Harry barely felt it when Blaise snatched up his wrists, or when the portkey had been placed between all of their hands, and then when they began twisting through that blur of colors for the second time.
He was only thinking of Draco, and how the boy was stupid for allowing himself to stay with his father. He was going to get hurt, and that thought alone made Harry's heart beat until it was fit to burst. He couldn't let that happen. He had to get help, and as soon as possible. And if that didn't work, he'd steal the portkey and go back himself; even if it was only a second after they returned to Hogwarts.
As soon as he felt his feet hit a solid surface, and when he heard the portkey fall to the ground, he shouted at Blaise and the others. "Untie me! Now!"
"Okay, okay... calm down, why don't you?" Blaise said. His voice was quiet, as if unsure on how to talk after seeing all that he had. He nodded at Crabbe and Goyle so they could start untying the Gryffindor's wrists and ankles.
They did just that, and they were shoved aside as Harry bolted out of the library as fast as he could. Blaise didn't bother to keep him back. He just stood there, trying to clear his head as he watched the boy run out.
Harry was sprinting toward the Headmaster's office. He didn't care how sore he felt by being tied up for so long, and for how long that was, he didn't even know. All he knew was that these were a few minutes too long for Draco to be with his father.
Just as he turned the corner to race down the hallway, he ran into someone. A frantic glance was sent toward the window at first; it looked like the morning sun was just rising. What were people doing in his way? He glanced to the person as he stumbled back, and saw that it was Professor Snape. The man was glaring down at him. "Mr. Potter, where are you off to this early?"
At this point, Harry didn't care who it was he was getting help from; he just needed someone. He could already see the two gargoyles that were guarding Dumbledore's office. "I need help! I mean... Draco needs help! His father has him and I don't know what's going to happen to him!" Harry was breathless, trying to get Snape to understand without needing to explain everything.
Snape's eyes narrowed further, but Harry noticed him hesitate a bit. After all, he had known about Draco's situation, hadn't he? "What do you mean, Mr. Potter? None of the Death Eaters would've been able to get into this school."
"A portkey!" Harry said quickly. "In the library! Blaise took us there and we were transported somewhere... and Lucius Malfoy was there and he had us caught.."
"Slow down, Mr. Potter!" Snape said edgily.
"Please, Professor! We have to get there before anything happens! Please, you have to believe me!" Harry pleaded anxiously. He was moving on the heels of his feet, determining if he should just shove past Snape and proceed toward the Headmaster's office. Because if Snape didn't do something soon, Draco would be in even worse trouble.
"Can you please get the Headmaster?" Harry asked.
Finally, Snape seemed to understand Harry's urgency, and that he was entirely serious about it. With a very serious expression crossing his features, Snape turned around. "Come with me, Potter. We'll inform the Headmaster." He began his way swiftly down the hall, and a minute later, they entered his office, not bothering to knock.
And as Harry stood there, thinking that he couldn't get any more impatient or jittery over this entire situation, Snape went over to the Headmaster to explain what was going on. The three of them were making their way to the library not too long after, and they didn't waste anymore time in fetching more professors.
Harry only hoped that the Slytherins hadn't taken the portkey with them as they went back to their common room. That was if they'd even left at all.
Draco's father had been kind enough to untie him. It was only a few minutes after Harry had disappeared with the rest of his housemates. Draco was able to walk toward the wall, using it to support himself. Each step taken was difficult; it was painful to move his legs, but he had to be glad that his father had let him go.
"I'm glad that you've chosen to stay with me, Draco," Lucius said offhandedly. He made his way back over to the table, sitting down in the same chair as before. Draco saw him pull that piece of parchment toward him again. Draco stayed quiet.
His eyes ran over the room again, looking for something that might prove helpful. Maybe something to sit on, or something to eat or drink, or maybe even a weapon. The only thing he felt like doing was causing his father as much pain as possible, then getting away from here as fast as he could. But... there was nothing here but the table and the chair, and his father happened to be occupying both of them.
"Who are you writing to?" Draco asked softly. His eyes slipped back onto his father; he tried to look at ease again, as if having a conversation was expected.
