thattimeofthemonth | Open RP Post

Instinctively, Lucius stepped in front of his family at the warning his wife gave him. He held his wand up and summoned a shield charm for around them. If anything it would by them time. His eyes never left the dementor knowing that there would be more now they found their prey.

Draco did his best to try and focus on happier memories knowing the stronger they were the better the Patronus charm would be. It was extremely hard to focus when he was terrified beyond belief.

Draco managed to do a sliver of a Patronus as another one came swooping down on them. He kept trying again and again not wanting to give up knowing it was important.

"No you don't," Remus rumbled low, his eyes narrowing as more swept in. There had been a time when the Marauders had been his happy memory - their friendship, their family they had been. Now, he had something far more powerful. The moment Teddy had been put into his arms, crying and wet and beautiful.

He put it all into his thoughts until he cried out in a snap, "Expecto Patronum!" From his wand came the silvery wolf in full leap, landing first on the ground then leaping into the air after the dementors, silently snarling as it defended the four wizards.

At the same time Draco managed to conjure up a full Patronus in the form of a fox. It's silvery form following the wolf as it chased after the dementors. He had used the times before the Dark Lord had resurfaced and things had been safe and sound. His family had been happy then and thats what he had yearned for the most.

Seeing the fully conjured Patronus made Lucius even more proud of his son. He would have to compliment him later. For now he was putting up various shield charms trying to help give Remus and his son more time to ward the dementors off. Always he stayed in front of his family even if Draco could do the Patronus charm.

"Two more to your left, Remus," Lucius shouted just barely seeing them out of the corner of his eye.

Seemed the boy had grown in power since they'd last met! Good because it was far easier with two than one. At Lucius' warning, he whistled loudly and the wolf turned course, all but tackling into one of the monsters.

The other, however, went straight for the family while his patronus was busy. "Draco!" He called out sharply, warning and wanting the boy's patronus to intercept.

"On it!" Draco shouted back as he sent his Patronus to intercept.

Draco had to improve his skills in order to help protect his family. As they could no longer protect him. Oddly he did better out of school then at the school learning everything.

It looked as if there were no more approaching. All three still held their poise unsure if more were going to come. They hoped that was the last of them, but one can never be sure. Even if it weren't the dementors it could be who ever sent them over.

Silence reigned. Between them and the dementors, every living thing for miles was gone or in hiding. Remus breathed out as his Patronus returned to his side, waiting. He saw Draco's slinky through the underbrush, but nothing else moved.

He let out a slow breath. "I think that's it for the moment, but they'll return. Luckily I have a way to trap them, but I don't think anyone was expecting so many. Damn there were at least five of them."

He looked around to the Malfoys. "Everyone unhurt?"

"We're okay...thanks to your warning," Lucius replied. If they hadn't received that warning none of them would have been prepared for the sudden attack.

He then placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and hugged him. "You did well today. I am pleased with how strong you've gotten." Draco returned the hug and was proud of his accomplishment and the compliment his father gave him. The compliment had meant more then anything to him.

Lucius then turned back to Remus. "Do you think they were sent here on purpose or they only gathered because we were the only ones here? And how can we help trap them?"

Sometimes he couldn't understand how a man could love his family so much yet feel so little for others. How he couldn't see how others of any blood could feel the same for theirs. Remus shook his head a little under the guise of wiping his brow, then dismissed his Patronus with a wave of his wand.

"I normally wouldn't impose," he said, waiting until father and son broke apart, "but I'd be grateful if I could spend the night here instead of roughing it. Either way, I can explain about the trapping." It was a lot, asking for shelter from a former enemy and knowing even with the save how Lucius felt about Mudbloods and worse, werewolves.

Also that prank years before didn't help matters.

Lucius looked to Narcissa upon Remus's request. She gave a slight nod. After all, it would be rude to turn away someone who just helped save them. At this point it didn't matter who they were.

"You are welcome to stay for the night," Lucius answered. "It is the least we can do. Narcissa and Draco can take you to inside, while I finish putting up the protection charms."

Things certainly had changed, hadn't they? He could have pointed out a thousand times he would have been dead certain that the Malfoys would have rather burned their house down than let someone of his blood stay in their home, but then again, everything had changed. Absolutely everything. Maybe, in a certain sense, the true death of Voldemort had been enough to finally change Lucius.

Then again he wasn't about to let his guard down completely, either. Really, it had only been the very real fear he had heard in Lucius' voice at the mention the dementors were nearby that had even let him turn his back on the man long enough to fight.

"Thank you," he said honestly, tucking away his wand and shifting the small pack on his back to a more comfortable position. "We've come up with something that can actually capture them, but it's... well, a prototype might be the best word for it."

Perhaps, in the past yes it would have been true. So much had changed that the Malfoys were unsure of where they stood or what to believe in anymore. As much as they hated to admit it Remus was the first person they saw since they went into hiding. He even helped them when he could have turned away.

"We'll be willing to try anything at this point. We really don't need more dementors showing up on our doorstep. It's bad enough we had to leave the Malfoy Mannor temporarily," Lucius commented. "We don't wish to have to find another place."

Narcissa made a motion for Remus to follow her and Draco inside to allow Lucius to do his work. Once inside she showed him into the sitting room and offered him some tea and then went to the kitchen she had been in the middle of preparing their evening meal. She left Draco to entertain Remus in the mean time. The boy eventually had to learn how to entertain guests.

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.

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I might be off on the age thing...

close enough

Re: close enough

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