AUGUST 24th, 11 YEARS OLD

The Recreational Area of Malfoy Manor—

Usually when it wasn't being used to its full potential, it would end up collecting at least some dust. It would appear very empty, only because it tended to full, and big parties when being used. With Lucius's party approaching so fast in the afternoon, Dobby scrambled around to make sure everything was set up. Tables were set out for the select few families that'd end up coming, as well as seats too. Delectable snacks laid on the surfaces, all sorts of colors. A punch bowl was set out too; one separate from another across the room; one was suited for the children, while the other was suited for the adults. The Malfoy Patriarch had insisted, since it would have been easier to deal with so many people at once.

Eleleth hated how her husband would often drink… Why couldn't he just face his problems without it? She wisely kept the thought to herself, as she overlooked the party's preparation and now went to go check on her son. Dobby did an excellent job. She climbed the steps, taking a few corners and turns to get to her son's room.

A knock was soon heard on Lucius's door, and he looked up from his sketchbook, eyes guarded as he looked carefully towards the door. "Yes?" He finally decided to say after a moment's hesitation. D-Don't be Father…

"Lucius?" A female voice called, making the boy's nerves soothe themselves, as he straightened up from laying down on his bed. "You can come in," he instructed his Mother, who gently opened up the door and smiled towards her son.

"Are you ready?"

Lucius met her eyes, then looked away. "…Not really."

She frowned. "You have to be, Narcissa will even be here," she explained, knowing he had to do his duties as well, at least start on them.

The little Malfoy scrunched up his face a bit, and he huffed, ''I-I.." He trailed off, unsure how his mother would take his comment. Would she take it like Abraxas had?

Eleleth scowled a touch. "Speak up and don't stutter, boy," she reprimanded him gently, but firmly. She motioned with her hand, trying to get his attention.

He swallowed. "Yes, Mother.. I… just don't have good feelings about that Black girl, is all," he forced out to admit.

She furrowed her brows a touch. "Oh? Well, Lucius, you're going to have make nice with her at some point, and you're going to be miserable with her."

The boy's shoulder slouched. "…What if I don't want to?" He asked, his voice full of careful anxiety, and slight coldness.

Eleleth was about to say something, but then just simply frowned. "I don't know, I doubt your Father would take that for an answer."

Lucius huffed. "Great," he said sarcastically, looking away, wishing he could just stay there and draw until his heart's content. He almost reached out for his drawing tools again, but his mother stopped him.

"If it makes you feel better, I can spend some time with you before the party?" she asked with a lifted eyebrow and a questioning expression. Hearing that, the boy hmphed and crossed his arms.

"You'll just try to justify Father again later, if he's harsh with me…." He said, hurt in his voice.

"…It's best to try to understand others, and their problems," she reasoned, as he scowled at her for saying that. He shook his head.

"He says that I'm a waste of space, at least, very well implies it," he said scathingly. Oh, how he started to hate his father.. Instead of love.. was there even such a feeling in the first place? …Perhaps. A sort of darkness threatened to take it away however. Why did it have to be so complicated with Abraxas and him? Why couldn't it just be more straightforward? He suddenly saw her hold some hair care products up. His eyebrows shot up, and he smiled a bit. "…Are those for me?"

Eleleth smiled, nodding, and laughing a little bit. "Yes—let's apply them for you, dear,'' she said, and she saw she didn't have to tell him twice as he raced into his bathroom, art forgotten. He did like this bonding time with his mother, afterall. She laughed as he did so, and she followed into the bathroom after him, squirting some into her hands. ""It will be nice and soft and shiny," she explained, as she got to work.

Lucius smiled a bit at that, sliding his eyes closed after removing his top layers, so they wouldn't be messed up. "Will it?" He already knew the answer, but he always liked hearing it.

"Yes, dear, it will be," Eleleth gently said. She let some silence pass by in between them, as she now put in another product into his hair, as she led him over towards the sink. "…Don't worry about your Father—Just focus on the happy moments, Lucius," she encouraged, yet her voice was half cold, half tired.

He sighed. ''I try—"

"No, you don't. At least it doesn't seem like it."

Lucius huffed. Wanting to turn his head, so he could glare at her for saying such things. "What do you mean?" He demanded.

She continued to scrub the product in, answering after a beat, "You seem to just accept whatever he throws at you."

