| Chapter Ten: Resolutions By Princesspepper |
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| Potter, I know It Must have startLed You that I was gone, however, It had to be done. I couldN't stay here with you any lonGer, and I couldn't just LEave while you were awake. I don't know what I saw in you in The first place; why did I ever agree To be your lovER? I should have known thIS would happen. I can never sTay attached to any one person foR too long. This mAy seem sudden, but the fact is, I've been thinking about it for a while. I know you're Probably upset, but don't be. It's not like I'm just leaving, you must have seen this coming, or are you that thick? -DM Harry couldn't stop reading this over. He must have read it about six times before the message registered in his brain. Draco was gone, and it appeared as if he weren't coming back. This stung worse than any wound he had ever received, including the first breakup he experienced with Draco. At least that one was accompanied with a note that ensured Harry it was a trick-- A trick� It finally hit Harry that maybe Draco had been forced to write this note. Maybe he didn't want to leave Harry! Hell, why would he want to? Just the night before, they had been so comfortable in Draco's bed. Harry had to do something about this--what if Voldemort wasn't gone yet, and had indeed captured Draco? Harry wouldn't put it past him; Voldemort was could be very cunning at times--and very foolish at others. It was definitely foolish to mess with Draco, and Harry would make sure his captor knew that by the end of the day. Harry could have left that very moment to go hunt down Draco, but he needed a strategy. He was pretty sure that he would be in Number Twelve Grimmauld Place again, but first he had to go see Snape. Someone should know where he was, just in case something should happen to him. Harry was out the door in a matter of ten minutes, just throwing on some clothes. He made a beeline for Professor Snape's office; walking briskly and clutching the letter Draco had left him. Upon arriving, Harry was about to just bust in, but then realized Snape most likely wouldn't take very kindly to him if he did that. So, Harry opted for knocking on the door urgently. Snape opened it moments later, looking a little surprised to see Harry. "What is it, Potter?" he hissed in a slightly hostile manner. "It's Saturday!" Harry shook his head and motioned for Snape to go inside. Snape did so reluctantly, looking at Harry through the corner of his eye. "Is something the matter?" he said suspiciously, noticing that Draco was not with Harry. The two were usually inseparable, why would Harry go somewhere without him? "Draco's gone!" Ah, enlightenment. "He left this breakup note," Harry said, handing the parchment to Snape. "I don't think it's real. Why would he just walk out like that?" "Seems as if he's finally come to his senses," the Potions Master said nastily. When Harry looked hurt, Snape weakened slightly. "I'm sorry, Potter. I couldn't resist. Anyway, what makes you think that? Why would he write this if he didn't mean it?" "I think someone may have forced him to write it. I'm going to go find him; I think he's in trouble." "Why don't you just contact him through your bond to see where he is?" Snape asked raising an eyebrow while quickly reading over the letter. "It hasn't been working, Sir!" Harry said, running nervous fingers through his tousled locks. "Now why would that be�?" Snape mused, drifting off into thought. It was a wonder he didn't realize when Harry suddenly bolted from the seat by his desk. When the movement did catch his eye, his head shot up. "Potter! Where are you off to in such a hurry?!" Snape called after Harry's retreating form. "Blimey, are you deaf," Harry called over his shoulder, "or just really, really thick? I'm going to find Draco!" And with that, Harry was no more than a gust of wind as the door slammed shut. "Goddammit, Potter," Snape muttered, turning his attention back to the letter and his thoughts. [//] Harry left the school quickly and Apparated to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. Sure enough, when he walked in, an enemy greeted him. But not the one that Harry had expected. "Ricardo!" Harry spat, eyeing the other man with pure loathing. "What the hell are you doing here?" Ricardo shot Harry one of his trademark smiles. "Ah, yes, I knew you would come," he responded, his voice cold and all traces of an accent gone from it. Harry was slightly taken aback by his tone, but didn't let it show. "What are you playing at?" he hissed, subtly reaching for his wand. "Do you realize who you are messing with?" "Yes, that I do. But I should be asking the same question of you. Do you know who you are dealing with, Potter?" "I bloody well do!" Harry shouted, trying desperately (and failing miserably) to maintain his composure. "You're a sodding rapist! And now you've kidnapped Draco! You sicko!" he added for good measure. Ricardo's eerie smile merely widened, exposing his flawless teeth. "Must you point out