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Lucius Malfoy was a very busy man. You had to be busy to maintain the position in wizarding society that the Malfoys occupied. Despite not officially working, one couldn't afford to rest too often with the sheer number of meetings, appointments, and events his schedule entailed. So whenever Lucius Malfoy got a chance to relax, he made sure to take advantage of it.
Today was one of those days. First of all, it was a Sunday so there was very little work carried out in the Ministry, and even less that involved him. But secondly (and most importantly), it was the first day of term at Hogwarts. With his son having departed on the Hogwarts Express that morning, he was no longer obligated to listen to his incessant whining in regards to that Potter boy.
Lucius Malfoy chuckled. He was Severus' problem now.
He had planned to enjoy the peace and quiet of Malfoy Manor today, basking on front of the fire, and getting started on his reading list. Augustus Rookwood's younger cousin recently published a dissertation on blood purity, which apparently was quite enthralling. One of the house elves placed it on the side, along with a nice cup of tea for him. It was now time to get some well deserved rest.
But fate had other ideas. An unfortunately familiar eagle owl glided through the open window, before dropping a letter in his lap. It hadn't even been a day. In fact, Lucius was pretty sure that the Hogwarts Express hadn't even arrived yet. Lucius Malfoy sighed and closed the window, before opening the letter from his son.
Father,
I met him on the train today! There was me thinking he was just a simple half-blood in Madam Malkin's but, imagine my surprise when I heard whispers of none other than Harry Potter being on the train! I knew I had an eye for those destined for greatness. Naturally, I confirmed these rumours to be true, as after all, I couldn't go making a fool of myself and accusing some random boy of being the Boy who Lived.
But alas, it appears that the lower riffraff has already sunk their claws deep into him, with his biggest ties to our world being those Weasleys and the fat oaf Hagrid. I should've seen that coming of course, as the headmaster probably set Potter up with one of his more loyal followers for his 'safety'.
But I knew I wouldn't win this battle in a singular day; it will take time to undo everything they've already done to him. The Weasley decided it would be funny to make fun of my name, but he barely had a leg to stand on with that comment. Unfortunately, my retort seemed to increase the hostilities in the room considerably. Dumbledore must already have Potter under his thumb.
I had originally intended to just leave after telling him to be wary of whom he associates with. It will hopefully give Potter something to mull over and plant the seeds of doubt in his mind. He said that he could figure out 'the wrong sort' for himself. It wasn't meant to be an offer of course, but as probable Gryffindors, they took it as such.
Especially the Weasley. He was too defensive over Harry Potter for my liking. But that is where it all went downhill. In my defence, I was rather flustered at this point. It must have been that know-it-all, bossy mudblood outside. She probably read about a hex like that during the holidays and decided to test it out on one of her betters.
The spell must have made me more hostile to Potter, probably using my negative feelings towards Weasley. I had no right to say such things to Potter, so I shall apologise to him very soon. Weasley deserved every word however, especially after he sent his rat after Goyle.
But for this letter to reach you quickly, I shall send it off now as I have little else to say. Hopefully, Harry Potter will start to see things from our point of view soon.
Your son, Draco.
The boy hadn't even gotten off the train, yet he deemed it necessary to burden him with his pathetic, childish problems. Who actually cared that much about a silly skirmish on the train? He would reassure his son about the mudbloods and blood traitors would get their comeuppance soon, but there was not much he needed to write about. Maybe he could attach some of Draco's favourite chocolate to shut him up for a little bit, or at least delay his next letter by a few hours.
Summoning a quill and parchment, Lucius began his reply, only to be interrupted by the sound of scraping outside the window. Hopefully, the stupid owl managed to get locked out, or a tree had grown too close to the window. Lucius paid it little mind.
Until Draco's owl smacked him on the head with a wing.
Lucius Malfoy looked up, yet another owl was outside. This one was a tawny owl, probably owned by the school. He let it in by flicking the window open, awaiting the next letter. The quicker he got through these, the quicker the owls would leave, and he could attempt to salvage his evening. A nap sounded good at the moment, at least he'd be able to ignore the barrage of letters from his son.
Once he confirmed that the letter was indeed from his son, Lucius poured a generous glass of firewhiskey and sat down. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucius read Draco's second letter of the day. The first day of Hogwarts wasn't even a full day, yet his son somehow required his father to correspond to two different letters in the same day.
Since his son had returned from Madam Malkin's, he had not shut up about the boy since. Even with their communication greatly reduced, as Draco was at Hogwarts, his son still felt it was necessary to make almost everything his said about the Potter boy. Sipping his firewhiskey, Lucius resigned himself to his fate for the time being.
He hoped his son would get over his obsession soon…
Father,
The sorting ceremony was a complete disaster! Naturally, I ended up in Slytherin. But Harry Potter ended up in Gryffindor. I had hoped the hat would keep him and the riffraff separate by putting him in a different house. Slytherin would have been the best-case scenario, Ravenclaw probably would've been fine, and I could have even worked with Hufflepuff!
