Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves

Stage II

Sanguine

Step One

Crimson

Blaise left Draco in his bathtub as he stormed off, annoyed. He was the one who initiated the game, the one who started the torrent of emotions in Draco. And he would be the one to make the blonde break.

It had originally started as a simple game of seduction. Blaise never loved Ginny. In fact, the only reason he tolerated her was because his idiotic parents had married the disgusting Weasley to him, and it would look very suspicious if she turned out dead after the other deaths in the family. And by one such act, the Zabini blood would forever be sullied and tainted.

He had paid no attention to his wife when she told him that the Malfoys were coming. All Malfoys had the characteristic trait of arrogance, as if they were the oldest, purest, and noblest of the aristocracy when the Zabini line was just as old, when generations ago, Zabini blood entered Malfoy veins. And though the Malfoys did have many connections, they were not completely invincible.

So of course, Blaise was pleasantly surprised to arrive home and find an extremely handsome man in his residence. And from when he first exchanged words with Draco, he could discern the telltale trait of arrogance, yet the blonde was far humbler and generous than he had thought, though his arrogance still managed to seep through and manifest in many situations, especially in the minutes before.

While before, Blaise only sought to make Draco his, the Malfoy's blatant display of arrogance made him decide that he would not rest until he had broken Draco, broken a Malfoy, and shown him the meaning of utter humiliation and helplessness.

Step Two

Indigo

When Blaise stepped into the dining room, Draco was already seated at the other end of the table, and though the blonde looked as if nothing was amiss, Blaise could feel the faint radiation of nervousness coming from Draco.

"Draco, are you alright? I do hope the bath suited you," he said smoothly, pretending that the last scene in the bathroom had not occurred.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you did, Blaise," Draco said, also pretending that nothing had happened, though Blaise could hear faint sarcasm and bitterness creep into the blonde's voice. So he had gotten to Draco after all. Good.

"I'm glad then," Blaise said. "Bring up the main course," he addressed to the servants.

Two maids came into the dining room moments later with a large silver plate, a large silver dome-shaped lid on top of the plate. A slightly pungent smell wafted from the plate, and Blaise saw Draco wrinkle his nose quickly.

"Place it by Lord Malfoy," Blaise told the maids, who set the course in front of Draco's plate. Draco, though, could not look away for fear of rudeness and offending his host, as Blaise knew. "Now open it."

A maid pulled the lid off, revealing a large boar. Its legs were tucked underneath it, its eyes were closed, its flesh had been cooked to a deep brown, and in the dead beast's mouth was a red apple, keeping the jaws open. Surrounding the animal in a circle were herbs.

"Give Lord Malfoy the first serving," Blaise commanded the maid. She carved a piece of meat from the boar's back and set it on Draco's plate.

Blaise watched disgust quickly flicker in Draco's eyes before the blonde, looking straight into Blaise's sapphire eyes, cut a small piece of the flesh and put it in his mouth, and Blaise knew that he had Draco right where he wanted the blonde.

Step Three

Navy

Blaise had the maid serve him next, and as he chewed on the rough meat, staring into Draco's eyes, the blonde ordered another serving. Between the two of them, they finished the entire boar in a game of sorts, neither willing to lose.

When lunch was finished, Blaise excused himself first and left. As he headed to his private study, he felt Draco following him. Moments later, Draco caught up to him, and he swiftly pinned Blaise's front against a wall, though he did not restrain Blaise's hands.

"What was that about?" growled Draco into his ear, and Blaise was pleased to have unnerved him. Blaise leaned his back until he could press his cheek against Draco's. Draco's weight loosened a bit at the unexpected contact, and Blaise quickly put Draco's head in a headlock, spun around, and pinned Draco back first against the wall his chest had been pressed against seconds ago, holding Draco's wrists above the xanthochroid's head in one hand.

He leaned forward and nibbled on Draco's earlobe, eliciting a moan from the unwilling mouth of the blonde beneath him. Draco's eyes flashed angrily, and Blaise's mouth traveled up to Draco's ear. "Don't play games with me, love. You can't win."

Step Four

Brown

Blaise stepped away from Draco and let go of the blonde's wrists. Draco's cheeks were tinged with a slight pink, and he rubbed ruefully at his wrists, eyes glaring at Blaise but also betraying his lust.

