AU: Thanks to readingaddict24, standasawitness, risi, and Morwyn K for reviews last chapter! I love hearing from readers :)
Hope you enjoy!
"Ah, it's good to be home."
Those were the first words that dropped from Herculen's mouth when the Malfoys stepped back into their own marbled entry hall sometime in early July, but Draco didn't believe his brother- not in the slightest.
Draco wasn't going to complain, after all complaining to family only brought loads of problems, but it had been a very dull vacation for him. Once Draco boasted to his father of how well it had worked the first time, the eight-year-old found himself constantly left in the inn rooms as Narcissa went to shop and Herculen left with Lucius to do things that Draco was just a little too young for.
"After all," Lucius had said each time. "If you enjoyed yourself so immensely in the hotel room and you got such good practice at how to be a proper pure blood, by all means we must not take that experience away from you!"
And so each time his family returned, Draco tried his hardest to have something to say about his day, although by the second week he was running rather low on ideas. Narcissa began to frequently ask if he wanted to go shopping with her, but a glance at his father told him to say no because he still needed practice becoming a 'proper pureblood'. By the end of the whole thing he was so sick of yelling at 'lower wizards' that he never wanted to see them again. Anything to spare his vocal chords the agony of shouting about late meals or his father's name, which always got things done ten times faster. Herculen, on the other hand, seemed to have had a wonderful time, he couldn't really be happy to be home.
"Yes I do think it's good to be home again," Narcissa echoed her son.
"Sandy, our bags are in the buggy. Well don't just stand, there get moving! I do believe we have been away too long, the house elves have forgotten themselves," Lucius watched as the little house elf skittered away to do her job. "Well, no matter. It shouldn't take long for them to remember."
Narcissa nodded absentmindedly, and then she disappeared into the parlor to see what had become of the rose-in-a-bottle she'd been growing in there.
"Come on, Draco. Let's go unpack," Herculen told his brother, but Lucius surprised both boys by shaking his head.
"I need to speak to Draco. He'll be up to join you momentarily, Herculen."
Herculen nodded, unconcerned, before he levitated his suitcase and hurried up the stairs. Draco then turned to stare up at his father, who nodded toward the sitting room. Draco followed his father, and sat quickly on the loveseat when he was told to. He was surprised when his father sat beside him rather than across from him in the armchair. After several moments of adjusting himself, Lucius began to speak.
"I noticed on this vacation that you spent much of the time away from your family," Lucius's voice seemed chastening, and Draco's nostrils flared. What did he think the reason for that was? Yet Lucius continued. "However, I do believe that the reason for that was not uncalled for. Draco, I noticed that you are finally taking your place in the world. You are finally realizing where purebloods stand, and you are taking your place among them. I am proud of you."
Draco's jaw dropped. He was proud of him? His father was proud of him?
"And so," Lucius continued without pause. "I have something for you."
A tiny green package was extracted from Lucius's pocket, and it found itself into Draco's palm. Slowly, Draco pulled at the silver ribbon and placed the top of the box on the loveseat. Then he peeled back the grass green tissue paper, and almost dropped the package when he saw it was a tiny tie pin in the shape of an intricate M.
"It must never be said that I don't reward good behavior," Lucius told his son. "Do you like it?"
"Yes father, thank you!" Draco tore his gaze from the present.
"You're welcome. I am proud to call you son."
Then Lucius stood and bid his son farewell before marching away to deal with the lazy house elves.
Running his hand over the tie pin, Draco's heart swelled. His first present from his father! Good behavior his father had said. If he kept up with this good behavior, surely more of this kind of treatment would follow. His father was proud of him! Draco's chest swelled with elation and he marched grandly up the stairs, arriving quickly in Herculen's room.
"Hello, what did father want?" Herculen asked the moment Draco stepped into the green paradise, and Draco beamed.
"He wanted to give me this tie pin for good behavior!" Draco declared, extending a hand, and Herculen peered at the tie pin, his brow raising.
"That's lovely," he told Draco honestly. "I'm so glad that he noticed your efforts on this vacation. I could tell you were trying quite hard; it would have been wrong for father to ignore your labors."
Draco simply continued to beam.
"Well, have you unpacked yet?" Herculen moved on, and Draco shook his head. "Well do so, and then let's go see the garden! It's been far too long since we scampered around out there."
Draco grinned when he saw the impish smile that had been missing from his brother's face for so long, and he rushed to unpack his bags. He was just finishing when he heard a cry from downstairs. He rushed into Herculen's room to see if his brother knew what was going on, but Herculen seemed unconcerned.
"What was that?" Draco asked nervously, but his brother only rolled his eyes.
"Oh, father believes the house elves have lost their abilities over our vacation or some such nonsense. He doesn't think it nonsense though, so he's teaching them a lesson. Don't concern yourself with it, Draco. Nasty business if you ask me. Come on, let's go outside!"
Draco followed his brother, his face wrinkled as he tried to make sense of what his brother told him. He gave up, however, when he stepped outside and took in the blooming gardens. They hadn't changed while the family had been away, and they were still stunning. There had always been something particularly special about the manor's gardens in Draco's mind, and he loved to come out and sit under a tree to read a book while his brother was away at Hogwarts. It was unfortunate that his tutor couldn't teach out here because he was 'allergic to the outdoors".