But no, it was Gryffindor, away from the positive influence of the higher classes of society. Except for Longbottom, but after overhearing how his family thought he was a squib for years, I have little faith in him.
Dumbledore probably charmed the hat to put him in Gryffindor. That's why his sorting took so long. Both Potter and the sorting hat could tell he's destined for greatness, with Slytherin the obvious choice, but the headmaster's charm must have been too strong.
I did end up apologising to Potter, I slipped a note into his pocket on the way back to the common rooms. I could have formally asked for forgiveness in the great hall, but that meant Weasley could misinterpret the recipient. Weasley doesn't deserve my apology.
But father, you need to remove the headmaster from Hogwarts, one way or another. With him gone, I can educate Harry Potter on his rightful place in the upper echelons of society. Soon he will be a respectable wizard and a powerful ally, but Dumbledore's influence on him must be negated.
Your son, Draco.
Thankfully, that was the final letter Lucius Malfoy would receive that day. The key phrase being 'that day'. After all, tomorrow was another day.
\V/
It was a relatively quiet few days for Lucius Malfoy, mentally patting himself on the back for that. Sending back some pity chocolate seemed to work. Maybe he should try that more often, or better yet, shove it in his face if he began to whinge at home. With much less ire than Sunday, Lucius Malfoy opened his son's letter, hoping for the contents to be worthwhile rather than about Harry Potter. (Spoiler: it wasn't)
Father,
I have made significant progress with Harry Potter today! We haven't talked to each other since we were on the Hogwarts Express. But with this morning's lesson being Potions, I could muscle my way next to the seat next to Potter. With Professor Snape there, he even deducted points from Weasley after he put up a fuss! It's always good to see someone firmly on your side.
But father, you need to write to Professor Snape. He is far too harsh on Potter, at first, I just thought of it to be his dislike of Gryffindors, but it became far more apparent over the course of the lesson. Professor Snape has a severe issue with Potter, appearing to bear some kind of grudge. I'm clueless as to how this grudge occurred, especially after the headmaster hoarded Harry Potter away from our world.
As you told me, Professor Snape starts the first class of the year off with questioning a student at random. Only this time, it evidently wasn't random, with the questions being far more challenging than usual from Professor Snape. He seemed to take great pleasure in the fact that Potter didn't know any of the answers. Professor Snape was also excessively harsh on Potter's brewing, which was actually very good for a first-time brewer with my assistance. Despite receiving an Outstanding on the potion myself, Potter was given only an Acceptable in comparison, with Snape citing that I did all the work.
Harry Potter seems to have mostly forgiven me for my behaviour on Sunday, but I made a good impression as to counteract Weasley's propaganda. But to make further progress with him, I feel like alleviating his issues with Snape could help greatly. It wouldn't do for his experience with us upstanding members of society to be too bad, even though Professor Snape isn't of the same class as us, he is still a respectable man and a brilliant professor.
Your son, Draco.
Lucius Malfoy sighed, picking up a quill. It seemed that he was not writing one letter, but two today. He wasn't looking forward to Severus' imminent protests, but it could be done. While Draco was going about it for the completely wrong reasons, Lucius Malfoy agreed that the boy would make a powerful ally in the future. With the political power of being the saviour of the wizarding world, they could push through legislation that he had only dreamed of presenting to the Wizengamot.
At least Draco's obsession with Harry Potter kept him out of trouble.
Mostly.
\V/
Lucius Malfoy had just sat down for a quiet dinner with his wife. After having to eat both breakfast and lunch with the Minister, Narcissa's company was a welcome change. At the very least, it meant that there would be a conversation that didn't revolve around the thickness of standard size two cauldrons. The sooner that piece of legislation got passed, the better.
Any plans to have a quiet meal were dashed when Draco's owl practically flew straight into him. Lucius Malfoy never though that it could be possible, but the eagle owl somehow flew with even more urgency than usual. He considered that to be impossible, considering how important the letters were to his son.
At least the food wasn't out yet. Maybe, just maybe he would have time to get through the letter and still enjoy his meal. Narcissa Malfoy pre-emptively poured him a glass of firewhiskey as he began to read.
Dear Father,
Great, I've gotten Harry Potter expelled…
Why do I keep on messing up in front of Potter? And why doesn't he notice me? I've spent the past few days telling some of the more interesting stories involving me on a broom. I know he's within earshot, so why isn't he coming over to me? After all, what wizard doesn't like Quidditch?
The flying lessons are now a part of our schedules. Of course, I don't really need to take them, but it's one of the best chances I have sharing a class with Potter. It'll give me a chance to show off my abilities. If I could get onto the Quidditch team, then he'd have to watch me. But first years never get to be on the team. Next year, I will be on the team!
The first lesson was held yesterday. Naturally, Longbottom broke his arm after about five minutes. During his fall, his Remembrall must have fell out of his pocket. I seized the opportunity, maybe if Harry Potter saw me being a bit kinder, at least to those of proper blood, he might see me as a more approachable wizard.
