A Sacrifice of Memory (Part Two)
Title: A Sacrifice of Memory
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world is in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at Severus?” Harry demanded as soon as Severus walked into the room. The others were sitting around the kitchen table, everyone except the miserable Kreacher who understood how to ‘treat a dark wizard’s pet’. As much as Severus hated leaving him to the care of the house elf, it had to be done by a hand that understood. It would take time to undo what had been done to Ron, but if there was a wizard in the world that could make it back from the dark places he had traveled, Severus believed it would be Ron.
Draco sat as far from the others as he could, though Granger made an attempt to stay close to him. Draco would be an ally in this, Severus thought, if he could get past his own experiences and help him. For Granger and Potter’s sake, he would try.
“I have had Ron in my possession for some time now but there was a tracer spell placed on him,” he said before anyone could misinterpret anything. “When I was able to divine a way to remove the spell safely I arranged for you to rescue him. I’m afraid it was a long process. The Dark Lord has placed tracers on many of his captives and they were not careful in the working of it. There was no way of knowing who did the spell or how they did it and there were, unfortunately, times when he barely survived my attempts at removing it. I became more cautious as Ron became ill and I was only able to try again once he gained his strength.”
“Why was he ill?” Granger asked quietly.
Severus was amazed at the stillness of the room. Since his escape from Azkaban, Sirius Black was normally pacing back and forth as his dog form had once paced his cell. Even the ever passionate Remus Lupin was watching, waiting.
“Ron was tortured.” He held up his hand before the others could say anything. “I was assured his safety when I left but my specifications for a pet’s safety and the Dark Lord’s are not the same. He was alive and whole, but I don’t know how long he was tortured while I was away on the Dark Lord’s mission. Other than the transport where he escaped, I have not let him leave my side since.”
“He’s not a pet,” Hermione said, glaring at him.
“Yes, he is,” Severus answered. “He is my pet and he will remain that way until he is well enough to heal. You have no idea what was done to him Miss Granger,” he reverted back to her last name as he had in school, knowing that they all still thought of him more menacing that way. “Taking him as my pet was the only way I could protect him and you will not try to keep him from me so long as we are here.”
“Thank you.”
Every eye in the room focused on Draco as he finally spoke. “They don’t understand yet, but they will. They won’t thank you for what you did, especially when they understand what you’ve done, but I do. Thank you for taking him.”
He started to walk out but Harry grabbed his hand before he could leave. “Malfoy?”
Draco looked at Harry’s hand on his arm for a moment. They all knew about the relationship that had developed between Harry, Draco, and Hermione, but Harry and Draco rarely showed any sign of affection towards one another in public. It was all the more surprising to see Harry’s concern when Ron was so broken.
“You don’t know Harry and right now he needs someone who does. Kreacher will treat him the way the others did, but I assume we’ll need someone to start reminding him of himself. There’s no one here for him to hate better than me. He has plenty of reason for it.”
Draco pulled away then but they let him go. Severus hated to know that Draco was right. The animosity between Draco and Ron that had developed back at Hogwarts might help him pull out of the shell he’d built around himself.
“Do we need to move the Order?” Remus asked into the surrounding silence.
Severus smiled softly at the way the werewolf managed to get to the most relevant problems while the others were still rolling around with their emotions.
“No, if Ron had broken it would have been long before now and the Order would have been destroyed. Ron didn’t tell the Dark Lord anything. In fact, part of the reason Ron survived as he did was by convincing himself that he didn’t know anyone in the Order.”
“His entire family is in the Order,” Sirius gaped.
“Yes, I know.” He watched as the implication hit each and every one of them. “He became more docile when he finally forced himself to forget who he was. Bellatrix wanted to kill him then when they realized what he’d done but the Dark Lord wanted to use him. I think the Dark Lord will someday come to regret that choice. I have never met anyone strong enough to overcome the tortures he went through and still come out sane. He is missing pieces of himself right now, and you will all say that his subservience is not the man you knew, but Ron is still locked away inside that mind and in time I believe he will recover.”
“So we’re safe here, but Ron will only recover so long as you are close.” Remus said. “We’ll trust you to guide us in this Severus, but we need to know what they did.”
“No, you don’t. He has had every liberty stripped from him, every freedom taken. I will not tell you what they did but if you must know, ask Draco what he knows of the Dark Lord’s pets. It was a fate you saved him from and why he is willing to face Ron now when the rest of you don’t know what to do.”
“Severus,” Harry’s voice was quiet, pleading. It hurt, to hear Lily’s son and he knew if he turned he’d see those eyes staring up at him.
“I wasn’t much better to him, I couldn’t be or the Dark Lord would have taken him from me but I never lied to him and I only did what I had to so that he would be safe.”
“Why did you do it?” Hermione asked. “You risked so much.”
