Draco\'s Dilemma

A/N First Fic Please R/R....I do not own Draco and company but will clean them before I give them back....I promise :-)

Draco\'s Dilemma CH 1

As Dumbledore looked at the boy before him he was struck once again by how young and yet old a sixteen-year-old boy could be. The boy was clearly worked up. Gone were the cool countance, aristocratic sneer and venom drawl. His pale skin was translucent. A mixture of hope and desperation in his steal grey eyes. Dumbledore wondered yet again if he had made another mistake.

“Please, you have to help me get her out. This may be the only chance for my mother to escape him.” Draco paused and turned away then almost in a whisper “It may be my only chance”.

“I will do everything in my power. As we speak your mother is with a solicitor drawing up the papers to separate from your father by both law and magic” Draco paled. “Don’t worry, the new law that Minister Bones has created allows for separation from Death Eaters for family members who do not share their views. There is also a clause for the incarcerated; Lucius will be classified as dead to the Wizarding World.”
Draco’s face gained some color.

“Yes Draco.” Dumbledore\'s voice was gentle. “You are now the controller of the Malfoy estate.” For a moment Draco just stares mouth agape. Then a furrow creases his brow.

“Yes Draco. You must step into your father’s shoes, all of them.”

“But I’m not HIM!” Draco grabbed a silver instrument that was giving off little puffs of smoke from Dumbledore\'s desk and threw it smashing it in the wall.

“No Draco you are not Lucius. But you must keep up the appearance of the Malfoy name until it is safe to reveal your true loyalties.” If Draco had blinked he would have missed the look that crossed for an instant upon hiss headmaster\'s face. It was the look of a man who was deeply sorry and troubled by what he was about to ask of one so young.

“Draco, you must still keep up the appearance that you are loyal to your father and to Voldemort. Your work for me this past summer has been most valuable. The Order can not lose you.”

“But what will my mother think”

“Your mother knows where your loyalties are. She knows that you, like Professor Snape are spies for the Order of the Phoenix. She knows that you do this out of love for her and the need to protect her.”

Draco’s eyes were red and watery but he did not shed the tears within. Tears of joy. Tears of love. For Draco had just heard one of his dreams come true. Professor Snape was just like him. The man he looked up to as a father was on his side. Dumbledore watched as the emotions washed over the boy; as they slowly turned to the revelation of the consequences of his new place in the world and the war.

“Will I be allowed to visit her?” Draco’s eyes expressed the measure of her loss far better than his words.

“Your Mother will come to the castle whilst I am setting up the safe house and Fedelous charm. You will be allowed to see her then”
The fact that future contact was left unanswered was not lost on Draco.

“You understand, Draco, that like your professor, your attitude on certain issues must not appear to change?”

“Yes sir” Draco started picking up the pieces of the silver instrument.

“And that you must not let on that you know what you and Professor Snape truly are even to each other. For as you know our enemies are often our closest friends.”
Crabb, Goyle, Pansy and Nott flicked through Draco’s mind, and he felt as alone as he did when he was in his father’s presence.

“There are new skills that you must master. One of which is Occlumency. Your lessons will be with Professor Snape. He will let you now the time and place.”
Draco nodded.

“My door is always open Draco…..But now I think it is time for you to go back to London. You must not be missing form the train tomorrow. You will see your mother after the welcoming feast. A room is being held in your name at the Leaky Cauldron. You will find all of your belongings in it.”

Again Draco nodded.

Dumbledore picked up a cracked coffee cup, taped it with his wand and said “Portus”. The cup glowed for a second. “This portkey will take you to the ally behind Flourish and Blotts. Please do not wander but go straight to your room.”

