A/n- I really hated the way Draco sounded in the last chapter. Too chipper. Will fix!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Summary: The letter.
The Other Side of Fate
The white Owl nipped at Draco's pale fingers as he tried to untie the blue ribbon, the beast's talons making long rivulet scratches down the stool it was perched upon. It hopped up and down on one leg, making a soft hooting sound out of annoyance, irritability, or fatigue.
The cook and her house elf helper glanced at Draco with raised eyebrows.
With a flap of the owls' wings, a few papers fell to the floor of the kitchens, some of the countertops pluming white as the flour was disturbed there.
Draco's eyebrows came together and his lips pursed. Annoyed, he grabbed the bird roughly about a leg and yanked it up in the air.
"Enough."
The owl screeched, but Malfoy kicked open the back door and was already wrestling the bird out onto the back stoop of the manor.
The sunlight had already risen into Draco's bedroom but now its rays were cast high above the eastern hills and orchard. The long rows of forgotten trees, once harvested so long ago, looked like sticks reaching upwards to the sun.
The apple trees, once pregnant with fruit, were barren and wrought with weeds.
Even the expansive grass was pitted with brown patches.
Draco turned from the forgotten land and looked at the bird twisting in his grip.
"Demon thing," He murmured as he was finally able to pry the parchment off, gaining a long scratch down his arm in the process.
Headwig hopped around the porch.
Draco's fingers ran over the letter delicately and he moved, dreamlike, over to the steps trailing down to the dead gardens. There he sat, leaning against a wooden post that held the lattice above.
After his mother's outburst and unpleasant news about not only his relationship with Hermione being divulged but also about the Dark Lord's wish that Draco would 'redeem himself'- Malfoy wasn't so sure he wanted to open the letter.
With the way this day was going…
Eyes barred shut against the sun; Draco looked out over the land once more.
It hadn't always been like this. Perhaps not in his life time, but the land had not always been so dead.
The only thing left alive was the forest that began on the edge of the Malfoy property, expanding every year like desert.
The boy ran a hand through his hair and closed his eyes, slipping off the blue ribbon and unfurling the paper.
Slowly, his eyes fluttered open.
Draco,
I hope your summer is going well and you're getting enough rest.
Hah, not likely. Malfoy thought bitterly.
That your summer homework is being completed!
Draco laughed.
But, the reason I owled you… Things have gotten very difficult…
Draco sat up a bit straighter, turning his hands so the morning light didn't filter so brightly onto the words.
I know I made you promise to write to me this summer, but I don't think you'll be able to. I'm going away for a while and won't get any letters you send if you deliver them to my house. I know it's strange… but I just can't tell you, it's for my safety as much as it's for yours. Don't worry, R and H will be there.
We'll be stopping into The Leaky Cauldron a few days before the start of term. I would love to see you there.
I'm sorry, Draco. I wish none of this were happening…
I love you…
-Yours
Draco had to read it over three times.
R and H.
Must be Harry and Ron, undoubtedly.
Draco felt his heart sink a fraction, a cold feeling prickle on the tips of his fingers.
Hermione had to be doing something for Dumbledore.
All summer?
"Wait…" Draco put down the letter and snapped his fingers, a stout little house elf apparating directly in front of him. "Quill," He said simply and the creature disappeared then reappeared directly in front of him. "Now shoo."
As the feather was dropped into Malfoy's hand, he began slinked towards the Owl again, a delicate sounding 'pop' issuing from behind him as the house elf vanished.
If it was Potter's bird, then it had to go back to Potter.
Balancing the parchment on his knee, Draco scribbled out a few word, the dry ink in the tip of the quill scratching out blurrily.
I'll be there.
"Come here bird."
Hedwig hooted defiantly.
Draco made a low noise in his throat, his eyes slits, but the owl raised itself high and flapped its wings.
"No wonder you're Potter's bird, you have his attitude you damn little thing… I have a letter you know? Isn't that your job you little-"
Hedwig dived towards Draco and the boy twisted out of the way, the bird snatching at the letter in his hand, ripping it away and soaring up through the slats of the lattice. The parchment was held tightly between its' beak.
Draco watched, seething, nursing the scratches along his knuckles, the blue ribbon clutched within his hands.
Now he had to wait.
Sighing, he turned around to walk back into the manor.
Malfoys hated to wait.
The kitchen door was kicked open and Draco glowered around the room, ignoring the looks the help was giving him.
His bare feet made soft sounds as he walked and back into the dining area, his robe tied round his middle brushing the stained cabinets as he passed.
His mother still sat there at the table, her upturned nose turned visible over the coffee cup she was sipping out of.
Draco took one look and wanted to hit her.
Instead, he grabbed some toast and tore away from the table, walking silently past the magically heated food.
As he passed, his mother grabbed his arm. Draco glared down at Narsissa. She said nothing but pressed a crinkled piece of parchment into his free hand, stained black and curled at the edges.
Draco glared and wrenched his hand away, his good mood completely evaporated.
As he made his way past the entrance hall, down to the spiral steps that led to his father's library, he heard his mother's tea cup set hard against the wooden table.
A terrible smile of satisfaction, twisted with disused malice, parted Draco's lips, and he disappeared down into the dungeon under the stone building.
The lower he traveled, the colder it became, the earth pressing down on the dank hallway, lamplight from bracketed candles spilled inky gold along Draco's path, illuminating him in enthrall light, his hair like a hallo.
The room, circular, the wall a continuous book shelf, had no door. It didn't need one. The door Draco had entered was concealed by magic. Only a Malfoy could enter it.
It was by this magic that, as Draco stepped over the threshold, magical light bloomed into existence, a fire erupting in a sunken hearth in the middle of the floor, warming the dead cold even in summer time.
Leaning down into an oversized armchair, Draco brought his legs up to a crossed position, the letter he held still crushed within his pale hands.
A harsh noise, somewhere between a laugh and a cough, escaped Draco's lips as he turned the letter over and saw his father's crest burned into the parchment.
Shakily, reserved, he split the letter open.
My son,
What a wonderful mood his father must have been in when writing this…
Let it be perfectly clear that I have every idea what you are up to during your Hogwarts days. I have eyes, Draco. I have ears, Draco. Do not forget that.
As much as I am ashamed of your behavior this previous year- with that mudblood- the Dark Lord has presented you with a task which he believes will repair your damaged position within our hierarchy. I believe you should be disowned, Draco, for your actions are damning, but the Lord has other plans for you.
If you don't accept what the Dark Lord wishes I will see to it that, even if I am behind bars- if for very long- you will suffer.
You and your little mudblood.
Owl McNair when you have reached your decision and your task will be given to you.
-Lucius Malfoy
The letter popped and Draco dropped it in surprise.
There, on the floor, it curled and burned, flaming into ash upon the stone floor.
Draco stared at the spot for a few long moments, curled up upon the armchair.
You will suffer… you and your little mudblood.
For the first time in a long while, Draco fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
A/n- sorry about the lateness. Oh and Hermione is going to Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Draco can't owl her because it is unplotable.
By the way, did you know that you can go onto my profile here at ff dt net to see chapter updates and news about the story? It's under the 'news' and 'status' sections'! Just thought I'd tell ya!