The Devil in Me
Someone is Gonna Pay
The chapter title comes from the song:
You're Gonna Go Far Kid by The Offspring.
Tom called a Death Eater meeting the morning after the solstice. By that point, everyone in attendance knew that the Lestrange's had deserted.
The meeting was short and to the point. Tom was notably furious as he put a bounty of the highest order on the two brothers heads.
"Whoever brings me the Lestrange brothers heads so that they may be displayed on the gates of this house shall be rewarded with the entire Lestrange estate."
It was huge. It elicited a gasp from some of the Death Eaters in attendance. Harry doubted that Tom had used a bounty so big to track down anyone before, deserters or otherwise.
"I understand that this is unheard of," Tom continued, "But these men did not just betray me. They murdered my heir's mother on the sacred solstice day."
There were some nods, but most people were still in shock. The Lestrange's estate consisted of Castle Lestrange in Shropshire and the castle they had inherited when the Burke family died out – Castle Knaresborough in North Yorkshire. Then there was the matter of all of their French lands too.
Harry raised his hand, "I would just like to point out, my lord, that Castle Lestrange is very close to the Welsh border, and as such, I think it is highly likely that the Lestrange brothers are hiding out with the light rebellion in Wales."
Tom bowed his head, "Indeed. From the moment the Jones family waded in, the rebellion has seemed to gravitate towards Wales. Our information suggests that the lights new headquarters is Castle Jones."
On this note, Tom dismissed the meeting, and Harry caught Hermione in the entrance hall before she could leave the manor.
"Hermione, hey."
Hermione smiled, "Hey, Harry. Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you last night. It was nice to catch up with the Weasley's and Julian spent most of the night telling me stories about my mother."
"He seemed fond enough of Fred and George," Harry noted.
"He is," Hermione agreed.
Harry smiled broadly at her, "Mind if I walk you to the gate?"
Hermione shook her head, so they set off through the hedgerows together.
Hermione asked, "What's with the peacocks, by the way?"
"It's Lucius," Harry said with a wave of his hand, "He has a thing about peacocks."
Hermione snorted, "That explains a lot about Draco."
Harry grinned in amusement, "Yeah. Will you come back for the funeral?"
Hermione made a face, "Honestly? I don't think so. I didn't like her when she was alive, and I'm not a false person. I don't want to pretend that I did now that she's gone."
"I get that," Harry promised, "I never saw eye to eye with her either. From the moment I joined up, she felt like I was trying to push her out to get into the Dark Lords good books. But the person she really should have been worried about was Lily."
"I know," Hermione said, lowering her voice, "Lillian Moon becoming Lilith Black? Nobody saw that coming, did they?"
"Nope," Harry said, it felt nice to have Hermione back, "But it did, and now she's becoming something of the Dark Lords conscience."
Hermione nodded, they reached the gate and paused, "He does seem different, doesn't he? I wouldn't have thought Bellatrix's death would bother him but from how angry he is? It has."
"He doesn't know how to show his emotions the way that we do, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have them," Harry agreed. He leant against the gate post and said, "It's why I tried to get the likes of you and Neville on our side. Once you realise that he's not insane, the Dark Lords ideas start making sense."
With another nod, Hermione frowned, "The only thing I don't quite understand is what he meant about the solstice day being sacred? Is it worse that they killed Bellatrix on the solstice day compared to any other day?"
"Yeah," Harry frowned and searched his head for an answer, for a muggle comparison he could make to help her understand, "Do you remember that Scottish hero we had to learn about in muggle school, Robert the Bruce?"
Hermione frowned, "Uh, yes. Where are you going with this, Harry?"
"Just hear me out," Harry said, smiling at her in amusement, "Do you remember how he killed his rival at the altar of a church and it started this whole civil war in Scotland? It was the reason that the Scots ended up fighting the English because one side asked for the English to help, the other side didn't want their help, etc."
Hermione nodded.
"Well, it's like that," Harry said, "Only the church is the solstice day."
"Miraculously, that actually makes sense," Hermione quipped.
"Always the tone of surprise," Harry teased.
Hermione chuckled and leant forward to kiss him on the cheek, "See you soon."
Harry smiled, "Merry Christmas, Hermione," he said on a parting note.
After that, the days leading up to Christmas were mostly a blur.
Harry didn't see much of Tom because he split his time between his study and the nursery. That didn't go amiss to any of the permanent residents of Malfoy Manor.
Harry got the impression that he wasn't the only one who was surprised by the level of interest Tom had taken in his daughter.
