Chapter Eight
Draco's reaction to the news about his father's escape was nothing like Harry had ever expected, no matter how many times he'd stuck up for his former enemy and no matter how many times he claimed that Draco had changed. The blonde had actually looked frightened, became more and more so the further he read. When he had finished, he shoved the paper back at Remus, gathered his things, and left the room without a word to anyone.
"You should sit down and have something to eat," Mrs. Weasley offered, having calmed down considerably since Draco's initial return. She followed him a few steps into the hall, even.
"I'll pass." Draco replied in a dead tone and went straight to his room, slamming his door closed. The noise was cue for Mrs. Black to begin her wailing.
"He's probably going up there to throw a party." Ron muttered, wincing slightly as the cursing and screaming began.
"Shut up, Ron!" Harry snapped at his best friend and left after Draco. He jogged out of the drawing room and up the stairs. "You too, you stupid painting!" He glared at Mrs. Black as he passed.
"What's his problem?" Ginny asked a bit skeptically, her hands against her ears as she joined her brother's side. She didn't turn to Ron for an answer though, his were always irrational anyway. Hermione was a better candidate for information, unfortunately for Ron.
"Draco's been," Hermione fiddled with a way to word just what 'Harry's problem' was. To come out and say it sounded so unbelievable. "Well Harry and I have been working on him a lot lately to, you know, make him think about his future."
"Oh I see." Ginny didn't looked very convinced. "You know, I really don't think that's going to work. People don't just turn against their breeding like that, Hermione."
By now, to the relief of everyone in Grimmauld Place, Mr. Weasley and Professor Snape had finished stunning the portraits into silence. Ginny lowered her hands from her ears and looked towards Ron. "What about you? What do you think about all of this?"
"Rubbish." Ron waved his hand 'no' quickly, frowning.
"Yeah, I agree. For once."
"But Ginny," Hermione began.
The red head girl smiled at her friend. "It's alright, Hermione, don't worry about it. Look, we can agree to disagree. You saw how Malfoy was last year. He promised retribution for his stupid father. People just don't say things like that and then forget about them the next day." She didn't really want to talk about Draco anymore. After wondering where he went and then watching him stare stupidly at the Prophet before storming out, she'd filled her quota of Malfoy time for the day.
"It's been more than a day, Ginny."
"Well, whatever. You know what I mean. I wouldn't trust him. I don't trust him."
Hermione sighed, looking between brother and sister with disappointment. "I can understand this lummox not giving him a chance," She gestured to Ron who only looked slightly offended, "but you're a girl, Ginny, you should have some sense!"
"I do have sense!" Ginny protested, frowning a bit. "That's why I'm saying you shouldn't trust him!"
"The point is this," Hermione continued. If Ginny took Ron's side it would be two on two. Already a small rift was forming between them, but this could tear it wider. "If he's going to have any chance at all, we have to give it to him. We have to give him the opportunity to show us he can become a better person."
"I don't care what happens to Malfoy. That whole family is rotten, I don't know how many times I've heard that from you and even Harry! If you ask me, you're the ones who don't have any sense." Ginny had placed her hands on her hips, her voice turning a bit sour as she was forced to continue on with this Draco nonsense.
It was definitely a stalemate. The two girls looked at each other before Hermione shook her head, dejected.
"The only way I'll even consider giving him a chance, Hermione," Ginny amended seeing her friends disheartened condition, "is if he apologized to my family for everything he's ever done to us. If he can do it sincerely then maybe I'll believe him."
Hermione blanched slightly. Even now, after everything, that seemed impossible.
**
Upstairs, Harry knocked for the third time on Draco's door. "Let me in." He said again, talking to the wood. "Come on, Draco. Let's talk about this!"
Inside his room, Draco rolled his eyes. Let's talk about this? What a perfectly perfect Potter thing to say. "Go away." He called to the door. "There isn't anything to talk about!" He told himself sternly. He returned to unpacking his Diagon Alley things, trying to fit them all into his trunk.
"I'm coming in!" Harry announced.
When Draco heard the door open he glared at the roof of his trunk, annoyed, and called "Wait! I'm naked!"
The door slammed shut again.
Draco smirked.
When he had finished putting away all of his purchases and Harry was still knocking on the door, Draco gave up. He brushed his hands off on his pants and pulled the door open. On the other side, Harry looked agitated. His green eyes lashed over Draco's body before he said in an angry voice, "you weren't naked!"
Draco smiled and moved away from the door, leaving it open, and invitation for the other to follow. Harry did step in, closing the door behind him. "Would it have been so terrible if I was?" He asked with a smile before he took a seat on the bed, leaning back against his hands.
Harry glared at him when he said that, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks. "I slammed the door didn't I?"
Draco laughed out loud, shaking his head slowly. "That you did, Potty, that you did."
"Look." Harry felt a little awkward standing in front of Draco while he laughed at him so he spoke up. "About your parents,"
"What about them?" The blonde's mirth drifted away slowly as his smile ebbed.
"Well, your father. What are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do?" Draco's brows furrowed in puzzlement. The way he threw Harry's own question back at him made Harry feel stupid and the Gryffindor frowned. "I'm not going to do anything, what could I do?"
"I don't know," Harry said slowly. "I just thought that, maybe..."
Draco shook his head again. "Please. Potter, what did you expect? That I'd be beside myself with emotion?"
"M-Maybe." The Gryffindor looked down at his feet with an awkward sigh.
Draco looked away from him, glancing at the rectangle of moonlight cast on the wall next to him from his small window. "Fine, then." He said, coming to a decision. "I'll tell you that honestly I'm a bit nervous. Scared."
Harry looked up at Draco as he said that, tilting his head to the side. He'd never heard Draco admit to being scared of anything before. If he ever imagined Draco would confide in him with what he was afraid of, his father being a part of it was something he'd never expect. Even Draco had been constantly protective about his own family. "What are you afraid of?"
"Well. He's out, isn't he?" Slowly, Draco turned back to face him. Harry was a bit startled at how cold and edged his features were, gray eyes narrowed and sharp like knife blades, his mouth a serious line. "If he wants to, he'll be able to find me. He'll drag me back with him into his world. If that happens, well, we both know the outcome."
Harry felt his heart sink. Draco had come such a long way from the vindictive prat Harry was used to. He ate with them, he made small talk with them, he hadn't even called anyone anything terrible, except for that almost slip up earlier that evening with Mrs. Weasley. It was so plain to him how much effort Draco was putting into everything, he was frustrated that more people didn't see it. It was frustrating that more people didn't see Draco in the Malfoy, struggling to break free.
"You don't have to be a slave to that destiny." Harry insisted.
"We've already been over this, Potter." Draco shook his head. "I am taking this as an opportunity to be a different person."
"That's not what I mean!" Harry insisted, moving closer to him so he could look Draco in the face, without being obscured by evening shadows. He needed Draco to see that he was earnest. "You can fight against them. You can fight against your father even if he takes you back."
"How stupidly noble of you to say." Draco droned, watching Harry carefully. "What would I have to fight for, Potter, hm? Really, it's time we're honest with each other. There isn't anything waiting for me here. The people in this house can barely stand me, even Professor Snape's gotten tired with putting up with me. This house, what it stands for, may be what I want but the pull of it isn't great enough for me to choose death over life for it."
"You don't have any hope, is that what you're saying?" Harry asked, his voice softening as he lowered it.
"I'll never be accepted here." He reiterated. "Maybe I should stop trying."
"Don't say that!" Harry interjected and took Draco by the shoulders suddenly. "You should never stop trying. It's not going to be easy. There are decades of bad blood between your family and the other families. Your father's actions, the side he chose, that makes it a million times more difficult for you. But you can't give up."
It was difficult for Draco not to make some scathing comment. It would be easier to just discourage Harry. At least then he might be spared this sugary rhetoric. "I can't." He said flatly.
A nervous look swept over Harry's face, his sweaty fingers tightening over Draco's shoulders as his eyes searched the blonde's face. "I'll help you." He said finally.
"You're going to help me? How do you plan to do that?" Draco began, lifting his hands to brush Harry's away from his shoulders. He was stopped as the Gryffindor swooped down on him, his grip tightening as he held Draco steady and shoved their mouths together.
