Draco smiled broadly at my words, then regarded me thoughtfully for a while, chewing his bottom lip as though carefully assessing my trustworthiness.

Then, he said slowly, " S'posing…s'posing I did tell you, you wouldn't say anything, would you? I mean, you wouldn't tell Father or Mummy or say that I'd told you, would you?"

"No, of course not. I've already said that I shan't."

"Okay," Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath; summoning every ounce of courage he possessed. "Well, it's just-"

"Oh, excuse me."

Draco froze and promptly shut his mouth. Irritated that I come so close to finding out what was going on, only to have it locked away again, I turned my attention towards the doorway, in which William Southard had just appeared.

"Can I help you?" I asked, frowning.

William glanced at me over the top of glasses that always seemed to be sliding down his nose. "Draco ought to be in bed." He raised an eyebrow at the boy curled up beside me, giving him a stern look. "Hadn't you? You know you're not to wander about at night."

"Had a…had a bad dream," Draco mumbled. "Sir said it was okay if I came here. Didn't you?" he looked at me, silently begging me not to give him away.

I nodded. "Really, it's fine. I'll take him back to his room when he feels a bit better."

But William was not happy. "I do not think that's a good idea," he said stiffly. "Given your circumstances."

I bristled. "What do you mean?" I demanded. "What 'circumstances'?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied quickly. "Nothing, of course." To avoid the look I was giving him, William turned his attention back to Draco and jerked his head towards the door, "Come on. I'll take you back."

But Draco shook his head, clinging onto my arm. "No!" he cried. "I want to stay here! There's a…a monster in my room!"

William was unconvinced and, I have to admit, neither was I. It sounded far too childish coming from Draco, who was usually very sensible and had grown out of such things years ago.

But why, I wondered, was he so scared of staying in his room? What was the real problem?

I was damned if I knew the answer.

"Don't be silly, Draco!" William snapped, his patience thinning. "Now come on. Get back to be and stop bothering Mr Snape."

"But I'm not!" Draco turned anxiously to me, seeking reassurance. "I wasn't bothering you, was I? You said it was alright. You said I could stay!"

"Draco Malfoy, if I have to ask you one more time," William cut in before I could reply. "I am going to go straight to your father. And he won't be very happy, will he, being woken up in the middle of the night to find you misbehaving."

I felt Draco's body stiffen beside me. "No," he whispered. Whether it was in answer to William's threat or as a weak plea, I did not know.

"You had better go back," I murmured, placing one hand on his shoulder. "I don't want you to get into trouble."

Draco stared at me disbelievingly, as though he thought I was joking. "B-but…"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow, I promise."

He opened his mouth, but shut it again; deciding that his protests would simply fall on deaf ears.

"Fine!" snapped Draco, glaring at me resentfully. "Tomorrow."

I couldn't help but recognise the cynicism in my godson's voice or the sneer in his expression as he allowed William to lead him away.

The innocent little boy whom I had once known was disappearing fast and to my horror, I realised that, unless I did something, he would turn into a carbon copy of his father.

As it turned out, I did not manage to continue my conversation with Draco. But not, I would like to stress, for lack of trying.

Draco came down to breakfast half an hour late the morning after, looking deathly pale and so ill that even Lucius was concerned.

"It could be Dragon Pox," he whispered to me, looking quite anxious. "He hasn't had it yet and it does run in the family. What do you think?"

I studied Draco carefully before answering; it looked as though he were having some sort of nightmare, his eyes were dull and unfocused and every now and then, he would twitch or let out a small gasp. It was very bizarre.

"I don't know," I replied quietly. "I'm not sure that it is Dragon Pox. But I can't say for sure."

"Mmm."

We both watched Draco for a while, not even bothering to hide the fact that we were doing so, as it was clear that he was utterly oblivious to his surroundings.

Suddenly, a cry so sharp I'm surprised that windows didn't break, pierced through the dining room, making everyone, even Narcissa, wince.

"No!" Draco was shrieking, his hands clawing at his face, eyes tight shut. "No no no!"

It was Lucius who gathered himself together first. He was out of his chair and by Draco's side in a shot, myself not far behind. Narcissa, looking mildly surprised, resumed the consumption of her coffee as though nothing untoward was going on and this was just a regular, everyday occurrence.

