Summary: A spell is cast on Harry which creates lots of angst. Draco comes along and creates lots of fluff. Hurrah. Not HBP/DH compliant. Slaaaaaash!
Disclaimer: JKR owns everything, I'm just borrowing.
A/N: Another new chapter, in an attempt to make you not hate me.
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Chapter 29
As Lupin and Ron prepared to depart on the far side of Hogwarts castle, silence had fallen in the tiny hospital room that had been Harry and Draco's home for the past three weeks. Harry sat in his usual position on the window ledge, forehead pressed against the cold frosted glass, his eyes closed. Pain bit into his broken arm and he hugged himself tight with the other. Draco sat on the bed, gazing up at the dark haired boy, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.
He thought of the boiling anger when this situation had first been forced upon him, how difficult it had been to push away six years of burning hatred and call a temporary truce. How he had wanted to scream every time Potter said something he disagreed with. The sight of Potter so defenceless had made him feel ill, had called everything he knew into question. Potter was Potter, there was nothing he could not fight. Draco had had to re-evaluate so many things, and the truths that he had stumbled across had been startling.
Harry was lonely. Harry was frightened. Harry was full of tentative smiles and surprising insights, he bled like a normal human being. He was not a superhero, or the sole cause of every wrong in Draco's life.
Draco had taken care of him, begrudgingly at first, then with a feeling of smug superiority. The most rewarding and frightening moments had come in at the end, when Draco had begun to really care for his patient, and to realise there was something there worth saving not purely to meet his own needs. He wanted to get to know Harry from the inside out, with no curses, nothing binding them together except the desire to be close.
He sighed. Word had been sent from the headmasters office, telling them of the plan to capture Lucius Malfoy and bring him back to Hogwarts. Harry had not spoken since. Draco felt nauseous, anxiety gnawed at his insides, still tinged with the faint echoes of disbelief. He just did not understand. For three weeks his life had been a whirlwind of emotions, of anger, fear, hesitant admiration, denial. To think his own father had been the creator of all of this… why? Was it to help Draco? To harm him? Or had it been unintentional that his son had been pulled into this mess?
He cleared his throat nervously.
"Harry," he said softly. "Don't worry about Lupin and Weasley, they'll be fine."
Harry did not move. Draco could not see his face from where he sat, only the narrow slope of his back and scruffy black hair with a white knot of bandages underneath, tying Harry's sling.
"You think so?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah."
Silence. Draco cast around for something else to say. He felt guilty, like it was his fault Lucius had done this, like he ought to have somehow known. He did not know whose side to take in this battle. Reassuring Harry was one thing - but what if Lupin and Weasley really were going to succeed? That was good for Harry but it meant the capture of Draco's father, it meant the Malfoy name being dragged through the mud again, and a lifetime of imprisonment for Lucius. If Malfoy senior could not be apprehended, though… that spelled certain destruction for Harry. It meant clinging on and trying to stay awake for as long as he could, just waiting to succumb to the inevitable and be murdered at the hands of Lord Voldemort's right hand man.
It seemed Harry was thinking along similar lines.
"I was so stupid," he said in a quiet, hoarse voice. "I really thought that with Voldemort gone… everything would just be happily ever after. I can't believe I thought everything surrounding him would just go away." He blinked fiercely, his eyes shining, unseen by Draco. "Because it's not just Voldemort, is it? It's everything - the Death Eaters, the supporters, your father…" his voice broke and Draco pulled himself up off the bed towards him.
"Hey…" he said softly. He took a seat on the wide ledge beside the dark haired boy, who wiped his eyes on his sleeve, his breathing unsteady.
"I'm so tired," he whispered.
Draco wrapped his arms around the other boys shoulders, pulling him over into an embrace. Harry clung to him, hands clenching around fistfuls of fabric. Draco buried his face in thick dark hair and closed his eyes.
"I swear I didn't know," he whispered.
Harry sniffed and nodded. "I know," he muttered, and turned his face upwards, kissing Draco heatedly, wanting to drown in the embrace and forget everything else. He moaned softly. Draco gripped him tighter.
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, pulling away. Their foreheads rested together and Draco leaned in to steal another soft kiss.
"Hmm - what?"
"Your father… and me. What if they catch him?"
Draco tensed. He knew what he was being asked. You father, or me? Could he turn his back on his father, his upbringing, everything he had been taught… or on Harry, and whatever it was that they had, or could have. Did he want Lucius… or Harry?
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The gates to the grounds creaked and swung in the winter wind as Ron and Lupin passed through them, shivering in the cold night air. The dark silhouettes of winged boars towered over them, blocking out the few scattered stars that peeked through drifting black cloud. Ron gripped his wand tightly, turning to Remus, who nodded.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yeah." Ron stepped out into the grass beyond the school boundaries, feeling his nerves clench. With a final affirming glance at his companion, he rotated sharply on the spot, feeling his way into nothingness and Apparating away from Hogwarts.
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He landed with an unexpected bump and fell to the ground. The smell of grass filled his nostrils. Remus appeared with a pop and hauled Ron to his feet.
