Chapter 42
Draco could not help but stare at the words being presented to him, unable to quite understand. Well, he understood the words themselves just fine, but the context...it...It was a bit confusing for him. It would seem that the Second Prince of the Veela realm wished to have an audience with him. He should not really be all that surprised, if he considered the fact that Draco had sort of managed to sneak out of his realm entirely undetected. Furthermore, they were likely going to have to attempt damage control. He had escaped and his time there had not exactly been the most...kind or enlightening. He should have suspected something like that would have happened. He just...well, he had been hoping that they had wanted something else, stupid as it may have been to suppose. Meeting with the Second Prince though...Draco did not know if he had it in him to do so.
He knew that his father would wish it though. He was the one who got dragged to the Veela realm against his will, but at the end of the day, he knew what the correct Malfoy response would be, and he would have to abide by it, despite his father not being around at the moment. Should Lucius hear of such things having happened and hear about a response that he did not deem correct, well...he did not really care to think on that one, as he knew it was definitely not going to be the most...kind. Stressful as it may be, Draco understood his own expectations, and as much as he may wish to put the Veela realm behind him, he knew that it was just not going to be that easy. There were expectations and rules to uphold and abide by.
Dipping his quill into the inkwell, he contemplated on how he should word his response. He would need to meet with the Second Prince, of course he would, but he did not wish to do it at Hogwarts, yet he also did not wish to be alone when such things happened. The Second Prince had resources, that he knew, and for all that he was aware it may be a custom to kidnap your escapees. Draco did not want to have made all the effort to escape the Veela realm, just to get dragged uncermoniously back into it. Whilst granted it was not really all that hard to escape, and there was not really anything stopping him from escaping again, it put Draco under strain that really did not need to be there as long as he took the appropriate responses to the situation. As such, he knew full well that it was not a problem so easily solved, but it was definitely one that he would manage himself. He was certain of it.
He also would have to inform his father of the new information and situations. As much as he knew Severus would grit his teeth and furrow his brows at the thought of Draco still being in contact with his father, whether his father would be able to write or even receive the letters in the first place, Draco was not one to just so idly wait until his father and likely his aunt, along with his mother managed to escape Azkaban and then he would just be in a whole world of trouble. He was taking the apt present precautions for a future time. That, at the least, was something that Severus would understand.
They both knew the hell that would come once Lucius returned from prison, and neither really wanted to think about it, but it was imminent and not something they could just so easily ignore. They had to be aware of what was going on, and they had to be careful as well. Things were getting rather dangerous, and it was not something that they were going to be able to just sweep under the rug. They had to be careful with their words, and actions, now more than ever because once Draco's father got released, it was going to be quite difficult to backtrack, if not impossible.
Draco knew his Uncle was scared, possibly even more so than Draco was, of his father returning from Prison. As much as he would like to aswuage his Uncle's fears, he did not even entirely know what it was that made his Uncle fear his father more so than the obvious, but Severus was not an easily feared person, so it was hard for him to quite comprehend what it was that could have caused this situation in the first place. From the tales that he had heard, he was not even scared of the Dark Lord, not truly.
Draco sighed softly as he sealed both envelopes and tucked them under his arm. He would need to send both off as swiftly as possible, to ensure a response also as quickly as possible. His father, presuming he was able to even receive letters, Draco had no knowledge of that, would likely be getting his letter soon enough, and Draco would ensure that he was filial in his reports, as much as he always had been. He just hoped that whatever caused his Uncle to fear his father as much as Severus did, was a surefire way that would ensure Severus did nothing stupid in his father's abscense.
"Draco," The words were soft, scarcely spoken, and Draco turned to stare at the muggleborn, irritation immediately clawing through his fingers and up his spine. He glared at Hermione, not really wanting to talk, or even be in the general presence of the girl. Not at the moment, he had far more important and to be perfectly realistic, pressing matters to attend to and dealing with some stuck up muggleborne was not one of them.
"Granger, what is it that you want? I am sort of busy, if you had not managed to gather." Draco stated curtly. He wanted to cut this conversation, or whatever it was that the muggleborne seemed to wish so much, as short as possible.