Yes, I know, I'm biggest moron in the universe. But hey, how many other people do you know of that have picked up a story again that they seemingly have abandoned over a year and a half ago? Not many, I'm sure. Sorry for the overdue chapter!
Chapter 29: The Fate of Draco's Wand
Draco and Lupin made their separate ways from the Astronomy Tower. He even managed to get back to Slytherin House and creep inside the bathroom there to clean up before Evan and Avery noticed him in his pyjamas, appearing like he was ready for bed. "Dumbledore's been looking everywhere for you!" Avery told him. "He even came to the House just to make sure you weren't here!"
"Well, maybe I'll just let him know that I'm alright, and that everything is okay," Draco groused. He wasn't very worried about Dumbledore prying the truth out of him anymore; the Secret-Keeper Spell should see to that. With Lestrange dead, maybe he could get his life back to half-normal...
He walked over to Dumbledore's office, and Lupin was there as well. "I heard that he was looking for us both," Lupin told Draco as they stood there. "I'm sure you're here for the same reason I am."
"I just want some peace and quiet for a while..." Draco said.
"I'm worried we won't get much of that with Voldemort around," Lupin frowned. Draco nodded slowly, and then Dumbledore's door opened.
"Where have you two been? We've been searching nearly all night for you!" Professor Foxworth and Professor McGonagall both glared at their students with more anger than relief at finding them alive and well.
"I needed to get out of here for a while; I wound up in the Forest, and I got filthy from the storm because I slipped in the leaves and...Lupin here found me, and he saw I was in a bad way, so he kindly helped me to the Prefect's bathroom," Draco started explaining.
Lupin held his tongue. They both looked up at the professors in the doorway, who seemed skeptical, but didn't press any further. But when Dumbledore himself appeared in the doorway, Draco's heart lurched. He had a grave look on his face.
"Mr. Malfoy, you and I need to have a small discussion," he said. "Mr. Lupin, you may return to Gryffindor Tower, and I want to thank you for coming to Draco's aid."
"Sure, Professor. See you Malfoy..." Lupin quickly left. Professor McGonagall gave eveyone a nod and departed as well. Foxworth glared down at Draco one last time before stalking off himself. And so, Draco was left facing the Lion himself.
"We need to do something about your wand, Mr. Malfoy. You cannot use it any longer without doing serious damage to yourself. The episode you had this afternoon proves that. I have consulted with Mr. Ollivander, the gentleman who created your wand, and he told me that it must be destroyed in an appropriate manner, and you must obtain a new wand."
Draco was so relieved that Dumbledore wasn't going to harp on about Rachel Lestrange's bleeding eye sockets that he almost laughed. However, he quelled the urge, and instead simply nodded. Dumbledore continued, "Mr. Ollivander will see you tomorrow evening, and you will get to his shop on Diagon Alley with Floo Powder. Until then, Draco, for your own sake, do not use that wand!" Draco nodded again. "Very well then, off to bed with you. Try to take it easy these next few weeks; you have very important tests coming up, and you need to concentrate on them as much as possible."
"I know it well, sir. As soon as I have a new wand, I'll be able to resume my practice with Severus, provided that he's feeling up to it. With him being in that coma and all, I bet he's got a lot of make-up work to do too..."
"I believe that you and he working together will enable you both to catch up on whatever you need. But not tonight, and not tomorrow. Just rest tomorrow, Draco. I'll send for you when Mr. Ollivander summons you." And with that, Dumbledore watched Draco leave.
Severus was offically released from the hospital wing the next morning. A lot of students had lined up outside the doors waiting to see him. Most of them were Slytherins, but some were not. And one teacher in particular was there; Professor Colton was at the head of the line. As he emerged from the wing dressed in his school robes, his fellow Slytherins cheered loudly. Draco followed him right behind, carrying his extra stuff and beaming at the sight. Even the Gryffindor Four was there, which was a bit of a shock.
"You wouldn't believe the difference in Professor Colton's class!" Peter Pettigrew told him on the side when he had a chance. "We can actually talk in class now! I even got an A on my essay on Viper's Bugloss!"
