Author's Note: This is a continuation of Half-Blood Prince, the part about Draco and Snape running away. So, it will have spoilers. (:
Rating: T.
Summary: When there is no one to turn to, Draco Malfoy looks to danger itself.
Runaway.
"Where are we?" the voice of a young man came from a heavily overgrown hedge, grunting as he pushed his petite frame through. Once finally coming out of the shrub, the teenager's pale face looked even more deadly in its pallor, marred by cuts and scrapes to the clean flesh. His eyes were shadowed by thick black lines, which were a rather odd contrast to the blue irises.
A man emerged behind him, a complete opposite to the boy. He was dark and angry-looking, pulling the youth by his sleeve. "Come, Draco. We have little to travel and the night has set."
Draco stumbled and fell onto his knees; it wasn't the first time he had tripped over his own feet, falling in a heap at the man's shoes. "All right, I'm coming, Snape!"
Severus Snape offered his hand lazily and Draco took it, standing up on his feet. They trod down rocks near a beach that had no traces of sand. Everything was gray under the moon's light—that was not saying much as the beach was lined with heavy boulders and pebbles. Snape led the way to a higher cliff and they climbed for some time.
Finally, reaching its peak, man and boy sat down and caught their breath. Very little was said between them, the only sound coming from Draco, who was gasping for air. It took Snape a moment to understand that he was crying, hands covering his face.
"Draco, you've got to understand, we'll get your father out of Azkaban—" Snape tried words of comfort but Draco angrily retorted with "I don't care about my father!"
Severus smiled and put a gentle hand on the boy's trembling shoulder. "You do care about Lucius, so much that it dissolves you to tears."
"I don't care about my goddamn father! Let him rot in that stupid cell of his forever! I'm not going to rescue him! I hope he dies! I don't want to see his face again in my life! NEVER!" Draco was beside himself, juggling sorrow and fury.
Snape didn't look fazed at all. He looked up at the moon that was casting shadows all over the rocky beach. They had run out of the school and then Apparated to a place Snape insisted was safe. Still, they were not any closer to achieving their mission of freeing Lucius and Draco was as miserable as ever. "Then why so angry, Draco?"
"I hate him." The boy looked up, blood and tears all over his pale face, "I hate him so much I wish I could be the one who makes him die. I want to rip his limbs apart, one by one—"
"Why?" Severus interjected, "Why do you want to hurt Lucius so badly? I don't see how he has wronged. Perhaps he was not there tonight, but that is foolish; he is in prison and it is up to us to rescue him!"
Draco toyed with a rock and then threw it with all his might. It fell into the water with a mighty splash and he faced Snape again, loathing reflecting in his eyes. "If my moronic father didn't get himself captured last year at the Ministry, I wouldn't have had to kill Dumbledore. The Dark Lord wouldn't want revenge. It's all his fault!"
"Ah, but you overlook the complexity of the task. It was hard for your father to keep everything in control when the Order came along and fought them bravely—" again, Draco interrupted.
"They had the Dark Lord! How could they not win!"
Severus remained stoic, looking at the water that was gently rippling with the waves. "Dumbledore came along and by then it was nearly all over. But it is easy to issue blame, am I not right? Why don't you look back on what wrong you have done tonight?"
Draco looked at him very darkly and raised his eyebrows. "What did I do that didn't follow your orders?"
"Not my orders—the Dark Lord's. You did not kill Dumbledore, and it was my job to finish him off. Naturally, our master will not be pleased. I do not want to down your spirits any more, but he did not get what he wanted. You are still in debt, Draco."
Draco smirked, blood issuing from his lips as the pink skin strained and split. "So, let him kill my mother or my father. What do I care? He can kill me if he likes, I have very little to live for."
"No, you have plenty. For one, we had better get moving tomorrow morning to reach Azkaban and we'll have quite the journey in breaking into your father's cell. Then, if all goes well, we'll find your mother and…" And what, Snape asked himself. What would they do once fully free?
Draco found his voice again and sighed. "Then we'll go back to Voldemort—"
A slap had drawn a deep gasp from Draco, who felt violated from being slapped by Snape. "If you utter that word again, I am going to hurt you. Since Dumbledore is not around to tell me what to do, and you are out of your parents' reach, I am to take care of you. Do not say his name around me."
Rubbing his sore cheek, Draco scowled. "I don't want to leave here," he muttered no apology.
"But we must. Tomorrow dawns and we had better be on our way."
"I'm not a robot," Draco felt tears forming in his eyes—he felt hurt and alone after Snape had shown him a harsher side to the usually respectful personality. With the only positive figure in his life hitting him, Draco felt as though the world had turned its back. "I need a break. It's been a grueling term and now I have to go and face even more terror. I haven't slept in months."
"You are exaggerating, Draco."