As far as kissing went, Harry Potter was pretty virginal. All that he knew on the subject he'd absorbed from television, when he was allowed to watch it, and last year with Cho Chang. His inexperience showed through as he kissed Draco now, awkwardly, sloppily, and nervous.
Against his mouth, Draco's was cool and still, a fact which swiftly became distressing to the dark haired youth. One of Draco's hands wrapped around Harry's wrist, prying one hand off of his shoulder before he leaned back to break the kiss, turning his head to the side to wipe his mouth on his shoulder.
"Potter!" Harry wasn't sure if he sounded angry or just flustered. "That was easily the most disgusting thing I've ever been on the receiving end of." Alright, that was anger.
Harry's heart sank. It fell into his feet when Draco pushed him away completely. "I"m sorry," He said quietly, feeling completely humiliated.
"Get out!" Draco snapped, pointing towards the door.
"I'm sorry." Harry said again, mentally kicking himself. Was he crazy? What was he thinking? why had he done that stupid, stupid thing!.
"Just get out!" He ordered and without another apology, Harry left the room, closing the door tightly behind him. So stupid!
****
Over the next few weeks, Hermione tried to determine just what had happened between Harry and Draco the evening that Lucius Malfoy had escaped from Azkaban, but neither boys were very forthcoming with an answer. It was obvious that something large had occurred. Harry and Draco took great care in avoiding each other. One or the other was always late for breakfast and lunch and more often than not, at dinner, if one was there the other had gone to bed early.
About a week before they were scheduled to leave for Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley had gone on a trip alone to Diagon Alley to acquire the necessary items from the list that Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't been able to obtain before the attack.
Afar as attacks went, after the raid on Azkaban and the escape of Lucius Malfoy, there had been little Dark Arts news to report. It seemed whatever the Death Eaters were trying to accomplish had been finished, or they had just put their plans on hold. As a whole, the wizarding community was a little distrustful of the sudden cessation of all attacks, but at the same time, secretly they dared to believe that maybe it was, in fact, all over.
On the morning that all Hogwart's students were supposed to report to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Mrs. Weasley woke everyone up late. Even though 12 Grimmauld Place had been preparing for this day, the grand exodus, all of their planning didn't stand a chance against circumstance.
"Arthur, why! Please tell me why you didn't wake me up if you knew I was still in bed! You knew how important this day is! You knew I was planning on getting everyone up early so for once we might actually be able to make this an orderly affair!" Mrs. Weasley was madly packing multiple lunches. If anyone in the house was an expert at this, it would be Mrs. Weasley, but she was having a difficult time of it now since the five lunches she made had to be especially large to make up for the breakfast the children wouldn't be getting. It didn't help Mrs. Weasley's temper, or the situation, that all the racket everyone made from getting ready in such a rush had woke up Mrs. Black. She wailed and screamed and cursed along with the other portraits in the hallway.
"I"m sorry, Molly." Arthur had tried to give her a hand but had swiftly gotten in the way and chased out of the kitchen. He stood in the doorway now, watching her helplessly as she hurried to put everything together. "I thought there was time for a little sleeping in and then when I finally got that little toy car working–"
"I don't care Arthur!" She turned towards him and pointed towards the hall. "Go make sure the children are getting ready! I swear, you and your muggle toys always get us into all sorts of trouble!"
"Right away, Molly, right away." Mr. Weasley spared himself an upcoming lecture about responsibility versus games by slipping away eagerly to a chorus of 'filthy blood traitor, disgusting vermin, putrid disease' from Mrs. Black
"Boys, how are we doing, are we almost ready?" Mr. Weasley asked, peeking his head into Harry and Ron's room.
"Coming!" Both boys shouted. Ron was trying to brush his teeth and close his trunk at the same time. Harry was pulling on his jacket but not before Mr. Weasley could see that he'd put on his shirt inside out. "Can't you do something about those screaming paintings?" Ron asked before Mr. Weasley went to check on the girls.
Hermione and Ginny were in much the same situation. Although their trunks were set against the wall outside of their room, Hermione was trying to straighten up their beds while Ginny searched for a brush, her hair wild and tangled, fresh from the pillow. "I packed it! I think I packed it, this really bites. I look like a scarecrow!"
"Let me help you." Arthur said with a smile and spelled her hair straight and in place. At least he could do that right!
Ginny, who had been a little startled, jumped slightly at the spell but then glanced at herself in the mirror. "Dad!" Mr. Weasley looked confused at her outrage. "I haven't worn my hair like this since I was eleven years old!"
"I'm sorry, honey." Alright, maybe he couldn't even do that right. "I better get these trunks loaded into the car." He said and started to leave.
"Oh, Mr. Weasley?" Hermione stopped him as she gathered up her hair in a pony tail. "Do you think you could do something about those screaming portraits?"
He smiled tightly.
Draco Malfoy was the only one who was ready. He brushed past Mr. Weasley, dragging his trunk behind him. The edge of his trunk thunked loudly on each and every stair. If everyone was going to make a bunch of noise, so was he. "And you shut up!" He hissed at the paintings as he moved past them.
It took a great deal of effort and shouting but nearly on time, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley had Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco piled into the back of the car, each with a brown sack lunch in their laps. The car was full, even for a charmed Ministry vehicle.
Platform Nine and Three Quarters wasn't its usual crowded bustle of students, their parents, and luggage when they arrived, however. As everyone stepped through the barrier and onto the platform they were greeted by a slightly depressing sight. Only small handfuls of people had gathered and most of them were students that Harry recognized. The number of first years was small and one of them, a little, brown haired girl, was clinging to her mother and crying. "I don't want to go! They're going to kill us, I don't want to go!"
"What's going on?" Harry asked, turning away from the nearly vacant platform to Mr. And Mrs. Weasley.
"It's been in the Prophet, dear." Mrs. Weasley looked a bit disappointed as she looked at the gathering students and then back to her own brood. "The numbers of students, both new and old, is very small this year. Parents are afraid to send their children away with all of these attacks by Death Eaters. I was hoping that people would have some more sense but it seems like they don't know how to be anything but afraid, after all."
"But that's so stupid!" Harry protested, glaring at the train. "Don't they know how safe Hogwarts is? I'd send my kid there as soon as possible!"
"You have an opinion of Hogwarts and its Headmaster that not too many people share, Harry." Mr. Weasley explained as he gestured towards the platform.
Ron snorted, pushing his trunk towards the train. As he passed Draco, he muttered "and how much do you want to bet that most of the first years get sorted into Slytherin. There's nothing to worry about if you are the enemy!"
****
Once the train actually started moving, Harry felt a little better. He was sitting with Ginny, Neville, and Luna Lovegood, waiting for Ron and Hermione to get done with their prefects duties before they could join them. He'd been a little disappointed when Neville had told him that neither Seamus or Dean were coming back this term. That meant that it would just be him, Neville, and Ron in the sixth year boy's dorm. Although, this news seemed paltry in comparison to Neville when Harry told him just how and with who Harry had spent his entire summer.
"You lived in the same house as Draco Malfoy all summer long!" Neville repeated for at least the sixth time, watching Harry with wide, round eyes. "What happened? Did he try to attack you?"
"Not really." Harry glanced from Neville to Ginny, waiting for the girl to say something. She had her mouth closed and was looking out the window as the landscaped rushed past beneath them. "He really didn't do much of anything. We didn't really spend all that much time together."
"But still," Neville shook his head making a scared face and slumping slightly in his seat. "It couldn't be how anyone would want to spend their summer vacation, anyway."
"I think I'd like to give it a try," Luna said in that vacant voice of hers, looking up from the paper she was reading and at Neville with her surprised eyes. "It would be interesting. I've always wanted to see first hand what it would be like to live like that."
"Harry seems to think he can make something worthwhile out of Malfoy, too." Ginny announced, finally adding her part in the conversation. "He and Hermione have been nothing but nice to the slimy git all summer long."
Neville looked at Harry again, his brows lifting slightly. "Wow, Harry..." His voice trailed off as he tried to find something to say. "That's...very brave of you."
"That's a word for it." Ginny snorted.
