Disclaimer: It is all JKR's world
AN: Okay, this one falls a bit short. I had wanted to write more, but alas the bunny ran away. It was the meddling of two concepts; a totally innocent Draco, and Love at First Sight. Please note that from here on out, I am going to use D/G in my own little world. My view is fanfiction is a way to make my own world using JKR's characters. I don't mean to upset canon buffs, this is just my take on it. So be for warned. Enjoy, and please, send me an idea or two! Also, I know that with DH release, readers may be fewer, but this and the last installment have been very long, I would really appreciate a few reviews!
Fully exonerated, Draco Malfoy walked through the streets of Hogsmeade on a wintry December day. In the six months since the war had ended his life had completely changed. He as well as the rest of the wizarding world had learned the truth behind his entire life. Dumbledore's death, as tragic as it was, turned out to be the key to both freeing Draco, and giving Harry Potter the strength needed to face down Voldemort.
Lucius Malfoy had long been known as a dangerous, cunning, and faithful follower of the dark lord. However, few could have imagined the lengths he would go to control his family and secure his place in Voldemort's ranks. Lucius had gone to great lengths to make Draco into a carbon copy of himself; the perfect protégé for Voldemort. From the time he was a small child, the younger Malfoy had been doused by his father with a potion that would make him susceptible to his father's line of thinking and commands. Lucius felt he could not take the chance that Draco would have Narcissa's weaknesses. His wife was never as devoted to the concept of Pureblood supremacy or the dark lord's vision as he was. While he had been dousing her with the same potion since their wedding, Lucius could not chance that her way of thinking was a hereditary trait. After all, Narcissa's younger sister, Andromeda married a Muggle. He would not allow his heir to be tainted in such a way. Even while Draco was at Hogwarts, Lucius managed to ensure his son received the special potion. The many treats that Narcissa showered on their son were laced with it. The fact that Draco's schoolmates occasionally had some of the goodies was simply gravy to Lucius; those who ate them were equally susceptible to his whims until the effects wore off.
Despite these efforts, Lucius did not feel his son was up to par. When the dark lord returned, the elder Malfoy took desperate measures. He was highly skilled in the Dark Arts, and had developed his own special form of the Imperious Curse. This new curse was cast on one already prone to taking the actions the one casting the spell wanted done, and was nearly undetectable. He had successfully used in for many years. Fudge was one of his favorite subjects. It was not that the Minister wanted to commit wrong deeds; rather he sought glory for himself and the Ministry. That left him a perfect target for Lucius' spell. After Draco's fourth year, his father began controlling him through said curse. Since he had been exposed to the potion and Lucius' way of thinking, the young wizard had no chance of fending off the spell. Ever the prepared wizard, Lucius taught Bellatrix how to perform the spell, in case he was ever detained or incapacitated. Such measures proved insightful when Lucius was apprehended at the Ministry after attempting to obtain the Prophesy for Voldemort.
The one flaw in his plan was that he neglected to have a back up plan to keep Narcissa in line should he be absent long. With Lucius in Azkaban, she began to think clearly again. Her "weak" side took over, and manifested in a mother's love for her child. Upon learning of Voldemort's mission for Draco, she went to Snape to implore him to help sway her son from his planned course of action. Ultimately, she had him make an Unbreakable Vow to carry out the mission if Draco could not be stopped. Narcissa was not a dumb woman. As time went on and she continued to have new thoughts, it occurred to her that she had possibly been under some type of spell. She voiced these concerns to Severus.
If Narcissa was intelligent, Snape was brilliant. Nearly a year before Narcissa came to see him, the Potions Master had suspected that Draco was being influenced by a will that was not his own. He and Draco had long shared a special bond. The Malfoy heir had always been unnaturally devoted to his father's ideals and principles. Snape had never heard the young wizard speak ill of his father, a particular trait in a young man with a father as domineering as Lucius. However, Severus assumed that was just how Draco was wired, for the young man would always listen to reason where Snape was concerned. After the dark lord returned, that devotion to Lucius changed. It was all consuming; there were times Draco seemed more a robot than person. At first, Severus chalked it up to the increased pressure Draco was under with Voldemort resurfacing. Surely, Lucius would be grooming his son more vigorously than ever. Something changed, though when Lucius went to prison. Someone was definitely pulling Draco's strings, and that person was not too tightly wound. Knowing Lucius as well as he did, Snape was aware of the wizard's penchant for controlling people by any means necessary. He would have never thought, though that Malfoy would go so far as to use such methods on his own son. Apparently, he was wrong in his thoughts. By the time Draco's sixth year began, he was certain the younger Malfoy was under another's control. Years before, Snape had worked on a potion to combat the Imperious Curse. He dug out his old research, added some new information, and created a potion to help Draco. Snape used a house elf to douse young Malfoy's meals with it. Unfortunately, as the potion took effect, Draco's conscience kicked in, and Draco stopped eating because of the stress. Severus then had the elf put the potion in his student's drinks. It took far more vigilance, but the stakes were too high at this point. While the potion helped, it did not completely stop the outside influence, and thus Draco continued on his mission.
