The Darkest Night

A/N: Yes, it's late again. I'm sorry, so I guarantee another chapter in half that time. I did a lot of rethinking on this story, and ended up rewriting a couple of the future chapters so more characters could make an appearance. There's been a lot of character development, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace and bring in some action. And yes, that was Lupin. He'll show up eventually, and play a much bigger role. I just liked making people think about it. Is that evil of me? Haha. Alright, on to the next chapter. It's not as long as the last one, but that's because I didn't want to run on to the next chapter, which will probably be in excess of 5000 words. Lots of work, but it will be done. My exams are over for another 2 weeks! That is basically what held me off this story. (Well, that and Spring Break in Florida, and you know how we college kids go crazy....I think I had one permanent headache that week.)

Chapter 6: Dare to be Different

If anyone walked into the Malfoy Manor dining room on that sunny Friday morning, they would have found nothing out of the ordinary. Lucius, along with his wife Narcissa, were dining quietly at the table, occasionally discussing upcoming weddings or Lucius's day at the office. Ever since he had been released from Azkaban on a technicality (i.e. bribe), he had watched his steps carefully. All this changed in a single second.

Lucius gasped in pain as he grabbed his forearm. Beads of sweat appeared on his regal forehead. He grimaced and quickly stumbled from his chair, shifting the tablecloth and knocking over the vase of tulips. Narcissa watched silently.

"It's him," she stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," he hissed between clenched teeth. Lucius straightened and looked back at his wife, whose eyes were shining with unshed tears. He took her in his arms, and they stood that way for several moments, listening to each other's heartbeats.

Finally, Lucius pulled away gently, and glanced around the dining room, not wanting to meet her eyes.

A massive Austrian chandelier loomed over their heads, catching every ray of light which twinkled brighter than a neutron star. Fine china cabinets, which sat on Chinese carpets, were filled to the brim with china and crystal and gold plated finery, littered the paneled walls, each decorated with molding made of the finest design. An air of splendor pervaded the room, which was ornate and magnificent to the last detail.

"Is this worth it?" she whispered, turning her back to Lucius and running a delicate hand over the gleaming dining room table. On outward appearance, she seemed a cold and distant woman, but only Lucius, and maybe Draco, knew that this was untrue.

Lucius too looked around the room, although his eyes, as grey as his son's, focused on items of a different nature: the Malfoy family crest, embossed on a shield of silver dating back to the 12^th century; and hanging over the roaring fireplace was the sword and wand of Ilian Malfoy, one of a long line who built Malfoy Manor (including the dungeons - muggle torture was always a favorite past time, even beating out house elf booting). If he had wandered down the hall a few feet, he could have stepped into the library, containing every date of births, weddings, christenings, graduations, and just about anything else one could think of pertaining to the Malfoy family. And Draco was the last of his line.

"Sometimes I don't know if it's worth it or not," he admitted truthfully, as if surprised to hear himself speak those words. "All I know right now," he added, voice becoming grim, "is that I've been hearing rumors. Disturbing ones. Ones that could affect every single Malfoy from here on. And Draco hasn't answered the last owl I sent yet. I have to go. He'll know if there's something amiss."

He sat on the edge of the table, and waited for her to say something. When she said nothing, he turned to leave.

"Dinner is tonight at seven," she called to his back. He faced her again. She was beautiful still, even after years of marriage and childbirth had aged her.

"Don't be late either. The house elves almost wet themselves the last time when the dishes came close to burning." Her bottom lip trembled, but she otherwise seemed perfectly calm, just like the wife of a deatheather should be.

Lucius chuckled softly, glad to see that his wife still had a sense of humor. He stood, kissed her on the cheek, and apparated to the check point. He was wary of what horrors awaited him and his family.

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Hagrid sat down heavily in the chair next to Draco and leaned forward, a cup of tea in hand. "Malfoy," he began, ignoring Draco's discomfort. "You and me, we ain't always been the greatest of pals in the past."

Ladies and Gentlemen: you now see before you the winner of the Understatement of the Year Award.

"But I want yeh to know that I'm willing to put that behind me, if you are."

Draco nearly did a double take. Of all the stupid things to say, why the... Was he kidding? Had someone put the giant up to a joke? Draco would have laughed, but he saw that Hagrid seemed serious.

Alright, I'll play your game.

"And why should I do that?" he replied coldly, almost mockingly.

Hagrid was passing his tea cup from hand to hand, and cleared his throat once more. With a slight sense of malicious pleasure, Draco realized that Hagrid was probably as uncomfortable as he was.

