Chapter 13 Homecomings

Lucius Malfoy stood on platform nine and three quarters waiting for the Hogwarts Express. As the train pulled up and students spilled out Draco stared out the window. At the sight of his father he sighed. It was going to be a long summer. Draco gathered his resolve along with his belongings and left the train. He walked over to his father and stopped directly in front of him.

Lucius Malfoy stared down coldly at his son. Draco was not as intimidated as he would have been in past years. Over the last year he had grown quite a lot and was beginning to fill out. His father no longer towered over him. No, this year Draco was far more hurt than intimidated.

/Why does he treat me like this/ Draco thought gloomily as he broke eye contact with his father /All these other kids, their parents hug them and kiss them. They complain that it is embarrassing, but at least they know they are loved and were missed. I've never had that./ in the back of his mind Draco registered that Lucius had spoken and he looked up, his brooding disturbed.

"I said let's go." Lucius repeated "Your mother will be expecting us." Draco nodded in compliance. From the corner of his eye he saw his boyfriend. Seamus winked at Draco as Lucius placed a hand on his son's shoulder and disapperated.

As Seamus watched his boyfriend disappear, his mother barrelled up behind him and pulled him into a suffocating tight hug. Seamus knew she missed him while he was at school, but this was ridiculous. "Mum." he choked "I can't breathe."

She released her hold on him, and Seamus quickly moved out of arms reach before she could change her mind. As her husband approached her expression suddenly turned serious.

"Let's go home." she said "We have a lot to talk about. We have been hearing some very… interesting stories about what has been going on this year."

Seamus grimaced. The interesting stories were probably all true. A sense of apprehension was building. He sighed as he followed his parents through the porthole to King's Cross Station.

Draco and his father arrived at Malfoy Manor and were greeted at the door by his mother.

"Come on." Narcissa ordered "Dinner is ready." Draco sighed. He hadn't really expected to receive a proper welcome, but it would have been a nice surprise.

As Draco took his usual place in the dining room, he was struck by how ridiculously large the table was. There were only three of them, and this table could seat twelve. As if that wasn't enough, the table could be expanded to seat more. It would never have occurred to Draco's parents to use a smaller, friendlier table. Anything less than impressive was not acceptable.

He looked across the table at Lucius. If the size of the table was ridiculous, what was even more unbelievable was that he would always have to sit at the foot of the table, while his father sat at the head, with all that space between them. Draco believed that this was his father's way of constantly reminding him of who was in charge.

As a pair of house elves silently brought in their dinner, Narcissa sat next to her husband. At this sight Draco was hit by an inescapable sense of isolation. He did not belong here. Nothing would ever change that. Draco looked down at his plate in a vain effort to distract himself from his pain.

Seamus stared down at his plate to avoid looking his parents in the eyes. He ignored his father's question. He was afraid.

"Well Seamus," his father repeated "is it true? Are you gay?"

Seamus did not want to be having this conversation. No matter how much his parents loved him, or how opened minded they were, something instinctive told him this conversation was only going to lead to them being disappointed.

"Well?" his mother demanded. Seamus looked up at his parents and nodded.

Seamus felt trapped. He waited nervously for a reaction. Suddenly he seemed to be too close to his parents. The table was too small. The kitchen was too small. And too hot. He felt the compulsion to run out of the house into the street and scream. He didn't.

"What about everything else we have been hearing?" his mother asked "Is that true?" Seamus looked down at his plate.

"If you mean," he answered almost inaudibly "have I been dating a certain well known blond Slytherin with a bad reputation and a father who is a suspected Deatheater, then yes, it's true."

"But why Draco Malfoy? Of all the boys at your school!" And there it was. The disappointment. Seamus could hear it in his mother's voice, and he knew if he looked up, he would be able to see it in her eyes. Seamus felt sick, and the smell of the food in front of his was making him feel nauseous. He pushed the plate away and looked up at his parents.

"You don't understand…" he objected.

"It's Draco Malfoy!" his mother shouted "His father is Lucius Malfoy, an evil cold-blooded murderer if ever there was one. His son is destined to follow the same path, and is doing well so far."

