Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own it. As usual.

A/N: This side-tracks a little, so sorry to those who really want to know if Harry's alive or dead. It will definitely be the next chapter! This one takes things in a different direction for a bit. It's a little shorter than the rest because it's just a little thing that I wanted to fit in somewhere.

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Title: Won't be Coming Home

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Mother is crying again. I wish she'd stop. No one cares about her ridiculous act.

It isn't as if she really loved Father so much or anything. It isn't as if she watched him die.

He just didn't come home.

And then instead my godfather came. He told us, in the strictest of confidence, what had happened.

I didn't really care.

Mother 'broke down.' Ran to her room, weeping, face covered.

I rolled my eyes. Ridiculous. Pathetic. I could care less if she had any love for him. I despised him.

My godfather told me he was very sorry.

But he's not.

If he was, father would be coming home.

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The plan was I would turn spy my seventh year. It would be too suspicious to do it sixth year, not with the rumor of my speaking to Potter going around. I would have been killed.

My godfather was also teaching me all he knew. He did not want to lose me, even if he never said as much.

I spent the rest of sixth year, after I made my decision, trying to prepare myself for what was to come. Truthfully, I didn't want to have to become a death eater and to risk my life as a spy. I hadn't done anything wrong.

Except beat a boy almost to death…the very boy that saved you.

No one questioned why I wanted to spy. I wonder how many knew that I was the one that put their hero in the infirmary for a week. Certainly Potter never told them…

I never told anyone I was afraid. I never told anyone how scared I was about the mark. My godfather had shown me his already, and the ugly and marred flesh on his forearm scared me…

I have to admit that I'm rather a coward. Most Slytherins are. We'd rather hide and trick and run than stay and fight and be hurt. There are few exceptions…my godfather is close, but certainly he is no Gryffindor…

Not like Potter, who refuses to run…rather, refused to run…

I don't like pain. I don't like to see my skin marred. It scares me. Because it tells me I could die…

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My godfather is missing his left lower arm. I notice that almost immediately, though he keeps it deep in his cloak and robes.

My eyes are drawn to it. "A small price," he says softly. He sits as I gesture to a chair. Mother is still somewhere, pretending she is heartbroken. I couldn't care less.

"What happened?" I ask. He smiles that sarcastic, bitter smile that he always uses.

"Potter gambled and won," he explains. "The Dark Lord is dead. So are his followers."

"You're alive," I point out. He shifts and holds up his stump-arm slightly.

"Yes," he says. "I am."

"What happened to father?" I ask. I need to know. Even if I loathed the man, I need to know.

"He was killed. The mark's reaction to the killing curse meant for Potter killed him and all others with the mark," he says. He shifts his left arm back into hiding again. "Potter told me how to avoid death. If had been a few moments slower…"

"Father is dead," I say steadily. He hears the question.

"I couldn't tell him," he says, as apologetic as he will ever be. "I could not let him live. You must understand that."

"Of course," I say.

But I don't, I don't.

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"I won't have to spy now," I say suddenly. That makes me smile. A huge burden has just lifted away.

My godfather smiles as well. It is almost a happy smile. "True," he says. "There is nothing left to spy upon."

"Is it all finished, then?" I ask. "Is it all gone?"

"The curse destroyed every last trace of the Dark Lord," he confirms.

"And Potter…?" I press. My godfather looks impressed that I have caught onto that so quickly.

"Was affected as well. His scar started bleeding badly…he was dying quickly…but then…" he trails off, looking confused.

"What?" I press.

"He faded."

Now what could that mean? My godfather is not one for fancy metaphors. He will either say something literally or not at all. So when he says Potter faded…does that mean faded?

"Was he dead when he—er—faded?" I ask. Perhaps my godfather's brain has been affected as well…

"He had stopped breathing," my godfather says, taking his time with his words. "He was covered in blood, and the torture had already made him weak…but he faded. So I cannot be certain of anything," he adds. I have never seen him this uncertain about anything.

It as is his senses assured him that Potter was dead…but something else inside of him is saying that he is not…

"What will happen now?" I ask.

"There is no evidence left of your father being a death eater," he says. "The estate is yours, then, six weeks from now, when you may confirm your father's 'disappearance' from the wizarding world. It depends on your father's will, as well."

I nod. "Thank you for coming," I say. I know his visit is at an end.

He grimaces. "Albus says he has found me a new potions assistant," he tells me. "He was smiling just a bit, so I am afraid of whom he might have found."

"At least you'll be able to teach in peace now," I say, trying for a half-smirk.

He gives a curt nod.

But I am still a little upset about how he has let my father die. I didn't love my father, but he was my father. "No more Potter," I tell him.

He pales. I know how much that will bother him. Potter has not been a bother to him since the end of fifth year.

He leaves without another word.

He is headed home. To Hogwarts.

Of course, my father will not be coming home.

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A/N: I told you. Short. It's just Malfoy's response. His life has been changed, too, and I didn't think I should leave him out. Earlier he talked about how he hated his dad and whatnot, but I mean he still was his father. That counts for something.

The next one will be longer, because it's hugely important. I couldn't imagine it being shorter than like five or six thousand words. We'll see. I'm supposed to be studying for my statistics final right now, but one-way tests of independence or whatever they are aren't my favorite thing. Chi-square tests are annoying as well.

ThranxWow. I love your thorough reviews of this! They were wonderful to read and I loved your input. It was kind of odd because when I first started writing this, everyone wanted Harry to live, and now a lot of people say it just seems right for him to stay dead. Well, you'll have to wait and see. That chapter should be up tomorrow morning at the latest.

I will have the next chapter up before I head home. Perhaps another as well. That means I won't be leaving you for the summer not knowing whether Harry's dead or alive. J