Change In A Star's Alignment
Chapter 3:
It had been a couple of days since the incident with Malfoy and Harry was no closer to figuring out how to confront Malfoy than he'd been before. Ron had gotten over himself but he still sends dirty looks at Malfoy every chance he gets. By the time dinner came around, however, apparently Ron couldn't hold himself back any longer.
Harry walked into the Great Hall a little later than everyone else because he had been preoccupied by thoughts of Malfoy. When he walked to his normal spot between Ron and Hermione, Harry felt everyone's eyes on him. This was nothing new to Harry, but what was new, were the pair of gray eyes watching him. Normally, Malfoy would just keep his head down, but he was actually watching Harry cross to his seat today. Harry didn't seem to be the only one to notice this as, for once, Ron decided to be observant. Harry sat between his two best friends and immediately Ron turned to Harry, "Do you see that Harry? He's staring at you!"
"So what Ron? So is everyone else." Harry replied.
Ron looked at Harry, then over to Hermione and finally looked back at Malfoy and glared before going back to his food. Harry let out the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and started piling food onto his own plate. All throughout dinner, Ron refused to talk to either Harry or Hermione and Harry could feel gray eyes on him the entire time.
People were just starting to leave the Great Hall when Harry noticed Malfoy get up to leave. Harry figured this was his chance to go talk to him. Before he could even get up, however, Ron was already bolting after Malfoy, obviously set on having a row with him. Harry looked to Hermione for a second; she had a worried expression on her face. Harry wasted no more time and got up and went after Ron and the blonde. Harry turned the corner in time to hear Ron say, "Oi, Malfoy!"
Malfoy turned around to face Ron. He looked exhausted and once he saw it was Ron who had called him, he looked utterly defeated. "What Weasley?"
"Why were you staring at Harry all throughout dinner, huh? You planning something Ferret?"
Harry had had enough as Malfoy looked like he was about to be sick.
"Ron," Harry said, "leave him alone. He hasn't done anything wrong." Malfoy looked almost relieved that Harry had stepped in. Ron, on the other hand, looked absolutely livid.
"Harry, mate... Malfoy was staring at you all through dinner!"
Harry groaned and turned to face Ron full out. "We've already discussed this! Everyone was staring at me at dinner, not just him! Just drop it okay?"
"Whatever Harry... I'll see you later then."
Ron stomped off and Harry turned back towards Malfoy only to see that he'd left as well. Frustrated, Harry walked back to the common room where he overheard Ron talking to Hermione.
"'Mione," Ron said, "I swear, Harry's gone mental! This is the second time he's defended Malfoy! I don't understand it! I mean, it's like I don't even know him anymore."
"Ron," Hermione said, "honestly, calm down. There's nothing wrong with Harry. He's just trying to help Malfoy out!"
"WHAT!?" Ron yelled, red in the face, catching the attention of those around him. "He's helping him? He's going to help the Ferret!? Gah! That's disgusting! I can't believe Harry would do that!"
Harry, having heard enough, went up the staircase to his room where he grabbed his invisibility cloak, then went back down and through the portrait hole. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he knew he didn't want to be anywhere near Ron.
Harry soon found himself walking the hall that lead to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry was about to turn around when he saw Malfoy walking down the hall. Harry watched from underneath his cloak as Malfoy entered Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Harry decided to follow him in. Once the door was shut behind him, Harry took off his invisibility cloak. Harry looked slightly to his right and saw something he never thought he'd see. Is Malfoy crying? Harry wondered. It took him a minute to realise Malfoy was speaking to someone.
"Please don't cry Draco! I'm sure everything will be okay!"
Harry recognized that voice. Wait, Harry thought, that's Moaning Myrtle! And she's talking to Malfoy!?
"Everything will most certainly not be okay Myrtle! It's over! I can't do what he's asked! I just can't!"
Harry was confused. Myrtle and Malfoy were talking to each other as if they did so often; as though speaking to each other was nothing new. But why on earth would Malfoy be talking to Moaning Myrtle of all people? And he can't do what who asks? Harry quickly dismissed these thoughts however, because Myrtle had started talking again.
"Draco! You need to calm down! You said the same thing last week. If you can't do this then not all hope is lost! Remember what I suggested last time?"
Malfoy looked up at her quickly with a piercing look in his eyes. "You very well know that is not an option for me Myrtle! They'll never accept me as one of them! I'm not the most liked person you know."
"But it wouldn't hurt to just-" Myrtle started. She was unable to finish however because Malfoy had taken that moment to look at himself in the mirror. Rather than just seeing his tear-stained face, he also saw Harry's reflection.
"Potter" Malfoy said bitterly. He spun around to face Harry, pulling out his wand as he did so. Harry pulled his out as well out of sheer habit.
