Lucius Malfoy Has An Epiphany
Lucius was so incredibly tired. He’d lived a life of pomp and ceremony, and after all this time, he was finally done with it all. He supposed living in the aftermath of the war was to blame for that. It felt rather foolish to try and maintain ideals of propriety when he had an auror checking his wand at the end of every month. When he’d almost lost his wife, his son, everything that really mattered to him, because of his blind faith in the Dark Lord. Lucius did not like acknowledging when he’d made a mistake, but he could hardly ignore the litany of errors that he’d made in the last few years.
The farce ongoing before him felt like a mistake too.
His son had been dating Hermione Granger for the last year. He was under the impression that Lucius wasn’t aware of that. As if his son could ever keep anything from him.
As Draco was still unmarried by the age of 25, the Malfoy-Black magic kicked in of its own accord, and began proceedings to find him a wife. Lucius feigned surprise admirably when Miss Granger put herself forward as one of the options. He turned a blind eye as his son fudged the requirements, making the magic believe her to be pureblooded. He hid his amusement behind a neutral mask as the young Mr Nott declared her to be his long lost sister, twirling her around the dance floor at the inaugural ball. It seemed to be going in Miss Granger’s favour. She was a formidable woman, that much was clear, and a good match outside of her parentage and lack of fortune. Lucius let the process go on without interfering. He wouldn’t force his son down a path, not again. If it was Miss Granger that he wanted, then it would be Miss Granger that he would have.
Then the wheels came off. They arrived at the task portion of the selection process, where the prospective brides would have to prove their worth through their actions. Stood shoulder to shoulder with his wife, Lucius pulled the card from the box that the Manor had materialised in front of him. His house being slightly sentient had used to bother him, but he’d gotten used to it eventually. He stood in front of all of the girls in the ballroom, all but one flashing him simpering, demure smiles. Miss Granger looked ready for battle, in contrast.
He read the words on the card. “Create a meaningful bouquet for the mother of the groom using heirloom flowers from your estates.” Miss Granger had no estate, no heirloom blooms passed down the generations. She wouldn’t stand a chance, it would be clear for all to see if her flowers for Narcissa were simply new, meaningless weeds. As if a woman’s ability to arrange flowers mattered anyway.
He’d always been of the opinion that people did not change, and if they did, then it happened very slowly, over years, much in the same way that a drop of water might carve a canyon in rock. As it turned out, he was wrong about that. He felt himself change in the time it took him to read the card. He realised that he wanted his son to be happy more than he wanted pureblooded grandchildren. He wanted an interesting, self assured woman as a daughter in law, over a shrinking violet than had been primped and preened her whole life. A woman with opinions and something about her, not a silent broodmare. He met Miss Granger’s eyes and was struck with a memory. She had the same expression Narcissa had at his selection, all those years ago. Lucius had fallen for her almost immediately, wanting to bask in the power she exuded. Perhaps that was what his son had seen in Miss Granger.
With that decision made, Lucius did what he did best. He lied.
“It seems the Manor has decided that, in the wake of war, a Malfoy woman must be able to defend herself. The task shall be a duel, winner stays on, until there is only one victor. I wish you all the very best of luck.” He announced. His wife’s gaze burned a hole in the side of his head, but he kept his eyes forward. Draco looked shell shocked from his place on the other side of his mother. He ignored him too. He looked at Miss Granger again, keeping his eyes on her as he spoke. “The very best of luck, indeed.”
She smiled back at him.