Unsurprisingly, Draco did not settle at all well that night. When, eventually, I did mange to get him to sleep, he was still fretful- tossing and turning and whimpering- and, of course, half an hour of that would wake him in a mess of damp sheets, crying out for Lucius.

I am ashamed to admit that I felt more than a little betrayed that it was not to me that Draco immediately thought of when this distressed. But, as they say, blood is thicker than water and, as tragic as it may seem, no matter how much Lucius belittled and mistreated his son, he would always come first and foremost in Draco's eyes.

And, at a simpler level, it had always been Lucius who was the most unwavering figure in Draco's life. Narcissa was prone to severe mood swings. William could change his entire personality in a flash and I…well, as well-intentioned as I was, it was simply impractical for me to be there constantly and anyway, after these last few misunderstandings- all of which have ended tragically- I really couldn't ever expect Draco to rely on me fully.

Lucius, on the other hand, was The Proverbial Rock- unyielding, stubborn, ruthless…but solid, predictable and constant. I knew that Draco depended on being able to watch his father and read the slight changes in his demeanour in order to survive. Draco's teachers would, in the future, comment on how intently Draco would watch them, but when noticing something as small as the twitch of an eyebrow could save you from being slapped across the face it was no wonder that he quickly developed the habit..

It was a blessing, or sorts, that a man with as fierce a temper as Lucius Malfoy was as predictable as he was, otherwise I'm not sure that Draco would've been able to cope at all.

I barely slept at all that night. For one thing, there was little point leaving Draco alone in my room as he would only panic when he awoke again and for another, I was absolutely dreading having to explain to Lucius exactly what Draco had revealed to me. How the hell do you go about telling a parent that their child has been raped? And right under their nose too?

And it wasn't as though Lucius was the most reasonable of people when upset…why was it always me who had to be the bearer of bad news?

"You look like death," my mother observed from the kitchen table as I sloped in, my feet dragging behind me. "Didn't you sleep well?"

"Now, what gave you that impression?" I muttered, pulling a chair out and slumping down in it. "I've never slept better…"

A cup of very black coffee was set firmly down in front of me, with the order to "Drink. I dislike you immensely when you're in this sort of mood."

"I learnt it from you," I retorted petulantly, taking a sip of the bitter liquid and pulling a face. "Haven't you any sugar to put in this? It's vile!"

The sugar bowl was, if possible, set down even harder an was accompanied by a very loud sigh which indicated that my mother certainly did not approve of sugar in coffee.

"How's the boy?"

I shook my head and shrugged helplessly, "I really don't know. He's sleeping now, but I've no idea how he's going to be when he wakes up. Legilimensy did not suit him well at all…"

"You did what had to be done," my mother said gently, sensing my underlying guilt at forcing Draco to remember things that were not meant to be remembered. "When a man is bitten by a snake, the poison must be removed, no matter how painful it is at the time. The consequences of not doing so would be deadly. Why do you always have to take everything so personally? You did the right thing, so what is the problem?"

Before I had time to even consider my answer to such a ridiculous question, my father barged in looking particularly outraged,

"Why," he demanded, looked angrily at my mother, "is there a small boy upstairs?"

She met him squarely in the eyes, refusing to be intimidated. "He belongs to Severus," she explained patiently. My father's black eyes flicked to me and I saw his jaw clench even tighter. "I told him they could both stay here for a while."

"Oh yes? And how long is that going to be for?" We glared at one another levelly. We were the same height, give or take an inch and tension crackled between us like electricity.

"Oh stop it both of you!" said my mother, coming between us. She barely came up to our noses, but was still a formidable presence when crossed. As they say- the strongest things come in small packages…take washing detergent for example. "Severus," she fixed me with a look. "You have a very unsettled looking Mr Malfoy in the living room and I suggest you go sort him out-"

"Lucius is here?" I exclaimed, feeling more than a little unsettled myself. "Why didn't you tell me? How long has he been here?"

