Draco Malfoy's Worst Fear

Draco's Boggart

"Today, I will put you in groups of five, and you will take turns coming into my office, and dealing with a Boggart," Draco's face instantly paled. "Here are the groups." Lupin waved his wand at the board. He groaned. He was in a group with Weasley, Potter, Granger, and Ginny. Ginny, he didn't mind so much, but Weasly, and Potter, well, even Granger. Uhg, this was not going to be a very good day. "Now, get into your groups and I shall start calling groups up." Draco walked up to Lupin really quickly. 
"Yes, Malfoy?" Lupin whispered, looked at him. 
"Might my group go last, Professor, I just..." He took a deep breath trying to collect his thought.
"Don't worry, Malfoy, your group will be last." 
"Thank you Professor." Draco smiled, and the tension in his shoulders lessened slightly, very slightly.

The groups got called up, and one by one began to leave. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were talking about what their biggest fears were, when Ron suddenly turned hostilly to Draco. 
"What about you Malfoy?" Draco turned to face Ron. "What's your greatest fear?"
"You will find out soon enough." Draco said, fiddling with his hands. He did this when he was really nervous, it was a habit, and one his father despised. 
"So you don't know?" Ron pressed. "I know mine, it seems like everyone here knows their greatest fear but you. What is it? Hmm, I bet it got upgraded from having on dirty cloths before the war to being poor now that the war's over." Draco's eyes flashed with fury as he turned to face Ron. 
"Look, Imbecile, you may think you know oh so much about me and what my life is like, but the truth is you know nothing about me, or what I deal with. You can't possibly understand, given the fact that your parents are the way they are. So don't try to lecture me on what MY greatest fear is. I already know what I am scared of the most, the only difference is, mine is still around, and has been since before I even started this school, while all of yours either are in your past, or in your future. My fear is far more complex than 'being poor'. I would rather be poor and not have to deal with my fear. So shut up and just give it a rest will you!" Draco lashed out. He hadn't meant to, he just did. He was tired of everyone thinking that they know him.
"Or, maybe it's your precious father not giving you some brand new book or broomstick hu?"
 "Shut it Weasley! You know NOTHING of what my Father is like, or what he is capable of." Draco said, now wrath easy to detect. "So stop talking before I cannot control myself." He said angrily. Ron stopped talking, all of them shocked at his outburst. 
"Alright, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco, come on." Lupin said. 

