Disclaimer: See chapter 01 for full disclaimer.

Thanks a lot to Alice and Joel, my betas!

Chap. 41 – BAD OMEN

Draco looked at his watch and made a run for Level Ten. Lucius' trial had started half an hour ago. He had overslept and missed the time, all because the night before had been a living nightmare. He had kept himself awake for the longest time lost in horrible thoughts of his father being released from prison.

He didn't have as much faith in The Wizengamot as Hermione had. Everybody knew that they hadn't been the same since Dumbledore passed away five years ago. There were many rumours running through the corridors of the Ministry that the prestigious wizard high court of law was rotten. And the proof to that was the fact that those foolish old people had given Lucius the opportunity to have a second trial.

Draco didn't want to be pessimistic, but he should be ready for the worst. After all, Lucius could be very persuasive when he wanted to. And the moment he saw Hermione's worried expression as he got closer to Courtroom Ten, he knew everything was over and lost.

"Hermione?" he asked, afraid of her answer.

She sighed dejectedly. "I'm so sorry, Draco… I still don't how it happened…"

"Is he…?"

"After hearing Lucius' good behaviour report in prison, they've decided to mitigate his sentence. He'll leave Azkaban and be under house arrest for three more years," she told him dully as if she still couldn't believe it was true. "I don't understand… I mean… What were they thinking? His initial sentence was thirty years in Azkaban without parole. Now they've abated it for three years! And under house arrest!" She was furious now. "How could they? It's obvious that Lucius bought the whole lot! Or perhaps he threatened them with something. It wouldn't be the first time. This is so terrible…"

Draco barely registered the rest of her inflamed speech as she went on. His mind had gone blank. He knew that the outcome would be something like that. He should have been prepared to hear such dreadful news. Wasn't that the reason why he had spent the night awake, only going to bed at almost dawn?

Somehow, though, he couldn't stop shaking.

Lucius Malfoy deserved to spend a life sentence in prison for the crimes he had committed. Had The Wizengamot just forgotten about all the bad things his father had done just because he had behaved properly in prison? Did they really think that Lucius would just sit quietly at home and serve his sentence until the end instead of just vanishing from the face of the earth?

Draco most certainly did not believe Lucius would linger for too long after being transferred to the Manor. Narcissa had probably left everything ready for his father's quick getaway from England.

If only Harry was there with him. But another week had passed by without any news from him.

Draco shook his head and called himself stupid. Why was he thinking about Harry anyway? He was no damsel in distress. He was an Auror, and one of the best. He could take care of himself pretty well. He just needed to remain calm.

"Draco, are you ok?" asked Hermione, touching his shoulder slightly.

"Yes," he answered absent-mindedly. Of course he wasn't ok. His evil father had just been freed. Draco had thought himself relatively safe with Lucius locked up in prison, but now Lucius was free to plot the end of his life with his evil mother.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Narcissa thanking the president of the Wizengamot profusely. Draco's lips curled in a bitter smile, and he wondered how much his parents had paid for the mitigation of Lucius' sentence. He felt his stomach turn as Narcissa's sharp gaze met his.

The feeling of illness increased as his mother walked elegantly towards him.

"Draco, darling," she said docilely. "I'm glad you could make it. Have you heard the wonderful news?"

"Yes," snarled Draco unable to say anything else. He felt like puking on her expensive pair of high style white boots.

"Your father will be home tonight. He wants you to be there with me to welcome him appropriately. I'm sure you'll come, won't you? After all, you've already created enough problems for our family because of your rebel spirit," she said, her voice pure venom. "I'm sure you've already realised what's best for you right now. Your father will be very pleased with your presence. He won't…" She stopped suddenly and glanced at Hermione with disgust. Hermione's presence made her nose twitch as if Narcissa had just smelled something bad. Then she turned her back to Draco's partner and went on with a lower tone, "Like I was saying, as soon as your father arrives, I'll give him a detailed report about you, Draco. He wasn't very happy with that St. Mungo's photograph. You already know that. However… I'm ready to be lenient on you if you come back home like the obedient son that you used to be."

She leaned forward and kissed his cheeks. Draco clutched his fists but didn't move away.

"I'll see you later," she said, and left accompanied by two other members of The Wizengamot.

Draco's eyes followed her until she reached the elevator. He felt a soft touch on his arm, and turned to his partner with a troubled look.

"You must leave your apartment immediately," she demanded.

