Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, except the plot line. And that rhymes!
Draco Malfoy watched his father from across the room, under the pretense of doing an essay. Lucius Malfoy was in his prime today, shouting and screaming at a cowering house elf. His normally pale face was flushed, as if he had just run a mile, and his eyes were alive with excitement, as if the feeling of power was much too much pleasure.
"I ought to give you clothes, elf, for this lack of obedience!"
"No, m-master, I promise, it will be done better next time." And the elf scurried off.
"Draco!"
His father had turned on him so quickly that Draco jumped. "Yes?"
Lucius calmed down a little bit, and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Homework, father."
"Yes, well, I doubt you'll do it nearly as well as that Mudblood."
Draco tried hard not to glare at his father.
"Well, seeing how the homework is probably a lost cause anyhow, how about we have a little chat, you know, between father and son." Lucius almost looked hopeful.
Draco eyed his father warily. Maybe four, or even three years ago, he would have jumped at the chance to talk with his father. He had adored him. Lucius, on the other hand, didn't mind the adoration, because it gave him time to imprint his ideals on his young son's mind. However, something about Hogwarts had changed Draco. He wasn't sure what it was.
"I suppose so."
"Well, let's go somewhere more private, then."
Draco put down A History of Magic and followed his father out of the room, up a winding staircase, and down a dark hall, all the while, thinking hard. He had loved his father, he knew it. But if you asked him now, he wouldn't have known what to say. He felt more alert around his father, but had no feelings of love for him. He wondered what his father would say if one asked him if he loved his son. He had a feeling Lucius Malfoy wouldn't know what to say as well.
Looking up from the floor, he realized they had reached their destination. His father opened the door, and Draco followed him inside.
It was as if, around his second year at Hogwarts, Draco had come to the sudden conclusion that he wasn't really a son to Lucius Malfoy. He was more of a source of pride. He had realized it when his father had bought his place on the Slytherin Quidditch team for him, and it explained his bitter feelings toward Hermione Granger. After all, Draco should be at the top of the class, not some Mudblood.
"Draco."
Draco snapped out of his reverie and looked at his father.
"Sit."
Draco sat down in a plush armchair, and faced his father, who remained standing.
"As you know, Draco, there are two things that we Malfoys stand for; power and pride. For example, we hold pride in ourselves for having power over inferior beings such as house elves, Mudbloods, Muggle-lovers, and in my case, almost anybody at the Ministry."
Draco had heard all this before. Suppressing a yawn, he wondered where this lecture was going.
"There is no distinction between good and evil as far as I am concerned. There is only a distinction between those who are inferior, and those who are superior."
Draco sat up. Here was something he hadn't heard before.
"Voldemort, therefore, is not evil."
Draco sank back down again.
"He was merely one of the most superior. He had plenty of power as well, which is why, as you know, I joined his ranks, and became one of his most trusted helpers."
"Servant, more like," Draco thought bitterly.
"As you know, Lord Voldemort has come back to power. This time, to make his reign more powerful and more terrible before, he needs more people who he can fully trust."
Draco suddenly realized where this conversation was going, but kept listening with a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"He has asked us to go out and look for people who would like to join the Dark Order. I went home after hearing his request and started thinking."
"Uh-oh," Draco thought. He couldn't help himself.
"And suddenly I realized who would be perfect. Someone who shares all my ideals of power and pride. Can you guess who it is, Draco?"
Draco looked at his father. "Me?" he asked, trying to inject hope into his voice.
"That's right! And if you did, we Malfoys would be so proud. After all, with two Malfoys being Death Eaters, who knows how much power we would gain. So I am asking you right now, how would you like to join the ranks of Voldemort?"
Draco knew better than to refuse. His father's eyes had some sort of anticipation in them, and Draco knew that he had to play his cards right, otherwise, he'd be severely punished. "Could I really, father? It's all I've ever wanted!" he said, trying to pull a smile onto his face.
Lucius's face suddenly broke into a smile as well. Then he did something very unexpected. He pulled Draco into a hug.
Draco was completely bowled over. He wanted to cry. His father was only hugging him because he had agreed to what he said, not because he loved Draco. He bit his tongue hard and pulled away.
"I must finish my homework, father," he said.
"Of course, of course, go right ahead." Draco walked out of the room, but ran all the way down the hall and up another winding staircase. He finally stopped in front of a door, and opened it to reveal one of the most brightly-lit rooms in the whole of Malfoy Manor. It was his own bedroom. He flopped on to the four-poster feather bed, and lay very still.
"Join the ranks of Voldemort?" Draco thought to himself.
Become a servant to somebody else besides his father, who he was already a clone of? Voldemort was somebody who couldn't be trusted, to his enemies or followers. When could Draco be his own person? Anybody who saw him always told him he looked just like his father. But he didn't just look like his father. He was a carbon copy of him. He had so many of Lucius's ideas and opinions ingrained in his head, his personality was the same as that of his father's.
Suddenly, Draco felt rage course throughout him. It was unfair. He wanted love. He wanted to love. Because he had just realized he didn't love his father anymore. No, he hated him. He hated him for turning him into someone he didn't want to be. He wished he could stand up to his father. After all, he was nothing more than a house elf to his father, he thought. He was just someone else Lucius Malfoy could threaten and boss around.
Trying to calm himself down, Draco remembered a certain house elf. This house elf had stood up to his father, and in the end, escaped from his tyranny. Draco yearned to escape as well.
Draco sat up straight. He had realized what was at Hogwarts that wasn't
as Malfoy Manor. It was freedom. At Hogwarts, he could do as he pleased.
And it had changed him. "One of these days," he thought, "I will be totally
free of my father. And I can live my own life."
Well, what do you guys think? You can tell me in that little box. Because I want to know if I should leave it like this or go on as originally planned. Do you just want this drama, or do you want romance too? Let me know!
