Chapter
He was on the Hogwarts express, he had made Head Boy! The witch with the trolley had passed on by, and he had, as usual, bought all of his friends snacks. He could hear himself laughing as Crabbe and Goyle had their annual Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans eating contest. Everything was back to normal. Earlier on the ride, he was able to trip Potter as the git was boarding the train, his trunk fell on Granger's toe and Weasley, after the trunk had been removed, being the klutz that he is, stepped on it again as he tried to push his way towards Draco. All in all, everything was going right. Draco had his forehead pressed to the glass because he wanted to be one of the first people to see Hogwarts when it came into view. Was it true? Was he really going back and was everything alright?
An anxiousness inside of Draco's stomach made him feel that it was right. There would be N.E.W.T.'s and that final Quidditch match against Gryffindor to think about…would Snape still be the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, or would he have been demoted back to Potions Master? Draco looked and looked, strained his eyes in want to see the castle. He could feel the train starting to slow down, everyone was getting off, but he couldn't see Hogwarts! He heard people rushing by, people were jostling him, but he wasn't going to go anywhere until he saw the castle! He started to hyperventilate, the castle couldn't be gone, not like everything else! No!
"Young man?" Crap, it was the conductor coming to tell him to leave, but he wouldn't leave until he could see the castle!
"Young man." Someone was touching him, he could feel his shoulder being shoved.
"Oy!" A loud noise filled Draco's ears and he felt his eyes snapping open. He had been dreaming… of course.
"Where am I?" He asked, his voice a croaking mess that hurt his throat.
"You're at you're end, mate. Go on, the conductor is about to pull off." Draco looked up to see the man who had torn his ticket, he was still wearing that stupid hat.
"Wha' time is it?" The blonde asked, rubbing his eyes. The man with the hat had his hand on Draco's elbow and was steering him towards the exit.
"Just past eleven, do you have any luggage?" Draco shook his head.
"No."
"You…you got family where you're going then?" The man asked. Draco looked at him, and he shook his head again.
"No." The man looked uncomfortable, the same discomfort the woman with her son had, and then Draco figured out what those looks meant, they felt sorry for him. Draco took his arm away from the man,
"Thanks." He muttered as he stepped off the train, the man stood at the foot of the door where Draco had emerged from.
"Good luck young man." He called out. Draco ignored him. He walked on through the train station and took a deep breath. He looked around and waited…
Didn't Snape say he would know where he was sent as soon as Draco got there? Draco folded his arms and scowled. So far Draco hadn't a clue. He sighed and started walking, his arms still folded around his body. The village was small enough to not be interesting enough to describe, and Draco wondered how this shit hole even could afford a train station. He passed by shops that were full with business and he passed by conversations that revolved around the stupidest things. To see him walking would have been comical, he had his arms folded, and was stopping and dodging, and slinking and shirking, and sidestepping and stepping to the side just so that no one could touch him. It was a right ballet.
Finally, after walking through the whole town one way, Draco seemed to have reached its limits, he stood at the edge of the sidewalk, if he were to cross the street he would be heading down a road. He looked behind him. Which way was he supposed to go? He felt himself sneering, trust Snape to give him instructions that were so full of riddles and games. Just like stupid Dumble… Draco shook his head. Best not to go down that road of thought. And because he was looking down the road that led back to town, he decided that that was not the way for him. He turned back to the mysterious road that led away from the small village, and took his first step on that path. Making what seemed like his first true self decision.
While Draco made his way down that solitary road, three happy people were distracted. They had no idea thatsoon enough, one of them would be totally distracted by the blonde. For now, they were perfectly happy. And I hate to be the one who disturbs their time with poking into their lives, but if I don't, then we will never know what happens, right? Its sad when someone tries to justify what they are doing…
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were having fun. The three of them were given the task of getting the gnomes out of the garden again; they had been cleared off for the wedding, but some of them were starting to make a come back. But the best part was being able to use magic! They were all of age now and it was turning into a game with Hermione being only a tiny voice of reason.
