Review offering insight to the story:
"Her wonderfully life-like characters will pull at your heartstrings." - Cullenfreak of FanFiction net
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; the books or the movies!
Genre: Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure
Rating: T, possibly M later on.
Distribution: Ask please, just so I know. I'll most likely say yes.
Pairing(s): Harry/Draco 'friend'ship and eventual Draco/Hermione
Feedback: Always appreciated, both good and bad. I will answer any questions you have, as long as it does not ruin the future of the story. I don't want to spoil it for you!
Summary: This is mostly from Draco's POV. After finding out a deep secret his parents have been hiding from him, his entire world is turned upside down. Having to deal with the fact that he is not who he thought he was, he finds help from those he was raised to hate and falls in love with someone he never expected.
Blood is Thicker Than Tears
Chapter One
The slicked back platinum hair of Draco Malfoy's head was a noticeable trait. He sat in the dim den, the fire making his face darker than usual. He could hear the screams in the background, no doubt his mother had disobeyed his father again. He often wished she would just keep her mouth shut, only because he hated having to see her tears running down her face as he helped her to her room, trying not to put pressure on her many injuries. They were arguing over him again, it seemed he could never do anything right.
For six years, his every move at Hogwarts had been watched over and calculated out. He couldn't glare at someone without it being known by his father. Draco couldn't even be mean without being chastised for not having the desired effect, which only his father could meet. Ever since he was a small boy, he could remember Lucius having a problem with everything he did.
There was a time when Draco was just a young boy, maybe five, and running around in the back yard like all excited boys do. He ran across a small red robin, it's wing mangled. Being innocent at that age, he picked up the poor bird and ran to his father. He begged and pleaded with him to help it but with a snarl and a disgusted expression, he just killed it with a flick of his wand.
He lived a relatively normal existence when he was young. He went to school, had friends, took care of his pet Owl. Of course growing up in a magical family didn't exactly make him like others. He didn't have muggle friends or listen to muggle bands. His life was magic oriented, as if he was bred simply to be an incredible wizard. An evil one at that. There was no question that the dark arts were always present. Simply running into his father's study proved dangerous with all of the forbidden spells being experimented with.
Growing up, his only real relationship was with his mother Narcissa. Though she didn't stop the fact that his father was making him out to be a shadow of himself, she did take the time to instill some good attributes. Every once in awhile, she would talk to him about muggles and how they lived. Instead of telling Draco that they were horrible people, undeserving of the same air wizards breath, she told him of how nice and trusting they could be. Of the courage and love they possessed.
Love was something that always caught his attention. The emotion she spoke of was something he could never really understand. When Narcissa explained it, she sometimes used her and Lucius as examples but Draco didn't see the tie between her parents and the feeling. He had seen them together and while people were there, they looked like that of which she spoke of. However, when they were alone, he only heard their fighting and harsh words.
A glass broke in the background, Draco steeled his body. He often wished he had grown up differently. His life was nothing more than a shell of despair and pain. He looked like his father, was bred to be just like him. And yet, somewhere deep inside the heart that was supposed to be no more than ice, he felt the need to be more. Never admitting it, he wanted to be happy and enjoy the life that had been taken away and replaced with cruelty.
His mother's cries echoed through the mansion. Chugging his butterbeer, he tried to ignore the pain stricken wails of the woman who had raised him to be better than who he was. A much younger Draco would've ran to help her. He would have yelled at his father not to strike her again; neither magically nor physically. Cradling her in his arms, he would've taken the pain for her. But the Draco he had become was a mere shell of that now. Lucius had long ago shown him that if he did not harden himself, he would suffer far more than he was. Narcissa warned him never to try and save her again, for fear that her son would be killed.
Draco's seventh year was fast approaching and every scream that penetrated his ears made him more interested in returning to school. The summer appeared to drag on for him. He lost himself in the many books adorning his walls. All he heard was yelling and beatings and the only thing that shut out the noise were the many adventures and illusions that the novels provided.
He knew why they were raged with each other. He knew it would happen when he arrived at home. Draco was once again, not living up to the standards his father set for him. He hadn't met his yearly quota for insulting and badgering The Trio. He hadn't outbeat Granger in his grades. He hadn't agreed to date Pansy Parkinson. And what's worse, he hadn't confirmed that he would take the Dark Mark, establishing which side he fought for.