Draco made a face. "I've already told you, dear partner, that I won't leave my home."

"But Draco, your father will–"

"He'll leave the country, that's for sure." Draco ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't let that happen. I'll stop him. If I can prove that he's trying to flee, then he'll be sent back to Azkaban."

It was easier said than done, and Draco knew that pretty well. It was also very risky. So far, Lucius had spared his life because Draco was his only son. But how long would that last? His father had made it clear in the past that he would hurt Draco as much as he could if it were for the good of the Malfoy family. Perhaps Lucius hadn't acted on that St. Mungo's photography before because he hadn't had access to it until recently. But now that his father had it in his possession as legitimate proof of Draco's treachery, he wouldn't go easy on him. Especially now that everybody was talking about the affair between Draco and the famous Harry Potter.

"Let's put together a team of Aurors to maintain strict vigilance on your father," Hermione suggested. "I know The Wizengamot has already assigned two Hit Wizards to be with him all the time, but–"

"Only two?" Draco cut across her, stunned. "Merlin! My father did buy them all. This is preposterous! It's a scandal! The Minister should intervene!"

"I know." She patted him on the back. "But the only thing we can do now is keep a closer watch on the Malfoy Manor using people from our staff. I'll go back to the office right away to–"

"No," he interrupted her once more. "You will do no such thing. You'd be violating orders, and they might accuse you of running over the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. You can't jeopardise your career just because of me."

"But Draco, I've never cared for breaking a few rules if it were for the good of the cause and for what I thought was just," she said passionately. "You aren't only my partner, but also my friend. I'm afraid of what your father might do to you now."

"Are you implying that I can't take care of myself?" he asked, offended.

"Of course not! But I know the devastating effect your parents have on your sanity."

"I'm not a child anymore, Hermione. I'll face Lucius without fear, and I'll do it alone. Don't interfere," he warned her. "This is personal. I'm the one who's supposed to finish this once and for all."

"It isn't just about you! It's about the whole wizarding world. Perhaps Lucius isn't as bad as Voldemort, but he is bad. Or have you forgotten about the things he did to me, to Ginny, to the Weasley family and to Harry? God. If only Harry was here… Maybe we should try contacting him…"

"No!" he exclaimed. "Leave Harry out of this. Besides, there's no way to contact him. I don't need his help. I'll be fine on my own."

"You're just mad at Harry for not contacting you! That's why you don't want his help." She was almost pulling out her hair in desperation. "Draco, listen to reason! Why can't you ask for help? If you don't want Harry to know, then at least let me help you! You can't face your father alone!"

"Watch me," he snarled, turning on his heels and walking away.

Hermione was left behind with her heart in her mouth, but with the certainty that she wouldn't just sit around and do nothing. Draco would have backup whether he wanted to or not.

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Harry was learning to control his fears slowly. And the fact that he was becoming quite good at it still wasn't enough to stop his bad dreams. He didn't dream of Sirius falling through the veil anymore. After all, Sirius was there with him. But he still had nightmares of his parents' deaths, and he still cried every time Remus left Harry's room in Hogwarts to face his horrible destiny.

Sometimes he dreamed of Draco, but these dreams were of a totally – and pleasantly – different nature. They were usually wet dreams where Harry had his hands pinned on the bed as he was mercilessly kissed, teased and fucked by his lover. Other times it was Harry's turn to bite, lick, suck and pound Draco against the mattress.

But this dream was new to him. He was standing outside of what seemed to be Draco's building, and everywhere around him was deserted. Suddenly, it became very dark, and there was an explosion in the sixth floor. Harry's heart almost came out of his mouth. Savage flames and a big cloud of smoke began to pour out of the blasted window. A shout got stuck in Harry's throat, and he felt paralysed. He tried to tell himself that it was only a nasty nightmare, so he needn't worry. Nothing was real.

Even so, he feared what was about to come next since he didn't have a script for this particular scene.

The front door of the building burst open, and Draco came through it stumbling on the steps. As he fell to the ground, Harry hurried to help him, but realised he couldn't touch Draco. The blonde wasn't even aware of his presence.

"Draco!" Harry tried to call his attention, but the blonde didn't notice him. He just picked himself up from the ground, and looked behind him quickly with his wand at the ready.

Harry covered his mouth with one of his hands as he watched the blood running non-stop down Draco's face. The blonde's clothes were all torn to pieces. He had a nasty wound on his left arm and a horrible cut in his belly.