"I'm a child, Mother!"

"Don't raise your voice," Eleleth chided. "You know he expects you to act like an adult, at least soon. Within a couple of years."

Lucius focused his vision on the ground. "…Mike said—"

"The Mudblood? I thought you forgot about him by now?"

Lucius carefully shook his head very slightly, keeping mind of his Mother's fingers in his hair. He stayed silent for a few moments, then— "I-I haven't. He says—"

"I suggest you do."

"I-I'm in the process," Lucius said almost in a huff. Why couldn't she just listen?

"Good."

"Can I say what I was going to say now?" Lucius restrained himself from particially yelling at her. She paused from massaging his hair, which felt so damn good; why did she have to stop?

"…Go ahead," she said with some difficulty. Before continuing with her work.

Finally. "He says he wouldn't have to grow up until eighteen—why must I do it sooner than that?"

"You trust him on such things?" It sounded almost scathing, but deep down it was a simply curious type of question for him.

"Not particularly." Especially after how our friendship fell through. "As Father says… the Pureblood is the only correct way."

"…For the most part."

"M-Mother?" The boy questioned, almost, yet again, turning his head to look at her. Luckily, she had a good held position on his head. Damn it.

"I never did agree on the more extreme viewpoints of the Pureblood Ways," she murmured, now gently moving her son's head towards the sink, so when the products were ready to be rinsed out, they could do it when the time came.

Lucius furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"Some select families talk of death of Mudbloods and the such… It's rather sick, if you ask me," she muttered darkly. A little bit of shudder went through Lucius as he heard that. People think like that? Right, wasn't it…

"Didn't Father go to school with that one person? Uh… Riddle, I think it was?"

"Riddle?" She questioned, tilting her head in confusion. She had never heard the name… Lucius shrugged carefully as not to disturb his hair.

"Father mentioned it maybe once.. Apparently an extremist of sorts gathering traction in some Pureblood families…"

"Lucius," she suddenly spoke up, cutting off his musings abruptly. Once again, he almost turned his head too much, and she gently corrected him. "Promise me something?"

"Yes, Mother?"

"Promise me you won't gravitate towards such extreminism," she said with a definitive tone, as she now turned on the water, trying to make it the perfect temperature for her son and his head.

Mmm, as she got the perfect temperature, it had felt good feeling it run through his hair. He let the water start to do its job, before he finally answered, "I won't," he said, smiling as his mind rested a bit as they agreed on such a matter.

"Good, thank you," she breathed out.

ZZZZZZZ

The warm breeze that afternoon was carefree, blowing among the crowds that separated themselves, conversations and laughter a given. The sun beamed down onto the people kindly. It casted shadows along the walls and along the people, particularly of the platinum blonde was about to reach over and taste the icing off the surface of his cake.

"Lucius…" Came a scathing tone.

Lucius's hand darted away from the elaborately made cake for his New Beginnings, and he whistled innocently, looking up to his mother. "…I wasn't going to do anything, mother," he quickly said.

Eleleth looked doubtfully at her son and pulled her a bit roughly away from the cake. "Don't ruin it, Dobby did a decent job," she scolded, now letting her eyes study it. Colors of silver and green decorated it for the most part, but also allowed the other Hogwarts have a bit of a shine too. Four stick figures were on the cake, symbolizing the potentiality of where Lucius would end up going. Icing along the edges of the cake predominantly displayed green and silver. Though everyone knew he would most likely be in Slytherin, such as the Malfoy Tradition, ever since hundreds of years ago.

He huffed. ''Maybe,'' he slowly admitted, as he looked at it. "You had to convince Father, didn't you?" He said quietly.

"I had to, a little bit,'' she answered just as quietly back.

"I wish he'd try harder," he mumbled, now backing away from the cake before his mother could comment any further. He nearly rammed into a certain blonde, who nearly slopped some red punch onto him.

"Sorry, Malfoy," Narcissa sneered, straightening herself back up and smoothing down her dress.

Anger flashed in his eyes. He just had his hair done! "No, you're not," he snarled.

"It's not like I intended to get your hair filthy," she said with a false smile, waving her cup in the air.

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "You did, I can tell it in your eyes—you're disappointed," he pointed out, being particularly sharp for his age.