"I've contacted your grandparents, and they say we may visit tomorrow."

"We?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Of course we. I would like to meet members of my family, after all."

"You don't own me," Draco said quietly and resolutely.

"Are you sure?" Blaise asked, smirking.

"Of course. You have not claimed me yet, Blaise."

"Yet, you say?" Blaise asked, still smirking. He watched as Draco's eyes flashed at his mistake. "My dear, do you know that you and I are related?"

"Related?" Draco asked incredulously, and Blaise noted a hint of panic in his voice.

"We are fifth cousins. My great-great-great-great-aunt married into the Malfoy line, becoming your great-great-great-grandmother. Thus, your grandparents are my relatives as well, and I have the right to visit them as much as you do. Aren't you glad to know that besides lusting after a man even though you're already married, you're wanting your own flesh and blood as well?"

Step Five

Ruby

Blaise watched as the pink in Draco's cheeks became more pronounced. He stepped forward, and Draco stepped back with him until the blonde hit the wall.

The raven-haired man closed the distance between them, reaching an arm out to cup Draco's cheek. Draco stared at him resolutely, not willing to back down, and Blaise grinned.

"Ever the Malfoy, my dear. And thus, it doesn't matter, does it, Draco? Your body and heart," here, Blaise placed a hand on Draco's heart, "know what you want, and your mind's attempts to override them always conclude fruitless.

"Your body and heart don't analyze the identity of the one they choose, it is only your mind that is meddlesome enough to do so. Though no matter what they choose, male, female, cousin, father," here, he saw Draco's eyes widen just the tiniest bit, "your mind has no power over them.

"Tell me, Draco, am I better than your father? Am I more beautiful, more manipulative, more sadistic?" Blaise whispered against Draco's lips before kissing him roughly, forcing his tongue into Draco's mouth and biting and bruising the blonde's lips.

It could hardly be called a kiss. It was more of a fight, their tongues dueling with each other and teeth attacking soft lips. They stared into each other's eyes the whole time, Draco's grey orbs in turmoil and murky while Blaise's were clear, emotionless. Blaise's hands went around Draco's neck while the blonde clutched his fists in Blaise's hair.

Blaise drew away first, hands still linked around Draco's neck, and he noted satisfactorily that a thin trickle of blood slid from Draco's pale lips. He leaned forward, and as Draco prepared himself for another bloody duel, Blaise, instead, licked the trail of blood up, tongue resting on Draco's lips for one split moment before returning back to his mouth.

"So tell me, Draco, am I better than your father?"

Step Six

Cyan

"What has my father to do with this?" Draco asked arrogantly, but Blaise saw his overcast eyes flicker.

Blaise leaned forward again, and pressing his cheek against Draco's once more, he said, "Draco, dear, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." Blaise wrenched away, glaring at Draco.

"He took you, dirtied you, and gave me the leftovers. Don't think I wouldn't know, Draco. It's a long-lasting tradition in many aristocratic lines."

"Then you should have experience firsthand, shouldn't you?" Draco asked coldly.

Blaise ploughed on, refusing to acknowledge Draco's question. "He used it to train you, to turn you into a Malfoy, cold, hard, and cruel. And it worked well enough, didn't it?"

"As if you are not what I am, Blaise," Draco stated.

"I am not. We may share blood, but I will always be different. The Zabini line started as assassins before achieving favor with ancient rulers, who gave us our title of nobility. Our blood is nothing short of evil. Malfoy blood is characterized by manipulation, coldness, loyalty, and arrogance. Zabini blood is full of death, betrayal, guises, and will.

"I had no need to be toughened up, Draco, unlike you. I was born like this." Blaise grinned, though his eyes remained cold and fierce. "You were made cruel, I was born cruel, and that is our difference, my dear.

Your father slept with you to mould you into a true Malfoy, cold, calculating, stoic, haughty, and ever so loyal to the family. He gave you pain and refused to stop giving you pain until you had mastered how to conquer such a fickle emotion, how to stand strong and pretend that you felt nothing, that it did not hurt you. But you did love him, did you not, Draco? In the last days, it was more out of love than teaching you. He loved you back, you know, but in the end, he had to go back to his wife, whom he also loved, and leave you to your new wife.