Myrtle made a gasping sound and said, "Oh no, Draco! Please don't do this!"
"Stay out of this Myrtle!" Malfoy said, not taking his eyes off of Harry.
"Fine." Myrtle said, and then flew into the toilet two down from Harry.
Harry's mind was going a mile a minute. He knew he needed to somehow show Malfoy he wasn't going to hex him, but Harry couldn't think of how. Malfoy still had his wand trained on him and he looked ready to strike at any moment. All Harry knew was that he needed to gain Malfoy's trust: somehow make him believe that he wasn't there to hurt him. Harry was still pondering ways in which to do exactly that when suddenly Malfoy spoke.
"Well Potter? What are you waiting for?"
Harry looked confused for a minute, trying to figure out what Malfoy had meant. Oh! Harry thought, He thinks I'm here to hex him! Oh! I know what to do now!
Harry slowly started moving his wand arm. He saw Malfoy flinch and close his eyes. Malfoy had his eyes open soon after however, when he didn't feel a spell come at him as Harry had lowered his wand, then dropped it to the floor. He then promptly kicked it towards Malfoy.
Malfoy having seen all of this, looked completely bewildered and confused. Before Malfoy could ask however, Harry spoke: "I don't want to fight you Malfoy. That's not what I'm here for."
If possible, Malfoy looked even more confused than before. His brows knitted together, blatantly showing his confusion. "What are you here for then Potter?" Malfoy asked.
"I'm not exactly sure." Harry started, "But I want to help you out"
At that, Malfoy seemed to go from confused to angry faster than humanly possible. "Well Potter," he said, "did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't need your help? Or even want it for that matter?"
"Look," Harry said, "you've been different this year. You're obviously not happy. And don't try to fake it around me because I know you don't want to do whatever it is you're supposed to!"
Malfoy looked towards the floor: he wouldn't look Harry in the eye. He seemed to deflate a little right before Harry's eyes.
"I can't" he said so quietly that Harry almost didn't hear it.
"You can't what?" Harry asked almost as quietly. He was afraid that if he spoke too loudly, then he would scare Malfoy off. Malfoy seemed to be having some sort of inner debate when, quite suddenly, he collapsed on the floor with one great sob.
"I can't go through with that He wants me to do! I just can't do it!" Malfoy said through his tears.
Harry moved slowly to where Malfoy was sitting on the floor and when he saw that Malfoy wasn't shrinking away from him, he sat down in front of him.
"Then let me help you Malfoy! You don't have to do whatever it is!"
"You don't understand Potter!" Malfoy cried, "I have no choice! I have to do it! I have to!" Malfoy started to really sob now.
Harry put his hand on Malfoy's shoulder to try and comfort him. Harry was at a loss. He hadn't expected this at all. Yelling, screaming, hexing... he expected that to happen. But crying? He didn't know what to do with a crying Malfoy. Finally, Harry said, "Why do you have to? What will happen if you don't do it?"
Malfoy shook Harry's hand off of his shoulder and then said, "Why do you even care Potter? Since when have you ever cared?" He had looked up at Harry quickly, but then looked back down at the floor. He couldn't bare looking into Harry's intense green eyes at that moment.
"I care Malfoy," Harry began, "because you obviously don't want to do it! You haven't been your normal rude self and I can tell you need help."
"But why help me Potter? I've been terrible to you and your friends. I don't deserve your help. I don't deserve anyone's help!"
"Yeah, you've been a bloody prat to me and my friends," Harry said, "but you haven't been a prat all year. To anyone. There's obviously more to you than I used to think. And I believe in second chances. This, Malfoy, is me giving you a second chance. I'm hoping that you'll accept it and give me a second chance as well."
The last part made Malfoy look up with a look of utter shock on his face. "What do you need a second chance for?" Malfoy asked, sincerely confused.
Harry rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm completely innocent in this Malfoy! I haven't been the nicest person to you either. You may have been a prat, but I was one right back to you. We're both in the fault here. I'm just as guilty if not more, than you!"
"I'm nowhere near less guilty than you Potter!"
"What do you mean Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"Don't be so daft Potter! You know I'm up to something, you know that I've been given something to do for the Dark Lord. And you know it can't be anything pure or innocent if it's from Him." Malfoy said quickly.
"But you don't want to do it, do you?" Harry asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course not!" Malfoy nearly screamed.
"Exactly!" Harry said smiling. "You don't want to do it so you're not guilty of anything! You're being forced to do it! And besides, you haven't even done anything yet."
"But I will!" Malfoy said. "I will because there's no other option!"
"You keep saying that. So why do you have no other option? What is stopping you from accepting my help?"