Lucius, by this point, had pinned Draco's arms to his side, halting any further attempts for the boy to harm himself. Tears mingled with blood on Draco's face as he cried and twisted like a possessed thing.

"Draco Malfoy stop this NOW!" bellowed Lucius in his most authorative, dictator voice. This would, under normal circumstances, have had Draco frozen to the spot in fear, but this time he didn't seem to even have heard his father.

This was, understandably, very disconcerting for the elder Malfoy and he glanced at me worriedly. 'What do I do?' he mouthed.

"Just hold him still," I instructed, pulling out a chair and pointing to it. "He'll stop eventually."

However, Draco didn't stop. His screaming was relentless and he seemed desperate to move his arms.

"What do I do?" Lucius cried helplessly. "Severus help me!"

"I don't know! How on earth should I know?"

Lucius groaned. "Draco stop!" he pleaded, as much as a Malfoy could plead. "For Merlin's sake! This is ridiculous! What's the matter with you?"

"Nicely, Lucius," I reminded him gently. "Be nice."

Lucius scowled heavily. "I'm always nice."

"Of course you are," I muttered under my breath.

He raised a pale eyebrow in a 'and-how-is-this-helping?' sort of way. "Don't you have a potion or something that'll calm him down?"

"A potion?" I repeated stupidly.

"Yes, Severus. A potion. You know, one of those things one brews in cauldrons and generally taste disgusting?"

I ignored the blatant and wholly unnecessary sarcasm. "Nothing that would be of any use, I'm afraid. I don't tend to carry things like that around with me."

Lucius muttered something irritably under his breath, what little patience he had previously possessed wearing very thin.

A small moan suddenly rose up from Draco, turning our concentration back to him.

Lucius looked tremendously relieved. "Oh thank Marlin! He's stopped."

"I dunno Lucius…he doesn't look at all well." I knelt down to brush away the damp white-blonde hair away from Draco's ashen face and pressed the back of my hand to his burning forehead. Straightening up, I shook my head grimly, "I think you should call for a Medi-Wizard," I informed him.

The relief vanished from Lucius' face even faster than it had appeared. "I don't like doctors," he said coolly, nostrils flaring. "I find them most unpleasant."

"I thought you had a family doctor?"

"Dead," Lucius informed me disdainfully. "Last year. Anyway, he never had much to do with Draco, not since he was a baby. My father never approved of doctors interfering. Mother went to a great deal of trouble to procure somebody who would agree to ah…keep their mouth shut."

Understanding dawned on me. "Oh, I see." I laughed humourlessly. "You don't want a stranger to take one look at the marks on your son's body and label you as an abusive father." Unmasked contempt dripped from my words.

Lucius swore heavily. "Oh, for god sake Severus-"

But I cut angrily across him, "Don't you 'for god sake Severus' me, Lucius Malfoy! Don't you dare try to tell me that you are willing to deny your child the medical attention he obviously needs just for the sake of your blasted reputation!"

Lucius flushed heavily, but had the decency not to deny it.

"Just look at him!" I continued, gesturing elaborately. "Use a glamour charm if you must. Cover up the bruises, I dare say Narcissa's got something that'll do the job. I don't see what the problem is, anyway," I said bitterly. "Aren't you always telling me that it's the fashionable thing? To abuse one's children?"

"Oh, get over yourself!" Lucius snapped. "Fine, I'll find a Medi-Wizard if it will shut you up for five minutes. Here, take him," the insufferable Mr Malfoy stood up and past the unconscious Draco to me. "Put him to bed. I'll see if I can find," he pulled a face, "a doctor."

As I carried Draco to his bedroom, I passed Narcissa floating down the hall.

She stopped and smiled. "Oh, hello Severus."

"I inclined my head and returned the smile. "Narcissa, how are you?"

"I'm okay, thank you," she said, a little vaguely. "And yourself? You haven't been here for a while, have you? Have you been ill? Nothing serious, I hope?"

