Chapter 2
Two pops sounded in the living room as the house's current occupants Apparated in. Malfoy was now in a very bad mood. "Quit trying to run off!"
Harry was in a worse mood. He said something to Malfoy he had felt a million times, but had never said out loud. "I HATE YOU!!!"
"I hate you too!" Malfoy yelled back, but there was something wrong. Some instinct told him Malfoy didn't mean it. Of course he means it! We hate each other! Harry tried to tell himself, to no avail. He looked into Malfoy's grey eyes. There was anger there, and-pain. The anger died away.
Draco stared. Potter's expression was changing swiftly, from its previous stance of fury to first shock. And then he smiled. He stepped towards Draco.
Potter-Harry, some part of Draco's mind corrected him, reached out his arm. But he couldn't do it…
This is Harry Potter! This is my enemy, my rival, and the person I've
hated for eighteen years, and I'm trying to be friends with him?
And then abruptly Harry cried out and pulled away, and his hands flew to his forehead. Draco quickly figured out what was going on. "Your scar?"
Harry nodded. "There might be Death Eaters about." He whipped out his wand.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry's wand flew out of his hand.
A figure in the shadows caught it. "Stupefy!" Harry fell. Draco reached for his wand. "Stupefy!" the figure yelled again, and Draco was out as well.
Draco awoke first. He and Harry were chained in what looked like a room from a grand house, but the room had obviously not been looked after. A quick twisting around of his body proved their captors had indeed remembered to remove his wand.
If he hadn't been chained, he would've slapped himself. How had he allowed them to be captured so easily?
Harry was stirring. Harry glared at him angrily. "Protection, huh? And I was able to fend off the Death Eaters when you weren't there!"
"In my experience," said Draco, "Death Eaters usually capture or kill on the second attack."
"Oh I don't know about that! I don't think Voldemort-"
"Ah, glad to see you're avake!" Analia Fattera entered. She was wearing a black travelling cloak with a pattern sewn into the rim, which Draco recognized as marking her as a Death Eater. "This mission is going perfectly. You're father vill be very pleased to see you, Draco Malfoy."
"He's still alive?" Draco kept his tone cold.
"Vhy yes! He contacted your mother, intending for her and you to join him in Albania. But you never came."
"My mother was wiser then him," said Draco, his voice still cold. "She cut all ties to our previous life."
"I guessed that. A mere Unspeakable? Not even a figure of authority in the Department."
"Less then 15 percent of Unspeakables get so high a designation." Draco corrected her. "If not for my family history, I would have got higher."
"It hasn't been so easy for me to get this high. I've had to use every ability I have. Unlike my father, who was born into it! I could've been born into it, but my mother threw that away, and I've done well anyway!"
He still thought the best part of it was the smile Harry gave him, and the words, "You have changed!"
"Very noble sentiments, boy. But your father isn't too pleased vith you."
Draco kept himself calm. 'What do you intend to do with us?"
"Take you to Albania of course. By the time ve're done vith you, all you'll vant is a quick death."
There was the sound of voices outside. "And I do believe its time to go. Stupefy!"
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Once again Draco awoke first. He first noticed they were not chained. He checked both himself and Harry, just to confirm they'd remembered to remove the wands. This awoke Harry.
"This is a fine fix," Harry muttered and pulled himself up. Draco ignored him. A quick inspection told him all he needed to know. "Yes, it certainly is. We're in a Death Eater dungeon in Albania. It's impossible to break out of."
"How d'you know?" asked Harry.
"One Unspeakable," answered Draco. "Was thrown in here and lived to tell about it. He managed to escape after they pulled him out. He was an Omega, which is the highest designation in the Department of Mysteries. I don't think anyone lower can get out of this alive."
The meaning of his words sunk in. "We're dead." said Harry. He said it very dully. It wasn't the first time either of them had faced death.
"Yes I think we are," agreed Draco. They lapsed into silence. There wasn't much more to say.
Or maybe there was. "Penny for your thoughts," commented Harry
"What?"
"It's a Muggle expression. Means, 'what are you thinking'?"
"Then why didn't you just ask me what I was thinking?" grumbled Draco. Harry shrugged.
