Chapter 3:
Warning: There is some bad language in here
Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing
Draco smiled at the little birds that twittered around his head as he made his way back to the bakery with their cart, the only living creatures willing to make an appearance in town on this dreary day. Draco thought of the look he had shared with Harry earlier this morning, then shook it out of his mind. It wouldn't do for him to be distracted with his fantasies when he met with any member of the baker's family.
He brought the cart back around the back of the bakery and left it where Petunia had shown it to him, before walking forward, towards the back door. He rapped his knuckles firmly on the door frame and waited for someone to show up. His breath caught in his throat as he came eye-to-eye with Harry through the screen door. Well, eye-to-chin, but whatever. Goddamn malnutrition.
Harry looked just as shocked as his arm moved to open the door quickly, before a decidedly nervous look stole across his (handsome) face. Draco shuffled back a little and shot him a small smile as the door swung open with a loud creak. Draco spoke before whatever words were going to leave Harry's mouth crossed his lips. He didn't want Harry to feel uncomfortable about what had occurred this morning so he decided to pretend it never happened and continue on. Draco chose to ignore the snarky voice in the back of his head (which sounded suspiciously like Blaise) droll on about the fact that Draco couldn't allow Harry to speak or he would get distracted by his velvety voice.
"Good morning Potter. I just wanted to inform you that I've brought back the cart I borrowed from your aunt this morning, and the stag has already been gutted and is waiting inside." It was a strange and rare thing in District 12 to find orphaned children taken in by anyone, even family, as they were usually left to die alone by themselves without the support of a family, or become tough and bitter, fighting the world, day by torturous day. Harry Potter had been an exception to the rule, but only because of the bond that his mother had shared with his Aunt's family after Lily Potter had taken a bullet for their son, literally.
James had been killed many years ago in a major structural collapse in the mine he'd been working in, which had forced Lily, with her darling month old son, to move in with her sister to deal with the grief. Only two years after that there had been a minor riot in the District and the Dursley family, with the two remaining Potters, had been caught in the middle. They'd been in Diagon when the revolt took place, and the Death Eaters began shooting randomly into the crowd. During the stampede, Petunia had been knocked about some and began yelling at the people around her to be more careful. This drew the attention of the nearest Death Eater, whom promptly took aim and fired, straight at her. Lily had seen this and lunged forward, throwing herself over her older sister and their children, before taking the bullet right in the back, right where Dudley had fallen against Petunia's chest.
Lily's death had been a slow one, but not painful, not with the assistance of Narcissa. She'd lasted only a few hours, only enough to beg Petunia to look after her precious boy (which she had grudgingly agreed to do, if only to repay the life-debt she owed) before she had faded. Petunia had not cared for Harry by any means, but her twisted family loyalty had made her keep her promise to Lily; even if her definition of 'looking after' was keeping him locked up in a cupboard and forcing him to do all the strenuous manual labour that her husband and son refused to do.
Harry physically wasn't as bad off as Draco; having a steady intake of food from Petunia, if only to keep Harry healthy enough to work, while Draco had been forced to go many times without food to feed the youngsters. The physical differences came mostly from their parents, Harry's physique coming from the Potters, who had been quite tall, James had apparently also been rather muscular from the hard work in the mines and Lily- who's beauty had rivalled Draco's own mother- was nicely toned from her dedication to the bakery, whereas Narcissa, whom Draco had inherited his build from, had been quite small and petite. Lucius had never done a hard day's work in his life before meeting Narcissa, and neither had his parent, so nothing noticeable in the children's physique came from him.
Draco was abruptly shaken out of his daydreaming when Harry murmured his thanks and passed Draco in the doorway to get the stag from the cart. Draco turned to assist him, because even half a stag was too heavy for Draco to carry on his own, but found his mouth turn dry instead, at the show of strength Harry performed by just hauling the thing onto one broad shoulder, showing no strain at all.
Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco when the blond didn't move out of the way of the door immediately. Draco's face flushed red and he stammered out an apology before rushing off and throwing a soft goodbye over his shoulder, unaware of Harry's reaction to seeing Draco's blush. Harry grumbled at himself as he hauled the buck back onto his shoulder where it had slipped from his loose hands and turned back to the house and his repulsive relatives.
