Chapter 24 - Malfoy Obliviated

Harry could feel Brooklyn shaking behind him.

"You better be who I think you are." Harry seriously hoped it was. If it wasn't, he was in major trouble.
"Now that's not a very nice way to greet your favorite Death Eaters." Malfoy said, taking off his mask. He wiped some sweat from his forehead. "This thing is stifling."
"Potter, haven't you learned by now that you don't need to point your wand at us?" Snape droned, taking his mask off as well. He didn't appear to be sweating at all.
Harry let his arm drop, a sharp intake of breath came from behind him. "I rather thought it would've been a good way to thank you for having me kill Ron."
Malfoy looked confused. "What are you talking about, Potter?"
"Don't act like you don't know." Harry snapped.
Malfoy turned to Snape, looking quite unhappy. "You oblivated me again, didn't you?!"
"Draco, you're pathetic at Occlumency."
"Well maybe if I had a decent teacher…"
Snape rolled his eyes.
Harry scoffed. "Malfoy has a point, your lessons didn't help me at all."
"See!"
"Why don't you have Potter teach you then?" Snape sneered.
"I might have to! At this rate I'll have no memory left!" Malfoy whined.
"Potter, who is behind you?" Snape demanded.
Brooklyn was now clutching onto the back of his shirt. "No one of interest to you."
"On the contrary," Snape's lips curled. "I think that was supposed to be Carrow's actual target."
"What have I always told everyone?" Malfoy said exasperated. "Don't use the Weaselette."
"Step aside, Potter." Harry didn't budge. "You always have to make things difficult." Harry stumbled to the side. Snape had used wandless magic on him. "Well, well…Miss Fletcher is it?" Brooklyn's eyes widened. "Don't look so surprised, I always remember students who were outstanding in Potions, particularly in NEWTS. Unfortunately a Hufflepuff, correct?"
Brooklyn vaguely nodded.
"My, my, aren't you lucky Potter managed to keep you under wraps for so long."
"Don't you dare think of oblivating me again because of this! I'm going to have brain damage soon!"
Harry was rapidly losing his patience. "For the second time, what do you want?
"Heard about Godric's Hollow yet?" Malfoy said, shifting uncomfortably in his robes.
"Don't worry, I won't go near it."
"Yes you will." Snape said, looking at Malfoy oddly.
"And fall for another trap, I don't think so."
"It's the chosen site for the final battle," Snape said evenly. "You're fairly vital in it."
"Weaselette was being used to lure you there without the Order, but obviously that didn't work since you don't have a thing for redheads anymore." Malfoy looked Brooklyn up and down. "I'd say you upgraded, but she was in Hufflepuff."
Brooklyn rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the compliment."
"See, someone gets me!" Malfoy was so whiney, it was really irritating.
Harry had heard enough. "Alright, I won't go near Godric's Hollow without the Order. Now unless you have something else of relevance to tell me, get out of my house."

Snape walked by him, stared at Brooklyn, lifted the anti-apparation spell and was gone. Harry and Brooklyn both stared at Malfoy, who had yet to move.

"Waiting for something?" Harry asked impatiently.
"How did you learn Occlumency?" Malfoy asked, looking at the ground.
"When I destroyed one of the Horcruxes, I don't know how…it was almost like it was a last defense I didn't know I had."
"And now you're good at it?" He was almost sounding desperate and his fidgeting made it look like he was trying to shake his robes off.
"I guess." Harry sighed, knowing what he was getting at. "I wouldn't know where to begin trying to teach it to you Malfoy…sorry."
Malfoy sighed himself. "Don't go near your parents' graves. He has this sick fantasy of having them watch you killed or something to that effect."
Oh how lovely. "Thanks…"
"And one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Please kill him, because if you don't I'm going to kill myself and that's not something I'm looking forward to."
"You are so self-centered." Brooklyn interjected.
Malfoy stood up straight and took a few steps toward her, a hard expression present. "Look sweetheart, the only reason you're alive right now is because the Dark Lord doesn't keep me under legilimency that long and I at least have some control over what he sees first. I've been assigned to spying on Potter long enough to know Red wasn't the right target and I haven't told a soul." Malfoy then turned to Harry. "By the way, you should be thanking me for setting that dog loose or else you would've had to eat that crap those muggles were trying to feed you."

Harry had a sick feeling at the thought of the grotesque food, repressing the urge to be ill. Then he had quite an unsettling thought. He didn't want to know how much Malfoy had seen of them.

Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I'm not a pervert, Potter. I got the hell out of there when I saw things getting…well, you know."
"Alright, now you can leave." Malfoy didn't budge. "Stop stalling!"
Malfoy groaned and stomped the ground like a child. "I hate getting obliviated!"
"You won't remember a thing." Brooklyn said sweetly.
With a huff, Malfoy pulled out his mask. He smirked. "By the way, congratulations."

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Draco apparated back into his dismal room in a house that belonged to him for quite a short period of time. Malfoy Manor currently housed the Dark Lord and his closest ring of Death Eaters. Nothing looked the same, everything somehow more dark and gloomy than before. He approached the door to his room and listened. Silence. He went back to his bed and fell down gracelessly on it, staring listlessly at the ceiling.

Draco was playing a dangerous game. He had been terrified during 6th year and that fear still coursed through the core of his very being. He had grown bitter and it was leading him blindly into the center of the danger zone. Sure Snape was so far successfully playing both sides, but Draco had officially made his own choice. He did so when he decided to protect Potter and his new girlfriend, even keeping his knowledge from Snape. But now that Snape knew even just a sliver of what he knew, the time had come to his looming crossroad.

Three scenarios. Three endings resulting in his death.

He sat up abruptly, hearing footsteps coming closer.

He carried out his choice.

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Harry had finished his meal, but had yet to leave the table. Stuck in thought of his latest encounter with his dubbed favorite Death Eaters, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that something wasn't right about the situation. He knew that they were playing both sides, it was the only way they could both still be alive. But Malfoy actually asked for his help, admitted to protecting him and Brooklyn on his own accord, even said he would kill himself if Voldemort won.

Harry came to, what he considered, a surprising conclusion: Malfoy wanted out and was willing to do anything to do so…even if it resulted in his death.

The last thing Harry wanted was to have to protect Malfoy.

But that brought up an old question: Where did Snape really stand?

Brooklyn broke him from his musings. "Harry, I'll be back in about half an hour."
He looked at her oddly. "One: where are you going? Two: I go where you go, remember?"

Before Brooklyn could respond, his Dark Mark began burning. Oh great, now what?

"You're not going anywhere." Harry stated. "The Dark Mark is in action again."
Brooklyn glared at him impatiently. "It's a thing called morphing. I'll be fine."
"No."
Brooklyn morphed into a man appearing to be in his mid-thirties. "Yes."
"Damn it Brook, what are you up to?"
"If you must know, I'm going to steal some things from St. Mungo's that I'm out of."
"Will you just let me go with you?"
"No, you're a wanted, unmorphing man." She reminded him.
"It's called invisibility." He said slyly.

Brooklyn groaned, clearly annoyed. She reached her arm out beside her and apparated. Swearing, Harry found himself apparating to St. Mungo's. He quickly performed the Disillusionment Charm on himself. He didn't see her out front, so he went around to the back, where she said she would make most of her steals from a delivery truck with supplies.

Except there was no delivery truck. In fact there was no one. He knew she wouldn't steal from the inside, that just wasn't her style, they would know immediately from inventory count. Confused, he wondered where she went. He apparated back to Grimmauld Place to see if she had left any clue as to where she went so abruptly. After a quick sweep, the house was no help at all.

On instinct, he went to Tonks next. He was greeted with another empty house. Not having a clue as to where she could have gone, he went back to Grimmauld Place to do the only thing he could. Wait. Luckily, he was only left waiting for about fifteen minutes before she reappeared as herself.

He glared at her. "Don't you ever pull anything like that again, do you understand me?!" She didn't answer, let alone look in his direction. "Brooklyn, if Malfoy sucks at Occlumency as much as Snape says he does, it's only a matter of time before there's a hit out on you!"
"Malfoy isn't a problem."
"Okay, let me try to explain this again…" Harry was growing extremely impatient.
"Malfoy is dead." Brooklyn said emotionless, Harry's mouth immediately went agape. "Here." She pulled a wand that was not her own from her coat. "He wanted me to give this to you."
"You went to him…" It was more of a statement than a question.
"He said it's your mother's."
Harry took the wand, studying it. "How do you know he's dead?"
"He killed himself after handing it over." Brooklyn looked away from him. "Your parents are buried in a muggle graveyard not far from the house they were staying at."
"What about my dad's wand?"
"He said that your dad was killed elsewhere, but not far away."
"How does he know all of this?"
"Eavesdropping."
"That sounds like Malfoy." Harry was still skeptical. "Where is he hiding?"
"I told you he's dead"
"Where is he hiding?"
"Damn it…" She crossed her arms indignantly. Harry did the same, staring her down. "Fine, in my dad's old house."

