucius the picnic at the lake went rather well. He had spent a good hour walking with his wife and son before supper. None of them said very much, but the silence had been nice as they meandered their way around the lake. They would stop every so often to gaze across the water's surface.
After about fifteen minutes of walking Draco had become bored and began to pick up smooth, flat rocks to skim across the lake. He had never been very good at it, only able to make the rock skip about twice. After several minutes of his rock throwing, Lucius had come up beside him with a rock in his hand. Draco looked at the rock in his father's hand curiously. Lucius gave a half smile and proceeded to show his son how to really skip a rock. He let his fly and it skip several times before disappearing under the water's surface. He then told Draco to do it just like he showed him. Draco gave his father an odd look, but did as he was told. To his surprise his rock skipped five times before coming to a halt. Lucius gave a satisfied nod and turned around and walked back to his wife.
"Okay, so that was weird." Draco said to himself. Then he gave a short laugh. "But then again, has there been anything today that wasn't weird? At least it doesn't seem like he's going to try to kill us."
After their walk the three of them sat down to a very delicious dinner, during which practically nothing was said, being to busy eating. Lucius was a bit disappointed with the lack of conversation with his wife and son, but he expected that that was due to the fact that they were probably still in shock over the change that had come over him. He figured that it would just take some time before they would be comfortable enough to really talk with him.
Soon after dinner had been eaten it was decided that they should head back home, not really wishing to have to ride in the dark. So now they were approaching the stables. Lucius looked over at his son who was a couple of steps behind him. He smiled slightly as he saw the exhausted look on his son's face. Draco's eyes in fact were about half closed as his horse plodded along. It had been a long day and Draco was thoroughly worn out.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared as Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa walked into the manor. They began to climb their way up the stairs that led to their bed chambers.
"So," Lucius said as he placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Do you feel up for a game of chess?"
"WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?!" Draco's mind screamed. "No, I think that I'll just take a shower and head to bed. I'm really tired."
"Very well. Tomorrow then. Goodnight, Draco."
Draco just nodded and headed towards his room. Lucius entered his bed chamber and saw Narcissa pouring herself a glass of Brandy.
"Brandy, my dear? You don't usually drink that."
"I know, but I just felt like some tonight." Narcissa began to swirl the brownish liquid around in her glass.
"Well, Draco's gone off to bed so it looks like it is just you and I tonight."
Narcissa stopped swirling as soon as those words fell upon her ears. She then lifted the glass to her lips and drained its contents in one single gulp.
Youko Gingitsune- Thank you for reviewing. It is always nice to know that people are enjoying the story.
Fire 'N' Ice- Yeah, Lucius is usually made out to be a real brutal bastard in most stories. I thought I'd change that and perhaps give my Lucius a few fans.
Elendor- Thanks for reading and reviewing. Let me know when you have your fic up because I would like to read it. There really aren't too many nice Lucius fics out there.
Thank you all again, and please keep the reviews coming. I check my e-mail several times a day just to see if I have any reviews. It's like Christmas. Love you all.
Author's Note: There might be some delays in my updates because I am leaving on Sunday to Connecticut where I am working as a counselor for the next seven weeks at a horse camp. I just may not have access to a computer, GASP!, so I will have to snail mail my chapters to my sister so that she can put them up. So don't worry, I'll still be working on the fic. It's just too much fun to set aside for seven weeks. I'm going to try to get one more chapter done before I leave. Keep your fingers crossed.
Chapter Nine: Riding Horses and Skipping Rocks
The clip-clopping of hooves against cobblestones resounded loudly throughout the open courtyard located in the center of the Malfoy's stables. Each horse was led by a servant to the middle of the courtyard where they stopped and awaited their rider's approach. The servant who held Lucius' large, black Andalusian stallion, Diablo, was having a particularly difficult time as the horse pranced excitedly in circles attempting to break free from the servant's grasp.
Draco walked up to where his huge, blood-bay, Hanoverian gelding, Rascala, was quietly standing. He reached up with one hand and began to stroke the horse's massive head and with the other hand, offered Rascala a sugar cube, of which he was very fond. He then began to the stroke horse's neck and made his way over to the shoulder where he was preparing to mount. Draco suddenly turned towards the servant who held his horse and whispered,
"Tom."
"Yes, sir." Tom answered as he came around from the other side of the horse and looked at Draco questioningly.
