Happenstance

Chapter 15: All Hell Breaks Loose

It took Draco several moments to recover from the shock of finding Professor Snape standing in his foyer, but after a while, he was finally able to pick his jaw up off the floor and properly greet his guest. Draco knew that if his parents had seen how poor a host he'd just been, he'd never hear the end of it. Especially since they'd spent a small fortune on several years worth of etiquette classes for him. As Draco led Professor Snape to the sitting room where the others were waiting for him to return, he couldn't help but feel like he was quickly approaching his own demise. Draco knew that this could go one of two ways; either Luna would burst into hysterical tears the moments she laid eyes on Professor Snape, or she would let loose the anger she'd been holding in ever since he'd chucked all of her research into the fire. A small part of him wanted Luna to get angry. Draco had made no qualms about his dislike of her holding her anger in, and he suspected that venting her frustrations would only help to make things better, not only for her, but for him and Landon too.

Looking over to the man walking next to him, Draco couldn't help but get the feeling that Snape was excited to get things underway. He'd always know that his former Professor enjoyed terrorizing people, even if he was on the good side, which he'd proven during the final battle against the Dark Lord, but not even that knowledge could make Draco understand why Snape seemed to have it out for Luna. As they neared the sitting room, Draco was overwhelmed with the desire to hex the living hell out of Snape for not only chucking Luna's research into the fire, but for the lasting effects his actions had caused. Though it took a great deal of effort, Draco was able to reign in his anger and politely direct his guest to the party.

As Draco and Professor Snape entered the sitting room, he was greeted by the sight of everyone's back to him, as they all stared down at Landon who lay in Lucius' arms. Draco was shocked that Luna would have allowed Lucius to even touch Lanny, let alone actually let him hold the boy. Before Draco had the chance to alert everyone to his return, Snape beat him to it, by clearing his throat loudly. The unexpected noise made everyone's head turn towards the doorway in search of the person responsible for making it. The only person who didn't seem shocked by Snape's presence was Lucius, who sat rocking his grandson gently, a smug smirk on his face.

"Severus," Lucius said, a little too happily. "Glad you could make it." Standing, Lucius handed Landon to Narcissa and went to greet his longtime friend with a firm handshake. "I was beginning to think that you weren't going to be able to attend."

"It's been quite some time since I've seen Draco," Snape replied. "And I believe I'm one of the only people within a twenty mile radius who hasn't had the pleasure of meeting the newest Malfoy." Walking over to Narcissa, Severus leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before taking Landon away from her. When he did that, Draco was sure that Luna would had thrown a fit, but instead, she stood rooted to her spot with a blank look on her face; one that Draco couldn't read. "Luckily for the boy, he's taken on most of the Malfoy traits. He's quite handsome."

"Isn't he?' Narcissa said, proudly, playing with one of Landon's tiny hands while Snape held the boy. "He looks just like his Daddy did when he was a baby, doesn't he?"

"Most definitely," Snape agreed, looking from the baby to Draco and back down at the baby, as if he was inspecting them for similarities. "What's to happen to the boy's mother?

"The boy's name is Landon," Draco snapped, not liking the way his former professor was addressing his son. "And why would anything happen to Luna?"

"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten that Miss Lovegood was his mother" Snape said, softly. "Well, at least his parentage on his paternal side is worth while. Has she given up custody yet?"

"What?" Draco asked, dumbfounded by his words. "Why would she give up custody?"

"You mean to say that you're willing to share the boy with her?"

"His name is Landon," Draco said, through gritted teeth. "And Luna and I are quite happy with our familial situation. Landon is both of ours, and he always will be. And please stop talking about Luna as if she's not in the room. She's right there and can hear every word you say."

"Didn't see you there Miss Lovegood," Snape drawled, as he turned to look at Luna, who still stood exactly where she'd been when he'd entered the room. "Your son is lucky to have so wonderful a father as young Mr. Malfoy. I can't imagine that, even in your wildest dreams, you would have expected so affluent a father for your spawn." Luna was speechless. In just a few seconds, Snape had managed to insult her in every way he possibly could, short of calling her fat. Since Luna wasn't going to stand up for herself, Draco took it upon himself to do so.

