A/N: Hi!  Omg, I am so sorry about the lack of updates!!!  I went camping (left wednesday night) and just got back today.  I meant to post this before I left but things got screwed up and I didn't get time to finish it.  It was very frustrating.  I also ended up having the Trip From Hell which included rain, too many bugs, sickness, someone outside our tent and a million other things.  Sorry, didn't mean to rant, lol.  Anyway, the song is "My December" by Linkin Park (One of my faves by them!!).  Sorry if it seems odd, I was having trouble finding a song and just wanted this chapter posted.  Hope you like this!!!

Katja: Thanks for reviewing!!!  lol, I love when Snapey is protective.  I want to hug Draco too, poor guy.  I couldn't help having Lucius get tortured, god knows he deserves it :-D  Glad you liked it!!!

Ms. Padfoot: Thanks for reviewing!!  I agree, Voldie should've been happy Draco was strong enough, but oh no, no one can beat the "all powerful" dark lord.  Stupid monster that he is, lol.  I loved writing about Lucius getting hurt, does that make me a bad person? hehe..Don't worry, Draco will triumph in the end against the Bastard.  Of course you have to get anger out, my room's a mess from all the things I threw because of that damn book (which I still haven't read yet, lol).

Cinnamon Angel: Thanks for reviewing, nice name, hehe.  You're at Scouts right now :-\  Hope you're having more fun than I did camping.  I also hope your mom remembered to tape DA, you're my only link to Alec!!  When you get back and read this, I hope you like it!! :-) Come back soon, I have no one to be crazy with, lol...

Claire: Thanks for reviewing!!  New reader, yay!!!!  You were very patient and I'm sooooo sorry this took so long.  JK is totally horrible, I've decided, lol.  This is finally here, hope you like :-) (the next chapter should be lots longer :)

Angel of Death: Thanks for reviewing!!  I know, I went crazy with the Draco torture, lol.  The fifth book ::glares at it::  I can't even read it because of who dies.  I have to finish grieving first.  I hear the whole thing is quite dark so I'm kind of afraid.  Considering I write angst, I admit that's odd, but oh well, lol.  Don't worry about the ranting!!  I'm still doing it.  I actually ranted to my friends who don't read the books and have no idea who he is.  They already know I'm psycho, though, so it's all okay, hehe.

Rachel: Thanks for reviewing!!  Another new person!! ::happy dance::  Aww, you're so nice!!!  I agree, Draco is fascinating.  I love how he can either be redeemed or become dark and evil.  Hermione's temper will become even bigger later on, lol, I can't help it.  I know it took forever, but here's the update :-)  Also, thank you for telling Cinnamon how good her story is, she never believes me!!!  It's very frustrating... ;-)

Darcel: Thanks for reviewing!!  Yes, poor Draco and that will actually be one of the more tame sessions.

Koolcat:  Thanks fore reviewing!!  Wow, another new person ::big grin::  I made you cry? ::secret smile:: Ah, I can't help but love it when my story affects people :-) thank you!  I feel the same way, Lucius never should've been allowed to reproduce.  The stupid bastard (sorry, lol I really hate him).  Thank you again! :-D

Quidditch-playa-lover: Thanks for reviewing!!  Hi :-)  It's okay, how was Texas?  It was wicked hot here so I can only imagine how it was there.  I'm glad you're brave enough to read it ::guilty look::.  Aww, I made you cry, it's so odd for me to think of something I write being strong enough to do that.  It makes me so happy, lol.  Can't wait for your email :-)

Black Lupin: Thanks for reviewing!!  So many first time reviewers, my mouth hurts from smiling.  I just reviewed your story today, great chapter, by the way.  Sirius forever, lol ;-)  Ahh, if we all banded together we could hex her wicked bad, she deserves it ::glares at book yet again:: Sirius will show up eventually, I promise, in all his wonderful, loyal, brave and gorgeous glory :-D

~*This is my December
This is my time of the year*~

Draco sluggishly lifted his eyelids to find himself in bed.  The last thing he remembered was the Verbero curse and passing out.  He assumed a house elf had put him in his room.  Lucius wasn't a choice since Draco was actually in the bed, under the covers, and not haphazardly thrown on the floor.