"Because," Hagrid sighed. "Because you need help, from someone at least, even if yeh don't want ter admit it."

"I can't believe this!" Draco nearly screeched, and threw his hands up into the air. "Is this why I'm here? To have a heart to heart with you, of all people? You can't be serious."

Draco slid out of the chair, fully intending to leave then and there. But on second thought, a bit of taunting would be fun. He faced Hagrid and did his best to look down on him, even if the giant was several feet taller.

"You make me sit here, waste precious time from my Friday afternoon, just so you can pretend to be my friend? Who set you up to this? Dumbledore? Tell the old fool that I'm not saying anything. My father has already gone to Azkaban once," hissed Draco. His felt himself getting angrier by the second, chest rising and falling as his breathing accelerated. He clenched his fists at his sides, resisting the urge to wrap his hands around Hagrid's large neck. To rip, tear, shred the muscle and sinew that held-

"No one has set you up Malfoy," growled Hagrid. "If yeh weren't so paranoid all the time, you'd realize that there are decent people in the world who want to help you."

"And what kind of help could I get from a groundskeeper? Can you fight curses, or defeat armies? You didn't even graduate from school. How are you supposed to help where others have failed?" He stared into Hagrid's eyes and willed himself not to blink.

Hagrid's eyes hardened, but he ignored the jibe. "Well, fer starters," he said, "I could tell you that you need to start learning how to control your emotions."

"I can control my emotions," he snapped, and turned towards the window. He wasn't eager to give in to any of Hagrid's comments, no matter how true they were. Draco took several deep breaths to clear his thoughts.

"Oh you can, can you?" said the giant, speaking as if he were talking to a seven year old. "Not from what I saw today."

He whipped around, eyes glaring daggers at the large man before him. "Don't patronize me groundskeeper; I get enough of that without you telling me," he replied darkly. Draco paused. "And what did you mean, I should control my emotions?" he said, feigning disinterest. But inside, he was seething with curiosity. Did Hagrid know something that he didn't?

"Why don't you take a walk over to that mirror," said Hagrid, nodding in the direction. "That one over there, above the dresser. Then you tell me what I meant."

With an exaggerated sigh, Draco spun away from the door and swaggered towards the grimy mirror.

"Alright, I'm looking. What am I looking for?" drawled the teen, arms crossed over his chest in impatience.

"Walk closer than that, you're practically ten feet away!"

Draco walked forward and lazily glanced at the mirror, but did a double-take when he saw his own reflection. His breath caught in his throat. He moved closer, until his nose was practically touching the glass, and braced his hands against the dresser.

Yellow. His eyes were yellow. Amber, to be more exact. He turned his head to the left, then to the right, and back again, all the while keeping his eyes glued to his own reflection. But no matter what angle he turned to, his eyes were still the same color. Changed. Foreign. Unnatural. It wasn't him. But it was him now, wasn't it? He reached a tentative hand towards his face, only to let it rest again on the dresser, as if he would fall over if he didn't hold on.

"What's happening to me?" he whispered at last, barely hearing even himself. He looked about as lost as he felt. His brain felt clouded, his thoughts muddled. Was that his voice? Hagrid was talking. What was he saying? Hagrid's reply brought him back to reality.

"It's yer emotions," he repeated kindly. "You can't get too riled up; else your eyes'll change color. That's part of it."

"So, so the porlock stampede-"

"Set off yer internal trigger, whatever ye want ta call it, and told your body ta get ready to fight," finished Hagrid, who looked quite pleased that he knew the answer. "Your body'll do whatever it can to prepare, even if your mind tells it not to. Did yeh notice anything, like better vision, or hearing maybe?"

Draco spoke slowly, and his voice took on a much more subdued tone that before. "Yes," he said finally, lifting a hand to cradle his chin in contemplation. "When I saw Parvati, I started running, and just blocked everything else out, just to focus on her. And I felt more, more...powerful." Draco faced Hagrid, letting his amber eyes find Hagrid's own beatle black ones. "Does that scare you giant?" he asked, in the most sinister voice he could muster. "I could kill you or anyone else one night. Are you scared of me?"

"No Malfoy, I'm not scared of you," sighed Hagrid, shaking his head sadly. "I feel sorry for you, for what you have to go through. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, not even you."

"I don't need your sympathy," Draco replied hotly. "Not from anyone and especially not from you. I can get through it by myself. I always have. Why should it ever change?"

