Time Stop: We don't own anything.
Wang: This should be exciting!
Chapter 7: Messages
With it being Saturday that morning, Draco didn't leave the room. After that horrible, horrible performance the day before, the last thing he wanted to do was to deal with the repercussions. He also didn't want to deal with Avery or Granger. He didn't want to deal with anything regarding the tasks or morons.
All he wanted to do now was to be with his child, and recover from his exhausted state. Pepperup Potions only did so much, and sore legs was not one of them. He spent most of that morning ignoring the blue glowing of his wand and holding his little princess.
During naptime he was plagued by nightmares. He walked among the dead. He saw Crabbe among the dead, his body was burned beyond most recognition. He saw Weasley, he always respected the twins' fondness for rule-breaking. He saw Dumbledore, his body laid to rest as if he were in his tomb. He saw Professor Snape covered in snake bites. He saw her on the birthing table.
His nightmares were only punctuated by his child's waking screams. It was earlier than when she should be up, and his baby girl wanted her mother.
"There, there." Draco crooned softly, his voice hoarse. He bounced her up and down and cradled her in his arms. He held her close. "I want her too. I want her too."
Elizabeth looked up at him as if questioning him.
"No, I do want her too." He said firmly. "Then maybe I wouldn't be here. I could be outside this bloody school and be with her and be happy and be whole again."
She looked at him and gurgled. He brought a bottle to her lips and she greedily began to suckle at it.
"But no. Instead I'm here with you in this god-forsaken school. And I had to go and do the stupidest thing I've ever done." He paused. "Okay, maybe the second or third stupidest thing I've ever done."
He turned his head to her, smiling. "Falling love and all that tripe is easily up there. But at least I have you."
She smiled behind her bottle. "That was stupid of me, wasn't it? Joining with Granger of all people and making a fool out of myself out there. I could've died out there. And let this be a lesson for you, Elizabeth, don't go risking your life for others. It doesn't work out for you. That there is a Gryffindork trait."
He nodded, as if reaffirming himself. "I'm telling them off tomorrow. I'm leaving this all behind and telling Granger to screw herself. I don't give a damn anymore."
She gurgled around her now empty bottle.
"Sorry, I really shouldn't be swearing in front of you." He smiled apologetically.
The tell-tale crack of a house elf apparating almost made him jump.
"What!" Draco hissed.
"You've been summoned by the Headmistress to her office."
"Now?"
"Now."
Draco looked at his daughter in his arms. "I'm a bit busy."
"She insisted."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Fine, this better be good."
He carefully handed his daughter to the house elf, who held her gingerly. He waved his wand, and the necessary grooming spells cleaned him up.
"I'll be back soon."
"Of course." The house elf bowed low.
He left the room, closing it gently behind him. He opened his own door and was so very thankful Granger wasn't outside of it. He left quickly. He stopped briefly before the barrier to the common room, and steeled himself. He exited.
Once again he was thankful, as Avery wasn't in the common room. In fact, most of the Slytherins weren't there. A few Retardclaws and Hufflepuffs were here and there, but for the most part it was empty. Draco glanced outside to the sun shining. They must've been all outside, taking advantage of the sun and the warmth.
He strode purposefully out of the common room and past the giant crest. He smirked. He had oozed confidence in the common room, and they all knew it. They had all quieted when he had entered. A dark thought came to him. Perhaps they had quieted down because they were discussing him? His smirk vanished. He set aside the thought quickly, and headed to the old crone's quarters.
"First Task." He intoned when he came to the gargoyle.
The gargoyle shook his head. "Not anymore." It grumbled. "Changed yesterday."
"Then what is it?"
The gargoyle smirked. "I'll tell you only because you are expected, Mr. Malfoy. Second Task."
Draco frowned, but stepped inside as the gargoyle moved aside for him. He climbed the spiral staircase and strode into the headmistress's room without knocking. Inside Granger was already sitting down. The two women eyed him.
"You're late, Mr. Malfoy."
"I was busy." Draco shrugged and plopped into the seat available. "What's so urgent?"