"Let's go look at the roses by the gazebo," Herculen decided, and so the brothers hurried off to the gazebo that stood rather far from the house. Going inside was like entering a fairy's home. Vines traveled up the edges and many flowers adorned the top creating a gentle shade that one could sit in, surrounded by the odor of rose petals.
"It's been a while since I was out here," Herculen murmured, sitting down on one of the benches in the shade. Draco joined him quickly. "Do you come out here often while I'm away at Hogwarts?"
Draco nodded, and his brother smiled.
"I'm glad, I love the gardens. Don't tell anyone, but I look forward to taking Professor Sprouts class next year. She teaches herbology. Only hufflepuffs are supposed to like it, and I hate Hufflepuffs, but I do want to take herbology. Plants are so special; they are living but not like you and I. They are in their own world of sun and greenery. Aren't they lovely?"
Draco wasn't sure what was so lovely about a plant, although he did like the gardens, so he simply nodded.
Herculen's eyes turned mischievous all of a sudden, and he gently pushed his brother.
"Dementor, you're it!" Herculen declared gleefully, and Draco's eyes widened. They hadn't played Dementor, You're It for years now, but he didn't mind. He'd secretly wanted to play the game for a long time, but Herculen seemed to have out grown it. Now Herculen was chasing away to the right, so Draco leaped to his feet and ran after him. Eventually his brother ran out of breath, so Herculen became the dementor, and Draco rushed toward the maze. It was the best place to play Dementor, You're It. The brothers always had a pact not to let their father see them in case he didn't think it right for his sons to run about in the garden, so the maze was a good place to hide.
Draco quickly got himself lost, but when his brother leaped from a row of shrubbery, Draco knew it was now his turn to be the dementor. However, the leap ended up causing both brothers to fall upon the soft grass underneath the shrubbery, and both brothers dissolved into a fit of giggles.
"You haven't wanted to play that game for a long time!" Draco declared happily, and Herculen smiled warmly.
"Perhaps I finally grew tired of being a grown-up Hogwarts student. I missed being home, Draco. I missed you."
Draco nodded, signaling that he'd missed his brother's more playful side quite a bit, but now Herculen stood and dusted himself off.
"Well, that was good fun. Do you want to explore the maze?"
Draco nodded quickly, and the brothers traversed about the rows of shrubbery until they finally found themselves back outside and at the manor's entrance sometime around six o'clock.
"I hope the house elves have dinner ready," Draco told Herculen. "I'm starved!"
"I'm not surprised after all that running," his brother replied. "Come on. Make sure your hair isn't mussed or father'll know."
Draco ran his hands through his hair several times for good measure; however Herculen didn't need to due to his gel which kept it perfect through any event.
Herculen opened the door, and abruptly tripped over a house elf.
"Pilpy is to tell Master Herculen and Master Draco that it is time for dinner," the house elf bowed, however Herculen simply snarled at the house elf.
"Fine, but don't stand in doorways one is about to enter, you stupid house elf. I could have fallen!"
Stepping around the house elf, Herculen stormed up stairs to change for dinner leaving Draco to glance at the house elf nervously. The house elf did nothing but bow even lower, and Draco scurried upstairs after his brother to also change for the evening meal. That house elf was much more submissive than even before they'd left. In fact, he'd used to play with Pilpy and Dobby as a little boy. Sure he hadn't talked to Pilpy for a while, but it was odd to see his old playmate bowing to him of all people.
'Oh well, maybe I really am becoming like father,' Draco thought. Surely that was a good thing, for then his father might be even more proud of him!
At dinner that night, Lucius asked what had occupied the boys' time all day.
"We found our way to the center of the maze and back each time it changed," Herculen told his father quickly, and Lucius gave a single nod before beginning his meal.
The rest of the summer held few changes for the brothers. They were basically left to themselves, so most of the time they spent together and the rest of the time was spent reading or studying for the coming year. Draco was almost through his potions book, when one night he discovered a page at the very back labeled 'Ask for Help.'
Well, he was having trouble with one of the potions, so he thought 'why not?'
Dipping his peacock quill in an inkwell, Draco wrote his question. The writing disappeared, but nothing replied to it, and Draco sighed, disappointed. He played with the long quill, wondering if maybe he should go to bed because it was rather late, when suddenly words appeared.
"Sorry for the wait," the words read. "You must stir very slowly to the right, then to the left, then right again. Do not stir quickly or it will ruin it."
Draco's eyebrow raised, and he dipped his pen again.
"Professor Snape?" Draco asked, and he received a yes in return.
"How are you?" Draco wrote, excited. They hadn't talked since he found out that Snape wasn't a pureblood.
"I am well. And you? How was your trip to France?"
"It was okay. Father gave me a present for good behavior! He said he was proud of me!"
"That's wonderful Draco! What is the present?"
"It's a tiepin in the shape of an M that turns into a little snake at the bottom."
"Really? That's a genuine Malfoy tie pin. I'm glad for you."
Draco hesitated, what else was there to say?
"Are you enjoying the potions book?" Snape wrote, and Draco smiled.
"I love it! And I love the little silver dragon. I keep him in my pocket all the time. He's wonderful. He was also good company in France. Thank you."
"You're very welcome, Draco. Well, I do believe it is time you are in bed. It is almost midnight. Go to sleep."
Draco rolled his eyes, but he scribbled 'fine' and then closed the potions book. Stretching, Draco stood from his desk and got into his silk pajamas. Yawning, Draco slipped between the covers and fell quickly asleep.
AU: Well, what do you think? Please tell me your opinions :)