Chapter 2

Draco took a deep breath, it felt hard to breath, his whole body felt like someone had pulled and squeezed his skin in different directions, then pushed pins into him. It was a torture curse, his father had told him that the first time he had put it on him. Deedainelp was the name of the curse, few wizards knew about it, because the one that had made it was Voldemort. Yeah, his father could many of those curses, and after feeling them on his body so many times Draco too could them.

It wouldn't be too long before another school year would start, but he knew that even though he wouldn't be living at home, his father would check on him every so often, making sure he kept to the path he had given him. He knew where that path was going, his father wanted him to be a death eater. A death eater like him, then live in a 'perfect' marriage like him, and have a 'perfect' carrier like him. But all with family that his father told everyone they had was a lie. His family wasn't perfect, it was a ruin, and for Draco it was hell. At least it was that most of the time, it was times they had really good times together, but in the last year those moments had appeared less and less frequent. Draco blamed Lord Voldemort for that, he blamed him for ruining his family and make his father be so sure that it was the right cause, that he didn't care about anything, not even his son and wife.

Narcissa Malfoy, his mother was a beautiful woman in her late thirties, well she would have been beautiful hadn't it been for the fact that her eyes looked dull and dark. She didn't care much about anything anymore, she followed Lord Voldemort like her husband and did the things she saw fit for a woman with her class. But it was so shallow, she was shallow. Maybe she had turned so after years with Lucius, years with changes and years with ignorance. Yeah his family was screwed up.

But there were pretty little he could do about it. He had tried so many things, he had tried to run away like today, but like today, the attempts ended in failure. His father was a death eater and very good at keeping people under his surveillance. He could try to contact someone, could find someone to help him. But who would want to do that? Who would want to help one they thought was a brat, a person that hated all non-pureblood persons. Who would want to help a person like that? He swallowed, coughing slightly, he knew of three persons that he could try to contact, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and well… Molly Weasley. He didn't say anything during the time he had been at the Weasley house, but he got the feeling that she was the kind of woman you could trust with everything, like a mother who would help you with whatever problem you had.

Snape was a possibility too, but he wasn't quite sure if he was the guy to ask. Dumbledore was a good choice hadn't it been for the fact that if his father figured out where he was, and that place was in Dumbledore's control, he would kill him and then make it hard for Dumbledore running the school. Molly Weasley, but heck, he didn't want to ask for help in front of all the Weasley kids, he didn't even quite know how to ask for help.

Should he just take floo powder over to their house and walk up to Molly Weasley and say, 'I'm being hit by dad, help me?' or 'you know my father, Lord Voldemort's servant? He is hitting me and wants me to join the death eaters, stop him for me?'

He sighed, no he would just have to live like this and hope that his father didn't kill him first. Or that he didn't take his own life. In the long nights when he had heard his father having deatheater meetings, when he heard someone scream for their life being tortured, then he had wondered if it hadn't been best if he just ended it all and ended the Malfoy family.

Molly Weasley picked up the bucket and the cloth she had tried to help Draco Malfoy about. There were something that bothered her about this all, something wasn't right and she had a strong feeling that the thing that was wrong was Lucius Malfoy. But what could she do, it wasn't like she could go to Lucius and tell him to treat his son better.

Draco walked into the book shop starting to pick out the books he needed, his father was somewhere finding some 'darker' books. Even though there were many raids on wizard houses his father continued to buy books that were illegal, but he didn't keep them in their house, he had some other place where he hid those books and objects. He picked out one more book and walked down stairs again. There he crashed right into a brown haired girl, both loosing their books.

"Watch it Granger" He warned her picking up his books.

"Could say the same to you" She replied, picking up hers.

"Hermione, Harry and I were going to eat an ice..." Ron stopped in the sentence when he saw who was picking up books next to her.

"What are you looking at Weasel?" Draco spat, "Aren't this wrong place for you? I can't seem to remember it saying second-ha" He stopped as he saw Molly Weasley coming towards them.

"Draco, how are you dear?" Molly Weasley called most people dear, and well she didn't see a reason not to call the boy in front of her that either.

"I am good Mrs. Weasley, thanks for last time" He said politely, making Hermione and Ron's eyes almost pop out of their heads.

"Oh, you're welcome, everything well?" She asked.

"I really should get going now... Dad is waiting" He said and turned away. Molly Weasley looked after him for a few seconds, before turning to her son. Draco walked away hoping that no one had seen him talking to that crowd, if they did he would just tell them that he had insulted them in some way. Anything to hide the fact that he liked Molly Weasley as a person. She was kind and was the kind of the person he wished his mother had been.

"You got all your books?" Molly Weasley asked her son as Draco had left. Ron nodded and gave them to her, "Just go to Harry, I'll meet you there soon." She said and walked over to the cashier.

"Now what was that about? Why was Draco polite?" Hermione asked looking at Ron.

