Disclaimer: Who thinks I'm J.K. Rowlings?
A/N: There are flashbacks in this chapter. Draco is around four when they happened.
Chapter 9: A Mother's Love.
"Welcome Hogwarts to the first game of the year!" Dean Thomas yelled. He replaced Lee Jordan as the commentator in the Quidditch games. Professor McGonagall was pleased with him. He kept his "bad" language to a minimum; unlike Lee who was unable to keep it clean even during the Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw games.
"Today we'll see Gryffindor against Slytherin and what a game it will be. Gryffindor has a new seeker and this one's a gem. Will Gryffindor redeem themselves and win the Quidditch cup this year? Well, we just have to wait and see. In one corner in red its, Weasley, Weasley, Patil, Drew, Creevy, Creevy and last but not least ROOKE! In green it's, Goyle, Parkinson, Knott, Crabbe, Zabini, Baddock and Pritchard!" Dean introduced.
Draco turned to Hermione. They were sitting in the Gryffindor stands.
"Thomas makes this sound like a boxing match," Draco told Hermione.
"I guess it does, but you have to admit, he woke up a few people."
Draco looked around the stand and saw that some people were sleeping. Seamus Finnegan had his head on Susan Bone's shoulder and was sleeping. He even saw that some people were doing homework. There were also some girls applying makeup.
"This isn't a lively lot," Draco commented.
"It isn't. I don't know what happened. Last year, Gryffindor went on a losing streak. In my fifth year we won all the games. A dedication to Harry, but last year we lost. We had to start
with a brand new team and Ron was the only old player left. Naturally, he won the position as captain. I guess he couldn't really train them well, so they lost. The only game they were
able to win was the one against Hufflepuff."
Draco nodded at all the information. He looked out in the field and saw Ron standing in front of Greg Goyle. They shook hands and the whistle was blown. The balls were released and everyone shot up in the air.
"And so it starts. Patil takes possession of the Quaffle. She passes it to Weasley. Oh, great maneuvering. Weasley just dodged a bludger...watch out! Where are the beaters? Weasley
throws the Quaffle to Drew. Drew speeds off and...She scores! Ten points to Gryffindor and zero to Slytherin. It seems that Gryffindor has a new strategy."
Draco watched the game with interest. Actually, he was watching only Ginny with interest. He ignored everybody else, even Harry.
"Little Draco, come with me."
Draco's heart almost skipped a beat. That voice - he
recognized it.
"Come Draco, let's fly."
"S-scared."
Draco's heart was beating fast. He remembered that day as the memories came flooding back to him.
*Flashback*
Draco was holding a hand of a woman. He looked up and saw that she was wearing a white dress. He was glad to be with her. She had been gone for a long time because she was 'sick.'
"Mother, where we go?" Draco asked. He looked up to see her
face.
"We will join him soon Draco. We will join your father," She told him. Draco had never seen her this happy before. Whenever he saw her in the hospital she was always staring out the window. She never noticed him.
"But Father is in study room," Draco told her.
She scowled and shook her head as she continued to walk, holding his hand. She then opened a door to one of the guestrooms. Draco looked around and saw two ropes hanging from the ceiling and wondered how they got there. They seemed to just float in the air. He then watched his mother take a chair by the window and pull it towards the
ropes. Standing on top of the chair she gestured for Draco to come to her.
"Come Draco, let's fly," she told him.
Draco looked up at her and saw how high up she was. Scared, he backed away and
shook his head.
"S-scared," he stammered.
"Draco," she coaxed, "I'm here. We can fly and join him," she was pointing out the window, "We will join him and we can be a happy family."
"But father is in the study room," Draco insisted. Father was always in the study room doing work.
Her demeanor changed. She suddenly dropped her facade and became mad.
"Draco, come here!" she yelled.
Draco shook his head and was on the verge of crying as his eyes glazed over with tears. She had never spoke to him like that before. She was the first person to ever yell at him.
When she saw his tears, she softened her tone, "Draco, I am sorry. Don't cry. See look, I will fly."
She wrapped the rope around her neck and secured it. With a smile she jumped off the chair.
Somehow she was able to speak to him, "See Draco how I fly."
Draco clapped his hands, delighted to see how his Mother was really flying. She didn't even have a broom.
"Narcissa! Where are you?" A voice echoed in the hallway.
Draco smiled; it was father. He ran out the door to get him so that he could show how mother could fly!
Lucius walked down the hallway to look for Narcissa. Somehow she had gotten out of her room. He was worried about what she would do. He felt something bump his legs and when he looked down he saw Draco's arms wrapped around his leg. He looked down at the smiling face .
"Father come, mother's flying," Draco told him excitedly.
Lucius bent down and picked him up. "Is she really?" he asked.
Draco nodded enthusiastically, "Yes father. She wanted me come, but I scared. She can fly very high," Draco whispered conspiratorially while he gestured with his arms.
Lucius started walking, "Where is she Draco?"
Draco pointed to the guestroom.
"In the room?" Lucius questioned.
Draco nodded, "Mother has wings."
Lucius was troubled. He spent no time asking Draco anymore questions. Holding Draco, he ran into the guest room. He was shocked at what he came upon. Narcissa was dangling in the room. He turned to Draco with eyes wide and breathing staggered.
"See father. Mother's flying," Draco said excitedly.
