Without Question
By Tien Riu
tien_riu@yahoo.com
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Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all characters belong to J.K. Rowlings. Plot (what little there is of it ^_^) and depiction of characters are mine. WARNING: The future of this piece of fiction contains slash/yaoi/shonen ai/homosexual relationships.
Author's notes after the story. Enjoy and please review!
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Chapter Nine: So Comes the Rain
"Harry -?" The sleepy voice stopped Harry in his tracks, one hand bearing the all important letter from Hogwarts, the other his key to his account at Gringotts and a mouth firmly biting down on the edge of his invisibility cloak.
Oh no - not now -
Professor Flitwick had just caught Harry sneaking out of suite of rooms they were sharing at the Leaky Cauldron. Which could only mean one thing: He wants to talk to me again. Harry found himself slowly being swivelled around with gentle, unseen force, till he was staring - wide eyed - at the diminutive Professor and his inappropriately proportioned wand.
"Harry -" Professor Flitwick, sleeping cap bobble dangling over one eye, in a bright blue robe, "Harry - wherever are you going so early in the -" he blinked, "Goodness - is that an invisibility cloak?"
"Ah - yes -" Harry began, and bit off a curse as the cloak slipped out of his mouth and puddled around his feet, "Yes Professor."
Flitwick nodded, "Well that's good then - nice to know my eyes aren't going yet." He said, yawning, "Now, why don't you tell me where you're going at six in the morning?"
Hedwig flew in through the open window, darting through the half-drawn curtains to land on Harry's shoulder - causing him to drop the letter. Flitwick took in the distinctive Hogwarts crest.
"Ah - school list finally came did it?"
"Yes Professor."
"Thought you could beat the crowds if you got in at nine on the dot?"
"Yes Professor."
"And the invisibility cloak -?"
"So I could just drop the money and not have to talk to people, sir."
"Ah." Professor Flitwick - looking remarkably solemn for someone who measured less than four feet - sighed, "Why don't you go and do that then, Harry. But when you come back, we need to have a talk." He said.
Harry nodded, "Yes sir." He said, scooping up the cloak and the letter quickly as he attempted to make his escape.
"And Harry -?"
"Sir?"
"The Museum and Library of Enchanted Muggle Artefacts is closed for archiving today, so I will expect you back before lunch." Flitwick said mildly.
Sometimes Harry wondered if anything he attempted to do was actually secret - rather than the result of the Hogwarts faculty turning a blind eye. Well, except for Snape anyway.
*
Ron stared down at the sheet of parchment in his hand; the list for fifth year texts was relatively short - unfortunately, the same could not be said for the books themselves.
"They're bleeding bonkers." He breathed as he looked up once more to take in the Defence Against Dark Arts text ('The Big Book of Companion Magical Creatures and How to Get Them to Help You').
It was as thick as it was wide and as long as it was thick - creating what looked remarkably like a square slab of stone. Merlin's rod hit me now - they can't seriously expect us to get through this in one year. "How do they expect us to even carry the blasted thing?" he muttered as he attempted to pick up the book once more.
"Good thing you learned wingardium back in first year." Hermione said behind him.
Ron jumped, whirled and grinned, "Hermione!" he said in surprise.
She hugged him tightly - a move that made him suddenly aware that she had grown up during the summer, "I'm so proud of you Ron! I wish I could have come back early enough to see the ceremony."
He flushed when he realised she was talking about the article the Daily Prophet had published.
"It was nothing." Was this why Harry never liked talking about his adventures? It really was embarrassing.
"Stop that - it was very brave; I liked the picture in the Daily Prophet - the robes looked really good on you." Hermione added as she stepped back to take a look at the new robes (black with red edging) he was wearing, "Madam Malkin's as well?"
He nodded, "Madam Malkin gave me a whole new set of robes for free - including three different formal robes." He grinned, "And not a single frill of lace in sight!"
"Good that." Hermione noted, then at the stack of books Ron was sporting, "Ron - why ever are you getting the unabridged version of Companion Magical Creatures?"
"What?"
Hermione reached over and tapped a finger - slender with well cared nails though why he was noticing this he wasn't completely sure and Nemue betrayed, why was he blushing? - against a row of thin, blue books. It took Ron several seconds to realise she wanted him to read the spine of the books - several more to tilt his head.
"'The Big Book of Companion Magical Creatures and How to Get Them to Help You - abridged'." He read then looked up to find Hermione holding up her book list, finger under the word 'abridged version only' (with 'only' underlined once).
"Honestly Ron, fifth year and you still can't read." Hermione said exasperatedly - but she was grinning.
