On the Nature of Daylight

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Draco sat glumly at the dining table. His Mother was casting dark glances at him yet still he was unable to make the scowl on his face disappear. Illuminated by the candelabra in front of him, the shadows on his angled features were deep and dark. He felt a small twinge of guilt, knowing that he was not the only one who was sitting here miserably and glanced up to see his Mother's blue eyes slide off of him as she pushed some peas around on her plate.

He looked away quickly and his eyes landed on the empty chair at the head of the table. Normally his Father would be sitting there, sipping a glass of amber whisky or blood red wine to celebrate the evening. This year however, the empty chair only made Draco lose what little appetite he had left. His fork clattered against the dish as he let it fall.

"Draco," His Mother's voice sounded in the same tone she had talked to him with as a child. Draco rolled his eyes and avoided looking at her. Instead he stared blankly down into his plate of barely touched food. "Finish your food."

"I'm not hungry." Draco muttered and reached for the wine goblet in front of him.

"You need to eat, Darling," Narcissa continued.

"I said," Draco paused as the lip of the goblet rested against his lower lip. "I'm not hungry."

"You're looking thin," Narcissa's tone changed. "I'm worried about-"

"I'm not a child anymore, Mother!" He snapped and locked eyes with his Mother.

She jumped in her seat a little at his sudden outburst. Draco felt another twinge of guilt as hurt flashed briefly in her deep blue eyes. He took a long sip of the wine to drown it out.

"Don't pester the boy, Cissy," His Aunt's scratchy voice cut in.

"Don't tell me how to parent my son!" Narcissa retorted, turning towards her older sister.

Bellatrix, her husband Rodolphus, and his brother Rabastan were all guests in the Manor. Or at least, that is what his mother called them. The three escaped convicts were still in hiding from the Ministry and had taken refuge in the Malfoy ancestral home. He had never known his Aunt growing up, but had heard stories of her deeds and the years in Azkaban must have only antagonized her deteriorating mental frame as far as he could tell.

His Father had not been thrilled to offer them quarter, but had done so at his mother bequest. Without Lucius as the main power force in the house though, Bellatrix was pushing her limits and Draco could see then strained tension between his mother and her sister clearly across the table.

"-You've always babied him," Bellatrix's curt voice cut into his thoughts.

"How would you know?" Narcissa muttered darkly. "Not like you've been around."

Bellatrix sat up straighter in her chair. "I was serving the Dark Lord!"

"You were serving a life sentence." Narcissa's mouth barely moved as she uttered the words.

The darker witch's hands slammed down on the table, her charcoal eyes flickering with the reflection of the flames from the hearth.

"I'm not locked up anymore," she hissed. "The Dark Lord freed me, yet..." she leaned forward towards her younger sister. "Your husband is spending Christmas Eve as a feast for the Dementors!"

Narcissa gasped loudly. The air seemed to freeze around the small group of what was left of Draco's family in the oversized ornate room. Bellatrix sneered viciously seeing the hurt on her sister's face.