Disclaimer: I don't own anything, so just leave me alone!!!!!
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Chapter 4: Explanation
"Your father's in... Azkaban?" Hermione asked quietly. She didn't find this as much of a surprise, Lucius Malfoy had always been on the dark side. But what did Draco have to do with his father going to jail. "Why?"
"Because he tried to control my life." Draco said, laughing darkly.
"I don't understand." Hermione said, feeling like she had missed something.
Draco sighed and tried to explain. "Remember those curses Professor Moody taught us forth year?"
"The Unforgivable Curses." Hermione said, still very confused.
"Yeah, well, there was one were someone has total control over another person." Draco said, taking a deep breath.
"The Imperius Curse." Hermione said. Draco laughed a little. Of course Hermione knew what curse it was. It was in a book, wasn't it? "You're father put that curse on you?" She asked, concern in her voice and expression.
".... yeah." Draco said softly. Hermione had to strain her ears to hear him. "It all started when I was stupid enough to tell my father that I didn't want to be a Death Eater." He said. Hermione tried to catch his eyes, but Draco focused on the floor. "Before I went to Hogwarts, I told my father that I wasn't going to turn out like him. I didn't want to be in Slytherin, and I didn't want to be a follower of Voldemort. But he was determined to have me be like him. So, he put the curse over me, and controlled what I did and what I said."
"How long has he been doing it for?" Hermione asked cautiously. She knew that this must be a sensitive subject.
"Since first year. My father wanted me to get a reputation. So that I could never live it down, and would be forced to join him and Voldemort." Hermione could see the hurt in Draco's eyes. But he tried to hide it.
"So, all of the horrible things you have done and said in the past five years, it's been your father?" Hermione asked, a little confused, but still trying to sound like she believed him.
"You have no idea how hard it was to listen to myself be horrible to everyone, and not being able to control it." Draco said defensively, his voice cracking a little, showing his emotions. "I had to watch myself, everyday, hurting other people who had done *nothing* to me. I hated everyone for not liking me, and I hated myself for making it that way."
"But it wasn't you. It was your father." Hermione reminded him, rubbing his back in a comforting way. "Isn't there a way to break the curse?" She tried to catch Draco's eyes, but he turned the other way.
"I was too weak to break it. My father is a powerful wizard, and I just stopped caring after a while." Draco said. The truthfulness in his voice scared Hermione. "My mother finally found the courage to tell the Ministry. They came to arrest him the next day, and by then, my mother fled. She was so afraid that my father was going to find out that she told the Ministry." Draco's voice was just above a whisper. Hermione remembered the first night that she had gotten to the Malfoy Manor. Draco told her that his father use to beat his mother. "I have to go to his trial in a month. If he's convicted for using an Unforgivable Curse, then he'll get the Demonator Kiss." Although Hermione could tell that Draco hated his father, she knew that he would never wish that on anyone.
Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco. He returned the hug, and melted into her arms. All of the pain, anger, and sadness that Draco felt toward his father was let out. He tried hard to muffle his cries, but finally felt comfortable enough to just let himself go.
The boy that was crying on Hermione's shoulder wasn't the Malfoy she had known and hated for the past five years. That had never been him. Malfoy, the bully that teased her and her friends everyday at Hogwarts had vanished, and Draco had appeared. It was as if his ego had shrunken down to the size of a penny, and he was finally human. He was so small and so alone and in so much pain that all Hermione could feel toward him was love. She tried to fill him with it, until he was busting at the seams. She tried to pack his mind with thoughts of how he didn't need to be afraid anymore. He was no longer forced to hide who he was, and didn't need to hate himself. Malfoy was gone, and Draco came to take his place. And Hermione prayed to the gods that he wouldn't leave again. Because she needed him for support, just like he needed her.
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A/N: Really short, I know. But I am in totally writers block mode, and need to sort some things out. I just figured that it had been forever since I updated with this story, so I felt obligated to write more.