the obvious? That's not what I meant," he said, expression never faltering. This sent shivers up and down Harry's spine. "What DID you mean then?" Harry hissed, his teeth clenched together in an unattractive grimace. Ricardo sighed and shook his head at Harry's thickness. "Did you ever wonder why I was so fascinated with you and your boyfriend?" he said, circling around Harry. "N--no�" Harry stammered, trying not to break eye contact with the other wizard. "Ah," Ricardo said, nodding once. "Well, maybe it's time I told you," Harry gaped. Suddenly, Ricardo's eyes were changing shade. They slowly morphed from their regular deep brown to a bright, bold, crimson. "I am the son of the Dark Lord," Ricardo hissed, drawing out his syllables for effect, "and I have agreed to avenge him. By doing away with you." [//] Snape was a little annoyed with Harry's sudden departure, but decided to push the feelings aside and focus on the task at hand. It was indeed very odd that his godson would leave Potter so suddenly; Snape was sure the boy had loved him. So what was with this so-called breakup note? Snape read over the letter again, this time more carefully. When looking at the letter as a whole, he noticed something very odd about it. It was written in a very haphazard way, much different from his godson's usual loopy, neat, cursive handwriting. Under closer examination (and several charms), Severus verified that it was, indeed, Draco's handwriting. But why did it look so weird? He read it over once more, this time looking at the individual words, rather than what they meant together. Suddenly, he had an epiphany. Why didn't he realize it before? Several of the letters were capitalized out of turn. Snape was surprised that he had not noticed this immediately. However, he reasoned that it is a bit hard to notice in handwriting. Snape took out a bit of parchment and began to write down the oddly capitalized letters. IMLYINGLETTERISTRAP. Snape looked down at his results, satisfied with himself that he had figured out so much. However, the good feeling left once he had reasoned where to put the spaces. I'm lying. Letter is trap. "Shit," Snape uttered, standing up quickly from his place at his desk. Here he was, in his safe office, while Potter was getting himself into more trouble than he realized. He just wished he noticed what was going on before he got hurt. Snape began starting to frantically pace his office. Of course; NOW everything is making sense! Why couldn't he have reasoned this twenty minutes earlier, when Potter was still there? The least Potter could have done was tell Snape where it was he was going! He may be able to save them that way! Then he remembered: Potter wasn't even sure where he was going! He couldn't contact Draco through their bond-- "The bond wasn't working," Snape mumbled, slowly putting the pieces together. It hit him why the bond wasn't working: since it was a love bond, and Draco had been raped, it had been interfered with! This had all been done on purpose, a set up! If only they had told him who raped Draco! Again, Snape hoped Potter saw through the hoax. He cringed when he remembered the only thing Potter could see through was his own glasses. "This is one of those times," Snape started, "that you wish you had one of those muggle contraptions. What are they called? Those portable felly-tone things�" [//] All Harry could do was stare, mouth agape, and eyes wide. He had not seen this coming. He was rendered speechless and motionless, waiting for someone else to say something. This time, he definitely wasn't going to be the one to break the silence. Harry was suddenly and unpleasantly snapped out of his stupor when Ricardo made a sudden movement for his wand. This got Harry to jump into action. "Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted, sending the disarming spell shooting at his opponent. "Protego!" Ricardo shouted in response, covering himself with a protective shield. Then he shrieked, "Locomotor Mortis!" catching Harry off guard and locking his legs. Harry tipped over and fell to the ground ungracefully, wincing at his now sore ass. His arms, however, were still fully functional, so he quickly muttered the counter curse, regaining full use of his legs. Once he was at his feet again, he saw Ricardo was laughing. "Enough with amateur hour here," he was saying, smirking at Harry in that evil way. "To think you supposedly defeated my father!" 