thattimeofthemonth | Open RP Post

Remus really wasn't terribly used to being treated like this, so despite himself, he did end up looking a hint on the awkward side of things as he sat down after dropping his pack beside him. It was easier to put his focus on the young man with him. The smile he managed to pull up was real, even if he was tired. "Congratulations. Managed a corporeal Patronus." A nod, acknowledging his strength as a fellow wizard. "The Patronus tells a lot about the creator, you know?"

He paused, gave a soft laugh. "Mine is a bit on the obvious side, though, but they're not always that obvious." Small talk (also not something he was fantastic at, but thanks to his family, he was getting better) but at least small talk that wasn't completely failing.

Draco gave a nod, pleased to earn the compliment from his previous professor. The subject about the charm was interesting, but he was more curious of why he could do it.

"How come...I was able to do a corporeal Patronus despite being raised around dark magic? The only other person who I know who could do that was Professor Snape. If we change...does that mean what we can and can't do will change?"

It was strange talking to his professor after all this time. They had never really conversed when he was his teacher...especially after that prank. But to talk to each other as almost equals made the conversation awkward. It was also difficult to decide what was okay to reveal and not.

What else could they do? Sitting in silence would have been worse, but talking with a young man he had seen as a snot-nosed, arrogant brat who he was attempting to treat as somewhat more of an equal... yet there would always the age difference, one that he wasn't entirely certain Draco would respect.

Give it a go, though.

Still, he gave real thought to Draco's question, frowning as he turned over what best to say before starting hesitantly, "...a Patronus... is a spell that is unique. Not every wizard will be able to perform it, even if they are powerful. It is a deeply personal spell, unlike most. You're right, you were raised around dark magic," he wouldn't put that nicely, "but you are not your parents. We each chose our path in life, and your path is not necessarily as dark as your parents."

He met Draco's eyes, brows lifting slightly. "As proven by your casting of the Patronus. However," and here his voice went soft, "if you were to chose to follow the path they had walked before, you would lose the ability... or worse." He was a bit more grave on the last two words.

Draco clasped his hands together and he sat down opposite of Remus, clearly taking in what was said and thinking it over.

"All I ever wanted was to protect my family....just as they always protected me. I was willing to do what it took to do it. Even when I thought I was protecting them they had found a way to keep me from going down their path."

He was secretly glad to be not compared as his parents for once. That he was his own person and had the right to choose his own path. To hear this from Remus was a bit of a surprise for Draco.

It was hard to be vague and still try to say what he wanted to say. He had been willing to go their same path for them, but in the end his parents saved him from doing so. Although, it had cost him his godfather, a debt that he couldn't pay back.

Remus' lips thin as he thought hard on what to say for a long few moments, considering that he was in the home of the Malfoys. Finally, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and spoke quietly still. "There are many who would disagree with me on this, given their path, but from what I've seen, your mother and father would have done, would always do, anything they had to to protect you. To protect them in return is honorable, though like them, what you might do to follow it isn't."

The corner of his mouth lifted, just for a moment, before he sighed and leaned back. "You could learn more, if you wanted. More on the lighter side of things. As it is, it'll be easier to have help getting these dementors in this trap." He gave a quiet chuckle. "You need to be able to cast a Pantronus to accomplish it."

Draco frowned slightly at the comments on his parents, but understood why people would think such thoughts. He had gone out of his way to appear uncaring and not interested in those around him. They had been very careful to show any emotion behind doors and rarely in front of others. Remus had been given a rare glimpse of it tonight.

"I would like to learn more. It'll allow me to continue to help them." Draco replied. There was a long silence as Draco continued to think about what was just said before he finally brought up another topic.

"Back in school, I had heard stories about how you, Harry's father, and Sirius Black were close friends and known pranksters... Did you and Harry set up that hair dye trap on us? None of that really matched the Weasley twins' style." Draco said. He wore an amused expression, the anger over the prank had long ago left. He had to admit it was a really good one too.

There was a faint twinge somewhere deep inside at a Malfoy uttering Sirius' name, given what had happened, but Remus quickly forced it down. Instead, he stayed on the lighter topics because it was easier that foraging his way deeper down the path that they had started on with the discussion on the Patronus.

So he started a little more simply. "That would be your parent's decision, though you are almost of age so you would be able to make that decision on your own soon enough. It might be difficult to find a teacher, but not impossible. I get the feeling you would do well more out in the field than being a desk, though." A raised eyebrow and a hint of a smirk suggested he was damn sure of that in fact, given he had taught Draco at one point.