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Chapter 4: Explanation
"Your father's in... Azkaban?" Hermione asked quietly. She didn't find this as much of a surprise, Lucius Malfoy had always been on the dark side. But what did Draco have to do with his father going to jail. "Why?"
"Because he tried to control my life." Draco said, laughing darkly.
"I don't understand." Hermione said, feeling like she had missed something.
Draco sighed and tried to explain. "Remember those curses Professor Moody taught us forth year?"
"The Unforgivable Curses." Hermione said, still very confused.
"Yeah, well, there was one were someone has total control over another person." Draco said, taking a deep breath.
"The Imperius Curse." Hermione said. Draco laughed a little. Of course Hermione knew what curse it was. It was in a book, wasn't it? "You're father put that curse on you?" She asked, concern in her voice and expression.
".... yeah." Draco said softly. Hermione had to strain her ears to hear him. "It all started when I was stupid enough to tell my father that I didn't want to be a Death Eater." He said. Hermione tried to catch his eyes, but Draco focused on the floor. "Before I went to Hogwarts, I told my father that I wasn't going to turn out like him. I didn't want to be in Slytherin, and I didn't want to be a follower of Voldemort. But he was determined to have me be like him. So, he put the curse over me, and controlled what I did and what I said."
"How long has he been doing it for?" Hermione asked cautiously. She knew that this must be a sensitive subject.
"Since first year. My father wanted me to get a reputation. So that I could never live it down, and would be forced to join him and Voldemort." Hermione could see the hurt in Draco's eyes. But he tried to hide it.
"So, all of the horrible things you have done and said in the past five years, it's been your father?" Hermione asked, a little confused, but still trying to sound like she believed him.
"You have no idea how hard it was to listen to myself be horrible to everyone, and not being able to control it." Draco said defensively, his voice cracking a little, showing his emotions. "I had to watch myself, everyday, hurting other people who had done *nothing* to me. I hated everyone for not liking me, and I hated myself for making it that way."
"But it wasn't you. It was your father." Hermione reminded him, rubbing his back in a comforting way. "Isn't there a way to break the curse?" She tried to catch Draco's eyes, but he turned the other way.
"I was too weak to break it. My father is a powerful wizard, and I just stopped caring after a while." Draco said. The truthfulness in his voice scared Hermione. "My mother finally found the courage to tell the Ministry. They came to arrest him the next day, and by then, my mother fled. She was so afraid that my father was going to find out that she told the Ministry." Draco's voice was just above a whisper. Hermione remembered the first night that she had gotten to the Malfoy Manor. Draco told her that his father use to beat his mother. "I have to go to his trial in a month. If he's convicted for using an Unforgivable Curse, then he'll get the Demonator Kiss." Although Hermione could tell that Draco hated his father, she knew that he would never wish that on anyone.
Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco. He returned the hug, and melted into her arms. All of the pain, anger, and sadness that Draco felt toward his father was let out. He tried hard to muffle his cries, but finally felt comfortable enough to just let himself go.
The boy that was crying on Hermione's shoulder wasn't the Malfoy she had known and hated for the past five years. That had never been him. Malfoy, the bully that teased her and her friends everyday at Hogwarts had vanished, and Draco had appeared. It was as if his ego had shrunken down to the size of a penny, and he was finally human. He was so small and so alone and in so much pain that all Hermione could feel toward him was love. She tried to fill him with it, until he was busting at the seams. She tried to pack his mind with thoughts of how he didn't need to be afraid anymore. He was no longer forced to hide who he was, and didn't need to hate himself. Malfoy was gone, and Draco came to take his place. And Hermione prayed to the gods that he wouldn't leave again. Because she needed him for support, just like he needed her.
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A/N: Really short, I know. But I am in totally writers block mode, and need to sort some things out. I just figured that it had been forever since I updated with this story, so I felt obligated to write more.