"Come now, you didn't have to use that spell! You had better be nicer to them, Ron."
"What Hermione, going to start up a society for mistreated gnomes too?" Ron joked. Harry laughed as he proddeda gnome with his wand, an electric wave went through the tiny man, and he went jetting off in the opposite direction.
"It's inhumane to treat them this way!" She protested as Ron levitated a gnome from its ankle out of its hole.
"Well good, because they aren't humans, Hermy." Harry said as he jabbed another gnome with an electric shock. The little thing screamed at Harry and ran away, stopping at the edge of the garden to chuck a rock at Harry that missed his nose and hit his cheekbone.
"Ow!" Harry mumbled, Hermione gave him a look,
"That's what you get." She said. She had her arms folded and was watching the two boys as they either crawled and ran at a crouch to chase after the tiny miscreants. Crookshanks was all too happy to join in with the excursion.
"Take it easy, will you?" Ron called to Hermione. She sighed.
"Why don't you just try talking to them." She suggested. Ron and Harry shared a look,
"Right, because having a decent conversation with them will make them realize the error of their ways and they will leave forever." Ron said.
"You never know." Hermione said back. Ron gave her a look and then he turned to Harry, mumbling,
"Where does she come up with things like that/" Harry shrugged and straightened his glasses. Ron pointed his wand at another hole and levitated a gnome, it was kicking and throwing out tiny protests, Ron sighed,
"Oy, listen here you…you potato looking man. My family doesn't like you hanging around here, we want you and your people to leave. Clear off and never come back, got it?" He let the small gnome fall to the ground and in response, Ron got a rock chucked at his forehead.
"Hey!" Harry tried to hold back his laughter but he could hear Hermione's ringing laughs.
"What are you laughing at?" Ron asked her. She shrugged.
"I didn't think you would actually do it." She said, there was a sappy smile on her face and she was looking at Ron with lovesick eyes. Ron, seeing her look, smiled at her and they just stopped to look at each other. Harry suddenly felt very sick. He turned away from them and looked up the road. Ginny had gone off the visit with Luna Lovegood, and he thought that that was a good thing. He didn't need her around to present a distraction.
"Hey Harry, I'm going to go inside and wash up, okay?" Ron said, Harry sighed and started walking towards the front gate, soon after Ron spoke,
"Harry, you don't care if I go inside and see if Mrs. Weasley needs any help, do you?" Harry suppressed his second sigh.
"Go ahead, I'll be in in a while." Ron and Hermione went back into the house and Harry had every reason to believe that neither of them were going to go do what they said they were going to do. He heard the door as it shut, and felt his heart sink. If he had to leave Ron and Hermione, at least they would have each other.
That was the plan, after all. He would find some way of getting rid of them to go off and find what he was looking for. In the end Harry wanted to make sure no more of his friends died for him…he would make damned sure of it. He took a steadying breath and tried not to feel too bitter. He had a couple of fantasies that kept him sane in these times. He thought about finding and destroying all of the horcruxes, he thought about finally defeating Voldemort, a thing that was starting to become a bitter reality, that meeting would happen soon. And Harry still trembled when thinking if he was ready or not. Another thought was that of the end. What would he do when it was all over? Because he was determined to think of himself as the victor, he did not entertain any ideas of his funeral.What would he do? Maybe he would go back to Hogwarts, finish his education…graduate with Ginny.
That made him smile, he and Ginny could graduate together, that would be nice. Something that kept his heart alive were the thoughts of him and Ginny. As soon as Voldemort was gone, Harry could have her. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes to think about the sweet times they had shared, he felt the smile on his face. Their first kiss, he laughed, the look on Ron's face, she was the greatest girlfriend that Harry could have ever asked for. And secretly, Harry liked to think that she was exactly like his mother. That long red hair, her popularity at school, her ability when it came to her magic, yes, Harry hoped with all of his heart that his parents would have liked Ginny.
