Fractal
Prologue
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There was total silence in the room; not a witch or wizard dared to speak against it, none but the old trickster Prof. Dumbledore. He stood up, his back tall and straight despite his age. Before him, in a huge pit that was surrounded on all sides by spectators, stood a boy with shock white hair. His grey eyes were downcast, drawn towards the floor, his head hung in shame. Two older wizards held him in his place in the middle of the lighted pit, holding him before Dumbledore and the rest of the Assembly.
"Draco Malfoy..." The Professor's voice echoed through the packed hall, echoing eerily off the walls even though there seemed not a cubic foot of extra space among the frightened mass. At this the white-haired boy looked up, his face drawing upwards to meet Dumbledore's strict, tight one. His eyes were lifeless; it was as though all his spirit had been sucked directly out of his body. The poor boy, Dumbledore thought, The Dementors have been at him already... Draco's grey eyes were unfocused, trailing off to the sides as if he were searching for whom the voice belonged to; they were glazed over, reflecting the light off them in a frightening, supernatural way as they moved about listlessly.
"You are aware of the crimes put against you." Dumbledore said firmly, watching him stagger slightly as the two guards let him go. The Malfoy teenager tried hard to stay on his feet; he managed it, barely. When he didn't speak, Dumbledore continued. "You are accused of ruthlessly killing a total of twenty former Hogwarts students..." The old man said, pain coming to his voice. Hogwarts would miss those twenty, many of them Gryffindors; he would see to it that this boy was put to justice, even if he did come from his own school.
"I am aware of the lisssst, old f-fool." Draco stuttered, his eyes suddenly coming into focus. Dumbledore had to hand it to him; most prisoners wouldn't have been able to stand after even one session with the Dementors. He admired Malfoy's courage, but it didn't make up for what he had done. The guards moved to hold him back again, but Dumbledore held out a hand, keeping them at bay. Though he looked tired and a little more worse for wear, Draco stood up as best as he could, looking as though he might faint at any moment. The latter was probably true; the only thing that worried Dumbledore was the intense, glassy look in the boy's eyes. It sent shivers down his spine, even though he knew that Malfoy could do no harm without his wand.
Dumbledore continued, not willing to show fear in front of this...convict. "By the power and office I hold, you will be stripped of your wand, Hogwarts robes and all of your possessions." Draco listened to him with a far off look in his eye, as if he were staring not at Dumbledore, but the back wall. In those defiant grey eyes Dumbledore saw resistance, anger and...hope. Though it may have been masked by the rage he must have been feeling, there was a small sliver of hope there in his eyes. What did he hope? Hope that he would not go to Azkaban, on the grounds that he had been acting in self-defence?
Draco's eyes continued to stare at him as the Assembly began and his sentence was decided. Then, in a quick, flickering movement, they moved up. Up the crowds, to a familiar dark-haired boy with glasses that was sitting in the crowd, staring right back at him...
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Hey ppl, what did you think of the first chapter? Well, it's more of a prologue than anything. Anyways, I won't say anything until the next chapter, ok? I'm not sure where this will go, so just wish me luck, ok? Oh, the standard disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, ok? Thanks...and don't sue me! ~ Kelsey
