Old Moon Fades

Old Moon Fades

Chapter Three: Confusion Settles In

Draco tore his eyes from hers in frustration and refocused his attention on her throat where his father's dagger was pressed. He had to do it. It was simple; just keep pressing the blade into her neck until it drew blood, then tear into her throat and slice a clean line from one ear to the other.

One ear to the other.

Simple.

He applied pressure and lightly pierced the skin. Blood trickled down her neck. Red blood. Red like his own blood, like his father's. The deep, rich color seemed to seep into his brain, turning everything in his mind to red. The boldness of her blood distracted him. It shouldn't be so red.

She was a Mudblood. Her blood should not match his color for color, if anything her blood was even more pure looking than his own. The thought of blood had never truly crossed his mind, lineage yes, but not blood. And Granger's was so perfectly red. It was the perfection of it that had Draco so addled. Draco looked up at her face, his eyes full of questions he couldn't voice. She was looking back at him, her expression of disbelief and confusion mirroring his own. Draco tried but he couldn't keep his gaze from returning to her neck. The column of her throat was perfectly white except for the blood that was now drying on her skin. It was still red.

"Draco!"

He had momentarily forgotten his father standing only a few feet away. Confusion had settled into his entire body and it seemed to Draco that he had no control of his reactions. But, he turned toward his father while still looking at Granger. "Father?" He couldn't seem to control his voice either and it cracked and sounded uneasy in his ears.

"Draco, do it! Kill the Mudblood! What are you waiting for?" Lucius was furious, the utter contempt he held for his son now boiling over.

"I..." Draco looked from his father to Granger. She was disheveled. Her hair was curling in the humidity of the underground chamber and her face was flushed. The blood was still there on her neck. Why didn't she wipe it off? Draco couldn't understand what exactly was going on. It was like his body had been taken over and he had no control over his actions. He wanted to do it, he wanted to kill her. He wanted to stab the damn blade into her neck and end her miserable life. He wanted to laugh in Potter's face when he learned what had happened to his best friend. He wanted to show the Weasel exactly what happened when pure-bloods consorted with Mudbloods. He wanted to do all these things and he couldn't.

The dagger clattered to the floor, the sound resonating in the absolute quiet of the room. He didn't notice it fall. Draco was vaguely aware of Granger cautiously taking a step back and away from him. He didn't move to stop her. He wanted to back away from himself too.

"You worthless fool. You never could do anything right." Lucius' voice was cold and harsh like a frozen winter's night.

He stalked over to where Draco stood in the center of the dark, damp room. His fist slammed hard into the side of Draco's face above his cheekbone. The force of the blow sent Draco falling to his knees. As soon as he hit the ground, his father was jerking him back up again. His head snapped backward as he was dealt a second blow but he didn't fall. He could taste blood in his mouth and felt it slid down his face. He wondered vaguely if Granger's blood would taste the same.

Again his father's voice broke into his thoughts, "Pick it up." The dagger. When had he dropped it? He looked down at his hands, they were empty. The dagger lay discarded several feet from Granger. She seemed to notice it at that moment too but she didn't make a move to retrieve it. Draco pulled his eyes from her and refocused on his father.

"Pick it UP!" Lucius grabbed him by the back of his dark robes and shoved him toward the dagger.

No. He didn't want to. He wasn't sure why. All he knew was that he couldn't do it. He couldn't kill her. The logical part of his mind wanted him to, was begging him to. But, there was another part, a tiny voice in his mind that he had always shoved to the back in order to silence it, it seemed that the voice wasn't going to be ignored any longer.

"No." The word was out of his mouth before he had even thought it. What was he doing?! His father wanted him to kill Granger. He had wanted this himself from the first moment he saw her. He wanted to see her blood spilled on the cold marble floor. His father wanted him to do it. Draco tried to take a step toward the dagger. He put his foot down in front of him and shifted his weight in order to take the step that would lead him to everything he wanted in the world. Acceptance from the Death Eaters. The knowledge that he had stripped Hogwarts of its finest student. The elation that would come with seeing Saint Potter and the Weasel's faces when they heard the news. But, more than all of those things Draco wanted to please his father. He wanted to prove himself worthy.

But his feet weren't obeying him. The dagger still lay across the room by Granger. Why didn't she try to pick it up? It was right there beside her, only a few steps away. If she bent down, her fingers could touch it. As if reading his mind, she looked as if she had finally realized it was there. She looked down at it in fear, but still she didn't attempt picking it up. Her eyes met his across the room. Almost instantly the dagger flew from its resting place and landed in her hand. She actually seemed surprised that she was now holding it.

Lucius was beyond words. Without warning he swung at Draco sending him falling to the floor. Draco struggled to stand as his father calmly walked toward Granger. She seemed frozen in place at first, unsure of what exactly to do. All at once she seemed to remember the dagger. She gripped it tightly between white knuckles and raised it up toward Lucius' advancing form. Draco didn't think that she would actually use it. His father also seemed to sense her hesitation and he sneered in response. But, she didn't back down like he thought she would.

His father was now standing mere inches from Granger and was using his height to intimidate her. Draco saw the flicker of fear in her eyes though she quickly hid it. He wasn't even sure his father had noticed. When he looked back at her though, the fear was gone, replaced with grim determination. She raised her chin in defiance and clenched the dagger even more tightly in her fist. He wasn't so sure now that she would hesitate to use it if given the opportunity. But Lucius didn't see it that way. Without warning he raised his fist and backhanded her across the face. She went flying. The dagger spun across the marble floor as if ice skating. It came to a sudden stop right at Draco's feet.

