Libera Me

Summary: Draco handles his limitations

Warning: There is violence in this just in case you wanted to know…Draco gets a little mean and bloody here…

Rating: I'd say PG-13 probably not worse than that…maybe an R for touchy people…

Chapter Four

Across the country a horrid storm was raging and was leaving flooded destruction in its wake. Huddling in its unplottable location Hogwarts stood against the fierce wind and rain protecting stubbornly its inhabitants. Inside the school, the Head Girl was returning from her rounds in search of the Head Boy. "I can't believe I had to do rounds by myself…the night before winter hols too…it's not like anyone's here anyway…"She thought as she wandered into the common room. "Draco?" she called. Only the echo of her voice answered her. Turning from the common room she quietly walked up the steps to Draco's private room and carefully opened the door. Peering inside she called, "Draco?" Hermione heard movement behind her and spun to find the common room still empty. She took a few cautious steps downward.

"Draco?"

There was no answer but Hermione spied the cloak rack near the common room entrance. It was devoid of a certain Slytherin cloak that usually hung upon it. She pursed her lips in annoyance.

"I knew it…"

Rain pelted against the windows of the Malfoy manor from the winter storm. An owl was blown off course and sent spiraling past the grand front gates of the daunting house. And inside the house a door slammed open and the squeal of a house elf was heard.

The eldest Malfoy strode into his parlor with a particularly nasty grin on his face. He had few things in his life that truly made him happy and today he had found one. No matter what the Potter boy had said about him there was nothing to prove him guilty of any crimes. The fall of the Dark Lord had left him unprotected by his awesome power but the Malfoy name still held it's clout and today he had had a particularly good time throwing it around at the Ministry.

Lucius unhooked his cloak and let it fall onto the cloak rack by the large mahogany doors. Its bewitched arms reached out to grab it and prevent its fall to the polished floor. He listened with an arrogant satisfaction to the hard click of his black-heeled boots as he walked to his desk with his characteristic Malfoy smirk in place. Oh he did enjoy threatening weak ministry scum.

"Hello Father"

A cold voice floated across the room and a feeling of dread spiked in Lucius. "A curse on the Flint who failed me", he muttered. Slowly he turned and centered himself, bracing for the impending onslaught of verbal cuts and curses he knew were coming. Retribution had seemingly arrived for him.

"Oh wait. I forgot, I can't call you that anymore…since I'm not a true Malfoy anymore".

Draco rose from his seat on Lucius' black leather couch in front of the grand marble fireplace. His face held careful neutrality but his eyes betrayed him and showed the icy hatred that resided in them. Slowly he walked towards his father in careful measured steps. Lucius took note and felt a small thrill of fear flow through his body as the sudden realization of Draco's methodical movement spoke volumes of the planning Draco had put into this little visit. Whatever Draco had planned Lucius had a feeling he wasn't going to enjoy it.

"It's amazing", he said as he returned Draco's icy stare, hoping to distract Draco from his errand, "How well you hide your one major flaw". Draco shifted his flowing black robes and the anger he was trying to keep cool was beginning to become apparent. "Flaw?" he said, voice shaking slightly, "Are you referring to the lack of penis that your genetics graced me with?" Lucius' eyes flickered with suppressed laughter and a sneer rose up on his features. "Blame the womb that carried you, Draco, not my genetics…I was not the only one involved in your conception".

"Don't you blame her!"

Draco's raised voice rang out across the room and he looked a little stunned that he had let such emotion slip out after his careful training and practice over years. "You're letting you pretense slip, Draco, not a habit that should be seen in such a great actor", Lucius' biting words stung Draco's pride. "Now pray tell…what is the purpose of this little visitation? Surely you're not here to pay your respects to your mother."

"I've come to eliminate my limitation", said Draco in an even voice.

"Limitation? Surely with my genetics you wouldn't be so cryptic". Lucius was getting haughty again. Slowly Draco was losing his footing and Lucius was taking the steps foreword that Draco was losing. In defense the icy mask so familiar to Draco slid into place. The display of confidence played across his features in the same way it always had in response to his façade that no one had ever seen through. The defense the mask served for brought with it all that it embodied: Malfoy arrogance and an inflated confidence. The mask served its purpose and gave Draco the leg up he needed. The steps Lucius had taken against Draco were quickly beginning to slip away again and he was starting to loose this battle of wills. Draco's icy mask turned deathly cold to stare down Lucius before he spoke:

"Has a Messr. Flint been in to see you today?"

