Summary- When the going gets tough, the tough get scared. Confused? I bet. A look inside Draco's family. NOTE- The song in this chapter is 'Boy on a String' by SWAG; this chapter is written through Harry's POV.
Disclaimer- I do not, I repeat I do NOT own Harry Potter, I am not making a profit from this story and if I were I would still completely give all credit to J.K. Rowling.
Authoress Ramblings- For this rambling I think I'm going to discuss where I got the idea for this rather fucked story. Well, I'm actually writing a novel at the moment called 'The Marona's', and this story is like a faster paced, miniature version of my book. I just wanted to say that if ANYONE complains this chapter wasn't long enough, I will screw your eyesocket with a cork screw! I worked HARD on this chapter and it's WAAAAAAAY longer then the others. DEAL! And on that note, we cue the story.
Part Five- Boy on a String
It was just supposed to be another normal day. You wake up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to class. It was simple, right? Wrong. Today was as fucked as it could ever get....I'm not even sure what exactly happened, and I know it was fucked. I suppose it began in Potions, when we were working on a rather basic lubricating serum.
"It puts the lotion on its skin, or else it gets the hose again." Seamus kept repeating in a creepy voice, laughing a bit with some others....I didn't really get it, to be honest, but I laughed anyway until Snape hissed at us to get back to work. A thick fog was seeping higher and higher above our heads as we worked, making it nearly impossible to see what else was going on. I heard the door open and close, but didn't think much of it as it could've been someone going to the bathroom, or it could have been Neville running off to the hospital wing again.
Professor Snape stood up from his desk; I knew this because his chair creaked when he stood up, so I knew without really having to see him. Anyway, I was hastily working on finishing my potion, thinking that he was about to examine and grade them now, but I was surprised when he let out a low growling. "What are you doing here?"
Everyone around me immediately began to sweep their eyes around the classroom, trying to spot who Snape was directing this to. At this point I spotted two rather ugly ears through the fog, and leaned forward quickly to get a better look at the owner. I nearly knocked over my potion whilst jumping backwards into my chair once more at the realizations of who it was. I called out loudly through the fog in a surprised, and bewildered voice. "Dobby?!"
Ron and Hermione leered through the fog, turned to me and nodded in agreement, as if they had to see if my outburst were correct or not. Everyone around me began to bustle and murmur loudly; a few people were already beginning to spread the news that it their unwanted guest was a house elf, and quite a few girls shrieked 'It's so cute!' in high-pitched, rather obnoxious voices. I rubbed my temples, hoping for dear Merlin either Dobby would leave so I could get on with my life. To my surprise, my wish was answered and the house elf left....with Draco Malfoy hot on his tail. Memories of Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy popped into my head....actually, it was more of his cruelty towards the house elf that came to mind, and even though Dobby annoyed me to no end, I didn't want something bad to happen to him, especially in the clutches of the Malfoy's once more. I jumped to my feet and moved close to the door, receiving odd looks from Ron and Hermione, but I ignored them like the great friend I've been lately and took a new seat right beside the door, so that I could hopefully hear what was going on outside the classroom.
What happened next was very, very odd. There was a soft thumping noise coming from the other side of the door, as if someone kept hitting the door or wall. This went on for a little bit, then there was a long period of silence. I began to continue working on my potion, but I didn't get very far; I jumped in my seat and dropped a container of rose petals I had been mashing onto the ground, where it crashed. What made me do this was the sound of Malfoy's voice floating in from the other side of the door.....what he said still sticks with me.
"You filthy liar! You disgusting piece of shit! What kind of sick joke is this, hmm?! Who told you this?!!!!" There was a short pause before Malfoy screamed out again. "Dumbledore told you?! You'd better not be lying, you bloody bastard!!!!" I then heard a muffled 'smack', then the sound of footsteps running off.
