Hi all,

This is my first ever published Fan fiction (ekk) - please be gentle with me (:¬) (All feedback welcome ) I have put this in the 16+ category as there may be some nasty stuff later on....

All these characters are the Property of JK Rowling, (Thanks Ms Rowling for letting us into your world) - I am only borrowing them for this story and promise to give them back (:¬).

This is a Draco Fan-Fiction - the story is based on the novels and the films - I've mixed it up a bit and i'm sure you'll spot where the two combine.

This humble tale follows the untold story of Draco Malfoy after the escape from Hogwarts. I don't know about you but I wondered how he fared at the school once the new term began...How would a 'Death Eater' be received at Hogwarts after Dumbledore's death?.....Maybe the experience would be the making of him? Perhaps there's a romance and some action later on?

Please excuse any continuity slip-ups - purely unintentional
Chapter One

August 1997

It was mid morning, the bright sunshine cast shadows across the rear courtyard gardens. Tall conifers lined the walls; all were carefully pruned to form a flat wall of green. Somewhere a peacock yelled out for its mate. Otherwise all was silent and still.

To the edge of the courtyard in the shade of the old conifers sat a lone figure at an old ornate iron table and chair. Usually immaculately turned out, the lone figure wore his shirt unfastened over a faded black t-shirt, his trousers turned up to his knees. He sat with his feet up on the table, reading a newspaper. A light breeze blew though his ruffled white blond hair making it stand up on end in places. He ran his hand through his hair, trying to neaten it out.

He straightened out the paper and carried on reading. A sound startled him, he put the paper down, he silently lowered his feet back to the ground and draw his wand.

He glanced around, narrowed his grey eyes and squinted as he looked out for the source of the sound. He cursed himself for being so jumpy, but he had been since the previous spring - since the flight from Hogwarts only a few months before.

Something landed on the iron table in a gigantic flurry of feathers, he jumped back, tripping on the iron chair, fell backwards and landed painfully on his backside. He cursed and stood up gingerly. The mass of feathers looked down at him and hooted.

The eagle owl stared at him with his huge golden –brown eyes and held out his leg. Attached to it a single sealed parchment envelope, addressed to ‘Mr Draco Lucius Malfoy, Malfoy Manor’ the Hogwarts seal stamped into the top right hand.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," Draco told the owl, the owl just hooted back and held his leg out patiently. He pocketed his wand and reached out, untying the letter from the owl’s leg. The owl hooted again and flew off towards the Manor’s owlery.

Draco looked down at the parchment, his hand shaking a little as he broke the seal on the letter and began to open it. He began to read the letter, his eyes narrowing as he did so and sweat began to glisten on his pale cheeks. Fearfully, he pocketed the letter, grabbed hold of his paper and ran off into the manor.

Draco ran into the hall and skid to a stop, panting hard he walked over to the drawing room door, there was a sound like muffled laughter coming from inside and pushed it slightly open and peeped around the door. His aunt Bella lay on the drawing room table - laughing. Not wanting to know what else she was doing he slowly closed the door and walked over to the other side of the hall, to the library.

He pushed the library door open, his mother sat on a plush leather sofa by the fireplace and seemed to be alone. She turned, looking up at him from over her book and smiled. "Hello Draco." She said, "The sun getting too much for you?"

"No," Draco said pulling out the Hogwarts letter and showing it to her. She looked at the letter, closed her book and put it down on the arm of the sofa.

"Come over here Draco." His mother said, she smiled at him and beckoned him over to her.

Draco walked into the room and closed the door behind him. He sat next to her on the sofa and handed her the letter. She looked down at it and read it intently. "You must go back there Draco." She said finally.

"You must be joking mother. I’m not going back there." Draco said angrily standing up and looking down at his mother as though she had turned insane like his aunt.

"Yes you are Draco, even you have to finish school." Narcissa Malfoy told him. She still held on to the letter.

"Mother, I’m not going back, I’m seventeen now – the trace isn’t on me anymore. Can you remember how I left there last year?" Draco said, he felt a panic rising up in his throat. He sat back down on the sofa and held his face in his hands, ‘What a mess’ he thought.

Narcissa looked down at her only son, put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him towards her, she pulled him into a hug and he let her. She held onto him and his body began to shake with unshed tears.

"I know Draco," she told him as she held onto him, she rested one of her small, pale hands on his face and lifted his chin up until their eyes met, "Now, listen to me. I want you to go back to school, you’ll be safe there, away from the death eater’s, your aunt and out of the Dark Lords reach."

Draco thought for a moment and nodded. He let his mother scoop him back into a hug. She alone had protected him. His father and Aunt Bella had insisted that he act like a fully-fledged death eater. He took the letter from his mother’s outstretched hand.

"Besides Severus will be headmaster." She told him. "You’re a pure-blood – you have nothing to fear, the other teachers will leave you alone."

“It isn’t the teachers that worry me." Draco told her looking down at the parchment and the list of books for the new school year.

"Potter won’t show his face there either." Narcissa said, almost as an after thought.

