Allstar

Draco Malfoy was maturing. He found it to be quite a tedious process. While he had once enjoyed tormenting other students, his pleasure in the routine was dimming. They always reacted the same way, and once you'd seen one Weasley's ears go red, he reflected, you'd seen them all. The youngest though, Ginny, she was different. Draco found it quite amusing to see her reactions to his teasing. He wondered how far he could push her before her temper snapped. It would, he was sure. The Weasleys were not known for their iron self-discipline. Not like the Malfoys, Draco thought with black humour. He'd seen his father lose his temper often enough to know that his much-vaunted self-discipline was just for show, a part of the persona he showed the wizarding world. Draco's personal test of self-discipline was whether the person in question could keep their temper in front of those whose opinions did not matter to that person. For that reason, Draco considered his own self-discipline better than that of his father or, from all that he had heard, Lord Voldemort himself.

Contrary to popular belief, Draco had never met the Dark Lord, nor had he been taught the Dark Arts by his father. Lucius simply didn't care enough about his son to give him special tutoring; his only concerns were for his own business, both as a prominent figure in the wizarding world and as a high-ranking Death Eater. Lucius' influence on Draco's life extended only far enough for him to have instilled the following precepts in Draco from childhood: Don't associate with those of lower rank than yourself; don't disgrace the family name; don't trust anyone; don't care for anyone; always keep your own agenda to yourself. Basic Slytherin qualities, really. Draco had never considered himself a nice person.

In fact, Draco had never wanted to be a nice person. He had every intention of getting the most he could from life, and if that meant stepping on a few people on the way, then so be it. They obviously shouldn't have been in his way in the first place. His growing discomfort with his practice of taunting other students was therefore troubling to him. While it still amused him to anger Ginny Weasley, for example, the thought of her crying because of something he'd done had made him feel very uncomfortable. Maybe even guilty, though he wasn't sure about that.

Draco had also noticed that he seemed to be thinking far too much about the youngest Weasley. Surely there could be nothing that captivating about her. And yet, she kept appearing in his thoughts at the oddest times. He also couldn't resist talking to her, which he imagined could get him in trouble if any of her brothers caught him at it. He wondered what it would be like to make her laugh.