Friday morning came with a few scattered clouds lingering in the enchanted ceiling of the great hall. Theo watched them drearily as the morning post owls soared above him, dropping care packages and envelopes to the many reaching hands. It had been months since he had spoken directly to his father. Mostly he allowed Narcissa to relay that he would be spending holidays away from home with the Malfoy's. The last time he had seen his father was at the start of last summer when Draco had also come to stay. Out of loyalty to their friendship, he had endured the torture chamber alongside him. After three weeks of hell, Draco had returned home for a week before Theo was finally allowed to join him. He never told Draco of that last week with his father in the chamber deep beneath his family estate where he was kept, unable to even go to bed at night. What they had endured together was bad enough, let alone telling him it had become much worse when Draco had left. The remainder of the summer holiday was spent blissfully at Malfoy Manor under the old Hawthorn trees scattered around the grounds, in between rose gardens and huge marble statues of the previous Malfoy heirs.