I looked around to see if anyone else had heard what I had, but they were all back to their potions, and didn't seem to notice. Without a second thought in my head I jumped up from my seat and ran out the door in time to see Dobby shaking beside a wall in fright. I cautiously approached him, turning back every once in a while to make sure Snape hadn't come after me. I crouched beside the house elf and lightly rubbed his head. "....Dobby? What happened?"
Dobby gave me a scared, bewildering look, then slowly moved away from me. "Harry Potter.....Dobby only gave a message, Harry Potter, Dobby swears!" I raised an eyebrow, but Dobby continued before I could ask what he was on about. "It's not Dobby's fault Master Draco Malfoy didn't believes Dobby.....Dobby's not bad, Dobby swears!!!" I nodded slowly as the house elf went on fumbling and bumbling, but nearly choked when he said- "Maybe Harry Potter can help Master Draco Malfoy calm down...."
I checked my ears to make sure I was hearing correctly, then asked cautiously "Dobby.....what do you mean?"
Dobby's eyes widened, and he began to hit his head against the nearby wall. I grabbed him before he seriously hurt himself and insisted he told me. When he finally did, I was flabbergasted. "Master Draco Malfoy has great respects for Harry Potter, he does. He has great, great respects." When the house elf finished speaking, I looked to my left, then right, and then back to Dobby. Was her serious? Well, he had to be I supposed, because he was Dobby after all, and I don't think Dobby lies.
"Great respect, you say?"
"It's over. You don't need to tell me. I hope you're with someone who makes you feel safe when you're sleeping tonight. I won't kill myself trying to stay in your life......I've got no distance left to run."
-'No Distance Left to Run' by Blur.
It's been two days since that strange day in potions, and I'm not sure what's exactly going on. All I know is that Malfoy has been acting very, very strange today.
It started earlier this morning when I decided to watch him to try and figure out what exactly was going on with him, as Dobby ran off (most likely to punish himself) before I could get any answers as to what message he had delivered. I was curious....just curious, nothing more. I mean why else would I be watching Malfoy? Well, anyway.....I decided to follow him secretly by using my invisibility cloak and The Marauder's Map. I noticed that everyday since 'that day' he had worn the same exact outfit- black slacks, a wrinkled dress shirt and sneakers......today, however, he was wearing a very nice (and above all, clean) black sweater, black corduroy pants, a black trench coat and black boots. Now, before you say anything, I only noticed the change in outfit because, like it or not, I've been worried about him.
Even though he was in nice clothing I remember he looked horrible. For example his hair was not gelled back, but rather down in a dirty, unkempt mess. I quietly followed behind him as he stormed up the stairs to the second floor bathroom (sadly, it's the nearest one to the dungeons), then waited until he was heading back down to the main hall before I stalked after him. He kept turning around, and I froze the first few times when he stared right at me, but then remembering I had my invisibility cloak on, I calmed myself and went on a bit quieter. He was going at a painstakingly slow pace, which annoyed me to no end as I already missed out on breakfast and wanted to head to the kitchens to get a quick bite to eat.....and maybe something to drink, if the house elves would let me.
His pace made me curious as well; why in the world would he go at such a freakishly slow pace? Why was he dressed up today? Why did he look like he didn't want to be here? Well.....anyway.....I followed him downstairs and out the door, where he trudged over to a coach, hopped inside after much deliberation with getting snow off of his boots, and then he was gone.
I spent the rest of my day like any other- I snuck into the kitchens and got some food (the house elves were told not to give me any liquor....I'll hurt whoever told them that), played a game of chess with Ron, got nagged at by Hermione about blowing off my homework, took three showers within the day (when it's cold like this I take a lot more hot showers) and then took my invisibility cloak with me down to the main hall every fifteen minutes or so, watching to see when Malfoy returned. Well, okay, so I don't normally wait around to see what Malfoy is up to, but like I said, I've been worried about him, so this day was a special exception.