'Supposedly?' Harry questioned before all his thoughts were overridden by one emotion: anger. Ricardo was talking again. "No wonder your boyfriend was so easy to rape, seeing as you are the dominant one in the pair. Ha, you, dominant? That's a laugh." Was Ricardo that dumb as to think he could come out of insulting The Boy-Who-Lived in one piece? Harry was turning redder and redder with every word that found it's way out of Ricardo's mouth. "Which reminds me," Ricardo chuckled, "I think there's someone who'd like to see this�" just as the words left Ricardo's lips, a door behind him slowly creaked open, and out stepped Draco, looking very dazed and confused. He was staring at Harry intently with a look of utmost concentration on his face. He was twitching every few seconds, which Harry found very unsettling. Draco didn't have a tick. "What did you do to him, you fucking bastard?!" Harry shouted, making a move to greet Draco at the door. He quickly changed his mind about that when he saw Ricardo's wand jab menacingly in his direction, and kept his feet rooted to the ground. "Don't worry about that now, Harry. In fact, in a few moments, I'm sure you won't be worrying about much at all." Harry clenched his teeth. The thing he did next, he knew he couldn't have stopped himself even if he had wanted to. He was just that angry. "Crucio!" Harry shouted passionately, his wand pointed at Ricardo's heart. He fell to the ground instantly, twitching and hissing and screaming for mercy. The thing Harry did now, he still regrets, if only a little. He didn't think he had it in him to be so cruel. What Harry did was laugh. He laughed and laughed, not caring that the man at his feet was in more pain than he had ever been in, in his entire life. Eventually, Harry relented mercifully, lifting the curse from Ricardo's spent body. The man rose shakily to his feet, his hair no longer perfect and a smile absent from his face. "So you want to play dirty, eh Potter? Well two can play at this game�" Ricardo raised his wand to let out the deadliest of curses, but Harry, once again, beat him to it. "Avada Kedavra!" he shouted, enjoying the look of terror on Ricardo's face before the curse hit him. Once the man had hit the ground, Harry walked towards Draco, but not before pausing at the fallen body and looking triumphantly into his glassy eyes. Harry spit on him contemptuously, moving on to meet Draco. It was then he remembered how strange he had been acting. Draco was frozen in the doorframe, staring straight ahead, his eyes unblinking and unmoving. Harry tentatively approached him and touched his shoulder gently. Draco jumped what looked like a foot in the air and yelped. It seemed as if that broke him out of his trance. "Why is it that I'm always getting kidnapped?" he muttered, returning Harry's warm embrace. "What can I say, you're the bait," Harry said, smiling. He didn't care about anything; just that Draco was okay. "Shall we go?" Harry said, taking Draco's hand and pulling him towards the door. Draco nodded but didn't say anything. Harry thought he was acting a little strange, but he just figured it was the after effects of what had just happened. How foolish could Harry be? [//] Once the boys had arrived back at their school, they went right to Snape's office. They figured the Potions Master would be worried for his godson's welfare. As soon as they knocked on the door, Snape opened it in an instant. They saw relief flood his features as he took in the appearance of the two in front of him. "You're all right�" he muttered. However, to everyone's surprise (even his own), it wasn't Draco he pulled into an embrace, but Harry. Harry froze, feeling very strange. Was Snape HUGGING him? That was just too weird for words. "Potter, you idiot," Snape was muttering, "you could've been killed�" When he pulled away and Harry was still looking at him as if he had grown another head, he beckoned him forward to his desk. He held up the note Draco had left him, and circled all the capitalized letters in red ink. He then wrote all of them down on parchment and showed Harry what it read. "Draco, that was very clever, but your boyfriend here was too thick to see it," Snape said after explaining the message. "But it wasn't really a trap�" Harry muttered, looking at Draco, who shrugged nonchalantly. "Can we go back to our room now?" Draco said impatiently, tapping his foot on the cold stone floor. "Sure," Harry said, shrugging. "See you, Professor." Snape nodded in response, but then had second thoughts. "Wait! There's something else I figured out about this whole situation�" Harry looked at Draco and was surprised to see that he looked really nervous. "Ah, I suppose I'll tell you tomorrow. You're both probably really tired� and have things to do," he finished, shuddering (mental images). Draco, relieved, took Harry's arm and dragged him to their room. Once they got there, Draco looked around disapprovingly and sat on his bed. "What's wrong?" Harry said, eyeing him suspiciously. "Nothing!" Draco spat. He looked a little unsure, and then said, "I mean, nothing, really�" in a much nicer voice. Harry shrugged it off and sat on the bed next to him. He began to lean forward with the intention of kissing Draco, but Draco looked at him weird. "What are you doing?" "Nothi--" Harry started, but was interrupted when Draco moved out of the way, making Harry topple headfirst onto the bed. "Hey!" Harry shouted indignantly. "What was that for?" "Pfft�" Draco said, crossing his arms. "Are you sure nothing's wrong?" Harry said curiously. "Yes! I'm just tired! I'm going to go read." "Fine. I guess I'll do that too," Harry responded, fishing in his