"He did it to his own son?" Harry murmured, anger swelling at the now-dead Lucius. 
                              
"Yes. Especially when he didn't outdo that Granger girl in class. It just enraged him. The first year was the worst when he heard. I thought I'd have to take Draco to St. Mungo's, but he healed up with some house spells that I knew."
                              
Harry just stared at her, with his mouth open. "Just because he wasn't the best?"
                              
"No, because a mud-muggleborn beat him. His mind couldn't handle the idea that a muggleborn could ever bet a pureblood, like their magic was weaker. He just thought Draco was slacking off and punished him for it. Of course, that's when he thought of the diary. I-I should've left, but where? Lucius had a lot of powerful friends."
                              
Harry frowned. "I see. What happened after Voldemort came back?"
                              
"Oh... that... it..." Narcissa trailed off. Her own painful memories came rushing back. Harry hugged her again. 
                              
"I know it's hard, but I couldn't get Draco to answer me. I need information to help him. Please tell me," he urged.
                              
"It was awful. Not only was the Dark Lord mad about Lucius not searching for him, but then he failed at the Department of Mysterious, too. He took it out on Draco and me, as Lucius was arrested. He came to our house to stay."
                              
Narcissa went quiet. She remembered the day Lord Voldemort had decided how to adequately punish and "reward" them. It was an honor to receive the Mark, but at the same time, a curse. A dark curse that would permanently mar Draco's beautiful skin and mark him as Voldemort's subject. She hated it. Draco did, too. 
                              
Lord Voldemort had smirked his sick expression at them. Draco hadn't outright refused, but then he shot a Crucio at her. Draco dropped to his knees and swore an oath of allegiance to his new master. Voldemort's wand shot a deep red fireball onto Draco's left arm. He had screamed in absolute misery has the red Dark Mark branded his skin. Eventually it had turned black, but that was days later. Draco couldn't heal it or relieve in his pain, so Voldemort could bask in his emotional and physical distress. After is when he revealed his true plan. Kill Dumbledore. 
                              
Narcissa hated the coward. Voldemort couldn't kill Dumbledore, so he sent his newest and youngest servant. Of course, Draco wasn't strong enough to do it. Overpower the greatest wizard ever known? The only one Voldemort feared? He kept hinting that she was going to pay for his failure. Every opportunity Voldemort had, he would torture her in front of him, as a reminder that her life was in his hands, fail and Voldemort would kill her and him.
                              
She had escaped the house one night, determined to find a way to rescue her son and turned to Snape, who had saved them all. He took the Vow and had actually killed Dumbledore. If what her sister said was true, Draco had chickened out and wouldn't kill the old man, though he had every available chance. She couldn't help but be a little prideful in that regard. Draco didn't become a killer, even with everything that they threatened him with. She wished she had told him that, but with Voldemort in charge of her house, she wouldn't even think of voicing those thoughts, even as she watched them systemically break her only son.
                              
In long, fractured sentences, Narcissa Malfoy told Potter what Voldemort had done to her and Draco. He listened without interrupting, just holding her hands as she sobbed out what was the worst years of her life. Of course, there was so much more she didn't see, too. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had hurt Draco many times when she wasn't there. 
                              
"Draco had asked me not to be there. To hide. He was willing to take the torture if it meant that they left me alone. He didn't want me to watch," she said, ending her tale of sorrow.
                              
"That's what he said in Azkaban. That he didn't want you to see him like that."
                              
"Oh... Draco. He's endured so much. I know what everyone thinks of him, Pot-Harry. He's not a Death Eater... not at heart. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He didn't hurt anyone."