"You're wrong," Draco piped in. "I'm the one who should be grateful that a witch like Luna would want anything to do with me. Hopefully, her influence will overshadow some of the narrow-minded ideas that I'm sure Landon will happen upon at some point in his life." Quickly, Draco crossed the room and went to stand next to the eerily silent Luna. "You okay?" he whispered, leaning down to her ear so that no one else could hear him. Luna nodded, unconvincingly, seemingly unable to speak.

"When do you think supper will be ready?" Madame Rosmerta asked, trying her best to change the subject. Ever since Snape had entered the room, both Rosmerta and Luna's father had been completely silent. Luke wanted his daughter to have an opportunity to handle this situation on her own, even though his anger was well past its boiling point, but for some reason, she didn't seem too inclined to voice her displeasure. "Is there anything I can help you with, dear?" Luna shook her head slowly, her eyes never leaving Snape as he cradled her son in his arms.

"Luna fixed everything just before you all got here, so we can eat now, if you'd like," Draco offered, gently taking Luna be her upper arm and leading her towards the dining room, where all of the food had already been set up and was under a warming charm. Making sure that they stayed several steps in front of everyone, Draco took a moment to make sure that Luna really was okay. "Why are you just letting Snape walk all over you?"

"I'm not," Luna whispered, so softly that Draco could barely hear her over the clicking of everyone's shoes against the floor. "I'm just not stupid enough to argue with him, especially since he's got your father in his corner. I wouldn't stand a chance against one of them, let alone both of them."

"Since when did that matter?" Draco laughed, recalling her previous inability to hold her tongue even when it was futile to argue. When Luna didn't answer, he began to worry even more. As everyone else seated themselves at the large dinner table, Draco led Luna into the preparation room that was just off of the dining room and closed the door behind them. "If it becomes too much, just let me know and I'll get rid of him, alright?" Luna nodded. "I'll get Landon from Snape and put him to bed, so that we can enjoy our supper. I gave him a bottle while you were in the shower, so he'll probably sleep a good five hours before he wants to eat again."

"Thanks," Luna said, smiling up at him weakly, her eyes filled with sadness. "For everything, not just this."

"It's been my pleasure," Draco replied, playfully, kissing her on the cheek. Instead of pulling away, Draco let his lips linger against the soft skin of her cheek, before slowly letting his mouth drift across her skin and rest against her lips. Inwardly, he berated himself. Draco knew that he was taking advantage of the situation by making a move while she was upset, but he didn't know how else to comfort her, and this had always worked in the past, so he figured, why not give it a shot? Much to his pleasure, Luna made no move to end their kiss, and in fact, did everything she could to prolong it. She too knew, that she had no business letting him kiss her, let alone kiss him back, but at that moment, Luna didn't care. All she knew was that she liked kissing Draco, and considering that the alternative was being forced to endure the company of quite a few people she really didn't like, Luna chose to go with what she enjoyed, rather than what would be considered right.

Apparently, Luna and Draco had lost track of time, neither making a move to part until they heard the sounds of approaching footsteps. Both jumped apart and quickly tried to hide any signs of their little tryst. When Rosmerta, who had Landon in her arms, entered the room and saw that both were flushed and breathing heavily, she did her best to pretend that she didn't know what had been going on, but both Draco and Luna knew that she did.

"Is there somewhere I can lay him down?' she asked, nicely, trying to suppress the small smile on her face. "I didn't see a bassinet or a crib in the room."

"I'll take him," Draco offered, picking the boy up and quickly heading out of the room.

"You alright, dear?' Rosie asked, gently stroking Luna's bare upper arm, comfortingly. "Your father told me what Snape did to your project and I imagine you must be in a terrible state having to dine with him."

"I'm fine," Luna answered, flatly. She was more than displeased by Rosmerta's attempt at comforting her but, deciding that one battle was more than enough for one night, Luna did her best to ignore it, and smiled at the older witch as she walked to the dining room.