…
Draco pulled his spoils out of the satchel and onto the dining table to put away after the Reaping. He only had half an hour before they all had to gather in the town square so he headed straight to their wash room and slipped into the full tub that Luna must've drawn for him. His mind wandered to what he'd make for the kids tonight after it was all over and every family went back to their normal routines. Every family except for the two that would undoubtedly shut themselves away inside their homes as they grieved for their lost child. Because this was District 12, and no one ever came back. Even if they won, which was extremely unlikely, they would never be the same child who left. The District only had one living Victor anyway, a surly man by the name of Severus Snape who had won his games in the second Quarter Quell, in which double the amount of tributes were chosen. Snape had won by not only outsmarting all 47 of the other tributes, but the Gamemakers as well, using the force field that surrounded the 'Poison Paradise' to kill the tribute from District 1 that had come for him in the end.
Unfortunately, this had turned out to be the wrong decision, because when Snape had returned home to the District, it was to find both his parents, Tobias and Eileen, his brother, Evan, and his boyfriend, Regulus, had died in an 'accident' that was no doubt orchestrated by the Ministry. It was this incident, along with the traumatic memories from the Games themselves, that the District believe threw him into his self-destructive spiral of despair, which he chose to drown out with copious amounts of alcohol. Draco knew that the constant deaths of every child he'd had to mentor after that didn't help one bit.
The sound of the children rushing about outside the door had Draco finishing his bath and drying himself off with his worn out towel. He wrapped said towel around his waist and made his way out of the wash room to their bedroom, finding his Reaping clothes already set out on the bed. The neatness in the way the clothes were placed let him know it was Colin who had chosen the getup. It was simple, but the nicest clothes they had left for him, having sold all of Lucius' nice clothes early into their poverty. Draco pulled on the black slacks and buttoned up his blue dress shirt while he slipped on his black loafers and grabbed the ebony tie hanging from the bedpost.
He headed out of the room to be greeted with the adorable picture of all the children working on fixing the others up; Luna was combing her fingers through Dennis' hair to help it find some sort of order, while Colin braided Luna's long locks and Dennis fixed Colin's collar around his bowtie. Draco smiled as he moved forward to smooth down the little tufts of hair poking up from Colin's own usually immaculately combed style. He snickered when Dennis made an offhand comment of how the stray hairs so resembled Hedwig's own little horns; this naturally led to Draco messing with the oldest twin in checking for a beard to match. Draco was glad that he'd brightened their days a little when he heard their soft giggles echoing through the house.
His mood was thoroughly dampened when he saw Lucius enter the room; it was bad enough that today was the day of the Reaping, but the world expected Draco to leave the youngest of the brood with that pathetic leech without saying a word about it? Hell no.
Lucius flinched when their eyes met, averting his eyes from the heavy glare directed at him from his eldest son. He dithered in the doorway for a moment before moving to the kitchen. Draco smiled once more at the kids as they put their shoes on before joining him. When he entered the kitchen he paid Lucius no mind, preferring to start putting the things he brought away, just to make sure Lucius didn't get his hands on any of them. When the final piece was stored away in the overhead cupboard he turned to Lucius and continued to glare at him for a long moment. When it seemed that Lucius might be about to say something, Draco spoke up.
"If anything, and I mean anything, happens to Dennis while he's with you, I will make you wish that I'd never been born. You're still useful to us alive, but don't mistake that as us wanting you here. As soon as I'm old enough I'm getting us all out of here, and you can't do a thing to stop me, or you might find yourself having an unfortunate accident. Stay away from my kids and you won't be harmed. This is your only warning Lucius. Stay. Away." Lucius had completely dropped his head through the speech, and he only retreated further and further into himself as Draco continued, but Draco couldn't seem to find it within himself to feel bad at all. The bastard deserved it.
Feeling as if his message had been received clearly, he nodded and walked back into the other room, petting Crookshanks as he passed before joining the kids in the doorway. It was time to go.
…
Draco drummed his fingers against his leg nervously when he was finally in his position in the crowd. He hated being put in place like this. It made him feel like they were sheep, being herded into position. He'd escorted the twins to their places after the blood was taken and they were now waiting for the Reaping to begin. The twins had been very nervous as well. Especially Luna, and that didn't bode well.
Draco had always known that there was just something more about Luna. She always seemed to know things that others didn't. He wouldn't say she was wise, she was only a child after all, but it did seem a bit prophetic. She just knew some things. And if she was this nervous, then something bad was bound to happen. Draco just didn't know how bad it could be.