“I will not be able to return to the Dark Lord again. I knew when Ron escaped that I would have to stay with him for him to recover, but I was forced to act in the escape as well. I … if you knew what they were doing, you would not ask why I did it. Not even in my darkest hour, not in my worst thoughts am I capable of that much depravation. I am not a good man, but I could not leave him as he was. Someday I hope he will forgive me for it.”
He couldn’t bear to think of it anymore and he walked out instead. Draco didn’t say anything as he stood outside the room, watching over Severus’s pet. Snape didn’t have anything to say to the man being faced with his own demons so he just walked past him and into the room where Ron was sleeping. Severus was grateful that he could shut the door between them and leave the war outside for a little while.
Ron was curled onto the bed where Severus had left him earlier, but like a good pet he woke when his Master was close. His eyes opened and Severus smiled at the way the corner of Ron’s mouth turned up even when he was so exhausted. “Have you been sleeping?” Severus asked as he removed his cloak.
“Yes, I was waiting for you to join me though.”
He ran his fingers through Ron’s hair, trying not to catch on the knots. “I just had some business to attend to before I could sleep.” When Ron stilled, Severus pulled his chin up so that he was looking at him. “Nothing will take me from you again, Ron. I promise you that.”
Ron’s eyes widened and Severus could see the start of tears. He wasn’t sure if it was the promise or the memory of their last separation but he settled onto the bed and pulled Ron close before it could start. “Sleep now, Ron,” he whispered into his hair. “In the morning we’ll get you cleaned up and see how you feel. Kreacher could make us a breakfast to celebrate our escape, I think. Maybe something your mother used to make?”
Ron looked up at him, frowning. “I don’t remember my Mum,” he said softly. “But if I did I bet she made a wicked fry-up.”
Severus let out a small laugh but made a note to see if Molly Weasely cooked that for her family. He didn’t know how long it would take Ron to find his memories again, but he was determined to see it done. As Ron settled against him, a contented sigh ghosting over his lips, Severus just hoped that Ron remembered him fondly when it was all over.
**
The world is going to hell, Sirius Black thought as he looked out at the world from his bedroom window in 12 Grimmauld Place. The world had been dark before, in the days before James and Lily had died, but there had still been hope. Their hope had been too far eroded to save the wizards this time around though. Dumbledore had died at the hands of Voldemort on the night Draco Malfoy had let him into the castle. Hogwarts had been taken over by the Ministry of Magic and was run by Dolores Umbridge, a hateful, talentless witch who took pride in beating down her students. Harry Potter - the boy that had given hope to so many - was in hiding and rumors said he had been killed by the Dark Lord himself. Sirius knew it to be false but the hope of the wizarding world rested on his godson's shoulders and there was only so much Harry could take.
"This won't help him, you know? You off brooding about things instead of talking to him."
Sirius looked over his shoulder to see Remus moving closer. He didn't say anything else until he had his shoulder pressed to Sirius's back. "Harry is strong. He'll get through this."
Sirius sighed. "If Ron doesn't pull out of this, I don't think he will. His relationship with Hermione and Draco has always seemed so frail. Ron can destroy the careful balance that has kept Harry going for so long."
"Ron would never hurt Harry. I don't think he's even capable of it, Sirius. He might not remember Harry right now but he will and then you'll see how Harry will snap back too. If there was ever a friend who could turn another around like that, it was Ron to Harry."
Sirius nodded. "I can't help but worry. And Snape-"
"Has Ron's best interest at heart. I know you're worried and Merlin knows having Snape under foot all the time has been hard but Ron responds to him because of what Severus did to save him. You know what the Death Eaters were doing to him. Why Snape put his neck out on the line like that for a boy that hated him I have no idea, but I am grateful none the less. And he loves the boy Sirius. I don't think he's admitted it yet, but I can see it in his eyes when he's watching Ron."
"I know."
"Then come back to bed," Remus said softly. "The night will end all too soon and we have plans to make in the morning."
Remus pulled Sirius away from the window and he allowed his lover to do so. There were nights when Remus was all that kept him sane and there were nights when he was sure he was keeping Remus sane. He wasn't sure which of them it was tonight but he was grateful all the same.
He's been happy for his friend when he's found Tonks and they'll fallen in love. He would have happily seen them wedded and living their happily ever after if she hadn't taken a curse for him in a battle with the Death Eaters. Her last words had haunted him for months and Sirius still wanted desperately to find his cousin Bellatrix and destroy her for what she'd done. She'd always know Sirius was in love, but in her pure blood madness she's never realized that it was the werewolf, and not James, that he loved.
They had all known, though Remus didn't see it. If there was a person who had met him who had not fallen immediately into adoration, Sirius had yet to meet them. Remus was kind and gentle and so unlike the beast that stalked him. He was passionate and faithful and Sirius lived in awe of his lover - that he got to have him for his own.
