Crossing the Line: By GiddyGirl15
Warning: Slash. As in m/m relationships. As in not suitable for all those homophobic people out there. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: I don't own squat and I'm making absolutely no money. Don't sue please!
Author's note: Hello everybody! Well, here it is, next chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far…I can't stress enough how much it makes my day to check my e-mail and actually find messages! ;) Anyway, for this next chapter I hope to amp up the awkwardness a bit, maybe play in a little truce or something? Who knows? Well, I do, but that's besides the point. : clears throat : Moving on…I also hope to introduce Ron a bit more, kind of get him up to date with the situation. So…yeah…I hope you enjoy! (And remember to let me know if you do or don't in one of those fantastic reviews ;) )
Chapter Three: Confessions"Why do you two keep looking over at the Slytherin table?" Ron stared at Harry and Hermione, whose furtive glances at the opposite side of the room had him quite perplexed. "You guys have been acting really distracted ever since school started. What's going on?" They both seemed rather troubled about something…something Ron wasn't involved in. The fact that Harry and Hermione were keeping something from him was completely out of character for them. Normally, the three were an inseparable trio that shared gossip and concocted crazy schemes to get themselves into trouble. Now, however, Harry and Hermione had their own little secret that Ron wasn't a part of. So where did that leave him? He knew the two too well to think that they would ever abandon him, but the doubts began to creep into his mind nonetheless. He couldn't help but notice the frequent shared glances between Harry and Hermione that he wasn't involved in.
Harry and Hermione looked at each other. They had talked about this, knowing only too well that, eventually, Ron would catch on to their little interest. Ron was not a very open-minded person and not usually one to forgive and forget, and they knew that he wouldn't be in a hurry to give a damn about Draco Malfoy one way or another. Still, they both hated keeping secrets from him, and hated lying to him even worse. So they decided that when he asked, they would tell him the truth.
Hermione took a breath and looked at Ron. "Okay, well, erm," she started, not sure what to say. "Do you remember back on the train? When Malfoy kind of, erm, I dunno, was acting sort of strange?"
Ron huffed. "Yeah, so?" He did not like where this conversation was going.
"Well he, um, hasn't really been himself since the start of school. Okay, that's an understatement. He's been totally out of it! Haven't you noticed that he hasn't once picked a fight with us, or anyone else for that matter? He hasn't even talked much to anybody! And Harry, well, sort of made it his mission to figure out what's up. And I guess I've sort of been helping him." Hermione looked up at Ron.
Ron looked incredulous. "What does it matter though? I mean, c'mon, it's Malfoy! We're talking about bloody Draco Malfoy! The royal prat who has made our lives a living hell ever since we started school here! His father's You-Know-Who's right hand man for God's sake! Why do you care whether or not he's happy!" He shouted. What could have possibly possessed them to even spare Malfoy a passing glance? He shook his head, staring dumbfounded at the two.
"Look, Ron," Harry said quietly. "I know it's strange, mate, and I know it's hard to believe, but something's changed. I don't know what it is, but something has definitely changed. It's not Malfoy anymore." He glanced over at the Slytherin table. Draco was just sitting there, playing with his food, keeping to himself. Harry saw Pansy make a brave stab at conversation, but to no avail. Yep, something was different alright – normally, Pansy and Draco were flirting like mad whenever they got the chance. But now, Draco was just sitting there. Sitting there with total and complete indifference. It was as if he had just stopped caring. Not just about Pansy, or tormenting the Golden Trio, but life itself. It looked as though Draco Malfoy would have loved nothing more than to just drop dead right there. This was worse than Harry thought.
"Whatever," said Ron, shaking his head once more and getting up from the table. Harry and Hermione soon followed suit.
The following couple of weeks, the trio became so involved in their schoolwork that the issue of Malfoy's depression was pushed to the back of their minds. The teachers loaded on the work and made it so any "free-time" was to be spent hunched over 500-page thick textbooks, studying at any possible second. The worst of said teachers was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the real Alastor Moody. Although many of the students still regarded him with a wary eye due to the recent antics of imposter Moody, Barty Crouch, he still acted as though nothing had happened and made it a point to bring them all up to speed on what they missed in the last year with that joke of a teacher whose name shall not be mentioned in this story. : mutters under breath about what an arrogant, biased little witch she was (excuse the pun he he he) : sorry, getting off track… Harry, Ron, and especially Hermione found little time to breathe, let alone worry about anyone else's problems. Even Harry, with his strange little obsession over Malfoy, could not find the time to even spare a thought concerning him. Every once and a while, some strange behavior of Malfoy's would catch him off guard and he would be confronted with the issue yet again, only to have it forced to the back of his mind by another assignment.
