Author: HatefulRodeo
Story: Worth More Than That
Notes: More plot ahead and we will be in Draco's POV this chapter. Thanks to all that fav'd, followed and/or reviewed! Enjoy Lovelies!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this fic.
Previously:
Apparently, he was damn wrong. Severus must have seen him and Theo at the restaurant and become angry that Draco was seeing someone else. The blonde laughed incredulously, it was truly ridiculous!
Severus only wanted his body and now he would not have that, he never cared for Draco in the least so why did it matter if he was moving on with Theo? Obviously the man did not know how to let go, as evidenced by his over fifteen year mourning of Lily Potter.
Well the onyx eyed man would just have to get over it; Draco wanted nothing to do with him. He wanted to be happy and loved in a normal relationship not used as some side piece to sate someone's sexual needs.
Snuggling into the mattress the blonde quieted his mind and reinforced his Occlumency shields until he was calm again. Sleep came easily after that, thoughts of Theo flittered through his subconscious bringing a happy smile to his sleeping face.
~~~~~~~~************Chapter 5***********~~~~~~~~
Draco woke slowly the next day his mind still in a sleepy haze of contentment; his dreams full of Theo. It was a nice way to wake, not like before when he would awake sweating and shaking from nightmares about the war.
Soon his memory of the night before came back to him along with his interaction with Severus, sitting up quickly he called for his house elf Kaya. With a soft pop the little elf was in front of him; "Kaya, did you change the wards and passwords on the house?"
The little elf nodded proudly, ears flapping happily; "Yes, young master Draco. Kaya be's changing the wards and passwords last night so bad Mr. Snape cannot come back and hurts young master. The news password be Freedom."
Draco nodded before dismissing the little creature, now he needed to dress and inform his mother about the password change. The change in wards would not have to be mentioned though; Draco was the only one keyed into who and what was allowed into the Manor.
His mother was only informed when someone came passed the wards as she was still considered Lady of the Manor until Draco assumed the Malfoy Lordship fully. On the subject he would have to travel to Gringotts to speak to their goblin manager about that.
It would not be hard seeing as he handled much of the Malfoy business even if he had not formerly assumed the title of Lord from his father. That would have to change; a Lordship and a Potions Mastery would look quite well in the papers. Plus, Theo was a Lord in his own right and it would look improper if he dated someone not of his own standing.
Theo; Merlin the man was gorgeous and sweet. A winning combination to the young blonde staring dazedly out the window, hopefully they could have many more nights like last night in the future. He really could see them working out in the long run.
Sliding out of bed Draco went about his morning absolutions. Once he was dressed in a house robe the slim blonde made his way to the breakfast table, not surprised to see a sleepy Pansy sitting with his mother; "Good Morning Ladies."
Both women smiled at him as he approached and took his normal seat. "So Draco any dreams of Theo last night?" Draco just rolled his eyes at Pansy, quite used to her nosy personality and little sense of shame. His mother smiled indulgently at the girl and continued to eat her breakfast.
This was how it was supposed to be, he was supposed to be happy with his mother and friends while daydreaming about a handsome man. He shouldn't be moping and hating himself while his mother drank herself to death and his friends were gone from his life; much like he was when he was with Severus.
Severus the nerve of that bastard! To think he could just pop by and demand anything from Draco! Had he not made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with the taller man? The arsehole could go back to his beloved Potter if he wanted sex; Draco was done with it.
Once he was done Draco smiled and bid his mother and Pansy good day before rising to his feet; he had a meeting with a goblin to see to. Why delay taking what was rightfully his anyway? Both women murmured their parting words to the blonde's retreating back.
An hour later saw a refined and well-dressed Draco making his way to the receiving room; he would apparate directly to one of the points in Diagon Alley then make his way to Gringotts. With a crack he was gone, reappearing suddenly in an out of the way nook in the Alley.
Resettling his immaculate clothes just in case anything moved during his apparition the blonde glanced around. The Alley was bustling again with shoppers and people window shopping; Draco smiled while he watched this normal scene. He was happy that things were as they should be.
Striding down the way to Gringotts Draco ignored the lewd looks or glares he received from anyone, he had business to do and little time to waste. Waltzing into Gringotts the blonde was immediately met by a goblin; "Mr. Malfoy. Please follow me."
Draco nodded curtly to the goblin and followed it toward one of the conference rooms of the main foyer. Once inside the goblin gestured for him to sit; "I will fetch Gidiron for you."
Draco nodded again and watched as the short creature left the room. Alone with his thoughts Draco wondered how much paperwork it would take to get his claim to the Malfoy Lordship accepted and granted. Hopefully not too long but then again the magical world was a backwards place sometimes; the simplest things could take days to happen while the hardest took a moment.
