Involuntary Submission

Chapter One

The Usual Routine Broken

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"No, you watch where you're going!" Draco yelled back at the man, who's name always seems to escape the blonde, running down the hallways of the Ministry like he was on fire and hadn't the slightest idea how to fix that. The blonde began to mutter to himself as he rounded the corner, "Insolent half-blood."

Draco's eyes caught sight of the lift as it was getting ready to close. "Hold that lift!" he yelled, tearing off down the hall to catch it. But of course that blood traitor Weasley just had to be the only one in the lift. Smirking at the helpless blonde, Weasley let the lift close just as Draco was about reached the closed door. Sighing, the blonde waited for the next one.

Stupid Weasel. Stupid lift. Stupid blood traitor. Draco thought bitterly as he paced a few steps, parchment in his hands. He really hated that he was just a delivery boy for the Aurors. His sole purpose was to take finished reports to the Head Auror, who would then turn them in elsewhere, and to retrieve blank parchment, quills and/or ink for anyone who needed it. Draco didn't understand why his job even existed. It was just pure laziness that created his job.

This bloody job isn't worth it. Draco argued with himself, as per usual. He did this at least once a day every day. It doesn't pay near enough for my liking.

But it's the only one that they would allow you to have here. If you want to be a real Auror, you must prove yourself to them.

Oh shut it! You are beginning to sound like a bloody good-for-nothing Gryffindor! he scowled his heart.

Draco, realizing he was arguing with himself mentally, shut his mind and his heart up. Finally the lift arrived. Taking a deep breath, he stepped on and announced to the air, "Auror Offices, Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

As soon as he said this the lift's magic whirled to life. Taking a hold of one of the handles attached to the ceiling with both hands, the blonde tried to keep from lunging as the lift jerked and swayed. Eventually, he ended up on the right floor. The lift's doors slid open. Releasing the handle, Draco stepped out of the lift and proceeded down the hallway. He heard laughter abruptly stopping as he turned a corner. A few of the Aurors sneered at him. Others began to whisper as he passed. As Draco walked away, one called out to him.

"Hey, Delivery Boy."

With difficulty, Draco masked his face with indifference. He turned to the Auror, whom loved to poke fun at him and that made sure he would never leave this position for a higher one. "Yes, Auror Wilson?"

Wilson smirked and said, "Did you get my specialized ink and quills like I asked?"

Gritting his teeth, Draco nodded. "Yes, I did. They should be on your desk. Is that all?"

"For now." He sneered.

The blonde nodded curtly and turned on his heel. He stiffly walked away, his pace a bit faster than per usual. He really hated Jarred Wilson, more than he hated Harry Potter even.

But that's not true. His heart piped in. You don't hate Potter anymore.

"Sod off!" he snapped at his heart, causing a Auror, whom he believed to be a lovely bird named Jennet, to jump and drop her papers. Draco muttered an apology, as he was required to in his position of such low a rank. She nodded and bent down to retrieve her dropped work papers. Draco walked faster to his destination, wondering why his heart couldn't ever agree with his mind.

He also had to wondered if he was going insane.

Releasing a tired deep breath, Draco sat in the metal folding chair in the break room. He needed coffee. Badly. Taking out his wand, he murmured a spell he had learned from a Slytherin during his school years when they had had to stay up late doing homework or whatnot. The coffee began to make itself. Draco relaxed back in his chair, closing his eyes, his head tilted back, slumping down a bit in it. He could feel the cool metal of the chair on the back of his neck. This position hurt said neck, but he didn't care. He felt heavy and tired.

Today he had had to fetch a lot more parchment and ink than per usual. Plus, someone had dropped a brand new bottle of expensive ink which Draco had had to clean up. Then, people started to purposely drop ink splotches on the carpet, and ink bottles were from then on 'accidentally' knocked over, spilling their entire contents on the surface they sat, some of which included parchment or onto the floor. And of course, like usual, Draco was forced to clean the spills up.

