10th July 1988

"Late, Draco," said Lucius curtly over the top of his newspaper as Draco entered the dining room.

His father's irritation did not faze Draco in the slightest. In fact, the boy acted as though he hadn't been spoken to at all and simply proceeded to take his seat without a word to either of his parents.

Lucius stared incredulously down the table at his son, then slammed his paper down upon the polished wooden surface- causing Narcissa to look up from her coffee in mild surprise- "Draco!"

The boy raised his head- the very picture of innocence. "Yes Father?"

Lucius' grey eyes narrowed dangerously. "You are late," he ground out.

"You said yesterday that I was allowed to be late," retorted Draco with a very slight air of petulance as he stretched out his arm to reach for the toast.

"I said," snapped his father, forcing himself to stay in his seat, "that you could have five minutes, not thirty."

Draco raised his eyebrows mildly. "Oh. Sorry." He reached for the butter, cut into it easily and started to spread it across his toast; the harsh scraping sound grated Lucius' patience, causing the man's hands to clench so tightly around his newspaper that it almost ripped.

"Put. That. Back." Lucius hissed in an uncharacteristically calm voice, accenting each word so strongly that Draco couldn't even pretend not to hear. "You know perfectly well that lateness means no breakfast."

Draco hesitated- as though debating whether it was worth defying his father just to see what would happen. Slowly, the boy placed the knife across his plate and raised his chin to look squarely back at his father. "Why?" he asked daringly. "Why does it make a difference?"

'How dare he! The insolent little-' "Because I am your father and I said so!" snarled Lucius, staring hard at his son- daring him to try push him further. "Now, I suggest that you go back to your room and make a start with your reading," Lucius picked up his paper again. "I will be up to begin the lesson shortly."

But Draco did not move. Although he heart was beating rapidly in his chest, his new resolution made him stand strong. He would not back down anymore...

"Did you not hear me, boy?" said Lucius, grey eyes scanning the finance section idly. "I said-"

"I heard what you said," retorted Draco, expression rigidly intense.

"Then why are you not doing it?"

The boy bit his lip briefly, bracing himself to say what he was about to. Taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, he said quietly, "I don't want to."

Lucius' features twitched behind his paper. Almost painfully slowly, the man looked up and quirked an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"I-I don't want to," Draco repeated, louder this time. It was all he could do to not look away; his hands were trembling in his lap and his stomach was churning. 'Be brave,' he told himself as his father's gaze locked with his own. 'Dragons are always brave...'

"You don't want to?" echoed his father, slowly closing and then meticulously folding his paper. His lip curled into a very slight sneer; his normally handsome features were twisted with anger and his eyes were edged with steel. "You. Don't. Want to?" The last part of the sentence came out as a loud snarl, which made both Narcissa and Draco freeze. The legs of the ornate dining chair scraped viciously across the floor as Lucius pushed it back and rose gradually- never once taking his eyes off Draco, who was now eyeing his father with obvious trepidation and just a hint of regret.

"When, Draco," sighed Lucius, stepping languidly around the table, "has what you wanted ever really been taken into account, hmm?"

Draco slid quickly off his own chair and backed away a little as his father approached. When threatened, the body's natural instinct is to go into fight or flight. Draco's normal response to this was to opt for flight, but he was sick of running away, sick of being afraid...which left him with one option; to fight.

"Perhaps," the elder Malfoy continued. "Perhaps being pampered away from home for so long has given you false ideas. Perhaps you have been told that you needn't obey me because I do not know what is best for you." Lucius leant down to Draco's height. "Am I right?" he demanded icily. "Is that what they told you?" Draco hesitated, still gathering his courage, but he was not quick enough, it seemed, for Lucius took the final step and snatched the little boy by the shoulders. "Answer me Draco!"

"No." Draco raised his head, trying hard to ignore the dull pain of his father's fingers digging into his skin. "They didn't tell me that," he snapped, looking up at his father with utter loathing. "I worked it out for myself!"

