A/N- Hey! I'm back! Here's the next chapter. I'd like to thank all my reviewers for last chapter: Ms. Padfoot, Endora, monkee-maimer, MusicalHermione, ShortySC22, blondel, Rei-Chan, Lokia (Sorry, but Cho's not going to appear much in here. I'm not really that fond of that pairing.), Hrei-siesn (I've already written quite a bit of the story, I'm just doling it out bit by bit), and totaloser. You guys make me so happy!
Bonds of Pain
Chapter 10
In which students return to Hogwarts
Severus was not looking forward to the arrival of the students that evening. Those of his Slytherins who had Death Eater parents would do everything they could to make his life miserable. Because he had rescued Draco from Lucius' treatment, he had been ostracized among the Death Eaters to the point where he could no longer give Albus any information worth risking his life. Albus had demanded that he stop attending meetings, and he had spent several nights in the Hospital Wing under Poppy's heaviest pain and sleeping draughts.
He felt useless. He felt guilty. He wanted to help the cause, the Order, in some way, but he couldn't hide among the Death Eaters as a spy anymore. He said as much to Albus, and the older man gave him the sly grin that made Severus so uneasy.
"You could help with Hagrid's tutoring." Snape stared at his mentor. "Don't give me that look, Severus. You know he couldn't have controlled the basilisk. He couldn't have caused the attacks when he was expelled, and he was out of the castle part of the time when they were occurring three years ago. I have concrete evidence that it was Tom Riddle acting both times, and Hagrid has been exonerated. He would appreciate help from everyone." Severus sighed, caving to the headmaster.
"All right then. Does he need a new wand and books?" At Albus' nod, he slumped. He was going to have to take Hagrid to Diagon Alley, and it was going to be embarrassing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry was grinning widely. Madam Pomfrey had finally cleared him to talk again, just in time for the start of term. He and Draco were about to Floo to Platform 9 ¾ to meet Hermione and the Weasleys for the train ride to school, and he could hardly wait to see the rest of his friends.
"Ready, mate?" Draco asked, and Harry nodded as he took a pinch of the headmaster's Floo powder. He winked at Draco before throwing the powder into the flames before him.
"Platform 9 ¾!" he crowed, stepping into the emerald flames. He held on to his glasses as he spun through the network. On the other end, he managed to keep from falling and stood to one side of the fireplace to dust himself off. He was wearing his "Don't squish the Seeker" shirt and denim trousers, and Draco had warned him to keep an eye out and avoid large groups of girls.
Draco Came through the fire just a few seconds later, and Harry helped his pale friend clean up. After a few minutes, Harry spotted a swarm of red hair in the growing crowd. Draco close behind him, Harry made his way over to the group, where he was immediately hugged by Mrs. Weasley.
"Oh, Harry, you look so good!" she exclaimed, holding him out at arm's length. "You're getting to be very handsome!" He could feel his ears heating and a blush creeping across his cheeks.
"Um… Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," he murmured. Draco chose this moment to butt in.
"He's having to keep a wary eye on the girls," the blond commented, mischief written all over his face. "He almost got mobbed when we went shopping a couple weeks ago." The twins sniggered, and Ron's eyebrows disappeared under his bangs. Hermione and Ginny dissolved in giggles.
"And then he found this shirt," Harry continued, jerking a thumb at Draco, "and suggested I get three." Ron looked at the slogan, and his mouth twitched towards a smile. ~Coup de grace is yours, Draco.~
"Don't want our House Seeker flattened, you know." Draco beamed at the group. Ron's shoulders shook and he began to chuckle. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, then at Harry and Draco, before smirking.
{Looks like it worked.} Draco smiled at him, and Harry felt like his grin was about to split his face open.
"So, Harry, who do you think is the boys' prefect for our year?" Ron asked. Fred and George groaned. Apparently they had heard this several times.
"Let's see. It's not me, Draco just joined us, Dean and Seamus get into worse trouble than we do, and Neville's grades are simply abysmal, so it has to be you."
Ron pouted. "Spoilsport. Wait. You said he's in Gryffindor now?" Ron pointed at Draco.
"Yeah. It's not like he can stay in Slytherin after his decision at the beginning of the summer. The Hat Resorted him, and Gryffindor now has the most boys of any House for our year." At his comment, Ron blinked.
"Decision?" Harry groaned and put an arm on the redhead's shoulder and they started towards the scarlet train.
"If you'd read his letter instead of burning it, you would have known," he muttered. A glance at Draco told him the blond was talking to Ginny and Hermione, oblivious to Harry's conversation with Ron. "He refused to take the Dark Mark, Ron. Lucius Malfoy beat and tortured him for three weeks, using the Cruciatus Curse on him several times. He didn't break. His arm is as bare as yours or mine."
Ron coloured. "Oh," he muttered, shamefacedly. "Wow. I guess I'd better apologise, huh?" Harry nodded, and Ron went even redder.