On the mention of the prank, though? "It's true that we were good friends, all of us," and Peter... though now the thought of him filled him with a certain deep rage, "but surely in your years you've learned that the best of pranksters never tell." That hint of a smirk had grown, though. Really, too old to be playing at the prankster.

He gave a nod in agreement. He was never one to learn by reading and doing all the paper work that followed it. He thrived on the more physical activities and being able to actually do it. Where his father could take a book, read it, and know how to do the task at hand.

"I'll bring the subject up to my parents then. It's better to be doing something then...hiding."

Yet, Draco knew enough from the way Remus was hinting that he was the mastermind behind the prank.

Remus doubted Lucius and Narcissa enjoyed hiding any more than Draco, but no young man deserved to be forced into hiding. It couldn't be good for Draco, and a thought was creeping into his mind that he wasn't entirely certain about how he felt on it. Maybe with someone who had more time, less to lose, but he could think of no one off the top of his head that would be willing to take in a Malfoy that wasn't still aligned with the dark.

"I can imagine. I've... had to run and hide a lot in my life," spoken with a hint of awkwardness, where that age gap seemed infinitely larger, "it's never fun. In fact, I've always hated it. It gets... lonely."

"Father really didn't want to go here, but this was what my mother wanted." Draco wasn't sure why he was bothering to tell this to Remus...perhaps it was because of what was said. Always having to hide. It was almost the life they would have lived. At the same time it was just a relief to finally be able to discuss this.

"When... he came back, my mother tried to convince my father to go into hiding and to leave him. She said things were different then the first time. He wasn't like what he was then. And what he promised wasn't what everyone had believed it would be.

Dad, he didn't want to hide, didn't believe he should have to. Things would go the way they were planned as in the beginning. This was the first row they had in a long time and it lasted for a few months. She had threatened to leave. She had been more concerned about my safety and not wanting me involved in it.

Yet, my father had to point out that once you sign up...the only way you leave is through death. Even if we hid, he would have found us. Not like anyone would have helped us....You at least had some friends to help you."

Remus thought back to the egotistical, snarky, brat of a child he had taught. One that he had, perhaps mistakenly, thrown off as a perfect replica of his father. Maybe at the time, Draco had been, yet before him was a young man who had grown. He listened with folded hands, elbows on his thighs, as Draco looked like someone who was grateful to get things off his chest. Had he no one to speak to other than his parents? He had always seen Draco with students around him, but then again, so much had to be kept under wraps given what his parents were.

Did he believe that Narcissa had actually wanted to avoid Voldemort upon his return? The Order knew now well enough that Voldemort would have hunted down the Malfoys had they run, and his success in killing those that had not returned to him had been all too high. There had been many witnesses who had said the Malfoys had not remained during the final battle, that they had not fought, and it was part of the reason they were pardoned. Many had yet to care that they had run and instead called them cowards. Remus did not entirely agree, but he wondered also if Narcissa had wanted to protect her boy from a battle she believed to be lost.

Draco's words put doubt into certain things Remus had believed to be true, and he was uncertain on how to walk this new ground.

"...Friends is a difficult word," Remus said slowly, trying to think how much he was willing to tell. "A werewolf often has very few friends, or none, which is why many went over to His side. Anger. Revenge. I was... more fortunate than some in my circumstances." But only a very small handful of people knew the truth of how terrible his life had been at times, when Muggle jobs had been the only way to get food and shelter or to hide.

But he had no real desire to linger on those words, so he pushed past it. "But you're right, and unfortunately, so was your father."

"What of the Order? Aren't you gaining connections through them at least?" He gave an apologetic nod, understanding what it's like to have few friends...or well people he could trust.

"The only reason why we're still alive today is for the soul reason that He wanted us to remain an example of what happens when you mess up." Draco gave a wary sigh and got up from his seat.

"Speaking of my father I better go find him...he should have been done the protection spells a while ago. He... has a tendency to get lost. Not lost on the grounds...but more mentally. Today was one of his better days. The dementors probably shook him up. This should only take a few minutes."