Lucius froze and didn't answer. This was answer enough for Draco. "No I didn't think so", he said, "A little bird told me a rumor that our Mr. Flint is still yet to leave the Hogwarts castle. Go figure." Biting sarcasm flowed with the words. "He tried to kill me, did you know?" Lucius looked away from Draco's eyes betraying himself and Draco continued on, "But of course not because you're an innocent citizen…never harm a soul would you? Never with your bare hands". Fury was building in Draco because he knew. Knew the answer he had come for without even trying. "What are you implying Draco?" asked Lucius, his voice growing cold. "I think you already know that answer, Father". Lucius' eyes flickered at the jab at the title. "You can't be talking about you mother", he said. "Oh but I can" said Draco, "In fact that's exactly what I'm talking about". Lucius then surprised Draco to no end and chuckled. "Oh I understand now you flawed and incredibly ungrateful child. You've come with your accusatory stare and biting words to demand of me the truth about her accident". Amused, Lucius turned away from Draco to sit in his great wing-backed chair behind his desk, putting some distance between Draco and himself.

"Well you might have come here in vain". Lucius sat in his chair and laced his fingers together before him the desk. "I'll submit to your accusations just this once and I might just tell you what you want to know…but you must ask the right questions". Lucius sank back into his chair and studied Draco; "So Draco, do you have a question for me?" Draco walked up to the fine mahogany desk and stood as close as he could without touching it. His eyes were locked on the fine swirling grains of wood in the desk and his brain was working furiously. Lucius was known for his wit and ability to dance around an answer. The trick with him was to ask that one straightforward question that Lucius couldn't get around. This was actually proven to be almost impossible.

Eyes still fixed on the desk, Draco whispered, "Did you kill her?" Lucius smirked that trademark Malfoy smirk that everyone knew, "Sorry Draco I don't think I caught that. Mind repeating for me?" Draco's cheeks flushed a pink tinge with rising anger. Lucius was baiting him and encouraging him wordlessly to lose control and Draco knew it.

"So what was it that you said, Draco?" Lucius was calm and arrogant and this persona would have eaten through the skin of most people and they would have lost their cool already but Draco wasn't most people. He was a little more controlled than that.

Again Draco whispered, "Did you kill her?" and again Lucius smirked, " Sorry…one more time".

The anger radiating from Draco was becoming evident and Draco was losing control over his magic. He was physically struggling to keep his mask in place when the smirk touched a nerve and he snapped.

"DID YOU KILL HER!" he bellowed.

With his shout all of Draco's magic that had been building up and struggling against him was released in an explosion of emotion and physical force. The windows shattered all together, the fire blew out and the shelves vibrated dangerously as Draco slammed his fists down on the desk. Although Lucius wouldn't admit it, he jumped. Lucius recovered and his lip curled, spreading the sneer across his face.

Draco turned his eyes to Lucius and the hatred was unmistakable and almost palpable. "One might think you were angry Draco," drawled Lucius sneer still in place. "Just answer the bleeding question", spit out Draco through grit teeth.

"What does your intuition tell you?"

There was a pause before, "I already know the answer".

"And? Now that you have this information, what are you going to do with it?"

Draco stared down at Lucius and his face hardened, "A life for a life".

Lucius paled and a shadow passed over his face with the recognition that his time had finally come. He watched as his only child raised a wand above him with a particularly hateful expression and spoke a curse in a growl.

"Trozium"

Lucius cried out as long cuts erupted open all over his body with a sickening squelching sound. Each cut seared white-hot as yet more appeared on his lily-white skin. This was almost worse than the cruciatus curse and that was saying something. All he could think was that he hoped Draco found some compassion and finished it soon. But to his dismay, Draco didn't end it. Instead he spoke the curse again and again and again.Finally reached out to run his fingers of both hands through the blood that was running in rivulets down Lucius' body as if curious to its texture. He looked at it for a moment before running his fingers down his face leaving red vertical lines streaked down his face.

"With your blood father I cleanse Myself…" he murmured.

He raised his wand once more and spoke the killing curse, giving his father reprieve at last.

"…And with your Death I sever all Ties and am Malfoy no more".

Lucius was left lying on the polished hardwood floors of the manor to be found and a tall willowy shape exited the Malfoy manor, removed an old wooden hairbrush from an inner pocket and disappeared into the night.

Author's Note: Short I know but see? I told you I'd make the connection between three and four. This chapter shouldn't be too hard to understand but it is a vital piece to the story and I know we'll all lament for Lucius…sort of 0o

Oh and the curse Trozium…I took it from Spanish and altered it alittle (the- ium part).Troze means along the lines of 'to cut'…you do have to roll the tr- to get that meaning but you get the basic gist. Just don't say trozium to a really spanish speaker...they'll look at you like you're crazy.

Disclaimer: This story contains characters, locations, and other random things created and/or owned by J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc., etc. Since no money is being made, no infringement is intended. Section 102(b) of the U.S. Copyright Act states that copyright protection does not extend to ideas, procedures, concepts, principles or discoveries, but the actual words used to express those things.