Severus rolled his eyes, and glanced at Colton. His aura was indeed just like a normal wizard, and a fairly powerful one at that. Colton's face had a smile on it, for the first time in Severus' school career, it seemed. "How about you, Lupin? How are your grades?" he asked with a smirk.
"Well, seeing as how I haven't melted another cauldron yet, I'd say things were going better..." Lupin admitted.
After Severus got swallowed up by the crowd, Draco inched his way over to Lupin. "How are you feeling today?" he asked.
"Actually, I'm feeling quite well, Malfoy. But I'll tell you someone who's not doing so well is Lily Evans. James told me about what you had told him. And then we went to Lily and asked her what was going on. Suffice to say..." Lupin made a strange noise, but then waved it off. "Don't worry; it's the Spell we cast last night. Anyway, Lily knows a great deal more about... Not everything, but enough to start putting questions in Dumbledore's mind again. And I want to mention that he's got a soft spot in his heart for her. He's not going to let her get into trouble for something that she had nothing to do with. It's just fortunate that nobody would suspect about the spell."
"Listen, if anything else progresses with Lily, you have to let me know immediately. We'll figure out something. Deal?"
"Deal," Lupin agreed.
Furtively, Draco and Lupin parted ways. It was odd how cooperative Lupin was being about this. It had become obvious what the Gryffindor Four were up to: each one of the others turned into animals in order to accompany Lupin to the Shrieking Shack every month while he changed into a werewolf. Dumbledore obviously didn't know about the other three being Animagi. He also didn't know that they were going to the Shack with Lupin. Maybe they just trusted Draco with the secret. Well, one good turn deserved another, Draco supposed.
"Sev, didn't you say you wanted to go to the Library?" Draco asked him.
"Uh, yeah. I do want to go there, eventually..." Severus said above the noise all around. "What was up with Lupin?"
"I was just asking him about some stuff," Draco answered.
Once Severus managed to escape the throng, he pulled Draco to the side in a quiet hallway. "We're still friends, aren't we?" he asked Draco.
Draco had to blink several times from the shock at the question. "Of course we are! Why would you ask that?"
"Because I notice you have been hanging around with that Gryffindor bunch lately."
"Sev, I know you hate them. For your information, they don't get along so hot with me either. But as it turns out, I've got several irons in the fire, and some of them involve them."
"How?" Severus asked, fidgeting with the gold collar around his neck. Draco averted his eyes from the collar, and Severus noticed. "Oh, I understand it now. It's alright, I shouldn't be surprised. After everything that's happened."
"What are you talking about?" Draco snapped.
"You can't help but blame me because Lestrange had been my friend once. If he hadn't been, he would never have..."
"Stop! Just stop! Not another word!" Draco felt the walls closing in on him. This whole damned thing was going to blow up in his face, he just knew it! Several irons in the fire, indeed! More like several dozen!
"I can completely understand why you'd blame me, I mean, if I wasn't so busy being...whatever the hell I'm supposed to be, a Breaker...I wouldn't have been in that coma," Severus continued.
Draco began to gasp for breath. "No, Sev, that's not how it is...Just, don't go!" Draco managed to choke out.
"You alright?" Severus asked him. "Don't tell me we have to go back to the Hospital Wing again! I dont' ever want to see the inside of that place for the rest of my life!"
"Neither do I," Draco cried, even as he sank to the floor. He drew several deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down. "I just need to stay away from crowds for a few days, I think. And for your information, Severus, I don't blame you one bit for what happened. Rudoplhus Lestrange and his bitch sister made the decision to turn me over to Voldemort on their own. It had nothing whatsoever to do with you. Do you understand?"
"I can see in your eyes that there's more to this. I won't press it. There's no real point, just so long as you're going to be alright," Severus said.
"I'm a Slytherin. We're survivors. More than that. We're winners. I'm going to win, in the end, just because the stakes are high, and I'm backed in a corner. We work best with our backs to the wall. You know that. There's no way I'm letting what happened get the best of me. Even if I can't stand crowds for the moment..." Draco admitted.
Just then, a small owl swooped over their heads, dropping Draco a note. He opened it, and it was as he expected: Ollivander wanted to meet him tonight in his workshop in Diagon Alley. "Severus, my wand has to be destroyed tonight. I have to go to Ollivander. Do you want me to ask Dumbledore if you can come too?"
