Unwrapping presents early on Christmas morning used to be Draco's happiest moment.
Lucius gave him a pure gold cauldron to encourage his outstanding performance in Potions class. Narcissa gave him a beautiful sweet box that, when tapped with a wand, would produce a continuous stream of Honeydukes' finest confections. And his grandfather Abraxas gave him a copy of Jinxes for the Jinxed and wished him luck with his classmates. That old rascal!
Of course, there were also some miscellaneous magical gifts given to him by distant relatives, but those were less noteworthy.
While unwrapping the gifts, Draco discovered some unexpected senders. He received a large box of sugar-free snacks from Hermione and a Chocolate Frog from Potter, with a note scrawled on it: This is what I lost to you in a bet, please accept it.
In fact, he had also given Potter a gift, also a Chocolate Frog, which was precisely what Potter had intended.
The gift for Hermione was Studies of Medieval Alchemy, which included a short introduction to Nicolas Flamel. May Merlin bless Hermione Granger's Christmas celebrations.
He had also gifted Professor Snape a brand new, limited edition pair of high quality dragonhide gloves, which offered excellent protection when handling potions.
Additionally, most of Slytherin's classmates would receive gifts from him. As Narcissa had taught, these gifts were often tailored to the recipient's personal preferences.
For a moment, Draco would have some unrealistic fantasies. He longed to be that carefree eleven year old boy again, free from thought and calculation, simply happy with the dazzling array of gifts, and even showing them off to his friends after the holidays.
But he could never return to that simple state of happiness. His heart was filled with worry.
So the excitement of unwrapping gifts quickly dissipated like smoke. Draco's expression returned to its usual blankness. He had no right to be happy. He had to prepare for the future.
Christmas at the Malfoy family's home was more lively than in previous years.
Although his maternal grandfather, Cygnus Black, declined his father's invitation and insisted on spending Christmas with his distant cousin, his paternal grandfather, Abraxas, who had originally planned to go to Switzerland for a health retreat, changed his mind. He preferred to enjoy some family time.
Abraxas was a living encyclopedia of Dark magic. Draco seized an opportunity and slipped into his private study. "Grandfather, do you know of any magic that can make a soul immortal?"
"An immortal soul?" Abraxas turned around and looked at his grandson with a strange expression.
This was an elderly man who commanded respect without being angry, and he also possessed the Malfoy family's signature platinum blond hair and pale grey eyes, only with more wrinkles on his face.
He was sitting in a comfortable wing backed armchair with his feet on a velvet footstool, holding a small glass of wine in one hand and picking through a box of candied fruit in the other.
"What I mean is, the soul does not disappear with the death of the body. It still has its own thoughts and can possess other people or things..." Draco said with an innocent look on his face.
Abraxas stared at him, absentmindedly stroking his wine glass, and asked, "Do Hogwarts first years already need to study such advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts?"
Grandfather, knowing that this is not schoolwork, you still find a plausible reason to test your grandson, Draco thought helplessly.
"It is not part of the school curriculum. It is simply something I learned out of personal interest. I read something similar in a book in the library, but I did not quite understand it," Draco said frankly.
The older generation of the Malfoy family were not opposed to advanced Dark magic. In fact, they encouraged the younger generation to be interested in it. He did not think Abraxas would be angry about it.
"Hmm... yes..." Abraxas said absentmindedly, "I believe I know a similar spell, very evil... if I remember correctly, it might involve knowledge of Horcruxes."
"Horcruxes?" Draco stared intently at Abraxas.
"Hmm." Abraxas suddenly focused intently on observing the color of the wine in his glass. "I believe it would not hurt to explain it to you. You need to understand this term. A Horcrux is an object that contains a part of a person's soul."
"But I do not quite understand what that entails," Draco said.
"This means splitting the soul," Abraxas mused, "hiding a part of it in an object outside the body. Even if your body is destroyed, you will not die, because a part of your soul remains unharmed in the world."