With that thought in mind, Harry sighed and turned to go inside, hopefully he wouldn't be so unlucky as to catch his two best friends doing what he only wished he could be doing with Ginny. Love is a very tiresome thing. Harry never thought he would fall in love, he could remember a time when all he thought about was Quidditch and the next insult he would have to ignore. But now things were much more complicated. And it was his lot in life to be right in the middle.
Inside of the house, Harry wandered around restlessly. All of this waiting was grating on his nerves. Mr. Weasley told him he would have to wait until the next move in his plans could be executed. He had to wait for other people's schedules to clear up, he hated that. He was always the one who had to wait when his agenda should have been the most important thing on anyone's mind. Wait, no, Harry started to rub his face, such thoughts had been running rampant through his head. When he wasn't paying attention, an unsettling urge inside of him rose, all he wanted to do was shove people away and leave them all behind while he did whatever the bloody hell he wanted to do. But then stern tones of his conscience barked at him, they told him to stay put when they sounded like Sirius. They told him to be patient when they sounded like Dumbledore. And they told him to think things through when they took on that annoying tone of Hermione. Hers was the worse to hear because he usually had her smiling face in front of him when he heard it.
Harry found himself in a lower level of the house that he had never visited before. He looked around, grabbed his wand and lit the tip. It was an underground room. He smiled as he located the light switch, he flicked it on and was satisfied to see a small cot near the wall, a window perched right above it. He had hated staying in other people's rooms, and he wondered if he would be allowed to relocated himself down into this room. He liked it. The closed off feeling it gave reminded him of his cupboard. He went to the cot, and the spiders that scuttled away when he rested his body on it further reminded him of his under the stairs room.
But before he could settle himself in for a very early night, Mrs. Weasley's voice startled him awake from a doze he didn't remember slipping into.
"Harry?…Harry, there you are. Why, what are you doing down here, dear?" Harry blinked and sat back up, his whole body felt tired. He just smiled up at her, a sleepy smile.
"Is it okay if I stay down here from now on, Mrs. Weasley?" She looked around, her nose wrinkling.
"You know I do forget this room is here. This is where Arthur used to hole up whenever I caught him tinkering around with Muggle artifacts." She gave a small laugh.
"Of course you can stay here, Harry. I imagine a space all your own is what you are looking for?" He nodded in a sheepish manner. She just smiled endearingly at him.
"That is just fine. I'll bring some blankets and pillows down for you." She was still smiling as she turned to go and get said items. Harry sighed, a very content feeling washing over him. He laid back down and looked up at the window, there were elaborate spider webs there, the silver thread was gleaming in the low light of the room.
Mrs. Weasley brought down the blankets and coaxed Harry up off of the cot while she dressed it. Harry helped her, tucking in corners and fluffing up pillows. This was done in silence, a moment between them that made Harry's heart pang for a mother. When she was done, she was smiling once again at Harry.
"Dinner will be ready soon."
"Do you need any help?" He asked. Her face was a soft mask of love, Harry traced her face in his head, the lines, the creases, she was a mother of many, and she held her arms open for the likes of him. Harry had love for Mrs. Weasley.
"I would love some company." She said. Harry nodded and followed her back to the kitchen.
The food was spectacular, it was placating and Harry felt pleasantly stuffed as he set down his fork after his third helping of pie. The humming conversation was starting to rock him into a state of readying rest. He wasn't up to conversing, feeling so full, but Mr. Weasley broke into his daze,
"Harry…I was wondering if I could talk to you about something." Harry blinked a couple of times and looked around, Ron and Hermione were gazing into each other's eyes, Mrs. Weasley was starting to clear off the table, and Ginny hadn't come back from Luna's yet. Harry nodded and Mr. Weasley got up.
"Come with me." Harry got up and followed him. Harry was taken to the little room he was calling his own, Mr. Weasley looked around, noticed the blankets and just nodded.