He wished he could see them to check up on them and reassure them, but they were twelve, which meant their group was at the back of the crowd. Draco was right in the middle, as the older you were, the closer you were to the front, and the oldest people eligible for the Reaping were eighteen. The family members had to line up around the perimeter of the pens, so he couldn't see Dennis either. Draco grew annoyed at the sound of the bet takers moving through the crowds, asking which children were the most likely of being taken from their family. He scowled as he heard his name come up quite a few times. He didn't want the kids to hear that he could be taken away.
The space got tighter and tighter as more people piled into the square, giving it a sort of claustrophobic feel. The square was big, yes, but not quite big enough to fit the entire population comfortably, so some of the latecomers were forced to stand in the adjacent streets, where they would be able to watch the entire event on screens where it's televised live throughout the Districts.
Draco observed the tense sixteen year old around him and shared acknowledging nods with some. He was able to relax when Blaise appeared at his side, having just left Theo with the twins in their age group. They briefly gripped hands and nod at each other before watching the stage. They had made an agreement years ago that if one got Reaped the other couldn't volunteer, no matter the circumstances, because the kids had to be looked after.
Draco was barely tall enough to see over the heads of the older kids, but he knew that there were three chairs visible on the stage ahead (set up in front of the Hogsmeade building), a podium, and two large glass balls on either side of the stage. One holds the girls names and the other belongs to the boys. A wave of nausea washed over Draco as he recalled how many of those slips of paper had his name on them. He shook himself out of it as the mayor, Hermione's father, walked onto the stage with the District's escort, Bartemius Crouch Jr. They fill two of the onstage seats and murmur unhappily about the third empty seat that should hold one Severus Snape. Bartemius- or Barty, as he preferred to be called- was dressed in a ghastly combination of a fluorescent orange suit and shirt, accompanied with shocking blue hair, matching his tie.
Everyone in the crowd stiffened as the clock chimes two 'o' clock; the ringing announcing to the people that the Reaping was about to begin. Mayor Granger stepped up to the podium and began the same boring story that he does every year, about the history of Hogwarts, the "great country that rose from the ashes of a time long past", about the disasters that the country went through and faced to "become the great place it is today", the Ministry "rising above all others", and so on and so forth. He speaks of the Dark Days, of the rebellion of the people and the subsequent destruction of District 13 and defeat of all the other twelve. The origin of the Treaty of Treason and the beginning of the Hunger Games. He spoke of the greatness of the Ministry and how the Districts must pay for the loss of the peace that the Ministry had given them by making them compete against each other in this gruesome way.
Mayor Granger then proceeded to read out the long list of previous District 12 Victors. Notice the sarcasm. It's in this moment that Severus Snape decides is a good time to appear, drunkenly wandering onto the stage and making a big show- and fool- of himself sitting in the last empty chair, oblivious to the glare of complete disgust that Barty shoots at him as he reaches a hand out in what might've been a slap on the shoulder if he hadn't completely missed. Mayor Granger is obviously distressed by his appearance; as he should be. This entire thing is being broadcast, so District 12 will become the laughing stock of Hogwarts once again. He attempted to cover the incident up by introducing Barty Crouch Jr.
Barty, bubbly as ever, jumps up at his name and prances to the podium. Draco could safely confirm that the entire District wonders about his sanity –or lack of. He grinned at the crowd (followed by that strange flicking thing he does with his tongue) and waved joyfully. No matter how insane the man is, Draco (and the rest of the district) found it hard to hate him. He is a bit of a ditzy bimbo, but he's very friendly and he seems to understand that the Games aren't that exactly; a game. He acts the way that the Ministry expects him to- it is his job after all- but you can always see the guilt and sympathy in his eyes as he sends their children to death. Everyone knows he tries to make it as painless as he can, even if that's never very much.
"Hello everyone! It's a nice day today, don't you think?! Lovely weather for a gathering, even if we gather here today for a reason that isn't too pleasant. Now I wish that the odds will be ever in your favour! Let's begin with the girls, who are all looking lovely today, if I might say so!" The District held their breath as Barty danced across the stage, rifled his hand around in the bowl for a second, then pulled out one slip and skipped back to the podium. Barty took a moment to read the name and look through the crowd, as if he can tell whose name it is that he's about to call out, before he took a deep breath and spoke.
"And the female tribute for District 12 is… Luna Malfoy!"
Cliff-hanger here I suppose. I just thought this might be a good time to stop this chapter, but don't fear, I should have the next chapter up really soon, as I just kind of cut this one off, so there's enough to start the next one.
Review if you liked it [or not] and make sure you read the first two chapters if you've just gone straight to this one because some things might not make sense…
Thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!