ââMy styleâ?â Lucius repeated, mock-aghast. âMadam Pomfrey, you wound me. âAs if my sense of style would ever be brought low enough to include something as wretchedly tacky as that abomination to good taste?â He sighed dramatically. âDo you truly hold me in such low regard? Either I have to tear these robes off right now and burn them, or I need to revise my assessment of my younger selfâs sense of fashion completely and retire entirely from society for at least three years out of shame.â He shook his head, mortally wounded.
The fatal injury was immediately cured by mention of his son â Pomfrey used the boyâs name without having to be reminded, how wonderful! â and Lucius beamed at her. âUp until I was so adroitly skewered by my old hospital matron, I was doing quite marvelously, thank you. And DracoâŠâ Luciusâs bright grin softened with undisguised affection. âDraco is a perfect treasure. You are going to adore him,â he predicted confidently â less for any tangible reason than because Lucius genuinely couldnât imagine anyone not adoring his precious child. âAlthough,â he added with a quasi-apologetic shrug, âI fear you may end up having to repeat a few of those lectures that I always so rashly ignored; heâs already demonstrated a love of being airborne. I think youâve another Quidditch player coming.â
Another talented dueler as well, although Lucius saw no reason to mention that to Poppy Pomfrey â but he had every intention of teaching his son to defend himself properly.
Instead he gave her a grin that was all slyly-curled glittering violet lips and sharp white teeth. âDonât be silly, my dear matron. As if I would ever let myself be out-bid on something that I truly wanted â even if it is just to see the look on fatherâs face. No, Severus I think â heâs a better choice to receive this splendid gift. Heâs such a serious fellow; might cheer him up a bit, or at least give him something new to grip about,â Lucius laughed.
He eyed her chosen portrait balefully â it didnât look like the sort of face he would want looking down on him in his study â then shrugged. âI suppose thatâs a useful thing to be reminded of, anyway,â he said diplomatically, then his eyes lit-up as though struck by a grand idea. âHow badly would you like it? Iâll put an outlandish bid down that no one will be interested in outdoing and gift it to you after, if you like.â Not that he thought anyone was going to be bidding high for that particular pieceâŠbut that didnât make the offer any less generous.
She chuckled at his mock offense, rolling her eyes good naturedly and having another sip of her wine. âI thought the feathers might have made it yours, but youâre right. Maybe itâs the colour?â Theyâd taken the dull, greying hand and painted it a bright neon orange, with colourful decorations. Poppy looked from Luciusâ flamboyant outfit to Poppyâs rather boring red pantsuit. âOh shush, Lucius. You know I wouldnât know style if it slapped me in the face.â
Poppy smiled warmly at Luciusâ reaction to Draco. It reminded her of her own parents, as progressive as they had been, who had proudly told their traditional Korean family members about Antonia. Of course, theyâd still harassed her about having children, but their love and acceptance was appreciated all the same. She quirked a brow, âOh, no. Make sure you buy him a helmet, wonât you? By the time theyâre at Hogwarts no one ever listens to grumpy old Madame Pomfrey about concussions and head trauma.â She remembered trying to wrangle one onto Lucius- and especially remembered his tantrum about how the leather would ruin his hair.
She rolled her eyes at Luciusâ teasing. School never ended for some of them, it seemed. Poppy was about to move on and out of the silent auction room to make room for others when Lucius made his offer. She scowled, âOh, come now Lucius, donât be ridiculous. Of course, if youâd like to donate more to St Mungos, Iâm sure they could use the funding, but donât do it for me. It might seem a touch inappropriate.â She reminded him with a quirked brow. Lucius was new to the school board, after all- perhaps he wouldnât know.Â