"Connections... doesn't fix everything," Remus responded cautiously, bu it was all he was willing to go into with Draco. He couldn't feel entirely sorry for the Malfoys, given that they had chosen their own paths, but he did feel a touch sorry for Draco who had been pulled along with them. That was how he had been raised. The question was, how much was his upbringing and how much was just him as a man?

Draco had a point about how long Lucius had been out there. Remus frowned, standing up as well. "You shouldn't go out there alone with the dementors possibly still close." He was surprised to hear about the mental loss, though. What was going on with Lucius that Draco would suggest such a thing? That was a concern all on its own.

"...Let's go find your father."

..."They can get you jobs," Draco pointed out. His father had always been about connections...but at the same time he understood what Remus meant as well. And decided to drop the discussion after the statement....When did he start to worry if the other man had a job?

"When my father failed in his task to gain the prophecy...he became the Dark Lord's servant and was punished on a regular bases as a reminder for his mistakes. We had to bare witness to them. We try not to speak of it...but with you here it was best to warn you."

After giving out the warning, Draco then headed out of the sitting room, alerted his mother they were going to retrieve his father, and then headed outside.

That was not something the Order knew about. Was it true? Lucius had seemed himself out there, exactly as Remus remembered the man other than a bit shabbier around the edges for being on the run (something he was a bit too familiar with himself), so it was difficult to immediately accept. Yet at the same time, it did make a certain amount of sense. Voldemort had punished his followers horribly if they failed, they had learned one by one as they disappeared or were 'found', but if Lucius was subject to such punishment over and over... it sounded like those Wizards that Voldemort had put into St. Mungo's.

He did give a nod though, acknowledging what Draco said, and followed the other outside. Immediately his fingers curled around his wand and tugged it out, looking first towards the sky before breathing in slowly. Listening. He could sense the protective charms now on the manor, but had Lucius been caught while finishing them?

"Has your father put up this sort of protection before?" He asked quietly, uncertain what might be watching. "Do you know where he set them?"

Draco took out his wand and lead Remus through their yard. "Yes, he's shown me a couple of times and had me help. I guess this time around he figured with a guest he wanted me with you instead of helping." He spoke in a soft voice, slowly leading Remus down the path that the charms were placed.

Then he could hear his father shouting at someone saying that he wasn't going to go back. But to who it was, he wasn't sure what. Because no one was around. He waved his wand threateningly at no one in particular. Only when he heard them approaching the wand was pointed in their direction.

The shouting already set the hair on the back of his neck standing up, but when they saw Lucius shouting at nothing at all, the Lucius he had known would rather have died then act like this. All at once, Draco's words in the house seemed much too real, and Remus felt a tendril of true worry for the man go through him.

Enough that he actually stepped forward quickly, acting more like the teacher he had been (and a member of the Order) by making sure that Draco was half-behind him. Still visible, if Lucius were more to recognize him, but far more worried that Lucius might not at all. His wand didn't lower, but he kept his voice calm.

"Lucius. Draco and I were concerned when you didn't return." Pointedly using his son's name, trying to get the other to focus.

The mention of Draco caught Lucius's attention, but it was clear that he was having a hard time recognizing them. And the fact that they weren't trying to hurt him. "I'm not going back there. You're not taking my family either!" Lucius snarled.

He took a step back, his wand hand shaking. This had to be why the dementors had shown up and now they were there to collect him. They already got his son. He now had to get him to safety along with his wife. "Hand over Draco!"

He belongs in St. Mungo's, Remus thought with fear building in him, his own wand held ready as he tried to process more. 'Going back there' could only mean one place in his mind, because no place was as fear as Azkaban. Wandless magic was something Remus had been doing since he was in school himself (a wand wasn't exactly something one could keep on hand wherever one dropped exhausted in the morning after a change) and wordless magic had come not long after. He concentrated even as he stepped back, one hand held in signal for Draco to remain where he was, putting a shielding charm over them both. Defense had always been his top marks.

"Draco, talk to him," Remus said quietly to the young man beside him, "but whatever you do, don't go to him. He's likely to blast me the moment you're at his side, if he even recognizes you like this."

And to Lucius, he spoke louder. "Your son is right here with me, Lucius! Narcissa is in the house this very moment waiting for us all to return to have dinner. Lower your wand, see what's really happening around you!"

The first sign of that wand moving in a spell and Remus was going to disarm him. He wouldn't hurt the other man, but he would not let himself, or Draco, be injured.

