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Much love to Diane for her help.
Chapter 31 – A Long Way Home
"I managed to get into the tunnel. She could move a little, but for the most part I just dragged her with me." Draco's ashen skin seemed to pale further as he spoke, as the memories that plagued his consciousness for days, were released. There was a slight tremor in his voice, and that detached expression, that was common on his face, was not full of his usual aloofness, but of something new. Something he was not used to feeling and wholly unsure how to express.
"She was like dead weight," he continued. "It took longer than I had hoped to get through, as the passageway was overgrown with roots and partially collapsed. The only thing that saved us was that they didn't follow. I can only guess they searched the house first and then the grounds, not realizing where we went. I was always careful that my father never knew I used that passageway, so I doubt he knew it even existed at all." Draco flinched at the thought of Lucius discovering how they had managed to escape and felt a tinge of pity to the individuals around him when he did. Lucius's temper was legendary, as was his sadistic streak.
Draco pushed those thoughts aside and continued. "After about a couple of hours we came to the end of passage and onto the open grounds. It led to a stream that runs through the westernmost corner of our property. I knew if I followed that stream, it would lead me through the countryside towards a Muggle village. I got us some supplies, wrapped her in my robes and brought her here. It took over three days, but…"
He paused to look at Sophie, the first time he truly allowed himself to since they got back. She looked so normal. Sleeping. "She was never conscious," he said mostly to himself. "I thought she was dead."
"If you thought she was dead, why risk bringing her here?" Remus Lupin was looking at this boy with a mixture of trepidation and respect.
"I guess…I hoped…she wasn't," he answered, surprised by his own words. "Either way, I wanted to bring her home. If she had any chance at survival, it would be here."
They stood silent for a moment and stared at each other. Instinctually, Draco waited for the tirade, the words of hatred towards the Death Eaters in general and his father in particular. He looked for anger in the werewolf's expression, but found none.
"That was a brave thing you did," Remus finally stated.
Draco continued to look at Lupin with hesitation and uncertainty. "I didn't think I was being brave," he said softly. "I didn't really think of anything. I just wanted to keep her safe…to get her out. I never really thought about…me." He furrowed his brow. "You know, that's the funniest thing about all this. I never really thought about how it would affect me. I don't think I ever did that before." He wondered for a moment if that was what it felt like to love someone, to truly care for someone. It was like nothing he ever felt towards anyone else before, so he had no example to go by, just these feelings that made his heart heavy. It made him feel vulnerable and exposed, and he wasn't sure if he liked it.
"This makes you a hero, you know." Lupin's words stirred him from his thoughts.
"Really…I thought it made me a target." His voice became small and the weariness of words shone through.
"We can protect you."
Draco smirked and shook his head. "There will most probably a price on my head; knowing my father, a pretty generous one. I doubt that I could ever leave Hogwarts again, if I am even safe here."
"I will keep you safe." Severus Snape's voice quietly entered the conversation.
Draco's eyes met his. "You can't."
Severus wasn't sure what struck him more, the hopelessness in his grey eyes or in his voice. "You were once told that you would be supported when you chose which path you decided to follow. You have made your choice, and I will abide by that promise. You need not worry about your safety, about your housemates, about your life."
"It wasn't your promise," Draco reminded him.
"It should have been." His voice was firm, his eyes, apologetic.
A single tear fell down Draco's face, leaving a glistening line on his pallid cheek. He whispered, "I don't deserve it."
"You acted with honor…and valor… and bravery that few could have shown facing what you did," Severus countered. "You used your mind and your abilities to their utmost potential, despite casting an Unforgivable, which I think will be overlooked in this case." He gave a small smile. "You showed the resourcefulness and cunning that epitomizes what Slytherin House once stood for. Add to that, a selflessness worthy of the respect of all the other houses. You do deserve it and more."
"Thank you," Draco said before the exhaustion finally took hold and the fight to hold back a stream of tears was lost. Severus Snape looked down at a boy who was more unlike his father than he would ever know, doubting Lucius had the capability to even comprehend the emotions his son was expressing right now. He sat besides Draco, and as if Sophie herself was commanding him to do so, he held the boy. It was a position had could grow quite fond of he decided, even if he felt clumsy while doing it.
They fell into silence again. Draco turned to Sophie's sleeping form. He stared at her for a long while before he addressed his companions. "You know, I couldn't stop thinking that it was all too easy."
"What do you mean?" Lupin looked at him curiously.
"Well…when I distracted the Death Eaters, I expected Voldemort to attack me himself, but he didn't. I mean, I found it odd that he was not performing the ritual himself in the first place. I had always understood that he was the one who did it all and then branded the mark on your arm." He looked at Professor Snape, who was nodding.
