I think you're all tired to hear me saying I'm busy with college lol so yeah, I'll skip that part hehehehhe
Anyway :P
JK owns them, I just own my plushie wolfie and plushie doggie named (Oh!! You can't guess!!) Moony and Padfoot!! -laughs- Oh yeah, I own the MWPP tattoo on my arm too :D lolol
On with the chappie.
--
Oh there it was: a Friday! Probably the day Harry like the most, save Hermione's constant reminder that they should use their weekend for studying. But this particular Friday, said bushy-haired witch was not going on and on about O.W.L.S, in fact, she was nowhere to be seen.
"Ron?" Harry asked as he let go of the snitch only to catch it again, he had gain the habit of doing that on the Quidditch Pitch before every practice because of what he had seen in Snape's memory during one Occlumency lesson.
They were both on their backs, sprawled on the grass, looking at nowhere and waiting for the rest of the team to get there.
The red-head just hummed.
"Have you seen Hermione at all today?" he asked resting his head on his hand as he lifted himself up just a bit using his elbows. He could now see Ron's face and was able to tell that, for some reason, he looked… freaked out.
"S-sort of." He murmured, turning his gaze away.
Harry frowned, "What? Did something happen?" he asked, Ron was always doing stupid things and getting their bushy-haired friend mad at him.
"Ahm… yeah, something, sort of…" He answered in the same way he had done before.
"What was it?" the Boy-Who-Lived pressed, arching an eyebrow, his friend was acting odd.
The freckled boy sat up slowly and faced him properly; Harry mimicked him a second later.
"I've got something to tell you mate." He said, wearing a serious face all of a sudden.
"… Alright?"
"She's, ya' know… thinking," he tried, "I mean, not thinking thinking, because she already answered, I mean... just… thinking" he said completely incoherently.
"Huh?!" Harry was looking at him with a frown and his head tilted to the side. "Ron… was that supposed to make any sense at all?" he asked, realizing his friend's explanation had been nearly as confusing as one back in fourth year, something about dragons and Hagrid…
The red head just murmured something.
"What?"
"… I asked her out." He finally said in an audible volume.
At once the Boy-Who-Lived jumped from where he was seated.
"You what?!" he asked eyes-wide, barely processing the information.
The red-head just mumbled something and ripped some grass from the ground.
"It was about time, Ron!" he said animatedly "I can't believe you finally got the courage to tell her. She said yes?" He asked to make sure.
Their Quidditch team arrived just then, saving Ron from having to answer anything else, he was beside himself already.
See, Ron had wanted to ask Hermione out since...ever. Well, ok, since last year's Yule ball, after the whole Viktor Krum thing that got him as jealous as Harry had ever seen him. Of course, the boy didn't know back then exactly what he was feeling and Harry didn't really help him since he hadn't noticed a thing either. In fact, Harry only became more aware of this sort of thing because of his own feelings towards the Ravenclaw seeker Cho Chang, but that... didn't really work out. After all it was hard enough for him to forget Cedric and the whole scene in the grave yard without someone crying over it all the time.
He was very glad for Ron though, Hermione wasn't like normal girls. First of all, she was their friend and second, well, she didn't go around crying, now did she? Still he couldn't say it wasn't weird, this whole Hermione-and-Ron-would-probably-start-dating-now thing. Ron and he had talked about this sort of thing before, barely but enough. No girl would ever come in between them, no matter what. After all, they've seen friends being put aside all over the place because of girlfriends and such, it wouldn't happen to them; they promised.
For an unknown reason, not so much unknown to Harry, Ron played exceptionally well that day, so much that they even celebrated at the common room later, they were sure they'd win the next match against Hufflepuff.
--
Promised and done. Later that evening, right before dinner started Lucius Malfoy came personally to Hogwarts to collect his son claiming one thing or another. He needn't make much effort really; Umbridge wouldn't put up a fight.
Draco couldn't help but boast to his Slytherin mates, though his father asked him not to. Of course he didn't say what was going to happen; he just said he had been requested for something of great importance.
Very few words were exchanged between Draco and his father, Lucius was usually quiet and the boy mimicked that poise as well. He was a beautiful younger mirror of his father, only distinguished by the eyes. Draco had a flame in them that the older man had not; it was the innocence of someone who had yet to experience a great loss, or to bear a great pain.
They floo'ed to the manor at once and barely did they get there, the eldest Malfoy told his son to stay in his room and wait for him there.
