The feast had been nice, if not for the way Parkinson kept trying to worm her way closer to Draco. He’d wedged himself between Crabbe and Zabini so that the girl couldn’t get too close to him, but it had caused him to lose track of the Riddle girl and that made him angry. Stupid Parkinson and her stupid clinginess. Now he was tired and cranky and bored, lounging in his favorite chair by the fire. The common room was a bit crowded and the younger students were too loud, tempting Draco to yell at them and threaten them with his Prefect powers.

Instead, he sat there with his fingers steepled before his face, cold eyes staring into nothingness. He was deep in concentration. Thinking of his task, of the girl with the violet eyes, of his cousin who might not be the scourge of the earth like he had originally believed… Everything was tolling on the blonde, and he could feel the weight of it all on his shoulders. This year was going to be far from easy. Add in the fact that he couldn’t even mess with Potter to let off steam and it was going to be pure hell.

It was odd how little Draco even cared about becoming a Death Eater when he really thought about it. He wanted to be something to someone. The only people who really looked at him, who paid him any attention, would only be happy with him if he took the Dark Mark. The thing was, Draco didn’t think they’d even notice him then. If he was being honest with himself, he knew he’d never live up to the expectations his aunt held for him. He’d never impress the Dark Lord.

His parents didn’t matter anymore, which left… no one. Draco had no one to impress and everything to lose. Why was he even trying anymore? If he looked back on his life so far, the young Malfoy hadn’t exactly done much. He’d lost at quidditch over and over again. He’d gotten lower marks than a Gryffindor mudblood over and over again. Hell, he hadn’t even made it with a worthwhile girl! By all definitions of the word, Draco was a loser.

The cold, dark web of depression was falling in around him and the blonde no longer had a desire to fight it. Maybe he could just embrace the darkness and get angry. Anger seemed to work for him in the past. It was during this train of thought that he sensed rather than saw the girl he’d been avoiding getting closer to his chosen seat. Maybe this would be a good test of his rage.

“What do you want, Parkinson? Come to beg for attention like the dog you are?”

The train ride to Hogwarts had been a complete disaster. First the fight with that stupid Weaselette and then she had not seen Draco the entire ride. When they finally got to the carriages she couldn't find him either so she ended up riding with Astoria and Millicent who found it fun to relive her squabble with the red head. This had angered Pansy more than anything and she had threatened them both with her wand which shut them up quickly but this was far from making her any less frustrated because she still hadn't been able to talk to Draco.

She didn't know what was going on with him but it was putting all her plans into disarray. Pansy had carefully planned out how her life after Hogwarts would be as Lady Malfoy and the last few years Draco had shown more than enough interest to encourage her. This summer everything threatened to tear her plans away and this worried her but no matter what Pansy was sure she would have Draco in the end. He would be her prize whether he liked it or not that she would make sure of.

The feast aggravated her further because Draco sat between Blaise and Crabbe and ignored her the entire time something Astoria happily picked up on. Pansy spent the time glaring at the girl and picking at her food miserably. Now in the common room she saw her chance to have Draco to herself and she approached him only to have him snap at her. She flinched at his anger but continued on her venture to win him back. "Draco I've missed you. Why didn't you reply to any of my letters this summer? I know it must have been terrible dreadful for you this summer with your father gone." She cooed at him like a baby.

Draco could barely stop himself from putting his foot on the girl’s chest and kicking her out of his sight. He did stop himself, though, and instead threw her such a glare that she should have fell over dead. “You dare treat me like a baby?” he hissed, reaching forward to grasp at the girl’s shirt. His fist clenched in the fabric and he pulled roughly, tugging the small girl towards him so that their eyes were very close. He was sure she could see the depression and rage battling in his stormy orbs.

“Listen to me, Pansy.” Draco’s voice was smooth as ice and just as sharp, too. The girl would be stupid not to be frightened of the dark wizard before her. “You will speak to me with respect, and you will never baby me. I am a man, not a child. My father is meaningless to me. He got caught. He deserves to rot in that prison cell.”

At that, the blonde pushed Parkinson away with such force that he was sure she would fall. He had aimed close enough to the fire that she might even manage to burn herself. That would make his night. He smirked in a devilish way as he flexed his hand, realizing just how tightly he’d held her shirt. He was angry. That was good. At least he wasn’t sad. Or apathetic. “Don’t bring Lucius up again, if you know what’s good for you. For that matter, don’t bring any of my family matters up. They are my matters. Not yours.” He stared at her for a moment so that his words might sink in. “They will never be yours.”

The dread that was stirring in the pit of her stomach filled her with a cold at the look on his face. There was an anger and darkness in his eyes that she had never seen before and she flinched away but couldn't get far because he had a tight grip on her shirt. Those eyes were far too close and filled with too much anger for her to be turned on by the closeness even after the weeks of dreaming they would again be this close.

Pansy could feel the shiver of fear crawl up her spine as he spoke in his cold voice usually reserved for enemies and she was so afraid her knees shook. She would feel pathetic but she didn't have the time to feel anything but fear. The Draco she knew from years past was gone.

When he pushed her away she fell roughly on her backside and all the humiliation returned from earlier and mixed together with the humiliation she was now being subjected to by him in front of all the members of their house. Pansy glared up at him with undiluted anger and spite but she didn't have the guts to spit the venom in her mouth at him. Her fight or flight instincts were taking over and every bone in her body was telling her to run.

She allowed the two girls who ran forward to help her up. "Yes they will." She told him in the coldest voice she could muster before walking off with what little dignity she had left after the two altercations she had that day. This was a major set back but whatever Draco was unwilling to do he could be forced to do and that was her next plan because one way or the other she would be Lady Malfoy. No one else deserved that title and the prestige that came with it.