Author's Note: Hey all, thanks for the reviews. Don't have time for
individual acknowledgements right now but thank you all for reviewing.
Please let me know what you think of this chapter and, as always, enjoy.
Chapter Twelve: Box of Chocolates
It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon on the second day after Lucius' departure to Munich. Things had been relatively quiet since he left. Draco and Narcissa had had quite a relaxing time sitting around and watching movies and going out for rides upon their horses. Now the two of them sat quietly in the parlor, Draco stretched out on a couch reading a novel and Narcissa working on a blanket that she had been crocheting for the past six months. Instead of charming the hook to crochet for her, Narcissa preferred to do it herself by hand.
Everything was silent in the room save for the occasional sound of a page turning. Narcissa never liked silence, so she decided to disturb her son from his reading and spoke.
"When is Marcus supposed to arrive today?"
"He'll be coming here at around 5:30." Draco replied without taking his eyes from his book.
"So, he'll be staying for supper then?"
"Yeah."
"That's nice. We haven't seen much of him since he graduated from Hogwarts. Well, I suppose he doesn't have much time being on the British Quidditch team and all." Narcissa was looking at her son; her hands moving deftly along the yarn.
"Mm." Draco gave as an acknowledging grunt as he kept on reading.
Narcissa gave a short sigh. "So, your father is supposed to come home tomorrow."
Draco tore his eyes away from the page and gave his mother a sour expression. Narcissa smiled amusedly.
"Now, Draco, don't look like that. He is your father and you will show him respect." Draco just turned back to his book. "He is trying after all."
"Trying?! Trying at what?"
"I don't know, but please be pleasant."
Draco just rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh.
"I should perhaps get some more of that muscle relaxing potion today as I am sure that your father is going to want to have you practice Quidditch tomorrow." Draco gave out a groan. "He's only trying to help you improve, Draco."
Draco snorted. He then looked over at his mother with a slightly mischievous look upon his face. "I'm afraid I won't be able to practice Quidditch with him tomorrow as I have a "social engagement" with Goyle." A grin spread out across his face.
Narcissa placed her crocheting on her lap and tried to look sternly at her son. "Draco, you know I had to say that so that I could stay here and spend some time with you. I knew you wouldn't want to go to Munich and I wanted to be able to have some time with just you and me."
"Oh, so it was for my benefit?" Draco asked sarcastically, his smile growing broader.
"Of course it was." Narcissa replied, her eyes shifting to the floor.
"Oh, come on, Mother. You didn't want to go to Munich with Father anymore than I did. Admit it; you're just a shameless liar."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy!!! Are you suggesting that I would lie to your father for my own personal gain?!!"
"I don't have to suggest it." Draco said with a sly grin as he once again turned his eyes upon his book. He then turned back to look at his mother who seemed to be trying to fight for a stern expression upon her face but only succeeded in looking amused.
"Well, I don't do it very often." She said defensively.
"Sure, Mother."
"I really only did it for you."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mum."
"Stop judging me!"
"I'm not judging you! I'd do the same thing."
"Don't you dare. It's alright for me to do it, but it is definitely not okay for you to lie to your father."
"Hey, I only learn from example."
"DRACO!!!" Narcissa yelled as she throwing a large pillow hitting her son squarely in the face. She then went back to her crocheting, refusing to even glance at her son, thereby ending the conversation.
"Finally." Draco thought. "Now I can read my book in peace."
* * *
Everything was rather quiet within the Malfoy Manor that evening. Marcus Flint had arrived as scheduled and the three of them sat down to a wonderful dinner, during which there was a lengthy discussion about England's chances at beating Germany during the World Cup that was to be taking place in late August. Knowing as little about Quidditch as she did, the only comment that Narcissa could make during this conversation was, "It should be interesting".
After supper Narcissa decided to leave the two boys and retire to her bed chambers. Draco and Marcus had then made their way to the parlor, still discussing Quidditch, and more importantly, the brooms that the British team would be supplied with.
"Yeah, each of the team members are going to receive one of those new Viper 3000's."
"Really?! That's cool. My father says that I can get one."
