Chapter One ~ The Home Life
Malfoy’s head thumped as he lay awake in bed. Memories of his fathers angry face flooded his mind. He cried. He cried like he did every night before finally falling asleep. He’d be going to Hogwarts soon but wasn’t sure he wanted too. He knew that, like his father, he’d be placed in Slytherin; the one hated house known for their supposed ambition. To Draco this meant lying, cheating and being downright stupid to get what you want.
Why couldn’t he be in a line of brave Gryffindors or smart Ravenclaws. Honestly, even being a brain dead Hufflepuf would be ok. But then again, he reasoned, in those houses he’d probably be stuck with a bunch of mudbloods.
This hate of muggle-borns was one thing he shared with his father. If these freaks didn’t know magic before they got their letter then how on Earth do they expect to be skilled in the magic arts. Besides that their blood is tainted with that of non magic folk and what could be good about that? He almost changed his mind about all this though, just to oppose his very own father.
Draco felt himself drift away. He was floating above a dense mass of trees. He felt free. He was for once completely disconnected from the real world. As he moved closer to the treetops he saw two shadowy figures. One was- one was him on the mossy, forest floor. Before him stood a tall snakelike man. He saw himself bow down and kiss the mans dirty shoes. The moon shone on his pale face and his silver-like hair glowed. Voldemorts black robes billowed wildly as he yelled ‘CRUCIO!’. Draco watched from above as he wriggled in pain. His body crashed. He felt himself being pulled away. The dark lord and himself grew steadily distant until all that was seen was inky blackness.
Draco had the strange sensation he was still in a dream. He slapped himself them swore at himself for being so dumb. Then he felt the hard stone floor. Draco knew he was back in his room. His eyelids lifted and he found himself in his mothers arms beside his bed. “Oh Draco. I know this is tough for you. You’ll be away from it soon. School starts September 1st and-”
“Nacrissa! Put the bloody kid down!” Draco must have looked sad for a moment because he soon heard the cruel yell of his fathers voice. “This is for your own good you stupid kid! Saffet en KU!” Malfoy felt a familiar thump on his head then a rushing heat flood his whole body. He knew not to flinch at this. That was a sign of weakness and in the Malfoy Manor weakness needs to be punished. He only just heard his mother whimper before she too felt a thump. She proudly stood up. She fixed her shirt quikly muttering “ I’m sorry. Didn’t realise what I was doing.” Swiftly she left the room. Lucius gave his son an icy look before turning on his heel and marching after his wife. Draco lifted his head determained not to cry or scream after his father. He was sure the only reason Lucius kept his family alive was for the paperwork. He didn’t have time to dwell on this though because his father was back. “Now now. We are brave aren’t we. Poor Draco. Trying soo hard not to cry.” He spoke snidley with his eyes narrow and eyebrows raised. “Well, we’ll soon see how brave you really are. You will do great things Draco,” he almost spoke in a whisper, “but for now it’s up to me to force you to do them. Ficlumdo!” Draco felt no pain. Nothing.
“Father? Please father. I do not wish to displease you-”
“Lying through your teeth you idiot! You’ll thank me for what I just did someday. Now, it’s time to deal with my sweet Nacrissa.” As Lucius left Draco dreaded hearing his mothers cry. This had happened before. He knew his mother was being tortured by her own husband. It made him feel sick. He felt hate surge through him like fire.
-Another night off until September 1st.
The nights moved like snails. Draco kept having the same dream. Him worshipping Voldemort. Was this his future? NO- he interrupted himself. I will not bow down to evil! But another more dominent voice inside him taunted him. “Oh Draco, you ARE evil.”
He crept slowly away from the table. His bare feet kept sticking to the tiled floor. He glanced in the brightly lit hallway and saw nothing. Silently he walked to his fathers private library. He’d never dared to enter before. Not because his dad had said anything to him but because there was a huge yellow sign on the door saying “If you come in you’ll never come out”. That now was a chance he was willing to take. The room was circular and dimly lit. Shelves lined the walls stacked with books. In the centre there was a small wooden desk delicately patterned. Parchment was messily chucked all over the top and a bony hand rested clenched on one of the legs. Draco couldn’t think of anything somebody could use that for. Draco really wanted to stop and read some of the parchment but decided against it not really wanting to be badly demented.
He walked to the far end of the room and studied the books. There were so many different titles. “How to get a date“. Draco was suspicious. This book seemed to be a muggle book. He touched the spine softly just in case something happened. When nothing did he inched it out of the shelves and opened it in the middle. “Some handy hints. Like her music. Learn how to cook. Buy a soft bed. Eat lots of oranges. “ Draco laughed out load. He snorted trying to stop himself. He didn’t realise his dad was so desperate. He swore he’d seen about 10 orange peels in the bin the other day.
As he moved along the shelf Draco saw a large rotting book. Along the spine read “All Spells for All Things.” He took it into his hands and it flew open. The pages were damp and yellowing. He flicked to the back and saw a list of spells. Not one matched what he needed.
He stepped to the right. “Magical Me.” “What a joke.“ Draco spoke to himself in a whisper. Then it struck him. How stupid was he. Why would his dad leave the very book he didn’t want him to find on the shelves in his own library.
* * * * Draco sat eating alone at dinner. He could only think of one thing. That spell his dad had cast. What was it? He’d looked up Ficlumdo over and over again. For some reason it was absent from every spell book everywhere. Maybe it wasn’t even a spell. Maybe his dad had stuffed up and been to scared to say anything. Somehow Draco knew it was real and serious. He had to know what it was. To be continued...