"I slept with my father to kill him, as he had done to my grandfather. After passion, as my grandfather lay sweating and gasping and recovering, my father plunged a dagger into his back. I did the same thing with him; in fact, I even used the same dagger that he used to kill his father. He had forgotten about karma in his old age. My mother committed suicide the day after. She actually loved the old fool and refused to live without him. Though by then, I could no longer stop my impending marriage to that disgusting Weasley, but I've never touched her, unlike you with your wife."

Draco whispered, "You...murdered your own flesh?"

"Of course. He was becoming too proud, thinking that he could control me. Zabinis don't do well caged, especially if they're kept from what they want."

Step Seven

Orange

"I guess I've finally met a respectable gentleman," Draco said, his mouth curving up to something almost resembling a smile, though it was too sinister to be called by such an innocent word.

"Oh?" Blaise asked, looking at him intently.

"You're not the only one who's stained his hands with blood."

Blaise arched an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"I was originally engaged to Pansy's older sister, Daisy. She was quite ugly," Draco drawled, "with thick, curly brown hair, large eyes that could barely stay in her face, a long nose, and large, disgustingly wet lips. Also, she was always eating, and she could barely fit into the door of a carriage. She was deathly in love with me, while I despised the pig with the deepest loathing. I could not marry such an ugly woman, of course, as it would not look well in society. Besides, the family fortune was to land into her younger sister Pansy's hands. Why only take a dowry of several thousand pounds when I could have it all?

"Several months before our marriage, my parents held a ball. I excused myself to my room early into the evening, saying that I felt a bit ill, which immediately discouraged the ugly girl's attempts to follow me because she caught diseases very easily. She usually tried to corner me and force me to snog her, which is, of course, something I would never lower myself to. I then sneaked back down and lured Daisy away from the manor when she went looking for the kitchens to have the chefs prepare her some food as the snacks had already been taken away. The silly girl was drunk as well, which made it even easier. I accosted her in a hallway, told her that if she followed me, I would show her something very special, and, of course, the stupid cow followed me. I strangled her with her own handkerchief on the outskirts of the hunting grounds and then threw her dead body over the gates, then sneaked back into my room.

"Of course, when she could not be found, I was given the sad news, and I lamented greatly over my fiancée's loss. The engagement was immediately changed by our parents so I would marry Pansy, and since her mother had never borne any sons except stillborns, the Parkinson fortune landed into Pansy's hands, and it was added to the Malfoy funds."

Step Eight

Yellow

Blaise smirked. "You always manage to surprise me, Draco. I never thought you could have the heart or the maliciousness."

"She was ugly. Besides, she never meant anything to me. The marriage had been for money originally anyway, so why not get rid of something unwanted and get more money in the process? Daisy's dowry was ten times less than what her parents should have paid to get her off their hands and into mine, and she was never worthy of anything except a pig."

"Is Pansy worthy of you then? Does she mean anything to you?" Blaise asked, eyes burning brightly.

Draco laughed derisively. "Of course not. Her money was the only thing that I was after. True, she is not bad-looking, but there are better women out there."

"Oh? Then why did you sleep with her?" Blaise asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Why not?" Draco asked back.

Blaise merely smirked before asking with a strange expression in his eyes, "Am I worthy of you then? Do I mean anything to you?"

He saw a peculiar expression flicker in Draco's eyes before Draco said coldly, "You are worthy of me, that I will admit, but you mean nothing to me, Blaise. You are unfit."

Blaise smirked. "Don't be too sure of your words." He then leaned in and kissed Draco roughly before walking down the hall and away from Draco, whose eyes he could feel staring after him.

Step Nine

Violet

After breakfast the next day, Blaise led Draco outside to the carriage waiting in the driveway. They were both dressed in their finest, and the weather could not be better, the sun shining brightly and lazy white clouds drifting listlessly over the clear, cerulean sky.

The carriage was white, and the Zabini crest of a bloodstained dagger with sanguine droplets dripping down onto a young sapling adorned the door. A servant opened the door for the two gentlemen. Blaise, ever courteous (he was a gentleman; evil, yes, but nonetheless, a gentleman), let his guest enter the carriage first before following him into the warm interior. When they were both inside and seated, the servant shut the door, and the carriage set for Rose Aube.

"Have you ever met your grandparents?" Blaise asked while his hand drifted toward Draco.