But no, that just couldn't happen… That Granger girl did it again with that ridiculous hex she seems so fond of. She just had to assume that I was up to no good. I flew over to Potter, intending to toss it over to him. After all, he was standing quite close to Weasley, so I wasn't too fond of getting too close. I could probably just breath in his direction and he'd try to attack me.
Something must have distracted me as I passed it to him, and I may have thrown it a bit too hard. In the end, it was partially worth it as Harry Potter really can fly. It really is unfortunate that you couldn't get his sorting overturned, he would make for a really good player on the Slytherin team…
He looked at me once he returned. He had turned rather red; it must have been from the flying. Unless you're used to flying on a broom like I am, it takes a lot of energy to control the broom.
I did try to apologise, I really did, but Professor McGonagall took Harry away before I could get there. She's probably going to expel him. You must prevent this from happening!
Your son, Draco.
Lucius Malfoy groaned as he stood up. Yet again, his son needed to be bailed out of a situation which was entirely his fault. "It appears that our son has caused the potential expulsion of Harry Potter. Naturally, he requires my assistance in order to recover the situation."
"Of course. It wouldn't do for our family to be the reason for the Boy who Lived's banishment from our world. So, same time tomorrow then?" she asked dejectedly, giving a half-hearted smile to her husband.
"I'll have to alter my schedule, but yes, tomorrow for certain." Lucius Malfoy replied, before kissing his wife's cheek. He took a handful of floo powder, heading off to Hogwarts.
\V/
In the end, Harry Potter was not expelled from Hogwarts, nor did he receive any punishment whatsoever. In fact, the entire scenario was created by his son overreacting. Of course it was. He couldn't enjoy a single meal alone with his wife without his son interrupting, despite Draco Malfoy being on the opposite side of the country.
It was times like this where Lucius Malfoy strongly considered having another child. Not because he liked children, he absolutely despised the vermin. But purely because he was genuinely terrified of leaving the family name and fortune in Draco's hands someday.
It didn't help that Draco had an unsettling obsession with Harry Potter. Lucius Malfoy had no issue with the fact that his son was spending all his time stalking Potter, scheming about Potter, or just whining about Potter, but his son's lack of interest in pursuing a potential spouse. Maybe now was a good time to consider having a second child. At least then, the Malfoy line wouldn't be in danger of dying out.
His musing was interrupted by the subject of his ire. Or at least the subject of his ire's owl. It was only yesterday evening that he was at Hogwarts! He even spoke to Draco while he was there! What could have happened within the past ten hours that warranted yet another letter?
At least it provided a distraction from the woman across the table from him. Despite the two having similar beliefs and goals, Lucius Malfoy absolutely detested the foul woman known and Dolores Umbridge. He was pretty sure that the only reason she was kept as Senior Undersecretary was solely because she was able to distract any opposition with her vileness, allowing the more important players to make their moves with relative ease.
Excusing himself from the conversation, Lucius Malfoy opened Draco's letter, eager to have an alibi to leave the meal early. But maybe he was a little too eager as he placed his hand into the envelope, touching the tearstained parchment. Disgusting.
Father,
I hate Harry Potter!
And Harry Potter hates me! After all we have done for him! The headmaster has probably 'educated' him on our ways or something.
You see, even after you had saved his future at Hogwarts and got him a place on the Quidditch team, instead of a 'thank you', all I get is increased hostilities from him. Maybe I shouldn't have bought Crabbe and Goyle along just yet, but I wanted to introduce them to each other formally.
What was meant to be the beginning of a new friendship devolved into an argument where I challenged the blood traitor to a wizard's duel. The plan was to impress him with my duelling prowess, but he didn't even show up!
I got my hopes up when Filch walked nearby, muttering about children being out of bed, but he just didn't appear all night. There's only so long you can hold a conversation with Crabbe that isn't about food.
I can't believe he ever turned up, but you know what made it worse? You sent him a Nimbus Two Thousand! I've only got a Comet Two Sixty! I understand the need for Potter to have a good broom after you evidently resolved his expulsion by focussing on his Quidditch performance, but for him to take such a valuable gift without even so much as a thanks is absolutely terrible.
It's like he thinks he's better than us. Weasley has probably grovelled enough that Potter has let the fame get to his head. Why associate with the little Malfoys when you're such a well-off celebrity.
However, it's all fine. I don't need Potter anyway.
Your son, Draco.
The letter was strange. Well, strange letters from his son were normal. But this one was strange, even for him. Lucius Malfoy spent a grand total of ten minutes at Hogwarts that evening. The first two were him walking to Professor McGonagall's office, the next three minutes were spent discussing Potter not being expelled, and the last five were of him briefly informing his son of the circumstances before leaving. Not a single second was wasted around Potter, nor did he purchase a top of the line broom for a child he had never met in his entire life.
Lucius Malfoy swore to himself. Draco's mood swings were sometimes worse than his great grandmother's. And she spent half her life in the long-term patients ward at St Mungo's.
Of course, this was one time he didn't get caught. All his son had to do was be his usual self and Lucius Malfoy would have had an excuse to leave. But because Draco displayed an ounce of cunning for once, he was stuck having breakfast with Dolores Umbridge, discussing that infuriating law on cauldron thickness.
