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It happened so quickly. The blink of an eye, it couldn't have been anything but magic. When he closed his eyes, he was sitting in the sun, the ocean stretched out ahead of him. When he opened them, he was in a dimly lit room, vast and chilled, a warmthless fire flickering in a grey stone hearth to his left. He sat regally in a wingback chair, plush velvet cushions cradling him, soft in contrast to the stiff robes he wore.
"Draco, come here."
This night was five years behind him, but he remembered it well. Down to the very last detail. His last night at Malfoy Manor. His last night with magic. His mother and father stood there, looking at him expectantly, and it was as if no time had passed at all. He rose, crossing the room in long, purposeful strides, going to great pains not to give away the excitement threatening to tear him to pieces. In his hand, was a wand, and he could feel the power in it. An extension of himself. Oh, how he'd missed it.
All three of them stood with their backs to the hearth, faces tipped toward the ground, but he knew, even without looking, that Greyback was right. He'd caught Harry Potter. The Dark Lord would be so pleased.
Draco paused, thought about denying it all over again. Defying his parents. Not out of fear this time. No, these were entirely different reasons.
She was already in the basement. Had been, for weeks. He knew that, too.
"Yes. That's them. That's Harry Potter," he heard himself say, looking straight into Potter's swollen eyes, a sneer of triumph on his face. He'd won. He'd come home, finally, and for once, he'd put himself in the Dark Lord's good graces. He would be a legend. He would be the one to deliver Potter to his executioner.
But then... The world went white.
~~~
He was sitting in a chair. Wingback, flickering fire, everything the same as before, and he hissed out a curse, ignoring the displeased looks of his parents.
"Draco? Did you not hear your mother? Come here," Lucius barked, and Draco stood, mind whirring -- Cursing the island. Cursing his parents. Cursing the Dark Lord. Cursing Luna Lovegood with every fiber of his being. What the bloody hell was he doing here? What kind of cruel joke could this have possibly been?
"I can't be sure," he answered simply, then he turned on his heel and marched out, despite the protest of his father. His mother's shrieking voice.
He didn't make it very far.
~~~
Five times. Five times the world went white and he found himself back in that chair. Five times too bloody many.
"Draco, come here."
He rose, he went through the motions of that night. No, he couldn't be sure. Yes, maybe that was Granger. Yes, that was Arthur Weasley's son. Then, his Aunt was sweeping into the room and he suppressed a shiver, watching distantly as she fought with Greyback and his men, as she'd done before.
"If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me," he heard her say, and he grabbed both men by the arms, shoving them toward the door, his wand at their backs. The first two times this played out, he'd killed them in the garden, a flash of green and their dead and sightless eyes staring up at him from the cobblestone. This time, he shoved them into the yard and left them there for his Aunt to deal with.
And then, he slipped back inside, marching quietly toward the cellar and for the first time since all this had begun, he tapped the heavy door with his wand.
"Draco, come here."
This night was five years behind him, but he remembered it well. Down to the very last detail. His last night at Malfoy Manor. His last night with magic. His mother and father stood there, looking at him expectantly, and it was as if no time had passed at all. He rose, crossing the room in long, purposeful strides, going to great pains not to give away the excitement threatening to tear him to pieces. In his hand, was a wand, and he could feel the power in it. An extension of himself. Oh, how he'd missed it.
All three of them stood with their backs to the hearth, faces tipped toward the ground, but he knew, even without looking, that Greyback was right. He'd caught Harry Potter. The Dark Lord would be so pleased.
Draco paused, thought about denying it all over again. Defying his parents. Not out of fear this time. No, these were entirely different reasons.
She was already in the basement. Had been, for weeks. He knew that, too.
"Yes. That's them. That's Harry Potter," he heard himself say, looking straight into Potter's swollen eyes, a sneer of triumph on his face. He'd won. He'd come home, finally, and for once, he'd put himself in the Dark Lord's good graces. He would be a legend. He would be the one to deliver Potter to his executioner.