"Right. Well…Harry, I know that I told you your trip to Godric's Hollow would happen this week, but Harry, I just haven't the time. We are being worked double time, and no one else from the Order is available to take you." Harry sighed.
"Mr. Weasley, just tell me where I have to go, I can manage it on my own." He said. The older man shook his head.
"You are not to go anywhere on your own."
"Well, Ron and Hermione would go with me, or course." He said. Mr. Weasley looked nervous. He had been looking like he was aging ten years with every day he survives. Harry didn't like it, all of the adults were starting to looked strained. Harry really didn't like it. They were putting more strain on themselves by treating him like a five-year old.
"Harry, I…I need to talk to you about something very important." Harry didn't like the sound of his voice, he just knew something heavy was going to fall on him.
"Everyone at the Order feels it would be far safer for you to…for you to only travel with members of the Order, Harry." Harry sighed, he closed his eyes and started to rub at his temples.
"Mr. Weasley, I don't need to be mollycoddled. I can handle myself. I don't need anyone from the Order with me."
"But you need Ron and Hermione?" He asked. Then it struck Harry. He opened his eyes and dropped his hands to his sides.
"I…" He started to say. Mr. Weasley wasn't looking at him and the tips of his ears were turning red.
"You're right…I don't need them with me either. I don't need Ron to follow me around, or Hermione. I don't need either of them putting themselves into any more trouble than necessary." Mr. Weasley took a breath.
"I am not trying to say anything--"
"Its okay Mr. Weasley, I know what you mean. Its fine. You don't need to explain it to me. I will be more than willing to just leave right now." The man started to shake his head.
"Harry, that is not at all what I am getting at. Molly and I want you here, but we want you to just stay put here until we can find more people to take you out to where you need to go." Harry felt himself wanting to sneer. He was making Harry sound like some annoying little boy.
"I don't need anyone to--"
"Harry, I know you don't need anyone, but it would make us all feel a whole lot more comfortable if one of us was with you at all times."
"When it comes down to the end, sir, no one from the Order will be able to help me. So why bother hovering around me now?" Harry snapped. Mr. Weasley sighed, as if he knew Harry would act this way. That upset Harry even more.
"Listen, no one is trying to--"
"Can we just not talk about this anymore? I understand, I have to wait longer. No problem. I'm tired. I'm just going to go to sleep now." Harry said. He noticed his things had been transferred down to his room, and he started to open his trunk and dig out pajamas. Mr. Weasley didn't say anything as he left. Harry was fully dressed in his night clothes when Ron and Hermione came in.
"Hey Harry, you moving down here now? What, are my snores too loud?" Ron asked in a joking voice. He sat on the edge of Harry's cot. Harry shrugged.
"I just wanted a little…space." He said. Ron nodded and Hermione was just looking at Harry.
"You know…" She began, "they aren't going to let you do anything you want, Harry." She said. It shocked Harry to hear that from her, but he didn't bother to look shocked.
"I know. And I hate that. I have plans, and no one is going to let me get them done. What if I die tomorrow and wasn't ever able to see my parents grave?" He asked to the floor. He could feel the 'Ron/Hermione glance' as the two looked at each other. He didn't have the energy to find it annoying.
"Harry, you know…if we left without telling anyone, that would just cause more stress," Hermione said in a low voice. Harry shrugged.
"Who says 'we' are going anywhere?" Ron spoke up.
"We told you Harry, we are going with you."
"Yeah well, your father doesn't think that that is such a good idea, Ron." Harry said.
"To hell with what he says, you are my best mate, and if you think I will let you go anywhere without me by your side, you are wrong." He said. Harry appreciated it, but he had a plan already. He was going to leave, the first chance he got, and he wasn't going to let Ron and Hermione come with him. He didn't want them to die in his name too.
"Right. Hey look, I'm really tired, okay? I'm just going to call it a night." He said. The glance was thrown again and Ron got off of Harry's cot.
