Chapter 11: Draco Saved Cho Chang
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Draco tried not to let Theo see how panicked he was at his sudden appearance, although his brain was a fiasco of words, "Did he see my bump?" "Is he going to run and go screaming to the Dark Lord and Aunt Bella about what he saw?" "Am I going to get killed?" "What about my future with Jamie and Harry?" ran through his head like a broken chant.
"Theo!" Draco snarled to cover the anxiety that was slowly eating him. "Have you got no manners?! Your father didn't teach you to knock on someone else's door?" Draco rolled his eyes. "But anyway, what did I even expect from someone like you?" He whispered.
"I'm not your enemy here, Draco."
Draco smiled. "Theo, I don't see you as an enemy. I'm just saying you could've knocked first. I could be naked, you know."
"It wouldn't be the first time I'm going to see you in that state," Theo winked. Draco almost rolled his eyes at Theo's obvious lie and teasing, like he knew Harry was just listening fuming in jealousy. And he was. It would be hard to pamper his boyfriend again tonight. "But you're not, and it was urgent."
"Really?" Draco rolled his eyes. "If it was, you could've said it the moment you entered, uninvited."
"Well, you assaulted me by saying that I have no manners."
"And it was supposed to be urgent."
"The Dark Lord had called for you. Also, Snape said the potion would be ready by tonight."
"Fine."
The Dark Lord probably needed him to take care of Chang again, or he was probably hoping Draco could sweet talk Chang into confessing the truth since Chang was trustworthy of him these days, seeing as he's the only one 'nice' to her.
Draco wouldn't say he's being nice, since he's still the reason Chang's here. It was more like his guilt talking and his gratitude at the girl for giving him stress-free weeks with his baby and Harry. So he always saved her enough food for her to enjoy and talked to her when he knew it got too lonely for her. One time, he even sneaked her a book she requested.
Again, it was only because he felt guilty. If Chang knew the reason he was doing that, she would not be trusting him, even with her food.
Draco raised an eyebrow when Theo remained standing by his bed. "I'll go there as soon as I change," he emphasized, looking down at his pyjamas, hoping Theo would get the hint that Draco wanted him to leave, but the thick-headed daft remained standing where he stood.
"Can't you change while I wait for you here? We're both boys. Besides, we're still friends, aren't we?"
"We are, Theo. We never stopped. But I don't think we're that close to being comfortable while you ogle and I change from my pyjamas. Also, there's this thing called respect."
Merlin, even Blaise and Draco didn't ogle at each other, and they're closer than Theo could ever be.
But one look at Theo's face told him the boy would not leave him alone, and the more Draco sat firm on his bed, hiding his bump, the more Theo would become suspicious.
With a sigh, Draco concentrated and wandlessly and wordlessly cast a disillusionment charm on his bump. He then confidently stood up, and he didn't miss the way Theo's eyes wildly took in his form, and when they didn't find any, he unsubtly looked behind Draco.
Draco stood defiantly when Theo wouldn't stop assessing him.
"Yes, Theo, you may stay in my room while I change."
Theo didn't stop at just observing from a few feet away. Before Draco went into his toilet with a new set of clothes, he saw Theo on his bed, scurrying to unbury something in his sheets.
So Theo knew something was up with him, but fortunately, he didn't know exactly what he should be looking for. But it's only a matter of time before Theo pins down exactly what he was hiding. Draco had to think of another thing to distract everyone, especially Theo, the guy was already becoming suspicious. He couldn't rely on Chang anymore, especially because Chang would most likely be gone later tonight.
Theo was standing when Draco left the toilet. And he seemed less suspicious if the look of his down-turned lip was anything to go by, and it helped that Draco let him explore his personal things.
"Next time, be sure to be there at the earliest," Draco only raised an eyebrow at Theo because there was no way in hell that would happen. He wouldn't be at Voldemort's feet at the earliest, cutting off his only time with Harry. "I couldn't be always telling you that the Dark Lord was looking for you like I'm your-"
"Like you're my assistant? Theo, you are my assistant. Remember when the Dark Lord assigned me as the leader? You're just like your father to my father." Draco finished his reminder with an innocent smile and only gave himself the liberty to smirk when he turned back and heard Theo growling at his back.
He left Theo to brood in his room. He didn't have anything to hide in his room, after all. His well-kept secret is hidden inside him.
-
As expected, the Dark Lord had called for him to guard Chang, not leaving any chance to let her escape when the potion is almost done brewing.
"Here, the book you requested."
