Chapter 2 - In the Silence of Our Pasts
Severus gave an indifferent smirk as he stepped into the house. "What you told me over the phone sparked my interest. So who's your new toy?"
Harry winced. "He's not my new toy, Severus. He's... odd. In fact, why don't you take a look?"
Harry led him through the long hallway to his room and opened the willow made door. Severus hesitated for a minute, then strode in. "Don't tell me you already..." Severus ceased his speaking when he caught sight of the figure on the bed. "Fuck," he said, with feeling.
"Well, that I didn't do, but in the future..." Harry shrugged. "You just never know."
Severus glared at Harry. "Don't babble such nonsense. What's he doing here? What have you done to him?"
"Hey, hey," Harry said cautiously, stepping away from Severus. "Don't get all testy with me. He's no longer your student, Severus. I didn't touch him, I'm sure someone else did a very good job on him instead."
Severus gave Harry a sharp look. "What are you talking about?"
"Let's go outside, shall we?" Harry suggested. "I can make you coffee."
"He was violated?"
Harry sipped his coffee and put the cup down on the circular table. After they'd settled down in the guest room and Harry had explained to Severus what happened and what his theories were, Severus was outraged.
"Calm down, Severus, that's not what I said. I don't know yet, but being raped could easily break someone, and from the way I see it, he's broken."
"Don't speak of him like he's a doll," Severus said, a bit defensively. "I know Draco, he's strong willed, a bit spoiled, maybe, but I have no doubt of his ability to defend himself, even without his wand." He added when he saw Harry was about to argue. "Draco might not like using violence through hands, but he will if it's absolutely necessary. And anyway, even if he were violated, Draco wouldn't turn out to be like this. He is not a woman." He said the last part with emphasis.
"Alright, I get it already," Harry said, giving up. "So why? What other reason is there for him to be acting like, well, a girl."
Severus opened his mouth to protest, and found that Harry could perhaps be right. This wasn't the Draco he once knew, that was for sure. Even the air Draco gave was different, and Severus had only seen him sleeping.
"He can't possibly be a girl all this time," Harry said suddenly, horrified.
"Don't be stupid," Severus said, glaring at him. "Honestly, Potter, you took care of him last night. You would've... er... seen it, wouldn't you?"
Harry smirked wickedly. "So he's not a girl, but he looks like he hasn't grown at all."
Severus understood, and against his will he flushed. "How could you say such thing about him! It's personal!" Sighing dejectedly, Severus waved a hand. "Never mind. You are just impossible."
Harry smiled innocently. "Who, me?"
"Don't give me that," Severus said. "So what did you call me here for? Surely not just to see my old student and hear about his new and tragic situation."
"No," Harry said, his demeanor becoming serious. "I want you to try and check on the list of Death Eaters and all the possible enemies that the Malfoys made."
Severus was silent for a while. "You think he was held captive by an enemy of the Malfoys?"
Harry nodded. "Or the Death Eaters. I heard a rumor that Lucius Malfoy defied Voldemort just before the bastard died. Perhaps that's why Voldemort wanted Draco to work for him."
"But that doesn't make sense. If he wanted Draco to work for him, then how come Draco never appeared in the war? Furthermore, Voldemort would not want a broken doll working for him, as Draco clearly is now. It makes better sense if he hardened Draco up, not softened him down."
Harry paused, absently picking up the cup of coffee on the table. "Could it be that he was captured by some sadistic psycho? It's possible that he ran away after Lucius died, and by some unfortunate luck, fell into the hands of an old pervert whose enjoyment was to feminize pretty young boys. Perhaps the old pervert spent this seven years torturing Draco into the person he is now, and when Draco became just like he wanted, the blond ran away and then..."
"Potter, shut up," Severus said, his mouth twitching. "Did you even listen to yourself?"
"What?" Harry said defensively. "I was just making a theory."
"An improbable and stupid one. What do you do in your free time, anyway?" Severus sighed in frustration when Harry smiled secretly. "On second thought, don't answer that. I have a feeling I will not appreciate whatever it is that you're thinking."
