Chapter 7
The evening of Mr. Collins' abrupt dismissal, Lucius could be found soaking amongst a sea of bubbles in one of the large upstairs bathtubs. Well, "soaking" wasn't really the optimal term – more like "playing," which included a good bit of splashing and sloshing of water out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor.
He felt better than he had in weeks, thanks in no small part to the potions Draco had given him earlier that afternoon. He had awoken from his nap after a few hours and wandered downstairs, only to be informed by Narcissa that Draco had stepped out to take care of certain matters. The child wasn't sure what that meant, but he knew that when grown-ups stepped out, it was usually for something important. Narcissa had spent the remainder of her afternoon with Lucius, which the boy had found odd, since she normally had social clubs that she attended on Fridays. The two of them had not talked about his tutoring sessions. Instead, they had then spent the rest of the afternoon with Lucius drawing and playing with Artie, and Narcissa sitting close by – actively commenting on the child's artwork and giving the hound a few love pats from time to time.
By the time dinner was ready, Draco had still not returned. Narcissa had insisted they eat without him, and Lucius had been pleasantly surprised when his favorite dish (shepherd's pie) had appeared on the table. After the meal was finished, the Malfoy matriarch had allowed Lucius to play for a while more, and then had escorted him upstairs and ran the bath, placing a bubble charm on the water so that the boy had an endless supply of bubbles to play with.
He had just begun to make waves in the tub by moving rapidly from one side to the other when there was a rap at the bathroom door. Lucius paused, expecting Narcissa, but was surprised when Draco appeared instead. The water splashed up behind the boy and over the side of the tub, which caused his guardian to raise a disapproving eyebrow in his direction.
Lucius eyed the man critically. Draco had never been one to be involved in the bedtime routine – well, not beyond telling his charge that it was time to be in bed.
"What are you doing here?" The boy asked, though the question was more curious than accusatory.
His guardian took a few steps forward – stepping around a water puddle – and knelt by the side of the tub. He reached up and pushed a stray strand of platinum blond hair out of the child's face. "I came to check on you and help get you ready for bed."
"You never have before!" Lucius said as he gathered up a handful of bubbles and let them fall back down to the water below.
"Mmmm." Draco hummed, watching the boy's actions. "You're right. But that's going to change. Starting now."
The child's eyebrows raised in surprise as he glanced up at the man. "Really?"
His guardian nodded. "Yes. I believe it has become abundantly apparent that I need to be more involved in your day-to-day activities."
"Oh." Lucius wasn't sure what else to say. He didn't know how he felt about the man's pronouncement.
"Oh," Draco said, echoing his ward's reaction. "Are you finished bathing?" He asked after a moment. "Mother said that you have been in here for quite a while."
The boy held up his hands. "My fingers are all pruny."
A small smirk rose on Draco's lips. "Yes, that happens when you sit in water for a length of time. But did you actually bathe?" He asked, raising a knowing eyebrow.
"Yes, mostly!" Lucius said, "But not my hair." He gestured to his head, which currently sported a crown of bubbles. "I don't like water in my eyes."
His guardian chuckled. "I didn't either at your age. But I think I can help with that." The man pulled out his wand and pointed it at the boy while muttering an incantation. "There." He said when finished.
Lucius didn't feel any different. "What did you do?"
"I created an exterior barrier from your forehead down to your chin." Draco said. At the boy's confused expression, he clarified. "Basically, I warded your face."
The boy's eyes widened before he broke out in a smile. "You can do that?"
The young man nodded as he accio'd the rinsing cup. "How are you feeling?" He asked as he gathered up some water and poured it over the child's head.
"Good!" The boy said, bouncing slightly in the water. "We had shepherd's pie for dinner!"
Draco laughed at the youth's enthusiasm. "Yes, I am aware," He picked up the shampoo and began to work a small dab into the boy's hair. "Are you still sore?"
A shadow passed over the child's face at the reminder of his ordeal with the tutor. He shook his head. "No, sir."
The man noticed the change in the boy's demeanor but chose not to comment on it. "I'm glad to hear that. You should know that I spent the afternoon making certain that Mr. Collins will not be allowed into any more teaching-related roles, or any other positions involving children." He gathered more water into the rinse cup.
Lucius sighed. "He would probably be nice to other children. It was me he didn't like."
Draco paused while lifting the cup, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Why do you say that?"
"Because I'm a Malfoy." The boy muttered.
"What's being a Malfoy have to do with it?"
"He – He said that his parents were killed here, in the cellars. He said it happened during a war." The boy stated, repeating back what the tutor had said but not really understanding any of it.
Draco's eyebrows raised to meet his hairline. "Apparently, I need to do a much better job of vetting your tutors.
He was tempted to try to let the matter drop there, but Lucius' eyes were filled with unasked questions.
The man sighed as he poured water over the boy's head. "Let's finish up here. I think we need to talk."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Less than 10 minutes later, Lucius had been rinsed, dried, and clothed in the pajamas he had chosen for that evening. Draco carried the child out of the bathroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, adjusting the boy so that he was comfortably situated on his lap. Looking down at the child's face, the elder Malfoy took a deep breath. He had no idea where remotely to begin.