But then... The world went white.
~~~
He was sitting in a chair. Wingback, flickering fire, everything the same as before, and he hissed out a curse, ignoring the displeased looks of his parents.
"Draco? Did you not hear your mother? Come here," Lucius barked, and Draco stood, mind whirring -- Cursing the island. Cursing his parents. Cursing the Dark Lord. Cursing Luna Lovegood with every fiber of his being. What the bloody hell was he doing here? What kind of cruel joke could this have possibly been?
"I can't be sure," he answered simply, then he turned on his heel and marched out, despite the protest of his father. His mother's shrieking voice.
He didn't make it very far.
~~~
Five times. Five times the world went white and he found himself back in that chair. Five times too bloody many.
"Draco, come here."
He rose, he went through the motions of that night. No, he couldn't be sure. Yes, maybe that was Granger. Yes, that was Arthur Weasley's son. Then, his Aunt was sweeping into the room and he suppressed a shiver, watching distantly as she fought with Greyback and his men, as she'd done before.
"If you haven't got the guts to finish them, then leave them in the courtyard for me," he heard her say, and he grabbed both men by the arms, shoving them toward the door, his wand at their backs. The first two times this played out, he'd killed them in the garden, a flash of green and their dead and sightless eyes staring up at him from the cobblestone. This time, he shoved them into the yard and left them there for his Aunt to deal with.
And then, he slipped back inside, marching quietly toward the cellar and for the first time since all this had begun, he tapped the heavy door with his wand.
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Date: 2010-06-04 09:47 pm (UTC)She hadn't remembered how much the shackles hurt her wrists.
Mr. Ollivander sighs and turns over. There's others here too, but the world is spinning too fast to be sure.
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Date: 2010-06-06 04:06 am (UTC)"Lumos," he muttered, following the glow at the tip of his wand until he found a head of blond hair, an the small, cowering body it was attached to.
"We're leaving," he told her, releasing the chains on her wrists with another flick of his wand, right as all the commotion started upstairs. They'd be coming down, soon, with Potter and Weasley in tow. "Dammit," he muttered frustratedly, "We have to go. Now."
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Date: 2010-06-06 11:25 pm (UTC)She collapses like a ragdoll at his feet.
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Date: 2010-06-07 03:32 am (UTC)There was a growl at the base of the stairs, Greyback looming in the doorframe, his teeth bared. "What's going on here?" he snarled, his wand raised and a curse on his lips, and Draco had time to lift his own wand, point it at the werewolf when the world dissolved into white.
~~~
He rose from his chair immediately, walked through script of the night that he had memorized by now, but this time, after shoving Greyback's minions out into the garden, he waited. He listened for the shouting, listened for it to disappear down the cellar stairs, then waited for Greyback to emerge from the cellar and return to the drawing room.
This time, when he opened the door with a tap of his wand, there were already voices in the dark. Striding into the room, Draco cast a quick Lumos spell and hissed, "Oh for pity's sake, Weasley, will you be quiet?"
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Date: 2010-06-07 04:01 am (UTC)She can't remember if Draco has ever seen her cry before.
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:08 am (UTC)"Stop crying, we'll be alright," he was saying when Potter lunged at him, knocking his wand away and growling angrily, "Don't touch her. You stay away from her, you rat!"
"Potter, you imbecile!" Draco hissed, while Weasley kept on wailing, "HERMIONE! HERMIONE!" like there was no one else in the room.
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-07 05:29 am (UTC)But it was too late. They'd heard, he could hear their curious voices upstairs, hear their footsteps, and he squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the world to spin on it's axis all over again.
~~~
"Bloody fucking hell!" he roared, bursting from his chair and standing there panting, flushed and immeasurably angry, there in his parents' drawing room.
