It's Spreading

It had been four months, four very long months, since Draco and Artemis had gone to work for Malfoy Enterprises, and the Head of the entire operation, Lucius Malfoy, was at his wits end. It wasn't that his son and daughter-in-law were difficult to work with, it was more the fact that they were constantly around each other. Lucius had grown accustomed to Draco being away from the Manor nine months out of the year, but now that the boy had graduated from Hogwarts he felt compelled to spend an enormous amount of time at his childhood home. And where Draco went Artemis was sure to follow. This left the head of the Malfoy family with a house full of loud people who loved to hear themselves talk.

Admittedly, Lucius was a man of habit and everyday after work, before Draco and Artemis began working for him, he would come home and greet his wife before settling himself in his private study and enjoying some of the finest brandy the world had to offer. The only disturbance he was forced to endure was when the house elf informed him that supper was ready. Now, this was but a distant memory. The elder Malfoy was lucky if he got five minutes to himself after work, before Draco and Artemis came barreling through the front door begging himself or Narcissa to settle an argument they were having. After that matter was handled, they would camp out in the sitting room until supper, eat dinner and then retire to Draco's old bedroom. The viscous cycle starting all over again the following morning. Lucius couldn't understand why, after he had gone through all of the trouble of buying them a home of their own, they would feel like they needed to be at Malfoy Manor all of the time. He loved his son and daughter-in-law, but they weren't children anymore and as far as Lucius was concerned it was time for them to start acting like it.

He had tried talking to Narcissa about it but she wouldn't hear of it. She was thrilled that her son and daughter wanted to be around her. For the last seven years she had been forced to live her life separated from her child, so she cherished their evenings together. Lucius was sure that if she had to spend her day around the young couple she would be less than thrilled to see them at home. For four months Lucius buried his annoyance, or at least attempted to, but today was the final straw. He'd had enough.

"Narcissa!" bellowed an irritated Lucius, as he stormed through the foreboding front doors of Malfoy Manor. "Narcissa!"

"Yes?" squeaked his terrified wife, as she timidly walked down the large marble staircase. It had been years since she had heard such a tone from her husband. The last time he sounded that angry she did not fair well. The closer she got to him, the more afraid she became. He looked absolutely livid, his large chest heaving as he tried, and failed, to control his breathing. As soon as he noticed the petrified look on his wife's face, Lucius quelled his anger and slowly approached her.

"Oh, dear... sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," he apologized, wrapping his arms around her tightly, hoping to assure her that he was not angry with her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her fear having subsided.

"Them," he groaned, before pulling away from his wife and stalking into the sitting room.

"Not this again, Lucius," huffed Narcissa, her hands firmly planted on her hips as she loomed over her now sitting husband.

"Yes, this again. It's spreading."

"What's spreading?" asked the confused woman, seating herself next to her husband on the couch.

"High-five," said Lucius, his deep baritone voice replaced with his best impression of Draco's slightly higher tone. Narcissa could do nothing but laugh, though she tried to hide it. "I was on my way to my office this morning when I heard my vice president of sales congratulating one of my biggest merchandisers on the birth of his fourth child, by asking for a high-five. Oh, and it get's better. This afternoon, I was meeting with a few of the interns in our internal affairs office, when I felt compelled to tell them what a good job they had been doing. Do you know what young Cedric Ferguson did next?"

"What?" asked Narcissa, knowing full well what the answer was.

"He said, "Yeah, up high!" Lucius spat, his voice full of malice. "Stop laughing, Narcissa."

"I'm sorry, love, but don't you think you're overreacting?" she laughed. Lucius ignored her questioned and simply continued on with his tirade.

"I had counted fourteen other high-five requests this afternoon, so I decided to have a word with my son, as I had no doubt that he was the source of this little problem. When I arrived at his office the door was shut, as usual, so I went inside. Do you know what I found?" questioned Lucius, a fanatical look on his normally handsome face.

"What?" she asked, unsure of wether or not she really wanted to know the answer.

"Your son and his wife, shagging, That is not what I bought that desk for!" bellowed Lucius, his anger returning. Narcissa was not shocked by this revelation. Draco and Artemis were newlyweds, her husband should have expected this sort of outcome. "You won't think its so funny when I tell you that your son cost me one of my biggest clients."

