"My persistence and stupidity, in equal parts, are what led me down this path," Lucius muttered as he stalked down the halls of Malfoy Manor, praying that he didn't come into contact with Narcissa until well after she had calmed down. The Black insanity was not as visible in her as it was the rest of her family, but that didn't mean that it wasn't there.

It had been the one time that Narcissa had allowed him to take Draco to the Ministry with him – probably because Narcissa herself had been slightly busy on that day. Lucius had expected Draco to at least attempt to restrain himself, given that he was six and his tutors were already making daily visits to their manor, but Draco had gone running off at the first opportunity.

The tracking charm he had the foresight to place on Draco hadn't been of much use as Draco had moved on to another part of the Ministry by the time Lucius had even arrived in the place his son was supposed to be. Lucius doubted that there was anything in particular that Draco was following, all the places had seemed rather random thus far.

And Lucius had finally caught up to Draco exactly where they had started, with Draco smiling innocently up at him. How Narcissa had managed to find out about that was anyone's guess but they had arrived to her waiting for them at the grate, glaring at Lucius as soon as she saw him.

Draco had instantly run to his mother, who picked him up with a smile that was nothing like her previous expression. Lucius had taken that moment to leave the near vicinity. It was a tactical retreat: he was not running away from his wife's fury at him not being able to keep an eye on Draco for a day.

"Lucius."

He wondered if it was too late to claim that he had forgotten something important in the Ministry. The Ministry would still be accessible to him at this time, after all. They wouldn't really question his presence there… just be a bit curious, but they didn't really need to know the whys.

"If you couldn't keep an eye on Draco, you should have told me," Narcissa said with a disappointed sigh.

Lucius shuddered. The disappointed speech was even worse than the angry speech. It made him feel much worse, and often allowed Narcissa to guilt trip him into something he wouldn't otherwise do.

He could almost feel Narcissa's smirk at his reaction.

"I didn't think he would run off at the first opportunity!" Lucius protested weakly.

"Your son is a very curious boy. Something you would know if you spent more time with him!" Narcissa said primly, eyes glinting in a manner that Lucius had come to dread over the years.

Lucius knew that, but it was so difficult with so many people still doubting him at every turn.

"So I've decided you will be putting him to bed every night."

Written for YouTubers Quotes Challenge