"That's great!"
"Yeah, except I have to beat Harry Potter on my old Nimbus 2001 first."
"Oh, that sucks, man."
"What?! You think I can't do it?"
"Hey, I didn't say that."
"No, but you're implying it." Draco said accusingly.
Yes, everything was quiet, except for the occasional sound of scurrying feet as house elves went about doing their work. Suddenly there was a loud pop causing one of the house elves to let out a very high- pitched squeal. Lucius had suddenly appeared within the entrance hall holding a couple of packages within his arms. He glared over at the elf that had made the offensive noise. The elf cowered, wringing its hands; eyes shifting from side to side.
"Squimby, is sorry for making noise, Master, but we was not expecting you until tomorrow."
Lucius just continued to glare at the squirming house elf. He then said in a cold tone, "Where are my wife and son?"
"Mistress has retired to her bed-chamber and the young master is in the parlor, sir."
Lucius just gave a slight nod and headed off in the direction of the parlor. However, as he approached it he could hear voices coming through the door that stood slightly ajar. He was about to just push his way through when he heard what was being said.
"Wow, Draco, that does sound pretty weird. Do you think it's for real?"
"Of course not."
"Then why do you think he's suddenly acting as if he cares about you and your mother?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed menacingly.
"I don't know. But he has to up to something. I mean why, after sixteen years of practically ignoring me would he suddenly want to have "father-son bonding time"? It's really creeping me out." There was silence for several moments and then Draco began to speak again. "Oh, and I almost forgot, he'll be coming back from his business trip tomorrow."
"So?"
"So?! He'll probably want to go out and practice some more Quidditch. Or he may do worse."
"What?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure that there are worse things that he could probably do to me. Aaggghhhh! I wish he'd just stay gone. That would be nice. A business trip that would last from now until the time I have to go back to Hogwarts."
"What are you going to do when he gets back?"
"Hide. Avoid him as much as possible. Pretend I'm sick. You know, stuff like that. What kind of diseases are popular for the summer?"
Lucius could hear the other person in the room laughing rather heartily.
"It's not funny, Marcus, I'm being serious. You don't know what he's like now. I used to fear him before because he was always in a bad mood, but now I'm terrified because of his good mood. I never know what he's going to do. Now when I walk around the house I constantly look over my shoulder to make sure he's not sneaking up on me to give me another hug or something." There was a short pause. "Stop laughing at me!"
"Sorry, Draco, I'm just trying to picture it."
"Well, just come over tomorrow and you won't have to picture it."
"What does your mother think about all of this?"
Lucius strained his ears to hear what his son was about to say.
"I don't know. She was pretty freaked out about it before, but I think she's accepting it now. Maybe she knows something that I don't. Anyway, she says that we should just take advantage of it while it lasts. Maybe she's right. But I still think that he is up to something."
There was silence for several moments until Marcus broke it. "Well, my sympathies. Now, you want to go out and play some night Quidditch?"
"Sure. I'll quickly owl Crabbe and Goyle and tell them to get their butts over here."
"Yeah, but we need at least two more. We can play three on three. One person for the goals and then two to handle the Quaffles. No Bludgers and no Snitch."
"Okay, I'll get Pansy and Millicent to come over as well."
Lucius began to move away from the door and started in the direction of his bed-chamber. His brow was furrowed deeply and he had a look of intense chagrin upon his face. What he had heard had troubled him deeply. His own son wished that he would stay away and not see or talk to him. Could he really blame him though? Had he really ignored Draco for sixteen years? Was it actually too late for him to form any sort of relationship with his son? Draco was, after all, sixteen. In about two months he would be heading back to Hogwarts. Draco only had two years left and then he would most likely be moving out of the manor and starting a new life elsewhere. So really, Lucius had only five months left, not counting Christmas holidays, to convince his son that he loved him and form some sort of relationship with him. Lucius felt a pang of regret. This is something that he should have done years ago. Now it could very well be too late.
* * *
Narcissa sat in an over-stuffed chair next to the fireplace, reading the novel that she had seen Draco reading earlier. She was soon startled by the unexpected sound of the chamber door opening. She looked up and was very surprised to see the figure of her husband entering the room.