Harry stared at Malfoy until their eyes locked. They sat staring at each other for a long time while Malfoy was debating whether or not he should tell Harry anything. This is it! Harry thought, If Malfoy talks to me now, I know I'll be able to convince him to accept my help. He just needs to tell me what is holding him back!
Harry watched as a single tear fell down Malfoy's face. Harry had the sudden urge to wipe it away with his thumb, but stopped himself before he could actually do it. What in the world was I about to do!? Harry didn't get a chance to analyze this though, as Malfoy had begun to speak.
"I... He's..." Malfoy took a deep shuddering breath that ended in a sob before continuing. "He'll kill me... If I fail, he's going to kill me."
"Who?" Harry asked. "Voldemort?"
Harry watched Malfoy close his eyes as he started to tear up again. "No," Malfoy finally said, "not Voldemort."
Harry, now confused, asked, "Then who?"
Malfoy looked straight at Harry when he said, "My father".
"Your father?" Harry asked, bewildered.
"Yeah," Malfoy said, bitterly, "my own bloody father".
"But, if that's what's holding you back... I mean, we would protect you from him! So you wouldn't have to worry about that!" Harry said.
Malfoy sighed loudly before speaking again. "You don't understand, there's more to it than just that!"
He started crying even harder than before and Harry, on impulse, move closer to Malfoy and wrapped his arm around him. This resulted in an awkward one-armed hug, but Malfoy didn't seem to care. He leaned his head against Harry's shoulder and just rested it there while he cried. Eventually, Malfoy managed to calm down enough to keep talking.
"Voldemort told me that if I failed, then he would kill my mother. My father killing me I could handle, but I don't want my mother to be murdered! Especially not by Voldemort! I may not like father, but I love my mother." Malfoy said into Harry's shirt. "I can't just let her die! I can't!" Malfoy started crying again.
Harry tried to calm him down with words, but nothing was working so Harry just held the crying boy in his arms and rubbed circles soothingly on his back. Harry took this time to truly think through everything he had just been told. Hmmm, Harry thought. Obviously the only way Malfoy will accept my help is if I find a way to save Narcissa as well. Harry tried to think of a way to safely and successfully do that, but he soon realized he would have to ask Dumbledore for help. Great, Harry groaned, now I have to convince Malfoy to go talk to Dumbledore about all of this! This is impossible!
"Malfoy?" Harry asked once the other boy had calmed down.
"Yeah?" Malfoy asked.
"I think I know how we can save your mother, but we'll have to get Dumbledore's help to do it."
Malfoy instantly moved away from Harry, looking panicked. "NO!" Malfoy said, "Not Dumbledore, anyone accept Dumbledore! Please!"
"But why Malfoy? I'm sure he'll be happy to help you out! Trust me!" Harry said, confused by his reaction.
"Because... my assignment... I..." Malfoy stuttered. But Harry understood almost immediately what was going on.
"Your assignment has something to do with Dumbledore doesn't it?" Harry asked quietly.
"Yes" Malfoy said simply and just as quietly as Harry. He refused to meet Harry's eye.
"What do you have to do?" Harry whispered.
"I don't want to talk about it" Malfoy whispered back.
"Malfoy," Harry said seriously, "I want to help you out of this but I can't if I don't even know what this is!"
Malfoy sighed then hung his head in shame. Finally, he whispered, "I have to kill him".
"Okay," Harry said, "well, I can see why you wouldn't want to go talk to Dumbledore about that, but you do know it's the only way out of this right?"
Malfoy looked at him now. "I know" he said, "Do you really think we could save my mother?"
Harry looked Malfoy in the eye. "Yeah, I really think we can. But we'll have to talk to Dumbledore about it."
"We?" Malfoy asked. "As in, you'll be there with me when I have to tell him?"
"Yeah." Harry said. "If that's okay with you of course."
"Yes." Malfoy said quickly. "Please be there. I don't think I can do this alone".
"Then I'll be there" Harry said, smiling when he saw Malfoy give him a small smile. "So," Harry continued, "are you ready to go?"
The panic returned to Malfoy's eyes, "Right... right now?" he asked hesitantly.
"I know this is all really sudden, but we have to act quickly. The sooner we get your mother to safety, the better. We can't have Voldemort finding out before we can protect her."
"Alright, just a second" Malfoy said. Harry watched with interest as Malfoy hid all his feelings behind his mask like he usually did.
Harry found it strange that he had been the one allowed to see behind Malfoy's mask. But at the same time, Harry was glad he had seen behind it. Harry liked it better when Malfoy didn't have his cold mask of indifference on. Harry watched as Malfoy made his way to the mirror and straightened out his robes and hair. Once he was satisfied, he turned back to Harry with his usual mask on, and said, "I'm ready".
Together, they turned and walked out of the bathroom and moved towards the Headmaster's office and what would no doubt be one very awkward conversation.