Apologies- I realised I had written christmas instead if easter in the title, this was due to changing a major plot line and forgetting to rename the title! My Bad! Here is the new chapter as it 'should' be:)

Not So Happy Easter

The Easter holidays arrived in what felt like no time at all. Draco had decided to go home and brood some more. Pansy had come with him like the dutiful girlfriend, but he could sense she was reluctant. As they entered the mansion, they were greeted by hosts of House-elves, all bowing and greeting their master, and taking his luggage from him. The female elves had started to natter with 'Miss Pansy' about how lovely she was, throwing compliments at her feet.

"I take it my mother isn't here!" Draco sneered at Poppy, the old house-elf.

"On the contrary! She is!" Narcissa appeared at the top of the huge staircase. She looked as well as she had been when his father was with her.

"Mother!" Draco exclaimed, he was shocked to see her, never mind see her looking healthy and standing!

"Good day Mrs. Malfoy!" Pansy curtseyed, and flashed a dazzling smile. She was so pretty when she smiled. Draco wished she smiled more often at school.

Narcissa laughed and descended the stairs. "Lovely to see you Miss Parkinson! I hope my son hasn't dragged you here thinking you were going to have the house to yourselves?" She raised an eyebrow suggestively at Draco, who coughed and looked away incomfortably.

"Draco darling, I spoke to your aunt. She told me about the 'incident' and I thought it best that I stop wallowing in my own self pity, and return to my duties as a mother!" She stroked a strand of hair away from his eyes. Although she was putting on a brave face, Draco could see her eyes were welling up as she looked at him.

"Pansy sweetheart could you give us a minute. Poppy? Show Miss Parkinson her room." She escorted Draco into Lucius' study. It was specially charmed so that no noise could penetrate the walls or doors, they referred to it as a 'silent' room. Closing the door behind her, Narcissa sat down in his father's favourite chair.

" Bella told me everything. I know what Wormtail did, but I cannot touch him. He is too close to the dark lord now, and he bends and twists the truth to his advantage." She was fidgeting a lot. She was very angry at herself for not being able to punish the coward. "He was ordered to give your father a letter! A message! And he claimed that your father attacked him in a madness, and he was forced to defend himself!"

"That's a filthy lie!" Draco squawked. "How dare he! Father is no more mad than I am!" he was starting to shake from his anger. The malfoy temper is a hard emotion to suppress.

"I know!" Narcissa whispered, biting her lower lip. "But the dark lord is a skilled leglimens draco, he knows what really happened, but he is so angry at your father he doesn't care what Wormtail did." She looked away, trying to stop herself from exploding into tears.

Draco knelt down beside her. "Mother? Look at me." He said softly.

Narcissa turned and reluctantly looked at her son. Luicus' son. He had his eyes, his nose, his hair. She began to sob.

"Wormtail will be punished for what he did. The dark lord may not care about father, but I am pretty certain he doesn't care what happens to that coward either!" He hissed.

"Don't!" Narcissa grabbed Draco's arm. "You can't kill him…the dark lord would know it was you!" She looked frantic, scared of losing the only thing she had left. She had lost the man she loved. She could not bear to lose her son too.

"I promise…" Draco gritted his teeth. "He will be punished…and he will never threaten our family again!"

He left her in the study, slamming the door shut behind him as he marched.

---

"Out!" An auror barked as he opened the heavy oak door of the darkroom. Lucius sighed and blinked painfully as the light burned into his eyes.

He slowly got to his feet and walked proudly out of the darkroom, without a glance to his jailor. He was escorted back to his regular cell. He could hear the mumbles and sniggers from the other cellmates, and feel their eyes boring into him. Some hissed, and those few who dared to vex him were given sharp icy looks in return. This had the desired effect. With a single look he found he could still intimidate even the hardiest of people.

He held his head high and towered above his jailor, who was short but stocky.

"Merry Christmas Malfoy!" he hissed as he slided the cell door open and threw the tall, blonde deatheater into the dim bricked room.

Luicus stifled a growl and winced as his head slammed against the far wall. He had spent a week in the darkroom despite Draco's offering of money. It seemed that torturing a deatheater gave them more pleasure than gold.

He painfully lay down on the rags in the corner of the damp cell, and closed his eyes, trying to push the pressure in his head away with his fingertips against the bridge of his nose.

A faint, barely audible rustling made him twitch. He didn't open his eyes. His time spent in the darkroom had allowed him to heighten his other senses. He listened for the noise. THERE. As if it were the sound of a breeze, the faint rustling drew closer, and Lucius recognised the sound. "Wormtail" he thought.

As quick as a flash, Lucius, eyes still closed, swept his arm out and clamped his hand onto a furry object. It squeaked and bit him furiously, but he didn't care. He lifted it into the air and opened his eyes, staring straight at it. The rat struggled and fought to be free but he had it by the tail.

Lucius let out a faint smile, reached out with his other hand and with a sneer, broke one of the rat's hind legs. It let out a high-pitched cry, and he threw it to the far side of the room.

The twitching squealing rat began to change, and Lucius was on his feet before Wormtail had fully transformed.

Lucius smiled and strolled over to him. Wormtail pathetically fumbled inside his robes for his wand, but was stopped with a swift punch in the face. He fell on his back with a cry. Lucius, found the wand and pointed it at him. He remembered the incident, when he had awoken to find Wormtail looming over him, and cursed him with the imperius curse until his nose bled. As he had lain there, trying to catch his breath, Wormtail had kicked him furiously, letting out all his jealousy, his rage, and hatred. "You are his favourite no longer Malfoy!" he had said.

Malfoy's mouth twitched with mild pleasure. Now the roles had been reversed, and it was time for revenge.

Wormtail's eyes went wide with fear as he saw a flicker of malice in Lucius cold eyes. "Wait!" He protested.

"Crucio!" Lucius hissed, and smiled as he saw Wormtail's body grow stiff and twitch uncontrollably. He cried and gasped, and even foamed at the mouth, and Lucius merely sneered as he removed the curse, allowing Wormtail to catch his breath before the next onslought.

"Thought you'd come back to torture me further did you?" Lucius hissed in his ear. "You should know, I learn from my mistakes…you should learn to do the same…" He glared into Wormtail's terrified eyes, and the cowardly wizard sobbed and snivelled.

"Don't kill me!" He begged, grabbing lucius' ragged clothes. "Please! Forgive me!" he whimpered. "It was the dark Lord! He told me to do it! He's so angry with you!"

Lucius slapped his face. "Don't Lie!" he hissed. "If the dark Lord wanted to punish me, there are far worse things he can do than send you here!" he snarled.

Wormtail gave up with his grovelling and started to laugh. "Oh yes!" he chuckled, "Your son!"

Lucius' eyes went mad with rage. "Don't you dare touch my SON!" he pointed his wand at Wormtail's eyes, and the man immediately stopped laughing.

"I won't have to!" He sneered, "Draco will fail, and then he will die! Then his mother! Then you!"

Lucius grinded his teeth. "My son will not fail…he will be far greater than you can ever wish to be!"

"The dark Lord sent another message for you!" Wormtail fumbled in his robes, wincing as the wand pressed hard against his temple. He removed a small roll of Parchment and handed it to the blonde wizard.

"Leave me!" Lucius threatened him, "You ever return, and I'll be sure to break both your legs!" He tucked the wand into his waistband, hiding it from view, and watched as Wormtail turned back into a scrawny rat, and limped out of the cell, through the hole in the wall.

Lucius listened until he knew the rat was long gone, and slowly unrolled the parchment. As he read it he trembled.

If he fails…I will make you kill him…and I'll make her watch.

---

---