Not my characters.

Chapter Three

Finding his father proved to be more difficult than he first imagined because his first try at the office just showed that his father hadn't shown up at work that day.

His next stop in his search was the restaurant that his father often frequented with his so called business associates. When he got there he was informed that indeed his father had been there at around noon but that he'd already left in the company of a dark haired woman.

' Dammit, he's probably with aunt Bella,' Draco didn't know where his father was so he would have to send a message by owl post, the owl would locate his father. Besides he didn't have all day, his mother had been sick for some time and he couldn't leave her waiting for his visit.

Father, Lord Malfoy,

The Dark Lord has urgent business with you and has requested your immediate presence at the council room.

Your dutiful son,

Draconius Lucen Malfoy

After writing the required message and sending it with his faithful Nightwing who had sensed Draco's need for his services and had hovered at his shoulder while he was writing, once it was sent, Draco disapparated.

Looking at his new surroundings Draco's countenance became even darker, here he was surrounded by horrible childhood memories. Here he had to face the house where his father had ruled with an iron hand and a will of steel. Here he would have to go past the rooms where he had learned to use a sword and at the same time had incurred severe wounds from his father's unwillingness to use practice sword or dulled swords. He'd have to go through the room where his first lesson in not befriending the house elves first occurred. That lesson had been the most horrible of them all, causing the death of the young house elf who had been his playmate, poor Dickey had suffered horribly.

Yet he had to go inside anyways once again, after three whole wonderful years of freedom, yet he could not postpone it any longer. His mother had called for him the day before and requested his presence. He remembered how when he was small his defendant had been his mother, how she had been beaten over and over and accused of pampering and turning him into a fag. Then when he saw how hurt his mother had been Draco began to pull away, reject her for her own safety. The beatings had stopped but so had the only childhood he'd had, the lovely walks through his mother's gardens, her sanctuary that even his father had no idea of, it had been their secret. There relationship was never healed, he saw his mother disappointment with Lucius-like behaviors he had adopted and learned. He heard her cry many times as his own nastiness increased to Lucius-like levels, yet he preferred it that way because at least she wasn't hurt, at least she was not beaten because of him.

Draco took another look about, took a deep breath and began the walk from the path to the manor's front door. He let the wards ascertain his Malfoy heritage and he pushed open the doors. Once inside he tried not to look around and hurried to his mother's quarters in the upstairs level of the left wing. Yet once he got to the top he noticed that the house inside was much darker than he recalled and definitely more depressing.

Opening to his mother's door he was greeted with sunlight and a cool breeze coming through the open windows, and a pale-wan faced lady seated in a rocking chair beside it looking lost in thought.

Looking at the paleness of his mother, Draco couldn't help letting loose a sob. His mother turned her head and gave him a happy smile. " Oh Draco dear, I'm so glad you're here, my son."

Draco shook his head at her and tears that had been welling in his eyes began to pour forth without a sound down his cheeks.

"Mother, I could never ignore your requests never!" while saying this Draco hurried to her side and buried his face in her shoulder, just as he'd often done as a child.

"oh my son, how I've missed you! I've missed you so much." Narcissa smiled at her child, at the pride and joy of her heart.

"My dear son we must talk," Narcissa's voice dropped suddenly, "but not here, we must go to our garden, please."

"But you are not well mother, I can't take you outside" Draco's protests came to naught and he found himself joining hands with his mother and repeating the old familiar chant. Next thing he knew he was seated in the stone bench besides his mother.

The wan look she'd had in the bedroom began to fade and color was seeping back to her cheeks. Draco looked at her surprised, and was about to ask about this strange phenomena, when his mother interrupted him.

" No Draco dear, I'm not cured, this is just a temporary restoration of energy nothing more."

"But mother, does that work for everyone, is it the powers of this garden, what exactly is going on here? Why did we have to come here to talk?"

Seeming to ignore these questions Narcissa asked a completely unrelated question, " Draco, what do you know of the House of Black?"

Draco taken aback didn't know what to answer, "not much, besides that Sirius Black was the last male of the line of that pureblood family, and that you are part of that house too."

Narcissa listened and then said, "Yes that is as much as I expected you to know, Now how much do you know of the Potters?"

At hearing the name, Draco's breath hitched, his voice took on a hollow tone "One of the oldest pureblood families. The Potter family was rumored to have had the blood of Godric Griffindor and Merlin himself running in their veins, all the Potters have been Griffindors at Hogwarts."

Narcissa nodded and asked, "how about the Weasley line, and the Malfoy line?"

Draco was getting slightly annoyed, "Mother, I really don't understand, wh.."

" Draco please just answer my questions."

" Fine"

"don't sulk"

" Yes mother, well the Weasleys and Malfoys are distant cousins, their bloodline has the bloodline of Helga Hufflepuff, however these two lines have been feuding for centuries over reasons as of now lost. The Malfoy's have always favored the so called "purity of blood" while the Weasley's are more apte to marry muggleborns, in more recent times this concept of purity has become even more volatile between these two lines. In essence I really don't know much, so could you please just tell me what's going on mother?"

Narcissa smiled, " you really haven't changed Draco, well first off, the Black line did officially end with the death of poor Sirius, But it will still continue through blood thought not in name not only with you but also through the Potter boy."

Draco's face showed bewilderment and shock at what his mother was saying,

" Oh don't look so shocked dear, Potters and Blacks go way back, alternatively hating and loving each other, plus the purity of blood in the past was important in both families and as you know there are few pureblood lines now, even back then there were few, so intermarrying wasn't uncommon. However way, way back in the Black line there was a marriage that wasn't really well looked upon and this was the marriage of a young Lord Althemus Black with a nymph. This is the branch from which both Sirius and I come from, and if I'm not mistaken Mr. Potter also has blood from this branch way back in his ancestral heritage." Here Draco felt the need to interrupt, "mother, the thing is.. "Hush, and here me out Draco. Well the power of the nymph is very strong in the natural healing of the body, only thing is you can't heal yourself, it is however very useful in battle, which is the only reason young Althemus was even forgiven for such an indiscrete choice in a life partner. Now though, the blood of the nymphs is diluted, however every once in a while the power will reappear. To answer your question about this garden, it energizes me because this is where the nymph Daithi's forest used to be and though the trees are no longer here the land remember's it's power and it gives energy to the sick and weary, it is the small sign of what the person with the true power would be able to accomplish. However like any power it has it's reverse side, that that can heal can also kill" Narcissa's voice broke off and she looked at Draco intently,

"I'm glad, my son, that you have found someone that you love and together you will both complement each other. "

Draco's eyes began to sting and uncharacteristically he gave off a loud sob, " What use is it mother, that I found him and he is gone? What use was it to turn away from my past if I'd have to return to it, what use? It has only made my life that much harder to bear. It has made me lonelier than I ever was before I discovered it!"

Narcissa looked at her beloved son's pain and she began to talk, "Draco, there are ways to change the outcome, for things to turn around."
"Mother there is no way to undo death, there is now way for what is dead to return to life, no matter how much I wish it Harry won't come back, not now, not tomorrow, not ever!" Draco's voice was full of despair and anger. His anger was directed at himself for letting Harry die, at Harry for dying in the first place and now at his mother for confusing him even more.

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