Finally, approximately three hours later, Malfoy returned, and he was not easy on the eyes. He was beyond pale- he was white for God's sake! His lips had turned blue, he was shivering like hell.....it was a frightening sight, if I dare say. He could barely even walk.....he just collapsed behind a statue of a stone carved dragon. I sat there and waited until he came out, but when an hour went by and he was still behind the statue, I began to fear for the worst. Had he died? It wouldn't be that surprising, considering the way he stumbled in an hour earlier. I was about to head down the stairs to see what was going on when he suddenly crawled out from behind the statue, took a good long look around him, then crawled back behind it once more. At this point, I decided to leave him be and head back up to my dorm room.
During supper I headed downstairs with the few Gryffindor's that stayed for the holidays, and sat down at the long table reserved for us. I looked up and down the table, but didn't see Malfoy anywhere. I almost asked Pansy Parkinson (who had been planning to go to Aspen with her parents, but was left out of the trip due to her poor grades) if she had seen him, but stopped when I realized how weird it would be of me to ask that, and the fact she would most likely insult me. I ate quickly, wandered out of the Great Hall inconspicuously and kept an eye open for the blonde; I didn't have to look very hard before I found him huddled behind the statue. I decided to leave him be......after all, he had to come out sometime, right?
Wrong.
I went back upstairs to my dormitory to take my nightly bath with Ron and Hermione questioning me all the way.
I tried to get to sleep after I bathed, and even though I was extremely limp and weak...I couldn't get to sleep. Was it because I've been worried? Wait, what am I thinking? Of course not! I've probably got insomnia is all...yeah, that's it, insomnia. Er...anyhow, I pulled my invisibility cloak out from my school cloak pocket and slipped it over myself. I searched quietly around in the dark until I found my sneakers (they somehow wound up under Dean's bed), then left my dorm to go for a late night walk. I'm not sure why I wound up there, but there I was...standing in the main entrance...staring at the dragon statue...and a certain sleeping Slytherin.
This more-or-less brings us up to date. I'm watching him sleep, trying to decide whether or not I should wake him up. The 'hero' in me says to wake him up, the Gryffindor is unsure and the pissed-off side of me wants to kick him while he's down. I've decided to go with my first instinct and gently wake him up. "Malfoy.....Malfoy, wake up."
Malfoy's slowly waking up, and he looks terrible. His eyes are a bit puffy and red; his hair isn't gelled back, but rather tangled. His clothes have become wrinkled, and it's pretty obvious he hasn't bathed in a couple days. I have the strong urge to fix him up a bit, but on a second though I don't think that'd be a very good idea. I mean honestly, we're enemies! I shouldn't even be bothering myself with him, none the less making him look good.....what would someone think if they saw us? Yeesh Harry, get your act together!
He's staring at me with a confused look on his face. He's probably wondering what I'm doing here, how much I know...that sort of bollocks. He's still staring....this is beginning to scare me. It's creepy! I'll just turn around and-
Oh dear God. He's latched himself onto me. Okay....slowly slip out of his grip....he's going to kill you, Harry....why isn't he killing me yet? Turning towards him I see that his eyes are watering, and he's not latching onto me; he's giving me a hug. Hmm. What to do, what to do? Shove him away, or return the embrace? If I shove him away I might piss him off. If I return the embrace someone might see us and think I'm gay; or worse, they might think we're friends. God. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Shit. I'm sorry. It's just that with everything going on....I...." He's mumbling into my shirt and gripping onto me for dear life. I wonder if this is what happens when people go insane? "Sorry." He's let go of me and is hugging his knees to his chest now. I'm not so much creeped out anymore...just curious as to what's going on.
After a bit of thought I've decided to ask him about what happened....what? I'm just curious is all, I swear! "What's wrong?"
He looks over to me, then quickly back down to the floor. "Nothing's wrong."
Ptsh. Like I haven't heard that one before, and from myself even. "Don't lie to me, Draco...something is wrong."
