But he couldn’t help but be hopeful for the hearing today. Hopeful that the Winzengamont might decide that they could walk free once more. And by they, he mostly meant himself and his mother; the one benefit of being under house arrest at the Manor was its sheer size, and Draco had taken advantage of it to avoid his father as much as possible. Rightly or wrongly, Draco couldn’t help but place the blame for all of their misfortune at the feet of Lucius. It was he who had taken the Dark Mark and pledged himself as the servant of a lunatic. It was he who had opened their home to the Dark Lord and entwined their fates with his. And ultimately, it was Lucius who Draco blamed for the series of events that had ended with a brand on Draco’s arm. He wasn’t naive to his mother’s involvement - to her complicity - but he loved her too much to be truly angry with her. He needed to feel like at least one of his parents was on his side.