Lucius was shocked. "Draco don't look," he said, covering his eyes.
"DOBBY!" Lucius yelled. He put Draco down and ran to Narcissa.
"DOBBY!" he yelled once more. Cutting the rope he caught Narcissa and laid her in his lap. Dobby the house elf came in the room panting and ran to Lucius.
"Master Lucius, is Missus Malfoy okay?" Dobby asked, concerned.
Lucius touched Narcissa's neck to feel for a pulse. He sighed with relief when he felt it the weak pulse. She was still alive.
"Take Draco to his room," Lucius told Dobby. Dobby nodded, scurried over to Draco and tried to usher him out.
"Father, I wanna fly too," Draco said, pushing Dobby away.
Lucius looked up at the child. What has the woman done to my son?
"Go to your room Draco," Lucius said calmly.
"But I wanna fly!"
"Go now!"
Tears welled up in Draco's eyes for the second time that day. Nodding slightly, he left the room.
Lucius turned back to Narcissa. Running a hand through his hair, he summoned for another house elf. He told the house elf to contact St. Mungo's and send for
a nurse.
As he frantically tried to help Narcissa, he could still hear Draco talking to Dobby about how his mother could fly and how he wanted to fly with her to. Narcissa wanted her son to die with her. She wanted to kill his son. The woman he loved. The woman that didn't love him back.
*End of Flashback*
Draco heard cheering and he stood up.
"You do know that Slytherin just scored, right?" Hermione told him.
Draco almost lost his balance and held onto the rail.
Hermione got up to help him. "Are you all right?"
Draco shook his head. He understood it now. That dream...
"Lukas?"
"I...I have to go," Draco told her and he ran out of the Quidditch pitch.
Ginny heard some people yelling in the stands. She looked towards the Gryffindor area and saw Draco and Hermione standing up. Draco was leaning on the railing and Hermione was talking to him and suddenly he ran away.
*_*_*_*
Draco was stumbling down the corridors in the castle.
"She tried to kill him! My son!"
Draco covered his ears, but he could still hear the voices. He couldn't believe that after so many years he was hearing them again. He didn't remember any of this until today.
Draco sank down to the floor, his back against the wall.
"You cannot send her there Lucius. They will ruin her."
"If I don't send her away, who knows what she would do next? This is the second time!"
Draco closed his eyes and begged the voices to stop.
"Mother I can't breathe."
"This is for your own good Draco. I'm doing this because I love you."
Draco brought a hand to his neck. He could still picture his mother above him. He was struggling to get her hands off his neck while Dobby was trying to pull her away. There was a lot of yelling. The door suddenly opened and Lucius rushed inside and pulled Narcissa away.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Lucius pointed his wand towards her. He turned to Draco and took him into his arms."
"Draco, are you all right?" Lucius asked, bringing his son closer to him.
Draco had tears streaming down his face, "M...mother hurt me," he whimpered.
Lucius wiped Draco's tears with his hand and looked down at his wife. Draco was shaking in his arms. The woman had to go; she was a danger to their son.
*_*_*_*_
"Congratulations!"
Ginny turned around and Seamus hugged her.
"So, where's the boyfriend?" Seamus asked. He noticed that Lukas was not around.
Ginny looked around the common room and could not find Draco in the crowd.
"I don't know," Ginny answered.
She looked around and saw that Ron was in the middle of the common room passing out butterbeer. Ginny was happy to see that he was in a good mood. Ever since he broke up with Hermione, he had been rather gloomy.
"Ginny!"
Ginny turned towards the voice and saw one of her roommates running down the stairs.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.
"It's your boyfriend."
"Lukas? Do you know where he is?" Ginny asked.
"He's in our dorm. He looks troubled. You should go to him."
Ginny nodded and ran up the stairs. She opened the door to her room and noticed that it was dark. She saw a figure sitting on her bed and assumed it was Draco. After closing the door, locking it and placing a silencing spell around the room she walked towards him and sat next to him. Without saying anything to her, he laid his head on her lap and she ran her fingers through it, knowing that it would relax him.
After a while of sitting in tense silence, Ginny broke it, "Draco, are you okay?"
Draco didn't say anything; he just shook his head.
"Draco, what's wrong?"
He finally sat up, Ginny was surprised to see him so pale.
"I remembered my mother," Draco told her, his voice hoarse.
Ginny heard something different in his voice. There was something in his voice that disturbed her. Ginny just realized he was talking about his mother. She remembered reading an
article in the Daily Prophet saying that Narcissa Malfoy died. That was two years ago, two months after Draco supposedly died. Some say she died of a broken heart.
Ginny moved closer to him and hugged him.
"I'm sorry about your mother," Ginny told him.
She was surprised to hear him laugh and pulled away from him to look at him.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked. Ginny had a shocked expression. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was slightly open.
"Why did you laugh Draco? I meant it, it must be hard to lose a mother," Ginny told him.
"I didn't know how it felt to have a mother. How would I know how it feels to lose one?" Draco asked her.
"What do you mean?"
Draco looked down, "My mother was sick for as long as I can remember. She was always in St. Mungo's, and I was practically raised by house elves and my father."
Draco looked up at her and smiled, "Sorry to bother you about this. I should be in a cheery mood; you guys won your first game. Congratulations."
