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Falling into Destiny	By : Demonic_Host Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 11026 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own anything associated with the Harry Potter franchise, nor do I make any money from this piece of work.

Chapter List
- 51
- 52
Falling into Destiny
Chapter Fifty-Two

“I will not.”

The simple response from your current guardian was disheartening. After everything that had happened, you would have thought Lucius Malfoy would be glad to be rid of you. Unlike before you were ready to be more independent (sort of). Which meant that it would be a mutual separation instead of it seeming like you were foisted off on another family. Besides it wasn’t like you were asking for a lot - just permission and maybe a little help finding another residence. As you were only a fifth year, having recently turned 16, you lacked the ability to legally purchase a place to live. It wasn’t like you didn’t have the funds though. You just didn’t have the legal right. Granted any place that you may have found acceptable would either cost you a good deal of money or put you smack dab in the middle of muggles. Most likely both.

“How would it seem to the other families if my ward moved away from her home? Much less when you and Draco are ready to acknowledge your marriage in public.”

You shifted under the weight of his question, not to mention the hard look in his eyes. “I could purchase a house in another country. I have a well established preference for warm climates. The house could be seen as another asset. One that caters to my personal preferences. It wouldn’t reflect badly on the family then. Or maybe I could stay with the Zabini’s —“

“Unacceptable.”

You’d made him angry. You could see that in the tightness of his mouth and the crinkles at the edge of his eyes. Trying to regain some footing under the oppressive weight of his personality, you stared at the desk hard. It was such a nice deal with a lot of fascinating little bits but memorizing everything on it wouldn’t help you now. At least as far as you knew.

“Then let me book an educational vacation.”

“Why are you so desperate to get away? What have we failed to provide for you?”

You turned your gaze up to meet Lucius’ eyes once more. “If I were a normal girl, you have gone above and beyond for me. But…I’m my father’s daughter.”

Lucius’ gaze shifted slightly. There was a quiet buzz of silence as he shielded his thoughts from you as had become the norm in the family. Still you could practically feel mixed emotions from him; frustration and joy…or maybe it was frustration and pride. Pride was a complicated tangle of other emotions that it was hard to pick out.

“You saw what happened at the start of this year. I can get overwhelmed with everyone’s thoughts, emotions, and desires when I’m in a crowd. Particularly when I’ve been isolated because that means I haven’t been practicing.”

“We can schedule biweekly trips to Diagon Alley or other places you’d like to visit,” the eldest Malfoy conceded. “Draco will escort you in case something happens.”

You frowned. Draco escorting you seemed like a step backwards, not forwards. Not only was he younger than you, too young really, but that would limit your trips drastically. You doubted he’d be a compliant companion to your outings. After all he didn’t even want to be associated with you.

“That won’t work.”

“Why not?”

“Draco…”

How did you summarize the hundred of things in your head without it all coming off like an insult?

“He wouldn’t want to come with me.”

“Preposterous,” Lucius scuffed. “The two of you have always been close.”

He didn’t fully believe that. You could tell. The doubt had broken through the crack as you stared directly into his cold eyes. It was just what he wanted to be true.

“We used to be. We’ve grown apart in the last few years. I don’t think he even likes me at this point.”

The air was tense.

You let out a deep breath and continued to try to make Lucius Malfoy understand your position. “Due to the age difference and my unique requirements, we’ve discovered more differences than similarities. What he expects, I can not meet. What I need, I’ve learned that he’s not comfortable with or only helps out of a sense of duty. And it’s not my place to try to change his mind.”

You probably could. It would not be very moral of you but you could think of a few things that would change his mind. You even knew that starting slow would be folly - if you tried a slow seduction he’d probably put two-and-two together. The problems were that even though you knew, theoretically, how to get him to change his stance, you knew it wouldn’t be right to do that and there was a good chance that you took too much from him in the process.

“And you find Zabini to be a more acceptable consort,” Lucius concluded for you; though calling him a consort seemed odd, the way he practically spat out Blaise’s name seemed familiar. Must have run in the family.

“It’s not that Blaise is more acceptable…more like he’s more accepting. It’s in my nature to be affectionate, but it’s not Draco’s,” you tried to sooth your guardian’s pride. “Blaise knows what I am, what I need, just like Draco. But I guess Draco feels the loss of energy more because of the familial ties. And he’s not comfortable with being close to me because of it. I don’t blame him. I mean, he just wants to do well in school so he can make you guys proud. I understand the reticence and I want to respect it. It just means I need to search out other accommodations in the meantime.”

“I see,” Lucius said as he stood up. “I’ll see what can be done to keep you content without triggering more rumors. For now, you’re welcome to visit any place of interest during the day as long as you’re back for dinner.”

You stood up from your chair as Lucius came around to pull it back out for you. It was an odd gesture considering that this hadn’t been a formal affair. At least you hadn’t thought so. Yet you didn’t say anything. There was already a lot to think about without throwing in behaviors from antiquity in the pot.

