Disclaimer: Don't own and never will.
AN: Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition Game Day – Round 9. In this one, Draco DID kill Dumbledore.
Avada Kedavra.
It was amazing just how much using those two words could change someone's life and the standing of a person's family.
For Draco Malfoy, it represented the culmination of his childhood dreams. He had killed Albus Dumbledore, a task he never expected to even come close to achieving. He had raised the standing of the Malfoy name in the eyes of the people who were supposed to matter in the world and more importantly, the eyes of the Dark Lord himself. No longer just a spoiled little boy who wanted to be a Death Eater, he was a wizard in earnest. At least, that's what his father told him. And all the other Death Eaters, people he had grown up admiring for the most part.
He just wished he didn't feel so sick about it.
Here he was, sitting in the midst of the biggest Death Eater celebration he could ever remember being at and in his honour, over achieving something he was meant to fail. He was meant to die, to teach his father a lesson and despite the odds, he had not only survived, he had succeeded beyond his wildest dreams. His younger self would have wondered what the problem was. His older self just kept seeing Dumbledore trying to persuade him to come to the light.
"Draco?" a familiar girl's voice suddenly broke into his musings and he looked up to see Pansy looking at him curiously. "What's the matter Draco? Don't you like your drink?"
Draco looked down at his still mostly full cup of Firewhisky. It was true he had indeed hardly touched his cup. He had been far too deep in his own head. He gave her a smile and swallowed the contents, the fiery liquid burning its way down his throat. He almost gagged for a moment, but he kept himself composed. The Firewhisky had been a good distraction. He gave Pansy a smile.
"I just…can't believe I did it…" he admitted and Pansy smiled.
"Of course you did it! I'm so envious. You really were telling the truth when you said that he had picked you. He must have recognised that you were an outstanding wizard! Why else would he pick you to kill that old mudblood-loving fool Dumbledore?" Pansy told him and Draco put a smile on his face that he didn't really feel. He wasn't meant to succeed and now that he had, he felt worse than ever.
Yes, he was glad to still be alive, but for how much longer? Dumbledore was the only wizard he ever feared. The fact that Draco had managed to kill him, a mere boy no less, made him a threat. Draco knew full well that would mark him as potentially dangerous in the eyes of the Dark Lord and that scared Draco. How long before he was sent off on another suicide mission? The Dark Lord would not tolerate threats to his power. Surrendering to the light wasn't an option either. He had killed Albus Dumbledore, their leader and their light. Admittedly it had been more by luck than skill. If Dumbledore hadn't been distracted, he would no doubt have failed. Now Draco felt trapped between a rock and a hard place. He couldn't tell Pansy that of course, she would never understand. How could she, she was in awe of the Dark Lord, enamoured by his cause.
"Do you think you could get me inducted into his ranks as well?" she asked, slightly nervously. "I would LOVE to be a Death Eater, purging the unworthy from our world and showing the muggles their place." A look of malicious glee came over her face. "I'd show that little know-it-all mudblood Hermione Granger then! I'd make her beg me to kill her. I'd cruc-"
"I'll ask," Draco cut in suddenly. He didn't like that little know-it-all either, but Pansy was beginning to remind him of his crazy aunt Bellatrix. And he very much wanted to avoid being reminded of his crazy aunt who would no doubt take great pleasure in killing him if he asked her. "But I make no promises."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she squealed excitedly as she threw her arms around him. Then she gave him a devious, seductive smirk. "You know, maybe we could celebrate a bit more privately later."
Under normal circumstances, Draco would have taken her up on her offer. Pansy wasn't pretty, but they had been sleeping with one another on and off since the end of their fifth year. As Pansy put it, they were pretty much guaranteed to be married to one another anyway, so it didn't really matter.
Tonight was a different story though. Draco gave her another fake smile and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips.
"I have things to take care of. Not tonight. Tomorrow, I promise," Draco told her with a smile and she pouted in a way she thought looked cute. Unfortunately, it just made her look like a spoiled brat. Or maybe it was just him. She quickly stood up and grabbed his arm.
"You can still dance with me. It's your party, you should do that," she said, pulling him onto the dance floor. Draco let himself follow her, allowing himself to be lost in the rhythm of the music and for a little while he allowed himself to forget. Unfortunately it didn't last.
"Dray, I had my doubts about you," Bellatrix said as she draped herself over his shoulder. He could smell the alcohol on her breath and she seemed to be staggering about slightly. Her very presence was a reminder that he was doomed. The only real question was whether it would be at the end of someone fighting for the light or at the hands of her master of even him. "I had my doubts. But you have proven better than I thought possible."
"Thank you Aunt Bellatrix," he said formally as he avoided looking at her eyes. Even when they were bloodshot, or perhaps it was because they were bloodshot, they made him feel uneasy. Bellatrix looked at Pansy and smiled. It looked a lot like a cat surveying a particularly tasty looking mouse. Or maybe that was just Draco.
"And you must be so proud. Draco will be a strong husband and a worthy father of your children," she said and Pansy's face lit up with pleasure. She obviously didn't see the same thing Draco saw, so maybe it was just him. Or maybe Pansy was just so enamoured with meeting one of the most famous Death Eaters in the world that she didn't see it. Draco idly wondered if Bellatrix would just kill Pansy, or whether she would torture her first when Draco was gone.
"Oh yes! Draco and I will preside over the next generation of pure bloods, in a world where everything is set right and we are acknowledged for our true worth!" she said and Draco felt his stomach turn over violently. He wanted to see the wizarding world set to rights as well, but now…he wasn't sure it was worth the price.
"Excuse me for a moment please," he said quickly. "I think I need some air." And without saying anything more, he walked out onto the garden. When he was sure he was a lone, he put his face in his hands and groaned. The rise of the Malfoy name was supposed to be a good thing, something for him to be pleased about. Instead, he was feeling worse than he had ever felt in his life.
"Draco?" a voice interrupted his thoughts, a voice of someone he knew wouldn't judge him for his doubts. Someone he could always count on. He turned to face his mother for the first time since he had killed Dumbledore.
"Hello mother," he said and Narcissa looked at him with worry and concern in her eyes. She wasn't stupid and more importantly, she cared for him above all else. He couldn't say that about his father.
"Oh Draco," she said gently and she embraced him in her arms and tears fell on his head. "I can't tell you how happy I am that you're still alive."
"But for how much longer?" he asked and a frown crossed his mother's face. "I killed the only wizard he ever feared. There's no way that he will risk me overshadowing him like that."
"I know," she said and he could see tears in her eyes. "But I promise you this Draco. He will die before I allow him to send you into harms way again."
"Mother…"
"This year was hard enough as it was. Never again," she said with a grim determination. Draco looked at his mother in surprise and she chuckled in amusement. "Don't look so surprised Draco, I was a Black before I became a Malfoy. I know a few spells."
"Bu-"
"He doesn't think I am a threat. He thinks only in terms of his followers. I am just another dutiful wife. He thinks that because your father is too afraid to stand up to him, that I am," she said firmly, before giving him a hug, tears in her eyes. "If it comes to that, go to my sister Andromeda. She will protect you."
"Draco, if the worse should happen, I want you to be safe," she told him firmly, before giving him a sad smile. The fact that she was showing so much emotion, far more than he ever seen from her before, spelt out to him just how serious she was.
"Mother…"
"Now go inside Draco. Your guests are waiting for you," she said calmly, as though the past few minutes hadn't happened at all and she turned and left him standing there. Composing himself, he walked back into the party.