FORBIDDEN GROUND
This story is set at the beginning of the fifth year at Hogwarts. And I own nothing.
Read, enjoy and hold the flames in check, please. This is a virgin fan-fic...
hungry smile
CHAPTER ONE: LEGACY
A pretty little altar boy
Daddy's little pride and joy
A warning signal from above
A place where sinners fall in love
They say that opposites attract
How very strange
Black on black
-Dalbello-
Draco's parents could not have selected a more unsuitable day for the biggest quarrel of the year. The atmosphere inside the Malfoy manor was something akin to that of a thunderstorm and the train to Hogwarts was leaving in just a few hours. Draco sat on his bed, sulking with arms crossed and his delicate lower lip pouting, staring darkly into thin air.
His luggage had been packed (naturally not by himself) early in the morning and Draco had been heading down for the breakfast table full of expectations and with some plans to persuade his parents into buying him a departing gift. The horrible mood clinging over the dining hall, however, had spelled out an ominous message. Draco had been sent up to his room by his father almost immediatly and a house elf had presented Draco with his breakfast. Since almost an hour back, Draco had been listening to the angry voices of his mother Narcissa and his father Lucius. Their shouts echoed all the way up to Draco's room, despite the size of the family mansion. He let out a sigh of growing impatience. Yet he would never get the idea to go downstairs and remind them of the train he needed to catch. Nobody interrupted Lucius Malfoy in a bad mood. Draco had done that, being a lot younger and more naive about his father, and he had lived to tell a tale he would never share with anyone.
It took another hour before the voices had died out and the determined, familiar steps were heard outside his room. The door flew open and Draco's father stood dressed in his black outdoor robes in the doorway, carrying his intimidating walking stick in one hand and resting the other hand at the doorpost. Elegant in posture, but beaming with silent fury. Draco rose from his bed immediatly, ready to follow the slightest command his father might have. He knew better than to look nervous as well. If there was but one thing that would enflame his fathers temper even more, it would be seeing weakness in his son´s face. Draco settled for his usual cold and attentive look.
"Ready, Draco?"
"Yes, father."
"Off we go then." Lucius said, almost in a whisper, as if the hours of bellowing at his wife had deprived his sharp and demanding voice of its edge.
Lucius turned and strode down the corridor, making but a slight gesture to the house elves that would carry Draco's luggage down the stairs. Draco followed at a quick pace and as they reached the front doors in the great hallway, Narcissa was waiting there to say goodbye. Her icy pearl eyes shot a poisonous and calculating glance at her husband, before she leaned forward to embrace Draco. Draco returned the embrace with relief. He could always count on his mother to soothe any pangs of fear his father might give him. To see Lucius in the company of an equal in terror, made his authority a bit less frightening. Draco felt his mother's smooth silvery hair touch his cheek and then she planted a light kiss on his forehead, while something was pressed into his right hand.
"Have a good journey, my son. Promise to write."
"Yes mother." Draco answered, keeping any strong emotion at a distance as usual.
Lucius showed his impatience openly, but it only made Narcissa take her time with Draco. Finally, she waved them off, smiling softly and exchanging murderous glances with her husband. Draco opened his hand to see what she had given him. Ten shining galleons lay pressed in his palm. Ah. The compensation for his rotten morning. He bitterly put them into his black leather pouch and once they were alone, Lucius turned to face him, regaining his authorative voice. "Draco, there is something I need you to do. Pay attention."
Draco straightened up and looked very attentive. He did this automatically by now, as if being programmed of how to respond to his fathers every whim. Sadly, it lay very close to the truth.
"I need you to keep an extra eye on Harry Potter this year, Draco. It is of outmost importance that any strange idea this whelp and his associates might come up with is reported to me at once. Understand?"
"Yes father." Draco said with his most loyal and devoted voice.
"Anything from monster hunts in the pipes to mapping out the behaviours of the kitchen elves." "Yes, father."
"Very good."
Draco was rewarded with the slightest of smiles, but it made Dracos horrible morning worth the entire misery. Appreciations from his father was very rare and therefore all the more obtainable. Despite the cruel discipline and the heavy weight of too high expectations Lucius put on him, Draco loved his father. He admired him and would do anything to live up to what Lucius wanted him to be, even though it meant becoming an exact replica of Lucius himself.
