Disclaimer: If I were J.K Rowling, I would flaunt it. As I'm not flaunting it, I'm not J.K Rowling.
Title: Madness Within.
Author: Aelzah
Summary: Harry's feeling guilty over his Godfather's death and can't understand why his friends aren't sending him letters. When he gets an owl from the person he least expects, what can happen? D/H slash or friendship, up to you. Worried friends, plans by the Dark Lord, gorgeous owls, heavily-weighed down but sarcastic Potter and angry (hilarious), confused Malfoy! R/r!
Rating: PG-13. Or in the new rating: T.
Chapter: One: Comfortable floors and Uncomfortable thoughts.
Draco growled low in his throat as his paced around his spacious room. Pansy Parkinson was sitting primly on his green velvet bed, her silky blonde hair slung over a shoulder, watching him with no little amusement.
"Dray? May I ask why you're pacing?" She asked calmly, a small smirk resting on her pink lips.
For her efforts, she was rewarded with a glare and a deafening shout. "Pacing! PACING! I am not pacing! I am calm, cool and completely COLLECTED like a MALFOY should be!" Finishing his yelling, Draco grabbed a small glass thing he had gotten from his mother and threw it angrily at a wall, taking great satisfaction as it broke into a thousand pieces.
"Of course you are, Dray." Pansy simpered patronizingly, her bright blue eyes watching his every move. "Why are you so 'calm, cool and completely collected' today?"
"Hmpf..." A vague sound was her reply, as the silver haired boy fell into a green armchair, gracefully, of course, as befitting the Malfoy heir.
"Drakey-poo, you can tell me. What's got the big bad Malfoy so upset?" Pansy was talking as if to a small child, as she climbed off the bed and sat in her best friend's lap, clasping her pale arms around his neck.
"Get off of me you insane – thing!" Draco yelled as he pushed her off, and jumped up, staring at her with an odd glint in his eyes. The very disheveled girl laying on the fluffy emerald green carpeted floor pouted up at him briefly then smiled innocently.
"You know dear, this floor is extremely comfortable." She spoke absently, Draco staring at her with suspicion all the while. "Why don't you join me?" With only that as warning, Pansy had sat up and grabbed Draco, and pulled him onto the floor next to her, as quickly as a striking snake. She then rolled on top of his chest and sat up, her golden hair settling around her waist.
Draco was staring at her in shock, which quickly turned to anger, then to amusement. "Alright, you got me Panse, what do you want?" He spoke in a mock-solemn voice, knowing he could tip her off of himself in under 3 seconds, but his best friend always managed to calm him down.
"I want you to tell me what's wrong! You've only been pacing and growling since Narcissa invited me in, and, while amusing, it's getting on my nerves. You promised me that we would discuss evil plans to destroy the Gryffindors!" The last part was spoken petulantly, like a child denied of a treat.
Draco sighed softly, stirring a few locks of his silvery hair out of his face. His silver eyes met Pansy's blue as he spoke, and Pansy's twinkling eyes froze, knowing something severe was worrying her friend. " It's getting closer to school time, and I have to go face those... idiots. Potter and his mindless followers will just be flocking around to insult me about father." His face was rapidly turning a bright shade of pink. " He was a disgrace to the Malfoy name and now all of the English Wizarding world knows! It was bad enough that I had to live with it, but now it's public!"
Pansy sat quietly atop his chest letting him rant, her head down, hair hiding her eyes from view.
"Worst part Panse, is that I still have to be a deatheater. It's expected that I, too, kiss a filthy mudblood's boots and be his slave. I saw that mark on father's arm, it was like an ugly stain on Malfoy skin, but how do I run from it? One day I will also have to kill purebloods, blood traitors or no, they are still pure."
"Torturing Gryffindors and weak Hufflepuffs at school is okay, that's just what I do. It's play for me, but outside, it gets scary. I'm afraid Panse, and so fucking confused." When done bearing his soul, Draco looked away. He felt his best friend slide off his chest and crawl into his arms.
"It has to be okay eventually Drake. Nothing evil can go on for too long. We both know that, and maybe that can help." Her voice was soft, and barely audible, but it was there and comforting all the same. Draco smirked slightly, whispering in response.