schoolbag for the novel he was supposed to be reading. The boys spent the afternoon uncomfortably reading on their respective beds. Harry was really worried by this point. But, he reasoned, Draco had been through a lot because of Harry, and maybe he was a little resentful. That thought troubled Harry more than he would like to admit. The tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife, and Harry decided it was time he took a shower. Maybe when he got back, Draco wouldn't be so cold. "I'm going in the shower," he said, breaking the deafening silence. Draco merely nodded, not looking up from his book. Harry sighed and exited the room, intending to spend as long as he possibly could in the bathroom. Harry closed the door behind him tightly and locked it with a spell. He stood in front of the mirror to examine his appearance. At the sight of his own face, he was instantly angered for reasons he wasn't sure of. Well, it was his fault Draco got raped, and kidnapped twice! And now Draco wasn't speaking to him� would things ever be the same again between them? Harry thought back on last week, when the two had been so comfortable with one another. How did things change so drastically with one event? Maybe Draco finally realized that Harry was more trouble than he was worth and was planning on dumping him soon. Harry was actually surprised he hadn't done so yet! Why must he make him suffer through the silence when in the morning, Draco would most likely be gone again? Harry decided he hated himself. He knew it was a bad idea to start thinking like this; once he went down that road, there was no turning back and he knew it. However, at the moment, he didn't care. His usually nimble fingers shook with clumsiness as he reached into the cabinet above the sink, knocking things off the shelves as he went. Harry was dimly aware of tears running down his cheeks as he took one of the new, sharp razors out of the cabinet. He quickly cracked it, removing the metal from the disposable plastic. His fingers began to shake more violently as he pressed the cool metal of the blade onto his forearm. A few thoughts raced through his head, telling him that he hadn't done this for almost three years, why start again? Once he started, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop. But, again, at the moment he didn't care. Harry scratched the sharp surface across the pale skin of his forearm without a second thought. He watched as the blood from the wound dripped down the sides of his arm sluggishly, like molasses. He smiled at what he did; he felt better already. He had caused Draco pain, and now he was getting what he deserved. Harry stripped down to nothing and turned the shower water on full blast, careful not to let his arm brush anything so as not to leave a bloodstain on it. After removing his glasses, he stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over his open wound. He hissed as the sharp droplets sunk into the cut, but watched with morbid fascination as the water mixed with the blood and steadily streamed off of his arm. Once it was all off, he watched the pink tinged water swirl and spiral down the drain. This was going to be hard to stop. [//] When he was done with his shower, he reached for fresh clothes when he realized that he had forgotten to bring them into the bathroom with him. So, he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. At the sound of the door opening, Draco glanced up from his book briefly, but immediately looked back down. Now Harry knew something was wrong for sure. Draco was definitely pissed; he could never resist jumping Harry when he walked out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Harry sighed and dug through his trunk for his clothes, going back into the bathroom to put them on. That's it; this was a sure sign that it was over. Now all Harry had to do was wait for Draco to do it officially. Their bond was no longer there for the most part so there was nothing stopping him. The rest of the hours of the day passed by torturously sluggish, as if someone had bewitched the hands on the clock to move twice as slowly. Glancing at his watch at ten o'clock, Draco closed his book and got off the bed. "I want to go to sleep now," he said, stretching and walking towards the bathroom. "Okay," Harry said, closing his book as well. They got ready in silence, and Harry was about to get into his own bed when Draco stopped him. "Sleep with me," he said flatly. Harry shrugged and got into bed next to him. This was weird; Harry had thought Draco had wanted nothing to do with him. They said goodnight and Harry shut off the light. He closed his eyes and tried to go to sleep, but he couldn't help noticing the weird position Draco was in. Harry wasn't looking, but he could tell that Draco was on the opposite side of the bed: as far away from Harry as he could possibly get. Also, his muscles were tense and he was very rigid, just laying there, waiting, and making no effort to relax. His breathing came in sharp gasps rather than slow, drawn out inhales and