"Look, I know that this is going to sound a little odd," Draco stopped and glanced warily over to where his father was mounting Diablo and then looked back at the servant. "but if by any chance my father returns home alone or none of us return at all, send a search party to the lake."
"Sir?"
"In fact, if we're not back by 9:00, please," Draco's voice faltered from one of command to one of an almost desperate plea, "come look for us."
Tom's face held an expression of complete bewilderment. He could not understand what his young master was on about. Sure, he would admit that Lucius accompanying his wife and son on a ride across the estate was, in fact, rather odd, but the look of nervousness on Draco's face and his strange request was really baffling.
"Oh well," he thought to himself. "this family has always been a bit off." He then gave Draco a leg up onto his horse and let go of the reins.
"Remember, the lake." Draco whispered as he gathered the reins and urged Rascala forward to join his mother.
Narcissa looked at her son disapprovingly. She had seen and heard Draco whisper something to the servant and she didn't have to take three guesses to know what it was.
"What?" Draco asked innocently as he noticed the look upon her face.
Narcissa didn't say anything but continued to stare at her son.
"What?! Hey, c'mon, it doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?"
Draco jumped and spun around to see his father right beside him.
"Um, uh," Draco stuttered, trying to think of a way out of this. "Uh, prepared for potions class this year." Okay, that was really lame, Draco thought to himself. "Mother says I'm studying too much. Says I shouldn't worry about it so much. But I know that it's going to be a tuff year so I just want to get a jump on it. Right, mother?"
"Right, dear." Narcissa said as she tried not to roll her eyes and laugh.
"Well, good for you, son." Lucius said as he reached over and patted Draco on the shoulder which earned him probably the fiftieth shocked look of the day. "I'm glad to see that you are taking real initiative with your school work. Narcissa, don't discourage the boy. Instead you should encourage him with his studious behavior. Who knows how long it will last." Lucius began to walk his horse forward and out of the courtyard.
"I don't know how much more of this I can take." Draco said as he and his mother began to follow the prancing horse in front of them. Narcissa looked over at her shaken son and placed a hand upon his shoulder.
"It will be alright." She whispered. They then urged their horses into a quick trot in order to catch up with Diablo.
* * *
The late afternoon sun glinted off the water of the lake making it
sparkle brilliantly. The deep blue of the water's surface contrasted sharply with the bright green of the grass which covered its banks. A gentle breeze blew through the trees that grew in thick clusters round the edges of the lake, making the leaves rustle slightly.
The three Malfoys were quietly walking their horses on a path through a thickly wooded area when they came upon a large clearing which sloped slightly down to the water's edge and contained one very large tree. By that tree a group of house elves could be seen, busily working on laying out a large blanket and setting about preparing a fine supper for their masters.
"Ah, here we are." Lucius said as he looked around the clearing. "It has been a long time since I've been here, but it hasn't changed one bit." The horses walked further on until they reached the gathering of house elves. A few, very shabby looking elves scurried forward to the sides of the horses as the Malfoys prepared to dismount. Lucius quickly got down from his horse and went over to aid his wife in dismounting. Narcissa stared down at Lucius' outstretched arms, unsure of what to do. After a few moments of indecision Narcissa slid into her husband's strong arms, still staring unsurely into his face. A few moments passed and they still stood there in each others' arms, neither one breaking eye contact.
"Uh, Mother?" Draco said as he had grown quite uncomfortable with the scene that was before him.
Narcissa quickly let go of Lucius and backed away from him. She then began to make her way over to the blanket. As Narcissa walked away, Lucius was sure that her cheeks were growing pinker than usual. The house elves took the reins of the horses and quickly set about taking the saddles off them. Lucius strode over to the large blanket and settled himself down upon it and leaned back against the tree, looking at the back of his wife who sat rigidly, hands clamped together in her lap, eyes staring fixedly at the lake before her. Draco sat protectively down by his mother who had become slightly flushed. Silence fell upon the trio as the house elves scurried around them. Suddenly a piercing squeak could be heard. The Malfoys turned their heads to see the sight of the poor, unfortunate house elf, who had taken a hold of Diablo, being drug through the grass as the horse decided to take off at a fast trot across the clearing.
