He was standing in the Room of Requirements. A gray mouse sat in a cage in front of him. He sighed deeply. He entered here wishing for a place where he could test the spells from "his" book. Again, there was nothing in the room except a low table and a few cages with mice.
The nearest mouse stared at him in alarm as he pulled out his wand. He just sighed. It will be monstrous. He remembered Moody in the DADA class. He showed them the unforgivable on spiders. Harry didn't know if it would be easier for him to measure with a spider or a mouse.
"Vastomente," he whispered, aiming at the mouse's head. An almost invisible flame, like water or glass, shot out from his wand. The mouse didn't move for a moment - and then it squealed and toss around the cage.
He stared at it for a moment, horrified. Then he rushed to the door, putting his ear to the keyhole. Nothing ... No steps, no one coming. But if that rodent still screams like that ...! He took a deep breath and aimed it at the animal.
"Avada Kedavra." Green lightning shot out fiercely this time from his wand. There was silence.
The wand slipped from his fingers. It bounced off the floor several times, red sparks shot out. But he paid no attention to it. He stood paralyzed, staring at the tiny, motionless body.
Jesus.
He didn't think about it, he didn't want to kill her ! He didn't really think, it just happened ... He didn't want it, he didn't know how it could ... Completely unconsciously ... He just wanted to silence her ... Jesus ... From a thousand spells, from the simplest silencio starting - he had to choose exactly this ...
The man walked over to the cage. He put his hand inside it and gently pulled out the rodent. His mouth was wide open, his eyes turned white upwards. He dropped it in disgust into the dry sawdust that lined the cage.
He did it instinctively. He was sure. He hadn't even thought about it. He didn't want to ... He moved away from the cages, huddled in front of the door. He was scared. He was afraid of himself. What if it wasn't a mouse but a human? Or then, so thoughtlessly ... with no involvement ... at least Voldemort enjoys it. And he can't do anything. He just did it.
His throat was tight. He didn't ... No, it couldn't be ... He couldn't ... But she was dead anyway. Dead dead dead! Dead, dead, dead ... A flash of green light and a click! There isn't! He laughed. Was he already a monster or not yet? Was he about to run to Saint Mungo? Let him lock him up, bind him, break his wand ...
He sprang to his feet. He didn't think about it - he had no intention of chanting the spell. So ... Maybe ... Someone thought about it for him? Occlumency lessons with Snape - here he gritted his teeth - were a thing of the past. Since then, he never once cleared his mind, did not focus on shutting it off from enemies. And now his "teacher" was on Voldemort's side. Anyway, Voldemort was also an excellent leglimony ...
Could it be ... And if so - would it hurt a person next time? Ron? Hermione? Next time when he doesn't like how they kiss or ...
He hid his face in his hands. He heard the thin wires of the dead mouse's cage bend. He wanted to destroy it so that no one would ever know ... He heard the ball of metal roll to the floor with a soft clang. Sawdust scattered on the floor.
He picked up his wand and tucked it into the sleeve of his robe. He did not look at the rest of the rodents. Let them be gone, let them disappear… He turned to the door and pressed the handle as he stepped out into the corridor.
- We play with mice, huh?
His blood was frozen in his veins.
~ O-O ~
He was looking into Draco Malfoy's eyes. The Slytherin was standing right next to the door, leaning against the wall. Their faces were now only inches apart. Harry could feel the heat of his body and the fresh smell of his breath. He felt like he was getting hot - but he didn't know if it was nerves or anger or ...
- Malfoy. - He hissed.
- Nice that you still remember my name. Indeed, this was not what I expected of you. The blonde smirked and pushed him back forcefully inside the Room of Requirement. He went inside himself, closing the door behind him.
- What do you want? Harry growled. He searched the traitor's face and movements for any hint as to his intentions. But the Slytherin nonchalantly leaned against the door again, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. A few platinum strands fell over his face.
- You'd be surprised. He glanced at the messy lump of metal that had once been a cage. Unexpectedly quickly a wand appeared in his hand. - Accio!
