Chapter 6
More Revelations
A/N: My muse, Maggie, is simple girl. All she likes are plot bunnies and reviews. So be kind to Maggie and feed her review cookies please.
Big thanks to my beta Lbandoly for her hard work. She has spent countless hours editing and providing plot help for my stories. She makes my writing possible.
No copyright infringement intended. All characters are the property of JKR, Scholastic, and any number of other companies with more money than I've ever dreamed of seeing. I didn't make any money off of this, so please don't sue.
DG DG DG DG DG DG DG
The warm summer sun rose high in the sky, bringing with it the sounds of a very awake Malfoy house and vineyard. The delivery trucks were heard coming down the lane, birds were chirping, the girls were yelling something unintelligible in what sounded like a heated mix of Greek and Italian. Sometime around six a little peace came over the house as the girls took off outside to help their father and complete their morning chores.
Neither Minerva nor Severus were use to hearing such a fuss so early, and both found themselves very much awake and alert at what most would consider an ungodly early hour of the morning. It wasn't that being up that early was out of the norm. Well perhaps for Minerva anyway, but it really had been a long time since Severus woke before lunch. The two rose, dressed, and met in the second floor corridor before making their way down the stairs and into the daily life of the newest Malfoy family.
"Good morning Minerva."
"And the same to you Severus." She eyed him openly. "I see you also opted for the less formal look over your heavy robes today."
The man, dressed in a pair of simple black wool trousers and a button-down dress shirt, gave her reproachful look. "It's rather a good deal warmer here than it is in England. I saw no point in them. It is not as if we are in a full wizarding household. And you, Minerva, are not one to speak seeing as you have transfigured your own robes into a more functional muggle dress."
"It is only fitting. After all the weather is a good deal warmer here as you have noted."
They began making their way down the hall towards the stairs.
"They certainly have made a nice home for themselves here. It's definitely not what I expected from either of them."
"There is one thing for sure Minerva."
"What is that Severus?"
"Draco has made a conscious effort to run this house in the exact opposite manner of his father's home."
"How so?"
"Would you deny that children screaming in several languages didn't wake you up this very early morning?"
"That among other things. I dare say the birds are a bit chirpier here in the morning than they are in Scotland."
"I dare say even Lucius couldn't control the wildlife. I was referring to the children screaming. Unless Lucius was causing the screaming it was something that was not done in his home. There was no loud roughhousing, no running down halls, and nothing that could be heard from one room to another. I'm fairly certain I heard muggle vehicles at some unseemly hour. That alone would cause Lucius to roll over in his grave. In fact I rather hope it does. The level of noise that this house generates in the morning alone would have caused him a great deal of pain at Malfoy Manor."
"Then I guess we should put this in the Draco has not turned into his father category." Minerva couldn't resist a smile at the thought of the differences between father and son. "The boy has a tan and his hair is still as short as ever. As I recall there is a very long line of pale, long-haired Malfoy men. So there are marks two and three in the same column."
Finally making their way into the dining room, the duo found Ginny and a young woman in muggle jeans and a t-shirt setting the table for breakfast. The young woman left the room and returned within moments with a dish piled high with food before taking a seat at the table.
"You might wish to add the lack of a male heir to this list. Though I don't suppose he had any real control over that one."
Ginny looked up. "Forgive my manners, this is Clara, she is my personal assistant and for what it's worth we do have a son."
Severus looked up sharply. "Excuse me I was under the impression the girls were your only children." Minerva simply stood there shocked.
"Then you haven't paid much attention to the photos sitting around have you? Isaac Draco. He's sixteen and chose on his own to not follow the traditional magical ways. The only reason you haven't met him is because he's staying with a friend in Crete for a couple of weeks. He attends a prep school for boys in Rome most of the year."
"Sixteen. That would mean?"
"Yes Minerva, I was pregnant when I left home. That is why Ron was so angry. I assumed Draco would have told you that or I would have mentioned Isaac myself at dinner."
"Then he isn't a squib?"