Narcissa had decided that she believed her son was doing all he could. That his grades were amongst the highest and she couldn't ask for a more intelligent son. That he would agree to the Dark Mark when he was ready. She had no doubt which side he was on, but Draco knew that his mother wanted him to live another life.
She had lived with Lucius for many years, enduring the pain he had inflicted on her, and assuring all those who love The Dark Lord that she was surely one of his followers. But she had long ago voiced her doubt to Draco. She was far more good than bad. Wanting more for her son than she allowed herself, she encouraged him to be his own person and make his own choices in life.
Draco could hear their loud footsteps approaching. His head shot towards the door. They hadn't brought him into a fight for years. Usually taking it out on each other. Wishing he was in his room, instead of the den, he stood up to take whatever was coming. He expected his father to give him a beating while his mother cried out for it to stop.
"I'm telling him," Narcissa's sad and angry voice screamed.
"Don't you dare, woman!" Lucius warned, a deadly rage behind it.
The doors swung open and his mother's elegant black robe swished against her long legs. She quickly took hold of Draco's shoulders and stared into his eyes. Her own, blue and covered in tears. She stroked his cheek and kissed his forehead.
"You are the most precious boy in the entire world." She whispered. "Do you understand me?"
He nodded, unable to speak.
"I have loved you from the moment you were placed in my arms." She sighed, "Never doubt that."
"Think of what you're doing," Lucius snarled.
Ignoring him, she smiled at Draco. "I could never ask for a better son." She shook her head, "But you are not my own."
Draco's brow furrowed; he felt himself swaying.
"When you were a small baby, the Dark Lord brought you to us." She swallowed. "We raised you, we love you." She looked away, her voice cracking. "You were just a baby, I couldn't turn you away. You were so beautiful."
His head began shaking back and forth. "I-I-I don't understand."
"Stop this Narcissa, we can still keep going like you never did this." Lucius was pacing behind her, his face scowling. "Don't say anymore and I can fix it."
"Draco, honey, listen to me." She clutched at his face and stared into his eyes. "You are not a Malfoy." She bit her lip. "You are a Potter."
"What?" The young Malfoy yelled. "What are you saying?" He turned his head, "Father?"
His face deathly white, his eyes set in an icy glare, Lucius turned to Draco. "I am not your father." Taking large steps, he made his way across the room. Knocking his wife out of the way, he grabbed onto Draco's shoulders. "If you were mine, then you wouldn't be the pitiful excuse you turned out to be!" He screamed.
Looking away from his father's hateful eyes, his gaze fell on his mother. She lay on the floor, staring downward. Turning her face to his, she sighed. "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. I was selfish darling, I wanted you to be just mine. Not Lilly Potter's but my own."
His eyes stung with the new realization. The parents he had grown up with were no more than hosts to the child of Lilly and James Potter. It was all becoming so clear. He understood why he was being raised to be so dark. As a Potter, he was one of the only people standing in the way of Voldemort dominating the world. All those times he had wished he was from another family, they were all coming true. But seeing his mother, sobbing on the ground, he realized what he was giving up.
"I-I-I am yours mother." He said. "Nothing will change that."
"You are nothing to us, you have not lived up to what you were supposed to." Lucius spat at him, venomously. "I was told to bring you up to be a dark wizard. One that could serve with the Lord as I do." He laughed angrily. "But you! You are nothing more than a sarcastic boy who looks like me." His grip tightened on his shoulders. "I will not let you ruin my legacy, you half blood garbage."
Narcissa was off the ground, she stepped beside Draco and stared into the eyes of her husband. "He is my son and you will not disown him."
Lucius struck her across the cheek, his ring slicing open her pale, delicate skin. "You dare to speak to me that way?" He stared down at her cowering form. "You are the reason he is not as he should. You are the one who tells him of muggle people, making them sound like some fanciful dream! You have deceived me, gone behind my back and ruined me." He screamed viciously.
She shook her head, "It doesn't have to be the way Voldemort says." Her mouth opened and closed, "We can change, Lucius. We can get away from him and start anew."
"Are you serious, woman?" He snarled. "Do you really believe I would leave my Lord for you and these disgusting dreams you harbor?"
"Please, Lucius." She begged. "There was a time when you loved me, why can't we be like that again?"
"Because you agreed to raise this filth and then you didn't allow me to change him into my predecessor!"
