Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor related characters. No profit is being made from this work.
You are not your father.
Draco is barely sixteen when Narcissa tells him this and it makes his blood boil. Lucius Malfoy is a cruel man but he loves his son and his wife. Draco knows that his father loves him despite his harsh criticisms and admonishments. He has always looked up to his father and it incenses Draco for his mother to say that he was not his father when he had been trying so hard to be like him, to please him.
He knows that it is not his father's fault that he has failed the Dark Lord's biddings. It is Potter and his foolish friends who are to blame. But Potter's meddling has given him a chance to be recognized by his father's master and he is eager to make Lucius proud.
It is All Hallows' Eve on his sixth year at Hogwarts when Draco realizes his father's gravest mistakes. Draco's mission is impossible and he is certain that the Dark Lord knows he will not succceed. He is being punished for his father's failings and it makes Draco mad with frustration and anger and despair. Lucius Malfoy had chosen to serve the wrong wizard and Draco is the one suffering for it.
Draco is seventeen when Narcissa tells him that she does not care who wins the war so long as her family is safe. It is Draco's birthday and his father has been summoned by the Dark Lord, and it is only Narcissa who is there to celebrate his coming of age.
He sees the despair in his mother's eyes. She is scared. The Dark Lord has always been fickle. Lucius might be his favourite today, but tomorrow, he could be dead by the killing curse from his master's wand. Draco loves his father and he cannot bear for him to die. Most of all, he cannot bear to see his mother waste away when his father dies.
Draco loves his father but Lucius has made too many wrong decisions for his family – too many for Draco to think that there could be any way to salvage their family while they are fighting for a wizard hungry for power and determined to kill a boy who had done nothing but live. Draco will not stand for it. He will not fight for a man who does not hesitate to kill those he call his most loyal followers and friends.
"Are you sure?"
His godfather is his family's salvation.
"Yes. Just make sure Father and Mother are kept alive. I don't care where. I need them to be safe."
Draco loves his father but he loves his mother more. He needs his mother more and she needs her son and husband alive in this war. Draco would fight for Potter and Weasley and Granger and every single Muggleborn if it meant keeping his family alive.
"I will take care of it. Potter and the older members will need to question you. I ask you again, you are certain of this decision?"
Draco nods his head firmly and clutches his wand. Draco is not his father and he will make his own mistakes.