Harry laughed. "Don't say that. I'm an honest, respectable man."
"Nice try, Potter." Severus sneered. "You being as such is impossibility itself, or do you not remember the women that you abandoned oh so cruelly?"
"The women loved me," Harry said without a trace of embarrassment. "They just became a nuisance after a while. Besides, no one is worth the trouble if all they do is nag at you about 'our future'. I always thought that I made myself clear enough about the fact that there is no future."
"How cold," Severus said, amused. "I hope you won't treat Draco like that, or I might just have to take him away from your evil clutches."
Harry wasn't one to back down from Severus' teasing. "You can try, but I assure you that by the time I'm finished with him, he won't be wanting to leave."
"Sure of yourself, aren't you?" Severus smirked. "But from the way he is now, I doubt he'd even let you touch him."
"Then I just have to change that, don't I?" Harry said, his eyes glinting maliciously.
Severus shook his head. "You're unbelievable. If only others could see you like this..."
"People do see me like this," Harry admitted. "They just deny it. They don't want to know that the great Harry Potter is cold and heartless. They want the innocent, naive Harry that would bend to their will and comply blindly to their 'requests'."
Severus looked at Harry, the man who was bitter and furious at his own spoken words. He knew, of course, why Harry turned out to be the way he was now. Perhaps his reason hit too close to home, perhaps that was why Severus could understand him so much better than others.
Finishing his coffee, Severus stood up, Harry following suit. "I'll look into it for you. Perhaps it'll be good for me as well, knowing more about Lucius' enemies, I mean."
"Thanks, Severus," Harry said gratefully, glad to have lost all traces of the bitterness he showed in a moment of unsuppressed emotions.
"Don't thank me, I'm doing this for Draco, and I also want to know what happened, as well," he added the last part as an afterthought.
"Alright." Harry smiled, a bit tiredly in Severus' opinion. "See you, Severus. Come to the club when you have time."
Before they got to the door, though, the phone rang.
Severus and Harry looked at each other. No one they knew would call the home phone, except Ron and Hermione. But they were on vacation, and wouldn't be home until next year. As for Harry's underlings, they always called him on his cell. Therefore, whoever that was on the other line was definitely someone he didn't know.
"Pick it up," Severus said softly.
Harry didn't need to be told twice.
"Hello, Harry Potter's speaking," Harry said harshly. There was a pause of silence, then a muffled voice from the other side spoke up. It was a man.
Severus watched as Harry held the phone to his ear and listened. After a few seconds, Harry took on the face of a businessman, the one that Severus knew too well.
This phone call meant nothing but trouble.
Finally, Harry set down the phone with an eerie calmness that Severus found disturbing. "What's it all about?" he asked, unable to take in the tension any longer.
"Well, it seems all our theories were false," Harry said. "Severus, go and wake Draco up. I'm contacting Crabbe and Goyle."
"What's going on?"
Harry's eyes were deadly cold when he looked at Severus. "The man on the line was Augustus Pyre. He said that he has a proposal to make and that I should meet him at his office. He also asked that I brought Draco with me."
Draco looked up at Harry uncertainly as he walked alongside of him. When he woke up a few moments ago, there was a very dark, stern looking man staring at him. Draco felt a blush creeping up his face when he remembered what he did. It was incredible how he could just chuck the alarm clock at the man's face without asking who he was first! Harry must be really mad at him now.
"What's wrong?" Draco was startled by Harry's question, so absorbed in his own thoughts as he was.
"Umm..." Draco hesitated, glancing at Harry. "Are you mad at me?"
Harry was bewildered when he heard this. "Why... wait a minute, you don't think I'm mad at you because you threw my clock at Severus, did you?" Seeing Draco's red face, Harry laughed. "Draco, it's alright. You can chuck anything you want at that man. He's expendable."
Draco wasn't sure what Harry meant by that, but he was relieved, which didn't go unnoticed by Harry.