"He is our son!" Narcissa bellowed.
"No he's not!" He shook his head. "He is not ours." Turning, he pulled his wand out and pointed it at Draco. "You are not my son. You are a Potter and you have proven that to me for far too long."
"Father-" Draco pleaded, his brow furrowing.
"Don't call me that," he shouted.
"I will not let you ruin us." Lucius shook his head, "I can't let you join your brother. My Lord must reign and you... you must die."
Narcissa stared at him, her eyes hollow. "You will not kill him."
"You know I must."
"If you kill him, so help me I will kill you." She screamed.
Lucius laughed maniacally. "You will do no such thing." He glared at her, "Don't you see? We will be happier without him. I can't let him live. The Dark Lord will kill him and me if I don't."
"Then let him come. I will deal with him myself." She spat.
"You? What can you do? So you excel in arithmancy and charms and have an apparition license. What will that do? He will have you begging for you life is a matter of seconds. I will not let us be killed for a boy who isn't ours."
"He is mine." She shouted with authority.
"Hold your tongue. I'm ending this, now!" He stared into the eyes that mirrored his own. "Goodbye Draco," he said coldly. "Avada Kedavra!"
The green light shot out towards the platinum blond teenager. Awaiting his fate, his eyes fell shut. A moment and a thud caused his eyes to open.
His mother lay, limp and dead in a pile in front of him. Draco fell to his knees and held her against him. "What have you done?" He screamed at Lucius.
Staring down at his dead wife, he sighed. "She shouldn't have gotten in the way."
"You killed her," he breathed.
"I meant to kill you, not her." He said as if it made it any better.
Pulling his wand out, Draco pointed it dangerously at his father. "I will not let you live."
The powerful man's mouth twisted into a snarl. "You are no more than a child. What could you possibly do?" His eyebrow cocked. "No matter. You are soon to join her."
Turning his head back and forth, he smirked. "No, father, you will pay for what you've done." A lone tear fell down his cheek.
"Please Draco, just die with some shred of dignity, will you?" He lifted his wand towards him again, "Avada-"
"Petrificus Totalus!" He shouted.
His father fell do the ground, making a loud thud. Walking over to him, Draco glared down at the man he was supposed to be. "I will avenge her, I promise you. You will suffer the same fate."
Making his way back to his mother, he picked her body up off the floor. Taking her to the chair he had previously occupied, he sat her down in front of the fireplace. He remembered when he was a young boy. They sat together, his head on her lap as she stroked his hair. Moments shared with her were clouding his mind along with the tears in his eyes.
Hurrying up the stairs, he packed his bags for school. He knew that if he explained everything to Dumbledore, he'd be safe at Hogwarts. Never in his life, had he imagined that this would ever happen. The only person to love him was dead and the man who was supposed to be his father was trying to kill him. But the most shocking part of it all, was that he, Draco Malfoy, was actually Draco Potter. The realization that Harry was actually his brother hadn't yet impacted him.
Running down the stairs and out the front door. He couldn't use floo powder since his father would then hear where he was going. Calling upon a Knight Bus, he hurried onto it. After stating his destination, he silently made his way back to the bed at the far back. Crawling on top on the mattress. He heaved his bag up with him. It was all he had now, aside from some money he had packed along for the trip. He'd make a trip to the bank before heading to school.
So much had changed and Draco had no idea how to take it all in. He wondered what Potter would say when he found out. He likely wouldn't be happy by the idea. In fact, he might just kill his new brother on sight. The word brother startled him. He had grown up an only child and was happy for it. Only because he wouldn't want to subject any sibling to the fights he heard occurring between his parents. But they weren't really his parents, were they? He didn't know much about his biological mother and father, he knew that his brother didn't either. There were so many questions milling around in his head. So many things left unanswered.
If Lucius had killed him nobody would have known; he briefly wondered who all did know. Obviously Voldemort did, along with his parents. But what about the other pure blood families? Upon returning to school, would the other Slytherin's suddenly turn on him? He was powerful, there was no doubt, but most of his strength lie in his name. Now that he was a Potter, would he be treated like that of Harry? His whole life was going to change and he didn't know if he was excited or terrified.
A/N Wow. I really hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. It'll eventually lead into the romance! It takes time though. There's a lot to be explained. Please voice your thoughts and questions. Reviews are very welcome and appreciated!