Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Harry Potter.
Something's Gotta Give
Chapter 1: Confessions of the Enemy
"How dare you, you ungrateful little brat!" screamed a furious Lucius Malfoy, at his son who cowered before him, still reeling from the various blows to the face and body Lucius had just dealt him.
Draco just sat there silently, refusing to look his bastard father in the eye. His broken body shivered but he otherwise refused to move for fear of his father striking him again. He had learnt that from the first time Lucius had ever hit him at the tender age of five for playing with a muggle in the park, movement meant punishment.
Surrounding the two Malfoy's were some of Voldermorts most trusted servants, they had all turned up to what they thought would be the initiation of another Malfoy to the ranks of the Death Eaters, but things had not turned out as planned and now they all circled the fallen boy waiting for their turn to exact their punishment on the traitor.
"I manage to get our master to give you the mark earlier than the others, and he even offered you a position in his inner circle, AND YOU REFUSED!"
The sixteen year old boy looked into his father's steel grey eyes and sneered. "I will not bow to some power-hungry half-blood who tortures and kills for fun!" he spat.
A look of pure hatred flashed across the elder Malfoy's face as he slowly pointed his wand at Draco. "Then I will show you what it's like to be tortured and killed by Death Eaters!" and with that every Death Eater fired the same curse at the terrified boy.
Draco screamed in agony as the effects of the 'Crucio' swept through his body. Having not expected all 11 or so Death Eaters to cast the curse at the same, Draco attempted to clench his teeth together and bite his lip to stop anymore sound leaving his lips. It felt as though his insides were being burned and frozen at the same time and his body was being sliced open with hundreds of knives.
Throughout the night and into the morning Draco endured the excruciating torture and spells he had never even heard off. He tried to lock himself deep in he own mind in an attempt to stay sane but however hard he tried his father would manage to pull him back to awareness, then all of a sudden it just stopped. The aftermath of all the pain continued to rake through him and any attempt to calm his breathing just resulting in spasms of pain to rip through his body. Fearing to open his eyes, Draco listened to try and figure out what the Death Eaters were going to do to him next, but other than his own laboured breathing he could hear nothing, no howling of the wind, no cawing of the crows, just silence. He'd spent his entire time hear floating in and out of consciousness, disorientated and he didn't know how long he may have been unconscious for.
Taking the opportunity to rest for a few seconds, Draco tried to let all of the tension leave his body, and despite the pain curled up on his left side. Thinking that he must have passed out and the Death Eaters had left he attempted to clear his mind and rest but after only a few seconds he heard a voice, a voice that belonged to someone he did not want to see yet.
"Get up Malfoy and tell us why you're here." came the voice of Harry Potter. Knowing that Potter was there Draco knew that Weasley and Granger would be there too and just as he predicted, as he pried his eyes open, there stood the golden trio all aiming their wands at him.
He carefully and slowly rolled onto his back and barely managed to hide the look of agony that covered his face as he jostled his right arm.
"The wand is in my cloak pocket on the inside." He said keeping his hands away from his cloak knowing that they would hex him in an instant if he made wrong move. Even if he had the chance to draw his wand against his father and his friends he didn't think it would have helped. He was proficient at wandless magic, but down in the cell where he had been kept, nothing he tried would work.
Hesitantly, Potter moved towards Draco and fished the wand out of his Slytherin robes.
"I'll ask again Malfoy, how and why are you here?"
"I can't say anything to you unless Dumbledore is here or someone else from the Order." Said Draco not bothering to try and cover up the weariness in his voice. It hurt to talk, it hurt to breathe and he so badly just wanted to sleep.
"How do you know about the Order?" asked Ron Weasley, angry that their worst enemy knew about the Order, let alone was in their headquarters.
Before he had the chance to answer Hermione jumped in.
"What happened to you!"
"Merlin Malfoy, what have you been doing?" gasped Harry who had noticed the blood and marks but was more concerned about Voldermort knowing where their headquarters was.
The Slytherin boy sighed wearily and repeated what he had said earlier.
"I can't say anything unless I get the Orders approval. Is there not anyone here? Professor Lupin? Tonks? Moody?" he asked, his eyes had already fallen shut again and he was not sure how much longer he could stay conscious.
