THE SOCIAL CANCER
A Dramione Fanfiction
AU set during the 19th century. Draco Malfoy arrived six years later to England in order to help the wizarding world free from the power of the Dark Lord. His idealism, however, cannot bear the fruit of those insidious forces bent to destroy him, as he was labeled as a "blood traitor" for having been in an affair with the muggleborn, Hermione Granger. The problem doesn't only revolve around him, the ones he trusts and those who hate him, but the world he came back for. And those are reasons enough that he is more than willing to reform it.
DISCLAIMER: all rights go to JK Rowling
Author's note: This one is loosely based from a 19th century historical novel. Thank you to my wonderful beta, Victoria, without your will to help me in my first fic, i don't know what would i do. Go check and follow her on tumblr guys! hcrmiones. tumblr . com
Chapter 1: A Gathering
At the end of October, it wasn't in Lucius Malfoy's nature to organize a sudden gathering. But contrary to his usual custom, that afternoon, on that day he decided to invite guests for his dinner, word spread throughout Wiltshire, London, Surrey and to other neighboring places that the Malfoy patriarch enforced. Lucius was famous for being gallant and for being a Dark Lord's faithful follower. A few only knew him as a generous and approachable man, yet he concealed those traits to those who weren't on the same social standing. Being the head of one of the pureblood families, there were necessary codes and laws a pureblood had to follow, and being a follower of Tom Riddle, his master's accordance was to follow.
The news spread like wild fire throughout the whole of Wizarding England. Some people were ready to arrive at his Manor in Wiltshire, some were hurrying to get their elegant dress robes done in a flash at Madame Malkin's, some were thinking on how to greet the guests with a curtsy from a woman and a kiss on the hand from a man. The Malfoy Manor, consisted of 23 rooms and a huge garden and was the largest house in the whole of Wizarding England and even in the Muggle community. Safety had been ensured and destruction of the Manor had been guaranteed impossible for over a hundred years, as it was heavily guarded with wards casted by their ancestors.
Since the Dark Lord visited his abode with his other followers, the Death Eaters like his wife's sister, Bellatrix Lestrange and her husband, Rodolphus, the Manor looked disconcerting. For this gathering, however, Lucius ordered his house elves to beautify the place especially the dining room. As the guest started to arrive by their carriage (since he didn't adjust the wards for the floo to open for everyone), the Manor was at its full color, and for the first time in a while the ancient house was refreshing. Everyone was having a good time while waiting for dinner to be served.
The guests were happily chatting to their colleagues. At one corner, a group of about four Death Eaters were talking quietly, looking around the place discreetly as if planning for something to do. From time to time, they carefully pointed at someone and chuckled quietly.
Somewhere at the lounge, Theodore Nott Sr. and his French companion, Jean La Rue, were nursing firewhiskies, Ogden's finest. Nott Sr. was also Riddle's follower and worked at the ministry ever since Riddle took over the Ministry of Magic.
"Mudboods are becoming more infuriating than their ancestors." Nott Sr. stated, his companion nodding slowly.
"Hm? Why do you say so?"
"Haven't you noticed? Well for one, they are not worth our time. Two, they do not belong here and they never will. And three, their bloods are dirty and impure. I would bet upon slicing their bodies, blood would pour out muddled with dirt."
"But I have heard… the Granger girl… she is brilliant for sure."
Nott scoffed, yet slightly agreeing to what his companion had said. The brown-eyed brunette may had been a great asset for their kind because of her extraordinary skills and her capacity of knowledge of their world. Unfortunately, she was on the other side of the coin. Granger was part of the resistance, or the Order of Phoenix, a close companion to the child of prophecy, Harry Potter… and was the rumored lover of Lucius Malfoy's only son, Draco. Those reasons weighed her chances to be exiled.
If that's true, then he's a blood traitor. A disgrace for stooping so low.
"I just wish my work there in the ministry will be over once the Dark Lord allows us to kill every single one of them." He said darkly, sipping down all the remaining firewhisky in his glass in one swift.
"Why do you loathe the… well… muggleborns?" La Rue stuttered.