"Fellow followers," Lucius replied. "I'm informing them of my whereabouts. Though it won't matter much. We'll be leaving soon."
Draco fought back the urge to scream again, and instead swallowed another heavy lump in his throat. He'd never be able to see Harry again. "Where are we going?" He asked, eyes now closed.
"You'll know when we arrive," Lucius responded. He glanced back at his son, and saw that he appeared to be in a very uncomfortable state. Either that, or he didn't really want to be here. A small frown appeared on Lucius' face. "You can't still be thinking of Potter."
"No," Draco replied weakly. But he was, and he knew his father could tell he was lying. His eyes opened slowly, blinking over at his father. The man was watching him closely.
At once, Draco realized something. His father's wand; the man had it with him. He'd used it to bind Harry to the chair, and he'd had it when they first arrived. He could use that to possibly get out of here... if he knew where it was. Or how to get it away from his father.
His gaze lingered over Lucius' robes, and he tried to search hard enough so that he'd be able to find the wand in one of his pockets. And he thought he saw it; it was just a small crease in his robes, in the faint shape of a wand. It was on his father's right side. Slowly, and as casually as possible, his gaze went back to lock onto his father's. It didn't seem as though he'd noticed Draco observing him.
"Why do you lie to me, Draco?" Lucius queried, eyes now narrowing. "I recall you calling after the boy. You love him, wasn't that it? Weren't those your last words?"
Draco tilted his head toward the ground. He'd forgotten and completely disregarded the fact of his father being able to hear him say that. But it hadn't been a worry then. He wanted Harry to know, because chances were that he'd never see the boy again.
"Yes," Draco muttered.
"And do you love me?" Lucius questioned, his frown slightly fading.
Draco opened his mouth to respond, to say 'yes, father, I do,' but he couldn't find himself to. He didn't love his father. Not anymore, or it was pushed so far back in his mind that the emotion wasn't recognizable toward his father. His mouth closed, and he remained silent.
This seemed to anger his father, and he instantly regretted not saying anything. The consequences only left him with more pain.
His father had gotten up from the chair, walked his way over in what seemed like a very calm manner, and then stopped in front of Draco before bringing another hand up to hit him across the face. Draco clenched his teeth, trying to keep back a strangled cry.
"You have no love for your father, yet you're here. And you love the Potter boy instead. You realize you'll never see him again?" His father scowled, then grabbed Draco's upper arm tightly. He began dragging him over to the table.
Draco's heart began beating fast again. He could only think of what his father was going to do to him now; what he'd do if he didn't think of something fast. In only a second, his front was being pushed against the table. He was laying there, the side of his face pressed against the surface of the table, and his hands had been snatched up behind him.
"Please... father... I didn't mean that. I do love you. I really do," Draco whispered.
He could feel the grip around his wrists tightening, and a hand was planted on his back to keep him down. Leaning down this way was causing him a lot of discomfort, and he hoped his father wasn't going to do anything to him again...
"You shouldn't have faltered in saying it before," Lucius stated sharply.
"I'm sorry..." Draco murmured, "I was confused..."
"Of what?"
When Draco wasn't able to think of an answer, a hand came down and struck the side of his face again. It stung him bad enough that he let out a small whimper. He shifted feebly against the table, trying to get up. His father wouldn't let him.
"I was just confused! I love you terribly, father! You know that!" Draco blinked back a few tears, wishing that wand was in his hand. He'd been foolish before. He didn't want to die more than he wanted this happening to him; he wanted his father dead, and he wanted to live without the worry of knowing he was out causing chaos in the wizarding world. He also wanted to apologize to Harry...
"You don't act like it," Lucius said darkly from above him. He sounded as if he were in thought, as if he were deciding what to do with Draco next.
In a desperate attempt to have something done, Draco did the only thing he thought his father would approve of. It was one thing he thought would distract the man from everything else around him. And maybe it'd show him that what he did to him as punishment wasn't even considered punishment to Draco.Swallowing back his oncoming tears, Draco spoke up softly. "I'll never hate you..." Draco paused, closing his eyes, hardly believing he was going to do something so appalling, "Can y-you kiss me?"
