Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter, its place, nor characters.

Chapter 1

Just two months after the war at Hogwarts and the trials were slowly progressing. Almost every proven death eater had been sentenced to life in Azkaban. A few had fled the scene and went into hiding, others had been so ashamed of their actions and without the Dark Lord to hide behind they killed themselves in fear of the punishment. A number of them were positive of the Dark Lord's infinite return that they continued to threatened the ministry, in exchange the few were scheduled to have their soul's detached by the Dementors, who now had no choice but to again serve the ministry.

July 3rd was quickly approaching the Malfoy family, their scheduled date for trial. This was going to be the very last trial concerning the war. The Malfoy's had been extremely connected within the magical world and had a wide variety of respect and loyalty. Now they were shunned and most were more confused on how to handle such persons. The people wondered if they were to be executed or imprisoned.

The day of the trial had been more than nerve racking for Draco Malfoy. He had just witnessed his father's trial and his sentence. He was to be imprisoned to Azkaban for eternity, which Draco thought he had got off easy. If it were up to him and his father's fate be rested in his hands, he'd be dead. He hated his father. All the respect he once carried for him was lost the moment Lucius agreed to give his only son over to Voldemort as the youngest death eater. He clenched his right fist as he watched his father leave the stand and dragged out of the court room. He felt a soft touch against his fist and loosened as he noticed his mother look at him with a weak smile.

"Narcissa Malfoy," called out by the Minister of Magic himself, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was the acting judge in the trials of each death eater.

Draco watched his mother as she stood up and walked towards the hot seat. His palms began to sweat as he thought about the chance of his mother being imprisoned just as his father. She hadn't done anything wrong in his eyes. She stood by her husband and son, yes. But she did nothing to help Voldemort win the war. And just as Draco came to that conclusion in his head, Shacklebolt seemed to come to the same in the court room. Narcissa was cleared of all charges, although she was asked to give up the Malfoy Manor, as it was to be destroyed for its disturbing use not too long ago. She complied willingly and was offered a new average home in a small village just outside Diagon Alley, which she happily accepted. He now watched his mother return to her seat where she again squeezed Draco's hand as his name was called out.

He stood up slowly and his heart had begun to beat a million times fast, Merlin, he was terrified. He had no idea what he was going to say to these people or how he was going to convince them he was innocent. Innocent? Was he even innocent? He dawned on the thought before deciding for himself, that he was guilty. There was no way he was going to get cleared and receive the okay to return to his mother.

"Draco Malfoy, the charges are as follows; Attempt on the life of Albus Dumbledore, performing the Imperius curse on a Miss Katie Bell, poisoning a bottle of beverage in the attempt of murder, and letting death eaters onto the grounds of Hogwarts witch craft and wizardry. Do you deny?" the words were spoken with the answer already included by Shacklebolt.

"No," he said as clearly and confident as he could.

"So you plead guilty? Remember young Malfoy, if you plead guilty, I can go no further in questioning and I will be forced to announce your sentence as is." Shacklebolt seemed to be hinting towards something, like he didn't want Malfoy to plead guilty.

Malfoy looked around the room and looked over each jury member as they would nod in their agreement upon him being only guilty and to give him his sentence now. But something inside him told him to plead innocent, that this wasn't what his life was intended for. He lifted his head slightly just enough to make eye contact with Shacklebolt, "I plead innocent."

Shacklebolt narrowed his eyes at Malfoy as all the jury members gasped at his reply and start to protest and yell out insults and reasons why he needed to be imprisoned. The court room was going mad. Voices growing and getting louder by the second as each voice roared over another to make their point. "Silence!" yelled Shacklebolt and as he lowered his wand from his throat the crowd went quiet. "You may state your case, Mr. Malfoy."

Malfoy swallowed a hard ball of spit and cleared his throat, "I had to do all those things. Do you think I had a choice?" at his words the jury started to rumble. One member called out, "You always have a choice!"

"Enough!" Shacklebolt's stern face shot a look of shame in each jury member's direction. They fell quiet once more, "continue."

He looked apprehensively at his mother and she nodded in encouragement, "I did what anyone would have done in my scenario. He threatened my family and me. If I hadn't done those things, my mother would be dead. I wouldn't be here at all. I did what I had to do in order to keep my mother alive. What I did was wrong, but it was committed out of fear and the fear in losing my mother. This isn't some sap story to make anyone feel sorry for me or look down on me with pity. I want each one of you to understand what it just might have been like to be me in the last year. I had to make choices that no sixteen years old should have to make. I'd do it all again to protect my mother." He let his head fall and eyes gazed at the ground. That was it, he was done, who was going to call him innocent after he just said he'd do it all again?

