Scooter: Alright, this idea hit me I think on Saturday and it wouldn't leave me alone. I know this first chapter is short, but I'm hoping the next one will be longer. I have a lot of inspiration for this one, so please give it a shot. ;-) I dedicate this story to one of my friends Dana, cause she's awesome. =D There is character death in this, and I'll try to keep everyone in character. I'll be having some problems with Hermione and Draco though, methinks. Now, one more note: This takes place right after Crabbe casts FiendFyre, and everything afterwards pretty much ignores book 7. I won't be giving the full summary, because it gives everything away, but here we go! Enjoy!
Chapter 1
The flames roared up, obscuring Harry's vision. He couldn't believe that - although despicable - one of Malfoy's cronies would attack Malfoy himself. He couldn't believe that Crabbe had betrayed Malfoy right to his face. And he certainly couldn't believe that Crabbe had used FiendFyre in such close quarters, and on Malfoy no less.
"Harry! We need to go!" He could only vaguely hear Hermione's yells over the roaring, and he jerked his head slightly to see her, sweat already pouring down her face.
He could barely make out Draco Malfoy's terrified face through the flames. The red, orange and yellow reflected in his stormy gray eyes. He could only just see the outstretched hand, and briefly wondered why. . . . Malfoy certainly had never been nice to him or one of his friends. The slimy git had insisted on calling Hermione a mud-blood, insulting Ron and his family, saying how he couldn't believe that they were pure blood. He had also of course attacked Harry himself on subjects such as his mother. Then why. . . . Why did Harry swoop over the blonde's head and hold out his own hand, his arm reached down as far as it would go, prompting the Slytherin to grasp it? Harry couldn't think of a reason why this was so.
His hand grasped the sweaty one of Malfoy and the blonde clamped down on Harry's wrist hard enough to cause the black-haired boy to wince slightly. His Firebolt slowly began to rise, pulling Malfoy from the crackling flames. He could feel the blonde's wrist slowly slipping from his grasp, and he tightened his hold, grunting with effort.
Harry could feel the Firebolt dragging slightly and he gasped, feeling his broom dip suddenly, causing Malfoy and himself to spill over. The blonde rolled a few times before coming to a halt, his body shaking and his gray eyes wide with shock. Ron and Hermione ran over to Harry, clambering over him, making sure he was alright. The green-eyed boy nodded, sitting up and coughing a bit, wiping some soot from his face and turning his gaze to Malfoy, who was muttering incoherently under his breath.
"Crabbe. . . . How could. . . . How could he. . . .?" He interrupted himself with a coughing fit, his back tensing as the spasms wracked his body.
Harry staggered up, shaking his head to try and rid himself of his dizziness. Hermione looked at him, then to Malfoy, then to Ron, who was glowering at the Slytherin as if he was part of the plague.
The silence between the Golden Trio continued on for about five minutes, said silence being broken only by the sounds of Malfy's crying and retching. Malfoy's retching gave way to nothing but a small amount of water, proving that the boy hadn't eaten a good meal recently. There was soot on his pale face, and how thin he was was impossible to tell because the light of the moon wasn't bright enough. Hermione and Harry couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the boy and what he had been through. Ron, on the other hand, looked like he would laugh if Malfoy just dropped dead on the spot. Harry stood and brushed his robes off, knowing it wouldn't matter anyway, and slowly walked towards the fallen Death Eater.
"Hey. . . . Hey, Malfoy. Can you hear me?" The wizard's only response was a slight twitch and a small groan.
"Nnn. . . . P-Potter. . . . I--" The blonde was cut off when Harry suddenly drew his wand, alerting his two friends who also drew their wands in a hurry. Two figures slowly walked out of the trees. They were both tall, but one had a slightly more feminine figure. The three squinted, trying to make out who the figures were, but Malfoy pushed himself up.
"M-Mum?"
A wand was drawn.
A shuddering breath was inhaled.
"Crucio."
Scooter: Once again, I really do apologize that it's so short! I'll get to working on chapter two right away! Can you guess who shot the curse? And who the recipient was? Anyway, please review, as it feeds my motivation. Which is good. Cause for this I will need a lot of motivation! Flames will be laughed at. Criticism will be taken into consideration and loved! And good reviews will be loved! And you'll all get a cookie. XD Anyway, seeya!
~~Scooter~~