“Yes professor”

“I will send you notice when your mother arrives”

Draco nodded and touched the cup. He immediately felt a jerk behind his navel and vanished form the headmaster’s office.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair and Fawiks his Phoenix flew over and settled on his knee.
“Am I doing the right thing?” He asked as he began to stroke the bird’s red and gold plumes. A note of song was his reply.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and thought back to the last time he had asked a boy to do just what he asked of Draco. Twenty years ago he had asked a bright, skinny and often picked on boy who came from a prominent Dark Arts family to turn traitor, to be his spy and that boy, now a man was still a spy. Yes his gamble with Severus Snape had worked. Then a boy with red hair floated into his mind. Percy Weasley. He felt badly about what he had done to the Weasleys. In asking Percy to be a spy from within the Ministry he had asked him to betray his family. Not even Percy’s parents Molly and Arthur knew the reason for their son’s behavior. Dumbledore knew that when the war was over, if he managed to survive, Molly would never forgive him for taking her son from her. Percy she would welcome back with open arms but not him.

He next drifted to Harry. He could feel another worry line mark his already wrinkled face. How many mistakes had he made with Harry? Too many to count. The biggest, the one from which all others evolved, was trying to protect Harry from being Harry. Since Harry’s outburst after the death of his Godfather Dumbledore had promised himself that he would no longer hide things from Harry, no matter how much he thought the truth would hurt or burden the boy. He knew what the outcome would be. He knew what would happen if the pattern of protection continued.

It had been sixty years since he had made that mistake. To this day only one other living sole knew the truth. And Dumbledore knew that it was his mistake that had him back in the same position now. Tom had been so much like Harry, an orphan, a savior. But he had taken that away from Tom when Tom was eleven. Instead of helping Tom prepare for the defeat of the Dark Lord Grinwald he preformed a transfer spell that moved the magic that would vanquish Grinwald from Tom to himself. At the time the after effect on Tom was not known. By the time that Tom graduated Dumbledore knew he had made a mistake. He knew he was responsible for making Tom into Lord Voldemort. He did not want to make the same mistake with Harry. The Wizarding world would not survive another Dark Lord.
* * *

Draco sat on the bed in the three broomsticks, knees hugged up to his chest grateful to finally be alone. He was too absorbed in his own thoughts to take in the room. Had he, he would have noticed that the room was very comfy done in deep warm reds and dark wood. There was a nice sitting area, lots of books and a private bathroom. His trunk had been brought up and several parcels wrapped in brown paper were sitting in the desk. These were his new school books and supplies.

On the short walk from the Flourish and Blots he had run into the last people he wanted to, the \"Trio\". He did not have the energy to deal with Potty and the Weazel, pushed past them and was gone. But it was all he could do to not turn back and stair at Hermione. In public he might ridicule her, call her “Mudblood”. In his heart however he knew how he felt. Draco knew that his hate for Potty and Weazel stemmed not from his father\'s influence but from jealously at their relationship with Hermione. He loved her. He shuddered to think at what his father would do to him if he were to find out. He knew how the scene would play out. She would be captured and then in front of his fathers Death Eater friends she would be tortured, and he would be made to watch, to participate.

Draco looked down at his hand and it took him a second to register what he saw. Blood was trickling down his wrist. The key to his room, with its broken handle, had cut into his hand. He clenched the key tighter still letting the pain consume him washing away his thoughts. Living in that moment of pain. Savoring the tears that were falling from his eyes. It was OK to cry from this pain. To shed the tears locked within him tears for his mother, himself, his life, all under the guise of the pain in his hand.

There was a light pop and a single gold feather floated to the ground. Draco moved from the bed and picked it up. A voice echoed in his head.

“Your mother is safe. She is at the castle and will meet you in my study at 8:00 after the Welcome Feast. Mr. Nott and his driver will pick you up for the train station at 9:00 tomorrow.\"

Well, thought Draco, at least it was not Crabb or Goyle. He hated that just because Crabb and Goyle senior were his father\'s friends that their sons had to be his. He got on much better with Nott. They both shared the hatred of their fathers and shame of their family\'s names. Draco thought of Sirius the Uncle he never knew, whose name was worse then mud in the family. Blood traitor they called him. Draco thought he knew how Sirius had felt when he was younger. How he wished he could have gotten to know him. How he hated Aunt Bella for taking away any chance he might have had. But it was late and would not do to get himself all worked up again. He needed to get back into the mind frame of being his father\'s son. Some hours later a knock brought Draco out of his mind and back into the world. It was Tom the barkeep.

\"Time for diner young master Malfoy. Follow me please.\" Tom bowed out of the room and into the dusty hall followed by Draco.