It was a pleasant September morning. The plush red curtains billowed in the air. The sweet sounds of the chirping birds flew in through the open window. Beautiful flowers bloomed in the garden beneath the verandah. Their lovely scents intermingled with the soft breeze and together they gently lured the little figure sleeping in the enormous four-poster bed to an imaginary land in his dreams.
Sunlight streamed in through the curtains and lit up the comfortable mahogany armchairs with their feathery velvet covers and the huge chestnut wardrobe that dutifully stood in a corner.
Unsatisfied by just stroking the lavish furniture, a naughty ray of sunlight crept towards the bed. Ignoring all the warnings of her mates, she peeked through the hangings to check whether the little sleepyhead was awake yet.
Unaware of all these activities going on around him, eleven-year old Draco Malfoy was sleeping soundly with a sweet smile plastered on his chubby face.
Suddenly the door to his bedroom opened cautiously and Narcissa Malfoy stepped inside. The sight of her sleeping son made her smile. She knew that he would still be asleep and she was right. She tiptoed to his side and gently shook him awake. In response, Draco turned over and mumbled something incoherent. But his mother knew what exactly would wake her little prince.
Bending towards him, she whispered a single word in his ear, –Hogwarts.â€
Grey eyes jerked open devoid of any hint of sleep.
Narcissa mentally patted herself on the back. She was right.
Again. She corrected herself.
It was the day when Draco was supposed to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the first time ever. And naturally, he was excited.
–What is the time, Mother?†Draco asked Narcissa, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
–It’s seven in the morning, love,†Narcissa replied ruffling his soft blond curls.
–What?†her son shouted, all traces of sleep vanishing without a trace, –Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?â€
–We are not leaving until nine. You have enough time to make your preparations,†she replied and went out softly closing the door behind her.
Thirty minutes later saw Draco bouncing down the stairs to the family room followed by an amused Narcissa who was levitating a trunk behind her.
–Father,†Draco exclaimed and bounded up to the man waiting by the huge fireplace, –Are we leaving?â€
Lucius Malfoy bent down on his knees so that he was level with his over-enthusiastic son and said in a mellow voice, –We are leaving in an hour. But before that you must have your breakfast.â€
An hour later the Malfoy family was trudging along platform nine and three-quarters looking for an empty carriage to load Draco’s things in. They found one presently and after a very teary farewell on his mother’s part that greatly embarrassed him; he was on his way to a school that would change his life forever.
Draco was sitting by a window and enjoying the passing scenery. Suddenly the door to his compartment opened to reveal two oversized boys that looked to be of his age. At first sight Draco was terrified.
Then one of them spoke, –C…can v...v...we sit here?â€
That was all that took the cunning blond to know that these monsters were actually dunderheads.
Holding his head high and mustering as much authority possible for an eleven-year-old, he spoke nonchalantly, –Sure.â€
Soon Draco made friends with them. He came to know that their names were Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe. After playing Exploding Snap with them for a little while, Draco was bored out of his wits. So he decided to take a tour of the train. Much to his chagrin, his two new cronies followed.
–With these two by my side, I can bully the whole of Hogwarts,†he mused.
Suddenly he heard a girl and a boy talking in the adjacent compartment. He started to move on when he heard something that made him stop.
The girl had mentioned the name of Harry Potter.
He inched towards the door and found that it was unlocked. Cautiously, he opened it to a crack and peered inside. There was a girl and a boy both of whom looked his age. The girl had bushy brown hair and her voice had an unmistakable air of officiousness in it. The boy was her exact opposite. He looked timid, docile and very much confused and intimidated by his companion.
His curiosity got the best of him and he set off towards the compartment in which she said ‘the-boy-who-lived’ was sitting.
Draco had every intention of making friends out of the boy and impressing his father. As a second thought he decided that he could also use someone of his own stature to spend his time with.
As he entered the specified compartment, he found himself face-to-face with the skinny bespectacled boy whom he had met at Madam Malkin’s. Looking around he saw a disheveled red haired boy who looked every bit a Weasley.
Draco was seething. He was pacing up and down the length of the deserted Slytherin common room while Crabbe and Goyle watched with nervous anxiety.
How dare that Potter refuse his friendship and choose that Weasel instead?
Draco had tried his best to be friendly but that snobbish Potter had insulted him and that too in front of a Weasley? No wonder he made Gryffindor.