When Remus pulled him down onto the mattress, Sirius kissed him softly and swore to himself that he would make sure that Remus knew just how loved he was for whatever time they had left.
**
“We can’t stay here much longer,” Harry said softly as he stared into the fire. “We used this as headquarters and it worked so long as we weren’t using it this much. We’re going to draw too much attention though and we need to find a safer place for Ron. No matter how safe we’ve made it, we’ve always known it could blow up on us. With Snape’s defection, the Death Eaters are looking for anything that could be connected to the Order. Bellatrix is sure to remember the house at Grimmauld Place eventually. We can make it out, but I think we all know how bad that could be for Ron.”
The others were sitting around the kitchen table with him. It was their usual place for meeting. The rest of the house was dark and dour and it was only in the kitchen that they felt the warmth and safety that they all longed for. He knew scowls were being directed his way, but he’d been thinking about it for the past week.
“We need to find something that can’t be traced to any of us, where we can keep Ron -and each other - safe.”
“Harry, there is no place in all of Europe that is safe for us,” Hermione said into the silence. “We can’t walk out the front door without wearing a disguise. We came here because it was the only safe place.”
“For how long Hermione? If we keep Ron here it’s going to be the death of us all. We can’t wait until he’s healed to move him.”
“Why not?” Hermione demanded. “He’s getting stronger Harry. We just need to hold out a little longer.”
“For what?” Remus interrupted. “I’m afraid Harry’s right. Though I would love to wait until Ron is fully recovered before we move, it will be too long. His body is recovering his strength, in that you are right Hermione, but he is no less dependent on Snape, nor is he turning to any of us. His body is healing, but his mind is still far from mended. If we have to run, I fear we will ruin what good we’ve done. If we can find another place that isn’t associated with us then we have a better chance of giving Ron the time he needs.”
Hermione looked up at Snape and they all waited. Snape had never been a friend to any of them, but Harry hated the animosity that seemed to build anytime someone asked him about Ron. There was only one of them that seemed to be able to reach Snape without that level of hate and it wasn’t Hermione. Much to their surprise, it wasn’t Draco either.
Snape let out a deep breath as if he’d been deep in meditation. When he answered, he was talking to Remus alone. “We should prepare a move. The Dark Lord will come looking for me and Harry is right. It won’t be long before Bellatrix remembers this home. It would be better to take Ron to a tent in the middle of nowhere than to have to run with him in a moment of chaos. He was not,” Snape’s mouth grew tight, “always so dependent. Even after I returned he had some of the bravery that you knew in him. He knew what to expect then and it gave him a measure of control. Now, he has no idea who he is and what to do. You all look at him with expectations and for him, unmet expectations mean pain. If we move him and he is unprepared I think it will continue to grow worse and worse. If we must move him, then we need to do it where we are in control and I can prepare him.”
“You can’t prepare him,” Draco interrupted. Harry looked back at Draco and was surprised by the anger there. “You can’t coddle him and hope that he’ll recover. You’re making him worse by allowing him to cling to your robes and hope he remembers himself.”
Snape started to speak but Draco cut him off again. “No, I know what you did and I know what you’ve continue to do. I’m not saying he doesn’t need the safety you give him, but it is exactly what you’ve said. He has no idea of the expectations. His life has become subject to everyone else’s whim and you haven’t changed that since he came here. You all look at him and wonder where the Ron you knew is. He isn’t here. He died and what we have left is a man trying to redefine himself.”
He looked at Harry then. “I know better than most what being a pet of the Death Eaters means and though you still see the boy you once knew, you know that I am not the same as I was when I walked into the tower under Voldemort’s orders.”
He looked to Remus then and Harry wondered if Remus understood just how much the Order depended on him. Sirius was the undisputed head of the Order, but it was Remus that made them all work. It was Remus who helped temper Sirius’s passions and who gave him caution.
“Give me Ron. I will not take him from Snape to keep as a pet, but I will put him to work. We need someplace to take him, so be it. You can look for another place while Ron and I make sure no one entering ever knew the Order had been here.”
Harry held his breath because it wasn’t something he’d expected but it was brilliant. They were all so worried about breaking Ron that no one had thought to give him something to do. Ron had never been good at being idle. He’d gotten into plenty of trouble on his own at Hogwarts - much like his brothers - and how could Ron hope to gain himself back when he was left to wallow in the past four years?
“You know what you’re asking for?” Remus said.
Draco nodded. “I’d have never survived if Harry hadn’t given me a cause.”
Remus’s brow turned down but his lips quirked up at the side. “What cause was that?”
When Draco looked at him, there was so much emotion in his eyes that Harry thought he might drown. He never knew for certain if Draco had understood the charge he’d given him or if protecting Hermione had just given him something to do to make up for the horrible thing he’d done, but it was obvious that he’d known and understood just how far gone he’d been back then.
