Chapter 15

Harry smiled as he parked his father's newly repaired car in front of the school, happy that it made it to the school without stalling. It had taken Charlie and Harry awhile to completely fix the engine, and Harry suspected Sirius wanted his car back. Harry was more than happy to give the black car back to its owner.

Getting out of the car he smiled when he saw Draco get out of his, his chauffer holding the door open as always. He and Draco had been secretly boyfriends for two weeks and both were happy about it. Draco visited every chance he got and stayed till his father called. He said Riddle had been increasing his activities and Lucius wanted Draco close. Harry understood and told Draco to be careful, and through Draco promised he would Harry couldn't help but be worried.

Draco noticed Harry watching, smiled and walked to the school as if it was a normal weekday. Harry waited for him to walk through the doors, pretending to read a text book and walked into the building. He was surprised when he was suddenly confronted by Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

"How could you do this to us?!" demanded Ron. "How could you keep this from us?!"

"Uh, excuse me?" asked Harry in surprise.

"Where you ashamed?" continued Ron. "Where you ashamed of us? Is that why you kept it secret?"

"Ron, what are you talking about?" demanded Harry.

"Ron!" yelled Hermione cuffing her boyfriend over the head. "We agreed we were going to give him time to explain."

"Explain what?"

Ginny handed him her phone. "Just press play," she said.

Harry took the phone and pressed the play button. He watched in shocked horror as the thirty second video showed him and Draco dancing and the kiss. His hand trembled so much the phone slipped out of his hands. It would have hit the pavement if Ginny hadn't caught it as it fell from his hand.

"Impossible. We were alone."

"When were you going to tell us, Harry," demanded Ron, still angry at him. "After we found out? Well, we bloody well found out so tell us!"

"Ron!" Hermione hit him over the head again, harder this time, and looked at Harry. "How long have you been going out?"

"Only three weeks, since Friday. Who sent it?"

"I got it from Dean," said Ginny. "He got it from Seamus and Seamus got it from Hannah Abbot. Where it had gone from there I don't know."

"Why would he do this?" asked Harry. "Why would he lie?"

"Who are you talking about," asked Hermione.

"Malfoy. He did this to make fun of me!"

"Why would he expose you," asked Ginny. "He'd be exposing himself."

"He'd find a way to get out of this," said Harry through gritted teeth. "Trust me, he would find a way."

XXXXXXXX

"Draco," called Blaise running up to his friend. "I don't know how but I only got it this morning."

"Got what?" asked Draco. He was at his locker getting his books and putting away his coat. He had a strange feeling something was going on by the way the students were acting.

"Dude, you don't know?" Blaise dug into his pocket and took out his phone. "It's been going around the whole weekend."

Draco watched speechless as he and Harry danced in the football field and kiss. The spotlight illuminated everything, making it easy to tell who it was if someone walked close enough.

"That bastard!"

"I assume you mean the camera man," said Blaise taking his phone back before it was broken.

"I mean Potter! He set me up! After that rotten story about his past...!"

"Whoa, he opened up to you? Draco, that's serious."

"He played me for a fool and now he's milking it!"

"Draco, calm down and think about this…"

"I'm going to kill him!"

"Draco…"

"Malfoy!"

Both look over to find Harry walking toward them, a furious look on his face and a determined stride in his step. Ron, Hermione and Ginny following behind, the girls with worried looks and Ron's as furious as Harry's.

"Potter," growled Draco. "I should have known you'd do something like this."

"I do something?!" said Harry furious. "What about you? You just had to find a way to humiliate me."

"It was for me since you humiliated yourself!"

"And after I told you my secrets…."

"Oh, you mean that story about your abusive relatives. Yeah, you had me tearing up."

"You are exactly like your father. Cold, manipulative…."

"I am nothing like my father!"

"Guys!" yelled Hermione. "Hello, public school hallway."

Harry and Draco looked around to see that all eyes were on them. Ginny and Blaise grabbed them and took them to an empty classroom.

"Okay, aside from us, you have complete privacy," said Blaise. "So continue with the yelling, just ignore us."

But both teenagers were silent. They stood apart from each other, backs turned, arms crossed and both having a defiant look on their faces.

"It's strange," said Ginny. "Aside of being complete opposites, they are the same in every way."

"We're nothing alike!" yelled Harry and Draco.

"I arrest my case."

"Well, we wouldn't be here if he didn't betray my trust," said Harry pointing at Draco.

"I betrayed you? You betrayed me!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you stayed in your world and butted out of mine!"

"You're blaming this on me!"

