The Turning Point

by TG. Matthew

This story takes place at some time during book 7 after Luna has been taken prisoner, but before Harry and his companions were captured. After this period, Draco Malfoy seems a lot different than he was in the earlier writing. This story, had it taken place, might be one reason why.

Draco Malfoy strode purposely through the vast, elegant manor of his wealthy and ancient family. For months, ever since his father had gone to prison, and He- Who- Should- Not- Be- Named had returned to power, he had lived a miserable, and terrified existence. A teenaged boy, he had been tasked with slaying one of the greatest wizards who had ever lived, the one man who his master actually feared. The stress had been horrible. Since the death of Dumbledore he no longer had to face the prospect of immediate, horrible demise for failure at The Darklord's cruel hands, but he had hardly showered himself with favor and glory either. If it were not for Professor Snape's last minute intervention, he feared that he would have been unable to complete the task that had been set for him by his new master.

Since then, he had done his best to lay low and take care of his mother, he was, after all, the man of the house now. His father, Lucius, had lost his wand. Now, though he was as arrogant as ever, he was no longer taken seriously. Even Draco, who once feared and respected Lucius, felt scornful of his father now. He had seen him bow and scrape to his betters, and he had lost his powers. Draco was a full-fledged Death Eater, the mystical mark seared into his arm was a constant reminder, as if he needed one. Thinking of the giddy pleasure he would have felt at the thought of becoming a member of that dread order just a couple years previously, when it was just a power trip fantasy for young men hoping to impress their fellows and a way to get revenge on people they didn't care for, he couldn't believe how idiotic he had been. The reality of life under the thumb of the greatest of dark wizards was a far cry from his silly daydreams.

Things only worsened when The Master made the Malfoy residence his headquarters. He was seldom present, a fact that Draco thanked Merlin for every day, The Dark Lord was very busy after all. But some of his followers were constantly there, older, more experienced and favored servants, who did little to mask their contempt for him. He was reasonably certain that his mother had been protecting him, the only reason they didn't treat him far worse. This fact did little to increase his self-esteem. His own followers, Crabbe and Goyle, had even begun treating him in a sullen and accusatory fashion. They no longer trusted him to take care of them the way he had constantly promised through all their years together. He had to constantly cajole and bully them to keep their support. Draco wasn't sure how long he would be able to maintain their loyalty. Once they abandoned him he would have virtually nothing left of his former power, or illusions of same.

One of the things they were using his house for was the keeping of prisoners, real or suspected enemies of The Dark Lord. For the most part they were a sorry lot, just regular people who dared to say the wrong things to the wrong individuals, "traitors," mudbloods, etcetera. There were a few exceptions however. Some were people who had actually dared to defy He -Who- Could- Not- Be -Named. Some brave aurors, little bands of freedom fighters, reporters who spoke the truth rather than the approved propaganda. One was a person that he knew himself, another student of Hogwarts. Luna Lovegood was a known associate of Harry Potter himself, and a member of Dumbledore's Army, people who had thwarted The Dark Lords plans and even, on one occasion, confronted him personally. Luna had fought Death Eaters and lived. When she was first taken prisoner she had been tortured and interrogated very harshly, it had been apparent however that in reality she knew very little of any value, and had no idea where the Undesirable Number One was, or what he was doing. Indeed, it seemed that she was somewhat simpleminded, perhaps autistic. After a bit, they left her alone, for the most part. Draco knew her better, he was aware that despite her strange manner, and some very odd quirks, that she was actually very intelligent and strong willed. He did nothing to disillusion them though. In an odd way, he had always been attracted to her, and she was one of the few students who had never treated him like a pariah, or sucked up to him hoping to use him to further their own ends. He saw no point in helping these people in any way that he didn't have to. He hated them all.

The prisoners were even worse off than him. Various Death Eaters, including, occasionally, Crabbe and Goyle, liked to use them as a source of amusement, tormenting, and, according to some rumors, possibly even raping them for fun, under the guise of "interrogation", or punishing them for various, mostly made up, infractions. Draco himself had never gone down there, the situation vaguely nauseated him, and he felt a certain sympathy for them, though he would never dare to admit it to anyone for fear of being thought soft, or even worse, disloyal. Then, wallowing in self-pity, he had a sudden thought. As bad as things were for him, they were more helpless than he was. He at least had power over them. They were enemies of his master, their abuse was encouraged, and might bring him a bit of respect from his new fellows. One thing he had always enjoyed at school was bullying the weaker students. Luna was pretty, and about as helpless and accessible as anyone could possibly be. Why not take some advantage for himself from the current state of affairs? The thought made him smile, he already felt more like his old self. Galvanized with purpose for the first time in weeks, he set off for a visit.