Maybe he could just pretend that he was a slow reader and stall for time.
The toad coughed. "Hem, hem."
Maybe not…
\V/
Over the past few months, Draco's relentless writing continued. Each letter still focused on a single topic: Harry Potter. Almost anything else would only receive a brief comment at most. Even the troll attack on Halloween barely got a passing comment about it probably being Potter's fault. Of course, according to his son, everything was Potter's fault. Speaking of Draco, he decided that now was the perfect time to whine some more as his eagle owl dropped the letter onto Lucius Malfoy's lap.
Father,
I still hate Potter.
Lucius took a large sip of firewhiskey and sighed. Another letter, another complaint about Harry Potter. He wondered why he still read these letters. There was never anything of worth written, with the one time it seemed there was a matter of urgency, it was just Draco overreacting a spoiling an evening with his wife. Thankfully, his son didn't interrupt the rescheduled dinner, otherwise he would've received a strongly worded howler.
Actually, that was a rather good idea. Maybe a howler would finally get the point across that Lucius Malfoy didn't care about his son's crush on the Boy who Lived. Then again, it would be a public scolding and would do significant damage to the Malfoy name among the younger generation. As much as he longed for some peace and quiet, Lucius Malfoy still enjoyed his financial and political positions and would not put them in jeopardy. Yet.
With his patience starting to wear thin, Lucius Malfoy continued to read.
I cannot stand how he walks around like he owns the place. It's as if the rules don't apply to him, just because he's rich and famous! Just last night I caught Potter and his so-called friends sneaking around past curfew. Weasley wasn't with him, maybe Potter got rid of him like he did with me?
And you'll never guess what was with them.
A dragon. An actual, real life, baby dragon. Naturally, I went to find the nearest staff member to resolve the situation. Who does Potter think he is, carrying around such a dangerous beast? What would happen if it attacked an upstanding member of society?
He'd probably get away with a pat on the back and house points for some arbitrary reason, because all the teachers adore that blood traitor. Apparently, he cannot do any wrong. Except for everything he has done to me, but that's always overlooked because everyone is playing favourites.
Except for Professor Snape. He's the only professor who treats Potter fairly. He's one of the best in the class at potions, obviously second to me. The headmaster probably gives him private brewing lessons or books from the restricted section.
Anyway, I found the first professor I could, which just so happened to be Professor McGonagall. I told her everything that was going on and the obvious safety issues at hand. Since it involved Potter, she completely disregarded my accusations. As she was taking me back to the dungeons, we came across Potter.
I could tell that she was about to let them off lightly, but I made sure to put up enough of a fuss until they were treated fairly. The dragon had already been disposed of, so I was unable to get them punished that harshly. At least I managed to move the detention to eight o clock rather than eleven, so I might be able to get some sleep tomorrow night.
This issue needs to be resolved. You can't just carry around a live dragon and receive a single night of detention. Unless you're Potter of course.
Your son, Draco.
Lucius could eliminate Draco's detention rather easily, but the prospect of a night where Draco would not have time to write to him was much more interesting. So, Lucius Malfoy did absolutely nothing. If Draco asked, he'd just say that he received the letter too late to do anything.
Feeling elated at the prospect of a night free from his son's complaining, Lucius prepared dinner plans for a night with his wife. There was a fancy new wizarding restaurant that had opened recently just around the corner from Diagon Alley. Very rarely did Crabbe regard food to be any better than 'decent' or 'good', but in this case, Crabbe told him the food was brilliant. Considering that the man mostly thought with his stomach rather than his brain, it piqued his curiosity.
\V/
"I have to admit, Crabbe was right about this restaurant." Lucius said, sipping his wine.
Narcissa Malfoy nodded in agreement. "Yes, the food is simply divine. We should make an effort to dine here more often."
"Certainly, perhaps I shall try the salmon next time. If the steak was anything to go by, then the venison could potentially be extremely appetizing."
"I might try the steak after your near constant praise during the main course. But—" Narcissa began, only to be cut off by an owl crashing into her husband's head, spilling his wine down his robes.
Narcissa stifled an uncharacteristic laugh as Lucius Malfoy picked up the letter with a wine stained hand. Somehow Draco had found enough time to write a letter and send it off, even with an evening detention. Lucius just couldn't get a break…
Father,
I almost died and it's all that stupid blood traitor's fault.
Not the greatest start. Lucius motioned for Narcissa to prepare to leave, before reading the rest of the letter.
The detention that you were supposed to get me out of was held in the Forbidden Forest. You know that forest that is forbidden to all students. We were stuck with that fat oaf Hagrid, rather than an unbiased member of staff, like Professor Snape. Professor Snape would have kept us safe during a detention, not forcing us to track down something that was killing unicorns!
Instead of leaving that sort of task to the Aurors, it was left to four first year students, a cowardly dog, and a man who cannot even do any magic! The headmaster probably thought that Potter could handle it for them, it's not like he's only a above average at best first year student or something.