"Night, mate." Ron said, punching him on the arm, Hermione gave him a smile.
"Sleep well." She said. Harry waved them off and heard them leave. He sighed and lowered himself into the small cot. He already knew that he would have trouble falling asleep. He magicked the light off and decided to settle in for a restless night.
Harry was coming up with a plan while Draco wandered around. He had gone up the street he chose, and after walking with no results for the better half of the afternoon, he turned around and started back towards the village. Once there he sat outside of a general store. His stomach was making those noises and complaints again, but this time he didn't spend anything. He didn't know how long he would have to wander around this village until someone swooped down and either rescued him, or killed him. After a while, he got back up, ignored the pangs in his stomach, and started off in the direction he had neglected earlier. The plan was to just find some where to stay the night. Some abandoned place would do, and then in the morning, he would reassume with his quest for wherever it was that Snape sent him to.
He had walked for about an hour when he came upon the most shoddy house he had ever seen in his life. It looked to be leaning on one side, so many levels of the house suggested that some foolish former owner tried to add on to the house. It was dark, and looked to be rocking with the wind. Draco looked around. There was no Muggle car near it, no sign of life, some rusting full bellied pots on the lawn that almost looked like cauldrons. Draco shrugged them off and wandered closer to the house. It looked abandoned. And if it wasn't, then Draco shuddered to wonder what kind of a family would live in such a destitute looking place. The cold in his body overrode any doubts he had.
Walking around the house, he found a small window that looked just big enough for him to slip into. He looked around, and saw no one.There was a matching dilapidated barn near the house, and for a moment, Draco thought of just going over there, but his pride told him that he would rather break into this house than sleep in some barn where animals used to live. The window was open just a bit, he was thankful as his fingers slipped in between the window and the window pane. He pried it open, the space was becoming bigger and bigger as he worked. His fingers were still pulling the window free from its home when he heard something moving. He stopped just as he heard a voice calling out,
"What the fuck?" He stopped, frozen, numb, someone sat up, as if from a bed, Draco looked down at the person, and before he could think of anything else, he muttered,
"Sorry!" and jumped up from where he was and started to run away. He heard someone calling out, and he forced his legs to go faster. He felt so stupid. Of course someone lived there! He glanced back and that someone was rushing out of the front door.
"Crap!" He said aloud as his feet started to pound the gravel of the driveway. He heard the door slamming closed and desperately willed himself to go faster. But he was tired, and he was hungry, and his body was starting to protest against him. He felt a pain stabbing into his side.
"Go! Go!" he said with winded breath. He felt all color drain from his face as he heard footsteps behind him. He heard them coming closer, then he heard a shocked voice calling out,
"Oh my god…MALFOY?" That didn't coax him to stop. Instead, he wandered off the road and sped into the trees. His legs were cycling underneath him, pumping, leading him through the trees.
"Hey…wait! Stop or I will hex you!" Draco didn't want to even think it, but that voice was very familiar.
"You stupid Slytherin, stop!" He really didn't want to admit it, but he knew who was chasing him.
"I'm warning you!" He felt himself starting to hate Snape, that old bastard sent him to his death!
"Please don't make me hurt you!"
"Leave me alone!" He shouted. Then he heard Potter shout something in Latin, then felt something rushing at him through the trees and then found himself stiffening, and falling face forward onto the ground. He was trying to move his head, he was panicking, he felt like he was going to suffocate, and then he remembered the way he had treated Potter on the train, and he remembered all the mean things he had ever done to Potter, and he felt like crying at the thought of what the stupid Gryffindor would do to him.Soon enoughhe heard Potter crunching through the underbrush, and felt and heard as someone strained to turn him over. He looked up at the person looking down at him.
"Wow, it was you. What in the hell are you doing here?" Potter asked. "And why would you say 'sorry' while trying to break into someone's house?" He added with an amused look on his face. Draco, of course, couldn't say anything, so he just looked up at Potter, trying to glare but not sure he could even move those muscles. Potter squatted down and pointed a lighted wand tip in his face, he closed his eyes and hoped that whatever was going to happen would be over with quick, he didn't like pain.
