Back to Being a Malfoy
Chapter 15
Draco woke up the next morning and saw a note sitting on his bedside table. He rose out of bed and grabbed the note to read.
Draco,
Meet me in my study as soon as possible. We’ll be leaving for the Manor through my floo. Your mother and father will be waiting for us and we’ll be there for the whole day. You’ve already been excused to leave the school, so don’t worry about getting in more trouble. Don’t worry about breakfast either, it will be served at the manor when we get there. Please hurry down.
-S. Snape
Draco hurried out of his bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready. He took a shower and got dressed in a set of all black robes. He walked over to the mirror and started to slick his hair back the way his father would like it.
Once he was done getting ready he walked out of the bathroom and looked around the dorm. Weasley and Potter were still sound asleep. Draco didn’t want to wake them up but also didn’t want to just disappear on them. He grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote them a note saying he would be gone for the day and he’ll be back later.
Draco walked out of the common room and headed down to dungeons. He knew this would be a long day ahead of him. He didn’t know how his father will treat him. If he would find a way to be alone with him where no one could see what he did.
Once he got to his godfather’s study, he was ushered inside. Severus always acted a bit differently when Lucius was involved. Like he was planning every move he made very carefully. Draco had gotten used to it by now, so it wasn’t anything out of the normal for him.
“We need to leave Draco,” Severus said as they walked towards the fireplace, “Your father’s waiting, and you know how impatient he can be.”
Draco grabbed a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace. He held his hand out and said, “Malfoy Manor” as he threw the powder to the ground. A second later he was standing in one of the seating rooms in Malfoy Manor with his godfather by his side.
Draco heard a crack of a house elf appearing and looked down to see Mippy in front of them.
“Master Draco, Master Lucius is waiting for you and Severus Snape in the dining room. Mippy will be happy to escort you there.” Mippy said as she bowed to the two wizards in front of her.
Draco, Severus, and Mippy walked towards the dining room in silence. It didn’t take long to get there and Mippy led them inside. Draco’s mother and father were already seated at the table.
Lucius looked up from the conversation he was having with his wife and said, “Welcome, sit down, sit down.”
Draco walked over to sit beside his father and Severus sat next to him.
“Mippy, go get breakfast ready to serve.” Lucius ordered and the house elf left after saying, “Yes Master Lucius. Mippy will be right on it.”
“Now Draco, I assume you liked your gifts this year?” Lucius asked his son.
“Yes Father,” Draco said. At least he got me presents. There are thousands of kids who would love to have what I have, he reminded himself, I should be grateful for everything I have.
“Good. They should help you with your studies. You’ll be top of your class this year right?” Lucius questioned with piercing eyes on his son.
“Yes father. I am working hard to get top marks in my classes.” Draco said, hoping to satisfy his father.
“Good.” Lucius said and turned his attention to Severus, “How is Draco’s potion work?”
“He’s my most promising student and is excelling for his age. I have high hopes for him in the future,” Severus told him.
Lucius nodded and house elves piled into the room with trays of food in their hands. They laid the trays on the table and bowed to their Masters and guest.
“Breakfast is served,” Mippy said.
“You can leave now Mippy,” Lucius said harshly and the house left the room.
“How has school been Draco? Do you have any friends?” His mother asked as they each grabbed food for their plates.
“School has been good. Lots of homework to keep up with. I have a few new friends in Gryffindor, but I’ve kept in touch with Pansy, Blaise, and Theo as well. We have a couple of classes together and hang out during our free time sometimes,” Draco said.
“I’m glad you’ve kept in touch with them. You were inseparable growing up,” his mother said with a soft smile on her face.
“I forgot to mention I invited the Parkinsons, Zabinis, and Notts over for lunch and dinner,” Lucius said as he took a bite of toast.
Draco’s eyes light up at what his father just said. “Really?” Draco asked excitedly.
“Yes I haven’t seen them in a while and thought it would be nice to invite them over. I expect you to be on your best behavior for our guests,” Lucius said.
“Yes Father,” Draco said with a smile. He hadn’t seen his friends in over a week and it would be nice to have some time to catch up with them. Draco hates to think of it this way too, but with them over it lessened the chances of him being alone with his father.
Once Draco was finished eating he was sent up to his room because, as his father put it, the adults needed time to talk alone.
It had been months since Draco had been in his room at the Manor and his bed never felt softer. He thought he would be used to beds at Hogwarts by now, but his bed had always been more comfy.
