A Question of Mortality   von viv-heart
================================================================================
                                  Kapitel 4: 
                                  -----------


Severus was already there when Draco stepped into the dining room, tapping his
foot impatiently.
“We were waiting for you,” he informed him tartly and Draco gulped, the
man’s tone making goosebumps appear all over his body.
He nodded swiftly and Lucius cocked his head, indicating to Severus that he
should finally speak.
“There’s no mistake that he really is your son, Draco,” he said and
Narcissa, who had been clutching the table-cloth in the most unladylike fashion
jumped up, almost pulling the breakfast arrangement to the ground as she hurried
to pull Draco into an embrace.
“That’s not all,” Severus said and Narcissa stopped a few steps short of
him. 
“What else?” She glared at Snape over her shoulder, clearly not liking the
way he was presenting the information.   
Draco held his breath as a heavy weight settled in his stomach in fear of what
was to come. He had no idea what the tests could have uncovered, but judging by
Severus’ expression it was nothing good.
“The results are like nothing I have ever seen,” Severus said, his dark eyes
piercing Draco, who forced himself to hold his gaze despite wishing for nothing
more than to run away and hide in his overly green room with the too soft bed.
“What do you mean?” Lucius asked. His voice was strained - Draco could see
the tension in his shoulders, a scowl not unlike his own on his face.
“Too many chromosomes, weird sequences and more. I’m going to spare you the
details. Let’s just say that’s not what human DNA looks like.”
Draco shifted uneasily not knowing where he should put his hands, aware that he
got the undivided attention of everyone in the room as they studied him,
probably looking for something that wasn’t entirely human about him.
“You must have gotten something wrong,” Narcissa said finally into the
silence and Draco bit the inside of his cheek.
He didn’t know what to do, the feeling of helplessness overwhelming him.
“I don’t know how this is possible. But I can assure you there were no
mistakes made. I rerun the test three times,” Severus explained, sticking out
his chin in defiance.
Lucius started to yell at him, telling him that there had to be a mistake
because Draco was his son and clearly human, but stopped when a single white
feather glided on the marble floor in front of him.
As three pairs of eyes turned back to look at him, Draco realized that he must
have spread his wings as some kind of comfort mechanism and rose his arms in
weak defence. “I can explain.”
He hurried through the explanation, his eyes firmly on the floor, not daring to
look up and to face the adults. He feared that he would start crying again if he
looked at Narcissa and maybe even Lucius.   
The explanation was rather short-lived as Draco himself didn’t know that much
about what was really going on, and yet someone clincked with glassware in the
mid of it. Draco ignored it and only when he finished talking did he dare to
look up.
Narcissa was staring at him in horror, her hand clasped over her mouth while
Severus’ face had darkened considerably. Lucius looked positively murderous,
his eyes glinting dangerously and his knuckles white around his glass with what
Draco suspected was some strong alcohol.
“So you died and became Miss Granger’s guardian angel?” Lucius asked, as
if saying it out loud would make it more believable, and Draco reassured him
that it was true.
He asked several other questions, all going into the same direction and Draco
answered them patiently. He was doing his best to make sense of the story that
seemed totally unbelievable even to him. The wings were the main reason he
himself believed it over the version Granger had spun for Blaise to cover it up.
Lucius emptied his fourth glass, of what Draco learned to be whiskey when he saw
the bottle, in roughly fifteen minutes after Draco answered another question.
But when he reached for the bottle to refill it, Narcissa smacked his hand away.
He shot her a dirty look but turned back to Draco.
“I am going to kill the bastard who did this,” Lucius announced.
“Instead of going in circles we should focus on how to proceed,” Severus
said at that, obviously deciding that the situation needed some rationality.
Lucius was overly emotional and drunk, not a common occurrence Draco guessed
when he saw the looks Severus exchanged with Narcissa.
“You have to destroy those documents and make fake ones,” Narcissa, who had
been silent during the whole questioning said and Severus nodded. “And we have
to hide Draco - I am not going to risk whoever killed him the first time doing
it again.”
“Wouldn’t it be smarter to keep him here and strengthen the security?”
Lucius crossed his arms. “We could hire bodyguards.”
“He’s an easy target if people know where he is!” Narcissa protested.
Draco tried to catch Severus’ eyes, trying to get him to do something, as he
feared his parents would get into a lengthy discussion about what to do,
ignoring his presence. Unfortunately Severus avoided all eye contact, seemingly
studying a nearby vase and ignoring Lucius and Narcissa completely. Draco
wondered what exactly the man’s relationship with his parents was but decided
to not dwell on it. He could always find out later.
