Draco Malfoy
María Segunda Ferenaz

Life is unfair. Once upon a time, it wasn’t like this. There was a time when people valued what was right, what was given. My family was important, one of the most important ones and everyone knew not to disrespect one of us. We were leaders, we were on the right side of history. But then the war came, giving space to different ideas, pretending to shame all of us out of life, expecting us not to feel pride in our name. We were still powerful but I knew there was more apart from our house. He wouldn’t admit it but my dad had to lay low. Though he prided himself in fooling the Minister having to do so was already bad enough, it was as if our power was only a memory.

When he came I tried to give him a hand. He seemed lost, I could see from one glimpse that he could do a lot more, he could be better. He just needed a push in the right direction. He didn’t want to. I offered him a chance but he didn’t want to. He thought he was better than me. He laughed at my face for being at the other side not knowing what it had meant to me. And over the next years he just kept on judging. As if it had been an easy choice. As if I had made that choice.

Living under a cupboard only to come out and find a world that loves you isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a child. Living in a mansion and feeling the resentful eyes of the people outside collide with the destiny your family talks about, that’s worse.
He thinks I had an easy life but the truth is that neither of us was free. I don’t think he ever realized how lucky he was to have his duty to the good side.

I’m not trying to redeem myself, I hurt people I wanted to hurt. I thought my blood was reason enough to deserve everything. I wanted to hurt him for being smarter, happier, for choosing those good for nothing as friends when he could’ve had me, for not showing me there was something better and blaming me when he should’ve saved me.
Merciful Potter, always so weak, so good to others, but he never understood just how bad it was to be Draco Malfoy.

I'm María Ferenaz, a 19 year old student from Argentina. In my free time I like to write, read and crochet!

Torn
Royce Miller

All my life everything was handed to me. I didn't have to make choices. And if I wanted on the Quidditch team, my father could bribe my way in. I looked up to his status and wealth, and I couldn't wait until I had that kind of power at my fingertips. I wanted to be just like my father; I shared his outdated views. I didn't know any better at the time. Nothing disproved his views because I was always surrounded by their affirmations. My father was my idol, until he wasn't.

I can't tell you when it clicked for me. It just did. Probably when I started having to make my own choices. Choices with consequences. Choices like, which hand do you want to have cut off of you? On one hand I could just blindly follow in my father's footsteps, pledge fealty to the Dark Lord. His views are the source of my father's, and the Dark Lord wants to take these views to their natural extreme, no matter the cost. With the Dark Lord, I would have surface level security, but at least I would have my family.

On the other hand I could go against my father's wishes and join the Dark Lord's opposition. Deep down it feels like the right thing to do. But I'm not sure. At face value I am starting to understand the other side's beliefs and values. Bloody hell, that mudblood Granger can best me in most subjects, so maybe my parent's views are outdated. But choosing that side means I wouldn't live a fulfilling life either. Mum and Dad would certainly be killed, and if the Death Eaters ever found me, I would share my parents' fate.

Is swapping sides in a war as easy as asking yourself, "What risks are you willing to take? What sacrifices are you willing to make?" My family gave me everything I ever wanted, so shouldn't I want to do the same for them? Shouldn't I want to make my father proud? So why can't I just say yes? I might not see eye to eye with the Dark Lord, but how can I dig myself out? There are no compromises with the Dark Lord. It's us or them.

So why do I keep thinking about them? They might be the side with better values, but values never got anyone a spot in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup. Values don't pay for new brooms for the lot of Slytherin house. Values don't rub elbows with high-level ministry officials. My father does.

Even though I'm torn, my only real choice is to kill Professor Dumbledore. I just hope I'm ready to make that choice when the time comes.