Dumbledore was aware of all that was going on with Draco from the time Snape first noticed a change in the young wizard's behavior. Dumbledore was certain that Malfoy could be saved. Once Draco's mission was brought to light, Dumbledore enlisted Snape's help to save the way warred heir. If worst came to worst, Snape was to fulfill the vow, and kill his greatest ally. The task weighed heavy on Snape's conscience, but he knew Dumbledore knew better than anyone, himself included. So, when the greatest wizard who ever lived was unable to sway Draco before the other Death Eaters arrived, Snape made good on his promises to Narcissa and Dumbledore.
Once the deed was done, Snape knew he had to get Draco and himself out of there. He was sure that Dumbledore would have made plans to exonerate them both, but such evidence would come later. At that point in time he was certain that the Order members would fire first, ask questions later, not that he would blame them. While he would have to go back to Voldemort at some point, Severus needed to first ensure Draco's safety. They went to a cave in the hills of San Sebastian, Spain, just across the French boarder. He needed to get Draco as far away from Britain as possible. While Apparation was dangerous, they could be traced by the magic, he felt that enough residual magic would be in the air from the battle raging at Hogwarts that they might just get away undetected. On the off chance they were followed, he Apparated them both to France first. The pair then made their way to Spain. Severus picked the area because the San Sebastian School for Advanced Magical Learning was located there. With all the magic concentrated in the area because of the school, there was little chance they would be detected by Muggles or magical beings.
The cave had been prepared over Christmas break. Snape's first concern was to control Draco's behavior. He chose a location far from Britain not only for concealment purposes, but to lessen the effects of whatever spell he was under as well. By now, Severus had surmised that Draco was being controlled via some version of the Imperious Curse, and that Bellatrix was the one casting it on Lucius' orders. Since the curse had been modified, there was no way of telling how far the range was, or its specific properties. Obviously, the castor need not be close for it to work, since Draco was in Hogwarts, the most protected place in the wizarding world, and Lucius and Bellatrix had been quite far away. To ensure Draco was at least neutralized, Snape cast long-lasting counter spells to lessen the effects and had the younger wizard take the potion created to combat the spell as well. Additionally, when the elder wizard was not at the cave or sleeping, Draco was kept in an impenetrable bubble of sorts. It was an invisible barrier that would not allow magic, except that done by Severus, in or out. Additionally, Draco could not go further than the perimeter set up by Snape. These boundaries changed depending on its purpose. When Snape was gone, Draco had the entire cave at his disposal. Food, water, and activities were always available to keep Malfoy as comfortable as possible. The final safeguard he implemented was to place a charm on Draco that would elude any attempts to track his whereabouts. This charm made it appear to anyone monitoring him as if he was constantly moving from place to place. As much as he hated taking these precautions, Snape knew they were necessary.
Snape returned to Voldemort and the Death Eaters a week later. He explained that Draco was about to accept Dumbledore's offer of amnesty, and he took it upon himself to murder the Headmaster. When Draco fled he went after him to make the boy pay for betraying the dark lord. According to Snape, Draco had learned the skill of allusion very well from his father. The elder wizard chased his prey for nearly a week before losing the trail. Severus then returned to his master to aid in the efforts, hopeful that Bellatrix or Narcissa would have some means by which to track the errant boy. Years of deceiving Voldemort paid off, for aside from the normal amount of suspicion always prevalent, Snape's story was accepted. Evidently Bellatrix chose to keep her own secrets, for Voldemort was not aware of the Unbreakable Vow he and Narcissa made. Snape was tortured, of course. He had disobeyed Voldemort's orders by killing Dumbledore, so he had to be punished.