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To say that their supper was tense and uncomfortable, would be putting it lightly. The only sounds that could be heard was the clanking of silverware against the porcelain plates and that of people chewing their food. When anyone did speak, which was rarely, their words were contrived and meant to spark up conversation, but no one took the bait. Several times, Lucius and Severus had found an opportunity to insult Luna, and made every attempt possible at exploiting it. Lucius was still stuck on the fact that Draco and Luna didn't have a house elf, so when they sat down to eat, he'd made it a point to put up a fuss over having to serve himself. Luna, trying to be a good hostess, stood to serve Lucius herself, but he waved her off and told her that he'd rather serve himself than have someone of her stature do it. Every time his father would say something like that, Draco would chide him warningly, but the younger wizards attempts at reprimand went either unnoticed or were just outright ignored.

To her credit, Luna took it in stride, and instead of flying off the handle and hexing Lucius, she remained poised and silent; a feat that did not go unnoticed by Narcissa. Manners and etiquette were a big deal to his mother, and Draco knew that she had to be impressed by the way that Luna was handling herself in so stressful and trying a situation. It was no secret to Narcissa that her husband could be a cruel and sadistic man, and she didn't doubt that his words were grating the poor witches resolve. The more she got to know that mother of her grandson, the more she liked the girl, even though Lucius had explicitly told her to remain distant and indifferent.

"Luna," Narcissa chirped, happily. "That supper was fantastic. For someone who doesn't eat meat you sure do know how to prepare fillet mignon perfectly. I don't think I've ever had so delicious a fillet, and I've eaten at some of the finest restaurants our world has to offer."

"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy," Luna replied, politely, genuinely glad that she'd enjoyed the meal.

"When I heard that you'd be preparing the food, I have to admit I was a bit wary, but after tasting it I must say that you are quite adept in the kitchen," said Narcissa, reaching over and patting Luna, who sat next to her, on the shoulder. "I'm glad to know that my boy won't be starving to death now that he's moved out. The boy couldn't even get himself a cup of tea without the assistance of one of our servants."

"It took some getting used to but Draco's gotten pretty good at sustaining himself," Luna said, smirking at the recollection of the mess he'd made while trying to make himself an omelet. Draco blushed, as the two witches poked fun at him, but deep down, he really was proud of the way he'd adapted to the lack of an elf to do everything for him. Granted, he would still prefer to have one, now he didn't see the necessity of having one and had decided to drop the issue.

"Supper really was wonderful," Luna's father whispered, smiling at his daughter, tentatively. Luke was having a really hard time handling being in the presence of the man who'd practically destroyed his daughter's outlook on life and had completely altered her personality. His daughter had always been a happy, optimistic and caring girl and ever since Snape's heinous act, she'd become a brooding, distrustful mess. "I've missed your cooking since you left."

"I should hope you missed me and not just my cooking," Luna joked. For the second time that evening, Luna was able to breath easy. The fact that the two people who had given her those opportunities were her father, and oddly enough, Draco, the one person she'd been trying to remain distant from, did not fail to peak Luna's interest. "I missed you too, Daddy."

"Oh," Lucius said, sarcastically. "Isn't that sweet. She missed her Daddy."

"Father," Draco hissed, warningly. "Is that necessary?"

"What?" he asked, innocently. "She just said that she missed him. It's not like I made it up."

"You know exactly what I meant," Draco snapped, having grown tired of his father's antagonizing throughout the entire meal. As was his goal, Lucius had managed to turn what could have been an enjoyable evening, getting to know the woman in his life and mother of his child, into a torturous affair that everyone wished would end as soon as possible. Lucius scoffed at Draco's statement and busied himself with scrutinizing the decor of the dining room.

"The color palette is... interesting," Lucius said, leaning back in his chair, his arms crossed over his chest. Luna cast a quick clearing charm so that their plates and the remainder of the food would disappear and the table would be clean.

"I think its quite nice," Rosmerta argued, glancing around the bright and airy room. "Its a nice change from the dark brooding atmosphere of the pub, that's for sure."

"Thank you, Rosmerta," Draco replied, politely. "I really like it too. It feels more open... welcoming. Like a home ought to." Draco's words were straight to the point and both his mother and father knew exactly what he'd meant by them. His childhood home was dark and unwelcoming and his current abode was the exact opposite.

