The home stretch…

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Some mild swearing.

Adversary

Part the Fourth

It was different even then before. Draco and Theodore didn't say anything to eat each other at all. No snide remarks, nothing. They were utterly silent around each other. No one noticed, mostly because no one ever noticed anything in this house unless it was proving a distraction or interfering with the natural order that the household fell into.

Tea time was just as quiet as ever. They didn't even look at each other. Draco never felt the need to glance up and Theodore certainly didn't either. Draco was no longer eager to start a conversation and Theodore had never wanted any.

They went through the motions of the day until one day, it was clear that the Dark Lord was coming again. Draco sincerely hoped this meant that Crabbe and Goyle would come. He'd like the distraction. And see how Theodore liked that! He didn't need Theodore for anything.

But somehow he knew that he still wanted Theodore to like him, even though that seemed impossible right now. Why was Theodore so hard to manage? Did he really hate Draco? Or was it just because Draco knew about…

He killed his mother.

I wonder if he really did or if it's like me and my brother…

There was no chance to ask him of course. They had to go through the usual polishing as did the rest of the estate, just for the Dark Lord. But as it turned out, no other families were coming for this meeting. Apparently the Dark Lord just wanted to address Lucius.

Draco felt tempted to spy on this talk, mainly because it went on for several hours and during those hours; Draco and Theodore had to stand outside together, not uttering a word to the other.

Finally, the doors opened and they were brought inside. Voldemort's hood was turned towards them so Draco just assumed he was looking at them. He waited for Voldemort to make his sort of comment and then he could be sent on his way again.

But instead, the two boys were told to sit.

"You two have been selected for a very important job." Voldemort informed the two of them in a voice that suggested they would be overjoyed by his news. Draco didn't want to go anywhere and Theodore did what he always did—glared. "You have heard something of Dumbledore and his rebels; am I correct?"

"No." Draco lied right away. He had no way to explain how he knew except to admit that he spied on that meeting awhile back and he didn't want to do that in front of his father.

"You're lying." Voldemort told him easily, startling Draco a bit. No one could ever tell if he was lying. No one. "But that's alright, you're very good at it, no doubt you'll be especially useful. He runs a sort of school in the northern mountains for children who have magical abilities—not our sort, peasants. Now, my spy there will set you up as two young men who have run away from their houses and have no where to go. He will take you to the school and then you will keep your eyes and ears open. That's not difficult, is it?"

They both looked at him. Theodore spoke first.

"I'm not a spy." Theodore declared. "But I'd rather be anywhere than here." He shot a sideways look at Draco—the closest he had come to looking at him since their fight.

"Oh?" Voldemort sounded interested but Draco thought he was only doing it to prompt Theodore into speaking more.

"I think you're a coward of course." Theodore went on. "You're going to send in spies because you're too scared to attack this Dumbledore guy unless you think you're guaranteed the win. I don't see why people are scared of you." Draco's eyes went wide. Talking back to Lucius Malfoy was one thing, but this was Voldemort. Draco had never considered the idea before then.

Lucius could be heard sharply inhaling, probably awaiting Voldemort's retaliation to such words but there was none. Voldemort didn't say anything but Draco had the feeling that Voldemort was smiling somewhere in that hood.

"Interesting." Voldemort's hood tilted to one side. "I'm amazed that you're Nott's son. Although some would wonder why I'm sparing your life at this moment, I need more people like you, who are honest. I've too many spineless servants who are all running around trying to gain favor."

"I'm not on your side." Theodore grimaced. "I'm not serving you. I'm only going because I hate this place."

"Of course." Voldemort's tone was knowing and somewhat mocking. "And what about you, Malfoy?" Aware of his father's eyes drilling into the back of his head, Draco calmly answered.

"I'll go." He shrugged. "Doesn't sound difficult." He made his tone as nonchalant and uncaring as possible. Personally, he didn't like this idea one bit. He didn't want to be stuck with Theodore anywhere. Why couldn't Theodore just stay here?

Packing began immediately. It didn't take very long because Draco wasn't allowed to take many of his things. He had thrown a fit when he found out he couldn't take all his clothes and so just kept his very best things. (Though he doubted that a bunch of peasant orphans would know the difference.)

They were to leave the next day, in a carriage that headed north. Before he left, he said good-bye to his parents. His dad told him not to disappoint him and his mother sniffed at him. A dismal show of affection but he couldn't really expect an outpour of it after this many years without any. They didn't even acknowledge Theodore as being there.

The black carriage was very small and Draco and Theodore sat as far as way from each other as possible. With a yell and a cracking whip, Draco and Theodore were sent out into the world by Voldemort's orders.

I wonder what sort of place this will be…

The landscape started to roll past the window. It was all flat and boring and green. There wasn't much else to do but let it go past. Occasionally he would glance at Theodore but Theodore was looking stubbornly in front of him. They had spent all that time not speaking to each other but for some reason, in this carriage, going away to some unknown place, the silence was suffocating.

Draco scowled. He was not going to give in like this. It was one to be weak in private, with absolutely no one else around but it was quite another to show any sort of defeat to the enemy.