Draco could barely contain his anxiety; he couldn't wait to see what would happen. He had spent the remaining of his night thinking what he'd have to do before getting the greatest honour that was the Dark Mark.
He wanted more than anything to prove himself; he hoped he'd be asked to perform the hardest and most complex spells just so he could show them all how good he really was. How he was even better than some current Death Eater, yeah, he could probably reach the Dark Lord's side before his own father, and then Lucius would have to say something! He'd have to acknowledge his son's greatness.
With the image of his father's proud face on his mind, he waited.
It seemed like forever had passed by before the rich mahogany door of his room opened up silently. His father's tall figure entered the room and without a word the man took his seat on one of the chairs.
Draco waited, licking his lips unconsciously, but he couldn't hold his silence for long, and he just had to break through it.
"Are they here yet?" he asked, sitting at the edge of his bed.
"No, and they will not be coming here." Lucius answered in his strong, cold voice.
The boy frowned but didn't ask anything, his father had come up exactly to tell him how things would go from now on.
"We will be going tomorrow to the Dark Lord's quarters, but that's another matter all together, first you have to worry about what is going to take place here today."
"... And what is that?"
"We have discussed this many times in the past, but now that the time has actually come, I hope you understand all that is expected of you." He paused and shifted his legs, the snake-shaped silver cane glistening dangerously in his hands. "To become one of the Dark Lord's followers, Draco, is not child's play. It will not be something for you to boast about with your friends." he said with calculating eyes, as though he knew his son had acted exactly that way.
"You will have to make sacrifices, choices, and bear more situations than your mind can imagine. I am not sure if you really comprehend..." he trailed off, arching a thin eyebrow, it was a challenge.
Draco smiled, much in the same way Lucius used to do, as if he knew hidden secrets and had cards up his sleeve. As if, for him, nothing could go wrong.
"I understand very well father, I will prove it to you. Whatever it is that I have to do, I have the power to do it." he said firmly. He was sure nothing had passed by unnoticed, he knew all the spells he needed, he had read all the books in his father's library; he was ready.
He could swear he heard his father chuckling as he stood up, "Very well then, Shall we get going?" the man asked.
Draco followed dutifully after his father without second thought. They headed to the dungeons of the manor where Draco guessed his father had prepared everything.
Before entering the room, Lucius stopped and looked at his son "I expect the best from you."
The boy nodded and entered, he hadn't even noticed but he was gripping his wand already. He didn't know what was gonna happen there, but wouldn't put it past father to bring in something really dangerous for him to fight; he had to be prepared for anything...
The dungeons were a really awful part of the manor, and Draco avoided it most of the time. For some reason, right now it seems even darker than usual. He watched the water dripping from the rock walls and drew in a large breath, what now?
It looked the same as always, and the boy reckoned he might have been building up fear for nothing, maybe he was expecting too much. Maybe all he really needed to do was give his demonstration.
He had barely gotten into the room when he heard the door being closed and the voice he knew all too well whisper "Crucio."
He was on the floor before he could even process the word, a ghastly scream escaped him as he moved around the floor, trashing about, trying to rid himself of the pain.
He felt as though sharp teeth were biting him and ripping away entire pieces of his flesh, his open wounds being soaked with acid the next second.
He wanted to demand release, to say anything, but he was just screaming and screaming as though he had no control over himself.
Then it all stopped.
He heard footsteps approaching him and looked up weakly at his attacker, the man with platinum hair much like his own.
Lucius towered over him looking unaffected; Draco could see his wand was free from the cane it was usually hidden in.
"The Dark Lord could care less about the spells you can perform, or the potions you can brew, excelling at it all is merely your obligation, it's the least you can do." He said, much like he always used to do, "What matters, my son, is how much you can take." his words came out like sharp blades, as he stared at Draco with a strange look of superiority. The boy decided he certainly did not like seeing his father from the perspective of a house elf.
"This is where you make your choice," the man said, his wand waving softly in the air while he spoke, he held it with the casualty of a child holding a toy. "You can leave now unharmed, I will not stop you, but you can forget you were ever a Malfoy." He offered coldly "Or you can prove yourself worthy of your name and accept this show of loyalty to our lord and take it."
Draco found it really hard to breath and even harder to think, this whole situation seemed completely surreal.
"That little curse was just a... teaser, it will not become any easier, I can assure you. Make your choice, should I continue... or not?"
