A/N: My muse, Maggie, is simple girl. All she likes are plot bunnies and reviews. So be kind to Maggie and feed her review cookies please.
Big thanks to Lbandoly for the beta on this. It couldn't have been easy given I mixed both the book's take on events and the film's…
No copyright infringement intended. All characters are the property of JKR, Scholastic, and any number of other companies with more money than I've ever dreamed of seeing. I didn't make any money off of this, so please don't sue.
He ran; away from her, away from Potter.
The pain was unbearable. The look in her eyes as she had looked over Potter's shoulder. She knew, but she didn't know. He knew she didn't know. She couldn't possibly know. He was certainly that she hadn't been able to identify him beyond the Imperius. He had cast it perfectly hadn't he? He had been clear, take the package, don't open it and send it to the headmaster via the school owlery. He hadn't intended for her to open that bloody package, much less poison her. Perhaps he could have been more clear in his directions to her; don't open the package and don't handle what was inside, take it straight to the owlery and send it to the Headmaster.
The painful agony the poison created was intended to kill the barmy, old coot and fulfill his task to the Dark Lord. But no, the stupid bent just had to be nosey and open the bleeding package. If she had only done what she was told. But perhaps she couldn't have followed the orders he had given her. He failed in the most simple way and for it, there was nothing but pain. They would be dead because he couldn't complete even the most simple of tasks.
The tears began to stream down his cheeks as he tore through the crowded halls. He heard the steps in the distance, someone else running, chasing him. Potter. He just couldn't leave well enough alone. He never did. Always one step behind him, always waiting to prove he was the better wizard. It didn't take much proving. Draco knew Potter was the better wizard. He wouldn't admit it to anyone but he knew. He always had known.
He ran until his legs ached and the boys' loo came into view. He slammed into the room, trembling hands tearing at his perfectly knotted tie, willing the material to fall away. It choked him, pulled the air from his lungs as if it has been magicked out of him. The tears turned to screams of rage and hurt as he clutched the sink, staring at a tear-streaked face he no longer knew.
Who was he! He didn't know himself anymore. The face that stared back was devoid of anything and everything; left broken, empty and alone. An empty shell of himself was all he ever saw staring back at himself now. He dropped his head, muttering in tear strained humiliation. "I can't do it… I can't… It won't work… and unless I do it soon… he says he'll kill me."
Finite Incantatem