~*This is my December
This is all so clear*~

Moving slightly, it was discovered that the house elf hadn't been allowed to tend to his injuries at all.  Big surprise there.  He warily eyed his bag with some healing potions and such that Snape provided him with.  It was in a corner of the room not quite near the bed.  Getting there would be hell, if he made it.  Steeling himself, Draco started to rise but shot back down with a gasp as the wounds on his torso and back ripped open again.  The sheet beneath him became sticky with blood.

~*This is my December
This is my snow-covered home*~

"Just great", he grunted to himself and stared into the air, not sure who he was talking to, "I could use some help here".

"Master Draco needs something?"

Draco jumped, jarring a few battered bones in the process, at Mory's query.  He hadn't heard any sort of *pop* signaling the elf's arrival.  Staring at Mory, he answered quietly, "I would like to get that bag over there, but I can't seem to make it".

"Mory is not supposed to help Master Draco's injuries", the elf apparently guessed what was in the bag.  He watched Draco's face fall slightly and remembered the horrible sounds coming from a certain room the previous night, "But Mory does not know what is in the bag.  It could be homework.  Mory wouldn't want to harm Master Draco's schoolwork", he smiled a little and brought the bag over to Draco.

Draco's eyes widened, a house elf was defying Lucius for him?  A pang of guilt (damn the new emotion) hit him though and he hesitated in taking the bag, "Are you sure?  If he finds out..."

~*This is my December*~

Now Mory was shocked.  Someone was showing concern for him?  Sure, Master's wife was nice enough, but she didn't come out into the open much.  His smile widened, "Mory is sure.  Master Draco is Mory's master too", and with that he popped away.

'Take that, Lucius', Draco thought to himself with a tiny smirk as he took out a potion.  After downing it, he grimaced, it tasted awful.  He hoped Snape had given him one he had made, not any of those Gryffindors.  Not a potion maker in the whole batch of them.  Well, Granger was all right, he grudgingly admitted, but she was good at everything.  Try as he might, Draco just couldn't beat her.  Lucius hated that.

~*This is me alone*~

'Hm, maybe she's useful after all, if she pisses Lucius off', Draco thought idly while grabbing his wand (which was conveniently on his bedside table).   He healed the shallower wounds and concealed everything else.  The potion he took would just about get him through to the time when he would arrive at Hogwarts.  Then in was Snape's job to figure out what to do with him.

Draco flinched a bit, much as he tried no to, as he reflected that the potion wouldn't do anything if Lucius decided to take another shot at him.

"You survived last night".

'You again.  I want to forget last night'

~*And I
Just wish that
I didn't feel*~

"You can't.  Not yet.  You have to remember it, it and every other one to keep you strong.  You can forget when it's all over"

'What if by then I can't forget?'

~*Like there was
Something I missed*~

"I'm sure we can find someone to Obliviate you"

'How comforting'.

As he (slowly) got dressed, Draco just kept telling himself,  "Just a little while long, a little bit and you'll be..." Well, not home.  Draco didn't have a home; even Hogwarts was just a cold common room and a building full of people who hated him. 

~*And I
Take back all
The things I said*~

He picked it up again, "You'll be..."

"Not here", the voice supplied.

Draco nodded, "And that's all that matters".

~*To make you
Feel like that*~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

~*And I
Just wish that
I didn't feel*~

There were two good surprises awaiting Draco downstairs.  One was that Lucius was out (more than likely meeting with Voldemort or other Deatheaters).  The other was Narcissa sitting at the breakfast table, skin unblemished.  Logically, he knew that beneath the spells she was just as battered as he was under his.  But not seeing helped him a little and he figured it helped her too.