He didn’t want you to have a home of your own. He didn’t want you to stay with the Zabini’s. And he wouldn’t even allow you to vacation over the breaks. How did Lucius Malfoy plan to help when all of the options you thought of had been turned down?
______________________________

Draco stood, quietly fuming, while he waited for his father to come to his study’s door. The large wooden panels were carved with some wizarding event or another. Not that it mattered to the perturbed thirteen year old. It felt like an eternity until the large door was opened.

Draco took large steps to get to his father once he was inside. Lucius stood a little ways off to the side of his desk. In his hand was a decanter of some amber colored alcohol. No doubt each serving cost more than some families made in a week. Draco didn’t find the sweet hint of vanilla and something spicy very appealing right now. Not that he had ever cared. He just knew better than to interrupt his father when the alcohol was out; especially if it was out before breakfast.

“Have a seat,” Lucius offered, though his tone of voice really was a command.

Draco fought his body. At that moment he didn’t want to sit. He wanted to march up to his father and demand answers. And then he wanted to march back up to you and demand you finally do what you were supposed to. Such direct aggression wasn’t likely to get him what he wanted though. So he sat down as his father wanted, hands gripping the leather of the chair intently.

Lucius turned around, his own drink depleted. There was another glass in his other hand. One that had a third of the amount Lucius drank at any given time. The amber liquid barely rose to the first etchings on the crystal cup.

When Draco was handed the glass, he was bewildered. His mother and father had never let him try liquor at a formal dinner party. He had certainly never been handed the a drink from his father’s collection.

“Drink.”

“Father—“

“Drink,” Lucius commanded.

Draco found out rather quickly that his father’s drink of choice burned. It even left a certain kind of tingle on his tongue as it scourged his throat on the way down. The alcohol was also sweet - sweeter than he expected.

“There, finally you’ve done something you were told to do.”

While the younger Malfoy was confused about the whole situation, he was no less determined to find out what in Merlin’s name was going on.

“Our servant, Adam — fire him,” Draco said the moment he could feel his tongue again.

“What offense has he given?”

“He was in Dorian’s room while she was sleeping,” Draco said passionately. “He lied straight to my face and said that you had asked him to—to give her company overnight.”

“I see,” Lucius expressed as he moved around to sit behind the desk. His calm demeanor was frustrating.

“So? Fire him. Put him in Azkaban or something.”

“I will do no such thing.”

“What?! Why?!” He might have sat the crystal glass down on the table with more force than necessary.

“Adam was correct. I asked him to keep her company once or twice a week,” Lucius tone spiraled from calm to a sort of anger as he talked. “It is a sad day when a servant needs to make up for the failings of my own son.”

Draco sat back in his chair as he looked across the desk. Lucius continued, his words dripping with disappointment and disdain.

“Did I not tell you to make her want to be here, to call this her home? Did I not instruct you years ago how to ensure she feels safe and healthy?”

“Yes but—“

“No excuses Draco,” Lucius cut him off. “You have failed to meet these simple expectations. That is why I asked Adam to see to it that she feels cared for. Thus far you’ve failed our family so someone needed to ensure the future. The very idea that a Malfoy needs someone else to step up as their wife’s lover…it disgusts me.”

“Her lover?!” Draco was firmly against the idea.

Lucius just stared at his son as Draco stood up abruptly. The claw foot chair scraped across the polished marble floor. Draco put his hand on his father’s desk.

“No. Tell him to stop.”

“I will not.”

“But she’s my wife! She can’t — having a boyfriend was bad enough—!“

Lucius sneered at Draco’s inelegant, half thought out ramblings. He gripped the head of his stylized cane, though for once Draco didn’t flinch back. A fire had been ignited inside of the younger Malfoy. Lucius just found it annoying that it had taken so long…too long really.

“And whose fault is it that she had a boyfriend to begin with?” Lucius asked as he stared his son down. “She is under the impression that you don’t enjoy spending time with her, much less touching her.”

“What?” Draco recoiled. “That’s—nonsense. She’s making it up.”

When he paused, his words from earlier that year flashed back through his head. You and he had a disagreement about you gaining a new boyfriend. He had lashed out and told you that he didn’t want to be associated with you anyways. Or something to that effect. And now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen much of you since. The most time you’d spent near him had been when mother and father had come to pick you and himself up for the Holidays. He was starting to understand why.

“Perception is half of reality. It doesn’t matter how you see it; if she continues to feel unwanted, she’ll eventually return to the Zabini’s. Merlin knows your mother already damaged their relationship beyond repair by giving her away. And with your relationship continuing on like this, I don’t doubt that there’s an annulment in the future.”

“No,” Draco clenched his teeth as he sat back in the chair, farther away from the desk than before.

“Then fix this before it’s too late, Draco.”
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Falling into Destiny