The remains of the cage glided smoothly into his outstretched hand. He completely ignored the Gryffindor's wand aimed at him.
- Interesting, I must admit. He peered through the bent bars at the dead mouse. "Does it turn you on, Potter?" He tossed without looking up.
- What?
- Aiming your wand at me when I'm talking to you.
- You are crazy.
- Then we have something in common. - He looked the Gryffindor straight in the eyes, smiling slightly.
- What the fuck are you, Malfoy? Harry still hadn't lowered his wand. The Slytherin in disgust threw the cage at the far corner of the room.
- Why do we need such heavy words? Let's talk. Lower your wand - a little trust will do. He put his wand in his robe pocket. He held his hands out in front of him as if to reassure him he was really hiding nothing.
- But you are crazy. If you think I could trust you after what you've done, then you must be really crazy. Harry hissed furiously. He wanted to pierce Malfoy with his eyes. Meanwhile, the blonde laughed. Loud - his laugh was genuine, but there was something wrong with him. Something that made you think of crying.
- What's wrong with Malfoy? Have you overdosed on something illegal? The Gryffindor smiled crookedly.
"Oh, but where did Gryffindor Golden Boy come from?" No hope of the Wizarding World. His words were dripping with irony. - You know what made me laugh? He chuckled again. - You are so similar now ... You even have a similar voice. And the look - yours and his, practically the same.
"Who the hell are you talking about, Malfoy?"
- Oh, can't you guess?
- Who?! He growled through his teeth. It fed him up with this stupid game.
You know who. The smile slipped from Malfoy's face. There was silence. Only the wand slipped from Harry's fingers again.
~ O-O ~
- Take it back. He growled, clenching his hands into fists. - Take it back.
"But you feel it's true." Malfoy slumped by the door to the floor, his arms wrapped around his knees. He resembled the boy who was crying in the hallway back then. Harry felt that he could stay on his feet soon.
- You're a freak. - He sighed.
- And vice versa. He glanced at the cage with the dead mouse. "Hope you already figured it out. It's time to learn Occlumency." The Dark Lord has grand plans for you. You need to hurry before he makes the next move.
Harry dropped to his knees so he could look Malfoy in the eye. What was he talking about? Cursed Death Eater! Was he just not revealing Voldemort's secrets? Just like that, without emotion, he talked about it ... while Harry was right there. He had his wand closed at hand. He could finish him at any moment. What was it about? Why Malfoy ...
- This is another plan by Voldemort? ...
- Don't say his name ...
- Another trick, right? He sent you to get me to ... Jesus, Malfoy, this is not making any sense at all. He groaned.
"Because you're making up some idiotic Potter theories." Malfoy leaned his head against the door.
"A Death Eater revealing his master's secrets. Who would have thought?" - He bit back smoothly.
- Not my master, not mine
~ O-O ~
He lay in bed staring at the ceiling. He hid the book under the mattress. But now he hadn't even thought to look at her. He thought about everything Malfoy had told him.
It was so unreal. Unbelievable. After all, Malfoy had been sworn in by the Dark Powers since he was a child. Will he back out now? When did his dream come true, when a dark mark flashed on his shoulder - will he quit? Nonsense ... If it were a lie, Malfoy could have done better.
It was too improbable to be true. Or vice versa.
- The Dark Lord tortured my mother. Draco whispered. Harry had to bend down to hear him. The Slytherin's face was expressionless. "Just for making Snape curse." Just for daring to doubt the Dark Lord's decision. And I had to watch it. He even made me cast spells on her - and when I didn't want to, he tortured me too. And then she screamed for me to throw something at her. And I gave up. One Cruciatus, the other ... Then others did too. Everyone harassed her. And when she was almost dead, Severus gave her a boosting potion. And it all started all over again. He covered his face with his hands. There was silence for a long moment, broken only by the murmur of mice in cages. - He did it to her as a punishment. For not killing Dumbledore. I was weak. That I hesitated. My father let me shut up. The only reason is this.