Most of the stuff he used to keep busy were at Hogwarts. Draco wished he would have brought his sketchbook with him. He walked over to his closet and opened the hidden door that used to hold all his art supplies, hoping to find some pencils or paints that he left behind, but it had been empty when he left for Hogwarts.
He left his room to search for anything he could use to draw and luckily found blank sheets of parchment and a quill with a bottle of ink on the desk in the writing room. He brought what he found with him back to his room, knowing he needed to keep it hidden from his father.
He closed the door to his room behind him and settled the supplies on his desk. Using ink for his sketches was new for Draco. It was such a permanent art that he never liked to try it. As he stared at what little items he had, he was reminded of his owl Nyx. His feathers matched the color of the ink perfectly. A rich black color that gleamed in the light.
He decided that Nyx was a good figure to base his sketch on and dipped the quill in the ink to begin. He focused entirely on every move he made with the quill, not wanting to make any mistakes. He finished the outline of Nyx and was about to start the details of his face when there was a knock on the door.
“Draco!” Pansy screamed as she burst through the door and tackled Draco to the ground in a hug, “I’ve missed you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too,” Draco said with a chuckle, “Can I get off the ground now?”
Pansy blushed, and then moved off the platinum haired boy. Draco offer her a hand up once he was off the ground and smiled at his two other friends that were in the room.
“I thought you guys weren’t coming till later,” Draco said.
“Our parents insisted on coming over early. Wanting more time to talk with each other or something like that,” Theo explained.
Draco nodded and said, “How were your Christmases? Did you get anything good this year?”
“Christmas was amazing! Mother got me a new perfume from one of those expensive brands, and it smells divine,” Pansy said happily.
“Christmas was great, Draco. How was yours?” Blaise asked hesitantly, not knowing if it was a sore topic or not.
“It was good. I got to spend some time with Severus, so that was fun,” Draco said, “Father sent a lot of gifts. Most of them were school supplies and books. He did get me a nice potion’s set that I really like.”
“I’m sure he got the idea from Snape,” Theo said and the rest agreed with him.
“Most likely. I have been talking about wanting one with different ingredients for months,” Draco said as he sat on his bed.
Pansy, Blaise, and Theo took a seat next to him, and they continued to talk about old memories and new gossip when Mippy came to take them down for lunch. They entered the dining room and all sat down beside each other. The food was already on the table and they filled their plates with food.
Draco grabbed a sandwich and scooped some applesauce and Caesar salad onto his plate. He was about to take a bite out of his sandwich when his father called out his name.
“Draco, aren’t you going to greet our guests before eating?” Lucius questioned.
Draco set his silverware down quickly as he realized his father was right; he hadn’t said a word to his friends’ parents since they had arrived. He was slightly embarrassed that he had let his manners slip. It was a very rare occurrence for Draco to be rude like this.
“My sincere apologies. Good afternoon everyone. It’s nice to see you all again. How have you been?” Draco replied without missing a beat.
“We’ve been very well, Draco. Thank you for asking,” Mrs. Zabini answered for everyone.
“Theodore tells me you are on the Quidditch team. I thought they didn’t allow first years to be on the house teams,” Mr. Nott said curiously.
“They usually don’t, but they made an exception for another boy and I once a professor saw us during our flying lessons,” Draco explained. He didn’t go into too much detail though, not wanting to reveal that he had actually been doing the opposite of what he was supposed to to land a spot on the team.
“Who was the other boy?” Mr. Parkinson questioned.
“Harry Potter, sir,” Draco replied clearly. He didn’t want to have to repeat the name knowing most of the adults in the room didn’t have the same opinions on the boy that the majority of the wizarding world did.
When Potter’s name was mentioned there was a slight sense of uncomfort the grew in the room. It was silent until Mr. Parkinson spoke up again. “What position did you say you played?”
“I’m a chaser,” Draco replied simply.
“Full of action, isn’t it? You know I was chaser back in the day,” Mr. Parkinson said proudly.
“Really? I never knew that. I absolutely love it, and I think we’ve got a good shot at winning the Quidditch Cup this year.”
“I’m sure you do, son,” Nacrissa said, agreeingly.
“But you won’t let Quidditch get in the way of your school work, will you Draco?” Lucius asked with a pointed stare.
“No, father. My school work is still my first priority. I have multiple study sessions a week worked into my schedule,” Draco reassured.
“He really does. Draco’s always in the library with Granger studying,” Theo confirmed.
Once Draco realized what Theo had said, he really wished the boy would’ve just said quiet. He couldn’t get mad at him though. Theo was just trying to help, and maybe his father wouldn’t care who Granger was.
