A soft knock came from my office door. I didn't even bother to look up from the book I was reading as the door creaked open, knowing it was most probably a Death Eater sent to collect me.

I looked up as I heard the door shut and was surprised to see Draco standing in front of the closed door looking apprehensive.

I raised my eyebrows as I took in his pale face and the red rings around his eyes. He looked like he had slept very little and like he was recovering from a recent illness.

"I must say, my father must be getting really desperate if he's sending you to try to get me to talk," I smirked darkly at him.

"He didn't send me," Draco said in a small voice.

"Then what are you doing here?" I asked him, "Shouldn't you be at a Death Eater meeting or something?"

He shook his head, opened his mouth and then closed it again.

"What is it, Draco?" I snapped.

"Why do you do it?" He asked, stepping slowly towards my desk.

"Do what?" I asked impatiently.

"Defy your father." He said.

No one had ever asked me that before. I paused, slightly taken aback and frowned at him before I answered.

"Because it's the right thing to do."

"How do you know that?" He asked, his voice sounding stronger.

"Well, let me rephrase," I said slowly "I believe it's the right thing to do."

"Uncle Max is the strongest wizard I know." Draco said not even trying to disguise the note of pride in his voice "He is the Dark Lord's most trusted follower."

I scoffed, "Killing and torturing innocent people to get to the top is nothing to aspire to Draco."

He frowned "I never said it was."

I narrowed my eyes unsure what he was getting at, watching him as he sighed and sat at a desk nearest me and rubbed his face.

I remained silent. He was clearly struggling to articulate something.

"Have you ever questioned your choices?" Draco looked up at me.

"My choices?" I repeated frowning.

"I don't know." He muttered hurriedly.

I sighed, "Draco, do you think I'm enjoying being held prisoner by my father and tortured everyday?"

He shook his head slowly.

"And do you think I would put up with it if I didn't believe I was doing the right thing?"

He remained silent and I sighed again. "Lately I've questioned everything I thought I knew. But that doesn't mean I haven't made the right choices."

Draco raised his gaze up at me, his eyes appeared empty as though he had somehow left his body. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again and shook his head slightly, his brow furrowed.

"I don't know what to do," he said so quietly that if I hadn't seen his mouth move I would not have heard.

"Despite the fact that you and I have been raised in families with misguided concepts of the world-" I said, sitting back in my chair and observing him. I winced slightly as the movement caused pain to shoot down my back from my previously broken ribs. "-we do get to choose who we are to be."

He swallowed and nodded slightly avoiding my eye. I knew Draco to be an arrogant bully who revelled in his pureblood privilege, but as I peered at him, he seemed so scared and lost and my heart softened for my cousin.

"Your family loves you, Draco." I said gently. "They wouldn't let anything unfortunate happen to you."

He looked up at me, his jaw tense and his eyes bright.

"Whatever you chose." I added and gave him a small smile.