Author's Note: The battle is joined. Draco feels pangs of regret…and not because he can't go for ice-cream. Mmm, ice cream…
Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns it not me not beautiful & unique snoflake gfhhhbftgh……………… Ack!
Born Under A Bad Sun
Chapter 6: Fire And Ice
By Peeler
"I was born under a bad sun…been down since I began to crawl…"
-Homer Simpson, singing blues
As the huge Romanesque mass that was the Ministry of Magic swam into view before me, my first thought was 'What the hell am I doing?'. And then the curses began to fly, and I found I could think of nothing but survival. Our division was chared with light flank support of the main attack group. The few civilians that had survived the crossfire of the first assault were fleeing to the Leaky Cauldron. We let them go. The wards around the Ministry began to crumble under our assault. A brilliant flash of light blinded us, and the screrams of Dementors rent the air. The Ministry was open. We surged in, the ranks of the Aurors crumbling before us. Levtaski's voice rang out above the din. "All squads to the left passage. Malfoy, watch our flank!" As the group of nearly a hundred peeled off in front of us, I wondered what I would do. So far we had been mostly out of the action. But we weren't nearly through yet. As soon as we had passed, a group of Aurors burst out of the wall behind us, killing curses laying a lethal spread. I saw Simeon fall screaming, a hole burning in his chest. I raised my wand, and cried out all the curses I could remember. The air was thick with smoke. Erica punched an Auror in the stomach, and he gasped out "Avada Kedavra" as he fell. The green bolt struck her between the eyes. The Auror gasped when she didn't fall. She buried her fingers into his chest, and a trickle of blood ran from his mouth. "Good job, Malfoy!" cried Levtaski, "Watch for more!" We sprinted down the halls, blasting apart walls as we went. We entered a massive pavilion, open to the sky above. On the railings above were at least 60 Aurors. A tall gray-haired man shouted "Death Eaters! Give yourselves up and you may survive! The rest of you are dead already!" Levtaski stepped forward. "I am the leader here! You lie! We submit not to your demands!" A killing curse struck him in the chest, and he crumpled. There was confusion. Acting on impulse, I shot out a thick band of wand rope. As I shot up toward the balcony, I felt a sharp pain. My body seized up and I felt myself falling briefly before I struck the ground.
When I woke up, a massive Dark Mark hovered over Diagon Alley. I could hear the screams of muggles in the outside world. Jenna walked up to me. "Draco, are you all right? They say that we wouldn't have won if you hadn't acted so quick. We lost a lot as it was. Still, the majority of us are safe. Oh yeah, you're supposed to report to Lieutenant LeStrange's pavilion. They're holding a strategy meeting and I think somebody might be promoted…" She winked and walked off. I wasn't impressed. I headed off to the pavilion.
"Furthermore, for his quick thinking and brilliant leadership, I award Draco Malfoy the Order of Slytherin, 3rd Class. He will be promoted to the rank of Captain in the 3rd Mixed Division. Following the unfortunate yet brave death of Commander Levtaski, Captain Tamysha is hereby promoted to the rank of Commander. You are dismissed. Apparition of this Division back to the castle will be in three days." "Er, Lieutenant? The Hogwarts Express leaves in two days. Perhaps those here who wil be going can apparate today?" I requested. "Very well, Malfoy. Your conduct here was much more than would be expected from a student your age. You will be contacted via your Dark Mark two hours prior to any meetings. Attendance will be mandatory. I look forward to seeing you again." I felt the brilliant void of apparition swirl around me again as I returned to the mansion.
As I lay in bed that night, I found that I simply had too much adrenaline to sleep. I could feel the blood pounding in my head. The last two months had been the most eventful of my life, and my life had by no means been typical. I had been drilled by my father in military tactics and the morality of dark magic since my tenth birthday. I had constantly had it drilled into me that I was superior to the muggles, as were all wizards. It was the greatest tragedy of our age, according to my father, that wizards would feel for muggles when they felt nothing but hatred for us. Yes, he would say, there were isolated circumstances of muggles accepting us, but even the muggle governmentlooked on us with revulsion and fear. And so it was our responsibility to free our mis-led brethren from the clutches of muggle hatred and the life of secrecy they imposed on us. If a few of the muggle-sympathizers died in the battle, so be it. The needs of the many come before the needs of the few. The end justifies the means. Slytherin's shade guides our hand. And so on. I had been raised to this life, and here I was, 16 years old, a Captain in the Dark Lord's army. I didn't know whether I had killed anyone. I had tried to use stunning spells only, and I hadn't used the killing curse. The Aurors had, did that make them worse than me, a Death Eater? They were misguided fools, after all. I would return to Hogwarts in all due time, and what would happen then? I was a Death Eater of Lord Voldemort, and I was giong to school where Albus Dumbledore, the Dark Lord's oldest enemy, was headmaster and where Harry Potter was the biggest name. Wasn't this a bit odd? And what would I do? I fell asleep with these thoughts raging through my head. It was about six am.
That night I had a strange dream. I stood in front of four great thrones, carved out of black marble. Seated there were Lord Voldemort, the vampire I had met in the castle, my own father, and a tall, old man with darkly tanned skin and robes worn in an ancient style. My father stood, and began to speak. "Draco Erynn Malfoy, you are here to stand trial before the grand jury for the crime of treason. You have betrayed those whom you held the greatest obligation to. We gave you life." Voldemort spoke. "We gave you power." The old man. "We gave you the world." The vampire. "We gave you death." A door burst open behind me, and a crowd of muggles flowed in. One in the front shouted at me "Let the sorcerer burn in hell!" The grand jury behind me vanished. The old man stepped in front of me. "This need not happen, my child. They only understand what we let them know." The Dark Mark flashed from the old man's wand, striking me in the face. I woke up with a start.