Most of the captives were in one central chamber in the cellar, keeping them in smaller rooms, like cells was impractical. There was no need, they weren't going to escape with no wands and a house full of Death Eaters above them, it was easier to leave them to take care of themselves. This room had windows along one wall, due to the angle nothing could be seen through them, but the sky, the chamber was too far underground for anyone to look directly out of them across the landscape. When Draco Malfoy approached them, their voices faded to frightened whispers. Most averted their gazes, the better to not draw attention to themselves, or stared at him in dread, fearing the worst. Looking at their responses made him feel somewhat better. He still had power, they understood that he was above them in the new state of affairs. He smiled at them for a moment, stared down a few of the bolder ones, enjoyed the way they cringed. For the first time in weeks, he became somewhat aroused. It made him more eager to carry through with the purpose that had brought him there.

Luna was easy to find, she was standing off to one side, staring dreamily out one of the windows. The shaft of sunlight in which she stood turned her long, wild, silvery blond hair into a dazzling corona around her face, made her near albino complexion seem to glow softly. Her captivity had not been kind to her physically. She had always been thin, now she was gaunt. She bore signs of abuse on her body, she would likely have looked far worse if the torture spell Crucio marked the flesh of its victims, though her spirit seemed untouched. Her pale eyes looked pleasantly interested in the clouds she was observing. Her features gave no hint that she had suffered at the hands of her Death Eater interrogators. Even wearing a shapeless, raggedy, grey dress, she looked stunning to him. He thought that, in all actuality, her sorry state made her look more appealing to him than she would have under more ordinary circumstances. Her face was what had always attracted him the most, she had huge eyes and delicate looking nose and chin. Basically, she looked frail, vulnerable. It set his blood on fire.

Draco flushed with the thought that he could do whatever he wanted to her, smirked and approached Luna. She didn't seem to notice when he reached her side. One of the other prisoners, a short, pale wizard with a receding hairline and a soft, pear-shaped body, took a step towards him. This wormy looking fellow dared to speak to him. Wringing his sweaty little hands, he said "Please sir, she has already been through enough. It is obvious that anything useful that she knows has already been gotten out of her."

Some of the other prisoners nodded, the woman began crying, and a few of the rest, emboldened by his example, murmured pleas for him to leave her in peace. She must have somehow made quite an impression on them if they would stick their necks out for her under these circumstances, he thought. He set his face into a mask of anger and glared at the pathetic ringleader of this tiny rebellion. "And who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do? She is my captive, in my own house, and if I see fit to do with her whatever I please you have no say in the matter."

He felt immense satisfaction when the scum turned even paler and recoiled away from him. Flushed with power, he felt the beginning of an erection. Grinning, he grabbed one of Luna's scrawny arms and jerked her away from the window. She finally turned to face him, looked at him with mild curiosity. "We are going to go somewhere private, Luna. I'm not fully convinced that you are as innocent as you wish everyone to think, and I have decided to try myself to find out what else you actually know about Potter and his friends." She followed him meekly as he led her away from the rest of the prisoners, past the sneering guards, and down the corridor to a mostly empty chamber that used to be one of the house wine cellars. She made no protest when he cruelly squeezed her arm with all his strength, although he was sure it must hurt, and would likely leave a spectacular bruise on her milky skin. He has heard that the captives were frequently brought to this cell when "private time" was wanted with one of them. The mattress and ropes in the corner seemed to bear this out. As they entered the room, he waved his wand and the lantern hanging from the middle of the ceiling glowed with pale blue light. Draco waved it again and the heavy oak door slammed and locked. "Now we can have a little privacy," he said. Annoyed, he saw that she was looking around the room with curiosity, not paying any attention to him even though he was still clutching her arm as hard as he could. His hand was beginning to ache from maintaining the fierce grip. He jerked her again to regain her attention. She looked at him with faint interest. He let go of her arm, it dropped to her side, but she made no attempt to touch it or examine it." Don't you realize that I can do whatever I want to you? You are entirely at my mercy, there is no one here to help you," Draco growled at her. Her lack of response to his threatening words and behavior were starting to annoy him. And to his dismay he found his once throbbing erection beginning to fade slightly.

Luna nodded. "I know what you want, Draco." She said softly. He had always loved her voice, and he found her Irish accent very sexy. Under the circumstances though her quiet, dreamy reply was incredibly frustrating. It wasn't at all the reaction he wished for.

"You may think so, but based on your response, I seriously doubt it," he replied in a menacing manner, eyes grim and cold. He took hold of her again, grabbed both of her shoulders and pulled her towards him until their noses were nearly touching.

She held his gaze, maintaining eye contact in a fashion that seemed based more on politeness than defiance. She never flinched though. She did look somewhat sad, but not frightened. She really is crazy, he thought. I can kill her, rape her, abuse her in any way that I want and she can do absolutely nothing about it. Maybe she doesn't understand yet what can happen. Maybe she is really so naive that she doesn't realize this. I'll just have to demonstrate.