"You look like hell." Potter said. Draco felt the light being moved, he cracked his eyes open and watched Potter. He looked like he was deep in thought.
"Who sent you here?" He asked, his voice becoming sharp. Draco wanted to roll his eyes, like he could talk! Potter chuckled,
"Okay, I'm going to ask you some questions, just blink once if the answer is yes, blink twice if the answer is no…" He seemed to be thinking again, and with a grin, he added, "and just close your eyes if the answer is 'sod off Potter.'" Draco immediately closed his eyes. He heard Potter laugh.
"Okay, okay fine. I'll just leave you here then, let some animal find you and eat you or something…" Draco opened his eyes and started to blink twice rapidly. Potter was still grinning.
"Fine fine, no need to beg." He said. Draco was beginning to hate him on an entirely new level.
"Do you know where Godric's Hollow is?" Was the first question, and Draco was thrown off by it. He looked up at Potter, to see if he was kidding, he looked pretty serious, he blinked once. Potter nodded.
"Good." He looked around, then back at Draco. "Look, don't move, I'm going to go back there and grab some things. Then you are going to take me to Godric's Hollow." He got up, and pointed his wand down at Draco, the light in his eyes again.
"Don't move, Malfoy." He said with wry grin. Draco heard him walking away, the crunching noises sounding so loud. Draco started to panic all over again, he left him! HE LEFT HIM! He was frozen, and he couldn't speak, and Potter fucking just left him! He was going to die right here, on his back, eaten by some domesticated animal out for a late night hunt, he was going to be pecked by birds, tore to pieces by insects, he wondered if he would be able to feel it. He wondered why Snape would send him to Potter, he wondered if Snape had tripled crossed everyone by working directly for Potter and fooling both the Dark Lord and Dumbledore? Draco wondered if anyone would ever find him. He wondered if his mother would ever find out how he died, he wondered if his father would be terribly upset at him for dying this way. He wondered how long it would take him to die, he didn't want to die slowly.
He was racking his brains for a way to get out of his predicament, he was going through lists of counter curses, mentally trying to act as a wand, trying to end the spell. His wand, he knew it was in his back pocket, but that would do him no damned good! He was wondering if Potter would ever come back to see what was left of him, he wondered if he would drown should rain come, he wondered if he would freeze come winter, he wondered if his body would be ruined by the sun, or beaten by the wind. He was wondering if he should just start to hold his breath and hope for death via suffocation when he heard footsteps crunching over fallen leaves. Potter knelt down beside him, Draco could see out of the corner of his eye a backpack resting near the other's trainers.
"Hey, I'm back." He sighed and settled himself so that he was sitting. "You know what, Malfoy, I think I like you when you're not talking, or moving, or doing anything really. You're a good mate. Such a good mate that I wanted to ask you to do something with me." He pointed his wand back into Draco's face, Draco had his eyes shut, he hoped Potter took that to mean, 'sod off you stupid bloody bastard, I hate you, don't you dare remove this curse from me or you'll die, and I'll kill you with my bare hands you sick son of a bitch.' Potter chuckled.
"Come now, Malfoy, you haven't even heard what I am going to ask. Now, open your eyes…open them or I will have to hex them open and trust me, I can do it." Draco opened his eyes, reluctantly.
"Good boy." Potter said. Draco felt his anger rising.
"So, ever since I found out that Snape and your mother had entered an Unbreakable Vow, I have been doing some research, it truly is amazing how much I learned from all of those extra books Hermione keeps around, I'll tell you that. Anyways, when I was looking it all up, I came across a very interesting thing." He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper, he waved it in front of Draco's eyes.
"This here, Malfoy, are the instructions on how to perform an Unbreakable Bond, do you know what that is?" He asked. If Draco would, he would have whimpered, but then again, if he could actually move, he wouldn't be listening to Potter.
