As she walked down one of the many halls of Malfoy Manor, Narcissa Malfoy paused to look into her son's bedroom. It didn't resemble anything a child's nursery should have looked like; the drapery and linens were all dark green with silver trim, and the furniture and walls were all dark stained wood or cast iron decorated here and there with a serpent. Her son, Draco Lucius Malfoy, sat at a table on the opposite side of the room with a woman that looked as ancient as the walls did. Narcissa watched him for a while as he practiced his letters with a green feathered quill and got frustrated when he could not do his "M" exactly as his father always did. Her lips curled slightly as he finally gave up and threw the quill across the room. Walking over, she picked up the quill and went to her son, dismissing his nanny as she took the seat across from him. Taking a clean sheet of parchment, she made a few dots in the shape of her husband's writing.
"Now my little dragon," she smiled, gently placing the quill in his hand and the parchment in front of him, "trace these dots." She stood and walked over to stand behind him, running her fingers through his platinum blonde locks to calm him.
Draco did as told and was thrilled when he saw the outcome. "Mummy, I did it! Look!" He squealed, bouncing slightly in his chair as he held up the parchment for her to see. Leaping out of his chair he yelled, " I have to go show father!" and ran down the hall nearly knocking over a house elf with a load of laundry balanced on it's head. Coming around a corner at the bottom of a huge black marble staircase he paused at the door to his father's study, walking up behind him Narcissa nudged him forward and followed him in.
Lucius Malfoy sat in a rather large and overly stuffed green armchair in front of an equally large open fireplace. To Draco everything his father owned was enormous. Rushing over, Draco tugged at his father's sleeve anxious for approval. "Look Father!"
"Not now Draco," Lucius replied sternly, removing his arm from the child's grasp.
"But…."
"I'm busy Draco!" Lucius snapped, looking away from the parchment in his lap for the first time.
"Lucius! He was just trying to show you…." Narcissa began, shocked at her husband's behavior; Lucius was never like this with Draco.
"Cissa! I'm busy. The boy has to learn that he can't just come barging in here like that when I'm busy!"
Narcissa's heart broke as Draco stood with his head hung just low enough so that his platinum tresses would hang in front of his face, hiding the tears that were swelling up in his small gray eyes. Coming over to her son, she wrapper her arms around him lovingly, "Go practice some more darling." Narcissa gave her son a tender kiss on his forehead and then sent him back upstairs, closing the door gently behind him. Her fingers traced the carvings on the old oak door for a moment and then she turned to facer her husband. Lucius had since then gone and leaned against the mantle and was now staring blankly into the blazing flames, his cold gray eyes were void of any emotion as he stood there lost in thought.
"Lucius," Narcissa whispered softly; coming to stand behind him she wrapped her arms slowly around his waist, "what's the matter my darling? Lucius…. talk to me love."
It took a while for him to respond to her, but when he did it wasn't with his usually strong and steady voice, it was more the voice of a scared child as he whispered softly, "He's back."