"What do you need them for, how do we know that this isn't just a Death Eater trick to kill them all when they come to see you?" Said Potter accusingly.
"First of all," said Draco whose eyes flashed open and voice became stronger, "I am no Death Eater! I do not serve Voldermort, I serve you." He had whispered the last part so quietly that the golden trio almost missed it.
"What was that?" asked a shocked Hermione.
Draco gave her a look as if to say 'You heard exactly what I said' yet he repeated it again.
"I made a vow, and that vow was to serve Harry Potter and his cause."
The shocked trio shared looks and Hermione ran out of the room mumbling 'I'll go get someone' leaving Draco, Harry and Ron to themselves.
Harry and Ron continued to gape at him whilst Hermione went to find anyone from the Order.
"I need to hear that again! What was that again Malfoy?" Spluttered Ron with a huge smirk on his face. Draco shot him a scathing look and winced as his chest became more painful with every breath.
He rolled back onto his left side and screwed his eyes closed, determined to stay awake long enough to see anyone from the Order. He assumed his right arm was broken and already knew that his left ankle was, and he hoped that was the worst of his injuries. He felt someone come up behind him and suddenly whimpered in pain as someone pulled his arm forcing him to roll back onto his back. The blonde's eyes shot open to find Weasley crouched over him with a look of disgust on his face. "Why should we believe you? You've done nothing but insult us and…"
"Yes, and, what else Weasley?" there was a moment's pause. "Exactly, nothing but insults! Get over yourself and leave me be!" he felt somewhat remorseful for yelling at him, when he was the one here asking for help, but he was in so much pain he couldn't control himself, but those thoughts disappeared as Ron stood and delivered one sharp kick to his right hand side. He clamped his mouth shut so that he didn't scream and then he could feel the movement in the air indicating Ron was going to strike again so he rolled to his side trying to save his right arm anymore pain, though the kick never came.
"What the hell are you doing Ron!" yelled Harry and he pulled Ron harshly backwards so that the second kick missed.
"He's just scum Harry, he deserves it! He is trying to trick us!" He replied, his face getting angrier by the second. He shoved his best friend off him and stalked back to Draco. Seeing his right arm just hang limply in an odd angle he figured that the boys arm was broken he went directly for it knowing it would cause the Death Eater the most pain. He grabbed the blonde's wrist and pulled, causing him to cry out.
Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing. How could Ron be so heartless? Even if Malfoy was lying, he was currently defenceless what with no want and clearly a few broken bones. He flew at Ron who was attempting to pull Malfoy to his feet buy use of just his broken arm and although Malfoy was crying out, it looked as if he wasn't all there anymore. He pulled and pulled until Ron let go of Malfoy, who without anyone holding him, crumpled to the floor, unmoving save for his harsh breathing.
"Ron! Leave him okay? We'll let the Order deal with him. Go to the meeting room, calm down before anyone see's you like this." Harry tried using the most calming tones possible, he knew what Ron was like when he was angry and he could have very well killed Malfoy.
Ron mumbled a defeated 'Fine!' and stormed out of the room. Harry sighed in relief and hoped that Hermione came back with someone from the Order soon. Despite not knowing Malfoy's side of the story so not yet trusting him, Harry couldn't stand by and watch Ron continue, not after Draco so clearly couldn't defend himself. He glanced out the doorway hoping to see Hermione come round the corner, but all there was, was the sound of Malfoy's breathing.
Having the urge to check that the Slytherin was okay; Harry moved to crouch in front of the boy. Draco noticeably flinched as he came up beside him and seemed to panic at the close proximity of another person who could cause pain. His breathing hitched as he tried to curl into a tighter ball to avoid more pain. Harry quickly pulled away hoping he would calm down, but Malfoy seemed to be panicking about something still. Knowing that Malfoy was causing more damage by curling in on himself, despite knowing he would cause unintentional pain, Harry moved to Malfoy out onto his back.
"Please Malfoy relax, you're hurting yourself." He rolled the boy onto his back and held him down for a few seconds until he stopped struggling. Almost instantly Malfoy's breathing calmed a little until he seemed to be hardly breathing at all.
