AU: Wow, so many reviews last chapter! Thanks so much :)
Thank you to standasawitness, AUaddict, risi, MoonstoneSeeker, Guest, and kenziescott54 for your reviews. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!
"So, how is he?"
The healer who had been examining Draco for the past ten minutes glanced up at the impatient voice of Lucius Malfoy, and he sighed gently.
"Give us a moment, Draco," he told the blonde child, who simply moaned softly. A pain controlling spell had been cast, but Draco's arm still throbbed. Lucius almost looked worried for a moment when Draco moaned a second time, and he told Draco that they'd be right back in the most fatherly voice he could possibly conjure, before the healer lead him to the door. They stood just inside the room, whispering so Draco couldn't hear.
"Well," Lucius snapped. "Surely you must have come to a conclusion by now."
"Yes, I'm a afraid your son has a compound fracture which can be healed partially with magic which will make his arm less susceptible to infection, however I fear that completely healing the bone with magic could lead to more complications. What I recommend is using magic to get the bone back inside the skin, put a cast on it, and allow it to heal the rest of the way on its own."
"How long will that take?" Lucius asked slowly.
"Oh, perhaps a month, perhaps more. Give him this potion every morning and night for at least three weeks. It will help with pain and healing. You were smart to call me early. Sometimes these fractures cause healers to have to cut it the arm off."
"Cut it off?" Lucius exclaimed much too loudly, and Draco gave a short cry.
"You're going to cut my arm off?" Draco wailed, and the healer shook his head slightly.
"No need for that," he assured the child. "It should heal perfectly given time."
"You can't make it heal any faster?" Lucius snapped. The healer simply sighed and shook his head.
"Not without the possibility of further damage. I must warn you that, despite all these precautions, that right arm of his might be a bit weak and prone to injury for many years."
Lucius's eyes narrowed, however he said nothing.
"Now," the healer turned to Draco. "Let's see about healing that arm of yours."
Lucius watched carefully as the healer stepped forward, wand outstretched. In seconds, Draco cried out loudly. When his cries turned into soft whimpers, the healer quickly wrapped a cast about Draco's arm.
"There, remember the potion every morning and night. There's not much else I can do for you, I already healed all the superficial wounds. Good luck, Mr. Malfoy."
With that, the healer left the room, Draco still whimpering dramatically. A few seconds later, Herculen ran in and hurried over to his father and brother.
"What was that about cutting it off?" Herculen exclaimed, and Draco moaned.
"There will be no need for that," Lucius frowned. "Draco will be alright in a month or so. Until then, he should rest. Alright, Draco?"
Draco moaned, and Lucius swallowed.
"Here, I got this for you," Lucius put a small chocolate in Draco's other hand. Draco glanced up in shock. "I hope it makes you feel better."
Draco stared wide-eyed at the chocolate, before he very slowly began to nibble on it. After a few more silent moments, Lucius marched from the room.
"Wow, you're good," Herculen giggled, but Draco only looked confused.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked before he whimpered again.
"You know, acting hurt. You are acting, aren't you?"
"No," Draco shook his head.
"Oh, I thought you were so you'd get father's attention. In that case, I'm sorry Draco. It must really hurt."
"It does."
"Hey, you want to play wizard chess? You just shouldn't use your broken arm."
Draco shrugged, and Herculen hurried to grab the chess set from Draco's bookshelf. Levitating it just to the left of Draco, Herculen pulled up a chair and told Draco to make the first move.
"Wait," Draco hesitated. "You think father is actually worried about me?"
"Yes, I'm sure," Herculen nodded. "I was too. You seemed pretty hurt!"
Draco glanced at his broke arm in wonder.
"You know, tomorrow is Christmas," Draco sighed, and Herculen nodded.
"Yes, I'm perfectly aware tomorrow is Christmas. I'm sure you can get up for that. Otherwise, I guess we could open presents in here!"
Draco smiled thankfully at his brother, and then hurried to make the first chess move.
The next day, Draco woke up early as he always did on Christmas, and before long Lucius came into his room to give him his potion and ask how he felt.
"It hurts pretty badly," Draco replied, and Lucius nodded.
"Do you think you can make it downstairs?" Lucius asked, and Draco nodded.
"Good boy," Lucius's smile was proud. "Be down as soon as you can. Do you need a house elf to help you?"
"I think I'll be okay," Draco replied, and Lucius nodded before he hurried away.
Draco got ready, and then made his way out into the hall. He was surprised to find his mother waiting out there for him.
"You father said you didn't want a house elf to help you, but I don't want you to fall and further injure yourself. Come along, Draco," she smiled warmly at her son, whose eyes lit up at all this attention from both of his parents. Together, mother and son went downstairs to find Herculen waiting for them.
"Professor Snape and the Crabbes have just arrived," he said. "We're ready to start presents, and then have a Christmas meal."
Draco was helped into the room, where he was met with a very enthusiastic Vincent Crabbe.
