Family Portrait

By Queen of Curses

Disclaimer: I do not own HP, it belongs rightfully to J.K. Rowling. And I also do not own the song 'Family Portrait', by Pink.

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Mama please stop cryin'

I can't stand the sound

Your pain is painful and it's

Tearing me down

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"Mum..." A 9-year-old Draco Malfoy whispered.

Narcissa Malfoy was lying on the marble floor of their mansion, sobbing and bleeding. She wasn't moving from her spot on the floor, but certainly still alive.

"Draco, go to your room." Lucius Malfoy said to his son as gently as he could.

"But...mum...." The small boy whispered.

"Now, Draco." Lucius said, more firmly this time.

And the young blonde boy rushed up the huge staircase to go to his room. As he entered his sumptuous room, he locked the door behind him. Finding nothing else to do in such a situation like this, he just lied himself down on his bed and fell asleep.

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I hear glasses breaking

As I sit up in my bed

I told God you didn't mean

Those nasty things you said

You fight about money

About me and my brother

And this I come home to

This is my shelter

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When he had waked, Draco didn't hear any signs of fighting between his mother and father.

"I guess mum and dad made up . . . I hope . . . " He whispered to himself as he stroked his pet snake, Sinister. Draco never liked it when his parents fought.

At the sound of glass breaking, Draco winced. "Spoke too soon . . . " he said softly to himself.

Draco heard obscenities screamed between his mother and father. He hugged his knees to his chest and started praying.

"To whatever God is out there, please forgive my parents. They just can't control their temper too well. They don't mean to hurt each other so badly." The 9-year-old said sadly, looking up to the ceiling of his room, which was magically enchanted to look like the starry night sky.

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It ain't easy, growin' up in World War 3

Never knowin' what love could be

You'll see, I don't want love to destroy me

Like it has done my family

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"Shut up, you bitch." Malfoy senior yelled as he threw the valuable glass figure of a dragon at the floor near his wife.

"It's true!" The said wife screamed. "You're no father, and you're no husband!"

Those words hit Lucius...hard. After regaining his composure, he finally found something to say.

"Don't tell me who I am and who I am not!" And more glass was shattered.

"Why the hell should I listen to you, out of all people?"

"Because I'm the man of the family, Narcissa." Lucius said as he drew his wife close to him by her hair. "And what I say goes." He hissed.

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Can we work it out

Can we be a family

I promise I'll be better

Mommy I'll do anything

Can we work it out

Can we be a family

I promise I'll be better

Daddy please don't leave

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After a long while of inner thoughts, the younger Malfoy slowly walked downstairs, heading for the mansion's library.

As he was walking towards his destination, he found his parents fighting . . . again.

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Daddy please stop yelling

I can't stand the sound

Make mama stop cryin'

'Cause I need you around

My mama she loves you

No matter what she says is true

I know that she hurts you

But remember I love you too!

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Narcissa had finally managed to get off her husband's vice-like grip on her pale blonde hair. And her first action of freedom was striking Lucius across his face.

Lucius just stayed silent, which was scarier than when he yelled. Narcissa covered her mouth with one hand, stared at her other hand in horror, and stuttered apologies to her husband. Draco made his presence known to them by audibly gasping.

Both parents glanced at their child with sad looks. And the 9-year-old rushed out the door of the mansion into the garden.

After complete silence between the two adults, Lucius broke it.

"I'm leaving."

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I ran away today, ran from the noise

Ran away (ran away)

Don't wanna go back to that place

But don't have no choice, no way

It ain't easy, growin' up in World War 3

Never knowin' what love could be

But I've seen, I don't want love to destroy me

Like it did my family

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When Draco reached the outdoor garden, he found his special spot under a weeping willow. This was his place of solitude. The place where he knew no one would bother him.

He didn't want to go back to mother and father. He was scared. Yes, *the* Draco Malfoy was scared.

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Can we work it out

Can we be a family

I promise I'll be better

Mommy I'll do anything

Can we work it out

Can we be a family

I promise I'll be better

Daddy please don't leave

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'It's all my fault mum and dad are fighting!' Draco said to himself, fighting back the urge to cry. Real Malfoy men do not cry.

'I would do *anything* for our family to be better.'

Then, he stood up and ran for the mansion.

When he, got there, he immediately went to his father's room. There, he saw him packing.

"Dad?" Draco whispered.

Silence.

"Dad? Where are you going?"

Silence.

"Dad, please don't leave . . ."

Silence.

Knowing that he wasn't going to get an answer, he quietly left the room and shut the door soundlessly.

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In our family portrait

We look pretty happy

Let's play pretend, let's act like it

Comes naturally

I don't wanna have to split the holidays I don't want two addresses

I don't want a stepbrother anyway

And I don't want my mom to have to change her last name!

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As he lied down on his bed, he noticed the picture frame on his bedside table. What he noticed more was the picture within the picture frame.

The Malfoy family portrait.

There was his father, looking confident and literally glowing.

There was his mother, with that usual shy smile of hers.

And there was him, Draco Malfoy, smiling as if everything was okay.

But that was last year's portrait. There was a chance that this year's portrait would just be himself and his mother or himself and his father. Or worse. There might be another man or woman added to the portrait to fill the empty space of whoever left. Most likely his father.

He would give up every luxury he had for their family to be as happy as last year. But since his father was leaving, there really wasn't any chance of that.

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In our family portrait

We look pretty happy

We look pretty normal

Let's go back to that

In our family portrait

We look pretty happy

Let's play pretend

And act like it goes naturally

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The Malfoy family looked so happy back then.

The Malfoy family looked so normal back then.

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In our family portrait

We look pretty happy

We look pretty normal

Let's go back to that

In our family portrait

We look pretty happy

Let's play pretend

And act like it goes naturally

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The Malfoy family looked so happy back then.

The Malfoy family looked so normal back then.

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Mama'll be nicer

I'll be so much better

I'll tell my brother

I won't spill the milk at dinner

I'll be so much better

I'll do everything right

I'll be your little girl forever

I'll go to sleep at night

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The younger Malfoy just buried his face in his pillow and started to cry.

'To hell with the whole "Malfoys don't cry" thing.' Draco thought to himself

"Draco . . ." A voice whispered.

The small blonde lifted his head to see none other than his father, Lucius.

"Daddy!" And he threw his whole body at his father.

"Please . . . don't leave . . . I love you...so does mum...so please don't leave . . . daddy . . . " He said through sobs.

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Daddy don't leave...

Daddy don't leave...

Daddy don't leave...

Turn around, please...

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"I'm not going anywhere, Draco."

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2 years later . . .

"Draco, today you will accomplish your first task in becoming a man." Said the deep voice of Lucius Malfoy. "You will go to this school, Hogwarts, and master every subject and be as evil as you possibly can for the pride and honor of the Malfoy family name. Understand, son?"

"Yes, father." Draco drawled, sounding quite bored. "I will make you and the rest of the pureblood wizards out there proud."

If you look past the formal conversation these two were having, you see the strong relationship between father and son.

"Good. Now go back to your piano lessons." Said the Malfoy senior.

"Yes, father." Draco said formally, giving a small nod. Then he continued with his piano lessons, playing a familiar tune. Curious as to how he thought in was familiar, he read the last line of the lyrics to the music he was playing and sadly smiled.

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Daddy don't leave... daddy don't leave

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