Chapter 10
Long Overdue Apologies
The concerned face of her eldest child was the first thing she saw when she entered the hall. "Mom, are you okay?"
She gave her son a warm smile as she pulled him in for a hug. "I'm fine. Just a dream. I was a bit too tired I guess." She pulled back and gave her already taller son a good once over. "What about you? You didn't say anything about coming home when I talked to you this morning. You still have a week with Christopher in Crete."
"I wanted to know what was going on around here. And I had good reason too. We have strange wizards in the house and I'm not home an hour when the whole house goes haywire."
Draco hearing his son's explanation grinned. "Well some things never change."
Isaac turned to his father. "Is Mom really all right or is she doing that thing where she makes us believe she's okay for the sake of it."
"She's okay. It was just a dream. She probably had a bit too much wine with lunch combined with the heat under the arbor. She's okay."
"Now you're doing it."
Draco gave his son a disapproving look. "Isaac, that's enough. She's fine, really."
"Heavens you two, I'm still standing right here for pete's sake. You would think I was out blindly casting unforgivables or tearing the vines out by the roots the way you two are going on." Ginny started to leave the room but called to her son on the way out, "Go tell your sisters to clean up and put on something nice, we're going out to dinner."
Draco called after his wife. "Ginny do you think that's a good idea?"
From the next room she called back to her husband. "Of course I do. Your godfather will love Pecorelli."
Draco turned to his godfather. "I guess we should probably get that mess cleaned up and ourselves. She's in a right mood at the moment.
"Seems fairly tame from what I recall her moods being at Hogwarts. I would have expected she would need a calming draught at the very least after her afternoon."
"She'll need it tonight, but she won't take it a second before she knows everyone in the house is down for the night."
The two made their way through the house to the potions lab. "Does she realize how much like her mother she has turned out to be?"
"Yes and frankly I don't think she would like herself very much if she hadn't turned out that way. But you'll never get her to admit it."
"Of course not. No daughter admits they want to be like their mother. Just like sons don't admit to not wanting to be like their fathers."
Draco dropped his head and watched his feet as he walked. "I didn't till it was nearly too late."
Without another word between them the two entered the lab and set to putting it back in order. Thankfully the task was rather small and they made quick work of it.
Severus swept his wand over his person casting a quick charm to refresh and remove the wrinkles from his clothing after they had finished cleaning the room. Draco did the same just moments later.
Severus finally spoke, breaking the easy silence between the two. "Katharine is very skilled with the cauldron. She could go far with that if she continues to work as hard as she does now."
"She loves it down here despite her little foray into drinking the ingredients."
"It shows. She is far better at it than most second or third years I've taught over the years. Serenity on the other hand could very well be Hogwart's next Longbottom for all her inaptness with a cauldron."
Draco laughed remembering one of a dozen times he and his classmates had been forced to duck and cover because of Longbottom's skill at blowing up potions. "Be glad you're not still teaching there then."
"Oh I don't know. The prospect of teaching your children seems like a challenge that could inspire me to return to that line of work. Certainly not for potions; after all these years I still prefer defense."
"Well you said McGonagall offered, take her up on it. Surely she's still looking a DADA teacher. I'm sure the school still has its problem keeping professors for that course."
Severus nodded. "It's not nearly as bad as it used to be. The last professor was their nearly five years. But Mr. Potter has been called to bigger and better things. He was all but bribed by The Ministry to take over as Undersecretary under the new minister."
Draco didn't look at all surprised. "Who would that most unlucky soul be? Certainly no one of decent standing."
The two made their way up from the lab to the library to sit and wait for Ginny to insist it was time to go to dinner.
"Well I guess that depends on your personal definition of decent. He was a member of the Order. I've never had reason to find fault with him personally, in office or before he took it."
"Oh do stop blowing the man's horn and tell me already. It's not as if it's Ginny's father or anything."
Severus should have seen that comment coming. "Well I hate to be the one to destroy your abhorrence for the so-called art of precognition, but I'm afraid you just guessed it. Mr. Weasley has been minister for just over seven months now."
Draco's mouth hung wide open. "Ginny's gonna have a manic fit when she hears this. She'll never want to go back there. Tell me why didn't you bother informing us of this at some point before now?"
"It didn't come up. Personally I would think your wife would be happy to know her father and mother are doing so well for themselves after so many years of doing without."
"I'm sure she would. But it's not going to look any better on us or her father when she turns up out of the blue."
"Then perhaps you might wish to contact him yourself and warn him before your arrival home. That would give him a chance to prepare whatever story he decides to spin to the press on the matter."
