What does Draco think and feel about Lucius? How does that change after the secret of his biological father is revealed, either to one or both of then?
HELP ME DEVELOP DRACO !!! / accepting.
before finding out about his father , lucius is of course draco’s biggest fear. draco has always seemed to be a reflection of , and a testament to , lucius’s insecurities. most things that draco does is with the hope of appeasing lucius , and at the root , draco just … fears him ? beyond that , i can’t say draco loves him. i can’t say that draco is capable of loving anyone , not in a way that is absent or independent of ulterior motive or personal gain. the closest thing would be narcissa. that’s his mother , but ( and this is an assumption so you can tell me about this ) , i just feel like the secret of his paternity is one of those secrets that creates its own kind of unrelenting tension ? like it’s always there , especially since narcissa has to constantly watch draco take the brunt of lucius’s wrath and disdain. and i don’t see lucius taking it out on narcissa due to narcissa not taking that shit , but again , that’s just an assumption.
with that being said , i think a lot of draco’s relationship with lucius is developed AWAY FROM narcissa. because even in the books , usually draco is either with one parent or the other. it’s never the two of them really. narcissa wasn’t there when lucius got into a fucking fist fight with arthur weasley. she is just as formidable when she is around , but the thing about narcissa is that when she says something , draco knows she means it. whereas , with lucius , draco knows he’s bullshitting to everyone else EXCEPT draco. threats made to draco are almost always followed through unless a ) draco manages to hide behind his mother or grandfather or b ) lucius has other business to tend to that draws his attention. and what is more , lucius is constantly trying to thin the bond draco has with abraxas , who is the only solid role model or confidante draco has. and when abraxas dies , THAT is when draco’s disdain for lucius begins. so it’s already in motion by the time this all comes to light.
overall though , there is nothing admirable to draco about lucius apart from his status. and even that wasn’t entirely earned because one , most of it is just an extension of abraxas or the malfoy name in general and two , the rest of it stems from the other death eaters going to prison. so really , what draco sees in lucius is a shadow to walk in or shoes to fill. nothing more or less. it’s just … his father. he has a duty to his father. that’s that.
now after the bomb is dropped and he finds out who his father is —and also after he finds out his father is literally one of voldemort’s most trusted and actually went to prison for doing some real shit in the war— that whole idea of lucius is misconstrued. it changes drastically , and fast. because now , lucius doesn’t seem all that cool or important or crucial to the cause. all of lucius’s stories about being superior to others falls short because first , i guarantee that , if lucius is smart , he is ABSOLUTELY TERRIFIED of the lestranges. all fucking three of them. and then he royally fucks up with the diary , and that comes to light after voldemort returns , so draco realizes pretty fast that lucius isn’t superior to anyone. he is as much a pawn to voldemort as draco is to him. he was never top - tier anything. abraxas was but not lucius. he inherited his slot , never earned it. whereas the lestranges did both and have been highly regarded from beginning to end. and so now , lucius doesn’t seem all that scary.
and then once rabastan knows ? draco never has to worry about lucius again.
now i imagine that lucius —and this is based wholly on the fact that narcissa is the bigger person— finds out pretty soon after rabastan does. at the very least , as soon as he gets out of azkaban. and by then , the lestranges know , so it really doesn’t matter one way or the other. they’ve already taken over draco’s protection in full , and narcissa probably tells him out of sheer courtesy ? again , you can tell me lol. but regardless , draco’s idolization of lucius malfoy deteriorates at a break - neck speed after that for a number of reasons.
first , that’s not his father lmao.
second , lucius malfoy couldn’t even last a year in azkaban. he comes out looking a whole ass mess whereas rabastan comes out almost about the same as he was before. now obviously his skills have suffered. he’s not as great a dueler , but he was never much of one before. he preferred to do business more brutally , more up , close and personal if you will. he liked to use his bear hands or a good blade , a habit he shared with bella during the second war. but rabastan is still … some kind of kind. he has empathy for others. he’s still overwhelmingly respected among the death eaters. and it is absolutely obvious that he still loves narcissa. and for draco , it is such an alarming thing. because draco has never seen anything like the look in his father’s eyes when he first sees his mother and him together. rabastan , who was denied love all of his life , who was told he would never marry or have a family , and then followed what family he had into the dark , was still able to love. and that fucks draco up. but it also gives him hope that maybe his weaknesses aren’t weaknesses at all. maybe it’s okay to be exhausted with all the bullying and the fighting and the childhood grudges. and yeah of course , right after that he’s told he has to kill albus fucking dumbledore but anyway …
now third , draco is most mad , after knowing everything , that lucius married his mother and not his father. what would have happened if his father had married her ? would he have still gone to prison ? would he have tried harder not to ? would draco’s entire life be different ? better ? the answers to all this is probably yes , and draco believes that whole - heartedly , so there is a lot of bitterness to go around for all of his parents although he doesn’t hate his mother and father. he IS angry with his grandfather cygnus. and he’s angry with rabastan’s parents , who i’m sure are probably still fucking alive jfc , but he can understand what his parents were up against later on , and so he doesn’t stay upset with them for long at all. and plus , like , his mom was a good mom ? if she’d not been , it would be different , but she did her best , and so he really can’t be too angry with her. she didn’t have control of any of that.
another reason draco’s idea of lucius changes is because draco is now IN THESE MEETINGS. he sees how voldemort treats lucius. he realizes that lucius is a very different person standing in front of those lesser than him than he is sitting before voldemort. and yeah , draco is scared. he’s fucking terrified , but he’s supposed to be able to look to his father for strength. to lucius. and he can’t. instead , he finds that in rabastan , who is sitting there fucking bartering with THE DARK LORD HIMSELF for draco’s safest route , who is going to FENRIR FUCKING GREYBACK and ensuring his safety. rabastan , who has been his father —in technical terms— for just a few fucking days is doing more for him than lucius ever did and , apparently , ever can do so. yeah , there is nothing left to love or admire or desire in lucius. and ironically enough , lucius himself taught draco that people are only as important as what they can do for you.
the thing —and draco doesn’t realize this until later— is that draco doesn’t want anything from rabastan , and yet he gets so much. the thing is that he gets so much from rabastan , and still just wants to know him , to know he has a father that believes in him.