~*Like there was
Something I missed*~

"Good morning, dear", Narcissa smiled at him as he walked in.

"Morning, Mum", He smiled back, amazed (as he always was) at the level of comfort when Lucius wasn't there.

Sitting down, he winced as a part of his leg hit the chair leg.  Lucius had found that spot awfully fun to kick, for some reason.  His mother saw it and immediately lost her smile.  Draco saw her open her mouth and cut her off, "Mum, I don't want to talk about it.  Please".  Narcissa hesitated, but nodded and regained her smile, weak as it had become.

So mother and son spent a day that was very rare for them.  The black shadow over them for the moment was gone, it was remarkable how one absence could mean so much.  Neither spoke of their scars or bruises, both content for the time to ignore that part of their lives.  It was, always had been, their way of surviving.  Everyone finds their own method; Narcissa and Draco's was denial.

Unfortunately, the bubble they'd encased themselves in shattered when the monster returned.  To be more correct: an angry monster.  Feared more than Voldemort himself in the Malfoy manor, he swept in and overwhelmed...

~*And I
Take back all the
Things I said to you*~

"Draco!"

He heard his father's shout and cursed fate.  It was bad enough Lucius had come back at all, but mad?  Things were going rapidly downhill.

Narcissa put a hand on his shoulder, "Honey-"

"Go upstairs, Mum", Draco said quietly.

"Draco", she started, but he shook his head.

"He's mad at me, you being here won't change that.  You'll just get hurt too.  I don't want to have to worry about that".

With a resigned sigh, she hugged him quick and tight and walked upstairs, once again feeling what a failure she was.

~*And I give it all away*~

Lucius stormed into the room right as she left.  'At least something worked right', Draco told himself before looking lazily at his father, "Yes?"

"The Dark Lord is still a bit upset over last night", the older man ground out, his face flushed with fury.

Draco guessed Voldemort had Cruioed him again or something and Lucius blamed his son.  'Not my fault your master holds a grudge', he thought to himself before answering, "I'm sorry".

"Sorry", Lucius repeated quietly.  Suddenly he struck out and Draco fell back a little, but stayed on his feet, "Apologies do not satisfy Voldemort!"

~*Just to have somewhere
To go to*~

"Well what do you want me to do?" Draco rubbed his jaw as he muttered his question.  Not that it was likely there was an answer...

"Be better", was the harsh reply.

~*Give it all away*~

"Could you be more vague?" The anger left over from the night before made Draco forget to watch his tongue.

"You said that out loud", the voice told him softly.

'I know', he whispered back, waiting for Lucius' response.

~*To have someone
To come home to*~

It was quite frightening when it came.  His lips curled up in amusement as he calmed down a bit and said casually, "Fight this.  Imperio"

'Shit'.  Draco swiftly felt like he was floating, his pains forgotten.  Every thought was nice and blurry, a welcome change from the usual pounding. 

"He said FIGHT it!" He heard the voice's scream, it seemed faint and far away, but he heard it.  Draco started to make his mind work.  He remembered 4th year when that Mad Eye (well, Crouch) went over the Unforgivables and Potter beat the Imperious.  'If Potter can, so can I', Draco told himself and tried to focus. 

~*This is my December
These are my snow-covered dreams*~

His hatred of man who issued it helped a bit as he ordered himself, 'You've listened to him your whole life, do something right for once!'  He felt a bit more in control at that so continued to berate himself, driving harder, 'You are useless, prove to him that's wrong!  Do you want to fail??  You've don't that so much already!  Now, dammit, BEAT THIS!"  His energy was draining quickly, but the last order gave the push he needed and Draco broke away.  He stood as straight as he could, considering, and walked around the room, displaying his freedom. 

~*This is me pretending
This is all I need*~

Every step was like have Hagrid standing on his foot but he wouldn't allow himself to stop.  Finally, he looked Lucius in the eye, "Done".

Lucius, for his part, was in shock.  Angry shame also accompanied that since he himself had never been able to fight the Imperious. 