Ginny just stared at him. How could he act as if it was nothing? His mood changed so quickly. Not knowing what to do, she pushed the hair away from his face.
Draco stared at her and saw how she looked concerned about him. He envied her. Whenever he saw the Weasley family together, they were always happy and laughing. They were one big happy family. Draco knew he could never have what the Weasley family had. His family was far to broken to be fixed. He had a mother who lived in her own little world. A father who was too busy trying to please his master. And Draco, he hid a secret. The reason why his mother never truly loved father.
Ginny saw that Draco's eyes had a glazed look to them. She wondered what he was thinking about. Was he thinking about his mother? Ginny suddenly realized that she barely knows a thing about Draco's past. He never talked about his family. She was wondering if Lucius was a bad father. The man seemed so cruel and he was always trying to make her father look bad.
"What was it like to grow up in a big family?" Draco suddenly asked.
Ginny was surprised by the suddenness of his question.
"Well, what can I say? It was fun because I was the youngest and only girl. Everyone tended to spoil me. I started to get lonely when my brothers went to school. When Ron went to school, I felt alone for the first time. When I finally did go to Hogwarts, Ron was too busy with Hermione and Harry to pay any attention to me. The only company I had was a dia..." Ginny stopped abruptly. She hadn't told anyone about it and she didn't want to. She rather didn't want to think about it, besides, bringing up what his father did to her didn't seem like a good thing.
Draco looked up at her. A diary?
"Did you keep a diary?" Draco asked. He wondered why she stopped talking about it. He knew a lot of people that kept diaries. He even remembered Harry keeping a diary in his second year.
Draco saw that Ginny looked scared. Why didn't she answer him yet?
He took Ginny's hand and squeezed it.
"Are you all right? You don't have to talk about this if it bothers you," Draco told her. She looked reluctant to keep on talking.
"No, I didn't keep a diary," Ginny answered. After her first year, Ginny couldn't even bear touching a diary. Tom haunted her too much. He still does. She remembered the day Bill gave her a diary for her birthday. For some reason, he didn't know about the chamber. She pretended to like the gift so Bill's feelings wouldn't be hurt. When he left, she immediately threw the diary in the fireplace and watched it burn.
She poured her heart in the diary and it betrayed her. It used her and left her to die. She didn't want that to happen again.
Draco kissed Ginny's forehead and he hugged her.
"I don't find anything wrong about people keeping diaries," Draco told her.
"That's not it," Ginny muttered. "What about you?" she asked, changing the subject. Draco noticed this, but decided to keep quiet.
"What was it like growing up as a Malfoy."
Draco smiled, "I actually had a good childhood, despite the popular belief that I was abused. I was a Malfoy, so naturally father spoiled me. He gave me everything I ever wanted. I guess he did that because he wasn't there for me. He was always too busy with work and as I said before, my mother was in St.Mungo's. Remember Emily? I met her when I was six. Before that, I was always in my room with the house elves. They were my only playmates. What else can I say?"
"Were you happy?" Ginny asked. She was saddened that he came from a family with so many problems.
"Why would you care about Draco? He isn't even your son!"
Draco shook his head.
"You weren't happy?" Ginny asked.
"No, I was happy." Draco couldn't believe he was hearing voices again. He didn't know what triggered it this time.
"Are you all right? You look sick," Ginny said. She felt his forehead; it was cold and Draco was shaking.
"Oh my gosh Draco, you're shaking!" Ginny reached down and pulled the blanket around them.
"I'm not cold. I just realized something. I never loved my mother."
*_*_*_*_*
"Have you seen Ginny?" Ron asked.
Hermione turned around to face him. She shook her head. Ron just stood there and Hermione didn't know what to say. She figured that it really was over between them.
"Hey Ron! If you're looking for Ginny, she's in her room. You better not disturb her," Carol told him.
Ron just nodded and Carol left. He faced Hermione.
"We can't get back together, can we?" he asked.
Hermione shook her head, "I'm sorry Ron."
Ron gave her a sad smile, "I'm sorry too." With that, he turned and walked away.
*_*_*_*_*
"What do you mean Draco? She's your mother, even though she wasn't there. How can you not love her?" Ginny questioned.
Draco was still shivering in Ginny's arms. He hated being like this, looking weak. He thought that he was acting like a little kid.
"She did so many things," Draco whispered.
"Don't look surprised Lucius. You know you cannot have a child."
"Even if he's not my son, he's still a Malfoy and I love him."
Draco closed his eyes and snuggled closer to Ginny. She was
worried about him; he never acted like this. He looked so vulnerable.
"How can you love a mother that tried to kill you?" Draco suddenly asked.
*_*_*_*_*
"Hey."
Harry turned around and faced Ron. He could see that Ron was hostile towards him. Harry heard people talking, saying that Hermione broke up with Ron because of him. Ron seemed to believe that. Hermione and Harry together, walking to class didn't dissuade anyone.
"Hullo Ron," Harry greeted.
"I don't like you," Ron said.
Harry was surprised that he was straightforward. He didn't need Ron to tell him that to find out. Ron was always glaring at him.
"I'll tell you one thing Rooke. If you hurt Hermione, I will kill you," Ron threatened.
"What are you talking about? I won't hurt Hermione. I'm not even dating her, we're only friends," Harry told him. He looked over at Hermione, he never even thought of her in a romantic way.