"Lucius?! We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."
Lucius did not look up at her, not having really heard her. Narcissa became a bit concerned as she saw the unpleasant look upon Lucius' face. She began to worry that Lucius had gone back to his usual self as this was actually not an unfamiliar expression.
"Lucius, is everything alright?" she said warily as she placed the book on the small table that sat next to her.
Lucius seemed to be pulled from very deep thought as he looked up at his wife. "Oh, sorry, Narcissa. Yes, everything is fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Somehow I don't quite believe that." Narcissa ventured.
Lucius looked intensely at his wife who, after a minute so, began to shift uneasily under his gaze. Lucius then proceed to walk over to the bed and place the packages upon them, his expression never leaving his face. Narcissa followed his movements curiously. She wanted to ask him what was wrong again, but wasn't sure if she should. Suddenly Lucius looked up at her as if he were about to say something but then thought better of it. He gave her this look once again, so she asked him, "Lucius, is there something that you want to tell me? Has something upset you?"
Lucius looked at her again and then decided to tell her. "I heard Draco talking to Marcus about me."
Narcissa's eyes widened in alarm. She could only imagine what Draco had said which would explain the look upon Lucius' face. "What did you overhear?"
"Things. Things that I can't really blame him for I suppose."
Narcissa was unsure about what to say. She began to fidget with her hands nervously. She wasn't sure what to expect from Lucius. She would never have guessed that he would take what she thought Draco had said in such a calm, almost defeated, manner.
"Do you think that I have been ignoring him for sixteen years?"
Narcissa looked away from him. How was she supposed to answer that?
"Please, tell me the truth." Lucius said gently.
Narcissa took a deep, calming breath. "Not completely."
"But you do think that I have ignored him?"
"Well, you haven't actually spent any real time with him. You just kind of leave him to himself mostly. Even when it's just the two of you, you don't actually talk to him or anything."
Lucius looked down at the floor and nodded. "Narcissa, I want to fix that, but I think that it may be too late. I don't think he had any interest in me at all. And once again, I can't blame him." He then looked back up at her. "I want to change everything, but he says that I scare him more now than I did before."
Narcissa looked at him unsurely. She had to tell him now. She had to tell him how Draco and her felt about his sudden change. "Lucius, it's just that he doesn't know what to expect from you anymore. You've changed so drastically that it's really sent the both of us for a loop. We don't understand you anymore. Draco thinks that it's probably a passing faze and that you'll go back to the way you were before."
"Cold, unfeeling, and ignoring right?"
"I."
"You think that it'll pass as well, don't you?"
"Well."
"It's alright; I understand. I guess it must be a real shock for you two."
"If we only knew why."
"If you only knew? Well, I suppose that I can tell you. However, I fear that you will not believe me and decide that I am worthy of St. Mungos after all."
"We never said that."
"No, but I'm sure you've thought it." Lucius said with a weak smile. He then walked over to a seat across from where she sat. He then took in a deep sigh and looked over at her. Narcissa looked anxiously at him. She couldn't believe that he was actually going to tell her the reasons behind his sudden behavioral change.
"Well, it all started when I died.."
Narcissa's eyes grew very wide. This was going to be a very interesting story.
* * *
"And so, that's when I realized that I had to change. I had to show you two that I do love you and that I want to start over. I want to become the husband and father that I should have been years ago."
Narcissa just sat in a dazed state. She could hardly make sense of whet she had just heard. It was perhaps one of the craziest stories that she had ever heard. Was it true though? Could she possibly believe it?
"Oh." Lucius suddenly said. "I almost forgot." He stood from the chair and made his way over to the bed to retrieve one of the packages. He then walked back towards her and placed the package in front of her. "I bought these for you." She looked curiously up at him and then tentivly took the package in her hand. "They're Germany's finest chocolates. I thought I should start making up for all the times that I should have bought you chocolates but didn't."
Narcissa stared down at the box for several moments. She then smiled weakly up at Lucius as she stood up and made her way to the liqueur cabinet.