"What?" exclaimed Narcissa, unable to believe that Draco could do such a thing. "What did he do?"

"Well, as I'm standing in the doorway Victor Rutledge, head of Rutledge Textiles, walked up behind and got a rather clear view of what was happening inside Draco's office. After a few moments, your son finally figured out that he had an audience and he paused. PAUSED! He didn't rush to straighten out his clothes and make himself presentable, he paused and asked me if I could come back in fifteen minutes!" said Lucius, completely exasperated. "Come back in fifteen minutes? What the hell is wrong with him?"

"Draco..." whispered Narcissa, stifling her laugh. She had to admit, that did sound like something her son would do.

"So, rather than throttle him in front of everyone, I told him to meet me in my office after my meeting with Rutledge, who at some point had left the area. About twenty minutes later, Rutledge arrived for our meeting. Do you know what he said?" asked Lucius, rhetorically. "Lucius, my friend. Good job on that boy of yours. High-five."

"No," gasped Narcissa, a huge smile on her face. She couldn't believe that so stoic a man as Victor Rutledge would ever behave in such a manner. "What did you do?"

"I punched him," admitted Lucius, burying his hands in his long locks and shaking his head from side to side in disbelief.

"What!" shouted Narcissa, jumping up from her seat next to him. "You hit him! What were you thinking? Were you thinking?"

"No," muttered Lucius. Narcissa glanced down at her husbands hand, noticing for the first time, that is was swollen and pink. "I just couldn't take it anymore. Narcissa they're everywhere I turn. At the office... here. I can't get away from them. And they're always shagging! It's not natural and it's driving me mad!"

"First of all, you should be glad that Draco want's anything to do with you after everything you've put him through. Second, Draco didn't lose your biggest client, you did. You hit him. Victor has always been terribly fond of Draco," chided Narcissa, as she withdrew her wand and whispered a quick healing spell on her husbands swollen right fist.

"I know," huffed Lucius, not actually having blamed Draco to begin with. "It's just that this was supposed to be our time. Time for you and me to start over, to work on our marriage. We can't do that when we're constantly having to entertain them. They have a twenty four room mansion of their own, they don't need to be here all of the time. They haven't slept at Malfoy Estates in three months. Every night they're here. Every morning, they're here, and as much as I love them, I can't stand the sight of them anymore. At work I can avoid them if I have to. I need them there, they're invaluable assets to the Enterprise. But, here, I can't get away. They have to go... tonight. When they get here, and we both know it's only a matter of time before they do, I am sending them home and Narcissa, I need your support in this. If we don't do it now, they'll never establish their own life."

"Alright, Lucius," declared Narcissa, taking hold of her husbands hand. As much as she hated to admit it, Lucius was right. It was time for Draco and Artemis to leave the nest. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure just how they had gotten back into it. The fact that her husband wanted to work on their relationship was all the incentive she needed to give her son and his wife the proverbial boot. Just as Lucius was beginning to calm down, the front doors were flung open and Artemis came stalking into the manor, an annoyed Draco following behind her.

"You're an idiot!" she exclaimed, her husband rolling his eyes in response. "Mrs. Malfoy can you tell your son that women carry babies for nine months, not twelve. Can you believe he's actually arguing with me about this? "

"Draco, it's nine months," replied Narcissa, shooting her son an apologetic smirk. It seemed like every time the young couple came to her looking for a third party's opinion, she always ended up agreeing with Artemis. Draco plopped down onto the couch, seating himself next to his father. Lucius slowly turned his head and glared at the clueless young man.

"I hate it when they sit next to each other," Artemis muttered to Narcissa, as she glanced at her husband and father-in-law.

"Why is that?"

"It's a bit creepy. It's like you have Draco now and then Draco thirty years from now, sitting right next to each other. Give's me the willies."

"You know, you're right. They are spitting images of each other," laughed Narcissa, as she too looked over at her husband, who was glaring at his smirking son. Silently, Narcissa prayed that Draco didn't make the mistake of asking for a high-five. Though she knew that her husbands anger didn't really come from the high-fives, she didn't doubt that Lucius would probably cast the Cruciatus on Draco, if he brought it up.

