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Tangled Relations

Chapter 17 - Back at Voldy's manor

A couple of days before the students came back saw Harry and his uncle returning to the school. Severus had a house elf help Harry take his presents up to his tower. After eating half of the candy and setting up some of the tricks he got from the twins around the common room, Harry decided to get some sleep.

As he began drifting off to sleep the familiar threads of light could be seen connecting himself to Voldemort. Harry decided that he may as well see what has the Dark Lord so upset, so he held on to the connection as he fell asleep.

~~ Harry opened his eye to find himself in the same room that he was in the last time he had a vision. Only this time he could hear Voldemort ranting and raving about something.

"Where is he? You were supposed to bring your heir to be initiated." Harry could make out a man cowering on the floor in front of him.

"I'm sorry my lord. His mother wouldn't let him come. She hid him from me."

Voldemort sneered at the man, "So not only do you not have your heir to present me, your telling me that you couldn't stand up to that half-blood wife of yours Smith?"

"Sir, I'll have him next time. I promise." Said the shaking man.

"If you are so week, I don't need you in my service. You have one hour to bring him here or you will die. Crucio"

Harry let out a scream as he felt the burning pain of the curse radiate throughout his body. After a few moments it stopped, leaving Harry gasping to catch his breath.

"Now get out of my sight." He know turned to a death eater beside him and stated

"Lucius Malfoy" while pressing the man's dark mark.

Several minutes later Harry saw Lucius walk into the manor with Draco walking behind him.

"Ah, Lucius, you bring your heir for me. Come here Draco. This mark will give you more power than you could ever dream of." He motioned for Draco to come to him but Draco stood still for a moment before shaking his head no.

"What? Lucius, what is wrong with your son?"

"I don't know my lord. DRACO! Go meet your destiny. Get your mark."

Draco just shook his head again. "I won't. I don't want to be his slave."

Voldemort laughed a cruel high-pitched laugh, which sent chills down Harry's spine. "You won't? Do you know what happens to those who deny me? Crucio."

Harry watched in horror as Draco screamed out loud. Harry felt as though he would die if the curse didn't stop soon. He felt a sharp pain as his flailing arm smacked against the bedpost just before the curse was released.

"Now what do you say boy?"

"No."

"Crucio"

More pain. Harry could have sworn his arms and legs were in flames. And being able to see Draco and the blood coming out of his mouth where he had bit his tongue was causing Harry to feel sick along with the blood he could taste in his own mouth.

"How about now Draco? Are you ready to join your father?"

"I will never serve you. You may be powerful but my father is nothing more than a weak little Hufflepuff for serving you." He spat.

"You shouldn't have said that Draco. Now you will die, and not quickly. Crucio"

This time the pain was even more intense. Harry could see Draco bleeding from several areas where he evidently had scratched himself due to the nerve damage. Harry suddenly saw Draco pull something from his pocket and the pain stopped as Draco disappeared.

"Where is he Lucius?" Voldemort spat.

"I don't know my lord."

"Find him. Crucio" ~~

He only held it for a few seconds then released Lucius to find his son. Harry woke up and could barely move. He was bleeding just as much, if not more, than Draco had been before he disappeared. "I have to get to Uncle Sev." He breathed out. His voice was raw from screaming. He drank down one of the bottles of the potion that he had and instantly felt the shaking and burning subside, but his raw voice, bruises, and scrapes didn't go away. He rolled off of the bed onto the floor and crawled out of the room. As his muscles loosened up a bit he was able to stand and walk out of Gryffindor tower, clutching his possibly broken arm at his side.

Harry headed strait for the dungeons but stopped near the entrance hall where he heard voices.

"Let me help you Draco. You're hurt."

"No, I'll be fine. Leave me alone."

"No, now tell me what's wrong. What happened tonight?"

Harry could tell that the two voices belonged to Draco and Uncle Sev.

"I can't tell you what happened. You wouldn't understand."

"Draco you will tell me or I will give you veritaserum. You don't get this bloodied for no reason. You will tell me."

Harry suddenly realized why Draco wouldn't talk so he came out of his hiding place.