Harry found himself becoming a little agitated. Between Neville's half hearted support and Ginny's ability to make everything he was doing sound completely despicable, he was feeling more than a little cornered. To top it all off, Luna was staring at him with her startling gaze and it was beginning to make him squirm. "I just feel a little bit bad for him!" He tried to explain for possibly the hundredth time, slumping in his seat.
"He's slime!" Ginny protested and folded her arms over her chest.
"No he's not!" Harry snapped and glared at her, particularly vengeful. Neville leaned away from him slightly but Harry didn't care. "His parents," Well, they weren't exactly in Azkaban anymore, were they? He couldn't say that. "He's away from his parents right now!"
"You've said this all before." Ginny announced. "Just tell us, Harry! Why are you so insistent on protecting him?"
Harry glowered at them, especially the little redhead girl before he answered, his hands in fists at his sides. "Because I feel responsible for it! I am responsible for it. For making him an orphan. You hate him for whatever stupid reason! Because he's been mean to you, because his family has always been mean to your family, whatever! Those are such stupid reasons, Ginny! He's never really done anything to any of us except pull some stupid pranks and call us some mean names! That doesn't mean he deserves our contempt for the rest of his life!"
"He's a Death Eater, don't forget about that itsy bitsy detail." Ginny said wryly.
"But he's not a Death Eater!" Harry was on his feet before he even knew what he was doing. "His parents are Death Eaters but he's not! It really sucks when people hate you because of something your father did!" He informed her thinking if anyone knew that, he did. Snape reviled him because of his father's actions over a decade ago!
Just then the door to the compartment slid open. It was Ron and Hermione coming back from their prefect's meeting. Ron took in the scene, Luna staring at Ginny and Harry like bugs under a glass, Neville cowering slightly looking a little bit frightened, and Harry on his feet jabbing his finger at his enraged, little sister. "Sodding Malfoy!" He announced and pushed into the compartment, pushing Harry's hand down and taking a seat.
Hermione closed the compartment door and sat next to Ginny and Luna. She acted quickly to change the topic of conversation before things got out of hand. "Sixty two Hogwarts students didn't return this year," She announced. "There are only fourteen new students this year."
"They say Hufflepuff has to completely revamp their Quidditch team. Only their beaters came back. Ravenclaw has to replace a keeper, a beater, and their seeker." Ron added, begrudgingly turning away from the row that had been brewing. As much as he liked to fight about how stupid Harry and Hermione were being about Malfoy, this wasn't exactly the time.
"They'd better get it together." Harry replied as he sat back down, remembering how last year the majority of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been banned from playing. It had been difficult to fill the necessary positions, he couldn't imagine two houses having to go through it as well.
"They may have to start Quidditch a bit late this year, at least." Ron muttered.
At that time they were thankfully interrupted by the snack trolley. Although Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all had lunches given to them by Mrs. Weasley before leaving, no one could pass up the opportunity to enjoy a Chocolate Frog or two.
They were much more happily enjoying themselves with laps full of candy when their compartment doors slid open again. It was Draco Malfoy, already in his uniform, snidely glaring in at them. "So this is where the losers hang out. Look at you sitting all together, a darling little band of outcasts and freaks."
Draco let himself in, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. Ginny made her brother proud when she shot back meanly, "speaking of losers and freaks where are your bodyguards this time around? They can't stand you anymore, either, huh?"
"I heard some of the Slytherin parents telling their children to stay away from Malfoy," Luna interjected, lowering her Quibbler again, her unnerving stare fixing on Draco. "Maybe they won't let him sit in their compartment anymore."
When Ginny and Ron began to whoop with laughter, the corner of Draco's eye twitched. "Hardly the case, Loony, I assure you."
"Candy? Snacks? Anyone want a little treat?" A woman was calling from outside. The compartment's bickering faded as all sets of eyes turned towards the door.
"Hey..." Ron said slowly, looking down at the handful of jellybeans he'd been munching on. "Didn't the cart just come by a little while ago?"
"Today's special!" The woman in the hallway chimed again. "I have all sorts of goodies for you!" There was the loud bang of something running into the door. Draco, looking perturbed and ready to tell off the annoying sweets witch, turned towards the door and slid it open. "Introducing the new Bertie Bott's flavor, Cold Hard Revenge!" The sweets cart was then shoved in through the open compartment door and right into Draco. He gripped the edge of it as he went down and was dragged all the way to the back of the compartment when his back crashed against the wall.
Harry recognized the woman pushing the cart immediately. Bellatrix Lestrange. Before he could react, the cart was drawn back and shoved forward into Draco again, smashing right into his face and pressing his head against the wall of the train. He groaned, his hands falling limply from the sides of the metal cart.
"Woah!" Bellatrix ducked out of view behind the cart as a jolt of magic shot past her ear. Luna Lovegood was surprisingly the first one with her wand out, although maybe that was because she kept it tucked behind her ear at ready hand.
Harry was over come with the unnatural rage he'd felt the last time he'd faced Bellatrix Lestrange, chasing her down the halls of the Ministry of Magic, Crucio on his lips. He didn't even try to feel for his wand when he attacked her, lunging at the crouching witch.
"Reducto!" The curse hit Harry full in the chest, sending him crashing back into Ron, knocking the wand the red had had taken out from his hand and tumbling them both to the floor. Apparently Bellatrix didn't come alone. Another cloaked figure stood in the doorway, but Harry recognized Rodolphus Lestrange by the wide, cracked smile he wore.
"You!" Harry seethed, pushing off of Ron and getting to his feet.
"Me!" Rodolphus exclaimed excitedly and grabbed his wife around the waist, pulling her from the room, spells cracking the ground at their feet. Ginny was trying to climb around Luna to go after them but the snack cart was in the way.
"Draco! Draco!" Hermione had leaned over and was shaking the unconscious blonde lightly. "Wake up!"
Harry didn't wait to stop and help either of them. He ran out of the compartment, following Bellatrix and Rodolphus, Ron on his heels.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing the back of his friends shirt to pull him back before he could trip over a body that was sprawled out in the hall. "Look out!" The original sweet witch that Harry had almost stepped on wasn't the only slumped over figure in the hallway. It seemed that anyone who had been in the corridor had collapsed wherever they'd stood, even halfway out of compartment doors. "Are they..." Ron gulped. "Are they dead?"
"They're not dead!" Harry growled. Although he'd crouched to check on the sweets witch, his eyes were on Bellatrix and Rodolphus as they rushed over people and down the length of the train. "They're just asleep. We don't have time to mess around with them! At least I don't." With that he was chasing the two Death Eaters, his eyes narrowed and his wand finally drawn.
**
Inside the compartment, Draco groaned, slowly coming around. He lifted his hands to his face, wincing when they met split skin and came back wet with cool blood. "Get off of me, Granger!" He hissed as the Gryffindor continued to fuss over him. He couldn't take another 'are you alright?' coming from her mouth in that annoying voice of hers.
"Get this stupid cart out of here!" Ginny shouted and gave it a sharp kick, a box of chocoballs rolled to the ground.
"The wheel's just turned." Luna replied with a smile and crawled on the seat to lean over and turn the crooked tire around. She had to grab her fingers back before they could be pinched because Ginny shoved the cart as hard as she could the moment she felt it give.
"Harry! Ron!" The littlest Weasley yelled as she scrambled out of the compartment after them.
Ginny didn't get very far. A black robed figure was there to meet her the moment she stepped out into the hallway. A strong hand wrapped around her throat, an even stronger arm around her waist.
"Ginny!" Hermione gasped but the moment she even rose to her feet, the Death Eater that held the red head captive shook his head.
"Nah ah ah." He tsked, his grip on Ginny's throat tightening in a way that made the girl's eyes bug out. "One more move and I'll snap this pretty little neck of hers in half. We wouldn't want that would we?"
Hermione glared, clenching her teeth and slowly lowered back to her seat. "That's right." The Death Eater crowed, taking in the sight. Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco, slumped and bleeding on the floor. "No struggling now." He said slowly. "If you just do as your told you might, and I stress this heavily, make it out alive. Let's have all your wands. Come on now, toss them into the hallway." He stepped aside so the group would have a clear shot, re-wrapping his fingers around Ginny's throat.
The group hesitated, but only because Ginny was glaring at them with 'don't you dare' eyes.
