If you've read this far, hopefully you've gathered that I'm not trying to claim Harry Potter as my own.
July 6, 1996
Dear Journal,
The Dark Lord is displeased with Father, and when Father escapes from Azkaban, he will have to suffer His wrath. Apparently, both Father's failure and his absence are most inconveniencing to Him.
Both birds can be killed, then, with one stone. Killed in a very literal sort of way, as a matter of fact.
Absences can be solved with replacements. There is one Malfoy heir, ready to inherit not only the name, not only the residence, but the honor of serving the Dark Lord where his father has failed.
I will prove myself to be my own, finally. After so many years, the words of that Mudblood ring in my ears- "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in..." Not my name or my gold or my family will let me shine. This is my turn. Finally, my turn, and no one will dare ever to pass it off as anything other than me.
My life begins midnight, July tenth,
DLM
July 10, 1996
Dear Journal,
It hurt.
A lot.
I sincerely doubt that Muggle recreational tattoos are quite so torturous.
Aunt Bella (why has she been released but not Father?) has been teaching me Occlumency this summer, to prepare me for being a Death Eater among so many blood traitors, and it came easier than I expected. I tried best to employ it against the Dark Lord, but, to my defense, no one had ever described him to me and the utter... uniqueness, so fitting to his superior nature, of his appearance unsettled my unprepared eyes.
The Initiation Ceremony began.
The Dark Lord gently brushed his long wand down the light, aristocratic skin of my left forearm. It began to burn, and I shielded my pain. I felt the red eyes smile as he ran the yew across again, the burn increasing tenfold. I could feel the skin turning upon itself and becoming tender, inflamed.
Then the real pain began. He dug the end of his wand into the arm, several inches, it felt like, tearing mercilessly at the outraged flesh. Tears may have arrived at the edge of my eyes, as I used all of my concentration to keep from emitting the sounds of pain I so wanted to. He slowly gouged the shape of the Mark, seeming to revel in the pain he was causing, the blood vessels that wanted to break. Animal groans escaped my lips as he went. When he was finally done, his wand tip ignited, and I felt like the mark he had made was dying, the very skin becoming mottled and black.
I fell to my knees, crashing to the floor, and, keeling forward, managed to brush my lips on the hem of the Dark Lord's robes. I shakily found the strength to stand, my arm limply hanging and my head still bowed. Whether to hide my wet face or to show reverence I do not remember.
The rest of the ceremony passed as a blur, nothing compared to the cruel clarity of those three excruciating minutes.
It wasn't until Mother and I reached the safe confines of Malfoy Manor that I was allowed to pass out. I awoke eight hours later, to see Mother sitting anxiously over me. Naively believing it had all been some terrible nightmare, I started to try to raise my left arm to push off the covers. To my utmost horror, unexpected pain flew up my arm and into my brain.
Now, the pain has dulled. It is not gone, but it is bearable. I tried to ask Mother when it would subside, but she would not meet my eyes, her unblemished arms shakily brushing her golden hair.
Did Father have to suffer this? Does he, now?
Draco Malfoy
July 13, 1996
Dear Journal,
O.W.L.s results arrived, most ironically, by owl. So here they are, as follows:
Astronomy: E
Arithmancy: E
Care of Magical Creatures: D
Charms: E
Defense Against the Dark Arts: O
Herbology: P
History of Magic: A
Potions: E
Transfiguration: E.
I cannot believe I did not get an O for Charms or Potions. I have always proven myself to be excellent at those things, and now... Oh well, what do O.W.L.s matter anyway, I'll pass the N.E.W.T.s and no one will ever remember them...
Draco Malfoy
July 31, 1996
Dear Journal,
The Dark Lord has given me my first assignment.
I will prove myself through this act, like a rite of passage beyond the Dark Mark (on that note, I must say that either it does not hurt as much, or I'm used to it. Whatever the case, it's a bit of a relief).
He has given me the one task that no one, not even He Himself, has ever completed - a height never achieved. Daunting, true, but that He has entrusted such a task to me fills me in a way more than the embraces of my parents or merchandise from stores.
I must kill Albus Dumbledore.
Means is not an issue. It's an inside job that only I can complete, and complete I certainly shall.
The Dark Lord will forgive us, we are saved, and I, the Malfoys in all, will be escalated into a position yet higher than ever once was, or Snape, the foul greasy fellow who for some reason He places above all others (that will change).
It is not murder... It cannot be murder, for if I do it, how could it be?
Draco Malfoy
August 1, 1996
Dear Journal,
Finally, my dear book, you are worth something.
I have been contemplating, turning my mind inside out, to find some kind of possible way to actually... er... perform the task I have been set. Surely I will need something, anything, that the Dark Lord does not have or know -otherwise, wouldn't he just do it himself?
I found it! My plan. To distract Dumbledore so he can die. What if I got Death Eaters into Hogwarts?
Impossible, right?
But no! In this book, I have found the answer: "And then [Montague] returned to the common room as he painstaking recalled detail by detail his heroic adventures in the Vanishing Cabinet (broken since 1992) and random snippets from Borgin and Burkes, as he kept switching from place to place. Odd, isn't it, that he can travel to and from Hogwarts by acts of malicious pranksters while the greatest wizards of our time have yet to accomplish such a deed?"
This bit of genius, if it works, when it works, will surely establish myself among the ranks.