So, it was deemed best that we split up, despite there being a unicorn killer on the loose. Of course, Hagrid put me with Potter. He's probably in on it too, setting it up so Potter can leave me to die at the hands of whatever foul beast is out there in the forest.
And that's exactly what he did. Rather than moving quietly, he continued his normal strolling. He must believe that he owns the Forbidden Forest as well as Hogwarts. Potter ignored my demands to make less noise.
He was also determined to antagonise me for the entire evening. The blood traitor kept on stumbling into me and biting his lip in a stupid way. I glared at him. He kept on doing it.
Eventually, we discovered what was killing the unicorns. Potter tried to run away and leave me to die at the hands of whatever that thing was, but he tripped over. So once again I had to save Potter. Of course, I could've escaped, but Potter is my nemesis, nobody but me should be able to kill him! I didn't save him because I like him or anything, just to be perfectly clear. I hate Potter.
Potter did get to see my skill with a wand as a cast a powerful Verdimillious at it. It was a very strong spell because I've practiced it so much. Professor Snape considers me to be a Defence Against the Dark Arts prodigy. The spell must have blinded the creature as Potter was able to get away. But I was unable to finish it off before a centaur jumped into the clearing and drove it off.
Despite being saved by a half breed and being forced to ride on its back, I felt pretty powerful. It had nothing to do with Potter holding on to me as we rode back, it was definitely because I vanquished the threat and now Potter will know just how powerful I am!
I still hate him though. He tried to kill me; I just know it!
Potter tried to throw me off his scent by blaming the Dark Lord, he must have been unnerved by the fact his monster didn't kill me. His lying is usually far better than that. Everyone knows that the Dark Lord has been dead for years!
I will get my revenge on the blood traitor soon. I have a plan to wipe that ridiculous smirk off his stupid face once and for all!
Your son, Draco.
Lucius Malfoy smiled at Draco displaying some competence for once. He skimmed past his complaining of Potter, expecting that to take up the remainder of the letter, but one line caught his eye:
Potter tried to throw me off his scent by blaming the Dark Lord.
Of course, the most likely scenario was the Potter was lying, or too scared to determine what the actual aggressor was. They were only eleven after all. What concerned him though, was if Potter was telling the truth.
Over the years, many of his allies had briefly mentioned the Dark Lord. None of it had convinced him yet though. They only told him of whispers of the Dark Lord's return, rumours of potential sightings, or farfetched evidence of his survival. Lucius only thought of it as wishful thinking from his more devoted followers.
However, unicorn blood was one of the few known substances which could save one from death. If the Dark Lord had somehow survived that fateful night, he must have fled to the Forbidden Forest, living from drinking unicorn blood. Or he possibly travelled even further, unicorns weren't exclusive to the Forbidden Forest after all. Unicorns could be found all over Europe, along with select regions of North America and Asia.
Perhaps it was time to look into the ability to survive certain death. Unicorn blood would keep a person alive, at a terrible price, but even it couldn't stop a killing curse. There had to be something else in play here and Lucius would be the one to discover it.
If the opportunity presented itself, he could prevent the Dark Lord from properly returning to power. After all, war was not good for the economy or political landscape. But until then, the best thing he could do was ensure Draco kept him informed of the situation in order to choose the best tactics to keep his family alive, his socio-political status intact, and his wealth secure.
Lucius just hoped that his son would get over his silly crush soon…
\V/
Lucius Malfoy had thrown himself into his research. Of course, it helped that the Malfoys had an extensive library with a heavy focus on the dark arts. Just what he needed to find the answers he required. Some selective visits to some of his allies involving gold changing hands filled some of the gaps and were invaluable in the discovery of a handful of leads.
The most promising of said leads revolved around Herpo the Foul. Multiple sources claimed that Herpo was slain in a duel around 1100BC, however a handful of historical tomes mentioned sightings of a wraith taking the shape of the dark wizard up until 920 BC. Those centuries also reported multiple possessions around a similar area to the Herpo sightings.
If he were to discover how Herpo the Foul cheated death, it could shed some light on the Dark Lord's survival also. Perhaps the Ministry had some confiscated tomes they wished to part with, or maybe Borgin and Burke's had acquired some new merchandise recently.
As if Draco always knew the worst time to arrive, his owl flew through an open window, distracting Lucius Malfoy's train of though. The eagle owl flapped down, scattering his meticulously placed notes and dropped a letter in the middle of his desk.
Lucius really hated that bird.
"Dobby!" he called, the house elf appearing almost immediately. "Bring me a bottle of Ogden's finest."
Dobby nodded, apparating away with a snap of his fingers. Lucius Malfoy exhaled as he attempted to reorganise his notes. By the time the house elf returned, Lucius had sat down, ready to read his son's letter.
Father,
The Dark Lord is alive!
And I may have opposed him. To be fair, he did attack Potter. Potter's mine, he should know that.
It all started when I put my plan into action. I intended to catch Potter out of bed, but unlike last time, I'd make sure to do it when Professor Snape is on his patrol. He would show Potter that the world doesn't revolve around him!
