Forever Silver

Forever Silver

The Silver Cycle part 3

By Elf Flame

*6*

The next few days were so busy, that Draco was able to bury himself in preparations for his mother's return, and for Silver's funeral. Snape had insisted that Silver be buried in his own family plot, and Draco had acquiesced, knowing that Silver had been happiest when he had been with Severus. It seemed only right that he would be buried in the Snape family vault. Draco had insisted that a plaque be made for the Malfoy vault to show that he had not been expelled from the family, and perhaps just a bit to infuriate Lucius.

Narcissa was due home any day, and once she arrived, they would have a simple ceremony. Just the three of them, with Mister Threnody acting as their officiant. And after that, things would simply return to the way they had been. Before Draco had ever known he'd had a clone. Before he'd tried to seduce his former professor. Before he'd known what sleeping with Severus was like.

Draco spent the mornings sleeping as long as possible, trying to forget, and the afternoons speaking with Severus, Mister Threnody and Daniel about one thing or another, until there simply wasn't anything left to discuss. When Narcissa arrived, smiling sweetly and bringing gifts, it was all Draco could do not to collapse on the spot and begin to tell her everything that had happened. He smiled as widely as possible, and told her to go relax, and he'd have the house-elves bring up some tea, so they could discuss everything in comfort. He could see the curiosity in her eyes, but she agreed, and disappeared upstairs.

Several minutes later, he knocked on her door, paperwork in hand. This wouldn't be easy, but she was the only other person who deserved the full story. Narcissa greeted him with a smile and a kiss, and they sat together on the couch as Draco tried to find a way to explain to his mother exactly what her husband had done.

"So, Draco, what was that all about? Is everything okay? Lucius is back in Azkaban, right?"

"Yes, mother. They sent him up there immediately after Snape and I gave our statements. But there are some things you should know. Father...Well, he broke some rather unusual laws."

Narcissa gazed at him for a moment. "Like what, darling?"

Draco took a deep breath before meeting her eyes. "He made a clone, mother."

Narcissa's eyes went wide. "A clone? But isn't that awfully dangerous? I thought most clones never made it past the cellular stage before they began to experience deformities. And most die before they look anything like human."

Draco swallowed. "Yes, well, however he did it, father managed." He tried to continue, but the words seemed to stick in his throat.

"Who was it that he cloned, Draco? Was he trying to bring back Voldemort again?"

Draco snorted. "I wish. That would have been easier to deal with. No," he sighed, "he cloned me."

Narcissa laughed, then stilled, seeing the look on her son's face. "Darling, why on Earth would he do such a thing? Was he ensuring the line would survive? He did have doubts about you when you were quite small; that you might not make it through your childhood illnesses..."

"No, it was nothing like that, mother." Draco forced himself to meet her gaze as he told her. "He wanted me."

Her brows drew together. "You are his son. He already had you, Draco."

Draco's lips twisted in a sneer. "Not the way he wanted, mother."

"I don't understand. What did he want that a clone could provide that you could not, Draco?"

Draco swallowed heavily before answering. "Sex." Narcissa's eyes widened, but before she could respond, Draco continued. "He made himself a little sex slave, mother. With my face."

Narcissa looked at him, horrified. "When?"

"I'm not sure, but before I was eight. At least, I'm fairly sure of that. There was someone... Never mind. Father used him, and shared him with men he was trying to win over to his side politically."

Narcissa shook her head. "Surely I would have found out about him at some point..."

Draco snorted. "No, father was very careful. The men all thought they were sleeping with me," he sneered.

"Oh, Draco..." Narcissa looked horrified, flustered and unsure of herself, all emotions Draco had never seen her experience before.

"It's alright...Well, it's not alright, but it's dealt with. Daniel and I have filed paperwork so that Silver's been officially registered as my twin."

"Silver?"

"Yes, Professor Snape named him Silver. He's been taking care of Silver since father was arrested and sent to Azkaban."

"That was kind of Professor Snape," Narcissa said cautiously, and Draco could see that she wasn't precisely pleased with the idea that Draco's former head-of-house was involved in all this.

"Mother, I do wish you'd let go of your dislike of him. He's a good man. It's not his fault that father..." He trailed off, unsure of how to phrase it.

"That Lucius was a bastard, Draco?" Those soft grey eyes were watching him carefully now. Draco nodded. "How long have you felt that way about him, love?"

This took Draco by surprise. "What?"

"Draco, I lived with your father for nearly twenty years before he was sent to Azkaban. I recognize the look on your face, because Lucius always looked much the same way before Snape would come to visit for the weekend." She frowned at the memory, then her look changed as she met Draco's eyes. "If you care for him..."

Draco sighed. "I wish it were that simple, mother. He and Silver were lovers."

Narcissa drew in a sharp breath. "Were, Draco?"

Draco closed his eyes. He'd forgotten that he hadn't told her the whole story yet. "Silver was the one father killed, mother."

Emotions flitted across Narcissa's face in rapid succession then. Surprise, anger, pain and horror. "I...I had wondered why you were being so cagey about keeping him out of my sight. I simply figured he was still at Snape Manor..." She drew in a deep breath. "Damn Lucius anyway." Her eyes closed, and Draco watched as a tear trickled from her eye and down her cheek.

