The Malfoy Mystery

1 • aftereffects

Draco woke up from yet another nightmare. His mind was always occupied by his past and awful life choices. It had been quite some while since the dreadful occurrence. Malfoys had betrayed their 'side' and were not a part of the victorious wizards and witches. To put it simply, the Malfoys were currently outcasts, especially Draco.

Whenever Draco walked across the avenues near his apartment, his head hung low with fear; fear of being judged by others. One year ago, such a statement would have led Draco to scoff, but such a reality was a heavy burden to live with. Everything his family was known for - pride, honour, wealth, had been snatched away from him and his mother.

Narcissa Malfoy was the only member of the clan who was still tolerated around. Her request for living in a muggle region had only been accepted under one condition - Draco must return to Hogwarts. Their reasoning was that they needed as much as young wizards and witches as possible. Since Draco hadn't committed any chargeable crime, he was eligible for this policy. The only thing was Draco wasn't aware of this situation.

Since Voldemort's demise, Draco had been suffering from the same torturous nightmares on repeat. Nagini slithering across his dining table, slowly approaching him as it hissed. Nagini climbed onto Draco's shoulders, making way towards his throat. Steadily, Nagini wrapped itself around his neck, making him suffocate. Just as the snake was about to snap his neck, his eyes opened. His breathing was irregular, heartbeat was extremely fast. If he hadn't taken calming pills before sleeping, he would have had an anxiety attack as soon as he woke up. Every night he woke up trembling, shaking in cold sweat and tears.

Draco Malfoy wasn't a confident wizard anymore. He was scattered, exhausted and afraid. He and his mother had to abandon the manor, which was to be converted into a museum for the second wizarding war. The muggle apartment in which they were living was cosy and packed. Since muggles were still not used to roaming around wizards, the Malfoys didn't let them know their heritage. If these people knew about Draco's role in this war, maybe they would have treated him differently.

After the war, Lucius' pride was too much to bear, even for himself. Rather than serving a long sentence in Azkaban for his committed crimes, he decided it would be better for him to give up his life. This added only more fuel to Draco's grief. Don't get it wrong, Draco did not have any love for his parental figure, but seeing his mother after that was hard to digest for him. He somehow felt responsible for everything that had been happening to them.

Even though he hadn't killed anyone or used any of the unforgivable curses on anyone, he believed that he was the one who began the war. The cycle of him blaming himself was unbreakable, and every time he tried to make it better, it would get worse. To distract himself from this pain, to escape from it he used to spend most of his time with his mother or talking to Blaise via owl. Pansy, who once used to follow Draco around like a dog, had broken contact with him because of their downfall in pureblood family status, so much for a confidante. Today was no better.

His mother had somehow convinced him to go out and buy some groceries. Since he was no longer living in the luxuries of his ancestors, he had to perform his daily household chores himself. Not only did it fuel further his anxiety it also changed his personality as well as his health.

He swiftly locked the door of his apartment as he exited to get groceries. After the war, all of the Malfoy's money obtained through questionable deeds and sources had been confiscated. The little wealth he had left, Narcissa had suggested to save it for future uncertainties, and Draco agreed.

Fast forward to a few weeks, that same money was being used to treat Draco's depression. Nowadays, therapy sessions were very expensive, even for the Malfoys. His magic had also been suspended for the time being. The Ministry wanted him to think about the consequences of his actions and introspect on the same.

He finally reached outside the building he lived in and saw dark clouds above thundering.

Thunder. Clouds. Dark. Death eater's mark

He slowly spiralled out of control and got trapped in traumatic memory. That same memory changed the course of his entire life. His breathing became irregular and short, he couldn't breathe. He gasped for air as he silently tried to calm his heart.

Draco was in the Astronomy Tower, just witnessing the death of his headmaster: Albus Dumbledore. Draco was standing there as if he had been petrified. Bellatrix cast a death eater mark in the sky and the black clouds surrounded the entire tower. As they ran down the halls, Draco began to regret joining the side he had been forced to choose. Potter behind him tried to get him, but Snape intervened. He should have never agreed to do this. He was forever trapped in this-

"Hey, are you okay?" Draco snapped out of his thoughts and was glad someone interrupted him, or he would have broken down in the middle of the street just like that. He looked forward and saw a young girl with red hair, a few freckles spread across her cheeks. It looked like Ginny Weasley. A Weasley just saw him in.

The girl flinched as she realized who it was, but almost in a second masked her expression, didn't wait for an answer and literally ran away.

Draco knew the entire Weasley household was going to know about this now- the poor Malfoy brat is finally having it tough. What an occasion for them to celebrate. Draco decided he shouldn't think much cause it wouldn't help him in any possible way.

He approached the grocery store and paid the bill when it started to rain heavily. He nearly fell down while running to reach his flat quickly. He reached the flat and put the groceries in the tiny kitchen.

Narcissa was sitting inside watching a video on stock markets. As soon as she saw Draco was drenched in water, she ran towards him with a towel in his hand and spoke, "Sweetie why didn't you use your wand..." and used her wand to dry him. She regretted the words that came out of her mouth almost immediately. Draco shrugged her off.

He wanted someone who could truly understand him. At night time, he went outside just to take his pills and locked himself again. Tomorrow, he had to meet with the new therapist.