Lucius stared at his son calculatingly- hardly able to believe what he had just heard. He had been prepared for some sort of change and had meticulously planned how to tackle and overcome them...but never had he even considered the possibility that Draco would change this much!

Draco braced himself for the inevitable retribution- clenching his teeth and tensing his body ready for the blow...but, to his surprise, he noticed that his father's expression was changing from unreserved fury to one that could almost be called unease.

The two Malfoys stayed like that for a while- each trying to assess what the other was thinking. Then, with a sniff, Lucius released the boy abruptly and turned his back, saying quietly, "Go and start reading. I will be up shortly."

With only a moment's hesitation- unable to believe his luck, more than anything- Draco pelted out of the dining room, leaving his father deep in thought and his mother very confused.

With every word I read of Draco's letter, my concern increased and the small amount of hope that I had that Draco would be able to settle in diminished. As much as I was pleased that he wanted to stick up for himself, I knew that this would only make Lucius all the more determined to control his son. Although Draco was sure to have inherited his father's stubbornness, if it came down to a battle of wills, there was no way that Lucius would break before Draco did.

But, despite the fears I had for my godson's welfare, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of pride in his sudden resolve; Lucius would most certainly have his work cut out for him now.

I only hoped- prayed, even- that Draco would know when to stop, when he needed to back down...Lucius had proved time and time again that he would not stop until he had achieved what he wanted, ignorant and uncaring of the consequences and I seriously hoped that Draco had not inherited that flaw.

"Is he okay?" my mother asked anxiously, hovering over my shoulder. She had been fretful for days- the lateness of Draco's reply affecting her as much as it had me.

"Yes," I was able to reassure her without being completely untruthful. "Draco is fine at the moment. He says thank you for having him."

She smiled gratefully, some of the tension leaving her face. "Good..." she murmured to herself. "That's really good...but you will go round, won't you?" Her dark eyes snapped sharply to meet mine. "Before you leave? You did say you would. You did promise him-"

"Yes, I know. I will, of course I will."

Just that morning, I had received a letter from Dumbledore informing me that I was required to attend a short training course to make sure that I knew what I was supposed and that I was relatively competent at teaching it. What Dumbledore would do were I to prove unsatisfactory, I do not know, considering I was doing him a favour... personally, I felt it wholly unnecessary, but it had to be done and I left in a week.

"I shall write to Lucius soon," I said, folding Draco's letter. "I am not going to just burst in uninvited and make things worse."

If only I had known just how soon it would actually be and that it would not be me who would be doing the writing...

Draco sat slumped in his seat, arms folded sullenly across his chest, feet kicking idly against the ornate legs of his chair as his father droned on and on and on about something to do with a particular family of magical herb and their common uses. Draco felt too elated- too triumphant- to even consider paying attention; for the first time he had actually dared to stand up to his father and speak his mind and he had escaped without a single bruise or even a threat of punishment!

Maybe this would be easier than he had expected...

Lucius looked up from the book from which he was reading and scowled to see his son looking bored with a vacant expression across his pale features. He had resisted the urge to beat the impudent little brat thus far- although, were Lucius to be honest with himself, it was shock more than anything that had kept him from striking Draco in the dining room- but, clearly, the boy had got it into his head that he could be as rude and as inattentive as he pleased without having to fear anything.

"Draco!"

Blue-grey flicked casually up. "Yes?"

"Pay attention!" Lucius snapped, unconsciously flexing his fingers. "How do you expect to learn if you don't even listen?"

Draco scowled and sighed loudly; rolling his eyes and kicking the chair legs with even more vehemence. "What if I don't want to learn?" he muttered. "I don't see why I should..." The boy sat up abruptly, suddenly angry, "I don't even want to go to Durmstrang! I want to go to Hogwarts and you don't even need to study for that! You only want me to go there because you know that I don't want to!"