"All right! You're both acting like five year olds," yelled Hermione. The group looked at her in surprised. "Obviously there's a bit of a misunderstanding here."

"Misunderstanding?" said Draco. "Where do you see a misunderstanding?"

Hermione turned to her friend. "Harry, you said that Malfoy betrayed you, right?"

"Because he did," said Harry.

"I did not!" yelled Draco.

"Not finished," said Hermione. Both quieted. "Malfoy, do you believe Harry betrayed you?"

"Ye," said Draco if a bit hesitant.

"But I didn't," said Harry in a low voice.

"And there's the misunderstanding," said Blaise. "Draco, whoever did this wanted to humiliate you."

"Why me?" asked Draco. "Why not Harry?"

"It could be to humiliate the both of you," said Ginny. "You both have enemies in school."

"Did anyone know about you and Harry?" asked Hermione.

"Just Blaise," said Draco pointing at his friend.

"I haven't told anyone," said Blaise defensively when the group looked at him.

"We didn't know till today," said Ginny. "We should follow the rumor mill."

"I think that's an excellent idea," said Hermione. "What do you think, Ron?"

But no answer came. Everyone looked around the class room to find him gone. Harry, Hermione and Ginny groaned.

"I'll talk to him later," said Hermione. "Class is about to start."

"Blaise and I will go down the rumor mill," said Ginny. "Hermione, you talk to Ron and you two…." She pointed at Harry and Draco still standing apart from each other. "Make up. Now."

And the three friends left Harry and Draco alone in the classroom. Both stood in awkward silence for a few moments.

"Harry, I just wanted to say…."

"I'm sorry, Draco…."

Both stop mid-sentence and laughed.

"Draco, I'm sorry I thought it was you, or that you had anything to do with…."

"Harry, we're both at fault," said Draco walking to him. "I suspected you too, remember? Whoever it was wanted to humiliate us both."

"And we're not going to let him are we?" asked Harry with a smile.

"Third Malfoy rule: Don't show humiliation even if you are."

Harry looked at Draco in surprised. "There are rules to being a Malfoy?"

"A far few," said Draco. He moved closer to Harry and put his hands on Harry's waist.

"Do I have to learn them?" asked Harry leaning into Draco and looking up at him.

"Oh no," said Draco. "I like you just the way you are. In fact, you should make your own rules."

"Maybe I should. Rule Number One: Kiss my boyfriend every chance I get."

"I think I can agree on that rule," said Draco and they kissed.

XXXXXXXX

"Dean," called Ginny running toward the dark skinned boy. Dean turned to her in confusion. "Dean, I need to ask you something."

"Sure, Ginny. What is it?" asked Dean.

"I need to know where you got that video you sent me."

"I got it from Seamus."

"Where did Seamus get it," asked Ginny and Dean shrugged.

"You'll have to ask him. I sent to you as soon as I got it. So it is true? Was that really Harry and Malfoy?"

But Ginny was already down the hall in search of Seamus.

Later she walked out of the school toward Blaise. She and Blaise agreed to meet after school to go over possible suspects. Blaise held a small notebook and Ginny had a sheet of paper.

"How far did you get?" asked Ginny as they sat on a bench in front of the school.

"I've got seven. You?"

"Five. Not including Dean so that makes thirteen."

"Our unlucky number."

"We have to get to connect the dots," said Ginny. "We have to get to the first dot. If not then Harry and Draco…."

"Oh God, Draco!" said Blaise in realization.

"What is it?"

"If the school knows then one of the students would send it to their parents, and our parents know everyone including…I've got to go!"

And Blaise leapt off the bench and bolted to his car, slamming the door as he started it and drove out of the school parking lot at top speed.

XXXXXXXX

Draco sat in the car nervously. He knew his father was inside waiting for him, Dobby told him so. Lucius wanted to talk to him alone about something important. Draco didn't have to guess what it was about.

'Well, I can't put it off any longer,' he thought, opened the door and walked into the house. The looks on the servant's faces were nervous. Whatever Lucius was upset about affected the whole house. Narcissa was nowhere in sight. Handing his coat and bag to a servant he walked to his father's study. Narcissa was standing next to her husband.

"Sit, Draco," said Lucius as soon as Draco walked in, as if he was a dog in trouble for chewing one of Narcissa's shoes. Without a word Draco sat in one of the two chairs facing the desk, hands on his knees and his face set to not give anything away.

"For seventeen years, I've raised you," said Lucius in a lecture tone. "I assumed a certain point of trust would have developed because of that."

"Father…"

"What's the first rule of being a Malfoy?"

"Family above all else," said Draco solemnly. "Malfoy rule number one."

