CHAPTER 2 – The Boy Who Killed
Hogwarts
Harry was still dealing with it. Harry knelt alone in the common room dealing with it. Dumbledore was actually gone. Murdered by the blonde ferret Malfoy. Dumbledore deserved better. He was ready to help Malfoy, he knew of all the attempts Malfoy had made on his life and yet he still believed Malfoy could be saved. If only I had done something… Harry knew deep down he would be dead alongside Dumbledore now if he tried to save him that night. And then Dumbledore would have died for nothing.
Ron and Hermione were approaching Harry. They were just as sad to see Dumbledore dead and even more surprised that Malfoy was the one responsible. When Harry first told them that Malfoy had joined Voldemort's ranks, they dismissed it. With good reason, Malfoy was more of a nuisance than anything else so of course Voldemort wouldn't pick him.
Hermione had under her arm The Daily Prophet. Harry reached out his hand. Hermione handed over the Prophet.
The Boy Who Killed was the headline. It took up most of the front page along with a photo of Malfoy. Guess the Prophet wanted something like 'The Boy Who Lived'. Harry wasn't interested in reading the article, he just wanted to know how people had reacted to Dumbledore's murder at the hands of one of his students. Harry wasn't particularly thrilled about the student in question being the focus of the article that declared that Dumbledore was dead. This was not fair.
Remus had told Harry that the Ministry had Malfoy Manor searched and seized. While the family had managed to flee the home, all of the dark artefacts Lucius had collected had been taken by the Ministry and locked away. That gave Harry some joy, knowing that the Malfoys were homeless and their worldly processions had been taken from them. It wouldn't surprise Harry if he learned that the Ministry had also seized the Malfoy fortune, leaving the family as little more than beggars.
Harry didn't know where Malfoy and his mother were but he knew that one day Malfoy would answer for what he had done. Harry would see do that.
Little Hangleton – Riddle Home
The house was falling apart, covered in cob webs and was owned by mudbloods. Draco hated this house from the moment he saw it.
Yet he had no choice but call this place home until the Dark Lord had finally taken the Ministry. The Dark Lord had promised that Draco would have his family home back as a reward for completing his task. The Dark Lord seemed surprised. He didn't believe Draco had it in him to be a killer. But Draco proved him wrong and now he had earned his place amongst his ranks. The Dark Lord was so generous that he promised to have his father freed from Azkaban. When Yaxley revealed that the Ministry had seized the Malfoy vault in Gringotts and had stripped it clean, Draco despised the Ministry. He always had hated the Ministry with their ineffective laws but now he truly wanted rid of them.
And yet, Draco still felt terrible. Ever since he had muttered the killing curse, Draco has felt like something was wrong with him. He couldn't explain to anyone what he meant but he felt like something was torn. He didn't understand why he was feeling like this. The Dark Lord didn't feel this way after his first kill, nor did father or mother, nor aunt Bellatrix nor all of the Death Eaters that had ever taken a life. And yet Draco felt this way. Why?
Because you regret it. The voice in the back of his head whispered. Draco tried and failed to keep that nagging voice telling him that he had made the wrong choice away. It still lingered and it wouldn't leave him be, not even in his sleep. Draco was getting tired of this voice in his head but he didn't know how to make it leave. Nor could he tell anyone about it. If they knew a part of him regretted killing Dumbledore, The Dark Lord would learn of it and Draco would never be able to explain. And his family would pay the price.