“It doesn’t matter now, but it worked,” he said, turning back to face Remus. “I can help him if you’ll let me.”
“He doesn’t like you,” Snape said.
“He doesn’t like anyone that isn’t you right now,” Draco countered. “He will hate anyone that pulls him away from you. It might as well be me. At least then he’ll be remembering emotions that were actually true once.”
“You aren’t that person, Draco,” Hermione spoke up. “You don’t have to make him hate you.”
“Someone does,” Draco said. “I might not be that person but I was. If you get Ron back, then we can work on getting him to like me. Until then, leave it be.”
Hermione looked away and Harry wanted to agree with her, to tell Draco that he didn’t need to make Ron hate him again, but the words died before he could speak. Draco didn’t need to, but he was offering and it made sense.
Remus looked back at Snape then. “Severus? We can’t force the boy away from you without your help. Will you consent?”
Snape looked at Draco and something seemed to pass between them because Draco nodded his head. Snape looked back at Remus then. “So long as his condition does not deteriorate I will agree to it.”
Remus nodded and Sirius stood from the table. “Then we have a plan. We need to find a new location. Hermione and Harry, if you’ll work together, Remus and I will also begin scouting out new locations. Severus, do you still plan to work with your contacts?”
“I do. There are people I need to contact now that I am no longer hiding under the guise of a Death Eater. It will be easier to do without Ron and I was concerned about leaving him behind. With Draco working with him, it will give me the time I need to do this.”
“Then Draco and Ron will clean the house of any trace of the Order and we will make a new home for the Order.”
**
He wasn’t happy about it. In fact, he hated the idea. He hated the way Harry and Hermione looked at him as he got out of bed and got dressed.
“You’re going to get started today then?” Harry asked.
Draco looked back to see Harry sitting up in bed. Hermione was lying on her stomach, her head resting on her hands as she watched him. One of Harry’s hands was running up and down her spine; a nervous gesture he wasn’t sure Harry was even aware of. Hermione didn’t seem to realize but it calmed her also. Draco often moved closer to them when they were stressed. Harry would start touching and Hermione would lean into him, asking for something she couldn’t voice. It’d taken him a long time to learn to accept their need for him but in the end Harry and Hermione were all he had. He did what he could to keep them safe and happy. Just like this.
“It’s better to start now. The longer he stays in this pattern the harder it will be to break.”
“Draco-”
“You remember how it was, Harry, after you rescued me?” Draco looked into the mirror in front of him, watching his own reflection to remind himself that he was a different man now. “The Death Eaters who held me were just toying with me. They weren’t even really hurting me when you broke into the room.”
“You were bleeding. They were holding you up in the air and they were cutting you.” Hermione never spoke of it and it was all the harder to hear it now.
“Yes, but that was just for fun. The rest … I won’t talk about it, but you know I was barely a shell when you found me. I had only been with them for a few months though. Snape took Ron when he was far worse. He won’t break away from Snape on his own and the longer we let him feel safe with Snape, the harder it will be for Weasley to stand on his own.”
“You’ll be nice to him, won’t you?” Hermione asked.
Draco couldn’t help but laugh at her question. He looked back at her and sighed. “No, I won’t but I won’t be mean either.” He sat on the edge of the bed and let the back of his fingers caress her cheek. “I know what he means to you and I’ll do what I can to help him.”
Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know you will,” she said before she leaned back to look at him. “You’ll see once Ron is back, that the two of you can be friends now Draco. He’ll see who you are now and he’ll forget the boy you were.”
Draco kissed her gently before he sat up straightened his clothes one last time. “I have no doubt that Ron will see me for who I am now.”
He walked towards the door and Harry caught his eye then. A quick glance at Hermione and a thin smile meant that Harry understood him perfectly well. Ron would get to know him for who he was, but that was no guarantee that he would like him for it. Draco loved Hermione mindlessly and his love for Harry was not far behind it. Ron would see that and only time would tell if he could forgive Draco for usurping his place in their life or if he would hate him even more for it.
When he left the room, Hermione’s eyes followed him and it was only the remembrance of their arms around him that steadied him in the halls of the Black Residence.
He went to the kitchen and found Sirius there. They all took turns cooking but Sirius and Remus seemed to enjoy it the most. Hermione thought it was because it gave them the feeling that they were caring for their family. Harry joked that it was because no one else could make a meal worth eating.
“We’re heading out to the east side to see if there is anything still standing,” Sirius said as Draco took a mug and poured himself some tea.
“The last attacks left most of it rubble,” Draco said as he sat down. Sirius set two plates on the table and pushed one to Draco.
“Yes, but the outer rims might have someplace we could hide in. There would be no one close by to see us and only snatchers roam the destroyed cities any longer.”