The door opening to show an older slightly hunched goblin, Gidiron; Draco knew the older goblin immediately. When he was little the goblin used to scare him, he looked quite angry and bloodthirsty. "Mr. Malfoy am I correct in assuming you are here about your claiming Lordship?"
"I am Gidiron. What do I need to do to make that happen?" The goblin nodded sagely before reaching into his coat and pulling out a slim file; "Your father left instructions that is he was ever incapacitated you were to assume the title of Lord Malfoy.
In the event you were underage your mother would assume stewardship until you were able to claim the title; that is not the case here however. Now you merely need to read and sign the document, adding your magic along with your blood.
Once you have signed you will have accepted and gained the Malfoy Lordship." Draco retrieved the file from where Gidiron placed it on the table's wooden surface, opening the flap he read it quickly, it was quite straight forward.
Essentially everything belonged to him now, his mother would get her normal three hundred galleon allowance a month but other than that it was all his. A sense of pride and responsibility flooded him and he knew he would not screw this up.
"Gidiron, I would like to donate three thousand galleons to St. Mungo's. Another two thousand to Hogwarts and please withdraw any investments in any unsavory or illegal businesses. From now on the Malfoys will only invest in aboveboard businesses and ventures.
Other than that you will continue to manage our investments as you have in the past." Gidiron nodded, a strange look in his eyes that Draco could not interpret; "It will be done my Lord. If that is all I will go and start implementing your orders."
"That is all for today. Thank you Gidiron and have a pleasant day." the goblin nodded before leaving the room quickly; nothing stood between a goblin and their gold. Draco smiled; it was his now, the Malfoy Lordship was his now and he could make amends for his father's and his family's sins.
HE wasn't deluded to think it would happen overnight but maybe by the time his children attended Hogwarts the whole world would not despise his family. That was the hope and he was determined to make it so, his mother and he were not monsters.
They simply were drug into a situation they wanted nothing to do with but could not manage to escape from. Damn his father for his choices and damn him for what Draco had been forced to endure during the war; the stain on his arm and soul would not fade so easily but they would in time and thank Salazar time was something Draco had.
Walking into the Alley a sweet idea fluttered into his sharp mind; he could visit Theo at work and bring him an early lunch, it was already going on eleven so it would not be too early for his blonde to eat. His blonde he liked the sound of that and smiled wider at his little bout of possessiveness.
Entering Le Cirque, a delightful little cafe, Draco ordered a few sandwiches and an order of chips and coleslaw. He decided to bring enough for seven people; it never hurt to get in good with your significant others coworkers. After paying for the food Draco shrunk the bags, after placing a spill-proof charm on the items, and slipped them into his robe pocket.
After that it was an easy thing to apparate to the Ministry atrium. The blonde allowed himself to be searched, his wand weighed and tagged by security. Afterwards he looked at the directory board and located the office for Financial crimes.
Within five minutes the Malfoy Lord was striding out of the lift and into Theo's department. A willowy secretary smiled politely and inquired what she could do for him; "I'm here to see Lord Nott. Is he in?" She smiled again and affirmed that indeed Lord Nott was in; "May I ask who is calling for him."
"Of course, please inform him that Lord Malfoy is here to see him." The woman's eyes widened upon hearing his name, giving him a shrewd appraising look, apparently he passed her inspection for another smile crept onto her face before she stood to alert Theo to his presence.
The blonde used the time until Theo came to survey the waiting area; it was quite well done. Understated and tastefully done but then again Draco expected they wanted it to be a relaxing atmosphere most people who came here were probably under investigation and it would not due for them to be more nervous than necessary.
"Well I did not expect to see you so soon beautiful." A blush flooded his sculpted cheeks as he turned to smile at Theo; "Well I was in the Alley on business and thought you might want some lunch." Reaching into his pocket Draco resized the bags to their normal size.
Theo's face lit up at the promise of food; "You are beautiful Draco. I was late this morning for work and skipped breakfast." Draco chuckled at the sheepish look Theo wore after he was done speaking; "Well then you should eat then. I brought enough for seven so we should leave the rest in the break area so others can have some."
The secretary from before beamed at the slim blonde; "You are amazing. Lord Nott do not let this one go. Now I'll take the rest of the food to the break room if you want to take yours sir." Theo nodded while fishing out his lunch from the bag Draco held.
Once the taller male had his lunch the two blondes made their way into Theo's office. Draco nodded his head again in approval of the space; beige carpet with a deep green rug on the floor, a dark wood desk with a large chair behind the desk along with two comfortable looking wingback chairs in front of it for meetings.