Lucius snorted dismissively. "Don't be ridic-"

"Don't call me ridiculous!" Draco shouted, shoving his chair back so hard that it fell over. "It's true; you don't want me to be happy! You're never nice to me, even when I try to obey and be perfect, there's always something I'm doing wrong! Why did you even want me home?" The little boy was beside himself now; his words were coming out as one long hysterical sentence. "Why couldn't you just let me stay where people wanted me and liked me? You obviously don't and Mother doesn't really so what's the point of me being here? Why don't you like me?"

Lucius looked coldly up at his son. "At the moment, I dislike you because you are being rude, disobedient and downright ungrateful! Whether you like it or not, you are- first and foremost- A Malfoy. Therefore you are expected to do your duty as a Malfoy which means you remain here and do what I tell you to. Without questioning." Placing the book carefully down on the table, he rose gracefully.

Draco stood his ground, trying his best to ignore the horrible feeling in his stomach. His father now stood over him, tall, proud and daunting.

"You are here," Lucius continued quietly, "because you need to be. Whether you or I like it or not. And I am not going to shirk my duties as your father simply because a few stupid, ignorant people have put their silly ideals into your head."

At this, Draco's head snapped up and his eyes burned furiously. "Don't you call them that!" he shouted, his young face contorted with anger. "You're the stupid one, not them!" Draco was past the point of caring what he said by now; hatred, disappointment and desperation welled up inside him, making him thoughtless and impulsive. "You only don't like them 'cause I like them more than you! You're jealous!"

Lucius' face twitched, as though Draco had actually touched a nerve. Then, with a deep, wordless snarl, he grabbed the front of Draco's shirt with both hands and yanked the boy roughly towards him. "How dare you be so disrespectful?" he hissed, his pale face barely an inch from his son's. "After everything I have taught you, despite all the times I have had to punish you for being ill-mannered...when did you become so stupid, Draco?"

A slight, mocking smile graced Draco's lips as he glared stonily up at his father. "I was stupider when I was scared of you. I was stupider when I thought I couldn't stand up for myself." He spoke clearly, with neither hesitation nor stutter. "I was stupider when I thought that you was right about everything and when I would do anything to keep you from being angry at me. You're stupid for thinking I care anymore. I don't want to go to Durmstrang, I don't want to be here and I wish I wasn't a Malfoy!"

Draco had hardly finished his sentence before he was lifted up off his feet and slammed hard against the stone wall; his head hitting it with such force that the little boy was momentarily stunned.

"Don't you ever say that again!" roared Lucius, shoving Draco brutally with each accented word. "I don't care with you think; I don't care what you want. If I have to break every bone in your body in order to make you behave properly, I swear to Merlin, Draco, I shall!"

Head spinning painfully, Draco glared- dazed- at the man who was holding him, trying to understand what had just been said. "I'll run away," he responded thickly, blinking hard to make the stars dancing before his eyes go away. "I'll run and nothing you can do would make me come back."

Lucius regarded Draco with a contemptuous sneer. "You think you're so brave don't you?" he hissed, snake-like. "You think you've grown up so much. But let me tell you this, boy; you would be nothing without me. It is I who provides for you, who gives you what you need. You will only ever be a Malfoy to anyone- that will be the only thing that will matter in your life, that will be what makes people like you and that will dictate your future. You will never simply be 'Draco' to anyone. As Draco, you are worthless but as a Malfoy you are worth everything that this family stands for, so I suggest that you get off your high horse and start to realise that."

Draco stared- not really able to understand, but knowing that whatever it was was frightening.

"You denounce the name of Malfoy," continued Lucius, "and you will have nothing. No money, no status, no friends...you are worth only your name and what I allow you, and do not forget it!"

With that, the Malfoy patriarch threw his little boy roughly to the ground. Draco winced as his hands smacked the ground and he landed awkwardly on his ankle.

"Then I hate you for making me a Malfoy," the boy spat venomously. "I hate you for not giving me the chance- Ow!" This outburst earned him a sharp slap to the side of the head, knocking him sideways.

