A Pureblood's Duty
By Andrew J. Talon
Disclaimer: I do not and probably never will own Harry Potter or any other copyrighted works mentioned in this story. I am not writing this for profit.
Well, I twisted an almost canon trope (Bastard Ron and Time Travel) so let's try something else: How to make Draco Malfoy not a cardboard cut out of a bully and a coward? It would have to start early on to give him some dimension and nuance. And it would require a tweak to his character, but a plausible one. So here's what I came up with:
First Year Slytherin Draco Malfoy sighed as he trudged out of the Slytherin Common Room. He hadn't wanted to miss the Halloween Feast, but a floo call from his mother couldn't be missed. It was nice to talk to her, but really. She fussed over him so much!
Well, not fuss. Not compared to other parents, he supposed. She maintained her dignity at all times. But it sure felt like fussing, when she kept insisting he maintained her standards of behavior. Hmph.
He rounded the corner when he smelled it-Like a walking garbage heap. He heard the grunts and growls he'd only heard out of his books. He covered his mouth and gagged-It was wretched. What was it?! It couldn't be...!
He moved further down the corridor, and looked around another corner. A girl's bathroom was there, he knew this. His eyes widened.
A cave troll. A bloody cave troll?! How did it get in the castle?! His father had told him Hogwarts was one of the safest places in Britain!
It was lumbering into the bathrooms, sniffing loudly. It seemed to be pondering something in its dull excuse for a brain. Then, it hefted up its club, and brought it down hard on a stall, smashing it. He heard a girl scream.
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE!" She shrieked.
Draco went pale. A girl was in trouble. He had to get a teacher, he had to get out of here...!
"HELP! ANYONE! PLEASE!"
He didn't know this girl. What was in it for him?! He was no match for a troll, what would be the point?!
"It is not enough to be of superior breeding, Draco. You must act like it. A Pureblood Lord is one people will want to follow, because of his quality," his mother said patiently, "and one of those qualities is protecting those in danger."
"But isn't that a Gryffindor's job?" Draco whined. His mother had lightly slapped the back of his head. "OW! Mum?!"
"That person you protect will owe you a debt, and could become a great ally, with some cultivation," his mother said firmly, "and the more allies you have, the stronger you are. How do you think Salazar Slytherin gained so much fame? Because he was someone people wanted to trust and follow-Even unto their deaths. Because they believed he would do the same for them."
Draco gulped. He pulled out his wand. He took deep breaths.
He was no Salazar Slytherin. He could admit that to himself. But the prospect of facing his mother again when he'd just run away from a girl's screams for help...?
"HEY!" He shouted loudly at the troll. "HEY! YOU BIG STUPID THING! OVER HERE!"
The troll didn't pay attention. Draco gritted his teeth. A Malfoy was many things, but someone to ignore? Never!
So he decided to go with another bit of wisdom his mother had imparted to him:
When in doubt? Kill it with fire.
"HEY!" He ran out, dashing as close to the monster as he dared, "HEY! INCENDIO!"
He shot a fireball at the back of the creature. It impacted and burned, and the troll grunted in irritation. It turned towards him, slowly, and Draco grinned.
"INCENDIO!" He shouted again, hitting the creature with another small fireball.
It was working! The troll was coming after him!
The troll swung its club, smashing right through the thin outer wall of the bathrooms and towards him in a wide arc. Draco barely jumped clear as the troll rotated with surprising agility, smashing its club deep into the other wall.
Draco went very pale.
Oh shit. It was working. The troll was coming after him.
"INCENDIO! INCENDIO!" Draco yelled, desperately shooting more fireballs. He tried to aim for the troll's head, but it bowed its huge melon and the blasts missed. It swung its club again-surprisingly quickly.
So quickly that it grazed Draco and sent him tumbling into the nearby wall. Headfirst.
He felt like his brains had been smacked directly. He fell over, vision clouding, the feel of blood on his forehead. He could see the troll advancing on him, and grimaced.