McGonagall sighed, looking very old. "Last night we had a break in in the library. Several students had acquired several texts from the restricted section."
Granger looked alarmed. "Were they caught? What's missing?"
"Madam Pince is looking into that still. We believe five texts were taken. If you two could keep an eye open for those texts, it would be much appreciated."
Draco shrugged. "What did they want?"
"That remains to be seen, but we suspect rituals of some sort."
"Rituals?"
"The particular area we had noticed missing texts were gathered around ancient rituals." McGonagall said slowly. "It's a very ancient magic."
"So who would want it then?"
Draco scoffed. "My money is on Avery."
"And not you?" Granger shot him a dark look.
"Mr. Malfoy has other duties he has to attend to." McGonagall said firmly. "He is unable to have the time to break into the restricted section. That is, even if he wanted to." She smiled thinly.
"Right you are." Draco narrowed his eyes. "As I said, try Avery."
"I will think about it, Mr. Malfoy." McGonagall said.
"Is that all, Professor?" Granger asked.
"For now," the old crone replied.
"No, it isn't." Draco cut off whatever she was going to say. "One last thing."
Both women turned to him. Each of them was eyeing him as if they already knew what was going on.
"I'm not performing those stupid tasks of yours, Professor," He said loudly. "I'm done."
"You just can't up and quit!" Granger stood up.
"I didn't sign a contract saying I had to stick with it." Draco stood up as well. "I've got better things to do than to risk my life over extra credit."
"It's about Avery, isn't it?"
"Why bother trying again when that foul git beat us?" Draco shouted. "I think it's clear that our "team" is incompatible."
"The only one incompatible on the team is you."
"Sure." Draco ticked them off on his fingers. "There's you, obviously little miss perfect. You have Potter's girl, who's a hot head at the best of times. You've got looney Lovegood for Merlin's sake. What did she do other than state the obvious! And your Hufflepuff isn't exactly hero material."
"He's in fifth year!"
"And if I recall he wasn't even in the war!" Draco shot back. "The Giant Squid has more backbone than he does!"
"You ran off without us! You're not a team player!"
"How can I be a team player when half of your team doesn't want me?" He smirked as he saw that his words hit home. "Whose brilliant idea was it to ask me anyway? Lovegood's? It's crazy enough to be hers."
"It was my idea."
"And why the fuck would you want me?"
"Language, Mr. Malfoy."
"Because for some stupid reason I thought that you might be different!"
"Different? The only thing different about me is the lack of sleep I get."
"We all have nightmares, Malfoy. We all hurt."
"Do you? They're nothing like mine."
They were silent, breathing hard. Still sat at her desk was McGonagall, uncharacteristically silent.
"I can't believe I let Harry talk me into helping you." Granger said softly. "He said that even if you are a right git that you weren't evil."
"He's right." Draco smirked. "I might be a right git but I'm not evil."
"Then why don't you try to make this work?"
"Why don't you try to use your head for once." Draco snarled. "I'm done!"
"I thought you had changed." Granger said softly. "But you're still the same ferret from first year."
"And you are still the same bushy-haired, buck tooth, pain-in-the-ass," he was seeing red. He watched her slowly reach of her wand, and he mirrored her movements. "know-it-all, bookworm, mu—"
"Enough!"
The anger faded from Draco instantly. Granger looked horrified, her wand raised at him. Even McGongall had her wand out and pointed at him. His own wand was pointed at her. As one, their attention turned to the portrait on the wall that had shouted at them. A sallow-skinned man looked down at them.
"Minerva, Granger," the man spoke. "Please leave us."
McGongall narrowed her eyes. "If you think that best, Severus." But she complied. "Come, Miss. Granger."
Granger threw one last horrified, dirty look at Draco before complying. Both women had their wands in their hands as they left. It was only after they had left and the door closed that Draco let out a huff of air.
"Don't do something that you might regret, Draco."
"I wasn't going to say it." His shoulders slumped and he plopped back down into the chair.
Thoughts raced a mile a minute. What was he going to say? Mudblood? Muggleborn? Now that he was thinking clearly again he couldn't tell what it was.