He ran a hand through his hair and smiled, "Good thing you were here then."
"Yeah."
They stood there, silent, for several seconds; Ron felt his face going redder. Hermione was looking at the books on the shelves, hugging a stack of books against her chest.
"So - you heard from Harry this summer?" he asked finally.
Hermione turned, frowning worriedly, "No. Nothing at all." She said, "I thought maybe he wrote to you at least?"
"Nothing - not since the beginning of summer." Ron admitted, "I got a few letters from Snuffles and Professor Lupin though - Harry managed to send one or two to them at least. They said he was all right." He paused, "Guess those muggles didn't really let him send any letters this year."
Hermione pursed her lips, "I guess." She said finally, "Want to go get something to eat? I'm done here."
Ron pretended to gasp, "Done? Hermione Granger - leaving Flourish and Blotts under her own power? Merlin's beard!"
She glared at him, and they gathered their books up - leaving 'The Big Book of Companion Magical Creatures and How to Get Them to Help You (unabridged)' lying in its place on the bookshelf.
All we need is Harry, and everything will be the way it use to be. Ron thought.
By his side, Hermione frowned. She knew - even if Ron didn't seem to - that Harry had spent the last two months in The Leaky Cauldron with Professor Flitwick. What's going on Harry? Why didn't you owl Ron? Why didn't you owl any of us?
And thus, August the thirty-first slipped silently towards September the first.
*
Draco watched impassively as the trunks were levitated into the back of the 'damned muggle contraption', an old rolls royce (bought during the Grindelwald War by Great-Grandmother Adverto Lucis-Malfoy who had been decidedly eccentric). Overhead, the sky darkened as storm clouds hovered; the atmosphere suited his mood.
It seemed severely unfair he was still expected to return to Hogwarts, uphold the Malfoy name, maintain Slytherin's honour - not to mention complete all his homework. What's the point in all this if the Dark Lord is going to reduce the place to rubble before next July? Why not do it now and get it over with?
Logically of course, he knew that the extra time was to ensure that the other spies within Hogwarts could attempt last minute recruitment of future Death Eaters. However, as Draco had been instructed (by the Dark Lord himself), his place was not amongst the ranks of the worthy. His task was to wait for an unknown Death Eater (whose name he would be provided with as required) to meet him and remove the collar. Oh wait - it's a torque isn't it? Not a collar - after all, a collar on a Malfoy is an impossibility. So this is a torque - for that is an ornament worthy of the Malfoy heir. He swallowed a bitter laugh. And I'm a Death Eater initiate.
"Is that all?" the words had bitten at Draco's throat as he bowed in imitation of his father to the Dark Lord.
The gathered Death Eaters, masks hiding their faces, had not watched him as he followed his father from the room. The Dark Lord had already begun speaking to another initiate - dressed, unlike Draco, in Death Eater robes, albeit without the mask - who looked young enough to have been no older than he. The bitterness had rolled in his stomach - why that boy and not him?
"Is there nothing else I can do for our cause, Father?" Draco had asked quietly.
The corridor had been empty; no one had seen as Lucius removed his mask to glare down at his son.
Well, almost down - at least those growth enchantments made me taller.
"Are you questioning our Master's decisions?" Lucius had said flatly; there had been something - perhaps anger, perhaps fear - in his voice, "The destiny you were born to fulfil?"
Taken aback, Draco had replied quickly, "No - no Father." He stopped, controlled his thoughts and quickening breath automatically, "I, as we all are, serve the Dark Lord in all his desires. Surely - while I wait for the - torque -" the pause was barely perceivable he hoped, " - to be removed, there is some other manner I could be - useful?" In a manner more befitting our name and my station, Father! Something that makes me more than just a weapon! Those words left unsaid - they revealed too much and that was as much taboo as questioning his father.
His father had smiled then, gently brushing a lock of hair Draco had barely realised had fallen from its prescribed position back into place, "Ever the ambitious one." He said gently, "Ah Draco - there is a time and place for ambition - but it is not here."
"Father?"
"In this at least, Draco, there is no need for unseemly ambition. That you are the Malfoy heir, that you are pure blooded - that is enough; ambition would be unseemly." His father chided gently, "Your place and task was set in stone the day you were born. You, my precious dragon, were chosen to stand by our Master's side from the day of your conception. Accept it, take pride in what you do - and no more." His father paused, then smiled - as if offering a treat to a young child, "Come. Some texts on the Dark Arts have recently entered my possession. We will study them together - they will aid you."
Aid me in what, Father? How better to bow and scrape between times when I get to walk around without a bleeding collar? He wished he knew what the removal of the collar would do - other than give severe burns to those around him. But that knowledge - and so much more - had not been gifted to him.
