Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or characters from the book. This work of fiction is only for entertainment purposes.
A/N: This is kind of a pet project for me, definitely the most I've ever written so far, BUT it's not finished, not even halfway there, even though I have everything outlined. This will be SLASH, so if you don't like male/male relationships, don't read this. And no stupid review on 'slash is bad' either, because I've warned you beforehand and I'm not forcing you to read slash. Other than that, please review the story constructively (so, yay critisism, as long as it's not 'you suck, die'), because I definitely want to improve my writing, so any constructive critic reviews will be hugely appreciated.
Warning(s): There might be some spoilers from OotP (and the previous books) here, but this essentially is an Alternative Universe.
Pairing(s): unrequited Harry/Draco, Severus/Remus
"That was Voldemort!?"
Draco's mind was reeling. The Dark Lord, the wizard his father had gushed about all those years, their saviour, the one who was going to cleanse the world of all those Muggles and Mudbloods, was nothing more than a monster.
Draco might almost have mistaken it for a man, had he not seen those feline eyes, that pallid, almost illumine skin and those Dementor-like hands. Voldemort was definitely not what Draco had imagined and there was no disguising the disgust and disappointment in his voice.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore seemed amused. He probably wasn't even surprised that Draco had said Voldemort's name with such ease.
"And on behalf of Harry Potter and, of course, the Hogwarts faculty, I would like to express my gratitude for rescuing him from the hands of the Dark Lord. Naturally, there will be an award ceremony, presenting you wi-"
"NO! No, there's definitely no need for an award ceremony, sir." 'Especially not a public one' Draco muttered under his breath.
"But Mr. Malfoy, surely you should be commended for your heroic deed?"
Draco really couldn't stand that damned all-knowing tone.
"No sir, that's quite alright. May I be excused now?"
What he really needed was some time to think.
"Of course, Mr Malfoy. You and Mr. Potter have the day off tomorrow, to recuperate from the trying event."
"Thank you sir."
Draco was so occupied in his thoughts he barely noticed the soothing tones the Headmaster's phoenix was crooning for him while he was leaving.
---
The night found Draco sitting by the lake, contemplating his future. He'd always imagined himself a Death Eater; the most important man to Voldemort, next to his father of course. He'd imagined a glorious –but short- war lead by a most glorious man –he envisioned Voldemort to be somewhat like the handsome Salazar Slytherin he saw in the history books. Their victory would of course be celebrated with a ball in the third (and largest) ballroom at the Mansion where Draco would be able to rub in the Gryffindork trio's faces how he had been right all along and how he always knew they were barely fit to be serve his House-elves.
But now it seemed that it was them that had been right all along. The goody goody Griffindorks, who didn't see the necessity in separating the magical and muggle world, had always been on the good side. Of course, Draco hadn't seen the necessity in killing muggles either, but he had seen it as an extreme way of getting the point across. After all, Draco himself hadn't been above using sinister methods to get his way. No, Draco had seen and felt the evil energy that was Voldemort and it was nothing like the magnificent king he had envisioned. If this was the man, no, thing his father was following then it was time for Draco to choose another path.
"Alright, Malfoy?"
Draco looked up to Potter, who looked distinctively nervous.
"Potter. What are you doing here?"
"I came to thank you. I really thought I was going to die back there. I don't know how they got so close without anybody noticing."
Potter shuffled, looked indecisive for a second and then sat next to Draco. "I thought you wanted to follow Voldemort? You were always prattling on about how I was going to die horribly at the hands of your precious Dark Lord."
Potter was looking at him like he was trying to figure him out. Draco snorted.
"That was before I knew Voldemort was a cross between a basilisk and a Dementor."
Potter smiled. Draco realised he hadn't seen that smile in a long while.
"You're not even afraid of saying his name, are you?"
"No, not really," Draco drawled. "Fear never really did anything for me."
Potter snickered. "You know what Malfoy? You really are something."
They sat in silence for a while. Draco wondered how he was going to tell this to his parents. For the first time in his life he was afraid of confronting them. His parents always pulled through for him. Even though it was his father he always threatened with, his mother was the one that always got things done. He used to tell his father that his mother wore the wizard's hat in the house when he wanted to rile him up.
But now he wasn't so sure about the outcome. He'd heard how Marcus Flint had received the Cruciatus curse from both Voldemort and his father after he failed some ridiculously insignificant assignment. If he had received such a severe punishment for a simple thing, then Draco wasn't sure he'd get out of this with even a limb intact.
Draco sighed and got up. By the end of the week the students would be heading home. He needed to tell his friends what had happened and what he'd decided. Their parents were Death Eaters as well, so he couldn't hide at any of their houses, but maybe one of them had an abandoned summerhouse he could use. He was about to leave when Potter called him back.
"Malfoy, I was wondering. You're not all bad if you're not going to be a Death Eater-"
Draco huffed at that.
"And I really appreciate what you did for me. I hope this can be a new start, I hope we can be friends."
Potter held out his right hand. It was a gesture Draco had imagined many times in his life. He had always figured there'd be more grovelling and begging on Potter's behalf. Some part of him wanted to put up a fight, make things more difficult for Potter, but Draco was just too damned tired. If he was going to defy his parents, he'd need all the help he could get. And besides, he figured, Potter owed him a wizard's debt now, it was always best to keep those people close in case you needed to cash in on that debt.
Draco shook his hand. It was a monumental moment and Draco was a bit disappointed that they were the only wizards to witness it.
"You're on Potter. Friends it is."
End Chapter one