Harry's head hovered over Draco's chest; a wheezing sound could be heard every time he breathed. He jumped when Malfoy spoke.
"Tell that friend of yours that he is a dick!" Harry was going to protest at first, but after his earlier display he felt like calling him a dick too. He knew that Hermione would have a few choice words to say if she found out. He laughed at the thought. "I think Weasley broke my rib…I can hardly breathe." He rasped.
Draco was a little shocked to hear a short laugh from Potter right after he had called his best friend a dick. He, if anything, expected an angry comeback. Putting that to the back of his mind, he focused on his main priority, breathing. Since the kick in his side his breathing had been getting shallower, so, worried that the broken rib had pierced his lung, he knew that sitting up would be in his best interests.
His body instantly protested to him even opening his eyes, instantly causing his head to throb, not wanting this to get the better of him he turned his head and eyed up the wall at the side of him. Judging the distance in his foggy mind, it seemed pretty close. He turned his head forward again to ready himself and took a deep breath, and moments later was surprised to find himself sat up, leaning to the side coughing up blood. Agony ripped through his body as the coughing jarred his now confirmed broken rib, his arm and his ankle and his numerous other wounds. Knowing that Potter was the only one there that could have sat him up and saved him from choking on his own blood, he rasped out the clearest thank you that he could.
Harry saw Malfoy look at the wall on the other side of the room. It was a fair distance away but he figured that it was probably best for Malfoy to sit up. He saw Malfoy bring his head back round to the front and take a deep breath as if preparing to sit up. All of a sudden Malfoy was coughing and spluttering whilst still on his back. Harry moved forward and saw a look of pure panic in Malfoy's eyes and looked down to see blood pooling in his mouth. He ran towards the choking boy and sat him up, turning his head towards the floor so that he could breathe again. Soon the coughing stopped and the trebling ceased and Harry smiled to himself as he heard the faint but sincere 'thank you'.
Dragging him as gently as possible Harry finally managed to get the blonde over to the wall and worked on getting a response from him. He softly shook him.
"Malfoy?" No Response. "Come on Malfoy, stay with me, help should be here any minute." His glazed eyes followed Harry and his lips moved but no sound came out. "Just try to rest."
Harry saw his lips moving again. "It hurts so much Potter." And with that a lone tear fell down Malfoy's blood streaked face. Harry couldn't take anymore, not wanting to leave him on his own he ignored the boy flinching as he moved his hand up to his face. Harry covered Malfoy's ears so he didn't cause him anymore pain and yelled for help.
"HERMIONE!" and as if waiting for the call in ran Hermione along with the mother of the Weasley children. Ron also came running after hearing Harry yell but he hovered by the door.
"I'm so sorry Harry I couldn't find anyone in this maze of a house." She apologized and stopped in shock at the sight of Malfoy covered in fresh blood.
Molly gasped in horror at the sight of the child sat up against the wall.
"Draco? Oh my, is that really you?" She pushed Harry out of the way and held onto the boys shoulders to support him. Draco's eyes cleared hearing her voice and one more tear fell.
"Molly?" he croaked out. She nodded with tears already pouring from her own eyes. "Molly, it hurts."
Molly shook her head to clear the tears. "Oh I know darling, just relax, we will look after you. Just stay awake for me dear."
Now that Molly was here Harry took a step back so that he in wasn't her way. After hearing the exchange between the Mother of the Weasley clan, Harry saw a look of utter trust come onto Malfoy's face as if Molly had done this before. Malfoy looked directly at him and gave a small nod as a thank you and again Harry saw a look of genuine gratitude in his eyes. Malfoy then locked eyes with Hermione, Harry made sure to remember how he momentarily blushed and looked away, but then his eyes caught Ron stood by the doorway. Harry saw terror on both Ron and Malfoy's faces. He could imagine Malfoy panicked and associated Ron with the pain he was feeling in his chest and arm right now, and Ron, well Ron deserved anything his mother dished out as punishment for what he did to Malfoy.
