Ahem, I'm very sorry for my tardiness. It's just that during the last few months, I was rarely in the mood for writing or too occupied with my work. But I'm touched that people are still waiting after many months have passed (delaying the kiss has a positive effect after all). To all who've been expecting me to update in their reviews, know that you made me feel guilty and loved at the same time, thus effectively encouraging me to continue. So, thanks :-)
Actually this was supposed to be one long chapter like usual, but I decided to post this part first to avoid perpetual wait (I should've done this since long time ago…). The rest will follow shortly, I promise.
Prelude to Phase 9
As the chill of the night had become unbearable, Harry and Draco went back to Hogwarts castle not long after the Aurora Borealis disappeared. Neither of those two boys spoke as they walked to the castle, and they didn't come across anyone until they arrived in front of Draco's room.
Harry stood next to the Chimera statue, waiting for Draco to go inside. Draco threw a brief glance at Harry before he opened the door, and that moment Harry perceived a sense of loneliness. Quickly he approached his fiancé and put a hand on Draco's shoulder. In a hushed voice Harry said, "If you don't mind, let me sleep in your room tonight."
Draco gazed silently at Harry for a while. This was the person who had lost the people precious to him; his parents and his beloved godfather. Tonight, Draco thought he could identify with Harry even more, as he had come to see what kind of pain Harry had been through all those times. He only needed to take his own pain and multiply it several times over.
Eventually Draco nodded and Harry pulled him gently into the room.
On the bed, Ice was sleeping. The small hamster curling up on blue duvet created such a cute and peaceful picture in contrast to what had just happened to the boys. Harry carefully lifted the hamster from the duvet without waking it up and put it on a fluffy pillow aside.
Still wordlessly, Draco offered Harry his pyjamas to wear tonight. After both of them changed their clothes, they crawled under the blanket and lay closely side by side.
"Night," Draco muttered and he suddenly felt weird because every night in the recent months, just before he went to sleep, he had always said that to Fluffy.
Just as expected, he didn't receive a soft growl for the response. Instead, he got a warm kiss on his cheek and a softly uttered "Good night".
After a soft inhalation, Draco closed his eyes. The images of Fluffy, Youleen Nott, and Sammy flashed in his mind. He would never meet any of them again. He had lost them because they wanted to protect him, and he was unable to protect them back. He was pathetic, and he couldn't convince himself that nothing was his fault, either.
All the while, Harry kept watching him with eyes full of concern. Brushing Draco's cold hand under the blanket, Harry whispered, "I love you."
Draco neither smiled nor blushed like he usually did whenever Harry said those three words to him. He didn't even open his eyes to look at Harry. It wasn't necessary, because even without the words being said, the bond had allowed him to feel the warm and sincere affection from Harry. It soothed his ache and chased away his feeling of worthlessness instead of making him self-conscious.
This was the person who considered him precious – more precious than anything else. He knew that Harry was willing to die for him, yet he felt certain that even if their bond didn't exist, Harry would do his best to stay alive. Because dead people needed a miracle to bring happiness to the ones they left behind.
Those three words were like a promise: Harry wouldn't leave him behind, and Harry would never make him feel pathetic.
Draco's only reaction was whispering back: "Thank you." He was certain that Harry could feel his sincerity, too.
For the rest of the night, only the quiet sound of breathing was heard inside this room.
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Draco thought it was remarkably warm this morning when he woke up, but something felt different from his previous mornings. In fact, this wasn't the familiar warmth provided by his blanket. Moreover, this warmth caused a sweet feeling to emerge inside his heart.
Not entirely clear in the head, Draco opened his eyes only to be confronted by another pair of eyes – brilliant green and blinking at him sleepily. So, that was it: he was in the same bed with his fiancé.
They were both lying on their sides, faces only centimetres away from each other. Harry's arm was draped over Draco, while Draco had unconsciously wound his own arms round Harry's waist. Beneath the blanket, Draco could feel their legs tangled. For a moment Draco contemplated staying like this a little longer, since it felt nice and comfy and warm with Harry. And there was an inescapable thought of 'He is pretty for a man' playing in his head when he looked at the rumpled, newly woken Harry. Draco almost couldn't resist bringing his fingers up to trace a path down Harry's cheek. But then, he became fully awake soon and recognized the unusual position they were in right now.
