The Forgotten

Chapter one

Malfoy Manor stood looking as cold and domineering as it always had and forever would do the four occupants of the castle like home had all gathered in the front sitting room on the second floor that Narcissa always referred to as the family room; however they very rarely spent any time in there as a family.

Draco thought it laughable that they even had a family room at all in the manor, Malfoy's were not exactly known for their love and compassion towards anyone let alone family. He had been avoiding both his mother and his father ever since his little sister had been conceived and born while he was twelve.

Alexandra was now five years old and was adorable and well mannered, speaking only when spoken too and fearing Lucius' belt just has Draco had when he had been young. She was mummy's little girl whereas Draco was the heir to the fortune and the family name.

Mother and daughter were extremely close; Draco adored his mother and vice versa but Lucius forbid closeness between them as he claimed it would turn his son odd. As a child he had never understood what his father had meant when he said 'odd' in such a way but now it was all too clear to him.

Lucius Malfoy had not wanted his only son turning gay; however what he did not know was that it was already too late and it wasn't over exposure to his mother that had turned him this way, it was emerald green eyes and wind swept hair matched with unimaginable confidence and courage.

His father however was never to find out and Draco's love for the man he couldn't have was never to be, his betrothed wife was a teenager from an upper class French family, she had attended the Triwizard Tournament with her elder sister when Draco was fourteen and she had been eleven.

Fleur's sister Gabrielle who looked young for her age, he remembered her looking no more than eight in his fourth year when really she had been eleven, their marriage was due to take place the day after Gabrielle's seventeenth birthday in three years time. Until that time the two of them were officially engaged and 'getting to know each other' or so Lucius had decided when Gabrielle's parents had agreed to the marriage.

There was no backing out now, Lucius had not been happy when Gabrielle's older sister had accepted the marriage proposal of a Weasley, he had had a mind to call the whole thing off but even though Draco had hoped and prayed that this would be the case it had not come to pass.

Draco was to graduate from Hogwarts and enter into the Ministry of Magic as an apprentice to Mafalda Hopkirk who was head of the Improper Use of Magic Office. Lucius had not wanted his son to become an Auror nor had he wanted his son to become an unspeakable, to earn the most amount of money with the least amount of work that was what Lucius Malfoy desired for his son.

Draco's entire life had been planned out for him and Alexandra's too, Draco's baby sister would no doubt be married off to a wealthy pureblood wizard where she would play the role of loyal wife and devoted mother but nothing more. Draco knew the life that his sister would have, she would have the same role in life as his mother, Narcissa and even of Gabrielle when the time came.

All of this splendour and wealth and still they were all empty headed morons who knew very little about modern life. Witches and Wizards it seemed were stuck in medieval times with no way out, their thinking and laws remaining ancient and untouched.

Draco hated it all, in the world where muggle borns and half bloods were accepted into society without a single disapproving look that said 'we're so much better than you.' In that world Draco would be able to openly have feelings for the man he desired, the man he craved to touch and to hold.

Draco wished to be lost in a sea of frenzied emotions, he desired to lose control and not have to think from one day to the next, Draco longed for freedom of this world of black and white where nothing that differed from their medieval ways were acceptable and the punishments for straying from old traditions were to be disowned and left penniless on the street.

To choose between a life of rags compared to one with joyous riches there are so few that would chose the former, for currency is the currency of the realm. There are those with and those without, nothing could be simpler.

Those with attend elaborate balls and sit comfortable in grand manor houses while served platters upon platters of food fit for royalty while those without watch as their five children share one bed and they cry themselves to sleep worrying where their next meal will be coming from.

In such modern times no one can claim that things are as bad as that, society isn't how it once was, circumstances have evolved and no one is left to starve but the rich continue to sit comfortable eating enough to feed three or even four people in one go and disposing of the leftovers in the most wasteful way.

Draco had struggled with this choice from the age of twelve, although he had admired the boy he loved at eleven the emotions could never have fully developed into love in such a short space of time and at such a young age. It was in his second year at Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, just after Christmas that he had the realisation that the ache he constantly felt deep within his chest was love.