exhales. Obviously, his behavior was making Harry very nervous. He shuddered and drew the covers closer to his lithe form, clenching his eyes shut. Eventually, he drifted off to sleep, the sound of Draco's sharp breathing filling his ears. [//] Harry scolded himself for months after the following incident for not seeing through Draco's guise. Later, he reasoned that he had been far too happy that Draco was okay to notice anything strange. But, the fact remains that Harry had suspected nothing until he woke up in the middle of the night to find Draco on top of him, his hands pinning Harry's shoulders to the mattress. "What're you doing?" Harry mumbled groggily, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Draco put his thumbs on the outside of Harry's windpipe and pressed down. Hard. Harry immediately started wheezing, his eyes bulging in surprise. He looked up into Draco's silver eyes to find that all the warmth he usually found there was gone. They were the same cold silver they had been when the two had been rivals as young boys. Harry started choking when Draco took the pressure off his neck. "What is your PROBLEM!" he shouted, flailing wildly. But the voice that answered him was not Draco's. It was much more high-pitched and cold than Draco's ever was. "Shut up!" he said, pressing harder yet. He raised one hand from Harry's neck and brought it down sharply, smacking him in the face. While Harry was recovering from the shock of being slapped, Draco quickly grabbed his wand and held it at Harry's throat. "Foolish boy," he hissed, eyes bulging from their sockets, "you're not nearly as smart as everyone thinks you are! I was sure you were going to notice that it wasn't your lover you were bringing back." "W--what?" Harry choked out of his squashed trachea. "Polyjuice Potion?" "No. Fair enough, this is his body. His mind is no longer his to control and neither are his actions." "Imperius curse?" Harry questioned, getting more terrified by the second. "No! This is Lord Voldemort you're dealing with, boy. I have no need to use the Imperius curse. I have much better ways of controlling others' actions." So Harry's suspicions were correct. This was the end, and he was going to die in a very embarrassing way indeed. "No, I possessed him. There is no better way; this cannot be traced!" Voldemort laughed in a way that sounded more like hissing. Suddenly, Harry got an idea. This was his only hope of coming out of this alive, so he seized his opportunity as soon as it came. Catching Voldemort off guard, Harry thrust his hips upward, knocking Voldemort off balance. He gave a shriek and toppled off Harry, landing on the bed next to him. Harry wasted no time in switching their positions, now pinning Voldemort to the bed. "You idiot," Harry hissed, "didn't you realize I am stronger than the body you are possessing?" Voldemort was visibly flustered, but quickly hid that. "That wasn't my plan, Potter! My plan was� was�" It was obvious that he was thinking very quickly, trying not to look as stupid as he really was. Harry laughed derisively and put more pressure on Voldemort. Sure, now he had the Dark Lord pinned, but how was he going to get him out of Draco's body? He didn't know how to perform an exorcism, and there was no way he could call for help! Harry began to run things through his mind; thinking of the ways he had escaped the Dark Lord in the past. Well, the first time he was faced with him, his mother's love had protected him. If there was one thing Voldemort could not stand it was-- Wait. That was the answer! As much as Harry hated the idea of having to do this, it was the only way. Harry's eyes found Voldemort's, and he smiled sweetly. "What are you thinking?" Voldemort said, sounding slightly apprehensive. Harry didn't answer, merely began to cover the person underneath him with kisses. "W--what are you doing?!" Voldemort screeched, trying with all his might to throw Harry off of him. Harry started to think the most sickeningly sweet thoughts he could, directing them at the man underneath him, trying desperately to pretend it was Draco, rather than Voldemort in his body. While Voldemort was weak from the display of affection he was being subjected to, he felt something stir inside his mind. He began to faintly hear confused thoughts that turned into shouts of protest. Malfoy was starting to regain his control! Voldemort panicked, weakening him further. Eventually and after much fighting, Draco's mind began to surface over Voldemort's. Of course, Harry knew nothing of this, and was beginning to get discouraged, thinking his plan wasn't working. However, when "Voldemort" began to blink stupidly and start whispering "Harry?" Harry began to realize what was happening. "Draco?" Harry stared, thinking that maybe Voldemort was trying to trick him. Draco nodded. "It's working! Keep kissing me," he said, and closed his eyes, beginning to think how much he loved Harry. He felt the Voldemort inside of him recoil. Voldemort hated all that mushy stuff. In fact, it was his polar opposite. If they