CURSED: FROM THE BEGINNING [D.M]

-(22) forgive me for i'm too selfish

DRACO sees her face go pale at the mention of the name 'Padfoot'. He remembers it. She had wrote a letter to them once. Who it really was? He didn't know. But it seemed to be someone pretty important from the way her eyes filled with worry and her lips quivered slightly.

"Who is Padfoot, Potter?! Tell me!", Umbridge hisses, slapping him across the face once again.

"I'm not telling you anything", Potter grits out, his voice stern and set.

"Very well, you're leaving me with no other alternative", she mumbles, suddenly anxious as she pulls out her wand- almost like she doesn't want to but like she'll enjoy what's she is about to do with it nevertheless. "The Cruciatus Curse will get you to talk perhaps." What the-

"No!", he hears Granger shriek in response. "Professor- that's illegal!" But he was already zoning out- his vision blurring, the memories drawing back.

And he was there, back at the Manor, on the last stair to the living room, his gaze fixed upon the man lying huddled on the floor. He was in battered clothing, blood oozing out of several different cuts across his torso and face. And his eyes flick upto meet Draco- thirteen year old Draco- and something close to relief pools in his red stained eyes. Perhaps, he had thought that now Draco- a mere kid of thirteen- was here, Lucius, who evidently had been torturing him, would stop.

Oh, how foolish he was! Because when Lucius' gaze lands upon Draco, his eyes only grow with malice. And a terrible smile plasters across his face as he raises the wand upon the man before him and mutters loud and clear 'crucio', his eyes still fixed upon Draco, who couldn't seem to move, couldn't seem to breathe.

The man screams out in pure agony, and Draco's eyes snap back to the helpless figure, writhing and thrashing upon the marble floor.

The never ceasing scream pounds off the walls of the room, creeping into Draco's very soul, sending a cold and terrible chill down his spine. He feels bile rising up within him at the scene and wants to look away, wants to run off, but his feet seems rooted to the spot. He couldn't move a nerve.

Lucius was still watching Draco, with pride, with satisfaction. And it disgusts him. He disgusts the monster before him. He repulses this monster he has to call 'father'.

Suddenly, the scream ceases and Draco sees Lucius lowering his wand. But he was still watching Draco with that vile smile. "You're going to be like this one day, Draco. You will be following my footsteps", he speaks in a normal tone, like it was the most simplest thing there is. "And if- no, when the Dark Lord returns, I want you to be right by my side. As my son. As my heir. As my rightful companion."

And Draco wants to scream out no, he wants to cry, he wants to yell, he wants to flee but all he can do is turn his gaze down onto his feet. "Yes father", he mutters, his voice hoarse and strained, his heart in his throat, terrified of what this animal would do if he even dared to rejected the idea he had put forth.

"That's my boy", Draco hears the proudness in Lucius' voice and it makes him want to cut his own ears off. "Crucio", he screeches and the scream was back again.

"Mr. Malfoy!", Umbridge's voice cuts through his thoughts, loud and hard. "Mr. Malfoy! Unless you want to suffer Potter's same fate, let him go."

Draco blinks his eyes, trying to focus back upon reality and sees that his hands were clutching Potter's as if for dear life. In an instant, he lets go and scrambles away to the side as Umbridge lifts her wand.

"Nooooo", he hears the Weasley girl scream and his eyes snap upto her. She was bound tight by Zilliah who refused to let her go. "Don't do this, please. "