Neville was the first to obey, taking his wand out slowly and giving it a toss into the hall. Luna followed, then Hermione. "You too, little baby Malfoy." The Death Eater slowly smiled.
Draco's gray eyes narrowed, his eyes scanning the floor.
"Draco! Your wand!" Hermione sounded anxious and shrill when he didn't produce it right away.
"Shut up, Granger. I dropped it!" He hissed and finally found what he was looking for. Picking up a wand from the ground his eyes narrowed on the cloaked Death Eater before tossing it into the hallway.
**
"Harry! Harry, wait." Ron reached out and grabbed his friend's elbow, stopping him again. Bellatrix and Lestrange had disappeared into a large compartment at the head of the train and they were just about ready to follow them in.
"What is it, now?" Harry, annoyed at having his vengeance delayed, looked back over at him.
"My wand." He announced. "It got knocked out of my hand back at the compartment. I left it there!" Ron glanced down the train, squinting past the fallen students and teachers towards their compartment but it was too far away.
"It's too late!" Harry announced and pushed into the compartment.
In hindsight, this probably wasn't a very good move. Bellatrix and Rodolphus had been waiting for them. Two consecutive spells were shot out the door as it opened, lashing out at two different targets. Ron, who never even stood a chance without a wand, crumpled to the floor unconscious. Harry, however, was much more on the ball. "Protego! Expelliarmus!" He heard Bellatrix shriek as her wand flew from her hand. Evening his own out with her chest, Harry, his eyes narrowed and sharp, stepped inside the compartment.
The group of four students that had been using the compartment, all prefects by the badges on their chests, were slumped over each other just like everyone in the hallway had been. Rodolphus was standing behind his wife, his own wand lifted and pointing at Harry. He looked at Harry as if it were Christmas time and he was his gift.
"It's too late! You're too late!" Rodolphus exclaimed.
"That's not how it looks to me." Harry replied, his hand trembling from how tight his fist was around his wand. "It looks to me like you're about to become a widower, Lestrange!"
"Uh oh!" Bellatrix smiled and leaned back against her husband, seemingly nonplused by both Harry's death threat and the wand in his hand. "I think he's gunna kill me!" She spoke in a sugar, baby-tone.
Rodolphus smiled, his arm sliding around Bellatrix's waist and leaning forward past her wild black hair to look at Harry over her shoulder. "Oh, I see. Well I guess you don't care about your little friends then. That's alright with me, I'd rather have just you here anyway."
"What about my friends?" Harry asked tensely but before anyone could reply, he heard Hermione's voice, shrill with fright, calling to him.
"Harry! Harry!"
"Well..." Bellatrix said slowly, her white fingers rubbing slowly over the back of her husband's hand. "You don't think we'd come here alone, do you?" She smiled slowly in a way that made Harry feel minuscule. "After I saw how positively terrible it was for you to loose my stupid cousin, I had the most brilliant idea! Wouldn't it be positively delightful fun to kill everyone that you've ever allowed to get close to you?"
Harry's face drained of color. Bellatrix burst into laughter at the sick expression he made and gingerly, Rodolphus moved her away, advancing towards Harry around her. "That face." He said slowly, licking his lips. "Harry Potter–that will be the only face you'll ever show me."
"Don't come any closer!" Harry snapped, taking a step away as Rodolphus approached.
"Don't you want to check on your friends?" Bellatrix asked in between her laughter. "They're probably desperately crying for you now, wondering why you won't come back and save them."
Harry balked, grinding his teeth. He couldn't turn around. He couldn't. If he looked they would get him for sure.
"Harry!" Hermione called again. She sounded so pleading, just like Bellatrix had said she would, that he couldn't help himself. He turned, tried to sprint from the compartment, but he wasn't quick enough. Lestrange's spell hit him square in the back, pitching him forward on top of Ron. Harry barely had enough time to look down the hallway to see a knot of people running towards him before Lestrange took hold of him by the ankles and dragged him back into the room.
Rodolphus was breathing heavily, an excited glint in his eye as he crawled on top of Harry, pinning his arms to his sides with his knees and his hands on his neck, squeezing the hollow of his throat with his thumbs. Harry lifted his wand to jab it in Lestrange's side but when he opened his mouth to say his spell nothing came out but a gurgle. Rodolphus pushed deeper and Harry felt his head fill with pressure, tears leaking from his eyes behind his glasses. It hurt more than he'd ever thought it would and he couldn't even struggle, trapped beneath the sadistic man.
"Dark red first, then purple, then blue..." Rodolphus was saying, his smile twitching and tilted on his face. "Squirm, Potter. Cry. Gasp for breath. It's all useless, it's all so useless. I could kill you so easily." He leaned forward fiercely, adding the pressure of his body to the strength of his hands. Inches away from Harry's face, the Gryffindor could feel his hot breath breaking over his skin, his own inhale polluted by the other's exhale.
"You're so beautiful like this." Rodolphus' voice was high and brittle. "I might not be able to contain myself. I might not be able to!" He began to laugh softly. Through the buzzing haze and flashing lights that had overcome his vision and senses, Harry was barely aware as the Death Eater leaned over him and licked a long, wet line up the side of his face. His face twisted in repulsion as Rodolphus shifted on top of his body, pressed into him with his knees, and then leaned forward to touch his face and mouth with his wet, grinning lips.
"Rodolphus you're disgusting!" Bellatrix wailed with laughter.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!"
Barely aware of what was going on around him, Harry felt the tightness on his throat subside, felt Rodolphus slump against him. He heard Bellatrix scream as if she were very far away or if he were at the bottom of a very deep pool of water. He opened his eyes to see the watery, distorted figure of Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway to the compartment, his wand drawn and his bloody face twisted in rage as he cast again and again and again. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Both Bellatrix and Rodolphus were unconscious but that didn't seem to stop Draco's casting at all.
"Stop it, Draco!" Hermione was the one that pulled him away, the blonde shaking with rage. Ginny and Neville stooped to roll Rodolphus off of Harry and pull the Gryffindor to his feet. Luna helped Ron regain himself with a simple "Ennervate."
"Are you alright? Harry are you okay?"
The Golden Boy of Gryffindor wobbled slightly in their arms, curled around their grip and coughed, one hand on his throat, the other wiping away the memory of Rodolphus' mouth from his own. "Harry are you alright?" Neville was wide eyed with concerned, Ginny rubbing Harry's back lightly.
"You're not...you're not dead." Harry wheezed and felt himself lapse into another coughing fit.
"No, we're not." Ginny replied, just a little begrudgingly as she looked from Harry to Draco. "Thanks to Ron. He left his wand in the compartment. Malfoy pretended it was his, soo when the stupid Death Eater thought we were all disarmed and let his guard down he stunned him."
"He did what?" Ron cried in disbelief from the ground. "I don't believe it!"
"Never mind that." Hermione brushed it off sternly, trying to keep them on track. "What are we going to do about the Death Eaters? About everyone on the train!"
"We should keep them together." Ginny replied, more than eager to not talk about Draco and his heroic act. "Let's get the students out of here and then drag the third in here. We can lock the door and then start waking people up." Like the professors that road along on the train.
"That's a good idea." Harry agreed and although he was still wobbly on his feet, he lead the way back to their compartment.
When they arrived, their tired bodies were forced once more into alarm. The Death Eater was gone. "Where is he?" Harry asked tensely, reaching for his wand.
"What do you mean where is he?" Ron, although still wandless, had much the same idea, his eyes darting around.
"That's impossible! We left him right here!" Hermione squealed, looking from the compartment to Draco who had been strangely silent. The blonde's eyes were narrowed, glaring past them and into the compartment. "He was unconscious, I checked," Hermione added.
"That means..." Neville's voice trailed off and he looked back down the hall of the train. As his train of thought filtered through the other students gathered, they broke off in a run back the way they'd came.
"No!" Harry shouted when they arrived. Frustration welled in his gut and into the angry parts of his brain. In rage he gave the compartment door a sharp kick. Besides the unconscious students, this compartment was empty as well. Not even a wand remained to attest to the Death Eaters that had been there."They're gone! I can't believe they're gone!"
