Slim brows raised slightly at his words, but otherwise she showed no surprise. She leaned back a touch, watching him calmly. "I expect it won't." And that was that, because her word was law. However, the mention of new friends was... curious.
"I'm glad to hear you are making friends, and I trust your judgement, but... I wish you to be doing so wisely. The wrong friends can mean the world of difference." Her words were carefully chosen, her eyes not leaving Draco.
He gave a simple nod, his eyes never leaving her gaze. He knew that none of the friends he made now wouldn't meant his family's approval. Yet...that was also because they were still clinging to their old ways. How was he going to prove to them that it was okay to move away from that line of thinking?
"I understand, Mother," he replied in a soft voice. He decided it was best to try to move to the actual topic at hand, before this conversation took a turn for the worst as it threatened to do. "What was it that you wanted to discuss?"
There was something ironic there because she had meant purely that wizards could be fickle and could have other reasons to befriend him than just to be his friend. There were plenty of people that could use Draco as a way to strike out against their family due to simply who they are or more so, who they had been during the war. It never even occurred to her Draco could be befriending a Muggle.
Narcissa gave a little wave of her hand, dismissing Draco's concern lightly. "There was nothing in particular; I wanted to be certain you returned home before I retired for the evening." Lucius had already gone up, but that was far from unexpected.
Oh Draco knew all about that...considering who his old gang was an how fast they turned on him in the end. Last night had been a big eye opener for him. And they had been approved of by his parents too.
"I will be returning to the Lupins tomorrow morning. I had been worried about you and father and wanted to check in. I'm glad to see that things appear to be doing a lot better now," Draco softly commented.
"...Please be careful when you return there." It was spoken in a tone of... uncertainty, the sort of state Narcissa Malfoy never liked being in. "I would be cautious about returning to the home of a werewolf during this process."
Another hesitation, a faint one. "Did they say if it lasted a single night or multiple?" This was one of the major concerns for her when she sent her son to stay with the Lupins.
"It only happens one night on a true full moon. Afterwards everything should be fine," Draco replied in a calm manner trying to ease his mother's concern.
"They've done everything they could to make sure everyone is protected in and outside the house for that night. However, if it eases your concern I can continue to return here on those nights."
"I would prefer that." And the tone suggested it was less a preference and more so a mother's command to her son. She wouldn't be able to sleep if Draco was in that household during the moon. If something went wrong and Draco was hurt or worse, bitten? It would be the end of his life!
She took a slow breath then stood up slowly. "...we should both get to bed." But she came over, looking at her son, and reached over to touch his cheek lightly. A faint smile touched her lips. "Sometimes, it's difficult to believe you've grown up into a young man. Someone your father and I are proud of."
"One more thing... " Draco hesitated. "I want to be a healer. I was hoping to possibly go to the school Melinda had mentioned...since I know our family name isn't accepted well here. I thought that it would give us a better chance as well."
He looked at his Mother unsure of what she would say.
"I thought that might be the case," Narcissa said after a few moments. She met his eyes, her beautiful boy that had been wrapped up in so much more than he ever should have. He wasn't meant for the same path his father had walked; Lucius was strong in different ways than Draco.
Her lips thinned and she asked quietly, "is that truly what you want to do with your life? To heal? Is it for your father or... strangers or both?"
"For both," Draco replied. "I want to undo the damage that our mistakes have caused. I want to do something meaningful with my life. The Prime Minister gave me another chance and I don't want to mess up. At the same time, I'm afraid... I've never been away from home for long time or been far away."
His tone was a mixture of determination and fear. He wanted to be strong like his parents and do the right thing.
"I want you to be certain of this before you leap off into the abyss. You've never even left this country... you're speaking of that place in America that Melinda mentioned. ...I want to see this place for myself, as well as you making certain that you will still want to be there after seeing it." There would be no 'buts' on that one.
"...No, I have not." Which made this all that much more difficult. A place she had never gone, where Draco had never been before either? "We will... see this place before anything else is discussed or decided. I don't know if your father will be able to make such a trip which means leaving him here... with Melinda."
There was a small oh from Draco as he looked up at his mother with surprise. He was beginning to doubt this idea of coming to America. He still wanted to be a healer nothing changed that. The fact his parents had never been to America made the idea more frightening and that his father wouldn't be able to come. He clinched his hands as he tried to sort out everything.
Another light touch to his cheek, just one, before she gave a look of quiet pride, a mere lift of her chin, a faint raise of the eyebrow. "We have managed before, and we will continue to do so. We will see what this college is like, and we'll decide from there."