However if Draco chose to abandon his family, his mother, his father and his sister there would never be any guarantee that this great love that he felt would ever be returned leaving him not only penniless but sorrowful also, wallowing in a bottomless pit of depression with no money in order to drink away such sorrows was not a position to find oneself in.

So Draco suffered through it, tomorrow he would be attending his final year at Hogwarts and he hoped that this final year would be more fruitful than the last. He had three entire years before he became a husband and perhaps four before he became a father.

His worries were not of the war that loomed over the wizarding world like a dark rain cloud that threatened to pour, the Malfoy family had good standing on both sides and did not fear the end result but for the past six years Draco had watched as the on going battle etched away at the man he cared for so deeply, moulding him from the shy and awkward eleven year old boy that he had first met at Madame Malkin's all those years ago and turning him into a fighter, a warrior, a champion.

So full of confidence, 'so like his father' or so Severus claims whenever he has the chance, 'strutting around the castle as if he owns it' he would say, 'he may as well own it, he has Dumbledore at his beck and call.' The Potions master would say this with such bitterness that Draco would be taken aback but he would never ask questions.

He may not have been a little boy any longer but that did not mean that he did not fear his father's belt nor his godfather's hand. Both men had ensured that he was raised, not as a pampered little prince that would no doubt fall at every hurdle but a strong and capable young man who would one day take over as head of the Malfoy family.

Draco was trapped by his emotions, by what he knew to be the right path and what he knew to be the easy path. It was his choice as to which path he chose to follow, he had to make the decision; no one else could make it for him.

Unlike Harry Potter he did not have friends he could confide his secrets in, Blaise had so often betrayed him and Pansy would no longer speak to him since she found out that he was not her betrothed. Crabbe and Goyal were worthless, they hardly ever responded when he spoke to them, after third year he had just given up.

Draco would never trust a Slytherin, it was an unwritten rule. They were cunning and they were sly. Slytherin's took what they wanted for their own personal gain no matter the consequences for others. They were arrogant and vain, they know that they have what everyone else wants, money and power but the worst thing is they flaunt it and laugh at the unfortunate.

Harry never did that, he was rich and belonged in higher class society, Draco offered it all to him on the first day of school and yet he turned him down. He was caring and courageous, everything that Draco was not, Harry had the capability to love everyone, even those who could not see the good in themselves and that was the slim hope that Draco clung to so desperately. He needed for Harry to see the good in him, his ability to change and to become good, for if Harry Potter could not see it then his logic dictated that is cannot be there at all.

The following morning Draco found himself boarding the Hogwarts express, his mother and father had not bothered to accompany him to the station on his final year, he was deemed old enough to take care of himself.

Over the heads of many students he spotted a mass of red hair and knew it to be the full Weasley clan, right at the centre was a mess of black that could only be the one and only Harry Potter. Draco's gaze lingered for only a moment before Blaise, Crabbe and Goyal joined him and ushered him onto the train, into an empty compartment.

Draco barely spoke throughout the entire journey, he did not make is way through the train so to find and taunt Harry Potter and his friends, he did not have the strength to do so, he was physically and emotionally tired of the fighting, he knew that Harry had enough to battle against without adding him to the equation. His companions noticed this strange turn of events but did not question it, but his unusual quietness made them all a little suspicious.

They had never seen Draco so withdrawn before, from their points of view everything was on track for Draco, they could not figure out why he was acting as if he was unhappy. He had a fiancé from a family of high standing and great wealth, he was already well prepared to take over the family fortune and the position of head of the family and yet he seemed so depressed.

It was as they were nearing their destination that Blaise took him aside from the others, he was not going to have his friend ruin the secure life that he had ready built for him. Blaise would have done anything to be in the same position as Draco. He did not come from money, his family was not poor but they weren't rich either, his marriage would not be arranged and he would inherit nothing but gambling debts from his father. He refused to allow Draco to throw it all away.

