A/N: So here's the intro! The story is 4 chapters after this, around 10,000 words total, very Draco-heavy. It's all done and I'm posting it over the next 4 days. I'm sorry about not getting my act together to post the rest of Indelible yet, but I haven't abandoned it and I will be finishing. In the meantime, here's this one. It's not all that deep, but I think it will be fun to see Draco battling hard for a change. Let me know what you think!
Voices were buzzing all around him.
"Is he dead? He's dead, isn't he."
"I-… I think so. I do. Is-…"
"-Dead? He's dead? Are you sure?"
Draco wondered who they were talking about. Who's dead?
Before long he realized that they must be talking about him. He was certainly dead; he had no body and no awareness of anything except the disembodied voices around him.
But then he found he had a body again; he knew because it hurt. Someone was touching him. A hand. On his neck. "Oh-! A pulse!" This voice was much nearer to him, almost shouting into his ear. Loud, nervous, strident. Hermione Granger. "He's alive," Granger was shrieking. "Hey – somebody help, Malfoy is alive!"
"What-? Let me see." That was Potter – close now, too. The hand on Draco's neck vanished and a much rougher touch took its place. There was pressure on his throat, and a surge of panic overtook him when he realized that he could no longer breathe. With all the strength of desperation he gurgled and surged up a little.
"Malfoy," Potter snarled, "Malfoy, you hear me? Open your eyes, you little – hey! Don't you dare! Malfoy! Look at me!"
Potter was bad news. Look closely, son. Is it him? Bad bad news, Potter was always bad news. What could he possibly want now, Draco didn't even have his wand and couldn't move. Better to vanish. To disappear.
And then, miracle of miracles, for once in his life the ground beneath him was granting his wish and opening up to swallow him whole. Draco would have smiled if he'd had the energy. It was dark and peaceful down there. A good place to hide. He dove, slid down into the darkness, escaping the strangle and all Potter's howling and all of everything. Escaping.
TBC...
Tell me what you think!