Toxic

Mother Dearest

There's no escape...

Draco followed the house elf through the large manor towards his mother's favourite sitting room. He shuddered slightly as they walked past a set of shut double doors, trying not to allow his memories to go back to the dark times when his family had hosted the Dark Lord. He was honestly surprised that they hadn't been thrown into Azkaban with the rest of the Death Eaters when it was all said and done. But then again, he knew all too well that money could fix a variety of problems. Even with the new government.

And rebuilding the wizarding world had required a lot of money, which they gladly took from the Malfoys as so-called fines for their transgressions rather than throwing them into Azkaban.

And they had turned away from the Death Eaters in the end. Draco was surprised to hear that his mother had lied about Potter being dead. Then prior to that, he had lied to his crazy aunt about who the Golden Trio had been. He hadn't thought it much in the scheme of things, but it had gone a long way in convincing the tribunal that had been set up to deal specifically with the Death Eaters not to send them off to prison - that they were capable of making amends. And he supposed Potter speaking out on their behalf had helped as well. Draco still wasn't sure why he had done it - they certainly hadn't asked him to. But perhaps the Boy Who Lived felt he owed them something, which only annoyed Draco more. Because then he felt like he owed Potter something in return.

Either way, Draco didn't often dwell on it. He was grateful not to be in Azkaban. But that didn't mean he was going to be best friends with Potter, the Weasels or Granger. He went out of his way to avoid them when at the Ministry, as it was. Though Theo always said Potter was a good bloke, now that they were working together. Didn't hold it against him for being in Slytherin and all the blood purity bullshit, though Draco knew that Theo never really subscribed to it. He played the part well in front of others and his father, but had worked against it behind the scenes in ways that Draco was not aware of until afterwards.

Regardless, despite the memories the manor conjured up, that was not the purpose of his visit today. Though Draco decided to get the fact-finding part over and done with so he could leave quickly. He didn't like being here.

"Draco," his mother said as she turned upon his entry. He smiled and walked over, kissing her cheek.

"Mother," he replied as they sat down and another house elf brought in tea. He glanced around the room, noticing his father wasn't there. "How's Father today?"

"You know how he is. He has good days and bad. Today is not so great," she said, her voice calm and even, though her eyes betrayed a certain worry. The war had aged Narcissa Malfoy, though she was still dressed impeccably, her makeup done to perfection.

Lucius Malfoy, on the other hand, had been left broken and spent his days hiding in the manor. While Draco was relieved he didn't have to speak or deal with him - there was a certain level of animosity still felt for the man who had dragged his entire family down with him when he joined Voldemort - he knew that his mother worried constantly about him. And for that, Draco worried. There was only so much one could handle and he often wondered just what would be his mother's breaking point.

But for her part, Narcissa had long played the role of dutiful wife and pureblood witch. It was easy for her to stick to it, though she certainly didn't go to as many events as before where she would have to perform for the others. Or any, really.

In a way, Draco found it ironic. In the past there wasn't an event the Malfoys didn't get invited to. But now, most avoided them at all costs.

"So what brings you here today?" she asked. "Not that I'm not thrilled to see you. Just unusual for you to stop by randomly." She fixed her son in a studying look. "Things going well with Watkin's replacement?"