Giving a casual "Whoops", Draco disengaged himself from Harry, all the way trying his hardest not to blush. Still, his awkwardness became evident as he sat up and shifted away a little.
Although he couldn't see Draco's expression clearly without anything assisting his sight, Harry couldn't help a chuckle escaping his lips. He felt a little awkward too, but more than that, he felt giddy. He had had his most beloved person so close to him all night long. It didn't matter that he wasn't aware when it happened; just the thought of them asleep in each other's arms made Harry in seventh heaven. He sighed, wishing he had woken up earlier than Draco.
"Morning, my Princess," the black-haired boy said with a broad smile, following Draco's example to sit up.
Draco gave him a calculating look shortly before he suddenly leaned towards his fiancé and kissed Harry's cheek. "Morning my Princess to you, too," he whispered to Harry, so closely that his lips brushed Harry's right ear. He smirked as Harry's face rapidly turned red.
Only a second later Draco rushed into his bathroom, leaving a stunned Harry who wondered what he had done right and wrong within the previous minute.
Having locked the bathroom, Draco leaned against the door and covered his face, blushing profusely with pure embarrassment in retrospect. He had acted following an idea which had suddenly popped inside his head, urging him to make Harry as self-conscious as him at that moment. But now it was positive that he must find another way to satisfy any similar urge in the future.
Determining to let it pass, he walked from the door towards the bath. He needed to refresh himself.
When he came out twenty minutes later, his fiancé was sitting at the study desk and stroking Ice. The hamster seemed so cosy lying on the wooden surface, and Draco thought he heard it purring. Draco frowned, envious that Ice acted so tamely and lovingly towards Harry without food involved.
Harry raised his eyes to look at Draco. "Were you sleeping there instead of having a bath? I don't know any other person, not even a girl, who can waste such a long time inside the bathroom. And I bet you make it a daily routine," he criticized. Harry didn't speak aloud his suspicion that Draco might be… giving himself pleasure inside the bathroom.
"It proves you've never had any rich friend before," Draco replied, quelling his sudden fear that Harry could've thought he really did something else besides having a bath and primping inside there.
Shrugging, Harry gave his attention back to the hamster in front of him, which kept making little whimper when he had stopped stroking it. Draco plopped down on his bed and sent Ice a curious gaze. "I've been wondering whether this midget is a he or a she."
"Neither. But the dragon was a male," Harry answered in an offhand way, hiding his mild embarrassment. He had thought that something wasn't quite right when he finished transfiguring the baby dragon into a hamster. Apparently in its current form, this animal had no particular sex.
Draco frowned at Harry, and glanced once again at Ice. Finally he concluded, "At least this way I won't need to worry about finding another hamster during the mating season."
Harry said nothing, not entirely sure whether Ice would be attracted to another hamster or another dragon even if it possessed a specific gender.
Draco got up and walked to the desk. He prodded Ice playfully and lifted the small hamster to his chest with both hands, relishing its extremely soft fur. However, Ice didn't look too happy being held by Draco. The hamster struggled in Draco's hands, trying to free itself. As soon as Draco let it go, it scurried along the desk and made an amazing leap to Harry's shoulder from the edge of the desk.
Harry gasped in surprise and then grinned widely, rubbing the hamster's ears. "Ice loves me," said Harry. As though it showed agreement with his statement, Ice eagerly rubbed its furry cheek against Harry's.
The other boy set his lips in an annoyed pout. "Yeah, just because you've kissed it once, this rodent conveniently forgets who has sacrificed a lot to fill up its voracious appetite."
"You're jealous," Harry observed with amusement. "Of me or of Ice, I can't tell."
He raised his eyebrows as Draco flinched at his last statement. Although Draco quickly turned his head away, Harry couldn't miss the uneasiness he felt from the blond. "What's wrong, Cocco?"
When Draco faced him again, the previous uneasiness had gone. "You know, Ice is probably only attracted to your fetid smell."
"Didn't hear you complaining about my smell this morning," a satisfied smile crossed Harry's face.
Draco opened his mouth but he was cut off by a sudden knock on the door. Only certain people knew the password to pass the Chimera statue and knock on the door. Harry and Draco looked at each other for a second, and then Harry got up to open the door.