kept doing this, it would reach such an extreme level that Voldemort would be expelled from Draco's body! For ten minutes, this continued. Everybody was so nervous that only half his mind was on what was going on. The other half was on the consequences of something going wrong. Draco was the most heartened of the three, as he was hearing Voldemort's voice getting softer and more distant as it told him to stop. Eventually, Draco heard a distinct scream before the voice disappeared completely. His eyes opened and he smiled. He tapped Harry gently on the shoulder, signaling him that it was safe to stop. Harry looked at him anxiously. "He's gone!" Draco declared. When Harry still looked uneasy, Draco gave him a quizzical look. "What's wrong?" he asked. "How can I be sure you're not lying?" Harry said, avoiding Draco's eyes. Draco was silent, thinking. How could he prove it? He shook his head, meeting Harry's eyes. "You can't. You just have to trust me." Harry looked really freaked out. Draco didn't blame him; he had just gotten attacked in his sleep! "Why don't we go see Snape?" Harry whispered. Draco nodded, but then looked at the clock. "Harry, it's three in the morning." Harry gritted his teeth and got out of the bed, beginning to get dressed. "This is important. The whole reason Snape was sent here, in fact. He'll just have to deal with being woken up." Draco nodded grimly. "He's not going to be happy with us." "Oh, I know. But that's just too bad." [//] Fifteen minutes later, Harry and Draco were under Harry's invisibility cloak, walking through the deserted corridors of their school in search of Snape's quarters. Draco claimed he knew where they were, but Harry was sure they had been walking in circles for the past ten minutes. "Oh, I remember now! It's this way." Draco said for the fourth time, dragging Harry in yet another direction. Harry sighed, but had no idea where he was going. He let Draco lead him. "Ah! I told you I knew where it was!" he said eagerly, approaching the door with the correct number on it. "Yeah, well I'm sure this is the fiftieth corridor we've been down," Harry muttered. Draco knocked on the door. He was really scared; his godfather did not take kindly to people who woke him up in the dead of night. He had a bad temper to begin with, so you could just imagine. When he heard footsteps, he yanked off the invisibility cloak and braced himself. He was going to be yelled at something awful. "Whoooo�" Snape started, looking very disgruntled in a black robe, but upon seeing Draco, he quieted, waiting for an explanation. "We had a You-Know-Who encounter," Draco explained quickly, anticipating the reaction. The anger drained from Snape's face as he paled considerably. "Wait here," he mumbled before shutting the door. Harry looked at Draco quizzically, but Draco just shrugged. Moments later, the door opened again to reveal Snape, this time fully clothed. "We're going to see Dumbledore," he said shortly, leading the boys outside the school so they could Apparate. The three found themselves outside Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Snape briskly pushed through the gargantuan double doors, beckoning the two to follow him. They walked at a brisk pace until they were standing outside the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. "Drooble's Best Blowing Gum," Snape muttered. The gargoyle jumped aside as a response, revealing the long winding staircase. The trio ascended it in silence, wondering how Dumbledore would react to seeing them at this time of night. Once they reached the office at the top of the stairs, however, Dumbledore was just coming out of a back room. Apparently, he had been expecting them. Hey, Dumbledore knows all, doesn't he? "Good evening Severus. Harry, Draco," He said calmly, regarding the three in front of him. "Would you be so kind as to have a seat?" he said, waving his wand to conjure three soft armchairs. He took the seat behind the desk and gestured for the three in front of him to take their own seats. They muttered thank you's as they sat, eyes never leaving Dumbledore. How was it that he always remained calm, even in the most unexpected of circumstances? "I take it something happened, as you don't come to visit me at three thirty in the morning every day?" Harry and Draco suddenly remembered why they were there and both began talking at once. "He was kidnapped and I went to rescue him--" "I was under the Imperius curse! Then Voldemort possessed me--" "I had to--" "I was really scared--" Dumbledore raised one of his hands in a gesture for them to be silent. "Severus informed me about Draco's being raped. He also showed me the note that you left Harry," Dumbledore brandished Draco's letter, "and first of all, I'd like to congratulate you, Mr. Malfoy. That was very clever of you." Draco blushed slightly and muttered his thank you. Dumbledore smiled, turning his attention towards Harry, who looked embarrassed. "Nothing away from you, Harry; I'm proud you figured out as much as you did, even if it wasn't the whole