They studied their surroundings. A dark lane, bordered with tall, leafless trees that rose high over them and twisted their skeletal branches into a dark canopy. High, wrought-iron gates blocked a sweeping driveway, at the end of which loomed a large gothic mansion, the Malfoy Manor. It was so different to the home where Ron grew up and he gazed at the spiralling mass of towers with growing fear prickling across his spine.
"Those gates won't open for us," said Remus softly. "I wouldn't like to think what might happen if anyone tried to force them. We'll go over the wall."
Ron nodded.
"Carefully, now," Remus breathed as they hoisted themselves up into low branches, Ron first, scrambling over the high stone wall. He scrunched his eyes shut.
"It's a long way to the ground."
"It's not too late to change your mind, Ron."
He closed his mouth, not answering. Manoeuvring himself into the branches that hung lowest over the dark grounds of the Malfoy Manor, he screwed up his courage and dropped to the grass with a painful thud.
Panic momentarily overwhelmed him as he waited, frozen, for alarms to sound and guard dogs to come firing towards them. A thud came from beside him and Remus dragged him to his feet again. They surveyed the dark grounds, utterly silent except for the drive of cold night wind through the brittle branches.
"Fairly lax security," said Remus softly.
"Kinda makes you nervous."
They made their way quietly up the lawn, once neatly clipped but now wild with tangled dead grass, past dry stone fountains and up to the large wooden door, leaning slightly ajar.
"Why is he hiding in his own house?" Ron whispered. "Surely that's the first place the Ministry would search for him?"
"It was. They found nothing except for evidence that the Malfoys had made a very swift escape after Voldemort's downfall. The Ministry set alarms to alert them if anybody came back - but they had more pressing matters on their minds, like the massive cover up from the Muggle world that needed implementing. Malfoy could easily have removed any charms placed around the house, and now he's hidden in plain sight - they don't think he'd be foolish enough to come back here so they don't bother to check."
Remus fell silent as he pushed the door silently open, and the smell of dust and decomposition escaped the room. They stepped into the gloomy entrance hall and the heavy door closed behind them with a quiet click, enveloping them in darkness.
Very little moonlight filtered through the grime streaked windows of the abandoned house. They could just make out thick layers of dust on every surface and strings of silvery cobwebs hanging from the high ceiling as they squinted into the shadows, waiting for their eyes to adjust. Ron could tell even through the darkness and dust that the room was ornate and impressive. Not a sound could be heard from anywhere in the house - there were no signs to suggest the presence of other wizards.
"Malfoy said he was in the office, near the back of the house," Ron breathed, signalling Remus towards the adjoining hallway, his heart thudding so loud he wondered if it would give them away. His mouth felt dry and his senses were tightly strung like wires, ringing with fear. The whole house seemed like a dark, looming presence, watching them as they crept noiselessly towards the office. Sharp eyes in old, worn portraits appeared to follow them as they passed, and Ron silently thanked the dust that lay thickly on the dark carpets and polished wood floors, muffling their footsteps. He squinted in the distant shadows, afraid a cloaked black figure would leap out at any second. His hand tightened around his wand.
He glanced over at Remus, who nodded encouragingly. As they moved further into the darkness they became aware of a reflection of light shimmering dimly on the walls. Ron felt every muscle in his body tense.
No outside light permeated this far back, and with every door around them closed, the only source of light were the faint reflections of yellow that grew steadily brighter with every step. They carefully rounded a corner and Ron had to hold in a gasp.
It was evident which room was the office. The door was closed but bright light gleamed out through the cracks surrounding the frame, spinning and dancing on the opposite wall and burning their eyes in the surrounding darkness. Lupin motioned Ron forward with a wave of his hand.
"We won't have much time," he breathed, not daring to lift his voice above a barely audible whisper. No sounds came from inside the brightly lit room. "I'll open the door, and we'll Stupify him together, okay?"
Ron nodded. He swallowed hard, his throat sticking. He sidestepped a small wooden cabinet against the wall, his mind screaming not to bump into it like Malfoy had done. Hardly daring to breathe, he screwed up his courage as Remus took a careful step forward and placed his hand on the office door.
"On the count of three…"
Remus pointed his wand in the direction of the hidden room, his eyes watering against the blinding glare of yellow light seeping through the edges of the door.
"One…"
Ron tensed his body, waiting for the moment to spring. He thought of Harry, helpless in the hospital wing, clinging to this final hope.
"Two…"
Remus unconsciously held his breath, his senses heightened, his heart pounding painfully hard.
"Three!"
The door crashed open. Nearly blinded by the light that spilled out over them, Ron charged into the office. A figure cloaked in black robes in the centre of the room span round, wand raised.
"Stupefy!" they roared, and identical jets of red light shot through the spinning yellow, striking the shrouded figure in the chest. Ron watched, adrenaline screaming, as Lucius Malfoy crumpled to the floor, unconscious, and the dancing yellow light began to slowly ebb and fade into darkness.
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A/N: Hope you like! it's all getting a bit exciting, isn't it? I was really happy to revisit the Malfoy Manor, I love writing about the contrasting imagery of gorgeous yet decaying :)
Thankyou times a million to TheGirlWithCheeseInHerPocket, Lady Sakura, and Secluded Angel. The fact that it's been ages since I posted but you guys are still excited about this makes me so so so SO happy :)