Harry repeated over and over in his head that it was only a bad dream. It wasn't really happening. Soon he would wake up and everything would be over.

Someone else came out of the building, pointed a wand at Draco, and then shouted, "Give it up, Draco! You're finished!"

"Never! I'll never give up," snarled Draco. "You can go to hell, Johnson!"

Harry saw a thread of green light coming from the stranger's wand toward Draco. He woke up screaming and panting before the green light of 'Avada Kedrava' could hit his lover. Harry sat on his bed with his heart racing, and he placed a hand on it as if that alone would help it get back to normal. He took a while to recover, and when he finally did, he ran to Sirius' room and shook him until his godfather's eyes opened widely.

"Harry? What? What's the matter?" Sirius asked, preoccupied.

"I've just had a dream… a horrible bad dream. I've never had it before," Harry began to explain quickly between gasps. "Draco was in it, and he was hurt. Someone was trying to kill him. What does it mean? Is it a premonition? Or is it something that has already happened? I must know at once!"

"Harry, calm down!" Sirius exclaimed, placing his hands on Harry's shoulder gently. "Take a deep breath first."

"No time for that. I have to contact him," Harry said agitatedly.

"Wait. It was only a bad dream, right? It wasn't real. Why do you think it's a premonition?" Sirius asked.

"I dunno. I just… I feel this pressure in my heart… I know something is about to happen, or it has already happened," Harry said almost on the verge of despair.

"Harry, you aren't making any sense. Just calm down and…"

"NO!" Harry shouted, moving away from Sirius. "You don't get it. I have to make sure he's ok. Perhaps it was just a bad dream. But I won't be able to rest until I'm certain of it. I need to leave this place. NOW!"

Sirius bit his lower lip. "Ok. Let's suppose that something has happened, or is about to happen. Even if you leave now, you won't make it in time to prevent whatever is going to happen. Think rationally, Harry. You can't leave. Not now. You're making progress! You need to stay here."

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "So I should just stay here and save myself while Draco gets killed?"

"It was only a dream!" Sirius exclaimed.

"IT WASN'T! And if it was, I have to make sure! Aren't you listening to me? Jesus! I don't give a fuck about my progress! Draco is more important to me than anything. I really miss him. You know that. I thought I wouldn't miss him this much, but I do. And if something bad is happening to him, I need to help him. I can't just stay here and do nothing. It might be all just a silly bad dream, but even so… Please, Sirius! Help me."

Sirius sighed, defeated. Because he couldn't stand to see his godson's eyes flicker with such desperation, he decided to help him.

"Ok. But let's not be drastic," Sirius said, getting up from the bed and putting on his cloak. "I'll ask for Tei Pei's permission to get in touch with the outside world. That was how I contacted Severus when we first got here," Sirius explained. "Don't worry, kiddo. If your lover is really in trouble, we'll leave. But before that, please try to relax a little or you'll have a nervous breakdown."

Harry took a deep breath to try to sooth his heart, but it didn't work much. He was too nervous. He followed Sirius to Tei Pei's chambers with his heart in his mouth. He prayed for Draco to be ok because if something had happened to his lover while he was away, he wouldn't forgive himself.

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Draco had almost lost his nerve when he was given notice of his father's new sentence. A small part of him was still hoping for a change of mind in The Wizengamot. Those old fools would soon realise their mistakes and order the Hit Wizards to lock up Lucius in Azkaban again. But nothing had changed by the end of the day.

Draco remained in his office for a while, ignoring the sideway looks Hermione kept throwing him and thinking about what to do next. Should he go to the Manor and face his parents once and for all? He should. He knew that much. But he was afraid. He didn't know what he was supposed to say to them. Confronting Lucius Malfoy was even scarier than confronting Narcissa, and that was saying a lot.

"Draco?" he heard Hermione call. "It's almost seven. You never stay after six. Do you want me to accompany you home?"

He stared at her with his eyebrows rose. "What am I, eight? I'm not a kid, Hermione. For Merlin's sake! I haven't gone home yet because I still have stuff to do."

"It's such a lame excuse, and you know it! Do you think I'm such a fool?"

Draco sighed. "No. I'm just thinking about a few things… I'm definitely not afraid of going home if that's what you're thinking."

"Your father is probably at the Manor by now. Are you going there?"

Draco shook his head. "No. I need to think of a strategy first. I can't just show up there without anything hidden up my sleeve. You want to help me, right?"

"Of course!" she exclaimed.

