A/N: This is a quiet chapter with some Draco/Rial interaction. You also get to find out what their Animagus forms are. I was surprised by how many of you guessed what one or more of the kids forms were!

Chapter 33- The Meaning of Composure

It was the middle of the night, a week after Varian's burial. His grandson sat quietly on the grass where he'd Portkeyed to the villa, knees drawn to his chin. Bluish-grey eyes stared fixedly at the ring on his finger. It was the one Lucius had worn right up until his father's death as heir apparent to the Malfoy family and estates. His father had called him into the private sitting room here at the villa. Lucius had been sitting with Remus and right away Draco had known something had gone horribly wrong.

One thing that Draco had always admired about his father was his ability to shield all feelings from those he did not trust. No matter what the situation, he was always composed and elegant, regal even. So the sight of him sitting there with his pregnant lover, eyes wan and tear tracks still visible on his alabaster skin had been shocking. It had been when his father had reached out and taken one of Draco's hands in his own that he'd realised. The ring sitting on his hand was that of the patriarch of the family.

Lucius had proceeded to explain to him what had happened, how Varian had managed to get to Lucius the previous night and had died out on the villa grounds after giving his only son the ring. He had further explained that Draco's friend Torian Lestrange had been the one to give Varian the Portkey and how his grandfather had managed to kill two of the Dark Lord's followers. Lucius had already decided that though Varian deserved a funeral of the usual ceremony and tradition, it would be unwise and impractical to do so in the middle of the war.

So the members of the Custodis Pondera had been the only ones to escort the former Malfoy Lord home to the Manor and lay him to rest in the underground caverns that composed the burial grounds of the family. Draco had been down in the gloomy caverns with their eerily flickering light once before after his mother had died.

On their way out he had laid a white rose like Narcissa had loved so much upon her casket. Every one of the caskets in the Malfoy burial grounds were made of an opaque black crystal with gold edges, upon the side was the name and dates of the occupant. The reason for this was the niches. These magnificent crystal resting places weren't buried; they were placed in hollow niches carved out of the cavern walls. The gold plaques listed back generation upon generation, to the very beginnings of their family line.

Draco hoped it would be a long time before he visited the caverns again. He had no intention to go back anytime soon, for it would mean that his father had died. Though Lucius had yet to make his relationship to Remus official, he knew if the lycan died Lucius would lay him to rest with the others of his family line. The thought of losing either his father or Remus was intolerable and he told himself often that there was nothing to worry about. Some days it took more convincing than others.

His mind often provided the cynical thought that the next visit to the caverns would be his own, but Draco paid little attention to this. He had much to do with his life and many plans to execute; dying was simply not an option. The only way he would go would be if Rial died. Then he could very easily see it happening, more than likely by his own hand even. Without his precious Rial life would be very dull. But Rial wouldn't be killed; there just wasn't any logical reason why the Fates would take him away.

Vaguely he heard footsteps on the grass and a warm body sat down next to him. Without even turning to the side he knew Rial had found him. The quiet, intelligent Slytherin always knew when he was in a melancholy mood and would come find him as if summoned by a charm. He leaned his head sideways and rested it on Rial's shoulder, not bothering to speak.

Rial didn't speak either, waiting for Draco to either think of something to say or ask him to leave. That was one of the things Draco appreciated the most about Rial, he didn't push things. If Draco needed his space then he would give it to him, no questions asked. At the same time, he was always around when the time came for Draco to speak and get his problems off his chest. Their relationship was equal and Draco cherished and loved this fact.

"Voldemort is getting desperate if he's killing off the hereai. Hopefully the Magic-Poison will do as it says," Draco whispered.

"Severus is the best in his field, if he says it will, you know it will. A potion would never dare attempt to do anything contrary to what he says," Rial replied. Though the last was a joke, it was also the truth. Severus' presence was enough to make just about anyone do what he said.

"What are we going to do about Albus Dumbledore and Zachary?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Hopefully a great deal of Zachary's pull with the Ministry will go down once Voldemort is dead," Rial replied. "If we can get him out of the way that clears a path to Dumbledore. Unfortunately I highly doubt he'll go down without a fight, this is the man who killed Grindelwald after all. What I want to know is what your father has up his sleeve regarding Rufus Scrimgeour."

Draco snorted, "I have no idea as Father can be the master of sneaky when he wants. All I know is that it will be highly embarrassing for Rufus, he always works that way. I can hardly wait for it myself, Scrimgeour is a biased idiot."

They lapsed into silence, which happened to be the last thing Draco wanted at the moment. Desperately he cast around for something to say and asked, "Have you discovered what your Animagus form is yet?"

Rial grinned and nodded. "I'll tell you if you tell me what yours is," he bargained.

"Mine is a white tiger. Blaise is a jaguar and Pansy is a…fox!" They said the last word at the same time before breaking into laughter.

Rial managed to chuckle out, "That's the perfect creature for her, you know. Sneaky and cunning, knows when to back out of a fight and when to keep going."

"So what's yours? I'm pretty sure it's magical, you never do anything halfway, you know," Draco said seriously.

"No I don't," Rial admitted with a sigh. "I had to look in books to find just a picture of my form. Turns out it was considered extinct for centuries. It's a phoenix."

"The phoenix isn't extinct," Draco said, puzzled. "Dumbledore owns one; I've seen it myself in his office."

"Mine is a specific type of phoenix," Rial elaborated. "It's a Storm Phoenix, said to appear during times of great conflict, bringing with it rain and lightning. When it regenerates it does so in a flash of lighting and a roll of thunder. Due to when it always appears the Storm Phoenix was mislabeled as 'Dark' two centuries back, but it's a creature of pure magic. The fire it produces is pure white with tints of blue."

"Wow," Draco said softly. "I can't wait to see what you look like. Have any of the adults guessed?"

"If they have my bet would be Severus. His years of spying gave him sharper eyes than the others."

Draco didn't say anything, simply relaxing against Rial instead. They sat like that in the grass for a long time, staring out across the villa's expansive gardens. It was probably past midnight before either one of them moved and then it was Rial, standing up and offering a hand to Draco.

Draco stared at the offered hand for a long moment before accepting it with a sigh and standing up. As the pair made their way back to the villa and their separate rooms he suddenly stopped and turned. Looking up at the stars he thought, I will make sure your sacrifice was not in vain, Grandfather. We WILL succeed and make this a better place. I promise you by our mutual name, that of the Malfoy family.

If there was one thing Draco loved about his family, it was this. When a member of their family made a promise, they kept it. He would not be the one to break that tradition. Squeezing Rial's hand he made his way inside, filled with the sudden conviction that yes, they would succeed.