It was Tonks, and she immediately hugged Harry tightly. While Harry reclaimed his breath, she moved to hug Draco.
Tonks glanced from Draco to Harry, gushing, "I'm so glad you two look okay. Last night was terrible."
"Yeah, sorry for making you worried," Draco grimaced, nursing his ribs which felt like cracking from Tonks' powerful embrace.
"Happy New Year, Tonks," Harry smiled.
"Goodness, I forgot! It's New Year! Happy New Year, boys!" Tonks beamed and proceeded to crush Harry and Draco in her arms once more.
Soon she noticed that something wasn't quite right about the view before her. Harry was here, in Draco's room in the morning, wearing unmistakably Draco's pyjamas. Meanwhile, Draco was in his bathrobe with his hair still a little wet.
"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed while blushing. "I hope I didn't… Did I interrupt something?"
"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Draco squinted crossly at his cousin. In return, Tonks narrowed her eyes back at him.
"I understand completely, you know, what happened last night must've put great strain on both of you. But Draco, no matter how charmed your mother is by Harry, she would go mental if she heard you'd engaged in pre-marital sex. She's very strict about things like this."
Draco spluttered. "How did you kn- There's no pre-marital sex whatsoever! Harry slept over here last night, that's all!" He planted his hands on his hips, fuming since Tonks gave a clearly sceptical "That's all?".
Meanwhile, next to the blond, Harry gaped since he seriously wouldn't have thought that this situation might raise a wrong assumption.
"Aren't you just imposing your imagination on us, Tonks? We weren't that stressed out, and the great strain you mentioned only made us get off to sleep right away," Harry tried to sound indifferent despite his obvious blush.
"I don't think-"
"I believe you have a better purpose of coming here early in the morning," Draco cut in.
"Hmm? Yeah… Why did I come here?" Tonks scratched her chin for a moment before she remembered her purpose again and immediately told her cousin, "Professor Snape wants to see you, Draco."
"Now?"
Tonks nodded. "I'd just escorted Theodore Nott to his office before I came here. And no Potter, he emphasized that."
Draco and Harry exchanged a glance hearing Theodore Nott's name. Harry muttered, "Too bad for Professor Snape, but somehow we can't stay apart now."
Smiling wryly, Tonks explained, "You're still allowed to wait outside the office, Harry. According to Prof. Snape, this is Slytherin's internal business."
"Give me five minutes to change," Draco quickly said as he turned around to go to the bathroom once again. Harry must usher Tonks outside first before he could get changed too.
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Fifteen minutes later, the two boys and the teacher were on the way to Professor Snape's office. Harry couldn't help thinking how awful it was to start the New Year dealing with Snape.
Suddenly Tonks said, "I've heard about Nott's sister. Poor woman."
Draco visibly stiffened at the mention of Youleen Nott. "She died because of me," he said with a level voice, but there was bitterness in his eyes.
"You're talking about Theodore Nott's sister?" Harry enquired carefully.
Tonks looked at him and explained, "Yeah. Her name was Youleen Nott, his older sister. She renounced her Death Eater status and ran away. But before long, she was found and murdered." She turned to Draco and said soothingly, "It's not because of you, Draco."
"I can't be sure," the boy replied still in that toneless voice. "She was a very nice woman. She deserved much better than this."
Harry was very curious about the relationship between Draco and Youleen Nott, and how her death was connected with him, but sensing Draco's distress, he refrained from asking further. Tonks seemed to have the same idea, and the three of them continued their way to the dungeon in silence.
They arrived in front of Snape's office a short while later. Draco quickly knocked on the door and went inside, leaving Harry and Tonks. She had to escort Theodore Nott back after they finished this Slytherin's internal business.
The Head Boy and the DADA teacher stood side by side, leaning against the cold wall. After a minute, Harry broke the silence between them.
"How come Draco thinks he caused Youleen Nott's death?"
"Umm, actually…," Tonks sounded hesitant, "… as far as I know, she ran away because she refused the order to kill you, Harry."
"What? Then it should be my fault!"
"Dunno. She didn't know you personally, so maybe the reason she refused the order was because of your connection with Draco."
"Tonks," Harry started, "did you know Youleen Nott personally?"
Tonks nodded. "She was in Hogwarts too, only a year above me."
