Gravity

Chapter 26

After what felt like an eternity of anticipation, the date arrived for Draco to visit his father. The appointment was in the afternoon, so Draco went straight from work to the Ministry, where he presented the required paperwork and was shuttled off to the wizarding prison.

Too soon, Draco was ushered into a bare, stone room, where he waited for his father. He almost threw up when they escorted him in. Even in simple prison garb and with his hair shorn, Draco still found him intimidating. Regardless of the circumstances, Lucius still had a superior, aristocratic, fearsome look in his eyes.

"Draco." Lucius' voice was hard as steel and his eyes as cold as ice.

"Hello, Father."

Lucius sat across from Draco, who motioned for the guards to leave. They stared at each other, a battle of wills so to speak, for minutes. Draco finally looked away, unable to stare into the eyes that were so like his own, fear that he would fail Hermione settling into the pit of his stomach.

"What are you doing here?" Lucius asked with a superior drawl

Draco said nothing, still looking away.

"Really, son." The word was spoken as though it was painful to admit. "Why did you come all the way here and interrupt my day, if not to chat?"

The caustic tone of his father's voice did not have its intended effect. Instead of inciting terror, it only reassured Draco that he was, in fact, a very different man than his father, and that he was doing the right thing. He slowly turned back to his father, his eyes hard. "Tell me how my mother died."

Lucius' eyes flashed dangerously. "I believe you already received that information."

Draco scoffed. "You toldme a lie. I know for a fact that she wasn't upset in the least about me turning. She told me she was proud of me. And people don't die because their children turn out differently than they expect."

Lucius leaned forward. "When did you decide I had lied to you?"

"As soon as I finished your letter. Father."

"I had to write something, didn't I?" Lucius shrugged. "My mail was being intercepted. The Dark Lord was not pleased with your defection."

"I couldn't care less," Draco said.

Lucius leaned back and frowned. Then he started picking at his nails. "So. Draco. Rumor has it you've become someone now. Usually it takes months to set up these ... meetings and for far less important Death Eaters than me. Imagine my surprise when they told me who had requested a visit."

Draco sneered. He hated letting his emotions show so easily, but where his father was concerned, anger bubbled menacingly just beneath the surface of his control. "It might rankle to know that I've got more pull now than you ever had. Father."

"Of course, of course," Lucius said, his tone deceptively breezy. "It helps to have friends in high places, you know."

"In case you missed the news, father, I had a bit to do with the fall of the Dark Lord myself. And since I inherited everything after your imprisonment, I think it's safe to say I am in a high place."

Lucius smirked. "You're still a traitor, son. And you'll always have that to live with. I may be in here, but I know that my loyalties have always been constant."

He glared at his father. "If you were as loyal as you claim, you would've been in here for my entire life." Lucius started to speak. "No. I don't want to have this argument. I am here about Mother. Tell me how she died."