"So you agree that trust is required because we're a family?"

"Yes, but Father…."

"Then how dare you betray that trust!" yelled Lucius slamming his fist on the desk. Draco instinctively flinched. It wasn't the first time he had been on the receiving end of Lucius' rage but it still frightened him.

"I don't understand, Father. What have I done wrong?"

"We've received an e-mail an hour after you left for school," said Narcissa. "It was surprising to say the least…"

"Surprising? Narcissa, our son's a freak!"

"No, I'm not, Father. I'm as normal as anyone else!" yelled Draco.

"Normal boys don't kiss boys!"

"We thought you were still dating Pansy Parkinson," said Narcissa.

"That's old now, Mother. I broke up with her months ago, but you were too busy attending fashion shows and Father with his visits to Italy or Greece to notice!"

"Don't blame this on your mother, young man," said Lucius.

"So who should I blame? Not me because I'm not ashamed of who I am."

"Watch that tone, boy," warned Lucius but Draco ignored him. He stood out of the chair and looked at his father defiantly.

"No, I won't watch it!" he yelled. "For seventeen years you dumped me with nannies, tutors and so called friends while you both went off on your own separate fancies! You had me and left me like I was some merchandise you use once when you needed it, and the only time I saw you was either you were teaching me business or for some party that wasn't important to me. You don't know me!"

"I will not be talked to like that," yelled Lucius. "I put a roof over your head, clothes on your back…."

"Riddle gave you those things," said Draco. "Riddle gave you the money for his pirating off people's lives!"

"Watch your voice, boy. You'll take over the business someday and no son of mine…"

"I don't want t me a killer, Dad," yelled Draco. "I want to have my life my way!"

That set Lucius off. Shooting out of his chair he walked around his desk to his son.

"Lucius, please…."

"Stay out of this, Narcissa," said Lucius. "You've done your part, now let me do mine."

"What exactly was Mother's part?" asked Draco. "Being pregnant and giving birth to me? That was all that she was good for, wasn't it? Once you had your son, you didn't need her anymore."

The next thing Draco knew he had thrown against the other chair and crashed onto the floor. His cheek throbbed from the blow Lucius gave him, his head, shoulder, and hip from the fall. Lucius had backhanded him with a closed fist. Draco glared up at Lucius with a look of pure hatred.

"Donald!" yelled Lucius and Dobby walked into the room. The butler was surprised at the state of the youngest Malfoy but quickly looked at Lucius.

"You called, Master Malfoy," he said.

"Disconnect Draco's phone and computer," ordered Lucius. "Bring them to me when you have."

"Sir?"

"Do it!"

Dobby nodded and left. Lucius grabbed Draco's arm and forced him off the floor.

"Father, what are you doing?!" yelled Draco trying to throw Lucius off but the older Malfoy was the stronger of the two.

"Cell phone, now!" yelled Lucius.

"Father, let go!" yelled Draco as Lucius dug into Draco's pockets. After a minute of struggling Lucius took Draco's phone and threw it out of reach. "Father, what are you doing?!"

"No phone, no computer, no way for you to call for help," said Lucius and dragged Draco out of the room.

"Father, please let me go! You can't do this!"

"I'm your father. I can do anything for you best interests. If that includes locking you up for the rest of your life, then so be it."

"Father, you're acting insane! Let me go!"

Ignoring his son's cries, Lucius pulled Draco down the hall to Draco's room. Shoving Draco inside Lucius locked the door with a turn of the master key. Draco grabbed the handled and attempted to turn it, but it wouldn't. Shocked Draco took out his key and tried to put it in the lock but it wouldn't fit.

'He changed the lock while I was at school. He was planning on keeping me here the whole time!'

Draco's face drained of color as he ran to his window, unlocked the bolt and jerked the glass up, but the frame wouldn't move. Looking outside he saw the frame nailed to the sill.

'He really locked me in,' he thought as he looked around the room. Dobby had removed everything that Draco could use to contact the outside world except his intercom.

"Father, let me out!" he yelled banging on the door and rattling the knob. "Let me out! You can't do this to me! Mother? Mother, let me out, please! Mother!"

But both his parents didn't answer. Draco continued to pound on the door and yelled till his arm hurt, his fists were bloody and bruised and his voice was hearse. Resting his head against the door he tried to hold back the sobs that wanted to burst, but choked as it come out.

'Rule number 2: A Malfoy never cries.'

But he didn't care about that rule right then. He slide down the door till he sat on the floor and clenched his fists and bite his lower lip to keep from crying out loud. The only thing he could think about was Harry.

TBC