The look on his father’s face crushed all his hope of that happening though.
“Who’s Granger?” Lucius asked with a tone of voice that let Draco know this could go very wrong very fast.
“She’s a Gryffindor girl in our year. Probably the only other person who cares about her schoolwork as much as I do, so we study together when we can,” Draco said, hoping it was enough to satisfy his father’s curiosity.
Deep down he knew his father only cared about one thing about the people Draco was around. It was the first thing he judged anyone on, so when Lucius asked, “And what would this Granger girl’s blood status be?,” he should’ve been more prepared to answer.
It seemed simple enough to say she was a Muggleborn, but the backlash that would come from his parents made the whole situation extremely complicated. He knew that once those words left his mouth he would be in trouble, yet didn’t seem to care about that. He didn’t care about blood status anymore, and the more time he spent with the girl, the more Granger became less of a know it all and more of a person with a passion for learning who openly sought it.
What he did care about though, was his parents overreacting in front of his friends and godfather. His father was mostly able to control his emotions in a public setting, but there were times when his anger got the best of him and all his pureblood training to keep up his appearances were thrown out the window. Draco couldn’t help but feel that this would be one of those occasions.
“She’s a Muggleborn,” Draco said simply, knowing anything else he said would be irrelevant and ignored.
For a moment it was silent which made Draco more nervous. He had never shocked his father to silence. Lucius was always ready with a quick comeback or a word of displeasure, but now he had nothing to say. It only lasted for a moment, like the calm before a storm.
“You’re willingly spending your time with a Mudblood?” Lucius asked sternly.
“Yes, father. As I said she really-” Draco started, but was cut off by Lucius.
“Have I taught you nothing? You should never associate with those types of people. Especially not in such a public area and certainly not with a girl.”
Draco wanted to laugh at what he was implying. While Granger was a lovely girl, she didn’t meet the main requirement in which he found people attractive. Quite the opposite actually. By the time he had made it to his third year at Hogwarts, he realized he didn’t find girls attractive the way his friends did. In fact, it was boys that had always seemed to catch his attention. For the rest of that school year, Draco had a mental crisis until he came to the realization and acceptance that he was gay.
At first he had tried to deny it. I can’t be gay. I’m a Malfoy, he would tell himself, but the more he focused on girls, the more he realized why he wasn’t attracted to them. He wasn’t able to deny it anymore, but it still took months for him to be able to accept it. That came with another set of problems that he hadn’t fully solved before being brought back in time.
One of those being him telling his family. He knew that he was expected to produce a pureblood heir for the Malfoy lineage to go on, and was still trying to decide if it was worth it to tell his parents his preferences in partners. It wouldn’t go over well, but maybe, just maybe he would have a say in his life for a change.
Now, Draco knew he was done cowering to his parents in order to please them. He would eventually tell them, but at the moment he had a different battle to fight.
“Granger is just a classmate who has the intellect that is able to keep up with mine. She is very bright and has helped me better understand my schoolwork on multiple occasions, and I have done the same to her.” Draco wanted his father to see that she wasn’t just a Muggleborn. She was an actual person who had made his life easier to bear.
“You should be getting help with your school work from your friends or professors, not from Mudbloods who barely have a grasp on the topics you are learning.”
“But-” Draco tried to have his father be reasonable, but he was cut off once more.
“But nothing, Draco. This isn’t up for discussion. You will cut all ties with that girl and all other Mudbloods you have grown to be around. Do you understand?”
Draco knew that this conversation wasn’t going to end any other way. His father’s beliefs on blood superiority were too strong for him to be convinced that Muggleborns weren’t actually monsters trying to contaminate the wizarding world.
He decided that for the time being he would let it go and agree with his father, but he still wasn’t going to give up completely. He would go against his father’s orders as soon as he got back to Hogwarts and continue to fight this long battle until his father understood that he couldn’t control what he did. He just hoped it would happen in a more private setting because his father certainly wasn’t the only pureblood with blood superiority beliefs. If he wasn’t careful he could end up losing his friends.
“I understand, father,” Draco said in defeat. He knew this wasn’t the time to push this topic.
Lucius sighed. “This is exactly what I was worried about. I knew that once you were sorted into Gryffindor you would start going against what you have been taught. I can’t blame you though. Gryffindor is full of Mudbloods, blood traitors, and half bloods. You’re probably the only proper pureblood in that house, but I expect you act better from here on out.”
“Neville Longbottom, sir,” Blaise spoke up to everyone else's surprise.
“Excuse me?” Lucius asked, not understanding what the boy meant.