Narcissa lifted an eyebrow, smirking a touch. "Yes, well… you can't prove it, can you?" She said, now brushing past him, her dress lightly touching his robes, purposefully. As if to dare him to retort against her actions.

Lucius easily enough took the bait, as he whipped around and yanked on her hair from behind. She yelped, not expecting it, but before she could reply angrily, Lucius was yanked away from her by a displeased Abraxas. Abraxas scowled down at him, eyes flashing dangerously. "What did I tell you, boy?" He barely slurred, but the effects of the alcohol was definitely showing within his form as he stood there. He leaned down to see his son eye to eye, eyes full of a mix of pure iciness and rage.

At this rate, I'll never get a Heir later on…

Lucius shifted uncomfortably. What could he say? "She's… disrespectful," he said carefully, as he kept his eyes locked with his father's.

Abraxas said absolutely nothing, but he leaned back up, barely holding back a burp as he held his hand up to his mouth momentarily. He gripped Lucius's shoulder hard. He couldn't do anything out during a party like this, even if it had been families they were acquainted with. "I'll deal with you later," he promised in a whisper, now going away from his son. Lucius sighed, letting his eyes slide shut momentarily. He was suddenly startled by a hand on his shoulder.

"You looked pale there for a second," Rudolphus commented softly, then grinned. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Lucius."

Lucius glared but then shook his head. "Father's just being…" he trailed off a bit.

"Himself?' The teenager supplied for the other, knowing how rough things could get for the younger boy. Lucius nodded at that.

"Yeah."

The black haired teenager patted him on the back. "Maybe I could show off a bit with my piano playing?" To make you feel a bit better, he wanted to add on, but they weren't really alone.

Lucius smiled a bit. That'd be nice. "Yes, yes you could."

The other boy chuckled. "I'll get right on it," he said, eyes set on Lucius's mother. No doubt he could get her to let him play some music, especially since this was a special occasion for the other boy. Lucius smiled after him, finally pushing himself to go visit the snack table, as he watched the other Pureblood children chit-chat. He'd have to make sure he'd welcome them for being here, even if majority of the relationships weren't deep. Still, being polite won out, especially for a Malfoy.

He went up to the counter, scanning his eyes over all that had been available, despite it being only about three families there today. Picking up a plate, he grabbed whatever he liked, piling it a bit on his plate, since he was quite a bit hungry. He started to munch on what he had as he stepped away, finally going over to the other Pureblood children. He started to converse, only if a little bit.

The adults bid him Good Luck, out of politeness, finally.

"Thank you, I'm sure I'll get Slytherin," he almost wanted to grin, but held it back.

"You go, Lucy!" Rabastan chimed in from his mother's arms. Lucius's eyebrow twitched a bit at the nickname, but knew the other would eventually grow out of it.

'Yes… go me," he said a bit gently, but dryly as well.

Mrs. Lestrange placed a hand gently on Lucius's shoulder briefly. "Oh, how sorry I am, dear," she looked at him with a bit flush.

"It's fine," he said automatically, before turning his head towards sudden music bursting forth from a corner of the area. He always did know how to play wonderfully…

Rudolphus's father looked a bit startled. "He learned from the best," he smirked, sure of his abilities and of himself. "He's such a good player, I'm sure he'll be able to impress the Wizarding Orchestra in France."

The platinum blonde furrowed his brows, feeling a bit of a pang of hurt with how proud the man was. "What's out there?" He asked, ignoring the feeling.

The black haired man took a bite of his small sandwich, and swallowed it. "Oh, only the finest opportunity! We got Dumbledore to agree to a two week period off for him, as long as he kept up with his studies every few days." He reached over to the table keeping his drink safe, and he took a sip. "He gets to play with them next year if his training goes well."

Lucius's heart swelled with a bit of pride for the other pureblood. "Wow, congratulations," he finally said, looking back at the Father.

Cygnus huffed, trying to butt in, "…Will the Orchestra be accompanied by singers?"

The proud Lestrange sniffed. "Possibly—but I doubt it, Cygnus." A pause. "There'd be other opportunities for your daughters in time."

"And when will that be?" The man retorted.

Lestrange was about to reply back, but that's when Rudolphus's voice entered more loudly, drawing everyone's attention. Even Bellatrix stopped misbehaving, in order to hear.

