Chapter 51

When the school year once again started up Draco felt as if he was a different boy. Burying the diary at the bottom of his trunk he decided he didn't need to write in it. Now he had his father back, things were going to be great.

He didn't want to write to Tom.

For the first time in months, letters begun to fly back and forth at an almost alarming rate from the Malfoy manor and Hogwarts. True they were more formal than they had been before the two of them had fought so badly but for the young Ravenclaw it did not mater.

Just as long as they kept coming. As long as his dad kept signing them 'your loving father.'

If course it was bad news for the Gryffindor's. He knew he had been sending them mixes signals since he had been at school but he had to put his dad first.

He just had too.

He remembered how he had been when he had snuck into him at Christmas. He had not quite been the man he had been when he was a kid but he was more than he had been in weeks and that had to be what mattered didn't it? He had been a good dad once more. It had been so good to feel as if they were close – he had hugged him and his dad had not pulled back. Rather he had pulled him in closer.

Whatever had happened to his father to make him come to him, he didn't know and he was not sure if he cared or not. Just known they were going to be ok he didn't care; it had given him a new enthusiasm. Not only for him and his dad, but for nearly everything else in his life.

Not that he had ever let them slip, his grades went higher than they had in weeks and he brought even more to the Quidditch field when he was it there.

The thought that next time he flew in a house match, he might be able to get his father to come and watch him spurred him on.

Without Tom to take over him and affectionate letters from home of a regular basis, his life was on a most definite up and no one failed to notice how much happier he looked as opposed to before Christmas.

"Dad wrote again this morning." He said to Severus proudly as he stayed behind after the first potions lessons of the new term.

"I am glad." He said to him genuinely thrilled for the both of them that they were finding common ground once more.

It had been too much to watch the two of them falling apart one another. He did not know another father and son who had been through as much as they had together and were as close as them usually.

"I think we are going to go back to France this summer." Said Draco musingly.

His father had not mentioned it. But the thought was definitely in his mind. He wanted to go back to the chateaux one more. He wanted to watch the sun set with his dad as he had when he had been young. That night when they had done it for the first time after everything... he could remember it vividly. He didn't remember a lot from that time... he seemed to have blocked it out, but he remembered that.

As long as he thought about the good things about his dad then and the good times they had shared, he found he did not have to think too much about the bad things about him.

The drinking and the fact he had been the one who had given the diary to Ginny Weasley and so inadvertently to him. The small Gryffindor did not seem so angry towards him now – more relieved. And he understood why.… he would think he would be if someone took it from him.

Severus nodded. "I think that can only be a good thing for you both." He told him.

"I agree. It is going to be good."

He had a smile on his face that Severus had not seen for months.

"Do you think that now me and dad are making things up, the two of you can as well?" it would not be a proper holiday unless Severus was there with them.

The Potions Master nodded. He had to say he was more hopeful for their old friendship he wanted to regain than he had been in a while.

"Perhaps dragon, perhaps." He sighed.

"Cool," he said as he gave him a one armed hug.

"What are you doing now then?"

"Going to the library." now that they were on the other side of Christmas the end of years exams already looked a lot closure from where Draco stood.

And he hated cramming. He may as well spread it out.

"Should have known." sighed Severus as he ruffled the lad's hair. "Have a good day." He smiled as he watched Draco bounce out of the room. It was good to see he had the spring back in his step.

-

Severus looked up at the stands and he was glad to see Lucius there with the other governors, who all got asked if they wanted to come and watch the children play Quidditch. It was one of the perks for them, that they got to see the schools brightest young stars achieving.

To the best of his knowledge Lucius was the last one to make an appearance that academic year. But then better late than never.

Severus thought he had picked quite a game to come on, considering that Slytherin were playing Ravenclaw. It was the one game from then on in he knew he was going to have to let his head rule his heart and support his own house.

As for Lucius, he was firmly on Draco's side. He was not in Slytherin now, was he thought with a smirk and as he was not head of house he had no qualms about transferring his loyalty.

As he felt the hip flask in his pocket, he was still in disbelief he had let himself get in such a state that he had missed his own sons Quidditch debut.

He had made it to the second game but somehow even if Draco forgave him he could not forgive himself for what he had done... The enormity was beginning to hit him of the way he had behaved. He always been there for so many of the important first for his son. He had had to be there for himself and his wife and yet he had let her down. He had missed it.