"What kind of a person she was?"
"The Youleen Nott in my mind is still that spoiled Slytherin girl, exceptionally clever and very popular, though snooty like hell. Of course, coming from a respectable pureblood family and being the prettiest girl here during her time, she had things to pride herself on. We had never discovered the proof she became a Death Eater after You-Know-Who's resurrection, but I always thought a woman with penchant for Dark Arts and upholding pureblood prejudice like her might be given to it. Not to mention her family background. Therefore, I was surprised when I heard she had refused the order to kill you and died because of it. She and I had never been friends, but I feel really sad about her right now."
"Was she close to Draco?"
Tonks shrugged. "After seeing Draco just now, we can guess that she was important to Draco, can't we?"
Harry gave a slow nod and turned his eyes to the closed door in front of them.
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Professor Snape was watching the thin boy sitting in front of his desk. Theodore Nott returned the Professor's gaze, exuding self-possession despite his rather peaky face.
"Is that all you can tell us, Mr Nott?"
Nott looked hesitant just for a second before he answered, "Yes, sir."
Snape leaned back in his seat without breaking eye contact with his student in front of him.
"Although a lot of things had happened to you, you should know better than to put yourself in this mess, Mr Nott. You have got to sort yourself out, but you can count on me to help you anytime. Understand that?" Snape's tone was far from affectionate, but Nott perceived a distant fatherly feeling in it. The boy flashed a faint smile as a response.
At that moment, somebody knocked on the door. Snape, knowing who it was without asking, let the door open, and Draco Malfoy entered the office.
"Good morning, Professor Snape," Draco greeted. He glanced at Nott, feeling uneasy and not knowing what to say.
"Sit down, Draco," Snape said quietly.
Following that instruction, Draco sat in a chair beside Nott. When he instinctively stole a glance at the other boy again, Draco couldn't help feeling delighted as Nott looked back at him with the tiniest yet friendly smile on his face.
"You look well today," Snape observed his godson. At Draco's nod, he said, "I asked Nott to come here because he was willing to give us some useful information. Since this is closely related to you, I wanted us to listen to his explanation together. Too bad you really took your time getting here, and by that time Nott had finished telling me everything he knows."
The blond boy gave a deeply apologetic smile before speaking, "I apologize for my lateness, sir. How much have I missed?"
"To cut a long story short, last night's commotion had been devised by Parkinson with major help from, interestingly, Vincent Crabbe. You know what her primary target was – an unforgettable nightmare for your new year's present. Apparently, the cursed parchment you got last November was another bright idea of hers. But Nott is convinced that someone else had persuaded her to do this, and supplied her with all the requirements to perform the Dark magic. In fact, the identity concealment of the parchment wasn't Parkinson's work."
"Then where are Pansy and the others right now, sir?"
"Miss Parkinson is currently in a pitiful state, I must say. But she will be all right, and she's going to have a lot to explain. All of your assailants have been detained, including Nott here. Because they had been harbouring a grudge against you, they agreed to help Parkinson. But except Nott, none of them know much about her plans. They only did what they were ordered to do."
"Sir, Nott tried to save Harry and me last night. At least he shouldn't be detained together with the others," Draco argued, although deep inside he hadn't completely trusted Nott. No matter how they looked at it, Draco and Harry were the reason behind his sister's death, so how come Nott allied himself with them? Nott might hate them less than those people who actually killed Youleen, but that shouldn't have stopped him from blaming Draco and Harry.
"I'm not complaining, Malfoy," Nott interjected. "I'm confined separately and in a cosy room which is actually nicer than our dormitory."
Draco scrutinized him momentarily and asked, "Are you all right now? You looked badly injured last night."
"Thanks for your concern. Last night was truly painful, but my wounds weren't too severe," Nott replied.
"I haven't thanked you for taking a curse intended for me. So… thanks," said Draco before he promptly turned to face Snape again, "Pansy and Crabbe have cast Unforgivable Curse. Would they be put in prison after this?"
"They will most likely be expelled, but I doubt they're going to see Azkaban. We are positive that Crabbe was not himself when he cast the curse. As for Parkinson, she was under great stress and mentally unstable at that moment."