Nott carefully placed the empty glass on the mahogany table, sat against the velvety red sofa and intertwined his hands, as if the story to tell was something to be proud of.
"You'll see. A few months of your stay here, you'll be agreeing with me."
"But..."
"For example," the pureblood continued, raising his voice to keep the floor, "I've had muggleborn servants that helped my wife back at the manor, and I can speak with authority on the matter. Oh, trust me about this, I know them. Listen, when I had my first purchase of a servant, it was a boy, by the way, one time he asked for a day off. I told him no, he barely accomplished the tasks I gave to him. And when he heard it, he tried to escape the next day. Good thing, I was at my garden when I saw him, tip-toing towards the gates."
"And you cursed him?
Nott lightly shrugged his lean shoulders, "Of course I did. He disobeyed me. After all, I did get rid of him. He wasn't my favorite, and so I purchased another one."
His comrade didn't say anything else, but excused himself to get another glass of firewhisky for both of them. Although Nott thought to himself that it was just a petty excuse to escape their conversation, the French man wasn't comfortable with their subject.
"I've heard that the Malfoy heir is coming home… eh, I haven't seen my nephew for a while." Lucius turned towards the voice behind, and upon seeing the person, he shook his hand and greeted him.
"Ah, Rodolphus! Good news; you have arrived. Where's Bellatrix?" He wondered when he didn't see his former sister-in-law with her husband.
"This was a last minute news; she'll come around, I reckon. Probably, taking care of some orders from the Dark Lord." Rodolphus smirked and Lucius only nodded, handing him over a flute of champagne which Rodolphus gladly accepted. He then inched closer to Lucius, head bowing slightly to murmur something in his ear, "What's this… rumor about Draco's affairs?"
Lucius tensed and gripped his glass strongly, albeit trying not to break it and kept his composure, "Are you really going to believe that?" he said defensively.
The dark haired Lestrange stepped back, looking anywhere at the small crowd, "You know what will happen if this reaches the Dark Lord. Well," he finally looked back at him, "do you?" Rodolphus questioned him, his voice just above whisper.
The head of the Malfoy family locked his jaw tightly, "I know that very well, Rodolphus. But I won't just immediately attack my son questioning him about this just because of the rumors spread by people who have nothing else to do. My son is coming home, and I want to welcome him." He said through gritted teeth.
Rodolphus narrowed his eyes, "If this is true, Lucius, what are you going to do about it? You cannot seriously let your son taint the bloodline. Let alone suffer by the hands of Riddle."
"When the dust will settle, I shall find out about this commotion." Lucius exhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Right now, if you please, let us just wait for Draco's arrival. And do enjoy for a moment." He walked away with his cane, not bothering to address an excuse, and went away to greet the other guests. When he rounded the corner, he saw his old comrade and his son's godfather, Severus Snape.
"Severus, you came! I thought that you wouldn't." The greasy, dark-haired wizard nodded in recognition. Severus had been the one who had kept in contact with Draco for the past few years he was away. Draco, on the other hand, never neglected to send him owls from his travels, and during his education. As his godfather, the letters sent to him were filled with current situations that occurred in wizarding England. Severus was the first to know about Draco's coming home, and so he knew about this all along. Earlier, when he was in his carriage bringing him to the Manor, he thought about Draco's hopes. He happened to be the only one who knew about his plan for their society once he returned home. Now that this day had come, he wondered where will his godson would start in this troubled community run by Riddle and his forces.
"I had to run errands before my arrival." He said in his usual bored tone.
Lucius nodded slowly, "Oh of course. How have you been, Severus?"
"The Dark Lord sent an order for me to… torture a muggle family of four. Turns out your sister-in-law stole the opportunity from me. I could not care less, anyway. She's been longing to impress him."
"I see. That is why she is not here as of now. She is obsessed with hurting muggles, like they are just her own toys." Lucius muttered as his son's godfather nodded in agreement.
"Draco's not here yet. I only plan to welcome him and retire afterwards." Severus admitted, glancing towards the two huge oak doors in the hallway. As if on cue, the doors opened widely and two attractive women in their elegant dresses emerged, and behind them was the man whom they haven't seen in six years. Draco Malfoy had arrived.