“I am present,” Draco said when he couldn’t take the arguing anymore and
his parents turned to him.
Draco was sure that a small smile appeared on Severus’ face before
disappearing as fast as it had come.
“Of course!” Narcissa gave him what was probably supposed to be a smile but
was more of a grimace. “We are just thinking about what is best for you! Of
course we wouldn’t decide without you but we need to discuss the options!”
Draco listened with a sour expression, not believing a word of it. While he
understood that it was a huge change for them to have an adult son instead of a
teenager, especially as he had been missing, it didn’t mean that this was
okay. Especially since he firmly believed that  one should start to involve
their children in decision making when they were still teenagers - Granger’s
parents always did that and they had a good relationship.
Draco shook his head slightly when he realized who he was thinking about,
cursing himself. He was finally rid of her and had more pressing matters to
think about and yet his thoughts wandered back to her.
“I don’t want to be caged like an animal,” he said, interrupting
Narcissa’s endless monologue. “I don’t care if I stay here or go somewhere
else, but I want to go out. I missed so much and I want to live now that I got a
second chance. I don’t know how much time I have and I want to make use of
every second of it.”
Narcissa’s mouth fell shut and Draco looked at Lucius, hoping that he would
say something. To his surprise, it was Severus who spoke up.
“Maybe we should ask Mister Zabini and Miss Parkinson if you could stay with
them while we sort out the legal issues. That way you get a glimpse of a normal
life before the media will be all over you when it comes out that you came back
from the dead. Of course they can’t know it happened literally.”
“In the meantime we can prepare the Manor without the workers getting wind of
what is going on,” Lucius nodded along in approval. “After the big reveal
you’ll have to stay here as the Media and surely some fans will try to corner
you of course. Crowds are dangerous, especially as we know that there is a
maniac out there who won’t hesitate to kill.”
Draco didn’t know what to say at the expectant look he got from Lucius, opting
to simply nod. If he was honest with himself he didn’t really want to go to
Blaise and Pansy but the alternative of staying with his parents was even less
thrilling. Either way, he had to expect a few very awkward and uncomfortable
weeks and maybe months and wasn’t looking forward to them.
<<<
It took them two days in which Draco grew increasingly antsy to get everything
sorted out, including getting Pansy and Blaise to agree and finally, everything
was ready for him to move.
Blaise had agreed to go get him, Pansy’s doing Draco guessed, and they drove
to London in silence. Only when they arrived in the city did Blaise speak.
“The main reason why I agreed to this is because I hope for entertainment. We
are not friends. Don’t expect me to treat you like one.”
Draco didn’t know why but he started to laugh. While Blaise clearly didn’t
like him, he liked Blaise and wondered why they hadn’t been friends back in
school. For  lack of better things to say, he asked exactly that.
“You got on my nerves,” Blaise replied flatly, not even looking at Draco and
 parked the car. “Now get out.”
Draco was sure that there was more to the story but obliged, deciding to ask
Pansy instead, hoping that she would be more forthcoming with information.
Of course he didn’t get to ask immediately after they arrived as she started
fussing over him, asking too many questions and telling him gossip about people
he didn’t know as she helped him unpack his new things in the guest room.
“I am sorry, but I don’t know who Goyle is,” Draco said as he put the last
jacket into the closet. Pansy shrieked, clasping her hands over her mouth, the
scarf she had been holding falling to the floor.
“I am so sorry! I didn’t think about that! I must have bored you to
death!” she said as she leaned down to pick it up.
“It’s fine,” Draco sat down on the edge of the bed. “It’s better than
awkward silence.”
Pansy smiled sadly and sat down next to him, putting her hand on his. “It will
get better.”
Draco shook his head, pulling his lower lip between his teeth, and concentrated
on a spot on the carpet that looked as if someone had put out a cigarette on it.
His eyes burned.
His own over-emotionality annoyed Draco to no extent, making him feel weak and
idiotic, but he suspected that it was an effect of kind of coming back to life.
It seemed hormones had returned together with his heart-beat, hunger, tiredness
and, to his annoyance, hair-growth . The realization that he had to shave if he
didn’t want to get a beard had let him contemplate if he shouldn’t try to
leave the world of the living again.
“I don’t know what to say to that,” Pansy said, swinging her feet in the
air. “I can’t understand what you are going through and probably never will.
And let’s be honest - I’ve always been really bad with feelings. You used to
tease me about it all the time.”
“Now that I know, I can start doing it again,” Draco nudged her with his
shoulder. He hated that everyone was sad because of him, one of the main reasons
why he chose Pansy and Blaise over his parents, and hoped he would learn to
change that. He knew he wasn’t a good person but they were the people he had
cared about and that had to mean something.