And on top of everything else, Lucius Malfoy had been called away by urgent business (which could only mean You-Know-Who had summoned him). Thus, Draco was being sent to the train station not by portkey and floo but the thrice-damned muggle contraption! This is humiliation. No wonder the Weasel is always bad tempered if he feels like this all the time. Draco snickered, he would have to remember to use that jibe the next time he met the red-headed git. Oh wait. I can't can I - because Father wants me to " -stay out of trouble and avoid Potter and his friends. I don't want to get any letters from your Head of House because you can't control yourself.".
Which left him at Hogwarts, bowing down to the Slytherin-hating faculty (except for Snape who didn't really count), swallowing his pride and doing the reams of homework as if nothing had changed - and without the possibility of taunting Potter, the mudblood and the red weasel to keep him entertained.
At least I won't be alone. Forlorn, hopeless thought that - unworthy of the Malfoy heir.
"Good morning Draco."
Draco's head jerked, startled, as he turned at the familiar voice, "Mother!"
Narcissa Malfoy, her pale skin a slight, golden colour from her vacation on the continent, inclined her head and smiled politely, "You are very pale, Draco. Did your studies keep you inside all this summer?"
She knew - in her blue eyes, he could see the knowledge of all that had happened to him while she had been gone. Why? A part of him wanted to scream. Why did you leave me here? Why did you let those mediwizards enchant me again? Why didn't you come back and let me out?
But those words, and those thoughts, were unworthy of the Malfoy heir - so he merely nodded curtly, "I required much preparation for the new school year. It shall be my fifth after all - and the O.W.L.s are said to be hard." Draco said politely.
"Ah." Narcissa replied, "It is September the first. You are leaving for the Hogwarts Express?"
As if standing out here in the predawn cold waiting for the house elves to finish loading his trunks and Quidditch gear was an every day occurrence.
"Yes. Father is away on business, so I'm taking Great-Grandmother Adverto Lucis-Malfoy's folly." Draco said, shrugging to the muggle contraption.
"Great-Grandmother Adverto was quite eccentric." Narcissa agreed, "Her luncheons were always - different." His mother paused then added, "I will see you to the platform."
He nodded - this was the expected, even predicted ending to the conversation. Other than their summer-time gardening, he had few interactions with his mother not intended to meet a specific end. Were he as uncouth as he were impatient and irritated, he might have jumped through the intermediary conversation to the end immediately. However, a Malfoy was well mannered and well-bred, and etiquette had been the first lesson he had been taught. Draco felt that he had gotten quite accomplished in understanding the underlying laws that governed human interaction. Except when it comes to Mother. He had never truly understood her sporadic attempts at conventional behaviour, nor the conversations they occasionally held that had no discernable reason - other than to perhaps confuse him.
Maybe there is no reason. Narcissa, after all, was not true Malfoy - unless of course his father had married a cousin (which he sincerely doubted and absolutely refused to consider). There was no insanity in the Malfoy heirs - it was not allowed. Except for you - because she is your mother, and her blood runs through you. It'd explain some things if you're going insane. For one, he might finally discover if he truly was the only boy to ever ponder on the motivation behind his mother's behaviour.
They sat in silence as the muggle contraption rolled out of the long driveway leading from Malfoy Manor. Draco watched as the gates swung close; the sun was rising. It would be a three hour drive to Kings Cross Station.
Behind his mother's slender profile, he could see the driver's seat, wheel turning by itself. After Great-Grandmother Adverto Lucis-Malfoy had died, the muggle chauffeur had been fired (and his memories obliviated) and the muggle contraption enchanted to drive itself. There were charms all over the outside of the muggle contraption to ensure muggle law enforcers were too confounded to stop the contraption should they catch sight of it.
Narcissa leaned back against the black leather seats, "Of all the Malfoy ancestors, Great-Grandmother Adverto was my favourite." She said.
"Oh." Draco paused, the answer didn't seem enough, "I did not know you had ever met Great-Grandmother Adverto." Especially since she died back in the forties. The last left unsaid. Politeness, though not required when in the company of his peers or Gryffindors, was essential for conversing with adults - especially when dealing with his parents.
"A portrait of her is in my personal suite." Narcissa continued in the same bland tone, "Though of course, it was taken when she was much younger."
Draco was silent; conversing with his mother had always been a rather disconcerting process. Although he had been raised by first his nurse, then a series of maids, tutors and governesses, his mother had always shown a remarkable ability to seemingly read his mind. Even his father - who had spent far more time with him throughout his childhood - was usually unable to understand his thought processes. But Mother always seems able to tell when I'm lying. It almost made him believe in that fable: maternal instinct. Some Slytherin - defeated by my own Mother.