Draco's reaction to the news about his father's escape was nothing like Harry had ever expected, no matter how many times he'd stuck up for his former enemy and no matter how many times he claimed that Draco had changed. The blonde had actually looked frightened, became more and more so the further he read. When he had finished, he shoved the paper back at Remus, gathered his things, and left the room without a word to anyone.
"You should sit down and have something to eat," Mrs. Weasley offered, having calmed down considerably since Draco's initial return. She followed him a few steps into the hall, even.
"I'll pass." Draco replied in a dead tone and went straight to his room, slamming his door closed. The noise was cue for Mrs. Black to begin her wailing.
"He's probably going up there to throw a party." Ron muttered, wincing slightly as the cursing and screaming began.
"Shut up, Ron!" Harry snapped at his best friend and left after Draco. He jogged out of the drawing room and up the stairs. "You too, you stupid painting!" He glared at Mrs. Black as he passed.
"What's his problem?" Ginny asked a bit skeptically, her hands against her ears as she joined her brother's side. She didn't turn to Ron for an answer though, his were always irrational anyway. Hermione was a better candidate for information, unfortunately for Ron.
"Draco's been," Hermione fiddled with a way to word just what 'Harry's problem' was. To come out and say it sounded so unbelievable. "Well Harry and I have been working on him a lot lately to, you know, make him think about his future."
"Oh I see." Ginny didn't looked very convinced. "You know, I really don't think that's going to work. People don't just turn against their breeding like that, Hermione."
By now, to the relief of everyone in Grimmauld Place, Mr. Weasley and Professor Snape had finished stunning the portraits into silence. Ginny lowered her hands from her ears and looked towards Ron. "What about you? What do you think about all of this?"
"Rubbish." Ron waved his hand 'no' quickly, frowning.
"Yeah, I agree. For once."
"But Ginny," Hermione began.
The red head girl smiled at her friend. "It's alright, Hermione, don't worry about it. Look, we can agree to disagree. You saw how Malfoy was last year. He promised retribution for his stupid father. People just don't say things like that and then forget about them the next day." She didn't really want to talk about Draco anymore. After wondering where he went and then watching him stare stupidly at the Prophet before storming out, she'd filled her quota of Malfoy time for the day.
"It's been more than a day, Ginny."
"Well, whatever. You know what I mean. I wouldn't trust him. I don't trust him."
Hermione sighed, looking between brother and sister with disappointment. "I can understand this lummox not giving him a chance," She gestured to Ron who only looked slightly offended, "but you're a girl, Ginny, you should have some sense!"
"I do have sense!" Ginny protested, frowning a bit. "That's why I'm saying you shouldn't trust him!"
"The point is this," Hermione continued. If Ginny took Ron's side it would be two on two. Already a small rift was forming between them, but this could tear it wider. "If he's going to have any chance at all, we have to give it to him. We have to give him the opportunity to show us he can become a better person."
"I don't care what happens to Malfoy. That whole family is rotten, I don't know how many times I've heard that from you and even Harry! If you ask me, you're the ones who don't have any sense." Ginny had placed her hands on her hips, her voice turning a bit sour as she was forced to continue on with this Draco nonsense.
It was definitely a stalemate. The two girls looked at each other before Hermione shook her head, dejected.
"The only way I'll even consider giving him a chance, Hermione," Ginny amended seeing her friends disheartened condition, "is if he apologized to my family for everything he's ever done to us. If he can do it sincerely then maybe I'll believe him."
Hermione blanched slightly. Even now, after everything, that seemed impossible.
**
Upstairs, Harry knocked for the third time on Draco's door. "Let me in." He said again, talking to the wood. "Come on, Draco. Let's talk about this!"
Inside his room, Draco rolled his eyes. Let's talk about this? What a perfectly perfect Potter thing to say. "Go away." He called to the door. "There isn't anything to talk about!" He told himself sternly. He returned to unpacking his Diagon Alley things, trying to fit them all into his trunk.
"I'm coming in!" Harry announced.
When Draco heard the door open he glared at the roof of his trunk, annoyed, and called "Wait! I'm naked!"
The door slammed shut again.
Draco smirked.
When he had finished putting away all of his purchases and Harry was still knocking on the door, Draco gave up. He brushed his hands off on his pants and pulled the door open. On the other side, Harry looked agitated. His green eyes lashed over Draco's body before he said in an angry voice, "you weren't naked!"
Draco smiled and moved away from the door, leaving it open, and invitation for the other to follow. Harry did step in, closing the door behind him. "Would it have been so terrible if I was?" He asked with a smile before he took a seat on the bed, leaning back against his hands.
Harry glared at him when he said that, a faint blush creeping into his cheeks. "I slammed the door didn't I?"
Draco laughed out loud, shaking his head slowly. "That you did, Potty, that you did."
"Look." Harry felt a little awkward standing in front of Draco while he laughed at him so he spoke up. "About your parents,"
"What about them?" The blonde's mirth drifted away slowly as his smile ebbed.
"Well, your father. What are you going to do?"
"What am I going to do?" Draco's brows furrowed in puzzlement. The way he threw Harry's own question back at him made Harry feel stupid and the Gryffindor frowned. "I'm not going to do anything, what could I do?"
"I don't know," Harry said slowly. "I just thought that, maybe..."
Draco shook his head again. "Please. Potter, what did you expect? That I'd be beside myself with emotion?"
"M-Maybe." The Gryffindor looked down at his feet with an awkward sigh.
Draco looked away from him, glancing at the rectangle of moonlight cast on the wall next to him from his small window. "Fine, then." He said, coming to a decision. "I'll tell you that honestly I'm a bit nervous. Scared."
Harry looked up at Draco as he said that, tilting his head to the side. He'd never heard Draco admit to being scared of anything before. If he ever imagined Draco would confide in him with what he was afraid of, his father being a part of it was something he'd never expect. Even Draco had been constantly protective about his own family. "What are you afraid of?"
"Well. He's out, isn't he?" Slowly, Draco turned back to face him. Harry was a bit startled at how cold and edged his features were, gray eyes narrowed and sharp like knife blades, his mouth a serious line. "If he wants to, he'll be able to find me. He'll drag me back with him into his world. If that happens, well, we both know the outcome."
Harry felt his heart sink. Draco had come such a long way from the vindictive prat Harry was used to. He ate with them, he made small talk with them, he hadn't even called anyone anything terrible, except for that almost slip up earlier that evening with Mrs. Weasley. It was so plain to him how much effort Draco was putting into everything, he was frustrated that more people didn't see it. It was frustrating that more people didn't see Draco in the Malfoy, struggling to break free.
"You don't have to be a slave to that destiny." Harry insisted.
"We've already been over this, Potter." Draco shook his head. "I am taking this as an opportunity to be a different person."
"That's not what I mean!" Harry insisted, moving closer to him so he could look Draco in the face, without being obscured by evening shadows. He needed Draco to see that he was earnest. "You can fight against them. You can fight against your father even if he takes you back."
"How stupidly noble of you to say." Draco droned, watching Harry carefully. "What would I have to fight for, Potter, hm? Really, it's time we're honest with each other. There isn't anything waiting for me here. The people in this house can barely stand me, even Professor Snape's gotten tired with putting up with me. This house, what it stands for, may be what I want but the pull of it isn't great enough for me to choose death over life for it."
"You don't have any hope, is that what you're saying?" Harry asked, his voice softening as he lowered it.
"I'll never be accepted here." He reiterated. "Maybe I should stop trying."
"Don't say that!" Harry interjected and took Draco by the shoulders suddenly. "You should never stop trying. It's not going to be easy. There are decades of bad blood between your family and the other families. Your father's actions, the side he chose, that makes it a million times more difficult for you. But you can't give up."
It was difficult for Draco not to make some scathing comment. It would be easier to just discourage Harry. At least then he might be spared this sugary rhetoric. "I can't." He said flatly.
A nervous look swept over Harry's face, his sweaty fingers tightening over Draco's shoulders as his eyes searched the blonde's face. "I'll help you." He said finally.
"You're going to help me? How do you plan to do that?" Draco began, lifting his hands to brush Harry's away from his shoulders. He was stopped as the Gryffindor swooped down on him, his grip tightening as he held Draco steady and shoved their mouths together.