"Well Draco," Lucius hissed, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers as he glared down the table at his son. "It's like you're a whole new man. A few changes in your life and all of a sudden you think that you can just change what I spent eighteen years cultivating. Please. It doesn't work that way. You are and will always be exactly what I made you and nothing, no witch or child, will ever be able to change that. Do you understand me?"

"Perhaps you're right, Father," Draco said, a deadly glare in place. "But then again, you may not be. Maybe, just maybe, your claws weren't dug in deep enough to garner that sort of staying power. Lies are what you taught me. Hate is what you taught me. Bigotry is what you taught me. And in theory, you're right, maybe I always will be exactly the wizard you raised me to be, but in practice, you couldn't be more wrong. Next time, you may want to make sure that the person you're trying to convince, actually believes the shit you're feeding them. The fact that I didn't believe the things you taught me, means I've still got a shot at being a decent person... unlike you." Standing, Draco strode out of the room and headed for the kitchen, suddenly in need of a stiff drink. Just as he reached the liquor cabinet, his father barged into the kitchen to confront him.

"Where do you get off speaking to me like that," Lucius hissed. "I'm your father..."

"Damn right you are," Draco barked back, his face a few inches from his father's. "Which makes your behavior and way of raising me all the more reprehensible. So my question for you is, where do you get off speaking to me as you have for all of these years? Where's the father I was supposed to have, huh? I never had a father. I had a dictator. A tyrant who ruled with a stone fist. Who's main goal was to ensure that everyone was under his thumb at all times, even his own family. The only good thing I've ever learned from you was how not to raise my own son. You were a Father, and I plan on being a Daddy... A damn good one too." Draco had to admit venting all of the pent up anger and questions he'd always had in his heart, made him feel loads better. He knew that Luna had been right back at Hogwarts, when she said that he was angry all of the time, and he'd made every attempt to change that. Turns out, all he did was tell himself he was over it and bury his hurt and anger even deeper. Now that he'd voiced his objections, Draco felt like he'd been relieved of the heavy lead-like ball of anger that had been unknowingly nagging him for so long.

"You are an ungrateful little bastard," Lucius hissed, his hand gripped tightly around Draco's upper arm. This was something he'd grown used to enduring throughout his childhood, and Draco wasn't surprised that his father had resulted to such pedantic methods of discipline. It wasn't like he was ten years old any more! He was was a grown man, a grown man with many years of Quidditch training under his belt, and Draco didn't feel at all threated by his father anymore. Jerking his arm away, Draco turned to his father, making sure that they were eye to eye before he spoke, choosing his words carefully.

"If you ever put your hands on me again, I will personally see to it that you are unable to put your hands on anything ever again. Are we clear?"

"Are you really going to let that whore ruin our..." Before Lucius even had a chance to finish his sentence, Draco's fist connected with his father face, knocking him towards the ground. Wasting no time, Draco fell to his knees, straddling his father as he grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, drawing him closer to him.

"Take it back!" Draco ordered. The moment the word whore had left his father's lips, Draco lost it. He couldn't believe that after having warned him of his behavior, his father would still have the audacity to insult the mother of his child so freely. "Take it back," he repeated, when his father didn't answer. Before Draco could continue, a loud crashing noise came from the dining room, jolting him out of his enraged state. Worried that something was wrong, as he'd left Luna with Snape, Draco dashed out of the kitchen into the dining room. Upon entering, he found Luna, Rosmerta and Narcissa all huddled together on the far side of the room, as Mr. Lovegood straddled Severus Snape and repeatedly punched him. Draco couldn't help but noticed the similarity between their position and the one he had just been in. Snapping out of his reverie, Draco hurried over to Mr. Lovegood and pulled him off of Snape, who lay on the ground, his noise and lips bleeding profusely.

"You son of a bitch!" Luke shouted, trying to get out of Draco's grasp so that he could continue his assault on Professor Snape. "You narrow-minded son of a bitch! If you ever even sneeze in her direction again, I'll rip you heart out with my bare hands!"