Pansy snorted and Draco counted it as success.
“I am sure your charming personality will return soon and I will ask myself
why I missed it so much,” she said, nudging him too. “Even though I fear it
will be arsehole overload with you and Blaise sharing such small space.”
Draco grinned and let himself fall on his back. “I am really looking forward
to it.”
“I bet you are,” Pansy said. “You always sought out people who challenged
you. It was Potter this and Potter that and how did Granger do that and really
Zabini?”
Draco lifted his head so he could see her properly. “Who’s Potter?” he
asked. If he had talked about that person so much, they must have been important
to him.
“The person I will keep you away from at all costs, just to spare my poor
ears,” Pansy said and stood up, but there was a smile on her face. “But I
should be going now. I’ve promised Daphne to help her with choosing a dress
for her cousin’s wedding. Blaise will be home if you need anything.”
Draco nodded and watched her leave silently. On one hand, he was glad that he
finally had some time for himself because dealing with all those people was
emotionally exhausting, but on the other hand he didn’t know what to do with
himself.
He stared at the ceiling for several minutes but couldn’t take it for too long
and sat up, deciding to go and annoy Blaise. That they hadn’t been friends
didn’t mean they couldn’t be in the future - and even if Blaise really
didn’t want that, annoying him was still better than doing nothing.
Draco walked out of the guest room and to the living room where Blaise was
watching Tv. “What’s up?” he asked, sitting down next to him.
“I’m watching a film,” Blaise replied without looking at him. “People
are supposed to be silent during it if you don’t remember.”
Draco frowned. While Blaise hadn’t been exactly nice to him before, he
hadn’t been hostile either. “What’s your problem?” he asked, turning to
him so he could watch him properly. Unfortunately, Blaise was just as unreadable
as he had been when Draco had first met him.
“None of your fucking business. I would greatly appreciate it if you left me
alone,” Blaise glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, “I am not going
to pour out my poor little heart out to you or something equally stupid, if
that’s what you are hoping for.”
Draco stood up. “I just wanted to talk to you and get to know you. But I see
I’m overstepping my welcome. If you didn’t want me around, you shouldn’t
have agreed.”
With that, he went to get his shoes, beanie and wallet and left, making a point
of slamming the door after himself.
He pulled the beanie over his hair as he jogged down the stairs - avoiding the
elevator like pest - and contemplated where to go. While he had wanted to make a
point in walking out on Blaise, he knew that it hadn’t been his smartest move
as Pansy hadn’t had time to show him around yet.
He stepped out onto the street and started to walk down the street. He turned
into random streets when he felt like it, studying the various window displays
and people he passed with more or less interest. He didn’t know where he was
going and didn’t particularly care, just hoping that he would find a way to
kill some time. He didn’t know when Pansy was coming home, but he expected it
to be much later and he didn’t want to go back to be with Blaise alone when
the other didn’t want to talk to him.
Draco didn’t understand why but he was feeling restless again, wanting to do
something, wanting to speak to somebody, wanting to live. It had been something
he had experienced several times since he had come back and it always drove him
crazy. It was like something else, something more was hiding in him and wanted
to burst out of his chest like that weird Alien in the movie he had seen.
In his musings if the film was really called Alien or something else - he had
marathoned a few of them over the last few days - Draco didn’t see her at
first.
Only when he heard her shout, did Draco realize that he had run into Granger yet
again.
He jogged towards her and the two young, burly men who were standing in front of
her, laughing. “What’s going on?” he asked, pulling himself up to his full
height.
“What the-” Hermione turned to him, her brows furrowed and eyes wide but
Draco hold up his hand to silence her.
“What is going on?” he asked the two strangers again, glaring at them.
“What do you care?” one of them asked, looking Draco up and down with
disdain. “She’s a crazy bitch and everybody knows it. Spew my arse - never
heard of anything as stupid as that.”
“You’ve never had to listen to yourself then,” Draco said but stopped when
Hermione put a hand on his arm.
“Let it be,” she said and Draco’s eyebrows shot up almost to his hairline.
“Excuse me, Granger?” he snapped at her, barely believing his ears. Where
was the girl that had fought him all this time? Where was the woman he had
watched all those years?
“Just shut up, okay?” she said, glancing anxiously at the retreating backs
of the two men who had bothered her.
“But why?” Draco looked at her in confusion. Something was clearly not
right.
“Those were your former friends! Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe! As I
haven’t seen anything about you on the news, I assume you try to keep a low
profile for now and don’t want to be recognized. You are lucky they are as
stupid as they come and are without their new leader today.”
 

Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)