The Story of One Day

Summary: Twenty-four hours in the life of Draco Malfoy leading up til his initiation into the Death Eaters. Comprised of stories that explain Draco, some are flashbacks and others occur in the present.

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling. I am merely a high school girl, who is broke and works too much and wants to go to college. I own nothing you recognize.

December 31st 12:00 a.m.

New Years Eve was descending upon the castle slowly, those who had waited for redemption and a new chance were eagerly awaiting the new year. Every student at Hogwarts was preparing for some sort of celebration. In Gryffindor Tower the infamous trio of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley still slept dreaming of the day ahead filled with fun. Little Ginevra Weasley was also still slumbering, having fallen asleep while reading Jane Eyre.The loyal students of Hufflepuffhad dozed off hours ago, after all they were content with the way they lived their lives. The Ravenclaws had not yet retired, still studying hard. There would be no time for play tomorrow, but perhaps time to read a novel for pure fun. The Slytherins were mixed, some still awake ambitiously pursuing their books, others pursuing other objects of desire. All the students of Hogwarts were joyfully anticipating the new year, the new beginning. Actually that's a lie, not every student was happy about the upcoming festivity.

In the deepest part of the castle, Draco Malfoy sat on his bed alone. At midnight tonight he will turn sixteen, just old enough to become a member of the Dark Circle. Just old enough to torture, rape, and kill. Although he did not claim any sort of fondness for muggles, he was truly apathetic. However, it was not his place to make any sort of judgments for his own life, he was bound by the rules of the Malfoy Code. His father had long ago told him how his life would be, he was to have everything. Lucius had arranged his life to be perfect. He had planned for Draco to inherit his place within Voldemort's circle, bringing him safety and security. Draco had sworn his undying loyalty to the Malfoy Code, but wanted nothing more than to reject it. His father had ensured him to be spared from everything- except watching. He had been forced to see his life lived for another's glory, his father's glory. Draco had been his father's crowning achievement, the perfect heir to the Malfoy line. The last part of the Code was to continue and better the Malfoy line, Lucius' time as leader of their mighty clan was ending. This was the day that would be the transfer of power to his flawless heir. Indeed, Draconis Lucius Cassius Malfoy was the ideal heir, but at the stroke of midnight tonight he would become ruined. He would be bound to live by another code, bound to another master besides himself, to Lord Voldemort, in the end he would have to abide by only one code. For a Malfoy decisions are never hard to make, only the execution.

Draco had been taught for his entire life that Malfoys were excellence, there is no cap on excellence, it is never ending. Each Malfoy was physically perfect, mentally superior, and ambitious. His mother, though a Malfoy only by marriage fit this description, that is why Lucius Malfoy had to have her.

Flashback

A twenty year old, Lucius Malfoy was surrounded by men at a party, all hoping to talk business. Unfortunately for them Lucius wanted only to speak with Orion Black, which puzzled many others who felt they were in a better position to aid the Malfoy line. Orion was an old man, nearly three times as old as Lucius, but his mind was still in perfect condition. However, it was not Orion's condition that Lucius was interested in, but his youngest daughter, Narcissa. She was the proverbial crown jewel of the Black line. After her sister had shamed the family by running off with a muggle named Ted Tonks, Narcissa had brought new glory by winning the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the first witch to ever have won the competition. Not only was she miraculously intelligent, but she was beautiful. Her long fair hair reached to her waist and her blue eyes sparkled like the ocean. Yet, she was not conceited or arrogant because of her victories, she remained unfailingly polite at every occasion. Naturally, Lucius had seen her and wanted her, and that was the first rule of the Malfoy Code. A Malfoy gets everything he desires.

Luckily for Lucius, Narcissa's father saw only the advantages of aligning himself with the young Malfoy. Narcissa saw Lucius as a man, not the average boy and immediately fell in love with him. Sadly, Lucius wanted her, he did not love her. So they were married with a promise to honor, obey, and trust each other. Consequently, Lucius did little to hide his love affairs from his young wife.

One day Narcissa returned early from shopping to find Lucius with one of his flings and was terribly enraged.

"Lucius, how dare you do this to me! I trusted you," she cried unhappily. She could not look her husband in the face.

"Narcissa, when have I lied to you?" he demanded. Narcissa thought hard, but could not remember one time he had told her he loved her. He had not lied, he was right. The truth hit Narcissa in the face. She had always dreamed of being more than the trophy wife of a powerful wizard.

"Do you love me?" she asked plainly trying to avoid his eyes.

"No, my sweet Narcissa, I can't lie to you," he replied softly. And that is how they lived their lives. From this unhappy marriage was born Draco, who was very much loved by his mother. After his birth Lucius' indiscretions slowly disappeared and he began to fall in love with his beautiful wife. By this time however, her heart had already hardened against him. No matter how hard he tried she could never love him. So Draco had grown up with two very loving parents if not towards one another.

Narcissa had been a wonderful mother to Draco, but coddled him far too much. His father had also been great, but did not coddle him enough and at times expected far too much of him. Draco desired Lucius' praise so badly, small compliments could keep him happy for weeks, but criticisms would cause him deep depression and regret. Luckily, for Lucius or Draco or both, Draco was extremely talented even at a young age. Draco had especially excelled at Quidditch, a trait no doubt inherited from his father. This had made Lucius insanely proud, yet he always pushed Draco a little further than necessary. He had a private instructor teach him everyday since he was three. Draco had inherited his obstinate nature from his father as well, and always insisted on proving he was better than everyone else. And in his father and mother's eyes he was. He was a Malfoy and a Black, there was no purer blood possible.

During one of his Quidditch lessons Draco would learn his first life lesson, which he would be doomed to repeat over and over again. No matter how good you are, there is always someone a little bit better than you are. Draco had insisted on flying higher and faster than necessary on this occasion, even though the instructor had warned him not to. As the young Malfoy heir flew higher he lost control of his broom. Perhaps, it was the wind that day or maybe his Quidditch abilities were not so well-honed as his parents thought, but that was the day Draco experienced his first major failing.

As punishment for both his recklessness and his stupidity, Lucius refused to allow Narcissa heal the bones magically. Although Narcissa was not happy she obeyed her husband, after all she had no choice. Secretly Narcissa gave Draco a potion to help him recover his strength, once again coddling the already spoiled Malfoy heir. His father showed him no mercy, but it made Draco strong, and his speedy recovery and lack of complaint earned Lucius' praise. Draco was grounded, literally for a whole year, not allowed to fly at all. That was the day Draco learned the price of pride and arrogance, or maybe not.

Present

The more Draco thought about that day, the more he remembered why he was so afraid of failure. No one had ever suffered through his failings with him. He had traveled every road alone. Except when he was on top. When he caught the snitch or got the highest marks on a test there was always people to help him celebrate his triumphs. His father had always celebrated his triumphs, but his mother had helped him cope with his losses. Even though the accident had happened twelve years ago, old wounds seemed to be torn open.

Author's Note: Well, I hope you liked it. Please leave a review for me, but make them constructive, okay? Thanks a bunch, Love KTBallerina.