Lucius Malfoy was a simple man. He had a passion for power and a need for control. He embraced the finer material things in life and liked to pay a substantial amount of money for his purchases. He experienced feelings of pride, anger, hatred, and amusement.

And love.

No, Lucius was not a loving person. He did not love his wife. He did not love the Dark Lord. He did not love his fine house with his dark secluded chambers decorated to his liking. He did not love to see people in pain, that only brought about a faint tickle of amusement.

But, opposite to popular belief, Lucius did love his son.

He held his son in high regard. Pride flared in his eyes when he saw his son. He encouraged Draco to do well in school, and would have most probably pushed his son into being a Death Eater. Whether his son wanted to or not.

But, the catch was, Lucius thought he was doing what was best for his son.

Lucius was in Voldemort's circle. He knew of the dark plans. He knew that Dumbledore and his little ministry friends would not be victorious. He knew that the weaklings would die.

Lucius did not want to see his son lose and perish to the hand of the Dark Lord.

Yes, Lucius had punished Draco. He had hurt him badly. He had beaten him and tortured him. He had toughened the boy up and gave him the mold in which to shape him into a man like Lucius himself.

Yes, his father had done it for him. And his grandfather to his father, and so on. That was the Malfoy history.

Lucius knew he would not be the man he was today without his father.

And so Draco's feelings began.

Lucius had seen it. The hatred in Draco's eyes. The bold stance in which Draco would stand. The absence of shouting in his torture sessions. The appearance of a mild smirk on his face as Lucius praised the Dark Lord.

Draco's rebellious streak grew as he attended Hogwarts. Yes, in first year, Lucius had been pleased but then in second year, Draco seemed to be wandering down his own path.

It did not please Lucius at all. Oh yes, the boy was becoming stronger and colder. But he seemed to be commanding himself, focusing on himself, not thinking of how to impress the dark Lord.

And then when the Dark Lord had come back. Draco had seemed indifferent. He remarked on his father's secret chambers, as it was his first time there, by saying that his father had ought to buy more lights. Then he smirked and asked for leave. He didn't seem to carry an interest for the Dark Lord at all.

But Draco had never shouted or shown any major disrespect for Lucius. Not until the Mudblood came along.

Lucius wasn't stupid. He saw the compassion in Draco's eyes as he had looked upon the worthless girl. And now Lucius knew that he would have to kill Draco in a duel.

But, as Draco stood before him, his expression one that would have done any father proud, Lucius felt something new.

What if he could not beat Draco? What if his son could beat him? Was Draco really that powerful? Draco did seem very powerful and when Lucius had purchased Draco's wand, he had been told that it could only be used by a wizard of enormous power.

Had Lucius, who had prided himself on being Voldemort's right hand, become lax and used to being commanded by somebody else?

Well, Lucius thought, this should be a interesting fight.

*

Draco was not afraid. He bowed and so his father bowed. They exchanged an identical smirk before raising to full height and then:

"Accio wand!" his father cried out.

"Protego!"

"Very good, Draco."

"Thanks, Dad."

The wand had slipped to the tips of his fingers but he managed to cling on to it.

Aiming once more, Draco shouted, "Stupefy!"

Lucius deflected it.

"Reducto!"

"Colloportus!"

"Petrificus totalus!"

"Diffindo!"

"Expelliarmus!"

They were both well matched. Draco's Quidditch training came in handy as he dodged many of the spells approaching him. Swirls and flashes of light flew across the room. Lucius held onto his smirk.

"Impedimenta!" Draco yelled as his father shouted, at the exact same time, "Avada Kedavra."

The two beams of light met in mid air. Draco's purple beam of light seemed to overpower his father's green beam. The room was silent as everyone watched the two spells. This would tell who was more powerful. Father or son.

Draco's spell seemed to destroy the green spell as it worked through and hit Lucius. Lucius was knocked backwards off his feet. He banged into the wall. Draco didn't hesitate to scream, "Accio wand."

With his father's wand now in Draco's hand, he knew he had won.

His father knew it also.

"Well done, Draco. I am immensely proud of you."

"That might have mattered a few year ago, father, but it doesn't . I'm seek of living in your shadow."

"That won't be a problem anymore, will it?" Lucius said with dark humour, but Draco was completely serious.

"I always tried to please you but it was never enough, was it?"

"You're wrong," Lucius said. "I was always proud of you. I just wanted you to do more. My father did the same for me. You just don't understand."

"I do understand," Draco said, his voice rising. "You're the one that doesn't understand. I'm not you, Father! I don't need to be raised like you were."

"It's the Malfoy traditions."

"Well, that doesn't matter anymore, does it, father? Because I'm disgraced the Malfoys, haven't I?"

"You have," his father said quietly but Draco continued like he hadn't heard him. "I've fell for a mudblood, haven't I? There's nothing worse I could have done."

"There is," his father said, "You could have fell for Harry Potter."

"Stop mocking me, Father! This is not a funny situation."

"I find this quite humorous myself, Draco. You are killing me for a girl of no high standards, no wizarding connections. There is nothing extraordinary about this girl at all. A mudblood, Draco, who does not even return your intentions." His father let out a raucous scream of laughter at that point.

"I'm going to kill you, Father."

"I'm sure you are," his father returned coolly.

"Don't you want to live, father? You seem so indifferent to it all."

"At least when I'm dead, I will not have to live with the disgrace of knowing my son is in love with a girl like that. I shall be better off in the ground."

Lucius's words cut through Draco like a knife.

Draco, losing his short lived temper, raised his wand and said, "Avada-"

"One last thing," Lucius interrupted. "I do love you, Draco."

His son froze, his wand hovering in mid air.

"And I hope you will be very happy with Miss Granger," his father finished cruelly, wearing a teasing smirk.

"You haven't even changed, have you?" Draco spat at his father.

"Not until the day I die," Lucius said ironically.

Draco waved his wand and said, "Avada Kedavra."

His father's body slumped to the ground. His face was still set in that ironic smirk, his eyes open and staring at Draco in an accusing manner.

Draco stood there, looking into his father's cold grey eyes, for a long time. He didn't move, didn't feel anything. He had never felt so numb in his life.

"Goodbye, father," Draco whispered.

There was a noise from the corner. Draco turned and saw Granger, having forgot her presence. He examined her properly for the first time. She had a very deep cut on her head which was pumping blood. Burns decorated her arms and legs. Blood was seeping through her robe at her stomach. Her eyes were swimming and her face was deadly pale. She seemed to be blinking a lot.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked.

She, who had been staring at his father, turned her gaze to him. She seemed to be in shock.

She stood up straight, still facing him. Tears rolled down her cheeks silently. She took a shaky step towards him.

"You just killed your father for me," she whispered hoarsely.

He didn't even know what he was saying until he heard it. "I'd do anything for you," he said in an equally quiet tone.

She didn't say anything but her eyes asked 'why?'

"I love you," He explained to her silent question.

Nothing registered in her face and Draco wondered if she had heard. She stepped up to meet him and slowly, Draco couldn't believe what was happening, put her lips slowly to his.