Chapter 4

The Trouble with Time

Draco glanced at his watch it had been about 45 minutes. He got up and pulled on a coat and slowly and quietly made his way out of the house. He walked to the hill and then up it and gingerly sat down at the top. He looked on in the direction Harry had left in and glanced down at his watch.

It was barely 12:30 but still something felt wrong. Something about the air just didn't feel right. He stood up and examined the streets and houses below. Most of them looked the same, and even if they didn't Draco had no way of knowing which one would be Harry's. He shifted from foot to foot and began pacing.

He glanced at his watch. 12:45, he would give Harry till 1:10 at the latest. The boy had said he would be there at 1:00 the latest. He began pacing. He was not being patient, a Slytherin trait he found he sometimes didn't posses… like now.

At 1:00 Draco knew something had gone wrong… he couldn't wait 10 more minutes. He decided 5 was much more reasonable and practically clawed out of his skin as he watched the minutes glacially tick by on his watch.

The second the minute hand landed on the 2 Draco dashed down the hill in the direction Harry had gone. He tried not to imagine all of the things that could have held Harry up. It was no use. Harry had said something about being home a certain time. And Draco knew Harry got beat… a lot! He walked down a long slightly curved street looking and 'feeling' for any sign of Harry or magic. He didn't know what he was doing or what he was looking for, but he hoped he would find a sign.

His anxiety made him feel as though he had been searching for hours when in reality it had only been maybe 30 minutes. He turned down another street called Privet Drive and something about the name sounded familiar. He walked cautiously down the street. He surveyed each house with intense interest hoping he would 'know it when he saw it'.

He suddenly felt a prickle at the back of his neck. He turned to his left and walked towards the house that was now in front of him. The house looked just like all the others, except this one had exceptionally green grass and a nice muggle car in the front.

And Draco was shocked to see (what seemed heavily misplaced) bars on one of the upper windows on the front of the house. Why were there bars on the windows of such a nice obviously well off home?

Suddenly a thought struck him… he remembered rumors about the 'Twins' breaking Harry out of his Muggle relatives home by pulling bars from the window. Draco felt sick. Not only had the rumors been apparently true… the bars had been replaced. It was sick. Draco was almost positive this was the house and as he took another step he felt the prickle again that said he was entering into a space that had magic.

It was intense, he assumed from years of prolonged exposure to one Harry Potter. He placed his hand on the door and then his ear. There was no sound coming from inside. He took a chance and tried the door handle to see if it was unlocked. … It wasn't. If he could use magic the door would already be open… but that wasn't an option now so he took a step back and looked at the house again.

He rolled his shoulders and walked around the house. He approached a window near the back that attached to the dining room. He jiggled it… no such luck, locked. He went into the back yard after hoping the fence and saw the kitchen window. It was one that was obviously above the sink but he didn't care as long as it was unlocked.

He ran over to it and slowly, with a great rush of relief slid it open. He had to pop the screen off. He tore a little hole near the tab and removed it as quietly as possible and placed it against the house. Using his quidditch muscles he hoisted himself up and swung himself through the opening.

He hopped over the sink and landed almost silently on the tile floor. He made his way out into the hall. He didn't bother taking in detail, he was on a mission. He looked around in the hall a little more for surveillance purposes… that was until he saw the tiny door. And he meant seriously tiny. He would have to crawl to get in. This couldn't be the cupboard Harry had been talking about… could it? He took a stab at it, worst he would find would be a bunch of boxes of muggle junk if Harry wasn't there.

He saw a little slide lock and un-hinged it… he prayed Harry wasn't behind the door. This was just so cruel; if he was locked behind this tiny door Draco was going to be extremely unhappy. He took a deep breath and un-locked it and sure enough he let the breath out in a whoosh that ended in a growl.

He made a promise that the day he turned 17 he would come back here and make the Muggle's suffer for this. He would show them exactly what Harry had felt. He would do it until they had felt every single pain Harry had ever felt and then he would do it again, and again until they begged him to stop and when they finally whimpered and begged he would get Severus to come and finish the job in whatever way the man felt necessary.

He slowly knelt down and lit the candle in the small enclosure. He had turned on the hall light but it wasn't enough to see into the small enclosed space. He survey all the damage… there were so many bruises…and that was just what he could see around clothing. He didn't want to hurt Harry more but he didn't see any other way then to just scoop him up and carry him out.

No, he had to come up with something better; in fact, he didn't think he could do this alone. And although he knew Severus would believe him when he said Harry had been beaten into unconsciousness proof would be better. He needed an owl and one that was fast!

Harry had an owl… he glanced at Harry, a worried look settling over the blonds face as he reluctantly left his side. He stood up and raced with quick silence up the stairs to the room that should be attached to the barred window. It was pretty obvious though. It was the door covered in locks. He undid each one and slipped into the room and immediately saw the owl. He scooted over to her and opened the cage with a little squeak that made him wince.

"Hedwig right?" The owl looked startled but blinked in what Draco assumed was a yes.

"Harry's in trouble. He's unconscious and he needs help. I need you to deliver a letter for me to Severus Snape and peck him until he comes. Can you do that for me?"

He had the owl at 'Harry's in trouble.' He ran over to a pile of crumpled papers on a desk in the corner and rifled through them for a quill and some parchment. He scribbled out a quick note and rolled it up. He tied it to the owl's leg and took her down stairs to the kitchen window he had entered through and she flew away as quickly as her wings would carry her. Draco nodded and rushed back to harry.

He went in search of more candles and lit them, placing them around Harry. He went into the living room and brought a bunch of pillows and propped Harry up into a more comfortable and stable position.

See, Draco came to the rescue. You were super worried for nothing! lol