Jumping to his feet, Draco lapsed into a fury as his mind combined the precariousness called last night with the fact that his most brutal attackers were not punished severely enough. "So what! She made other people unstable and under great stress along with her! She's tried to kill me! Why? I can't believe that's how a spurned woman behaves! And it's not my fault! I can't accept this!"
"Blabbering on and getting emotional for something in the past just won't do, Draco," Snape calmly admonished him. "Parkinson ruined her own life not only because she was jilted, though that could well be the start," he gestured at Nott, "… and Nott happens to know better about her than anyone else."
Draco blushed after acting like a highly strung kid, and to make up for it he sat down gracefully. Turning his head to his right, he gulped before carefully asking the boy beside him, "I'd like to know, Nott. About what Pansy mentioned before… and you said it was a secret. Voldemort was angry because our betrothal had been annulled, and then?"
Nott glanced at his Head of House, and Snape prompted, "It doesn't take much to tell us one more time, Mr Nott. Go on."
Nodding slightly, Nott answered, "The Dark Lord tortured a lot of Death Eaters, including those who had nothing to do with your betrothal, saying how useless they were. Some died, and Pansy's mother is still in crisis until today. That was the reason she became so furious the day when she tried to turn you into laurel. Your engagement to Potter was something that they couldn't help, so torturing them was really unfair."
Draco grimaced. "He tortured your family too, didn't he?"
"All those students who attacked you last night were the children of those Death Eaters, Malfoy," said Nott. His eyes had come bitter, and somehow Draco understood that Lord Voldemort didn't only punish the Death Eaters, but their children as well. Draco shivered involuntarily as now he also understood what had made Pansy hate him so much. He began sympathizing with the girl, although he would never forget that she had tried to kill him and obliterated Fluffy instead.
"Why did he do that? Whatever does he want from me?" Draco muttered to himself. What made him so precious in Voldemort's eyes out of the blue?
"That's what we all want to know, Draco. Too bad nobody except the Dark Lord himself knows the answer," Snape answered him. "Do you have any idea about it?"
Shaking his head, Draco said, "I don't get it at all. I met Voldemort once, and he didn't show any particular interest in me that time. Didn't he actually let the Death Eaters try to kill me before? Why am I different now?"
"Perhaps it's not you who is different now. Perhaps it's the Dark Lord who's just found out something very attractive about you. And there might be someone…," Snape trailed off, frowning as if he were talking to himself. His sallow face seemed to turn pale.
"But what's this very attractive thing about me that interests him so much?" Draco persisted. "Am I a subject of another prophecy which concerns him as well?"
"As far as I'm aware, you're no subject of any prophecy, Draco." Snape glanced at the clock and got up from his seat, saying, "It's time for breakfast. The Headmaster and I will talk more thoroughly in a while with you and Potter about the present situation."
Draco and Nott got up too, and Snape spoke, "Mr Malfoy, tell Prof. Tonks that she doesn't have to escort Mr Nott back to his detention room, because I trust your competence as a school Prefect to do it. Ask Potter to accompany you, if you must."
The professor proceeded to explain where Nott's detention room was, without waiting for Draco's reaction. Draco was convinced that Snape trusted Theodore Nott, although he didn't know why. But the Potions Master must have a good reason to do so, and Draco's view of people was often influenced by Snape's. He also realized there was still tension between him and Nott and Snape had just offered him a chance to sort it out immediately.
Before his two students opened the door, Snape put a hand on the shoulder of each boy and said gravely, "Though you are now as tall as I am, you're still children. This business with the Dark Lord may turn a lot nastier than now, and some day you two may find yourselves in the ugliest situation you've never imagined before. However, always remember that both of you are Slytherin. You have the resources to withstand this kind of things."
Draco and Nott nodded confidently.
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Harry, Draco, and Nott walked in an empty corridor after they left Professor Snape's office. Only a moment later, they reached Nott's detention room which was located not too far from Slytherin common room.
Harry had been quiet ever since Draco came out of Snape's office with Nott and told Tonks that he and Harry would escort Nott back. Currently, the Head Boy stood several feet away while the two Slytherin boys were talking privately outside the detention room. Both Slytherin were diffident in front of each other, but trying not to show it.
"Aren't you angry with me? Don't you hate me because I'd helped Pansy in the beginning?" asked Nott.
"I want to ask you the same thing," Draco responded.