Hermione caught the exchange between Draco and her friends. She dearly wanted to know what had happened whilst she was out of the room to cause the looks on Draco's face. Harry received a look of appreciation which confused her, he had only made eye contact with her for a moment, but she could have sworn she saw a blush come onto his face just for a moment before he looked slightly behind her. After seeing a look of fear and dread come onto his face, she whirled round to see Ron with the same look on his face. She shot a look at Harry who mouthed to her that he would explain when he could.
Harry placated Hermione telling her that he would explain later, which was a lie, he would leave Ron to do that, but first he expected Malfoy to tell Molly about it so that he could show Ron up. Molly, having missed the exchange whilst she tried to unbutton Malfoy's shirt to assess the damage, hadn't missed the hitch in Malfoy's breathing. Harry saw her gaze up into Malfoy's face with a questioning look, and Malfoy opened his mouth to speak, at the same time he heard Ron take a step forward as if ready to defend himself from what Malfoy was about to tell his mother.
"It's nothing; you've just got cold hands." He flashed Molly a charming smile all whilst making sure he didn't look back up. Harry was shocked to say the least, he expected the Slytherin to take full advantage of the situation and tell her about what Ron did to him. He shot Malfoy a look of admiration which went unnoticed as the boys lolled onto his chest after the effort of speaking.
"Draco?" Molly lifted his head up by his chin and patted him gently on the cheek. "Come on dear, stay with us a bit longer." But his eyes had already started to glaze over again. With that Molly started barking out orders. "Harry, Hermione, configure that sofa into a stretcher, best not use anymore magic on him, even if it is just levitating him. Ron you come here and help me lift him."
Alarmed at how Malfoy may react to Ron touching him again Harry quickly jumped in.
"Ron how about you run into the meeting room and clear the long table so we can put him on there and then send a Patronus to Dumbledore and tell him it's an emergency, Hermione, you can configure that on your own right?" Both nodded and moved to do what they had been asked.
Pleased with himself, Harry moved over to Malfoy and Molly and shuffled in behind him so he could pick him up buy his shoulders.
Trying his best not to jar any of the broken bones Harry and Molly shuffled Malfoy on the stretcher that Hermione just configured for them. They had nothing but a few moans from Malfoy that had Molly in an almost frenzy about getting Malfoy to our makeshift doctors table. After navigating the stretcher though the narrow corridors they finally got him onto the table, where Molly wasted no time in stripping the boy of his blood soaked clothes.
Harry stepped back again as Molly worked carefully on removing Malfoy's clothing, though a lot of it was already stuck to some of the dryer wounds, in which case she would have to rip off as fast and painless as possible, but still this only caused whimpers from the blond.
Hermione felt sick. She didn't realise that someone could lose so much blood and still be breathing. As the pieces of clothing came off one by one she could never have imagined that one person could take so much pain. Nothing on his torso looked like skin anymore, everywhere was covered in cuts and bruises save for a patch on his right arm. From the elbow down there was only one mark on him, crudely, obviously with a knife someone had scraped the Dark Mark deep into his skin. She gagged and had to cover her mouth to stop herself from being sick.
When the others gave her an inquiring look all she could do was point to his arm. Harry leaned over Draco's prone body and quickly pulled back, his face going white. Suddenly a hand covered the replica Dark Mark and Hermione looked up into the pain filled eyes of Draco Malfoy. All the fire that she had seen in his eyes over the years whilst they argued and tormented each other was replaced with a look of intense shame and the longer she kept eye contact the more she could see his feelings. Deep self-hatred and humiliation.
He quickly broke eye contact as Ron burst into the room with Dumbledore right behind him. A quick flash of anger on Draco's face had Hermione confused, but it was gone before she could blink. He was looking right at Dumbledore who looked a little worse for wear.
Using his good arm, Draco made an attempt to push himself up into a sitting position. His arm trembled with the effort and agony spread across his face, before anyone could move to help, his arm gave way and he fell back onto the table. He gasped in pain and Molly moved to fuss over him but he shooed her away, never once taking his eyes from Dumbledore.
"Where were they!" he cried. "I was there for Merlin knows how long and nobody showed!" his eyes had already started to glaze over again, a sign that the pain was too much, "not a single person came, did you bloody well forget the plan!" and before Dumbledore could even speak, Draco promptly passed out.