Fortunately, the next weekend was Hogsmeade. The teachers seemed to lighten up slightly on the work, allowing all of the students a chance to actually go out and have some fun. The real reason, however, was that they were all sick and tired of grading countless papers and coming up with new lesson plans. They wanted to have some fun of their own. Not that any of the students minded of course.
And so the glorious weekend arrived, and students from all houses clustered around the front door, eagerly awaiting their time off from schoolwork.
The crisp chill of the upcoming winter caused Harry, Ron, and Hermione to pull their cloaks a little tighter around their cold bodies. The village of Hogsmeade was bustling and beautiful. Everywhere they looked they saw excited students running around, laughing, hands full of numerous goodies. The trio immediately headed over to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to see how the Weasley twins' new business was going…and were definitely not disappointed in what they saw.
A huge, brightly-colored building with big, golden letters stood on the Weasley twins' premises. Stepping inside was like taking a portal to a whole new world – there were little gag gifts and joke merchandise everywhere the eye could see. Many of it was being readily tested by thousands of young children and teens, giggling madly and looking as though they were having the time of their lives. Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked a bit further in to find a broadly-grinning George in a hideous purple suit.
"Hey you three! Well…what do you think?" George said excitedly, gesturing at the store.
"It's brilliant, George! It really is!" Ron looked completely beside himself and positively impressed at his older brothers' accomplishments. He stared in wonder at the miraculous store, mouth agape. "This is fantastic," he breathed.
Just then, a 'Weasley Wildfire Whiz-Bang' shot through Ron's legs, causing him to squeal and leap about 3 feet into the air, landing smack on his rear. Fred came up behind them in an equally hideous purple suit, laughing hysterically. Giving his twin brother a high-five, he turned to the three students. "Well, well, well! Good to see you all! Do you like the new shop?"
Struggling to recover from his laughing fit, Harry managed to get out, "It's amazing!" He offered Ron a hand and helped him up. "You guys can hang out here for a little while, okay? I'll catch up with you in a bit," he said to Ron and Hermione, who gave him questioning looks but didn't ask. "Well done with the joke shop Fred, George! You're brilliant," he said shaking their hands.
Waving goodbye, Harry stepped out into the chilly village. Wrapping his cloak around himself once more, he set off toward the Shrieking Shack. He walked slowly, while his thoughts drifted back to Sirius yet again. The Shrieking Shack was the place where they'd met for the first time. Harry smiled, remembering their first encounter. To think, he had almost killed his beloved Godfather, thinking him a betrayer and murderer. He remembered the fear, the hurt, and the eventual love that had developed between them. He had loved Sirius so much. He was like the father he had never had; because that father that had been stolen from Harry as a child. Stolen by Voldemort. And now Sirius, the closest thing he'd ever had to a father, was stolen – by Voldemort. The familiar anger began to build inside the pit of Harry's stomach. If not for Voldemort, he would have a mother, a father, a Godfather, and at least the semblance of a normal life. If not for Voldemort, he would be happy. He wouldn't be famous, having random strangers gawking at his forehead 24/7, living life through the expectations of the Wizarding world. Things would be different. Better.
Suddenly, his musings were rudely interrupted by a series of harsh voices coming from up ahead. Looking around, he realized that his feet had carried him to the bottom of the hill leading up to the Shrieking Shack. Listening closer, he recognized one of the voices as none other than Lucius Malfoy. How the hell did he get out of Azkaban! Crouching behind a bush, Harry peaked out and watched the scene unfold.
"You have disappointed me, my son," a cold, silky voice said. That voice could only belong to Lucius Malfoy. There were three hooded figures standing in a circle. One of the figures Harry assumed to be Lucius. The other two looked to be a couple of his fellow Death Eaters. One shifted himself slightly, revealing the crouching figure in the middle. Harry stifled a gasp. "Crucio," whispered Lucius. Draco shrieked and writhed, fists clenched, face contorted. It lasted for about a minute, and once the effects of the curse were lifted, he just lay there, trembling, glaring up at his father. "You do not turn your back on the Dark Lord, my son," Lucius said with an equally venomous glare. "You disgust me!" He yelled, kicking Draco hard in the ribs. "And now, dear boy," he said, controlling himself. "You die. You die for your betrayal and cowardice. You die for the dishonor you brought to the Malfoy name. You die by my hand."