"Wait until we get on the train, Ron. I don't think he wants everyone to know." Just then, Fred and George decided to join them.
"So… Malfoy ratted out his dad?" George asked. Harry glared.
"No," he hissed. "Actually, the informant is anonymous, and only Draco, myself, and Professor Dumbledore know, and we're not supposed to tell. Malfoy tortured Draco, if you must know, because my friend refused to pledge his allegiance to Voldemort." All three redheads flinched.
"Really?" Fred asked. "So it was similar to the Dursleys?" He quailed as Harry shot him a death glare. The twins really had no tact.
"No. He was treated that way for a decision. I was treated the way I was because I'm a wizard." He sighed. "Draco made the decision he did because he saw me when I returned at the end of the Third Task. He's been helping me cope with the guilt and the nightmares since we were saved by Professor Snape five weeks ago.
Fred and George's eyes went wide, and Ron voiced their obvious thought. "Snape saved you?!"
"He's not that bad, guys. He's Draco's godfather. Draco hadn't owled him since the end of term, and he went to check on him. He found him chained in a storeroom, and Draco insisted that they get me."
The looks on the faces around him were almost worth the pain the memories brought. The twins looked as if they'd missed the Bludgers, and Ron looked as if the earth had disappeared from underneath him.
"How would he know, he's never cared about you before." Ron looked as if he was trying to find a reason for his beliefs.
"The things we suffered during the first three weeks appear to have created a mind-bond between us, and it gained full strength the night Professor Snape rescued us." Ron was staring at him silently, and the twins looked at each other, then back at him.
"A mind-bond?" one asked.
"That's ancient magic, mate," the other chipped in. "We have a mild one, but that's because we're identical twins and wizards."
Harry nodded. "Dumbledore loaned us some books on the subject, and I figured that was the case with you two. Shared pain or suffering is the strongest basis for a mind-bond, resulting in the most powerful mind-bonds. Like ours." Harry pointed a thumb in the direction he knew Draco to be. The three other boys looked in that direction and then stared at Harry.
"Will you three stop acting like landed fish? Anyway, Draco's in Gryffindor now, so I want you guys to at least try to be nice. He's had a very strange summer."
"He's where?!" the twins hissed. Harry fixed them with another glare.
"You think I'd leave him in Junior Death Eater camp if we had a mind-bond?? Professor Snape said it himself: Draco doesn't fit in there anymore. They'd tear him to pieces for being his own person."
Ron snorted. "Malfoy his own person? Now that I have to see." He shrank under the fierce green gaze of his best friend.
"His name is Draco, not Malfoy. And don't refer to Lucius as his father. He's disowned the spineless git." Harry knew his voice was as cold as ice, but he hoped it would get Ron to see the point. ~If you heard half what these idiots have said, you'd be trying to kill them,~ he thought to Draco. ~Though the twins are nowhere near as bad as Ron.~
{Think I should come over and make a public apology for my past behaviour?} Draco asked. Harry could feel the worry in the bond.
~That might work. Though I'll smack Ron if he keeps being such a prat.~ Harry elbowed his companions so Draco could join them and the girls followed, merging them into one large group.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He had actually enjoyed talking to the youngest Weasley and the only female member of what he had once dubbed "The Dream Team." The two girls were surprisingly open-minded, listening compassionately to what had been done to him and Harry at the beginning of the holidays. He wasn't surprised that Ron was being a prat, however. Ginny and Hermione—when had he stopped thinking of her as Granger or Mudblood?—had repeatedly called the boy that and similar names.
Once the two groups had merged, Draco took a deep, calming breath. He had to steel himself for this, as it was tremendously humiliating, though necessary.
"Look. I know I've been a git and a pain in the arse to all of you for the last four years. I've ratted you out, baited you, picked fights. I want to say that I'm sorry, but I know I can never make up for it. I'd like to be friends, or at least pleasant acquaintances. Truce?" He looked around at the shocked faces and met his friend's brilliantly green eyes. He could feel the pride flowing through the bond, almost tangible.
"Forgiven, Draco," Hermione said, a kindly smile on her face. "I'd like to be friends." That was encouraging.
"Can we still prank you?" one of the twins asked. Draco raised an eyebrow.
"If I can retaliate." This might get… interesting.
"Of course! What fun would it be if you couldn't?" the other twin replied. Merlin, how was he ever going to tell them apart?
Ginny put a hand on his arm, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Damn. He was supposed to have more control than that. When he felt the flash of jealousy from the bond, he grinned inwardly. So Harry liked the girl. Potters and redheads…
"Sticks and stones, Draco," Ginny said. "You've never thrown anything worse than words at me. I'd like to try friends." Draco smiled and looked at the last member of the group, who looked to be fighting a mental battle with himself.
"All right," Ron finally grated as the queued up to get on the train. "I'll give this a try. I'm warning you though, hurt Harry or my family, and you'll wish you were never born." Draco got a brief warning from the bond before Harry exploded.