Draco got extremely nervous. He hated this. Why couldn't they just have done it in Third year and be over with it? Why did they have to bring it up again? 
All of the Quad's fears were understandible. Ginny's was of the young Tom Riddle that came out of the diary, Ron's was of being forced to watch Hermione's untimely death, Hermione's was of killing her family, Harry's was still of a dementor. Even though it had been about fifteen minutes, Draco still wasn't ready for this.
"Malfoy, it's your turn." Lupin said, the boggart once again in the wardrobe. Draco took a deep breath. 
"Professor, uh, I already know what my fear is, do I really have to do this?" He asked.
"Yes, Malfoy."
"Fine!" Draco walked up to Lupin. "If anything happens, take me to Professor Snape, he will know what to do." Lupin nodded slightly. 
"Now, remember, you have about seven minutes once you cross this circle, before anyone can help you. Okay? Don't worry, you'll be fine." Draco gave a forced laugh, filled with anxiety. He stopped at the edge of the circle, gripping his wand as if it were his life line.
"Oh hurry up Malfoy! Your fear can't be any worse than ours!" Ron said harshly. Draco turned and gave him such a cold glare it could freeze the black lake. This caused them to stop in their tracks. Draco took a deep breath, and walked around the circle, trying to give himself more time, before, finally stepping over the magical barrier. The boggart turned to face him. The Serpent's cane was the first thing to appear, causing the tenseness in Draco's body to automatically return. Surrounding the circle, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Lupin watched. Soon the rest of the figure appeared, and everyone gasped. Lucius Malfoy was in front of them, but it was as if Draco was no longer in the DADA office. He had gone completely still and rigid. Terror was etched in every feature of his face, and all of his body language. It made everyone there wonder how he managed to hide such fear so completely. 
"Draco, you dare raise a wand to me?" Lucius asked in a calm and smooth voice. Draco's face paled. His blue/grey eyes flashed with fear. His body tense, his grip on his wand did not loosen. Lucius's eyes flashed with anger.
"Malfoy, it's just a boggart, not real!" Lupin yelled. But it was as if Draco did not hear the words at all, as if they did not even make a sound. 
Lucius gripped the cane tighter. This motion cause Draco to loose all confidence he had previously. His grip slackened on his wand, and caused it to tumble to the ground, clattering against the floor. Lucius smiled wickedly. "Disrespect, as you know, is not tolerated in this family. I thought I made that clear last time." He said calmly, before a flash of green light, and Draco was on his knees, pain spiraling up his body. Soon Lucius let the curse lift. Draco stayed on his knees, but, unconciously, glared at his father with such hatred and anger, fury. Lucius's eyes flashed with something, something between anger and amusement. 
"Disrespectful to your father, Draco?" Draco looked down instantly. Another flash of green and Draco was on the floor. The pain was crawling up his body, and the scream that he emitted was filled with anguish and pain was radiating off his body. The curse was lifted after several seconds. Draco did not even attempt to get up, nor did he reach for his wand, which was about three inches away. 
"The next time you look at me like that, Draco, you will wish for something as sweet as the Cruciatus curse, am I clear?" he asked in a low threatening voice. Draco did not answer, as his pain was too much. It seemed to suit Lucius though. He laughed coldly freezing his son's blood. "Get up, Draco." Draco tried and failed. Lucius raised his wand, and pain filled all of Draco's sensed again. 
"Please, stop, father!" Draco begged. Lucius lifted the curse and glared at his son with a look that could easily freeze the ocean. 
"Malfoy's do not plead. They take their punishment. So," Another green light, and another scream. Ginny couldn't take it anymore. She ran up to the circle, and came down on her knees, whispering to Draco Malfoy of all people. 
"Hay, he isn't real. It's just a boggart. You've got to do this. Don't give in already. It's just messing with you. You can do this." Draco was still twitching in pain from the intensity of the curse that the boggart-Lucius had placed on him, and the amount of times that it was placed on him. Draco did not do anything. "I believe in you, I believe you can do this. Just, do it for me?" Ginny whispered. "I know your not a bad person. Not like everyone else thinks. Don't give up." This seemed to get to him. Draco grabbed his wand and stood up facing his father. 
RIDDIKULUS! He shouted in his mind. Lucius was changed completely and now his mother stood before him. He smiled slightly, before the boggart was trapped once more in a chest. The circle disappeared, and Draco, still twitching randomly. Pointed his wand at himself, and whispered some very complex charms. Ginny didn't recognize any of them. For all she knew, it could be one really complex charm. Draco stood back up, though somewhat still in pain, he was able to hide it well. Ginny brought Draco into a tight hug. Draco tensed, unsure of what to do. He decided on akwardlly hugging her back. He was not used to sentiments. 
"How are you feeling?" Ginny asked, clearly concerned. 
"I am Fine,"
"That is not an answer." Ginny said. Harry smiled, obviously amused. 
"Well, I know that...I Just...." Draco was stumbling over his words, another thing that rarely happened. Hermione and even Ron was amused. 
"Draco!" She said sternly. Draco looked at her and mentally slapped himself for looking into her green eyes. He clenched his teeth. "Come one!" She said.
"Not here," He said quietly. "I will tell you later."
"But..."
"No, I said later." He said firmly, showing that he was not going to budge on this. "Alright?" He asked.
"Yea, yea, yea. Whatev." She said. Draco smiled sadly. "But, we are going to lunch now." She said. 
"No, you and your friends are going to lunch, I am going to the common room." Draco said. Ginny stared at him. "I am really not hungry. Okay? Never am after...It doesn't matter, I am just not hungry. Besides, I already ate today, per our agreement." Draco said, folding his arms across his chest.
"Oh, man, Malfoy, you have no clue what you're getting into. My lil' Sis here, she always finds a way to terrorize you until you do what she wants." Ron said.
"Please,"
"No," Draco said firmly. Ron started laughing hysterically. 
"Dude, there ain't no way your winning this one." Harry said smiling. 
"You just got crucio'ed about five times, you need to eat, and drink." Draco shook his head.
"No, I am used to that. When I was disrespectful, in a way that contradicted the Rules of Respect, or even in a way that didn't but he thought was disrespectful, the Cruciatus curse was the most common way for him to punish me. I only actually ate if I managed to keep myself in line when dinner came around. That rarely happened, so I'm used to little to no food, Ginny." Draco said, in complete counter attack. 
"I don't care." Ginny said, crossing her arms over her chest as well, tapping her foot. "You aren't getting out of this, and you barely ate this morning. One apple doesn't count." Draco groaned. 
"Dude, you might as well give up." Ron said chuckling. This was actually hysterical to him, and all hostile feelings had been removed after seeing Malfoy's boggart. 
"I really am not in the mood, Ginny." Draco said. Ginny smiled. 
"Too bad, you are coming with me." Ginny grabbed his right wrist firmly and drug him out of the office. 
"Ginny!" Draco called vainly. Hermione, Harry, and Ron, started cracking up, and followed quickly, leaving Lupin with a dumbfounded look. How something as simple as a boggart could erase years of hatred was amazing.