"Alright, so what's the plan?" Asked Harry, looking down from the window to see how dead he would be if he fell.
very dead, his mind provided.
"Do you still have your switchblade?" Asked Draco.
Harry patted his pocket. "Yes, but I still don't understand what we need these for."
"For an emergency such as this. We'll be climbing through the window and crossing to the adjacent room. Father won't simply comply to our wishes. That's where the switchblades come in."
"Surely you're not being serious," said a pale looking Harry. "We're better than common criminals. And what is the point of switchblades against an army of guards? He only needs to shout for help and they'll all come rushing in."
Draco shook his head. "I have a plan. Just follow my lead."
Harry gulped. Walking in danger willingly was one thing. But giving the control of the situation to Draco so completely, trusting him so deeply, was hard. He was used to making rash, bold moves, but here they were committing serious crimes against a very powerful man. He breathed and nodded. "I will kill you if we don't come out of this in one piece. It's not just our heads, Fred and George are in this mess because of us."
"You don't need to remind me," said Draco gravely. "I remember very well. Now, come on. We can't waste any more time."
Harry watched helplessly as Draco started to climb through the window. He remembered a time when his life wasn't so complicated. He remembered sharing a room with Ron in their small house with orange walls in the living room and birds that were too loud. He remembered a time when his biggest worry was his lunch. Now he was contemplating following a man that used to be his tutor but now was his lover out a fifth-story window to threaten his Father and retrieve blackmail files.
He took a deep breath and reminded himself of his reasons for being here. Yes, his life was a thousand times more complicated; but at the same time he'd never felt so alive and happy. He'd never had a reason to get out of bed in the morning. His life might be complicated now, but at least it was a life he looked forward to living. If they failed tonight, that considerably damaged his chances of being able to stay with Draco. Although he'd never admitted it to himself, he really didn't want to lose Draco.
Before Draco disappeared through the window, Harry pulled him forwards and kissed him tenderly. Draco blinked for a moment, then returned the kiss. When Harry pulled away, Draco smiled and tucked a stray hair behind Harry's ear. "It'll be alright," he reassured, and was gone.
Harry climbed out after him. He wasn't sure that he could rely on his knobbly knees to keep him on the very thin edge outside the window that ran around the whole house. It was a cold night and the wind blew rather hard this high up. Harry tried not to look down as he gripped anything his hands could find and prayed that his feet wouldn't slip. It took an equal amount of courage and strength to edge his way next to Draco all the way to the next room. The window seemed impossibly far, and more than a few times Harry was sure he would slip and fall. He imagined what would happen if Draco lost his balance and fell onto him. They would both topple over to their tragic death. He'd never stared death in the face so closely before. It was terrifying.
By the time his hand rested on their designated window, his feet were weak and shaky and his heart was drumming in his ears. The first thing he saw was a silver ashtray on the window sill. There seemed to be a snake carved in the centre of it. It had emerald eyes that seemed to be starting Harry down. Along its body rested five or six cigarette butts. Draco's prediction had been right. A candy wrapper lay there as well, making rustling sounds as the wind blew in through the window. Harry felt much like the candy wrapper; helpless and ignorant towards what his future would bring.
Harry watched Draco take a careful look around the room before climbing inside. He followed suit, not wishing to spend any more time than necessary out there on the edge. He was expecting to be faced with Lucius Malfoy right away, but instead all he saw were small screens connected to security cameras, showing different parts of the manor. Draco's attention was on the data server situated by the wall at the far end of the room.
"Where's your Father?" Hissed Harry, not liking the situation at all.
"Hello, Mister Potter," said a cold voice from a dark corner of the room.
Harry gasped. Lucius stood there in his expensive suit and simply smiled at them.
"I went through the trouble of finding out everything I could about you. I'm sad to say that even if you had been a girl, you still wouldn't have been a suitable match for my Son."
"Hello, Father," said Draco, interrupting him. "I was hoping to see you here."
"Come to apologize, have you? Want us to take you back? Have you come bearing gifts in the form of past associates, delivering them to me to show me that you are serious about coming back into the family and marrying a decent girl?" Asked Lucius hopefully.
Draco paused for a second. "Yes, Father," he said evenly.
