Then & Now

Chapter Two

Draco POV

Draco Malfoy had boarded the Hogwarts Express hoping to come across a familiar face. No one from his year was on board. He had heard that most of their families had been locked up in Azkaban for the dealings as Death Eaters, but he had expected to at least see one of his old housemates. Those he did see eyed him cautiously. The Slytherins muttered "traitor" under their breath as he walked by. The Ravenclaws would see him coming and look busy, so as not to be bothered. The Hufflepuffs were even ignoring him. By the time he reached the Gryffindor section, he was out of options. At this point, he could only hope there was an empty compartment he could hide away in.

Passing through the gold and crimson clad students, he heard more whispering. Some said "Death Eater" others called him "enemy" but the worst was "coward." He could let go of the other names. Coward stuck. He didn't have the Gryffindor bravery. Defying his father was a damn near impossible task. Defying the most powerful wizard the world had ever know was out of the question. It was a death sentence.

His mother had been aware of how critical being in the Dark Lord's graces were. It was why she had enlisted Severus Snape to make the Unbreakable Vow with her. She would do whatever she had to in order to protect her son. Draco had struggled with his task from the moment it had been asked of him. Taking another's life was beyond what he was capable of. He had wanted to hurt others before. He had felt the desire to cause harm to another individual, most often his own father, but he had never gone as far as to entertain the idea of murder. No matter how dark of a facade he put on, Draco had never crossed that line.

The day he saw the dead bird in the Vanishing Cabinet, he had felt the full weight of his task on him. He heard his father telling him what a disappointment he was to the Malfoy bloodline, what a disgrace he was, and how disappointed Lucius was that he was their only child. He saw Potter beating him at both Quidditch and Potions. He saw Granger beating him for the top marks in their year. He saw Weasel becoming the best Keeper Gryffindor had seen in a while. All around him, others were succeeding easily, while he wrestled with his commitment to a task that determined whether or not he lived or died.

Draco recalled how the Dark Lord taunting him over and over again. He had known if he wasn't able to fix the cabinet, his parents would pay the price of his failure. Seeing the bird had rattled him. It felt like an omen of what was to come. Despite his misgivings towards his father, he didn't want to see Lucius dead. He was his father, after all. Narcissa had always been a kind and loving mother. Draco couldn't bear to think of how she would be tormented before death, just to cause him additional pain before his life was ended. Crossing the line became necessary to ensure their survival.

Perhaps his choices had been wrong. Perhaps his failure had been in not seeing any other choice. That made him flawed, not a coward.

He moved toward the back of the train where he noticed what appeared to be an empty compartment. When he got to the door, he saw one student sitting by herself in the corner. Book open, head down - he knew instantly who it was. Weighing his options, he decided he'd take his chances with the bookworm over the unfriendly crowds. He slid the door open and walked in with false bravado.

"Granger."

He took a seat across from her, settling in with the intention of taking a nap. Hopefully it would make the train ride go faster.

"Malfoy?"

She sounded shocked to see him. He was surprised himself. He had heard she had been offered a position within the Ministry along side the rest of the Golden Trio. If such a position had been offered to him, he would have gladly accepted. He was curious as to why she had chosen to return to Hogwarts instead of pursuing a career with her best friends. He had very few memories of them not being together. After the war, he expected them to be even more inseparable, if that were possible.