The Marriage Decree

Are you following me? (Book 1 Ch 2)

Author's Notes: This is a refined chapter!

Draco prefers the evening of solitude for New Year's Eve to the grandiose parties his parents once threw. There's something about all of pureblood society gathering in their ballroom to brag about their family accomplishments that makes his skin crawl now. His father would parade him around the hall, introducing his son to everyone worth knowing. Draco would courteously play his part as Malfoy's heir until the conversation turned to business, and he was dismissed from the room. Not that Draco cared in his teenage years, as that's when the party really started. He and his friends would sneak to his bedroom with a bottle of wine he had stolen from the kitchens and pass it around as they gossiped about everything their parents didn't want anyone to know about.

Friday 31st December 1998

This year, only Draco and his mother ghosted the hallways of Malfoy Manor, and they certainly weren't going to be ringing in the New Year together. For tradition's sake, Draco finds himself lounging across his window seat, an opened bottle of wine gripped in his pale hands as he presses his forehead against the cold, frosted window pane.

As a child of five years old, his attention had once been drawn to the nearby muggle village a few miles across the countryside. Draco had been mesmerised by the flickering of colourful lights hanging from the snow-capped roofs at this time of year. However, after expressing this admiration to his father, he was punished accordingly as his father complained about the stains that muggles left on the countryside and how disgusted their ancestors would be to know of their closeness. Draco vowed never to let his gaze fall upon the muggle village again for fear of offending his father and ancestors.

His grandfather's clock at the top of the stairs chimes once, indicating the time to be half-past eleven. In thirty minutes, the worst year of Draco's life will be left behind, and he'll have his whole life ahead of him. This time last year, Draco had long since given up on caring about his future. After all, the Dark Lord was living in his Manor, and his future was at a crossroads. One path led to a life as a Death Eater, living in constant fear and anger, and the other path led to a life in Azkaban. When the downfall of the Dark Lord became apparent, Draco began to crave the safety of Azkaban, as long as he could take his father with him. That's why he testified against him, to protect his mother from Lucius' anger and to ensure they would both rot in prison. His plan half worked; Lucius was sentenced to fifteen years in Azkaban, but Draco hadn't considered Harry Potter's saviour complex. Potter had testified for Draco, keeping him out of Azkaban altogether. Instead, he was sentenced to ten weeks of community service and ordered to return to Hogwarts to complete his education.

Now that Draco had a future to care about, he didn't know what to do with it, not that he would have many options. Who would want to employ an ex-death eater hated by most of the wizarding world?

An explosion in the sky above the muggle village startles Draco into almost spilling his wine. They're a little early; as his grandfather's clock begins, its twelve strikes a few moments later. Gold rains down just before another firework brings more colours to the sky. A rare smile graces Draco's face as he watches the display, his head free of all thoughts for the first time in a long time.

Saturday 1st January 1999

A knock at his bedroom door awakens Draco early that morning. His face is still plastered to the cold window, damp with condensation. The bottle of wine, still grasped in his hand, is empty; its contents now spilt across the window cushion and his pyjamas. Confusion clouds his mind as he sits up. The sky outside is just beginning to lighten, so it's early enough for him not to feel guilty about sleeping in. Another knock brings Draco to his feet. He uses a non-verbal spell to clean the mess before answering the door.