Post War:

The light side has won, but the darkness remains. The Death Eaters linger but only on guard as they keep their lord hidden, bidding their time for another attack.

However, the darkness gives birth to the shining stars of night, though there maybe few they are the ones noticed and not the dark.

Hogwarts reopens; relationships are formed, for power is not truly evil, it all depends on who's in control.

Prologue

POV Draco Malfoy

If only people could see me, the real me. If only they understood why I was like this. People always talk about now there could be so much more to a person than what's visible to the eyes. Yet not half of them heed their own words. They all see me as the overly confident, ignorant brat that picks on the golden trio because he's so cocky he thinks he can take them on and win. They think I'm Potter's rival because daddy told me to be or that I'm trying to prove that I'm better than him, although that is part of the reason.

In all honesty I just hate him. Everyone thinks poor Potter has so much to live up to. I know this is about the sound childish but I can't help but think 'what bout me?' Father always compares me to St. Potter. I'm a person too though. Must I save someone's life or defeat some impossible demon to be noticed! And because I'm not some hero they all see me only as a shadow.

You see I'm burdened with as much responsibility as Potter and it seem like I'm the only one who knows. Potter and I both had our destinies set out for us since literally our birth and there's no escape from it. Potter's destiny is to save the world, so on and so forth, you've heard the stories and how he's burdened with soo much responsibility. And yet he doesn't seem to mind it at all.

My destiny is something I don't want but at the same time it's inevitable. Since I was born my future has been carved in stone and there's no escape. I hate the fact that I have no control over my own life, to make my own decisions. I know I am destined to become a deatheather. It's something where I don't have a choice in the matter and I hate it. I feel trapped and there's no getaway from this hell of mine. So I accept my fate kicking and screaming on the inside while I appear calm and collected on the outside.

Of course that doesn't quite explain why I hate Potter but I wanted to give you some background information before I confused the holy hells out of you. One of the reasons I hate him is because he accepts his destiny without grudge while I'm forced into mine. If only he could prove that he could break free from the demands of the world, then maybe I would know that I too can break free from my destiny. But he doesn't because he cares for the world enough to accept a fate he really doesn't care about. So I too stay trapped behind bars of silver. I cannot escape my fate by myself without knowing that it could be done because I'm scared I'll fail.

Fear. Fear is a funny thing. Fear makes you realize how weak you are, or rather how weak you believe you are. The weaker we see ourselves the stronger we become to fight that fear. And those that see themselves as powerful never become tougher, because they don't see the need to change one's self. So technically no one ever truly realizes how strong they truly are.

But the main reason I hate Potter and his group of friends is because they're happy. No matter how hard I try I can never have friends. Yeah all the Slytherins look up to me, but they all act cold hearted and cruel. That's the way it is in Slytherin, the meaner, stronger, and most pureblooded are the ones most looked up to. For example if you have friends outside of your own house you're dead close to the bottom of the status chart. If you're a mudblood you're hit rock bottom.

You see it's a belief that friendship results in weakness because you learn to care for people. Caring for someone can lead to your destruction because your friends could be used against you. So I stay in the company of strangers who say they know who I am but truly do not.

I already know, although at times I deny it, that I'll never get the closure I so desperately cry out for. That's why I hate them, the perfect golden trio. When I see them embrace, the fact that I'll never be able to hold someone I truly love becomes clearer and clearer. So I end up moving deeper into the shadows of my despair.

Some say it's my own fault I'm so alone. They say I should have sad something. Explaining that I feel alone shows weakness, actually that goes for most emotions. It's the way I was raised and old habits die hard along with old beliefs. I've always had trouble communication my feeling, actually I never have. You see I can sort out my emotions better in my mind then on paper. Besides if it's on paper someone could read it and then they'd know how I'm not fully secure.

The thing is when people understand your emotions they get a view of what you're really like. And that scares me. Not only because they will be able to bring me down deeper into the darkness if they want to, that perhaps they'll no longer respect me, but also because I myself don't know who I am. So they'll make false assumption and I may just believe them. And when I discover that they were wrong I'll hate myself more than I already do.

Here's the thing, I'm sixteen and just trying to figure out who I am. There's the obvious answer that people like my father would give me, "You're a Malfoy." Then there's what everyone believes, a greedy, evil brat. And perhaps that's who I am… on the outside. They never think three can be soo much more to a person than just what they see.

I don't know why I want to understand myself. After all the real me would never be revealed because it'll never be accepted. It's too late for me to change. I chose my path long ago and I have to follow it through. No one would ever understand what I was really like for the world is not accepting, it doesn't for forgive and worse it does not forget your past.

The, there's emotions like happiness. Happiness is an illusion to me. Like world peace its non-existent and it will never become a reality. All I ever feel is cold, the freezing cold. I cannot feel the warmth of a blazing fire even when it tries to consume me. In general if a dementor touched me I doubt I'd feel any pain for I have no happy memories for them to feed off of. I'm already cold; they cannot make me feel any icier and I already feel hopeless, what more can they do?

