CHAPTER TWO
[LOVELY]
HARRY
Harry slammed the door in alarm and ran as best as he could toward the window. Dudley was making his way toward the door with Petunia behind him. Panic arose in his empty stomach. It was only eight in the morning and they weren't due back until tonight. He cursed under his breath. Of course this would be his luck. What would the Boy-Who-Lived be without a life full of trouble?
Harry staggered back down the stairs when he heard the front doorknob jingle. He would get killed if they found out he hadn't done anything yet. In a last attempt, he dove for the duster just as the door swings open.
His heart beats fast against his chest when their cynical and disgusted gazes wash over him.
"Get off the floor, boy. You're ruining the carpet."
"Yes, ma'am."
She walks out of the room and a sound of relief escapes him. She didn't check the chore list.
"Hey freak, where's my breakfast?" Dudley taunts with a glare when she's out of earshot.
Harry ignores him as he pick himself off the floor. Dudley was just wanting to provoke him so he could get in trouble, Harry knew that much by now, but it didn't stop him from wanting to sock him right there. This seemed to bug Dudley even more, pushing him to continue.
"What, cat got your tongue? Oh no, that's your boyfriend's Cedric's job, isn't it?"
He could at least come up with new insults after two years. They were getting old.
"Dudley, please go away," Harry whispered. He didn't have the energy to deal with him. Merlin forbid Petunia come back him and see him not at work. He just needed to get back to Malfoy.
"Not until I get breakfast!"
Harry sighed begrudgingly and made his way toward the kitchen. Dudley sneered in delight behind him then jabbed a finger into the brunet's already bruised ribs.
Harry was halfway with cooking when a loud thump came from above him causing him to accidentally drop some pancake batter onto the floor. He frowned and put down the spatula. Dudley was in the sitting room at the moment so he didn't hear or cause the noise. That only meant him one thing.
He finished quickly the food quickly, careful not to burn it, and shut the burner off. The clock on the wall told him he had already left the blonde git by himself for nearly thirty minutes. What plenty of damage he could do by that time.
"Your foods done," he stated to the fat pig sitting on the couch while making his way back upstairs. Dudley's nose scrunched up in disgust.
"Aren't you going to bring it to me?"
He don't know where my sudden bravery comes from but he sneaks a snarky response back. "Aren't you going to use better insults?"
His face grows red. "Do not!"
"You could replace your brain with a carrot Dudley, and I can assure you, no one will even notice."
He stands up angrily and stomps his way over to Harry. One large hand grabs his arm and the other pins him against the wall. Expecting a blow to the face and actually receiving one were two different things he's learned through the years. Especially with Dudley.
"You remind me of a goldfish Dudley. It can fight but it won't have enough IQ points to remember it ten seconds later," I smirk.
Harry gasp in pain when the other's fist slams across his jaw. He does it again but to his stomach. He guessed it was warranted since he provoked him. That didn't stop it from hurting though.
Hermione was right. Maybe he was a little reckless at times.
"Shut UP!"
He shoved Harry's body into a lump on the floor then stormed over to the front door and left, slamming the door in the process. Aunt Petunia came in a minute after and pinched her lips at the scene.
"You're getting blood on the floor."
My heart shrank a little more at her words. He could hardly believe this was the woman who was protecting him. Seeming to do more harm than good, wasn't it? At least she never purposely hit him like the others. That had to count for something.
She waltzed out of the room and into the kitchen and made her a plate of food from the platter. She barely sparred Harry a glance as she took the rest to herself and went back into her room.
Harry gripped the stair railing to pull himself off the floor. His gut was aching along with his jaw. At least most of the bruises were covered, so that was a plus side. The fewer questions the better.
Malfoy was standing in front of the bed and fixing the sheeting the sheets when he walked in. His head swirled around quickly at the noise of the door opening. The movement caused his un-gelled, blonde hair to dangle in an angle the sun caught perfectly through the window.
He frowns in confusion when he sees Harry. "What happened to your face, Potter? My mistake, it must be permanent."
Malfoy ruins the image by standing up straight up where the sun can't reach him. The git was aggravatingly pretty when his trap was shut.
"Nothing. I thought I told you to stay in the closet?" One of his hands come up to hiis face to hide the forming bruise. He was just lucky to have a long-sleeved shirt on today.
"And except me to suffocate to death? No thanks."
Harry scoffs. "Well, you shouldn't be suffocating for much longer. Ms. Figg should get back from her work trip tomorrow morning."
He look around the room, just now realizing how clean it was compared to it's usual state. "Did you clean all of this?"
"It's not like I had anything else better to do," he shrugs. "I'm still trying to figure out how I woke up here." He walks around to the other side of the bed while he continues to talk. "You obviously didn't do this as much as I want to believe that. That would be to Ravenclaw-"
"I'm right here you know-"
"-and I didn't do this either obviously." He places his hands onto his hips and looks back up to me. "And anyway, I don't need your muggle neighbor to take me home thank you very much. I'm capable of that myself. Just take me to platform 9 ¾ and we can forget this ever happened."
I frown at him. "You realize that's nearly an hour drive, let alone a walk, right?"
"Your broom?" He questions with a furrow.
