Heroes of Hogwarts: Being Brave is Believing in Yourself

Chapter 6

At Hogwarts:
Draco didn't know why or how he was chosen. But, he was. So, he did what he was supposed to. The morning Hogwarts classes began, he woke up early and waited in the common room for his assigned wizard to come downstairs.

The Gryffindor common room was so much nicer than Slytherin's. He didn't know how he got into Gryffindor. He was, and always will be(as much as he hated it) a Death Eater.

He had to. He had no choice. Life or death. Family or abandonment. Torture or pleasure. Duty or the right choice. Evil or good.

He had to choose life. He had to choose family. He had to choose torture. He had to choose duty. He chose evil. And now he was bonded to it. Forever and ever. The Dark Mark on his arm said so.

Draco was lucky the Minister of Magic let him and his mother live. He had his father killed. Draco wasn't sure how he felt about that.

Yes, his father was horrible. A part of Draco was sad and grieving. The other part was thankful to the world that the great desire to kill that his father possessed was gone. And a part of him was scared.

Scared to end up just like his father. Evil, yet frightened and cowardly. In many ways, he was already his father.

Just then, Draco heard feet thumping down the stairs.

A boy who looked younger than Draco entered the room. He wore all black, with his robes. His hair was dark, his eyes dark. His skin pale. He looked like a vampire who never saw the sun.

"Um, hi. Draco Mal-"

"Just Draco," Draco said as he stayed sprawled on the couch. "Are you Nico? Dí Angelo, as Hermione told me."

Nico flinched. "Just Nico," he said firmly.

"Okay Nico. Ready? This is my first time up here, so I may lose my way."

Nico stepped closer. He sighed. "I thought I was going to be put in Slytherin. My dad is so Slytherin......"

Draco sat up. "Who's your dad? Was he a Death Eater?"

Nico shook his head. "I'm from America. There are no Death Eaters there, though my father might as well be one. He's......familiar with death. So am I, and my half-sister Hazel."

Draco stood up. "The students will start to come down soon. Let's get a head start to the Great Hall in case I get lost."

The way there, Nico blended into the shadows. He seemed to be transparent like a ghost. One time, he was transparent. Or it was Draco's imagination. He hoped it was.

"What's your wand? Components, I mean." Draco asked as they reached the Hall and sat down at the long table.

"I....I forget." Nico said and pulled one out.

Draco held out a hand. "May I?"

"Sure," Nico passed him his wand.

Draco scrunched up his face in concentration. Before the war, he wanted to be a wand master and was studying the art of it.

It was quite amazing, really. The wand wasn't controlled by the wizard. And the wizard wasn't controlled by the wand. It was an intricate study, sort of like the wizard equivalent of a Muggle food web. Specific components made the whole thing come together and make one huge thing.

"I think it's.....dragon heartstring core......elder tree base......ten and a quarter inches?" Draco opened his eyes.

"Woah. How did you.....Never mind. It is, though. I think." Nico took back his wand. Draco grinned. Nobody had known of his passion. He was going to change that. For better or for worse.