"Potter ... Harry ..." he resumed after another long pause. Harry didn't say anything. - Everyone knew her. More than once she invited them to parties. She raised toasts with each one. And they just like it ... They just ... If you and I are crazy, I don't know what to say about all of them. These aren't people anymore.
Then Draco Malfoy spoke. He talked for a long time - about Voldemort's plans. About Harry's relationship with the Dark Lord, about how he wants to take advantage of it and take over the boy's mind. About Draco's mother now in Saint Mungo, not much different from the Longbottoms. This Bellatrix, her own sister, laughed when Narcissa vomited up blood. About how Draco had stopped going to meetings even though the pain was tearing his shoulder. That she had confessed everything to Minerva McGonagall and allowed him to stay at Hogwarts. He was going to die elsewhere. He hates the Dark Lord. She wants him dead because she has taken everything from him. About how Draco persuaded Slughorn to borrow this book and not another. How he prayed that Harry would start learning to block his mind on his own ... How he followed him, how he feared something would happen.
Harry rolled over, pressing his head against the pillow. Voldemort was a monster. Death Eaters were like animals, furious dogs unleashed. But he did not believe that they would bite themselves. It was so ... Unreal. He saw no ally in Malfoy. It would be crazy to suddenly stand on the same side of the barricade. A real cosmos!
But… Draco couldn't pretend. Then, in the corridor, he was really crying, real tears - and yet he couldn't have known Harry was there. And when he spoke ... His eyes were glassy and his voice was trembling.
But Harry couldn't believe him. I had to check. He had to find out. And there was only one way.
With that in mind, he fell asleep.
~ O-O ~
The next day was Saturday. Exit to Hogsmeade. One teacher went out with each house. They were also to return with him at the appointed time. Harry doubted - standing in the crowd of students on the main street of the town - that it would do anything. If the Death Eaters wanted to attack the students, they would surely not be bothered by someone like Trelawney - here he looked at the witch with disgust. The professor counted them again and then gave them three hours of free time. Three hours, something too!
Harry left Ron and Hermione behind right away - he supposed they hadn't even noticed it, holding hands. Although Harry found their relationship to be at least strange, he chose not to comment on it. At the moment, it was very convenient for him.
In the shadow of an alley, he threw his invisibility cloak over himself and ran towards Hog's Head. He crept through a dingy alley and slipped through the door behind some tall man in a gray cloak. He immediately turned his steps towards the fireplace. The fire burned brightly, too bright for this squalid place, but it didn't bother him. He looked around again - but no one paid even the slightest attention to the fireplace. The bartender was talking to the man in the gray overcoat. The two or three people sitting at the tables were more interested in the glasses and bottles in front of them than anything that was going on around them.
Harry sighed and pulled a handful of Floo powder from his pocket. He was ashamed to admit it, but he got it by asking Dobby. The elf brought him a whole sugar bowl of powder from one professor' office. Harry hoped his venture would not come out.
He poured out into the flames, which turned green, and entered them briskly. He also saw the bartender looking at the fireplace with surprise.
- St. Mungo's Hospital. - he said softly.
~ O-O ~
What remains of Narcissa Malfoy corresponds to the description left by Draco. The woman he remembered as the password, now ... Her golden hair cut short. They knocked out her front teeth. Eyes fixed on one point on the wall. She sat motionless on the page. She was just breathing. The nurse came and gave her the medicine and checked her pulse. When the narcissist Malfoy left, she bought her on the basis stated in the items the nurse had left her to care for. With my hand in my lap and my mouth half open.
Draco just has to talk.
As for the truth about the repair ... Harry almost stumbled as he remembered the moods. He blended into the crowd of Gryffindor. He crouched down and pulled off his cloak, tucking it under his cloak. Autumn wind tugged at his hair as he straightened.