As he looked about the stands he saw that Potter, the Weasley boy and the Granger girl had come out and they all for the day were sporting Ravenclaw scarf's…

He sighed and looked away just in time to see the two teams fly out and his chest puffed out when he saw his little seeker arrive on the pitch and for the first time ever, he prayed Slytherin were going to lose.

-

At the end of the game, Draco Malfoy found himself surrounded by cheers and lifted up on the shoulders of Tom Davies and Stephen.

Laughing with joy as he was carried along, he was yet to look at either his father or his uncle. He had not meant to practically knock their house out of the Quidditch cup but he had to say it just came so naturally.

He seemed to crowd serf his way to one of the edges of the stadium before he was put down to go into the locker room.

Even if he did say so himself, he thought that catch was better than the one he had done before.

In order to catch his breath sat down or a while.

"Come on Draco back to the Common room – we have a party to get under way!" said Davies to him with the jubilation he felt in his voice.

"OK," he said and he was just about to grab his bag and make for the door when their way was blocked and he dropped his bag.

Turning to his team mate, he winked. "I'll be there in a moment."

His father had just come in and he wanted until he young man left before he turned to his son.

Draco smiled at the look on his face. He knew that look well. He remembered it.

"You did really well Draco – you are a really great flyer." Said Lucius as he went over to the bench and his son followed and sat by his side.

"Thanks dad. We trained really hard."

"I could tell." He nodded.

Draco had to admit when he had been at breakfast that morning he had worried that his dad was not going to turn up. But he had.

His dad was getting back on form it seemed to him. Just as the others had told him he would he had returned to him in the end.

"Sorry about Slytherin." he said to him.

Lucius smirked. Had it been him he did not think he would be apologising but then the smile his son had on his face told him that Draco was not sorry he had won at all.

Not even a little bit.

"Well, it was not as it was back when I was at school. The team was never in such good shape as when me and your uncle Rod was leading it." He said and he had afar off look on his face.

"Do you miss Uncle Rod?" he asked. Rod and Bella were like figures from a mythical past to him, just as his mother was. He knew that they had been put in Azkaban when the war had come to an end but he had never heard his father speak with anything but reverence for Rod and his brother. As for his aunt, well his dad did not seem to talk about her so much and he got the feeling she was not as missed as his uncle was.

"I do – very much." He nodded glad that his son was taking an interest in their family history. But then he shook his head. "You should not be thinking like this, not today. This is your day and you are a game away from the Quidditch house cup in your very first year on the team. You really are my boy." He said and his eyes shone as he looked at his son.

"Yup, me winning was all done to you today dad. The Slytherin, whose team really does suck." said Draco feeling braver.

"Cheeky brat."

"Old timer." The younger of the two Malfoy's returned without missing a heartbeat.

Using his superior size to his advantage it was not long until Lucius had his son in a headlock and was messing up his son's hair as through giggles Draco tried to tell him to get off.

When he released him the two of them feel into a quiet silence which was soon awkward.

"I am glad you made it today dad," he said to him with a smile. "I didn't mean to upset you – back before summer when I was on the stairs."

Lucius shook his head and put his hands up. "It is high time that the two of us put the whole thing behind us. Get back to it just being us. The dream team." Said Lucius as he ruffled his hair once more.

"Dad – get off!" protested Draco but he allowed Lucius to kiss him as he got up and run off to the door. "I have to get back to the common room." He sighed, torn between wanting to be his father and with his house.

"Go enjoy your victory party prince, you deserve it." Lucius beamed knowing what was on his mind..

"See you soon dad." Draco nodded.

"Yes you will."

Draco leant back and smiled, feeling better than he had in weeks, realising that he did not need his drink to feel good – just his boy.

"Dad?" he heard a voice say just as he thought his son had gone.

"Yes Draco."

"Please go and make it up with Uncle Severus before go home. I miss it being the three of us and Jane." He sighed.

Lucius nodded. He knew he should have seen it coming.

-

Severus was reading in his living room when he heard a knock on the door.

"Enter," he said.

He continued to read the book but when no way come in after a few moments he got up and looked out in the corridor to find that no one had been there.

Bloody kids, he thought as he shook his head suspecting the Weasley twins.

