arranged love // drarry

six

The next few days went by in a breeze of loving letters from Harry, a sudden silence from his mother and a lot more visits from his aunt. There was definitely something suspicious going on in the house, Draco could sense it. His aunt never visited unless it was for her own selfish purposes.

And then there were his parents. In all his life, he had never seen such an argument being kindled between his parents. They didn't talk anymore, slept in different rooms and barely talked to Draco as well.

He was really curious about what his father was trying to hide from him but he knew better than to enquire about something he wasn't supposed to know about.

The worst part about all of this was that the person who hogged his thoughts for most of the day was Harry Potter.

Draco woke up and he thought of that beautiful smile. When Draco went through his day doing anything, his mind would be filled with images of blush filled cheeks and pink lips too close to his own. At night, the moon seemed dull in front of the green eyes Draco had encountered only twice but were enough to enchant him in their beauty.

"Draco," Narcissa came to his room a few days later, holding a solemn expression. "Son, I need to talk to you about something important."

"Of course, mum. Come in." He smiled, grateful that his mother was finally talking to him.

She sat next to him on his bed, her eyes hollow and deep bags under her eyes. Draco frowned and held her hand.

"What is it, mum?" He squeezed her hand. She fidgeted in her place, looking uncomfortable for a moment. Her eyes dancing nervously over his room but never meeting his eyes.

"Who gave you those? The flowers." She asked, pointing at the vase full of red roses that sat near his window looking breathtaking against the view of the pale blue sky.

"Harry did," Draco, bless him, blushed darkly. He was certainly fond of those flowers and never forgot to change the water.

She sighed sadly. "Honey, I wanted to talk to you about your father."

Draco nodded encouragingly. "Okay." He said.

"Have you heard of Tom Riddle?" She asked.

"No," Draco bit his lip in thought. That name did seem familiar to him, though.

"He is the owner of Riddle Corp."

"Riddle Corp.? You mean he is the Tom Riddle?" Draco gasped. Narcissa nodded.

Everyone knew who Tom Riddle, owner of Riddle Corp. was. He was a multi-billionaire with millions of employees and firms all over England. He was a ruthless and smart man. His aunt had been a fan of him for as long as he could remember.

"Your father is tying companies with him soon." Narcissa added.

"That's great! The family company will benefit so much from the experience he holds. This is huge!" Draco said in elation.

Although, Narcissa didn't look happy. "Son, Tom Riddle is a cruel man. I'm worried for your father. Riddle can do anything to gain more power. I've heard rumors about his relations with the mafia world."

Draco contemplated this. "I think father must have thought it over before making this decision. Have you talked to him about it?"

"Yes, but he is too blinded by power to look through this rationally."

Draco sighed. That does sound like his father.

"Although, this isn't the only reason why this partnership is happening."

Draco raised his eyebrows at her.

"Don't you think it's aberrant that he would choose our company, a small company, out of all the other better ones?" She leaves closer, conspiratorially.

Draco frowned. "Now that I think about it. There are quite a lot of companies that would be much suitable and profitable for the Riddle Corp. to be associated with, so why Malfoy Corp.?"

"It's because of–"

The knocks on the door interrupted their conversation. Lucius stood in the doorway with a stern expression. "Narcissa. I need to talk to you."

She jumped in her seat, "Lucius–!"

"Now." He said. She swallowed heavily and passed an apologetic gaze at her son. Draco could only stare as they left.

What the hell?