His mind ended up wandering to Jarred Wilson. Man, did Draco really hate him. With his ugly brown eyes and obnoxious laugh and horrifying crinkles on his forehead. Ugh. Not even his soft brown hair could make up for that terror. He was an arrogant prat that needed to be taught a lesson. But Draco couldn't be the one to teach him. That would definitely lose him any chance of becoming an actual Auror.

Just then, Draco heard a soft jingle and opened his eyes. His magic had indicated that it had finished making the coffee. He straightened and sat up in his chair. He levitated the mug of coffee to himself and sipped it carelessly. His eyes widened as his body was immediately awakened, cursing.

"Damn it! That's hot!" Draco covered his mouth with his hands, after setting his mug on the circular table. His tongue burned. He didn't know why he covered his mouth because it's not like it helped or anything. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. But his eyes snapped open when he heard a chuckle. Draco's head whipped around to find Potter standing in the doorway of the break room.

Surprised, Draco's silver eyes widened. No one took a break at this time. That's the sole reason he did. The blonde took it now so no one could bother him or demand anything else of him till he got back to work.

"Potter." Draco acknowledged, trying to hide his surprise. Potter smirked and simply said, "Careful, Malfoy. Your coffee is hot."

Draco scowled, his eyes steely. "I know that, Potter." he spat the name. Potter raised his hands up in surrender, his black eyebrow arched in question. "Whoa there. Calm down."

Sighing, the twenty-one year old blonde ran a hand through his silken hair, causing it to become disarranged. Potter entered the break room and took the chair opposite of Draco. "Tired?"

Draco looked at Potter like he was stupid, which of course he was. "What gave it away? Was it the ink stains on my new dress shirt? Or perhaps it was the parchment cuts on my hands? Or how about the dark bags under my eyes?"

Draco knew his voice was dripping with sarcasm, but honestly he didn't care at the moment. Potter gave him a look that showed he really didn't appreciate the sarcasm. The blonde shrugged and took a sip of his coffee.

After an awkward silence, readjusting his glasses, the raven haired man spoke. "Alright… I guess I will… see you whenever…?"

Draco just nodded once in reply as Auror Potter got up and left him to his break. He cast a quick Tempus charm and found his break was over. Sighing deeply, he stood up and set his mug in the sink. Then, he scurried out of the break room to get back to work.

Draco apparated to the living area in his flat after clocking out. He was beyond exhausted. He needed a good night's sleep. But his stomach was starving. So he went into the kitchen of his flat. He opened the fridge and found it empty, save for half a stick of butter and a carton of curdled milk. Throwing the milk out, he checked the pantry. Nothing looked appetizing. Sighing, Draco decided to go out to eat something nice.

Exiting the kitchen, Draco returned to his living room and retrieved his shoes and robes. He used his wand to put them on, too worn out to do it manually, and he apparated to the streets of Wizarding London.

Walking passed the Leaky Cauldron, Draco went out into muggle London. He had to admit, muggles could cook. Casting a Notice-Me-Not charm on himself, Draco exited the dark alley and began to casually walk down the street.

Draco walked a bit before glancing at the sky. He really hoped it didn't start raining. But the clouds did look a bit dark, and he couldn't see the moon. The stars weren't shining either. And he was in a muggle place, which meant no Umbrella charms.

Picking up the pace, Draco hurried along the street. He was in the mood for Italian food. His silver eyes flickered over the names of stores and restaurants. He stopped searching though when his eyes found a damp cardboard box resting on the sidewalk in a puddle. Curiosity got the better of him, and Draco walked over to the box.

Upon closer inspection, the cardboard box had washed out writing on it. Draco was barely able to read it. It said something along the lines of 'Free Kittens'. The cardboard of the box was soaked through and reeked of mildew. He scrunched his nose up at the smell. Peering into the box, Draco was met with the sight of a single black kitten.

Who would be so heartless to abandon a helpless kitten to the dark nights and cold winds of this world alone? The poor thing…

Looking down at the small kitten, Draco watched it. It was curled in on itself, fur matted and filthy. It's ribs were poking out of its skin. It looked a bit like a walking skeleton. Its tail was curled around itself, trying to keep its warmth in more then likely. The poor thing was shivering.

