The man appeared out of no where, tall and blond, walking up the twilit gravel driveway. His long blonde hair swayed behind him and his black cape billowed in the harsh winds of the night. The gates swung open at his appearance, obviously recognizing him as the owner of the large dark house that loomed over him, several stories high. He marched up the rest of the drive, stopping hesitantly before stepping on the front porch, which creaked quietly under his step. He cleared his throat and knocked on the door with the brass knocker, one that seemed suddenly unfamiliar to him.

They had changed the knocker. No longer was it a serpent, the symbol of the house in which the family had been in for ages, but now it harvested the sign of an M. He sighed heavily. He'd been gone for a week, and his own family had already turned their backs on him. The boy opened the door, his mother behind him. At first glance, it seemed his son had changed severely. His normal longer blond hair had been cut, trimmed nearly as short as Crabbe's had been. "What do you want?" Draco Malfoy demanded of his father.

"A father cannot simply visit his son?" Lucius asked briskly, twirling his wand between his fingers. He stepped into the house, forcing the Draco and his mother to take a few steps back. "Is that such a crime?" He asked again, gazing upon his family.

"You're no father of mine," said Draco suddenly, unexpectedly.

Lucius was very taken back. He withdrew several steps and raised his blond eyebrows so far up his head that they almost disappeared into his hairline. He pursed his lips together angrily, obviously upset of the words that had just slipped out of his son's lips. He swallowed hard and licked his dry lips, trying to add moisture to him. "You do not mean that," said Lucius. "I regret your attitude, Draco."

Narcissa stepped forward, looking more beautiful than Lucius had seen her in years. Her also blond hair had been straightened into a long, silky curtain. Her bright blue eyes were striking in the moonlight. She was dressed in muggle clothing, a pair of blue jeans and a simple lilac top. "And we regret yours," she replied. "Or do you not remember leaving us exactly one week ago tonight?"

This was obviously not the welcome Lucius had been expecting. He snorted. "Is it simply me, or have you changed, Draco?"

Draco did not answer the question right away. He paused for a few seconds and then, "Wha -" His voice came out squeaky and high-pitched. He cleared his throat. "What do you mean?"

"Have you befriended Harry Potter?"

Draco laughed this time, a cold, merciless laugh. "And what kind of question is that?" Seeing as he got no answer, he pushed on. "Of course I have not befriended… him. Why ever would you say that?" He asked, his voice almost nervous.

Lucius took a step forward, and Draco matched him, taking another back. "I am under the impression that Harry Potter saved your life the night the Dark Lord was defeated. Am I correct?"

Draco barely nodded.

"I need to Elixir of Ember," Lucius continued.

Narcissa launched in. "The what?" she snapped.

Lucius laughed a dry, empty laugh. "The Elixir of Ember. Surely you have heard of it, have you not?" Neither Draco or Narcissa answered him. "It will give me great powers, unimaginable powers. I will also need to finish the Dark Lord's work and kill off Harry Potter."

"Good luck," Draco replied coolly.

"What do you mean, my dear son?" Lucius asked airily. "I will have my hands on that potion before too long."

"Not that," Draco sighed. "Good luck killing him."

Lucius gave him a maniacal smile and whipped out his wand. "Do you intend to stop me?" He tapped his wand on his chin. "Because now you owe him his life in trade for yours, do you not?"

Narcissa stepped in front of her son.

"How dare you sit there and pretend that Harry Potter did not save everyone's life, not only ours?" Her eyes were wide and angry. "You know that the Dark Lord would have put an end to you after Potter was defeated, and don't play like he wouldn't." She hesitated, thinking a little, before adding, "You were not his most loyal servant, Lucius."

"That will be changed," Malfoy whispered, his lips barely moving. Draco made a movement, perhaps whipping his own wand out. "My plans are to avenge my master, to kill Harry Potter once and for all. I'm hoping that you two will join me?" This was more of a demand than a question.

Draco spoke now. "I will not stand by and watch you make a fool of yourself, of this family."

"How dare you?" Lucius exclaimed. He aimed his wand at his son, before taking a deep breath, and recomposing himself. He moved back toward the door, placing his hand on the knob. "We are meeting at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters, the Black family house. And tonight, we plan to ambush the Weasley household, seeing as that is where Potter and his friends are currently staying."

"And who, exactly, is we?"

Lucius thought for a moment. "Yaxley, Dolohov, Macnair, Goyle, and some other people who have agreed to defeat Potter, those who were on our side from the very beginning, those that just couldn't make it into the Lord Voldemort's top choices."

"Goyle?" Draco asked dryly.

"Yes," Lucius replied. "Your little friend works for me now, isn't that a surprise? But he told you, didn't he, that he no longer takes orders from you. Now he works for your father."

"Yaxley, Dolohov, and Macnair are all dead," said Narcissa. "I watched the teacher's at Hogwarts take them down right before my eyes." Her eyes flickered over to Draco. "We both did, didn't we, Draco?" She said.