"I tell you when we meet Harry." Ron replied. They found Harry sitting eating some ice cream waiting for them.

"Hey!" Harry smiled. They talked a little before Hermione asked her question again, then she had to tell Harry about what had happened in the bookshop, and Ron had to tell them what had happened in his house.

"Even his father is tired of him" Ron laughed, "I know I would be if I was his father" They heard some scraping of a chair in the background and saw a boy walking away from the place, a boy with greasy blonde hair. Draco Malfoy.

"Gawd, he didn't even defend himself, he didn't say anything!" Harry said shocked, that wasn't something that happened often, or rather it had never happened before at all.

Draco leaned his back towards the brick wall of a shop, taking a breath of air. Wondering when this all would stop. Would it end when he was done at Hogwarts and was grown up? Or would he just be throwed into the world of deatheaters then? He saw a plump red haired woman coming walking up the street, it was Molly Weasley, and probably the best chance he could get to ask for help. He walked over to her slowly.

"Mrs. Weasley?" He asked, trying to sound a little more confident than he felt. Molly sat down her bags and looked at him.

"Hi Draco" She smiled.

"I was... eh... wondering... could I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure you can, you want to go up to the ice cream parlour?"

"Eh... could I talk to you alone, just here?"

"Sure you can, is everything alright?"

"Yes… I mean no... I mean… I need help"

"With what?" She asked, and then put a hand on his shoulder. Somehow that gesture that was meant as something good, scared him.

"Eh… nothing" He said and ran away. He didn't dare. Mrs. Weasley stood and looked after him before she walked back to the others. Joining them in their little ice cream spree.

That evening, when the kids where asleep, she found a piece of paper and wrote down a letter on it.

Dear Professor Dumbledore

I'm writing to you because I'm not quite sure what I can do about this, and I figured you might know what to do. The thing is that yesterday Draco Malfoy came to our house using the floo network, I don't think it was here he wanted to come, but anyways. He was hurt and I have a bad feeling that it might be his father. I don't want to come with speculations, but well. Today I met him again in Diagon alley, and he was about to ask me for help, but he ran away. I don't know what to do as I said, what do you think?

Sincerely

Molly Weasley

She read through the letter once more then tied it to Errol's leg and sent him away out of the window. She stood there looking after him for a second before she walked back into the kitchen.

"Rekatrius" Lucius said, almost in a calm voice, pointing his wand towards his son. At once Draco's legs felt like they were tied together and if he moved a single inch he would feel a pain like if someone cut of all his fingers and toes. Draco knew all this therefore he stood still, waiting for whatever to happen. He knew that when his father was done with him, he would push him so that he fell and would feel the Rekatrius curse until he would black out. He blinked again, swallowing his tears.

"Friddish" He felt blood taste in his mouth, and then he started coughing up blood, each cough hurt him like if a horse had kicked him. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth when he was done coughing. "You like my new spells?" Lucius grinned. He needed to put this boy into place, Draco needed to understand that he belonged with Voldemort. Draco didn't reply.

"Serpe Iga Froam" Lucius said, and that instant Draco was sure he would die, it felt like worms were crawling inside of him, crawling into every bit of his body. He fell over and the Rekatrius curse hit his body, until he blacked out again.

When he woke up, he saw that the room was dark, it was night again. He had obviously been out for quite a long time. He saw a house-elf carrying a plate of food walking into his room, he couldn't move over to the food, it hurt too much. He let out a little squirm.

"Master feeling better?" The house elf asked.

"Not much, could you help me get to the Burrow?" he asked, hoping that his father hadn't told the house elves not to.

"I'm sorry master, but your father doesn't want you to leave the house."

"K. Buzz off then" Draco mumbled before moving back. Suddenly he heard a little pop, the sound of somebody apperating, he moved his head a little, not really wondering who it was, he was pretty sure that it was his father or mother that came to check that he wasn't all out.

He closed his eyes, wishing that it was someone that could help him, it felt like he was prisoner in his own home. It was right, it was his father standing there, watching him with an annoyed line on his face, annoyed and angry that his son had turned out that way.

"I hear you want to leave? I hear you ask the house elves for help?"

"I…" He started.

"What is this? My son asking a simple house elf for help? What the hell are you thinking? You are a Malfoy, but unworthy the name"

"Please" Draco pleaded, wanting to just sleep, to just live his life without all of this.

"My God you are pathetic, how the hell can you plead like that, haven't I taught you to stand up for yourself?"
"Sorry father" He squirmed a little again, every inch of his body was throbbing.

"Shut up now, and do not make me any sorrier for having a poor excuse like you for a son!" Lucius boomed and disappeared.

"Stupid house elves" He muttered, but then thought about the fact that the house elf only did what his father told them, they were as defenceless as he felt. He closed his eyes, but didn't fall asleep, he just was there, resting on the mattress. Waiting, waiting for something good, because he had almost given up the fight.