Chapter 25
It had been nearly two weeks since Harry and Draco had decided to buy the house. Harry seemed completely breath-taken with the house – but Draco was having second thoughts.
He did want to get his own home with Harry, maybe even start a family. He wanted the house to be perfect in every way. And this house Harry was so deeply in love with was like the muggle version of the Malfoy Manor. Draco had always hated that house, even when he was young and too ignorant to realize what his father was – a coward. Just the thought of the new house brought Draco back to the summer he first came home from Hogwarts, when his father had begun to beat him.
Draco tried to tell Harry about it, but every time he would mention the house, Harry would begin talking about how great it was. He didn't want to ruin Harry's dreams, so he remained silent about it. After all, it wasn't Lucius he was living with, it was Harry.
Draco just prayed that the new house was more secure than the house they were preparing to move out of. Lucius had gotten in too easily. He would have to put wards around the house to prevent Apparating – he didn't want to have another confrontation with Lucius.
"Draco, isn't it amazing?"
Draco tore his eyes away from the window, which he was staring out of. Harry was standing next to him, smiling softly at him.
"What?" he asked.
"How fast all this happened," Harry whispered, his eyes wandering to the window. "This time last year, all we did was shag. Now, we're married. It's just impossible to believe that two years ago, we were enemies."
"Yeah," Draco muttered absent-mindedly. "Yeah, it is hard to believe it." He pulled his knees up to his chest and looked back out the window. All there was behind the window was their large, empty backyard, and a tall wooden fence.
They sat in silence for several minutes. Harry just watched Draco, who was frowning in thought.
"Draco?" Harry said finally.
Draco grunted slightly.
"Are you happy?"
He was stunned. He looked at Harry, wide-eyed, his mouth hanging open.
"I mean with the house," Harry explained quickly. "It's just that, every time I talk about it, you zone out."
"Oh." Draco looked away again, thinking. "Honestly? No."
Harry sat down next to his husband. "Why not? And why didn't you tell me? I mean, if you don't like it, we can keep looking."
"No, Harry, the house is fine. I don't know. I just can't explain. It's just.... It reminds me of Lucius," Draco murmured.
Harry stared at him, silently encouraging him to keep talking.
Draco swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "The house is exactly like Malfoy Manor, Harry. I mean, it's a great house, but it just reminds of.... When I was a kid...."
He couldn't bring himself to say it. He wanted to cry from just thinking about it. It hurt so badly – he could still feel Lucius's cane strike his stomach, feel his ribs cracking under the blow.
"What did he do to you?" Harry asked quietly.
Draco shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I like the house, I really do. I think it would be great if we moved in there."
Harry hugged Draco tightly.
Lucius Malfoy stood, alone, in a dark, empty room in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. He had ordered the house elves and servants to stay out of this area of the mansion, although none of them knew why – everyone knew there was nothing in the room besides a dusty old chair and a fireplace.
He remained standing for hours on end, just thinking, staring at the blank stone wall. He thought about his wife, who he hadn't spoken to in years, and his son, who had turned against him. But most of all, he thought of Potter – Draco's perfect husband Potter, who had saved the day so many times. Lucius despised the Boy Who Lived, and anyone who was involved with him.
Draco was Lucius's only heir, and, no doubt, the very last of the Malfoys. Lucius didn't plan on losing him to the side of Light, no matter what he had to do to get him back. Draco was a Death Eater by heart, they both knew that. How he could resist his destiny was beyond Lucius.
There was a knock on the heavyset wooden door. Lucius sneered.
"Enter!" he called, sitting in the old chair.
The door swung open. A girl walked in, her long black hair flowing, her brown eyes flashing as she spotted Lucius. She looked only about sixteen or seventeen.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she hissed harshly.
"Ah, Jenni Jameson," Lucius sneered. "I take it you got my owl?"
"Yeah, I did, you bloody prat!" she spat. "Now what in Merlin's name do you want?"
Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Why so angry? I have done nothing to you."
"Wrong. Threatening my friends – your son and son-in-law, no less – " Lucius flinched at the idea of Potter being his son-in-law – "is far worse than anything you could do to me."
"You're noble," Lucius noted aloud. Jenni sneered at him in disgust. "I have a proposition for you. And I know you just can't refuse."
"That's doubtful."
Lucius stood and began pacing the room. Jenni sat and watched him for a moment, before he continued. "Draco is my son – my only child. He has been faithful to me, up until Potter stole him away."
"And what does this have to do with me?" Jenni asked impatiently.
"I believe that if Potter and Draco are... separated, Draco might see the error of his ways and come back to the family," Lucius explained. "I do not wish to lose my only son to Potter, and I will do what I need to get him back on my side."
"And you want me to break them up?" Jenni filled in.
"There is a reward for your services, of course," Lucius smirked and he pulled a fairly large coin pouch out of his pocket and tossed it to Jenni.
Jenni looked inside. The bag was filled with at least fifty galleons. She closed the bag and dropped it on the floor. "You couldn't pay me enough to do it," She said flatly.
"I was afraid of that," Lucius sighed. "You've forced me to take it to the next level – if you won't do it for the money, will you do it for her?"
The door opened. Two guards entered the room, carrying a third, squirming figure. They set the figure down and one of the guards removed the mask.
"Mum!" Jenni shouted, running to her.
"So?" Lucius asked darkly. "Do we have a deal?"
Jenni looked up at him, her eyes filled with hatred. She was shaking. "You're sick," she murmured, her voice filled with rage.
Lucius grinned maliciously. "Do what you need to. I will release her when you've finished your task."
A/N: Apparently, I screwed up. I posted the wrong chapter. I just hope most of you didn't read it yet. It would kind of spoil the plot.