At the same time, my father's expression grew even more livid than it had been previously and he started spluttering, "No no no! I am not having another wizard in my house! I-I-I forbid it! Get rid of him at once! Eileen are you listening to me?"

"Shut your mouth. Silencio!"

I smiled appreciatively at my mother, who smirked and lovingly fingered her wand. Ever since I had started at Hogwarts, she had decided she wasn't going to stand for anymore nonsense from her husband and had taken control of her life using my father's weaknesses to her advantage like any half-decent Slytherin. Personally, I thought she had done a tremendous job.

"Go now," she said, raising her chin. "Sort your friend out."

Lucius did, indeed, seem to be in a pretty bad way; he was slumped forward, with his head resting in his hands. His face was tired and gaunt and there was not even an illusion of confidence.

I approached him somewhat warily- I wasn't entirely sure how a Malfoy, particularly this Malfoy, was going to behave when something this…intense had happened. From my rather extensive experience of the creatures commonly known as Pure-bloods, they are highly dangerous when provoked and even more so when forced into situations that are not in their control.

Lucius raised his head slowly as he became aware of my presence. He eyed me darkly- half angry, half exhausted- then sat back in his chair. "How is he?" he asked quietly, after a long pause.

I regarded him for a moment, trying to determine whether or not to answer truthfully, but the pained expression on the elder Malfoy's face told me that lies- even white lies- would only exacerbate things.

"Not good," I told him, almost apologetically. "Not good at all. He just cries and cries and calls for you…he's sleeping now, but it is not a peaceful sleep. He won't be comforted by anyone except you."

I watched Lucius closely, wondering what his reaction will be to this piece of information. But, apart from a slight twitch of one eyebrow, he made no indication that he'd even heard what I had said.

"How are you?" I asked as gently as I could without being condescending.

Lucius' grey eyes flicked sharply to mine, then lowered them and shrugged. "Fine. Don't look at me like that! I am fine!"

"You blatantly aren't," I snapped. "And you need to be. Are you listening to me, Lucius? You need to be fine!"

Lucius stared at me, obviously taken aback by the tone of my voice. But now was not the time to tip-toe around or be unnecessarily respectful. Lucius had to pull himself together and if he couldn't manage to do it himself, then I'd have to make him.

"You have a little boy upstairs," I continued firmly, pointing to emphasize my words, "who has had terrible things happen to him, but all that is going through is already bewildered mind is that his daddy doesn't want him anymore."

Making a jerky movement with his neck, Lucius turned his head away from me and said through gritted teeth. "I did what I had to do. If I had kept him there…you would have still blamed me!" Grey eyes flashed up, suddenly furious, "I just can't get it right can I? Even when I'm trying, you're still there, judging me and criticizing me! Well who made you such an authority?" He was shouting now, hands clenched into fists by his side. "I suppose you think it's my fault that William Southard did what he did, don't you? Don't you?"

I stared at the angry, distraught man before me, then dropped my gaze. Truth be told, I did hold him responsible for Draco vulnerability. But for all his faults, I knew that Lucius would never tolerate somebody hurting Draco. It had always been one rule for him and another for everyone else…and this was no exception.

I was silent for too long, however, which the older man instantly interpreted as a criticism.

"You have absolutely no idea," yelled Lucius, the corners of his eyes "how much I try! You think I don't care! You think I'd just sit back and allow somebody to… do that to my boy!" His voice began to crack and he turned sharply away from me, struggling to retain control of himself.

"And you know what the worst thing is?" There was no anger anymore, just pain. "The worst thing is you're right! You're completely right! It is my fault!"

"Lucius, I didn't mean-" But he was completely oblivious of my presence.

"I should've noticed…it should've been so obvious what was going on…if only I had paid him more attention! I should've listened to him when he tried to talk to me!" Lucius sat down heavily on the settee on which he had previously been seated and hid his face in his hands. Curiously enough, he bore a striking resemblance to Draco when distressed and I would not have been surprised if Lucius had started to suck his thumb. But, of course, he didn't.