Harry looked at Draco incredulously. He searched Draco's eyes, looking for some evidence to the contrary. His hand was hovering above his pocket, ready to take out his switchblade whenever Draco did. This must be part of the plan.
"Ah, my Son, I see some sense has finally blossomed in you," Lucius said with a pleased sigh. Some suspicion entered his eyes. "How do I know you're not lying to me again?"
"I have brought you my boy toy," said Draco. "Isn't that evidence of my honesty?"
"That proves nothing. You could simply be here for this pendant," said Lucius, holding Draco's USB in his palm as it dangled from his neck. "The last remaining copy of my blackmail files."
Draco looked concerned. "Father, why are you only keeping one copy of the files? What if something should happen to it?"
"I see that you really are back to your old self, Draco," said Lucius with a pleased smile. "I have learned my lesson. Keeping them in any computer is too dangerous. Around my neck, they cannot be stolen, lost, or damaged. I will make you another copy so that you can wear it around your neck as well. It is about time that you entered the family business. We will start with this associates of yours. I have the video of them breaking into our manor right here on these computers. It will be a suitable first mission for you, to keep them in check. You can decide their punishment on your own."
"Thank you, Father," said Draco, bowing his head.
"Very well," said Lucius, coming forward to sit on an armchair placed in front of the screens. Confusion crossed his eyes. "But tell me, why did you enter through the window? I was waiting for you by the door. I knew you were helping me trap your friends because you made sure they pass all the cameras instead of following the route without them; the one that we always use ourselves. But why the window? You knew I would be here, expecting you."
"It was a ploy to fool this boy toy of mine, Father," said Draco cruelly. "I wanted to lead him to believe that I was helping him destroy the blackmail files instead of bringing him into a trap. I wanted to see the look on his face when he realized the truth."
Draco turned to Harry with his cruel smile, looking at Harry as if looking at an experiment. Lucius looked approvingly at Draco before turning to Harry with his own smile dripping with malice.
"I never had a doubt that Draco would come back to me," he told Harry. "My blood flows through his veins. He was never yours."
Harry looked at Draco desperately. He was pleading with his eyes, begging Draco to tell him it was just a part of the plan, that it couldn't possibly be true. This wasn't the real Draco. He knew the real Draco. He had to believe that. He had to trust him.
"See, Father? He's trying to believe that this is part of the plan, that I am still on his side," said Draco with a smirk.
Lucius laughed freely and viciously. His laughter cut through Harry like a knife. Tears started pooling in his eyes and his clenched fists started to shake. He wouldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. He remembered how angry Draco had been when the flash drive had been taken. He genuinely hated his Father. He would never turn his back on Harry. He bit his lower lip as he stood there under the humiliation, cursing Draco left and right in his head.
I will kill him after we get out of here, he told himself. He tried to shut off the voice of doubt in his head. Draco would never do this to him.
"Quite an entertaining notion," admitted Lucius, after the last echoes of his laughter died out. "But it's quite late. Time to put an end to this. Your Mother will be pleased to see that you are back with us tomorrow."
"What are you planning to do with them, Father?" Asked Draco, a hardness in his eyes.
"Those two ginger nuisances are already in the custody of the guards; we have them on camera, smashing the computer in my study. It's time for your boy toy to join them," said Lucius. He turned to call out for the guards.
In an instant, Draco's switchblade was out and pressed against Lucius's throat.
"Make one sound," he whispered savagely.
Lucius looked at Draco wildly.
"You stupid old cockroach," Draco went on. "I've been waiting so long for this. I can finally stamp on you and crush your disgusting black body."
Anger boiled in Lucius's eyes. Before Harry could warn him, Lucius pushed Draco to the ground and came at Harry. Before Harry could do so much as blink, two strong hands had wrapped themselves around his neck.
"You've ruined my life!" Lucius spat in his face. "What kind of spell have you put on him, huh? I will kill you!"
Harry was helpless as Lucius started shaking and throttling him. He saw the blurry shape of Draco trying to pry Lucius loose but it was useless. The edges of his vision started to go black. He was gagging for air. He tried kicking Lucius away but his body was so weak and Lucius was so strong. He couldn't breathe. He was going to suffocate.
He knew he should be scared or angry, but all he felt was the relief of Draco having been on his side after all. Lucius might succeed in killing him, but they were the winners here.