The jury was quiet, there was no uproar, no rumble, and not a word was said for several moments. Each person in the room was too busy contemplating what Malfoy had said. Malfoy's mind was buzzing, his heart was racing, and his palms yet again began to sweat. The first to speak was a juror sitting in the left, top row, seat. "You have great courage my boy, I myself would have run in fear but you stayed not for your duty to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but for the duty to your family." It was funny, even with Voldemort dead; there were still those who feared to speak the name.

Shacklebolt nodded and spoke clearly, "Those in favor of repealing said charges?" The one juror who had spoken before was the first to raise his hand, but it was followed one by one of every other juror in the room. Shacklebolt looked at Malfoy, "Cleared of all charges."

He'd done it. He was cleared of all charges and began to settle down as he got up from the chair and headed towards his mother who hugged him and started to cry. "Let's go home," she said.

They arrived early the next morning and stood in front of the large dark brown wooden door for several minutes. The house was nowhere near the size of the manor but it was decent for just the two of them. It had navy siding with a beautiful garden that surrounded its whole. Malfoy had never seen such a lovely home, he'd been so used to the marvelous riches that included his silver manor with its grey interior and that's when he realized how much better this place was for his mother. This place had color; this place looked like it was made for a happy family to live in. They didn't have as much wealth as they had before but they had enough to start making this place look like a home with actual residents. As you walked into the entre way you entered the living room that was as orange as sunset with brown leather furniture constructed into a sitting room. The kitchen had all the essentials and more. There were a total of three bedrooms in the house, one for his mother, one for him, and one they used as a study.

For a couple of weeks Draco and his mother lived as normally as a witch and wizard with no history and an unknown name would. But that was going to change as the new school year slowly approached. All students were to return to Hogwarts to complete another year seeing as how the term was interrupted by the war and all grades had gone down the toilet. McGonagall, the Headmistress, created an eighth year that would be permanent. Because each year needed to retake the course and with the new arrival of witches and wizards there wasn't enough room for just one to seven, there had to be a new grade level added. Draco Malfoy and his fellow classmates would return to Hogwarts as Eighth years.

He wasn't sure how he felt about going back to Hogwarts but he didn't have much of a choice. If he was going to make it on his own without the help of his good name, that was now trashed, he would need to finish his education.

Throughout the next few weeks Draco took care of his mother and stayed by her side each day. She was rather depressed and quiet most days. She hardly ate anything Draco had tried to prepare her, and she would lay in bed for about 15 hours a day while the remaining time she spent sitting staring off into space in the study. She didn't talk much either, but when she did she would tell her son how much she loved him and how proud of him she was. Then she would grab his hands and go back to being a statue. Draco hated to see his mother this way, he'd have to tear his hands away from her slowly to gain ownage of them again, she'd hardly notice.

"Mother?" Draco entered the study to see his mother sitting upright in a chair looking out a small window. He walked over to put himself in front of her to force her to see him, she never moved her head. "Mother, I've hired a house-elf, her name is Tasiam. She'll be taking care of you while I'm away at Hogwarts this year." He motioned for his mother to look at the small, tannish, creature standing just beside him. She again did not move her head; Draco frowned at his mother and left the room.

He was now in the sitting room with his head in his hands. The small house-elf appeared just in front of him. He looked up and met her eyes. Her eyes were bright blue and sparkled as the sun shined in through a near window on them. "I will take care of her Master Malfoy," she spoke politely.

Draco rested his large hand on her tiny shoulder, "I know." And with that he got up and went to his bedroom.

The new term was fastly approaching. He had one week before his return to the school, and he was dreading the very idea of it. He had dark and clouded memories of the place, some were as vivid as day, and others were as blurry as night. He hadn't a clue how he was going to manage facing all of his classmates. How they would react to him or if his friends would even speak to him.

The morning of September 1st had come as fast as a nimbus 2000 gliding through the sky. Draco prepared for his departure by gathering his things together and having them ready at the door. He prepared one last meal for his mother and even insisted that Tasiam join them. She had refused at first saying it wasn't her place, but Draco gave her the order to sit and eat. She gave a small smile and complied. The house-elf devoured the breakfast he had prepared but his mother hadn't touched a bit.

"Mum," he began to speak but her flush of tears breaking through her eye lids had stopped him dead in his thoughts. He quickly sprung up from his chair and wrapped his arms around his mother's neck.

"Oh Draco," she said. Still crying and having trouble evening out her breath again, "You're such a good lad and I am so proud of the man you are becoming."

Hear it was, her normal words escaping her mouth. The only time she would speak was to shine on her son. "Mum, please." He cupped his mother's face and said, "Talk to me. Tell me what's bothering you?"

She grabbed his wrist and sobbed even more, "No one knows what a great wizard you are. I'm afraid for you son."

Draco understood exactly what his mother meant and so he hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "I have to go now Mum," he said a few minutes later still hugging his mother.