Hermione, Harry and Ron were quickly kicked out of the meeting room and moments later Madame Pomfrey arrived are rushed straight in with her bottomless medicine bag. The teens moved into the kitchen whilst they waited for Dumbledore to come and let them know what was happening. Every so often they would hear yells and cries of pain and it was hard for Hermione to keep her food down.
Ron on the other hand seemed unaffected. After 15 minutes of watching Ron stuff himself and chew with his mouth open, Hermione snapped.
"For goodness sake Ronald! Have some decency and chew with your mouth closed!" she burst. Harry had stopped eating at her outburst. Ron looked up at her with a shocked expression.
"What gotten into you 'Mione?" Ron mumbled with a mouth still full of food.
"Ron! It's as if the screaming isn't bothering you at all." She stressed.
"The ferret? He'll be fine; he has Dumbledore, Pomfrey and my Mum in there, who else could do a better job at healing him?" Hermione sighed and in her head admitted that Ron was right, the best people for the Job were already with him. She found it strange to think that only this morning she hated the Slytherin Prince and now, here she was worried about his life. She wondered what he had been doing to end up in this situation, and it seemed that Harry was on the same wave length.
"Why do you think he is here? What do you think he meant when he said he's vowed to serve me and my cause?" He asked. Hermione gave it a little thought, after everything she had seen and heard this past hour her views on Draco had changed considerably.
"The only think that's logical is that he's on our side, and from the sounds of it he's been spying on the Death Eaters." Ron looked like he was going to argue but was interrupted by Dumbledore and Molly walking into the Kitchen. She looked as if she'd been crying heavily and even Dumbledore had lost the twinkle in his eyes.
"Exactly right you are Miss Granger. He's been spying for us since before he came to Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled at the trio, and Harry who was always a perfect gentleman rushed to pull out a chair for his two elders.
As soon as they were seated both Hermione and Harry questioned on how Draco was doing.
"He is just sleeping now, with the help of a dreamless sleep potion." Hermione sighed in relief. "He has withstood a phenomenal number or curses, from what we can tell the most used were the Cruciatus and also Sectumsempra, which accounts for the blood loss and we've fixed his broken ribs and ankle."
After sparing a glance at Ron Harry was about to ask about Malfoy's arm, when Molly beat him too it.
"His arm is taking a bit longer though. It has been broken in multiple places and also dislocated at the shoulder, as for the mark scratched into his arm, it has been covered for the time being as none of us could break the curse that is stopping it from healing." Hermione moved to ask another question but Dumbledore signalled for silence.
"I know you have many questions children, but all with be answered tonight. We will call a meeting of the Order, Mr Malfoy, though sore will be able to attend, and all your questions will be answered." Hermione pouted a little but like Harry seemed happy enough that they would be included in the meeting. Ron however was still more interested in his food.
Hermione had been reading the same sentence for the last 20 minutes. The meeting was scheduled to start soon and there was still no sign of the other order members and there had been no movement from Draco. She couldn't deny that she was worried about him, who couldn't be after seeing someone in that condition. Finding out that he'd been spying for them throughout their school years was a huge shock and she was desperate to know the whole story. She also had to admit the he had been an amazing actor over the years, never would she have suspected that he was a spy, but she supposed that was the point.
Her head popped up as the door to the meeting room swept open. Draco stood holding the door frame for support and although he had been cleaned of all the blood and the worst of the damage being covered with bandages, he didn't look all that great. His right arm was in a sling, the dark mark clearly visible through the bandages as it was still seeping blood. His jaw was covered in deep bruises and see could clearly see the marks on his chest until she got to his cloths. He had changed into a t-shirt and muggle jeans which again shocked Hermione who had only ever seen him in wizarding robes.
He wobbled as he took a step without the support of the door frame and Hermione saw Harry jump from his seat and rush to steady him. Again Hermione saw a look of shame flash on the boy's face as he silently accepted Harry help and made his way to the sofa that Hermione was sat on. With a look of embarrassment on her face she moved to clear her messy pile of books from the sofa to the coffee table. Before she could move the last one, Draco picked up the large black leather bound book on the History of the Goblin Rebellion. He looked up at her and smiled, she awaited some biting remark about her bookwormish ways but yet again he surprised her.
