𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓

Chapter 20

Previously...

After confessing the secrets of his past, Harry seemed to be getting better. Or so it seemed. Zach made his feelings known after Harry accidentally got a date to the dance via Draco's interference, then revealed a surprising secret about himself. Later, Harry finally worked up the strength to remove Cedric from his life permanently, leaving Draco unsure of what to do now that his feelings had become less than ignorable.

Mother Knows Best

Chapter Twenty

Anything But the Truth

Arriving home Thanksgiving day, the first thing Draco saw was his mother waiting for him at the gate, an irritated expression plastered on her beautiful face like cheap moisturizer, which was a bad sign if he'd ever seen one. Following the example of Paul Revere, she felt a fair warning was in order, which was that Lucius had invited a couple of guests to stay with them over the holidays. In Draco's mind, this was translated to: Lucius would be working through the holidays but didn't want the press to catch wind of him being anything but a family-man.

Typical.

What wasn't so typical was the chaos that had descended over Malfoy Manor. The entry hall had turned into a bustling freeway, people absolutely everywhere, coming and going in disorganized lanes of traffic, each one hurrying to do something or carrying armfuls of things like filing boxes and bulky packages. In a way that made Draco think of worker ants, strangers were rushing about in every direction, bumping into each other and swifty apologizing before continuing on their way. The Manor's servants were just as flustered, maids carrying fresh towels and sheets upstairs, which Draco assumed was to prepare the guestrooms for whomever was staying.

On their way to the front parlor for the quasi-traditional, homecoming how-have-you-been between father and son, Narcissa deigned to explain the situation further. Between listening to his mother venting her frustrations to him as if he were one of her chatty girlfriends, Draco used the time it took to maze their way toward their destination to mentally prepare himself for whatever confrontation he was about to have with Lucius and privately marvel over the fact that he used to look forward to seeing his father after these months away from home.

"She may be my sister, and I love her for it -honestly, I do- but after Rodolphus passed away and that man proposed to her..." Narcissa trailed off with a sigh, handing her coat to Draco to hang in the entry hall closet and dodging someone balancing an armful of boxes so high his face was completely out of sight. She gave Draco a pointed look. "She seems a few cards short of a full deck, if you know what I mean."

Personally, Draco thought Aunt Bella was crazy far before Uncle Rodolphus died. As far back as he could remember, the woman had always seemed a little off-kilter, what with her jack-in-the-box temper that was only surpassed by a sadistic streak a mile wide.

Nobody dreaded visits from Aunt Bella like the Manor's servants, however, and Draco really couldn't blame them. She'd trip them in the corredors for no reason at all, among several other unnecessary cruelties. Once, a maid was helping her into a new dress that refused to zip up past her waist and then made the mistake of suggesting letting the seams out a little so it would fit. Bella had made her cry, threw a lamp at her, then had her fired. It was something Draco thought was kind of funny when he was little, but had since become one of the reasons he was so cautious around her now.

The other reason came after Bella's first husband's funeral, when her occasional visits turned into a three-month stay, a whole quarter of a year. About a month in, she purchased a new wardrobe in all black. She was in deep mourning of the loss of her dearly beloved, she explained, then bragged about how she'd used his life insurance check to buy it. That, a new car, and a new house. It was like she was trying to get even with the dead man for a reason only she knew.