Disclaimer - I don't own HPand don't own Draco either... worst luck!

THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

CHAPTER ONE.

Ginevra Malfoy sat alone on a bench in the garden of Malfoy Manor, her home for many years. The setting sun made her hair look as red as blood as she stared into the horizon, but her gaze was quickly directed to a platinum blond toddler who was running as fast as he could and laughing happily, trying to avoid the House-Elf that was taking care of him: Corvus Malfoy, the latest Malfoy heir and Ginevra's son, her precious baby. For him, Ginevra would do anything: forsake her family, alienate herself from her friends and support Draco in his activities, even if she didn't agree with them. Corvus' safety and well being was the most important thing on Earth for her, and his arrival two years ago changed a lot of things in her life: the once proud Gryffindor princess was now the wife of the most powerful and ruthless Death Eater; the once innocent bride of Draco Malfoy was now a cold and powerful witch; the once sobbing girl, upset and angry at being taken away from her family, was now a woman that willingly set all of them aside without regrets.

Five years ago, the war raging in the wizarding world took a dramatic swing when Draco Malfoy changed his allegiance and decided to support the Dark Lord's cause, leaving the Order of the Phoenix without one of its most important and valuable members in the process. Draco's betrayal was a hard blow for the Order and a great achievement for the Dark Lord, who received him, his reluctant wife and his huge fortune with open arms. With the thousands of Galleons the Malfoy's' fortune brought back to the Dark Lord's cause, and with the brilliant and cunning mind of Draco himself, the Death Eaters became the most feared force in the wizarding world, crushing the leaderless Order of the Phoenix almost without effort, and leaving just a few rebels to deal with.

The Dark Lord now controlled a great part of the wizarding community through the Ministry of Magic, and there were few wizards or witches who dared to defy him or his regime. The purebloods were considered first class citizens and occupied the highest positions in wizarding society. Most of them were Death Eaters, the elite of Lord Voldemort's followers, and favored above everyone else. The half-bloods were second class citizens, with no privileges and few rights, but some pure-blood wizards and witches thought that the Dark Lord had been merciful in granting them even that much. Mudbloods had been reduced to the category of slaves. They had absolutely no rights, and even then some thought that the Lord had been gracious in sparing their lives. Ginevra knew, though, that it wasn't a matter of being gracious. Without the Mudbloods, the wizarding world couldn't go on and the Dark Lord let them live not because he wanted to be "gracious" but because he understood they were needed.

The resistance still operated, still planned and executed attacks and in general tried to oppose Voldemort's regime. Its leader, Harry Potter, was still active despite his incapability to perform advanced magic, something for which he had Draco Malfoy to thank. Draco had proven his loyalty to the Dark Lord by cursing The-Boy-Who-Lived, practically draining him of his magic altogether. It hadn't even been all that much effort on his part, either, so the leader of the resistance was left humiliated and completely incapable of dueling with another wizard. The resistance was no longer anything more than a simple nuisance.

The attacks they planned were few but effective. There you could appreciate the bright mind of Hermione Granger who, as expected, didn't desert her friend although he was now incapable of performing the simplest of spells. Along with Ronald Weasley, Hermione worked hard to keep the resistance up. The only pure-blood members of the resistance were Weasleys. The rest were Muggle-borns who had nothing to lose. As a result of the limited resitance, the attacks were not enough to destabilize the Dark Lord's regime.

Draco Malfoy was now one of the most powerful men in wizarding Britain. He held a position of the highest rank among the Death Eaters, and some said that the Dark Lord considered him a sort of heir. The truth was that Lord Voldemort knew that without Draco Malfoy's help, he wouldn't be where he was at the moment, so Draco received special treatment and privileges, which extended to his family: Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy, and of course his wife and his only heir, Corvus Malfoy, a child of two years old.

Being Draco's wife and the mother of his son definitely had a lot of privileges nowadays, Ginevra thought bitterly. Still, there had been a time when she loved Draco Malfoy for who he was, a time when both fought for the Order of the Phoenix and did what they considered was the right thing to do. They had gotten married during the war and promised to love each other forever. Ginevra had happily lived her own fairy tale, in which she was just Ginny and he was just Draco. And then…

And then Draco had decided to change sides and support the Dark Lord, dragging Ginny with him. In the process, he had turned her into what she was now: Ginevra Malfoy, a cold hearted witch, the wife of the most feared Death Eater, a younger version of Narcissa Malfoy.