"Sure of that are you? If I will be safe from the Dark Lord at Hogwarts, what about from Potter?"

……………….

That morning Draco awoke early; he had repacked his truck at least twice. In all the previous years he had never been so nervous about going back to school. Yes, last year he had been filled with trepidation but mostly excitement. He had been eager to show the dark lord what he was capable of – to bring back honour to the Malfoy name. He had mostly succeeded – hadn’t he? He’d repaired the vanishing cabinet; let the death eater’s into the castle. Dumbledore was dead – maybe not by his own hand. The dark lord had expected Draco not to be able to repair the cabinet – to fail, but he hadn’t failed. If only he had the strength to kill Dumbledore.
The scene in the Astronomy tower had ran through his mind over, and over again. He knew the curse, his aunt had taught him – bringing him muggles to test his new skills on, they had begged for their lives of course, he had used the curse and had killed the muggles. Their pathetic bodies dragged out of the Manor and burnt the same night. He laughed at the memory.

But, why? After succeeding in getting the death eaters into the school, couldn’t he kill an old frail man? A frail man he himself had disarmed? Dumbledore had offered to help him, and his family – to hide them, to get them away from the Dark Lord. Yes, his father would have hated that – but his mother? She had wanted him to go back to Hogwarts, finish his education. What good would it do? Did the dark lord care about exam results? About how well he’d done in his Potions NEWT? She had said that he’d be safe at the school, the dark lord couldn’t enter Hogwarts, and he couldn’t force Draco to torture and maim anyone for him – whilst he was there. What was he now? Going into hiding?

Draco ran his fingers through his white blond hair and glanced at himself in the mirror. He had grown again since the spring – his new suit may accommodate his height but even the tailor had commented on his slimmer waist. He had lost a lot of weight over the last school year he’d hardly eaten at all. Instead he had worked on the cabinet in the room of requirement. He had spent every available minute there. But since the spring and the flight from Hogwarts his appetite hadn’t improved. As he looked in the mirror, he could hardly recognise himself as the self-assured boy he had been little over a year ago. Driven. Driven by his lust for revenge against Potter. And wanting to see honour of the Malfoy name restored.

He finished repacking his truck and locked it. All his new books safely stowed at the bottom along with his new quills and parchments. New robes folded neatly on top with the rest of his uniform. He laid out a spare uniform on his bed, along with his house robes and wand. He began to fold them and put them into his leather case. He paused over his wand for a moment and instead put it in his jacket’s top pocket. He then headed downstairs to breakfast.

Breakfast was laid out in the drawing room, on the every same table where the muggle studies teacher had been killed and eaten by the dark lords snake Nagini. Draco gulped as he sat down to breakfast, the house elves had set him out a large spread – but he wasn’t hungry. His mother sat opposite and smiled encouragingly at him. He looked down at the breakfast again and forced himself to eat.

Half way through breakfast the doors of the drawing room slammed open. Draco turned quickly to the noise and quickly swallowed the piece of food he had been chewing. His father strode in; he had shaved and looked far more like himself than he had since he’s arrived back home from Azkaban.

Draco’s mother turned to his father. Her face fell. "No Lucius." She said. "You’re not going."

"You don’t tell me what to do in my own House!!" Draco’s father said whirling into the room and taking a seat at the head of the table. He helped himself to food the house elves had laid out and filled his goblet.

"Lucius, we’ve already had this discussion." Draco’s mother said, an edge coming into her voice. "You’ve not long escaped Azkaban, there will still be aurors looking out for you."

Draco’s father put a generous helping of bacon in his mouth and began to chew it. He pointed his fork at his wife and through a full mouth of bacon he said, "Narcissa, if I want to take the boy to the station I will…"

"No, Lucius, I can’t risk you being captured by aurors. And besides if you’re seen with Draco they’ll arrest him too."

Draco kept his head down and continued to eat. He had heard his parents argue at the breakfast table many times. He was used to it – it was mostly about him. His school grades used to be the main reason. His parents were disappointed that he was being beaten in school tests by a mudblood. His father had wanted him to learn more dark curses and his mother did not - that was now the latest one. His father had told Draco that he had the potential to be a great wizard – if only he applied himself. Draco had already shown himself to be gifted at Occlumency, non-verbal spells and advanced transfiguration. He still wanted to make his father proud of him – but at what cost?

He hurriedly finished his breakfast and excused himself from the table. He left his parents arguing and walked out of the drawing room. He left the manor by the back door and strode up to the owlery. Inside his eagle owl hooted in greeting and flew down from his perch and onto Draco’s outstretched arm. He carried the owl outside and off into the grounds. He stroked the large bird’s feathers, "Now," he told it. "Off you go to Hogwarts. I’ll see you there."

The great bird stretched his wide brown wings and with one powerful sweep of his wings took off into the air. Draco watched as the large owl flew off into the air as he had done at the beginning of every school year. Draco envied it, and wished for one moment he too could fly away. He suppressed the thought, he had to and he had to put the mask back on. He couldn’t afford to lose his edge and show any weakness, even for a moment. Not now – not ever.