FROM THE ABYSS
Summary Draco Malfoy makes a few realizations and seeks to set things right in his own way. A story of redemption and courage with the Slytherin bit thrown in. A new prophecy is made and new allies and new enemies come to the fore as Draco Malfoy finds a new meaning to his life.
Legal Disclaimer : All of Harry Potter belongs to Madam Rowling . This is merely her fan's fiction.
Rating T. Warning for mild violence.
Chapter 1 waking up
Draco Malfoy's world was spinning on it's axis. All that he had held dear had come crashing down these last few days. Being a death eater and wielding unimaginable power like his father had been his dream, or so he had thought. It had been his goal all these years, but the very thought nauseated him now. He mentally scoffed at himself as he thought about how deluded he had been all these days. He had been blind to reality, choosing instead to look at the world through rose tinted glasses, conveniently provided by Lucius Malfoy.
But he now knew unfortunately, what exactly being a death eater was all about. There was nothing glorious about being a death eater,nothing at all. The realization had come late but he hoped not too late. It had all started a few days back, branded on to his senses when Narcissa Malfoy had knocked on his door and said "Draco darling, the dark lord wants you in his presence". The dark lord had moved into the Malfoy Manor over the course of the summer and it was now his base of operations. And he had wanted to see Draco …something that Draco should have run away from but hadn't.
With a bitter taste in his mouth he recalled the events that had transpired with startling clarity. Draco at the time had been very proud of being summoned and with his head held high, he had walked into the room where the dark lord had sat much like an imperial king. After the customary robe kissing (he now wondered how he had been brought so low) he had stood awaiting his instructions. Voldemort had spread out his arms "Draco come, the time has come to prove that you are a better man than your father. His bumbling has been an inconvenience, one which you might rectify. You will be present at the next meeting and observe what it is to be a death eater" he had declared and Draco had been stupid enough to believe that he was being held in favor over his father.
Draco had stood proudly and said "It would be an honor my lord". In retrospect, he realized how clichéd the response had been and how much in contrast of his nature it had been. If he had expected more from Voldemort he had been disappointed when Voldemort merely dismissed him and sent him on his way. Draco had felt ashamed that his father was no longer in the Dark lord's graces and had hoped that he would be able to bring back the Malfoy name up to the mark. Looking back Draco would never quite understand how naive he had been. Whatever he had expected from the death eater meeting it had not definitely been this. He had assumed that because of his father's earlier exalted position he would be in a position of power himself. But it had been nothing but the position of a powerless bystander.
He had imagined that he could be like the other death eaters, full of arrogance and wealth and had been puzzled when Narcissa had looked at him with worry. That had been before the initial meeting with the Dark Lord. The same expression had been on her face again as she had come to escort him to the death eaters meeting where he was supposed to "observe what it is to be a death eater". He wondered idly what his mother had to be worried about as he made his way to the Dark Lord. It was after all just a meeting. She walked beside him and said softly "Draco there is more to you than this, don't ever forget that. Now go, the dark lord is waiting" just before entering the room. He however had no time to ponder upon it's meeting as he entered the room.
Draco had worn the death eater robes that Bellatrix had given him earlier in the day with a meaningful look and now looked no different from the others. As he walked into the room he realized that the death eaters had already been summoned and were assembled in a semicircle. He heard a moan and looked for the source of the sound.
A man in his thirties had been thrown on the ground in their midst bound with ropes. He was dirty and bloodstained with a wild look in his eyes. "Do what you want with me but please let my wife go...we don't even know who you lot are...what do you want with us..." he screamed in a mixture of anger and despair.
Draco's eyes were drawn to the lady similarly bound, with tears streaming down her face. She was a young woman and pretty by any standard. Her long blonde hair was disheveled and her dress was already ripped in many places. Draco felt his stomach churn as the reality of the situation settled into his gut. Fear and horror crept in as he realized that this time he would not be able to get out of participating in the torture of these obvious muggles. He knew without a doubt that his time of reckoning had come and as much as he had thought he was ready for this he really was not...No no no...he definitely was not ready for this.
As much as he did not like muggles he was no torturer. He would rather just stay away from them and they were in turn welcome to stay away from the wizard world. His beliefs stood shaken as he tried to dredge up his hatred of muggles. It had seemed great when he had called Hermione Granger a mud blood. It had given his ego a sense of well being though even at that time he had felt slightly queasy when he saw the hurt expression on her face. Malfoys do not care about mud bloods he had told himself but a small voice rose up in him to say that yes he did not care about mud bloods, and yes, he felt great insulting them but torture?