"He's not like that." Seamus screamed "Everyone keeps saying that about him. They all expect it of him, but he doesn't want to be like that. He would rather die than become a Deatheater. The last thing he wants is to turn into his father."

His mother shook her head and turned to her husband. "Our son has been seduced by a malicious, evil, exploitative, noxious brat. He can't even see the truth anymore."

"No!" Seamus screamed hysterically as he jumped to his feet. How could his mother think that of him? How could she think that he would be so easily deceived? Why didn't they understand? Why wouldn't they just listen to him?

"Sit down." His father ordered. Emotion clogged Seamus' throat leaving him unable to speak. He shook his head and fled from the room.

He fled up the stairs to his bedroom. He collapsed face down on his bed. A glint of light on metal drew Seamus' attention to his bracelet. He couldn't understand why everyone hated Draco so much. So he had a reputation for having a big mouth. He had never done anything to really hurt anyone. Most of his reputation was because of his father. Why would his parents not listen to him? He loved Draco and their attitude hurt. Seamus stared at the bracelet.

Draco sat staring at his bracelet. He wished that Seamus were there. Draco's attention was disturbed by his father's voice. He looked up nervously. They hadn't spoken throughout dinner, and that was never a good sign. As one of the house elves removed his plate, Lucius repeated his question.

"Have you been seeing that filthy mudblood again?"

The answer that ran through Draco's mind was 'No. Whatever would make you think that?' But that was not the answer that left his lips. He had no control over what he said.

"Yes father." These two condemning words fell from his mouth before he could stop them. Lucius' interrogation continued.

"How were you able to do this without your housemates finding out. They watched you closely and did not observe anything."

"I borrowed Potter's invisibility cloak and sneaked out of my dorm." Draco was horrified. He hadn't meant to say that. It was as if he no longer had any control over the words that poured from his mouth.

"You look shocked." Lucius smirked "You didn't honestly think I would allow you to sit there and lie to me did you?"

"No father." The response was automatic. Draco wasn't even thinking before he answered now.

"No, I wouldn't." Lucius continued "So I had Veritasserum added to your water to ensure you didn't try to lie to me."

"But isn't that stuff illegal?" Draco tried desperately. He fear was clouding his mind and he was no longer thinking clearly. His began wishing this was all a terrible nightmare, and tried vainly to awake from the horrendous situation.

"Since when has anything as trivial as the law bothered me? You have turned soft since Christmas. It seems I am going to have to re-educate you." Draco barely managed to contain his fear. He did not know what his father's idea of re-education was, but it could not be good.

"Can't we leave this for now?" Narcissa interrupted "The boy has only just arrived home and he is probably tired. It's late and he's not thinking straight. Draco go to bed and we will deal with this in the morning." Draco was only too happy to comply with his mother's orders. He fled from the room before his father could object.

He hurried to his bedroom and closed the door behind him, praying that his father would leave the issue until the next day. Hopefully by the morning Lucius would have calmed down. The young blond collapsed on his bed in an emotionally drained heap.

There was a knock at the door.

"Go away." The room's sole occupant ordered.

Seamus realised his request had been ignored when he heard the door creak open. He refused to roll over to face the door. He was not willing to acknowledge the intruder's entrance in any way.

"Seamus?" A voice asked tentatively. There was a pause. "Son?" Mr Finnigan's voice was filled with concern.

Seamus took a deep breath and braced himself. He rolled over. Seamus silently stared at his father, forcing his father to make the next move. The older man took this as an invitation to enter, and moved from the doorway to sit on the end of Seamus' bed. For a while the two remained silent.

"You hate me, don't you?" Seamus asked, looking up at his father.

"No Seamus. We don't hate you." his father's heart ached to think his son could believe that. "We could never hate you. You are our son. We were just a little…"

"Disappointed." Seamus concluded gloomily. He had never really expected his parents to understand, but now that it was happening, the situation hurt more than he had expected.

"No. Not disappointed." his father corrected "We were a little surprised."

Seamus looked up balefully. "What about what mum said over dinner? She virtually had a fit! She was angry."

