Drarry One-Shots 2

Sons, Heirs, Lover and More

day 4: „His wife was having tea with the king and he didn't even know about it."

(Drarry, Royal AU)

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As a royal advisor and His Majesty's right hand, Severus had every right to feel disgruntled when the King decided he could very easily ignore his royal duties in favour of scheming. As if keeping up with the brewing royal scandal and filing the growing number of complaints of merchants who were too petty to handle their disputes on their own wasn't enough, Severus was now obligated to personally deal with their loving populace, and it was all because Narcissa didn't know how to properly raise an heir to the throne.

Which sounded harsh, when he thought about it, but it was plainly the truth. Had Lucius not allowed his wife to coddle and spoil their only son, Severus wouldn't be dealing with such annoyances as textile pattern plagiarism and cabbage sabotage. If Draco was a proper heir, he would know better than to get himself involved with the son of one of the local Lords. He would know better than to get involved with the son of that boring, unambitious outlier of a Lord. He would know better than to fall in love at all! (And wasn't that a scary thought – Draco actually falling in love with that brat!)

Severus knew that his own childhood resentment of Lord Potter gave him an unmistakable bias when it came to Draco's current bed partner, but there was no denying that finding interest in Princess Delacour would have been better for his future (and for the blood pressure of everyone in the King's inner circle).

On any normal day, Severus would try to dismiss the whole ordeal, push his thoughts on the mess to gather at a later date. However, his hiding place (one of the empty offices in the west wing of the palace) had a wonderful view of the main street currently hosting an unmistakable head of black straw Lor Potter liked to call hair. Severus stared at Potter the senior, with a familiar bout on envy. (He'd got better at it in the last couple of years since Potter was just a Lord now and Severus was the once acting as the right hand of the king, but it still existed within him, buried deep.)

He couldn't help but feel envious. Especially at that moment. Potter's obliviousness of his son's role in the newest court drama was definitely something to be envied. Everyone who knew about Draco's affair knew that Potter didn't know shit. And they all envied him. It was simpler that way.

His wife knew, though. (Wonderful) Lady Lily with her fiery auburn hair and an even more fiery personality. Everyone knew who wore trousers in that relationship (even if Potter liked to pretend otherwise). Severus scoffed at that thought and wished again for Potter's lack of information. His wife was having tea with the King and he didn't even know it.

Lucky bastard.

-

If his wife knew Lucius was playing with their son's life as if it was petty entertainment, she would cuff him across the back of the head as if he was an unruly child. However, it really was for Draco's own good that this scandal was averted before it even spread away from the sturdy confines of the private parts of the castle.

The private areas could barely be described as belonging to the castle at all as they were in a whole separate building on the other side of the courtyard and were used sparingly. (Such occasions usually included Lucius displeasing his Queen in an overly annoying manner, or Draco finding the company of his parents frankly revolting – mostly because he couldn't retaliate against their familial displays of affection with anything more useful than a barely voiced disagreement.)

Their privacy, and nearly guaranteed emptiness, made them perfect for scheming (or matchmaking if one wanted to be technical) with the lovely Lady Potter who'd been the one to dare ask the King to host her and "resolve this incidental ridiculousness". Lucius never would have guessed that she held a mischievous streak – especially with how she handles her husband's acts of tomfoolery, but it seemed that this kind of mischief was something universally shared by parents in these situations.

"So, we agree that they are not to be separated?", she asked in a tone that Narcissa absolutely adored. Lucius could do nothing except nod seriously.

"It would be a grave mistake, I believe. They would either go to further lengths to meet and risk exposing the entire affair to the public or simply run away. I know my son and both of those would be very unfortunate endings."

"Yes, Harry would definitely indulge Draco's whims in this," Lady Potter nodded, taking a sip of her tea. "He's rather like his father in his recklessness and impulsivity. There is no curing that trait, I'm afraid."

Lucius simply hummed and poured himself more tea. He must look strange – pouring his tea while trying carefully to avoid his crown slopping and disturbing the table decor.

"Should we do anything? Or facilitate further interaction?" Lady Potter inquired carefully. "I would not wish to encourage something that is bound to break soon enough, but if they are inclined to continue this behaviour indefinitely, perhaps we should make the difficulty of their relationship easier? I do hate to see my son pining away."

Lucius considered it while thoughtfully stirring sugar into his tea. Lady Potter had left her empty cup alone and most likely anticipating a swift end to their meeting.

"Draco could benefit from learning alongside your son," he finally said. "His diplomacy is abysmal and spending some time with people who would not let him get away with mediocrity in his studies would greatly improve his skills. You said you had foreign tutors?"

"Yes," Lady Potter confirmed. "The local ones rarely have enough practical experience in the subject they teach, if at all."

"I found that to be the case as well," Lucius said and then drank his tea in one go. "Would it be suspicious to put them together in this way? We are trying to avoid a scandal after all."

"I don't believe so. James's standing is solid and high enough it would be as if you'd left your heir with the peasants but also, it would be easy to make it look like it is good for the future of the kingdom. Draco's expanding experience with the citizens of his country could make him seem like a better king in the long run."

"That is true. We are in agreement then." Lucius stood and motioned to Lady Potter to follow his out. They didn't speak as they walked towards the front door but there was an air of satisfaction around them which they gladly shared.

Just as he moved to open the door to let her through (she was a lady, despite him being the king), the doors burst open and would have hit him in the leg if he hadn't moved at the last second.

Stumbling inside came an intertwined entity of his son as well as Lady Potter's own son. Lucius could only gap as the pair kept kissing and pulling at scarce articles of clothing they still wore, filling the hallway with moaning and low curses and wet, vulgar, somewhat disgusting sound of exchanging saliva.

When the duo disappeared through one of the doors to the left, without ever noticing their parent's shocked expression, Lucius slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and composed himself like he usually did whenever Severus told him about another worthless dispute he's obligated to deal with. He turned to Lady Potter who seemed to be stuck between amusement and disapproval, and then asked lowly: "Shall we?"

He held the still open front door, and with a single glance back at the now occupied house, she walked out in front of him, likely dismissing the image of their sons half-naked just as he had done.