Draco shoved her back away from him, grabbed the collar of her raggedy gown and tore away the left sleeve, ripping open the front down to where a sash held it tight against her tiny waist. She stumbled from the sudden hard pull, but she made no effort to cover her exposed breasts, continuing to look at him calmly. He yanked the sash, untying it and casting it aside. She stood passively while he pulled the remaining shreds of her simple garment off of her soft body. She looked down at the rags of her outfit and gave him a glance containing mild reproach. It seemed to say there was no need to ruin her clothes to get her naked. He took a moment to look her over, running his eyes over her slender body in an exaggeratedly lascivious manner, hoping to make her self-conscious. She stood patiently while he filled his eyes, and seemed to study him in return. She was petite, had small breasts, and decent hips. Despite her lack of height, she was rather leggy. Pity she is so underweight, he thought. She would be a lot more appealing to look at if her ribs weren't so visible.

When he returned his eyes to her face, he saw that she was looking at something behind him. Glancing back, he saw a large, hairy spider trundling its way along down the edge of the door frame. Looking back at her, he was enraged to see that she was no longer paying attention to him. What the hell was wrong with her? She should be terrified. Draco understood fear, he knew how it felt to be in similar situations, but she was ignoring him. His state of arousal was nearly gone, he wouldn't get what he wanted after all. If anyone knew what happened here, he would be humiliated. Overwhelmed with fury and fear of being ridiculed for his importance, he roughly shoved her backwards.

Flailing her arms, trying to catch herself, she flew back into the wall. Luna grunted when she struck it and staggered a short distance before recovering her balance. Draco stepped forward, and as she rebounded, he smacked her hard across the face. Luna reeled and fell to the floor, stunned. He would make her react to him, she would cringe and plead, acknowledge his power over her.

Taking hold of her long, silky hair, he pulled her up to face him again. She scrambled to get her feet under her, taking the pressure off of her scalp. Her cheek was flaming red, blood was beginning to trickle from her nose. Involuntary tears of pain had started to run from her eyes, but her expression when she looked into his eyes was sadness and resignation, not terror. In his mind's eye, Draco suddenly saw a much younger version of himself confronted by his father. He was never able to satisfy him, was constantly disappointing him. He worshipped his dad, wanted so badly to be like him, but always fell short. His father was very harsh, would hiss into his face, glare into his eyes, pinch his jaw as he told him how he was a humiliation to the family name. At other times being harshly punished when Lucius lost his temper, how Draco would plead for mercy until his mother would run in and beg him to stop. But Luna wasn't begging like he did, wasn't terrified.

Draco howled at her, "Don't you understand? Why aren't you crying? Just scream, cringe! I can kill you! You are helpless and weak." Grunting with effort, he drove his fist into her belly. Luna clutched herself and collapsed into a ball on the floor. Draco saw an older version of himself in school, gloating as his little gang beat up and teased weaker students. It made him feel powerful, reduced his own shame at being terrified and humiliated by his parents. They responded the same way as he did, proved to him that they were no better than he was. As the memories consumed him, he began to tremble. Gasping for air, tears running down his face, Draco kicked Luna's helpless body repeatedly. She rolled into a ball to protect the most vulnerable parts of herself and tried to ride out the storm. Eventually, the pain and shock grew to be too much for her and she vomited.

Looking down at her, smelling her bile, Draco shook and panted. Thought about how horrified he had been when dueling Harry Potter, when Harry's curse sliced up his flesh, how the blood had gushed out of him when he collapsed in shock. He knew then that he was going to die, and the terror of it had consumed him. He recalled then Dumbledore's serene expression when the Headmaster, weak and defenseless, looked calmly at Draco and asked him what he wanted from life, told him that he had a choice in how he wanted to live. Then the other Death Eaters he had allowed entry into Hogwarts, the only place Draco had ever really felt safe, arrived and took the choice away from him.

Luna slowly straightened her body once she realized that he had stopped. She raised her face towards him, and to his amazement he saw an expression of pity. It reminded him so much of the way Dumbledore had looked at him that night that he couldn't stand it. Luna was never exactly his friend, but she was someone who he had rather liked despite her weirdness. She was never mean to him, or fearful. She had treated him the same way she acted towards everybody else. He hurt her for it, tried to make her the same way he was.

"I'm sorry Luna. So damn sorry." Draco leaned back against the wall, slid to the floor. He dropped his wand and covered his face with his hands. It was just all so awful, an endless cycle of misery. There was no way out of it once it began. He sobbed and shook as his heart broke open inside of him. He was a weak and contemptible person, just like everyone who treated him the same way. People like Luna Lovegood and Dumbledore were the strong ones. They weren't trapped in lives of fear and pain.

Luna crawled to him, and rose to her knees. Ignoring the wand, she embraced Draco. "I understand," she murmured. "I'm sorry too." They clung to one another in the cold, empty room, prisoners together.