Title: Only An Hour

Summery: A five-year-old Draco desperately tries to get his father to notice him. Cute but sad.

Authors Note: I own nothing. Not even the plot. I received this in the e-mail and plugged in Draco and Lucius. I just thought that this little piece relays to us all.

Only An Hour

Lucius Malfoy came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find Draco, his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

Draco: 'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'

Lucius: 'Yes, what is it?' replied the wizard.

Draco: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

Lucius: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

Draco: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

Lucius: 'If you must know, I make 50 gallons an hour.'

Draco: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down. 'Daddy, may I please borrow 25 gallons?'

Lucius was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.

Lucius sat down and started to get even angrier about Draco's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:

Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that 25 gallons and he really didn't ask for money very often. The wizard went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the 25 gallons you asked for.' Lucius handed Draco a velvet pouch.

Draco sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some more gold coins.

The older wizard saw that his son already had money, started to get angry again.
Draco slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' little Draco replied. 'Daddy, I have 50 gallons now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

Lucius was crushed. He put his arms around Draco, and begged for his forgiveness.

***

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 (or 50 gallons) worth of your time with someone you love.

If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Agree? Disagree? Let everyone hear your voice by leaving a review!