"RONALD WEASLEY!! Didn't you hear a word of what I said earlier? He can't hurt me, and hurting anyone I care about would be just as bad." Harry had swatted his friend over the head, and Ron looked shocked.
"Sorry. My mistake," Ron muttered. Harry, with a lightning change in mood, ruffled the flame-coloured hair.
"Just so it doesn't happen again, mate. Oh, I've got something to show you…" Harry looked at Ginny pointedly, and Draco shook his head. The boy had a responsibility complex so huge…
"Oh, no. You aren't leaving me out of things this time, Ron Weasley," Ginny nearly screeched. That voice might be dangerous. "If Hermione can be a part of it, then so can I. I'm less than a year younger, and you treat me as if I'm still three. No more!" Ron looked even more shocked, and Harry was obviously trying not to laugh at his classmate.
{I knew she was like her mum. She just had to get over her crush on me.} Draco smirked at his friend's mental comment.
~You think she's over you?~ he asked. ~I think she's growing up. She's learned to hide it better.~
Harry just groaned as the group made their way through the train in search of an empty compartment. The twins disappeared to find Lee Jordan, and Draco was bringing up the rear. He soon noticed that Ron and Hermione had subtly laced their fingers together and were holding hands. He wasn't even sure if they had noticed yet.
~I think your two best friends are a little more than friends now…~ he warned. The mind-bond had some interesting side benefits.
{I was wondering when they would stop dancing around the issue. It took them long enough.} "Finally, and empty one. Let's see if we can all fit." Draco resisted a snigger. If the compartment wasn't large enough, the couple in front of him would become obvious.
Oddly enough, there was more than enough space in the compartment. Once the rest were seated, Harry drew the shades on the corridor windows and drew a book from a pocket. Draco recognised the blue cover immediately. The animagus book.
"I found this in a trunk my Mum and Dad left in my vault at Gringotts. It's…" Harry was interrupted by a timid tapping on the pane in the door as the train lurched into motion.
"Excuse me," a shy voice said as the door slid open a bit. A girl poked her head in, and Draco recognised her as one of the other two fifth-year Gryffindor girls. "Is there room for one more in here? I found Parvati snogging with a Ravenclaw in their compartment. I can't exactly sit and watch that, it's… disturbing, you know?" Draco saw Harry's eyes flick to Ron and Hermione.
"Sure, Lavender. Have a seat." The girl sat next to Draco, across from Ron. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach ad she looked around him to talk to Harry.
"Um, Harry? Why is Draco Malfoy in here?" Why was she talking as if he weren't there? Oh. Must be four years of taunting Gryffindors. Whoops.
"He's in our House now. He had some… difficult experiences over the holidays. And he'd probably rather be talked to than about. Right, mate?" Harry elbowed him gently, and Draco could feel a light blush across his cheekbones.
"Erm, yeah. Thanks, Harry." God. Embarrassing, that's what it was. And to think he'd always been smooth with the ladies. ~Thanks a lot, mate,~ he shot wryly.
"Oh! I'm… I'm sorry," Lavender stuttered. "Can you forgive me? Lavender Brown, by the way." She held out a delicate-looking hand, and Draco's etiquette lessons kicked in. He took the hand in a gentle grip and brushed the girl's finely sculpted knuckles with his lips.
"A pleasure, Miss Brown," he murmured. He noticed her flush, and that funny feeling turned into butterflies. What was happening to him?
{Draco, why'd you do that?} Harry's puzzlement matched his own.
~Not a clue, mate. But it felt… right, almost. And now I've butterflies the size of hippogriffs.~
{Rather like the ones I had earlier when I saw Ginny, perhaps?} Draco gave a tiny nod in response. {I don't really know if I want to find out what that feeling means, then.} Draco agreed. Then he caught what Lavender was saying.
"It's not like I wanted to spend the entire trip listening to the summer's gossip, anyway. From what I can see, the gossip columns were completely off when it comes to Hermione." The other girl went entirely red, as did Ron.
"Um…" Not that there was much they could say to that. They had no excuse.
"Ah, Lavender, if we say something, you won't take it out of this compartment, will you?" Harry's question seemed innocent enough.
"I don't spread rumours like most people think I do. Usually it's Parvati who does that. You want this to stay between the six of us? I won't be the one who tells. No lie." The serious look on her face told Draco that she would keep her word.
"All right then, Apparently, my dad, godfather, and that rat—sorry, Lavender, you can get Hermione to tell you the whole story later—wrote a guide to becoming animagi before he and my mum died." Harry held out the blue-bound book. As Ron took the slim volume, the tracery on the cover gleamed silver. Ron looked inside briefly before handing the book to Hermione and looking up.
"Wicked!"
What will the group find in the blue book? Will Lavender join them? How will the Slytherins treat Severus? Find out Saturday on the next chapter!
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Beth Weasley