Ahead lay the long stone wall where the hidden door to Slytherin common room was situated. Draco gazed at the entrance to the place he had once belonged to. Many people hated him, and he thought it was ever so easy to simply hate them back. But he didn't, or at least he didn't hate Nott.
Draco expressed it a little hesitantly, "I'm not angry. And I don't hate you. In fact, I want to talk a bit more with you."
"About what?" Nott tilted his head a bit at the other boy beside him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Harry leaning against the wall, watching them. Harry could still catch the conversation from where he was standing. Just like Draco, Harry hadn't trusted Nott yet but he didn't hate Nott, either. Even if he might have every right to do so, he didn't. It wasn't because he was less vengeful than Draco; it was simply because Harry didn't find any reason to hate Nott.
"I just want to know…" Draco paused and looked intently at Nott's impassive face as he continued in a rush, "Why did you save me, Nott? Didn't you hate me? It was because of me your sister died."
The other boy avoided looking back at Draco as he replied, "I hated you so much. At first I returned to school to seek revenge on this person who had caused my sister's death. When I saw you that day, and then you asked me about Youleen's death, actually I was enraged enough to strangle you. But as we conversed, this… strange voice… started talking in my head. It reminded me of the truth… what I saw before my eyes was the person for whom my sister had sacrificed her life, because she wanted to protect his happiness with everything she had. This voice kept telling me that, and it especially got stronger whenever I thought of harming you. In the end, it made me fully realize my mistake. You were an important person for Youleen, so you're important for me, too. I have to protect you, just like what Youleen had tried to do. That was what she really wanted."
Nott paused for a moment before he whispered, "She loved you more than her own life. I couldn't hate you because of that."
"I… You really don't hate me now?"
Slowly Nott turned to meet Draco's eye and shook his head. "I don't hate you. Besides, everything was actually my own fault… Because Youleen contacted me that day, they managed to find her. It was I, who had compelled her to come out of her hiding. I've realized it since the beginning. I just… needed somebody else to share the blame…"
A sincere smile appeared on Draco's face. "This isn't a very Slytherin thing to do, but what the heck," he mumbled before he took a large step forwards and pulled Nott into a tight embrace. "I'm not used to altruism, but I'll gladly share the blame with you."
Nott couldn't help a single tear leaking out the corner of his eye. He hugged Draco back and replied hoarsely, "Thank you."
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Alone in his detention room, Theodore Nott was lying quietly on his bed. This place wasn't exactly cosy like what he'd told Malfoy, but he couldn't care less about it. He'd been feeling lighter after spilling everything he knew in front of his Head of House.
Sitting up abruptly, Theodore brought out a wizard picture from inside his pocket. The picture showed a very beautiful young woman, giving him a little wave and a reserved smile. Theodore sighed and smiled back at her. He'd been keeping this picture with him ever since she disappeared from home.
Despite her stuck-up appearance, Youleen Nott was gorgeous. Theodore had been used to people doubting whether Youleen and he were blood-related siblings. They didn't look alike at all, and they hardly had something in common. No matter what, he adored her very much. He would do anything she asked him to do.
Nothing could shock him more than the news that Youleen had run away from home. Nobody was willing to supply him with information of what was really happening, not even their father who only stated that his daughter had become mad. Theodore drew the conclusion that this was the Death Eaters' internal business, and it meant Youleen was in grave danger. What had she done? Why did she oppose the Dark Lord? He frantically tried to contact her, but with no result for weeks.
One day, when he was brooding at home, arrival of an unknown white owl surprised him. What surprised him more was that the owl brought him a brief letter from his missing sister, telling him to meet her secretly. Risking everything, Theodore managed to follow Youleen's instructions and eventually met her in a shady hotel room in Muggle World.
Looking at his sister and her present condition crushed Theodore's heart. The pampered and snobbish Youleen Nott, who used to live like a queen, had to resort to such circumstances while having her life threatened. He couldn't imagine what kind of reason had driven her to all of these. Had she suddenly turned suicidal?
Nevertheless, she was still the same Youleen Nott he had known for seventeen years. The innate obstinacy and cunning could be still strongly discerned in her eyes. No, she hadn't become suicidal. Quite the contrary, he had never seen her look as alive as now, and she was clearly striving to survive. Theodore was relieved, but this had befuddled him even more. It only increased his confusion when she told him what she had done to make her a runaway like now. She had refused the order to kill Potter, but not because she was afraid of the boy and his protectors.