How do I know this? Every time I look in the mirror, when ever I face it I see it. I'm not happy and all I see is a dead person in the perfect flesh.

You see having a shielded heart has few advantages and millions of cons. True words no longer seem to have an effect on you and you no longer feel any pain. But at the same time I feel trapped within myself forever, trapped within a cage of my own design.

At this time others ask why I did it in the first place, could my life have been so bad that I would do something as foolish as this.

Well it's not like I though of the consequences before hand and I know it would have happened either way. I suppose the major reason I've turned cold is because of my father. The man I call father is a cruel, I would say old but he's not, miser. Since I was young I've had to find a way to protect myself from him. And so, without my knowing, I became a statue.

For those who think it's easy to live a heartless life, it's not. I can't break down the walls I built between myself and the rest of the world. So I act normal. What angers me further is that, although it's no one's fault, nobody see that real me deteriorating.

They ask me how one could survive without love. I've done it all my life and I'm living. I'm healthy, yes, but then again I'm dying, deep down inside. I've died so many times I've lost count.

There are many theories of death. Let me tell you the right one. The world turns black and you're floating on a sea of darkness that never ends. You feel nothing inside except pain, pin pricks of pain. All you feel is the emptiness of the world consume you.

That's why I hate people. All they ever see is the person living on the outside and not the one dying on the inside. Yet at the same time, I suppose it's a good thing they don't know the real me for if they did they would realize I'm nothing.

You see I'm a caricature of myself. I act how people expect me to act. And even though people don't realize it, I know my antics are wearing thin, the act getting old.

But I can't change. For the world doesn't forgive, it is far from kind.

I came to Hogwarts a brat without a mind of my own. Everything I believed at that time was wrong. And by the time I saw the hypocrisy of it all, it was too late. The world had already classified me, making it impossible for me to change. For if I did, my friends, or rather so-called-friends, would abandon me and I doubt anyone would believe I've truly changed. Then I'd be even more alone than I already am.

Back then, I though money and power were everything. How could I not?

I grew up in a society were money and status were everything. All the families I knew were wealthy, authoritative, and most importantly, or so I though, they were purebloods. True they married out of love at times but before matrimony they only dated the ones their parents saw fit, meaning their partner's surname was near their social standing. And blood, I mustn't forget they had to be purebloods.

Blood is a complex subject. Everyone classifies others by their blood. Even muggles do, by culture, skin color, et cetera. Being a pureblood only makes it more confusing. It's not as simple as pureblood and mudblood, as most people seem to think. Purebloods judge each other by surnames. I was and will never be seen as an individual. I'll always be seen as Malfoy. People will never look past that name. Just because I'm a Malfoy it doesn't mean I'm emotionless like my ancestors were. But for me to be accepted, I have to hide my emotions. You see I'm lost and broken and I doubt I'll survive this hypocritical world.

What's hypocritical about it? Potter and Riddle. Both of them are half breeds and yet they're two of the most powerful wizards of the century. Deatheaters are composed of purebloods and they pride themselves on that. Then why is their leader a half breed. And Potter, his mother was more powerful than any Slytherin girl. Did I mention she was a muggle?

Being a pureblood isn't enough though. For example the Weaslies, they hold a status even lower than your average mudblood. This time the concept is money.

We classify each other as rich, upper middle class, middle class, lower class, and poor. Everyone wants to be rich, let's leave it at that. Yes I live in a gigantic manor of marble. But how can that house, not home, make me happy when it feels like I live there by myself. The place is soo bloody big I can't find or see anyone when I need to. It's like living in a ghost house.

I suppose living alone isn't such a bad thing. But what do you do when you're six years old, scared in the dark, looking for your mother, not being able to find her and unable to cry in fear of your father? Or when you have a nightmare and you want your mother but she's five floors up?

Everyone thinks I have "the life." They all think I'm happy but I know that I'll never be alright. In all honesty I have nothing to show. They think I live a leisurely life. I don't. Yeah, my father buys me everything I want and every time he gets me something he reminds me of how much he loves me because he's willing to spend money on me. But no matter how much stuff I have I'll always feel empty inside for I'm alone. It's like having dozens of toys to play with but no one to play with. So you sit on the floor surrounded by your toys bored out of your mind wishing they filled the hole in your heart.

And no one sees because I pretend there's nothing wrong in my life when all the essential things are missing.

And worst of all, if I ever make a wrong move it could cost me everything, including my life, or worse.

In short I'm the heir to one of the most important, ambitious, rich, pureblood families in the entire wizarding world and I hate it. I'm a prisoner in a world I hate and at the same time I don't want to leave it. At one time I though I knew everything about the world I lived in until I realized I knew nothing at all. And now I'm trapped in a world I hate with no escape, no salvation. So I'll drown in my sorrow without anyone knowing.

