Draco's Guardian Chapter 1
Draco walked through a long corridor toward his room, wincing with every move. Tears rolled silently down his cheeks. No, please. Master, please. My Lord, no, have mercy, kept ringing through his head as he lay himself down gently on the side of his bed. He clutched his stomach, wishing some of the cuts would heal.
"DRACO!"
Draco groaned as he picked himself up off the king-sized bed. He looked warily at it, remembering the life he once had. What went wrong in my perfect life? He asked himself as he went down elegant steps with dark green carpeting. His father smirked at his slow and cautious steps.
"What is wrong, my beloved son? Scared of your own father?" Lucius Malfoy grabbed his son by the arm and yanked him closer. Draco could smell the sourness of his tormentor's breath.
Lucius hissed into his ear, "Aren't you so glad your mother left us, hmm?"
He pushed Malfoy towards the fireplace and pointed toward firewood. "I trust you will take the hint."
That night Draco was curled up under his covers, weeping quietly. He had had thoughts of running away frequently, but the thought of being caught was unbearable. Remembering early this afternoon was enough to keep him there in his room. "You ungrateful child," He remembered his father saying. He grimaced at the memory of his father using the Crutacius Curse on him. I've got to get away from here...Draco thought desperately. But how...
His tears dried on his soft cheeks as he slowly drifted into uneasy sleep. Dreams of suicide and murder tormented his nightlife. There was a new one tonight, one of him and Harry Potter becoming friends... It turned to Lucius with a wand. There were people in cloaks with their hoods up everywhere. Draco realized he was no longer dreaming. He was in the long corridor he had been in earlier. Who are these masked people? He asked himself.
"Aaahh, Draco, you're awake. What a surprise, what a surprise."
Lucius raised his wand and muttered something under his breath. Draco fell to the floor, unconscious.
Draco woke up in an unfamiliar bed. It was smaller than the one he had, and had blue covers, not green. He was in a fairly large room, with tall windows, which were letting the morning sunshine through misty, sheer curtains. There was hardwood flooring and wood bedside tables around him. He noticed there were reading spectacles on one of them.
"Where am I?" Draco wondered aloud.
"Hello, dear boy. I thought you would sleep longer than this. Or is it your hunger that woke you up?"
Draco's head shot toward the door to see Severus Snape standing there looking amused, yet concerned. He made to step forward, but Draco started. He pushed himself as far away from Severus as he could get. His mouth was open slightly and he squinted his eyes shut.
"Draco?" Snape asked with bewilderment. "Get away from me!" Draco sobbed out.
He pulled the covers over him and stayed there until he heard Severus leave. He poked his head out and gulped fresh air. He slowly caressed his bruises, which were all over his arms and torso. He cried, confused at where he was at, and what was Snape doing with him, and why he didn't remember anything from last night. He thought hard and remembered... cloaks. There had been people with hooded cloaks on... In his father's manor. Draco tried to remember more but it made his head hurt. He sighed and put his head on a pillow. Sleeping in...... Where am I? He thought and then fell into dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile, Severus took a walk in the forest near his house. He thought about last night, how he had come to the Malfoy Manor to discuss with Lucius the importance of his son... and there he was... Lord Voldemort himself. There were a lot of hooded people, too... Death Eaters. Poor Draco... I wish I'd have come sooner, rescue him from that place. Humph. I can't believe that Lucius was having regular meetings with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. What a git, forgetting how he used to love his son so much... As Severus walked into his house, he tripped over something. It was a wand, a thin and flexible one.
He walked into Draco's room, feeling the wand and studying it curiously. He looked up when he heard a gasp. There was Draco, eyeing the wand with fear.
Severus chuckled, "My lad, cheer up, it's OK."
"Wha... Where am I?" Draco whispered.
"You are in my home. I am taking care of you, Draco. Everything is going to be all right now." Severus smiled warmly at him. Draco smiled with relief, reluctantly.
Severus threw him his wand and then went to find Draco clean clothes. Draco fiddled with his wand, and tried hard not to cry. Why do I want to cry? He asked himself. Everything is OK now, right?
"Here are your clothes, Draco," Severus said.
He turned around to give him privacy. Draco got out of bed and took his clothes that he had been wearing for almost 2 weeks. When he was in clean boxers, Severus turned around. His mouth dropped open at the sight of the poor boy's black and blue arms and upper body.
"Draco, what happened? Dear boy, who did this to you? Was it your bloody father?" Severus asked with extreme dislike.
Draco jumped and hurried to cover his body up. When he was dressed, he reluctantly looked into Severus's eyes. He shook his head violently and asked for some soup. Severus nodded and went to make dinner.
End of Chapter 1