"Who do you think that you're fooling? Whether you're dating her or not, if you hurt her, I will come after you."
"I will never hurt Hermione," Harry told him.
"Why are you Rookes' so sure?" Ron asked. Lukas told him the same thing about Ginny, now Hale was saying this about Hermione.
"Just take care of her," Ron whispered. He still cared about Hermione. He wanted to hurt someone. He wanted to yell. He wanted to get revenge against Rooke, but he couldn't. He knew it was wrong, and Hale looked clue-less. Maybe he really did have a problem with anger. Hermione wasn't a saint; she wouldn't always forgive you Ron.
*_*_*_*_*
Ginny couldn't believe her ears. Surely she didn't just hear Draco say his mother tried to kill him.
"The reason I left the Quidditch game was because I remembered the first time my mother beckoned me to fly with her. She took me inside a guestroom and hanged herself. She wanted me to come with her and do the same thing," Draco told her.
Ginny was shocked, she stared at him and realized that he was holding onto her shirt.
"I watched her. I watched her hang thinking that she was flying."
"Oh my god," Ginny exclaimed. She couldn't believe that Draco went through this. She remembered her father telling her that the Malfoys' were a crazy family; did her father know about this? She knew the answer was probably no. Lucius Malfoy would have
covered everything up. Where was he when all of this happened? Was he too busy to notice what happened to his son?
"I didn't love my mother, but I loved my father," Draco said. Ginny looked down at him. And saw that he finally stopped shaking.
"He wasn't there that much, but when he was I was always so happy. When he finished work he would come to my room and play with me. I idolized my father and I wanted to be exactly like him. He is a great man."
"Lucius is not great," Ginny she replied harshly.
Draco finally looked up at her.
"Don't judge people you don't know," Draco warned her, "You know nothing about him."
Ginny glared at him, "What about you? How much do you know about your father?"
"What are you talking about? I would know my father more than you would. I grew up with the man. He may have faults, but he isn't evil."
"Isn't evil? How can you call the person that tried to kill me great?" Ginny countered, then realized what she said. Her eyes widened and her hand came to clamp over her mouth. She couldn't believe that she said that, but she couldn't hold it back. She couldn't stand there listening to Draco talk about a father that pays his way around to make him seem like a good guy. From what Ginny heard, Lucius gave his son toys to keep him quiet and content.
Draco was surprised. Father tried to kill Ginny? How? Father is not capable of killing. He just isn't. He may play around with people, but he could never kill.
"What are you saying?" he hissed.
Ginny shook her head. She didn't want to tell Draco about the diary and the chamber. She didn't want him to think badly about her. She remembered that Draco said he wanted to be exactly like his father, she wished that he didn't anymore. She didn't want him to be anything like Lucius. Her chest suddenly seemed to tight and the world a bit small
Draco stroked her hair, "Ginny?"
This time it was Ginny that snuggled closer to Draco.
"Please don't hate me," Ginny whispered.
"I won't hate you Ginny, I promise. What did my father do?"
"He made me do terrible things," Ginny said. She knew that she
couldn't hide it anymore now that she mentioned it.
"It...it was me that opened the chamber in your second year."
Draco didn't know how to react. He already knew that, but he
didn't know how she did it. The only reason he found out was
because two years ago Voldemort told the seventh year Death
Eaters about it. Voldemort told them that Ginny was a special
girl that he didn't want harmed. When the seventh years
questioned Voldemort about it, he told them that it was she that
opened the chamber. The seventh years told him because they
expected him to get close to Ginny in his fifth year. Somehow
the news leaked and the other Slytherins found out.
"How?" Draco asked.
"Remember that day in Flourish and Blotts when Gildroy Lockhart
was signing autographs? Our fathers were there. Sometime
during that day your father slipped a diary into my cauldron
with my other books. It was a special diary," Ginny said. As
she spoke the memories were rushing back to her. All the
memories she tried to forget.
"The diary was special. It wrote back to me. You don't know
how lonely I was that year and the diary was the only thing that
kept me company. In the diary I met Tom."
"The same Tom that showed you the spring?" Draco asked.
Ginny nodded and she couldn't believe that he still remembered.
"That was the only good thing he did for me. He made me do
terrible things Draco. So many terrible things," Ginny told
him.
"Please don't hate me," Ginny asked. She was crying now. She
was wishing that Draco wouldn't leave her because of all the
things she did.
"I don't hate you Ginny," Draco reassured her. He still
couldn't believe that his father did this.
"How can you love a man like him?" Ginny asked, looking up at
him.
Draco looked into her eyes, "He was good to me. If he were some
other Malfoy, he would have thrown me out in the streets or some
orphanage, but he didn't. He loved me like his own son."
Ginny was confused, like his own son? What was he talking
about?
Draco saw that Ginny looked confused, "I'm a love-child of an
affair my mother had when father was abroad."
Draco smiled sadly, "That's a secret of course. The only reason
I found out was because I over heard my aunt talking with
father. He loves me, he really does."
Ginny didn't know what to say. How can that happen? Draco
looks similar to Lucius.
Draco continued to talk, "My mother and father had an arranged
marriage. Her family was in financial trouble and her father
arranged for her to marry Lucius. It sounds old fashioned, but
it still happens with some of the old Slytherin families."