"I've been trying to get this book from Hogwarts' library for the past 5 weeks. I should have known that it was you that had it." and just like with Molly earlier on in the day, he flashed one of his charming smiles. She gave him a shy smile and lowered her head so that her hair fell over her face in an attempt to hide her blush.
He'd seen her blush, no matter how hard she'd tried to hide it. In an attempt to regain some independence, he stepped out of Potters grasp and put the book on the pile with the others. After glancing at the large furry rug in front of the fire, he badly wanted curl up in the warmth and go back to sleep, but neither did he want to miss this meeting with the rest of the order. He came back to the sofa where Hermione had cleared the spot for him, and caught Potter looking at the Mark on his arm, though seeing he'd been caught staring he quickly looked away.
"Shouldn't this meeting have started by now?" complained Weasley as he waltzed into the room. Both he and Weasley froze as they made eye contact, he tried in vain not to react to him being in the room but he couldn't stop his hand from trembling. Weasley stood fixed to his spot, his sentence trailing off at the end. "When did the ferret wake up?" he said looking at Potter.
Draco sneered and was about to retort when Hermione spoke first.
"Ronald! Don't be rude!" she said with irritation. "Don't talk about him as if he isn't here!" They were interrupted by the front door of the Headquarters slamming closed.
"'Mione? I've got a new dress too show you!" Ginny Weasley stopped dead in her tracks as she took in all 4 occupants of the room. "What happened?" she whispered as she looked Draco in the eye. He opened his mouth to reply but once again e was beaten too it.
"Probably nothing less than he deserved, the Death Eater scum!" scoffed Weasley. Having let the red haired boy get away with too much already whist he couldn't defend himself, Draco clicked his fingers. Weasley dropped to the floor, Stupefied. Realising his heath wasn't quite yet up to par, his eyes drifted closed for a moment to stop the dizziness in his head. Having thought he only closed his eyes for a second, he was surprised to find Ginny kneeling in front of him with Potter and Hermione hovering behind her.
"Draco? Draco, what happened?" she asked. Forgetting that there was anyone else in the room he rested his on hers. She stoked his hair and he felt relaxed for the first time in days.
"They never came…" he breathed in, taking in the smell of fresh air and apples. "No-one showed!"
"Excuse me?" she said looking both confused and angry as she pulled her had back to look Draco in the eyes. "What do you mean they never came, what happened? Where are they now!" her voice getting louder as she continued her rant. "What's the point of a plan if they don't do their bit? They promised me you wouldn't get hurt otherwise i would have demanded you weren't involved anymore!" Ginny had since stood up and was pacing the room.
"It didn't go to plan at all." said Draco breaking up her tirade. "The meeting turned into an initiation." Ginny stopped dead in her tracks.
"They didn't...?"
"No!" Draco was quick to assure her that he hadn't been initiated. "I refused of course, which didn't go down well. Voldermort was there so I stuck to the plan and summoned them, but they never showed. They haven't even shown their faces here yet!
Ginny looked close to tears and resumed her spot knelt in front of Draco, still oblivious to Potter and Hermione in the room. "But the meeting was last night? My necklace never told me that you were in trouble?" she said both to herself and Draco.
Harry watched as the only female Weasley child pulled out a necklace from under her shirt. On the end of the golden chain was a silver snake wrapped around a green emerald. He saw Draco take it in his hands and look up at Ginny tenderly.
"Something was blocking my magic. Even my wand was useless. They must have taken me somewhere they knew my magic wouldn't work because they didn't even take my wand from me."
Forgetting that he didn't still have his robes on Draco quickly moved his hand to his chest as if looking for his wand. Harry saw him sigh in relief as he must have remembered that Harry had taken his wand earlier that morning. Harry quickly stood up and pulled the wand out of his back pocket and offered it to Draco, who, along with Ginny seemed to remember they weren't the only people in the room.
Harry realised he had forgotten about Ron whilst he watched the exchange between Ginny and Malfoy and quickly walked around the chair to see Ron still in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Is he okay?" asked Harry as he quickly checked Ron over.
"He's fine." Assured Draco. "Just out cold, he'll come round in about 10 minutes."