"Mother?" Draco called as he entered Malfoy Manor. Whilst it was a big home, she usually wasn't too far from the front rooms. Though it was rather late now. "Mother?"
"Master Draco!" A young house elf cleared her throat to gain his attention.
"Hello, Mitzi. Do you know where my mother is?" Draco asked his personal house elf. Though he did not technically live at Malfoy Manor anymore, Mitzi was still all too happy to assist Draco whenever he visited home.
"She's in the east drawing room, waiting up for you," Mitzi informed, trotting along behind Draco as he moved towards the room in question. "But, Master Draco, I'm meant to tell you–"
"Daddy!"
Draco was taken aback as he entered the east drawing room to discover his not yet five-year-old still very much awake, and currently attacking his legs. "Scorpius, it's quite past your bed time, now isn't it?" he sighed, though there was a tired smile on his face as he picked the boy up and perched him upon his hip.
"I'm sorry darling, but he was ever so insistent on seeing you before bed," Narcissa explained as she rose from the couch where she had been watching her grandson sleepily playing with his toys on the floor.
"You spoil him so much," Draco chuckled as he held his son's head against his chest. The sooner he got Scorpius to sleep, the sooner he could take him home. "Where is Titania?"
"Oh, she fell asleep a few hours ago. I laid her down in the cot in your room," Narcissa explained. She reached up to stroke a stray lock of hair from Draco's forehead and smiled at her only child. "You'll be staying tonight, won't you?"
Draco sighed and shook his head. "You know I'd love to, mother, but I want them to get used to staying at home again," he explained, looking down to his son to make sure the boy had truly fallen asleep. "We've barely stayed there a week since Titania was born, and … "
"And, Astoria died," Narcissa finished, cupping Draco's cheek with her palm. "I know you want to move on dear, but give it some time. You need help with Scorpius and Titania, it's no use carting them back and forth when you have a perfectly good room here to stay in. It's only going to put more stress on both them and yourself."
"I know," Draco admitted, reluctantly meeting his mother's gaze as a lone tear rolled down his cheek. "I just don't want them to grow up thinking that their mother's death has changed anything. I don't love them any less. I want the best for them."
Narcissa nodded with understanding as she led Draco towards the couch so he could sit and hold his son. "Every parent does, Draco, it's our job," she said as she sat beside him. "But right now what's best for them is a stable environment, and that's something you alone can't give them when you're gone all day as a healer. You're a young parent, with young children. Let us help you."
Knowing his mother, that was less the plea she made it sound like and more of an order. He certainly wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth, but he felt like he was failing his children as their father, coming to his parents for help like this. His grandparents had certainly never stepped in to help raise him. But his mother was right. As furious as she and his father had been to discover Draco's relations with the Greengrass girl, resulting in a quiet marriage just after sixth year and Scorpio's birth not long after, they'd never turned him away when he needed them. They'd even helped keep Astoria and Scorpio safe and hidden during the end days of the war.
"Alright," he sighed, leaning back against the couch and gently pressing a kiss to Scorpio's forehead. "After work tomorrow I'll gather their clothes and toys and start the move back home. But only temporarily!"
Narcissa laughed softly and nodded in agreement. "Well, however long temporarily is, your always welcome in Malfoy Manor. Now, how was your day at work?" she asked as she poured her son a cup of tea.
"Really bizarre, to be honest," he admitted, shifting Scorpius to lay in his other arm as the former began to go numb from the toddlers rapidly increasing weight. "Hermione Granger came in looking for a cure to a hex of some sort."
"Oh really?" Narcissa asked, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "I thought the greatest witch of her generation would have all the answers to anything that would be ailing her."
"You would think that," Draco agreed, taking a sip of his tea. "I had nothing in my files about it. Usually hexes and curses that work off age target at seventeen, since that's the age of adulthood, but today's her twenty first birthday."
"That's very strange indeed. Did you figure out what the cause was?"
"Well, it seems to be a prolonged glamour charm. She woke up today and her hair had turned black, her eyes amber, and she's a bit taller as well. All the cases we have on record with this particular ailment are from people who are adopted, but she doesn't believe it for a second, so who knows if I'll hear from her again."
Narcissa nodded slowly as she listened to her son's tales. Seems like he had an interesting day indeed. "And you said she turned twenty one today?"
"Yes, why?" Draco asked, sending his mother a puzzled look. What did she find significant about Hermione Granger's age of all things?
"No reason. Though it's a shame she had to experience something like this on her birthday," Narcissa sighed. It was impossible, but that didn't keep her from wondering. "Perhaps you should take her out for tea sometime."
"Mother!" Draco said with alarm. Where did she go to get ideas like that? "The relationship between Hermione Granger and myself is strictly professional. If fact if I hadn't offered to help her, I'm fairly certain she would just as likely have punched me in the face again." Well, maybe not, considering they were in a building full of witnesses and security wizards, but still.
Narcissa sent Draco an innocent look. "Is it wrong for a mother to want her son to be happy?" she asked rhetorically.
Draco sighed and gently shook his head. "It's too soon, mother," he insisted as he stood up once more and cradled Scorpius' head against his shoulder to keep from jostling him too much. "I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, mother."
Narcissa watched her son leave with a pained expression. "Goodnight, Draco," she sighed with a gentle shake of her head. She knew he would heal in his own time, but it pained her seeing her baby hurt like this. It had been nearly eight months since Astoria's passing, and like any mother, Narcissa merely wanted to help Draco through this hard time in his life. And if her suspicions were correct, the Ganger girl was her best bet at doing so. She would be sure to run her theories by Lucius after Draco left in the morning.
Gasp! Two chapters in just a few hours? What is this madness? I dont know, but I hope the roll keeps going, because I've really realized how much I missed writing for Revived Lines. Though my next update may be for a different fic as a heads up. I'm not entirely sure yet.
