My Father's Only Rule || DRACO MALFOY X SNAPE'S DAUGHTER

Chapter Thirty-Eight: My Heart Stops

May 2nd, 1998, 2:15 am - Hogwarts

I pulled my head out of the Pensieve, my breaths coming in ragged gasps. My eyes stared blankly ahead, struggling to make sense of the storm of revelations that had just bombarded my mind.

The question reverberated through me: Who am I?

Moments ago, I had been confronted with the stark truth: I was my father, and the realization churned my stomach with a mixture of horror and self-loathing. But that was only because I didn't know who my father truly was. Until now, I had only glimpsed fragments of his nature, but I had not fully understood the extent of his deceit and cunning.

My father was a master of lies, manipulation, and strategy. From the very beginning, he saw in me a reflection of his own traits—the same ruthlessness and ambition that he wielded so effectively. He knew the dangers these traits would bring into my life, having faced them himself.

He had kept me away from Draco, not out of personal disdain but as part of a calculated move to protect me. A pact with Lucius Malfoy ensured that Voldemort's attention remained diverted from me, keeping me safe as long as Draco and I were apart. And when Draco was coerced into Voldemort's service, my father could focus on safeguarding him, knowing that his own daughter was shielded.

The weight of this realization crashed over me, and I felt my legs buckle. I collapsed, struggling to breathe as the enormity of my father's legacy settled like a leaden weight on my chest.

"What?" Draco's voice cut through the fog of my thoughts. He was at my side in an instant, his hands steadying me as he guided me to the ground. "What is it?"

I could barely form the words, my mind a jumbled mess of emotions and revelations. The shock of understanding my father's true nature and my own place within that legacy left me feeling disoriented and vulnerable. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably.

I cried knowing the emotional turmoil he'd endured as a child, the pain of watching me make the same mistakes he had desperately tried to prevent. I cried in shame for the cruelty I had shown him when he had been silently suffering, dreading the tasks before him. And I cried in awe of the realization that despite everything, I had a father who loved me.

Draco held me close, his embrace warm and steady. "Grace, I don't know what you saw in there," he said softly, his voice filled with concern. "But you're not him, okay?"

"No," I sobbed, my voice trembling. "I am. I am him...."
I am my father's daughter. Proudly.

When I had regained my composure as best I could, explained to Draco what I saw in the pensieve, I was ready to find Jane and Blaise. Draco and I walked slowly through the castle, his arm around me. My face was red and swollen, but I had calmed down. We noticed that the fighting seemed to have come to a halt as the wounded were being tended to. I could hardly look at the horror that had befallen my school. Staircases were wrecked, pillars were cracked, walls had fallen in- the devastating effects that mass destruction had on such a splendorous place as Hogwarts. I remembered how I felt when I first came to Hogwarts as a fourth year. I remembered how utterly in awe of everything I was, and I couldn't even imagine how I would have felt to know what would become of this place.

There were cries echoing throughout the halls as it seemed as though many students would not recover from the damage they took in the fights- especially the younger ones who could not defend themselves. After the turn my night had taken, I knew I needed the one person I could rely on- I needed to find Jane. I needed to tell her everything and I needed to hear her famous words of encouragement. I needed her to cheer me up in the way only she could.