luius nodded his o and onjured a hairto drao’s bed drao’s eyes fluttered losed as a low baritone began to fill the room
“tell me why you’re rying my son,
i know you’re frightened like everyone,
is it the thunder in the distane you fear?
will it help if i say very near?
i am here”
it beame obus that drao was fighting sleep to listen to the rest of the song, but in the middle of the horus a seond time his breathing hanged into the breathing of one asleep luius began the third and st verse and horus in a quieter voie, so as not to awaken drao
“tell me why you’re smiling my son
is there a seret you an’t tell anyone?
do you know more than men that are wise?
bsp;you see what we all must disguise
through your loving eyes?
and if you take my hand my son,
all will be well when the day is done
and if you take my hand my son my son,
all will be well when the day is done”
harry and drao found themselves bak in the study, the fire dimming to old embers harry looked over at drao to see one tear make its way down his fae
harry leaned over and wiped it off with his thumb, his other arm urling around drao’s waist “i think i know why your father put those partiur memories in the pensive,” he whispered
“why?”
“voldemort is a legimens, and a very good one those memories are ones that your father onsidered so prus to him, he ouldn’t bear the thought of voldemort knowing them so he kept them safe”
the train ride bak to hogwarts was more silent than the one leaving the shool, with both harry and drao bak in the normal hogwarts uniform drao gazed out the window as the train took them loser and loser to the shool after he’d heked in with dumbledore, he would have to begin his shool work he had the rest of today and all of tomorrow to finish all the assigs that he’d missed friday and all that he would miss on monday he would not let the trial inonveniene him as narissa so obusly was trying to do
this was suh a mess he had to gain his iane, he had to it wasn’t just malfoy manor, or the money, or knowing that he had won over narissa bk his father had promised him everything he didn’t remember it himself, but seeing the memory in the pensive…losing to narissa, losing his iane, he would lose his father’s promise in essene, he would be throwing that away and he would not do that…he ould not do that but if it ame down to it, would he allow himself to go the route of e just for that?
drao’s eyes losed as he immersed himself deep in thought he’d have to win not only for himself, not only for his father if he didn’t win his iane, then he would have nothing, would have to stay with his godfather and harry would have to stay with him, the veriae bond would make that hen but for harry to stay that lose to snape would make him vulnerable voldemort would order harry brought to him
drao respeted his godfather, maybe even loved him at times if that were possible, but he did not know where his godfather’s loyalties y in the roahing war he ould not risk harry’s life if his godfather was given no hoie but to obey voldemort and he ould not risk his godfather’s life were his godfather to defy voldemort no, the only way to protet both of them was to keep his iane
but e? even as a…st resort? e shouldn’t be used in suh a areless way if he were to propose to harry…or anyone really, he’d want it to be real heart and soul inluded…whatever heart and soul he possessed would harry realize that if he were to go through with it? would he uand what it was? or would he treat it as another duty that he had to do, throwing it away when drao turned seventeen?
drao’s thoughts returned to the two bands of gold that had sat omfortably on their silken pillow when he’d looked at them the night before i finally realize what you meant father, when you said that ‘if i hoose to”…i ould keep my ontat with harry to a minimum if i hoose to i didn’t hoose that route then, father…but i’m not sure when it shifted what would you think, father, if i were to ask you for permisn to propose e to harry potter? would you ugh? i think you would you saw it oming even bak then…yes, even when i was eleven years old and you ened me to beome friends with him…you knew even that long ago but you never told me you never pushed me into it you let me deal with it, not minding that i never one asked you for advie now i wish for your ounil and you aren’t there to give it to me if i hoose to…it was always my hoie, wasn’t it? it just took me this long to realize it i’m going to ask my godfather for permisn in your pe he won’t tell the dark lord, will he? i don’t think he will you would not have taken him into your onfidene if he was untrustworthy it would be too gerous for harry to live under his roof, but it will not be a disaster for him to py your role in this, i think unless, of ourse, he does not give me permisn but we shall see what hens, won’t we?
and as drao drifted off to sleep, lulled by the movement of the train, his hand reahed to touh the two shrunken items in his poket: his father’s pensive, and the box that held the malfoy e rings
chapter 35: trial by heart
of all the things professor severus snape expeted to hear drao ask him during his entire lifetime, this was not one of them
“why in merlin’s name would you ask suh a quesn?” he asked, partly in shok, and partly hoping that drao was not seus in having an answer “and why, also, would you ask my opin?”
“it’s very simple, godfather legally, you’re my guardian, and that makes you my autor, so i have to have your roval”
snape sighed “drao, this kind o