No... Damnit... He wasn't supposed to... Go out like this...! Mother...! Father...!
Everything went dark just as he heard some more voices, young boys, shouting.
His last thoughts weren't concerned with them though. Only himself, and his family.
Merlin, I was such an idiot...
Draco woke up to a white ceiling and sunshine beaming through tall, broad windows. He felt bandages on his head, and soft sheets of a hospital wing bed underneath him. He blinked in confusion-Heaven looked surprisingly like the Hogwarts Hospital Wing.
He also felt sore as hell. So that probably meant...
"Huh? What...?" Draco muttered.
"Finally awake, huh?"
Draco looked to his right. There was Weasley-Ronald Weasley. He looked pretty banged up too, and was smirking at him from his own hospital bed. Draco glared.
"What are you doing here, Weasel?" Draco groaned. His head was so sore. Talking hurt. Thinking wasn't much better.
"Recovering after saving you, ya git," Weasley smirked.
Draco blinked.
"Huh?"
"We managed to distract the troll long enough to knock it out," said another voice on his left. Draco looked over there-Harry Potter, also bandaged up, was staring at him in wary curiosity. The skinny boy was leaning up on a big pile of pillows. Which Draco wished he had, given he fell back with a groan and wince.
"You two rescued me? I cant' believe it!"
"Neither can we," Weasley snarked.
"Bugger off, Weasel!"
"You're welcome, Hairgel," Weasley laughed.
The Malfoy scion sighed heavily, fighting the headache.
"What were you two doing down there anyway?" Draco grumbled, "why would you rescue me?"
"We didn't intend to," Harry said with a shrug, "we were there to save someone else."
"Who?"
Which is when an unfortunately familiar bushy haired know it all Muggleborn walked up, blushing shyly. Draco stared at Granger in disbelief.
"No... You were the girl in the bathroom?!" Draco gasped.
"Um, well... Yes," Granger admitted. She smiled, and crept up to his side. "Um, listen, Draco... I... Thank you. I know we don't get on but... Thank you so much for what you tried to do. It... It was very brave."
Draco mentally groaned. Just what he needed-He'd saved a Muggleborn girl. An annoying know-it-all bint who didn't know her place. He felt like such a fool, he'd never hear the end of it-
Granger hesitated, looked like she was working to whip up her courage for a moment, before she leaned over and pecked his cheek with her lips. It was warm, and he felt a blush spread across his pale cheeks.
"Thank you," she said with a warm smile. Draco felt his heart beat a little faster, and he nodded.
"You-You're welcome," he said, fighting the urge to smile dopily-And failing miserably.
She turned away, and gave a quick peck to Potter. Who looked just as shocked and pleased as he felt. Which was irritating. Granger rounded Draco's bed to head for Weasley, but the ginger immediately shook his head and held up his hands.
"Oh no! No! You're not kissing me!" Ron shouted. "I don't want cooties!"
"Ron, I've read it's tradition for maidens rescued by gallant knights to give them a kiss as thanks!" Granger teased him.
"You're not giving me one! No! Stay away!"
Weasley got up and began to flee, as Hermione-Granger, Draco corrected himself-giggled and chased him around the Hospital Wing while making exaggerated kissing sounds. Harry-Potter, he admonished himself-shook his head as he watched this strange pantomime.
"Girls are mad, huh?" Harry asked.
"Completely," Draco agreed. He then gained a superior smirk.
"... But she kissed me first," he bragged.
"Yeah, and we saved you too," Harry shot back, "don't you owe Ron and me a kiss, too?"
"Ugh! No!" Draco gagged, as Harry laughed.
Was this what it was like to gain allies and followers? Huh. It was... Rather nice.
Maybe he'd have to do it more often...
There you go. The perfect way to have Draco Malfoy be more than just Draco Malfoy. Hope you enjoyed!