It was rather easy to find the blood traitor and his entourage as he's always breaking the school rules. But of course, Professor Snape was nowhere to be found. Potter probably got the headmaster to change the patrol schedule to suit his fancy. Professor Snape would have definitely punished Potter properly, especially after they snuck into the third-floor corridor of all places. I guess the threat of a painful death means nothing to the great Harry Potter does it?
Evidently not, as by the time I followed them into the room he'd already defeated a three headed dog! According to the Hogwarts rumour mill, he also defeated the troll on Halloween. He always has to get all the glory for himself. But something seemed off, the dog wasn't dead, although it was quite close. The spells used were far more advanced than those taught to us first years. Either Dumbledore has been privately tutoring Potter, or someone else was also nearby. As I found out later, it was the latter.
I jumped down the trapdoor, presumably where Potter went as there was no other ways in or out. Once I landed, I found myself in a room with what remained of some sort of plant. Each chamber I walked through showed similar scenes. Potter must have been in a hurry.
When I finally caught up to Potter, I overheard that Professor Snape was up ahead. Excellent, Potter would finally receive his long overdue comeuppance! Hastily, I made my way past them before they could slip away, into the final room. There was only one issue though.
Professor Snape wasn't there. It was Professor Quirrell.
Great. Behind Professor McGonagall and the headmaster, Professor Quirrell is one of the biggest supporters of the Harry Potter fan club. Honestly, with that stupid looking turban, how could they confuse Professors Snape and Quirrell?
Professor Quirrell appeared as though he was about to talk to me, but stopped once Potter walked in. Of course. Why waste your breath on little Draco Malfoy when the amazing Harry Potter is there? The two completely ignored my presence, discussing some sort of Philosopher's Stone until Professor Quirrell took off his turban.
I couldn't believe it. Potter was right. It was the Dark Lord that attacked us in the Forbidden Forest! Only now, he was placed on the back of Professor Quirrell's head.
Naturally, those foolish Gryffindors drew their wands on the Dark Lord. I wonder what they thought could three first years do against the most powerful wizard alive? But what surprised me was the fact that I drew my wand along with them.
It must have been because he was going to kill Potter. Potter does deserve to die, but only by my hand. The speed that the Dark Lord could cast was terrifying. Before I could even utter a spell, all four of us had been disarmed and bound. Except for Potter of course.
Even the Dark Lord gives Potter special treatment! It's not fair!
Their conversation continued, shedding some light on the situation. Apparently, the Dark Lord was seeking the Philosopher's Stone in order to fully return him to strength. This fact made Potter show his true colours as he tried to flee.
The Dark Lord gave chase, but he fell over my leg. It's not like I intentionally tripped him up, I was just lying awkwardly from the conjured ropes. As the Dark Lord dropped, he grabbed onto Potter, taking him down with him.
Somehow, Potter must have done some accidental magic as the Dark Lord grasped a burnt hand in pain. Potter then proceeded to jump onto the Dark Lord who completely burnt up before some sort of wraith emerged from the Dark Lord and retreated.
I don't know how he did it, but Potter defeated the Dark Lord again. Now it is almost certain that the headmaster is training Potter, probably to take his place. Dumbledore is rather old.
Speaking of the headmaster, he arrived a few minutes later and took us up to the hospital wing. That's where us four are right now. Dumbledore left soon after, probably because his golden boy was too unconscious to receive his imminent praise. He also told us something about Potter saving our lives.
I'll thank him when he wakes up. Send him something nice to show our appreciation or something. He may have saved my life, but it doesn't change this: I still hate Harry Potter!
Your son, Draco.
Once he finished Draco's letter, he took a sip of firewhiskey and sighed. There seemed to be three constants in life for Lucius Malfoy: death, taxes, and his son's infatuation with that Potter boy, despite his peculiar way of showing it.
Something more concerning was how Draco's recollection of their encounter with the Dark Lord matched those of Herpo the Foul. Lucius Malfoy had a hunch that if he could solve the mystery of Herpo the Foul's survival, it would in turn give him what he needed to know about the Dark Lord's current state, and allow him to determine whether to put the contingency plan into action.
But after his son's rather blatant defiance of him, Draco had almost made his choice for him. Unless the Dark Lord was much more forgiving than he remembered, his son was not long for this world.
At least the letter gave confirmation of the Dark Lord's return. Lucius intended to redouble his efforts and find his answers. This time, the Malfoys would come out on top.
\V/
Father
Potter just had to do it again!
Of course he did. Despite his son having a near death encounter with the Dark Lord just yesterday, Draco was already back to his relentless complaining about Harry Potter. What minor thing did Potter do this time?
Once again, Slytherin was on course to rightly win the house cup for the seventh year in a row. The headmaster had even announced our house as the winners during the feast!
But Potter couldn't let that happen, could he?
In a fit of complete bias towards his former house, Headmaster Dumbledore awarded some additional house points. This year's house cup had already been awarded! He had many opportunities give those house points earlier today. Instead, the headmaster dangled the cup in front of us Slytherins, only to rip it away almost immediately.
