Disclaimer: I don't own anything. And everything else. Chapters are going to be slow, but they are going to come up. One of my friends, you know who you are, will harass me until I finish it, so don't worry.

Riptide - Chapter 1

One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. One. Tw-

"Draco, whatever are you doing to those quills?" I glanced at my mother and the quills fell to the ground. I considered levitating them again, but then I remembered my mother asked a question.

"I was making them waltz." An emotion flashed across her face, but she quickly buried it; an ability perfected by all Malfoys.

"Do make sure that your father doesn't see that type of behavior. I only came to tell you that we will be having company tonight, so I advise you to stay in your room." Ahh, that meant that it was another meeting tonight and she didn't want me to be around.

"Of course mother," I replied and turned back to the quills on the ground. She only paused for a minute before she silently closed the door. I could just faintly hear her heels down the hallway. I was considering levitating the quills again and continuing with their interrupted dance, but my mother's conversation had jump started my once quiet mind.

This was already the third meeting this month. Luckily he didn't think to grace his followers with his presence yet, though my lovely aunt might soon be a house guest if the snatches of conversation I heard were true. The fact that my mother came up here on her own and didn't just send a house elf, suggested that she was keeping this conversation from father and didn't want him to find out.

It's so odd to see mother rebelling against father in such a subtle way. Usually, if mother was displeased about something she would directly tell it to father and would almost always get a product that would satisfy her. Though, a lot of things have changed of late.

My father has been trying very hard to get back on his lord's good side. Apparently father bit someone without his master's permission and has been making up for it ever since. I wonder when mother's warnings for me to stay in my room won't be enough, when I'll be forced to become a death eater and join his horde. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't agree with his ideas, but I prefer my lords to be mentally stable and to not randomly torture their followers.

I left my chair and got a book from my wall, Faedil's Guide to Dark Magic, and opened to a random spell. I let my mind empty as I started learn the spell words for 'Disdendo'.

It must have been hours since I started learning the spell, though it only seemed like minutes to me. My hand paused in its movements at the small 'pop' of a house elf. I finished the arm movement until my wand was leveled at the elf. For the elf's credit, it didn't even flinch. I sighed and found my mask.

"Well, what do you want?" I asked, making sure to put a sneer in my voice.

"Master's father wishes to see him in his study," the house elf said, well use to the Malfoy way. I wonder if the house elves gossiped between each other about the numerous problems of each household. I suppose they wouldn't though, they have to much honor. Dobby hated us and still gave up none of our secrets, even to Dumbledore.

"Very well. When I return, I want dinner inside of my room." The house bowed before it apparated away. I sighed and sat back in my seat. When was the last time that I didn't dread having to appear before my father? It must have been around my first year, perhaps before that. I sighed again before I found my reflection. I straightened out my clothes and ran a hand through my hair. I took one last glance, making sure that my mask was in place before I walked out the door and down the hall to father's study.

When I approached the door, I raised my hand, ready to knock before it caught my eye. It was slightly shaking, in what emotion I don't know. I frowned slightly as I focused my mind on my hand until it stopped shaking. Once I was sure that I was no longer shaking, I gave three quick knocks and waited.

"Come in." It was said in cold, clipped tones and I made sure that I took one last deep breath before I opened the door and walked in.

Father's study was classy and elegant, like the rest of the house. Despite the room having a no nonsense attitude, it also had a type of homeyness that was only amplified by the large fireplace. I would often spend many hours in here with my father. It would be silent as father was doing his work and I was always worried that he would tell me to leave. Despite that, he never said a word and made sure that one of our softest fur rugs was always laid out by the fire so I could read in comfort. Regardless of the constant silence, I enjoyed just being in the presence of my father. He would sometimes even come over and take a small break in one of the chairs and ask me quiet questions. Those were some of the happiest times of my life. My eyes quickly darted to the side, and I felt a slight pang in seeing that area in front of the fireplace was bare. I pushed it aside though and met my father's eyes.

"I missed you at dinner tonight. There were some people that I wanted you to meat." His voice was even and steady, though his eyes held a different emotion. He most likely wanted to circumvent mother's interventions, and hoped that I would help him.

"I'm sorry," I said with a slight bow of my head, "I was going through an old spell book and I lost track of time. It was only when the house elf came to summon me that I realized I had missed dinner." I made sure my voice stayed even and that my eyes didn't waiver. His eyes slightly narrowed at the new information, an obvious half-truth we both knew, before they went back to normal.

"Do make sure to keep a better track of time Draco, especially when we have company over."

"Of course father." I waited until his eyes turned back to his work before I finally turned and left. I shut the doors, walked all the way to my room, and firmly shut the doors to my room before I let my breath out. I walked to the table next to the window and whispered a small, 'thank you,' to the house elves. It was the entire four-course dinner from a few hours ago laid out on the small table in front of my window seat. I brought over a few trays and settled myself next to the window.

I lightly nibbled on the quail as I searched out the constellations in the sky. Unfortunately, the elm blocked my view of Draco, but I could still pick out a few of the major ones. My attention was quickly lost, and I ended up staring out into the garden while I tried to make my mind blank. It was working fairly well, for at least an hour, until my mother came out into the gardens. There was just enough light to glisten off the tear tracks of her face.

My appetite quickly left and my eyes tracked her until she turned the corner and out of sight. Her shoulders weren't shaking and she was silent, the only evidence that she was crying was the water on her face. A Malfoy never breaks down, alone or not. You must always wear your mask until you forget how to take it off, no matter the situation. That was the first rule of being a Malfoy, and none of our family disregarded it.

I moved off of my seat and placed the barely touched dishes back onto the table and quickly put on my pajamas. The house elves would get the plates eventually. I got between the covers and I stared at the canopy of my bed. It was hard to distinguish between my thoughts and dreams, but they were filled with cold eyes and tears that turned into an ocean. A boy with blond hair was drowning far from shore. No one came to save him.