The platform 9 ¾ was seething with a most colourful crowd. Cages with owls, cats and other familiars were jostling with frightened first years, broomsticks and heavy luggage. Parents were taking farewell of their progenies and the conductors did their best to usher the students on to the train. Draco swept his gaze over the scene. As many of the other fifth years, he was interested in finding the familiar faces and see what had become of them over the holidays. And he was especially eager to show his father what a star position he held in the Slytherin house. Lucius knew, of course. There was very little that Lucius didn't keep under constant watch, concerning his son. But Draco felt a demonstration was needed to please his father as much as possible. In the crowd, he quickly spotted the brute appearances of Crabbe and Goyle with parents. They caught sight of him and Lucius almost immediatly and hurried towards them. Draco was beaming as Crabbe and Goyle junior bowed to Lucius and then gave a polite half-nod to himself.
"Good to see you, Malfoy." Crabbe reeled.
"How was your holidays?" Goyle finished, as if in perfect symbiose with Crabbe.
"Rather well, thank you." Draco answered in his most gracious voice, checking in the corner of his eye that his father was watching their submission to him.
But Lucius had engaged himself cooly in a conversation with Crabbe and Goyle senior, assuming the same position as Draco towards his company. Draco grew all the more desperate for his father's attention. The train was leaving soon and this was his last chance to collect some precious approvement from Malfoy senior. Annoyed, Dracos gaze jumped around every corner of the platform. Pansy Parkinson and her mother had also gathered around them and sought Dracos attention, but to no avail. Draco had found what he needed. There were, after all, two students left on the platform not accompanied by parents. The strange company that had escorted Potter to the train were gone, including the black scabby dog, and Potter was engaged in a hilarious setting. It seemed that the Gryffindor orphans Longbottom and Potter was making a united effort to catch Longbottom's stupid toad, which obviously had escaped its owner. Ron Weasley was hanging out the window of his compartment, urging them on, anxious about the train's departure closing in. It was as if Draco's every prayer had been heard. The scene looked quite comical and attained all the elements Draco would possible need as raw material for any sarcasm.
"Look!" Smiling, Draco pointed his finger towards the spectacle.
Within moments, the entire crowd of Slytherins had noticed the two hunting Gryffindors. The thin, pale Potter making daring maneuvers as if he was in the middle of a Quidditch game, throwing himself at the ground, his crow black hair in a mess. His big glasses had slided down to the tip of his nose. And Longbottom. Scared, confused Longbottom stumbling over his own robes in his effort to keep up with Potter. Like Potter, Longbottom had grown taller over the summer, almost to match Draco's own height. Most of Longbottom's babylike round features were gone. His jawbones were visible and added an adult touch to the innocent composure of his face. Only Longbottom's warm brown eyes, carrying the weight of too many horrors for someone in his age, revealed the opposite of his appearance. Draco threw a glance at his father. Lucius was clearly amused by the events, maliciously content with seeing Potter on all fours, trying to hold on to the slimy toad. Fueled with confidence, Draco grasped the opportunity. "Hey Potter!" he shouted, with thriumphant contempt in his voice. "That's a suitable training for a Gryffindor seeker!"
The crowd around Draco immediatly began to laugh. He thought he heard even a silent laughter from his father, being all the reward he needed to go on as far as he could go.
"Shut it, Malfoy!" Ron bellowed from his window.
"Stick your nose inside, weasel! The toad might bite it off!" Draco answered.
Again, came the reward of laughter. But the toad had been caught and Draco had a limited amount of time to smash the Gryffindor frog hunters with crushing remarks. Potter had entered the train, ignoring the Slytherins, and Ron had followed Draco's clever suggestion and moved away from the window. But Longbottom was trying to make his way past their little crowd, cheeks red, with an uncomfortable look on his face and Draco seized the moment perfectly.
"What's the matter, Longbottom? Couldn't your parents be granted a leave from the hospital to see you off? Bet they'd have to be chased all around the platform!"
Crabbe and Goyle positively roared with laughter and Pansy had to dry her eyes due to the tears spilling from her fun. Lucius laid an appreciating hand at his son's shoulder and smiled viciously at Longbottom. But Draco had a strange knot in his stomach, feeling oddly uncomfortable with the situation. Neville stopped short before them, eyes widening and his mouth opening as if he was about to speak. His cheeks glowed even redder and Draco realised that the truth about Nevilles parents probably wasn't a public knowledge. Neville's lips curled into a grim expression and a hurt and hateful glare struck Draco. Still, the gaze returned from Malfoy senior made Neville avert his eyes very quickly and with trembling fingers he grasped the handle of the stairs leading into the train, disappearing from sight in a heartbeat.
"Ah, the offspring of the weak."
