All Or Nothing

Prologue

"But Father--,"

"That is all I have to say on the matter. You will do as I tell you whether you like it or not," Lucius Malfoy said to his only son. Draco heard the finality in his voice and knew he was to be obeyed.

Reluctantly, he trudged up the long staircase and down the even longer corridor until he finally got to his room. His formal dinner clothes were already set out for him and his nanny, Miss Beth, was waiting to dress him. Out of anybody in the whole of Malfoy Manor, he liked her the best. She was kind to him like his mother and father never could be and oftentimes treated him like an adult.

"I can dress myself, thank you very much," he grumbled to her. His irritatation, however, stemmed not from that he was eight years old and still had to be dressed, but from the fact that he had to get dressed for this stupid dinner anyway.

His parents were forever hosting dinners and balls to show off their immense wealth to the pureblood wizard community. Usually, Draco got to stay upstairs and eat with Miss Beth but this time his father had apparantly decided to make this one "family oriented".

"Oh, cheer up Mr. Malfoy! I know you don't want to go tonight but I promise you it really won't be that bad. It's not like you're going to be the only child there," Miss Beth said.

"Yes, I'll be with England's finest snotrags that all think they're better than me and tell me the mean things their parents say about mine behind they're backs. And besides, I would rather be here with you," he said earnestly. He hardly ever associated with the children similar to him in age and background. They were always snotty and thought they were superior to him, or either he just didn't like them. But he knew they were wrong because his father had always told him that nobody was better than a Malfoy and Draco took that to heart.

Miss Beth sighed. "Well, the only thing to do is grin and bear it."

"What's that mean?"

She chuckled. "It means you have to suck it up without complaint. And hopefully, when your father see's how well-behaved you are tonight, he'll reward you."

Maybe he'll let me have real flying lessons!" he said excitedly.

"Perhaps he will. Now wouldn't that be worth making nice for a couple of hours?"

"Yes, I suppose so," he said glumly, resigning himself to the fact that he would have to endure hours of torture.

"And besides, they can't be all be bad. There has to be a diamond in a ruff somewhere under those 'snotrags' as you call them."

"What's that mean?" he asked irritatedly because he was tired of grown-ups usuing phrases that he didn't understand.

"It means you might indeed meet somebody special tonight."

***

It was just as Draco had expected. Pansy was just as whiny as usual, maybe even more so. Blaise kept looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but here (Draco could relate to that) but the haughty expression that was permanently etched upon his face made Draco want to punch it right off. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to have gotten even dumber; however, they were easily the best company at the table.

"I hate duck," Pansy whined in her annoying voice as she picked at her half-eaten plate of duck.

So did Draco. But instead of actually ingesting the stuff it was neatly folded up in a napkin in his lap. Proud of his smarts, he decided to rub it in to her.

"Really?" he drawled. "Well I found it to be delicious," he said, trying to talk like his parents talked.

Pansy sneered at his empty plate and put her pudgy nose in the air.

Just then, Draco's father got up from his seat and announced that there would be dancing in the ball room. Inwardly (and outwardly for that matter), Draco groaned. Not that he didn't know how to dance, and well - it's just that he really hated to dance. He saw no point in it and was steadily thinking of a way to get out of it.

"Dance with me?" Pansy simpered at him.

It was on the tip of his tongue to say no but then Lucius just happened to show up by his side and answered, "Of course Draco will dance you."

And then he added silkily in an undertone so that just Draco could hear him, "I better see you dancing with Pansy with a smile on your face, genuine or not, or there will be hell to pay. It is important that we stay in good graces with the Parkinsons. After that I don't care what you do." And then he gave Draco an affectionate little pat on the shoulder for appearances only and then went off to mingle with the guests.

Draco sighed. "Oh fine."

"Yes!" Pansy squealed and dragged him by the arm into the ballroom.

The only good thing about the dance is that it was short and not a very complicated one. When it was finally over he bowed to her and then dove into the crowd with so much as a backward glance. He ducked into the first set of stairs he could find and realized it was the servant's staitcase because it was not as wide as the one's he was used to taking. In fact, he didn't think he had ever been on these stairs and wondered if he would even be able to find his way into familiar territory. Also, it was kind of dark and he was starting to feel nervous.

As he walked the dark corridor with the flickering candles, he had the feeling that he wasn't alone. But when he turned around there was nobody there, so he kept walking. Up ahead the corridor split to the left and right. He knew that his window was in the front of the house and so he took the left path and hoped he was going the right way. At the very least it was lighter this way and he ran without really watching where he was going.

Suddenly, something collided with him and knocked into him and in effect throwing him backwards. He landed on his back with a loud thud and something - no, rather someone - landed on top of him.

"What the--!"

But he stopped mid-sentece as large protrubent eyes stared down at him. He gasped - they were the most entrancing he had ever seen.

"I'm really sorry," she said breathlessly. "I was just looking for the loo and wasn't paying attention."

She picked herself off the floor and dusted off her yellow dress. She had very long dirty blond hair and was a bit on the short side. She was squirming a bit which told him that she was serious about have to go. She reached out a hand to help him and without even thinking he took it. Her hand was surprisingly cold and the feeling jerked his senses back in place.

"Who are you, anyway?" he sneered. He wasn't sure how much he liked being knocked down by a girl with eyes that large. But for some reason, Miss Beth's words seemed to come back to his mind. Had he just met someone that would make this night just a little better? Someone special?

"I'm Luna Lovegood."