Author's Notes: A short chapter, I'm afraid, but it ended where I wanted it
to, so...again, I'm pleading here. Don't kill me?
Disclaimer: See part one.
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I spoke to no-one for an entire day, still trying to process exactly what I had seen, and exactly what Claw had told me. And everyone left me alone - I assumed that Claw had told them too, or they wouldn't have. I stayed in my cell except when I had to leave - it was strange that now, after only a few months, this small space had become my home, my safe place in a huge safe place.
A place that was being threatened from without by the resistance, and threatened from within by the madness of us all.
Okay, so we weren't all mad. Just some of us. Like me, and possibly Claw, and definitely Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini. Yes. Definitely those two.
It was about half an hour before curfew that day when Harry finally got around to coming to see me. He had obviously been told something by Claw, but little enough that he still looked a little puzzled when he stood at the door of my cell and asked to come in.
He always did that - asked to come in. He never, ever entered another's cell without asking permission. Nobody else every did that - we all just went into our friends' cells without thinking about it, unless they weren't there. That was taboo. But no-one ever *asked* to enter a cell.
Remnants of the innocent Gryffindor in him, I supposed.
"What do you want?" I asked curtly. I really didn't want to talk to Harry, not after -
"Claw suggested that we need to talk," Harry told me, one eyebrow raised in that annoying way he always had of looking uninterested in whatever was going on - with me, usually. "I didn't know what he was on about. Why do we need to talk, Draco?"
"We don't," I muttered. "Get out, Potter."
He couldn't have looked more surprised if I'd up and sprouted wings. I'd never called him that after that first night; I'd had too much...respect for him, I suppose, and besides, it just wasn't a good idea. But now...now there was no-one else here, and I could care less whether he got angry at me or not.
I wondered how long they'd been doing what I saw last night.
Harry's eyes narrowed a fraction. "You saw."
"Yes." I didn't care if he knew - why should I care? Realistically speaking there was very little he could actually do to me in here. He could beat me up, true, although it would be quite hard to do that magically and not draw the attention of the guards, and I was fairly sure that I was stronger than him physically. Well. There was about a fifty- fifty chance that I was stronger than him, anyway. Not great odds, but I was willing to bet that he wouldn't like them either.
If it came to that, which I knew it wouldn't. Harry very rarely resorted to physical violence.
Harry was watching me carefully now. I was fairly sure that he didn't know why what I'd seen was disconcerting me so much - *I* wasn't even too sure on that point. Well, I knew a little, of course. But surely *he* couldn't know.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" he anted to know, breaking the silence. Oh. So that was what he was worrying about. I wondered whether it was his reputation he was concerned about or Zabini's safety. I hardly cared. I didn't want to share this with anyone - and there were scarce few who would believe me.
"No," I said, suddenly feeling very tired. "No, I'm not going to tell anyone."
And almost relieved expression flitted into his eyes for a moment before they became shielded again. To be quite truthful, I couldn't muster up enough energy to care whether he was relieved or angry.
"Good," he said quietly. "Thank you."
He was thanking me for keeping quiet. Thanking me for tightening the damn noose around his neck. What's that saying?
Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself.
Maybe that's what Voldemort's up to with him. Maybe that's why Harry's in here, not dead.
But then again, if that's what Voldemort's doing, it's not working fantastically well - Harry hadn't used magic in several days, and he still had the chains on. Harry was cleverer than Voldemort gave him credit for - cleverer than most people gave him credit for, I imagine.
"Draco? Are you alright?" He looked concerned now, concerned at my silence, my abruptness. Good. He ought to be.
"I'm fine," I replied evenly. For once I was grateful to my father for teaching me how to lie. "Just tired, that's all." I waited a beat. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to sleep. Besides, curfew's in fifteen minutes. You wouldn't want to be caught out of bed."
He left, with an inscrutable glance at me.
God, I wished we were given alcohol. I really wanted to get drunk.
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To be continued.
Replies to reviews:
T.K. Yuy - thanks!
chrissseee667 - was this quick enough for you? And sorry for the cliffie. *Grins evilly* was this chapter a satisfactory follow-up?
Baby Ty Ty - Cruel? Me? Nah. Thanks for your comments - snogging will come, I promise, just.not now. Soon. Maybe. And I've actually done very few cliffhangers. Two, maybe.
Derelictus - it's a suggestion of nothing. As per my usual. Nothing is unless I've stated it in full, remember? And, uh, please don't have heart attacks because of my story. Please.
Blanche - this soon enough for you?
Piri Lupin-Snape - I'm not cruel, I swear! Maybe a little evil, but not cruel! And I don't know if what happened is what you were thinking...neither do you yet! Well, enquiring minds may have to know, but not yet!
The Millennium One - thanks, and it's supposed to be confusing.
Kellie, hey, mandraco, freaking out - thanks!
_-_:-|## - Please don't kill me! Please! Birdie is one of the prisoners in Talsgate.
EnigmaDesdemona7 - have I ever said that Harry and Zabini have a thing? Have I?
Jubilee - don't rip your hair out, dear, it'll hurt. Blaise Zabini is mentioned in the first book at the Sorting - in the English copy that's page 91, but I don't know about in the American copy.
silentkaos - ah, what happened. A question that many have asked...in vain.
Leon - of course I'm a sadist, I write fanfiction, don't I? Thanks for your comments.
