Dog Days (1/?)
Author: Adenosine
Author e-mail: [email protected]
Rating: R
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: Sirius Black is captured by Death Eaters. Draco Malfoy comes to visit him in his cell in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor and the two form a tenuous, cautious relationship of sorts as they spend their summer together. Dementors, dogs, death-eaters, dragons, and dungeons pretty much sums it up. Draco/Sirius, though it's really mostly infatuated one-sided obsessive hormonal teenage angst on Draco's part, with a reluctant and mostly unaccommodating Sirius trying to deal with his loss of freedom and the memories it brings back. Draco's confused and Sirius is trying to do the right thing. This takes place the summer after Draco's sixth year.
A/N: Can anyone say jailbait? This is a Draco/Sirius story, albeit reluctantly. The relationship is mostly one-sided; Draco wants him while Sirius is battling it out in his own head trying to do the right thing and all that rot. I myself don't approve of this pairing the way I've written them, but then not everything in the world is all light and feathers is it. The rest of the chapters will be a bit longer…call this a prologue.
Just thought this was interesting…
Main Entry: dog days
Function: noun plural
Etymology: from their being reckoned from the heliacal rising of the Dog Star
(Sirius)
Date: 1538
1 : the period between early July and early September when the
hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity
Session 1: Lazy summer afternoons.
The sting of the cold floor was what drew him awake. It was abrupt, not gradual or at all in a pleasant way like being woken by the warm rays of the morning sun on your face might have been. One moment he was asleep, dreaming as he always dreamed—of that night, those cold walls that encased him for so many years—and the next his eyes had snapped open, a shriek escaping his lips as the icy chill penetrated his flesh through his worn garments. He jumped off the ground standing on wobbly legs and looked about him.
It was nice, the times when he could wake from those nightmares and find himself safe, hidden away in a warm shed or underneath someone's front steps out of the rain, or even better, the Shrieking Shack. Anywhere but back behind those bars.
But now was not one of those times. The bars were there, holding him, stealing away his short-lived freedom, casting their shadows across his countenance as the dungeon flames danced a cheeky jig in the face of his predicament. True these were not the cells of Azkaban, but it nearly made no difference. Perhaps it was even worse.
Sirius couldn't be sure what it was that the Death Eaters wanted from him and why they didn't just kill him already. But they hadn't and he was once again held captive.
He shook his head roughly trying to clear his mind. It was hard to think in such cold dampness. He hadn't been there long. Thinking back just two days was still a chore though. He had the inkling they must have bashed him over the head a fair bit too hard. But it was coming back now.
It had been a stupid affair. A man without a wand, without any weapon at all should have been easy to capture. A simple stunning charm would have been sufficient. Leave it to the Death Eaters to forgo simplicity for pure physical violence. He pressed the tender spot at the back of his head and winced. But it really was his own fault.
He shouldn't have gone. Dumbledore told him not to go. But he'd heard Snape say Peter was going to be there. And Sirius had some business to discuss with the rat.
Then again, no, not his fault. Snape's. Yes definitely Snape's. Of course he should have know the git would go and give him away. He would have been perfectly fine. He would have gone unnoticed as he slunk around the outside of the circle, just a hungry stray attracted by the fire. No one would have even seen him there. Stupid Bastard. As if hissing 'Black what are you doing here?' at some vagrant animal, in the middle of one of Voldemort's long winded speeches would have gone unnoticed. That man really did piss him off.
Why couldn't Snape have just kept that big ugly mouth of his shut for once. Of course someone just had to hear him. Lucius Malfoy, if Sirius wasn't mistaken. That hair that peeked out from behind the mask was pretty unmistakable. And after that, they had moved on him quickly, but he had moved quicker. He was a dog after all. He'd almost gotten away too. But then his paw had got caught in a tree root. Before he could even yelp Goyle, or was it Crabbe had brought down what seemed like a whole log on top of his head and he was out cold.
But he was wide awake now, and freezing his arse off. Not to mention all his other essential body parts. What made it worse was that he knew that outside these walls summer was in full force, knowing nothing of his situation and going about its merry business.
Sirius had never liked summers much during his youth. They were too lazy. Too uneventful. All summer meant was that he and his friends would be separated for two whole months. Two mischief free months. Sure, one could theoretically cause mischief on one's own, a postulate he'd proven many times to his mother's chagrin, but it just wasn't the same without James and Remus. He would have gone through an eternity of McGonagall and stupid, meddling Severus Snape just to be able to stay at school and cause trouble with his partners in crime of the Marauder kind.
