Chapter 1: Blood Feud
A/N: Don't be put off by this; it is more of an introduction than anything, and the actual story narrative does not start until chapter 2.
From the start, Draco had been raised with one idea that was pivotal to his upbringing: some people matter, and some people don't. As far as his parents were concerned, only one breed of people were worthy of them: very rich pureblood wizards. This was the philosophy they brought him up with, and there was no reason for him to question them. There was one family that the Malfoys particularly hated, despite the absolute purity of their blood: the Weasleys. Their financial state was barely worthy of the word money, let alone the word rich, and they were guilty of that cardinal sin: sympathising with muggles. The blood-feud between the Malfoys and the Weasleys was one that drove fear into the hearts of the mighty: for generations, members of the two families had taken instant dislike to each other, and met only by accident, and to insult or inflict physical injury on each other. The Malfoys raised their offspring to scorn the Weasleys; the Weasleys taught their offspring to fear and mistrust the Malfoys. The idea of friendship was alien; the idea of love, unthinkable, especially to the Malfoys, who had been supporters of every dark wizard in the history of witchcraft and wizardry. As far as they were concerned, the name Weasley made a person worthy of nothing more than death. This was the family that Draco grew up surrounded by, so it is hardly surprising that he spent his early years at Hogwarts sneering at almost everyone and everything, persecuting the Weasleys, and relishing Voldemort's triumphs. It is probable that he would have continued on this path for the whole of his life, had it not been for an unexpected chain of events that began one morning that brought the first snow of winter.
A/N: Don't be put off by this; it is more of an introduction than anything, and the actual story narrative does not start until chapter 2.
From the start, Draco had been raised with one idea that was pivotal to his upbringing: some people matter, and some people don't. As far as his parents were concerned, only one breed of people were worthy of them: very rich pureblood wizards. This was the philosophy they brought him up with, and there was no reason for him to question them. There was one family that the Malfoys particularly hated, despite the absolute purity of their blood: the Weasleys. Their financial state was barely worthy of the word money, let alone the word rich, and they were guilty of that cardinal sin: sympathising with muggles. The blood-feud between the Malfoys and the Weasleys was one that drove fear into the hearts of the mighty: for generations, members of the two families had taken instant dislike to each other, and met only by accident, and to insult or inflict physical injury on each other. The Malfoys raised their offspring to scorn the Weasleys; the Weasleys taught their offspring to fear and mistrust the Malfoys. The idea of friendship was alien; the idea of love, unthinkable, especially to the Malfoys, who had been supporters of every dark wizard in the history of witchcraft and wizardry. As far as they were concerned, the name Weasley made a person worthy of nothing more than death. This was the family that Draco grew up surrounded by, so it is hardly surprising that he spent his early years at Hogwarts sneering at almost everyone and everything, persecuting the Weasleys, and relishing Voldemort's triumphs. It is probable that he would have continued on this path for the whole of his life, had it not been for an unexpected chain of events that began one morning that brought the first snow of winter.