Disclaimer: See part one.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
I spoke to no-one for an entire day, still trying to process exactly what I had seen, and exactly what Claw had told me. And everyone left me alone - I assumed that Claw had told them too, or they wouldn't have. I stayed in my cell except when I had to leave - it was strange that now, after only a few months, this small space had become my home, my safe place in a huge safe place.
A place that was being threatened from without by the resistance, and threatened from within by the madness of us all.
Okay, so we weren't all mad. Just some of us. Like me, and possibly Claw, and definitely Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini. Yes. Definitely those two.
It was about half an hour before curfew that day when Harry finally got around to coming to see me. He had obviously been told something by Claw, but little enough that he still looked a little puzzled when he stood at the door of my cell and asked to come in.
He always did that - asked to come in. He never, ever entered another's cell without asking permission. Nobody else every did that - we all just went into our friends' cells without thinking about it, unless they weren't there. That was taboo. But no-one ever *asked* to enter a cell.
Remnants of the innocent Gryffindor in him, I supposed.
"What do you want?" I asked curtly. I really didn't want to talk to Harry, not after -
"Claw suggested that we need to talk," Harry told me, one eyebrow raised in that annoying way he always had of looking uninterested in whatever was going on - with me, usually. "I didn't know what he was on about. Why do we need to talk, Draco?"
"We don't," I muttered. "Get out, Potter."
He couldn't have looked more surprised if I'd up and sprouted wings. I'd never called him that after that first night; I'd had too much...respect for him, I suppose, and besides, it just wasn't a good idea. But now...now there was no-one else here, and I could care less whether he got angry at me or not.
I wondered how long they'd been doing what I saw last night.
Harry's eyes narrowed a fraction. "You saw."
"Yes." I didn't care if he knew - why should I care? Realistically speaking there was very little he could actually do to me in here. He could beat me up, true, although it would be quite hard to do that magically and not draw the attention of the guards, and I was fairly sure that I was stronger than him physically. Well. There was about a fifty- fifty chance that I was stronger than him, anyway. Not great odds, but I was willing to bet that he wouldn't like them either.
If it came to that, which I knew it wouldn't. Harry very rarely resorted to physical violence.
Harry was watching me carefully now. I was fairly sure that he didn't know why what I'd seen was disconcerting me so much - *I* wasn't even too sure on that point. Well, I knew a little, of course. But surely *he* couldn't know.
"Are you going to tell anyone?" he anted to know, breaking the silence. Oh. So that was what he was worrying about. I wondered whether it was his reputation he was concerned about or Zabini's safety. I hardly cared. I didn't want to share this with anyone - and there were scarce few who would believe me.
"No," I said, suddenly feeling very tired. "No, I'm not going to tell anyone."
And almost relieved expression flitted into his eyes for a moment before they became shielded again. To be quite truthful, I couldn't muster up enough energy to care whether he was relieved or angry.
"Good," he said quietly. "Thank you."
He was thanking me for keeping quiet. Thanking me for tightening the damn noose around his neck. What's that saying?
Give him enough rope and he'll hang himself.
Maybe that's what Voldemort's up to with him. Maybe that's why Harry's in here, not dead.
But then again, if that's what Voldemort's doing, it's not working fantastically well - Harry hadn't used magic in several days, and he still had the chains on. Harry was cleverer than Voldemort gave him credit for - cleverer than most people gave him credit for, I imagine.
"Draco? Are you alright?" He looked concerned now, concerned at my silence, my abruptness. Good. He ought to be.
"I'm fine," I replied evenly. For once I was grateful to my father for teaching me how to lie. "Just tired, that's all." I waited a beat. "If you don't mind, I think I'm going to sleep. Besides, curfew's in fifteen minutes. You wouldn't want to be caught out of bed."
He left, with an inscrutable glance at me.
God, I wished we were given alcohol. I really wanted to get drunk.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
To be continued.
Replies to reviews:
T.K. Yuy - thanks!
chrissseee667 - was this quick enough for you? And sorry for the cliffie. *Grins evilly* was this chapter a satisfactory follow-up?
Baby Ty Ty - Cruel? Me? Nah. Thanks for your comments - snogging will come, I promise, just.not now. Soon. Maybe. And I've actually done very few cliffhangers. Two, maybe.
Derelictus - it's a suggestion of nothing. As per my usual. Nothing is unless I've stated it in full, remember? And, uh, please don't have heart attacks because of my story. Please.
Blanche - this soon enough for you?
Piri Lupin-Snape - I'm not cruel, I swear! Maybe a little evil, but not cruel! And I don't know if what happened is what you were thinking...neither do you yet! Well, enquiring minds may have to know, but not yet!
The Millennium One - thanks, and it's supposed to be confusing.
Kellie, hey, mandraco, freaking out - thanks!
_-_:-|## - Please don't kill me! Please! Birdie is one of the prisoners in Talsgate.
EnigmaDesdemona7 - have I ever said that Harry and Zabini have a thing? Have I?
Jubilee - don't rip your hair out, dear, it'll hurt. Blaise Zabini is mentioned in the first book at the Sorting - in the English copy that's page 91, but I don't know about in the American copy.
silentkaos - ah, what happened. A question that many have asked...in vain.
Leon - of course I'm a sadist, I write fanfiction, don't I? Thanks for your comments.