As far as kissing went, Harry Potter was pretty virginal. All that he knew on the subject he'd absorbed from television, when he was allowed to watch it, and last year with Cho Chang. His inexperience showed through as he kissed Draco now, awkwardly, sloppily, and nervous.
Against his mouth, Draco's was cool and still, a fact which swiftly became distressing to the dark haired youth. One of Draco's hands wrapped around Harry's wrist, prying one hand off of his shoulder before he leaned back to break the kiss, turning his head to the side to wipe his mouth on his shoulder.
"Potter!" Harry wasn't sure if he sounded angry or just flustered. "That was easily the most disgusting thing I've ever been on the receiving end of." Alright, that was anger.
Harry's heart sank. It fell into his feet when Draco pushed him away completely. "I"m sorry," He said quietly, feeling completely humiliated.
"Get out!" Draco snapped, pointing towards the door.
"I'm sorry." Harry said again, mentally kicking himself. Was he crazy? What was he thinking? why had he done that stupid, stupid thing!.
"Just get out!" He ordered and without another apology, Harry left the room, closing the door tightly behind him. So stupid!
****
Over the next few weeks, Hermione tried to determine just what had happened between Harry and Draco the evening that Lucius Malfoy had escaped from Azkaban, but neither boys were very forthcoming with an answer. It was obvious that something large had occurred. Harry and Draco took great care in avoiding each other. One or the other was always late for breakfast and lunch and more often than not, at dinner, if one was there the other had gone to bed early.
About a week before they were scheduled to leave for Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley had gone on a trip alone to Diagon Alley to acquire the necessary items from the list that Harry, Ron, and Hermione hadn't been able to obtain before the attack.
Afar as attacks went, after the raid on Azkaban and the escape of Lucius Malfoy, there had been little Dark Arts news to report. It seemed whatever the Death Eaters were trying to accomplish had been finished, or they had just put their plans on hold. As a whole, the wizarding community was a little distrustful of the sudden cessation of all attacks, but at the same time, secretly they dared to believe that maybe it was, in fact, all over.
On the morning that all Hogwart's students were supposed to report to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, Mrs. Weasley woke everyone up late. Even though 12 Grimmauld Place had been preparing for this day, the grand exodus, all of their planning didn't stand a chance against circumstance.
"Arthur, why! Please tell me why you didn't wake me up if you knew I was still in bed! You knew how important this day is! You knew I was planning on getting everyone up early so for once we might actually be able to make this an orderly affair!" Mrs. Weasley was madly packing multiple lunches. If anyone in the house was an expert at this, it would be Mrs. Weasley, but she was having a difficult time of it now since the five lunches she made had to be especially large to make up for the breakfast the children wouldn't be getting. It didn't help Mrs. Weasley's temper, or the situation, that all the racket everyone made from getting ready in such a rush had woke up Mrs. Black. She wailed and screamed and cursed along with the other portraits in the hallway.
"I"m sorry, Molly." Arthur had tried to give her a hand but had swiftly gotten in the way and chased out of the kitchen. He stood in the doorway now, watching her helplessly as she hurried to put everything together. "I thought there was time for a little sleeping in and then when I finally got that little toy car working–"
"I don't care Arthur!" She turned towards him and pointed towards the hall. "Go make sure the children are getting ready! I swear, you and your muggle toys always get us into all sorts of trouble!"
"Right away, Molly, right away." Mr. Weasley spared himself an upcoming lecture about responsibility versus games by slipping away eagerly to a chorus of 'filthy blood traitor, disgusting vermin, putrid disease' from Mrs. Black
"Boys, how are we doing, are we almost ready?" Mr. Weasley asked, peeking his head into Harry and Ron's room.
"Coming!" Both boys shouted. Ron was trying to brush his teeth and close his trunk at the same time. Harry was pulling on his jacket but not before Mr. Weasley could see that he'd put on his shirt inside out. "Can't you do something about those screaming paintings?" Ron asked before Mr. Weasley went to check on the girls.
Hermione and Ginny were in much the same situation. Although their trunks were set against the wall outside of their room, Hermione was trying to straighten up their beds while Ginny searched for a brush, her hair wild and tangled, fresh from the pillow. "I packed it! I think I packed it, this really bites. I look like a scarecrow!"
"Let me help you." Arthur said with a smile and spelled her hair straight and in place. At least he could do that right!
Ginny, who had been a little startled, jumped slightly at the spell but then glanced at herself in the mirror. "Dad!" Mr. Weasley looked confused at her outrage. "I haven't worn my hair like this since I was eleven years old!"
"I'm sorry, honey." Alright, maybe he couldn't even do that right. "I better get these trunks loaded into the car." He said and started to leave.
"Oh, Mr. Weasley?" Hermione stopped him as she gathered up her hair in a pony tail. "Do you think you could do something about those screaming portraits?"
He smiled tightly.
Draco Malfoy was the only one who was ready. He brushed past Mr. Weasley, dragging his trunk behind him. The edge of his trunk thunked loudly on each and every stair. If everyone was going to make a bunch of noise, so was he. "And you shut up!" He hissed at the paintings as he moved past them.
It took a great deal of effort and shouting but nearly on time, Mr. And Mrs. Weasley had Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco piled into the back of the car, each with a brown sack lunch in their laps. The car was full, even for a charmed Ministry vehicle.
Platform Nine and Three Quarters wasn't its usual crowded bustle of students, their parents, and luggage when they arrived, however. As everyone stepped through the barrier and onto the platform they were greeted by a slightly depressing sight. Only small handfuls of people had gathered and most of them were students that Harry recognized. The number of first years was small and one of them, a little, brown haired girl, was clinging to her mother and crying. "I don't want to go! They're going to kill us, I don't want to go!"
"What's going on?" Harry asked, turning away from the nearly vacant platform to Mr. And Mrs. Weasley.
"It's been in the Prophet, dear." Mrs. Weasley looked a bit disappointed as she looked at the gathering students and then back to her own brood. "The numbers of students, both new and old, is very small this year. Parents are afraid to send their children away with all of these attacks by Death Eaters. I was hoping that people would have some more sense but it seems like they don't know how to be anything but afraid, after all."
"But that's so stupid!" Harry protested, glaring at the train. "Don't they know how safe Hogwarts is? I'd send my kid there as soon as possible!"
"You have an opinion of Hogwarts and its Headmaster that not too many people share, Harry." Mr. Weasley explained as he gestured towards the platform.
Ron snorted, pushing his trunk towards the train. As he passed Draco, he muttered "and how much do you want to bet that most of the first years get sorted into Slytherin. There's nothing to worry about if you are the enemy!"
****
Once the train actually started moving, Harry felt a little better. He was sitting with Ginny, Neville, and Luna Lovegood, waiting for Ron and Hermione to get done with their prefects duties before they could join them. He'd been a little disappointed when Neville had told him that neither Seamus or Dean were coming back this term. That meant that it would just be him, Neville, and Ron in the sixth year boy's dorm. Although, this news seemed paltry in comparison to Neville when Harry told him just how and with who Harry had spent his entire summer.
"You lived in the same house as Draco Malfoy all summer long!" Neville repeated for at least the sixth time, watching Harry with wide, round eyes. "What happened? Did he try to attack you?"
"Not really." Harry glanced from Neville to Ginny, waiting for the girl to say something. She had her mouth closed and was looking out the window as the landscaped rushed past beneath them. "He really didn't do much of anything. We didn't really spend all that much time together."
"But still," Neville shook his head making a scared face and slumping slightly in his seat. "It couldn't be how anyone would want to spend their summer vacation, anyway."
"I think I'd like to give it a try," Luna said in that vacant voice of hers, looking up from the paper she was reading and at Neville with her surprised eyes. "It would be interesting. I've always wanted to see first hand what it would be like to live like that."
"Harry seems to think he can make something worthwhile out of Malfoy, too." Ginny announced, finally adding her part in the conversation. "He and Hermione have been nothing but nice to the slimy git all summer long."
Neville looked at Harry again, his brows lifting slightly. "Wow, Harry..." His voice trailed off as he tried to find something to say. "That's...very brave of you."
"That's a word for it." Ginny snorted.