"She just doesn't understand what it is about this boy that attracted you to him." his father tried to explain.

"He isn't good enough for her." Seamus muttered bitterly. "She was disappointed."

"Yes, well I don't blame her, considering everything she has told me about his father…"

"DRACO IS NOT HIS FATHER! WHY DOES NOBODY UNDERSTAND THAT!" Seamus yelled, unable to hold back his frustration.

"Alright, calm down." his father tried vainly to placate him.

"No I will not calm down." Seamus yelled, "You are not listening to me. You both feel you can judge him based on what his father is like. But he is not his father. You don't know him, and you have no right to judge him. You can't say you disapprove of him or say he is not good enough until you have given him a chance!" As his anger had increased, Seamus had risen from his bed and now stood glaring down defiantly at his father. His mother who had been walking past stopped and stood in the doorway. Seamus turned and glared at her. "But no." he continued snidely "Some people would die rather than give a Malfoy a chance."

"Sometimes giving some people a chance only gives them the opportunity to cause harm. Some people are just born evil." His mother matched his glare impassively.

"And some people are merely misunderstood." Seamus whispered, and he felt his spirit breaking. His mother pretending she hadn't heard anything. She turned and left Seamus alone with his father.

"If you want us to give him a chance then why don't you invite him over here?" Mr Finnigan tried to find a resolution that would suit all. Seamus shook his head.

"Do you really think mum would let him through the front door?" he looked down at his feet. "Besides, his father would never stand for it. We have to hide our relationship from him or there will be trouble. He threatened to remove Draco from Hogwarts if he didn't break up with me, so we have had to pretend that we aren't seeing each other. It's not fair. I can't do anything or go anywhere with my boyfriend in public for fear of how people will react."

"That can't be easy." his father soothed. Seamus sighed and began to relax. He had always been more at ease with his father. He felt his mother expected too much, and was far too smothering.

"It's not easy, but it's worth it. I really love him." Seamus sighed again and returned to his earlier position lying on the bed. His father took this as his cue to leave, and walked out of the room, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Draco lay on his back staring at the ceiling thinking. The door flew open and Draco didn't need to look to know who was storming in. He wasn't really surprised. He had no privacy in this house. That would require respect from the other inhabitants.

"How could you do this to me?" his father yelled "How could you bring such shame on my family? Well I am not going to allow it to continue. You will have to prove that you are worthy of the name Malfoy.

You will not be communicating with this mudblood. I will not tolerate it. If I discover you have, and don't think for a moment that you will be able to deceive me, there will be severe consequences. And you should understand how easy it is for me to get at this boy."

Lucius glared at his son who was almost frozen with fear. One small, destructive part of his mind whispered that he did not want to be considered worthy of the name Malfoy. He quenched that thought mercilessly. It would only make his life more unpleasant. Lucius made to leave the room. As he reached the door, he momentarily turned back to his son.

"Do not for a moment believe that you will be returning to Hogwarts. You will not. Although your behaviour over the next month will dictate the form your future education will take. You can choose how pleasant it will be."

With that Lucius left the room, slamming the door in disgust. Draco remained silent for a while after. He thought deeply. Maybe if he behave like the good little Deatheater-to-be whom his father wanted him to be his father might change his mind about keeping him home from school. Draco didn't really believe this. His father NEVER went back on his word.

He had almost given up hope when his mother entered the room. She walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed. They sat for a while. Draco broke to silence.

"He wants to keep me from Hogwarts." The statement was void of all emotion. Draco had nothing left to give.

"No he won't. Not if I have any say in the matter. Besides, he doesn't really want you to stay here. It's enough for him to cope with you during the holidays. He wouldn't know what to do with you if you were here all the time."

Draco said nothing. He knew his mother had a point, but for as long as he could remember it had always seemed that his mother would disagree with his father to be quarrelsome. He was never sure if what she wanted was really in his best interests or merely done for the sake of argument. Draco looked at Narcissa.

"I'm sorry mother." he lied "I am really tired. It was a long trip on the train and I need some sleep."

Narcissa nodded in approval and left him alone with his thoughts.