Chapter 11: Horror

Draco and Lucius exchanged a glance as they stared at their long-time family friend. As soon as Severus had come back to himself, he'd promptly thrown himself into a chair and his head had dropped into his hands. He hadn't moved in over five minutes, silent as a body buried in the grave.

"Severus?" Lucius asked slowly.

A groan rose from the dungeon bat as he finally sat up. His eyes were teary, although he'd managed to keep them from running down his face, and starting to turn red. His cheeks were flushed, but the remainder of his face was even paler than normal.

"Uncle Sev?" Draco whispered.

"It was fucking awful," Severus murmured, slumping back in his chair.

"What was? What's wrong? What happened? What-"

"-Draco, calm down!" Lucius shouted. "Severus, please explain."

"You remember what my childhood was like, right Lucius?" Severus asked.

The elder Malfoy nodded.

"Harry's was… Merlin, I don't even know how to describe it. A hundred times worse? A thousand? A million? I don't even know if I can quantify it," the Potions Master murmured.

"Severus, what happened to him that was so horrible?" Lucius asked slowly.

Covering his eyes with his hand, Severus rubbed his face in an effort to calm himself. Suddenly, his hand dropped to his side and he launched up out of his hair. He started to pace, his robes billowing menacingly as his anger only grew. The fire in the grate flickered and crackled loudly in response to the rise in Severus's magic. Both Draco and Lucius took a step back from their old friend, unused to seeing him loose any sort of control. The dungeon bat stopped in the middle of the room and motioned to the two Malfoys, leading them into the parlor. He closed the door to the bedroom before turning to look at Lucius and his son.

"Beatings, starving, slander, imprisonment, rape; take your pick Lucius, he's been through it all," Severus hissed angrily, a strange fire building in his dark eyes.

"Wait, ra-"

"Yes, Draco, and do you want to know who did it?"

"Who in the seven hells fucking did that to-"

"-A man by the name of Vernon Dursley."

Lucius and Draco exchanged a glance.

"Who?" they both said at the same time.

"A muggle," Severus explained. "His only claim to any sort of fame is that he is married to Petunia Dursley, whose sister was a certain witch by the name of Lily Potter."

"His fucking uncle!" Draco screeched.

"Afraid so," Severus growled.

"But, wouldn't-"

"-I know that Albus is the one who put him there," the Potions Master said as he resumed his pacing. "The old man had assured me multiple times that he had someone checking on Harry, but clearly he was lying to me. I believed him."

He stopped once again, his eyes widening. "Oh God, I remember now."

"What?" Draco asked, his voice cracking in pain and sadness.

"When Harry first came to school here, I remembering thinking that something was wrong with him. He was so quiet, timid. He flinched whenever anyone came near him. Even his smile was fake," Severus murmured more to himself than anyone else in the room.

"You noticed? Why-"

"-Draco!"

"It's fine, Lucius. He has a reason to ask. The truth was that I pushed it aside. I didn't want to believe that anything had happened," Severus moaned in emotional pain.

Draco fell into the chair behind him, pulling his knees up to his chest. His bright eyes stared blankly at the floor in front of him. Inside, his Veela was howling and growling for revenge, squirming to be free of his human restraints. His teeth were clenched and his fingers curling into tight fists in his lap. The air around him cooled significantly as his shock grew into rage.

"Where do the fuckers live?" he snarled.

"Draco, now is not the time to go rushing off. Harry will need us all there when he wakes up," Severus said, throwing a harsh glare at his godson. "He'll know that I know and more likely than not, it will terrify him. If he's kept it a secret for this long, there is no way that he will take my knowing lightly."

Biting into the flesh of his cheek, Draco reluctantly nodded. Uncurling his fingers, he slowly sat up in his chair, digging the nails into his thighs.

"Okay," he said slowly, "But when this is all over, I want a shot at them first."

"Which you are entitled as a Veela mate," Lucius replied.

Draco was about to nod again when his sensitive hearing picked up on something. He glanced at the door to the bedroom before he leapt up out of his chair and raced to the door. Sliding across the floor, he threw his hands out to keep himself from running into it. One palm slammed harshly against the wood and he heard a soft growl from behind it. Taking a deep breath, Draco slowly and quietly opened the door, poking his head in.