"Whatever it is that is on your mind Draco forget about it." Blaise whispered, his tone of voice holding a certain amount of warning in it. "All it's going to do is ruin your life, a life that many would aspire to lead so do not fuck it up."

"I don't know what the fuck your talking about Blaise, what I do with my life is my own business and has got fuck all to do with you. Just because you're jealous that I have a fiancé and a fortune to inherit does not mean that you can play mind games with me so I lose it all."

"I'm not the one playing mind games here Draco, I know the way you look at them, you envy them, you want to be a Gryffindor and if your father knew you would lose everything you have. Are you really going to put everything you have at risk because you're scared?"

"I'm not scared and I don't want to be one of them, but I don't exactly want to be one of you any more either and I don't care if you tell my father or not because he can't touch me here."

"You're a fool if you think you can walk away from it all, your family, your responsibilities, we are all expected to fight in this war, side by side, you included, He'd kill you before you could beg for your life."

"I never said I was going to walk away from anything and I know perfectly well my position in this war, I do not need reminding of that from anyone, especially not an egotistic prat such as yourself. I know what we're fighting against and if you're delusional enough to believe that we could actually win then more fool you."

"You doubt the great power of the Dark Lord, there was once a time when you would not question him or his strength, we will win this war and we will see the death of Harry Potter, if you doubt him or even think about walking away from this again then Snape will be the first to know. How long do you think it'll be before your father hears of your traitorous behaviour?"

With one swift motion Draco had grabbed hold of Blaise's robe collar and had pinned him to the compartment wall. "How dare you threaten me, I am not the only one with doubtful thoughts, I have heard you as you sleep, you fear death and you fear him, you are pathetic, you have no place to stand by the Dark Lord's side and say you worship him and adore him, you are nothing but fearful and pitiable, a coward."

"I am no coward" Blaise declared as Draco removed his hold on him, it seemed that every Slytherin had their secrets whether it was traitorous or doubtful or even fear it was there. No witch or wizard on the side of the Dark Lord was an exception, everyone knew what the likely out come of this war would be and it would not favour them.

"It seems that I am not the only one who doubts the Dark Lord's ability." Draco snarled at him, "If my father hears of this then have no doubt that I will not be the only one that suffers for idle thoughts."

Not another word was spoken between the two, not even when the five Slytherin's clambered into a carriage together to be taken up to the great castle that loomed over them in the darkness. Pansy, Crabbe and Goyal were all too involved in their own more trivial worries to notice that there was massive amounts of tension between two of their number.

As dinner commenced after the traditional sorting Draco sat idly playing with the food he had spooned onto his plate, his appetite had escaped him on the train journey, he could not bear to look at his fellow Slytherin's, who would betray him in a heartbeat. Instead he focused his gaze upon the one he craved, the one he yearned for.

His laugh, his smile, Harry had changed a lot over the years, no longer did he wear his hideous round glasses that had been spellotaped together on so many occasions. His emerald eyes shone magnificently even from across the Great Hall. From the pictures plastered all over Witch Weekly last year he knew that his body had been moulded to perfection, all the quidditch practices and long hours of training he did in order to be in the right shape to defeat Voldemort when the moment arrived.

He was something to be admired and envied and yet pitied all at the same time, Harry Potter had had a life that no young boy should have to live, orphaned at the age of one and constantly in danger because a prophecy marked him as the saviour of the wizarding world and through it all he still kept smiling.

Draco prayed that his life would become easier when he left this damn school, when he was away from Harry Potter, maybe then he could forget him and get on with his life, get married have children, do what everyone expected of him. It wasn't what he wanted but it was what was expected.

That night Draco sat alone in the Slytherin common room, thoughts wove in and out of his mind, a determination to shout to the world about his feelings towards Harry Potter. However it was all very well and good to make such decisions when wrapped in a blanket and sitting before a roaring fire where nothing can touch you, the real world is a different thing all together.

So filled with inner turmoil he took a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write it all down. He began with: I am the forgotten. One of those discarded by the light. He had no idea where the words were coming from but it felt good to turn his feelings into words written down on a piece of parchment so he continued.

