The Letter that should have never arrived IV

"You're worried about me." He says. With another thought clear in his eyes but left unsaid. 'You're still wondering why I didn't leave, why I'm still alive even if I said the Dark Lord could track me down.' I nod my head and wipe my tears. Clearing my head to listen to him once more. He sighs as though defeated, yet still acquiesces to my whims.

"You're too smart and too curious for your own good." He whispers more to himself than to me. He pulls over his chair, before sitting down and looking at me with an indulgent gaze and a small smile.

"There are many reasons why I didn't leave and why I'm still alive. I have something of the Dark Lord's that prevents him from killing me as it is something he cannot obtain without me. Your mother being in hiding, and you being unregistered, will hinder him from finding and hence killing you both. However, my existence prevents him from doing so even if he does find you. Once you are both dead, there is nothing he can use to lure me out and cater to his will. But I don't want things to get to that point. He only needs one of you alive to secure my subservience, and I don't want to lose either of you."

"But how does he know I exist if I'm unregistered? And why would he want to kill either me or mom? Wouldn't kidnapping both of us, if he does find both of us, be a better bargaining chip for him?" Father raised his hand and rubbed his thumb on the skin between my eyebrows to release the tension I didn't know I was forming.

"Don't knit your eyebrows Tom, it will give you wrinkles."

Lucius takes a deep breath, preparing himself to utter a story he would have preferred to never revisit.

"He knows you exist because your aunt was tasked to kill you. She didn't and hence her defiance alone is enough for him to murder every single wizard in her family. You especially because he already ordered your death, yet you are still alive. Currently, he has disappeared, so it's still safe for you to be here. But I doubt it would stay that way for long. He may reappear once the Boy-who-lived returns to the wizarding world in order to kill the boy. (And when he does, he will kill you and/or your mother.)"

I nod my head. Slowly understanding more of the situation we had at hand. But there is still something lingering at the front of my mind.

"But why didn't you just leave whatever he needs here in the Manor and escape? Wouldn't he still be unable to reach it?" Father gave a knowing smirk that I remember seeing whenever he was proud of me for something I'd done right, but that can't be right. It doesn't fit the context.

"Because I always believed that you would find your way home again, that you would find us again and I was right. I would prefer you find me first than find her, and you now know why. So, I stayed."

I nodded my head as everything was clicking into place. All my anger, confusion, and longing were being washed away, only to be left with sadness. Father patted my head before cupping my cheek and lifting my gaze which I didn't realize had fallen to the ground, to meet his.

"But you're here now, and I can leave knowing you understand why everyone has to hide and why you can't ever look for us again until it is safe. But now I have a better proposal. Which is why I was going to ask of you Tom, if you would allow my selfishness."

Father reached into the chest compartment of his cloak and tugged on something. I vaguely saw a part of an ivory white envelope with something written on it in gold, before both our attentions were pulled by the sound of something hitting a window coming from the living room.

In a second, I saw fear and worry flash through my father's eyes and he broke into a cold sweat. He quickly turned to face me with all seriousness on his face and whispered "Go to my room. Now. And don't come out until I open the door. If you feel it has been too long, there is a key under the rug beside my bed. Grasp it tightly and never let go until you touch solid ground. It will take you someplace else. Don't worry about me, I will do whatever it takes to survive and you should as well. Do you understand?"

I quickly nod my head and turn to quietly rush towards the hallway leading to father's room. I curse to myself inside my own head on why I'm not doing anything again but running away again. But how could I turn back when I can't even defend myself? The only magic I can do are non-lethal, and I haven't yet received my wand.

Father will survive. I know he will! Even in my past life, he passed away at an age far older than what mother and I reached. I stood in front of father's door grasping the doorknob until my knuckles were white.

But I can't… I can't just leave him.

I turn around and run past the hallway to the living room. However, I stopped in my tracks when I notice the door to my left creaked open slightly ajar. Did that door just… move? I felt something coming from within that door. Like tendrils of something tugging at my magic, telling me to come closer.

I also felt it try to affect my mind, but my occlumency kept it in check. Against better judgment, I thought that maybe I could use whatever was inside to help father since I was currently powerless. Afterall, if it turns out to be something I can't use, I can just leave it. There is nothing for me to lose, but I can potentially gain something that may help me protect father.

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Third person P.O.V.

Lucius rushed to the living room where he heard something hitting the windows only to find that it was an owl. 'A letter? How strange. I shouldn't be getting any letters from anyone.' He thought.

Lucius cautiously opened the window observing the owl for any peculiarities, and scanning the magic around it in case it was an animagi or imperioused. But he found nothing. It was simply a normal messaging owl that was slightly pissed off since Lucius wasn't making any moves to take the letter it had delivered.

Taking the square-ish envelope, the owl almost immediately took off after sensing that Lucius had no treats at hand to give. He glanced down at the envelope, and immediately recognized the insignia sealed on the red wax. 'Hogwarts? But I already left the Board of Directors.'

Lucius turned the envelope over and read a name that shouldn't exist except outside of his mind. 'Draco Lucius Malfoy'

Cold realization struck down his spine, as his limbs grew cold yet his fingertips burned as though the enveloped he held was forged from hellfire. No. He has seen this name before. He's seen it every day, every hour and second from dawn to dusk and dusk to dawn. Familiar gold letters etched on a single piece of cloth he held dear on his person. And he realized that he made the worst mistake of his life deluding himself that his son was unknown and hence safe.

The black family tapestry was linked directly to the ministry's family records. Someone had already registered him on their family; hence the Malfoy family lineage was updated without his knowledge. Bellatrix must have named him. And Tom… No... Draco was no longer safe.

Lucius falsely believed that Draco could only enter the manor because he allowed it as an expected guest either consciously or unconsciously. But now he knows it is because Draco had already been recognized as a true Malfoy by the manor. This would explain the several days Draco had already entered the manor and was serving him breakfast before he had even woken up to give the Manor the command to let Draco in.

Wild magic surged within Lucius and incinerated the unopened letter that was now crumpled in his hand. Twisting on his heel, Lucius dashes towards his bedroom where he knew Draco to be, yet upon arrival, wasn't there.

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