"If you want me there, I'll go with you," Severus agreed.
"Absolutely I want you to come with me."
"Then count me in." Severus smirked and added, "It'll be nice to get out of here for a few hours."
Draco sat on his bed in the Slytherin House dorm, re-reading his notes from the library. Severus had gone to look up information of Breakers, and Madame Pince actually volunteered to bring them into the Restricted Section of the Library to show him a book on the subject. Draco looked over his shoulder and jotted down notes as fast as he could write them. After all, he was a Breaker too, and he needed to know what the low down was.
He rubbed his forehead; another headache was coming on. But now, he knew that the headaches were from not having the collar on. He had to be more careful than ever. If Severus started noticing him getting migraines every night (since he never seemed to miss a trick), he might just put the pieces together.
Much more importantly, Draco now knew that there was another danger of having no collar on. A Breaker can't just run around Breaking people indiscriminately or so it seemed, without some dire natural consequences. The first time it happens, it's not too bad. The second time, the headaches begin. The third time... The consequences were too horrible to think about. Draco got up from the bed, and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He already looked terrible, like he'd contracted a wasting disease. Deep purple rings hung under his eyes. He looked like he'd lost about 20 pounds. Would his hair start falling out next?
Well, he'd have to not run into Voldemort. He had no reason to Break anybody else. He decided to wash his face and try to fix himself up somewhat. Evan and Avery treaded back into the dormitory and quietly repositioned their bamboo chimes. The noise from them roused Severus.
"What the hell are you doing with windchimes indoors?" Severus asked them.
"We just are keeping them here for good luck," Evan explained quietly, then they both scooted out before Severus could ask them what they meant.
"You know, I noticed that the furniture in the Slytherin common room has been rearranged." Severus frowned. "Have I been out of here that long?"
"It's not that bad, the rearrangement, I mean. I kind of like having more lighting in the corners," Draco said as he watched to see if his cheeks might get more color in them if he massaged them. After a few more moments of this, Draco sighed, deciding that his time had been wasted. "I have to go now."
"I'll go with you at least to Dumbledore's office. I still think it sucks that I can't go with you," Severus pouted.
"Don't be stupid; you know that the house is going to have a belated birthday party for you. You don't want to get bogged down with this depressing business. Save me some cake, won't you?"
"I'm not in a mood for a party!" Severus growled.
Draco downed a vial of potion for headaches in one gulp. "Sev, please!"
"Fine...I'll save you some cake. You look like you need more than that, though."
"Save me some chips, maybe a sandwich. And some butterbeer. Whatever you think I might like," Draco advised him. He didn't stop to watch Severus staring at the floor behind him.
Draco, along with Professors Dumbledore and Foxworth, popped into Mr. Ollivander's hearth around a half hour later. Mr. Ollivander, the little man with the big eyes that Draco only dimly remembered, stood in the middle of what looked like the neatest, cleanest workshop that ever was. For a few seconds, he glanced around at the shop; the raw materials for wand creation were packed in an almost reverent fashion along walls, under tables, and in crates and on top of shelves. A skein of unicorn hair was laid out on one table. A long hand drill was screwed into the tabletop, and coiled shavings littered a small basket placed beneath it. Rows upon rows of stains lined an open cupboard. A stack of empty boxes laid to one side under a window. Draco found himself fascinated by all this.
"Come outside with me, gentlemen." Mr. Ollivander opened the back door and led the three of them out into his small courtyard. In one corner was a large chiminea. It's fire was already lit, and under different circumstances Draco would have thought the fire was cozy. "Tonight, we have come here to put the wand of Draco Malfoy to rest. Once it was used to harm its master. It cannot be allowed to exist any longer under such circumstances."
Draco felt a little weird. It was like a funeral for his wand. Was all this really necessary? So it stung him in the hand when he used it now--big deal! Well, okay, it didn't just sting, it actually broiled his entire arm. Ollivander held out his hand. Glumly, Drac handed him the wand. Ollivander laid the wand down on a small stone top table that looked more like a bird-bath, then took out his own wand. "Priori Incantatum!" Ollivander cried.