"Of course, Father and Mother took me when I was still young to visit them," Draco replied.

"Good." Blaise smiled before placing his left hand against Draco's cheek, feeling Draco involuntarily stiffen beneath him. "What is it, amant?" he asked sweetly, smirking.

"Blaise," Draco hissed, "we're in public. What if someone catches us?"

"As if they would dare to say anything about us. We, mon cher, are both from the most powerful bloodline in the aristocracy. No one would be foolish enough to spread this even if they did discover us, and I assure you, we shall be fine."

"Blaise, please," Draco hissed. "If you don't do whatever you want to do to me right now, then I'll be good when we return to Cieux de Paradis, I promise."

"Really?" Blaise asked, arching an eyebrow. Draco nodded. "Your offer is tempting, Draco...but it's much more fun this way, wouldn't you say, dear?" And saying so, Blaise attacked Draco's lips, forcing them apart and dominating the blond, who forgot about everything except Blaise as soon as their lips touched. Draco moaned into the kiss, enjoying the forbidden treat.

Step Ten

Green

By the time the two men arrived at Rose Aube, both were aroused, not physically but mentally by their passionate and painful snog, the risk of being discovered making the kisses more pleasurable.

It was with great reluctance that the two exited the carriage and stepped onto the grounds of Rose Aube. The butler stood, waiting for them, and at the sight of the two men, he quickly scurried over to them.

"Lord Malfoy, Lord Zabini, my Lord and Lady are waiting for the two of you in the gardens. Please follow me."

The butler led them through the exquisitely decorated house before taking them out the back door. He led them onto one of several paths winding through the cleanly-cut grass and bushes, and after several minutes' walk, they arrived at a clearing in the center of the gardens, where Draco's grandparents sat, waiting for them, servants fanning them because the sun shone high in the sky.

They stood up at Blaise and Draco's arrival, and handshakes and the kissing of a hand went all around as formal and polite introductions commenced. Once the required etiquette had been exhausted, the four sat down.

"Would you like some tea? Perhaps some crêpes?" Lady Malfoy asked.

"I'd be delighted to," Blaise replied, and Lady Malfoy sent two maids away to retrieve the refreshments.

"Draco, it's been years since we have seen you," Lady Malfoy said. "How has England been?"

"England has been good. I've learned much from the schools I've attended, though I have missed France very much. Father and Mother are in good health, and they send their regards."

"Tell them that we would like them to visit, would you, Draco? It has been so long since either of them set foot in France. Why they left Mother France is beyond me," Lady Malfoy said, and she then turned to Blaise. "And how are you, Lord Zabini--"

"Please, call me Blaise," the raven-haired man said.

"Blaise, how are you? Is Draco behaving?" she asked with a half-smile, half-smirk.

"Draco is quite the scholar and gentleman," Blaise replied. "He was ever so lovely to my wife when I was away on business. He has been a very good chess partner, a very good person to discuss politics with, and a very good hunting partner."

The refreshments arrived then, and as they all picked up their teas, pausing in the conversation, Blaise snaked a hand to Draco, gently rubbing his inner thigh. He felt Draco's body stiffen at the intrusion, and over his tea, he saw Draco chance a glare towards him, knowing full well that he could do nothing to stop Blaise that would not attract attention.

Finally, Draco cracked. "May I please be excused?"

"Oh, yes. Pierre, show him where they are, will you?" Lady Malfoy addressed a servant, who led Draco away.

"So, Blaise, how do you feel about the country right now?" Lord Malfoy asked.

"I would say that we should be cautious. Rebel fractions are gathering, and they are intent on overthrowing His Majesty."

"Wise words for a young one," Lord Malfoy said. "You have potential in you."

"Thank you, sir. May I please be excused, also?" asked Blaise.

"Yes, you may," Lady Malfoy told him. "Jean, come and lead him to where they are. Oh my, I must inform the maids to put less water in the tea," Blaise heard her muttering as he walked away.

Step Eleven

Scarlet

Jean led Blaise inside and told him to wait in front of an inconspicuous door. Blaise dismissed him and stood outside, waiting, knowing that Draco would have gone inside to reduce suspicion.

When Draco cautiously stepped out, Blaise immediately grabbed him. Draco turned his head towards Blaise, and his eyes widened almost imperceptibly before Blaise led him deeper into the house.