“Neville Longbottom is a pureblood, sir. He’s also a Gryffindor in our year. I’m sure you know his grandmother, Augusta Longbottom,” Blaise explained with a clear and steady voice. Draco was too surprised by Blaise. Most people were intimidated by his father, but he didn’t even flinch when talking to him.
“Is this true, Draco?” Lucius asked and once it was confirmed he questioned, “If you want to spend your time with Gryffindors so often, then why don’t you spend it with a boy like him?”
“I do, father. Neville was my first friend in Gryffindor, and we have become closer as the year has progressed. He’s also one of my dorm mates and almost always my partner during classes,” Draco explained calmly. He knew this would make his father happy to hear, and while Draco didn’t become friends with Neville because he was a pureblood, it made him feel better knowing his new friendship would be accepted by his family.
Lucius still looked a bit sceptical, so Draco was glad when Severus decided to further back what he said. “Draco always pairs with Mr. Longbottom during his potions class and never fails to be seated near Blaise, Pansy, and Theodore. Though, Mr. Longbottom’s potions skills are limited, and Draco leads him when they brew potions in class.”
Lucius nodded in understatement, and turned back to Draco and said, “You should be spending the majority of your free time studying by yourself, or if you want to be around people, be around people like Neville. As a matter of fact, why don’t you introduce him to Blaise, Pansy, and Theo? I’m sure if he is as good of a person as you describe they wouldn’t mind being around him. Then you’ll be able to spend more time with your friends.”
Draco could only give his father a smile than leaned almost too close to being a smirk at his suggestion. “Yes, father. That sounds like a grand plan.”
Lucius nodded at his son with a tight smile, and turned back to put his main focus on their guests.
“So Perseus, I heard you got assigned to the Whitlock investigation,” Lucius said and the adults started to talk again, leaving the kids to talk amongst themselves.
Draco looked over at his friends and he could feel a subtle tension between them all. He knew it had something to do with what his father had just discussed with him, but didn’t know exactly what part caused it. Though, they couldn’t talk about it while at the table because even with their parents having their own conversation, they would still be able to pick up on parts that weren’t meant for them to hear.
As the silence between them grew louder, Draco decided that they should go back up to his room to talk. He saw that they all had finished most of the food on their plates, and any that was left was only being push around as a distraction.
Draco took this as a sign that they weren’t needed down in the dining room any longer and asked, “May we be excused, father?”
Lucius took a moment to think about it before responding. “Yes, you may.”
Draco got out of his seat but noticed his friends weren’t following, so he nodded his head to the side as a way of telling them to move. Once they got the hint, Draco led them out of the dining room and back up to his room. He plopped down onto his bed expecting them to do the same and was even more confused by their behavior when they didn’t.
“What’s up with you guys? You’re all acting weird,” Draco asked.
Pansy was the first to speak up. “We’re just really sorry, for getting you in trouble with your father.”
“You guys did nothing wrong, and I can handle my father. Besides, if he gets so mad that I study with Granger then he is only going to have to get used to it. I mean, what is he going to do? Disown me? I’m already halfway there, and he’s the one that needs me, not the other way around. Without me there are no heirs to the Malfoy family,” Draco said, trying to get his friends to see that his father’s behavior was nothing out of the ordinary.
Theo finally looked Draco in the eye and said, “But if I wouldn’t have ever mentioned Granger, your father would have never known.”
“He might have not known right at this moment, but I am sure he would have found out at some point. You were just trying to help me, Theo. I understand that, and Blaise made it a lot better by mentioning Neville,” Draco reassured his friend and then turned to Blaise, “Thank you for that by the way.”
Blaise just smiled at him and took a seat beside him on the bed. “It’s what friends are for.”
Draco smiled back and went to grab something from his nightstand. “Right. Now who wants to try Honeydukes latest release,” he said as he held up a box of Elephants on a Bicycle. Pansy and Theo joined them on the bed, and they all took turns trying the candy until the box was completely empty.
As soon as they had finished, a house elf popped into the room to give them some information. “Mr. Zabini, Mr. Nott, and Mrs. Parkison, your parents are waiting for you downstairs,” Mippy said and then turned to Draco, “Master Draco, Master Lucius is waiting for you in his study.”
“Thank you Mippy,” Draco said and the house elf left the room.
Pansy walked over to Draco and gave him a hug. “We’ll see you at school Draco. We need to hang out more often. We’ve missed you,” she said.
“I know. I’ll make sure to find time for you guys. I’ve missed you so much. Maybe we can take my father’s advice and us four and Neville can hang out,” Draco said as Pansy released him.
