A Round Robin by Miaka, Swirly Head, The Trio, Blue and Amethyst Divergence
Chapter One: Powerless by Miaka
<i> They told me I could do anything I wanted, be whatever I wanted to be, live my life as I
chose. They lied. What they meant was, as long as I chose the life they had prescribed for
me.</i>
I try to breathe.
Memories overtaking me.
I try to face them but
The thought is too much to concieve.
"Fade" by Staind
Draco lay in his bed, the covers pulled up around him, his face turned to the pillows. Tears
leaked from the corners of his eyes. He tried to fight them, to be strong and hold them in,
but his throat was tight with pain, the tension begging to be released. He had been stupid. He had been arrogant. He had been a fool. He had thought that he was strong enough to stand up to his father, that he had some semblance of control over his own destiny.
He tried to shut off his mind, to stop the memories from playing over and over. But no matter how tight he screwed his eyes shut, the images replayed before them.
~/~/~
Lucius had called Draco to the study. The room was lit by just a few torches and
the shadows danced around the room, playing on Lucius' face.
"Draco," he said. "You've grown to be quite a young man. With your birthday just a couple of months away, it is now time for you to start preparing to take your place among the ranks of the Dark Lord's forces."
"I can't," Draco said boldly.
"What?" Lucius dropped all pretense of the proud father. His voice was icely cold.
"I can't," Draco repeated. "And I won't."
Lucious' face flushed angrily.
"I refuse. I refuse to torture, to maim, to kill. And I refuse to serve the Dark
Lord. I refuse to be reduced to a mere servant. I will not follow in your footsteps, Father,
as you so desperately desire."
Lucius spoke slowly and calmly. "I have put up with your attitude for long enough. I
have put up with your growingly disgusting attitude towards mud-bloods--"
"--I don't like them anymore than you," Draco interupted. "I just don't think they
deserve to die. And what about Cedric? He was pureblood, same as you and me."
"Don't interupt me again," Lucius warned. "You will do as you are told and you will
not embarress me in front of the Dark Lord with this nonsense of yours."
"I serve no one but myself."
"You seem to be under the mistaken impression that you have a choice in the matter."
"No," Draco said. "You are mistaken. The Dark Lord has been beaten twice already. By a young boy. He is weak--"
Lucius moved so fast that Draco didn't see it coming. The back of Lucius' hand
connected with Draco's cheak and he stumbled backward, falling to the floor.
Draco raised his hand at his cheak and gazed up at his father who was now brandishing
his wand at him.
"You do not appreciate the power you have, and you certainly do not appreciate the
power of the Dark Lord. I assure you that is a very grave mistake. The Dark Lord will be
informed of your reluctance. He will know how to deal with you. Now get out of my sight.”
~/~/~
Draco lay alone in his bed, his muffled sobs the only sounds. The door creaked open
but Draco kept his back turned. He already knew what it was. One of the house elves had been
sent by his mother to bring him some supper. That's how it always happened when Draco started
feeling brave and tried to defy his father.
Draco opened his eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He jumped. Huge eyes the size of
tennis balls were staring at him, filled with sadness.
"What are you doing?"
"Is Draco okay, sir?" the house elf squeaked. The house elf was young and Draco had
never seen her before.
"I really don't think that's any of your business," Draco replied.
The house elf cast her eyes to the floor. "I is very sorry, sir. But I is worried
about you. I fear the master and the dark man's plans for you."
"So do I," Draco mumbled.
"You have no idea," the house elf said as she turned and left.
~/~/~
Bright light streamed through the curtains and Draco stirred in his bed. it had been a restless night, filled with nightmares. He opened his eyes, blinking in the light. He recalled the events of the previous day and grimaced. He climbed out of bed, feeling weak. He was hungry, the food still sat, ignored, on the bedside table. But Draco couldn't bring himself to eat. The very thought made him sick to his stomach. He quickly dressed, having decided to go for a fly on his broom to clear his head. He grabbed his Nimbus 2001 and headed to the backyard. He climbed onto the broom, kicked off from the ground and felt the sensation of...
...falling to the ground. He quickly jumped to his feet and glanced around to make sure no one had seen.
What’s going on here? he thought. He placed the broom on the ground and held his
right hand over it.
"Up," he commanded. The broom continued to lie on the ground.
"Up," he repeated, but the broom didn't even roll over.
"Up!" he cried frantically, but still the broom refused to move.
What's going on, what's going on? Draco thought wildly. He ran into the house.
Lucius came around the corner, looking at his son with a strange expression on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Lucius asked.
"I think there's something wrong with my broom."
"Oh? How odd," Lucius said.
Draco stared at his father, then turned and ran to his room. He slammed the door
closed, and began pacing the room.
"It's okay," Draco told himself. "It's just a defect in the broom." But he couldn't
shake the panic that was welling within him. He continued pacing the floor. If you really
think it's nothing, then just give it a try, said a nasty little voice inside his head.
He stopped pacing. He tried to slow his breathing and calm down. He ran his hands
through his hair. He took a few deep breathes then reached for his wand. He closed his eyes.
"This is silly. Just do it," he told himself. He opened his eyes and focused on a
pillow on his bed.
"Accio," he said. The pillow didn't move from the bed. "Accio!" he shouted, breathing
heavily.
"Wingardium Leviosa." For the second time in as many days, tears began to well in his
eyes.
"I have to get to the hospital. St Mungo's"
He threw open the door and fell back with surprise. Lucius stood at the other side of
the door.
"There's something wrong," Draco murmured. "With me. Need to go to St Mungo's."
"Draco. Draco. I'm disappointed. You haven't figured it out."
"Figured what out?" Draco asked, suspicious.
"You doubted the power of the Dark Lord. You angered the Dark Lord. That was a very
stupid thing to do. He will forgive you this time, but first you must pay the price for your
lack of faith. You must be taught a lesson. Next time you won't be so lucky."
"What are you saying? What's happened to me?"
"I told you last night. You don't appreciate your powers, or the importance of your
pure blood. Maybe now you will."
"No," Draco said. "No, this isn't possible. What about Hogwarts? The term starts in
a few weeks."
"What about Hogwarts? Now you're no better than a squib, or worse, a muggle. I don't
think they allow muggles to study at Hogwarts. But who knows with that mud-blood loving fool
of a headmaster."
Draco fled from the house, his father's laughter following him. He had to get...away.
He had to find someone who could help him, but where could he go? Who would help him? It wasn't
likely that any of his Slytherin friends would have any sympathy for him. Snape. Snape would help him. But he had no idea where the potions master spent his summer break. Who sympathised with muggles? Dumbledore. But he didn't know where he was either. Arthur Weasley. No. Absolutely not. No way he was going to stoop so low as to ask the Weasel family for help. He still had pride afterall. Besides, the Weasel would be more than happy for the ammunition against his father.
After wandering aimlessly down the road for a few minutes, Draco found himself in the Muggle town. It was close to Malfoy Mansion, yet to the villagers his home appeared to be an old ruin. Looking back, Draco winced when he realised the spell now worked on him, too. He stuck his wand out - his useless wand - and was relieved when the Knight Bus screeched to a halt beside him.
"Where to, kid?"
Draco had no idea what to tell the man.
"Look, I ain't got all day. Where to?"
Not the Weasels....
"Little Whinging. Privet Drive," Draco said, handing over some money and collapsing on a nearby bed. "I'm going to regret this..."