"I always said you were too optimistic for a Slytherin." All he got was a swat on the arm and a tighter hug from the blonde girl next to him.
qpqpqpqp
Harry sat curled up on his bed, his arms wrapped tightly around his thin legs. The sun was shining outside on Privet Drive, reflecting off clean car windows, and wet grass, but the young man on the bed was oblivious to all this. His eyes were closed tightly, his mind far away.
This summer had been hard on Harry. Harder than the usual ones. The fact that Sirius was well and truly gone hit him in the stomach every minute of every day, leaving the poor boy with very little sleep. The Dursleys fed him a bit more than normal due to threats from a certain odd group of witches and wizards, but Harry barely touched it. He couldn't eat, not when so many others were incapable of ever eating again.
His life and everyone else's were weighing heavily on his thin shoulder, due to the prophecy that haunted him. 'Neither shall live while the other survives.'
At times, Harry figured he wasn't living, hell, he was barely surviving, meaning Voldemort could very well be having the time of his miserable life somewhere. Most likely bathing in some innocent child's blood, Harry thought. That image sickened him, and he felt bile rising in his throat.
'Damn, where do you get these images, Potter?' A voice that sounded like a strange mix between Snape and Malfoy rang in his head.
Harry rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. Before his eyes he saw Sirius falling gracefully backwards towards the Veil, his face showing only surprise, while Bellatrix Lestrange cackled in the background. This image soon mixed with green light and an evil voice hissing "Kill the spare." Cedric's lifeless eyes stared up at him. Bertha Jorkins came out of the wand. He had cast the cruciatus curse. His mum, his dad. They were here!
This is how the time went by for Harry, delusional half nightmares every moment. Somewhere among all this, he had managed to ask himself where his friends were to get him out of this hell-hole.
qpqpqpqp
Order of Phoenix Headquarters.
"Albus, we have to get him out of there! His letters every three days state, and I'm quoting here:
'I'm fine. No need to come.
Harry.'
"Who knows what's going on inside his head. He could be blaming himself for Sirius and doing any number of things to himself. Why are you being such a stubborn fool?" Remus was breathing heavily, his amber eyes glowing in the dark kitchen of Grimmauld place. When Dumbledore shook his head sadly and looked away from the werewolf, Remus growled low in his throat and stormed out of the room before he did something he'd regret. They'd had the same discussion almost every day since Summer had begun.
The moment he left, Severus Snape glided out of the shadows, a frown settled firmly on his pale face. "You know, Headmaster, that the werewolf has a point. While I am loathe to admit it, and would love to see Potter suffer, you don't know how he will be coping with what happened. If you don't take him out of there, he may very well turn against us." Severus' usually cold voice was tinged slightly with worry as he stared at his mentor.
The Headmaster sighed and fidgeted nervously. "Severus, I love the boy, I truly do, and I need to keep him safe from Voldemort. Times as they are now, being outside of his relative's house would put a large target on him, and everyone he knows, including our Order's members. It is too dangerous, and he will understand, as I have said countless times. Now I must go." Dumbledore stood up heavily and left quietly without waiting for a goodbye.
" I can only hope that you are right, Headmaster, for all our sakes." Snape's soft voice cut through the still air as he followed quietly after Dumbledore.
Upstairs, a very angry werewolf in human form was ranting to himself, his eyes glowing angrily and his teeth bared. He knew Harry, he had studied him when he had been his teacher and had caught things most others would have missed. The child was not going to be doing well at the Dursley's with such a huge burden on his shoulders.
The burden being Sirius's death. Unfortunately, Remus didn't know about the prophecy or Harry would already have been taken out of his relative's house. No one, except Dumbledore, knew how urgent it was, and Dumbledore wasn't talking.
qpqpqpqp
Ron,
Hellos, how are yous and all the pleasantries aside, I'm worried about Harry. I've sent him two letters so far, but no response. Is he ignoring us, or just not getting letters? Do you think You-Know-Who has him? Don't you dare call me a worrywart. I have a feeling something is very wrong.
I purchased some books the other day on adolescent psychology and I'm worried about how Sirius's death will affect Harry. It says in one book that severe depression, if not treated immediately or if isolated and ignored, could lead to suicidal tendencies and/or self-mutilation.
I don't know if that's true, as Harry is very special, but what if something like that happens? The book might just be onto something, and I really think Harry needs someone he can talk to.