Chapter Twelve: Box of Chocolates
It was nearly one o'clock in the afternoon on the second day after Lucius' departure to Munich. Things had been relatively quiet since he left. Draco and Narcissa had had quite a relaxing time sitting around and watching movies and going out for rides upon their horses. Now the two of them sat quietly in the parlor, Draco stretched out on a couch reading a novel and Narcissa working on a blanket that she had been crocheting for the past six months. Instead of charming the hook to crochet for her, Narcissa preferred to do it herself by hand.
Everything was silent in the room save for the occasional sound of a page turning. Narcissa never liked silence, so she decided to disturb her son from his reading and spoke.
"When is Marcus supposed to arrive today?"
"He'll be coming here at around 5:30." Draco replied without taking his eyes from his book.
"So, he'll be staying for supper then?"
"Yeah."
"That's nice. We haven't seen much of him since he graduated from Hogwarts. Well, I suppose he doesn't have much time being on the British Quidditch team and all." Narcissa was looking at her son; her hands moving deftly along the yarn.
"Mm." Draco gave as an acknowledging grunt as he kept on reading.
Narcissa gave a short sigh. "So, your father is supposed to come home tomorrow."
Draco tore his eyes away from the page and gave his mother a sour expression. Narcissa smiled amusedly.
"Now, Draco, don't look like that. He is your father and you will show him respect." Draco just turned back to his book. "He is trying after all."
"Trying?! Trying at what?"
"I don't know, but please be pleasant."
Draco just rolled his eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh.
"I should perhaps get some more of that muscle relaxing potion today as I am sure that your father is going to want to have you practice Quidditch tomorrow." Draco gave out a groan. "He's only trying to help you improve, Draco."
Draco snorted. He then looked over at his mother with a slightly mischievous look upon his face. "I'm afraid I won't be able to practice Quidditch with him tomorrow as I have a "social engagement" with Goyle." A grin spread out across his face.
Narcissa placed her crocheting on her lap and tried to look sternly at her son. "Draco, you know I had to say that so that I could stay here and spend some time with you. I knew you wouldn't want to go to Munich and I wanted to be able to have some time with just you and me."
"Oh, so it was for my benefit?" Draco asked sarcastically, his smile growing broader.
"Of course it was." Narcissa replied, her eyes shifting to the floor.
"Oh, come on, Mother. You didn't want to go to Munich with Father anymore than I did. Admit it; you're just a shameless liar."
"Draco Lucius Malfoy!!! Are you suggesting that I would lie to your father for my own personal gain?!!"
"I don't have to suggest it." Draco said with a sly grin as he once again turned his eyes upon his book. He then turned back to look at his mother who seemed to be trying to fight for a stern expression upon her face but only succeeded in looking amused.
"Well, I don't do it very often." She said defensively.
"Sure, Mother."
"I really only did it for you."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Mum."
"Stop judging me!"
"I'm not judging you! I'd do the same thing."
"Don't you dare. It's alright for me to do it, but it is definitely not okay for you to lie to your father."
"Hey, I only learn from example."
"DRACO!!!" Narcissa yelled as she throwing a large pillow hitting her son squarely in the face. She then went back to her crocheting, refusing to even glance at her son, thereby ending the conversation.
"Finally." Draco thought. "Now I can read my book in peace."
* * *
Everything was rather quiet within the Malfoy Manor that evening. Marcus Flint had arrived as scheduled and the three of them sat down to a wonderful dinner, during which there was a lengthy discussion about England's chances at beating Germany during the World Cup that was to be taking place in late August. Knowing as little about Quidditch as she did, the only comment that Narcissa could make during this conversation was, "It should be interesting".
After supper Narcissa decided to leave the two boys and retire to her bed chambers. Draco and Marcus had then made their way to the parlor, still discussing Quidditch, and more importantly, the brooms that the British team would be supplied with.
"Yeah, each of the team members are going to receive one of those new Viper 3000's."
"Really?! That's cool. My father says that I can get one."
"That's great!"
"Yeah, except I have to beat Harry Potter on my old Nimbus 2001 first."