Harry was sitting up in bed, the blanket pulled tightly around him and over his head. He was shivering and in the darkness caused by the thick blanket, Draco could just see his green eyes. They were wide, cautious, and slightly untrusting as Draco slipped into the room.

"Harry?" he quietly asked, approaching the bed.

His mate stared up at him, hissing something softly. Draco stopped instantly, trying not to draw away. The hissing and spitting continued for a moment, until Harry tipped back his head a little and let the blanket fall from his body. Crouching on the bed, the small Gryffindor, as slowly as he could, inched towards Draco on all fours. A shiver ran up his spine from the cool air, but his entire attention was focused on the Veela.

"I won't hurt you, I promise," Draco murmured as he took a small step.

"But you know now," Harry replied, eyes still wide.

Sighing sadly, Draco sat on the very end of the bed, keeping his gaze locked with his mate's. He carefully maneuvered his body onto the bed, crossing his legs. When Harry was only a foot away, he stretched his arms out to his smaller mate. Harry hesitated, but conceded and slipped into Draco's embrace. Pulling him close, Draco lay back on the bed, keeping Harry clutched to his chest. The Gryffindor whimpered a little, but didn't speak.

"You're safe, Harry," Draco whispered in his ear.

He repeated the same words over and over again, trying to convince his scared mate. The boy's shivers eventually subsided and his breathing evened out to a normal level. At one point, Lucius and Severus had come into the room, but the tired, frazzled mates didn't notice. They sat beside Draco and Harry, rubbing careful circles on the black-haired Gryffindor's back. He hissed softly, but it was in happiness instead of anger, and snuggled into Draco's chest. The Veela in Draco purred at the close presence of his mate.

"I hate them," Harry said finally.

"Who, love?"

"All of them. They all lied to me." Curling up into a tight ball, Harry started to shiver again. "It hurts, Draco."

"Shh," Draco murmured, quieting his mate. "You'll be free of them all soon, all of the liars."

"Everything hurts. My heart, my head, my body. Something feels wrong with it," Harry murmured.

"What do you mean, Harry?" Lucius asked.

"I feel like I'm living in the wrong body. Whenever I look at anything, it seems like I'm wearing really narrow glasses. Only some things are clear, the rest is blurry. Sometimes, I feel a strange weight in my hair, like something is hanging in it, but when I touch it, nothing is there," Harry said. "Draco, where is Edda?"

"Edda is in his chambers, you know that."

"Oh yeah." Sighing, Harry continued, "I wish he was here. It helps."

Draco exchanged a glance with his father and godfather.

"Let's go find him then," he said.

He nodded once to them and slowly rotated so his feet hung off the bed of the bed. Keeping a tight grip on Harry, the Veela stood and repositioned his mate in his arms. Severus cast a quiet notice-me-not charm on them as the two mates left the bedroom, heading for the door.

Dumbledore sat at his desk, staring at the small bottle that sat on the wooden surface. He was smiling a little, his hands clasped together in front of the face to hide it. His twinkling eyes were sharply focused as he slowly reached out and grabbed the bottle, watching as the potion inside splashed around. Holding it up to the light, he inspected the thick liquid.

"Very nice," he murmured to himself as he sat it back down.

Getting up from his chair, he swept around to the large bookshelves that lined the back of the room. He pulled a thick, old book from a high shelf and carefully carried it to his desk. Gently settling it down, he opened it to a page at the back. A loose piece of paper that had been ripped out of another book fluttered a little as he passed it, falling from the book to the floor. Ignoring it in favor of his current train of thought, Dumbledore quickly read the instructions and, with the potion in hand, stepped over to his Pensieve. Pouring the thick liquid into the silvery water, he smirked and capped the bottle again.

Slamming the empty bottle on his desk, he took his seat again. Sitting back in the chair, his eyes flicked up to the door. His plan was in place. All he needed now was the intended victim.


A/N: Sorry this is so short. A lot will happen in the next chapter, I promise.