A Family Affair

By breakfast time on Monday morning, the conspicuous absence of one Draco Malfoy was the hot topic of gossip at Hogwarts. Rumours abounded as to what fate might have befallen the boy. Rumour also suggested that the reason that Headmaster Dumbledore was not present at breakfast that morning was because he was having a rather tense meeting with Draco's father.

Professor Snape was in an especially sour mood that Monday morning, handing out detentions and taking away house points even more freely than usual. One poor Hufflepuff girl was reduced to tears when she lost five points for 'masticating too loudly'. Ron Weasley thought that encounter quite funny until he became the object of Snape's ire a few moments later.

"Mr. Weasley, ten points from Gryffindor for your complete lack of social grace," Snape snapped at the boy, who had been talking with his mouth full. Beside Ron, Hermione burst into a rather uncharacteristic fit of giggles, managing to choke out "Serves you right, Ron Weasley" in spite of her laughter.

"Miss Granger," Snape said, turning his cold black eyes on the girl, "If you cannot show more maturity, it will be another ten points from Gryffindor. I expected better from you."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Hermione replied, managing to control her mirth and look contrite until Snape had disappeared out of the Great Hall, robes and cloak swirling angrily about him.

"So, what do you suppose really happened to Malfoy?" Harry asked his friends, trying to distract Ron from his furor over losing house points.

"He's probably off torturing Muggles with the other Death Eaters," Ron retorted sharply.

"Maybe someone finally had enough and threw a killing curse at him," Seamus added hopefully.

"Or fed him to one of Hagrid's beasts," Ron offered, grinning.

"Or to the giant squid," Harry said with a smile.

"Oh, honestly! Will all of you just shut up? For all any of you know, something horrible really did happen to Malfoy. He might even be dead."

"Nah, we'd never get that lucky," Ron opined.

"How can you say such a thing? What is the matter with you, with all of you? Draco Malfoy might be an insufferable git, but he is still a human being, with thoughts and feelings and fears and..." Hermione choked back a sudden torrent of tears and dashed out of the Great Hall.

"What do suppose got into her?" Harry asked.

"Female hormones," Ron concluded. "My brother Charlie says there's nothing more dangerous."

*********

True to the circulating rumours, Headmaster Dumbledore was indeed in the middle of a meeting with Lucius Malfoy. The elder Malfoy had come barging into Dumbledore's office that morning, opening the door with enough force that it bounced off the wall, rattling the photographs and paintings hanging in the office.

"Where is my son?" Lucius howled.

"Lucius," the Headmaster greeted him politely. "I was hoping you could tell me where Draco has gone off to."

"He was in your care, Dumbledore. Why would I know where he is?"

"The letter he left behind implies that he left at your request."

"What letter?" Lucius snarled.

"This one," the old wizard said, handing a sheet of parchment to the other man who was trembling with repressed fury.

Lucius snatched the letter from Dumbledore's outstretched hand with a scowl, holding the older man's gaze for a long moment before dropping his eyes to the parchment before him.

"One of Draco's classmates -Miss Parkinson-- received that letter yesterday morning. She confirmed that it was in fact delivered by Draco's owl."

Confused and frustrated but unwilling to let it show, Lucius schooled his features into a mask of contempt as his cold grey eyes wandered again over the familiar precise loops and lines of his son's handwriting.

Dearest Pansy,

I'm certain that by this time the entirety of Hogwarts is in an uproar at my sudden disappearance I can just imagine how concerned you must be. I wanted to set your mind at ease, and also to apologize - for my unexpected departure, and also because I shan't be able to see you for some time, as I will not be returning to school. I have been called away on an extremely urgent bit of family business - I'm certain you understand how important that is.

Know that I shall miss you, Pansy. Think of me fondly and often.

Ever yours,

Draco

"I should like to speak with Miss Parkinson, at once," Lucius growled.

"Yes, of course, Lucius. I expected that you would. I have asked Minerva to escort her here."

The Headmaster smiled slightly at a gentle but firm knock on the door.

"Ah! There they are now." Raising his voice enough to be heard through the thick door, he called "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Professor McGonagall and a rather red-eyed teenaged girl who Lucius immediately recognized as being the daughter of one of his closest cohorts.

