Sour Grapes

Chapter 40 - Father and Son

A/N: Welcome back to FINALE WEEK! Here is the chapter I have been waiting so long to share. We're almost done * tear *

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"Ah, Draco... so good of you to join us."

At the sound of his father's voice, Draco darted to the side of the door he'd just swung open.

He missed a hex by mere inches as he did so, and then threw a powerful shield charm in front of him which thwarted the other spells his father flung his way. The charm itself, however, gave away his new location and he noticed his mistake too late. It broke after a few different assaults and a hex got through and hit him in the chest.

His dragon hide armor had held true, and yet the force of the spell still stung, causing him to bend forward with the wind knocked out of him.

After a moment, he forced himself to look up. His face went white and he couldn't discern whether the pain in his heart was from the hex, or from the sight that met his eyes.

There was his father, standing behind Hermione who was slumped forward in a chair, bound, gagged, and unconscious. They were indeed in a seventh-floor corridor, and Potter was nowhere to be seen. For good measure, his father gripped Hermione around the neck in a choke hold.

"Come out from under that silly cape. I wish to speak to you and it is somewhat of an urgent matter."

His father's cool silky voice ran through him like shockwaves. He stared at Hermione's unconscious figure a beat too long, his tired eyes feasting on her features. Even unconscious, she looked like an angel.

Shaking himself, he remembered where he was and removed the cloak, tossing it to the side.

"Hello, Father," he said, mustering all the confidence he could.

"Hello, Draco."

"Not meeting Potter in secret then?"

"No, unfortunately I had to cancel that meeting. You see, Potter intended it to be a trap. Imagine my disappointment when I realized you were also a part of that plan."

"How did you-"

"It is none of your concern how I deconstructed Potter's little plot, Draco."

"Where is he now?"

Lucius raised his eyebrows. "Perhaps I should have bound him instead of Miss Granger here? Am I to also discover that you prefer the company of-"

"What do you want, Father?!"

A smirk crossed the man's face and Draco saw him tighten his hold around Hermione's neck. He forced himself to look away from her and focus on his father.

"So many demanding questions, Son. I would think you'd know better than to allow emotion to take over at a time like this."

Draco felt hot anger surge up into his throat. "Stop with the fucking mind games and tell me what you want."

"Very well," Lucius said casually, "but only because I do not wish to be in such close proximity to this filth for longer than necessary." He'd shaken Hermione when he'd said the word "filth" and Draco had to use all of his restraint not to run forward.

"I am here to put an end to your childish belief that you could possibly work against me, Draco."

"How do you propose to do that?"