"Calm down!" Draco shouted, trying to restore order. He didn't know what Severus had said to earn this sort of reaction from Luna's father, but he knew that it would have to be something pretty bad, since Mr. Lovegood was one of the calmest and most rational wizards he'd ever met. "Pull yourself together." He knew that he was being hypocritical, as he certainly hadn't been able to stop himself from decking his father, but he needed Luke to stop trying to get away so that he could get Snape out of the house as quickly as possible.

"I'll kill you!" Mr. Lovegood shouted, over and over again, as he continued fighting against Draco. "Let go of me, damn it!"

"Not until you calm down," Draco replied, using one arm to restrain Mr. Lovegood while the other fished his wand out of his robe. "Stupefy!" Instantly, Luke frozen and fell against Draco. Lying him down, Draco went to Snape and helped him up.

"Judging by your Father's reaction, I take it your research isn't going well?" Snape asked Luna, snidely, as blood continued to trail from his nose and busted lip. 'Shit,' Draco thought. 'He had to bring up her research.' Draco didn't doubt that the reason his father had invited Snape to the housewarming supper was so that he'd be able to further aggravate Luna. He didn't think that Snape would go so low as to bring up the research he'd ruined, but apparently he'd given his former mentor too much credit. Now he understood why Mr. Lovegood had flown off the handle.

"You need to go," Draco hissed, angrily. "Now."

"As you wish," Snape replied, offering Draco a mock bow before striding out of the room. Just as Snape disappeared, Lucius entered, his lip busted and his jaw already starting to bruise and swell.

"Narcissa," he said, grimacing due to his jaw being sore. "Get our robes."

"Lucius, what ha..."

"Get. Our. Robes. Now!" Without another word, Narcissa rushed towards the foyer and retrieved their robes from the closet they'd been placed in earlier that evening. "You'd better be glad that I can't revoke your inheritance after its been issued to you. If I could, that three-hundred million Galleons would be taken back immediately. So, consider yourself lucky." Turning on his heels, Lucius left the room, maintaining as much poise as someone who'd just been decked by his son could.

"Did you hit him?" Luna asked, astounded by the sight of Lucius' busted jaw.

"He deserved it." Draco argued, not wanting to go into detail about their confrontation. "We shouldn't have to worry about him anymore. I'm pretty sure that my Father and I are done."

"Draco," Luna whispered. "He's your father..."

"I know that," Draco scoffed. "But it doesn't make the things he says and does right. I won't be a part of that anymore. I don't want my family around all of his negativity. My son won't hate... I can't allow it."

"Draco..."

"I think I'm going to head up to bed," he said, quickly pressing his lips against Luna's and striding out of the room, a distant look on his face.

"Is he going to be alright?" Rosmerta asked.

"I don't know." Luna replied, turning back to her father and his girlfriend, her eyes filled with tears. "I think this might be all my fault, though." Luna's father wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly while she cried. Luna hated Lucius Malfoy with a passion, but she never wanted Draco to cut ties with him. She'd never wanted to drive a wedge between a family, and the more she thought about it, the more responsible she felt.

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FYI: I DIDN'T PULL THE THREE HUNDRED MILLION GALLEON FIGURE OUT OF NO WHERE. FORBES MAGAZINE DID A LIST OF THE RICHEST FICTIONAL CHARACTERS AND LUCIUS MALFOY WAS ON IT. THEY SAID THAT HE WAS WORTH ABOUT 900 MILLION. I FIGURED A THIRD OF HIS FORTUNE WAS A RESONABLE PORTION FOR DRACO TO INHERIT UPON COMING OF AGE.

I'VE GOT THE NEXT CHAPTER READY TO POST, I'VE JUST GOT TO DO ONE MORE READ THROUGH FOR PROOFREADING PURPOSES.

ALSO, THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR KIND REVIEWS. I'VE YET TO GET A BAD ONE. I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'S BECAUSE EVERYONE WHO'S READING IT LIKES IT, OR IF ITS CAUSE EVERYONE WHO DOESN'T LIKE IT JUST HITS THE BACK BUTTON ON THEIR BROWSER. I'M HOPING ITS THE FIRST OF THE TWO REASONS : ) BUT EITHER WAY, YOU'RE ALL AWESOME

THANKS NIKKI : )

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