How much of that was down to Lily, Harry didn't know, but she became a permanent feature in the manor. Lucius kept grumbling about how it was a full house, but Narcissa seemed happy and kept reminding him that a full, happy house was far better than an empty, lonely one.
Lucius would roll his eyes and call her sentimental, then conceal a smile. Of course, underneath the happy façade, there was the fact they had a funeral to plan as well as a lovely baby to fawn over.
Lucius had taken the funeral planning onboard because, by some unspoken agreement, Narcissa seemed to have taken on Amalthea in her sister's absence. The Dark Lord did not object, if anything, he was grateful.
They all knew that the funeral would take place between Christmas and New Year, but for the moment, they put it out of their heads as much as possible. Narcissa focused on her family and on her new niece to lessen the pain she felt from losing her sister.
Beyond the odd comments about Bellatrix's funeral, they did not talk about what had happened on the solstice day. Not until Draco brought it up over a game of chess on Christmas Eve, that was.
"What do you think they did with the girl?"
"What girl?" Harry asked over their game of chess.
Draco gave him a long-suffering look, "The Cauldwell girl, Sadie."
Harry shrugged, "Oh, her? I don't know; she's probably in the dungeons."
"She isn't; I checked," Draco said, tapping his fingers against the table then instructing his knight to move, "But Father said she was captured."
"Well, then why don't you ask your father where she is?" Harry pointed out, instructing his queen to take Draco's knight.
"Fuck," Draco muttered.
"Hm, you're distracted," Harry agreed, looking at his friend, "Over this Sadie girl."
Draco rolled his eyes, "I knew her a long time ago. And I can't just ask Father about her; he'll accuse me of being weak for caring about her whereabouts."
"Well…" Harry said, cocking his head, "He wouldn't be wrong. What do you mean, you knew her a long time ago?"
"She was at Hogwarts for a couple of years," Draco said, looking down at the chessboard, "And she was in Slytherin, she used to go around with Daphne and Tracey while Pansy was fawning after me or bitching with Millicent."
"Was that before Sophie came here?" Harry asked.
Draco nodded, "Yeah, Sophie moved to England just before our fourth year. Sadie left Hogwarts after second year."
Harry frowned, "Because of the attacks? But, she's a pureblood, isn't she?"
"She is, but she's a pureblood with a very protective father," Draco said, a frown forming on his face, "Or she was anyway until her father got killed."
"So you feel guilty cause your childhood friend is imprisoned somewhere in your manor?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow at Draco, "I wouldn't feel too bad. If she's not in the dungeons, then she probably has a room somewhere, and from my personal experiences, this is a pretty comfortable place to be imprisoned."
"You weren't imprisoned, you came to us willingly," Draco pointed out, "We just had to leave you in a locked room for a while to be sure that we could trust you."
"You're right, it definitely doesn't sound like I was imprisoned," Harry said sarcastically, shooting Draco a grin for good measure.
Draco gave him a long-suffering look, "You get the point, it was different. Your family hadn't just been slaughtered, and you weren't about to spend Christmas imprisoned in a strange house."
"Oh, this is your Christmas spirit coming out?" Harry teased, "Oh Ebenezer, what are you going to do? Invite Tiny Tim to spend Christmas with us?"
Draco glared at him, "I've read that shitty Muggle book, and I'm not above throwing this chessboard at you."
"It's attached to the table," Harry pointed out.
"Exactly," Draco ground out irritably, still glaring at Harry.
Harry snorted and made his move as his brain had a wild idea. I wonder if the Christmas Carol approach would work on Tom…three ghosts to show him his past, present, and future to convince him to put his soul back together. Actually that's an awful idea.
He bit back an amused smile when he heard Tom's voice in his head. Yes, it is truly appalling.
Still not planning on showing remorse and knitting your soul back together then? Harry thought to Tom while Draco made his move.
No, as I told you when you first made my acquaintance, I am not, Tom's voice said clearly inside his head.
Harry didn't respond; he just made his move and wondered if Tom would say anything further. After a moment, he did, But on the subject of Horcruxes, I once told you that I was researching a way to remove the fragment of my soul from you. Do you recall?
Yes, I remember, Harry thought back.
Draco made his move, and Tom spoke in Harry's head. Unfortunately, I have not had much success on that front.
Ah, well, I'm getting better at Occlumency, so I can shove you out when I need me time. Besides, I would miss our little chats, Harry thought.
After a moment, Tom's voice said, Yes, I do rather appreciate these conversations too, Harry.
