This is for Hufflepuff Homework. I tried my best to keep Draco in character, just remember it is not my strong point, so try and be nice :) Other then that I hope you enjoy.
A Lonely Christmas
Draco woke up in the cold dark room in which he slept. It was Christmas, the childish part of him, that didn't care about the future. was excited, he wanted to know what his family had gotten him. Yet the side of him that was realistic told him he was foolish. No one paid attention to stupid holidays these days. Draco was barely able to pay attention to what the day was. He was scared, yet he would not freely admit that to anyone. Instead he shut himself away free to think clearly.
Slowly he raised from his bed, not that it mattered these days, no one ever acknowledged his presence in the house. The only reason he was even home these holidays was to give a detailed report on his progress. Which was just as much a laugh, what progress did he have to talk about? He had so far failed in finding anything that would help in his cause to do the Dark Lord's bidding.
He came downstairs and straight to the kitchen where his stomach was calling him to go. In the kitchen sat his mother nursing a cup of tea. When she saw him however she immediately stood up and left the room. Draco sighed and looked around the kitchen expecting to see the loyal house elf. Instead it was empty, like every other part of the house he entered.
"Damon!" Draco called, it was weird to hear his own voice reflected back to him against the cold walls. The House elf immediately appeared and looked up at Draco expectantly. "Breakfast," Draco scolded and the House elf bowed down and immediately got cooking. Draco sat at the table and waited.
While he was eating his dad entered the room. Draco didn't look up, what was the point, he never got on with his dad. They never talked and he knew that that would not start today. Lucius sat at the table and picked up the closest daily prophet and read while drinking a coffee Damon brought him. Draco dared to take a glance up at his dad, he had noticed lately that he was much paler then usual, and he had lost a lot of weight. Draco smiled to himself, he deserved it, after what he had put him and his mother through, he wanted his dad to suffer, maybe then he would understand just what he was doing to them.
When Draco was finished his breakfast he left the room and moved onto the front room. His Aunt Bella was in there pacing around as she normally did while Narcissa stared off into the distance. Draco entered as quietly as possible and sat down in an armchair near his mother. Narcissa didn't look up and Bella didn't stop her pacing.
"Why is no one here yet?" Bella spat at Narcissa as if she should know the answer to everything. Narcissa shook her head.
"They don't have to be here for a while," Draco interjected. His voice was sounding so strange to him lately that he barely recognised it. And apparently no one else did either. In fact Narcissa didn't look up and Bella just continued ranting. Draco sighed and waited in the silence like he usually did. It was a shocking truth to him recently that he preferred school to home. But nothing was the same these days, nothing made his home feel like a home. It was a head quarters. Suddenly so many pops happened at once that it was hard to tell just home many people had arrived. Narcissa and Lucius immediately moved to the entrance and Draco followed like he was suppose to.
Everyone had arrived. Which was not unlike the death eaters, they all seemed to travel at the exact same time these days. But today there was a new addition. Two young girls came through the door first and then their parents, one of the girls in particular took his eye. She was starring around the house like he did, as if it was all unhomely and cold. She had long blonde hair and Draco was sure he knew her. Then he looked to the other girl who was a bit taller, it was Daphne Greengrass, a former sixth year with him at school. Which made the girl with the long blonde hair Astoria Greengrass, she looked over at Draco and smiled softly before looking back at her feet.
"What is that?" Bella asked moving towards the Greengrass'.
"We had no other choice," Mr. Greengrass snapped angrily and pushed the girls towards the other room. Draco was suppose to be here to introduce the people into his home. Yet no one seemed to care he was there. He waited patiently next to his parents for everyone to enter through the giant doors of the Manor. When they were all done Bella took his arm and threw him into the front room angrily.
"What are you going to tell the Lord?" she hissed angrily.
"The truth," Draco said in a voice that he made to sound confident.
"I don't know why you haven't completed it yet," Bella sighed pacing the room. "I would have if it were me," she said in a high and mighty tone.
"You do it then," Draco said and hoped it was under his breath, however Bella had heard him. She starred at him angry and annoyed. In one swift movement she withdrew her wand and pointed it at Draco.
"Stupefy!" she yelled and sent Draco flying backwards into the wall. Then he heard a word he wished he hadn't. "Crucio!" she yelled and Draco felt his body tense and thrash around. The pain was excruciating, he had been through this before, but Bella was angrier then he had ever faced. It stopped almost as quickly as it had started and Draco lay on the floor in a pool of his own cold sweat. His breathing was shaky and when he looked up he expected to see Bella, but she was gone. He had also expected his mother, or someone to come in and see what had happened. But no one did, no one cared, he could of died and the only problem they would face was who was going to do the Lord's bidding. Draco sat up against the wall still unable to move and panting loudly. Then in the quiet of the room he heard tiny footsteps he looked up to Astoria coming into the room and running towards him.
She sat down next to him moving her hands as if to touch him, but she didn't dare.
"What?" Draco asked in a strained voice from the pain in his back.
"Are you ok?" she asked her big hazel eyes in true worry of him. He had not had someone worry about him in weeks, months maybe. He felt a small sigh of happiness threatening to escape, but why would he give her the satisfaction.
"Yea," he said bluntly turning the sigh into a cough which ache at his body. Astoria nodded and sat down next to him. "What are you doing?" he asked trying to move away.
"Sitting with you," she said looking off into the distance.
"Why?" he asked with strange concern. Astoria shrugged.
"If someone comes in it looks like we are talking, therefore making you look stronger," she said softly and Draco cocked his eyebrow at her.
"Stronger?" he asked
"Well if they see you on the floor in pain you look weak," she said logically. Draco nodded and made the effort to stand up unfortunately it didn't work and he just slid back down the wall.
"Or you could try and leave," she shrugged but made no effort to get up.
"You could help," he said angrily.
"You could just sit. I don't bite," she challenged not looking up at him. Draco sighed and sat down properly which felt a hell of a lot better. Astoria nodded and then reached into her pocket pulling out a badly wrapped box she flipped it in her hands for a few seconds then handed it to Draco. Draco didn't take it straight away he just starred at her.
"What is this?" he asked and Astoria laughed softly.
"Have you not seen a gift before?" she asked tempting it in front of him. Draco took the box hesitantly as if it may explode at any minute.
"Why?" he asked flipping the box in his hands.
"You are a strange person," Astoria said and pulled her knees up to her chest. "It's Christmas," she said resting her head on her knee.
"So?" he said and Astoria giggled.
"I know no one is thinking of it, but I thought it would be nice if you got something," she said. Draco starred at the paper and then back at Astoria. He quickly unwrapped it and looked into the box and was unimpressed to find a Rememberall.
"A Rememberall?" he asked and Astoria nodded.
"It may sound stupid, but you have so much to think about I thought it might help," she said a blush in her cheeks. Draco smiled for the first time in weeks and starred down at the girl.
"Thank you," he said softly and Astoria nodded just as Bella came running into the room.
"Get up!" she hissed. Knowing that the Lord was now here Draco quickly stood up, the pain in his back screaming at him, with Astoria behind him, he shoved his gift into his pocket and followed Bella out. Even though he felt alone and ignored in the giant house, and the Lord was probably going to kill him, he felt some solace in the fact that Astoria was around. Because really one person can make all the difference.