Lion Cub / A Dramione Story

The Long Morning

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July 1st, 2006

(Draco)

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His mother had yet to stop shaking in his arms.

Her arms were holding him like she was an anchor, sobbing into his chest and clinging onto his hand, the band of his rings digging into his fingers. Draco had never even considered that his mother might have noticed the ring on his finger. Not that that was the the reason for all this madness, but had he been more careful, he might have been able to guide her into this slightly better.

Looking back, he could recognize a timeline of events, seemingly unrelated, but painted a clearer picture now as he looked back on it.

Hermione had been photographed with Leo in Diagon Alley in mid-October, right around the time he had first (technically second) time he had met with her and they had arranged for him to meet Leo.

Draco had stopped all newspapers from coming to the Manor after that. Even with Leo's morphed hair to look like Hermione's, Leo was the painted image of him as a boy, and of Scorpius aged up a few years. The only caveat was Hermione's eyes. But his son bore the same pointy features he had in his youth. Features his Mother would surely recognize.

Draco hadn't noticed much change in Narcissa, although he noted that she had started asking him about family heirlooms and his father's will multiple times.

Draco chalked it up to her Trauma, with her memory being sketchy, he had assumed that she was forgetting that all of that had been taken care of years prior.

Narcissa had always been agitated by him bringing Scorpius, but around then, she started shifting her tone more and more. He would wager now that his mother had gone into the vaults then and been reminded of Leo when she saw the family tree. Had she seen it earlier? He didn't know, but her questioning about family business and politics would have led her to the basement around the same time she started growing more agitated.

Early November was when he went to the jewellers to have the ring made.

That was when he had made the Specialist appointment for her at St Mungo's with the Mind Healer after she had refused to be around Scorpius even as she was asking for more time with her grandson. Draco was bringing her the wrong grandson. Because Narcissa sometimes took to Scorpius when she asked for her grandson, but other times she did not. It became clearer and clearer to him that his mother was growing increasingly confused. Now, though, he knew it was the result of Alzhiemers.

His mother was clinging to him, still pleading to see Leo, now using his name as she repeated over and over again into his chest: "Let me see Him, Leo, please my son, please my Grandson".

Draco could admit he wasn't sure how he was supposed to be reacting to this. He held onto his mother tightly was but internally conflicted with how to carry on the next steps.

Yes, he would like to introduce Narcissa to Leo, but only with Hermione's permission; and if Leo was comfortable.

His son was old enough to verbally express if he was comfortable or not doing something; and often times he did. Draco could recount one particular instance a week or so ago where Leo had seemed far too smart for his age. But in the same incident, it proved he was still a little boy, and he was confused by sudden change.

Draco pondered for second, knowing that both Potter and Hermione were watching him and waiting for a cue. But he still thought back to that afternoon, thinking it might be a good reference point for how his sone might take to his grandmother.