A/N: Hey everyone, new story at last! This was inspired, among other things, by a song called System. It's sung by Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, and it just made me think of writing a story like this. Please go easy on me, this is my first story from Draco's P.O.V. Please Review!

Draco opened his eyes. There was noise around him, clattering and clanging, which was probably the house elves washing the dishes. He sat up and quickly regretted the speed at which he'd done so. His head gave a sharp shock of agony and he cried out in pain. One of the house elves that had been shoving some metal trays into a cupboard looked over at him and, on noticing his master was awake, hurried over.

"Master Draco! Is you alright, sir? You has been out for almost all the night, sir!" it squeaked worriedly.

Draco groaned as he sat up further, taking care to move slowly. "What the hell happened? And why – " He looked around. "Why the hell am I in the kitchen, on the floor?"

The little house elf flinched. "You was being yelled at by Master again, sir. He was hitting you again," he said sadly. "We was scared out of our rags when he dragged you in here and cut your arm."

Draco looked at his arm. There was dried blood all over it, and a long cut running from his wrist almost to his elbow. He flinched as the events of the previous night came back to him…

Flashback

Draco gasped as the breath was knocked from his lungs. His father grabbed him by the throat, so he could not move from the wall he had just been thrown against.

"Why do you not do as I say, Draco?" he whispered angrily. "You have a chance to move your ranking up, yet you do not take it. Do you need… persuasion, perhaps?"

"No Father!" Draco choked out. "Please don't! I just don't want to marry Pansy!"

His father glared at him with a rage that Draco had not seen before. This was the first time Draco had openly stated that he did not want to do his father's will. It wasn't going down well.

Lucius Malfoy struck Draco on the head with the staff he carried with him everywhere. Draco cried out in pain and fell to the floor. He looked up and through the blood running over his eyes he could see his father moving towards him. He felt him grab the back of his robes, and he was dragged along the ground. He heard a door being kicked open, and then he was thrown face first onto the floor.

Draco wiped his face clear of blood so he could see, and the slight ring of metal sliding on metal drew his attention behind him. He was in the kitchen, and his father was walking towards him with a large knife. He had just enough time to see the house elves cowering in a corner, before Lucius grabbed his arm in an grip like iron.

Lucius bent down to his son's face, so they were barely centimetres apart. "You will do what I tell you to do," he said, in a whisper that sent chills down Draco's spine. Then Draco felt the knife pierce the skin on his left arm, felt something connect with the side of his face, and he knew no more.

End Flashback

Draco sighed heavily. Ever since he had entered the service of Lord Voldemort, his father had beaten him at any sign of weakness, any time he did anything wrong. This was not how he thought things would be…

He'd never wanted to serve Lord Voldemort in the first place, but he was far too intimidated by Lucius to say that. Now 18 years old, Draco knew nothing of his father but violence.

Draco struggled to his feet. Turning to the house elf, he asked, "Have you got anything for a headache? It's killing me."

The house elf bowed low. "Of course sir! Would you like us to dress those cuts too, sir?"
"No, thanks, I'll be fine."

The house elf scurried off and came back after a second with an electric blue coloured potion. Draco gulped it down and, after thanking the house elf again ("Not at all, sir!) he went up and collapsed on his bed. He was asleep within minutes.

OooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooO

Draco looked around at the black nothingness that surrounded him. He took a few tentative steps forward. In the distance, a faint red light appeared, with a black centre. It got gradually closer the faster Draco walked, and he broke into a run, wanting to find out what it was. The black shape in the middle began to change, and suddenly the red glow burst out, spreading wispy red lines into a cloud all around him. He looked up to see the black shape. It was now in the form of a person, a female about Draco's age. He squinted at it, trying to make out who it was. The shadow girl turned her head, as if she was smiling at him. Then the red cloud, and the shadow girl, regrouped into one small oval of light and darkness, and gradually got smaller and smaller, before they disappeared entirely.

Then he heard a voice, mystical and distant, speaking to him. Draco… Draco… Draco…

"DRACO!"

He sat bolt upright in his bed. His mother breathed a sigh of relief. "God, child, don't scare me like that, I thought he'd killed you this time. Get up, we have to go and see the Parkinson's today." She bustled out of the room.

As Draco got ready to leave, his mind wandered back to the dream. He didn't know who it was in that cloud of light, but he knew that whoever it was… he was in love with them.

A/N: Hey everyone, how'd you like it? Please review and let me know, hints on how to improve are ALWAYS welcome, flames however are not. Keep an eye out for the next chapter!