Summary: When Draco sees his rival being tortured and raped by his father, he is revolted. He has to make a decision that could alter his life forever. Save Harry Potter from the clutches of his father and risk his life, or walk away and pretend he never saw it, letting the Gryffindor die at the hands of his father.

Disclaimer: I don't own a single thing that has already been mentioned in any one of the Harry Potter books. J.K. Rowling owns all that. I own everything that's not in her books.

CHAPTER FIVE-Daddy's Blood

Draco stared at Dumbledore. 'Oh shite, did the disguising spell end? I don't know how long it was supposed to keep me disguised.' Just as Draco was starting to breath heavily, indicating the start of a panic attack, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Don't be alarmed Mr. Malfoy. You are not in trouble. As far as my knowledge goes, you did not do anything wrong. I need to question you. And in case you are wondering, you are still perfectly disguised. I, however, recognize the magical signature around each of my students. The rest of the world is perfectly fooled, I assure you."

Draco began to steady out his breathing. 'Oh god, how much does he know? He must already know something if he was expecting me, as he said he was. Does he suspect my father?' Draco exhaled slowly and faced Dumbledore, making sure he put his mind shields up. His father had thankfully taught him Occulmency.

"Why would you be expecting to see me, sir?" he asked politely, if not a bit coldly and defiantly.

"Please have a seat and I will explain. If would so kindly accompany me to this room right over here?"

Draco was very suspicious of the old man. "I think I would be more comfortable if you just told me what this was about right here."

Dumbledore looked at the boy. "It is your wish that eavesdroppers be allowed the opportunity to overhear us?"

Draco knew Dumbledore was right. He glared at the man for a moment before stepping into the room. Dumbledore followed into the room, where he locked and silenced the room.

"Mr. Malfoy, you may take off your disguise if you wish. No one else is here, and as you know, extended glamours will drain your magical energy."

Draco ended the spell.

"Mr. Malfoy, what do you know of Mr. Potter's condition?"

'Yeah like I'm going to play into his trap. As long as I play dumb, he can't get any proof that I am connected to anything.'

"Potter's condition, sir? Has he done something incredibly foolish again? I had no knowledge of Potter being in any type of condition, and I am wondering why you would think I did."

Draco stared at Dumbledore, confusion in his eyes(Draco had put it there of course). "Pardon me, Mr. Malfoy, however, there is only one patient on the 6th level as of right now, and seeing as how that is the floor on which I spotted you, I assumed that you were on your way to Mr. Potter's room."

'Damn, how am I supposed to lie my way out of this one?' Draco thought quickly and came up with a story with only a second's hesitation (he is a Slytherin after all).

"I was down on the Fifth floor, visiting a friend of mine, when I spotted a staircase going up. My natural curiosity got the better of me, and I came to investigate what could be up here, as I had never heard of a Sixth Floor before." Dumbledore knew right then that Draco would be one tough cookie to get to confess.

"If it is not too rude of me, might I inquire as to whom you were visiting on the Fifth Floor?"

"No you may not, that is my own private business, as is what I was doing on the Sixth Floor." Draco stated in a manner in which Dumbledore meant that he was not going to reveal any information on the matter.

"Now, if the only reason you called me in here to have this chat was to discuss Potter, I think I will take my leave now." He made to stand up, but Dumbledore placed a hand on his arm.

"Draco, Professor Snape and I need to know if your father tortured Mr. Potter. Whoever did this to Harry put an enchantment on him that will only let the patient heal with a potion that requires the blood of the caster. You will not serve any consequences, but we need to know where your father is, if in fact he did this to Mr. Potter."

Draco looked coldly at Dumbledore. "If my father did do this, I wouldn't likely tell you now would I? If my father did do this, I had no knowledge of it, and would only regret that he did not finish Potter off. And I wouldn't go around accusing people without proof if I were you. It's not very good for one's reputation."

Draco sneered at the Headmaster and left the room, and into the Healer's Office, checking to make sure there was no one in there before going to the fireplace, and into his room at the Leaky Cauldron.

Dumbledore put his face in his hands momentarily, before getting up and walking into the Healer's Office, where he spotted Draco, as he was swished off to wherever he might be going. Luckily Draco did not see him. Dumbledore sighed. Draco was a good liar, but Dumbledore had been working with Slytherins and Death Eaters far too long to be fooled. Finding Draco in the 6th floor corridor, heading towards Harry's room was enough proof for him right there. Draco's near panic attack and closed off attitude was just extra information. He walked over to the fire, threw in some powder and fire-called headquarters.

Snape appeared at the fire.

"Begin a search for Lucius Malfoy," Dumbledore said.