"Does Lucius know that you found out?" Ginny asked. Draco shook
his head. She still wondered how all of this could happen. She
didn't know that Draco had so many problems. She wondered how
much damage this has done to him. Ginny didn't know what to do
if all of this happened to her. This must be hard for Draco to
know he's a child of an affair. His mother was also crazy. How
could she think of killing her son? Ginny remembered her mother
telling her that she would die if anything bad ever happened to
her. What about Narcissa? What would make her want to do that
to her son?
"Draco, are you all right?" Ginny asked. What do you think
Ginny? Of course he's not all right.
Draco hugged her closer.
"I'm okay."
"You have to do something Lucius. If he remembers all of
this, he could have a trauma."
"What do I have to do Doctor?" Lucius asked.
"Bring him to me. I can do something."
Draco buried his face in her hair. Her hair smelled of
strawberry and he smiled. He actually had a good memory, as he
smelled her hair. It was of Emily. Whenever he thinks of Emily
it's usually a good memory. The only bad memory of her was her
death. Draco just realized that his life is focused on death.
His mother's lover died, his mother tried to kill him, Emily
died, Ginny almost died in the chamber, he faked his death, and
his mother died. So many deaths.
"Do you know do reason my mother gave me when she tried to kill
me? Do you know what she told me?" Draco asked.
Ginny shook her head. She had no idea what Narcissa would say.
"I'm doing this because I love you," Draco whispered in her
hair, "Those were her exact words. I remember when my mother sent me sweets during school. I was happy then. I wrote to her so many times thanking her, but she never wrote back. I didn't know what to think. When I came home for the summer, she was always locked up in her room refusing to let anyone in. I never really knew her. She could never told me she loved me again."
"Draco," Ginny whispered. She rubbed his back. She remembered
the day in her third year when Draco was turned into a ferret.
Draco was insulting Harry and Harry said something about his
mother. Was Draco thinking all about this stuff at the time?
Draco pulled away and smiled at her, "Thank you for listening to
me. You're the first person I ever told any of this."
Ginny cupped his cheek with her hand, "Thank you for listening
to me too. I never talk about the chamber with anyone."
Draco kissed her on the forehead.
"If you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you," Draco
told her.
Ginny in turn gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "Thank you."
*_*_*_*_*
"What are you three still doing up?" Hermione asked the three
girls in the common room.
"We would be in our beds, sleeping, if Ginny would unlock the
door," A girl answered.
"Ginny? What about her? Is she all right?" Hermione asked.
"Who knows? Her boyfriend was in our room and then Ginny went
up there. I haven't seen any of them since."
Hermione thought about what she just heard. Ginny and Lukas
wouldn't do anything frowned upon, she was sure of that. She
started walking up the stairs and beckoned for the girls to
follow her. When she was in front of the sixth year's dorm, she
tried to open the door but she couldn't.
"Alohamora," Hermione said, pointing her wand towards the door.
Nothing happened. She started knocking on the door.
*_*_*_*_*
"Ginny, Ginny wake up," Draco gently shook Ginny. He rubbed his
eyes, he guessed that he fell asleep. Ginny apparently did too.
Ginny opened her eyes. She looked up and saw Draco. She seemed
to wake up with him often. She was shaken from her thoughts
when she heard a knocking at the door.
"Ginny, open the door!"
Ginny got up and unlocked the door. She opened it and was
greeted by Hermione.
Hermione was relieved when the door finally opened. The relief
was washed away when she saw Lukas on Ginny's bed. The guy was
sitting up with his arms crossed, smirking at her. Hermione was
taken aback by the smirk.
"What is a boy doing in a girl's dorm?" Hermione questioned.
Draco got up and walked next to Ginny. "We were just talking.
We just wanted some privacy," Draco answered. He held back the urged to make a witty comment, he didn't want to embarrass Ginny or make Hermione think badly about him.
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, "You know that it's forbidden
for a boy to even enter the girl's hallway. I better not find
you anywhere around here."
Draco nodded. He turned to Ginny, kissed her on the forehead
and said good night.
Hermione watched him walk away. She still couldn't forget the
image of him smirking. There was something familiar about it.
She shook her head and dismissed the thought. She turned to
Ginny and gave her a scolding look.
*_*_*_*_*
Draco opened the door to the boy's dorm and was not surprised to
see that Harry was still awake. Harry was usually awake until
midnight; staring out the window.
"Hey, do you know what time it is?" Harry asked him, "What have
you been doing?"
"It's only eleven Dad," Draco answered sarcastically. He sat
across from Harry on the window.
"What are you still doing up?" Draco asked. He always wanted to
know the answer to that question. What was bothering the great
Harry Potter?
"Don't you ever wonder how things would be if we never left?" Harry
asked.
"Um, no. If we never left, you would be dead and I would be
sleeping the Slytherin dorm right now."
"No that's not it. How would things be if I didn't 'die' and
you are still in Slytherin? Would Ron, Hermione and I still be
together?" Harry asked. He has been thinking about this for the
past week.
"I don't know. Maybe Weasley and Granger would still be friends
and you would end up with her. But then you'd push her away
saying that she'd be in danger if she were your girlfriend,"
Draco said.
"Be serious," Harry told him. He was mad that Draco was kidding
around.
Draco looked up at him and stared him in the eye, "I am
serious."