They pass freely each day they are the chosen and we are the ignored, born to the wrong parents, those who have fallen off the path and are lost, are we never to find our way? A guiding light is all I ask and yet it seems too much. But I do not ask it for myself for I am far beyond saving; I ask it for my sister who will suffer greatly in this world if she is not shown the way.

What are we to do, our screams of agony are ignored, no one will even look our way, so many of us can not be saved, we wait to die whether it be at the hand of our master or our saviour.

Draco looked horrified at what he had written but knew that it was true. He did not sign his name for he knew what he was to do with this letter. At the break of day Draco was to be found in the owlery attaching the letter to a tawny school owl that waited patiently for him to tie the roll of parchment to its leg.

He may never be able to be happy in this world and he may even die before his eighteenth birthday and his love never be returned but if that was what destiny planned for him then so be it but he would not allow his sister to befall the same fate as he.

The letter was received that morning at breakfast; Draco saw the tawny owl sweep down to deliver the letter to Harry Potter so he would finally see what was going on around him. Blaise watched him suspiciously wanting to know what had captured Draco's attention so magnificently. It was then he saw Harry Potter.

Outside of the Great Hall he grabbed hold of Draco's arm and dragged him into an old and unused class room, slamming the door behind him. "You feel for him!" Blaise stated out right, "And do not deny it, I see you watching him always."

Draco said nothing for he knew it to be true, he may have had a way with words but there was no chance that he would ever talk himself out of this one, Blaise had discovered his deepest, darkest secret, it was only a matter of time until Severus heard of it and then his father.

"Do you have nothing to say for yourself, or are you too ashamed to speak?" Blaise almost shouted, Draco turned and cast a silencing spell on the door so their conversation would not be over heard.

"Is it any of your concern, I have already told you that I know my place in this war and that it will never change, I will not walk away from my duties." Draco stated, he did not give Blaise a direct answer, he could not, he would not spill his inner most desires for this teenager to see.

"So sending the sodding boy-who-lived love notes is no concern of mine? You have betrayed us beyond what anyone thought possible, Snape will have to hear of this."

Draco's heart sank, this conversation would be his downfall, there was no doubt about that. "Do what you must but I stand by my feelings and also by what I said, I will not back out of this war, I am a fighter, whatever happens next I will deal with it the way I was brought up to deal with it, I am a Malfoy after all."

"When your fathers hears that his only son and heir is queer you really think that you will remain a Malfoy?" Blaise said with a tone of mocking in his voice. "I think you're the one whose deluded, what did the letter say?"

"What does it matter?" Draco questioned, he wasn't about to tell Blaise this no matter what he did to him, that letter was personal, he'd only sent it to Harry in hopes that he could some day live a better life than the one he lived now.

"It matters because we cannot afford for Harry Potter to interfere with us Slytherin's whether that be to become romantically attached to one or to just sniff around, it cannot be done, now tell me what was in that letter."

"Screw you Blaise, run off and tell my godfather everything that I have done but I'm going to Dumbledore, I hate all of this, its bullshit, it's all bullshit! This life is worthless without freedom and we don't have that, don't you see that, we are all trapped in what our parents want for us, it's not a life we should be forced to lead and I refuse to do so."

"Do you really think that the great Albus Dumbledore can protect you now? If the Dark Lord wants you dead then nothing will stop him, what makes you think that he'll even believe you, you are nothing but the son of a deatheater to him."

"I have to trust in something and believe me when the time comes for us to stand up and fight my place won't be next to my parents on the side of the Dark Lord, it'll be right next to Harry Potter whether he gives a damn about me or not that is where I will stand."

"I can't let you walk out of here Draco, not to betray us all." Blaise said whipping out his wand and pointing it at Draco, "I won't let you do it."

Draco just stared at him, his wand pointing directly at his throat, in a split second Draco had knocked Blaise's hand away and punched him in the gut and then once around the jaw for good measure.