"Of course, to exist in this form..." Even Abraxas, who always revered Dark magic, could not help but frown. "Few people would want that. They would rather die outright."
Draco could not help but recall the inhuman and grotesque appearance of the Dark Lord from his memories.
"But how does one split a soul?" Draco asked.
The old man's eyes widened as he said, "Of course, it is through murder! What could be more evil than that? Murder causes the soul to split, and the wizards who create Horcruxes use this splitting to seal the soul fragments into objects through corresponding spells."
"Can a fragment of a soul possess a person?" Draco continued to ask.
"Of course not! The object is evil enough. Possessing a human? I have never even heard of that!" Abraxas slowly turned his head, eyeing Draco suspiciously in the flickering candlelight.
"The Malfoy family has always believed that Dark magic has its allure if the method is correct. But..." Abraxas's voice sharpened, "The Malfoy family will absolutely not tolerate the creation of Horcruxes! The rupture of the soul will bring irreversible and permanent damage, resulting in unpredictable temperament, lack of judgment, and a gradual departure from human form..."
Abraxas snorted disdainfully. "Utterly inelegant, let alone noble. It is downright depraved. You are not planning on doing something dangerous, are you, Draco?"
He gazed at Draco's pale little face, a face that held a maturity and tranquility rarely seen in children his age.
"No, Grandfather, I would never do that." Draco saw his grandfather narrow his eyes, as though assessing the sincerity of his words. He tried his best to appear resolute.
Draco's expression withstood his grandfather's scrutiny. Abraxas was relieved and began selecting his favorite candied fruit again.
"There are only two things in life that are absolutely fair to us. The first is the twenty four hours we each have every day, and the second is that we each will face death," Abraxas said solemnly to his beloved grandson, seemingly hoping that Draco would remember this.
"With the Malfoy family's current wealth and status, we do not need to risk our souls to do something so reckless. We simply need to protect our position, cultivate allies, and continue the family line. Pursuing immortality will never end well. I would rather die like an ordinary wizard... Look at the Dark Lord..." he muttered.
"You believe the Dark Lord created Horcruxes?" Draco asked tentatively, seeking confirmation once more.
"Well... of course, this is merely a reasonable guess. For such an ambitious person, the life of an ordinary wizard may no longer be enough for him. I once saw that his appearance changed drastically... he gradually became unrecognizable. Besides, killing is commonplace for him, and making one or two Horcruxes is far too easy for him." Abraxas said, disapproving.
Draco remained silent, recalling how the Dark Lord in his past life would casually kill people at Malfoy Manor whenever he was displeased. His grandfather's summary was accurate.
"I noticed he was growing too obsessed with immortality and things were starting to go wrong, so I secretly made some preparations. You understand, I contacted some old friends in the Ministry and such. Otherwise, how could the Malfoy family have turned against him and escaped unscathed after the Dark Lord fell? Why would the Ministry listen to us?" Abraxas said smugly.
"Are you not afraid he will return?" Draco could not help but ask.
"Oh, if he truly did something so horrific to his own soul, I believe he might not be dead, but still clinging to existence somewhere. But he would not have much magic remaining, and he would not be a threat anymore. Splitting one's soul comes at a price. No one can easily bear that kind of shattering cost, not even the Dark Lord. Besides, has not everything been peaceful all these years?" Abraxas put down his empty wine glass, his expression somewhat dismissive.
Draco remained silent. In truth, the Dark Lord is about to be resurrected, when everyone has grown accustomed to their peaceful lives and is completely unsuspecting of him.
At that time, the comfortable life of the past will vanish into nothingness, and darkness will shroud the rich and beautiful grounds of Malfoy Manor...
"Draco, good boy, stop discussing these things and go out to play. All you need to do is live your life well and continue the glory of the Malfoy family... This history is not glorious. It is too far removed from you. You do not need to think about it so much..." Abraxas waved to Draco, leaned comfortably against the armchair, and started dozing.