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing out this late at night? Go back to your dorm and 20 points from Gryffindor."

"But I..."

"No buts." It was then that Severus noticed the blood seeping through Harry's robe. It took all the self-control he had not to sweep his nephew up in his arms and rush him to the hospital wing. "Were the two of you in a fight? Will somebody tell me what is going on?"

Harry motioned to Severus to drop it. "Professor Snape, can I talk to Draco alone?"

Snape glared at both boys but relented when Harry pointed to his scar. "Yes, I suppose. He won't talk to me and I'm his head of house." Severus stormed off down the hallway towards the Dungeons.

Harry grabbed Draco's arm as he tried to turn away. "We need to talk Malfoy. I know just the place. Come with me."

Harry led a struggling Draco down the hallway to the picture of the forest scene.

~ Master, you came back. I thought you left me. ~

~ Well I'm back and I need to get in here. Slithering snakes. ~

When the portrait opened Harry helped Draco inside and sat him on the bed.

Draco glared at Harry but all Harry saw was Draco's uncontrollable shaking.

"Why do you think I'm going to talk to you Potter?" Draco spat.

"Because I understand."

"You don't understand anything. If I won't tell Professor Snape what happened, what makes you think I'll tell you?"

"You don't have to tell me. Just drink this potion." Harry held out a bottle of his post cruciatic potion.

"I'm not just going to drink some potion because you tell me to Potter. I've never even seen that one before."

"Look, it relieves the after effects of the cruciatic curse. Now drink it. All of it. You were hit three times."

Draco grabbed the bottle of potion, drinking the whole thing. "How do you know how many times?"

Harry lifted his bangs to reveal the now raw scare on his forehead. "That's how."

Draco lowered his eyes to the floor. "So what I heard about you seeing visions is true?"

"Yea, but not all the time. Only if Voldemort isn't blocking his mind."

Draco noticed that Harry was also bleeding. "What happened to you anyway?"

Harry swallowed and sat back, "When I'm in a vision and Voldemort curses someone, I feel it as if I was there."

Draco's jaw dropped, "So you felt it all three times too?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I got it five times. Some death eater before you got there and Lucius after you left. How did you escape anyway? It just looked like you disappeared."

"Five times? Oh, a portkey. My mother gave me one when I first started coming to Hogwarts. She said that if I ever needed help to use it and it would bring me to the front gates." They sat there in silence for a minute. "Potter, you should get those wounds healed. They look pretty bad."

Harry nodded but shrugged him off, "You were really brave tonight Malfoy, standing up to Voldemort and your father. If you don't mind me asking, besides what you told Voldemort, is there any other reason that you don't want to be a death eater? Do you agree with him?"

Draco shook his head; "I'm not sure what to think. I've always been told that the purity of blood was important and that muggles were scum but this past summer I saw my dad torturing a muggle family and I decided that even if they are below us, there is no need to do that to them. They're still human. I don't know if I could ever be a muggle lover like the Weasley's but I won't torture them."

Harry smiled, "That's good to know. I'm glad you realized that. You're not so bad after all."

Draco smiled back, "I suppose not. Maybe I'll join that club of yours when everyone else gets back. I'm going to need to be able to defend myself for when I go home in the summer. If I'm still alive by then." The last part was barely audible.

"Malfoy, do you think we could be friends? I know it will be hard for us to be close, but I think we could help each other."

"I agree Potter."

"Call me Harry."

"Okay Harry, call me Draco." And the two shook hands, something they should have done first year.

"So, why wouldn't you talk to Professor Snape?"

"Because, Harry, he's a death eater. I couldn't tell him that I'd just refused Voldemort. He'd have taken me right back to him."

"Oh, I see." Harry had already guessed that but wanted to make sure. "Well, I think we should talk with the headmaster about this tomorrow. He should know so that he can help keep you safe."

"Okay. I'm feeling better now. I should get some rest."

"I don't know if you'll be safe with all those other Slytherins around. You could stay here tonight. This was my room over the summer."

"Thank you Harry."

"No Problem Draco."

Harry left the room and headed straight for the dungeons to see his uncle.

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