That was Lucius speaking, his voice filled with satisfaction. Draco found it very strange that his inner self didn't cheer wildly at his victory on showing off in front of his father. But there was no time to reflect over the matter. The train whistle blew and the Slytherins climbed on board, Draco with a slight pat on his shoulder from Lucius. That was as much physical affection his father ever showed him. Soon enough, Draco was in his own kingdom amongst his fellow Slytherins and London disappeared in the misty morning behind them.
The journey to Hogwarts contained some unpleasant events that was to give Dracos fifth year an unexpected turn. As usual, Draco was holding court at the train, making sure that even the first years knew who he was, should they end up in Slytherin. After all, Draco had received his Prefect badge this year and had to prepare for an even stronger reign over his house, and of course, over the school. Pansy was making passes at him as the rest of the Slytherin girls, but Draco brushed them off with ease, paying little attention to their fruitless attempts. Before taking his seat, he had taken a turn to the Gryffindor compartment to taunt Potter about the Prefect thing. It had gone fairly well and given him new materials to slander Potter for hours.
Once the candy wagon had passed and the entire compartment was feasting on all kinds of magical treats, Draco decided to stretch his legs and take a walk along the train corridor. He never ate sweets except at holidays (including the day when Voldemort rose to power, which was secretly celebrated at his home) just as his father had taught him. He rose from his seat and Crabbe and Goyle followed at once, stuffing their pockets full with as much sweets that they could contain. Draco found it amazing that they took their places by his side for granted, despite the impatience he had with them. The thickness of his companions would probably never stop surprising him.
The trio set off, Draco taking the lead with an unexplainable pull towards the Gryffindor compartments. As they went past the older members of the Gryffindor house, most of them ignored Draco and his little team. Then came a sight that made Draco stop in his tracks. He could see through the glass windows of a compartment how Potter, Weasley and the know-it-all, arrogant mudblood Granger sat in the company of Neville, looking very serious and engaged in discussion. Something was obviously happening here. Had they started to plot their wild rulebreaking already? Then Draco realised that Neville looked devastated, keeping his eyes at his lap where the unruly toad rested, while wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. Neville was crying! Draco couldn't put his finger on why he had to get in there or even what intentions that lay behind it, but he swung the door open and put on the same malicious look his father displayed so well.
At least his purpose looked clear enough to everyone in sight.
"Get out, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped, giving him a threatening stare.
"Well, I didn't realise it was a crying party at the Gryffindors!" Draco shot back. Crabbe and Goyle made some grotesque laughing sounds. Harry and Ron got to their feet, grasping their wands angrily. Especially Potter looked almost out of his mind with fury, which was an unfamiliar sight. Neville looked up, straight at Draco, with an unreadable gaze. His dark eyes were glittering with cold resentment, his face resolute. He rose from his seat as well, while Potter opened his mouth to eliviate the anger.
"If you don't leave him alone, Malfoy, I'll..."
"You'll do what exactly, Potter?" Draco cut in."Get yourself killed like the rest of your miserable family?"
That became the signal to complete turmoil. Potter flew right at Draco in a searing rage, pushing him with such force into the glass window that shards exploded in a great splinting noise around him. Draco was in complete shock, but tried to reach for his wand beneath his robes, despite the stinging ache from the inpact.
"YOU'LL DIE FOR THAT, MALFOY!" Potter yelled.
Draco could hear Granger's voice urging Harry with a far too reasoning voice to stop. But Harry had lifted his wand before Draco had his in a proper position. Crabbe and Goyle who tried to come to the rescue, was held back by the united efforts of alerted Gryffindors.
"NO!"
Draco wasn't sure about who had shouted, but Neville had suddenly grabbed a hold of Potters arms, throwing him off from Draco. Potter landed hard on the floor, sending some shards flying. The scene froze in silence for a very uncomfortable second. Potter sat on the floor gasping for breath, Ron and the Weasley twins along with Hermione were holding Crabbe and Goyle back and Neville stood gazing down at Draco, who had sunken down against the wooden wall beneath the broken window.
Draco could feel the delayed pain creeping up his spine and entering his head with small explosions. Something warm and sticky was running down the back of his head. Then Neville spoke, surprisingly, never taking his cold eyes away from Draco.
"Leave it, Harry. He's not worth it."
"But he deserved it." Fred said.
"Goes around, comes around." George filled in.
Then the train staff came running and before Draco was helped to his feet, he hissed in a voice that was worthy of his father.
"I'll have you expelled now, Potter."
But it was Neville's cold stare that would haunt him all the way to Hogwarts.