Oblivio Nex

Chapter 11

"Will you stop pacing, Mr. Potter? I'm quite sure the boy is completely fine," a voice said irritably.

Harry stood still and sighed as he looked at Madam Pomfrey who seemed to be taking advantage of the lull in number of sick students in the Hospital Wing by sorting out her medicine cabinets and shelves. What joy she could be getting out of this Harry didn't know, but he had nevertheless caught the nurse smiling happily as she sorted through the numerous potion jars while the boy had waited for Draco to return.

Harryfelt like he'd never been as nervous as he was now. His brows were furrowed with worry, and the constant dark glances that he kept shooting at the Hospital Wing's door were doing nothing other than making him more anxious.

He gave one last irritated huff at the nurse before he sat down; his nerves, however, were still pacing the floor.

Madam Pomfrey smiled, "That's better. As I said, there's no need to wor-"

The door Harry had been staring at was opened swiftly and in walked Draco. Harry, just glad to see the boy back in one piece after a visit from a Dark Wizard, rushed up to him and quickly embraced the slender boy.

Harry noticed immediately when Draco stiffened, and Harry pulled away with concern, his green eyes searching the other's blank face.

"What's wrong?" Harry demanded.

Draco forced a smile and arched his eyebrows innocently.

"Nothing."

Harry took in the Draco's slightly tense posture. The other boy seemed genuine in his answer and anyone else would have been fooled, but Harry saw the difference in the Slytherin's eyes; the same expressive eyes he'd watched laugh, cry, tease – there was nothing in them now. There was no happiness, no sadness, no indication of any emotion. Ice had frozen the life in those silver orbs and now it seemed that nothing could penetrate those hard walls.

"What happened to you, Draco?" Harry asked again, frowning as he gripped Draco's slender shoulders tightly.

Draco flinched and stepped out of Harry's grip, looking a little shaken.

"You're hurt?" Harry asked, angry at the thought. What exactly had happened in the meeting between father and son?

"What? No, I'm not hurt," Draco said, scowling up at Harry. "I'm perfectly fine. I was with my father, Potter, and he – he wouldn't hurt me."

With that Dracopushed past Harry, leaving the Gryffindor to watch in confusion as the door to their room was slammed shut.

What had just happened? Why was Draco acting so oddly? He'd only been concerned for the boy.

"What did I tell you?" the nurse asked triumphantly, "he's perfectly fine!"

-

Draco Malfoy, only heir of the Malfoy fortune and proud son of Lucius Malfoy, leaned against the door, his staring eyes wide with repressed horror.

He still couldn't believe what had happened, how everything had come to this. Yet now he knew, and he was glad of Lucius's intervention.

He sighed as he began to remember everything that had happened in the last few hours…

It was white hot.

Searing pain slashed down his slight form, and after the constant grip of throbbing hurt the new strike came as almost a relief. This building climax of torment had now reached its peak and the pure torture of it was almost exquisite. Pain flooded every part of his body, creeping out from the heart to the tips of every limb, the bones shattering when each trail snaked its way through him, then snapping them back together as it retreated back to the centre of the body, ready to make its way down his form again to rip more hot tears from the boy.

He'd stopped his cries long ago, as well as his hope for someone to hear them, and now there was no real way to express what he was feeling. The only clue would be to see the terror in those hurt goose grey eyes, dark pupils dilated as soundless screams escaped an open mouth.

Draco had never felt such pain and the man who delivered it merely smirked.

"Tell me," the voice whispered, and Draco was so far gone he couldn't even remember who he was speaking to let alone what it wanted to know, so he told the voice everything he could remember – that being everything within the last couple of weeks.

The pain dimmed as his gasping words were dragged from his pain-twisted mouth, leaving a stinging tingle of sensation dancing over his skin, as if in warning of what may happen if he disobeyed the voice.

"Oblivio Nex, my son? I did not believe you had any concept of real honour, was I wrong?" the voice murmured silkily and Draco's eyes opened to find cold grey eyes piercing into his own. "You do surprise me, I suppose it's a good thing we have our own remedy for that little potion."

Draco was still in a blurry state of confusion; the only thing he knew for sure was that he was lying on a cold stone floor.

Eyes of steel watched him with almost snake-like fascination as he moved a little, wincing as he did so. The eyes suddenly seemed to come to a decision and a hand darted to his throat and lifted him like a broken doll. The man then propped him up against the wall and nodded thoughtfully. Then his wand was again pointed at the boy, words full of dark and powerful magic releasing a spell that hit Draco hard.

The spell seemed to burn down through his system as though it was boiling his very blood and Draco slumped to the floor, exhausted yet again by the harm filled words that had flowed out of the man's mouth. However, this time it had been different and he was starting to feel a little odd.

The man was watching him carefully, for what Draco had no idea but it was really getting quite unnervin-

Draco gave a sharp cry as images abruptly burnt themselves into his mind, as though someone had suddenly opened a door to a raging bonfire. Those flames took little time to consume him and soon the images were all he could see.

A small blonde child wandering a great house with so many empty rooms; the same boy, older, crying at the sharp sting of pain he'd felt slash across his face; now older still and determined to win the blonde man's pride and love no matter what the cost, following his path as was his duty; and images of moss green eyes that burned the most furiously out of all the images – eyes that had led him to this moment.

Draco looked up at his father and saw the man's mild look, but this time knew what it meant and so knew he should fear.

"F-father," Draco started hesitantly but was stopped by an angry silencing gesture from Lucius.

"I don't want to hear pathetic excuses, Draco. I can only assume those disgusting rebels contaminated your mind with their lies, and as for your other activities," Lucius's lips curled distastefully, "the less I hear in regards to that is also for the better."

Draco's cheeks flushed and he looked down, not meeting his father's gaze.

"However, this incident has given us an opportunity, and it is the best we've had for a while," Lucius went on, sounding almost pleased. "I don't care why you deemed it necessary to take that potion, whether through honour or some other notion; I have nothing to say to you other than to express my disappointment of your ineptitude even when dealing with your own end." Lucius looked at Draco with dissatisfaction, and the boy nodded wretchedly, wondering what it was his father was leading up to.

"As you've failed twice now, the first being your task to end Potter, the second to pay for your failure, I am giving you a third and final chance. Now that you are in Potter's trust you should not find this difficult. Kill Potter, do you understand?"

Draco nodded and his eyes narrowed resolutely, "Thank you father, I know I have failed and no one regrets that more than myself. This time I will succeed."

Lucius smirked a little at his son's sincere tone. So it had not been from lack of trying that the boy had failed.

"I think it best for you to have aid this time," Lucius almost smiled at the irritation in his son's eyes: such pride. "You will receive instructions from Blaise, make sure to meet him."

Draco nodded, frowning slightly. "Yes, father."

"And Draco?" Draco looked up into his father's hard eyes. "Now that I have given you your instructions, I expect them to be carried out. You remember what will happen if you don't."

Draco flinched: he remembered.

-

To be continued…