Hogwarts, a ward in the Hospital Wing.
Draco lay in bed, his eyes empty and lifeless as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He looked as though he had lost his soul.
"This isn't like the Draco I know." The sudden, familiar voice startled him.
He sat bolt upright and turned toward the voice. His eyes instantly reddened. "Mr. Weasley-"
Seeing the person he admired most when he was at his lowest was a feeling difficult to put into words.
Of everyone involved in the incident, Draco had undoubtedly suffered the greatest psychological blow.
Even after Harry and Ron learned the truth, neither could possibly feel as much despair and pain as he did.
Any wizard's mental defenses would crumble the instant he saw his own father cast the Killing Curse at him.
In the Chamber of Secrets, Draco had clearly seen the viciousness in his father's eyes. If the basilisk had not "happened" to fall in front of him, he would already be dead-killed by the father he had always been so proud of.
Before Vaughn appeared, his father had always been the person Draco admired most. He had been proud to have such a father. Vaughn watched Draco calmly, offering no comfort. He simply stood there in silence.
He knew perfectly well how deep the bond between Draco and Lucius ran, and how well Lucius had always treated his son.
Many details in the original story made that clear-
Simply to support his son's joining the Quidditch team, Lucius had bought brand-new broomsticks for the entire team.
Then there was Buckbeak scratching Draco's arm. Lucius had pressured the Ministry of Magic for an entire year over that incident. In the end, despite Dumbledore's intervention, his persistence and pressure had still secured a death sentence for Buckbeak.
Draco could