Title: Grand Insight Aside
Author: smolder
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Angel the Series belongs to Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt. Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling.
A/N: These drabbles won't always be in strict chronological order.
A/N 2: Reviews are Good. This has been a subtle hint from the author - Please return to your regularly scheduled reading.

He turned it over slowly in his hands. It was a gorgeous piece of work – Draco knew just enough about the particulars behind his Father's hobby to know that. But, he couldn't – they couldn't...

"You can't give this to her," he said still staring at the diary.

"Why ever not Draco? Your father obviously put a lot of effort into that book. I would think that would be the sort of thing Fred would appreciate. She has always been fascinated with watching him-," his mother started.

"Ginerva Potter – previously Weasley – is Luna's best friend," he said quietly. And even though he never raised his voice, the words cut across the room sharply. Still holding the book and refusing to raise his gaze, he heard her indrawn breath and the way his father (always so silent after the War) clutched the arms of his chair until they creaked.

"Oh," Narcissa said, nearly a whisper.

Because it would be idiotic to pretend like they didn't know what he was talking about. None of them had forgotten – would ever forget what their family did. And although that hadn't been a case of directly harming her...the way she had been controlled (an 11 year old girl at the time) and her life force siphoned off...Well, it definitely qualified as one of the darker things the Malfoy family was responsible for doing in the name of the Dark Lord.

Draco finally looked up as he heard sudden movement. Lucius had gotten up and was walking towards him, he grabbed the book to take back but Draco held on.

"Father," he said. "I-" he stumbled a bit, "if it was anything but a diary," he tried to explain.

Because he didn't know how to say how much it meant to him. That his parent's were trying with this. That his mother, no matter how much she wanted Luna and him to get married and there to be a Malfoy heir, still did not withhold her own Slytherin brand of love from Fred.

That Lucius, so obviously damaged that he barely seemed the same person Draco remembered as a child, not only registered and acknowledged the girl but accepted her as well. Had made her this intricately designed journal for her graduation from Muggle college.

"Maybe- maybe you could teach her?" he tried. "She has always asked, always been curious….." he trailed off because this might be asking too much. He had seen how much this had become a bizarre and very private refuge for his father. And Draco knew that Lucius' own grandfather had been the one to teach him.

Lucius stared at him for a long moment, those grey eyes, so like his own, utterly unfathomable. But Draco kept eye contact and willed his Father to understand, not to close down. Not for this to cause him to shut his son's new family out.

And finally the older man nodded, pulled the book from his hand, and turned to leave the room.

On the way out, from her still seated position, Narcissa reached out and caught his arm. Their eyes met and Lucius' hand landed on her shoulder, squeezing it in a brief sporadic movement of his hand that heedlessly wrinkled her impeccable shawl.

Then he was gone.

There was something very real about their movements – utterly un-choreographed. Natural. Almost casual, if you could call anything a Malfoy did casual. It was probably one of the most intimate moments between his parents that Draco had ever witnessed. The wordless passing of comfort and reassurance that seemed so much like an interaction he might have with Luna.

Draco had always thought of his parent's relationship (whenever he did think about it) as one of the pureblood arranged marriages that actually worked relatively well. Much better than many he had witnessed growing up. But, he had never really considered the fact that sleeping in the same bed, living in the same house, eating nearly every meal together for years now – there was comfort and familiarity.

They had weathered so many changes together within themselves and their world. His mother had adjusted chameleon-like, as she always seemed to - even flourishing at this point in her life as he had never witnessed her before. While his father, well his father was such a different person now than the man he had grown up idolizing – however unwisely. But Draco respected that brokenness in an odd way just as much, if not more than the proud coldness of before (especially given what that lead to).

But although they certainly couldn't be the same Lucius and Narcissa that first met, they had an understanding of each other that no one on the planet could even begin to match.

It was startling realization for Draco that his parent's marriage might have started out as arranged but, they….they actually loved each other.

He let out a breath and his mother turned to him, smiling faintly and he could almost swear she looked a bit misty eyed. But her voice when she spoke was utterly collected.

"Well then, that still leaves our gift to determine," she tilted her head contemplatively. "Do you think she would like one of those Muggle contraptions - cars? I believe I heard Rose say something about hybrids the other day," she stated quite seriously.

And Draco could only stare and try to mentally shift back into the frame of mind to talk with his mother. Because he might not know a lot about the Muggle world himself, but he was pretty sure that only his mother (grand insight about his parent's relationship aside) would consider a car to be the natural replacement for a hand-made diary.