Harry was confused. Why would Draco think that he'd end up with
Hermione? Hermione didn't even like him back then. He always
knew that Ron liked Hermione, so Hermione was just a friend to
him and nothing more. Besides, why would Hermione go out with
Ron if she didn't like him? People just don't date to see if
it's fun, especially if they're best friends.
"Are you sure you don't need your glasses?" Draco asked. He
couldn't believe how blind Harry was. How could he not see that
Hermione liked Harry back then and now?
"Never mind," Draco said, "I'm going to bed."
Draco left Harry pondering about what he said.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Draco suddenly woke up. The mark on his arm was burning. He
lifted his sleeve and saw that it was glowing. Voldemort was
summoning him. Draco ran to his trunk and quickly took out the
Death Eater garment. He was silently hoping that nobody wakes
up while he looks like a death eater. When he finished changing
he heard a tapping at the window and saw a large, black eagle
owl. He walked to the window and opened it. The owl dropped a
packaged in front of him and flew off. Draco picked up the
package and saw a Dark Mark on it; quickly opening it he saw something fall out and picked it up. Draco then felt a pull and was transported away.
Draco thought he was lucky when he landed on his feet. He hated
portkey travel; he always fell down. He looked around his
surroundings and saw he was in a village. He was shocked at
what he saw. Most of the houses were on fire and he could hear
screams. He saw a figure in red robes walking towards him and immediately knew who it was.
Quickly, Draco bowed and kissed the hem of the man's robes.
"Rise."
Draco got up and pulled down his hood.
"I have not seen you in some time, young Rooke," Voldemort
greeted him.
"Master, why is the village in flames?" Draco asked.
Voldemort smiled, "We will show everyone that we have risen. We
have not become weaker, but instead we have gotten stronger."
"Show your worth, young Rooke. You know what to do," Voldemort
told him.
Draco nodded and Voldemort left him. Draco looked at the house
behind him. It was the only one that was not lit up in flames.
He walked towards it. The screams were bothering him. He
didn't even want to imagine what the other Death Eaters were
doing. He knew that some of the men wanted to play around with
the women. Some of these people didn't care about their
victims. They killed for fun. In the past two years, they even
killed children. Draco hated them for that. Those kids did not
even get a chance to live. They didn't even understand what was
going on. Draco opened the door and saw that everything was
messy. Furniture was flipped over and glass was broken.
Someone already came here. Draco walked through the house; the
silence was getting to him. He stepped over something and he
looked down. It was a person. Draco bent down to feel his
pulse, there was nothing.
"I'm sorry," Draco whispered.
He got up and walked to the kitchen, it was also messy. He cast
a spell and all the cupboards and drawers open. Draco walked
around the kitchen, when he could not find anyone in there he
left and walked up the stairs. He entered the door nearest to
him. It was a child's room. The sheets were colorful and there
were drawings on the walls. There were also stuff animals and
toys.
"Shh, quiet."
Draco looked towards the voice. It was coming from the closet.
He walked quietly towards it and he opened the door. He saw two
children huddled together. It was a boy and girl, the boy
looked older. The boy reached behind him and pointed a gun
towards Draco.
"Don't come closer," he told him.
Draco pocketed his wand and held his hands in front of him.
"I don't want to hurt you. Where are your parents?" Draco
asked.
Draco could see that the boy was holding tears back.
"Your people killed him! Leave now or I'll shoot!"
"Whoever you are, stay away from my children!" A voice yelled.
Draco turned around and saw a woman holding a rifle towards him.
"I mean no harm. I'm here to help you," Draco said calmly.
"How do I know that? The people you are with are the ones that
killed my husband!" The woman yelled.
"I'm not with them. As I said, I'm here to help. Please
believe me," Draco asked.
The woman still had the rifle pointed at him, "You're like them,
aren't you? You have that stick that makes the green light."
"I do, but I don't want to hurt anyone."
"What guarantee do I have that my children and I will be safe if
we go with you?"
"You just have to trust me," Draco told her.
The woman thought for a moment. Draco turned to the kids and
said they could go to their mother. They immediately rushed to
her. The woman put the rifle down and hugged her children.
"Please help us get out of here," The woman asked.
Draco nodded and he took the invisibility cloak he hid and
showed it to them.
"This is an invisibility cloak, it will help hide you three from
the other people," Draco explained, "Just wrap it around
yourselves. We are going to walk out of here. All you need to
do is stay quiet so they won't notice you. When everyone leaves
help will come. They will bring you to a safe place."
The woman nodded. Draco wrapped the cloak around them. He got
up and held his wand towards the ground and said the killing
curse. After three green flashes he turned towards where they
were the last time he saw them.
"Okay, just follow me," Draco told them, "Hold onto my shoulder
so I know where you are."
Draco walked out of the house, with a hand on his shoulder.
When he got out he saw that Voldemort was standing in the middle
of the street.
"Just stay here," He said, without turning around.
"Good job young Rooke," Voldemort told him.
"Master, where is everyone?"
"They already left. You took long. I hope there wasn't any
trouble."
"There wasn't any Master."
"Good, here's a portkey to Hogsmeade. It's the closet we could
make to Hogwarts," Voldemort told him handing him a box.
"Is there anything that you need?" Voldemort asked.
"No Master."