The young man just kept staring at his father, unable to grasp the situation completely. His father, the man he admired completely, he had just... cast an Unforgivable at him, as if he was a Muggle! As if he was a Mudblood! What in the name of Merlin was this? He couldn't believe it!
You treat with courtesy those of your same status, and like servants those beneath you. That was what he had learned from his father and right now that logic made him feel insulted.
And the man was daring him; he was staring down at him as though just waiting to see him fail, as though he hadn't expected Draco to pass this little test at all, as if the boy was not good enough.
He'd show him, he'd show Lucius, the Dark Lord, or whoever else, he was bloody good enough and he would not walk away. Giving up his name, his money, his power, the hell he'd do that! And because that meant he'd be giving up his pride, it was unthinkable.
It wasn't the first time he wanted to jump at his father's superior face and rip it to pieces. It wasn't the first time he'd wish the man would just encourage him, assure him he was strong enough to do anything. But Draco knew that even after all of this was over, Lucius Malfoy would just turn away and leave him there: "You've done no more than what I asked of you" he'd say with his unaffected voice.
Rage built up inside the young wizard and he stood up to show that the curse had not affected him or his decisions.
"What are you waiting for?" he asked daringly, not realizing how much he had matured in that little minute he had to reflect or how much he sounded like the man in front of him. "I already said I can take it" he said in a cold voice, throwing his wand to the side.
Lucius didn't wait another second.
--
They were seated at their table chatting quietly; Hermione was trying to act normal, but the knowledge that Harry already knew about her date with Ron made her uneasy. The Weasley, on the other hand, was being himself again, after the whole practice the day before his mind seemed to clear a bit. Sure, he was nervous about going to Hogsmeade, but he wasn't about to let it show...again.
"So ahm... did you already put the date on the galleons 'Mione?" Harry asked. He wasn't comfortable with the sudden silence that kept coming up between them.
The bushy-haired witch looked at him like he'd grown a second head.
"...What... why would I put...Ohh, yes, I did!" she answered, finally understanding what her friend was talking about. Having just one thing in her mind ever since Ron had asked her out, she hadn't even understood the meaning of date when Harry had said it. The boy had been, of course, talking about DA meetings. "I put it for today. It was the best date for everyone, since tomorrow is Sunday." She said matter-of-factly, not adding the last bit of how all members would probably be coming straight from their own Valentine's date and being so they could all make it on time. She wasn't really sure how sensitive he was from the whole Cho Chang thing.
"I was thinking of something really useful we could try to learn this meeting: Obliviating." Ron said grinning as the idea came to his head. "I mean we could hex Malfoy for what he did at potions and get away with it."
Harry laughed with him and shook his head, he had to admit, it was tempting.
"I wonder where he is..." Hermione said thoughtfully, choosing not even to comment on her –now-boyfriend's-idea. She had just noticed that the Slytherin Prince was absent for his seat.
Ron shrugged "probably still owling his dad about the unfairness of it all" he guessed, in a dramatic tone.
The Boy-Who-Lived laughed softly, being able to even imagine the scene. "Nah, he's probably up to something, or maybe he drowned under his admirer's cards before he even got out of bed." he reckoned grinning back to Ron.
"Fat chance."
Breakfast went by in that light mood, Harry noticing how his best friend was changed, acting so much cooler and all, or at least not turning into a mess of nervousness, maybe the twins had slipped him something?
Owls came and went, bringing with them pink and red cards to those who had admirers, and sadness to those that had not.
Harry got a few cards himself, all of which he read just for the sake of each girl who had spent time writing it. But for him, girls were just off his limits right now, what with their complicated minds and weird feelings that he -and hey, he wasn't the only one!- didn't understand. It was best if he sorted out his own life before trying to get into something again.
He also got a letter from his parents, saying they would be going out today -which was, if you asked Harry, too much information- and Sirius told him to him to go around speaking random passwords to random portraits for he could find himself in a clandestine Valentine's party, and these were known to be good. The boy just laughed at this, he could just imagine his father chatting up all girls in the school during said parties, assuming there really were such things, err... and he wasn't dating his dad yet.
Awkwardly, after breakfast, the Golden Trio, for what seemed like the first time, split up into two groups as they went to Hogsmeade. Harry watched from afar as Ron, very nervously -there was the Ron he knew - took a hold of a suddenly-shy-Hermione's hand. The Boy-Who-Lived shook his head, not even sure how to rate that scene in his 'odd-scale'.