"I believe differently."
"And what would you know!" Draco whirled on the portrait. "It's not like you hadn't used the word before!"
"I once used that word on the woman I loved the most." Snape spoke slowly. "It destroyed what we were."
"I. Do. Not. Love. Her." He forced out.
"I know that as well as you." Snape smiled. "Besides, Elizabeth is long dead, isn't she?"
Draco growled. "No thanks to those doctors. She should've been at St. Mungo's."
"We both know that was impossible considering the circumstances."
The two men glared at each other for a few moments.
"Thank you." Draco looked away first. "For stopping me."
"That wasn't why I stopped you."
"What?"
"I stopped you for a very different reason."
"What? So my ass wouldn't be jinxed?"
"No, that would have been slightly amusing." The Slytherin smiled. "But rather, I wanted to stop you so that Elizabeth wouldn't hate you."
"She's dead, she—"
"Your daughter." Draco shut up. "I didn't quite realize you were that dense, Draco."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you want your legacy to be?" Snape asked. "What do you want your daughter to remember you by?"
"I'm not following, sir."
"If your daughter had found out that you had called Granger a mudblood, how would she react?"
"I wasn't going—"
"Were you?"
Draco went silent.
"Old habits die hard, Draco." Snape said softly. "I should know."
"So you did this to save me from my daughter?"
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Snape sighed. "Your daughter is going to look up to you like a god. That is until she learns to think on her own, which roughly happens when they join Hogwarts. She's going to learn about you and who you are. Can she still love you after knowing who you truly are?"
"Yes." Draco whispered. "Oh Merlin yes."
"Can she?" Snape pressed on. "I've spent my entire adult life keeping secrets. I've spent the last years of my life hated by everyone I would have called friend. Even now most hate me, and rightfully so. I may be a Slytherin, I may have played a part in Lord Voldemort's downfall; but I am still considered evil by most of the world because of the part I played. The legacy I left is what will define me. What will be your legacy?"
"My legacy?"
"Your legacy." Snape continued. "How will you want your daughter to know you? As the childhood bully? As the man who coordinated the death of the most powerful wizard of our time? Or the man who changed for the better?"
Draco looked at him, confusion painted on his face. "What do you mean?"
"Do you want your daughter to think that you are a quitter? A loser? A ferret who caved in? What about a man who is plagued by his past? Do you want your daughter's father be a man who can't be better than his past?"
"No." Draco whispered. He stood up straight. "No." He repeated, his voice stronger. "I don't want that at all."
"Then your only logical choice is to continue with these moronic tasks." Snape smiled, "and to prove to Mr. Avery that you aren't going to lose that easily."
"Hella easy for a portrait to say." Draco shot back.
"Considering all that I have done in my life, Draco, these tasks are inconsequentially moronic. If you have trouble with them, you aren't half the man I would figure you to be."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "I can figure those tasks easily. It's my team I don't trust."
"Your team is quite frankly the most experienced." Snape drawled. "Even I have to say that. Yes, Mr. Swallow isn't the smartest or the bravest. But he is willing and able to learn if I remember rightly."
"He's a moron. He doesn't know a thing."
"He is. But he can learn. And don't forget about the ladies. Remember, they are much more capable than you would realize."
"Just because they survived the war doesn't make them anymore capable."
"No, but it gives them a leg up on Mr. Avery."
Draco was silent. After a few long moments he nodded. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right." Snape smiled. "Now I believe you have something to take care of?"
Draco shuddered, but nodded. "Fine." He looked up at the portrait. "You win. But one more task." He held up a finger. "And if we win, I'll stick with the group."
"You won't win."
"Then why bother competing?"
"Because, that sniveling buffoon is going to win."
"Avery?"
"No, Longbottom." Snape clarified. "The next task is Herbology. As much as I hate to admit it, Longbottom's finesse in the subject is certainly much higher than Potions."
Draco smirked. "So we can still place second."
"Which will be higher than Mr. Avery."
Draco stood up. "Good to me." He turned to walk away. "Professor?"
"Hm?"
"Thanks." Draco said softly. "For not making me do something stupid."