"Good, I'll be leaving," Voldemort said. He held out his wand
towards the sky. He muttered something and the Dark Mark was
sent up. Voldemort turned to Draco and with a POP he was gone.
Draco walked towards the house.
"Is everyone all right?" Draco asked. He wasn't sure if they
heard him.
"It's okay now, you could take off the cloak," Draco told them.
The woman did what Draco said and he saw them.
"Are they gone?" she asked. Draco nodded. She looked up in the
sky and saw the Dark Mark. She was about to comment but she saw
people appearing in the streets.
Draco looked in the streets. He wasn't sure whether to apparate
away or stay. When he saw Sirius and Arabella Figg in the
group, he knew it was the Order.
Sirius looked around the village. He was shocked; the Dark Mark
was in the air. This scene was like the ones that were common
twenty years ago. He looked ahead of him and saw a Death Eater
and muggles. He brought his wand up and was about to curse the
Death Eater but he felt a hand pull his arm away. He turned
around and saw Dumbledore.
"Albus, there's a Death Eater. He's going to get away," Sirius
told him.
"It is okay Sirius. I know him," Dumbledore told him.
Draco was relieved to see Dumbledore. At least there was
someone that would be at his side to back him up. He saw
Dumbledore walking towards him.
"Headmaster. I'm sorry I came late. I couldn't stop anything,"
Draco tried to explain when Dumbledore was in front of him.
"It is all right Lukas. There is nothing to be done now. I see
that you've help some people," Dumbledore said. Draco nodded.
"You! What are you doing here?" Sirius yelled. He strode
towards him.
"I knew it Albus, he cannot be trusted," Sirius said, "Look what
he did!"
"Wait a minute. What are you talking about? You don't even
know what happened," Draco retorted.
"What would a person think if they came to a village with a Dark
Mark over it and a Death Eater standing under it?" Sirius
asked. Ms. Figg walked to Sirius and put a hand on his arm.
"Lukas has a point Sirius. We don't know what happened," She
said, defending Lukas.
Sirius turned to her and glared at her.
"Sirius, calm down. I'm sure Lukas has an explanation,"
Dumbledore told him. He turned to Draco and nodded at him.
"I felt the Mark burning. I knew he was summoning me so I
changed. Then I heard an owl tapping on the window in my room.
It was carrying a package and before I knew it I was transported
here. Everything was already in flames by the time I got here.
I couldn't do anything," Draco explained.
"Excuse me."
Sirius looked towards the woman that just talked. She took a
step towards him.
"Um...Lukas here saved my children and me. He was the last to
arrive, I saw him outside the window of our house. He didn't
harm any of my children or me," The woman informed them.
A man in robes ran towards the group.
"Dumbledore, there are no survivors. Everyone is dead," the man
said.
Dumbledore shook his head, "This is a great tragedy. All we
could do now is put out the flames."
Dumbledore looked around the village. This is a sad day indeed.
Just when the wizarding world is thinking that Voldemort is
almost defeated, this had to happen. Dumbledore turned to
Draco.
"You should go now Lukas. Everything can be is under control
now," Dumbledore told him, "There is a lot of work to be done
here. You should rest."
Dumbledore reached in his robe took out a bag. He gave it to
Draco.
"This is a portkey to my office. Use it," Dumbledore told him.
"Wait! I'm not finished with him," Sirius said.
"What do you want to know Black?" Draco asked, he was starting
to get annoyed.
"Sirius, now is not the time. Mr. Rooke has to return to
Hogwarts before anyone notices that he is missing," Dumbledore
told him. Sirius looked as if he wanted to talk back, but he
didn't do anything.
When Draco thought that he had nothing else to say he opened the
bag. The woman grabbed his arm and he turned to face her.
"Thank you. Thank you for helping my children and me. I don't
know what I would have done if I lost them," She said.
"You're welcome," Draco responded. He reached in the bag and
was transported away.
*_*_*_*_*
Draco fell down and looked around him. He was in Dumbledore's
office. He brushed the dust off himself and walked to the door.
He opened the door, went out and walked towards the tower. When
he reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, he was not surprised to
find her sleeping. He cleared his throat. The Fat Lady opened
her eyes and almost fell off her chair at the sight off him.
"Dear me, what are you doing up? And what are you wearing? You
look like a Death Eater," The Fat Lady commented.
"Gryffindor wins," Draco said.
The Fat Lady narrowed her eyes at him, but she opened to the
common room.
"Thank you," Draco told her as he entered through the portrait
hole.
When Draco entered the boy's dorm he just wanted to go to his
bed and sleep, but he had to change. He couldn't risk anybody
seeing him in Death Eater robes. He finished changing and went
to his bed. He lay down and stared at the ceiling. He was
thinking about that woman in the village. She would have killed
to protect her children. What about his mother, would she have
protected him if the occasion called for it? Draco scoffed, she
probably would have pushed him towards the attacker and told the
person to kill him.
Draco sat up. With all the thoughts plaguing his mind, he
couldn't sleep.
"Are you happy mother? Are you with him?" He asked nobody. He
put his head in his hands.
"What did he do to make you love him like that? Wasn't Lucius
good enough for you?"
"Draco, Lucius is a bad, bad man."
Draco shook his head. Father was never bad to him and he never
harmed him. Draco guessed he could understand her. She did
blame Lucius for her lover's death.