--
Unlike Potter's suggesting that he'd drown in cards that day, the only red thing Draco saw when he regained consciousness was the blood all over his shirt. His blood, as a matter of fact.
His head pulsed continuously making him cringe, he could only be glad there was little light in that place, he felt as though waking up from a hangover and the last thing he'd need would be for his eyes to sting.
He breathed heavily and tried to, at least, sit up. He wasn't thinking yet, not about what had happened, not about what he would do now, he kept focusing only in his physical state: he had to get up, clean himself up, eat something then pass out on his bed, where he planned to hibernate for, at least, the remaining of the term.
His limbs were pretty much ignoring his command, which was pretty infuriating, how dare his body disobey him? He groaned and coughed a bit, regretting doing so immediately since said action only made his throat angry and nausea took a hold of him.
"...worst...n..hang..over" he muttered.
After much fight he managed to sit up, in doing so he allowed himself to remember everything, to ask himself what he was feeling right now...
And the answer was... he didn't know how he felt... he had no idea. Some would agree that being tortured by his own father would leave a person disoriented.
He couldn't believe it... even now it seemed unreal that his father, his own father had cursed him like that. Draco wouldn't have guessed if his life had depended on it that his father was going to do that to him. He had expected everything and anything, he even thought there might be werewolves or banshees... but Lucius had been right when he said Draco still had much to learn.
To be a Death Eater one needn't be the greatest spell caster, or the best potions' master, or anything of the sort... one needed to bear pain. That was the first rule. Oh, how the blond boy had learned it, he had learned it really well.
Before another thought could reach his mind the creaking sound of the dungeon's door being opened reached his ears.
"Get up, make yourself presentable, we leave in an hour." A voice said in a professional way.
He barely saw the cloak of his father as the door slammed back closed. The man must have casted a spell to be warned when Draco regained consciousness.
"...leave...?" the boy's croaked voice asked to no one. He could barely move and he was expected to go somewhere? If anything, sleeping on that hard floor had increased his pain, he should at least get a decent night's sleep before anything!
Oh. Right. The Dark Lord.
He put everything on hold, his thoughts, his pain, his fear and shook his head, gathering unknown strength to lift himself up. It was the most important day of his life, and it would be a really long one...
--
A.N:
There it is :D
Yeah, I'm aware I'm evil, but all of you who have already read The Guardian already knew that hun? :P Anyway, Draco is starting to become who he will be for real and I hope his changes and everything are convincing LOL.
Answer to Reviews:
Miss-Janine: Yeah, I think Harry is a bit more mature on book five (though the occasional blow up heheh) See, Snape can be a mean man when with a headache :D even poor drakey-boy wasn't safe from his wrath XD Yep, he's gonna and the poor thing had no idea what was coming to him
Moony73: Thank you! It was sort of complicated to write this past chapter, I have to say, cause Draco is sort of a whole new concept. Oh, Draco is the climax of my happiness -laughs- I love writing him and writing the changes he goes through, I think I sort of see him as a real person -laughs- I hope he turns out ok :) Hahaha I could just picture the classroom-turned-swamp hehehe poor snape :D Thanks! I love reading your reviews :)
Nenifer121: hahah welcome to the sequel then :D Thank you :) Err.. yeah, unfortunately Remmie and Siri will be on hold for the beggining of the story -sighs- but they show up a lot later :D Thank yo uvery much!!
DeathEaters: Ohh thank you very much! I'm happy you liked it! I love Draco/Harry too :D Ohh -sad- I would really really love to take you up on that offer -cries- I love that stuff!! but at this moment of my (college) life I barely have time to eat -cries- but as soon as I became a normal person again -laughs- I can help you with that if you still want :D Thanks!
LittleHero: Ohhhhh I knoww!! Omg I so know what you mean -.- I hate those little "help me daddy is evil and I'm a good boy who doesn't wanna be a death eater and just suddenly loves muggles and yeye -skips about-" stories -calms down- -laughs- hehehhe :P I'm glad I'm not giving that impression because I haaate that (not because the plot idea is bad, but because it's a hard plot to do, not many people can keep Draco from turning OOC and so it becames annoying, but I've read good fics with that plot before) lolol ok, I'm evil at the moment, please ignore me :P Thanks for reading -hugs-