“I think we would all like that very much. See ya Draco,” Blaise said.
“Bye Draco,” Theo said and followed the others to the door.
“Bye guys,” Draco said and waved goodbye to them.
Once they left his room Draco took a deep breath and prepared himself to meet his father. He wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to pretend he didn’t know what his father was going to do to him. Sure, his father had let his anger slip during lunch, but it was nothing compared to how much Draco really knew he was upset by what was told to him.
Draco made the walk down to his father’s study as slow as possible. As he turned down the hall of his father’s study he saw Severus walk out of the study door. They made eye contact, but Severus broke it seconds later and walked down to the other end of the hall.
Draco stood in the doorway and heard his father say, “Come in Draco. Shut the door behind you.”
Draco opened the door and saw his father sitting in his chair with a glass of fire whiskey in his hand. He drank the rest of his glass and looked directly at Draco.
“Do you think you’re clever?” Lucius asked.
“No sir,” Draco said
Lucius hummed and then asked, “Did you think being around Mudbloods will make you any smarter.”
Draco gulped. Now was the moment he would decide how this interaction would go. He could either be a coward and say what his father wanted to hear in hopes of receiving a lighter punishment, or he could stick up for what he believed, knowing it would probably end him with the harshest punishment yet. The decision was easy for him though. He had already spent a life being a coward, and that landed him in the worst situation he had ever been in.
He took a breath to gain confidence and said with a steady voice, “If you are referring to Granger, then yes, I do believe being around her makes me a smarter and better student.”
Lucius wasn’t expecting that answer and made his way out of his chair and over to where Draco stood. “What did you say?” Lucius asked as he towered over his son.
“I said that Granger is the smartest person I know, and just because she is a Muggleborn doesn’t mean she isn't a person worth knowing.” Draco was fully in now. There was no going back to please his father anymore.
Anger clouded Lucius’s face as he held his son against the wall with one hand and used the other to smash Draco’s head into the wall. He continued to throw blows at his son, and Draco couldn’t do anything to escape it as he was backed into a corner with the wall behind him. He still tried though, and wiggled under his father’s hold.
Draco became weaker with each punch which meant there was more weight for Lucius to hold up. Once it seemed that the weight had become a problem for Lucius, he threw Draco to the ground, but by that point Draco had no energy left to get up to defend himself. He let out pains of agony as his father continued the abuse. There was no one to save him though, and the silencing charms that were always up in this room made his screams confined.
When Lucius was satisfied, he relinquished Draco from his hold. Draco felt exhausted and defeated from what his father had done to him, and Lucius must have noticed it too.
“I wouldn’t have to do this to you, Draco if you would just do what is right and not disappoint me with your decisions. You can make this stop. You just need to follow my rules, which means not being around Mudbloods unless it is absolutely necessary.”
Lucius raised his wand at his son. Draco flinched, but was surprised when a glamour was placed over his face. It was only a further example of his father only caring about what others thought of him because if it ever got out that Lucius Malfoy abused his son, his reputation would be ruined.
“You may leave now. Severus is waiting for you downstairs to take you both back to Hogwarts.”
Draco quickly left the study and walked downstairs to meet his godfather by the entrance of the house. He didn’t want to be in this any longer.
“Can we leave now?” Draco asked.
Severus nodded and took Draco to the nearest fireplace. Draco grabbed a handle full of floo powder and said “Severus Snape’s Study, Hogwarts.”
Draco walked out of the fireplace and felt like he could finally breathe again. Severus walked out behind him. “Are you ok Draco? You seemed a bit frantic to get out of there. Did your father say something to you?” he asked his godson.
Draco looked up at his godfather. He didn’t need to know now. Not after all this time. He survived his father in his last life and he can deal with him now. It was his problem to deal with, not anyone else’s. “No, he just talked to me about keeping up my studies and reminded me to stay away from Granger,” he said.
Severus nodded but didn’t say anything. Like he was thinking hard about what Draco said.
“Can I go up to my dorm now?” Draco asked.
“Yes, you may as long agree to meet for tea tomorrow,” Severus said.
Draco nodded and left his godfather’s study to head up to his dorm. His body ached and all he wanted to do was lay in his bed and fall asleep.
Once he made it up the stairs to the dorms and opened the door, he saw the dorm was empty and was glad. He walked quietly to his bed, drawing the curtains behind him and got under the covers. He closed his eyes and fell asleep instantly. Away from the pain his father caused. The pain he would never truly escape.