Try to write to him.
Reply soon, ok?
Love,
Hermione.
Ron felt vaguely jealous as he read the first line, as all it seemed to talk about was Harry, but as he read farther in, he got more worried. Suicide or self-mutilation? That didn't sound good, but neither did it sound like Harry. Dipping his quill into the ink bottle, he wrote back.
Herm,
I'll try to write to him, if he responds, I'll tell you. As for the suicide thing, I doubt he'll go that far, but he does need someone to talk to. I really hope he responds.
I don't think you're a worrywart– Wait, I just got an idea. Send HQ a letter, send it to Lupin and tell him about the book. That might get Harry someone...parental to talk to. I dunno.
Hopefully, Harry won't feel too depressed with all three of us sending him letters. I hope he's all right.
Don't make yourself sick though, ok?
Love, (he felt odd writing that.)
Ron.
He sent the letter quickly with Hermione's new owl and settled down to write a friendly letter to Harry.
Harry,
Mate, how are you? Herm just owled me saying you didn't respond to her letter, we're both pretty worried. You ok? You can write to tell us to bugger off if you want, but please respond. We need to know if you're still able to write.
I'm back at the Burrow with mum and Ginny. Fred and George are living here off and on. You should have seen Mum when they popped in at the beginning of the Summer. You would have expected her to be pissed off, but she almost went barmy with, wait for it, pride. Seriously, she hugged the twins so tightly their eyes almost popped out.
She's really proud of them for standing up to the toad Umbridge, which isn't to say she isn't really upset over them jumping out of school, but their standing their ground. Not going to go back.
Awesome, huh? I really hope you're ok.
Send your letter back with Pig.
Your mate,
Ron.
He folded the letter and bit his lip worriedly. He handed it to Pig absently and watched as his energetic owl flew off. Something wasn't right.
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Far off in the middle of the forest at Voldemort's hideaway.
"Wormtail, is it all prepared?" A cold voice issued from the serpentine man sitting in a large throne like chair. Wormtail, the sniveling cowardly excuse for a man, was bowed at his Master's feet, his whole body shaking in constant fear and nervousness. 'He's going to manage to die before I can kill him if he keeps this up.' Voldemort thought idly, as he watched his servant, vaguely feeling amusement.
"Y-yes, M̀Lord. Th-the owls sent to Potter have be-been intercepted by the spell as-as you wished, My Lord, and w-we are let-letting his letters for th-the old fool's group pass. It-it has all been planned, but, but we have y-yet to infor-inform the Ma-Malfoy heir, Master." Wormtail managed to stutter out, his beady eyes glued to the stone floor nervously.
"Very good, Wormtail, see to it that young Draco is informed as soon as possible. I know Potter will be in a fragile state at the moment, having someone to talk to, even his rival, would be a blessing." Voldemort narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as the stuttering man bit out his response and waited to be dismissed. Yes, this plan would work. Potter was his!
"You may go." Wormtail nodded once and scurried out, leaving Voldemort to contemplate his plan. It would work.
(TBC)
A/N. Well, first chapter done and sealed. Hopefully it's good.
Draco: I doubt it... puts hand over Draco's mouth.
Don't listen to him. muffled sounds come from the now bound and gagged Draco.
cough Now:
Reasons for Reviews:
1. Inspiration.
2. Encouragement.
3. Writing tips.
4. Warm feelings.
5. To tell me if you want slash or just friendship between H/D.
Draco: How sentimental. Next she's going to write poetry.shudder and I'll ignore the 5th one.
What the? Who let him free! It was supposed to be a surprise.stares around angrily
Pansy: Dray, be nice. I think it's sweet . drools
Oh, of course! PARKINSON!growl
Pansy: What? He looked so sad all tied up like that. sweet smile
Draco: Haha... stupid Girls! Malfoy smirk of doom and sarcasm.
Shut up you guys! You're going to scare everyone away! both disappear in a plume of red smoke.
silence
There all better!
Draco: What's all better?
Ergh... They'll never leave, now.
Draco: Nope!
Pansy: Nuhuh.
both send smirks of dooms to the readers.
Harry: huh?
Draco and Pansy: We'll be here until the end of the story! Muahahahaha!
Harry: What's going on?
groan
Well, thanks for reading so far,
Aelzah.