His heart clenching painfully tight, Draco gently picked the poor thing up and cuddled it to his chest just as it began to rain. Cursing aloud, Draco stood up and unraveled his scarf. He wrapped the kitten up in it. The animal gave a small appreciative mewl. Smiling slightly, the blonde decided to go home.

Forget food. This poor thing needs love.

The moment he stepped into the Wizarding street, a flash of color came at him. Crying out in surprise, Draco dropped to the ground, narrowly missing what he knew to be the Confringo spell. Looking behind him, the spot on the wall that was hit was scorched. Swiftly, looking back in the direction of his attacker, he saw a Denesaugeo coming at him. Draco rolled out of the way, the kitten still protectively held to his chest.

Standing up, Draco scurried to get his wand, which was difficult with one hand. His wand was in his right pocket. So he had to reach across himself and into his pocket with his left hand. As he struggled with his wand another spell flew at him.

"Ah!" Draco barely managed to duck in time. He dashed to behind the garbage bin and set the kitten in his scarf on the ground for a moment. Then, he rolled out form behind the bin, casting a spell, "Diffindo!"

He missed the attacker by a foot at least. Cursing himself, he rolled to miss a nasty curse that would have turned him inside out. Draco aimed his wand and yelled, "Expluso!"

The attacker jumped out of the way, and the street exploded where he had stood before. Draco stood up once more just as his attacker cast a spell with a silver coloring.

"Subiici Mihi!"

This spell hit Draco spot on.

Draco felt an odd coldness wash over him. He dropped to his knees as he shuddered and gasped, his body quaking as it tried to figure out what to do with the sudden cold. It was painful. He was shivering as the chill settled into his bones and his very veins, a chill that wasn't from the rain. This spell felt like Dark magic, but he couldn't be sure.

While Draco's body was responding to the spell, his attacker fled into the night.

The moment Draco landed in his flat, he wandlessly used magic to take his robes and shoes off. He also spell dried himself and the kitten, wondering what on earth that spell had been. Shaking his head to clear it, he decided to think about that later. Right now he needed to care for this poor cat.

Pursing his lips, he realized he had no food to feed the poor thing. Sighing, he called for one of his house elves from the Manor. He hated to do so though. Not because he cared for the thing, but because it was part of the past he was trying to forget and move on from. "Dotty!"

Dotty, the house elf, appeared before her master a moment later, looking enthusiastic. The house elves hated to see Draco do anything that they can do on his own. "Yes, Master Draco, sir. Dotty is here, sir."

"Dotty… I'm sorry to call upon your services, but… I need help."

"No! No! Master Draco must never apologize! Never! Dotty loves serving Master Draco, sir!" the house elf was doing an odd thing with her feet. Draco was amused by this. She looked as if she was dancing in excitement.

"Alright… Well, Dotty, I need you to fill my pantry and fridge with food. Also, I need something to feed this kitten." Draco said as he unwrapped the now sleeping kitten. It had been lulled asleep by his heart beat.

"Oh, Master Draco, sir! Yes, Master Draco, sir! Dotty loves to help! May I draw you a bath as well?" her large ears flopped as she tilted her head to one side. The blonde smiled. "Draw the bath first. Then, fill my kitchen with food."

The house elf bobbed its head quickly. "Right away, sir! Dotty loves serving Master Draco!" Dotty then disapparated. A moment later Draco could hear the sound of water running.

Draco looked down at the black little kitty. It was tiny. He began to wonder if it was the runt of the litter because it seemed smaller than normal kittens. The kitten yawned and looked up at him, blinking sleepily. Draco was a bit surprised. This kitten's eyes were two different colors. His left eye was silver and his right eyes was emerald.

I've never seen a cat with those two colors as eyes before. It's beautiful.

Draco brought the kitten to rest against his heart once more. He started up the stairs to go to where the house elf had drew him a bath. He entered the bathroom and set the kitten down on the rug. It mewled and looked up at him, begging with its little oddly colored eyes to be lifted up again.

The blonde stripped down to his boxers and said, "I'm going to bathe you… You need a name, little kitty."

