Of Serpents and Lions
Chapter 2

Summary: If there was one thing the Dark Lord was right about was that the wizards needed to be united. She looked around and she could see that through his evil, he had united them, from the slyest Slytherin to the proudest Gryffindor.

Note: This is NOT a Ginny/Draco romance. It's strictly friendship. Their eventual frienship will be the main focus, but there will also be friendships forging between Neville, Seamus, Luna, Astoria, Nott, Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey as well. The romances (eventually) will be Luna/Neville, Seamus/Lavender, Blaise/Daphne, Astoria/Draco, Myrtle/Draco and some Parvati/Dean and Ginny/Harry pining.

Draco was used to feeling in control. He was an only child, so he never had to share anything. He was a pure-blood, and even though the Ministry always boasted about being "equal opportunity," he still got special treatment due to his bloodline and ancestors. He was the best in his year, minus that Granger brat, so he got away with a bit more because his marks were so good. Now that the Dark Lord was in control, and people knew he was a Death Eater, he got away with even more. This year, even the professors at Hogwarts would let him roam free. He was unstoppable and very powerful.

Yet, even with all these assets and attributes, when Draco stepped off the Hogwarts Express, he felt terrified. He knew the Dementors were the ones bringing up the memories, but still, he couldn't help the knot of dread coiling in his stomach like a slippery snake.

In his mind, images of all the horrible deeds he'd done, all the pain he'd seen happen, flashed across his mind with a searing pain. His head pounded as he thought about the people – the children! – he had tortured, the unsuspecting Muggles that had been murdered for fun, the hard-working witches and wizards that had their lives ripped away from them for their beliefs and bravery.

Bravery. He had always thought himself brave. Brave to stand up to Scarhead and tell him what he really thought. Brave to have the guts to call Granger a Mudblood, or Weasley (any one of the hundreds of them) a blood traitor. Brave to become a Death Eater, and brave to corner the great Albus Dumbledore and threaten him at just sixteen years old.

But Draco knew better now. He knew that he was not brave or he would have taken up Dumbledore's offer of safety, he would've stood up to the Dark Lord and refused to hurt the innocent children he had been ordered to obtain information from. He most likely would have died, but it was the brave thing, the right thing to do and he knew it – but he couldn't do it. He was a coward, too afraid of dying before he had ever really lived, and had submitted to the Dark Lord like the stupid little puppy he was. The worst thing of all was that he was applauded for it. Applauded as the half-dead little girl was carried away to the dungeon where she would be starved, applauded as the twelve year old boy who had been crying out for mercy was killed right in front of his eyes because after hours of torture, he had not given up a word of his parents' plans.

Draco, however, was very good at compartmentalizing. No one knew that he was screaming on the inside except his parents (and that ghost girl, but she wouldn't tell anyone).

Pansy Parkinson – the girl he was shagging this week – gripped his hand as they walked towards the carriages.

"Oh Draco! I can't see anything in this fog!" she yelled shrilly in his ear. She moved closer, not-so-subtly squashing her breasts against his arm and batting her eyelashes. Draco remembered a time when he had fancied himself in love with Pansy, back before he had been recruited, before he had seen the destruction he had been subjected to. Of course, he cheated, but all Slytherins cheated. Still, he had cut down on his cheating considerably for a while, and he knew she had as well. He had only occasionally slept with Daphne or Tracey, instead of every other night. But now...now he couldn't stand the sight of Pansy most of the time. She just went on and on and on about her hair, and how ugly everyone was – except herself and Draco of course – and how pureblooded and better than everyone else she was (Pansy was the reason he had found Myrtle. He was pretty sure she was the Mudblood that the Monster of Slytherin had killed all those years ago, but he had been so annoyed and upset that he couldn't bring himself to care. Honestly, if he could have touched her, he would have because she listened just enough and talked just enough and cared a lot and wasn't actually that bad looking, if you ignored the acne).

Draco lightly but firmly shook Pansy off of him as they climbed into their carriage, where Crabbe, Goyle, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass were already waiting. Draco purposely took the empty seat next to Astoria, which was also next to the side of the carriage, so Pansy would not sit next to him. Pansy barely noticed, as she was already gossiping with Daphne.

"Is Blaise sitting riding with us or Nott?" Draco asked.

"Nott," Astoria replied. Draco nodded. "How was your summer?" she asked conversationally (he noted that she actually sounded interested...). Of course, he couldn't answer her truthfully without possibly getting himself and his family in trouble, so he plastered his signature smirk on his face as he lied.

"Splendid. I can't talk about it much, if you know what I mean," he boasted, hoping this would make her drop the topic.

"Really?" Astoria asked. Draco detected a hint of sarcasm coming from her voice and raised his eyebrows at her.

"You don't believe me?"

She looked him over, taking in his gaunt appearance, and the messy look of his robes.

"Of course I do," she said, and this time Draco was sure he heard sarcasm, but didn't question it. He had never really liked Astoria. He supposed it was the whole idea that you never really like yourself in other people. Astoria could be arrogant and was especially sarcastic, with a smirk that drove most Slytherins crazy and made all Gryffindors angry. He turned to look out the window of the carriage and was unsurprised to find that he could see the thestrals pulling the carriages along to the castle.

For once, Draco was not happy to be at Hogwarts. The only thing he had to look forward to was the fact that he would be able to slack off on his work because of the Death Eaters. He reminded himself to go see Madam Pomfrey after the feast to get a Dreamless Sleeping Draught. The nurse, although stern, had always had a soft spot for scared looking students, and if Astoria's assessment of him was any indication, she would probably offer for him to stay in one of the beds.

When they got to the castle, the Slytherins walked to their table like they owned the entire castle. Loud laughs and talking came from their mouths and yet, Draco had a feeling that it was all for show. He himself couldn't place most of his fellow Slytherins' names.

At the height of Slytherin power and superiority, Draco had never felt more alone and scared. He sat down, amidst a sea of black and green, and felt a chill as though he was sitting completely alone.

So I checked my Hits thing-a-ma-bobber, and there have been a decent amout of hits on this story. It makes me happy that people looked at it. But I need reviews so I know what I'm doing right/wrong, what you would like to see, and all that. Please no flames, but constructive criticism is perfectly fine. I'll still post because it annoys me when authors say that they'll only post more if they get so many reviews, but I would like reviews. Even if it's a simple, "Hey, this was great. Update." or "Well, you could've done xxx better." or something. Please?
I will PM you back if you review, just to show you how much I appreciate it.
Please don't make me sound like a whiny bitch, which I know is what I resemble right now.

Love you all, even if you don't always review my stuff! :D