He's shot his head back up and he's looking at me incredulously, but now he's set his eyes upon me with an icy glare. "How DARE you call me by my first name, Potter! You have no right, you fucking twat. Why do you even think something's wrong, hmm? Slooshy something in the urinals? Maybe you're just a lonely little bugger who's all on his oddy knocky, and you're desperate to be with someone Well guess what? Nothing. Is. Wrong. Leave me the fuck alone!"
Fine, I don't need to take this shit. "Fine, I don't need to take this shit." I'm not standing above him, letting my shadow loom over him. "I didn't understand half of what you said, but I can take a hint. You don't want me around, and that's fine by me. I was only worried, you nasty piece of shit, but I guess you're just going through some stupid phase. So whatever, go ahead and freeze yourself to death behind a statue, see if I care!" I've stormed away before he can retort. Heh heh...heh...er...why don't I feel good for telling him off? I feel like shit now. I can't believe I'm doing this...I'm heading back over to Malfoy. "Look, you'll feel better if you tell someone."
His eyes are glazed over and moist as if he's been crying. Oh dear God I think he has. Well, this is awkward. What to do, what to do...did I make him cry? I don't think I've ever done that. Oh, wait, there was Cho Chang. Ugh, that's not a pleasant thing to remember at the moment! Oh, he's about to speak...
"At this point, I feel like I'm one of those muggle puppets that they have on strings. Everyone makes me dance, they make me walk and talk, they make me look so entertaining. They make me smile, they make me play instruments, they make me sing...they make me live. There was only one person who never pulled my strings, but now..."
I look at him intensely with a look that asks him to continue, which he thankfully does.
"I don't want to live."
Boy on a string...
Can you sing?
Can you play anything?
For the girl with the near perfect smile?
I sputter. "You....you don't want to live? But why not?!" Malfoy's face is mournful as he crumples and smoothes over a newspaper clipping with a moving picture upon it. I sneak a peak and realize it's the girl who was taken away from Malfoy Manor during the summer. "Maybe I should go..."
He grabs onto my wrist and shakes his head slowly. "No.....no don't go."
And for a while...Can you stay?
What's another day anyway?
For the girl with the near perfect smile.
"She...she was my life. I don't think I can rightfully make it on without her...she was the first person I ever loved who actually loved me back...and now what do I get? I get to be alone. I mean what the bloody hell good is love good for if the only one you cared for is gone?!"
She was the one...
Who could shine like the sun.
Please tell me what good is love...
If she's gone?
I take a deep breath and I'm not sure what to say, so I'm letting him go on. "She was everything to me...absolutely everything. She was the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky...she was my life."
She was the one...
Who could shine like the sun.
Please tell me what good is love...
If she's gone?
I lightly touch his shoulder, but he pulls away. "Malfoy...I'm so sorry...I know what it's like to-"
Boy on a string...
"No, you know what? You really don't. You have no bloody idea what it's like, Potter! NO IDEA!"
Can you sing?
He drops the newspaper article and has walked off bitterly, and I'm still sitting here confused on the marble floor.
Can you play anything?
Looking down at the picture in my hand I see that the girl is smiling up at me, but she looks
For the girl...
Everything about her is flawless...even her near perfect smile.
With the near perfect smile?Okay, now you guys can NOT complain about this chapter being too short, because this sucker took forever to write, and it went on for EIGHT TYPED PAGES. Eight! For crying out loud! This took me FOREVER to write...forever and ever and ever. You all know, I mean come on, you had to wait for it. Well, as I have no officially finished this chapter, I am going to start work on the next chapter to Muggle Mania. I just wanted to say that because I'm now back in school, all stories will take forever and a half to complete. This chapter isn't even completely to my liking, but it's about bloody time I get this story out, so....yeah. I really hope they don't fuck up the spacing on my story! That pissed me off SO MUCH that the spacing got fucked in the third chapter. I mean it really made me angry....really really angry. Grr. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed my fucked chapter! Read and review!
