Draco went to the one place at Hogwarts he knew he could be alone: the owlery. Blair was waiting for him, nestled in one of the owl-sized sections cut into the stone wall. Her sharp eagle-like eyes widened as he approached. Her warm brown feathers set her apart from the other owls. They were all white with yellow beady eyes thanks to Potter's martyr owl. It was a new craze as well as sporting the same ridiculous glasses as the boy who lived. Draco would rather go blind.

Blair cooed affectionately.

"Hey, girl," Draco said softly. He made his lips pull upwards into a smile. It was getting dark now the sun was setting, dinner was probably being served up at the castle. Everything in the Great Hall tasted like ashes in, Draco's opinion, since the war. "How was your day?"

The owl squawked in response, moving over and revealing a dead mouse sitting on top of a letter. Draco recognised the Malfoy wax seal, a big 'M' imprinted on the middle like the ministries' seal.

"Remember what I said last time I was here? 'I don't eat mice.'"

He had to read the letter but he didn't want to. It could be something bad, so many things could be happening at Malfoy Manor when he was sleeping or wasting his time arguing with Greengrass. He couldn't deal with any family matters at Hogwarts and that annoyed him the most. He was practically powerless locked away in the castle.

Draco curled his hand and stroked her chest, the feathers were as soft as a pillow.

He maneuvered the letter from under the mouse ignoring the yellow mouse-shaped stain. To his surprise, there was another small pink envelope under that. He looked at the distraction closer, there was an illustration of a Hippogriff on the side and in the centre, in small loopy writing, it read 'Dear Draco.'

"Blair," Draco turned his attention from what seemed to be fan mail from a nine year old to the innocent wide brown eyes of his owl. "What did I tell you about bringing me joke letters? Leave them in the woods or use them for your shit-" he pinched the letter ready to rip it to pieces.

Blair squawked again this time sending a warning nip his owner's way.

"Fine!" Draco tore open the envelope and pulled free a matching pink sheet of parchment. He got a strong whiff of perfume. It reeked like an expensive flower explosion, Draco imagined. "If you want something to laugh at."

'Dear Draco,

I am writing to you to inform you, I have been chosen to be your Transfiguration tutor. Apparently, you are struggling with every aspect of the course. Usually, the problems lie with the wand movement-'

"What in Merlin's name?" Draco winced. "You knew not to accept letters from Parkinson but Greengrass-"

The owl clawed at the stone wall in response.

Draco's animated expression dropped. "She fed you, you great pigeon, didn't she?"

Blair was suddenly very preoccupied with the dead mouse. Draco scanned to the end of the letter.

Yours,

Astoria.

(You can call me that you know).

Draco cringed, whatever happened to 'yours sincerely', 'regard' or simply 'from.' He pocketed the letter it joined the sweet wrappers in his pocket, stuff like that would give him a cavity.

He couldn't remember Daphne Greengrass attention seeking. All he could remember of Daphne was that she talked through her nose and they had been paired up for potions once. She cut the ingredients wrong and ruined the potion. She also threw a nasty hex in DADA at Potter in third year when he told her she was in his way. That didn't sit well with the werewolf.

He tried to remember Astoria but he couldn't. It was like she had materialised on the Hogwarts Express. He frowned. Maybe it was all in his head, he was hitting the wall like Mother only not confusing him and his father or going on shopping sprees. That thought gave him some comfort as he opened the next dreaded letter.

Draco.

Father.

That blasted old man Weasley tripped me in the ministry…

Draco was reading the letter but he couldn't take anything in. His mind was doing it again, playing a memory over and over.

He was in fifth year on his Easter mid-term with a shining inquisitional squad badge on his chest. He remembered wearing it all through the break. Mother thought it was marvellous, she flattened his hair and kept saying how much he looked like his father and how 'proud' Father was of him… he just wasn't the affectionate type.

The Malfoys were having dinner with his Aunt Bellatrix. She was an all-around horrible woman, Draco secretly thought. He had to sit across from her at the table and watch her make inhuman slurping sounds as she sucked on a fish bone. Mother and Father wouldn't say anything. Her hands were black with dirt, her nails were rotten and her hair was so greasy it looked like she had just been out in the rain.

"Supporting the dark lord are we, Draco?" Bellatrix smirked, gesturing to his badge. She cut across Father and his point about Gringotts' rising prices. Father scraped his knife and fork against his plate. The house elf, standing with a tray next to the door, shuddered. "Problem, Lucius?"

"No, Bellatrix." He replied. "Continue."

Draco didn't know if it was just his mind adding to the drama but the classical music playing in the corner seemed to speed up and become louder.

"About time Draco showed his true loyalty no matter how small." She chuckled, nodding at his badge.

Draco flushed. His mother got there first.

"Bella, Draco is part of the inquisitorial squad."

"We're above the prefects," Draco added.

Bellatrix pressed her fork to her lips. "It's not the dark mark. I've been in deep discussion with the Dark Lord as Luci knows Cissy." She raised her eyebrows challenging Lucius at the head of the table. "He thinks Draco will be ready soon." There was more than a glint of maliciousness in her eyes.

"How soon?" Draco pressed, his pulse speeding up with excitement.

"Draco!" Narcissa snapped. She dropped her cutlery, it fell with a loud bang onto her plate.

"Mother, I'm ready." Draco protested.

Bellatrix hands clapped together. "Soon, Draco. I could arrange a meeting between you and the Dark Lord, one on one-"

"Bella, stop!" Narcissa stood up abruptly. "I will not allow you to speak to my child like that."

Draco slammed his hand down on the table. "I'm not a child! How many times to do-"

"DRACO!" his father roared. "Do not speak to your Mother like that!"

Draco shifted uncomfortably. His blood was boiling for a different reason now. He couldn't decide who to get angry at for upsetting Father, his mother or his aunt. Things were going so well, he was this close to being invited on one of his outings, he could feel it but now…

"Narcissa, sit." His father reached for her hand. She pulled it out of his reach behind her back.

"Excuse me," Narcissa said quietly. "I must touch up my powder."

Draco jabbed angrily at what was left of his food.

"Respect and ambition don't work together." Bellatrix smiled at him.

"Go to your room, Draco, stay there." His father hissed at him.

"Father-"

"Now. Do not test my patience, boy."

Draco knew better than to argue. He stood up and walked slowly from the room catching the start of Bellatrix's next sentence as the door slammed shut behind him.

"Soon."

Your father and mother.

Draco wished it was a 'love' instead of a 'your' and he immediately felt childish. With only the owls watching him he crumpled the letter and threw it out one of the windows of the owlery. A chilly breeze blew in through the window, Draco wrapped his cloak tighter around him. The sky had turned purple. He said goodbye to Blair and started walking again until he reached the Black Lake. He sat on the rocky shore and listened to the soothing sound of the waves hitting the shore until his hands were shaking so bad with the cold he was sure his fingers were blue.