On that uncharacteristically sentimental note, Tom shoved Harry out of his head.
Christmas Day passed uneventfully. Lily joined them for the occasion, but Tom stayed out of the way for the most part. He ate Christmas dinner with them but did not partake in any of the Malfoy family Christmas traditions. Harry found that he loved them, and Lily seemed to enjoy them too.
In the evening, after Narcissa had settled Amalthea down under the watch of a nanny elf, Lucius poured everyone a drink. He informed Harry and Lily that it was customary to play charades at this point in the day.
It turned out that Harry was terrible at charades, but everyone got a laugh at his expense, at the very least. He bowed out of the game early, chiefly because of how terrible he was at it, but also because he enjoyed watching the people he cared about having fun without being a part of the fun himself. It was as Harry watched Draco's attempts to mime the events of the fourth goblin war that Harry caught sight of Tom – he was leaning against a wall in the corner of the room, almost hidden by the shadows cast from the candles along the walls.
Harry was reminded of the first time he had met Tom Riddle when he had been lurking in the shadows of the chamber of secrets.
"Feeling sentimental?" Tom asked when Harry reached him.
Harry smiled, "Apparently so."
Tom held out his glass, and Harry gently tapped his against it, "Merry Christmas, Tom."
"Merry Christmas, indeed," Tom mused, looking out at the Malfoy family and Lily, "Although I never understood why we celebrate the birth of Jesus in December. All historical records point to his birth being in the summer."
Harry smiled in amusement, "Blame the Christian faith. I don't understand why we celebrate it at all, if I'm honest. We have Yule; Christmas is a Christian holiday."
Tom waved a hand, "It is simply an extension of Yule. You know that it lasts for 12 days from the solstice."
Harry nodded, "It seems a shame to have to hold a funeral at that time."
"It is necessary," Tom said, looking into his glass, "Her soul must depart this world as soon as possible."
"Do you need any help with the funeral arrangements?" Harry asked, "I know you and Lucius were working on it together."
"Lucius is working on it. I merely gave him some pointers. He seems to expect me to know the answer to all of his questions, but how am I to know what her favourite flowers were? Do I strike you as the kind of person who gives flowers to the woman I allow in my bedchambers?"
Harry snorted, "No, you don't. But for the record, her favourite flowers were narcissus."
The expressionless look in Tom's eyes flickered for a moment. He looked over at Narcissa, who was laughing at her son's antics, "Of course they were," he said, his voice impossibly soft.
Once Christmas was over, the bubble burst. Narcissa had to finalise the funeral preparations, which left Harry spending an increased amount of time looking after Amalthea.
Apparently, he was a baby whisperer because every time he held and rocked the little girl, she fell asleep. Narcissa commended his gift with a sad smile and headed outside to prepare the funeral pyre with the appropriate flowers and such.
In the few days since Christmas had passed, Draco had been acting increasingly sketchy, as if something was weighing on his mind. Harry knew it was only a matter of time until he searched every room of the Manor to work out where they were keeping this Cauldwell girl that he was so worried about.
But that was Draco's problem, so Harry tried not to think about it. He was sitting in the nursery in a rocking chair, Amalthea was fast asleep on his chest, and after a terrible night full of disturbing nightmares, Harry was trying very hard not to fall asleep with her.
"If I was ever in need of blackmail, I am no longer."
Harry opened an eye and smiled at Tom, "Hey, this is your kid I'm helping sleep. A thank you would suffice."
Tom raised an eyebrow and stepped into the room, "Where is Narcissa?"
"Finalising things," Harry replied, "For the funeral tonight."
Tom walked over to the window and looked down at Narcissa, who was directing the elves.
"I believe you know how I feel, so I did not deem this conversation necessary, Harry, but to be sure, I suppose we should have it out loud," Tom said, turning to look at Harry.
Harry opened both of his eyes and gave Tom his full attention.
"If anything were to happen to me, I would expect you to care for Amalthea. You are one of the few people who knows everything about my Horcruxes, so I would expect you to look for me and find a way to restore my body. But in the meantime, you would care for her as if she were your own."
Harry smiled slightly, "You don't have to make it an order, Tom. I was there the day she was born, and she already has me wrapped around her tiny little fingers. Of course, I would care for her if anything happened to you, and I thought it went without saying that I would find a way to bring you back should anything happen to you."
Tom gave him a slight nod. It was a relatively deep conversation for them, and Harry could tell that it made Tom uncomfortable.
