Sorry about the wait, I haven't had a chance to update. And now I've got a full-time job (yay), so I won't be updating as much as I used to, but don't worry, I'll get this story done
XXXXXXXXXXXXX
DRACO'S MEMORY – THREE AND A HALF MONTHS AGO
It had been a long time since our last battle at Malfoy Manor, but I had finally tracked Lucius down to a retreat in Greece near the Mediterranean Sea. I didn't know what villa he was staying at, so I Apparated along in the houses, looking through the windows for any signs of him. I finally found him in the last house on the hill, directly over the sea. He was just sitting at the table, as if waiting for someone to arrive
I cast the unlocking spell and stepped inside. Lucius looked up and went to grab his wand, but I pointed mine at him
"I don't think so, Lucius, you're not getting away this easily"
He leaned back and stared at me
"And how do you suppose you're going to stop me, Draco? Are you going to send me to Azkaban or are you simply going to kill me?"
"Depends on what happens," I said, "If I don't kill you here, I'll send you to Azkaban, but if you kept running, then I'll have to kill you to stop this game"
"Ah I see"
I never saw the chair come flying out and hit me in the hips. I stepped around, but Lucius had jumped up with his wand and sent a curse at me. I blocked it with a jinx, as he ran away into the house. I gave chase, shooting hexes and jinxes at him, until we came out onto the back patio. Lucius whirled around, his wand outstretched
"What happens here?" asked Hermione
"You'll see. I think it was in the Greek paper"
Hermione glared at him, as he adjusted his grip of Liz, who had started to cry again. He bobbed her up and down, saying small words to her, but Hermione was transfixed on the situation before her: Draco and Lucius in a stand off in Greece
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Stupefy!"
The beams slammed into each other with such force the villa began to shake. The two spells exploded, ripping up gouges in the patio ground, as the windows vibrated and shattered. I fell back, as Lucius tried to fire a spell at me. I rolled to my left, as the spell struck the table and blew it up. The whole place continued to rock, as I cast the Trip jinx at Lucius. He fell on his back, but as he fell, he fired the killing curse again. I countered it with the disarming charm, but the result was it set off a chain reaction. The force of the spells disrupted the house, setting it on fire, as the cliff the patio was on began to cave away, falling into the ocean. I slammed against the far wall, as Lucius scrambled towards the house
"Accio Lucius"
He came flying towards me, clawing at the ground. If I was to go down, then he was coming with me. Lucius slammed into the wall next to me, breaking through and grabbing onto my robes. I was pulled with him as we fell towards the ocean down below…
Lucius struck first, breaking the water for me, but it was still painful. I heard something crack and hoped it wasn't any of my bones. I kicked hard and broke through the surface, looking around for Lucius, but he was nowhere to be seen
Then I realized! That crack I heard would have been Lucius Disapparating again! I could have kicked myself, but I was in pain, so I swam some distances until I was under the cliff and closed my eyes. It was harder to focus since I had rage on my mind, but just as I Apparated, I heard the sounds of a house breaking away and falling towards the ocean
Draco grabbed Hermione and pulled her away. She watched as the memory faded away, until they arrived in a street at night. The street was small and the houses looked shabby. Hermione looked at Draco for an explanation, but he was cooing to Liz, who was awake again and looking up at her father. Hermione smiled at the bond between them. It surprised her that he was holding a half-blood baby with love, but then she remembered that Draco didn't care about blood anymore
"Oh look, there I am," he pointed out
Hermione spun around and saw the past Draco walking across the street, looking for anyone watching him, until he reached a small house on his own. Hermione headed for the house, but then she stopped and turned back. Draco still stood there with Liz
"Aren't you coming?"
"I don't want to visit this one, but you have to know"
There was a look of sadness in his eyes. She ran back and kissed his cheek, before running after his past self. She arrived as he opened the door and went inside. Hermione slipped inside and looked around. The house did look run down, from all the furniture that haven't been used in a while
I walked up the stairs and paused at the bedroom door. I could hear muffled voices and recognised my father's! Drawing my wand, I kicked the door open to see my father using the Cruciatus curse on my mother! I raised my wand, but Lucius turned and used the curse on me. I fell down, contorting in pain, twisting, my bones on fire, burning as if I had been dipped into lava. Lucius removed the curse and my breathing, while heavy and gasping, slowly returned to normal
"Dear, dear, how did you fall so easily?" Lucius asked
Hermione gasped at the pain Draco just went through. She couldn't do anything about it, but she didn't want to stand around and watch. She turned to leave, but bumped into the present day Draco. She took Liz from his arms and faced the scene
"Why did you come here?" she asked
"I don't know"
I watched as Lucius faced my mother, who was looking at me. She was in great pain, I could tell, but I saw the resistance in her eyes, refusing to break before Lucius
"You are foolish, trying to resist, woman," Lucius barked
I tried to lift my wand arm, but then the unexpected happened. Lucius aimed his wand at my weak mother
"Avavda Kedavra!"
"NOOOOOOO!"
A flash of green light, a rushing sound and I saw the life leave my mother, as she slumped against the floor. Using the rest of my strength, I lifted my wand and aimed it at Lucius
"Stupefy!"
The spell struck Lucius in the chest, blasting him through the house wall and out into the darkness. I picked myself up and hobbled over to the hole, peering out. I couldn't see Lucius anywhere. He was gone!
Cursing, I turned back to the lifeless body of my mother. Tucking my wand away, I picked her up and Apparated to Malfoy Manor, heading out into the backyard. Using my wand, I created a deep hole in the garden she loved the most, conjured a coffin for her and closed the lid. I used my wand to lower the coffin into the grave, before filling it back up. I then conjured up a headstone and as I planted it, I felt the tears rolling down my face. My mother, the one who made sure I never became like my father, was now gone
"I will get you for this, Lucius, mark my words, I will get you!"
I got up and left
Hermione handed Liz to Draco, before kneeling before the grave
"I only met your mother a few times," she said
"She was a wonderful woman. She may seem like my father, but she was only like that out of fear," said Draco
He looked down at his daughter and kissed her forehead, before resting a hand on Hermione's shoulder. She took his hand and kissed it
"Come on, there's one more memory you have to see"
And with that, he grabbed her arm and took her through the memories again
XXXXXXXXXXXXX