The Heir of the House of Malfoy

The light was fading in the large bedroom, diminishing slowly between the cracks in the heavy, ornate drapes. The darkness was such that most people would have illuminated the lamps or at least bade a house elf to do so, but instead the sole inhabitant of the room did nothing but sit on the edge of the bed, staring at his hands. Occasionally he would absentmindedly turn the heavy ring on his right hand ever-so-slightly, as if to perhaps pretend it wasn't there and then, feeling the weight of the metal against skin, ease it away so that it left his consciousness. But it was futile. The ring was there now, would be there tomorrow and would in all reality be there until he died. Giving it away, as he had received it, was never going to be an option.

The small sound of the door opening behind him caused his posture to immediately change; no slumping was allowed. Instead he assumed the bolt upright form that had been drilled into him from his earliest memories.

"Scorpius..." Astoria's voice was soft, tender. "It's so dark in here."

He flinched slightly and blinked several times as the lights came on. "I like the dark."

With a sigh she sat down on the bed next to him, brushing his hair back from his head. At times he was just like his father. "You should go talk to him. He's in the study."

"Why?" His head snapped towards her. "I did what he wanted, I'm the official heir to the House of Malfoy now. Now and forever."

"Scorpius, sweetie...for me. Just go talk to him for me. Please? Just this once, there are things you need to know."

He closed his eyes and felt it hard to swallow. Things I need to know. He could imagine exactly what he would be told, things he would be forced to do, things…

"Please?"

There were many things Scorpius could do, but he could not deny his mother when she said the word that way. He could almost hear all the history flowing through the simple word, how she had helped protect him from the madness of his grandfather Malfoy, how she'd helped protect him from those horrible years before Hogwarts, how she'd helped protect him from...his father. "Ok." The word came out slowly but it seemed like an iron gate had slammed shut on everything that he'd hoped for, now gone.

-ooo-

His father was sitting in the massive leather chair by the window, a small lamp lit on the side table, reading a very old book. He hadn't noticed when Scorpius had entered the room, giving the son a chance to study the father. Mostly bald, with the white hair cropped close around the sides, glasses perched on the end of his nose, but surprisingly no longer wearing the formal robes from the ceremony earlier that night; instead he wore a pair of jeans, a somewhat lumpy jumper over an old shirt and slippers without stockings, causing his pale, thin ankles to almost glow in the light.

After a deep breath Scorpius cleared his throat. "Mum said you wanted to see me."

"Ah. Yes." Draco took off his glasses, set them on the side table, and motioned towards the small chintz chair that was next to his. "Just move your mother's knitting."

Once the seating space was clear Scorpius sat down. At first he thought of waiting to see what Malfoy madness was going to be his life but instead a feeling of anger washed through him and spoiling his father's planned speech was too much to resist. "Dad, I'm gay."

That did take Draco by surprise, as his open mouth stopped wide open, whatever words now gone. He closed his mouth, lips forming into something almost of a smirk and nodded. "Yes, and…?"

"But...I'm your heir!" Scorpius leaned forward. "Which means I have to provide an heir for the House of Malfoy."

Draco nodded. "Yeeessss….that's how that works."

"So you're going to make me marry a witch?"

"Merlin's balls, no." Draco sat back in his chair, crossed his legs and readjusted the book on his lap. "Why trap yourself into something that would eat at you for the rest of your life? I do expect the surrogate witch to have a thorough background check."

Falling back into his seat Scorpius slumped and scowled. "Have to make sure she's a proper pureblood?"

"Are you quite determined to make me angry? Have you learned nothing from my mistakes, from the mistakes this family has made? Magical, yes. I expect your surrogate to be magical. The family book..." he closed the book, marking his place with an index finger, and lifted it up. "...the book makes no references to pureblood heirs, believe it or not. Abraxas and those before him, that was their influence."

There were many times that Scorpius had felt confused, none more than when he had been sorted into Ravenclaw, but now he felt as the ship had come completely away from the moorings. "So you don't care that I'm gay? You knew and you made me your heir anyway?"

Almost under his breath Draco muttered "Astoria was right, should have been ages ago." After a steadying breath he tossed the book on the floor and leaned towards his son. "I have not been a very good father to you. I have made many mistakes, and for that I am truly sorry. But the one thing I have always tried to teach you is that you define what the Malfoy name means for you. It's too late for me, even with everything I've done. I've made my peace with that. I wasn't going to name you heir, but then I realized I don't have to make an old, bitter, dead man happy any more than you do. So you're gay? Fine. You're a better man than I was at your age and you'll be a better man than I'll ever be. Fine someone to make you happy. It's a bloody miracle that your mother and I...enough of that. Find someone to make you happy. And someday, when it's time, have a baby. You're my heir, but most importantly you're my son."

For a moment both men sat still, as if any semblance of movement or sound would break things into pieces, but then they both stood. Draco held out his arms, Scorpius embracing him after a step. Eventually they broke apart slightly until Draco rested a hand on the back of his son's neck in a comforting gesture.

"A word of advice, though? Have more than one. It was rather lonely."