Draco rose from the seat he had taken behind his desk when they entered and walked to the window. "Is it even safe for me to return back there? Truthfully Uncle? I know full well Gin's parents will welcome her back with open arms. They aren't the kind of parents to turn their back on one of their own, no matter what the circumstances."
"No they are not."
"But my return, the same can't be said for that."
"Worried that they will toss you into Azkaban when they realized the famed Draco Malfoy isn't really dead?"
"Quite frankly, yes. I have no clue what these people believe of me. I have not been part of the British magical world for a very long time. When we first left, mother saw that there was money transferred to muggle banks for Ginny and myself to live on and to rebuild this place. What little interaction we did have with the magical world here for the most part has been under assumed names and disguises, aside from Katharine's stay in the hospital and Isaac's schooling."
"Interesting for people who don't bother to put up more than a few warding charms around their property."
"We had no reason to. We didn't want to keep muggles out. We wanted them to buy the wine after all. The wizards weren't looking for us here. We just wanted to make sure that for the most part people at home didn't find us by accident."
"You've been receiving the Prophet."
"Since we left; it comes under an assumed name. Ginny hasn't ever picked one up. Personally I don't remember the last time I read it myself. Of course I might have known Arthur had been made Minister if I bothered to read it once in a while instead of just tossing it in the fire."
"That is for certain."
"We are getting away from the point. Is it safe for me to go home or do they have a cell awaiting my return?"
Severus looked his godson over. "Your fears are without reason. Your mother and I saw that your name was cleared. I'll admit at the time I thought she was wasting time that she should have spent healing instead of working on making it known that you did not join the Deatheaters and that her own sister nearly killed you some months before the final battle." He stopped and gathered his thoughts. "Obviously it's clear now why she did it. I'm glad I was able to give her the proof that she needed to do so."
"Proof?"
"You thought the Deatheaters were unorganized?"
"Well I didn't imagine there were lists of who's who or anything of the like just lying around."
"It was your father's job to keep that information. And keep it he did. Every member ever initiated into the Deatheaters was watched very strictly. Your father could tell you down to the last Knut who had how much money in their vault. How much their estates were worth. Who their great-grandfather ten times removed was. Make no mistake there was very little the Dark Lord didn't know prior to your father's incarceration. After that the task was given over to Rodolphus. He however was not nearly as well connected inside the Ministry or on as good of terms with the goblins. His records were far less detailed, but he did know well enough to keep what he could find. Outside of the two men only your Aunt Bella and myself knew were they were stored."
"I'm assuming you produced them when it was most effective for your own ends."
"In a way. I didn't inform anyone of the records until your mother asked for help clearing your name. Even still I was required to testify under veritaserum about your involvement surrounding Albus's death."
Draco gave his uncle a questioning look. "I'm surprised that didn't land you in Azkaban."
"It did. I spent six months there for aiding in the planned suicide of a wizard. Apparently it's illegal and would have been considered murder had there not been preserved memories and a registered wand oath for it. Had I not drawn my wand that night he would still have died. His death was imminent."
"But I…"
"Draco I know what the Dark Lord held over you to get you to take that task, as did your mother. Albus knew of the Dark Lord's threat and the oath I took with your mother to try and insure your safety. He prolonged his own life in order to keep you as safe as he could. He knew a time would come when you would have to give the Deatheaters a way in. He knew how you would do it. He seemed to have a clear idea of when. When the time did come he was ready for it, wanted it even." Severus stopped, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I didn't want to do what I did, but I did what was asked of me. It has taken me many years to deal with that fact. There is no need for you to renew guilt that I'm sure you have also long since dealt with."
"Uncle Severus I'm sorrier than you can ever know. I didn't know what my action, or lack of, cost you."
"Had you taken the action that was assigned to you, it would have cost you far more than not doing so cost me. I'm glad I was able to keep that blood off your hands. If anything I owe you an apology. I should have started working the moment you set foot in Hogwarts to make you see that the dogma he preached at you was nothing but words that he used as an allowance for his need for violence and destruction. If I had trusted you to see the other side of the coin then perhaps you could have seen for yourself before you were forced into that situation."
Draco moved from the window and did something he didn't think he had ever done, he hugged the man that he had always cared for. The man that he had on more than one occasion wished was his father.
The sound of hard-soled shoes tapping on hardwood drew Draco's attention to the door where a brightly smiling Katharine had just entered. "Dad, Mom says everyone is ready to go."
Draco released the hold he had on his godfather, smiling at his youngest daughter. "Okay Hun, we're coming."
Kat walked back out of the room, seemingly finding nothing odd about her father hugging his godfather. "Draco you do realize you just hugged me?"
"Yes I did. Blame it on living here for so long. Italians hug everyone."
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