Lucius swiftly walked out to the woods that surrounded his house, where the dark lord was waiting for him.

"My lord, I'm here." He spoke to the darkness around him when he reached the clearing in the forest. This clearing was one of his favorite places to come when the world seemed to be demanding too much of him. He was just a man trying to survive in this crazy place people call Earth, why did everyone expect so much from him. Ok, he was a death eater, not a normal wizard. Oh well…details details.

"Took you long enough Lucius. Do you know the amount of animals who I had to possess to get here?! It took me longer than I thought, because none of them could hold me in their body for more than a few days. Now, to business. Where is this son of yours? You say that he will be the perfect heir for me. I want to see him." The cold voice came from a small snake in front of him.

"Draco is sleeping right now, but I'll bring him to you in the morning my lord." Lucius promised.

"Very well, I will be going now. I need to find another host—two more in fact." The snake started to slither away, but Lucius stopped him.

"Two, my lord? Why two" He asked.

"Because when I see your son, I plan to go into his mind, and the moment I leave the one, it will leave. And rather that have you chase after it, though it would be a most amusing sight, I find it easier to have another host ready for me." The snake continued his slithering.

"Possess Draco?! Surely you can't be serious! Won't that have an effect on his mind? Or kill him?" Lucius was beginning to think this that this was a bad idea.

"No, I have made sure of it. But it is a test to see if he is strong enough to be my heir. And it will give me an opportunity to see if his mind is strong among other things." It slithered faster to avoid more questions.

Voldemort left Lucius standing there, and for the first time since he became a death eater, he started to wonder if this was the path he should have taken. He knew it was too late to change his loyalties, but still, one could only wonder about what could have been. Everyone thought about it at one point in his or her lives, even if only for the smallest second. Why couldn't he?

Lucius entered the manor, and slowly climbed the steps to his son's room. To tell the truth, he hadn't been there since Draco was born, five years before. He had no idea what his wife had done with it.

He stood in front of the door, his hand raised to knock. Though why he should knock escaped him at the moment, I mean, Draco was five, what could he possibly be doing? But then, he should respect his son's privacy. He knocked and waited for an answer. None came.

"Draco?" He called. Still no answer. He slowly opened the door and peered inside.

A small smile found it's way onto his face, and he opened the door the rest of the way and stepped in. He softly shut the door. As he made his way to the chair where his son was sleeping, his smile faded at the realization of what was to be done to this boy tomorrow.

Even though the Dark Lord hadn't said so, he knew that for him to go into Draco's mind, it would hurt the child. Even though the Dark Lord reassured him that it wouldn't kill him, he still had his doubts. Voldemort was infamous for his ability to deceive people, not for always telling the truth. If it killed the snakes he possessed, why wouldn't it have a similar effect on Draco? If not kill him, it would cause severe pain. And as the boy was so young, Lucius wasn't sure that Draco could take it.

Yes, he had recently started to teach Draco the Dark Arts, and he seemed to be taking to it quite well. He wasn't overly enthusiastic or anything, but he did have a knack for it. Lucius brushed a stay strand of hair out of Draco's eyes. His son was beautiful. It would be a good quality to have if he ever planned on becoming a Death Eater.

Lucius had seen many attractive people in his life, but not many compared to his son. Draco had a sort of unearthly beauty. His skin was flawless and here in the moonlight his pale blond hair glowed like a halo. But Lucius knew that if the Dark Lord had his way, it wouldn't be a halo for long. He knew how fast the Dark Arts could corrupt someone. Lucius wasn't always the bastard he was now. When he was a child, he had been the innocent child, as all children were before they were exposed to the world. His father had done almost the same thing he was doing to Draco now. Lucius had been seduced by the Dark Arts, when his father taught them to him, and when Lord Voldemort showed up, he had jumped at the chance to join up with him. He knew he would regret teaching this to Draco. But then, what choice did he have?

Beneath his hand, he felt Draco stir. He shifted his head, and the strand of hair Lucius had moved fell back to where it was.

"Daddy?" He heard Draco's soft voice call out. He shifted again, and slowly opened his eyes. Again Lucius got a taste of his son's beauty. Draco had the most beautiful eyes anyone could ever imagine. It seemed as if someone took a storm cloud and placed it inside of his eyes. They were that perfect color of grey, with a hint of blue thrown in.

"Go back to sleep, Draco. I'm sorry I woke you." He removed his hand from Draco's face. He got up to leave, but felt a hand on his sleeve. He looked down into Draco's sleepy eyes.

"Stay Daddy. You never come in when I'm sleeping and hold me. Mommy does. Stay." His face was so hopeful he couldn't refuse. He picked Draco up and sat down in the chair. The small boy rested his head against his father's chest, and closed his eyes.

Lucius sat in his son's room and continued his thinking. Draco mentioned that Narcissa came in here and held him while he slept. He hadn't known that. He and his wife weren't that close, the reasoning behind that was that it was an arranged marriage. Not to say they hadn't tried to make it work. They had become friends, someone who they could talk to, but hadn't fallen in love. 'Cissa was probably in their bed at the moment.

As he was relatively sure Draco had fallen asleep, he carefully placed him into his bed. There was somewhere else he had to be right now.

He changed into his nightclothes, and slipped into the bed he shared with his wife. He crossed the line to her side of the bed, and pulled her into his arms. This slight movement woke her up.

"Lucius? What are you doing?" It had been a long time since he had held her while they slept.

He silenced her with a kiss. "Draco told me that you hold him at night sometimes, and did the same thing tonight. But then I realized how long it had been since I'd held you." He kissed her again, and she smiled.

"Are you making an effort to be a better father now?" She asked as he lay down again and she rested her head on his chest unknowingly mimicking their son.

"I suppose. But I do have to tell you something." This brought her to attention again, and she sat up.

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with you seeing You-Know-Who tonight would it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it does. You know how he wants to meet Draco tomorrow?" she nodded "Well he told me tonight that he's going to go into his mind, possess him like the snakes he does to keep alive. This is supposed to give him an idea of how strong Draco is. But I know it kills the snakes, and I'm worried about what it might do to Draco. My Lord assured me that it would not harm him but still I worry. What if Draco's not strong enough, 'Cissa? What if he dies? It only just occurred to me how badly I've done as a father. If they gave grades on it I'd probably get a 'D'." Narcissa placed a finger on his lips to stop him.

"Lucius, you not have been the best father, but you'd at least get a 'B'. Malfoy's aren't known for their good parenting skills: I guess it's in the genes, so it's not your fault. Don't be so hard on yourself. Now go to sleep before you tell me any other wonderful news and I can't get to sleep." She removed her finger and put her head back on his chest.

"But—"

"Sleep!" She commanded.

"Yes ma'am." She smiled, and both parents slowly fell asleep, each wondering if their son was strong enough.

End chapter 2