Was he that callous, that inhuman that he would inflict pain upon someone and enjoy it.?It had never occurred to him until this point that he might not have the stomach for felt his stomach churn and beads of sweat stood out on his forehead. Right now however he had no time to analyze his feelings for mud bloods and muggles . He walked up to Voldemort and bent on his knees to kiss the hem of his robes as could do this..he had to be able to do this.
He cringed inside as he heard Voldemort say "Rise Draco the time has come to prove your allegiance and your willingness to be a part of this honor...show us that you are a better follower than your father and redeem your position..come now Draco" he hissed "curse these abomination that dare to live .Show them how superior we are and how they should be bowing to us as their masters...show them Draco, go on..." he compelled.
For just a moment Draco stood frozen in his spot unable to think of a way out of this desperate situation. And desperate it definitely was. But he also knew that he had no true choice if he wanted to come out of the meeting unscathed. So he turned towards the muggles, his wand held tight in his hand.
The look in the lady's eyes would forever be burned into his conscience .Her eyes pleaded for mercy and also held in their depths a quiet resilience. He prayed for forgiveness as he shut down all his feelings and incanted in a shaky voice crucio!.His effort came out half hearted without the crippling power of any of the other death eaters but it was enough to cause pain, a great deal of pain. The lady twitched and writhed in agony as Draco felt his heart accelerate and his hand tremble. He felt sick that it was his hand that was causing so much pain.
He felt dirty and sullied as the woman's screams pierced the air. Her husband tried to reach her side and he was quickly cursed with the cruciatus by one of the other death eaters and he too was soon reduced to a twitching mass of pain. Draco hastily tried to quell the nausea in his throat and felt his body break out in a sweat. He stood unable to move and entranced by this gruesome display but was sharply brought out of his reverie by Voldemort's voice. "Draco that was pathetic"..he hissed. "do you not know how to cast a proper cruciatus? Perhaps a taste of it might educate you and maybe then your heart would be in it the next time you stand in my presence"... he proclaimed as he lazily flicked his wand with a cruciatus in it's wake.
Pain ripped through Draco as he writhed on the ground. No thoughts existed as his very bones felt like they were on fire. He had no cognizance of where he was, only of the agonizing pain that left him screaming for release. It seemed like forever that he lay twisted on the ground when finally Voldemort decided that he had screamed enough. "I expect better next time Draco now rise, you will have to earn the dark mark soon" he declared and let up the curse.
Draco got to his feet shakily and it was until a few minutes later that he was properly cognisant of his surroundings. His limbs twitched periodically as the after effects of the cruciatus set in. He mentally shook himself to observe the other death eaters take their turns at throwing all types of hexes and curses at the couple until finally Voldemort silenced them with an Avada kedavra.
Draco felt the bile rise in his throat as the air became thick with the smell of blood and bodily fluids. He wondered if he could ever stop the resonance of the screams in his ears. He wanted to get away from the scene and every cell in his body urged him to flee from the room. But that would also probably be the last breath he ever took his mind dimly reminded him. He took a deep breath and tried not to show the shock on his face as he occluded madly to get his emotions under his control. He breathed a sigh of relief as the focus shifted from him and the muggles as Voldemort turned to his death eaters and called for Severus Snape."Severuss.. the name came out with a hiss ..What news do you bring? Is there any anyway to get to Harry Potter?"
Snape stepped forward and spoke in his slow drawl. "My lord the brat resides in his muggle relatives house in the summer and the wards are unapproachable at this time. I am sure however my lord, that it will not remain so for long. Nothing can stand in your way for long my lord" he said sycophantically. He then looked Voldemort in the eyes submitted to the usual bout of legilimency while at the same time bringing up his discussion with Dumbledore of the same issue to the forefront of his mind.
Voldemort thankfully seemed convinced and spared him the cruciatus and declared the meeting closed with a careless "Wormtail clean up the mess and make sure the bodies are disposed of" at which the rest of the made their way out of the room to make their apparations out of the Manor.
Author's note: Hello everyone! I sincerely hope that you liked the first chapter of this story. If you found it good, bad or ugly? I would like to hear it all….so please read and review. Thanks.