"Then I shall make it official at her naming ceremony," Tom said, his eyes on the grounds once more.
Harry's eyes widened, "You want me to be her Godfather?"
Tom looked at Harry in disbelief, "What do you think I just asked you?"
"You could have just said, 'Would you do me the honour of becoming her godfather?' like every other normal person would have done," Harry pointed out.
Tom gave him a long-suffering look, "I do not speak like that, Harry."
"I know, Tom," Harry said with a smile, "It was a joke."
Tom said nothing further and looked back to the window. He watched the pyre in the grounds be constructed, and Harry continued to rock Amalthea. Together they passed a couple of hours in relatively comfortable silence.
Bellatrix's funeral was a relatively small affair. A handful of the older Death Eaters who had served with her in the first war had come to pay their respects. Beyond that, the only attendees were Tom, Lily, Harry and the Malfoys.
As such, they had been forced to get creative when it came to thanking the elements while setting Bellatrix's soul free.
This was why Draco was complaining while he and Harry walked down the front steps of the manor.
"Quit huffing, Draco," Harry murmured, "It's a funeral. Your petty problems don't matter."
Draco glared at him, "It's insulting, Harry. I'm not a Hufflepuff."
"No, you're a Slytherin with some Hufflepuff tendencies, and since your aunt wasn't one for making friends, you need to stand for that element," Harry said.
"How do I have any Hufflepuff tendencies?" Draco complained.
"We've been over this, you eejit," Harry said, nudging him in the ribs, "You're hard-working, you're loyal to your family."
"I don't like getting covered in dirt and talking to bloody plants," Draco muttered.
Harry rolled his eyes, "Merlin, you're pettier than usual today, and that's saying something."
Draco shot him a glare when they reached the point that they had to go their separate ways. Draco kept walking towards the quadrant around the funeral pyre to take his place. Narcissa, Lily and Tom were already there, which left Harry standing with Lucius.
"Is he still complaining?"
"Yep," Harry replied.
"It will be a wonder if that boy produces an heir," Lucius said under his breath, "I suspect any marriage will be one of convenience, and I am starting to wonder if he likes women enough to make it work."
Harry snorted, "Nah, I don't think so. He seems pretty obsessed with this Cauldwell girl that you've hidden in the manor somewhere."
"Is he, now?" Lucius asked with interest.
Harry smirked and looked over at him, "Certainly, but you did not hear anything from me."
Lucius chuckled under his breath, "Augustus has been a bad influence on you."
Harry chuckled too, "If that's so, why did you say it so fondly?"
"You're insufferable," Lucius murmured.
Harry grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet, "She is alive, I presume?"
"Of course," Lucius replied, "We are not in the habit of wiping out pureblood families, Harry. You are well aware of this."
"Hm," Harry agreed, "I wonder if she plays chess. Maybe a little company would bring her out of her shell?"
Lucius gave him a knowing look, "You are many things Harry, but subtle is not one of them. If Draco has such a desire to find the girl, he will have to show initiative."
Harry chuckled, "So you won't take him to her, but if he searches the manor for her, then so be it? Smart, sometimes I do think Draco needs to be more motivated."
Lucius smirked and echoed Harry's earlier words, "But you did not hear it from me."
Harry tapped his nose, "Mums the word."
Lucius nodded, and at that point, they cut their conversation short because the funeral began.
Narcissa began the funeral by giving thanks to the air element. She created a soft wind, picking all the leaves of a tree and scattering them above Bellatrix's body. She had tears rolling down her cheeks as she did so, and she stuttered over her incantation.
Lily then gave thanks to fire in the south by sending up a flare above the funeral pyre. It was simple, but despite being a Black, Lily had no real fondness for Bellatrix.
Next, Tom gave thanks to the water element by conjuring a giant Basilisk made from water. Harry smiled slightly; it reminded him of something similar he had seen in the Chamber of Secrets. The Basilisk encircled the funeral pyre then burst into a small shower of rain.
Finally, Draco gave thanks to earth in the north, and he managed to do so without huffing. He conjured up a small clay model of a baby, wrapped in a blanket, and he lay it atop the pyre with Bellatrix.
Harry was surprised, not because he didn't know that Draco was caring, but because he hadn't thought Draco had cared much for Bellatrix.
It wasn't until Harry saw how Draco looked at his mother and the nod she gave him that he realised that Draco hadn't done it for Bellatrix. Somehow, it made the gesture mean more.