In the end, Potter, Weasley, and Granger received 200 points in total. Potter received the most points, being given 80. Weasley and Granger were awarded 60 points while I only got 50! My contribution was far greater than either of theirs! Now the scores were tied at 522 for both Gryffindor and Slytherin.
Until the headmaster give Longbottom fifteen points for an arbitrary reason. Probably for breathing or going all week without being a hazard to our safety. He just couldn't let us Slytherins win!
It was all Potter's fault! I just know it. He must have complained when he noticed the Gryffindor was losing. He also had to rub our noses in it with the way he sat there smiling and biting his lip like he always does, while gloating at me from across the great hall. He knows how much I hate it when he does that!
Slytherin deserves the house cup, not Gryffindor! Fix this!
Your son, Draco.
He should have seen this coming. Of course, his son would get heavily invested in the trivial house cup. Probably because he wanted to beat Harry Potter in something for once. In both situations, Draco would've sent a letter, revelling in his triumph over Potter if Slytherin won, or in this case, whinging about Harry Potter and Dumbledore manipulating the house cup.
Skimming over the letter again, Lucius could only find a single instance where the house points could be altered. Either Draco's reward should be increased to sixty points, or Weasley and that Granger girl should lose ten points each to make it even. The headmaster would probably argue that the cup had already been awarded (like that stopped him) or would choose the first option. That would leave a difference of five house points. And no, Lucius Malfoy was not going to comb over the list of every single points addition and deduction throughout the year, just to please his spoilt brat of a child.
Draco Malfoy would have to live with the state of affairs.
Which reminded him, his son would be arriving back home tomorrow. Great. After the events of this evening, he would be absolutely insufferable. It was bad enough with the constant barrage of letters he received over the course of the year, let alone when Draco Malfoy had permanent access to him.
Perhaps he could spearhead the cauldron thickness movement, which failed to garner too much support thus far. That would take up plenty of time. Time that he could spend avoiding his son.
Narcissa had an incomprehensible fondness of the boy, she could deal with him for the summer. Maybe they should even invite Harry Potter to stay for a bit. His son obviously had a great deal of interest towards him.
With his plan to avoid Draco ready, Lucius Malfoy picked up his quill. He had some strings to pull.
\V/
"Electing to use thinner cauldrons for muggleborns and half-bloods with little exposure to magic will make them aware of the dangers of brewing, ensuring that they understand the subtlety and care required in the art of Potions." Lucius declared. Here on the Wizengamot floor, he was in his element. Away from the loud complaining of his son, he could focus on his strengths. One of which was navigating the political minefield with ease. "Aside from boosting our economical might thanks to the reduced production costs, they will considerably reduce the quantity of accidents during brewing."
Elphias Doge, his main opposition regarding the currently debated legislation stood up. "You appear to have neglected mentioning how this will affect pure-blooded children. I presume that they will continue using the current standard size two cauldrons."
The rest of the Wizengamot whispered amongst themselves as Lucius prepared a response. "Of course they will." The murmuring increased in volume significantly until Chief Warlock Dumbledore was forced to intervene.
Despite the Wizengamot's obvious ill feelings towards the bill, Lucius continued. "Since those children of wizarding origins will have received a certain amount of tutoring before arriving at Hogwarts, they will have already been made aware of risks surrounding the subject. Thus a more economical option has been chosen, by maintaining the current cauldron thickness for those students, it will reduce the need for replacements."
Through a window that nobody knew actually existed in the Wizengamot chamber, an eagle owl flew down, homing in on its target. "Furthermore, these regulations will increase the affordability of cauldrons to—" He proclaimed, before Draco Malfoy's owl slammed into Lucius, knocking him onto the floor.
Attempting to compose himself. Lucius Malfoy snatched the letter from the owl and strode out of the Wizengamot session, with many of its members showing their amusement to various degrees.
Needless to say, the Ministry's standard size two cauldron thickness reduction scheme failed spectacularly.
\V/
Father,
I hate Harry Potter. But I also don't hate him.
It all started when mother invited him to stay for the week. Why did she do that? She knew I hated him. Yesterday was horrible. Every time we spoke; the conversation always went back to the house cup. It's like he was trying to constantly gloat.
Today went more smoothly. We were able to resolve a lot of the animosity between us thanks to a pickup game of Quidditch. Greengrass, Crabbe, and Goyle joined us to create teams. I even allowed Potter to invite Weasley to make the match three versus three with two chasers and a keeper, mostly because I only know so many people who play Quidditch. We settled on myself, Potter, and Crabbe against Goyle, Greengrass, and Weasley.
Crabbe ended up being passable at best, compared to Weasley, who was surprisingly decent in the opposing goal. Greengrass was a good chaser as always but couldn't stop myself and Potter. We make a good team, despite being natural seekers rather than chasers. If only the hat put him in Slytherin where he belonged. Goyle was Goyle, he didn't do much during the game, he's a much better beater anyway.
The score was 180 – 130 to us once the game ended. Without a snitch, we opted to play for exactly an hour. During our celebrations, you won't believe what Potter did.
He kissed me!