"You know, its very rude for you to not answer me when I ask you a question, I asked you if--" He stopped talking as Draco started to blink his eyes.
"Oh, so you have heard of it?" Draco blinked once. Harry nodded,
"Good, that'll save me some time then." He took a breath. "Since you and I are such good mates and all, I have decided that I want to make that bond with you! Doesn't that sound great?" Draco blinked twice. Why lie? Potter chuckled again.
"Oh well. Anyways, as you know, the bond doesn't need an executor, so a third party will not be needed, all that is needed is your hand," Harry reached out, "my hand," He wrapped his fingers around Draco's stiff hand, Draco could feel himself holding hands with Harry Potter, he was disgusted. "and one wand. Oh, don't move, we can just use my wand. You just rest there, okay?" He asked. Draco was stating to wish Potter would just hex him and get it over with, having to listen to the prat speak was worse than pain.
"Alright, now, before I do this, I want you to understand why I am doing this. You know what the bond is, and why its made. I am making this unbreakable bond with you because I want you to understand that I hold you responsible for a whole lot of my suffering. I want you to get it through your stupid blonde head that I don't like you. I blame you for the death of Dumbledore, I blame you for Snape's involvement with that whole thing, and I blame you in your father's absence." The grip on Draco's hand was intensifying into a harsh gripping.
"This bond is made because it can not be broken, it can't be broken by you, or even me. I want to make damned sure that if I am ever in danger, that you have to be in danger right with me. This is my revenge. You are going to suffer right…along…with…me." Draco didn't know what to do. He didn't want to be bonded like this! Surely the spell wouldn't hold unless he agreed? And as if he could read Draco's mind,
"You see, the beauty of this spell, I find, is that unlike other spells, both parties don't have to agree. This is one of those, death bed 'our love is too strong to be stopped by death so let us be bonded so we can find each other in the after world,' kind of bonds. But don't get it all mixed up, I don't love you, Malfoy. I just want to make sure you have no choice but to be with me." Draco looked at Potter, his eyes were alight with a frenzied light. The stupid fool was losing his mind! Before anything else could happen, Potter raised his wand, uttered the incantation, and Draco felt something. He felt something in him being yanked out, and something from Potter being put in. He felt their grip become stronger, he felt the hand in his starting to feel like his own. He felt the bond sinking in.
He felt dirty.
When the feeling subsided, Potter let go of Draco's hand. He stood up and looked down at Draco, his wand light in Draco's face once more.
"I'm going to release you from your hold. You can't run away from me, we are bonded, I will always be able to find you. I am going to release you, and you are going to take me to Godric's Hollow, I just hope you're good at apparation." Potter lifted the bindings and Draco felt himself relax. He sat up quickly and wrapped his fingers around Potter's neck, squeezing tight and choking him. Potter fell back and Draco scrambled on top of him,
"Take off the bond! Take it off right now!" He shouted over and over again, Potter's eyes were tearing, he was gasping for breath, scratching at Draco's arms, and writhing underneath the blonde. Draco held on strong.
"Take it off or I swear to God I am going to fucking kill you!" Out of options, Potter's knee came up and dug into Draco's groin. Draco let go and fell backwards, searing pain shooting through his entire crotch region. Potter got up and, forsaking his wand, stomped on Draco's face like the blonde had done to him.
"We can do this all day, Malfoy. I have no problem kicking your arse, you evil little foul creature!" He flicked his wand and Draco felt himself become solid once more. He could feel blood pooling all over him and was scared that he would drown in his own blood. Potter flicked his wand and Draco felt as the blood stopped oozing out.
"I think you own me an apology." Potter said, breathing heavily, red marks were around his neck and his eyes were still bloodshot. He pointed his wand in Draco's face, a mad glint back in his eyes.
"I could kill you right now and no one would ever know. No one would care, and no one would come looking for you. Is that what you want? Do you want to die like a scum lying on the ground covered in your own blood?" Draco blinked his eyes twice. Potter smiled.