He still remembered it perfectly, every single word of it, what she had told him that day. What she had replied to him after he asked her a single question: "Why?"
"Actually, I'd been preparing myself to carry out that order. I had never accepted Draco's engagement to Potter. To be honest, I didn't like his engagement to Parkinson's daughter, either. But then that letter came, about a week before Christmas. Draco wrote on it that Potter was very kind to him, always trying to make him happy. He even said that Harry Potter was with whom he would spend the rest of his life. The one and only for him… Although Draco never mentioned that he loved his fiancé, I knew instantly he would be very sad if Potter died. I've tried to argue against this feeling, but… I just couldn't. If there is one thing I'm sure of, it is that I don't want to make Draco suffer. If Harry Potter is the one and only for him, I will never take him away from Draco. … I am stupid, aren't I? Not only have I jeopardised myself, I've also got you and Father into this mess. But please forgive your selfish sister, Theodore. I've made my decision. I must do what my heart tells me to do. Otherwise, I wouldn't have the power to live on."
It was new to both Theodore and his sister to follow their hearts. They had been brought up to always think logically, shrewdly, and selfishly as the key to success. Instead of listening to his heart, Theodore normally listened to his brain and its calculation. Emotions were simply an obstacle to achieve the real power – that was what they lived by.
Now, in age of seventeen, in love with a girl who seemed to hold grim life and destiny, Theodore Nott experienced first-hand that sometimes he simply couldn't do what the rational part of his brain told him to do. That was because he still had a heart. A man's heart was something so powerful that it determined his final action in a desperate situation. In the very end, he chose to follow his sister's path.
He would do whatever his heart told him to do. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the power to live on.
:ooooooo:ooooooo:ooooooo:
Alone in his office, Severus Snape was brooding. Things didn't look good lately, and they kept facing more questions than answers. They had been infiltrated, but how and by whom? What was their real target? Draco's enquiry earlier was an important point in this mystery: if the Dark Lord only gave little heed to that boy at first, what made him different now? The Dark Lord wanted Draco Malfoy alive and on his side; that was a confirmed fact. But why did he change his mind so suddenly? And there was something odd that he wasn't hesitant at all to dispose of his Death Eaters in the middle of war like now.
Snape's mind automatically replayed the memory of the day after Draco's seventeenth birthday, when he came to Malfoy Mansion to fetch Narcissa Malfoy.
Narcissa welcomed him inside a large and luxurious sitting-room. She stood gracefully next to the stone fireplace, looking beautiful and vain as ever, but Severus noticed some strange mixture of dismay and relief marring her conceited expression. After they sat down opposite each other, she unconsciously smoothed a non-existent wrinkle on her dress before she started the main conversation.
"This is all true then, Severus? Draco has been bound by the legendary Amora Aevus to Harry Potter? So the soul bond is not just a myth after all."
Severus nodded curtly. "It's true. I feel bad too that Amora Aevus doesn't just stay a legend."
"I would have never dreamt of this, Severus. My only son, suddenly engaged to another boy. Not just any boy, but Harry Potter of all people. As if that was not bad enough, an ancient soul binding is involved too. The most ludicrous of all is that this binding spell was cast by my mother-in-law, Draco's own grandmother. What was she thinking, playing matchmaker like this?"
"You knew she was gifted in Divination, Narcissa. She saw a vision which made her convinced that this soul binding was necessary. Didn't Dumbledore tell you the details in his letter?"
"Only that the late Mrs Malfoy always wished for her grandson's greatest happiness and since this whole mess had already happened, we should make the best of the circumstances. Typical of that cranky old Headmaster." She met Severus' eye for a moment before quietly asking, "Dumbledore does not lie, does he? So is it true as well that Potter loves my son very deeply?"
"Yes," Severus answered as shortly as possible. He looked rather upset when he made the affirmative, but Narcissa saw it as an extra assurance that he was being honest.
"To the point that he will die for Draco…" Narcissa turned her head to gaze at her pair of refined hands, clasped together on her lap. "If you can affirm it, Severus, then I will believe it. I will meet Harry Potter and ascertain everything myself, but for now I rely on the Headmaster's and your words."