The four of them cast Incendio at the pyre, and it lit up. They stood for a few minutes, watching the flames take hold and thinking about Bellatrix. Then they broke the quadrant, and the Death Eaters that had come to pay their respects either lay flowers near the pyre or split into small groups to mourn Bellatrix.
Harry handed Draco his hipflask when he reached him, "That was nice."
Draco took a swig and narrowed his eyes, "Why do I get the impression you're being sarcastic?"
"I'm not," Harry said honestly, "It was nice, it was caring. It's why you have Hufflepuff tendencies."
Draco punched him in the arm, "I will curse you."
Harry grinned, "You'd have to catch me first. Could you on those little Hufflepuff legs?"
Draco glared at him, and his hand twitched by his wand pocket.
"Boys," Lucius drawled, "No fighting, please. This is a funeral, be respectful to the dead lady."
"With all due respect, she's dead, so she isn't going to care if we're disrespectful," Harry pointed out.
Lucius gave him a stern look, "In that case, please do it in consideration of the woman we all care about who lost her sister."
Sufficiently told off, Harry nodded, "Sorry, Lucius."
Lucius gave a stiff nod, "If you can't behave yourselves, then perhaps Draco should continue with his attempts to find the Cauldwell girl."
Draco's eyes flashed, "How do you know about that?" he looked at Harry, "Did you tell him?"
With a poker face that surprised Harry himself, he replied, "No, I didn't tell him. Why would I tell him you're obsessed with a girl you haven't seen since she was 12? That's just embarrassing; I wouldn't humiliate you like that."
Lucius raised an eyebrow at Harry then looked at Draco, "If you think I have not noticed you skulking around the manor late at night, then you must think me to be pathetically dim-witted, Draco."
"Well, that's why I thought you wouldn't notice," Draco grumbled, "Because it was so pathetically dim-witted."
"You mean to imply that you think you are not dim-witted?" Lucius countered.
Harry snorted.
"Father!" Draco objected.
Harry took a swig from his hipflask, "Well, Lucius, if you are feeling in a generous mood. Why don't you give him a hint? He's searched all of the bedrooms, the dungeons and the secret dungeon within the dungeon. Do I want to know why you have that, by the way?"
"It's where we used to keep the dragon," Lucius remarked calmly.
"The what now?!"
"And here we have a case of someone who truly is pathetically dim-witted," Lucius said dryly.
This time, Draco smirked.
Lucius looked across the garden and saw Narcissa looking around for him, "I need to be with your mother. If you intend to find the girl, try looking in the less obvious locations. Why do you think that I would put a pureblood heiress in a dungeon? I have standards, boys, I have an image to uphold."
Draco and Harry shared amused looks as Lucius walked away.
"He seems different around me lately," Harry mused.
"He's finally accepted you into the family," Draco said, "He thinks of you as the second son he always wanted. You know what that means, don't you?"
"Expensive gifts?"
"Oh yeah, along with side-eye, judgement of your life choices and scathing remarks 24/7," Draco said, shooting him a grin.
Harry snorted in amusement, "You heard what he said about the girl though, didn't you? She's not in the dungeons, and she's not in the crappy bedrooms you were checking. Your father basically said she's in the nicest part of the house, which is?"
"The deluxe wing," Draco said, his eyes widening, "I never thought to check there! That's where royalty and Ministers for Magic stay when they come to visit."
"Yeah, well, if you want to get a pureblood heiress on your side after you've just murdered her family," Harry said with a shrug, "You put her up in a nice room and hope she forgives you. Lucius Malfoy logic 101."
"Kill someone's parents, spend money on them; they'll be your friend," Draco remarked sarcastically, "Yes, that does sound rather like my father."
Harry shook his head in amusement, "So? Are we going to find her?"
"I thought you found my need to find her pathetic?"
"Oh, I do, but I'm a good friend, so I'm going to help you do it anyway," Harry said, grinning at Draco and heading towards the manor.
"But there's also the fact she's the first girl you've shown interest in, and as your father pointed out to me earlier, you do need to produce an heir."
Draco made a face, "So you've been discussing my sexuality with my father? That's rich, coming from you."
"Yes, but I am comfortable and flexible with my sexuality," Harry said matter of factly, "I'd have convinced Daphne to form a triad with Theo and me eventually, or I'd have married Reyna and had Theo as my bit on the side."
"Lovely," Draco said dryly.
"You, on the other hand, though, you just didn't seem interested in girls at all until Sadie Cauldwell shows up," Harry said, waggling his eyebrows at Draco.
"I'm interested in girls; I just have taste, unlike you," Draco remarked.