"Mother?"

Narcissa shook her head softly. "I apologize, Draco. I'd thought for a moment..." she took a deep breath, and looked up again, her face composed. "So, when is the funeral?"

<*^*>

The funeral was held on a foggy late-August morning. Snape was utterly silent through the entire ceremony, and it was all Draco could do to keep himself from moving to his side and holding him, or possibly shaking him out of his misery. He wasn't sure which. Narcissa had worn all black, and sniffed daintily into a handkerchief as Mister Threnody intoned the words of the spell that would place Silver's casket next to the empty place that would one day house Severus Snape's body.

Before the funeral, Narcissa had insisted upon seeing Silver's face at least once, and Draco had acquiesced. Mister Threnody had led them to the crypt where he stored bodies before they were entombed, and she had insisted upon being left with the body alone. Draco had been unsure of this, but had left the room, waiting nervously for her to reappear. When she did, she was composed but quiet, and for the first time since Draco had first left for Hogwarts, she had pulled her son into her arms and simply held him.

"I'm so sorry, Draco," she said when she finally pulled away. "I feel as though I failed you somehow."

"Nonsense, mother," Draco said, patting her hand. "You had no way of knowing. What's done is done. And I will make sure that father's unable to hurt anyone ever again."

Narcissa smiled sadly. "Such a good man. How did you grow up so well, Draco? It obviously had nothing to do with Lucius..."

Draco had smiled at the complement. "I had help," he said, thinking of a stern face and dark eyes.

Now, as he watched Silver's cask disappear, he wondered if any of them would be able to recover from knowing Silver. Too short a life, and unknown to them until it was too late to save him.

Narcissa sniffled once more as Mister Threnody completed the finished the chant that had placed Silver in his final resting place. Draco took a deep breath and took her hand gently, rubbing it in small circles as she gathered herself back together.

She turned to him as Mister Threnody left. "Go to him, Draco. He's in such pain. I never liked him, but that was because he always had more of your father's attention than I did. If you see something in him that you could come to care for, you should nurture that."

Draco shot a glance at the stiff-backed form still standing over the crypt where Silver now lay. "He doesn't want me right now, mother. Perhaps someday, but right now..." Draco sighed. "It's better if I just leave him alone for now."

The two remaining Malfoys left quietly, leaving Snape to his quiet mourning.

<*^*>

The trial of Lucius Malfoy lasted only a week. After all, they'd already convicted him of his Death Eater dealings, so all that remained were murder charges, and new charges on illegal use of magic. Thanks to Potter, only the Wizengamot and his father's Advocate had any idea what those charges fully entailed. And the press had been more than pleased with the story that Lucius Malfoy had wiped his wife's memory of her second son, then proceeded to use him for his salacious lusts for over a decade and a half. Draco winced at each new headline, but it was better that they not know what had truly happened. And a few more prominent officials had suddenly left their positions in the government and disappeared into the countryside, or to the continent, obviously concerned that their part in Silver's treatment might come out.

The Wizarding community at large seemed quite sympathetic to Draco and Narcissa, and they were flooded with owls each day. most expressed the condolences over the loss of Silver, but an occasional accusation that they had abetted Lucius's misuse of Silver, and assuring them that they would pay for what had happened to Silver. After the second howler had exploded over their breakfast table, Draco had taken steps to ensure that his mother would be unmolested by the cranks who wrote them.

Draco made a point to attend each and every session of the trial, though he declined to make a statement to the Wizengamot, insisting that his written statement would be enough.

Snape, too, came to each session, sitting across the courtroom from Draco, his eyes never once straying from the scraggly, greying man in the centre of the room. After the first session, Draco had tried to approach him, but Snape had simply moved past him as though he had not seen him at all, and after that had happened a second time, Draco had desisted in trying to speak to the man. Angry and hurt, he could only assume that Snape wanted nothing more to do with him.

On the day Lucius was sentenced to another fifty years each for each of the charges, Draco decided to approach his father one last time. Perhaps he could never have Snape, but he could certainly tell his father exactly what he thought of him.

The Wizengamot filed out of the room, followed by the spectators, and Draco made his way to the floor just as Lucius was released from the chair by his guards.

"Father."

Shuttered grey eyes shot up and met his. "Draco. Here to say good bye?" he sneered in a hollow voice.

"More like good riddance. Silver might be gone, but he's more a part of the family than you ever will be again."

Lucius's eyes narrowed. "Impossible. The boy's dead. He's nothing any more."

"On the contrary. He's my brother. And he has a place in the Malfoy crypt." He wasn't about to explain that he wasn't buried there. It was enough for Lucius to believe he was. As Lucius spluttered at this, Draco continued. "And be assured, father. You never will be. I've already filled out the paperwork that ensures that when you die, you will be disposed of by the Azkaban guards. I want you nowhere near me or mother ever again. Even in death."

All the remaining colour drained from Lucius's face, until it was only shades of grey. "You can't do that."

"I can, and I did, father. Enjoy your home in Azkaban. It's all you have left." And with that, Draco turned and left the room, not seeing his father's face collapse, or his pained moan.