The events that took place in the train so occupied his mind that Draco hadn’t been able to fully appreciate the moment he was sorted into Slytherin. This was his life-long dream but thoughts of Potter clouded his mind, diverting his attention.
–Thanks to Potter for ruining my big moment,†he sulked and plopped down on a couch by the fireplace.
As he looked at the dying embers, he made a decision.
Draco knew that no one crossed him. Potter would pay. Someday he would surely pay.
It was a warm sunny morning: a perfect day to have their first Flying Lessons.
Well it wasn’t a first for Draco. His flying lessons had begun when he was barely four years old.
His father had taught him the basics of a Quidditch match before his sixth birthday. At eleven, Draco had grueling matches with his father on weekends while his mother cheered for him until she was sore.
Draco was jolted out of his reverie by a sudden scream. He looked up and the sight that met his eyes made him laugh out loud.
Longbottom, the clumsy Gryffindor, was flying in the air or rather dancing with his broom. And then as Draco had expected, he fell.
To Draco’s amusement, Madam Hooch fussed over the hurt lad and escorted him to the Hospital Wing, but not before instructing the rest of the class not to touch their brooms.
Draco chuckled and looked around. At the same time, something caught his eye. He picked up the object and a vague memory began to take shape. Suddenly the ball in his hand gleamed red and he remembered watching Longbottom receive this Rememberall by the morning post.
Instantly, Draco knew that that was the perfect opportunity to teach bloody Potter a lesson.
Draco was boiling with rage. Potter had again outwitted him. He, Malfoy, was serving a detention with the horrible Squib while that Potter made the Gryffindor Quidditch team? And that too as a Seeker? The most coveted position in any Quidditch team?
Draco swore he would get to him. And soon.
The school term was passing smoothly but for Draco. Day and night he was plagued by a single thought: he had to even his score with Potter. All he needed was the opportune moment.
And the moment he did get.
Potter himself accepted his challenge for a duel in the Trophy Room with Weasley backing up as his second.
–Does he actually think that I will show up after curfew?†Draco mused as he made his way past them trying his best not to express his glee.
This was too much for him to take. Potter had again emerged unscathed from the fiasco he had helped create: thanks to the Mudblood.
–Enjoy while you can, Potter,†he muttered under his breath as he saw the threesome taking their seats in Transfiguration the next day.
One day after breakfast, Draco was heading towards the Slytherin common room when he spotted Potter, Granger and Weasley talking in hushed tones. Overcome by curiosity he edged towards them until he was well within earshot.
But Potter had seen him and the only thing he had managed to gather was that it was something related to Hagrid, the gamekeeper. He decided to keep a close watch on them.
During the morning break, he saw the trio making their way to Hagrid’s and he decided to follow them.
What Draco saw nearly made him faint with fright.
A Norwegian Ridgeback.
He knew that he had got the best opportunity to get to Potter and his pals.
He ran back to the school ready to blurt out Potter’s secret to the first teacher he could lay his eyes upon.
–Why does this always happen to me?†Draco thought as he trudged along the Forbidden Forest to serve detention with ‘Potter and his pals’.
Draco was afraid. He would never accept the fact but darkness always terrified him. The eerie sounds of the Dark Forest made him inwardly cringe. In a way he was thankful that he could hear Potter’s cautious footsteps in close proximity and listen to Fang’s heavy breathing. They made him feel safe.
Suddenly he saw something gleam in the moonlight a few yards ahead.
–Hey, Malfoy,†his companion called out, –I think we have found the unicorn but I think its dead. I can see its silver blo…â€
Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks and Draco nearly ran into him. Deafening silence gripped the entire forest.
A cloaked figure emerged out of the woods and bent towards the dead unicorn. What Draco saw next made him sick to the stomach. The figure seemed to be drinking the unicorn’s blood.
He had read somewhere that drinking unicorn blood leads one to immortality. But every good thing came at a price. Besides providing one with an eternity to live, the blood brings a cursed life. He could not think about anyone who would want to be immortal with such a bane over their heads.
At that point, Draco did the first think he could think of. He ran.
He could sense Fang, Hagrid’s dog at his heels but he had hardly gone a fifty yards that he realized with a jolt that Potter was not with them.