Oh crap! Draco didn't realize that they'd all have to go over what exactly had happened with the wand! The silvery smoke flew from the wand, like a rotten tattle-tale, telling everyone everything Draco had done magically in backwards order. "What is this? You buried a ball... no, you Transfigured something into a ball and buried it? And what the hell did you do before that?" Foxworth sputtered.
"You don't recognise that spell?" Mr. Ollivander asked Professor Foxworth.
"I do," Dumbledore answered for him.
"Well, I thought you would. But we have to continue with this; we can sort our everything else later," Ollivander told them all sharply, and with that, the spell continued it's damning work. But Draco was gateful for the extra time; he was sure he could come up with a good explanation for this too. But Dumbledore recognised a Secret-Keeper spell. Shit, shit, shit...
The Cruciatus Curse reared it's silvery head fromt he wand. Ollivander winced, as though he felt the wand going through some pain as it recalled the spell. Then another, then another. Draco had already forgotten just how many times Lestrange had used the spell. Foxworth looked pale. Dumbledore just looked at Draco. Draco felt like he was going to vomit yet again. "So many times," Ollivander breathed. It was the only sound coming from anyone in the courtyard.
Once the Priori spell showed the last spell that Draco had done before the wand had been used against him, Ollivander ended it with a clipped "Finite Incantatum!" A few moments more were just that awkward silence that Draco had come to dread in these past few days. After that, Ollivander began to speak again. "I created this wand, not very long ago. As you may or may not know, Mr. malfoy, I recall every wand I ever create. I do not, however, recall selling it to you."
"Oh, that's a long story!" Draco sighed. "Two words; time travel."
Ollivander looked amazed. "When did you buy this wand?"
"Actually my mother bought it for me in 1991."
"Really? Now, I created this wand in 1969. It has no brothers. This is a fortunate thing."
"Why?" Draco asked.
Ollivander picked up the wand. "If it had any brothers, they would have turned against you as well. Since there are none, you will not have to worry, when you pick your new wand, that you will come across any of them." He handed the wand back to Draco. "You must be the one to destroy it. You must break it in half and put it into the fire of the chiminea there, once you have said your farewell to it.
Draco was only half-aware of Ollivander stepping back. Holding the wand one last time, he seemed to lose sense of all his surroundings. Instead, he was able to see his mother's face, smiling proudly as she handed him his new wand that she'd bought him while he was a Madame Malkin's buying school robes.
He remembered his first successful charm in Flitwick's class.
He recalled the jinx he'd placed on Neville Longbottom that gave eveyone a great laugh.
His heart swelled with pride when he thought of the Duelling Club, and his Serpensortia Spell that Professor Snape had taught him...
And then, the pain, like a devious phantom, that this very wand had caused him began to flood him once again. All the good, distorted hopelessly by the bad. Draco snapped the wand apart, it's dragon heartstring core glowing furiously at this outrage. He'd never seen it before, the core of his wand. It seethed in nasty green. Draco tossed the remains of his wand into the chiminea. Sparks flew from the top, and he took a few steps back to where the others were. The pain abruptly stopped.
"Yes, I see now that it had to die," Draco murmured. He didn't bother trying to wipe away any tears he felt on his face.
"It served you well when it served you, did it not? Now, you must begin a new chapter in your life, Draco Malfoy. And it will start with selecting a new wand," Ollivander declared.
"My old wand is barely ashes in the fire yet," Draco commented.
"It won't be much longer now. Perhaps if you wish to wait..." Ollivander trailed off, giving Draco more room again. Draco stared into the fire. The wand became a thin cinder with a snapping string turning the flames a bit green. A sudden mad thought filled Draco, to snatch the wand from the flames. But what good would it do now? It was too late. Just like it was too late for him. What was done was done. Was he a burning cinder as well?
He sank to the ground slowly and made a futile attempt to keep the tears inside. From this effort, his body began to shake, and then his chest began to tighten and burn. When the scream started streaming out of his mouth, there was no way to stop it, no way to make sense of it. Until the three men behind him began hearing "Voldemort" in the midst of it.