Mal Foi, Bonne Foi
By: Aubrie1234
Knowing the Muggles were after Alex, it wouldn't be an easy task just to ask around with a drawing of the face of the man pointed out in Alex's memories. They could track them down and none of the wizards needed that. They did have somewhat of an idea where to look for Alex, however, based on the sightings Draco had described. Most of them had been in a little neighborhood of London called Chelsea and so they decided to check there, separated into groups of two. Draco found himself, annoyingly enough, paired up with Ron. In all honesty, Draco really didn't have a thing against Ron except for his family and his lack of intelligence, and even the whole family thing was lacking now that the war was over, especially with how Fred and George had been Alex's Secret-Keepers. Draco owed the Weasleys a lot more than his he could overshadow with his dislike and so he tried not to be such a prick to Ron.
After going over the prophecy several times, they might have also figured out what some of the beings were that were mentioned in it. The 'Beast' was clearly Alex's Obscurus and 'Death' was, of course, Death. The 'Brotherhood' was likely those close to Alex, but who exactly was uncertain, while the codenames used in the letter that was with the prophecy were somewhat clear. 'Xander' was Alex, 'Padfoot' was Sirius, 'Brian' was likely Dumbledore (who else did they know that was named Brian?), 'Glasses' was Trelawney, and the 'Faiths...' No one was sure who they were with the exception of Draco.
"I think it's us, the Malfoys." he had explained, "'Malfoy' is basically the words 'mal' and 'foi' stitched together. They're both French and together they mean 'bad faith.' It's the only explanation that makes sense." They had to admit that he was right, and now that they had an idea of the prophecy, it made it even more imperative to find Alex.
"Do you really think he'd be out in this mess?" Draco asked as Ron bought a few snacks with some Muggle money Hermione had lent them, just in case they needed it. They had been walking through a small row of shops before they'd ducked into this bakery to warm up for a short time. It was also raining, almost sleeting because of the cold temperatures.
"Never know." Ron said, chomping down on one of his purchases and offering another to Draco. The blond wrinkled his nose at the sight of the muffin.
"No thank you, Weasley." Draco went back to staring out at the street through the front window.
"Suit yourself." Ron would've shrugged but he knew how hard Draco was taking all this and so tried not to make things worse. He put the bag of muffins in his coat pocket for later, glad that they fit, and brought out his umbrella so that they could go out again. As he struggled to open it, his head shot up when he saw Draco suddenly rush out the door, "Hey wait!" Still struggling with the umbrella, he ran after Malfoy. He was able to keep the Slytherin in sight through the rain but he had no idea what Draco was doing. Had he suddenly gone mad? "Malfoy!" Draco kept running. Ron finally managed to get the umbrella open and held it over his head as he continued to chase the blond. Much to Ron's relief, Draco finally came to a stop, though Ron almost bumped into him.
"Cor, Malfoy, don't do that!" Ron panted, leaning on his knees while the umbrella rested in the crook of his neck, keeping him dry. When Draco didn't respond, the redhead lifted his head to study the other man. Draco was completely drenched but it didn't seem to bother him. They had somehow run to this small clearing after ducking out of the main streets, a square of sorts, and Draco was staring around. He looked somewhat spooked, to be honest, "...Draco?"
"I saw him." Draco murmured, astonished, "I'm sure I saw Alex. He just- just disappeared."
"Easy." Ron led him to a nearby bench, sitting down and raising the umbrella to cover them both. While Ron was sitting up, Draco was hunched over, staring at his clasped hands. He looked like someone about to go to the gallows, "Why would Alex be here?"
"I don't know, but I'm certain it was him. He was getting groceries, I think, walking along the street." Draco glanced at Ron, "Sorry for taking off so suddenly, I had to be sure."
"It's okay." Ron nodded, then looked around, "And you lost him here?"
"Yep." Draco rubbed his face, "We were so close..."
"Don't blame yourself." Ron pat his shoulder, "We need to go back and tell the others, see if we can come up with a plan." The redhead gazed at him, "And I don't mean to keep questioning you, but you're sure it was Alex?" Draco nodded.
"Positive."
"Alright." Ron dragged Draco to his feet and they left the area. The blond couldn't help but glanced back and raked the area with his eyes, just trying to catch a glimpse of Alex again.
As the went down the street back to Grimmauld Place, Ron couldn't help but look back over his shoulder, nervous. For some reason, he got the feeling he was being watched. After going through everything he did, you didn't get far without being cautious. And though he didn't see anything, he trusted his instincts. Tugging Draco's arm, he led them off-course, turning down one street before the hidden building.