He turned away from Hagrid to face the fire, not wanting to see the contempt or scorn that he was sure Hagrid probably felt for him right now. Draco suddenly realized how ridiculous it was for him to be saying what he was, especially to Hagrid of all people.

Instead, he felt a tender hand on his shoulder. Draco didn't like to be touched. He turned to glare at the giant, but stopped. Awkwardly, as he was not used to displays of emotion, Draco looked up at the giant standing beside him. What he saw was not contempt, or even amusement at the boy's misfortunes showing in the giant's eyes. What he saw was something he needed, from somebody, anybody. Within those black depths, he saw understanding. Understanding for his condition, understanding for his upbringing, understanding for who he was and what he could become.

"It's hard to be different," said Hagrid sagely, holding his own gaze.

"Yes, well, you would know, wouldn't you?" replied Draco snidely. But secretly, he was grateful. He shrugged Hagrid's hand away from his shoulder.

Hagrid only smiled. It was infuriating how calm and accepting he was.

Draco floundered for anything to change the subject. This particular one made him exceedingly uncomfortable. He didn't like being so open with something so....hairy. He moved away towards the fire. "Yeah, whatever. Do you know what happened that night?" he tried. "The beast, was it found, killed?"

"No," Hagrid answered gravely, shaking his head at the thought. He sat back down and braced his hands against his knees, and leaned forward once more. "I tracked 'em for miles, followed a nice trail. You sure did a number on 'em, eh?"

Draco made a noise and carelessly waved a dismissive hand. He sat back down across from Hagrid, and gracefully crossed his legs, a gesture suggesting that it was a topic not to be discussed. Hagrid took the hint and continued.

"I finally lost the brute down a ravine," continued Hagrid. "The trail ended all of a sudden like. It was as if he just disappeared or something. Funniest thing, even Fang lost the trail. He might be a coward, but he can follow a trail like any other blood hound." Hagrid turned to lay a gentle hand on top of the dog's head, who had quietly walked out of the corner at the mention of his name. He smiled when the dog whined in appreciation.

"So I came back to the site of the tussle, hopin' to find some clues as ta what happened. Didn't find a thing, 'cept your wand that is, and a lot of spilt blood." Hagrid shot a careful glance at the boy across from him.

"You're the one who found my wand?"

"That I did," beamed Hagrid proudly. "Turned it into Poppy as soon as I got back. I figured you'd be wanting it when you woke up.

Draco nodded.

"And that mongrel who bit me, the one who stole my entire life? Will he be prosecuted for his actions, if he's ever found?" Draco's voice had risen in volume, but he otherwise remained impassive.

"Would you want to be blamed for something that you had no recollection of doing? Something you had no control over?"

"But the wolfsbane potion-"

"Is only a recent development," finished Hagrid. "Very few are as skilled as Professor Snape at brewing potions. For one thing, it's expensive, and still not well known. You're lucky, you are, to be so close to an expert like him. Otherwise you'd be the same as every other poor soul who transforms every full moon. Wait another two weeks Malfoy, and maybe you'll change your mind. I hope ta God that you never have to face the guilt that other werewolves face everyday."

"Why?" asked Draco suddenly, his brow creasing. "Why do you care about somebody like me?"

Hagrid looked thoughtful and a bit surprised at the change in topic, but took only a moment to answer the question.

"Well, let me ask you this first. Why did you save Parvati?"

"I was pushing her out of my path. She was blocking my escape route," he haughtily informed him.

He glanced at Hagrid, who was looking at him skeptically. "Don't look at me like that. She was a pureblood, and father would have killed me if I could have prevented her death but didn't. They're good friends with the Patils."

Draco looked at Hagrid, who still seemed to be waiting for an answer. For Merlin's sake, didn't he ever just mind his own business?! Draco saw that if he wanted to get out of the reeking hut anytime soon, he'd have to start giving some real answers. Draco conceded.

"Even if I had meant to help her, anyone would have done it," he muttered, staring at his shoes.

"That's where you're wrong, Malfoy. Any selfish bastard could have left her to be trampled to death. You're different, even though you don't know it. You forgot your own well-being, if just for one extremely rare moment-" Draco narrowed his eyes. "-and put another life before your own. That makes you OK in my book, even if you are a Slytherin."

Draco cracked a sardonic smile at the attempted joke, although it was mostly for Hagrid's benefit. He didn't bother to correct Hagrid either. He really was half saving his own butt. The other half was just instinct. She was a pureblood. It felt kind of like he was saving his own pack.

Pack?! Merlin, I hate the wolf's mind sometimes!

