AN: This chapter took quite a bit of wrangling to get written down, but Draco is now aware of exactly what is going on.
Lucius walked into his study to find Draco pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace muttering to himself, although about what Lucius was unable to discern. His head snapped round when he heard Lucius enter the room and he stopped his pacing. Lucius was concerned, this was not normal behaviour from his son, he seemed completely rattled by something, but what that was Lucius could not tell.
"Draco, are you all right?" He asked, getting a short nod in return, Draco not having managed to find any words for him since he had entered, "Your mother? Blaise? I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow, what has happened."
"Has Potter-Black left?" Draco finally spoke, staring at his father as if he was searching for something.
"Yes, Lord Potter-Black has left." Lucius replied moving to sit down and started to try and coax Draco into sitting and telling him what was wrong. "Come now, sit and I will call for some tea, you can tell me what is wrong."
Draco seemed to move finally, hesitantly taking a seat and continuing to stare at his father. It was beginning to unnerve Lucius a bit, and his nerves he had stood him in good stead even in Voldemort's presence. The house elf popped in with some tea and Lucius handed Draco a cup that he surreptitiously added some calming draft to using the small potion dispensing chamber in the spout of the tea pot. Luckily for Lucius his house elves were the best and could read him well without words and had brought a capable teapot and had shown him the empty potion vial of what it had added out of Draco's eye line. Even to the house elf Draco's current behaviour was uncommon and unnerving.
At the first sip of the tea Draco's eyes widened as he realised he had been potioned without his consent and his eyes darted towards Lucius before scanning the room before relaxing a bit as he was able to identify the potion on his tongue. Lucius knew it had been a nasty trick, especially with the reasons behind his son wanting to leave the country, but he knew that Draco wouldn't have taken the potion voluntarily and he needed to know what was going on with him. Lucius apologised for his actions as he watched Draco start to relax as the calming draft kick in.
Draco drained his cup before he spoke, Lucius wondered if it was because he felt he needed more of the calming potion than he had already ingested or if he was just trying to stall for longer before he told Lucius what exactly was going on. "I went to see mother earlier," Draco began, looking at Lucius as he spoke obviously hoping to gain some knowledge from his reactions to his words. "She was talking about you with Granger of all people, I know of course that she's the Heiress Potter-Black, but I wondered why mother would confide in her about you even if she is family. Then I heard exactly what they were talking about, you and Lord Potter-Black, father really why wasn't I informed of this dalliance before."
Lucius tried not to let any expression appear on his face, but he wasn't fully sure that he was successful, the only three people in his life who had been able to see through his masks had been Draco, Narcissa and Severus. He was annoyed at Draco's tone and wording, but he knew by Draco's out of character behaviour that his son was actually in shock at what he had overheard and therefore not acting as he normally would. "There is nothing to inform you of yet Draco, we are nothing but student and mentor and perhaps working towards a friendship at this moment, no matter how much I wish it were different. I had intended to speak to you when you arrived home however to inform you of my intentions to court Lord Potter-Black in the future when the time is right."
Draco just stared at him, opened his mouth to speak and closed it a few times, obviously trying to figure out how to ask what he wanted to know. Eventually he just burst out with, "But father why? It's Potter, why him?"
Lucius paused for a moment before answering, he had wanted to berate Draco for his behaviour, but he supposed he must concede that the situation was quite shocking to Draco who had only just found out. That his father was intending to court one of his peers from school, one who he been schoolyard enemies with, Lucius couldn't say that he would have been composed in the same situation however Draco needed to be more respectful. Whether Draco liked it or not Harry was a Lord, and he was the Lord of one of his Houses he would need to learn to curb his attitude when talking to or about him.
"Lord Potter-Black, Draco," Lucius began chidingly, reminding his son of the other man's station in their world, but not berating him fully knowing that the subtle warning should be enough to correct Draco's behaviour. "As to why him, well Malfoy's always strive to have the best of things don't we. Lord Potter-Black is the best in many ways Draco, he has a large amount of power in our world he just needs to be taught how to wield it, something I am working on at the moment, he is attractive in his own way and he would complement me perfectly, the juxtaposition of our looks alone never mind our personalities would have the world media practically falling over themselves about how perfect a balanced couple we were."
Lucius watched as Draco took in his superficial answers, the Slytherin responses for the situation that he was embarking upon. He watched as Draco accepted the answers for what they were, the shallow and calculated answers that were on the surface, they were all true in minor way and they were no doubt what anyone looking in at the relationship from the outside would believe were Lucius' only motivations, but he knew that Draco knew him better than that. His son met his gaze, telling him with a look that he had accepted the idea of the courtship for what it would seem like to others, but that he wanted to know Lucius' deeper motivations.
Lucius knew that he would have to inform his son, especially as he was in this for the long haul. He had already had a form of this conversation with Narcissa and to an extent with Heiress Potter-Black, you would think that by the third time it would have gotten easier, but short of talking to Harry about his intentions, this was the most important conversation he would be having on the subject. Draco was his son, he wanted him to be happy for him and to be able to accept his choices as they would affect them all as a family.
"I want a partner Draco, a true partner an equal, someone who sees Lucius, not the Malfoy Lord or fortune. I want someone to rattle around this cold drafty manor with, to enjoy spending time with when you are out of the country. I want to wake up with someone who makes me want to get up and start the day with them and who makes me want to just say damn it all to Morgana and just stay in bed together all day instead." Lucius stated. "I want a partner who will stick by me despite my past, who will challenge me, who won't just do whatever I want, I want to fight over stupid things and then make up with them."
Draco seemed to be choosing his words carefully before he spoke when Lucius had paused to recollect himself some. He hadn't meant to go into a tirade, it had all just come out of him when he started to speak.
"Do you think, truly, that Lord Potter-Black can be that person for you father? That this is something that you want forever and not just as a passing fancy." Draco asked, and Lucius could hear the worry in his tone, now that the shock was starting to wear off. "If he is who you want I will support you father, I just don't want to see you get hurt again. I know that you don't love mother in a romantic way, but I know ending your marriage hurt you both even if you are as close as ever. I don't want to see you heartbroken over Lord Potter-Black."
"Harry is," Lucius started, giving up the pretence of calling him by his title, in his head and inner thoughts he was always Harry, in such a conversation with Draco Lucius felt no need at this point to hold back. "He is exquisite, there is something about him that draws me to him, like a moth to a flame. I may get burnt, he certainly has never shown any interest in men before from what I have observed and from what I inferred from my conversation with his sister, but he has reconsidered a lot about his life and direction recently and he has never seemed intolerant so I have a chance."
"Of course at the moment I am trying to learn as much about him as I can from him, to deepen our acquaintance into a proper friendship and see where things go from there. I am not rushing into anything Draco and if I truly believe that there is no chance I will not push for something that is not there." Lucius concluded.
Draco looked much calmer, and even slightly relieved at his words. He reiterated his support before changing the conversation entirely and began catching him up on his life in Paris. Lucius enjoyed the rest of his evening catching up with his son, but couldn't help but wonder how the rest of his evening would have gone with Harry if Draco hadn't interrupted. He would need to write to him in the morning apologising again for the interruption and to send him the details for the upcoming Abraxan races.