She returned her eyes to Severus as she said, "This is probably the solution for Draco's problem – a problem he does not even know he has. With the testament that overrules Draco's current engagement to Pansy Parkinson, neither Lucius nor anyone else can touch Draco. It is better this way. Yes, even if it means letting my son be in Harry Potter's hands."
Severus shot her a piercing stare. "And your reason for saying so?"
"Draco is not safe, Severus. You know that all of a sudden, the Dark Lord ordered his Death Eaters to stop any attempt to hurt Draco. He even said he was glad Draco had not been injured. Now it has become evident that the Dark Lord wants my son alive, and for some obscure motive I am unable to find out until now. But for certain, you could never expect something benign when it concerns the Dark Lord."
"Lucius didn't say anything about it?"
Narcissa shook her head. "I suspect he doesn't know, either. The Dark Lord seems to conceal a lot of things from Death Eaters recently."
The Potions Professor nodded. "From what I have heard, he trusts all his bigger plans to just one person. He seems extremely pleased nowadays because of this person's presence, too."
"That is true. This person may be responsible for triggering the Dark Lord's interest regarding my son. I don't have any idea who this special person might be, whom he trusts more than my sister and my husband. Is this person someone from the old inner circle, or a new recruit?"
"I could think of only a name. The Dark Lord had once declared in front of us that this person, barely fourteen that time, was the only one he could never afford to lose."
"You mean… that White? But he's dead, Severus!"
"Dead, eh? We once thought Crouch Junior was dead too."
"Lucius saw him kissed by the Dementor ten years ago!" While Severus remained stoical, Narcissa's face had paled. "Please don't let him be still alive. Not him…," she whispered.
Severus chose not to reply. After a long silence, he stood up and said to Narcissa, "Let's go to Hogwarts, Narcissa. Let's just take care of this soul bond problem first."
Now after they had taken care of the soul bond problem, it was the time to take care of other problems. What did the Dark Lord want from Draco? Who had the ability to breach Hogwarts and trigger such a mess involving Draco and Harry Potter?
Severus would truly hate it if it was true, but he had been convinced that some people just didn't stay dead. It would be the worst case if Fabriel White was one of those people.
End of Prelude----
A/N:
This chapter ain't pretty despite the long wait, sorry… And now, to respond to some of my wonderful reviewers:
#Für everyone who cried because of Fluffy: There is a cartoon titled "All Dogs Go to Heaven". Let's apply this comforting belief to Fluffy and Padfoot.
#Für chimeric: LOL, so that's Cocco in French! I really had no idea. Sorry, this all should have never happened if only I'd asked somebody with deep knowledge of French. It's the rhyme that counts; I didn't consider any other aspect regretfully, nor do I ever think that Harry pronounces it in French. Conclusion: with deepest apology (this is for Roxanne too), Cocco shall prevail!
I also think Draco complains a lot and insults almost everybody, and his timidity is still there (What a weird personality!). Maybe this is just a matter of interpretation, because there have been other statements contradicting yours, such as Harry was treated like a doormat or Draco acted like an ass – which he will always do whenever he feels like it.
Hmm, what else… Ah, yes. The present bond doesn't give any benefit in improving Draco's or Harry's magical ability.
#Für Euphory: LOL again. I was surprised you asked about Cho's brother. I was surprised somebody actually took him into account…
#Für Viridiana: Another LOL – why did my original (supposedly only passing) characters suddenly get questioned? No, you didn't miss anything. That toad-like fifth year student is just one among nameless Hogwarts students, who happens to be Draco's another persistent stalker and has nothing to do with the story plot.
#Für Biscuits: More LOL. I sincerely hope you won't resort to washing out your brain, but the D+Hr part is far from over (and I've become rather fond of D+Hr recently).
As for Harry the 'willing doormat': Hmm, still don't think I have ever implied such a thing – at least not intentionally. It's Draco's bad habit to walk all over anybody given half a chance, while Harry bears this kind of treatments only within limits. It's Harry who's trying to win Draco's affection, not to mention Harry must've learnt not to let his anger/frustration/whatever sweep over him easily (aka mastering his feelings).
#I owe Pansy Parkinson an apology for receiving life-threatening wishes from some readers on my behalf :-)