Encouragement, in her own fashion, though she made a mental note that she would speak to the Lupins about Lucius. It would be better if he was... with more people.
He gave a small smile before he hugged his mother, thankful for her support. "Thank you," he said before heading toward his room. On his way he stopped to grab his bag not wanting his mother to dig through it. He knew eventually she would. No secrets lasted long before she found out.
The night would pass quietly and fade into morning, but by the time Draco said goodbye to his parents and Melinda, who came down in a fabulous silver-fox robe and her hair was free and in a waterfall behind her. A quick wave to the younger man when he was leaving, and she was clearly going to take a cup of tea outside. He might even hear her voice coming out from the back garden, quiet on the morning.
However, at the Lupin household, things were very different.
The charms were down, no longer a tingle on the skin, but the household was hectic from the moment Draco appeared. Teddy was screaming crying in the living room, but Tonks was no where to be seen. Instead, she was dealing with her husband down in the basement, calm yet at the same time, frantic. It was not a good month. Remus was covered by a blanket, but there was the stench of blood as soon as one got near the stairs.
Draco tried to debate on what to do. Should he try to quite Teddy down or help Tonks? He figured right away the situation was pretty bad if she left Teddy alone. He decided to first take the moment to quiet Teddy down. It would at least allow him to think better. After a moment he managed to distract Teddy with one of his toys.
He then headed down the basement and before Tonks could argue, he started to help attend to Remus's wounds. He had spent a lot of time helping heal his father after what ever punishment the Dark Lord left. He was more calm about it then his mother had been. He remained calm here, despite how strong the stench of blood was and seeing all the new wounds Remus had given himself. He didn't say anything unless it was to answer anything Tonks had to ask.
The worst of all might have been how utterly unresponsive Remus was. He looked unconscious from the look of it, very pale which made the wounds seem worse. There was a deep slice in one arm that looked far too deep and one ankle looked like it had been bitten into, which was the worst of the problems. Tonks was trying to hold pressure on it until it closed, but with Draco here she had him take her place so she could cast a spell, bandages winding around and tying off to keep the pressure they needed.
It would be almost another twenty minutes of work before they had Remus at least safe, but it wasn't pretty. So much blood... Tonks knelt there, blood Over her hands and on her face from where she pushed her hair back, looking at her husband with misery in her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered to Draco without looking at him. Her hair was brown, severely short - something she must have done when her hair kept falling into her eyes.
Draco gave a simple nod as he continued to help. He tried to block out his own unwanted images of seeing his father in a similar state. He only wanted to learn to be an animangus more now. Remus wouldn't be hurting himself if he could roam freely. He hated to see the Lupins in such a miserable state, but he kept his own concerns to himself. For now he was glad to be an extra set of hands to help.
He was going to have to change again later. His clothes were covered in blood, along with his hands and face. This was only a minor thing to worry about. With the worst was taken care of he prepared the medicine for Remus to help ease any pain and allow him to sleep better. He also prepared some tea.
Within the hour, they had things more under control. Remus was asleep upstairs, covered in a potent smelling green medicine and bandages, cleaned up and drugged and asleep. With Draco helping, she saw to her son, rocking him slowly with her eyes closed until they both calmed. By the end of it all, Tonks was sitting in the kitchen, looking exhausted to her core.
The tea sat untouched, Tonks looked haunted. "...now you know how bad it gets," she said quietly. "The things werewolves have to go through every moon, and yet wizards still treat them so badly."
"There's so much I don't understand," Draco replied in a quiet tone. He had taken a shower and changed. His hands wrapped around a mug of tea.
"For the longest time I believed everything my parents had told me. It wasn't till the last few years I've realized how wrong they were and trying to make sense of everything after learning it. I'm not sure what to believe."
"You're supposed to believe them as a child; don't fault yourself for that. The difference is what you do as an adult with that knowledge and if you are given other viewpoints. It seems to me that... despite what I thought originally that Remus was right. You have chosen to go the better route than most pure-bloods." Tonks looked over to him, rubbing Teddy's back slowly. It wasn't easy for her to say that about a Malfoy.
He allowed a small smile to show, pleased to see that he was starting to eaen Tonk's trust. "I never had much of a choice. I had to be what my family expected if me and on top of that everyone had an opinion of who I was before I even knew them. It went with the students and staff. So I became what everyone believed I was. Remus was the only one to see past it."