"Make her proud, Draco." Snape said softly in return.
Draco left the office and met McGonagall by the gargoyle. Her wand was away. "Well?"
"Where's Granger?"
The old crone narrowed her eyes. "You better not try to finish what you started earlier."
Draco shook his head. "Not now. Where is she?"
"She returned to her room." McGonagall finally answered. "You better not hurt her, Mr. Malfoy. Or our agreement is null and void."
"It's not on my agenda, Professor." Draco called out over his shoulder.
He ran through the corridor and down the stairs. He entered the North Tower and strode through the common room. Avery and his cronies were in the common room now, and their sniggering came to his ears. He ignored it, but he did finger his wand in his robes.
He strode through the barrier and knocked on her door. There was no response. He knocked again. No response. He pounded on her door.
"What do you want!" He turned and saw Granger flanked by Lovegood and Weasley. Her eyes burned with anger. All three girls had their wands out. He was reminded of the final battle, where the three of them had fought against his aunt. He pushed that thought from his mind. He kept his wand in his robes and kept his hands out of it.
"I wanted to talk."
"There's nothing to talk about." Granger answered coolly. "Not after what you said."
"I didn't say—"
"What you were going to say." Weasley cut him off. "With that kind of language I'm surprised Professor McGonagall didn't throw you out."
"You weren't there, Weasley, so shut it." Draco snarled.
He composed himself as their wands were raised.
"As I said, I wanted to talk."
"There's nothing more to say." Granger repeated. "You're right, there's no point of having you on the team when you act like a filthy Slytherin."
"Now hold a second. Isn't this supposed to be about inter house unity?"
"That's a foreign concept to you, Malfoy." Weasley barked at him. "Can I hex him now? I want to hex him."
"I want to give it one more chance!" Draco quickly spat out. Their wands lowered slightly. "I want to give it one more chance."
"I don't think you deserve another chance." Weasley said.
"You're right. I don't." Draco trained his eyes on Granger. "But that doesn't mean that I don't want to do it."
Granger was hesitant. "How can we trust you after what you said?"
"I didn't say it!" Draco threw his arms up in exasperation. "I wasn't going to use that word!"
"How can you prove it?" Granger asked softly. "You hurt Avery over using it, but then you say it – almost say it – to me?" She amended. "How can we trust you?"
"I haven't used that word since…" He trailed off. He wouldn't give them that reason.
"Since when?" Weasley prodded her wand at him. "Since you lost?"
"No, since—"
"I believe him." Lovegood said suddenly.
Draco once more threw his arms in the air. "Thank you! One of you is sane."
"Luna…" Granger whispered. "Why?"
"I just do." Lovegood shrugged. "He looks more frazzled about this than he did when he left on Friday." She nodded sagely. "It must be because of the Wrackspurts."
Draco sighed. So much for a sane ally.
"Alright." Granger said slowly. "One last chance."
Draco smirked, all of his confidence back. "We'll place next time, don't you worry."
"Place?" Weasley hadn't lowered her wand as Granger and Lovegood had. "Not win?"
"We won't win." Draco said mysteriously as he opened his door, stepping inside. "Not this next task." He shut it quickly before any spells or words could be sent his way.
His wand glowed blue as they began to knock incessantly. He smiled wide. He had just taken that first step into the unknown to become something—someone better. And he had survived Granger.
He began to laugh. Survive Granger? Since when was that an accomplishment that he should be proud of? When had a simple conversation become more taxing than dealing with He-who-must-not-be-named?
He stopped smiling and laughing as suddenly as he had started. He turned to Elizabeth's room. He was going to make her proud. He was going to be a man that would be more than his mistakes.
On the list of stupid things he had ever done. Becoming a Death Eater was number one. Falling in love was number two. Joining Granger was number three. And almost ruining his life by spewing hate was number four.
He strode to the door and opened it.
He really did owe Professor Snape more than ever.
Shadow: Well, that could have gone very wrong.
Static: You're just hoping for that, aren't you?
Shadow: How'd you know?
Static: Magic.
Shadow: ...
Static: Please Review!