Harry found himself becoming a little agitated. Between Neville's half hearted support and Ginny's ability to make everything he was doing sound completely despicable, he was feeling more than a little cornered. To top it all off, Luna was staring at him with her startling gaze and it was beginning to make him squirm. "I just feel a little bit bad for him!" He tried to explain for possibly the hundredth time, slumping in his seat.
"He's slime!" Ginny protested and folded her arms over her chest.
"No he's not!" Harry snapped and glared at her, particularly vengeful. Neville leaned away from him slightly but Harry didn't care. "His parents," Well, they weren't exactly in Azkaban anymore, were they? He couldn't say that. "He's away from his parents right now!"
"You've said this all before." Ginny announced. "Just tell us, Harry! Why are you so insistent on protecting him?"
Harry glowered at them, especially the little redhead girl before he answered, his hands in fists at his sides. "Because I feel responsible for it! I am responsible for it. For making him an orphan. You hate him for whatever stupid reason! Because he's been mean to you, because his family has always been mean to your family, whatever! Those are such stupid reasons, Ginny! He's never really done anything to any of us except pull some stupid pranks and call us some mean names! That doesn't mean he deserves our contempt for the rest of his life!"
"He's a Death Eater, don't forget about that itsy bitsy detail." Ginny said wryly.
"But he's not a Death Eater!" Harry was on his feet before he even knew what he was doing. "His parents are Death Eaters but he's not! It really sucks when people hate you because of something your father did!" He informed her thinking if anyone knew that, he did. Snape reviled him because of his father's actions over a decade ago!
Just then the door to the compartment slid open. It was Ron and Hermione coming back from their prefect's meeting. Ron took in the scene, Luna staring at Ginny and Harry like bugs under a glass, Neville cowering slightly looking a little bit frightened, and Harry on his feet jabbing his finger at his enraged, little sister. "Sodding Malfoy!" He announced and pushed into the compartment, pushing Harry's hand down and taking a seat.
Hermione closed the compartment door and sat next to Ginny and Luna. She acted quickly to change the topic of conversation before things got out of hand. "Sixty two Hogwarts students didn't return this year," She announced. "There are only fourteen new students this year."
"They say Hufflepuff has to completely revamp their Quidditch team. Only their beaters came back. Ravenclaw has to replace a keeper, a beater, and their seeker." Ron added, begrudgingly turning away from the row that had been brewing. As much as he liked to fight about how stupid Harry and Hermione were being about Malfoy, this wasn't exactly the time.
"They'd better get it together." Harry replied as he sat back down, remembering how last year the majority of the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been banned from playing. It had been difficult to fill the necessary positions, he couldn't imagine two houses having to go through it as well.
"They may have to start Quidditch a bit late this year, at least." Ron muttered.
At that time they were thankfully interrupted by the snack trolley. Although Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all had lunches given to them by Mrs. Weasley before leaving, no one could pass up the opportunity to enjoy a Chocolate Frog or two.
They were much more happily enjoying themselves with laps full of candy when their compartment doors slid open again. It was Draco Malfoy, already in his uniform, snidely glaring in at them. "So this is where the losers hang out. Look at you sitting all together, a darling little band of outcasts and freaks."
Draco let himself in, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. Ginny made her brother proud when she shot back meanly, "speaking of losers and freaks where are your bodyguards this time around? They can't stand you anymore, either, huh?"
"I heard some of the Slytherin parents telling their children to stay away from Malfoy," Luna interjected, lowering her Quibbler again, her unnerving stare fixing on Draco. "Maybe they won't let him sit in their compartment anymore."
When Ginny and Ron began to whoop with laughter, the corner of Draco's eye twitched. "Hardly the case, Loony, I assure you."
"Candy? Snacks? Anyone want a little treat?" A woman was calling from outside. The compartment's bickering faded as all sets of eyes turned towards the door.
"Hey..." Ron said slowly, looking down at the handful of jellybeans he'd been munching on. "Didn't the cart just come by a little while ago?"
"Today's special!" The woman in the hallway chimed again. "I have all sorts of goodies for you!" There was the loud bang of something running into the door. Draco, looking perturbed and ready to tell off the annoying sweets witch, turned towards the door and slid it open. "Introducing the new Bertie Bott's flavor, Cold Hard Revenge!" The sweets cart was then shoved in through the open compartment door and right into Draco. He gripped the edge of it as he went down and was dragged all the way to the back of the compartment when his back crashed against the wall.
Harry recognized the woman pushing the cart immediately. Bellatrix Lestrange. Before he could react, the cart was drawn back and shoved forward into Draco again, smashing right into his face and pressing his head against the wall of the train. He groaned, his hands falling limply from the sides of the metal cart.
"Woah!" Bellatrix ducked out of view behind the cart as a jolt of magic shot past her ear. Luna Lovegood was surprisingly the first one with her wand out, although maybe that was because she kept it tucked behind her ear at ready hand.
Harry was over come with the unnatural rage he'd felt the last time he'd faced Bellatrix Lestrange, chasing her down the halls of the Ministry of Magic, Crucio on his lips. He didn't even try to feel for his wand when he attacked her, lunging at the crouching witch.
"Reducto!" The curse hit Harry full in the chest, sending him crashing back into Ron, knocking the wand the red had had taken out from his hand and tumbling them both to the floor. Apparently Bellatrix didn't come alone. Another cloaked figure stood in the doorway, but Harry recognized Rodolphus Lestrange by the wide, cracked smile he wore.
"You!" Harry seethed, pushing off of Ron and getting to his feet.
"Me!" Rodolphus exclaimed excitedly and grabbed his wife around the waist, pulling her from the room, spells cracking the ground at their feet. Ginny was trying to climb around Luna to go after them but the snack cart was in the way.
"Draco! Draco!" Hermione had leaned over and was shaking the unconscious blonde lightly. "Wake up!"
Harry didn't wait to stop and help either of them. He ran out of the compartment, following Bellatrix and Rodolphus, Ron on his heels.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed, grabbing the back of his friends shirt to pull him back before he could trip over a body that was sprawled out in the hall. "Look out!" The original sweet witch that Harry had almost stepped on wasn't the only slumped over figure in the hallway. It seemed that anyone who had been in the corridor had collapsed wherever they'd stood, even halfway out of compartment doors. "Are they..." Ron gulped. "Are they dead?"
"They're not dead!" Harry growled. Although he'd crouched to check on the sweets witch, his eyes were on Bellatrix and Rodolphus as they rushed over people and down the length of the train. "They're just asleep. We don't have time to mess around with them! At least I don't." With that he was chasing the two Death Eaters, his eyes narrowed and his wand finally drawn.
**
Inside the compartment, Draco groaned, slowly coming around. He lifted his hands to his face, wincing when they met split skin and came back wet with cool blood. "Get off of me, Granger!" He hissed as the Gryffindor continued to fuss over him. He couldn't take another 'are you alright?' coming from her mouth in that annoying voice of hers.
"Get this stupid cart out of here!" Ginny shouted and gave it a sharp kick, a box of chocoballs rolled to the ground.
"The wheel's just turned." Luna replied with a smile and crawled on the seat to lean over and turn the crooked tire around. She had to grab her fingers back before they could be pinched because Ginny shoved the cart as hard as she could the moment she felt it give.
"Harry! Ron!" The littlest Weasley yelled as she scrambled out of the compartment after them.
Ginny didn't get very far. A black robed figure was there to meet her the moment she stepped out into the hallway. A strong hand wrapped around her throat, an even stronger arm around her waist.
"Ginny!" Hermione gasped but the moment she even rose to her feet, the Death Eater that held the red head captive shook his head.
"Nah ah ah." He tsked, his grip on Ginny's throat tightening in a way that made the girl's eyes bug out. "One more move and I'll snap this pretty little neck of hers in half. We wouldn't want that would we?"
Hermione glared, clenching her teeth and slowly lowered back to her seat. "That's right." The Death Eater crowed, taking in the sight. Neville, Luna, Hermione, Ginny, and Draco, slumped and bleeding on the floor. "No struggling now." He said slowly. "If you just do as your told you might, and I stress this heavily, make it out alive. Let's have all your wands. Come on now, toss them into the hallway." He stepped aside so the group would have a clear shot, re-wrapping his fingers around Ginny's throat.