Once everything was back to business as usual, Severus went about assessing Narcissa. He quickly deciphered that she was once again under Lucius' control. The imprisoned Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban days after the attack on Hogwarts. The dark lord's forces were again intact and gaining followers daily. Severus knew he needed to risk contacting the Order to assist them once more. Voldemort had learned that Order members were rumored to be using the Shrieking Shack as a rendezvous point. Severus volunteered to go on a reconnaissance mission to check the validity of the claim. While there, he came across Remus Lupin. Both wizards stood, wands at the ready assessing each other. Years of bad blood were between them, and it took all Snape's control not to allow those feelings to ruin the small chance Lupin would hear him out. To his surprise, Remus explained that the Order knew Snape was still loyal to them. Once Dumbledore appeared in his portrait, he disclosed that his death was the result of his own orders. He had further explained that Snape was to be trusted, and that once Voldemort was defeated all evidence clearing both him and Draco Malfoy would be presented. Dumbledore also asked that Draco stay in hiding until that time. While members were still wary, the bottom line was that Dumbledore vouched for Severus, and the Order was asking him to assist them. After a few wry comments, Snape agreed to spy on the dark lord, and divulged the information he had so far.
Because of Snape's help, the scales were tipped in favor of the Order. He gave Voldemort false information, cleverly passing it via other Death Eaters to keep suspicion from his name. While the dark lord's forces were busy chasing false leads, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were able to look for the Horcruxes virtually unimpeded. The other Order members divided themselves between planting false leads, recruiting help, and looking for additional means to defeat their opponent. Through their efforts, the Final Battle took place a year after Dumbledore's death. It was a massive battle that ended with Harry defeating Voldemort once and for all.
As promised, Dumbledore had left behind indisputable evidence clearing both Snape and Draco. Genius that he was, the former Headmaster left the memories of his final eighteen months in his pensieve. The Wizengamot carefully listened and observed all of the evidence, and quickly found Severus Snape and Draco Malfoy innocent of all charges, including, but not limited to the death of Albus Dumbledore. When Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange died during the Final Battle, the hold they had on Draco ended. It was as if a fog had been lifted from him. He knew who he was, yet he did not know himself. Draco could recount all of the actions of his life, yet they were not quite his own. Despite not being in control of his person and actions for his life so far, a heavy chain of guilt hung around him. He paid a heavy price for his family's association with Voldemort.
The young wizard was left in his cave sanctuary until Snape could get to him weeks later. During that time Draco began to explore himself for the first time. The cave had enchantments much like the Room of Requirement. Since he had spent so much time in the one in Hogwarts, he was quite familiar with the way it operated. He only needed to concentrate on what he required for it to appear. In no time books, maps, and all other forms of information were at his disposal. An education like he'd never received was at the inquisitive wizard's fingertips. By the time Severus returned for him, Draco had begun to grasp who he was.
So here he was, strolling through Hogsmeade fully enjoying the winter day. He marveled at the beauty that was life. Over the past few months he found greatness at every turn. Life had meaning and wonder. As the cold air sunk in to his bones, and snow fell heavily upon him, Draco made his way into the Three Broomsticks for a warm drink. He had become accustomed to the varied stares he received from onlookers. Despite being exonerated, many witches and wizards were at time weary of him. Overall his reception as warm; most understood the hardships he'd endured at the hands of his father and aunt. Even those who did not fully buy into the idea that he was completely innocent accepted that his crimes were not wholly his own.
He was standing at the bar when it happened. As he waited for his order he had the feeling that someone was watching him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, and a warm tingle radiated through him. Slowly, he turned to find the source of the feeling. Turning to his right, his eyes came in contact with a pair of dark brown sparkling eyes. His heart began to race harder and his breathe hitched as he took in the face staring at him. Staring back at him with a sweet inviting smile was none other than Ginny Weasley. She did not look away. Undoubtedly, this was the most beautiful witch he had ever seen. He was completely speechless, a phenomenon never before experienced. Returning the smile, he made his way towards her. He was certain that this was what those many books he'd read called "love at first sight".
"Um, hello," he said, a bit shaky at being so close.
"Hello," she sweetly answered. "Nice to see you again."
"Yeah, listen, I want to apologize…" he began to fumble for the words to express remorse for years of hatred.
"There's no need," the angel explained. "I recorded your trail into the record. I know what you went through."
"Yeah, well, um," Draco was still fumbling for words. He felt inadequate in her presence. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a drink."
"I would love to, Draco." His name sounded heavenly on her lips. "Sit, I have all the time in the world for an innocent man."
"You mean an innocent man in love." He blurted out, blushing deeply at the admission.