But then there had been someone else on the castle grounds that day who might run away from his door, he thought to himself as he piece together who it had been.

-

Lucius knew he was a coward and at times he was ok with that.

At times he was not. And it was one of those times.

Really what his son had asked of him had been very simple. To go and see Sev.

He had not even asked him to say sorry for what he had done but he supposed that was because Severus had not told him just what had gone on between them. The Potions Master had known how much he had upset his boy with the rough way he had treated him and he would no doubt have tried to lift the weight instead of add to it.

He had known as soon as Draco had got on the train that when he got to school his uncle was going to be waiting for him and he was going to be among the first people he saw.

And he knew he had been wrong for keeping the two if the apart over the summer.

Then he had done a lot wrong of that summer he thought with shame.

He had cracked up. He knew he had lost it when he had had no right to. When he should have been holding his son tightly, telling Draco it was ok and that they were going to be fine after they had lost Eliza, he had been pushing him away and he was never going to forgive himself for that because he knew Eliza herself would never have forgiven that. She would have been so angry with him if she knew what he had done to her little dragon.

And would Narcissa.

The heavy hearted sigh that came out of him was still full of grief for her. Long ago he had come to terms with the fact he was not going to get over her but it was still a sore point.

So sore.

But at least he had the feeling that he and his son were going to be ok now, as in the end they would always have each other even if he did not get his relationships with the others back.

He was going to have his boy at his side once more when summer came to them – and that made the world of difference. Just as long as they were together, he knew they would survive whatever came. They always had in the past after all.

-

As if to symbolise the fact those turbulent times he had endured of late were coming to an end, Draco found that January passed without any great event. The things that did happen, such as the Quidditch game, were good. He had a smile on his face throughout the month.

Before he knew it February arrived. Time was flying and he was enjoying it.

Valentine's day came and went, passed surrounded by the boys on the Quidditch pitch as he and the Slytherin's mucked about. The other Ravenclaw boys to come out and they had their own second year game.

Operation avoid Mandy was successfully completed by the end of the day.

February rolled into March as easily as the last month change had. He had had months since he had done anything wrong.

He felt good.

And yet Tom was still there on his mind and he knew why he was. In a time when he had felt as if he had had almost no one else who knew what he was going through Tom had been there.

And now things were going good he was just avoiding him. And that was not the type of lad he was.

It was stupid because he knew that Tom was not even a real person. He was just a figure in a diary. He was an imaginary friend. And a bad one at times too.

The longer that he went without speaking to him the less he thought he was able to make the bad stuff happen as he had before.

But then Draco felt as if he was just being disloyal.

It just wasn't in him.

He tried to forget the urge to talk to him. He tried to bury himself in his work and his friends who were a lot more eager to hang out with him than they had been at the beginning of the year due to the fact he was so much more upbeat.

But by the end of March he was beginning to felt too bad for ignoring Tom.

So for the first time in months he took the diary out of trunk.

His hand shook as he wrote.

Tom?

No reply. He sighed.

He knew that his friend was going to be angry for the way that he had treated him. The way he had.... it drew parallels between the way his dad had treated him when he had been so mad.

Tom, he knew, had done nothing wrong.

Not really.

Please talk to me.

I assume you are back in daddy's good graces?

Draco could feel his cheeks go red with embarrassment.

All it had taken Tom was one guess to figure out why he had not being talking to him – because he had not needed his support as he had before when he had lost his dad for a time.

Yes, I am.

Again Tom did not did boy reply to him.

Please don't be like this with me.

He had had such a good few weeks he did not think he could cope if they were to end now.

You completely ignored me when I was the only one who cared for you.

Well, for a start he knew that was not the truth. He had never been on his own with Tom completely because he had always had his uncle Sev, and Jane, and his dad had written when he had been able too.

And it was not as if he had lost his dorm friends either and then there were the Gryffindor's and the Slytherin's.

Don't be such a drama queen Tom, it doesn't wash. He wrote. He had been through too much to let someone pull him down over it.

He had been about to close the diary when he saw words appear on the page.

Please don't go Draco. I have missed our little chats.

Draco sighed.

I know. So have I. I have just been really busy, but everything has been going well. Please don't be mad Tom. I want to tell you all about it!

I'm not – just in a bit of a bad mood I suppose. Do tell me Draco. I want to know everything.

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