J.M.J.

Chapter 9

This Is MY Life

Christmas had passed and Draco and Hermione were packing to leave. Two days from now they would be back on the train on their way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They had gone ice-skating, out to eat to five various food courts, and dancing. Draco was getting to know the side of his mother that his father had locked up, he was getting closer to Hermione unwillingly, and also finding a friend in Dobby.

"Two more nights," his mother came in saying.

"Yup," Draco sighed, "Then I'll be back for the summer."

Everything was slowing down, there was a change in the wind that showed winter was ending. Draco wanted time to stand still, for him to never leave his mother's side, but that wasn't possible due to the circumstances.

"I had a wonderful time, thank you for inviting me, Miss Malfoy," Hermione said as she hugged the skinny old woman.

"I'm glad, dear. Dobby has a snack for both of ya'll when you think you both have everything situated," Narcissa then departed from the two.

"I had a great time, too. I'm really glad you came, Hermione," Draco blushed.

"Me, too."

She gave him a kiss on the cheek and was going to go further only there was a scream from downstairs. Draco practically flew down the stairs as the shrieks of pain were getting louder and louder.

*I don't want to remember it!* he thought, it sounded like the same screams as before. It was happening all over again, only in a different time frame.

When Draco and Hermione found their way downstairs there, standing over his mother, was Lucious Malfoy all disgruntled and straggly. He looked like he had just gotten out of a fight with a rake. His clothes were torn and there were scars up and down his body.

"DAD!" Draco yelled.

Lucious turned to his son and yelled, "BASTARD, YOU!" and flew his way.

Draco didn't know what to do except make sure Hermione was out of the way. He pushed her under a table and ran down a hallway leading his father away from the two of them.

As he passed a rug he quickly turned around and pulled it from under his father, making him trip with a loud thud, but he suddenly got up as Draco got closer.

"I thought you were my son!" he yelled. He started flailing his arms all over Draco. Left, right, left, right, they all fell on him hard leaving cuts and bruises as they fled.

"NO!" he heard call from behind his father. Hermione had jumped on his back and started beating him with a stick that looked like a leg that she tore off of the table she was under. But Lucious just grabbed the girl and threw her up to a wall and was about to start on her, except a rage had overcome the beaten Draco. He had risen and grabbed his father by his long hair. He threw him to the ground with a force that he didn't even know he had.

In his father's eyes was a fire that was not his own, *This isn't my dad* Draco thought.

Inside this being could be anything but human. The black and red eyes that flashed with malice and disgrace showed that this wasn't who he thought it was.

Draco flew at his father as Hermione raced upstairs. Where his mother was he didn't know. He was just glad she wasn't there in that room. He started to beat his father with all of his might, but the thousand times that he hit him seemed to have no effect. Seconds after Hermione came racing back downstairs with her wand,

"IMMOBULUS!" she yelled and Mr. Malfoy froze with what he was doing to his son. Draco took a big sigh and raced to hug his girlfriend. He kissed her a thousand times over repeating, "I love you! I love you!"

He then raced back to the foyer and found his mother lying on the floor, "Mom?" he questioned, but she didn't respond. He raced to her side and hugged her tight, but the body that he held was limp. He felt for a pulse, but there was none.

"NOO!" he yelled, "It's happening all over again!!! I thought if I made it better this wouldn't happen!!!"

"Every action has a consequence," Draco heard whisper in his ear. He turned around and there was a ghost like green haired boy standing next to him.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Draco yelled at him.

Duncan looked as his feet and then looked at Hermione, whose eyes were filled with tears of compassion for her beloved.

"TAKE IT BACK!" he yelled again the tears filling his eyes, "I want her back."

"She's dead, baby, nothing can bring her back," Hermione whispered, hating stating the obvious.

"I WANT HER BACK!!!" he kept screaming.

Duncan came and sat on Draco's side, "Hold my hands," he whispered. Draco did as he was told. A cold air rushed upon him, he heard Hermione screaming, "DRACO! DRACO!!!!"

In Hermione's eyes, Draco looked as if he was being pulled back; he was hazing in and out, just leaving her.

Draco cried profusely as he left her standing there with his dead mother.

***

"Is everything okay, Mr. Malfoy?" he heard in the dark.

"Huh?" he said opening his eyes. As he did so, a light filled them, giving him a sudden headache. He looked around; the colors were of green and silver. All the Slytherin boys were watching him nervous and scared He looked again around the room to see all the draperies torn down, his bed sheets scattered across the floor, pictures broken, and his own clothes ripped to shreds.. He looked at who was talking to him and who else, but Professor Snape.

"What happened?" Draco asked sitting up.

"I was hoping you would tell me. This boy right here says that you weren't here when he walked in, but when he came out from getting his books, he found the place a mess and the you on your bed."

"I...I don't know what happened."

"Maybe, you need to go see Madam Pomphrey, Mr. Malfoy..."

"NO! I'm fine. I'm fine," he breathed. He was back where he belonged; everything was how it was before. Maybe not with the right choices, but with him, "I did this?" he asked looking around.

"Yes," Snape said concerned, "Get some rest."

Draco did as he was told and didn't wake up until that night.

He got up and looked out at his window to the big moon, "Every action has a consequence?"

"Yes," was the whisper behind him.

"Duncan? What do you want now?"

"I'm leaving for good."

"Why? I liked having a ghost around... wait.... I have a question. Sir Nicholas is dead, but everyone sees him..."

"I know where this is going. Well, see I'm supposed to of died and left, but for some reason I didn't. Sir Nicholas wasn't."

"How did you die?"

"From a broken heart. See, when I was alive I didn't care for no one and I didn't help him or her, I just did my own thing, and they did theirs. And eventually they started to fade away."

"Uh huh..."

"And well, I guess I had to pay back my debts with you. You needed me and I was there, so now I can go home."

"And what 'home' would that be?"

"Where ever the good Lord sends me."

"Is everything back to normal?"

"You're where you left off. Not a day went by, I made sure of that... oh, and your mother said 'hi'."

"Thanks, Duncan."

"No, thank you."

Duncan then disappeared into the oblivion. Draco looked around and started to have a long conversation with his mother, the moon.

***

The next day, Draco was feeling great; he was back as himself again. He roamed the hallways with his head held high and his chest out... until,

"DRACO!"

"What is it, Granger?" he droned as he turned around to look into her eyes.

"I wanted to talk about last night," she smiled in front of everyone who was gawking.

It then dawned on Draco where exactly he had left off, *Every action has a consequence* he thought. *I can't bring her into this. I fell in love with her, now I have to protect her from... myself*

"Oh, yes, you were very easy and pleasurable," everyone started giggling, "But you can't compare to a Slytherin girl."

"What?"

"Yea, sorry, but you can't have me anymore. You were last night and just for pleasure. Now, I'm going to get someone who... at least looks good," Draco strode off without looking back at the hurt Hermione. At that moment he was wondering why he wasn't hurting from doing that to her. He didn't feel no remorse, no pain. He felt like that was natural and how it was supposed to be, he didn't feel love, trust, or pity. He was back! The normal Malfoy.

Later that evening his owl had flown in and handed him a letter,

He wants you.

It read. Draco knew what that was about, even if they had no signature, "The Dark Lord wants me, huh? Get into the family business?" he looked around and in his pocket was the last letter from his mother, "No." he threw his father's letter away and said,

"I'm not my father, but THIS? ... this is me."

A/N: The end.