thing. I think everybody has a lot of explaining to do before I can clear all this up." Everyone nodded, including Snape. "I think we should start with Draco. I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but I think it's important to what is going on right now. Who raped you?" Draco had suddenly found a loose thread on his robe very fascinating, but he answered Dumbledore's question anyway. "It was this guy at my school--his name was Ricardo," Harry bristled upon hearing the name, but didn't say anything yet. Dumbledore nodded in understanding. "Was he the one that kidnapped you?" he pressed. Draco nodded. "What do you remember? Could you tell us?" Draco nodded again. "I was sleeping, and suddenly someone was prodding me awake. I looked up and saw him. Needless to say, I wasn't very keen on him since what happened, so I screamed. He just smiled wider. I told him that Harry was right next to me, but he just laughed. He told me that he had put a spell on Harry to make him sleep until the sun rose. I got really scared. He dragged me out of the bed and held his wand to my head, telling me that I had to write a note to Harry that said I was leaving him. He conjured a piece of parchment and a quill and dictated what I had to write. I did it, but an idea came to me. I capitalized certain letters to spell out a message so Harry wouldn't come to find me because Ricardo told me that I was bait, and I figured he had a whole plan laid out. He took me outside and Apparated the two of us to the same place I was held captive last time. But, this time, as soon as we got there, he put me under the Imperius curse. That's all I remember for a while. He had me sitting in a room for a long, long time. Then, he told me to come out, and I saw Harry dueling him. I was really scared, but I couldn't do anything, as I was still under the Imperius curse. I saw Harry kill him. I thought that would lift the Imperius curse, but as soon as he died, I felt someone possessing me. It was Voldemort. That's all I remember," he finished, and everyone was silent for a while, taking in this information. Harry was really angry, but didn't say anything. Eventually, Dumbledore processed all this information and gave Draco a nod of approval. He then turned his blue eyes on Harry. "Now it's your turn. What's your account of the events?" Harry sighed, but began. "When I woke up, I saw that the room was trashed, Draco was gone, and there was a note on the door. Wait--Draco didn't say why the room was trashed." Draco smiled sheepishly as everyone turned their eyes towards him. "I� I sort of tried to fight him off with some spells, but he got the better of me," he said, his cheeks tingeing pink. "Oh." Harry said, figuring it made sense. "Anyway, I read the note, and I thought it was a trick, but I didn't see the message. So I went to Professor Snape, then to go find Draco. Ricardo and I dueled when I got there, and he told me� he told me that he was Voldemort's son." At this news, Snape looked shocked, but Dumbledore remained placid, motioning for Harry to continue. He told the rest of the story, including how he fought Draco's possessed body, but leaving out the bit where he cut himself. At the end of the story, the room was silent once more, everyone digesting the information. Dumbledore was again the first to speak. "I think I know the answers to some of the questions that you most likely have," he said gently, looking between Harry and Draco. They nodded and motioned for him to continue. "The first is why the bond hasn't been working," he said, his face turning completely serious. "Because Draco was raped, the love bond was weakened. There is only one way to re-complete it, and I trust you know what that is," he said the last part unashamedly, chuckling at the blushes on Harry and Draco's faces. "Next, why Ricardo raped Draco in the first place. Well, logically, he knew about the bond and intended to weaken it so his father could get to you. Also, it's common knowledge that rape victims become very weak mentally after being raped. This made it easier for Voldemort to possess your body, Draco." Draco nodded grimly. He figured that part out. "Lastly, and most importantly, I am sure now that Voldemort is gone for good," Dumbledore said with a smile. Harry looked at him, flabbergasted. "H-how do you know?" Harry stuttered. "Well, Voldemort was very weak before he possessed Draco. He did not have a body of his own, and I believe he was residing in Ricardo before you killed him, Harry. Do you remember in first year when he was forced from Quirrel's body because of Harry's touching him?" Harry nodded. "Well, much the same thing happened tonight. The difference was, instead of being affected by the love magic, he was surrounded by it. This is the end; he's gone." Everybody in the room smiled a delighted smile (including Snape-very scary). After so many years, it was over! But the author can't say all the drama is over. No, Harry Potter's own personal issues were just beginning. |
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