Pureblood, Halfbreed

Pureblood, Halfbreed

Chapter 2.

Draco stared at the eagle owl perched on the balcony of his mothers' house. The owl stared back, eyes closed against the sunlight flooding the Loire valley. He could see muggle constructions arcing across the valley in the distance; the distant whine of their vehicles the only noise breaking the silence. He looked back at the letter in his hand.

Draco, ...have enrolled your sister in Hogwarts... trust you will uphold your duties as the elder brother...teach her to behave as a Malfoy should...regards, Your Father

Draco felt the urge to step to the balcony and throw himself down into the valley. How could he? Not a word of explanation, no apologies. No denial. He crumpled the letter in his fist and walked back through the house. His mother was reading on the veranda at the back of the house, a parasol hovering over her and an ice bucket with a bottle of white wine at her elbow. Letters and papers were spread around her and a pair of Transcribing Quills danced across rolls of parchment. A small bespectacled man who bore a startling resemblance to a carrion crow was writing Narcissa's instructions in a notebook as Draco approached.

"...jointly held. There will be a hunting party returning from Mongolia, arriving into Vladivostok in approximately two weeks. They will have items of a delicate nature and I want those items retrieved and the hunters liquidated before they reach the city. Continuing east, my position in the South Americas is solid but I need to move swiftly in the Colonies; I think MacNair fled to Quebec, I want my interests there wound up and liquidated, repatriate the gold to Gringotts in Philadelphia... Draco, darling!"

His mother held out her hand and he leant over and kissed it.

"Sit down, I shall not be a moment."

Draco lifted a set of accounts carefully to the ground and sat on the lawn chair underneath them as his mother continued.

"Lastly, I want Corsairs Point; tell Santiago in Los Angeles that if he refuses to back my claim to sole ownership I shall release his letters, the ones about the white rose. Speed is of the essence, you understand."

"Of course, Mrs. Malfoy."

"Report back to me as soon as possible."

"Yes, Mrs. Malfoy." The small man bowed and, producing a wand, dissapparated with a sharp snap.

"Draco!"

His mothers eyes were a little red and there were dark lines beneath them, a shocking break from her normal flawless appearance. She gazed at him with concern.

"You look tired. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing, mother. Well, my sister. My half-sister."

"Ah. Yes, I understand, it must be confusing. She is your sister you know."

"I know." He held up the letter. "Father wrote."

Narcissa's eyebrow rose.

"What does he have to say?"

"He has enrolled her in Hogwarts and asks me to teach her to behave as she should."

"This is your duty."

"But... she is a... I don't know what she is! She is not human, and she behaves like a damn muggle! She had no idea how to act properly! She runs around half-naked and talks the most idiotic nonsense..."

Narcissa held up her hand.

"Nevertheless, she is a Malfoy, as am I, as are you. Your father may have betrayed his wife and his blood but the girl herself must be taught what it means to be a Malfoy, and the duties and privileges that brings. Especially now the Dark Lord has been destroyed, we will be assailed from all sides."

Draco bit back his anger.

"She drops out of the sky, and on top of everything else, I have to embrace her as my sister and train her."

"Familial duty, Draco."

"What about you, how can you leave now? The Ministry is circling like a vulture and Dumbledore and his running dogs are breathing down fathers neck."

Narcissa looked away. After a moment she took a sip from her wineglass and stared into the trees as she spoke.

"Your father may have been the one to stand by the Dark Lords side, but I was the one who made sure he had anything to offer. Everything I had I dedicated to the power and honour of the Malfoy name and now I find that Lucius defiled it sixteen years ago and my life has been a lie?"

She turned back to her son. Tears streaked down her cheeks, but her voice was steady, and venomous, as she spoke.

"I asked one thing of you father, one thing, when I married him. I knew the climb to power would require sacrifices and that the risk of failure would be death, or worse. I backed him to the hilt, supported him even through the darkest days when you were still a baby, and all I asked was that he never lie to me. I am pureblood as are you, my son. I knew Lucius Malfoy had the drive and talent to be great and I stood by him, as a faithful wife should. I would have forgiven him his dalliance to, had he come to me. But he did not. He hid his sin and he lied to me for sixteen years. He promised me one thing and he betrayed me."

She sighed and took another sip, then continued more calmly.

"We have few equals among purebloods, and fewer allies. I thought I had one person I could trust in your father. I was wrong. Draco, when you marry, choose more wisely than I did."

Draco got slowly to his feet.

"I shall be returning to the Manor tonight, to go to Hogwarts tomorrow. I shall visit you at Christmas mother, if I may."

"Yes, of course. You are my only son Draco, you are always welcome here."

Draco nodded and turned away. Crossing the lawn he looked back one last time at his mother, sitting in the shade on the lawn. He could not bring himself to tell her that he had come so close to following his father in betraying his blood. Neither of them knew what they were asking him to do. He felt near despair contemplating a year spent trying to quell his desires. Walking into the cool dark of the chateaux he made a mental note to track down some books, either from here or the manor, he could use to prepare potions and charms to shore up his mental defences. He had the grim feeling he would need everything he might find.