"Kiss you?" Lucius repeated, a strange sort of eagerness in his tone.
Draco nodded just barely. "Yes... please."
After what felt like minutes, the grip around his wrists loosened and then left. He was pulled upward by his father, and turned around to face him. The man's face was only a few inches from his own, and Draco could feel himself holding his breath. He didn't want to do this at all... but if he could grab the wand while his father was distracted... he'd have a chance at escaping.
Suddenly, without anything else being said, Lucius' lips were on his own, and pressing against them just as fervently as the other times. A small sound escaped the back of Draco's throat, and he let his eyes flutter closed.
He didn't get a chance to try and snatch the wand quite yet; his father's hands had grabbed the sides of his waist, lifting him just a bit to push him onto the table. Draco's own hands grabbed at his father's waist as well, clutching the robes there. He tried keeping himself still as his father tried deepening the kiss.
Lucius used his tongue to part Draco's lips, and Draco couldn't do anything but yield into it. And as his father made a move to get closer to him, Draco lifted his legs, knowing that it'd hurt if he left them dangling off the edge of the table. Draco wrapped them around his father instead, crossing his ankles behind his father's back. That's when he began to feel like he couldn't breathe, and he still couldn't find the wand.
He tugged lightly on his father's robes to make him stop, or at least give him a moment to suck in some air, and thankfully, his father did. He parted from the kiss just barely, letting Draco breathe for a few seconds before crashing his lips back onto his.
Draco started to feel his father moving his body forward against him, his actions clearly showing that kissing wasn't going to be the only thing done in the next few minutes. Draco began panicking, and began searching for the wand more quickly. His hands slid up and down the sides of his father's waist, trying to make it seem like he wanted this. They moved down his father's front, then a bit lower, closer to where the pockets were.
The kiss became more desperate, with his father breaking away from the kiss every few seconds to allow him to breathe. Draco was becoming breathless, not being able to stay as quiet as he hoped; he could feel that sick feeling creeping into him, just like he thought it would. And then...
He heard something else. It wasn't his father, or the shuffling of parchment on the table, or even the small sounds coming from himself. It was footsteps. Footsteps sounding as though they were coming from down the hallway. Then he heard them stop, and his father had abruptly stopped with them. Draco looked to the side, and both of their attentions landed on the three figures standing near the entrance of the room.
Harry, Snape, and Dumbledore stood there.
Harry's mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide and his chest heaving. The same for Snape, except his mouth was set in a scowl of fury and disgust. His wand was drawn out in front of him. Dumbledore merely stood there, looking as calm as he could be in a situation such as this one; his wand was also held between his thin fingers.
In the next instant, not bothering to explain himself if there were any questionable things being seen, Draco took his father's surprise as a moment to snatch his wand from his pocket. He'd felt it at the last second, and after it was in his hand, his legs quickly moved themselves off from around his father's waist and he hurriedly slid himself backward.
By the time his father glanced back at him, his wand was being pointed at him. Draco's hands were shaking, but he managed to keep it leveled on his father's face. Draco was still gasping softly, trying to gain back his ability to breathe. He didn't look back at the others; he was afraid that if he did, his father would snatch his wand back away from him.
"Lucius Malfoy, step away from your son and keep your hands where we can see them." Dumbledore had drawn his wand up to point it at Lucius as well, and with a look of incredulity and fury, Lucius obeyed. He lifted his arms over his head, backing slowly away from Draco. Eyes lingered carefully between each person in the room.
As unbelievable as this all seemed, and as quickly as it had all happened, Draco knew by the look on his father's face that it was over. He'd been caught. He'd been caught because he'd been too caught up kissing his son. Or maybe he had disregarded how eager Harry would be to get help once he returned to Hogwarts?
Now Draco knew, as Snape proceeded to bind Lucius up, charm him into an unconscious state, and then lead him down the corridor, that he wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt anymore.
And when he'd shakily made his way off of the table, and after he'd handed his father's wand over to the Headmaster, he was led the rest of the way down the corridor with Harry's arm wrapped around him, holding him close to keep him balanced. Draco couldn't believe that he had doubted the boy coming back in time; Harry had been telling the truth. He had meant to come back for him.