Narcissa and Draco began to laugh at the comical site. The house elf was trying in vain to gain its footing in order to attempt to stop the massive black horse. Several other house elves were running and squealing behind him trying to get the horse to stop, but this only served to make Diablo go faster. Soon horse and house elf disappeared into the woods, but the sound of twigs cracking and muffled squeaks could clearly be heard.
Narcissa and Draco suddenly fell silent as they heard the sound of someone else laughing with them. They turned to see Lucius chuckling away. Draco's jaw dropped involuntarily. Never before had he seen his father laugh. The only thing that could shock Draco more than seeing his father laugh would be to see him cry, and if he did suddenly cry, Draco was going to strongly recommend a priest to perform an exorcism.
"I don't know what I'm going to do with that horse." Lucius said laughingly. He then looked over at his wife's and son's gaping expressions and laughed a little more. He soon stopped and began to stand up. "Well, we still have a little while before the food is ready. How about we go for a walk around the lake?" He held his hand out to Narcissa who hesitatingly took it. Lucius pulled her to her feet and began to walk towards the lake. Narcissa and Draco hung back for a moment.
"This is it, mother." Draco whispered, "He'll take us to some secluded spot and kill us. He'll dispose of our bodies and then come back here and get rid of the elves. He'll probably then make up some story where our horses went crazy and disappeared with us."
"Draco, honestly!" Narcissa exclaimed. "I just may take away all of your tv privileges. You really are too obsessed with it."
"Am not!"
Narcissa rolled her eyes and began to follow her husband. Draco quickly followed. There was no way that he was leaving his mother alone with that man.
* * *
The sun dipped further down in the horizon, causing the sky to turn brilliant shades of red, orange, and pink. It was almost 8:00 and the Malfoys were nearing home. The horses walked lazily along. Even Diablo had fallen into a slower, rhythmic step with the other two horses.
For Lucius the picnic at the lake went rather well. He had spent a good hour walking with his wife and son before supper. None of them said very much, but the silence had been nice as they meandered their way around the lake. They would stop every so often to gaze across the water's surface.
After about fifteen minutes of walking Draco had become bored and began to pick up smooth, flat rocks to skim across the lake. He had never been very good at it, only able to make the rock skip about twice. After several minutes of his rock throwing, Lucius had come up beside him with a rock in his hand. Draco looked at the rock in his father's hand curiously. Lucius gave a half smile and proceeded to show his son how to really skip a rock. He let his fly and it skip several times before disappearing under the water's surface. He then told Draco to do it just like he showed him. Draco gave his father an odd look, but did as he was told. To his surprise his rock skipped five times before coming to a halt. Lucius gave a satisfied nod and turned around and walked back to his wife.
"Okay, so that was weird." Draco said to himself. Then he gave a short laugh. "But then again, has there been anything today that wasn't weird? At least it doesn't seem like he's going to try to kill us."
After their walk the three of them sat down to a very delicious dinner, during which practically nothing was said, being to busy eating. Lucius was a bit disappointed with the lack of conversation with his wife and son, but he expected that that was due to the fact that they were probably still in shock over the change that had come over him. He figured that it would just take some time before they would be comfortable enough to really talk with him.
Soon after dinner had been eaten it was decided that they should head back home, not really wishing to have to ride in the dark. So now they were approaching the stables. Lucius looked over at his son who was a couple of steps behind him. He smiled slightly as he saw the exhausted look on his son's face. Draco's eyes in fact were about half closed as his horse plodded along. It had been a long day and Draco was thoroughly worn out.
The last rays of sunlight disappeared as Draco, Lucius, and Narcissa walked into the manor. They began to climb their way up the stairs that led to their bed chambers.
"So," Lucius said as he placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "Do you feel up for a game of chess?"
"WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?!" Draco's mind screamed. "No, I think that I'll just take a shower and head to bed. I'm really tired."
"Very well. Tomorrow then. Goodnight, Draco."
Draco just nodded and headed towards his room. Lucius entered his bed chamber and saw Narcissa pouring herself a glass of Brandy.
"Brandy, my dear? You don't usually drink that."
"I know, but I just felt like some tonight." Narcissa began to swirl the brownish liquid around in her glass.
"Well, Draco's gone off to bed so it looks like it is just you and I tonight."
Narcissa stopped swirling as soon as those words fell upon her ears. She then lifted the glass to her lips and drained its contents in one single gulp.