"Your whinging bores me, Draco," drawled Lucius, expression stony. "Will you never learn?"

Draco scowled heavily, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth to wipe the blood away from where his father's ring had snagged him. A sudden wave of dizziness came over him, forcing Draco to bow his head and shut his eyes; he suddenly felt sick and faint and there was a bump on his head and it wasn't even midday yet...'No giving up now,' the boy told himself sternly. 'Too late for second thoughts...too late for going back...' Tears prickled his eyes as thought about what his father had said to him. 'You will never be Draco to anyone'...Only Malfoy...only ever Malfoy... Draco pressed his lips and eyes tight together to keep himself from crying.

But Draco's senses were sharpened suddenly as a soft and all-too familiar sound caught his attention. Trembling slightly, the little boy slowly raised his head- hoping and praying that he was mistaken- and flinched so violently it almost hurt as Lucius pulled his belt off with a sharp snap and held it carefully in both hands; his proud features triumphant as he saw what an effect he was having on his obstinate son.

Draco's blood turned ice-cold. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His eyes- wide with unconcealed fright- could focus on nothing but sleek, black leather and razor-sharp steel. This was scarier than Dr Southard...a thousand times scarier and all the reasons reason that Draco had for letting that man do what he did came flooding back.

His father said something to him, but Draco could not hear, could not even register that he was even being spoken to...his stomach was twisting and turning and leaping around and Draco was sure that he was either going to throw up or wet himself... He wanted to run. He wanted to be back at Spinner's End. He wanted Sir!

Whatever his father had said was repeated, snarled, even. Draco watched numbly- his body trembling and cold with terror- as the belt was folded into two, raised high in the air and then came rushing down towards him with a whistle of motion...

Draco passed out before it struck him.

11th July 1988

Severus,

I regret to tell you that Draco has become completely uncontrollable and I am being forced to take drastic action. I wish to make it clear, that I did not wish to have to go this far and I was considering becoming more lenient towards him, but Draco is becoming increasingly more boisterous and impudent and there is nothing else that I can do.

I will give you one chance to talk to him; make him understand that it is in his best interest to obey and comply. You have obviously been able to influence him very effectively already, so I am certain that he will listen to you again. If you choose not to, or you fail to make him see sense, I will ensure that you are held accountable for any...damage that might be caused due to my not having any other option.

I will not have you criticising me or giving Draco the impression that what he is doing is right, because you will only be causing him more pain and more suffering and I will make sure that he knew that you are responsible for that.

I apologise for having to involve you again, but I am at the end of my tether. I suggest that you get here quickly otherwise I don't know what I will be driven to do.

Lucius Malfoy

A/N: There comes a time in a story, when you have reached the main point of writing; even if you don't realise it until afterwards. That is what has happened in this chapter. It wasn't planned, it just happened (not that i could even plan what my characters are going to do or say) I realised, only after i had thought of the title, just how poignant it actually is; obviously, it is based on A Child called It by David Pelzer but also, i have noticed that Draco is never simpy refered to as 'Draco', it's always 'Malfoy'. The only people I have ever heard call him Draco his Snape and his parents. And, considering the books are from Harry's PoV, I don't think readers (unless, of course you are a slytherin fan) actually take into consideration that Draco is, when it comes down to it, just a child. Like Harry and the others are. People are always like "Oh, Malfoy's and evil git and should die..." and there's nothing else to it...

Basically, I know what I mean, I'm just rubbish at explaing :P

Anyways, thankyou extremely to everyone who has taken the time to let me know what they think; it's always greatly appreciated. Sorry about the delay, but I had a lot of difficulties with this chapter- nothing went to plan at all... and I've also been very busy with college and such.

If you have the time or the interest, please check out my video blogs on youtube. The link is in my profile :)

Kudos and halloween marshmallow cakes to everyone!

Love Lily xxx