Oh but now, now he'd give anything to feel that sun on his pale olive skin. To have the summer sweat dripping annoyingly down the back of his neck and glistening in his midnight hair. He'd do anything to get that back. Summers were precious when you had missed so many of them.
And now here he was missing another one. To think about it made the stone ever so much colder, the air all the more dank. He would probably catch pneumonia in no time at all. If they kept him alive there long enough anyhow. He had already started to wheeze when he breathed in too deeply, and it had only been two days.
Sirius knew how to count the days in a place like this. He'd had eleven years experience. Two days. And he was already miserable. At least I haven't been tortured.
He frowned with a heavy sigh. Yet…
There were no windows, no means of escape. The bars were spaced well to do their job. Even if he transformed he'd never fit through, and he was sure there were plenty of wards blocking any hope of fleeing in any case. All he could do was wait to be rescued. If they even knew he was there. Sirius smiled bitterly to himself, seating himself on the ground. Knowing Snape, he probably oh so fortuitously forgot to mention it.
There was a rustling in the darkness. Sirius snapped his head in the direction from which it came through the dark archway and a little way down the shallowly lit corridor, near the stone staircase. He could make out a form in the shadows and he tensed, hoping for once maybe it was Snape, come to free him. If only he'd be so lucky. He quickly saw to his reluctant dismay that it wasn't Snape at all. It was a kid.
It looked like a boy. He was too short and his build didn't look developed enough to be a man, much too skinny. He could only make out the silhouette of his face in the splotchy darkness. Sirius thought for a moment. He could handle a kid. Maybe if he talked to him in the right way he could get the child to help him out. Kids could be pretty reasonable if you just talked to them right.
And Lily was always teasing him…had always teased him about being good with kids. 'Oh Sirius, you're going to make an wonderful father!' she'd chirp, throwing her arms around him and giving James a teasing wink. He would of course blush every time…Sirius sighed shaking himself from his reverie.
That was a long time ago Sirius. It's too late for any of that. Anyhow, he had Harry to look after now. If I ever get out of here, he breathed a heavy sigh once again. The boy in the shadows started and jerked around abruptly.
"W-who's there?"
Sirius stood and went to the bars, grasping them and pressing his face up against his hands as he peered through the darkness. "Hey kid, come here a second," he said softly.
"Who me?" came the nervous voice echoing slightly through the corridor.
Sirius sighed. "Yeah, just come here a second. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm locked up."
The boy looked about him warily and moved forward to Sirius' cell. Sirius gasped as he came through the shadows, stepping into view. All thoughts of asking the boy for help slipped from his mind. "You—You're Lucius's son aren't you?"
Draco narrowed his eyes at Sirius and turned up his nose in distaste, as if even looking at this man was beneath him. "Brilliant. I've never seen such a display of deduction and logic in my life. You must be some kind of genius," he drawled sarcastically.
Sirius frowned. "You're Draco Malfoy all right. Your reputation precedes you Mr. Malfoy." He didn't try to hide the mockery in his tone. It was pointless to be nice now.
Draco scowled. "And who the fuck are you?"
Sirius said nothing, smirking quietly at him.
"Another bit of muggle-loving filth I suppose? Or perhaps a poor unfortunate mudblood? Father is going to be upset when I tell him that you were harassing me." He smiled wickedly. "He doesn't like it much when someone insults his only son. In fact he doesn't like it at all. Unfortunately for you." He turned to leave.
"Malfoy wait."
Draco paused a moment, twisting around to face the prisoner once again. "What?"
Sirius smiled at him. "Oh nothing, nevermind."
That infuriated Draco like Sirius had known it would and his smile only grew wider as the boy's face twisted in impatience and contempt. "What is it?!"
"Well…just tell your father I'm impressed at the job he's done."
Draco's brow furrowed in confusion.
Sirius shook his head, still smiling. "You see, I didn't think anyone could be a bigger ponce than he is. But he's obviously trained you well."
Draco's eyes flashed. He growled and turned on his heel leaving the dungeons and Sirius laughing gently to himself.
E/N: i did this whole thing without hitting the backspace once (though i did run it through spell check). i'm very proud of myself. next chapter, draco talks to his father about that mean man in the dungeon who hurt his feelings. then after that draco defies his father's orders and gets to know mr. black a bit more. the actual slash bit doesn't happen until i think the fourth chapter. but i don't think i'll write anymore of this for a while anyway as i'm too busy so it's a moot point. this is a short multiple chaptered fic so don't expect them to be too much longer than this. though they will get more interesting. thanks for reading.