"Miss Parkinson," he greeted smoothly, all traces of ire gone in an instant, his lips turning up ever so slightly at the corners.

"Mister Malfoy," she returned the greeting and flashed him her most charming smile.

Rising from behind his desk, Dumbledore smiled at the girl. "Good morning, Miss Parkinson. Lucius, I'll leave you two to talk."

Gently grasping McGonagall's elbow, he steered the woman out of his office.

"You wanted to speak with me, Mister Malfoy?"

"I need to know about this letter, Pansy," he said, his eyes hard, but his voice still politely calm and level.

"Wh..what about it, sir?" the girl asked, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Did you, as the Headmaster says, receive this letter from Draco's owl yesterday morning?"

"Yes, sir. It was Magnus who brought the letter. Is something wrong?"

Magnus, Lucius knew, was what Draco had christened his eagle owl. The handwriting was Draco's, the language sounded like Draco, the letter had been delivered by the boy's owl...the only thing that didn't add up was the message itself. Family business, indeed.

"Did Draco say anything else to you about his leaving? Or about the family business which he speaks of in this letter?"

"No, sir. Mister Malfoy?"

The girl was looking quite alarmed now. Lucius graced her with a gentle smile. He leaned very close to her and whispered, "Can't be too careful where the family business is concerned, you know." Let her think he was only here for appearances; better that than to have the girl spreading stories and speculating on the true nature of Draco's mysterious absence.

Straightening, he smiled at the girl again. It was, he knew, the same smile that his son had charmed the girl with on innumerous occasions. "Thank you very much, Miss Parkinson, for your help. Give my regards to your father."

The girl gave him a dazzling, coquettish smile. "It was good to see you again, Mister Malfoy," she said simply before turning to leave the room.

The little vixen would be quite a woman in a few more years, Lucius realized. There was no time for pleasant musings, however. He had to think. That letter from Draco was damning, at best.

Family business. Everyone who suspected the Malfoy's allegiance to Lord Voldemort would read that as 'Death Eater business.' They would assume that the boy was called away by his father for who-knows-what to do with You-know-who. They would believe that his presence here in Dumbledore's office was a ruse to deflect that suspicion and to see the Headmaster disgraced and removed from the school. Lovely.

Where had the boy gone? Where, and why? Lucius certainly hadn't summoned him, although he would have done so in just a few more days. Why would Draco have left the school? Lucius had the wild urge to hex everyone in the castle until he found the answers he needed.

Given the circumstances, he knew the answers he sought were not going to be found inside of Hogwarts. At least they wouldn't be found there without either Veritaserum of a few well placed Unforgivable Curses.

Swearing loudly, Lucius swept out of the Headmaster's office, cloak billowing behind him, and headed toward the entrance of the castle. Rounding a corner, he slammed into a student, sending the boy flying. He snarled at the unfortunate student, but his stride never slowed.

In his wake, a perplexed and rather frightened young man picked himself up off the floor, unconsciously rubbing the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead as he watched Lucius Malfoy storm out of Hogwarts Castle.

*********

Harry burst through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room with his heart pounding in his chest. He scanned the room quickly, searching for his friends.

Ron had gone to look for Hermione after breakfast, and Harry didn't expect to find either of them in the common room. To his relief, however, they were sitting on the cranberry coloured sofa, talking quietly. No one else was in the common room, as the first class of the day had already started.

Hermione and Ron looked up as Harry entered the common room, his face flushed and his hair more wild than usual.

"Harry, are you all right?" Hermione asked, concern flashing in her eyes.

"I'm fine," Harry panted. "Lucius Malfoy was here."

"So that rumour was true at least," Ron mused.

"He knocked me flat on my arse."

"What?" Hermione cried, jumping up to inspect her friend for injuries. "He hit you? Harry, are you sure you're all right?"

Harry's lips quirked up in a bemused smirk. "I'm fine, honest. He didn't hit me. He knocked me down."