"Weasley-"
"Trust me, Malfoy." Ron hissed. Draco didn't argue again. He followed the redhead as they cut over to another street. Draco looked behind him but saw no one. However, he trusted Ron's instincts and continued to follow. At points Ron took Draco's hand to speed him up until they found themselves walking through Piccadilly Circus. When they were in the mouth of an alleyway they stopped and Ron glanced around, then waved his wand.
"Deprehensio." The tip of the wand glowed for a moment, as if trying to perform Lumos, then the small light turned red. Ron gave a sigh of relief.
"No one's following us anymore." He pocketed the wand and they began heading back.
"What was that?" Draco asked, "I've never heard of that spell before and to hear you use it-"
"I know I'm a bit of an idiot, but this is a spell some of the Aurors taught me. It's the Detection Spell, tells you if you're being followed or not. Not really sure how it works but it's really useful. Wish we'd had it when getting chased by Voldemort."
"Well, thanks. You really got us out of that mess, even though..."
"I just had a feeling. Wouldn't have survived this long if I didn't trust my instincts." Draco nodded. Soon enough they returned to Grimmauld Place, but no one was home, not even Kreacher or Sirius. Draco raised an eyebrow at the circumstances but Ron shrugged, "If I was cooped up in this place all the time waiting to be not convicted anymore I'd want to get out too." The blond said nothing, taking a seat at the table. After putting away the umbrella, Ron sat with him. There was silence for a moment.
"I know what you're gonna say, but I know what I saw." Draco murmured as the redhead gave him a surprised look, "I didn't imagine seeing Alex."
"Are you sure? I don't mean to doubt you but we have to be sure."
"Says the one who was sure he saw Nagini five times in one month because of a snake that got loose in Hogwarts." Ron rolled his eyes as Draco smirked.
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up, Malfoy, and we'll see what happens when I bring up the whole 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret' thing."
"You wouldn't dare-" Draco glared holes into Ron while the redhead stole his smirk.
"Try me." Ron then got up and rummaged around for a bit before coming back with some paper and a pencil, "Here, describe what you saw as much as you can remember, maybe draw a little. We need to make sure we remember it as clearly as we can and the longer we wait, the less clear it gets."
"...Maybe you're smarter than you look, Weasley. You sound like a real detective." Draco took the pencil and began writing down things. Ron watched him for a moment before pulling out the muffins he'd bought. He paused when he saw something attached to the paper. It was a sticky note that read,
'Stay away or else.'
"Draco, you see this?" The blond glanced up and saw the sticky note. Draco frowned.
"They know we're getting close to Alex, somehow." Draco went back to writing and doing a little drawing. Ron put the note on the table and went back to munching on muffins. Ron watched as Draco drew, and though it was squiggly, it was recognizable. It was at that moment that the front door opened. Ron reached for his wand and put it back when he saw it was only Sirius carrying in groceries. The Marauder raised an eyebrow as he put away the groceries.
"Sorry. Out of habit." Ron gave a sheepish grin.
"Surprised to see you two back so early."
"We saw Alex." Draco didn't look up as he finished.
"Alex? Where was he?" Sirius took a seat across from them.
"Near Soho. We went into this muffin shop to get out of the rain and Malfoy spotted him and ran off!" Ron recounted. Sirius glanced at the paper as Draco pushed it over.
"Wrote and drew all I saw." Underneath the writing was a figure in a crowd; it was raining, but even Sirius was sure it was Alex.
"And you didn't mistake him?" Draco growled.
"Of course it isn't somebody else! I saw him with my own eyes!"
"Draco-" Both of them got up from the table.
"Leave me alone, Black." Even though he didn't stomp away, Draco was certainly angry. After he left, Sirius sat down with Ron again.
"There was this, too." Ron showed him the note, "Someone musta slipped it into my pocket because it wasn't on the bag when I got it."
"Why were the two of you near Soho, anyway? I thought you were looking in Chelsea."
"We did but then I had us stop for a snack at this one place and they told me to go over to Patisserie Francaise for the best muffins." Ron bit into another one, "Bloody hell, they weren't wrong!" Sirius shook his head.
"Of course you'd think of food at a time like this." They turned to the front door when it opened again and Harry and Hermione came in.
"I hate cold rain." Hermione shivered as Harry put up the umbrella, "It started pouring out of nowhere! I hope I don't catch a cold!"