“A snatcher is all it would take,” Draco reminded him.
“Yes, but snatchers are everywhere. No place is safe from them and we have to go somewhere.”
Draco nodded as he bit into his toast. No matter what else he thought about Sirius, he was a good cook. He loved his godson like a son and though it was sometimes awkward between them, Sirius had been one of the first to give him a real chance at turning himself around. At first, he had been saved and kept under watch. Sirius, along with Hermione, had been the ones to believe he could change. Sirius understood the Malfoy family though. It was much like the Black family in their pureblood beliefs and the pressures they put on their children to continue the family line in appropriate fashion.
He almost laughed at the thought of what his father would do if he found out about the loves of Draco’s life. His mother, he thought, would be scandalized with it all though a small part of her would be happy that he was alive and had found someone. His father had already disowned him for failing the Dark Lord.
“That wasn’t a happy thought,” Sirius said as he looked up from his plate.
Draco shook his head. “Just wondering what my mother would think of my current life.”
Sirius smiled as Draco had expected him. “Narcissa would have a fine time explaining how her brilliant son had managed to bed a Mud blood and a blood traitor.”
“As fine a time as Walburga would, explaining how a find upstanding Black could bed a werewolf.”
They were both laughing when Remus walked into the kitchen. “What is so amusing this morning?”
Sirius’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at Draco. “Bed time.”
They laughed together again until Remus just sighed fondly and turned to fix his breakfast plate.
**
Ron felt the anxiety in the room as he came down with Master that morning. He was off balance and he was even more upset when Master wouldn’t allow him to be close to him. Since they’d arrived, Master had set firm rules about when Ron could touch him. He was supposed to sit in chairs and could only kneel
at Master’s side when they were alone in their room. The night before Master had told him that he had to see to some things that morning and he’d be left behind with young Master Malfoy. Ron had begged not to be left but Master said he’d be taken care of and his begging had been for naught.
Hermione set a plate in front of him when they joined the others in the kitchen. Master was getting drinks for them and Ron tried not to squirm under the witch’s scrutiny.
“Do you need anything else, Ron?” she asked with a small smile.
She tried. Master had explained to him what had happened, how once he had been friends with them and that he’d been strong enough to defy the Dark Lord by forcing himself to forget everyone he had known before. He said Ron was strong enough to remember now, but Ron didn’t think he’d ever be capable of something like that. Ron had never had a thought of defying the Dark Lord that he knew of. He believed Master, he tried to anyway, but the witch always made him uncomfortable. Just like the blond boy always made him slightly angry.
“No, I’m fine,” Ron said, remembering not to lower his eyes or call her by some honorific. She’d cried the first time he did it and Master had to explain to him that they had once been friends, that there might have been more than friendship between them if Ron hadn’t stepped in front of a curse that would have killed Harry Potter. It was unfathomable now to think he could do such a thing but he knew Master wasn’t lying to him. Even when Master had to lie because of the Dark Lord, he’d always warned Ron of the lies when he could.
He ate his toast as he waited for Master to sit beside him. When Master did, Hermione sat a plate in front of him too.
“Thank you Miss Granger.”
“It looks like we’ll all be together for a while, Professor. You might as well call me Hermione.”
It was a peace offering. Ron knew it for that and his master watched her for a minute before he gave her a tight lipped smile. He felt the brush of his master’s hand on his knee under the table before he answered. “Thank you Hermione.”
He didn’t offer his first name in response, but Ron knew how closed his master was to most people. Hermione seemed to also. She took his use of her first name as the peace offering it was as well.
“Do you need anything else, Snape?”
“No,” Master said as he looked at Ron. He knew Master was asking him if he needed anything. When Ron gave him a small smile, he looked back at Hermione. “I think we have everything we need.”
“Good,” Draco said, coming into the room. “It’s about time we all got about our day, isn’t it?”
Ron felt angry just looking at the wizard. He’d never felt such instant disdain for anyone before and yet he knew he was supposed to stay with him while Master was away. He looked away before he could say anything to the other man. Instead he turned to his breakfast.
“What plans have you for the day, Draco?” Master asked.
“I think Ron and I will start on the upper levels. No one has rooms up there but we’ve all been up there searching before. We’ll start up there and work our way down until we’re ready to clean out the living areas.” Draco took a seat across from them and Ron neatly speared a slice of tomato on his plate. Master turned his head minutely and he knew he’d been caught but there was only the small upturn of his lips that meant he’d understood what Ron did.
Harry came in then, carrying a heavy bag that he dropped at the end of the table. Hermione opened it immediately, sorting through it. “Really Harry, how long do you think we’ll be gone?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Harry responded. “It’s not like our plans usually go smoothly.”
Hermione smiled at that and it was the first time Ron had seen her really smile. “You should do that more often,” he said without thinking.