At times I want to break down but I can't! I'm so confused and I can't figure shit out! I don't even know what I want anymore! If only I could be a kid again a stupid, mindless, moron all over again! Then I would have to deal with all this crap they're throwing my way! No more decisions to make, especially important ones. Because right now, no matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, I always lose because I'm fighting my own reflection.

I don't want to be a deatheater, but it is my destiny. I don't want to be the rich kid everyone wishes they could be or the one they look at in distain. I don't want any of it, especially when I have to live a life everyone expects me to live.

If only the world wasn't black and white. If there wasn't rich and poor, good and evil. I don't want to choose sides in this war, not like I'm given a bloody chance to choose. My family will soon force me to be a deatheater and I have no choice but to obey. Like I said, my destiny has been set out and there's no escape. I'm locked up in a golden cage I'll never be let out of. That is unless the non-existent warmth I'll miraculously one day feel can melt it away. But I've never felt any affection, never will, so the bars will forever remain for no one will ever truly love me.

So I'll never feel okay because I'm traveling road I didn't choose, lost in a land of darkness where I'll forever drown.

A/N: This stuff is mostly on how I got all the ideas to write this crud so if you want to you can read it if not, you know I'm not about to do anything about it and it's not like I can.

At the school I go to, there's dozens of people who's parents are rich or famous or both. It's kind of like one of those rich schools where stereotypically girls are rich, snooty brats; it's an all girl school. It's far from the truth. Yeah there are a few bitches but most of the people I know are quite nice and accepting.

At first glance they appear happy. But I know the truth. I know that almost all of them are either unhappy in some way or another and hide it. That's right we're all just a bunch of actresses. We often pretend we have a great life, that we're happy and okay. But we're not, or at least not all of us.

Before I met them, the girls I now know, I though being rich (well I might be seen as upper middle class but compared to most girls at my school I'm not exactly rich, rich) would be a dream come true. But it's not.

A friend of mine whose dad (well I'm not going to say who he is or his status) makes more than most people, lets put it that way. Anyhow she's the unhappiest person I've ever met. Rich but unhappy although she seems like the most joyful person you could ever meet.

Yeah she has a lot of friends and she goes to great parties and stuff but…she's not happy. Not because she's spoiled, in truth she has everything but at the same time nothing that's really important. Like parents. Yes she has a mom and dad but she lives in this huge mansion and no one's ever home. Only she and the maid are there. Oh yeah and the cook. But it's like living alone in a cold home, no love, no nothing. The house is like a designer house or something out of a magazine, but there's nothing there that actually says it's a home. For example her house is like a block of marble, beautiful but cold and empty. Kind of like her (my friend).

So she normally stays at school until five, when they literally kick us all out, where she's surrounded by people. At her home she has the top of the line computers and stuff, our school doesn't. But she's rather work on an old computer than work alone in her ghost home.

Then there are tons of people who hate their parents. Their parents are never there, I guess. Like my friend seriously hates her dad. It cuz' he's never home is constantly leaving on business trips and when they're on vacation he always has to leave early because there's some emergency. And now that she has a little sister her dad's always home to take care of her. And it might sound foolish or greedy or something but it's the most unfair thing in the world to her. Think about it. If you have a sister or brother don't you ever think that your parents love them more than you or you more than them? Well it's the same except more melodramatic.

And then there are the girls that just hate life all together. And because they're parents have wine cellars, etc. they drink their problems away. Life of the rich and famous right?

As for me, I often feel distain toward my dad because he's at work or in his home office working and by the time he gets to dinner he's exhausted. I never really got to know my dad, and I doubt I'll ever really know him. And it hurts cuz' he's not there.

For 60 of my life I never truly felt love. I felt emptiness consume me. And even now, sometimes when I look in the mirror I still see it. I see unhappiness and doubt, I see me dying on the inside. I suppose that's why I can read people so well now. For at one time I tried convincing myself that I was happy and even when I smiled I knew. Just the way a dying person sounds when they pretend to be okay is obvious to me now. I've heard myself all those times so I know, I just know. I may have sounded happy but it was just an automatic reaction of acting cheerful to seem alright to others so they wouldn't realize something's wrong.

Then there are all the codes you have to live by. You have to seem happy, and in all honestly you never really get to be free. You have to go to stupid parties where you sit around bored out of your mind just so your father/mother could get a raise. You can never act angry or show pain in front of others. It's always, act happy, hide your feelings and blah blah blah. It's a life of being a caricature of what people expect you to be like, happy and glorious because you're rich. I'm telling you right now it's all a fraud and an act. I'm not saying pity them, I'm saying get to know a person and not their money. So next time you see some rich girl don't think 'I wish I had that life' cuz' it's not what it's cracked up to be. Sometimes you have to look beyond the smile and see the tears. Because everyone has a story that can break your heart.

And if you disagree with me please set me straight and flame me as many times as you'd like. I said my part you say yours. You see I was living a lie. I still maybe. I don't know anymore. I don't know if my happiness is genuine because I haven't felt happiness in so long I've forgotten. But I hope I'm not I truly hope I'm not.