"No one tells me what to do." Draco said as he turned on his heel and stormed from the room heading directly to the headmaster's office. Classes had just started and the corridors were empty, he was supposed to be in Transfiguration with the Gryffindor's however he knew if he went there even to get a glimpse of Harry he would never make it to Dumbledore's office so he strode on with a new found determination.

He discovered once he had arrived that Harry was already present in the Headmaster's office, both seemed unsurprised at seeing him there, in Dumbledore's hand was the letter Draco had written last night.

"I had to know." Was all that Harry said, Dumbledore looked sadly at his golden boy with a faint smile. Draco was astonished that Harry had cared so greatly about the writer of the letter that he had taken it straight to the headmaster so he could find out.

"Mr Malfoy, what processed you to write such a letter in the first place?" Dumbledore removed the parchment from Harry's grip and read the contents, "Do you truly believe that you have been forgotten?"

"Yes Sir, I do, I believe that all us Slytherin's have been forgotten, not many would change now in fact I believe that I am the only one willing to but it may be the case that we are all far beyond saving now." Draco rolled up his sleeve and showed both Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore where the Dark Mark had been branded.

Both had the decency to look shameful, they had not known the extent of Voldemort's grip upon the older Slytherin students in the school.

"Which other students have been branded with this mark?" Harry asked, Draco glanced to him and saw a flame of green fury deep within his eyes, now he knew why everybody admired him and supported him.

"Pansy, Crabbe, Goyal, Blaise, Millicent, most students in seventh year." Draco said and the headmaster sighed, he had not known; the old man who irritated everyone because he knew far too much for his own good had had no idea.

"In your letter you mentioned a guiding light, someone to show you the way, who is it that you refer to?" Harry asked, it surprised Draco that even without the parchment in his hand he could quote from the words, he had clearly read it many a time since he had received it at breakfast.

"Who else is there but you, I realise that we haven't been friends but you have saved us from this war so many times already, you never give up." Draco said; it was far from what he really wanted to say to the teen but he reframed, sure that Harry would dismiss him without a second thought.

"Where is your sister now Mr Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, "You mentioned that you wanted her to be 'shown the way' did you not."

"Alexandra is five Sir, she remains with my mother and father at the Manor, if you were given permission to raid it I would give you all the information you needed to arrest my father, where he stores his darker magical items and books."

"Why are you so keen for us to arrest your father, I realise that it would have a great amount of use to us taking him away from Voldemort but he is your father, there must be some gain for you." Harry said, "I am sorry to be suspicious but I must know."

"It's understandable and I am eager for him to be detained because Blaise has noticed a shift in my behaviour, he is smart and figured out the reasons why, he threatens to tell my Godfather, Severus who will then tell my father. They are close friends, deatheaters, both of them."

A knowing look passed between Dumbledore and Harry but Draco did not ask about it, he knew that it was not his place to do so. "What other reasons do you have?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said that Blaise figured out the reasons, implying that there was more than one, what other reasons do you have?" Harry asked, Draco closed his eyes and sighed, he refused to spill the contents of his heart, not to anyone, not even Harry.

"I have feelings for someone on the side of the light and even though I doubt that they could ever love me in return I feel as if having their respect is the closest I can get."

Dumbledore smiled, a gleaming twinkle in his pale blue eyes, it was as if he knew, he tried not to stare at the old man, knowing full well that he could get inside his head and Draco wouldn't have a chance.

"I think it is time that we resume your teachings Harry, I would like you to work closely with young Malfoy here and plan a raid on Malfoy Manor, seeing as his fellow Slytherin's may seem less than friendly towards him now I will arrange for him share Gryffindor classes and have his own chambers close to the tower, perhaps this will even ignite a spark between Draco and the one he feels for." Dumbledore said with a smile as he offered both teenagers a lemon drop.

This story is to say I'm really really sorry for not updating any stories in such a long time, and I am really really sory and there is no excuse but i have had to work so much recently but the good news is I'm off to University in a couple of weeks and will have pleanty of time to write since the course I'm doing is cerative writing.

Once again I am very sorry and I promise you all I will start to finish stories and write sequels and everything, just let me know what you think of this new one.

Phoebe