They all turned to look at him and Ron cringed back on himself. “Smile,” he explained. “You have a lovely smile. You should smile more.”
She looked like she was about to cry, but she was smiling more beautifully than before. He wasn’t sure why the moment seemed bittersweet to her, but he could see it in her eyes and in Harry’s.
“He’s right, Hermione,” Remus said as he walked into the room. He must have heard the rest of it and Ron was grateful that he was coming to his aid. “You really do have a lovely smile.”
Hermione lowered her eyes, blushing slightly, and Ron thought he understood why Harry and Draco were so taken with her. They tried to be subtle and he knew it was for him, but just because he was Master’s pet didn’t make him oblivious. Master Snape had often had him listen to others for him. Death Eaters rarely thought a pet was capable of more than simpering and submitting. Master had used him though to gain information and Ron had done his best, even when the others had beat him while Master was gone. He’d kept his ears and eyes open while they’d tortured him. He was no less aware now that he was supposedly safe.
“Where are you off to today, Harry?” Sirius asked as they came in.
“Westside I think,” Harry answered his godfather. “We’ll work our way out to see if there is any place safe there.”
The talk continued as they ate their breakfast. Hermione blushed every time she smiled and everyone seemed intent in making her. It was a far more jovial table than it had been before and he felt that perhaps he had been some small part of that. At least he’d been able to give them all that small happiness after all the trouble he’d caused them.
When it was time for the others to leave, they stood and made to leave together. Hermione took Harry’s arm just as Remus took Sirius’s arm. Ron didn’t pay any attention to them because Master was standing before him. “I’ll be back before night falls, Ron,” he promised. Ron nodded. He tried his best to be strong but it was hard to stand as he was with his Master leaving. He wanted to fall to his knees and beg to be taken with him or ask him to stay but he wouldn’t allow himself either.
To his surprise, Master leaned close and pressed his lips to Ron’s forehead. “Draco will keep you safe in my absence, Ron.”
He took a deep breath and leaned into his Master. He closed his eyes, pretending it wasn’t a good-bye. “I’ll be alright,” he lied for his Master. “Be careful, Master.”
Snape nodded before he turned away. Master gave a quick look at the others who seemed to be startled by his show of affection before he apparated away. Ron saw the surprise in the eyes of the others but he squared his shoulders and faced them. He’d have stared down the Dark Lord if his Master asked it of him. As terrified as he was, he refused to let them think he was ashamed of his Master’s claim on him. Harry seemed horrified and Hermione closed her eyes, but
Remus seemed to almost smile and Sirius watched him carefully for a moment before he nodded. “We’ll be back as soon as possible,” he said before he nodded to Harry and Hermione and apparated with Remus. Harry and Hermione disappeared a moment later and Ron was left alone in the house with Draco Malfoy.
**
Draco let out a deep breath as he watched the others leave. He’d known there would be hell to pay eventually and he was certain Snape had just set himself against the others. Remus seemed to understand what was happening, but Harry and Hermione had not yet come to realize all that had happened to Ron. Draco didn’t want to be the one to explain it - he didn’t want to discuss his own months as a pet of the Death Eaters and he was sure they would make the connection soon enough now - but he saw the recognition in their eyes. They understood one of the reasons Ron clung to Snape now.
Ron was surprising though. He always had been, if Draco were honest with himself. Ron should have cowered away from Draco and the Slytherin - the blood traitor and his muggle friends who came from a family with no money. He never had though. No matter how Draco and his friends had taunted Ron at Hogwarts, the boy had never backed down. He’d always stood his ground and he was doing it again.
“We have work to do, Ron,” Draco said softly. He had no intention of being cruel or mean to Ron. He understood what it meant to be a pet and that Ron was able to stand so firmly already just gave credence to what Snape had told them all. Ron was one of the strongest people Draco had ever met and he hoped that someday they would both be strong enough to be friends. Until then, they had a house to clean out.
“Why are you doing this?” Ron asked. “I know you didn’t like me before this. I can see it in the way they watch you around me. They keep expecting something to happen.”
Draco smiled. “I always thought you were a bit daft at Hogwarts, but they keep telling me I was wrong. Being a Malfoy made me think sideways about a lot of things.”
“Like me?”’
“You aren’t the boy they knew but maybe when all this is done you’ll be the prat I thought you were. Maybe you’ll be the man they thought you were. Guess we’ll see who is right eventually.”
Draco smiled and Ron gave him a small smile in return. “Guess so. Master thinks I should trust you.”
Draco nodded then. His smile faded but Ron just watched him. “I was a pet of the Death Eaters when Harry and Hermione found me and helped me. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, and you used to be one of them when I was too young to understand what a true enemy was. Now I have the chance to repay my debts; to them and to your master.”