Snape nodded once. Dumbledore's head withdrew from the fire. Snape sat for a moment. What was he to do? He himself was the secret keeper for the Malfoy Manor. He decided that two student's lives were at stake if he didn't get a hold of Lucius. He therefore apparated about a kilometer away from the manor. He walked to it and thought of the address of the manor. When the door appeared he walked through it. Now was the tricky part. 'Where is Lucius? This manor is too huge to check room by room. Perhaps he is asleep?' He didn't really think that Lucius was asleep in his room, however he thought it best to check. When he didn't find Lucius there, he thought about Draco.

'Where is Draco? Perhaps he is in his quarters?' He then started the long walk to Draco's rooms. Draco was not there. 'Perhaps Lucius took Draco with him somewhere to hide. He must've known that leaving Potter's body behind was not the best idea in the world. And how in the world did he get Potter in the first place? Something in this whole thing does not add up right!' He went to the hidden fire in the manor and fire called headquarters. Arthur Weasley's face appeared.

He then started the long walk to Draco's rooms. Draco was not there. He went to the hidden fire in the manor and fire called headquarters. Arthur Weasley's face appeared.

"Do you have any news on the whereabouts of Lucius?"

"No, however, I will need assistance in checking the manor. Wait a moment." He withdrew his head and found a scrap of parchment and a quill. He quickly wrote the address down and handed it to Arthur.

"Send aurors as quickly as possible. We will need a thorough examination of the manor."

He withdrew his head once more. He then fire-called Dumbledore at St. Mungo's. "We are having auror's search his manor. They will be here shortly I think. In the meantime, I am concerned about where young Mr. Malfoy is. He is not here and I am afraid Lucius may have taken Draco with him."

"Draco was here not too long ago. He was my proof that it was indeed Lucius who had tortured Harry. I also believe he was the one who saved Harry from his father's wrath, but at what cost I am not sure."

Snape nodded. "Do you know where he is now? He may be the only lead to where his father is hidden."

Dumbledore shook his head. "No, I arrived at the fire long enough to see him leaving in it, however I was not in time to hear where he actually went to. We should keep this fire clear should he come back to the manor via floo."

Snape concurred and left the fire. He went back to the manor's door , where he saw Kingsley, Tonks, Arthur, and Moody heading towards the house. He waited a minute, and then they were inside. "Begin the search."

Draco lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He needed some time alone. 'How am I going to face anyone again? I am a complete outsider now. Once the Slytherins find out what happened, they are going to make my life hell. And what about the Gryffindors? Once father tells Voldemort what I did, every single Death Eater child will know about it, meaning so will the rest of the Slytherins, and consequently, the whole school.' Draco groaned. 'Way to go Draco! You managed to screw up your whole life just by saving Golden Gryffindor.'

"DAMN IT!" Draco yelled out loud to no one. He started pacing around his room throwing things, which only served in increasing his frustration and anger. He screamed while shattering things against the wall, not paying attention to what he was throwing. "HE ALWAYS MANAGES TO MESS EVERYTHING UP FOR ME! ALWAYS! WHY CAN'T I EVER BEAT HIM AT ANYTHING! JUST ONCE I WOULD LIKE TO COME OUT AHEAD OF HIM!" He was once again irrationally blaming Harry for his actions. He didn't happen to care at that moment though. Blaming Harry was normal. It was familiar and it wasn't confusing him like everything else was that night. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS POTTER!"

He stopped and thought about that for a moment. 'Once again, pay for what? If I had really wanted him to pay, wouldn't I have left him for my father to finish off? Why? It's not like Potter dying will help me in anyway.' He dropped back onto the bed, defeated. His thoughts then turned to Harry, lying unconscious in a St. Mungo's ward.

As it looked right now, he was the only one who could revive Harry. He was the only one with the knowledge of where his father was, therefore the only one able to get a vial of his blood for the potion. Draco thought it very clever of his father indeed to make sure that if Harry somehow escaped that he wouldn't be able to heal. But then Draco thought about that again. 'I'm the only way Potter could've escaped. Father knows that. So...but that doesn't make sense at all. If father thought I would rescue Potter, didn't he think so far ahead as to think that I would also get his blood to make the potion? That doesn't make sense. Or maybe he simply knows me better than I thought. I have rescued Potter without taking his blood to help him further. Perhaps he realized I would save Potter, but not want to be tied to the whole situation more than I needed to be.' Then Draco had to make another decision. Whether or not to get the needed blood from his father. He was really getting tired of everything depending on him. Or at least the fact that he had taken Harry's survival as his own burden.