Draco found her diary and read it when he was eleven. He knew
it was wrong, but he had a feeling that there was something in
there that was important. He also wanted to find out who his
real father was and he did.
Draco heard the door open. He laid back, pulled the blanket up
and pretended to be asleep. He could hear the footsteps.
Someone pulled the curtains of his bed. The person sat down,
pulled the blanket and slipped in next to him. He could feel a
hand run down his face. He opened his eyes and saw Ginny.
"Oh my gosh, I thought you were sleeping," Ginny said.
"Having trouble sleeping?" Draco asked. She nodded. He wrapped
his arms around her and pulled her close.
"Did I wake you up?" Ginny asked.
"No, actually you didn't. I was already awake when you came
in."
Ginny was going to wrap her arms around his neck, but when she
brushed his shoulder he winced.
Draco sucked in a breath. His arm was still tender around the
mark.
"Are you okay? What happened?" Ginny asked worriedly.
"The mark just hurts," Draco told her.
"Why? Is he summoning you?"
"Actually, I just came back from a 'mission'. You'll probably
read about it in the papers. A village was attacked and there
are only three survivors."
"That's terrible. Are you okay, did you get hurt?" Ginny
asked. She was worried about him.
Draco nodded.
"Ginny, can I tell you something?" Draco asked out of the blue.
"Okay."
"This thing's been bugging me. I know who my father is," Draco
told her.
Ginny looked up at him, "You do?"
Draco nodded, "His name was Gabriel Malfoy. Lucius' younger
brother."
Ginny's eyes widened. So that's why he looks similar to Lucius.
The man is actually his uncle. She was confused though, she has
never heard of Gabriel Malfoy. No one has ever mentioned him
before.
"He died before I was born. He was a Death Eater, killed during
the war," Draco told her, "Narcissa blamed Lucius because he
convinced him to join Voldemort. I guess that when Gabriel
died, she lost her mind. Father told me that Mother had a
disease, and that's why she was in St. Mungo's. I didn't know
that he was talking about insanity."
"Draco, why are you telling me this?" Ginny asked.
"You wanted to know about my past, right? I'm telling you,"
Draco answered.
Ginny buried her face in his chest and held him tighter.
"How can you deal with all of this?" Ginny muttered against his
chest.
"I had a lot of therapy when I was younger. It made me forget
about all of this until now. Even now, there are some blanks in
my memory but it'll all get back to me eventually."
Draco moved so he could pull the curtains around his bed. He
didn't want to be bothered in the morning. He was so glad that
it was Sunday, nobody would bother him about waking up. Draco
looked down at Ginny and ran his fingers through her hair. She
made him remember so many things. All the things he tried to
forget and he actually thanked her for that. Forgetting doesn't
make the pain go away, it only makes things worse. He wondered
what Ginny is thinking of him now. He remembered that in the
beginning of the school year Ginny wanted to 'help' him. He
didn't know back then how much he needed that help. Draco
kissed her on the forehead. He couldn't believe that she is
still with him, after all he said to her in the past and in the
beginning of the school year. In the beginning he tried his
best to push her away and when that didn't work he just gave up,
and he started spending time with her.
Draco saw that she was wearing the gold chain he gave back to
her and he fingered it.
"You aren't going to take it from me again are you?" Ginny
asked.
"You're still awake?" Draco asked. She'd been silent and Draco
thought she fell asleep.
Ginny looked up at him; "Yes I'm still awake."
Draco didn't say anything, he just continued to play with her
necklace.
"Ginny."
"Yes?"
"Thank you for being my friend."
He felt her smile against his shoulder and whispered, "You're welcome."
A/N: 1) Draco found out about Harry having a diary during the Chamber of Secrets. Remember when the dwarf delivered that singing valentines? The dwarf ripped Harry's bag to stop him from walking away and Draco was around. The diary dropped and Draco picked it up, thinking it belonged to Harry.
2) If you're wondering why Draco said he doesn't know how it feels like to have a mother: Narcissa was declared sane before he entered Hogwarts. She was the one that sent him sweets when he was in school, probably to keep up with appearances.
3) People are still commenting about Dudley not being magical. We all know that in the books Dudley is not magical, will never be magical and hates magic. Here's my opinion, the Harry Potter books are in well…Harry's point of view. We never see the story how someone else sees it. Someone said that the longer a person goes without proper training in magic, the more it'll try to show up. We don't know if that happened to Dudley already. If it has happened, his parents would probably give him some funky reason. Harry couldn't explain the powers he had when he was younger, how could Dudley? It's understandable that a some people hat his guts, I do too. But if Draco could turn into a suave hero in a lot of stories out there from a skinny, bigoted, fat faced boy, why can't Dudley appreciate and have magic?
Thank you:
Blazefury: Thanks for being a wonderful beta and reveiwer.
Muirnin: I can't believe you actually reviewed all the chapters. Thanks a lot.
Isis: D/G is my favorite ship too.
Kori Lewis: I hope you liked this chapter.
Rosandra May: There will be more D/G scenes.
fernanda: Sorry if you're disappointed about this being a H/Hr.
hpdancer92: Finally, don't you think? It took Draco and Ginny long enough.
Turquoisetears: I hoped you liked this. If you have any questions feel free to ask them.