The black kitten meowed in response. Draco picked the kitten back up, which earned him a pleased purr. He stepped into the tub. The water was hot and soothing to his chilled bones. He sank into the water slowly, releasing a pleased sound he couldn't help. The kitten purred at the sound, nuzzling its head against his chest.

Draco finally was seated comfortably in the water. The hot water came up to about his lowest rib. He reclined back into a partial laying-down position and set the kitten on the part of his chest that wasn't submerged in water. The kitten curled up over his heart contently.

Humming softly, Draco relaxed for a little bit before he remembered he needed to clean the black kitten. He gently sat up, taking the kitten off his chest and casting a wandless charm on the cat that made it float. The kitten meowed softly. Draco smiled. "Now… let's name you while I rid you of dirt."

As he gently scrubbed off the dirt from the matted fur of the kitten, he discovered the kitten was a girl. Pensively, Draco pondered out loud "What would I name at black cat?"

"What about Lotta? It means petite beauty, and it's Latin." Draco looked at the kitten. "No. You don't look like a Lotta. Hm… What about Mystery? You like that? Mystery."

Draco smiled as the kitten meowed in response. "I like it too, Mystery. I think it suits you."

Having finished bathing and cleaning Mystery, Draco took the kitten into his bedroom. He changed into clean and dry boxers before slipping his silver bathing robe on. Holding Mystery to his chest once more, Draco went downstairs to the kitchen. He was refreshed and hungry, and the poor kitten was probably starving. He heard the kitten's stomach growl and nodded. Yup. Mystery was starving.

Dotty appeared the moment he entered the kitchen. "Oh Master Draco, sir! Dotty did as you asked of her, sir! Food is in the fridge and the pantry, sir!" she exclaimed, cheerfully. She really did love her job.

"Thank you, Dotty. You are dismissed." Draco nodded, smiling. Dotty blushed and bowed. "Yes, Master Draco, sir." Then, she left with a loud crackling sound.

"Well… Let's get you fed, Mystery." Draco held the kitten in front of his eyes. Mystery meowed in approval as if she could understand Draco's words. Smiling, the blonde set to it, setting Mystery on the counter.

Later that night, Draco was laying in his bed, thinking back on his experience in Diagon Alley and about his attacker. Mystery was asleep on his chest, right above his heart. Draco was absentmindedly petting her, now silken-to-the-touch, black fur.

What spell had he been hit with? So far nothing had happened. He wasn't feeling sick or paralyzed or on the brink of death. His magic felt fine, and he wasn't woozy. He was positive that he had all limbs and inner organs. He didn't feel pain anywhere, and his heart rate was normal. So what had that spell done? He felt normal.

Draco began to think through what had happened. So, the spell he had been hit with had been silver and sparkled in the rain. It caused him to feel a sudden pained chill, and then… nothing. He was back to normal.

Worry and anxiety was beginning to eat at him. He was going to have to go to someone he can trust about this. He didn't trust St. Mungo's. They probably wouldn't help him anyway, him being a former Deatheater and all, or they would help him and charge him a ridiculous amount of galleons that they knew he couldn't afford.

He began to think through all the people he knew that he could trust. Pansy was a gossip and couldn't keep a secret to say her life. Blaise was somewhere in Switzerland, meaning he would be too hard to find. His father was dead and wouldn't have understood anyway; probably would have told him to just deal with it. His mother was dead as well, having died of a broken heart after Lucius had died in Azkaban of starvation.

Did he really only have two friends?

What about Potter?

Draco tensed and cursed his heart, a scowl on his face. Potter? Get real. Like Potter would ever help him in a thousand years.

You know that's not true. Don't lie to yourself. He's got a hero complex. He would help anyone one in dire need. He's good at keeping secrets, I bet.

Groaning, Draco covered his ears and tried to block his heart out. Why couldn't his heart ever agree with his mind? All his heart was good for was emotions. His mind was the rational one.

Ever heard that saying… The one about the heart. 'The human heart feels things the eyes cannot see and knows what the mind cannot understand.'

Draco sighed and glared at the ceiling, knowing for sure that he had gone metal. Fine. I'll talk to Potter. Happy?

The blonde was very startled, and just a tad bit scared, when his heart's answer rang through his head.

Very.