Draco said nothing.

Lucius laughed. "They aren't dead, you idiot! They only harmed them, not killed them! And right when their backs were turned, the three of them disapparated. Did you not wonder why their bodies were not discovered amongst the rest? Placed in the dungeons along with the Dark Lord's, where I must say, it did not belong."

"I do not understand," said Narcissa. "Why are you doing this?"

"The Dark Lord shows mercy to those who serve for him," said Lucius.

"VOLDEMORT'S DEAD!" Draco bellowed, aiming his own wand at his father. "And he's not coming back. If you think he is, than you're an utter fool… And an embarrassment." He had raised his wand because he had been scared that his father might backfire on him, wiping both he and his mother out completely. "And you should get out, now. We will not join you in your stupid plan to wipe out Harry Potter, because I don't think you realize how dangerous that actually is!"

"How is it dangerous?" Lucius Malfoy asked, calm and collectively.

Draco squinted his eyes at his father, taking two steps forward. "Potter is the hero to all of the other people out there. He defeated the Dark Lord, he was the only one to survive him. Don't you understand how powerful that makes Potter? And do you not realize that he will have more than half of the magical world on his side, defending him, for the rest of his life? If you try anything, you will either be thrown in Azkaban or murdered. Why would mother and I stand on the side and watch you do that to yourself, to our family?"

Lucius opened his mouth, as if he had something to say, but snapped it shut two seconds later. He reached his hand out and lowered Draco's wand with the tip of his own. He cleared his throat and turned about, his black cape whipping behind him. He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, into the windy night. "I hope to be seeing you soon," he said abruptly, before turning on spot, and disappearing into the night, vanishing from the place he had just been standing.

Draco felt something wrench in his gut, whether it was remorse from how he had treated his father, or pride from it, he did not know. But one thing did bother him. That very well may have been the last time he would ever see his father. Lucius hadn't been much of a father to him anyway, now that Draco thought hard about it. He tried to remember back to his childhood. Who had taught him to ride a broom? His mom. Who had taught him to tie his shoes? His mom. Who had practiced magic with him and always stood up for him? If Narcissa had done all these things, where had Lucius been during those moments? Working for the Dark Lord, which he'd obviously thought was his life purpose.

"Ahem," Narcissa cleared her throat.

Draco turned to look at her. "Yes, mother?"

"I hate to say this…" Narcissa spoke, her voice coming out as nothing more than a whisper. She was even shocked by the words that were forming on her tongue, about to spill from her lips. "But we're going to have to help Potter."

Draco did not looked shocked, or even taken back. He simply looked at his mom. He gave her a swift nod, before retreating on his heel and disappearing down the dark hallway, his wand still firmly in his hand, as if his dad would pop up at any second and he would need to defend himself. Draco entered his kitchen and sat down at the table, and their new house elf approached him slowly. Draco felt pity for the poor thing. It hadn't been his, nor his mom's idea to hire the elf. It had been all Lucius, but then he'd left. And now Draco was in charge. Draco stood up and took off his shoe, pulling off his black sock. He placed it in the elf's small hand. "We no longer need you here as our servant. If you've got no where to go, you can continue to live here. But can you do me a quick favor before I completely set you free?"

The house elf nodded, it's white eyes wide orbs, filled with tears of joy.

"Can you fetch Harry Potter, Weasley, and the Mudblo- ahem, Granger and bring them here?" He asked slowly, with a few moments of thought. "Tell them it is not my intention to harm them. I just need a word with them."

"Yes, master," the elf spoke quietly. He disappeared with a loud snap.

Narcissa entered the kitchen. "Was that the elf?" She asked. She hadn't ever learned it's name. She hadn't really taken the time. "Where did you send him?"

"The Burrow," said Draco shortly. "They won't come."

The color drained from Narcissa's face. "But certainly, if they do, they will intend to hurt us? After everything your father - Lucius, has put them through. They will think it's a trap."

"What does it matter?" Draco snapped. "If they come, they come, no matter who's with them. I must tell them what Lucius is planning. Do you not think we owe them that much?" He adjusted in his seat, clearing his throat loudly. He aimed his wand and the fireplace and with a small flick, the roaring red flames came to life, and shadows leaped across the room. Draco let out a long, drawn out sigh.

"Don't tell me you're going to fight your father?" Narcissa said, her eyes widening.

"He is no father of mine," Draco sneered.

"Draco, you've got to understand, he's ten times more powerful than you, he knows much more than you, things you can't even comprehend! He's been working with the Dark Lord for years and he knows curses you can't even imagine!"

Draco shook his head. "No matter. I'm not going to fight him. Until it comes down to it. I know much more than you think I do, mother. I know much more than he thinks I do. Remember, I worked with the Dark Lord as well, and I worked with the Death Eaters my entire last year at school. They taught me things I'd never even heard of before. He'll get what's coming to him."

"If you're prepared, then I will not stop you," Narcissa spoke, and then she left the room, without so much as another word or glance at Draco.