- Okay, let's count it again! Do not move! Tralewney screeched above his head. He looked around - Ron and Hermione were smiling at each other, distracted by reality. The Ravenclaw was already returning to the castle. A group of Slytherins ... Harry swallowed loudly, realized he would clean Draco Malfoy again. They are stuck in him. Those cold, boundlessly sad eyes.
~ O-O ~
They were sitting in the Room of Requirement again. There were no cages here this time. There was a navy blue couch in the center, a table in front of it. On the table a bottle of amber liquid, dangerously resembling rum. Malfoy was in the room first - it was his wish. If there were any doubts left.
Draco stretched on the couch, glancing at the Gryffindor. Potter sat on the edge as if afraid he was chewing his throat. The blonde sighed and unscrewed the bottle, pouring the amber liquid into cut glasses of thick glass. The sweet smell of alcohol wafted in the air.
- You trust me, Now? Do you believe me already? He raised the glass to his mouth, taking a few small sips. After a moment's hesitation, Potter reached for him as well. Draco watched the glasses slide off his nose. He wondered what his eyes looked like without the glasses. In one swift movement, he pulled them off his face.
- Hi! Potter blinked indignantly several times. He had long eyelashes. And beautiful eyes. Avada-colored eyes. Draco had to hold back, lest he purr with pleasure at the sight of it. - Give them back!
- You shouldn't be wearing them. He took another sip from his glass, putting Potter's glasses on his forehead.
- So why?
- Because you can't see your beautiful eyes. - He smiled when he saw Harry blush in his own way and look down. Potter raised the glass of rum to his lips, drinking almost half at once. Draco wondered if it was to cover his embarrassment, or if Potter just couldn't drink. When his beautiful eyes filled with tears, he was ready to bet anything on the latter. He laughed out loud.
- You're crazy.
- The pleasure is all mine.
There was silence. Draco sipped his alcohol took up a sore subject.
- You must have noticed it. And if not, think about it now. You're aggressive. Worse than you've ever been. If your Gryffindor buddies weren't busy licking each other in the corners, they would've noticed too. - He smiled when he saw Potter frowning. - It didn't come by itself. HE does it. It makes things fall apart around you and the glass breaks. He is looking for a way into your mind. But he has not yet found. Maybe he can't distance and awake ... Yet. But eventually he will find a way.
He looked up at Potter. Harry Potter. He remembered him as a skinny little lizard with gigantic eyes and always disheveled hair. The latter has not changed. Except now Potter was almost as tall as he was and clothes no longer hung on him like a tent. He had gained some muscle - although Potter would never be an athlete, and he was still rather bony, but somehow he could look alluring. Perhaps completely. It's tempting.
And he had beautiful eyes. Shiny, the color of avada ... He could repeat it endlessly, the color of the avada, the color of the avada ... He sighed sincerely. He liked this new Potter. But he had never imagined that he would hit him on in such gruesome circumstances. It was sick.
- I believe you, Malfoy.
There was silence again. Because what was he supposed to tell him? That he is happy? That is fun? So what if he has that shit tattoo on his arm, that they play for the same team now? Nonsense. His life is one big nonsense.
Although not. Now it has one beautiful sense, one goal. Probably the same as the target of the beautiful-eyed, sitting next to it. Revenge. In this garbage. Just revenge. For all.
Draco Malfoy set the empty glass down. Go to hell. He would love someone to explain to him how it works.
- What? He looked at the Gryffindor. Only then did he realize he had said the last sentence aloud.
- Everything. Life. Some stupid destiny, fate ... 'Potter looked at him with pity, so he shut up. Suddenly, something struck him. - And you know what...
- Mmm? Potter muttered, raising his glass to his lips at the same time. Draco watched contentedly as he drank, then as his pink tongue collected a few tiny drops of alcohol from his lips. He was grateful that he had taken those damn glasses from him, and Harry couldn't see his expression. - Come on?
- You can call me by my name. Draco.
- Would you like to? Harry Potter, the Gryffindor Golden Child, snorted and drank the rest of the rum from his glass.