~ The Great Hall ~
After everyone who wanted to greet Harry had, they all sat down at the Slytherin table. Draco sat opposite Harry and on either side of them sat Sirius, Remus, Ron, Hermione, Albus, Minerva, Neville, Lavender, Dean and Ginny (Fred and George were busy running the Hogsmeade branch of their store).
"Where should I start?" Harry asked, sounding nervous.
"At the beginning," snapped Draco. A few people looked surprised that he hadn't welcomed Harry back with open arms, but most of them knew how hard the last two years had been on him.
"How about you start with the night you left Hogwarts?" Hermione suggested, as she slipped her hand into Draco's. Draco smiled his gratitude to her.
Harry stared into Draco's eyes for a moment before speaking. "Hermione, you say that like I had a choice in the matter. I didn't. I would never have left voluntarily. I thought you, Draco, would have known that."
"I didn't know what to think," Draco replied quietly. "You had been acting so strangely that I felt like I didn't know you anymore."
Harry grimaced. "I know, but there is a reason for that too. Anyway, that night I couldn't sleep and I decided to do a little flying. It usually helps me to clear my head. So I headed down to the Quidditch pitch but before I could even take off, I was put in a body bind."
Harry laughed bitterly. "Such a simple spell was all it took to take down the Boy Who Lived. I was then transported by portkey. I had no idea where I was and when the body bind wore off, I discovered I was in a dungeon, locked in a cell."
"I told you he was in trouble!" Ron said angrily. "But would anybody listen to me? Oh, no."
Harry glanced gratefully at Ron before continuing his story. "It was a few days before I saw anyone. A house elf would deliver some food every now and again and on the third or fourth day, I saw her."
"Who?" Sirius asked.
"Eve Williams," Harry replied simply, watching Draco closely.
Draco furrowed his brow as he thought hard. Eve Williams. That name rang a bell somewhere deep inside but he wasn't sure if he could place it.
Hermione gasped suddenly. "You don't mean that student who was transferred at the same time that Snape was fired, do you?"
Harry nodded grimly. "Snape was there too, but I didn't see him at first. I discovered much later, actually just yesterday, that I was being held at Snape Manor."
"Let me get this straight," Draco said, feeling more than a little confused. "Snape and that slut Eve Williams kidnapped you and held you captive for two years?"
"That's right," Harry said, gazing intently at his estranged husband.
"Why on earth would they do that?" Draco wondered.
"Are you saying I'm lying?" Harry said angrily.
Draco glared at him. "No. I'm merely wondering why those two would do something like that. What did they hope to achieve?"
"Snape was under imperius. Eve loved to taunt me with that fact," Harry said. "She had him make all sorts of potions for her, including a love potion."
There were gasps all around at this announcement.
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked, annoyed that Harry didn't seem to be able to come to the point. Either that or he was too angry and upset to see it.
"You remember what she was like when she was at school here, don't you?" Harry asked him. "She wanted me. She wanted me to fall in love with her and if she couldn't force me or seduce me into it, then she would resort to a potion. But I escaped before she could administer it."
"Thank god," Draco muttered under his breath. He glanced away as Harry looked sharply at him. Harry hadn't heard him, had he? Draco felt vulnerable enough right now, without Harry knowing just how hard this was for him.
"So what happened?" Hermione asked. "Did she keep you locked up for two years?"
"Yes," Harry replied wearily. "I didn't realise it was so long. It became difficult to tell what day it was, let alone what week or month. She would come and try various things in an effort to make me love her but nothing worked. She became increasingly frustrated, which eventually worked in my favour."
"What do you mean?" Ron asked, sounding fascinated by the story.
"Yesterday, she was wearing a tight skirt and high heels in an effort to entice me, not that I noticed. But anyway, it meant that I was able to get away from her before she was able to come after me with her wand. I was unarmed, you see. She snapped my wand not long after she kidnapped me. I made it out of the house, after a while, it's like a maze in those dungeons. When I got out of the house, I was able to make it to a small village. It was full of muggles, but they were very kind and helped me get to London."
Draco shifted slightly. Daniel was asleep in his arms and two year olds get heavy after a while.
"Please let me hold him," Harry begged. He'd obviously noticed how uncomfortable Draco had become. "It's been two years since I last saw him."
Draco sighed. He hated this so much. Why did that bitch have to tear his family apart? When I get my hands on her, he thought, rage coursing through him.
"He's my son, too," Harry said plaintively.
"You didn't seem that interested in him when you were here," Draco countered. So maybe Harry hadn't left voluntarily, but that still didn't change his behaviour in the months leading up to the kidnapping.
"As I said, there is a reason for that," Harry replied, pleadingly.
Draco stared at Harry challengingly. He says there's a reason for his behaviour, then let's hear it. "Tell me."
"As I said, Snape made a lot of potions for Eve to use on me. One of them, I found out later, she'd been somehow getting to me for months before they kidnapped me. It dulls the senses and your emotions," Harry said.
"A potion?" Draco said sceptically.
Harry sighed. "Yes. A potion. It basically turned me into a living zombie. I had no feelings, no emotions. Sometimes, if an event was significant enough, the emotion broke through. Like when I saw Daniel for the first time. But other than that, I felt nothing. Even my love for you faded and I'm so sorry about that, Drac."
Draco glanced away, unable to look at the desperate pleading in Harry's eyes. Everything Harry was saying backed up what he had written in his journal.
"How did she get the potion to you, here at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know," Harry replied helplessly. "I think it could have been a house elf."
"Are you still under its influence?" Draco asked guardedly. He was trying to convince himself that he would not be hurt by whatever answer Harry gave.
"No," Harry replied softly. "When she realised that it was working against her, she stopped administering it. If I couldn't feel anything, I couldn't feel anything for her."
Did Harry still feel nothing for him? Had his feelings for Draco been wiped out by the potion? Draco had so many questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't want an audience when he did.
"And where are Severus and Miss Williams now?" Dumbledore asked.
"I don't know. Possibly still at Snape Manor," Harry replied.
"I shall inform the Aurors now. Hopefully they will be able to apprehend her and free Severus from her influence," Dumbledore said, rising from his seat. "If you could come with me, Harry. Undoubtedly the Aurors will have some questions for you."
Draco watched impassively as Harry glanced at him desperately before nodding and following Dumbledore to the door. Dumbledore turned after Harry had left the room and smiled sadly at Draco who was thankful that Dumbledore had intervened. He needed a chance to process everything that had happened here this evening.
"The students will be in soon, dinner is about to start," Hermione said. "Let's go back to your room, Draco and we can get Dobby to bring us some food."
Draco nodded and they left the room.
TBC
A.N. Oh, and for those people speculating on a sinister role played by the duck, sorry, I just thought it was cute, that's why I kept mentioning it every few chapters. The duck was not taking pictures of Draco and Daniel, Eve must have paid some guy to do that for her, or perhaps she ordered Snape to do it. Can't you just see Snape sneaking around behind trees in a park, snapping pictures of D and D!!! lol