"What have I done?" he moaned into his palms. "What the hell have I done to him?"

I lowered myself into the chair opposite and spoke carefully, "It is not your fault. You did not allow that to happen to Draco, therefore you are not to blame. However," Lucius eyed me warily. "You have got to get past this and sort yourself out because if this how you're feeling, then just imagine how terribly this is effecting Draco! He needs you to be in control, or at least pretend to be." My tone was taking on an almost pleading edge to it. Never had I imagined that I would be telling a Malfoy to take control.

"You ought to have heard him last night," I continued with a wry smile. "It was not me he wanted, or Narcissa, it was you. Merlin knows why, you've given him little enough reason, but you are the only person he wants right now."

"No."

I frowned, not understanding. "No what?"

"I can't see Draco."

"I don't understand you."

"I don't want to see him, Severus. I'm not ready. He has to stay here. I can't handle him right now."

Anger flared up in me, all patience and pity evaporating. "No! You are not doing this to me again! Have you not been listening to a word I have said? Your son needsyou! I am not going to let you just discard him anymore, especially now! You're his father for god sake, you need to face up to your responsibilities and stop expecting me to be there to pick up the pieces when you mess up!"

I felt like screaming with frustration; what would it take to make this stupid, self-obsessed imbecile realise that he had a small boy who was teetering on the edge of destruction and if he didn't accept responsibility, that boy was going to fall and never recover.

"For once, this is not about you, so stop being so bloody selfish and take Draco back home to where he needs to be!"

"I can't do it," Lucius whined. "You know I can't do it! You know I have a short temper and at the moment…after last night…what if I just end up losing it and I hurt him seriously? You know how to look after him properly, he trusts you."

I have to admit I was impressed. To actually be able to recognise his faults was a massive change for Lucius and, truthfully, it was that Draco be kept away from the manor- away from the place where it happened and away from his father's temper. But equally, Draco had to have the reassurance that he was still wanted and being forced to stay away from his home and his parents was not going to help that in the slightest.

Lucius rose suddenly, with the declaration of, "I'd better be going. Narcissa will be wondering where I am."

A lie if ever I heard one.

There was no point trying to stop him, I had learnt in my early years at Hogwarts that when a Malfoy's mind is made up, charging hippogriffs will not deter them.

Lucius thanked my mother for her hospitality at the door and was about to make his way down the path when,

"Father!"

We all turned to see Draco at the top of the staircase- one small hand clutching at the banister. The suddenly he had sped down the stairs and had attached himself to Lucius' middle. "I knew you'd come back!"

"Let go, Draco," said the older Malfoy with strained patience, trying to prise his son off him. "I said, let go!"

Draco backed off; delirious relief replaced suddenly with a frown. "But…but you've come to take me home, haven't you?"

A pained expression shadowed across Lucius' eyes. "I think it best," he said, "if you were to stay here for a while."

Draco's eyes widened with horror and he flung himself at his father with a cry, "No! Take me with you! You have to take me with you! Please Father don't leave me!"

"You are staying here!"

"No!"

My mother stepped forward and tried to coax the distraught child away, but he only wanted Lucius and Lucius was the only person who didn't want him.

"Take me home!"

"Do not disobey me!"

The danger was there before I could even process what was happening; Lucius' hand lashed out and collided sharply with Draco's cheek, knocking him to the ground. Mother drew her wand in a flash, but Lucius had already backed away from the door, his eyes fixed upon me.

'I told you,' they said. 'That was as much for you as it was for him.'

"I'll be in touch," he said curtly before turning on his heel and apparating away in a billow of black robes.

A/N: I'm sooooorrrrryyyyy!!!! My slackness is inexcusable and you all my sincerest apologies...damn the GCSEs!!!! But at least I have 2 extra months summer holidays ;) I love being a year eleven...

Lily xxxx

oh yes, reviews are appreciated ::hinthint::