"I know," she whispered.

Soon enough Draco was saying his goodbyes to his mother and Tasiam, who he was extremely grateful for. He didn't know what would happen to his mother without him and even worse of what would happen if he had left her with no one.

Upon his arrival to King's Cross he bumped into his best mate, Blaise. They got to chatting and he soon realized that Blaise was still his friend and at least he'd have one going back to Hogwarts with. They discussed the trials and what happened to both their families in the end, also gossiping about what happened to their other friend's families. Apparently Goyle's dad had been one of which who had killed himself in fear of the ministry. Like father like son, they were cowards. So naturally, Goyle himself was not returning to Hogwarts. Draco supposed everyone else would still be calling him a coward, no one outside of the court room knew what was said and why Draco was released from charges without apprehension.

The two boys boarded the scarlet red train together and found a compartment that was only occupied by Pansy Parkinson and Adrian Pucey. Draco avoided Pansy's stare and goggling eyes. He knew that she would probably be making a move on him at some point in the next week. Adrian and Blaise were discussing whether they'd let the eighth years play on the quidditch team or not. Draco had hoped they would, he'd love nothing more than to get to fly around the quidditch posts and forget everything that had happened in the past few years.

The train came to an abrupt halt and the students were let off. Within the next few hours each new student had been placed in their house and each new eighth year had been shown to their new tower. Hogwarts had been repaired to every touch; it looked exactly as it did before the battle. Except for the new tower that sat just on the opposite side of the castle as the Astronomy Tower did. It was larger than all the other towers and had four different floor levels. Each house got their own floor where their common room and dormitories were. The first floor belonged to Slytherin, second floor home of the Hufflepuffs, third floor was set for Ravenclaw, and the very top was no other than Gryffindor. Each one was accustomed to the houses' original homes; Draco was quite impressed with the replica of the Slytherin dungeon that was built into the bottom of the tower.

Draco unpacked his clothes and readied his room for the school year. His only roommate was Blaise. Seeing as how there was only one grade living on the floor each dorm room consist of two beds. Boys' dorm lay at one side of the level while the girls laid at the other and the middle area was destined to be their common room.

"You nervous, mate?" Blaise had watched Malfoy fidget with his things putting it in one place and then changing his mind to put it in another and then returning it to the original spot in the end.

"Do I ever get nervous?" Malfoy smirked his signature move as he winked at his mate. "Nah, just didn't know which spot looked more exquisite." He then flopped his bum onto his bed and crawled under the duvet. Blaise laughed as he did the same.

The first day of classes had been simple enough for both the lads. When the lunch break arrived he and Blaise made their way to the Slytherin table meeting with Pansy and Adrian.

Pansy rested her hand on Malfoy's arm as he sat down in a way to greet him. Adrian snorted out a laugh at her pathetic action, "So Malfoy how you holdin' up?" he said.

"Well I'm still kickin' your arse in potions mate, so I guess it's going alright," he smirked in Adrian's direction who discarded it with another snort.

"Can I see it Draco?" Suddenly the group of Slytherins fell silent at Pansy's question. It was too obvious what she was speaking of. His dark mark; it laid faded to a dark grey on his left forearm. He hadn't thought about it in a while, in fact he almost forgot it was there. He'd only been around his mother for the entire summer and even then he'd always had it covered.

He slowly rolled up his white long sleeve to his elbow in order to reveal the skull with a snake slithering out of its mouth. Pansy gasped as the other two boys gawked at the mark. Pansy looked almost turned on by the mark and horny at just the thought of Draco grabbing her roughly with his left arm. His two best mates looked as if they only pitied him.

Just then a Slytherin boy around the age of fourteen walked by and coughed out the words, "Death eater," to his friends.

Malfoy quickly rolled down his sleeve and lowered his head so that he was staring off into his food. He wanted nothing more than to rise up and sock the sodding arse right up the throat, but that would just give them more of a reason to believe him to be the stone cold killer that they already thought him to be.

Malfoy lifted his head from his plate and glanced over each of the other houses' tables. He received plenty of dirty looks from each but he chose to ignore them. He then immediately saw Potter and his group of pains. Potter was leaned over a piece of the Daily Prophet with the Weasley girl while Weasel boy was going barking mad over a chicken leg. He then looked at Granger who was sitting next to Weasley reading a book. Was that all she ever did? She almost died in a raging battle and she still hadn't learned to take a break from studying. He laughed just as she glanced up from her book and their eyes met for just a brief second.

He quickly darted his eyes back at his plate and shoved a spoon full of mash potatoes in his mouth.

A/N: Please feel free to leave a little review in the box below. Constructive Criticism is welcomed. This story will heat up in various chapters and I advise you to bare warning when they do.