Rudolphus held his wand up to his neck and beamed back at the now quiet crowd. "Yes, thank you," his voice boomed through the spell's working. "I just wanted to say happy farewell towards one of the finest Purebloods that will most definitely make a mark on Wizarding Society, Lucius. You'll do great in School, I know it," he finished, looking towards the blonde who perked up at the praise being given. "Just try not to slither too much out of trouble, if you get in any there."

Lucius grinned a bit at the joking manner of the other, as well as a couple of others.

Crickets. Pure silence, and the teenager huffed. "You don't know good jokes!" He grumbled.

The Lestrange Father crackled a bit, but not too loud, not to be non-mindful of the others around him. "Ha, I get it now!"

Lucius facepalmed. These people could be so slow sometimes! After that thought, he saw Rudolphus clear his throat and continue, "….Anyways, uh… yeah, I'll hand it off to Mrs. Malfoy, now." He stepped back now, standing next to the piano, eagerly waiting until he could continue playing. Eleleth stepped forward now, her dress flowing a bit behind her as she smiled. She did the same wand motion as Rudolphus had. A murmur of the spell, and she was ready.

"Yes, thank you—" she repeated, just like the other had done. "Lucius, I, too, know you'll do well. Do your best. Make your House proud. Remember what we taught you," she said, leaving the last bit a silent statement. …And I'll miss you.

Lucius beamed back up to his Mother, as he absorbed her words. I'll be able to get out of this hellhole.

"Dear?" She straightened a bit of her strawberry blonde hair out, as she stepped backward, letting Abraxas step forward now. He placed his drink in a safe spot. Coldness danced around in his eyes, as well as his form, betraying no emotion as he got the spell ready for his part of the announcement.

"Hm. A lot of words could be said, Lucius—Do your duty as a Malfoy." A pause. "That's it."

Awkward silence pervaded in the atmosphere; they all knew Abraxas wasn't one to be overflowing with praise for his son, but to leave it so… empty? Lucius's face fell. He sniffed, standing up tall as an 11 year old possibly could. "O-Of course, Father," he called out to the other, nodding.

Abraxas nodded a bit towards his son, before flashing a quick look to Eleleth. "Eleleth? Get the cake ready for the guests,'' he told her in a neutral tone, as he now stepped down, removing his wand from his throat, not caring at all how that had sounded. He'd have some private words once the boy got onto the train, but until then… His wife shot out her hand and grabbed his arm for a few seconds. She knew better than to hold it in place. "Abraxas," she started firmly, narrowing her eyes. "Couldn't you say more about him?"

Abraxas glared back at her, taking a gulp of his firewhiskey. "…No. He'll get that later," he shrugged. "He pissed me off earlier, anyways." As if it would excuse his behavior.

"Just because—" she tried to start, but he cut her off.

"Shut up," he whispered cruelly, scowling. "I'll do what I want."

Her face faltered, but soon recovered. "Clearly."

"Leave me alone, and maybe I'll fuck you later," he threatened in a low tone, now leaving her.

She froze. At first, she couldn't move from her spot, but knowing there were people around potentially watching, Eleleth forced herself to go over to where the cake was. She smiled sadly down at it. At least Lucius will be free of this chaos… With that, she grabbed a knife from nearby and starting to cut the cake.

The nearby people started to line up, eager for some of the tasty treat. She narrowed her eyes at Cygnus trying to thrust his plate forward first—"No, lucius first," he told him, and his face faltered.

"But I love cake…" He mumbled, stepping aside as the small platinum blonde tried to get past. He smirked up at the Black, before sliding his eyes onto his Mother, as he held out his plate.

"Enjoy it," she told her son kindly as she slid a big piece onto his plate. He resisted from licking his lips as he now got out of line to enjoy it.

"Thank you, Mother," he said with a flourish.

Rest of the evening passed by relatively calm, and best of all, the boy didn't even get reprimanded later on that night from Abraxas. Apparently, the man had passed out drunk, and Eleleth had to levitate him up to the Master Bedroom. Lucius had a bit of a bounce in his step due to it.

After he had gotten ready for bedtime later on, he sat down at his desk and uncapped a small container of paint and dipped a paintbrush into the red. With a stroke, he marked off another day of his calendar within his sketchbook. A smile.

It won't be long now until I'm at Hogwarts.