"I did find that an odd point in your recitation."
"I didn't have too much time to dwell on it before everything fell apart, but I have to admit to being surprised we would got out of there alive. As days passed, and I thought about it more and more, I couldn't help but think there must be something we don't know about."
"Do you think Sophie saw anything?" Lupin asked.
"If there was anything to be seen I am sure she saw it. She has an uncanny knack for picking up the minutiae of any conversation and holding on to it," Severus added, the side of his mouth raised in a grin.
Lupin slowly nodded in agreement. "She will have a lot to deal with when she wakes up."
Severus raised his eyebrow and said, "You are painfully optimistic for a werewolf, you know that?"
Remus raised his eyebrow in reply. "Someone has to be, Sunshine."
"I might have to rethink this foray into civility we were discussing. I cannot guarantee your safety should you ever use that epithet again in public."
Remus smiled, and to his utter surprise, so did Severus.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Albus Dumbledore walked into the infirmary to find Draco Malfoy asleep in his bed. After hearing Remus's description of his rescue of Dr. Young, Dumbledore could not help but smile at the child. 'No, not a child anymore,' he thought forlornly, 'a man. A man with a difficult road ahead of him.' Yes, all his children had to grow up sometime, but he had wished to keep them children for just a little longer.
With a sigh Dumbledore turned to the figures watching over Sophie.
Remus Lupin was sleeping soundly in the chair closest to his comatose friend. In him, Dumbledore saw yet another child who was forced to grow up much sooner than should be expected of anyone so young. It showed in his graying hair and the soft lines of his face, but mostly in a maturity he first noticed when Remus entered the Great Hall decades ago. Whether his affliction aged him prematurely or he was able to handle his burden because of his maturity, Dumbledore would never be sure.
He finally turned to Severus Snape, the only occupant of the room to be awake. Dumbledore smiled. Alas, some never got a chance to be a child at all. Severus finally acknowledged his entry into the room. "It is too dark to tell for certain, but I would swear your eyes are twinkling," he drawled.
Dumbledore gave a small laugh. "Do you ever sleep, Severus?"
"Infrequently. I find it to be highly overrated."
"Poppy is worried about you," Dumbledore replied softly.
"About me?" Severus laughed. "Of all the people in this room, I should be the least of her worries."
Dumbledore shook his head. "Even after all these years, after all that has happened, you still can not accept the fact that there are people who care about you?"
Severus sighed, "Caring about people is also highly overrated."
"I thought you were growing past all that."
"I was…I did…and because of it, I find myself here. The world was an easier place to dwell in when I was prepared to leave it. Wanting to live is painful enough without sitting here, watching helplessly as my life dies before me."
He paused as Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder. His mouth was suddenly very dry, but he continued to speak. "It wasn't too long ago I would have found the irony poetic. How odd it is that I, who was prepared to die now fight to live, and she, who thrived in life…" He could not finish the thought aloud.
"You need to have faith, child."
He snorted, "Child? Tell me, do you and Lupin get together to think of the most inappropriate pet names for me."
"Speaking of Remus," Dumbledore added, his voice full of a childlike curiosity. "Am I to assume that this presence here after all this time is an indication of a truce?"
After a shrug of his shoulders, Severus replied, "I guess you could say that."
"Would it be inappropriate to say that I am proud of you?"
Severus looked up as if he were ready to retort and stopped himself, he had neither the energy nor the desire. "Thank you," he finally managed to say.
"You should get some sleep, Severus. She will need you at full strength when she wakes up."
"Are you so certain she will?" Severus asked.
"Aren't you?"
"I don't know." There was a tremor in his voice which reminded him of Draco, and suddenly he understood how lost the boy must have felt. "This past year has shown me how little I know about anything. I thought I knew, Albus. I thought I understood." Images passed before him: the first time he saw her face coming out of the shadows of the staff room, a leisurely bath in a hot spring, a mischievous face covered in snow, laughing, crying, singing, yelling, ecstasy, agony, regret, loss, hope. The world no longer made sense.
"All I do know is that I cannot leave this room. I am all too aware that she may only open her eyes for one brief second, and if she does, she will see me. She will know that I was here and did not leave her side, that I am sorry for causing her any pain. I will tell her that I will avenge the things that were done to her till my last breath. I know that I need her to know that I loved her. Those are to be the last thoughts in her head before she leaves me forever. And they will be…I will be…or die here, beside her, for the waiting."
Dumbledore looked at his young friend, his hand still placed on his shoulder. He gave a gentle squeeze, but said no more before leaving the room.