"No Severus he's not. He attended two years at a magic school in Milan before saying he would prefer to live as a muggle. Most of his life has been muggle centric. Our house doesn't operate on magic. He just prefers to do things for himself."
"You let him do that?"
"I didn't let him do anything. Isaac is very much like his father. When he makes a decision, there is no changing his mind. He fussed with us for months before we finally agreed to send him to a muggle school. Even then he wanted to stay home and attend the local secondary school. Draco firmly put his foot down to that and insisted that if his son wanted a muggle education, the least he could do was send him to the finest secondary school we could find."
"Does he use his magic at all?"
"From time to time. He does still have his wand and at our request he has studied the course work for every year of magical training along side his muggle education on his own. He's constantly calling home requesting some new book to study from. Thankfully Narcissa has given the contents of the library from Malfoy Manor to us. He has no lack of material to study and learn from."
"Has he taken his OWLS?"
"He did and is preparing for his NEWTS. His former headmaster in Milan allowed him to sit for them at the beginning of the last summer. He received an O or E in all six of the tests he sat; potions, herbology, defense against the dark arts, charms, transfiguration, and divination. Though for the life of me I can't understand what he likes about that ruddy subject. He opted to not sit for history of magic or care of magical creatures since he never much bothered to learn either after he left the Milan School for Magical Learning."
"And his muggle studies, do they suffer for him spreading his time so thin?"
"Not at all. He's third in his class over all. He doesn't just participate in an organized muggle sport. He's captain of the school's swim team. Frankly I've been trying for years to figure out how he fits some much into one day while still managing to remain on top of everything. If you ask Draco..."
Draco picked that moment to join the group in the dining room. "If you ask me what?"
"I was telling them about Isaac, which you didn't bother to mention last night."
He had the decency to know when he was being scolded. "Sorry luv, I didn't know how Uncle would take that bit of news."
"I took it just fine. Now you were saying Ginevra?"
"I was saying Draco always says it's because Isaac hasn't found a girl that can draw his attentions away from his studies that allows him to keep such a busy schedule and still be very good at everything he lays his hands on."
The girls came running into the room as loud and crass as they had been the hour before. "Morning Mumma. Daddy, did you see Alex this morning, his hair is bright blue!"
"Yes I saw him. His father seemed right bent about it too. Please tell me you two didn't have anything to do with it do you?"
Kat gave her mother a kiss before taking her seat. "No. He said he used food coloring. Sere laughed at him then told him it wouldn't come out."
Draco, hearing footsteps, looked up to find the boy in question standing in the doorway with his father. "Well speak of the devil. Alex, Amadeo come on in and join us. This is Severus Snape, my godfather, and headmistress Minerva McGonagall."
"'Ello." The two took seats at the long table before filling their plates.
"Amadeo is my second in command around here. He makes sure I don't screw up the wine too badly."
"Master Malfoy is a fine wine master. Don't let him rattle you full of poppycock." He turned to Draco, "The last shipment of the 2010 has been sent out as of this morning."
"Where to?"
"San Carlos."
"The same person that ordered the last batch then?"
"Yes."
"You did inform him that is the last of it. I won't be selling my private collection from that year for any reason."
"I did. He said he would have to give a try at anything from the following year's vintage the next time."
The meal went on with lots of happy chatter while filling their bellies.
Alex leaned over to whisper in Serenity's ear. "The guests were wearing robes yesterday when I saw them walking up the lane. Ones like Isaac wore when he went to that school in Milan. Are they wizards too?"
"Yeah isn't it cool?"
"Yeah it is. Why haven't I ever seen your dad's uncle before?"
"Because he didn't know where Dad was. Dad sort of took off and left home without telling anyone where he went when he was younger."
"Why did he do that?"
"You know why. Dad told you about the war when he told all of us."
A look of dawning colored young Alex's face. "Oh right. I remember that now."
Ginny looked at the whispering duo. "You two stop that. Someone will think you are talking about them they way you're clucking on over there."
Sere gave her mom a bright smile. "Yes Mumma"
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