Chang, who now looked different from the it girl from Hogwarts with her matted hair and her ragged clothes. "Thanks."
For an hour, every day, they always pretended that they were close friends, talking about their lives, as if they weren't forced to talk to each other because of loneliness and guilt. As if Draco hadn't only known Chang because Harry crushed hard on her during their 4th year.
"Any update on my status here?" She asked, voice dry, as she usually did.
The usual start of their conversation.
Usually, Draco would reply with, "None." But this time, as Draco sat on a makeshift chair in front of her, he answered instead, "Severus is almost done brewing the potion, it'll be tonight, that's why I'm here, to guard you."
"As if I could."
On the first two weeks of Chang being jailed in the basement, she would always bug Draco to tell them it's not her they're looking for because she lost communication with Harry after their bad falling out when she was in 6th year. But lately, she has stayed silent and defeated.
"I still don't know why they thought I could have had something to do with Harry's baby. I haven't even spoken with him since 6th year."
They? Draco almost laughed. Chang had entirely separated him from the Death Eaters. As if it weren't Draco's idea to kidnap her. As if Draco wasn't benefiting from her misery.
Draco nodded at her though, not having the heart to tell her it's been almost 15 times she's told him that particular line, and that Draco could recite it back to her at this point with her same voice of melancholy.
"Did you regret it? That you didn't get back with Potter?" It's always bugged Draco's mind, and since this would be the last time he's going to talk to Chang, he might as well ask it.
Chang sighed and put the book down. "Harry is," Chang smiled, and for a moment, her eyes went glassy as if she were remembering something, but then she shook her head, and gave Draco a beautiful smile. "He's charming, nice, he could make you feel how special and loved you are, and sometimes it felt like he was too good to be true."
Draco agreed with her. Harry's personality spoke for him. He was as much as the Harry Potter written in tale books for kids. Honestly, his being fit was just a bonus. But anyone would be lucky to have Harry.
"Did I regret that we had a fallout? Sometimes. I mean, Harry's the type of guy I need," She sadly chuckled. "We actually all need, obviously, but I'm not the one he needs. I'm glad he found the one. Whoever they are, they are both lucky to have each other."
Draco didn't know if he could say the same thing to Harry, but Draco did indeed feel lucky to have Harry.
"To answer your question, I did not regret that it wasn't us in the end, everyone could see that we didn't fit. But I regretted that I didn't befriend him."
Draco nodded.
"Draco," Draco blinked, hearing his name from Chang. It sounded foreign. "What will happen to me tonight?"
Well, wasn't that the million galleon question? Chang looked terrified, already expecting him to tell her the obvious—expecting nothing from her, she will be disposed of, of course. But her telling him this kind of thing put pressure on him. He knew she was expecting some miracle from him, but Draco honestly didn't know how he was going to execute the plans he had in mind.
It all depended on what happened tonight.
Draco sighed. "I don't know, Cho. I really don't. I'm sorry."
Chang nodded, accepting her fate. She smiled. Draco didn't deserve her smile or her kindness. This was all because of him. "It's okay, Draco. Whatever you're saying sorry for, I forgive you."
She shouldn't.
-
When the Dark Lord didn't join them to watch as Chang drank the potion Severus brewed, Draco knew there and then, everything would fall into place. Draco could save Chang from the hands of his Aunt Bella.
Bellatrix waited with her rotten teeth set in an evil grin as she impatiently waited for Severus to give Chang the potion.
"Give her the potion, Severus! Be fast!"
She screamed right into his ear. Severus recoiled from her and rolled his eyes at her, muttering, "Merlin, you need Nova Spiritus."
Draco snickered at his aunt, who was still snickering at Chang, not realizing that Severus had just told her she needed a potion for her bad breath. Bellatrix was never good at making potions.
Severus then thrust the potion into Chang, who still stood rigidly inside her cage.
"Drink it all up, you silly bint!" Chang was now trembling, but when Bellatrix raised her wand at her, ready to strike, she took the potion and took a deep breath, following what she was commanded.
"Bottoms up!" Bellatrix snarled and plastered her face against the rails of Chang's jail, her wild eyes tracing the liquid from the bottle to Chang's throat up to the last drop. "We'll know it now!" Bellatrix laughed with a high-pitched voice, telling Draco she was deeply entertained.
She was clapping, jumping around, and drumming her fingers, both impatient and excited. Draco didn't think there was a point at which his aunt Bella was ever sane, despite his mother telling him otherwise. The insanity just seemed so natural to her.
"Is she going to die alone? Or is she going to die with Potter's bastard?!"