Ron nodded then, though Draco wasn’t sure he really understood the depth of his debt. In time, he might. Until then, Draco felt they had a good start. He’d thought he would be able to help Ron by the sheer force of their past animosity but he was beginning to realize how wrong they all were. They wouldn’t help Ron by reminding himself of past grievances. It was the future that would pull him through and maybe their shared horrors would help them forge ahead for something better.
On to Part Three
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world is in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
“What the hell do you think you’re playing at Severus?” Harry demanded as soon as Severus walked into the room. The others were sitting around the kitchen table, everyone except the miserable Kreacher who understood how to ‘treat a dark wizard’s pet’. As much as Severus hated leaving him to the care of the house elf, it had to be done by a hand that understood. It would take time to undo what had been done to Ron, but if there was a wizard in the world that could make it back from the dark places he had traveled, Severus believed it would be Ron.
Draco sat as far from the others as he could, though Granger made an attempt to stay close to him. Draco would be an ally in this, Severus thought, if he could get past his own experiences and help him. For Granger and Potter’s sake, he would try.
“I have had Ron in my possession for some time now but there was a tracer spell placed on him,” he said before anyone could misinterpret anything. “When I was able to divine a way to remove the spell safely I arranged for you to rescue him. I’m afraid it was a long process. The Dark Lord has placed tracers on many of his captives and they were not careful in the working of it. There was no way of knowing who did the spell or how they did it and there were, unfortunately, times when he barely survived my attempts at removing it. I became more cautious as Ron became ill and I was only able to try again once he gained his strength.”
“Why was he ill?” Granger asked quietly.
Severus was amazed at the stillness of the room. Since his escape from Azkaban, Sirius Black was normally pacing back and forth as his dog form had once paced his cell. Even the ever passionate Remus Lupin was watching, waiting.
“Ron was tortured.” He held up his hand before the others could say anything. “I was assured his safety when I left but my specifications for a pet’s safety and the Dark Lord’s are not the same. He was alive and whole, but I don’t know how long he was tortured while I was away on the Dark Lord’s mission. Other than the transport where he escaped, I have not let him leave my side since.”
“He’s not a pet,” Hermione said, glaring at him.
“Yes, he is,” Severus answered. “He is my pet and he will remain that way until he is well enough to heal. You have no idea what was done to him Miss Granger,” he reverted back to her last name as he had in school, knowing that they all still thought of him more menacing that way. “Taking him as my pet was the only way I could protect him and you will not try to keep him from me so long as we are here.”
“Thank you.”
Every eye in the room focused on Draco as he finally spoke. “They don’t understand yet, but they will. They won’t thank you for what you did, especially when they understand what you’ve done, but I do. Thank you for taking him.”
He started to walk out but Harry grabbed his hand before he could leave. “Malfoy?”
Draco looked at Harry’s hand on his arm for a moment. They all knew about the relationship that had developed between Harry, Draco, and Hermione, but Harry and Draco rarely showed any sign of affection towards one another in public. It was all the more surprising to see Harry’s concern when Ron was so broken.
“You don’t know Harry and right now he needs someone who does. Kreacher will treat him the way the others did, but I assume we’ll need someone to start reminding him of himself. There’s no one here for him to hate better than me. He has plenty of reason for it.”
Draco pulled away then but they let him go. Severus hated to know that Draco was right. The animosity between Draco and Ron that had developed back at Hogwarts might help him pull out of the shell he’d built around himself.
“Do we need to move the Order?” Remus asked into the surrounding silence.
Severus smiled softly at the way the werewolf managed to get to the most relevant problems while the others were still rolling around with their emotions.
“No, if Ron had broken it would have been long before now and the Order would have been destroyed. Ron didn’t tell the Dark Lord anything. In fact, part of the reason Ron survived as he did was by convincing himself that he didn’t know anyone in the Order.”
“His entire family is in the Order,” Sirius gaped.
“Yes, I know.” He watched as the implication hit each and every one of them. “He became more docile when he finally forced himself to forget who he was. Bellatrix wanted to kill him then when they realized what he’d done but the Dark Lord wanted to use him. I think the Dark Lord will someday come to regret that choice. I have never met anyone strong enough to overcome the tortures he went through and still come out sane. He is missing pieces of himself right now, and you will all say that his subservience is not the man you knew, but Ron is still locked away inside that mind and in time I believe he will recover.”
“So we’re safe here, but Ron will only recover so long as you are close.” Remus said. “We’ll trust you to guide us in this Severus, but we need to know what they did.”
“No, you don’t. He has had every liberty stripped from him, every freedom taken. I will not tell you what they did but if you must know, ask Draco what he knows of the Dark Lord’s pets. It was a fate you saved him from and why he is willing to face Ron now when the rest of you don’t know what to do.”
“Severus,” Harry’s voice was quiet, pleading. It hurt, to hear Lily’s son and he knew if he turned he’d see those eyes staring up at him.
