Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
—
The weather over the next several days was as bleak as Draco Malfoy's world.
He sulked around the large manor in which he had been raised, wallowing in self-pity over his plight.
It wasn't a feeling to which the blonde alpha was accustomed and it wasn't one that he enjoyed…..being denied.
Draco had been raised as the only son, the only child, the sole heir of two noble houses.
His mother had told how special he was since the day of his birth and his father was always eager to comply with whatever demands Draco insisted upon.
It irked Draco endlessly that his parents were not willing or able to simply step in and deliver Lady Granger to him in a silver carriage, nude in the back with creamy mousse covering her most delicious bits.
That was a gift that Draco would have appreciated very much~, but for once, his desire would not be granted.
Draco didn't mention another word about the ball to his parents and his parents didn't speak of the occasion either.
Lucius was too involved in his own thoughts to notice his son's moping, although Narcissa had the eyes of a mother, and a mother always saw when her child was distressed.
One evening, after dinner, Draco heard a knock fall on his bedroom door and with a great huff, he rose from the ebony chair next to his writing desk and walked over to answer it.
When Draco turned the knob and opened the door, his grey eyes narrowed incredulously as he saw Narcissa looking back at him from the hallway, "...Mother?"
"May I come in?" Narcissa asked with a bitter smile.
Draco blinked and stood to the side as Narcissa swept past him and into the room. As she walked, her slithering skirts of elegant, ruffled black lace trailed behind her.
"I know you're still upset about the Granger girl, darling." Narcissa began as she sat down on the velvet loveseat by the fireplace across from Draco's chair.
Draco sniffed as he walked over and resumed his seat with an angry sniff, "The only thing that upsets me is that she still exists, Mother. I'm so glad that you and father were there with me to open my eyes and help me understand the true consequences of my desires."
Narcissa blinked in surprise and she asked her son, "...I'm sorry, darling?"
"It's easy for one as fair as Lady Granger to seduce an unsuspecting wizard into a match with her before they even realize the stain that permeates her blood and the filth from which she is descended. The Dark Lord is right, Mother, you and Father are right, the Grangers are a dangerous family, like all mudbloods, and they must be eliminated." Draco said with absolute certainty.
Narcissa straightened her spine. Her blue eyes shone with beaming happiness as she looked at her son and nodded in complete agreement, "Yes, my son! That's exactly what your father and I have worked so hard to instill in you!"
Draco nodded very solemnly and looked down for a moment before Narcissa reached out and put a hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "Draco, darling…..we don't want to see you confined to a life of lonely servitude."
"Really, Mother," Draco began as his grey eyes flickered back up to Narcissa, "All I want is to fulfill my duty."
Draco purposely dodged the subject of choosing a wife, which he knew that Narcissa was prepared to discuss.
Instead, he continued his ruse.
"I want to volunteer…..to prove my worthiness." Draco said as he narrowed his eyes determinedly while he held Narcissa's gaze, "Let me lead the raid on the Grangers."
Narcissa blinked for a moment and she looked at Draco in pleasant surprise, "W-...Well, darling I don't know if your father will allow that…."
"Please, Mother, may I?" Draco asked as he gave Narcissa a pitiful pout that he knew would twist her heart and in turn, cause her to twist Lucius's arm, "It would make me so happy….."
Narcissa sighed deeply while she glowed with pride. After a moment, she clasped her hands together and smiled wryly at Draco as she nodded, "Alright, sweetheart. I'll see if I convince your father."
"Oh, thank you, Mother!" Draco cried and as he and Narcissa wrapped their arms around each other in a tight embrace, Draco blinked at the wall on the other side of the room.
His plan was going to risk everything including his own life, but Draco saw no other way.
The Dark Lord was too powerful and his influence was too wide.
The only way that Draco could save the Grangers was to pretend that he hadn't.
—
It came as no surprise to Draco that after his desperate pleading with his mother, his father agreed to acquiesce his request and allow him to lead the upcoming attack on the Grangers.
The horrid event was scheduled to take place a mere week later and when Draco was informed of the date, he tried not to outwardly show his vexation.
A week was not much time to finish his plans.
It took a great deal of cunning, using some of the money in his Gringotts account without being traced, gathering the needed supplies, brewing the polyjuice potion that allowed him to mask himself as an elderly peddler and purchase a cottage in the desolate part of a distant forest, but Draco managed to pull it off.
Three days before the attack, he sat in the Malfoy's ornate family carriage as it clattered down the road towards the Granger estate.
Draco sighed to himself and looked out the window.
His parents and Lord Voldemort believed that he was visiting the family to have one last look around their home and solidify his plans.
Draco's intention was indeed to solidify his plans, but not the ones his parents and Lord Voldemort had arranged.
Draco was in pursuit of his own agenda's interests.
As the carriage came to a halt and Draco stepped out, he smoothed out the jacket of his embroidered, black suit and walked towards the fine house.
The Malfoy footman stayed behind with the carriage as Draco walked up the steps and used the knocker on the door to announce his presence.
As he stood and waited for an answer, he squinted out over the green grass of the estate's sprawling grounds and grimaced bitterly at the irony of the cheery morning.
The door swung open and a butler stood, looking directly at Draco as he asked, "May I ask who's calling, sir?"
"Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, heir to House Malfoy and House Black." Draco replied very formally.
"And may I inquire who you've come to visit, sir?" The butler asked.
"Mr. Edwin Granger." Draco nodded.
"Very well, sir. One moment please." The butler nodded. The stoic man eyed Draco suspiciously before he closed the door.
Draco waited for several moments before the door opened once again and the butler wore an uncharacteristic, bright smile on his face as he warmly welcomed Draco into the mansion with a grand motion of his gloved hand as he spoke, "Mr. Malfoy! Do come in, Mr. Granger will receive you in the first floor's parlor."
Draco scowled at the butler for a moment but he wordlessly followed the man inside.
Due to the grim planning he had been forced by circumstance and obligation to take part in, Draco knew quite a bit about the Grangers.
He had forgotten that the Grangers knew very little about him.
—
Draco followed the butler down the long hallway on the first floor until they came to a large open room, appointed with elegant decorations.
"Mr. Malfoy!" A voice called out to Draco, ringing with polite hospitality.
"Good morning, Mr. Granger." Draco nodded at the man sitting on a sofa directly in front of him.
Draco recognized Lady Granger's father from the ball to be a middle-aged, trim man who looked to be approaching his forties.
"I remember you attended my daughter's presentation ball recently." Mr. Granger said as he stood and shook Draco's hand, "Though I'll admit, my wife and I didn't get to speak to you or your parents very much. How nice of you to call on us…...but I must ask, and forgive me if this seems rude, is there a particular reason behind your visit today?"
Draco frowned as Mr. Granger looked at him curiously and blinked in confusion.
He didn't blame the man for asking that question.
Draco was more or less a stranger to the family, why should he suddenly appear for a visit?
Instead of telling a lie, Draco finally found a place where he could speak the truth. He opened his mouth to inform his host with brutal honesty, "I've come to tell you that in three days, I have to burn down your home to save you, your wife, and your daughter in hopes of winning her heart and earning her hand."
Silence fell between them.
Mr. Granger looked at Draco as if he had just slapped him.
Draco grimaced in expectation of a violent reaction.
Mr. Granger was too stunned to resort to blows.
It took several moments for Lady Granger's father to recover himself and stammer, "I-...I beg your pardon, sir?"
—-
Sorry for the short update! The next chapters will be longer, and beginning in September, this will be updated on the second and fourth Saturday of each month! Thank you for reading!