And the worst part of it all was that Ginevra still loved him and understood him and his reason better than anyone. Despite the suffering, the disappointments and the bitter arguments between them, her feelings hadn't changed, although she let him think differently.

It was getting late, and the air was starting to grow colder. Corvus was not trying to run away playfully from the House-Elf anymore. As he walked towards Ginevra and extended his little arms, expecting to be lifted, an angelic smile upon his face, it was evident to her that he was tired. Ginevra sighed and picked him up, kissing him softly on the head. She couldn't stop herself from smiling at the little boy who was so like Draco: the same platinum-colored hair, the same gray eyes. Sometimes she thought that if she hadn't been there during the whole pregnancy, she'd doubt that Corvus was hers.

"Daddy?" he half asked, half yawned.

Ginevra sighed, and with the small kid in her arms, started to walk towards the Manor, indicating to the House-Elf with just one glance that she was dismissed. Corvus always asked for his father. Despite all the changes Draco had been through, he was close to his only son and devoted much of his free time to him, so the boy was very attached to his father, and Ginevra never discouraged that affection.

"Daddy's working, honey, he'll be home soon," she said while stroking his fine hair.

"Daddy?"

"He'll come soon, sweetheart."

The look Corvus gave her mother was so alike to Draco's own when he was irritated, that all Ginevra could do was laugh at the indignation of her infant son. He was the only source of joy in her life nowadays, and he was the only one with whom she was not guarded.

"You're so much like your father," she said, still laughing as she entered the Manor.

"Is that a bad thing?"

Draco Malfoy was standing beside his wife, tall and proud as always. She hadn't noticed him there, but he didn't startle her anymore. She was used to his sudden appearances. The only thing that irritated her was that he had seen her laughing, a gesture she didn't allow herself in his presence anymore. So she composed herself quickly and looked him coolly right in the eye.

"Don't be ridiculous, Draco. How can that be a bad thing when Corvus is an adorable child?" Said child, at hearing his father's voice, turned his body towards him, extending his arms and giggling loudly, in a silent demand to be picked up from his mother's arms. Draco obliged and took the child from Ginevra, putting him eye level with himself.

"Malfoys don't giggle, Corvus." His tone was light and playful and was rewarded with another round of giggles. Draco smiled and hugged his son with one hand and offered his other arm to his wife. Ginevra ignored him and resumed her walking. They were civil to each other when Corvus was present for his sake, but even that civility had its limits.

Draco sighed and couldn't resist shooting an exasperated look at Ginevra's back. She was always so cold with everybody except Corvus that sometimes Draco was certain that he had lost her forever.

"So, how was your day?" Her voice brought him back to his reality. "Oh forget it, I don't really want to know."

"Ginevra…" There was a clear warning in his voice. It seemed that the only thing they had been doing for the last five years was fighting. "Where's my mother?" he said instead of starting another argument.

"In her rooms, I suppose." Ginevra's tone could have frightened a lesser being, but Draco Malfoy was not a lesser being.

"Stop acting like that. In case you haven't noticed, your son is here and we have an agreement."

"I really don't want to do this right now. Goodnight, Draco dear." With a loud pop, she Disapparated into her own rooms, leaving a furious Draco Malfoy behind. She knew that he wouldn't let her go that easily, and that after putting the baby to sleep as he usually did, he was going to be banging at her door, demanding an explanation and maybe retribution. He'd changed so much in the last five years that she couldn't even recognize the man she'd married six years ago. The wedding day, she decided as she changed her clothes, was easier to recall…

"I cannot tell you," the minister began warmly, "how truly proud I am to be the one to preside over this ceremony. For some of you it may seem that this is very sudden, but I, for one, have been looking forward to this day for a very, very long time. Today, we join together two souls destined to be as one. Fate has endeavored to keep them apart, but true love cannot be denied…"

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Special thanks to my incredible beta, D. Hamadryad,