'Where are the aurors when you need them? Wait...where were the aurors? Surely the old man would've had Harry surrounded by them wherever he went. This whole situation is so bizarre. And it's all happened in one night. My life has changed in one night.' Draco was having trouble grasping and absorbing that concept. None of this seemed real to Draco at all. It was like some bad dream that he was hoping to wake up from soon, as he was getting sick of it. 'Of course, in this dream, I am the hero of the savior, so I will go back to the manor and get the blood from father. WHY am I playing the hero though? It's not like I care if he dies or not. I'm supposed to want him to die, am I not?'

Draco was having trouble grasping and absorbing that concept. None of this seemed real to Draco at all. It was like some bad dream that he was hoping to wake up from soon, as he was getting sick of it.

Rather than try to sort through all the reasons he did or did not want Harry to die, he decided that he needed to get the blood from his father before he wakes up. 'I can decide later whether or not to use it.' He went back to the fire(after tonight, I am never traveling by floo again) and off to the manor, not knowing that it was already occupied by the Order, or that Snape was waiting by the fireplace. He also forgot to put his disguise back on.

Snape stood by the fireplace, waiting. 'If Draco risked his life to save the boy in the first place, there is no way he will leave the job unfinished. Dumbledore told him what he needs to do to save him, and I am positive that he will come back here to get what he needs.' As if this was his cue, a pale, blond boy came swirling out of the fireplace.

"Good morning, Draco."

Draco jumped and spun around, wand ready. He saw it was Snape.

"How did you get in here!" Draco demanded

'Perhaps the whole house isn't under the Fedilius Charm then'

"I am secret-keeper to the house Draco. I am here on Dumbledore's orders."

'Snape's not really a Death Eater then? He's a spy for Dumbledore and not Voldemort? I am really not liking this day.'

"I thought you were a Death Eater," Draco snarled.

"Yes, and evidently, so did your father. Where is he, by the way?"

"Why would I tell you, traitor?" Draco sneered at the Professor.

"Draco, it is already evident you don't support the Dark Lord. Dumbledore has already recognized this. How else do you suppose he knew it was you that saved Potter? Don't you think that story you told the healer was just a bit far-fetched? Why would a Death Eater simply leave their enemy behind? Dumbledore knows that you are the only Death Eater child that would have likely saved Potter, and probably the only one clever enough to pull the whole thing off without getting killed. I must say that your father was blind to this information, or he would not have left Potter's side with you in the house to mess things up for him. Now, tell me, where is your father?"

Draco blinked. 'How is it that Dumbledore could figure all that out? It seems humanly impossible for someone to be that perceptive and clever all at once. I'm not telling them where he's at though.'

"I don't know where he is at, Professor. He was asleep in his quarters when I left. If he has left, I have no knowledge of where he went. I will, however, try to find him."

"We already have Order members searching the manor."

"Yes, well, none of them know it quite so well as I, do they?" He stalked off in the direction of the dungeon.

Snape looked after him. 'He's quite smart, but he still has quite a lot to learn. Of course, in a situation like this, it must be hard for him to think clearly at all.'

Snape walked off to search the manor with the others.

Draco had been walking for quite some time when he got to the dungeon. He thought about it's exact location, and the door to it's entrance appeared. 'Father really needs lessons in choosing his trusted.' He looked up and down the long stone corridor, then opened the door. "Lumos." He saw that his father was still passed out from the spell. He went over to his body, and took a knife from his cloak pocket. He made a small slit in his father's arm and let the blood fall into a small vial that he took also from his cloak. After he had filled the vial, he corked it and replaced it into his pocket. He left the dungeon and went back to where Snape was.

"He's not in the manor."

Snape stared at him. "You've barely started looking. How can you be sure he's not in here?"

Draco snorted. "You don't think there are ways to detect exactly who is in the manor? Ha. He is not here, that I am sure of. You can call your aurors off. I am going to check some other locations for him."

He left once more via fire.

Snape was slightly amused. 'That was a very good lie. However, I am highly skilled in finding faults with their lies by their body language. I wonder, when will he hand over the blood he took?" He called the aurors back. "The search is over for now. We will try somewhere else another time. He is not here."

Draco took out the vial of blood and set it down on his bed carefully. He had no idea what he would do with it. 'Maybe I should just give them the blood. It's not like anything bad would happen. But what if they messed up the potion, or dropped the vial and broke it. I don't trust them with it. I suppose I have no choice though, do I? I'm more likely to mess the potion up than Snape, and I don't even know which potion it is. It could take ages to find the correct potion. Right then. I'm off to give the potion to Dumbledore.' He once more got into the fireplace, this time traveling back to St. Mungo's. As soon as he got there, he saw Dumbledore sitting in the Healer's Office already.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy."