I couldn't believe it. I'm not really sure what to think about this. It didn't really feel wrong or right. Maybe it is best to wait until the end of the week to see how I feel about all this. I still hate him a bit though.
Your son, Draco.
His eldest son had fallen for the Potter boy, that much was obvious. At least he didn't have to worry about his son failing to find a spouse anymore, although this posed a new problem.
How would the Malfoy line continue?
There was always the option of finding a surrogate parent, however that would be looked down upon by the other old families. Furthermore, the child would also not be recognised as an official heir. The current circumstances highlighted the necessity of a second Malfoy child. He would have to speak to Narcissa about this soon.
However, there was one final question: would this new development result in less or more letters? On one hand, the venture would take up plenty of Draco Malfoy's time. But, considering that the main focus of said letters was Harry Potter, there was a high chance the number of letters sent by his son would increase.
Either way, Lucius Malfoy planned to ensure that he'd always have a large supply of Ogden's finest. Merlin knew it was the only way Lucius could get through his son's incessant whinging without doing something he'd regret.
And if the answer wasn't already obvious, there would be more letters.
Many more letters.
\V/
Aside from the endless onslaught of Draco's letters, the following years were rather quiet. Voldemort was defeated before he could regain his physical form once Lucius Malfoy determined the nature of his survival. It was also rather convenient that he was in possession of one of the Dark Lord's soul anchors already.
In the span of a few months, Dumbledore and himself tracked down and destroyed all of Voldemort's horcruxes. As much as Lucius Malfoy hated the man, he had to admit that Dumbledore somehow knew far more about the Dark Lord than anyone else. It also helped that he was one of the most powerful and knowledgeable wizards in the whole world.
The entire plan was kept completely quiet throughout, it wouldn't do to have the population seeing them together in public. Lucius Malfoy and Albus Dumbledore getting along together? That was a sure-fire way to raise suspicion.
But he did make one thing abundantly clear to the headmaster. He wasn't doing it out of the goodness of his heart, he just didn't want to deal with the Dark Lord again, or the socioeconomic repercussions surrounding his quest for total dominance.
The diary was destroyed first. With time on their side, the two were free to extensively test what could and could not destroy a horcrux. In the end, it was Fiendfyre that finally took the diary out.
Since Lucius was requested to protect one of the horcruxes, it was highly possible that other high-ranking death eaters had been tasked to do the same. Being one of Voldemort's inner circle, Lucius Malfoy knew that Bellatrix was the only other one of the Dark Lord's followers who he would have trusted enough. Snape might have been an option, but his role as a spy put him out of the picture.
As the only remaining Black outside of Azkaban, Narcissa was able to access Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. Dumbledore immediately identified the cup amongst the sea of valuables. From there, the diadem and ring followed soon after.
Next came the locket once the fake had been retrieved. Lucius recognised R.A.B as Regulus Black, one of his former friends from Hogwarts. The Black family home was the most logical place to look for the real locket. However, neither Lucius nor Dumbledore could bypass the wards surrounding it.
There was only one person who could get inside that house: Sirius Black.
The only issue was that he was currently locked up in Azkaban for murdering twelve muggles and Peter Pettigrew. Both men pulled some strings where they could and arranged for a meeting with the man.
Said meeting went far more smoothly than anticipated. Apparently, he'd been framed and wrongfully imprisoned. In exchange for a trial, Sirius allowed them access to 12 Grimmauld Place. The trial was easy enough to schedule and in the end, Sirius walked out of the courtroom a free man, accompanying Dumbledore and Lucius Malfoy to the Black home where they destroyed Voldemort's final horcrux.
Or so they thought.
When the Dark Lord attempted to kill the Potters on Halloween, he unintentionally turned Harry Potter into a living horcrux. Through a plan involving weeks of research, precise dosages of basilisk venom, and a crying Phoenix, Harry Potter was freed of Voldemort's influence once and for all.
Devoid of any horcruxes anchoring his soul, Voldemort's spirit dissolved into nothingness in the middle of some Albanian forest.
With the Dark Lord no longer posing any threat, Harry enjoyed a relatively peaceful life. Draco Malfoy ended up choosing to pursue a relationship with him, which somehow lasted all seven years at Hogwarts, despite their fluctuating opinions of each other.
Draco Malfoy mellowed out considerably towards the latter portion of their Hogwarts education. He even befriended Hermione, who was made his best woman at the wedding. Naturally, Harry chose Ron to stand with him as best man.
The married couple would go on to be highly successful in their respective careers. After a short period of time out of the school, Harry returned for the vacant Defence Against the Dark Arts post where he remained until he finally stepped up to become headmaster of Hogwarts many years later. Draco opted to focus on the Wizengamot, taking up the position of Chief Warlock after acquiring his father's seat.
Over the many years that ensued, there were many changes within the wizarding world, both big and small. But if there was one thing that stayed the same, something that made Lucius Malfoy want to hex the nearest person: Draco's letters. They just never stopped. No matter what he was doing, or how long it had been since the last one, Lucius Malfoy constantly received his son's letters.
And they all still revolved around Harry Potter.