All eyes were on him as he stared down at the dagger. The emotions were boiling over and he didn't know what to do. If he picked it up he would have to kill Granger. He would please his father that way. He wanted so much to do it. But he didn't think that he could.

"Draco... pick it up." His father's voice was icy and held no warmth. Deep down Draco knew that he could never do enough to actually make his father proud of him, that he could spend his entire life trying and never come close to being the son his father wanted. It wasn't in Draco's nature to feel like he couldn't accomplish something. It also wasn't in his nature to back down.

He glanced back down at the dagger. It was still there, shining and winking back up at him. He bent down slowly. His fingers were cold and clammy as they wrapped carefully around the hilt. Draco stood up even more slowly and looked across the room at his father. Lucius had Granger by the back of her neck and was fiercely holding onto her arm.

He would do it. He would walk over to her and kill her. He would do it to please his father and to prove his allegiance to the Dark Lord. He would do it for the mark that was already branded on his arm and for everything that being a pureblood stood for. Draco would do it to prove to himself that he truly was worthy.

With purpose in his step and determination hardened into his face he walked over to her. All former doubts were gone. A calm resolve came over him and he knew that he must do it. The dagger was practically singing in his hand. He could feel it in his bones. This was the moment he had been waiting for his entire life. Right now. He would show the world what it was to be a Malfoy. He was the sole heir to the Malfoy name. He would prove his power.

His father must have recognized the change in him for he was now smiling. A genuine smile. A smile that a father gives his wayward son when he is finally obeying. The smile threw Draco off. A part of him wanted to shout in happiness, but another part, the calculating part of him knew that something was amiss. His father never smiled. He wouldn't smile now. But, he was. The smile hadn't faded. It was still there, teeth and all. It looked wrong on his face, like a distorted painting.

Draco came to a stop only a few feet away from them. With the dagger raised in his hand and his father's words edging him onward. He felt his destiny creeping up on him, the destiny that he had always known would one day come calling for him. He brought the dagger up over his head and looked one last time at Granger. The fear in her eyes was gone replaced with... was it pity?

Who was she to pity him? He was the heir to the single most powerful wizarding family in Europe. He was the prince of Slytherin and had more wealth and power than she could ever dream of having. He was Draco Malfoy, and who was she? A filthy mudblood. She was nothing. Anger settled like a darkening cloud over his entire being. He hated her with every portion of his soul; it filled him, warmed his skin and hands. The hate became hot and blistering and the heat from his fingertips heated the dagger. Unconsciously he was using his magic to feed his hunger for her death. The extreme heat of his anger was manifesting itself in the temperature of his body. But, the heat became too intense, it was burning him up from the inside. The dagger was now too hot to hold and he dropped it to prevent the scalding of his fingers.

This displeased his father. Lucius immediately lunged at his only son, unable to contain the anger that had been building in him all morning. Knowing Hermione was incapable of fleeing, Lucius took his time in punishing his son's disobedience. Draco had never been beaten as a child or even as a young man. In Pureblood society other, more severe punishments were exacted. Privileges were taken away. Allowances were cut back. Vacations were cancelled. No, Draco Malfoy had never been beaten before. He had also never directly disobeyed a matter as important as his initiation as a member of the Death Eaters.

Draco didn't even attempt to defend himself. Lucius continued his assault while Hermione looked on, frozen in shock. It was sometime later that Lucius stopped. He had been yelling incoherently during the beating and neither Draco nor Hermione could make out what he had said. But, it was apparent to both of them what Lucius was now saying.

"Your mother will understand that I have to kill you now. It didn't work, all these years spent trying to mold you into the perfect symbol for our cause. You failed us. And now I have to kill you." The words were ice in Draco's ears.

"Father?"

"Don't you dare call me that! I have hated you for calling me your father, just as I have hated your mother for giving birth to you!"

Draco was beyond comprehension. He was staring numbly up at Lucius with shock and confusion written on his face.

"Don't stand there looking so dumb, Draco. You weren't ever to know your true parentage. Though, now that you know I'll have to kill you. It will make my life a little tiresome until I can obtain a new heir, but..." Draco interrupted Lucius' speech.

"You're lying." Draco's voice was deadly and harsh.

Lucius laughed wickedly. "I assure you I am not. Now let's get this over with. Come here, Draco. I'll make it look like the Mudblood killed you." Lucius took a step closer to Draco and raised his wand. "Avada Kedav..."

"NOOOO!!!"

Draco lunged at Lucius who was unable to finish the curse. But, just as Draco reached him Lucius doubled over, wheezing in pain. Draco seemed genuinely surprised and stopped short before him. Lucius looked back up at Draco from his place on the floor. Malice contorted his face as much as the pain did. He was now clutching the left side of his breast and his eyes were rolling. With his dying breath Lucius verbally abused his only heir one last time.

"Consider yourself a hunted man now, for all will soon know of your treachery. You may have won this battle but always know that ultimately you will fail. The Dark Lord knows everything, my Half-Blood Prince..." and with that Lucius Malfoy fell forward dead.