Bellatrix's eyes glared at Severus when 2 minutes passed and nothing happened still. "There's no result, Severus! You made the potion wrong, you daft slimy bastard!"
"The potion needs five minutes, at least. I can never be wrong, Bellatrix," Severus snarled. "It's not my fault you're a daft cow in Potions."
Bellatrix frowned, displeased that Severus had insulted her and that she couldn't do anything about it since the Dark Lord depended on Severus nowadays. "Fine!"
While waiting for the potion to give them the result, Bellatrix plastered her face on the railings again, and poor Chang could only cower back away from her. Even Draco would never want to be that near his aunt.
"Hm, what will I do to you? Oh, I know!" She widened her eyes at Chang. And in a voice as if she's friends with Chang, regaling to her a fantastic story, she continued, "I will Crucio you until you're out of your mind, but I already did that with the Longbottoms! But I can still carve something on your beautiful face! Potter did see something on your beautiful face." Bellatrix pursed her lips, her wand inches away from her. She narrowed her eyes at Chang's pale face. "How about I put traitor on your face?!"
Draco tuned out his aunt's ramblings, going over his plan once again. One thing's for sure, he would stop her even before she'd gotten to the point of ruining Chang's face.
"Negative," Severus announced as if he were already expecting the result.
Bellatrix laughed, "You're going to die now, you silly cow!"
Chang whimpered, her silent tears rolling down her flushed cheeks. And before Bellatrix could touch her, Draco muttered, "Did the Dark Lord know, aunt Bella?"
Even her deranged mind had stopped at the reminder that the Dark Lord would not be pleased to do something he did not approve of.
With a snarl, she followed Severus, probably to beg the Dark Lord to let her take care of Chang.
As soon as they were out, Draco opened Chang's jail. "Let's go, Cho. I'll get you out of here."
She shouldn't be here in the first place, but it's time to give her the freedom Draco unfairly took from her to play house with Harry for a few weeks.
"But what about you? They'll know you're the one who helped me."
"I'll think of something, don't mind me. The most important thing is that you get out of here."
Draco didn't know how. And it just occurred to him that the Dark Lord might punish him for failing in this Chang incident. Fuck. But hopefully, he can get away from this.
"Thank you, Draco!" Chang threw herself at Draco and wrapped him in her arms. Draco let her.
Chang was smiling, but Draco soon realized his mistake when Chang quickly pulled back and looked at him. Really looked at him as if she were seeing Draco for the first time. "You're pregnant." The bump. Fuck.
It wasn't a question, Chang was looking at him with fear and sudden realizations, her memories of Draco reeling right before her eyes.
"Chang- I-" Draco was stumped. He's so stupid, why didn't he remember his bump? "I don't know what you're talking about. It's just my stomach-"
"You're the one," Chang said with gritted teeth. Of course he couldn't fool Chang with the silly excuse that he's just full, she's a Ravenclaw. Besides, his scrawny body and his rotund frame just didn't fit together.
Draco raised his wand. Chang's eyes widened, backing away from him.
"Malfoy, no!" It's Malfoy again, just as he thought.
"I'm sorry, Chang."
He stunned her and laid her back in the cage, raising his wand, he muttered, "Obliviate." and subsequently cast a spell to implant false memories in her head to alter the gap after Bellatrix and Severus left.
When he was done, he muttered, "Enervate."
Chang blinked. "Draco-"
The door opened, with Bellatrix coming back with a gleeful smile. She got the okay from the Dark Lord. She'd kill Chang tonight.
She then pushed Draco away and pulled Chang from her cage. The former Ravenclaw began crying again, "No, please, no! Just let me go, I'll go away, please!"
"Shut up!"
Draco gave them a head start before he followed them, thanking his aunt's flare for dramatics and her decision to torture Chang outside. Where everyone would see her mutilated body first thing in the morning.
He also thanked Bellatrix for her love of inducing fear in her victims with her nasty words before doing the deed, so Draco was able to raise his wand at the same time his aunt did. Hidden in the darkness, Draco discretely cast a shield—to cover Chang from the worst damage of the Cruciatus but not in the way Bellatrix would know there was someone interfering in her torturing. And with his other hand, he sent a distress spell for the Light to see.
Bellatrix, fortunately, was so engrossed in her torturing that she hadn't realized Draco was interfering until five of the members of the Light apparated almost a minute later. Black quickly covered Chang with a stronger shield.
Outnumbered, Bellatrix growled, deflected the spell directed at her, and retreated.