He looked away, images of his first year and then of last night reminded him of all his bad choices and good choices. He was more happier with his recent choices.
"We're only human, all of us. We judge and make our choices, it's part of the human experience." She sighed quietly, putting her chin against the top of Teddy's head. "But... right now, you have your own choices to make and you'll be held by them."
She sighed again, her eyes closing. From the circles under her eyes, she hadn't slept. "Remus will sleep probably for twelve hours or more, then he'll eat his weight in meat. Same thing every month. ...Sick of the Ministry saying he did such an effort in the war but they won't supply him the potion to stop this? It's ridiculous."
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"I'm glad to hear you are making friends, and I trust your judgement, but... I wish you to be doing so wisely. The wrong friends can mean the world of difference." Her words were carefully chosen, her eyes not leaving Draco.
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"I understand, Mother," he replied in a soft voice. He decided it was best to try to move to the actual topic at hand, before this conversation took a turn for the worst as it threatened to do. "What was it that you wanted to discuss?"
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Narcissa gave a little wave of her hand, dismissing Draco's concern lightly. "There was nothing in particular; I wanted to be certain you returned home before I retired for the evening." Lucius had already gone up, but that was far from unexpected.
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"I will be returning to the Lupins tomorrow morning. I had been worried about you and father and wanted to check in. I'm glad to see that things appear to be doing a lot better now," Draco softly commented.
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Another hesitation, a faint one. "Did they say if it lasted a single night or multiple?" This was one of the major concerns for her when she sent her son to stay with the Lupins.
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"They've done everything they could to make sure everyone is protected in and outside the house for that night. However, if it eases your concern I can continue to return here on those nights."
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She took a slow breath then stood up slowly. "...we should both get to bed." But she came over, looking at her son, and reached over to touch his cheek lightly. A faint smile touched her lips. "Sometimes, it's difficult to believe you've grown up into a young man. Someone your father and I are proud of."
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He looked at his Mother unsure of what she would say.
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Her lips thinned and she asked quietly, "is that truly what you want to do with your life? To heal? Is it for your father or... strangers or both?"
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His tone was a mixture of determination and fear. He wanted to be strong like his parents and do the right thing.
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"I would at least to have a chance to see the school. Have you been to America?"
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Not sure at all about that.
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Encouragement, in her own fashion, though she made a mental note that she would speak to the Lupins about Lucius. It would be better if he was... with more people.
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However, at the Lupin household, things were very different.
The charms were down, no longer a tingle on the skin, but the household was hectic from the moment Draco appeared. Teddy was screaming crying in the living room, but Tonks was no where to be seen. Instead, she was dealing with her husband down in the basement, calm yet at the same time, frantic. It was not a good month. Remus was covered by a blanket, but there was the stench of blood as soon as one got near the stairs.
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He then headed down the basement and before Tonks could argue, he started to help attend to Remus's wounds. He had spent a lot of time helping heal his father after what ever punishment the Dark Lord left. He was more calm about it then his mother had been. He remained calm here, despite how strong the stench of blood was and seeing all the new wounds Remus had given himself. He didn't say anything unless it was to answer anything Tonks had to ask.
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It would be almost another twenty minutes of work before they had Remus at least safe, but it wasn't pretty. So much blood... Tonks knelt there, blood Over her hands and on her face from where she pushed her hair back, looking at her husband with misery in her eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered to Draco without looking at him. Her hair was brown, severely short - something she must have done when her hair kept falling into her eyes.
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He was going to have to change again later. His clothes were covered in blood, along with his hands and face. This was only a minor thing to worry about. With the worst was taken care of he prepared the medicine for Remus to help ease any pain and allow him to sleep better. He also prepared some tea.
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The tea sat untouched, Tonks looked haunted. "...now you know how bad it gets," she said quietly. "The things werewolves have to go through every moon, and yet wizards still treat them so badly."
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"For the longest time I believed everything my parents had told me. It wasn't till the last few years I've realized how wrong they were and trying to make sense of everything after learning it. I'm not sure what to believe."
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He looked away, images of his first year and then of last night reminded him of all his bad choices and good choices. He was more happier with his recent choices.
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She sighed again, her eyes closing. From the circles under her eyes, she hadn't slept. "Remus will sleep probably for twelve hours or more, then he'll eat his weight in meat. Same thing every month. ...Sick of the Ministry saying he did such an effort in the war but they won't supply him the potion to stop this? It's ridiculous."
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