"I heard you almost had to cut off your arm!" Crabbe practically jumped up and down as Draco took a step back in hopes of not being knocked over. "That's so cool!"
Draco's brows pulled together skeptically in obvious confusion, and he shrugged.
"Yeah, it hurts pretty bad," he nodded.
"Wow," Crabbe breathed, staring blatantly at the arm.
"Well, let's get started," Lucius clapped his arms.
Herculen pulled Draco over to a chair near Snape, who nodded at Draco.
"How is the arm?" Snape asked slowly, and Draco shrugged.
"It kinda hurts still," he replied.
"Understandable," Snape nodded. Then Snape turned away to watch as Crabbe opened the first gift, wrapping paper flying wildly around the room. A large clump of wrapping paper landed in Lucius's lap, and he glanced down at it, startled. For a moment, he pretended to chuckle before he picked it up with two fingers and tossed it on the floor for a house elf to deal with. Then he whispered something to Narcissa, who nodded and told Herculen to open the next gift. Herculen's wrapping paper landed in a small pile as he delicately tore it off. Then the pile disappeared as Herculen stealthily used a vanishing charm, at which Lucius beamed with pride.
"You should open one now," Herculen told Draco, who glanced at his own broken arm.
"Oh, right," Herculen nodded slowly, then his face lit up. "I'll help you tear off the wrapping paper!"
Herculen retrieved a present for Draco, and Draco was shocked to see that it came from his father. He was getting presents from his father now? When did that happen?
As the day passed, Draco was shocked to receive lots of presents from his father, although his mother and Snape only gave him one each. Their presents to him were smaller, yet somehow his mother's painting of a dragon flying over a sparkling lake and Snape's potions set seemed more heartfelt than the bucket loads of toys his father was showering him with.
"Wow," Crabbe declared each time Herculen helped Draco to open a present. "You're so lucky! Your father is so awesome!"
After the mountain of presents under the tree was gone, a Christmas meal was served at the long dining table. Draco was extremely disappointed when Herculen and Crabbe sat next to him rather than Herculen and Snape, however Crabbe was very enthusiastic. After the meal, which thoroughly disgusted Draco due to Crabbe's awful table manners, Draco hurried over to talk to Snape, who smiled politely at him. However, the potions master was rather reserved compared to other years Draco remembered.
"Well, perhaps now you should go talk to Crabbe," Snape told Draco after a few minutes, and Draco pulled a face.
"Why?" he sighed.
"I think that's what your father wants. He was kind enough to give you lots of presents, now you should go talk to Crabbe so that he feels like it was worth it giving you all those gifts."
"But I want to talk to you!" Draco wailed softly, and Snape's face almost lit up. Nevertheless, he shook his head.
"We've had a good talk, now Crabbe deserves some of your attention. Good night Draco," Snape almost smiled, and Draco nodded goodnight to the professor. Regrettably, he turned to where Crabbe was playing with one of the toys Draco had received for Christmas, Herculen watching Vincent like a hawk lest he break Draco's present.
"Hello," Draco attempted a smile, and Crabbe grinned up at him. "I'm supposed to play with you now."
"Awesome!" Crabbe declared.
'He's such an idiot,' Draco thought to himself before he sat down next to the plump boy, and the two became involved in a game that involved some strange curse Crabbe had heard his father talking about. Herculen appeared surprised that Crabbe had heard of the curse at his young age, but he didn't interrupt the playing. Finally the night was over, and it was time for the Crabbes to return home.
"Bye, Malfoy!" Crabbe declared, to which Draco nodded once.
"Have fun?" Herculen asked with a grin. Draco glared at him, and Herculen laughed good naturedly. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
That night, Draco dreamed about the presents his father had gifted him. For the first time, Draco was sure that this was how he was supposed to feel after Christmas was over, and his arm seemed to ache less each minute. After all, how could he feel bad when his father finally cared about him? Finally, his father cared, and it made Draco feel warm inside. His father cared!
Herculen went back to school after a week of reading to Draco, wizard's chess, and days spent bringing toys to the bed ridden brother. When Herculen left, Draco was afraid that he'd be horribly lonely again, but his father surprised him by checking in on him frequently. His mother was also constantly hanging around the room, but she was rather boring so Draco didn't really talk to her that much.
Sometimes, when Lucius went to the ministry, Dobby came in and spoke to Draco, which made the blonde quite happy. For a while, Dobby had been avoiding Draco like the plague, and Draco was happy to have his old playmate back. Dobby was still careful to never be discovered by Lucius, but at least he talked to Draco again. He also brought Draco whichever toy he wanted, and would tentatively play with the blonde.
Eventually, Draco's arm was healed, allowing him to get up and run around again without fear of jarring it. For some reason, however, the day after it healed all of the toys disappeared from Draco's bedroom. When he asked his father about it, Lucius told him it was time he got back to his studies. Apparently the toys would come back when Crabbe and Goyle visited. Disappointed, Draco returned to studying with his tutor, however he was rather happy to finally be able to play with the potions set from Snape. He could also finally write to Snape again since his right arm was mobile, and life basically returned to normal.