"Oh, that sucks, man."
"What?! You think I can't do it?"
"Hey, I didn't say that."
"No, but you're implying it." Draco said accusingly.
Yes, everything was quiet, except for the occasional sound of scurrying feet as house elves went about doing their work. Suddenly there was a loud pop causing one of the house elves to let out a very high- pitched squeal. Lucius had suddenly appeared within the entrance hall holding a couple of packages within his arms. He glared over at the elf that had made the offensive noise. The elf cowered, wringing its hands; eyes shifting from side to side.
"Squimby, is sorry for making noise, Master, but we was not expecting you until tomorrow."
Lucius just continued to glare at the squirming house elf. He then said in a cold tone, "Where are my wife and son?"
"Mistress has retired to her bed-chamber and the young master is in the parlor, sir."
Lucius just gave a slight nod and headed off in the direction of the parlor. However, as he approached it he could hear voices coming through the door that stood slightly ajar. He was about to just push his way through when he heard what was being said.
"Wow, Draco, that does sound pretty weird. Do you think it's for real?"
"Of course not."
"Then why do you think he's suddenly acting as if he cares about you and your mother?"
Lucius' eyes narrowed menacingly.
"I don't know. But he has to up to something. I mean why, after sixteen years of practically ignoring me would he suddenly want to have "father-son bonding time"? It's really creeping me out." There was silence for several moments and then Draco began to speak again. "Oh, and I almost forgot, he'll be coming back from his business trip tomorrow."
"So?"
"So?! He'll probably want to go out and practice some more Quidditch. Or he may do worse."
"What?"
"I don't know, but I'm sure that there are worse things that he could probably do to me. Aaggghhhh! I wish he'd just stay gone. That would be nice. A business trip that would last from now until the time I have to go back to Hogwarts."
"What are you going to do when he gets back?"
"Hide. Avoid him as much as possible. Pretend I'm sick. You know, stuff like that. What kind of diseases are popular for the summer?"
Lucius could hear the other person in the room laughing rather heartily.
"It's not funny, Marcus, I'm being serious. You don't know what he's like now. I used to fear him before because he was always in a bad mood, but now I'm terrified because of his good mood. I never know what he's going to do. Now when I walk around the house I constantly look over my shoulder to make sure he's not sneaking up on me to give me another hug or something." There was a short pause. "Stop laughing at me!"
"Sorry, Draco, I'm just trying to picture it."
"Well, just come over tomorrow and you won't have to picture it."
"What does your mother think about all of this?"
Lucius strained his ears to hear what his son was about to say.
"I don't know. She was pretty freaked out about it before, but I think she's accepting it now. Maybe she knows something that I don't. Anyway, she says that we should just take advantage of it while it lasts. Maybe she's right. But I still think that he is up to something."
There was silence for several moments until Marcus broke it. "Well, my sympathies. Now, you want to go out and play some night Quidditch?"
"Sure. I'll quickly owl Crabbe and Goyle and tell them to get their butts over here."
"Yeah, but we need at least two more. We can play three on three. One person for the goals and then two to handle the Quaffles. No Bludgers and no Snitch."
"Okay, I'll get Pansy and Millicent to come over as well."
Lucius began to move away from the door and started in the direction of his bed-chamber. His brow was furrowed deeply and he had a look of intense chagrin upon his face. What he had heard had troubled him deeply. His own son wished that he would stay away and not see or talk to him. Could he really blame him though? Had he really ignored Draco for sixteen years? Was it actually too late for him to form any sort of relationship with his son? Draco was, after all, sixteen. In about two months he would be heading back to Hogwarts. Draco only had two years left and then he would most likely be moving out of the manor and starting a new life elsewhere. So really, Lucius had only five months left, not counting Christmas holidays, to convince his son that he loved him and form some sort of relationship with him. Lucius felt a pang of regret. This is something that he should have done years ago. Now it could very well be too late.
* * *
Narcissa sat in an over-stuffed chair next to the fireplace, reading the novel that she had seen Draco reading earlier. She was soon startled by the unexpected sound of the chamber door opening. She looked up and was very surprised to see the figure of her husband entering the room.