"Draco, what on earth is the matter?" his mother demanded coldly, and he ignored the pierce of his father's eyes boring into him. "Nothing. I just want these vermin out of our home," he said, pointing a pale finger toward Greyback's men, which seemed to appease them.
It took forever for him to get his chance, but this time, he knew what he had to do. Or good Lord, he hoped so.
Marching down the steps, he unlocked the door and immediately cast a binding curse on Weasley, effectively immobilizing him for the time being.
Blissful silence.
Potter was on his feet, free of his ropes, but Draco brushed past him as if he wasn't there. Crouching in front of Luna, he said, loudly enough that they could all hear but with his eyes on Luna alone, "I need you to listen to me, can you do that?"
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:36 am (UTC)The world refocuses for her, and there's Draco's steely eyes to hold. Another nod.
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:42 am (UTC)God, he hated himself for doing this. Truly.
"You're taking this," he said through gritted teeth, getting to his feet and reluctantly pushing his wand into Potter's hand. "You and Weasley get upstairs, get your little Mudblood witch and get out of here."
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:47 am (UTC)"Then we need to take the rest, too."
She wants him to pass, so badly.
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Date: 2010-06-07 05:55 am (UTC)"How can we trust you?" Potter demanded, his face still swollen hideously but gradually returning to that face Draco had known and hated for so long.
"I gave you my wand, Potter. What more could you possibly need?" he asked, on the edge of laughing, but then Potter ended the binding curse and Ron was on his feet and tugging Potter toward the door.
Then there was a pop, a whoosh, and a beady-eyed House Elf peering up at them. Ahead of schedule.
"They'll be coming for the goblin soon. Let's go."
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Date: 2010-06-07 06:07 am (UTC)But then it's time, and they're leaving.
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Date: 2010-06-07 06:18 am (UTC)Where's Draco?
Then the world tilted, the bottom dropping out of his stomach, and he expected to find himself sitting in that armchair in the drawing room. He expected to never leave that horrible place.
But instead, his feet were planted firmly on the ground. Sinking into dewy grass, the smell of the ocean filling his nose. They were a mismatched band of misfits. The wand maker, Dean Thomas and the goblin sprawled out at their feet, and standing in the middle was Draco Malfoy with Loony Luna Lovegood's hand held in his.
The House Elf shouted suddenly, "Must go save Harry Potter!" and then disappeared with a pop.
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Date: 2010-06-07 06:24 am (UTC)She turns to Draco, silvery eyes brilliant with joy and pride in him, and she doesn't care if he laughs at her for it, but at this moment it's Draco filling her eyes and heart.
"I knew you could," she whispers, and then glances around. "There are others here," she suddenly says, her bright face falling. "I shouldn't grab you so."
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Date: 2010-06-07 06:33 am (UTC)Draco rolled his eyes and said, "I really couldn't give a toss who's here," because none of them mattered. This place didn't matter. He should have been so happy, so grateful to have his magic back. He should have never wanted to lose it again. But all he could feel in that moment was relief, to finally be out of that cellar and away from his mother and father's cold, frantic eyes.
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Date: 2010-06-07 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-07 02:42 pm (UTC)It was nice to hear.
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Date: 2010-06-10 01:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 08:36 pm (UTC)It was unfortunate that the moment his lips touched hers, the air around them changed, and with a crack, Dobby had returned with precious Harry Potter and his band of misfits.
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Date: 2010-06-16 02:06 am (UTC)"Be quiet, Ronald," she says instead, warningly, and her fists curl at her sides. "Don't speak like that."
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Date: 2010-06-17 03:50 am (UTC)"Oh, for heaven's sake," he shouted, stumbling backward, but then the world tilted, flared a blinding white.
Oh, Lord. Not again, he thought, but instead of finding himself sitting in that regal chair in his parent's drawing room, he was standing in the middle of the jungle, a mosquito buzzing annoyingly about his face and those familiar birds screaming overhead. Wildly, he thought I'm home before he could stop himself.