Harry raised an eyebrow as Draco continued, "A pretty face isn't enough for me; I like someone I can hold an intelligent conversation with, who understands my opinions but who isn't afraid to disagree with them if they think I'm wrong."
"So your type is Hermione Granger, basically?" Harry deadpanned.
Draco gave him an irritated look but said no more on the subject. Harry smirked and treated that as silent confirmation, but he didn't push it. They walked through the manor in silence – Draco leading Harry into a wing that he had never seen before. It was grander than the rest of the house, which was saying something.
The entire wing was sealed off with a powerful warding charm, but Draco being a Malfoy, was able to put his hand on the door and step right through it.
"You'll need to wait here," Draco said, "If you try to step through the wards, you'll probably die."
"Charming," Harry remarked.
"It's a dark, pureblood manor," Draco said with a shrug, "But the fact the wards are stronger here than they are anywhere else in the house does imply that we're right – she's in here."
Harry nodded, "Good luck," he said, unable to conceal his smirk.
Knock, Knock.
"What do you want?" An irritated female voice asked from within the bedroom.
Draco grimaced and opened the door, "To check up on you."
Sadie Cauldwell was standing in the doorway to a balcony. Despite being imprisoned, she did have large, lovely chambers with access to all amenities, so she didn't look like a prisoner at all.
Her ash blonde hair fell around her shoulders, and her once curious blue eyes were currently glaring at Draco. He remembered her as a girl, with a slightly rounded face but a kind smile. She had grown into herself since then though – she wasn't particularly tall, she stood about half a foot shorter than he did, but she was slim and pretty – her heart-shaped face framed by her hair.
"It's Draco," He said stupidly, "Draco Malfoy, from school."
"I know," Sadie said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You look the same. What I don't know is why you're here."
"I told you why," Draco said, "I heard that you had been captured, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay."
"Do I look like I'm okay?" Sadie asked curtly, "I'm a prisoner."
Draco looked around, "I know, but it's not like you're in a dungeon. Is it? You've got nice quarters here; you have a sauna, a walk-in wardrobe, a library."
He walked past her, "You even have a balcony."
Sadie turned around and glared at him, "The comfort level of the prison doesn't change the fact that it is still a prison, one that I was put in after my family were murdered!"
Draco sighed, "We didn't want to, Sadie. But your brother fought for the light even after your family came out as neutral. It was a wonder you were spared, really."
"Oh yes," Sadie said cynically, "Because I feel so lucky!"
Draco narrowed his eyes, "You do seem a little unhinged, but I suppose nobody can blame you for that. maybe the balcony isn't the best idea…you haven't tried to jump off it, have you?"
Sadie glared at him, "Yes, I have, but unfortunately, every time I do, this happens-"
Without further ado, she shoved Draco off of the balcony, and within seconds he hit an imperturbable barrier that bounced him back up again.
He landed on his feet and shuddered, "Well, that was thoroughly unpleasant."
Sadie glared at him, "If you aren't here to break me out, then get out."
"But-"
"I have nothing to say to you!" Sadie snapped, "Your father stood by and watched Avery murder my parents!"
Draco sighed and nodded, "Okay, I just thought you might want some company. You know, with you being imprisoned over Christmas and everything."
"I wanted company for yule," Sadie agreed, tears shining in her eyes as she looked at him, "I wanted my parents!"
"Right," Draco said quietly, "Well, I'll come back another day when you're feeling better."
"Don't bother," Sadie said disdainfully.
Draco took the hint. He left, shutting and locking the door behind him. Then he stepped back out into the corridor where Harry was awaiting him, and he shut the heavy door to the ward.
"How did it go?" Harry asked, pushing himself off a wall.
"She threw me off a balcony!"
"Well, you said you wanted a strong, opinionated woman," Harry remarked.
Draco glared at him, "She hates me."
"Yeah, I'm not sure why you expected anything more," Harry admitted, "Her parents were just murdered, and whether your dad did it or not, he was there. He also imprisoned her."
"She has a library, a sauna and a balcony!"
"It doesn't matter how nice it is; it's still a bloody prison!" Harry retorted, "You think she's gonna develop Stockholm Syndrome and fall in love with you or something?"
"What are you on about?" Draco asked irritably.
"Oh, never mind," Harry muttered, "Do you want to go back to the funeral?"
"Not really, no."
"You want to nick a bottle of firewhiskey and get drunk in the summerhouse?"
"Now that," Draco said, pointing at his best friend, "That is an idea I can get behind."
* TBC *