Harry had a visual of regal, spoiled Draco Malfoy surrounded by rotting fishing hooks and dusty boxes. The whole house was probably the size of his bedroom at the manor. Not to mention the rodents that were probably trekking through it. Malfoy was probably shrieking by now. Harry couldn't help but laugh. Brooklyn shoved him for it.

"I know he doesn't deserve it, but-"
Harry cut her off, holding a hand to his head. "Don't. Just don't. I'll rationalize it for myself."

He looked down at the wand in his hand that was supposedly his mother's. Willow, 10 1/4", swishy…good for charms. At least that's what he had heard. Harry doubted the wand was good anymore though, seeing as it had splintered in several places near the center. Regardless, it was a decent gesture on Malfoy's part. There was probably a catch though. Maybe it was in exchange to be protected. Or maybe he was just being paranoid.

Rationalizing. It was giving Harry a headache.

No rationalization was required to deduce that the mark had started burning due to this latest development. Malfoy had voluntarily marked himself for death and there was no doubt in Harry's mind that there was a meeting going on about it now. An ominous message reentered his mind…

The time is closer than you think."

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The setting was less than optimal, in fact it was a hell of a lot worse than his prior surroundings. He could surely win an award for having the most creatures coming into contact with him in the short amount of time he had been there. Roaches and vermin he had expected, maggots feasting off of a very poorly cleaned murder scene and he had not. Nor did he expect the girl to seem completely unphased by it. It was only a matter of time before what he left behind would catch up with him.

He tore off his Death Eater robes and threw them on the bed with the mask, setting them ablaze. He moved swiftly toward the already open closet and opened a box he had hidden behind his old textbooks. Retrieving the keepsake, he looked back out to his room. His bed was fully engulfed by flames and there was knocking on his locked door. There was nothing left for him here and yet there was still a longing to stay in childhood home…even if it was just for a moment longer. It was when the door was broken in that he left.

Embarrassment never even crossed him mind when he showed up in Potter's house. That is until he noticed that he had not picked out any other clothing to wear after taking off the Death Eater robes. So there he stood in the upstairs hallway in nothing but boxers and a white t-shirt. Potter would surely get a good laugh out of this. Except he didn't find Potter in the room he heard a drawer closing, he found the girl. That's when he decided that this was a better scenario.

He snuck up behind her, clasping his hand over her mouth so she didn't scream. Once she saw who he was and she promised to keep quiet, he released her. After explaining the situation, she quite willingly handed over some of Potter's clothes, made him invisible and led him downstairs. Potter didn't looked pleased when they left.

Draco decided that worst part of the whole thing was his present condition. Not only was he in Potter's clothes, he was in his muggle clothes. Well, at least they fit. He kicked the rodent that was sniffing the bottom of his shoe, sending it to where the maggot feast was being held. Normally he would've cleaned up the scene, but he was preoccupied with his own thoughts…

Like how much time he had left to live.

If there was one thing he didn't expect, it was for Potter to show up. He should've known better though, given what he knew about them. He was sure Potter was getting much enjoyment from his current standpoint of him slouched in a corner of the room by a pile of boxes. The amusement didn't last long though, because Potter started whimpering about his attire.

"T-that's my shirt!" Potter whined. "That's my favorite shirt!"
Draco looked at dull blue, long-sleeved shirt, wondering how this could possibly be a favorite in any wardrobe.
"And my jeans!" Potter was pointing now. "Is that one of my belts?! I only have two belts!"
Draco looked down at the worn brown belt, Potter had on a decent looking black one. "You obviously have the better one."
Potter turned to the girl. "You gave him my clothes?!"
"Well he showed up in practically nothing!" She defended.
"What is that next to you?!" Potter pointed to the lump of fabric on the floor next to him.

It was not one of his finest moments when Draco held up the Gryffindor colored scarf that was on top of the Gryffindor colored hat and gloves. Now Potter just looked stunned, he didn't even comment on it. The girl made a side comment about it being cold out. Making an odd sort of sound, Potter then took off his coat, revealing a pullover grey sweatshirt that he discarded as well. Draco looked at Potter oddly as he held out the sweatshirt to him.

"Just take it." Potter said irritably. "I better get this stuff back."
"Sure," Draco smirked. "If they put out the fire I set before it burned all of my belongings."
Potter made the odd sound again as he put his coat back on while glaring at his girlfriend. "Come on, we're taking you to the Order."
"That's the first place they'll go looking." Draco said dully.
"I have a feeling the Order is going to want to find them after this."

Draco looked at Potter, who was now offering his hand to help him up. He accepted it. In a strange way he knew it was an understanding of which side he had chosen, where his loyalties laid.

He also knew Potter's statement meant that the time had come for the battle that was sixteen years in the making.