But then, was Theodore the enemy? Right now, it seemed to Draco that Theodore was the only other person in the world who was on the same plane of existence with him. Even though Draco was still angry with him. He wondered what it was that set Theodore apart for others.

Maybe because…I respect him. For being his own person.

And I can't think of anyone I really respect other than him, even now.

Scowling wasn't really helping. The tension in that carriage was beginning to give him a headache. Was it defeat? What did a Malfoy know of that concept?

"I didn't kill him." Draco spoke and Theodore's eyes swung towards him in one precise movement. "I didn't kill my brother."

"Why would I care?" Theodore asked in his usual scathing way.

"I just thought you should know." Draco shrugged, trying to look like he was so saying this merely for the sake of conversation and not because he wanted Theodore to talk to him. "You're the first person I've ever told."

Theodore looked at him for the longest time, looking for signs of treachery, or how this could be some sort of trap. Finally, not finding any, he glared at Draco. "What do you expect to happen now? That we'll suddenly become best friends?"

"No." Draco answered and tried his hardest not to look pleased by the slight surprise on the other boy's face. "I don't have friends. Neither do you. And I don't think you're all that brave myself. I think you're too scared to take a side."

Theodore only made a very irritated noise and looked out his window. Draco knew he had won that round and so folded his arms and slid to the floor of the carriage so he could lean against his own bench and put his feet up on Theodore's. The other boy glanced at him and then back out the window.

Draco leaned his head back so he was looking at the ceiling of the carriage and then closed his eyes, just letting the carriage rock him. He could feel and hear movement next to him and he looked over to see Theodore also sitting on the floor, leaned against his bench and his feet up on Draco's.

Although he thought Theodore could see him, he looked back up at the roof and smiled a very small smile.

Friendship is a strange concept.

But if we have an understanding…well, it's better than nothing.

Draco stuck his head out of the carriage for the second time that day and yelled at the driver because he felt that the driver was purposely hitting rocks with the wheels so that he and Theodore were jostled each time.

"He can't stop the rocks." Theodore rolled his eyes.

"He has a Malfoy in this carriage." Draco reminded Theodore who ignored him. "Malfoys don't get jostled."

They had been traveling for too long in that stuffy carriage, but Draco didn't want to admit it. So instead, he'd find an excuse to stick his head out the door and yell at the driver. Besides, he was sick of suddenly hitting his head on the window because the driver wasn't paying attention.

He wished they were there.

And as if by magic, the carriage rolled to a stop. Draco and Theodore went tumbling out, though it was funny to see Theodore not perfectly calm, but scrambling out as well. They got their bags and the carriage driver rode off. They were in the middle of nowhere.

"That stupid driver." Draco glared at the carriage as it grew smaller and smaller. "This better be the meeting place or I'm going to be very distraught."

"Well." Theodore looked around. "I'm off then."

"What?" Draco whirled around. "Where are you going?"

"I'm running away, what does it look like I'm doing?" Theodore folded his arms and glared defiantly at Draco. "There's no adults around to stop me. I'm going off to be alone. Don't follow me or I'll curse you."

"I don't think you will." The two boys turned to see a man standing there, a very formidable man with dark hair. "You're both coming with me."

"You're the person we're supposed to meet?" Draco felt vaguely disappointed. As formidable as the man might have looked, he was expecting someone a little more…spy-like. This guy looked like he stuck out like a sore thumb.

"My name is Severus Snape." The man raised an eyebrow at them in a fashion that reminded Draco vaguely of his father. "You're Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, correct?"

"Yes." Draco stepped forward.

"Come on then." Snape looked like he had many other things to do that day and had no spare minutes for them. "Or did they send me a pair of idiots who can't understand a simple command?" Theodore and Draco both approached. Snape held out an object. "Touch this and we'll be on our way."

"What's that?" Draco asked before reaching out to touch it. As soon as he did, Theodore also did and they didn't get an answer before both getting yanked into elsewhere.

Here we go.

This should at least be interesting.

The End

Time for notes!

Why did I write Draco's story? (By the way, there are going to be people there who I didn't write the story for.) I love Draco! He's such a complex character. Nothing is better than tackling those characters. And Theodore Nott, my favorite totally minor character. Well, I think I like Theodore because on J.K.'s website in her deleted scene notes, she talked about a scene she wrote between Draco and Theodore at Draco's manor, which she didn't get to put in, and she described Theodore as being kid who didn't believe in joining gangs—including Draco's. I was intrigued.

So, some comments for this story—the Lestranges were freaking creepy. I kept stopping while writing them and being like, "Ickyyyyyy." I had no control over them, they just did whatever they wanted. And what they wanted was to give me the goddamn heebie-jeebies.

The quote at the beginning of this story is one of my favorite Latin quotes. And it's so Draco!

The next story is called Shape Shifter. (Dare you to guess!) Please review! (I know Midnight Firefly will—she's been the first person to review the last two stories. Let's see if she can get three in a row.) Bye for now!