Choices

31, October 1981

Mr. And Mrs. Hewitt of Little Haven were as normal as one could imagine and any neighbour would tell so, a common family they'd say. They were good friends of old Mrs. Rees from down the road and she would happily talk about them as if they were her own children.

Mr. Hewitt was an accountant, young but very capable with numbers, he was a tall blond man of aristocratic features. Mrs. Hewitt was a preschool teacher, shorter than her husband, she had long red hair and freckles on her face, quick to laugh she often contrasted her husband's more reserved personality. The Hewitts had two children, a small daughter, and an older son, and on their off days, one would usually see the small family spending time together.

The Hewitts had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that someone would discover it.

But it wasn't on that day that the story began, it started many years in a different time, on a dark night, when a boy of sixteen ran from a tower.

Spells were flying by but Draco didn't care anymore, he had failed, he couldn't kill Dumbledore, would the Dark Lord even care that he brought the Death Eaters into Hogwarts? Or would he kill him for having Snape do the killing and not fulfilling his mission? And if he didn't kill him, what did he have to live for?

He wanted to lie down, to forget that terrible year, pretend that he wasn't going home to a wand to his throat and all that he had to worry about was school grades and how to be better than Potter.

Nothing made sense anymore and no one could save him.

Snape was rushing him away but he barely registered it, even less when the man let him go, something behind them that Draco didn't care about, he continued on the path almost stumbling.

"YOU!"

The voice reached him as if it was miles away, if I could be miles away, his mind whispered in pain but he forced himself to pay attention, to come back to where he actually was. In front of him was Weasley, the girl, he remembered she and some others of Potters friends had come and somehow survived the attacks.

She glared at him and he raised his wand at her but his hand still trembled from before, Draco hoped she didn't notice, being arrested by them, by her, didn't sound much better than life in the mansion.

"You disgusting, treacherous...snake!" she screamed while running, getting closer to him.

"Stay back, I'll kill you!"

Big words for the one who couldn't kill an old man before he pushed those thoughts down, together with everything else, Bellatrix made sure he could push everything away, playing with his memories as she went.

"You let them in!" he tried to hex her but couldn't control his hand and missed "How could you?!"

The Weasley girl didn't care for his attempts at magic, failing as he was to actually hit her general direction, instead, she grabbed him by the collar, forcing him to look at her, righteous fury shining in her eyes. She hated him, and he remembered the one from her side that he had stumbled upon before.

He didn't have anything to say, feel sorry for the ones he had spent his lifetime hating? Even if he did, what good would it do now? Draco didn't have anything that he could offer, money and power had failed him, he was nothing.

He was alone.

She opened her mouth to speak or to curse him, he had no idea because it was then that a stray spell hit them.