-
Draco gave himself a minute to breathe as he lay on the wall and put a hand on his bump. Feeling Jamie—or Lily— calmed him down.
He did it.
He quickly went back to the manor, but before Draco could reach the door, Theo had opened it. His eyes narrowed at him. When he saw his harried face, he smirked. "Draco! What a surprise! I thought you'll be in your room. What are you doing outside?"
Draco frowned. "I was just taking some fresh air, Theo. Can't I do it now? And what is it to you, anyway?"
Theo's smirk widened. "Alone?"
"Theo-"
"Draco, you forgot your scarf," Pansy was suddenly beside him, his green scarf with his initials in her hand. "You forgot it in the garden."
Draco nodded and gratefully accepted his scarf. "Thanks, Pansy. Theo here didn't believe I was outside, taking some fresh air with you."
"Draco and I were just talking about how we could get to Patil."
Theo huffed. With Pansy to vouch for him, Theo knew he couldn't pin Draco with any accusation, so he left.
"Pansy-"
Pansy shook her head. "Don't, Draco."
Then, she left as well. Pansy, for some reason, had honored his decision to leave him alone. She hadn't talked to him alone since then, but he knew that she knew he was up to something. And Pansy, sweet, loyal, overprotective Pansy, was still protecting him despite the fact that she didn't know exactly what he was doing.
Maybe Harry was right. He did need a support system like Pansy. And maybe he was wrong to distrust Pansy.
Later on, when Bellatrix came back snarling at everyone and telling them what happened with a frustrated scream, he felt Theo's eyes on him. But Draco knew he couldn't accuse him of anything, not when Pansy had vouched for him and Theo didn't have any proof to point out that Draco could be anywhere near Bellatrix and Chang. It would all come back biting Theo in the arse if he accused Draco.
-
"I hate Nott."
Were Harry's words as soon as Draco went to sleep.
Draco sighed. He called it. "That makes two of us. But why, though? Was it because of what he said? He was lying, Theo and I are not that close."
"It's not that," Harry pouted. Draco rolled his eye. Harry looked entirely relieved to hear that Theo hadn't seen Draco naked. What a possessive guy.
"Liar."
"Really, it's not. I hate him because he's disrespecting you and he doesn't trust you. He's unlike any of your friends. He's turning out to be a proper Death Eater."
"He has his reasons." Theo, like Draco in his 5th year, wanted to make his father proud, and he's too deep in the prejudiced and bigoted world they grew up in.
Unlike Draco, he didn't have Harry Potter to enlighten him.
Harry frowned. "And he almost saw your bump. Speaking of bump," A bright smile replaced his frown, and then he was scrambling to face Draco's bump. Draco smiled, the sight before him making him feel relaxed after an eventful day. Draco's home. "Hi Jamie, good evening!" Draco chuckled when Harry fist bumped his bump. "So what have you been up to with your Papa?"
"A lot."
The smile dropped from the brunette's face. Harry quickly sat down beside Draco. "What happened?"
"Chang- she's-"
Harry tightened his hold around him. "It's okay, Draco. It's not your fault."
"She's not dead, Harry. I saved her- I mean, I didn't really save her. I just sent a signal to the light, and they were the ones who saved her-"
Harry kissed his temple. "No matter what you said, you did save her, and I'm sure she'd agree with me. If it weren't for you, the Light wouldn't find her."
"Yeah, but she was still tortured, Harry-"
"You couldn't do everything, Draco."
Draco huffed a laugh. "That's supposed to be my line. Did it mean that I'm turning into a Martyr as well?"
"I must have been inside of you so many times. Think I could fuck it out of you?"
Draco cupped his boyfriend's cheeks to push him away. "She knew, Harry."
"What-"
"She felt my bump. She knew I was pregnant, I panicked. I obliviated her, altered her memories."
Harry nodded and leaned in again. "Now she's with Hermione. Hermione will figure it all out, she's brilliant like that."
Draco sighed but tilted his head to give Harry more access to his neck. "You know you can't just depend on Granger and expect her to save the day. You're supposed to be the Saviour."
Harry shrugged. "It worked for me since the first year. And I don't claim that name or anything else they call me. Hermione is more of a saviour than I will ever be. I'm just a man." He then went back to sucking on Draco's nipples.
Draco moaned. "You're too chill for this, and I hate it because you're supposed to be the one panicking and I'm supposed to be the one calming you down. This isn't our dynamics, Harry."
"I can apologize by rimming you and fucking you the way you want to."
Draco kissed Harry. "I think I can work with that."
Notes:
Thank you all for your nice comments!!! I appreciate them all.