He grinned a little more at Hermione's puzzled expression, relaxing now that he was nowhere near the elder Malfoy. "He rounded a corner and plowed right into me. He didn't realize who I was, I'm certain of it. I've never seen anyone so angry in my entire life - not even Uncle Vernon when Dudley encountered Fred and George's ton-tongue toffee."

"If he was that angry, Harry, it's a good thing he didn't realize you were there. No telling what he would have done," Ron said.

"I suppose that this discounts your 'Death Eater' theory about Malfoy's disappearance, doesn't it, Ron?" Hermione asked, a bit of scorn evident in her voice.

Ron thought for a moment. "I suppose it isn't likely, at that. Unless of course, Malfoy's dad is trying to cover the whole thing up, gain sympathy, and get Dumbledore sacked all in one."

"That's possible," Harry said. "But like you said, not likely. At least I don't think so. I think there's something else going on here."

"Harry, we are not getting involved in this," Hermione warned, more than a little worried by the determined gleam in Harry's eyes.

"She's right, Harry. We - especially you - have enough to worry about with going and looking for trouble. You'd think we would have learned that much by now. Besides, it's only Malfoy, after all."

Harry's demeanor relaxed slightly, sighing. "You're right. Dumbledore knows what he's about, and I should just leave this to him. I know that's what he would want me to do." He smiled at his friends. "But," he continued, "let's keep our eyes and ears open, just in case."

*********

Sirius and Remus saw no more of Draco after the hair-dying ordeal. The boy crawled into his massive bed, drew the curtains, and spent the remainder of the day hiding there.

Early Monday morning, however, Draco appeared downstairs, drawn by the appealing aroma of espresso and frying bacon. He was self-consciously smoothing the raven locks hanging in satiny sheets on either side of his face as he entered the sunny little kitchen. The boy watched, amused, as Sirius not-entirely-playfully swatted Remus' hand for trying to steal a rasher of bacon from the serving plate beside the stove. "Be patient, damn you," he said.

Remus simply smiled, and stepped away. He brandished his wand, and quietly spoke the words 'Accio bacon'. Draco laughed aloud at the look on Sirius' face as a rasher of bacon flew from the serving plate to Remus' outstretched hand.

Sirius smiled at the boy before turning his attention back to the meal he was preparing. "Good morning, Michael," he greeted.

"Good morning, Sirius," he returned, moving to pour himself a cup of coffee.

"Sleep well?" Remus asked cordially between bites of bacon.

"Actually, no," Draco replied with a shrug. "I'm used to not sleeping well, though."

"Here," Sirius said to the boy, handing him the plate of bacon. "Take the coffee pot, while you're at it."

Draco stared at the man as if he had grown a second head, his slight smile transforming into a scowl. Sirius was ordering him -Draco Malfoy! - about as if he were no more than a house-elf, and ordering him to do servant's work at that.

Sensing the boy's surprise and anger, Sirius turned to face Draco, fire in his dark eyes and a sharp comment ready on his lips. Remus stepped forward to lay a hand on his friend's arm, silently commanding Sirius to keep his temper in check.

"Michael," he said, emphasizing the name, "you're not going to have house-elves tending to your every whim any longer. You might as well get used to pitching in. As for you, Sirius, you really should learn some manners. It wouldn't have hurt you to ask him nicely."

Letting his words settle in, Remus moved to help Sirius and Draco with the task of setting the breakfast table in the Muggle way. Keeping the use of magic to a minimum seemed to be especially taxing for Sirius, but Remus found himself rather enjoying doing things 'the hard way'.

As the three men settled around the kitchen table for breakfast, the tension between Draco and Sirius remained. With an inward sigh, Remus took it upon himself to break the strained silence.

"If you're feeling up to it, I thought we might venture into Muggle London today," he said, addressing his words to Draco who was engaged in a staring match with his plate of eggs, toast, and bacon. At the words 'Muggle London' the boy lifted his gaze to meet Remus'. Draco's grey eyes were shining with excitement, but he offered no other evidence that he was at all interested in what Remus was saying. "I know you said you didn't sleep well last night," the man continued, "so if you're too tired we can wait until another day."

"No," the boy replied, a little too enthusiastically. "We can go today if you like."

Remus smiled to himself. "That's settled then. We can head out right after breakfast."