"Why does Rutledge think you're off your rocker?" asked Draco, glancing over at his father.

"Don't know?" Lucius muttered, his jaw visibly tightening.

"Well, anyway, he said he'd see you at the Founders Meeting and that he hoped you were in a better mood, when he did," the younger Malfoy said, as he watched his father's tense expression change to one of slight shock. Lucius couldn't believe that Rutledge still wanted to do business with him. He had hit the man pretty hard, so he assumed that their business relationship was over. Clearly he was wrong.

"What's for dinner? I'm starved," Draco asked, rubbing his stomach for effect.

"Why, did you overexert yourself at work today?" mocked Lucius, still angry at his son's blatant disregard for the care of his exquisite antique executives desk. Draco winked at his Father, knowing exactly what his father was referring to.

"Your Father and I are having roast lamb. What the two of you have for supper... in your own home, is out of my control," said Narcissa, her words instantly calming her worn out husband.

"What?" questioned Draco and Artemis, in unison.

"Four months ago, the two of you moved into a fabulous mansion. You went through all of the trouble of decorating it and turning it into a home, but for some reason you have failed to actually live in it. Not once in the last three months have you slept in your own home. You're married now, and you no longer live here. So, your Father and I are going to have to ask the two you to stop living here. Go home," said Narcissa, sweetly before gently embracing a dumbfounded Artemis and stunned Draco. Neither of the children knew what to say, as Narcissa silently led them towards the front door and gently pushed them outside.

"Why don't the two of you come over for supper on Sunday?" Narcissa asked lovingly, as she handed Artemis her purse and coat. Lucius suddenly appeared behind his wife, a look of absolute elation on his face.

"See you Sunday," said Lucius, before smugly shutting the door in their stunned faces. For several moments, Artemis and Draco just stood where they were, staring at the door. Secretly, both hoped that this was just some awful prank that his parents were using to liven up their dull lives. Finally realizing that they weren't going to open the door and yell "Got Ya!", Artemis grabbed a hold of her husbands arm and started to drag him away.

"Did they just kick us out?" asked Draco, still unable to process what he had just experienced.

"Yes. I think they did," replied Artemis, leaning forward and kissing her husband on the forehead. "Come on, lets go home." Just then the door opened and Lucius stepped out. Immediately, Artemis and Draco dashed back over to the door trying to gain entry to the house.

"No, you're not coming back in," declared Lucius, the same smug smirk from before still on his face. "I just need to say one thing. That is not what I bought that desk for, and in future you will refrain from using it in such a manner. Am I clear?" Draco said nothing, he only glared at his Father, his pale cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Am I clear?" he asked again, his voice much more firm.

"Yes, Sir," whispered Artemis, looking down at her feet in embarrassment.

"Good. Oh, one more thing, Draco," said Lucius. The annoyed young man looked up at his Father, his glare softening ever so slightly. "High-five!" Draco stared at his Father's raised hand blankly, before unenthusiastically slapping it. Without another word, Lucius once again shut the door in the couple's faces.

"I think he was mocking me," said Draco, an unsure look passing over his handsome face.

"I think you're right, Love." Artemis laughed, as Draco wrapped his arms around his wife's waist so that they could apparate home.

"All this because we shagged on my desk," exclaimed Draco, just as they disappeared from the front steps of Malfoy Manor.

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I DON'T HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA WHERE THIS CHAPTER CAME FROM. I HADN'T PLANNED ON BRINGING UP WORK JUST YET, BUT FOR SOME REASON I COULDN'T GET LUCIUS' PREVIOUS REACTIONS TO DRACO'S HIGH-FIVE'S, OUT OF MY MIND.

JUST SO YOU KNOW THERE WILL BE APPROXIMATELY 35 CHAPTERS AND AN EPILOGUE. THE STORY ENDS AT THEIR 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, SO THE REMAINDER OF THE STORY HAS A LARGE TIME PERIOD TO COVER. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BEGIN TWO AND A HALF YEARS INTO THEIR MARRIAGE. DRACO IS 20 AND ARTEMIS WILL BE 20 SOON.

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