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i
The translucent glass of the window provided a view that Draco wasn't particularly accustomed to, the Malfoy Manor always having offered a picturesque scenery of a large stretch of green land, usually scattered with peacocks proudly walking the area like they were the kings of the place. It was beautiful, Draco realised suddenly - he had never given much thought to it. But now as the only view that he had to see every morning was a bustling road with muggles rushing around, he realised how much he missed the manor.
His feet padded down the stairs as Draco made his way over to the kitchen, which too was sufficiently different from the one of his old home. When he had placed a kettle of water onto the stove, he brought out a slice of bread over which he spread out a generous amount of butter, and sat down at the table to eat it. Cooking was one of the many changes and obstacles he had to overcome after he had left the Malfoy Manor to live on his own. They had a house elf at home who was the one to do all of their chores, and as far as he could remember, that little creature was the one tending to his every need. But, as he had heard from rumours spreading through the Daily Prophet, that house elf, Dobby, had ended up being one of the many victims of Bellatrix.
Fortunately for Draco, he had Astoria to help him out with anything he needed, and she was the reason he had managed to survive his life of adulthood.
Draco could return to Malfoy Manor anytime he wanted to. At least, that was what his mother had said in her letters. But Draco wasn't ready for that. He wasn't sure he would ever be ready to set foot in the house where so many people had been tortured and locked up, the house where a woman was eaten alive by a giant snake under the order of its master, the same house where the Dark Lord had resided and blackmailed Draco into joining his forces.
His left arm tingled every time the thought of the Dark Lord crossed his mind, and a crippling fear overcame him, even though he knew he was safe. For that was what the Dark Lord's goal had been all along - to instill fear in everyone, including his followers, so that no one would dare stand up to him. And his sweet words of freedom and world domination had fooled people into following him blindly, thinking that he would give them the taste of freedom from the muggles, while the fact that he cared only about himself had never crossed their minds.
Draco was as much as a fool as the rest of them were, and his whole life has been nothing but one wrong decision after another. He was blinded by the ideologies taught by his parents, and it was only when the war had truly started that he had begun question their beliefs. What was the point of freedom if there was no one left to taste it?
ii
Draco suddenly jumped as the bell rang and abandoning his breakfast, he stood up and walked warily to the door, a hand sliding into his pocket where his wand sat safely inside. Astoria wasn't supposed to come now, and he never got any visitors. He completely neglected the fact that if his visitor meant him harm, they wouldn't bother to ring the bell.