When he was sure that they were well away from spying eyes and ears, Blaise pinned Draco against the nearest wall and immediately sealed his mouth over Draco's. The raven-haired man's hands moved up to entangle in Draco's hair, and Draco wrapped his arms around Blaise's waist, pressing their bodies closer together.

The kiss was more of a duel than ever, both men fighting to dominate the other. Lips were bruised, breaths were exhausted, and above all, their mental arousal had spread to their physical beings. As they ground their hips together, the two gentlemen heard a scandalized scream from someplace near them.

Step Twelve

Red

Blaise and Draco immediately detached themselves from their compromising position. They turned to find Lord and Lady Malfoy standing by them, and it was obvious that Lady Malfoy was the one who had let loose the terrible scream.

"You...you...unnatural...boy," she shrieked at Blaise, crazed, "corrupting my grandson into a...a...freak like you! You...you...unnatural..." The excitement of the moment finally caught up to her wizened mind and body, and she fainted.

"Quick, retrieve smelling salts!" Lord Malfoy shouted at the servants, who immediately scampered away, too frightened to stay any longer and risk the Lord's wrath, no matter how nosy they were. Once the servants had left the scene like skittery mice, the Lord turned to Blaise and Draco and began shouting at them. "How dare the two of you perform such unnatural acts in my residence? How dare you corrupt our grandson? How dare you put more stress on your grandmother's already fragile health? Out, out, now," this he whispered with a soft hiss. "Draco, you may never come onto this estate again until you've stopped this...this...abnormality for good."

Blaise and Draco, taking their cue, immediately maneuvered out of the house, Draco leading the way as he was more familiar with Rose Aube. They quickly entered the carriage, and Blaise ordered the startled driver to leave immediately.

Step Thirteen

Blue

As Rose Aube faded into nothing but a vague shape in the distance, Blaise uncharacteristically cupped Draco's cheek in a gentle hold. "They will not spread their discovery, Draco. It'd be disgracing themselves at the same time."

Draco did not respond, not even when Blaise traced the blonde's pale lips, though when Blaise leaned in for a kiss, Draco moved his hand to stop Blaise. Without looking at the raven-haired man, Draco spoke.

"I told you to not do anything in public, but did you listen, Blaise? I told you that I would be good if you didn't do anything, but you didn't believe me completely, did you? A Malfoy never breaks his word.

"No doubt Father and Mother will be notified, perhaps Pansy and Ginny, too. I do not want to be seen as a deranged queer," here, he spat the word, "in my own house by my own family."

"Oh, I don't think they will. They'll realize that it's in their best interest to keep our tryst to themselves."

"And how would you know that?" asked Draco.

"It would raise a huge scandal the likes of which none would have seen before. Do you think they would tell anyone else? They wouldn't even trust your parents enough to not reveal this. And once our affair gets out, both of our bloodlines will be tarnished forever, prestige lost and wealth diminished. Do you think they would risk the family?" Blaise asked.

"Blaise, the less people who know the better, I know that. But what if they only decide to tell our wives in an attempt to punish us and are able to swear them to secrecy?"

Blaise laughed. "Dear Draco, you still do not know?"

"Know what?"

Blaise laughed again. "Pansy and Ginny, mon cher. They've been in an affair since a young age, years before their marriages to us. Do you think they would care that we were together? They'd just be glad that we wouldn't want our way with them," Blaise finished disgustedly.

Draco stared at him incredulously. "I always knew there was more to just the eye, but I never thought..."

Blaise smirked. "Oh, you should see them on a picnic. They almost always end up in the lake, kissing each other."

Draco stared at him again, and Blaise saw jealousy in the overcast irises. "And how would you know?"

Blaise smirked. "I walked past them once accidentally, though they did not see me, thankfully." Draco growled. "Mon cher, you should know by now that I hold little interest in females, especially our wives. They can have each other. My prize is much better, after all. He's much more beautiful, passionate, and intense." And he has an iron mask that can be penetrated by my will alone.

Step Fourteen

White

"There's a ball tomorrow, Draco. We've been invited along with our wives," Blaise told the blond as they stepped out of the carriage and headed to the front doors of Cieux de Paradis.

Draco glared at him. "Why do you never inform me earlier of social events?" he complained.

"Why should I?" Blaise asked, grinning. Draco did not answer.

