In the next week Draco's hand was still wrapped in a piece of white cloth as a bandage and he had made it so Pansy whimpered and ran away every time she saw him. He kept her scared enough so that she hadn't told anyone of the contents of the letter.

He didn't know where exactly his mind had been as the week flashed by. As he walked into his dorm room his stomach growled fiercely and he decided he needed to go to dinner today. He dropped his books on his desk and headed on auto pilot towards the great hall where he took a seat near the end of the table.

Picking at his food without much desire to actually eat it, he finally picked up a piece of a bread roll and brought it up to his mouth after his stomach gave a particularly vicious lurch. He chewed the food slowly and let it slide down his throat, not tasting anything really.

Millicent Bulstrode walked late into the Great hall and took a seat next to him. He groaned inwardly, knowing she would try to make him eat more. As she began to set her plate she smiled at him and he showed her a bread roll, dipping it into his plate and then eating it. She nodded and began to eat her dinner as well. "Draco" she began, turning to look at him," Are you alright?" Draco just looked at her and she continued, "I mean your barley ever at meals, that can't be good for your health, your already so thin, and you've been more quiet lately then usual".

Draco just shrugged and took a small bite from his plate. "Draco really if there's anything you need to talk about…" She began. "Look Millicent I'm fine! I'm eating see! Dear lord I'm not a child you have to fawn over so just leave me be!" He suddenly burst out. Then he got up and left the hall without looking back, his emotions all thrown into oblivion and raging.

He hadn't meant to be so mean to her, he thought as he entered his room, but she shouldn't, she should just, leave him alone! Everyone should. He needed to think. He threw himself on his bed and reached under his pillow, pulling something out. He sat up on his bed against the pillows and let his eyes meet with emerald ones, sparkling and looking up at him from a page.

He became a little calmer and breathed deeply, looking into the familiar face. His mind began to wander. He thought of how his mother had tried to help him…He thought of how she had liked Pansy, had tea with her and her mother, wanted Draco to maybe marry her. Draco felt half responsible for her death. He thought about it constantly now. He wanted to find out what happened. He thought he knew a little of what had happened.

Draco's mother hadn't wanted her son to become a death eater, to be a slave to a deranged dark lord. Being Lucius's wife she knew how it was. She knew he wanted his son to become the same. She had been absent from most of Draco's life, choosing to distance herself. But something changed and she began to fight his father on his fate.

He didn't really want that fate too, but only she knew that. Draco knew what rebelling would do for him, would get him. So he stayed silent while his mother rebelled for him. He pulled out the bloody and crumpled letter and read it again, trying to decipher from it as much as he could. He looked into the eyes of the image looking up at him. He would not move on and let it pass, he would find out what happened, wouldn't take it lying down.

Draco didn't know what he could do about it, but taking courage from the thought of Harry Potter, he decided he couldn't take it lying down either. He wouldn't forget. He pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He composed a short note to his father expressing his desire to speak to him, and asking for a reply. He stood up and went to Egor, tying the note to his leg and bringing him to the window. He opened it and let the bird fly out into the night.

Draco looked out into the darkness for a little while, then turned and headed back to his bed, not knowing what to do with himself. He picked up the magazine and looked once more at the page it was open to, reading a few paragraphs more for comfort then anything else. Finally closing the magazine he stashed it carefully under his pillows again and got under the covers of his large four poster bed, settling in for a night of very little sleep.

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On Sunday Draco received his reply from his father while writing his Transfiguration's essay. Egor fluttered in through the window and perched on his cage, leg outstretched. Draco slowly got up and headed towards the bird, reaching over and removing the piece of parchment from his leg. He opened it and read it carefully.

Dear Draco,

I received your letter and I am very busy, but I can speak to you tonight at midnight. Be at the fireplace in your dormitory at 12:00 sharp, if you are late then I'll have to depart.

Your father, Lucius Malfoy

Draco let out a breath he had been holding and put the note away. He went back to his desk but instead of continuing with his essay he sat and thought of what he would say to his father and how he would ask what he wanted, knowing he had to have strategically planned questions and replies.

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By 11: 56 he was sitting in front of the fireplace in his dormitory, waiting for his father and reviewing what he planned to say. He had made sure the room was empty, not even needing to give Blaise an excuse. Just forcefully requesting got the boy out of the room and away in a flash. After what had happened with Pansy and the way he had been for the past few days he was known to be feared and dealt with caution for the safe space of a month or so.