"This is a muggle neighborhood, Malfoy. Someone will see us."
The truth was that he couldn't exactly get to it at the moment. It was locked downstairs like everything else but that wasn't necessarily information he was willing to share. Besides, it wasn't like it was a lie either. He didn't want a repeat of last summer.
"Then we can take one of those muggle things. What are they called?"
"A car?"
"Yes. One of those things."
He wonders over to the door behind me and I throw my arm out before he can open it.
"Wait! I uh- don't have...my license yet."
"You're what now?" He seems surprised by Harry's sudden action and even more so by the statement. Merlin, he was absolutely clueless when it came to anything outside the wizarding world.
"In the muggle world, you have to seventeen or older to drive."
"What good does that do," He sighs. "If you must, get one of your relatives to drive you. I'm not staying in this dirty muggle house any longer than I need too."
DRACO
"If you must, get one of your relatives to drive you. I'm not staying in this dirty muggle house any longer than I need too."
"Listen here Malfoy. One more racist comment from you and you're on the streets, okay?"
His voice was threatening and deadly steady. Potter's eyes dug into Draco's and told him he was serious. He could be really threatening if he wanted but it was hard to at the moment when he looked so fragile.
Draco wasn't as blind as he was making himself out to be. His torso was incredibly thin and his clothes were absolutely dreadful. Holes and dirt covered the rags and not to mention they were nearly seven sizes too big on him. He had already commented on the bruises on his face but it was clear he didn't want to talk about it.
His cousin's room was a nine-year-old boys fantasy compared to what seemed to be his. The room was dull and void of life with it's grey painted walls. Potter was trying to hide something and it was obvious what. Shoving him into the closet for thirty minutes didn't help either.
"So be it Potter. Just let me go home."
Draco goes toward to door once again but Harry blocks it with his body. "You can't." Potter spits out quickly. "Not right now at least..."
"And why not?"
"I have...chores."
"...chores?"
He rolls his eyes. "Yes, Malfoy. Some of us aren't rich and have house elves to do everything for them."
"I know what chores are, you imbecile. But why does that affect me?"
"Do you want to be in a car full of muggles for hours?"
Draco considers the repercussions. He might be able to escape without his father ever noticing he was gone. He could practically feel the electricity of the crucious curse in his stomach. It might just have been the fear, but at this point, where they not the same? His father didn't care what he used as long as it got Draco to the other hand, Ferris would more likely smell the blood impurity on him. Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to kill him.
Draco's eyes closed. "I suppose not."
"That's what I thought. And besides, they would have no idea where to cross at. You would need me. It's just easier if we ask the neighbor tomorrow. If you can survive until then,"he sneers.
Draco retracts his hand from the nob. You could see his poster relax slightly at the sight. "Fine, have it your way then, Scarhead."
He ignores the insult. "I have to go do some chores and that's...going to take some time. Under no circumstances, at all," he glares at the blonde, "should you leave."
Draco snorts. "You sound like Severus."
" Maybe I am," Potter resorts. He roll my eyes.
"And what if I have to use the bathroom, sir?"
"Hold it."
Harry is about to leave when he shouts. "Wait!"
"What now, Malfoy?"
"What the bloody hell am I supposed to do in here? It's practically a death sentence sitting in here alone. Die of boredom? "
Harry smirks at him. "You're welcome to finish my transfiguration homework in the dresser."
It was almost eight hours later and Potter hadn't come back into the room. Never in a thousand years would he admit to being worried but rubbed in the wrong way. He could already tell the house wasn't that big from looking out the small window and seeing the identical, lined up houses across the street so it couldn't possibly take this long.
For the millionth time, he wondered if his parents would even notice his absence. The clock on the nightstand read five. There were only a few hours until they ate dinner and father definitely know by then. Draco's blood was cold at the thought of his reaction. Why couldn't bloody Potter let him go home when he wanted? He was smart enough to could have figured something out. Malfoy had to stop himself from jumping out the window.
He closed the book that was left in the closet and falls down backward into the bed. Draco found muggle culture quite interesting unknown to popular belief. Their imaginations and creativity were intriguing when it came to things like television or phones. They were useful and he didn't see why wizards refused to use them. Not that he would ever mention that to his father.
Draco was about to get up when he heard a door slam shut loudly from downstairs. It wasn't long after that until he heard yelling. Shivers ran up his back at the all too familiar noises. I pressed his back against the bed frame and held his hands over my ears to try and block it out. At the manor, all he had to do was go inside his room. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case here.
Potter came busting through the door minutes later with a pant. He turned around quickly and locked the door behind him. He hadn't even had time to take his hand off the nob when someone tried to yank it open from the other side. It was obvious that he was being chased.
"Potter?" He yelps. His breathing was labored and his face was blood red. He leaned against the wall in support for his wobbly legs. Slowly, he slid all the way down until he was sitting with his head between his knees and arms cradling his head.
Draco felt himself panic a little. He knew these were symptoms of a panic attack from his own experience, but what the bloody hell was he supposed to help another's?
Harry seemed to completely forget that Draco was even in the room so he got up and wandered slowly to where the shaking was sitting. Watery green eyes met with his own. Draco felt his heart squeeze.
"I'm right here, Harry. Just breathe."