Her concern was genuine and I could only gather from this, that she had no idea of the fiasco that had taken place in her home. How nice it must be, to be so blissfully unaware of everything…

"Poor little thing," she continued, looking lovingly down upon her small son. "I do hope he'll be okay…" A slight frown appeared on her pretty face, but then she laughed. "It was strange, wasn't it? What happened at breakfast this morning? I rather think that it quite frightened Lucius. Wouldn't you agree Severus?"

Narcissa looked at me, her head tilted slightly to one side as she waited for my agreement. To satisfy her I nodded, pondering over the fact that she seemed to found the need to turn everything she said into a question, almost as though she needed reassurance that she was right, or wrong as the case may be. She really was exactly like a child. I had heard Lucius say it before, many times in fact, but hadn't really taken it seriously. But now, I could see what he meant. It was rather disconcerting…

"But Draco has been acting rather oddly recently, hasn't he?" Narcissa carried on, her eyes suddenly sad as she watched her son. "I do hate to see him upset. It distresses me a great deal…" Her voice faded away as she spoke the last sentence and a far-away look passed over her expression.

I reached out to touch her shoulder, to pull her back into reality. "Lady Malfoy…"

Her head jerked up and piercing sapphire-blue eyes snapped to mine, capturing me in her gaze.

"You are wrong, you know," she told me, her voice clear and calm. "You are wrong about Lucius. He loves Draco. More than I. He wouldn't stand for Draco to be hurt, not by anything. Not by…anything…" Her eyes began to slide out of focus once more, but she managed to pull herself together before she slipped away completely.

Narcissa smiled awkwardly and moved quickly away with a small, "Excuse me."

She really was one of the strangest women I had ever come across. Not that I had come across many, I have to admit.

Draco had just about come around by the time Lucius had appeared with the Medi-Wizard, or witch as it turned out to be.

She was neither young nor old and not especially remarkable in any way, but experience and confidence radiated from her as heat radiates from the sun.

Lucius strode in looking like a sullen child and glared at me, hating me for what I had made him do.

Draco pushed himself wearily into a sitting position and rubbed his eyes sleepily. "Father…"

Lucius turned sharply, although I think it was unease more than anything and gave a barely perceptible shake of his head. 'Careful,' it said.

"Hello sweetheart," the Med-Witch gushed, pushing past Lucius to sit beside Draco. "You must be Draco? Well, aren't you just the cutest thing ever!"

Lucius rolled his eyes behind her back and came over to stand next to me. "Now do you see what I mean?" he hissed. "Sickening."

"Well, my name's Maureen," she practically purred, "and your dad's been telling me that you had quite a funny turn this morning. Is that right? Do you want to talk about it?"

Draco regarded her blankly.

Maureen's smile faltered slightly, clearly unused to treating such unresponsive children. But then, it was back as grotesquely sweet as ever. "Okay, so no talking. Shy huh?" She laughed and ruffled Draco's hair. "No problem, sweetie. We'll just get right to the point and see if we can find out what the problem is, is that okay?"

Draco nodded slowly, glancing over at his father.

Lucius shifted uncomfortably, looking very much as though he wanted to go and lock himself away in his study, leaving me to deal with everything. Again.

"Don't even think about it!" I hissed, before he even had the chance to try and slink off.

But Maureen came to his rescue. "If you don't mind, gentlemen," she said coming over. "I would prefer it if you gave us some privacy. I generally find that children prefer it if their adults are out of the room. Less embarrassing, you know?"

I don't think Lucius did know, but it gave him an excuse to not be there to see her disapproval afterwards.

"Well, I'd better be off," Lucius announced, the second the door had closed behind us. He checked his watch frowning. "I have a meeting in half an hour, so I should be able to make it if I leave now. Tell her to charge the bill to my account."

"What? No, wait! Lucius wait!" I ran down the hall after him. "You can't just leave, this is important! What if she finds something, I don't know, strange?"

Lucius stopped and turned so sharply, I almost ran headlong into him. "If something happens," he said in a tone which one usually reserves for very small and stupid children. "I would hope, that you would have the sense to owl me immediately." He frowned, then continued as an after thought, "but then you never did have much sense…ah well," Lucius shrugged and turned on his heal, calling over his shoulder, "I'm sure you'll be fine, Sev. Owl me if there are any complications."