By the time summer rolled around, Draco couldn't wait to see his brother again; these school years were far too long as far as Draco was concerned. A few days after Herculen came home, the brothers celebrated their birthday with the Minister of Magic at a fancy restaurant near the ministry. Herculen told Draco that the muggle world was very close; however Draco was careful not to take any interest in it lest he anger his father in front of the Minister of Magic.
After dinner, the group traveled back to the manor where they talked for far too long, at least in Draco's mind. Finally he and Herculen were excused to go play, however Herculen didn't want to play. Instead Herculen told Draco about his days at Hogwarts.
"I also finally got around to memorizing the school's song!" Herculen declared. "Want to hear?"
Without waiting for a reply, Herculen enthusiastically sang the school song and helped Draco to learn the first few lines.
"Most everyone is terrible at singing it," Herculen told his brother. "However, I enjoy it! It's great, isn't it?"
Draco shrugged, a smile upon his face simply because his brother seemed to enjoy singing the song so much.
That night, the Hogwarts's school anthem was stuck in his head, his brother's enthusiastic voice echoing through Draco's dreams.
In the morning, Lucius took his sons to Diagon Alley. It was fairly empty considering most of the wizards had gotten their shopping done the moment their children had come home from Hogwarts rather than waiting a few days. Lucius led his children to the broom shop where he told Herculen to chose a broom.
"I have business to attend to, so I trust you can take care of your brother until I return?" Lucius turned to Heruclen, who nodded. Then Lucius disappeared into the shadows leaving his sons alone in the broom shop.
"Wow, I've never been anywhere without mother or father before!" Draco declared, feeling a rush of freedom.
"It is rather nice, however let's keep this between us. I don't think mother would approve," Herculen told his little brother before they wandered deeper into the store.
"I like the brooms on the back wall. Some of their fastest are there. Did you know they're coming out with a new Nimbus? I want to get that when it comes out!"Herculen declared. However suddenly he jumped backwards when a hunched old woman looking at a cheap broom appeared in their path. She glanced at the boys with a warty face, and Herculen sneered.
"I didn't know they let your type in here," his smile was malicious. "Don't you belong in Knockturn Alley? Come on, move it so we can get to the brooms that can actually do things unlike these worthless ones your pursuing."
The old woman said nothing, however she abruptly leaped forward and grabbed Herculen's arm, her long nails creating halfmoons in his skin her grip was so tight.
"Hey, let me go!" he snarled, trying to pull away, yet the old woman was much stronger than she looked. Her grin revealed her yellowed, slanted teeth, and Herculen again tried to recoil to no avail. His breath was now coming in short, frightened huffs, and he swallowed before glaring at the woman again. "Let go of me you old hag!"
"Don't insult people who you don't know the power of," her croaking voice had a singsong quality to it. "You never know what might happen! Your dear little brother might end up on the wrong side of an attack, or perhaps you'll be the one loosing blood. Watch out, Herculen Malfoy, or perhaps its your dear little Draco you should be looking out for. Watch his back!" With that the woman let out a wild cackle and released Herculen from her iron grip. In seconds she'd apparated, and Herculen rushed to his shocked brother's side. He glanced around protectively, but when nothing jumped out at them, he let out a long breath and tried to slow down his pounding heart.
"Crazy old hag," he muttered. "Come on, lets wait for father at the front of the store. There's some neat new brooms up there too."
When Lucius returned, he asked how it went.
"Oh, swimmingly," Herculen lied easily. "I think I'll take this broom."
After that, they went to lunch and then came back the manor with a brand new broomstick for Herculen.
"You'll get one when you go to Hogwarts, I'm sure," Herculen told his brother. "For now, you can learn better how to fly my old broom! This time I'll come up with you so there are no more accidents."
True to his word, Herculen spent the better part of the summer teaching Draco how to fly a broomstick in all directions, and even how to perform stunts like barrel rolls and loop-the-loop.
"You'll be so ready for Hogwarts!" Herculen declared. "It's probably time I teach you the rules of Quidditch too!"
Nothing ever came of the old woman's threat, and the brothers didn't talk about the incident, so it faded to the back of their minds. Quidditch practice was far more important than something said by an old woman who probably didn't know which way was up, Herculen told himself.
When the summer came to an end, Draco was eternally sad to see his brother go back to Hogwarts; however he'd learned lots about broom sticks, Quidditch and Hogwarts in general. It was now only a year before Draco would be at the school, and he definitely felt ready.
When he went to see his brother off at the train station, Draco wanted to jump on the train right then, however he still had one more year to wait. Instead he stayed patiently on the platform with his mother and father, waving goodbye to his brother, a smile on his face.
AU: I realize this chapter wasn't particularly exciting, but I wanted to show how the family dynamic is changing. Don't worry, either the next chapter or the chapter after that will be plenty exciting and angsty… Review please!