"So you want to suddenly be friends?" Draco replied cynically, although no malice touched his voice. "What do we do now? Walk through a field of daisies, hand in hand, singing children's nursery rhymes and talking about the good old days while the sun is shining and rabbits and other fury woodland creatures romp through the meadow? We could even have a picnic." A trace of a smile played across his lips.

"Besides," Draco concluded. "I couldn't be seen with a groundskeeper anyway, so you'd have to hide behind the trees while I romp through the meadow."

"Why Malfoy!" exclaimed Hagrid, faking the utmost sincerity. "I do believe that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

Draco's smirk stayed in place.

A moment of understanding passed between the two. Yes, Draco realized, Hagrid knows how it feels to be different. That doesn't mean we're going to be friends, he stubbornly reminded himself. I just won't try to get him sacked anymore, especially if he knows more about werewolfism. Hagrid could turn out to be an excellent source of knowledge.

"Now," said Hagrid, turning away from the fire and picking up a plate. "Are ya hungry?"

Draco wisely declined any other offers of Hagrid's cooking, even though he was starving, and gathered himself together. He was grateful to see that his eyes had changed back to their normal hue. On his way out, Draco turned back as Hagrid called behind his back.

"And Malfoy," he said, his eyes softening. "Don't be a stranger."

"I might stop by later, if I need any servants work done." Or if I need more information, he thought. "Of course, I've always got a lot to do. And to be honest I think your house smells like dragon dung, so you'd have to clean up first as well. Do you dry clean?"

"Jus' send me an owl Malfoy," said Hagrid, who opened the door with a flourish.

Draco nodded his thanks and left.

About halfway across the lawn back to Hogwarts, he abruptly stopped, and stared in the direction of the fading sun. He had always liked sunsets, and it was nice to catch the last few rays as they fell below the horizon.

He turned his attention to the rising moon, half-formed and resplendent in the night sky. It was comforting also, this glowing orb. In a different way of course, but even then, it had an equal amount of sway on his life, or more so.

He tried to clear his thoughts. My God, his brain screamed. I've got to stop being a depressed sod and go do something about it.

So off he strode across the grounds in the direction of the Great Hall, which was already buzzing with the sounds of chattering students and clanking utensils. The smell of chicken was wafting across the grounds. His stomach was already growling, but he had more important things on his mind. A mischievous smirk curved his mouth. Potter hasn't had enough detentions lately. I think Professor Snape is actually getting lonely.

Reviews Answered:

Broken Angel - I hope I answered some of your questions. Yup, that was Lupin, but he won't show up for another couple of chapters. Again, I'm so happy that you like Draco, since in is hard to keep him in character when he is essentially changing character.

Elaanabeth- Hmm, I'm wondering, was that a hint to PUT MORE CHAPTERS OUT? Haha, I guess that means you're angry with me now for not updating very quickly. So sorry, my apologies. But I'm glad you liked the Porlocks. They're quite interesting characters.

Girliedragon - I'm glad you like Draco the way he is. I'm with you on the hating misunderstood! Softie! Draco. I think that he should change, but not completely. I hope he wasn't too soft in this chapter, which was really difficult to keep him in character. Is Draco still ok in your POV? I hope so. Pettigrew comes later, as well as Lupin. And Hermione...I don't really plan on putting any romance in this story, unless I'm suddenly hit by an epiphany and must write it. Does that mean you're going to hunt me down and kill me? Well, if you do, you'll have to catch me first! *runs off madly, grabbing the computer and screaming manically in the distance* Ok, that was a bit dramatic. But I hope you liked this chapter. Hahaha.

Rae Crimson: Did I answer some of your questions in this chapter? Yep, that was Lupin, and he'll be appearing sometime in the next few chapters. Sorry for the late update, but I hope this chapter was up to your expectations.

A/N : Comments? Suggestions? Hated it, loved it? How about the talk between Draco and Hagrid? I hope it wasn't too mushy, I don't want them to have some weird father son relationship. Did Draco remain in character? And the big thing: Lucius and Narcissa? Interaction as a couple, reactions to Lucius leaving? Be brutal if you must. (runs for cover to fight off flaming reviews).

Alright, time to go. I'm sitting here right now, sipping on orange soda before I run to lunch, where I hope to enjoy the wonderful (ie disgusting and I think I have a good chance of getting food poisoning) cafeteria food before my 2 o'clock class. It's Laboratory Methods in Archaeology, so it's not so bad. But I'll see ya'll later.