The two entered into Blaise's private study, where the raven-haired man carefully locked the door. Draco sank elegantly onto a couch, and Blaise sat down beside him.

"Today's been more exciting than I wished for," Draco said. "In fact, it was too exciting."

"And you managed to appear normal before we walked out of the front door."

Draco laughed derisively. "Any man can if he thinks of Daisy before him, naked and wanting to please him. How did you do it?" he asked, realizing that Blaise had also accomplished the difficult feat.

Blaise traced the contour of Draco's jaw before smiling at him. "I used will, amant. If a Zabini's will is strong enough, he can overcome all."

"Oh? Yet you still don't have me," Draco said haughtily.

Blaise traced gently down Draco's neck before pressing his finger hard against Draco's throat, causing his guest to choke. When he released pressure against Draco's throat, he whispered into the blonde's ear, "Do I not, mon cher?"

Draco nodded. Blaise merely smirked.

Step Fifteen

Silver

After lunch, the two gentlemen went to the library. Draco pulled out a book on philosophy and began reading intently, leaving Blaise to his thoughts. Blaise thought that the blonde was trying to avoid him after the difficult question he had asked him, the question that his guest did not want to admit, especially to him.

Blaise knew that he should have broken Draco by now, even if the xanthochroid steadfastly denied it. After the torrent of events that had happened recently, Blaise could see no flaw in his foolproof plan.

Blaise was sure that he had Draco eating out the palm of his hand, no matter how the blond vainly tried to hide it. Blaise had analyzed Draco's personality from his every action and reaction, and he would not dare believe that his analysis was wrong.

The raven-haired man knew that the surefire way to prove his success was to take a desperate and risky chance that could end the games once and all, and Blaise did not back down from anything, no matter how grave the risks.

He spent the rest of the time before dinner discussing politics and philosophy with Draco so as not to arouse suspicion from his guest since they had discussions often, and after dinner, Blaise once again invited Draco along on a stroll.

"Do you see the sun? It's the sole source of natural light for all living things. What do you think would happen if it just disappeared? Blaise asked.

"The sun can't just disappear. It's bound by the laws of physics, as are we."

"But light is not. What if your one light was to be snuffed forever, and you were the only one with a remote chance that could save it and rescue yourself from the eternal darkness its absence would bring?"

Draco did not reply for a long time. Finally, at the end of the stroll, he looked into Blaise's eyes, and grey eyes flickering oddly, said, "I would save it." Blaise smiled, and as he led Draco into his private study, he became confident beyond no doubt about his plan.

While Draco sat in his chair, waiting for Blaise to set up their nightly chess game that Blaise always won, Blaise retrieved something else instead. He stood at the window above his writing desk, looking out into the night sky.

When Draco made an impatient sound behind him, Blaise spun around, holding a dagger to his throat. He saw alarm quickly flash onto Draco's face before the blonde regained his calm and asked, though Blaise could detect a hint of hysteria in his voice, "What are you doing, Blaise?"

"Do you think that I would join the stars if I slit my throat using Créateur Léger? Stars are made of light, are they not, mon cher?"

Blaise saw Draco gulp heavily, even though the action was barely perceptible, due to years of training with Lucius. "Put Créateur Léger down, Blaise," Draco said softly.

"Give me a bien reason to, amant," Blaise said quietly.

"If you do, I give you me," Draco said with quiet desperation.

Blaise shook his head. "That not good enough. Au revoir, Draco," he whispered, softly dragging the dagger against the tender flesh of his neck.

"Blaise, don't! Je t'aime!" Draco cried.

Blaise's hand froze, and he stared at Draco. The raven-haired man was vaguely aware that his hand was shaking. Draco loved him? He hadn't thought that he had affected Draco that much.

"What...did you say?" he asked softly, afraid of losing his voice if he spoke too loudly. Draco stood in front of him, moonlight shining onto his pale features and causing him to look ethereal, angelic. The glitter of what had to be tears in his eyes reflected clearly back to Blaise.

"Cry for me, Draco," Blaise whispered. And as the beautiful blonde in front of him collapsed onto the floor, kneeling and crying, Blaise felt a part of him alight in joy at finally breaking Draco, a Malfoy, though his heart felt as if it had been ripped into shreds, leaving him happy yet hollow and empty at the same time.