"So, Mr. Collins told you that his parents died here during the war. Is that correct?" He asked finally.
Lucius nodded. "It's not true, though, is it?" The boy inquired, his tone almost pleading.
Draco sighed, and then answered the question with one of his own. "Do you remember when I told you that my father was a Death Eater?"
The boy nodded again.
"And that the Death Eaters followed a wizard called the Dark Lord?" The elder Malfoy went on.
Another nod. "The one a lot of people thought was a bad man, right?"
It was Draco's turn to nod. "Yes, that is correct." The little face in his lap stared up at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. Steeling his resolve, he decided to jump straight in. "Several years ago, there was a war between those who supported the Dark Lord and those who opposed him. During that war, the Dark Lord took over this house as his base of operations."
The boy's forehead creased a bit. "What does that phrase mean – 'base of op'rations"
Draco would have chuckled at the boy's pronunciation if the subject had not been so serious. "It means the main place that a leader gives orders from, where he or she tells people what to do."
"Oh." The child said as he reached up to play with one of the buttons on Draco's shirt. "Why did he choose this house? 'Cause it's big?"
The wizard found himself staring at the wall on the far side of the room. "Partly." He said, "But the main reason was that my father had displeased him. Taking over the house was meant to be a punishment."
"What did your father do to dis-dis-" Lucius began, struggling with the word that Draco had used.
"To displease him?" The elder Malfoy finished for him. The man carded a hand through his hair. This was turning out to be more difficult to he expected. He had not been prepared to relive these memories, much less to explain them to a six-year-old child. "He accidentally broke something that the Dark Lord valued highly."
"What did he break?" The boy asked, images of vases and stained-glass windows filling his mind.
His guardian was still staring at the far wall. The man shook his head. "It isn't important."
They both lapsed into silence – Lucius digesting what he had been told so far, and Draco contending with the unwelcome memories currently flooding his mind. Lucius was the first to break the silence.
"Were Mr. Collins' parents killed here?"
Draco sighed. "It is highly likely, especially if they were muggle-borns, or considered blood traitors. A great many unpleasant things happened in this house during the war, and killing those the Dark Lord did not approve of was one of them."
The boy didn't say anything to that. Instead, he fell silent again, though he continued to fiddle with the button on his guardian's shirtfront.
"Lucius? What is going on in that head of yours?" Draco said, a bit of concern edging into his tone. When the child didn't respond, the man shifted and placed the boy on the bed so that his back was against his pillow. He leaned down to try to get a better look at the child's face. "Lucius?"
The boy looked up, his eyes stormy. "Are we bad people?"
Draco exhaled sharply. He swallowed as the child looked down once more. How was he supposed to answer that question? "I've done some bad things," he admitted, "And my father did a lot of bad things. But you," Draco took the boy's chin in his hand and lifted it so that they were eye to eye. "You are a six-year old child. You are not bad."
The boy nodded in understanding. But then he paused. "Sometimes I'm naughty." He added after a moment.
His guardian chuckled. "Yes, sometimes you are. But that's why you have me, to help get you back in line." Draco reached out and tickled the boy's ribs, causing Lucius to give a little squeal. "Being naughty, though, is not the same thing as being bad." The young man added as he made eye contact with his charge again. "Do you understand that?"
The boy thought for a moment. "Yes," he said finally.
The elder Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Draco."
"Better." The young man said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Now, I do believe it is time for you to go to bed."
At a gesture from his guardian, the boy shifted so that Draco could pull back the quilt. Lucius slid his feet underneath, relishing the coolness of the fabric for a moment before looking up at the man. "Will you read to me?"
Draco leveled the child with a look that was meant to say that he did not appreciate the child's stalling about bedtime, but Lucius just stared back with an innocent expression. After a moment, the child's gaze fell to examining the top of the quilt.
"You don't have to." The boy said softly, "Cissa always does, though."
Thoroughly defeated by that statement, Draco reached over to the nightstand and picked up the edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard that lay there.
"Move over," The young man said, gesturing with his hand. He waited until Lucius had scooted a bit towards the bed's other side before settling down next to him.
As Draco opened the book, Lucius ducked under his guardian's arm and rested his head on the man's shoulder so that he could better see the pages. Draco smirked at the action. "Comfortable?" He asked. At the boy's nod of affirmation, the young man began reading. He was only a third of the way through "Babbitty Rabbity" when he felt his charge's body relax, and he peered down to find the boy fast asleep.
He placed the book back down on the night table and then gently lifted the child's torso up and away from him so that he could slip out of the bed unnoticed. He laid the boy's head on the pillow, whisking a few stray strands of platinum-blond hair out of the boy's face, and adjusted the quilt. A swish of his wand dimmed the lights.
The elder Malfoy was just exiting the room when Narcissa appeared. She quietly moved forward and gave Lucius a kiss on the cheek before following her son out of the room.
"Draco," She said, taking a good look at him once they were in the hallway and the door had been pulled shut behind them. "Is everything alright?"
"No, Mother." He said softly, "But it will be."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I realize that the last few chapters have featured Lucius being unfairly disciplined by someone else (though I do personally believe that they've shown a developing trust/bond between Lucius and Draco). Don't worry, however. Draco as the disciplinarian will return very soon.