As he tried to think of a plan of action a hiss suddenly arose from the already lit fire and then the head of Lucius Malfoy appeared. "Draco" His father said, acknowledging him, "You wished to speak with me?" Draco couldn't reply for a second, at a loss for words as he came more or less face to face with this man he was slowly growing to detest.

"Yes, father, I wished to speak to you about some things, first about Mother" Draco began suddenly. He saw his father's face frown slightly as he asked "I hope you're still not grieving about that dear Draco". "No, I would just like to know a bit more, when did it happen?" He asked, trying to bite back his anger at his father. It had only been a week. One week.

"Oh while you were away, just a few weeks ago" His father replied off-handedly. Draco nodded and said, "How did it happen father?". His father seemed to pause for a moment, then he said "She made some enemies, and some very unwise moves, there was nothing to be done, it wasn't pleasant". Draco just stared at the head of his father, just barley hiding the shock from how much truth his father had divulged to him.

"That, Draco," His father began, "Is why we must be careful in our choices, and our allies. Be glad you and I have already made the right ones". Draco's anger at this drove his mouth to places it shouldn't have dared to go. "Allies who use and betray easily, who would kill…" My mother, he had thought, stopping himself. "You and I father? We have made the right allies? I do not remember making any allies shared with you".

"Draco" his father began with a warning in his tone, "Watch what you say, son. You know what allies we share, or at least will share, soon enough, with no obstacles in our way". His father's tone then became lighter as he seemed to straighten, his head following the movements of what his body must have been doing. "Now, Draco, What's done is done, I suspect you know more then you would let on, and that you learn from what has come to be." His father paused and gave him a stern, slightly angry look.

"Is there anything else you'd like to discuss now? I must leave soon" He said. "Yes" Draco said, "With recent developments, what are the plans for the holidays that are approaching?". "Ah, well I presume you speak of the ones in December, I'm afraid you must remain at Hogwarts this year" his father replied. "What?" Draco asked in surprise, he had never once been left behind at Hogwarts for a holiday. "Yes, due to recent developments, I will be very, very busy, and the manor will probably be abandoned or in use for other things by that time, so you will have to remain there" his father said, "Now is that all?".

Draco swallowed his anger, nodding his head and replying curtly, "Yes father". "Good" Lucius said, "Goodbye then Draco, keep up with school work". And with that his head had disappeared from the fire place, leaving Draco alone once more in his large dorm room.

Draco's head re-ran the conversation over in his head a few times. He had wanted to go to the manor to visit his mother's grave, but apparently that would not happen so easily. He would find a way. The arrogance and coldness of his father angered him even more then being left behind like some orphan for the winter holidays. The never of the man….of his father… His flesh and blood, and what had once been his roll model, his Idol once.

Well, not entirely honest, he remembered a few more idols in childhood, quidditch masters and great wizards, a certain boy who had held the whole wizarding world in awe…but they had been quickly knocked out of him by his father. Draco didn't know when his father had ceased to be anything but a tyrant. Maybe when he had grown up and formed his own ideas, and gained a better perspective. It had taken a long time apparently.

He recalled his father's little speech about 'allies' and scoffed. He and his father shared no allies. Draco wondered if maybe it would be wise to start making his own allies that held themselves far away from those of his father's...

Draco looked at his bedside clock, the time flashing 1:04. He rubbed at his eyes and thought of how the time could have flown by so fast. He felt slightly empty and lost, once again not knowing what to do with himself, which was an increasingly familiar feeling to him now. He needed to think of something, anything to do…

He needed something to do. To occupy himself with, otherwise he wouldn't know what to do with himself, and was half afraid of what thoughts would occur to him then, or what would happen then. He decided on the nearest thing to him, visiting his mother's grave. He needed a spell. Something to help him get to the Malfoy family Plot. And he needed a plan to get there. He would go to the library…

Yes, that's what he would do, and while there he would study on his extra training. He was to be doing dark arts training, secretly. He was to continue his lessons with his father alone. At the library he could read and study, then go out to the lake or somewhere on the grounds to study…

With his mind busy with plans of action, Draco got into bed, slowly planning out what was left of his weekend, trying to fill it without space to spare. To spare on thinking, on dwelling, on feeling…on anything. He slowly slid into an uneasy sleep.

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Author's note: long time since the last update, hopefully I'll be updating a little sooner, but my school is starting up again so the next update might have to wait a bit. Well so far things are just happening and stuff, but pretty soon the path to the slash will start opening up, till next chapter, please R&R!