~*And I
Just wish that
I didn't feel
Like there was
Something I missed*~

He narrowed his hard eyes at his son, "Don't get too smug, boy", his lips curled again as he threw Draco into the wall with his wand and walked out of the room without looking back.

Barely having enough power to blink, Draco certainly couldn't get up after being flung like that.  The wall was hard.  Shutting his eyes, he stayed right where he was and tried to ignore the injuries that had been awoken again by impact.

~*And I
Take back all
The things I said
To make you feel like that*~

"He's angry because he knows you're stronger than him", the voice informed him.

'The 'why' doesn't really matter at this point, does it?' Draco couldn't stop that dark thought and he curled slightly, so exhausted.  One thought wouldn't leave him, however: 'I fought it'.

~*And I
Just wish that
I didn't feel
Like there was
Something I missed*~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'

~*And I
Take back all the things
I said to you*~

Draco was supposed to floo to Hogsmead after it started to get dim and walk up to Hogwarts from there, meeting Snape at the gates.  There was a slight problem, however: Draco couldn't walk.  So, Lucius floated his son through the flooing process and up to his old school.  As usual, he wasn't extremely careful and Draco acquired a few more scratches on the way. 

~*And I give it all away
Just to have
Somewhere to go to*~

Severus looked up, surprised to see Lucius approaching him.  His stomach seemed to lurch as he noticed the blonde boy floating next to his ex friend. 

"Stay calm", his inner voice warned.

'CALM?!' he couldn't help yelling back at it.

"Do you really want to make matters worse?"

Sev wondered how it could stay so sensible, but admitted it was right.  Thus, he resisted the urge to knock down the other man when Lucius finally reached the gates.

~*Give it all away
To have someone
To come home to*~

"We had a bit of..trouble", the blonde man told him with a smirk.

'Bastard', Sev thought to himself but nodded, "I see that".

"I trust you'll take care of this?" Lucius flicked a wrist at his son.

Severus nodded again and repeated the curse in his mind.  He took up the floating of Draco and said goodbye to Lucius.  While walking up to Hogwarts, he stared dejectedly at Draco.  Under the sadness simmered a strong anger.  Anger like he felt the night he saved that little girl.  He would have to watch himself and make sure he didn't let that fury boil over.  While the idea of beating Lucius to a bloody pulp was entertaining, it would ruin both his spying career and, quite possibly, Draco's life.

~*This is my December*~

Lupin and Dumbledore were waiting right inside the door, as Severus knew they would be.  Their eyes widened when they saw Draco even though they had expected he wouldn't be in the best shape.  The effort from the Imperious had destroyed him, taking off the concealing charms.  The whip wounds weren't visible because of his shirt, but blood was seeping through.  His face was a bloody, black and blue mess.  Limbs twisted in odd angles, even his white blonde hair was in disarray.

~*This is my time of the year*~

"Severus?" Remus asked quietly.

Severus tried to control the glare that came naturally around the werewolf, he was helping Draco after all, as he answered, "We'll have to wait for him to wake up to get the whole story".

~*This is my December*~

The other men nodded, Dumbledore looking very grave.  The three walked to the opening to Severus' quarters, the headmaster stopping there and turning to his friends, "Do you two have what you need?"  At their nods, he looked to Draco and whispered softly, "Good luck, child".

Remus and Severus walked inside, dreading all the injuries they would find.  Dumbledore slowly made his way to his office, wondering why some things had to be the way they were.  None knew of the girl hiding under the invisibility cloak fighting back tears.

~*This is all so clear*~

A/N: Okay, so I shaved the last verse off the song, but it was long and I shoved enough in there, lol..  Anyway, there it is!!  Late but here.  kinda short too, to me anyway.  Anyway, next chapter is all in Hermione's POV and will be pretty long, I think.  I'm kind of at a loss for a song, I'd welcome any suggestions anyone has :-)  Please review, the more I know people like it, the faster I write ;-p