Even as Draco stopped and ran back to where he had left Harry, the silence of the forest was broken by a bloodcurdling scream. As suddenly as he had stopped talking, Potter had started screaming.
Draco rushed towards him with surprising speed to see whether he was all right.
–Are you fine? What happened?†he asked shaking him by the shoulders, concern etched upon his aristocratic features.
But Potter didn’t respond. Draco had a feeling that Potter was not even aware of his presence.
–Potter? Harry?†in his desperation Draco didn’t check his use of Potter’s first name.
Suddenly, Draco heard an inhuman voice. Turning around, he saw the hooded figure gliding towards them.
–Gliding?†he wondered aloud.
Draco was scared out of his wits. He tried dragging Potter away to safety but Potter did not budge. He just lay there clutching his forehead and writhing in apparent agony.
The hooded figure was nearing them. Draco could see silver blood dripping from the corners of its mouth.
He knew he had to make a split-second decision. He tugged Potter a last time with all his strength but in vain.
Draco knew he had no choice.
Taking a deep breath, he fled, not looking back at all.
–How can I be such a coward?†Draco asked himself for the umpteenth time.
Since he had abandoned a hapless Potter that night in the Dark Forest, his conscience had been bothering him to the brink of insanity.
–But I did call that oaf instead of running away to safety,†a feeble voice inside his head piped up.
–Yes,†his conscience shot back, –But you very well know that Potter would have been long dead by the time that ‘oaf’ had done anything if that centaur hadn’t intervened.â€
–But what could I have done,†he retaliated.
–Don’t give that to me, Draco,†his conscience snapped, –You had a wand and you very well know spells which even third years cannot perform.â€
That settled the argument.
–End of the term. Time for holidays,†the young Malfoy thought as he dressed in his dormitory.
He smirked with smug satisfaction as he entered the Great Hall for his last breakfast of the year. The reason was simple: Slytherin had won the House Cup.
Everywhere he looked there were decorations in green and silver. The Great Hall was bathed with the two august colours. Slytherin banners hung from the walls. Smug Gryffindors, annoyed Ravenclaws and confused Hufflepuffs (Draco wondered why they always seemed confused) were milling about in the corridors.
Bursting with pride, Draco took a seat at the Slytherin table between Crabbe and Goyle.
Silence enveloped the hall as Professor Dumbledore spoke up, –I need to make a few last minute announcements.â€
Draco was filled with a sense of foreboding.
Draco felt drained as he sat in the Hogwarts Express watching the passing countryside with the utmost disinterest.
At the moment he felt like throttling the old Headmaster to death for his unfairness.
At the last minute he had showed immense biasness by awarding the good-for-nothing Weasley and the insufferable know-it-all Granger fifty points each. Then he had further rewarded Gryffindor with sixty points: courtesy Potter.
Even then Draco was a little content in knowing that the Lions and the Snakes were tied at the first position but Dumbledore had to award ten more points to them.
And that to because Longbottom tried to stop ‘The Three Heroes’ from breaking some school rules.
Honestly. Longbottom?
How he had longed to reach up and cling to the green banners preventing them to turn red. How he had watched with teary eyes as the lions had gobbled up the snakes and all things silver had turned into gold. How he had wished that Potter didn’t exist.
Potter had tormented him the whole year. He had made his life a living hell. He had questioned his superiority and insulted him every time they had crossed paths. It was because of Potter that he had fallen in his own eyes. He had called himself a coward.
Draco was incensed. He wanted to kill the old Headmaster. He wanted Potter to suffer as much as humanly possible. He wanted Potter’s two sidekicks to helplessly witness the scene when Potter would be lying at his feet and he, Draco Malfoy, would have the supreme power to either kill him or let him live.
Draco smiled inwardly at these thoughts. Slowly the train’s soft rhythmic motion lulled him to a dreamless sleep.
Little did he know then that what a Malfoy wanted was what a Malfoy received.
Through the Eyes of the Fallen by weasley-malfoy-aficionado
Story Notes:
It is a prequel to Harry Potter and the Sinister Plot. But the latter can be read as a separate story.
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Chapter Notes:Disclaimer: I solemnly swear that I do not own any of this stuff. It's all JKR's. I am just blending her creativity with mine.
Thanks to my betas, potter-maniac and chudley canons for their constant support and encouragement. Love you guys.
Chapter Endnotes:Please leave your reviews.