Additionally, I have already begun to scheme how to accomplish this. First, I must mend the Vanishing Cabinet, for having Death Eaters trapped in toilets will certainly not do at all. This should not be hard, for I will be going to Diagon and Knockturn Alley on Saturday and can use that opportunity to find Borgin and persuade him to tell me how to fix it (he'll know, for he does have the other one. I've seen it, I'm sure of it).
It's a strange feeling to contemplate these things that are so altering my life,
Draco Malfoy
August 3, 1996
Dear Journal,
I had a close call at Madam Malkin's, in more than one way. For one thing, she kept trying to fix the left arm of the robe I was trying on. As you know, it is still a bit throbbing and has a direct connection to the Dark Lord, so I certainly do not want to inadvertently disturb him. And, of course, it's a bit of a giveaway for being a Death Eater.
Then, of course, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Mudblood Granger had to arrive. Mother prudently led me out of the shop soon after; I may have initially wanted violence, but I had more important work to do that would result in a much more satisfying payback.
I shook her off at Twilfitt and Tattings with much difficulty, but finally she started to negotiate the price and I was able to slip away to Borgin and Burke's.
The threat of the Mark worked better than even I could anticipate. Apparently he doesn't know how the Malfoy family has fallen (temporarily). He still has the other Cabinet, thank goodness (ironic word choice), and I finally managed to secure his help. I suppose I shall have to send notes he shall have to respond by owl, for he needs to examine the thing to fix it, he claims. Well, my observations will be quite satisfactory, for they're the best he'll get.
Finally, I visited that shop of the Weasley twins. I was sure to avoid the twins themselves, but the helper Verity was fine enough, and I just bought some Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder before dashing out of the shop. Perhaps it will come in handy -who knows?
Draco Malfoy
September 1, 1996
Dear Journal,
I'll have to begin my work tomorrow. The anticipation is almost frightening.
I was able to get a small part of revenge on Potter. Today, I didn't bother seeking him out (for the first time in five years! Can you believe it?). Instead, I made it clear to my fellow Slytherins that I was clearly superior for my tasks for the Dark Lord.
It didn't help, though, that Blaise was invited to a lunch for "well-connected people" and Slughorn hadn't even bothered to invite me! The Malfoy's are more well-connected than any. I mentioned this, and Blaise replied "I don't think Slughorn's interested in Death Eaters." Well, he's just some stupid teacher, just like I told Blaise.
As I continued to lay hints of my importance to the Dark Lord, Blaise, of course, the bastard, tried to knock me down, but I still captured the awe of Pansy, Vince, and Gregory.
But that's not the important part. I had glanced, earlier, a flash of something that told my instincts that someone, concealed, was there. And then there was a gasp at one point, confirming my suspicions. After the rest of the group left, I closed the blinds and pretended to look for something in my trunk. I whipped my wand out and "Petrificus Totalus," Potter was sprawled on the floor.
In my boasting, I hadn't really let anything slip, so I didn't "Obliviate" him, but there was no chance I would let this opportunity to waste. I grinned at my triumph, and crushed his nose under my boot. "That's from my father," I spat, the hot joy of revenge seeping through me. I covered him with his invisibility cloak and left. No Potter at Hogwarts. A perfect beginning to a year full of opportunity.
Somehow, Potter made his way to Hogwarts, very late and covered in blood, but that does not dampen my spirits too much. I have already spread the story as far as I can, and Pansy's vines will hopefully reach out far. I'm not quite sure if that will work too much against him, but I will still have more revenge.
Meanwhile, though, just the warmth of his blood was so satisfying,
Draco Malfoy
A/N: I have never been forced to experience such excruciating pain as I described above, so it is from my imagination that I pried such grisly imagery. I hope that that helps you sympathize with not only Draco, but with poor Severus Snape. On that note, I faintly recall a fanfiction, the Gilded Cage, that had an idea that I very much agree with: Snape's a Potions Master, and the 'master' that he's betraying has a giant evil snake, so DUH he carried snake venom on his person!
Maybe I just want him to be alive, but the sense of that argument is overwhelming, don't you think? Oh yeah, and I hope you find that Draco's results make sense. Did you notice he has the same amount of E's, A's, O's, and D's as Harry? Cool, right?
Four reviews? Is this breaking a record? Wow, guys, keep it up:
mjmusiclover: Your enthusiasm is unwavering as ever.
Lovealwayshopes: Arrogant? Definitely. To the last sentence of yours: to think, just like Draco, years and years ago, Albus Dumbledore was doing the same thing... Hating muggles for incarcerating his father.
hollyivy7: As I have said before, it will probably be a long time before you read these words, so I have already PM'd you my thoughts. For the sake of my 'tradition' of personally addressing all reviews, I will paste my response here: yes, Pansy is interesting in fanfictions, given that what we know from JKR is that she is (a) stupid (b) clingy (c) pug-faced and shrill, though that could be distortion from Gryffindors (d) concerned with superficial things, and (e) quite mean to Gryffindors. That is so much and yet so little, so fanfiction writers love to expand upon that (A lot of people make her out as, well, very promiscuous, but I have decided on a different idea of those characteristics, though both work....).
XSkylarMalfoyX: As you have finished chapter one, it shall probably be quite a while before you read these words, so I'll tell you that this is a response to your review on 10-04-09 to Chapter One. Thank you for saying that. It is very encouraging and nice to hear from a fellow fanfiction writer.