Draco gave a slight nod in acknowledgement. This was the first time, he saw his father this bad. Normally, it was always just among him and his mother...never with an outsider. He knew that the dementors and having Remus around probably triggered it. Too many things happening at once and a lot connecting with his past.

"Father, it's alright. Remus is here to help us. He's not taking anyone of us away. Let's just go inside and have dinner." Draco stated, only stepping forward so he could be seen. His own wand was lowered and his side, just in case. With his free hand he held out his hand beckoning for him to join them.

Hesitantly, Lucius lowered his wand and glanced between Draco and Remus. There was some recognition in his eyes, but there was still doubt and fear in his expression. He took a few steps forward, but stopped still unsure if it was safe.

It wouldn't surprise him in the least if the combination had sent Lucius' mind back. Damn, he should have offered to go out with the other, given him some sort of protection and kept his mind focused on the now, but he had no idea it had become this bad. It was something that could be dealt with separately; right now, he was more focused on getting this handled without anyone being hurt. It was, however, deeply strange to hear one of his former students calling him 'Remus'.

"I came to help capture the dementors and nothing else," he reminded gently, knowing they had pushed in the right direction. The lowering of the wand was a good sign, but it didn't mean they were out of the woods. "Draco and I were only waiting for you to return from setting the protections against them, remember?" Please, please remember.

His own wand hand was steady, even though in reality there was a deep tension as he stood ready to react to the former Death Eater's any poor reaction.

Lucius gave a nod in answer and slowly spoke as he struggled to say what he remembered. "I had been putting the spells up when you arrived... And you and Draco had helped stopped them. Then I went to finish them..." He shook his head as he struggled to remember the rest that had happened. Only he couldn't.

"How long was I gone?" he asked softly and bowed his head in shame. He lowered his wand in defeat...more with himself then in regards toward Remus and Draco.

Draco glanced at Remus, waiting for acknowledgement that it was okay to go to his father's side. He hated seeing the despair in his father's eyes and wished that things had been the way they used to be.

That was, unfortunately, the tone and body language of a man who was back in the present with him. He nodded to Draco, catching the look towards him, and lowered his own wand. Given the moment before and the possibility of dementors, the wand certainly stayed out, but his heightened senses were fading into relief. Thank Merlin.

"You did finish them," he clarified gently, as he could feel them in the air around them. Still damn powerful, Lucius Malfoy, for all that his mind had been damaged. Still, he wondered if protective spells laid by one who was aligned with the dark would work to keep the creatures out, or if they would be able to come right past them. Hard to say, not the time to focus too hard on it either.

"...No more than ten minutes." Maybe fifteen, but he doubted it had been that long. "Narcissa is probably getting worried; we should head back in."

Draco dashed over to his father and placed an arm around him in support. He felt his father place a hand on his shoulder in appreciation.

Lucius still frowned at having a fifteen minute time lapse. That was not good at all. These lapses were getting worse and he wasn't sure what he can do. He couldn't let his own family keep worrying about him...and now Remus knew. He allowed his son to lead him back to the house.

Where Narcissa was worriedly waiting by the door. She wrung her hands together as she stood there waiting. She had watched most of it and had been relieved that no one got hurt and it went by smoothly. She had been prepared to run and intervene if possible. No matter what went on...Lucius always listened to her.

Remus waited until the Malfoys were together and in the home before he joined them, though a deep part of him wondered if he should remain after that episode. Awkward, yes, but at the same time... they needed someone from the outside to speak to them, very likely. Out here, he doubted they had any idea of what was going on. He tried to remember how old Draco was now - seventeen, if he was right, probably getting closer to eighteen. Had the boy learned to Apparate, or was Narcissa the one going out for supplies? Or perhaps they had House Elves with them.

Over all, none of it meant it could have proper contact with the outside world. Draco needed more than this, that much he was certain of, and Lucius clearly needed help. Badly. Yet he doubted very much that the man would want to be seen at St. Mungo's, and for all of their general neutrality, he would be worried bout the treatment there. Not a fair thought perhaps, but he wasn't a fool to think it might not be true.

Though, he knew someone who very well might be called on to help... hmm.

Normally he would have offered to help deal with getting dinner set on the table, but right now, he wasn't sure where he would be needed or how they were even handling things themselves. He watched closely as Narcissa quietly told Draco to help his father to the dinner table, looking out once behind him before he shut the door.

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I might be off on the age thing...

close enough

Re: close enough

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