A leather sofa in dark brown with a matching dark wood coffee table was pushed against the wall off to the side along with several bookshelves stuffed with law books. A few portraits of landscapes finished off the overall look; "Your office is quite nice. Who decorated?"
Theo smirked, sitting down on the sofa and gesturing for Draco to join him; "I did actually. All you see came from the Nott vaults; I spend so much time here I may as well be comfortable." Draco smiled and nodded his agreement; "I understand. Now eat up."
Theo chuckled and took a bite of his turkey, apple and brie Panini. Once he was done chewing he spoke; "I think I could get used to you bringing me food and taking care of me." Draco grinned and resisted the urge to preen; "I think I could to. How has your day been so far?"
Theo continued to eat while talking to Draco about his cases, it was all very detailed and Draco was proud that he was with someone who was capable of doing this job. The slender male was under no illusions, he would be epically bad at this type of thing; he excelled at potions which were detailed but you were constantly moving, sitting behind a desk all day would be murder.
"So Lord Malfoy? When I heard that I was expecting to walk out and see your father." Draco shrugged; "It was time to take my responsibilities in hand. I figured why not now. So I went to Gringotts, signed the papers and did some shifting of funds; the Malfoys are now only involved in legitimate business dealings.
Now I don't have to worry about my lover investigating me for financial crimes." Theo laughed; "Yes that would put a damper on our relationship wouldn't it." All Draco replied with was an "Indeed." They sat that way while Theo are his lunch and Draco enjoyed his company.
Theo crumpled the boxes the sandwich and chips were in before he vanished them with a wave of his hand; "Now that I've have my lunch I think I could use something sweet." Muttering a breath freshening charm he pressed his lips to Draco's; Morgana the shorter male would never get tired of Theo's lips on his.
It felt right, so damn right the way their lips fit together and they moved in concert. Draco opened his mouth easily for Theo's tongue and moaned when that silken appendage began to stoke and explore his mouth. After a few moments of letting the broader male map his mouth Draco brought his tongue to glide against the others.
Sparks were shooting down his spine and his cock twitched when Theo's strong arms wrapped around his waist, pulling his smaller body into his lap. Draco's arms slid around those strong shoulders as he shifted his body towards Theo's, pressing his form against his lover's strong front.
Pulling away for air Draco opened his hazy grey eyes and stared right into Theo's equally fogged blue orbs; "Wow" was the only coherent word he could muster. "I agree." Well at least Theo's mind was just a muddled as his.
A knock on the door sent them back to their positions sitting side by side. Before Theo could bid whoever it was to come in Draco pulled his wand and cast a few spells to make sure they didn't look like they snogged each other senseless. Once done Theo called for the person to enter.
The same secretary entered, looking a bit frazzled; "Lord Nott Mr. Wrangle is here for his twelve o'clock meeting and he is not in the best of moods." Theo smirked; "I should think not Nancy. He is being investigating for funding a drug manufacturing ring."
Turning toward Draco Theo placed a kiss to the platinum blonde's cheek; "I'll see you tonight?" Draco pressed a kiss to Theo's soft cheek in return; "Of course come to the Manor tonight at seven." Leaning forward so only Theo could hear him Draco spoke again; "The password is Freedom."
The tall man nodded and rose to make his way toward the conference room where he would no doubt destroy Mr. Wrangle. Draco almost felt sorry for the poor sod but if the man was stupid enough to get caught he deserved his punishment, whatever it may be.
Standing Draco smiled at Nancy, he was glad to know her name now; "Well Nancy I hope you have a good rest of the day." The willowy brunette smiled brightly; "You as well Lord Malfoy and thank you for the food. All of us here thank you actually."
Draco waved her off; "It was nothing; you all are working on a Sunday after all, it was the least I could do." Making his way out of the office Draco said goodbye one last time to Nancy and floo'd home to Malfoy Manor; maybe he would have dinner with Theo at home tonight, his mother would enjoy the company and Draco could tell her about assuming the Malfoy Lordship.
Yes, that sounded perfectly lovely. Pansy and Blaise would love to come as well but maybe next time. Draco wanted it to be Theo, Narcissa and himself this time around; his mother would want to subtly interrogate the Nott Lord about his intentions towards her baby and Draco would rather she not in front of Pansy and Blaise.
Plan set he strolled to find his mother to fill her in on the new pan for dinner tonight; life was getting better and better for him.
Next chapter we will have a bit of a time skip and lots of stuff will happen; some of the slashy variety!
All Mistakes Are My Own!