"I am not!" the teenager spat darkly, "I've been pacing mostly. It's during lunch that I slept and at night that I tried various ways to ease my nerves. Twice I felt as though I was going to go insane." He didn't know why he was confiding in Snape. "And I hit Pansy for the first time in my life this year. I'm falling apart. Just give me one more day."
Severus frowned and didn't respond. He drew his wand and conjured two small mattresses next to each other and a large threadbare blanket. Easing himself onto one of the makeshift beds, he kept his eyes fixed onto Draco's face; the boy was crying again passively.
"Come sleep here." Draco followed the orders and huddled under the blanket. "Are you hungry?" Severus asked, shocked at the reply.
"No, I'm not."
The man drew out of thin air a platter of potatoes, beef, and a slice of bread. "Eat," he insisted.
Draco looked at the food and hungrily began to delve in. His stomach ached as he ate, for until the food touched his lips, Draco did not remember how hungry he truly was.
Severus watched, satisfied. When Draco had finished, he made the plate disappear.
In turn for his generosity, Draco posed, "Aren't you starving?"
"A little. I'll wait until the morning comes, however."
Draco did not probe any further, simply looking up at the twinkling stars. "Do you feel guilty?"
"It's hard not to," Severus replied, stroking Draco's hair in a fatherly way. "Dumbledore was the only reason I didn't live in Spinner's End all year long. Not only was I betraying all the trust he had put in me, I disobeyed the Dark Lord's wishes. You did not do what he asked—I did it for you."
Draco swallowed any rude remark and slowly said, "Are we going to die?"
Severus ceased stroking the blonde head and frowned. "No…"
"Then why do I know we are? Why do I know that my father is going to be so disappointed in me, and maybe my mother will die to pay the price I didn't? I'm scared. I know I'm going to get hurt. This isn't over yet."
"You're only right about one thing—we're not done here. However, no, I don't think we're going to die, nor do I think your father will be downhearted because you didn't do as the Dark Lord asked."
Draco didn't take those words into account. He asked another curious question, however. "Are you and I friends?"
"Well, Draco… I'm not lying here on a pathetic little mattress in the middle of nowhere because I think of you as unworthy." Severus coolly responded and listened to Draco's ragged breath. He was crying again.
Draco swallowed hard and looked up into black eyes. He suddenly shuddered. "God, I hate your eyes."
"Why?" Severus couldn't have thought of a more questioning comment to mutter.
Draco snuggled into the older man's chest and began to sob, showing no signs of stopping. "It's just that they remind me of everything I feel when Lucius hurts me. It's the type of pain I feel when he abuses me, when people laugh at me in school, when my mother gets drunk and…" he gulped, bawling into Severus' shirt.
"I understand what you mean. My father never was a positive figure in my life. But do not be greedy. You know nothing of pain and poverty. For the first half of my life, I lived in place I could never call home. My peers detested me. They laughed behind my back and called me foul names. I had more enemies than friends. You, though… you are respected and adored by people. You're not so bad looking, Draco. You never endured the torture I did at the school's hand's and especially at my father's."
"Who said you were ugly? And you are lucky you never saw the downside of wealth." Draco gasped and Severus wrapped his arms around the boy.
He tried a smile to nobody and whispered, "Ah, Draco… it's unfair to suggest I have gone through more, but at least you never were starved. You don't know what it's like to be hungry. Whatever you felt today tripled does not suffice to explain what pain I felt. So, I repeat—do not be selfish. Once this is sorted out, you can have a home to back to. Unfortunately, I never had one, nor will I."
"You can stay with us," Draco looked up at Snape with respect in his eyes, "I'd make Father let you."
Severus smiled tenderly and hesitantly kissed the top of Draco's head. He tried any gesture that would stop the flow of tears. "I'll go back to Spinner's End when this is through with."
"Why that dump you've described to me?" Draco insisted, feeling an odd connection to his former Potions master and Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Finally, someone who understood him…
"It's not much, but it's all I've got. I have no job and I never will have one again. To expect any more would be so foolish of me, now wouldn't it?" Severus snidely said.
Draco sighed and nodded. "Okay. But know you're welcome in my home anytime you fancy."
"It means a lot. Thank you."
As Draco went to sleep peacefully in Severus' arms, the older man looked down into the face of youth and beauty. A twinge of jealousy hit him, looking at those beautiful features (as bloodied as they were). The mission that Voldemort had given Draco seemed perhaps too easy, but all the same, impossible.
A sudden rippling sensation sped through his body and he slowly untangled himself from Draco's arms. Within a few grueling moments, the once Severus Snape had transformed into Albus Dumbledore. Rummaging through his pockets with delicate hands, Dumbledore found the small bottle containing the last few drops of Polyjuice Potion.
No matter, he thought as he wrapped the covers over Draco's sleeping figure, to forge identity any longer would be unnecessary.
As he walked away from Draco, the Headmaster thought of Severus and thanked him silently for his final sacrifice.
The end.