Draco replied, "Hello Dumbledore. I have retrieved a vial of blood from my father. I want you to know that me helping Potter does not mean I am in any way helping the Light."

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand Draco. Could you answer me one thing before you leave?"

"Well it would depend on the question, wouldn't it?"

"Fair enough. I was wondering why you decided to save Mr. Potter's life. Surely, if you are not committed to the Light, you would want the Dark to conquer?"

"Simply not being on the Light's side doesn't mean I am serving the Dark side either. And I think that I shall keep my reasoning for saving Potter private, if you don't mind." said Draco, not knowing quite why he had saved him in the first place.

"Of course. Well, I know you must be very busy, so I'll let you go now if-"

He was interrupted by Tonks' head floating in the fire.

"Dumbledore, we need you back at headquarters' now! We are having a meeting discussing the whereabouts of-" she stopped, looking at Draco. "Well we need you here A.S.A.P."

"Of course Tonks. Thank you." She popped back out.

"Does she think I'm stupid?" Draco muttered.

It had been quite clear whom she had been talking about.

"Certainly not, I'm sure. However, I do need to report back to headquarters. I need to know something. Would you stay here and supervise Harry while I'm gone? I know the healer's here will take care of it, but I would like someone here that can notify the Order if something goes amiss."

Draco nodded.

"Thank you. Now I have to go. I will talk with you later." Dumbledore escorted Draco out of the room, so that he would not hear the address to Headquarters. He stepped into the fire and stated "Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place"

Draco went up to Harry's ward. 'Why I ever agreed to this, I have no idea. I'm going to have to sit here, bored, until their stupid meeting is over.' Draco thought, arriving at Harry's door. He pushed it open and stepped inside. It was hospital white. Much too bright for Draco's taste. He wondered vaguely why they were always so white. He sat down on a stiff chair beside Harry's bed, but deciding it was too uncomfortable, stood back up and transfigured it into a plush armchair. He sat back down and looked at Harry's sleeping form. 'How many times has he been in the hospital? Way too much for a 16 year old. Probably more times than anyone at Hogwarts. It's not very fair is it?' he thought, moving Harry's sheets down a bit, examining the scars on his chest. 'Why haven't they cleaned off the blood yet? Shouldn't they have done that so they could properly examine the damage?'

"Scourgify. There that's better," he muttered. The dried blood was now gone, although he still looked horrible. 'Who knew that a body had so many places to hold cuts on? I hope his face doesn't scar badly. Wait...why would that matter?' Draco shook his head and went back to examining Harry. He moved the sheets further down to his stomach. 'He is too thin.' he thought, running his fingers over the indented stomach, where the ribs were starting show. 'Don't those stupid muggles feed him? Surely they give him everything he wants, seeing as how he's not only a wizard, but also one of the three most famous ones. But what if they don't. If he was mistreated all of his life, then he's never really been happy has he?' That was a depressing thought, and also one that made Draco angry on Harry's behalf. 'If those Muggles mistreated him, I will make sure they die slowly and painfully.' He quickly fixed this thought. 'Because Muggles should be bowing down to us Wizards, and any Muggle who acts better than a Wizard should die.' He sighed, and after really thinking about it, realized that no one could hear his thoughts, so really he could think whatever he wanted to.

He really did think about it. 'I don't think it's fair that Harry should have been mistreated then come here and be thrust into the role of savior, and have to fight for his life from the time he was eleven to sixteen. There is a possibility that his life has always been hell. That's not fair at all. None of this was even his fault either. Well, at least he doesn't have to feel pain while he's unconscious. Perhaps it would be cruel to give him that potion.' While thinking this, he ran the back of his hand down the side of his face and back up again, absentmindedly caressing his enemy. He stopped as soon as he realized what he was doing. 'Really, with all of this shit that's happening to him, does he really need a petty schoolboy rivalry to add stress to his days. Maybe we should just form a truce and get over it.' Draco yawned, and realizing he hadn't slept for more than an hour that night, curled up in his armchair much like a cat and fell asleep.

Author's Notes: Did you all like this chapter? I hope so. I can't wait to see Harry's reaction when he finds out Draco Malfoy saved him. I, much like Professer Trelawney, have Seer's blood in me, and I already forsee what will happen the moment Harry wakes up, and I predict that something adorable will happen. Lol. You know, I never used to get any e-mail at all, but with this story, every time I get on AOL, I get the message "Email, email hope it's from a female"(Billie Joe ArmstongGreen Day Email Greeting). This is probably going to be a pretty long fanfic, but I'm already planning my next one out if I decide to write another one. Anyways, I'm rambling again. Thanks to all my fantastic reviewers. I'm not telling anyone whether they will get together or not, you will just have to predict and then find out. Ooooh.