"Out of everyone here, you're the least likely to catch one, 'Mione." said Harry. Once the two joined Sirius and Ron in the kitchen, Ron once again explained what had happened. Like Sirius and Ron had been, Harry and Hermione were doubtful Draco had seen Alex.
"He misses his brother terribly. He could've just put Alex's face there and thought the stranger was Alex, since he didn't get a good look." Hermione reasoned.
"It's possible, but he's really convinced it's Alex." Sirius said, "Unless one of you wanna talk with him, this is what we have to work with."
"I'll try it." said Harry, "He seems to trust me a little more than everyone else." As Harry went to the stairs, the door opened again and in came the twins.
"Pouring cats and dogs out there!" exclaimed George.
"Umbrella couldn't keep us dry eve though it tried!" added Fred.
"Hey, maybe we could make something like that, where if you open the umbrella-"
"-tiny cats and dogs rain down! Brilliant!"
"But what should we call it?" The twins mused over their new idea for a moment before Harry interrupted them.
"Why don't you guys think about that later and get to the kitchen? Draco and Ron might've seen Alex." Instantly this got the twins' attention and they rushed down the hall to hear the news. Harry continued on his way up the stairs and went to Draco's room. He tried the knob and found it unlocked. Slowly, he eased open the door, knowing it was impossible to keep the old hinges quiet without a Silencing Charm. Draco was sitting on the bed, facing away from the door with his legs crossed. Something was in his hands. Harry took note of the clothes he'd allowed Draco to borrow, still untouched, and mentally made a reminder to tell Kreacher to wash Draco's clothes later.
"Draco?" The blond didn't respond, "It's me, Harry."
"I know who you are, Potter. Leave me alone."
"Draco-"
"Potter, if you've come here to tell me I couldn't have seen him, then go away. I know what I saw, but why won't any of you believe me?" Harry hesitated, then ventured closer. He could now see over Draco's shoulder and found him to be holding a frame with a moving photograph. It was of Draco and Alex years before, when they had been together before Voldemort forced them apart. They had an arm around each other's shoulders and were smiling, sometimes pushing the other out of the picture but they'd always get back together. The background was not of Malfoy Manor but somewhere else, a place with snow and forest. Harry said nothing of it and sat beside the Slytherin. Draco didn't even look up.
"I know you don't wanna hear this, but we think, because you miss him so much, you might've put Alex's face on the stranger's and thought you saw him."
"I know what I saw and it was Alex. I saw his face and it wasn't in my head."
"Even if it was, you've given us a little more to go on. We saw Alex and we think he's alive. Isn't that good enough?"
"He's alive. If he was dead, I'd know." Draco lowered his voice, solemn, "You see this, Potter? This was the last picture that was ever taken of my brother and we haven't had the time to take another since. I can't explain it, but after I made the promise to protect Alex, I've always had this feeling in the back of my head that would always tell me if something happened to him. I knew he was badly hurt that night when you went to the Ministry. I shook me up but I tried not to dwell on it, not until he came and told me what happened. And when he was alone, on the run, then under Voldemort's control, I could always feel that he was in trouble but I could never do anything about it. And now it's just like that, only worse." Draco took the picture to his chest, "It's like there's a hole now. I don't feel anything and it's tearing me apart. I have no idea if Alex is fine or in danger because I don't have that feeling anymore, that instinct to find him and protect him. Whatever happened to him, the feeling that connected us just died and I want to know why." Draco looked up at Harry for the first time since the dark-haired man entered the room, "I don't think you'd understand because you don't have brothers or sisters, but it feels like what you'd call a big brother instinct. I had to protect him and somehow I failed. I am not going to rest until I get my revenge on whoever took him away from me."
"Don't go head-on into this, Malfoy." Harry reached over and put a hand on Draco's shoulder, "I know what it's like to wanna get revenge, but don't let it consume you. We wanna find Alex too, he means a lot to all of us." Harry pat the blond's shoulder before standing up, "Join us later when you're feeling better and we'll all share what we've learned." He left the room. Draco didn't watch him leave.
Notes:
Deprehensio = Latin for 'detection'
Patisserie Francaise is an actually place in Soho, London. Not sure if they sell muffins, though
'Cor' is an exclamation of surprise in British slang
Why do I write past blocks when it gets later at night? Anyway, I had no idea how to write this chapter for a while and suddenly I write it in about two days. I hope it meets your expectations and that I'll be able to write more after this.
Please read & review and have a happy (belated) New Year!