"Good. Now, I am going to try and let you get up again, if you hurt me, Malfoy, I won't think twice to just freezing you again and leaving you here to rot. Do you understand?" Draco blinked once, hating himself for doing it. Potter sighed and flicked his wand again. Draco sat up slowly this time, taking time to wipe his face from the almost dry blood there.
"You asshole." Draco said. Potter chuckled,
"Thanks. Look, we are going to Godric's Hollow, so, you might as well stand up and get ready to take me there."
"What's your problem, then? Don't know how to apparate?" Draco asked, injecting as much scorn into his voice as possible. Potter just shrugged.
"I'm not exactly licensed yet." Draco scoffed.
"So what, you're not exactly licensed to force someone else into an Unbreakable Bond and yet you did that anyways." Potter shrugged again.
"Oh well…get up. I want to get there before the sun comes up." He waiting for Draco to get to his feet. Draco noticed the bag that Potter had picked up and slung over his shoulders.
"I don't have any clothes." He said, he felt very sticky, gross and possibly stinky in what he was wearing. Potter looked at him, and in a deadpan voice,
"And that is my problem in what way?" Draco sneered and folded his arms, Potter came up close and reached out, Draco jerked back,
"Don't touch me!" He snapped. Potter rolled his eyes.
"I can't get there if I don't hold on to you." Without missing a beat,
"And that is my problem in what way?" Potter, however, had an answer already prepared,
"If I don't get to Godric's Hollow within the next ten minutes, I will make you wish you were never born." Draco rolled his eyes and quickly took out his wand, Potter already had his pointed directly between Draco's gray eyes.
"You want to duel?" Potter asked. Draco scoffed.
"I hate you. Grab my arm, and if you touch me anywhere else, I will be the one who will make you wish you were never born." Potter grabbed onto Draco's upper arm, his fingers digging into Draco's flesh.
"I already bloody wish that. Quit stalling and take me where I need to go." Feeling a bit exploited, Draco took a deep breath, focused on where he needed to go, and with a loud popping noise, they were gone.
I'm not sure whether or not I should explain these actions… Why was Harry behaving so spontaneously? And why was Draco so compliant? There are answers for each question, but I wonder if I am at liberty to try and justify their actions. Do you want to know? Well, I don't think you would be reading this if you didn't want to know, so I suppose its alright for me to explain. Harry was told by Arthur Weasley that no one 'had time' for him. It was suggested to him that Harry needed Ron and Hermione in order to get things done. Well, Harry knew that he really didn't need anyone. But he could use someone. And as if on cue, Draco Malfoy showed up. Who better to just use and not need than the blonde? It was Harry's plan to get everything he needed done, done. And he would do it on his own, using Draco Malfoy whenever he needed to.
And what of Draco? Here he was, a lost young man, alone and directed to go and shelter at a place he knew nothing about. He went looking for rest, warmth possibly, and got more than he bargained for. And like a thunderbolt striking down catching Draco off guard, Harry Potter shows up. His presence igniting confusion within Draco. Did Snape know where he was sending the boy? Was this some kind of test? Joke? The reason why Draco decided to go along with Potter was a dangerous gamble. Draco kept in mind the Potter he knew, and the Potter that everyone spoke about. This legend still in the making, the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived,Draco was making a bet with himself. Draco was banking his life on the idea that, should the time ever come, Potter would be too noble, too proud, too Gryffindor to let anything actually happen to Draco.
Perhaps both plans could work. Maybe when this is all over the two will have found a friendship that they had been looking for. Could it be that without the triviality of blood that these two would have been best friends when they first met at Madam Malkin's? We all know the story thus far, Harry Potter is the 'good guy' and Draco Malfoy is the purported 'bad guy'. Let us disregard these assumptions and get on with the story. Until next time, keep in mind the story you know, and keep your mind open to the story I am telling.