The Death Eaters moved in. Without even thinking, Harry shot out of the bushes where he had been concealed and cast multiple disarming spells at the hooded figures. Remarkably, they all found their marks, probably due to the fact that the attack was so unexpected. If Lucius Malfoy had to have a weakness, it would be that. He never seemed to be ready for the unexpected. Darting forward, Harry touched Malfoy's shoulder and quickly Apparated the two of them to the upstairs bedroom of the Shrieking Shack…the very place where he had met Sirius two years earlier. Dumbledore had taught him to Apparate at the beginning of this year, hoping he could use it as an unanticipated weapon, as he wasn't legally allowed to do so until he was 17. Well, thought Harry. I definitely don't think Lucius Malfoy was expecting it, that's for sure.
A shuddering breath from the corner brought Harry back to attention. Draco sat, curled up into a tight ball, still trembling slightly, and looking at Harry with open fear. Harry took a deep breath and sat down on the bed.
"Okay. I think now would be an appropriate time for some serious explanations," he said quietly. "What the hell is going on!"
"Nothing," came the soft reply.
"Oh bloody hell, Malfoy! I just witnessed your own father try to murder you!" Harry exclaimed somewhat incredulously. "Now. You're either going to tell me what the bloody hell is happening or I'm going to force-feed you Veritaserum and make you tell me what the bloody hell is happening!"
Draco shuddered again. Deciding he would rather tell the story of his own free will and hold onto any dignity he'd managed to retain, he began his tale. "Well," he took a deep breath. "I guess it all started when I refused the Dark Mark last July. All my life I've been told that Muggles are horrible and should not be allowed to live, and Muggle-born witches and wizards have 'dirty blood.' But never once did I meet a witch or wizard who I actually could tell had Muggle parentage. I mean, I hated some of the Muggle-borns, like Granger. But, I also hated some Purebloods, like Weasel. It really didn't make that much of a difference! That was when I began to question my father's and You-Know-Who's work. What did it matter if someone had Muggle parents? I mean, honestly! Sounded a bit childish to me. Anyway, once my father went to prison, I had no one to tell You-Know-Who that I was too young to join him. One night he came to my house. He killed my mother when she tried to defend me, and then tried to take me. So I ran. I ran to Dumbledore. He put me in a safe house until it was time to start school. Then, I guess Lucius escaped from Azkaban, just like I knew he would, and sent out to find me. And he did," his voice broke slightly. He hadn't looked at Harry the entire time. Wiping his tears away with an impatient hand, he looked up at Harry with no more malice or anger, just sadness and fear.
Harry slowly let out the breath he was holding. Wow. I never thought I'd see the day; I feel sorry for Draco Malfoy. I guess he really isn't all that bad, now that I think about it. I mean, sure he's a pompous know-it-all that really knows how to kick someone while they are down, but he isn't as 'evil' as I've always thought him to be. Maybe…no, it's too absurd. Maybe though…we could be friends…come to a truce of sorts…work together. After all, it wouldn't hurt to have a wizard as talented as him fighting against Voldemort. He does know all of the tricks of the trade when it comes to the Dark side, considering his pathetic excuse for a father. But, no. It would never happen. This was Draco Malfoy. Harry stared at Draco and Draco stared back. Neither knew what to do or say. The silence was deafening.
Then Ron's words began to leak back into Harry's mind. "What does it matter though? I mean, c'mon, it's Malfoy! We're talking about bloody Draco Malfoy! The royal prat who has made our lives a living hell ever since we started school here!" What if Draco wasn't telling the truth? What if he just wants to get on my good side so he can spy for Voldemort or something? What if he only wants to kill me? But then why did Lucius Malfoy try to murder him? Why did Draco look so lost, so unprotected? His thoughts battled like this for quite some time, until a noise alerted him to someone's presence just outside the house.
Harry and Draco immediately tensed, preparing themselves for a confrontation. Apparating for a young wizard like Harry was extremely difficult, and it had been a miracle that he'd even been able to transport both him and Draco, even if it was only a short ways. There was no way in hell that he could do it again so soon after the last time. Thinking fast, Harry grabbed Draco's hand and led him out of the bedroom and down the stairs in the direction of the secret entrance of the passage leading to the Whomping Willow. But before they reached the trapdoor, footsteps approached the closed door just beyond the entrance…someone was coming…
A/N: Mwahahahahahaha! I'm so evil! Cliffhangers make me smile ! Who is it behind the door? Has Lucius discovered their location? Will Harry and Draco make it out alive? I guess you'll have to wait to find out::evil laughs again: Okay, I'm done. Thank you for reading everyone! This one is extra long to make up for the brevity of last chapter. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this and I would love for everyone to review! Seriously, I know you can't have that much of a life if you're reading Harry/Draco fanfics on the internet! ;) I'm just kidding…I'm sure you all have very busy lives…but please take like two minutes out of your hectic schedules to review anyway! I love you all and I will see you next week!