Draco walked into the conference room at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He didn't know why he let Cassy talk him into doing this lecture. He was going to speak to the abused first and second year Slytherins (which included children of some of his old classmates).
Children (about 27) piled into the room and sat in a chair, Draco walked up to the podium in the front.
"Welcome young Slythies!" Draco said to the amusement of the kids and Cassy (who couldn't resist coming to watch).
"Basically, I'm stuck here today and knowing the headmistress you guys didn't have much of a choice either, go figure!" Draco said again to the delight of the crowd.
He continued, "Whether you are abused or not, doesn't really matter right about now. But if you are, eventually someone will find out. It's always better to tell someone. You will need the support of your friends, Slytherins or not, Purebloods or not."
"You have no idea what you're talking about," yelled a small blonde-haired second year, "This isn't something you bring up in a normal conversation."
"Duh," Draco said, "You don't just walk up to people and say, hey my parents hit me help me now. You can't say that, because they'll probably think you're just playing around. What I'd do is write a letter, tell them all the things you swore not to tell. Let them know that they're a good friend and you trust them and need their help. If they're your friend, they'll come and talk to you."
"But, sometimes you can't get help. Maybe your parents have money to bribe their way out of trouble. And if my parents found out I'd told someone, it'd all get worse." A scrawny first year in the front row said.
"That's the problem." Draco had hoped someone would say that, "You still need someone to know. They can help heal you, talk to you, or comfort you when you're feeling depressed."
He took a breath, now he had to bring up personal experiences he had been trying to forget. "I don't know where I'd be now without the help of several Gryffindors." A collective gasp went up at the thought of Gryffindors helping Slytherins. Draco smirked at their reaction, "Two of them were purebloods, one was a half-blood, and the last one was a muggle-born." Another gasp from the crowd, and another smirk plastered itself on Draco's pale, pointy-ish face.
"The point is every-time I was down or depressed, one of them could bring up my spirits with humor or take my mind off of the pain. Sometimes, when I couldn't heal myself, I could count on them to have a healing potion handy and help me out." Draco couldn't believe he had just brought up his horrible past.
"Even if you find it hard, you will need the support of someone else. Being alone and sad makes everything worse. Don't let your parent(s) win!" Draco continued.
Goyle's son raised his hand, "What if our father has a good reason? Like, we failed a test, talked back, or something like that."
"Abuse or neglect is never excusable. Acceptable punishments would be: sending a howler, making you clean your room (instead of a house elf), not having desert, reducing or taking away your allowance for a period of time, and/or grounding you. Groundings normally consist of: taking away your broom, owl, or something like that." Draco realized that some kids really did think what their parents did was okay.
"What you have to remember is that, it's never your fault and it's never okay. Your parent(s) will never have any right or any reason to do such a thing." Draco hoped the message was clear. If kids believe their parents have a right, they might think they have a right to do that to their kids; which in the end starts a new line of abused and abusive people.
"What makes you so sure that this is wrong? For all you know, maybe this whole thing isn't as bad as it's made out to be." This came from the same little girl as earlier.
Draco tried not to laugh; he of all people should know that this was important. "How many of you out there think that Lucius Malfoy was a good person?"
Crabbe and Goyle's kids raised their hands along with one or two others. Those children had been taught that all pure-bloods, who weren't blood traitors, were practically royalty and people to be admired, feared, and respected.
Draco laughed into the mike. "Lucius Malfoy is far from a saint. He was an abusive father. Beatings were weekly, normally for a minor offence. When the Dark Lord returned in my fourth year, my father got drunk every other day. Beatings got worse and worse and became almost impossible to avoid; they were daily unless I was at school. School became my safe-have, a place where I could be myself." Draco paused.
"Except, I couldn't, I had to pretend I was a cold-hearted cruel bastard. Many people believed that. That changed when a rumor went through the other three houses that my act was just that, an act. My Gryffindor friends convinced the other students, that I wasn't as bad as I pretended. They told them there was nothing anyone could do, but all the same, there was a respect behind insults, and they rarely started the fights."
"During the war, I announced that I was no Death Eater and instead a member of the opposing force, Dumbledore's Army. I was accepted as member and one of the 'good-guys'. I quickly made friends, and it was easier because of the rumor. I found that because some people knew, my life became easier." Draco smiled at the memory: Potter had told people that Draco was a decent person who had good reasons for acting the way he did; because Potter was Potter, people accepted that.
"During the final battle, I had to face my father. I found that I would have been a horrible Death Eater; I could not kill the man who had made my younger years a living hell. I did not have it in me to sink to his level. Instead I stunned him and because of my testimony he was not allowed to bribe his way out of jail. Now he will rot away in Azkaban, and I am proud of myself and my friends." Draco felt good; it had helped to say it all aloud.
The audience was silent; they knew that Draco understood their problems, their fears, and he had overcome them. They knew he was right, that they needed friends, and they needed confidence.
"Now, I have something to tell you all." Draco took a deep breath. "If you ever need to leave home, if it all becomes too much, or it is already, you are all welcome at Malfoy Manor. You can come and live there or just visit and take a break. There will never be any issue of money or retribution. I need some company, and I know eventually life at home is hard to handle." Draco really hoped they would take his offer.
He could see the excitement in their eyes at having a safe house. Underneath though, was nervousness and fear. What if they were tracked, what if they were forced home, what if they didn't have money for clothes and school supplies.
"Don't worry about being tracked, if you are whoever is following you can talk to me and in the end it will be alright. You will not be forced home, your parents will not be able to take you, if they do I'll report them to the abuse center. Money is no problem, Lord knows I have more than I need." Draco felt better saying it all out loud. This time the kids in the audience looked truly happy.
They filed out of the room leaving Draco and Cassy alone with their thoughts.
"You know what bro?" Cassy said, "I'm proud of you."
"You should b," Draco laughed, "But seriously, that felt good, just to say everything and know that I'm not alone and neither are they."
"They've probably heard all that before, but I think you connected with them. You're the only speaker I've ever met who knew what you were talking about. You really seemed to make sense to them and I think you're gonna have a house full of little kids." Cassy smirked, knowing that sometimes Draco liked quiet.
They two walked out of the hall together and headed to Malfoy Manor for a delicious dinner with their mother.