Sour Grapes

Chapter 27 - The Secrets

"I was young! And an idiot! Properly trained by the man who sits before me to be so!"

Lucius lunged forward and grabbed Draco by the collar, lifting him up to meet his face. Draco's body was still bound in a sitting position, unable to move from the neck down.

"You will watch your tongue if you want to keep it when you leave here today," he hissed, and then dropped Draco back down and strode a few steps away.

Draco tried desperately to steady his breathing and to keep from letting any tears fall. He was used to this behavior from his Father, but it had been a while since he'd been subjected to it, and the sheer contrast between this moment and his quiet life of solitude was overwhelming. He cursed himself for accepting the summons, even though he knew he couldn't have avoided it. He'd made an agreement with his Father the weekend prior when he'd come to see him about the marriage promise that he would come back weekly, and here they were. Only now, the circumstances could not be more different.

Last time, he'd still been under the impression that his Father was a prisoner.

"Why did you allow me to flee to France the second time? It seems it would have been in your power to keep me in Britain. To force me to work for you, as you requested many times."

Lucius turned around slowly and glared at his son. "You were of little use to me then. Recently imprisoned and having already tried to denounce your family name once. Living in a muggle dwelling, skulking in the shadows. I regarded you as a lost cause."

"And now?"

A light grin crossed Lucius's face.

"And now it seems you've brokered yourself the perfect position to be of great advantage to me."

"Oh really?" Draco said with a scoff, "and what is it that you're planning, exactly, that I'm supposed to help with?"

"It is not yet the time for you to know all of that, I have a more urgent matter to discuss with you."

Draco recognized that he was completely at a loss for control in this conversation. He would not get what he wanted from it, that much was clear. He couldn't harm his Father the way he wanted to, the way he was fantasizing about in his mind. He couldn't somehow go and free his Mother. Lucius was playing an extraordinarily calculating game, and had been for some years now. Draco needed to slow down in order to catch up.

Taking a deep breath, he employed his occlumency, shoving away his anger and hurt into a far corner of his mind and staying present to the current reality. He couldn't entirely lose his bite, however. He must put on his own version of a show...

"Well will you remove this bloody spell first you-" Draco pretended to catch himself and then ended with, "please, Father?"

Lucius glared down at him for several seconds before casually waving his wand and releasing the spell. Draco noted that there was still a small part of his Father that had trouble being completely ruthless when they were face-to-face. He could use that in future.

"Thank you," he said, through gritted teeth.

Lucius took his seat across from Draco and looked his son directly in the eye.

"You will now tell me the exact nature of your relationship with Hermione Granger."

Draco's jaw dropped. All thought of occlumency and gaining control of the conversation flooded out of him.

"How did you-"

"I have eyes everywhere, now tell me. What is the manner of your relationship?"