Aftermath

CHAPTER 11: THAT'S HOW IT FELT

Draco sat beside Hermione all night, holding her hand as she slept. There has been a rush of realizations from this truth.

His mother was a half blood, and that makes him one too. His aunt Bellatrix was a half blood, as so was his aunt Andromeda and the rest but as far as they knew, their mother Druella was a pureblood. So much for their supremacist traits, they were all just like who they taunted all their lives.

Draco heard soft knocks from their suite door and so he walked cautiously towards it.

"Papa," Draco's eyes widened to see the sight of his grandfather in this ungodly hour. It's barely past 3:00 AM, "Why are you still awake?" He asked.

"I couldn't sleep either. I'm sorry, Draco." Abraxas said softly, pushing past Draco from the door. He sat on the sofa and placed his cane beside him. "Come sit with me, boy." Abraxas patted the empty space beside him. Draco followed as he told and sat beside his grandfather quietly.

"I am not here to justify our family's wrongs but I'm here as your grandfather. Growing up, I have been raised in a family that's known to be pureblood, just like you. I hated being born in this family, but one thing made me realize something, being born in this family has its perks, one is that I can raise your father, my son in wealth. One thing most fathers cannot give unto their children."

"Draco, you might be thinking why I allowed your father to marry Narcissa, even though I knew from my father that Druella, her mother was a muggle. My father loved Druella even if she wasn't born in the family of magic. And so did my father raised me without any prejudice, it was my mother and the other forces who wanted to kept the line pure that it ended in relentless wars and blood feud. When I saw Narcissa and how he took care of Lucius, I knew. No birthright can defeat a love that is pure. Your parents met at Hogwarts too you know, just like everyone else in our family did. Your father may not seem like it, but she loved your mother more than life itself. He had made decisions that went south, but one thing's for sure, he used to love your mother dearly. The pressure might've gotten into his nerves, all thanks to me and Erazabeth's bad parenting and that's the Lucius you grew up with. That is why I always asked of him, to make you stay here for the summer, if I could just grab you from your father's tight grasp, I should've and you wouldn't have to face the Dark Lord alone, but I missed. I also lost my path during the war. And I'm sorry."

Draco remembered all the summers he spent with his grandfather before the war. He hated it whenever it's Christmas, because he would only receive material gifts but when summer came, it was the best of his memories. His grandfather was the father he never had, not until the war came and everyone had to choose sides to define their path. And the Malfoys chose wrong.

"My wife loved your mother as well, but only because she knew of the false truth about her heritage. I am the only one who knew of your mother's birthright, just like how my mother knew of Druella's but I chose to not follow my mother's wrongs. I chose to conceal the truth."

"All these years and mum doesn't know—that she's not pure?" Asked Draco, even though he knew the answer to the question. All his life his mother lived in prejudice, along with his sisters. Marrying pureblood men to keep the heritage spotless, thinking that they were too. Now that's a scandal.

"No one knows, Draco. Only my late father and I, and now you and Hermione. This might be big for me to ask but please, all these years I've kept this secret thinking that I can and I will die with it, embrace it to the grave, but now here it is, biting me back. Please, keep this from your mother. It will hurt her, it will make her question her authority, her power. Your mother grew up with your late aunt Bellatrix, the darker one, the influence from her on your mother's mindset is lethal. They both even disowned Andromeda for marrying a muggle. Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa grew up without Druella, without their mother. They never knew and probably will never understand how to deal with it, especially your mother."