"What are you thinking anyway, Harry?"
Harry looked a bit surprised at the use of his given name, but answered, "Dumbledore told me once that death is the next great adventure. I know you never thought much of him-"
"Well, he did accomplish a few things," admitted Draco. "Defeating Grindelwald, researching dragon blood. And Lord Voldemort feared him. You have to respect him for that."
"Indeed." Harry paused. "It's odd, isn't it? When you know you're going to die, this odd calm comes along. It won't matter how painful my death is once it's over. And no matter how many times you face death, you always feel the same about it."
"You've had some luck," noted Draco. "Lived to-what, 28?"
"27. I would have had my 28th birthday in three months."
"Still pretty good. And I'm 27. With an Omicron designation." Silence, then, "What were you arguing with the Davies's about the other day?"
Harry chuckled. "They compared our fights to the kind Ron and Hermione used to have. Did you know they're married now?"
"No, but I'm not surprised." Without thinking he continued, "He always followed that Mudblood about with stars in his eyes."
Maybe it was their impending doom, but Harry responded with nothing more then, "Don't insult Hermione, please." Then, "Mal-err-Draco, there's something I don't understand."
"Fire away."
"I know why you were prejudiced about Hermione. You didn't like Muggle-borns. But you were never half as insulting to any other non-Slytherin, not even Hermione or me, as you were to Ron. Is there more reason to that than I know?"
"You don't know ten percent of it, Harry," said Draco simply.
"So, some sort of family grudge?"
"Yes; a very, very old one. The Weasleys once did my family a great wrong, though to this day they insist we did them the wrong."
"What was this wrong?"
Draco thought. "You know, I really don't know. I do know, however, that Arthur Weasley and my father were also enemies, as were their parents. I don't know beyond that."
"I wonder how'd he'd react if he knew what happened," mused Harry. "If he knew his old best friend nearly made friends with his worst enemy."
There was an uncomfortable silence following this. Then Draco started, "Look, I didn't mean to try that, but I thought it was worth a try, to be friends, I mean we're adults now and well…."
"Yeah?" said Harry.
"…It can get very lonely being an Unspeakable, you can't really talk to anyone about the stuff your doing. Plus no one really wants to know me."
"I'm sure that's not true, Draco. I mean, haven't you got a wife or girlfriend?"
"No, Pansy left me. And there's been no one else. What about you and that Ravenclaw girl? Cho Chang?"
"That was young love," answered Harry. "It ended badly anyway, not my fault but looking at it now, I should of seen it all along. I do miss her though, sometimes."
"Honestly?"
"Honestly. Although I shouldn't miss her because-" he suddenly drifted off, embarrassed.
"Why? What happened?" Draco demanded.
Harry looked down. "She had an affair with that Lee Jordan. She said it meant nothing to her but I wanted out and she said maybe it was for the best. I couldn't handle it. I think she married him in the end." Harry finished soberly.
Draco's jaw dropped. "Lee Jordan? Wasn't he your friend? But-"
"Friend?" Harry's voice was filled with bitterness. "For a mate, he had surprisingly little faithfulness! I underestimated him-he seemed a great geezer! What gets to me the most is how it went on for so long and I never noticed. And that she always told me that I was hers and we would be forever and ever, till we died.
"We were going to get married, have loads of children, and make the family I never had, Draco. I couldn't forgive her- it hurt too much. I could never trust her again so I said goodbye. Lee was always so funny and I think he even liked Hermione but I had no idea it was Cho he had wanted all along." Finished Harry.
"Bastard!" Harry let out but felt better for it.
Tentatively, Draco reached out his hand and said happily. "Harry, we'll get out of this and we can find new women to fill our lives with, don't worry about the past. We are both different people and I hope we can be friends."
Harry's voice when he replied was very hopeful. "Do you mean that, or are just taking the piss, we could die you know!"
"I'm not lying to you, Harry. We could be a good team, and I want to be a proper wizard. With friends, you know everything. Harry believe me, I know I was a complete arse at school but I've changed, the things with Dad taught me that I have to be!"
"Ok I believe you. But how the hell are we going to get out of here?!"