"Then try to find out who took that picture of Harry and me in St. Mungo's."

"I'm already on it," she said. "Seriously. I've already asked Karl to investigate this for me."

Draco smiled feebly. "You really are something."

"Actually, Draco, I'm doing a lot more than that. I'm trying to speed up every other case against your father, especially the non-paid tax files and the money laundry he's doing for some politicians – both muggles and wizards," she informed him, to his utter surprise.

Draco knew Hermione was very efficient, but he didn't know she would do that kind of thing for him. He was very touched. He regretted the harsh way he had treated her ever since that morning.

"You don't have any documents against your father, do you?" she asked.

He made a face. "If I had those, I would have handed them over to the Ministry a long time ago."

"Well, I just thought I should ask…" she excused herself.

"It's ok." He stared at her with gratitude shining in his blue eyes. "Thank you. I don't deserve your kindness after the way I've treated you this morning."

She smiled amiably. "I forgive you. I know you're under a lot of stress, and I know how hard it is for you to ask for help. I was afraid that you'd get mad at me for jumping ahead of you… I thought you'd accuse me of meddling in your life."

"Well, you are!" he pointed out with a soft chuckle. "But it's for a good cause. A good – and lost – cause," he added miserably.

"Oh, Draco, don't be like this. You know… We could still try to contact Harry…"

"No!" he cut her off quickly. "I wouldn't know how anyway. So… no! Don't even think about it."

"You don't want to ask for his help, do you?"

"I can fight my own battles. I started this mess. I let myself be photographed that day in St. Mungo's. But it isn't just about the picture. Everything in my life…" he paused for a moment. His emotions were almost overflowing him. "Everything led me to this moment. The final confrontation between my parents and I will finally happen. And unfortunately, I have to do this alone. I can't ask for Harry's help, nor can I ask for yours. It isn't because I don't want to. It's because I can't. This is about me, and I'm the only one who can solve this."

"I'm just worried about you. I don't want you to get hurt," she said heartily.

"But I will Hermione, whether you want it or not. I will. It doesn't matter what results from this… In the end, I will get hurt." He leaned his head on the back of the chair and stared at the ceiling. "Just promise me that you'll avenge me if I get myself killed."

"Draco…"

"Lock up the bastard for good," he went on.

She opened her mouth to tell him to stop being so negative, but she just sighed and stayed quiet. Draco was only being realistic. Indeed, no matter the outcome, he would get hurt pretty badly.

"I promise I'll lock your father up in Azkaban again if something happens to you. And I promise I'll have him back in Azkaban even if he doesn't do anything to you," she declared.

He smiled at her. "Thanks. Well…" Draco stood up, put on his cloak, and then picked up his briefcase. "I'm going now. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to walk you home?" she asked.

He rolled his eyes. "No, mommy, I don't need anyone walking me home. I know the way pretty well."

"I'm concerned about your safety."

"My father wouldn't be so dumb as to attack me so soon."

"Just be careful, Draco. You never know."

"Don't worry, I will." He winked at her. "Good night."

"Good night."

When Draco left the Ministry he decided to walk home instead of Apparating next to his building. It was a cool night, but he needed some fresh air to clear up his thoughts.

The first thing he would do when he got home was write to his demented mother and buy himself more time to deal with the fact that he would have to face Lucius and Narcissa all at once. A lot of dirt from the past would be brought up, so he needed to be prepared.

Seven blocks later he got to his apartment. He paused at the entrance of the building to pick up his keys, and he suddenly felt eyes on him. He turned around slowly, his hand landing on his wand to make it ready for use. But he saw nothing except a pair of lovers kissing on the other side of the street, an old man walking with his poodle, and two adolescents chatting animatedly as they passed by him.

Perhaps he was just being paranoid, but somehow he couldn't let go of the feeling that someone was watching him.

He arrived at his floor and walked towards the door of his flat with his whole body tensed. He put the key into the keyhole and the door opened up on its own. Draco froze. His door had already been opened, and not by him. He took a step back involuntarily, and then reached for his wand. But it was too late. A hand came from behind him and muffled his mouth.

Draco struggled to break free with all his might, but he was pushed inside his apartment violently. He cursed himself for being so distracted and not noticing the danger around him. The situation got even worse when he spotted two other men pointing their wands at him.

"Sit down, Draco, darling," said a voice all too familiar to Draco; one that sent chills down his spine.

TBC...

A/N: Please, review!