Seventh Year
Seventh year. There wasn't a lot of things Draco could say about seventh year. Except that his life was hell. Because the Dark Lord now lived in his house. What had once been the mansion full of happiness was steeped in cold, dark, and death. He watched the Dark Lord murder someone without so much as batting an eyelash. He was the one they practiced on, the new deatheaters that is, and the one the older ones practiced on if they were bored. The cruciatis curse was indeed painful and every time they yelled, "CRUCIO!" they had malice in their eyes, and when they laughed they seemed to get off on his pain. They called him a coward, they laughed at him, and they tried to subject him to their cruel ways. Sometimes magic wasn't enough, sometimes a kick or punch would suffice, because they got off on the bruises, and the blood. "Scream louder," they would cheer as they subjected him to such abuse.
He could see what this was. Sixth year he had seen it too. That following the dark side wasn't the best idea, wasn't even a good idea. Following a mad man was even worse. But what else was he supposed to do? Join Potter? Preposturous. He had a family to protect, his mother and father, his best friends, and their group of Slytherins. They had something to loose. And he had lost too much already. But even then, he could not stuff away his compassion. For even as he was viewed as weak, viewed as a coward, he was still a Slytherin. And never would he go against his own morals, that made him sick to the core. So he would give food to the prisoners in the dungeons below his house, he would care for them kindly when he was all alone. No one found out, he made sure of that.
And the one day that Harry Potter came he knew that he was the only one who could save him. Had he looked at his soulmark when he lied it would have changed from the perpetual "Deatheater," that it has been for almost a year, to that of "Why would you? Thank you." and maybe, maybe he would have known, but as it was, he didn't look. He knew the punishment they would get when Harry Potter escaped. But the first time in a long time he breathed in, pulled his shoulders back, and prepared to face whatever it was onward.
***
At the battle of Hogwarts, as he watched them say "Fight!" and looked about his classmates, he saw that none of them understood why the Slytherin's didn't want to fight. None of them would see it. Worse yet, they took them down to the dungeons, and locked them there. Draco shook his head. Did none of them want to see it? The blantant houseism they put on all of them? Because really...if the Slytherin's did fight, did the other houses know who they'd be fighting?
They'd recognize the voices first. Or perhaps the wands. How the partners protected each other. They would wonder, is that my mother out there? Or my older brother? Perhaps they'd be able to tell by the hair color. Or perhaps they'd be able to tell by the color of their shoes. Either way they would be fighting their family out there. And who would fight a war on the winning side, when if they did, they might be the reason why they would loose? Because they might be responsible for killing their family, and nobody wanted to deal with the consequences.
But when Draco saw Harry was dead, he didn't look at his soulmate mark. All he could do was stare in front of him. That and he was scared. Would his soulmate die in this war? If he had looked he would have realized it would have turned from gray to black when Potter leapt up. Draco wanted to run after him, to help him. But instead, he walked away with his mother and father. He finally got them back. And he would not let them be taken away, or threatened to be taken away, ever again.
***
After the war of Hogwarts, came the trials, mostly Slytherins those caught on the "wrong side." His father Lucius, went to Azkaban for his crimes. His familys' trials were some of the most popular and everyone wished to see their downfall. But he was surprised when Harry Potter stood, and became witness to all of them in front of the Wizengamot. He told of how Draco and Narcissa lied. How Draco lied to Bellatrix Lestrange of who he really was, and how Narcissa had lied straight to Voldemort himself that he was dead when in reality he was not. "They are the reason I am alive," he had said, and with that, the Wizengamot had ruled the fact that they would be under house arrest and probation for a certain period of time, and how Draco would have to go back to Hogwarts, to complete his education. With tears running down his face, he hugged his mother, and as Potter turned away, he ran towards him, and hugged him around the back.
"Thank you," he whispered, as loud as he could muster, crying even more heavily, "Thank you so much."
Potter turned, and extracating himself from Malfoy's arms, nodded. "They deserved to know," was all he said, and he left even as Draco Malfoy broke down again.
They did not look at their soulmarks (which they really need to do) and they would not have seen this:
For Harry's said, "Thank you. You really are the chosen one."
and Draco's said, "Your life is not only to be the death eater's son."
But as it were, they did not see them. And they would not meet again until their eight year.