The group hesitated, but only because Ginny was glaring at them with 'don't you dare' eyes.
Neville was the first to obey, taking his wand out slowly and giving it a toss into the hall. Luna followed, then Hermione. "You too, little baby Malfoy." The Death Eater slowly smiled.
Draco's gray eyes narrowed, his eyes scanning the floor.
"Draco! Your wand!" Hermione sounded anxious and shrill when he didn't produce it right away.
"Shut up, Granger. I dropped it!" He hissed and finally found what he was looking for. Picking up a wand from the ground his eyes narrowed on the cloaked Death Eater before tossing it into the hallway.
**
"Harry! Harry, wait." Ron reached out and grabbed his friend's elbow, stopping him again. Bellatrix and Lestrange had disappeared into a large compartment at the head of the train and they were just about ready to follow them in.
"What is it, now?" Harry, annoyed at having his vengeance delayed, looked back over at him.
"My wand." He announced. "It got knocked out of my hand back at the compartment. I left it there!" Ron glanced down the train, squinting past the fallen students and teachers towards their compartment but it was too far away.
"It's too late!" Harry announced and pushed into the compartment.
In hindsight, this probably wasn't a very good move. Bellatrix and Rodolphus had been waiting for them. Two consecutive spells were shot out the door as it opened, lashing out at two different targets. Ron, who never even stood a chance without a wand, crumpled to the floor unconscious. Harry, however, was much more on the ball. "Protego! Expelliarmus!" He heard Bellatrix shriek as her wand flew from her hand. Evening his own out with her chest, Harry, his eyes narrowed and sharp, stepped inside the compartment.
The group of four students that had been using the compartment, all prefects by the badges on their chests, were slumped over each other just like everyone in the hallway had been. Rodolphus was standing behind his wife, his own wand lifted and pointing at Harry. He looked at Harry as if it were Christmas time and he was his gift.
"It's too late! You're too late!" Rodolphus exclaimed.
"That's not how it looks to me." Harry replied, his hand trembling from how tight his fist was around his wand. "It looks to me like you're about to become a widower, Lestrange!"
"Uh oh!" Bellatrix smiled and leaned back against her husband, seemingly nonplused by both Harry's death threat and the wand in his hand. "I think he's gunna kill me!" She spoke in a sugar, baby-tone.
Rodolphus smiled, his arm sliding around Bellatrix's waist and leaning forward past her wild black hair to look at Harry over her shoulder. "Oh, I see. Well I guess you don't care about your little friends then. That's alright with me, I'd rather have just you here anyway."
"What about my friends?" Harry asked tensely but before anyone could reply, he heard Hermione's voice, shrill with fright, calling to him.
"Harry! Harry!"
"Well..." Bellatrix said slowly, her white fingers rubbing slowly over the back of her husband's hand. "You don't think we'd come here alone, do you?" She smiled slowly in a way that made Harry feel minuscule. "After I saw how positively terrible it was for you to loose my stupid cousin, I had the most brilliant idea! Wouldn't it be positively delightful fun to kill everyone that you've ever allowed to get close to you?"
Harry's face drained of color. Bellatrix burst into laughter at the sick expression he made and gingerly, Rodolphus moved her away, advancing towards Harry around her. "That face." He said slowly, licking his lips. "Harry Potter–that will be the only face you'll ever show me."
"Don't come any closer!" Harry snapped, taking a step away as Rodolphus approached.
"Don't you want to check on your friends?" Bellatrix asked in between her laughter. "They're probably desperately crying for you now, wondering why you won't come back and save them."
Harry balked, grinding his teeth. He couldn't turn around. He couldn't. If he looked they would get him for sure.
"Harry!" Hermione called again. She sounded so pleading, just like Bellatrix had said she would, that he couldn't help himself. He turned, tried to sprint from the compartment, but he wasn't quick enough. Lestrange's spell hit him square in the back, pitching him forward on top of Ron. Harry barely had enough time to look down the hallway to see a knot of people running towards him before Lestrange took hold of him by the ankles and dragged him back into the room.
Rodolphus was breathing heavily, an excited glint in his eye as he crawled on top of Harry, pinning his arms to his sides with his knees and his hands on his neck, squeezing the hollow of his throat with his thumbs. Harry lifted his wand to jab it in Lestrange's side but when he opened his mouth to say his spell nothing came out but a gurgle. Rodolphus pushed deeper and Harry felt his head fill with pressure, tears leaking from his eyes behind his glasses. It hurt more than he'd ever thought it would and he couldn't even struggle, trapped beneath the sadistic man.
"Dark red first, then purple, then blue..." Rodolphus was saying, his smile twitching and tilted on his face. "Squirm, Potter. Cry. Gasp for breath. It's all useless, it's all so useless. I could kill you so easily." He leaned forward fiercely, adding the pressure of his body to the strength of his hands. Inches away from Harry's face, the Gryffindor could feel his hot breath breaking over his skin, his own inhale polluted by the other's exhale.
"You're so beautiful like this." Rodolphus' voice was high and brittle. "I might not be able to contain myself. I might not be able to!" He began to laugh softly. Through the buzzing haze and flashing lights that had overcome his vision and senses, Harry was barely aware as the Death Eater leaned over him and licked a long, wet line up the side of his face. His face twisted in repulsion as Rodolphus shifted on top of his body, pressed into him with his knees, and then leaned forward to touch his face and mouth with his wet, grinning lips.
"Rodolphus you're disgusting!" Bellatrix wailed with laughter.
"Stupefy! Stupefy!"
Barely aware of what was going on around him, Harry felt the tightness on his throat subside, felt Rodolphus slump against him. He heard Bellatrix scream as if she were very far away or if he were at the bottom of a very deep pool of water. He opened his eyes to see the watery, distorted figure of Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway to the compartment, his wand drawn and his bloody face twisted in rage as he cast again and again and again. "Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Both Bellatrix and Rodolphus were unconscious but that didn't seem to stop Draco's casting at all.
"Stop it, Draco!" Hermione was the one that pulled him away, the blonde shaking with rage. Ginny and Neville stooped to roll Rodolphus off of Harry and pull the Gryffindor to his feet. Luna helped Ron regain himself with a simple "Ennervate."
"Are you alright? Harry are you okay?"
The Golden Boy of Gryffindor wobbled slightly in their arms, curled around their grip and coughed, one hand on his throat, the other wiping away the memory of Rodolphus' mouth from his own. "Harry are you alright?" Neville was wide eyed with concerned, Ginny rubbing Harry's back lightly.
"You're not...you're not dead." Harry wheezed and felt himself lapse into another coughing fit.
"No, we're not." Ginny replied, just a little begrudgingly as she looked from Harry to Draco. "Thanks to Ron. He left his wand in the compartment. Malfoy pretended it was his, soo when the stupid Death Eater thought we were all disarmed and let his guard down he stunned him."
"He did what?" Ron cried in disbelief from the ground. "I don't believe it!"
"Never mind that." Hermione brushed it off sternly, trying to keep them on track. "What are we going to do about the Death Eaters? About everyone on the train!"
"We should keep them together." Ginny replied, more than eager to not talk about Draco and his heroic act. "Let's get the students out of here and then drag the third in here. We can lock the door and then start waking people up." Like the professors that road along on the train.
"That's a good idea." Harry agreed and although he was still wobbly on his feet, he lead the way back to their compartment.
When they arrived, their tired bodies were forced once more into alarm. The Death Eater was gone. "Where is he?" Harry asked tensely, reaching for his wand.
"What do you mean where is he?" Ron, although still wandless, had much the same idea, his eyes darting around.
"That's impossible! We left him right here!" Hermione squealed, looking from the compartment to Draco who had been strangely silent. The blonde's eyes were narrowed, glaring past them and into the compartment. "He was unconscious, I checked," Hermione added.
"That means..." Neville's voice trailed off and he looked back down the hall of the train. As his train of thought filtered through the other students gathered, they broke off in a run back the way they'd came.
"No!" Harry shouted when they arrived. Frustration welled in his gut and into the angry parts of his brain. In rage he gave the compartment door a sharp kick. Besides the unconscious students, this compartment was empty as well. Not even a wand remained to attest to the Death Eaters that had been there."They're gone! I can't believe they're gone!"