I contemplated kicking the wall in frustration but, after weighing the pros and cons, decided against it. Not only would it probably break my foot, but if there was any damage to the wall and I would have to pay for it, the cost being more than I could afford in at least five years.

So, instead, I paced. Up and down the hall I strode; my feet marking the deep blood-red carpet with every step I made. Portraits of long deceased Malfoys began to mutter amongst themselves as I passed their frames for the sixth, seventh, even eighth time.

Finally though, one of them spoke up, sounding most irate. "You! Stop your wandering and come here!"

'So it's not just the recent generations who are insufferably rude'

"Yes?" I asked in my politest and most guest-like voice.

"Don't you 'Yes' me, boy!" Casuvias Malfoy barked from his gilded frame. "Do you know who I am?"

I considered my answer very carefully; to get on the wrong side of a portrait was highly inadvisable, particularly when they hung in Malfoy Manor. As in Hogwarts, the portraits had a very close relationship with the building and if you didn't watch what you said, you might end up in an unknown dungeon a thousand metres under the house, never to be seen again.

To be on the safe side, I kept my mouth shut.

"Do you have any idea how much this carpet costs?" Casuvius continued loudly. "A hell of a lot. That's how much! And every time some ignorant half-wit skips down this hall, at least fifty sickles are deducted from it's worth. Fifty sickles!" he shook his head disgustedly. "At the rate you're going, boy, it's worthless now, I shouldn't wonder!"

"Oh, leave him alone Casuvius. He has as much right to walk on your precious carpet as everyone else." I looked around, wondering who had come to my defence and was happy to see Andrea Malfoy, whose portrait had hung in the room that had once been my sitting room.

A surprisingly amiable witch with whom I had spent many content hours discussing light topics such as the weather and currant Wizarding affairs. Nothing too heavy, as she did get confused terribly easily. Andrea had tried to explain her heritage to me one afternoon and became so flustered trying to remember all the names of both her ancestors and descendants, she actually fainted and didn't revive for at least three days. We stuck to discussing the breeding of hippogriffs after that.

She bore a striking resemblance to Narcissa, actually. I'm sure that they are directly related in some way…

"Just because you chose to spend the majority of your life elsewhere, Andrea, does not mean our family home is not something to be proud of or preserved." Casuvius gave me a nasty look. "Especially from the likes of persons such as this."

Andrea rolled her eyes. Despite being a hundred and twenty three when she died, her portrait was commissioned for her seventeenth birthday and, as such, was strikingly beautiful.

"You ignore him Severus," she told me kindly. "Just because some people choose to stay within the same dull walls their entire life, Casuvius," Andrea retorted. "Does not mean to say that they are better or in more authority than others. If Lucius likes him, you ought to respect that. You know perfectly well that he could have your portraits burned in an instant."

Casuvius humphed. "Lucius is an idiot. I do not know what Abraxas was thinking, only having one son." He shook his head regretfully, "Always have your options open, I say. Have at least six and choose the youngest. The eldest is always a disappointment." He turned to Andrea, their quarrel forgotten, "Who was it who started that absurd tradition of having only one child? Do you remember?"

"Darling, you know what my memory's like. I find difficulty even remembering what day it is, for Merlin's sake."

"Ah, Merlin," said Casuvius, smiling dreamily. "Now there's a wizard who should've been a Malfoy. Sensible, considerate. Not like Lucius. He's a dolt. Doesn't respect his elders, never did. Then again," he sniffed, glaring at me. "It seems none of them do."

"Has anyone ever told you that you are horrendously old fashioned?" Andrea enquired sweetly. "One has to move with the times, Darling. Or so I'm told…"

"Well, you are told wrong."

I left the two of them to their bickering, thanking the supernatural, mythological or whatever being there was to thank that my family was neither as large nor as outspoken as the Malfoys, and trudged back to stand outside Draco's room, ignoring Casuvius' yells of, "Watch that carpet! Dolt!"

A/N: Hiya::waves arms dramatically (sp?) tu aime? It was going to be a whole lot longer, and i have a gid thing coming up, which i was going to include inthis chapet, but it turns out that it was already three times my normal length (hee hee!) but i'm doing lots at the moment, so it shouldn't be too long 'till the next update :)

Hope everyone's having a superb summer!! J

Lily xxx