Damn, he's so cute, Harry thought uncontrollably, watching that small smile curving Draco's tempting lips and unconsciously raised his arm to put it around Draco's shoulder --
When the limousine drove up the park way and two very large men in black came out.
Bad timing, Harry thought, irritated.
"You called, boss. What's the rush?" one of them said, pulling off his sunglasses.
"There's been a bit of an emergency, Crabbe, and I need -"
"Draco!" The other man exclaimed, settling his eyes on the petite boy next to Harry.
Crabbe, upon hearing the name, turned to face Draco, who reflexively cowered away at their gaze.
"Draco!" Crabbe and Goyle said incredulously, and promptly surrounded Draco.
Draco, startled by the newcomers' sudden affection, latched himself onto Harry.
When the two men noticed that Draco was trying to get away from them, they turned to each other in confusion. Then, as if realization had dawned on them, both turned to Harry with a harsh glare. Harry was, privately, startled. In the time that they worked for him, the thugs had never given him such a look.
"What have you done to Draco?" Crabbe snarled, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
The tone of voice snapped Harry back to his normal self, and in a deathly dangerous voice he said, "What's that?"
Crabbe looked as if he wanted to answer, but Goyle held him back. Harry gave them both a disgusted look. "Know your place, and remember that I am your boss," he said, his gaze like the winter ice.
"Yes, sir," Goyle said, his tone perfunctory.
Harry glanced at the other man, his expression challenging, cruelly mocking Crabbe with just a fleetest of look. "Of course, boss," Crabbe grounded out.
"Then what are you waiting for, get in the car."
Goyle complied, but it actually took Crabbe a few seconds before he moved. Harry smirked rather unlike himself and opened the door for Draco.
Draco looked at them all worriedly before getting the limousine with a quiet thank you to Harry.
As the car drove on, Draco sat there in an awkward silence with Harry, feeling awfully uncomfortable. In the short time that Draco had known Harry, he'd discovered that the man was unpredictable and perhaps a bit... possessive. Even though Draco had a feeling that he'd seen Harry somewhere before, he couldn't place his finger on as to where, but there was one thing he knew for certain: Harry gave him a feeling of safety that he didn't think he'd ever experienced before. It brought him some comfort.
"Um," Draco spoke hesitantly, feeling a bit insecure when Harry turned to look at him. "Excuse me but who are those people?" Up in the front Vincent and Gregory twitched a bit irritably at being called those people.
So he doesn't remember them, then. Harry gave Draco a long look, then eventually replied, "It doesn't matter."
Harry didn't feel especially talkative, especially when he was so troubled by the turn of events. Crabbe and Goyle, who were normally impassive to their surrounding and obedient like dogs to a master, were speaking against him, strangely enough. It made him wonder what sort of relationship they had with Draco when they were younger. An unbidden image crept into his mind, and Harry swiftly shooed it away. How disturbing. Harry rubbed his forehead tiredly. What was wrong with him? He couldn't believe that he was actually pondering such things. It wasn't like this was going to clear up the many things he never knew about Draco.
Harry smiled grimly. There were a lot of things about Draco Malfoy that he didn't know, and if Draco wasn't going to regain his memories soon, Harry was sure that the blonde's past would forever be a mystery to him.
Harry glanced at Draco discreetly. Draco was staring out of the window absentmindedly, not knowing that he was sitting next to Harry Potter, his rival when they were in school. Harry wasn't sure if Draco even remembered his own past, his family, and the infamous title that family name carried.
Voldemort's right hand man.
Harry leaned back against the leathery seat, sighing quietly. Everything had to wait until later. For now, he must be prepared to face London's renowned scientist, Augustus Pyre.
to be continued
Chapter 3 - A Step Back in Time
A/N: Hey guys! Boring chapter, yes? Well, it'll get better (hopefully) Thanks to those who read and liked it, esp. my beta Dreamweaver ;) Sorry it took forever, but I'm never going to give up on it!
