The Past

As I looked down at my watch, I realized it had been a long day. I couldn't wait to get home and see the smiling face of my eight year old son. Now a days he seemed like the only person who truly thought of me as a person (other than Astoria). I wish people would stop whispering behind my back thinking I can't hear everything they say. I hate the fact that the entire wizarding world thinks I am a traitor. To the ones locked up in Azkaban I am a traitor because I am not with them, and to others I am a traitor because I was supposed to kill Dumbledore. All I hope for is that my son will not have to deal with any of the lies people say about me.

As I walked home, from where I had apparated, I pushed up my sleeves because it was one of those hot summer days. As I pushed the sleeve of my left arm up I looked down. The mark that burned on my skin, my sign of shame, stared back at me. I wish I could go back in time and stop that moment from ever happening. At the time I felt like I was the greatest person in the world, but now I realized he had meant for me to die. As I got closer to the house I moved to pull my sleeves down, and then stopped thinking that it was time my son knew the truth. If I knew my son, he would run up to me as I just get in the house and make me pick him up. Then because he is the most curious kid I know he will look at my arm and send a fire of questions at me.

Prepared for the worst, I opened the door. Out of nowhere I see a little blonde head come hurtling at me followed by Astoria with a look in her eyes that said "I tried to stop him". I just gave her my signature smirk, as she called it.

"Daddy! I missed you so much!" Scorpius yelled.

It was surprising how loud one little kid could be. As I picked up the hyper little guy I said, "Hey Scor. I missed you too. So what did you do today?"

"Well mommy and me went shopping. She bought me a box of chocolate frogs at the candy store. I saved one for you," he said with the biggest smile ever on his face. It made me want to laugh how he could turn a day I would have thought to be boring at his age into the best thing ever.

"Aw thanks little man, I…"

Before I could say any more Scorpius looked down at my arm, straight at the faded Mark. Astoria saw him look at the same time I did. She looked up at me to see how I was taking it. As our eyes met I felt a small warm finger touch my forearm.

"Daddy, why do you have a mean looking face on your arm? Did it hurt when you got it? Why is there a snake coming out of its mouth?"

"Umm, Scor. Why don't we go sit down before I answer any of your questions? My legs are tired and I could really use a glass of water." From the look on my wife's face I knew she knew the time had come. She walked to the kitchen to get me my water, while I walked to the living room with my son still in my arms. Why had I made so many mistakes in my life? I couldn't help but think that after this was all over my son would be like everyone else, looking at me as if I were scum.

I put Scorpius down as I sat down in the big armchair we have, one of the few things I was able to save from Malfoy Manor. It was the same chair my dad and I used to sit in together when I was young. It was one of the few things that brought back happy memories of my dad. Most memories were dark and sad anyway. As I sat down, Scorpius crawled into my lap and put his head against my right shoulder, still staring at the Mark.

"Dad are you gonna answer my questions?"

"Scor, I want you to promise that no matter what I say you won't hold it against me."

"Dad, of course I won't hold it against you. You're my dad."

"It all started the summer before my sixth year at Hogwarts. My dad was in Azkaban…"

"What did grandpa do? Is that why you don't talk to him?"

My son had so many questions. If I had been like my dad I probably would have put a silencing charm on him by now, but I had promised myself I would never turn out like my father. "Well Scor, grandpa had tried to steal something. A month after summer had started, You-Know-Who came to my house with my aunt and dad following behind. I went to get my mom. When she saw our guests she looked really scared and held on to me as if her life depended on me."

"Daddy, why did grandpa know You-Know-Who?"

"Scor, your grandpa was a Death Eater. After You-Know-Who they were the most feared people in the wizarding world at that time. So when they entered the house they came and sat down in our dining room around the table. We had a really long table and I think we all knew that He was still expecting people to come. At that moment the doorbell rang and in came around twenty people who my father knew quite well. I was worried but wouldn't let anyone else know that. At that moment my aunt, Bellatrix came up to me and took me to stand right next to You-Know-Who. He was by far the creepiest looking person on earth…"

"What did he look like dad? Did he have sharp teeth and evil eyes?"

When were the questions ever going to stop? "Well Scor, he had red eyes, and two slits for a nose. People said he used to be a very handsome boy till he started to murder people. So anyway, back to what I was telling you. Aunt Bellatrix took me to stand right next to him. I was shaking all over but wouldn't let anyone know. At that moment You-Know-Who asked me to stick out my left arm. I did because if I hadn't I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now. A second later I felt a searing pain on my forearm. When I looked down there was the Dark Mark magically burned into my skin. At that moment I became a Death Eater."

"You were a Death Eater? You're joking daddy. Death Eaters are mean. You are the nicest guy I know."

It made me feel better that he had said that. Sometimes I wish he had been around when I made the stupidest decisions in my life. Before I could continue Astoria walked in with a glass of water. I think she had been listening because I could see her looking at me in a very cautious way. I decided I might as well finish the story now that I had started so he would know the reason people treated me differently. "I was, but not in the way you are thinking. I did not kill anyone. That night You-Know-Who gave me a job which I took because if I hadn't I would be dead and because I felt like the luckiest fifteen year old in the world. My task was to kill Albus Dumbledore."

"That's silly. Daddy, stop lying. Everyone knows that Snape killed Dumbledore."

"Snape actually helped me, but at the time I thought he was just trying to steal all the glory for himself. Well afterwards when I returned home my mum and dad were sitting in the living room and wouldn't talk to me for a week. They were upset that I had not completed the task I had been given. In that week I realized that I was thankful for Snape killing Dumbledore. As Dumbledore himself had said I wasn't cut out to be a murderer. The next year when I went back to school I was the most hated kid in the school. Everyone that wasn't in Slytherin thought I was a scum because I was going to kill Dumbledore. I found comfort in just staying in the Slytherin common room. But even my friends knew something was wrong with me and left me to wallow in my own self pity."

"Daddy, did Uncle Blaise hate you?"

"No. I think he was one of the few that didn't. Him and your mum." As I said that I looked into the loving eyes of my wife. At that moment I realized no matter what had happened in the past, my life was perfect and nothing could get in the way of that. "So at the end of the year, we heard there was going to be a huge war. Potter against You-Know-Who. Everyone was either scared or excited. As for me I just wanted to go hide under a rock. When the war was over I was scared that I would be behind bars just like every other Death Eater, but for some reason Potter decided I had changed and let me live. I guess that sums up why I have this stupid skull on my arm."

"Daddy, I have one more question. Death Eaters are supposed to call You-Know-Who the Dark Lord. How come you don't?"

"Well Scor, I never actually liked being a Death Eater. Unlike all of them, I never worshipped You-Know-Who. He was just a man you didn't want to cross under any circumstance."

"Well I think it's time for dinner. Scorpius why don't you go wash up," my wife said after a few minutes. Scorpius jumped off my lap and ran to the washroom. "Now aren't you glad you told him and he didn't hear it from anyone else?" Astoria asked.

"I guess. I just hope that he doesn't think less of me. When I remind myself of the stuff I have done, I feel like an ass."

"Well not to be mean, but you were an ass in school. I think most of us were, seeing as we were all in Slytherin. Don't let that bother you though. You know Scorpius will love you know matter what."

"Scorpius is a good kid. I hope he doesn't make any of the same mistakes I did. And you were right. Telling him made me feel a lot better."

At that moment my son comes running down the stairs and full speed. I'm surprised he doesn't fall down. As he turns the corner I see how happy he is and hope nothing takes that away from him.