"Lucius?! We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."
Lucius did not look up at her, not having really heard her. Narcissa became a bit concerned as she saw the unpleasant look upon Lucius' face. She began to worry that Lucius had gone back to his usual self as this was actually not an unfamiliar expression.
"Lucius, is everything alright?" she said warily as she placed the book on the small table that sat next to her.
Lucius seemed to be pulled from very deep thought as he looked up at his wife. "Oh, sorry, Narcissa. Yes, everything is fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Somehow I don't quite believe that." Narcissa ventured.
Lucius looked intensely at his wife who, after a minute so, began to shift uneasily under his gaze. Lucius then proceed to walk over to the bed and place the packages upon them, his expression never leaving his face. Narcissa followed his movements curiously. She wanted to ask him what was wrong again, but wasn't sure if she should. Suddenly Lucius looked up at her as if he were about to say something but then thought better of it. He gave her this look once again, so she asked him, "Lucius, is there something that you want to tell me? Has something upset you?"
Lucius looked at her again and then decided to tell her. "I heard Draco talking to Marcus about me."
Narcissa's eyes widened in alarm. She could only imagine what Draco had said which would explain the look upon Lucius' face. "What did you overhear?"
"Things. Things that I can't really blame him for I suppose."
Narcissa was unsure about what to say. She began to fidget with her hands nervously. She wasn't sure what to expect from Lucius. She would never have guessed that he would take what she thought Draco had said in such a calm, almost defeated, manner.
"Do you think that I have been ignoring him for sixteen years?"
Narcissa looked away from him. How was she supposed to answer that?
"Please, tell me the truth." Lucius said gently.
Narcissa took a deep, calming breath. "Not completely."
"But you do think that I have ignored him?"
"Well, you haven't actually spent any real time with him. You just kind of leave him to himself mostly. Even when it's just the two of you, you don't actually talk to him or anything."
Lucius looked down at the floor and nodded. "Narcissa, I want to fix that, but I think that it may be too late. I don't think he had any interest in me at all. And once again, I can't blame him." He then looked back up at her. "I want to change everything, but he says that I scare him more now than I did before."
Narcissa looked at him unsurely. She had to tell him now. She had to tell him how Draco and her felt about his sudden change. "Lucius, it's just that he doesn't know what to expect from you anymore. You've changed so drastically that it's really sent the both of us for a loop. We don't understand you anymore. Draco thinks that it's probably a passing faze and that you'll go back to the way you were before."
"Cold, unfeeling, and ignoring right?"
"I."
"You think that it'll pass as well, don't you?"
"Well."
"It's alright; I understand. I guess it must be a real shock for you two."
"If we only knew why."
"If you only knew? Well, I suppose that I can tell you. However, I fear that you will not believe me and decide that I am worthy of St. Mungos after all."
"We never said that."
"No, but I'm sure you've thought it." Lucius said with a weak smile. He then walked over to a seat across from where she sat. He then took in a deep sigh and looked over at her. Narcissa looked anxiously at him. She couldn't believe that he was actually going to tell her the reasons behind his sudden behavioral change.
"Well, it all started when I died.."
Narcissa's eyes grew very wide. This was going to be a very interesting story.
* * *
"And so, that's when I realized that I had to change. I had to show you two that I do love you and that I want to start over. I want to become the husband and father that I should have been years ago."
Narcissa just sat in a dazed state. She could hardly make sense of whet she had just heard. It was perhaps one of the craziest stories that she had ever heard. Was it true though? Could she possibly believe it?
"Oh." Lucius suddenly said. "I almost forgot." He stood from the chair and made his way over to the bed to retrieve one of the packages. He then walked back towards her and placed the package in front of her. "I bought these for you." She looked curiously up at him and then tentivly took the package in her hand. "They're Germany's finest chocolates. I thought I should start making up for all the times that I should have bought you chocolates but didn't."
Narcissa stared down at the box for several moments. She then smiled weakly up at Lucius as she stood up and made her way to the liqueur cabinet.