"I see you are wearing the Dark Lord's - gift." The pause was discernable, "How do you feel?"
What do you mean how do I feel? "The Dark Lord has honoured our family with his gift." Draco replied politely.
"You parrot Lucius very well."
What? "I -" he stared, unsure of what to say, "Thank you."
"It wasn't a compliment, Draco." Narcissa replied, still in that polite, bland voice, "I would have called you Drake."
What? "What?"
"If the choice of names had been mine, I would have named you Drake." Narcissa paused, "Tendo te draco ignis, te scelero draco. So of course, your name became 'Draco'. Blessed Merlin your father knew better than to call you 'Dragon'. The Dark Lord was never very imaginative."
"Oh." Tendo te draco ignis, te scelero draco. Something, dragon's fire. Something dragon. . . Makes as much sense as whatever she's saying.
"Indeed."
They were slowing to a halt in front of Kings Cross Station when Narcissa looked up, frowning, "Muggles - why must they be so - loud?" she said and waved her wand.
Draco cast a glance out of the window, his face preparing a practised sneer of agreement when he realised that the street was mostly silent but for other (newer) muggle contraptions rolling gently past. It was not like his mother to show the same level of hatred towards all things muggle-made and derived as his father. Nothing without a reason.
The car jerked to a full stop before the entrance; there was a muted flash of light that hardened. Draco held out his hand to gently touch the almost hard surface, tinted a light ivory. It was concaved, curving around and over him and his mother.
"A small silencio charm." Narcissa said as she opened the smoke grey purse he had barely noticed she was carrying and withdrew a small package barely the length of one of his fingers, "Give this to Professor Snape."
"What?"
He took the package when she pressed it into his hands automatically; it was heavier than its size might have implied. Wrapped in plain brown paper that felt cheap to his fingers, it was tightly bound with the strange 'crinkle' that he automatically associated with strong wards.
"Draco." He raised his eyes to meet his mother's, "It is a gift." She paused as he controlled the almost unconscious flinch - gifts and bad experiences had abounded this summer. Is it disloyal to call it a curse? Shades of remembered voices. "Professor Snape will explain it to you more fully. The wards are keyed to him."
The words slipped out - they had a habit of doing so lately, "Why?"
She stared at him, face as unreadable as always, then with a slight flick of her wand: "Finite Incantum." There was a brief pause and the ivory tinted surface flickered out of existence, "Come now Draco - I know you do not wish to return to school, but no Malfoy heir has been without a Hogwarts education since your Great-Uncle Mortimer." She said, calmly opening the door and stepping out onto the pavement.
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Author's Note: 'Tendo te draco ignis, te scelero draco' - cookies (or chapter ten posted to them early ^_^) for anybody who can take a guess (and a correct one ^_^) at what it means. Devout thanks for the one who guesses correctly and corrects my appaling grammer, spelling, tenses and sentence structure. ^_^
Please note, in regards to the latin - I have never in my life learned even the basic structure of the language. So if somebody could correct any obvious mistakes, I'd appreciate it. ~cringes~
Reply to reviews will be included with Chapter Ten. Thanks to those of you (wonderful, perfect people ^_^) who reviewed Chapter Eight. I do read them, I do take suggestions and corrections. For those of you who are impatiently waiting for Draco and Harry action (0_0; Do note that the rating is PG-13 so if I did write the R rated scenes that the future of this piece might imply are required, I would have to release them seperately as PWP one chapter pieces) Chapter Ten will have the first link of that particular chain of events. ~grins~
Great-Grandmother Adverto Lucis-Malfoy - yes, for those of you who caught it, 'Lucis' does mean 'Light' and 'Adverto' does mean 'turn to'. Cheesy I know - but I couldn't resist. The meaningfulness of Draco having a Great-Grandmother who's name translates as 'Turn to the Light'? Absolutely nothing. After running past 'original characters' who all had strange and meaningful names from variously, the Latin, English, French, Italian (and on and on and on) dictionaries I just couldn't resist. Great-Grandmother Adverto Lucis-Malfoy does not play a major part in the storyline, she might be mentioned occasionally, but only as part of Draco's rather long and involved family history/tree. ^_^
A/N: Review? Please? If only to point out plot holes? Or out-of-characterisation? Or if not tell me how much you loved it (this last because Sildtsr told me to stop asking for 'it sucks' messages ^_^)
- edited 28/08/2002 for sentence structure, grammer and name errors