Black Truth [READ DESCRIPTION]

chapter nine

Chapter Nine: Awaken

Draco's eyes opened to a sight he didn't ever expect to see again: his room. Even more wondrous was the fact that his father was sitting next to his bed and had apparently been keeping vigil, which the worn look on his face implied. This was something his father had not done since he was six and had come down with some sickness that he himself couldn't remember anything of except his father raging at his mother that he wouldn't have his son die from some stupid muggle illness (Draco's mother had been of the opinion that his father had been over-reacting at the time.).

"How are you feeling?" His father asked quietly as Draco blinked and looked around curiously.

"Strange." Came the answer. And that was the only explanation that Draco could think of. He felt all weird inside.

"Considering the fact that you survived suffocation, I'm not surprised."

Draco blinked. "Then why am I not stupid?"

Draco's father looked at Draco as if what his son had said could not be processed by his brain.

"When you start to suffocate, your brain starts to die, so why am I not stupid?"

Lucius smirked wryly. "Because you're a Veriae."

"Oh." And that explained that. "So why am I not dead, again?"

"Because your intended got cold feet a few minutes before your death and rescued you," Lucius spoke dryly as if this wasn't really what he thought of the matter. "He carried you out of the Forest once your aura had returned into your being and your wings retracted."

Now things weren't computing for Draco. "Wait, Potter saved me?"

"Apparently so, although the why of the matter still eludes me."

"He doesn't love me."

"You're so sure of that?"

"He hates me."

Lucius looked at his son pointedly. He already knew that.

"One night isn't going to change years' worth of feelings."

"Maybe." Came Lucius's response, but the older Malfoy was thinking. Something in what Draco had said had triggered a memory of a conversation he'd had with the Dark Lord a month or so before the "Department of Mysteries" incident. Something about impulses... but he couldn't remember why that was important at this moment in time so he returned to Draco, pushing the memory back into the recesses of his mind to ponder over later.

"You'll have to see him today."

"We have classes together."

"Not for classes, Draco. You'll need to work things out with him today. He's had long enough to mull it over anyway; you might as well talk about your situation."

"What situation? And why has he had time to 'mull it over'?"

Lucius's eyebrow rose. "Draco, exactly how much of that book did you skim over?"

Draco at least had the modesty to look bashful. "Everything after-"

"After you found out about the Aspectus and what it meant." Lucius finished with an air of disappointment. "You figured you would never have a mate and therefore it wouldn't apply to you."

"Yes Father."

"Well, Draco, then you had better ask Granger for that book back because as of three days ago, when you were on the road to suicide, you gained a mate and now you must act accordingly."