“I wasn’t much better to him, I couldn’t be or the Dark Lord would have taken him from me but I never lied to him and I only did what I had to so that he would be safe.”
“Why did you do it?” Hermione asked. “You risked so much.”
“I will not be able to return to the Dark Lord again. I knew when Ron escaped that I would have to stay with him for him to recover, but I was forced to act in the escape as well. I … if you knew what they were doing, you would not ask why I did it. Not even in my darkest hour, not in my worst thoughts am I capable of that much depravation. I am not a good man, but I could not leave him as he was. Someday I hope he will forgive me for it.”
He couldn’t bear to think of it anymore and he walked out instead. Draco didn’t say anything as he stood outside the room, watching over Severus’s pet. Snape didn’t have anything to say to the man being faced with his own demons so he just walked past him and into the room where Ron was sleeping. Severus was grateful that he could shut the door between them and leave the war outside for a little while.
Ron was curled onto the bed where Severus had left him earlier, but like a good pet he woke when his Master was close. His eyes opened and Severus smiled at the way the corner of Ron’s mouth turned up even when he was so exhausted. “Have you been sleeping?” Severus asked as he removed his cloak.
“Yes, I was waiting for you to join me though.”
He ran his fingers through Ron’s hair, trying not to catch on the knots. “I just had some business to attend to before I could sleep.” When Ron stilled, Severus pulled his chin up so that he was looking at him. “Nothing will take me from you again, Ron. I promise you that.”
Ron’s eyes widened and Severus could see the start of tears. He wasn’t sure if it was the promise or the memory of their last separation but he settled onto the bed and pulled Ron close before it could start. “Sleep now, Ron,” he whispered into his hair. “In the morning we’ll get you cleaned up and see how you feel. Kreacher could make us a breakfast to celebrate our escape, I think. Maybe something your mother used to make?”
Ron looked up at him, frowning. “I don’t remember my Mum,” he said softly. “But if I did I bet she made a wicked fry-up.”
Severus let out a small laugh but made a note to see if Molly Weasely cooked that for her family. He didn’t know how long it would take Ron to find his memories again, but he was determined to see it done. As Ron settled against him, a contented sigh ghosting over his lips, Severus just hoped that Ron remembered him fondly when it was all over.
**
The world is going to hell, Sirius Black thought as he looked out at the world from his bedroom window in 12 Grimmauld Place. The world had been dark before, in the days before James and Lily had died, but there had still been hope. Their hope had been too far eroded to save the wizards this time around though. Dumbledore had died at the hands of Voldemort on the night Draco Malfoy had let him into the castle. Hogwarts had been taken over by the Ministry of Magic and was run by Dolores Umbridge, a hateful, talentless witch who took pride in beating down her students. Harry Potter - the boy that had given hope to so many - was in hiding and rumors said he had been killed by the Dark Lord himself. Sirius knew it to be false but the hope of the wizarding world rested on his godson's shoulders and there was only so much Harry could take.
"This won't help him, you know? You off brooding about things instead of talking to him."
Sirius looked over his shoulder to see Remus moving closer. He didn't say anything else until he had his shoulder pressed to Sirius's back. "Harry is strong. He'll get through this."
Sirius sighed. "If Ron doesn't pull out of this, I don't think he will. His relationship with Hermione and Draco has always seemed so frail. Ron can destroy the careful balance that has kept Harry going for so long."
"Ron would never hurt Harry. I don't think he's even capable of it, Sirius. He might not remember Harry right now but he will and then you'll see how Harry will snap back too. If there was ever a friend who could turn another around like that, it was Ron to Harry."
Sirius nodded. "I can't help but worry. And Snape-"
"Has Ron's best interest at heart. I know you're worried and Merlin knows having Snape under foot all the time has been hard but Ron responds to him because of what Severus did to save him. You know what the Death Eaters were doing to him. Why Snape put his neck out on the line like that for a boy that hated him I have no idea, but I am grateful none the less. And he loves the boy Sirius. I don't think he's admitted it yet, but I can see it in his eyes when he's watching Ron."
"I know."
"Then come back to bed," Remus said softly. "The night will end all too soon and we have plans to make in the morning."
Remus pulled Sirius away from the window and he allowed his lover to do so. There were nights when Remus was all that kept him sane and there were nights when he was sure he was keeping Remus sane. He wasn't sure which of them it was tonight but he was grateful all the same.
He's been happy for his friend when he's found Tonks and they'll fallen in love. He would have happily seen them wedded and living their happily ever after if she hadn't taken a curse for him in a battle with the Death Eaters. Her last words had haunted him for months and Sirius still wanted desperately to find his cousin Bellatrix and destroy her for what she'd done. She'd always know Sirius was in love, but in her pure blood madness she's never realized that it was the werewolf, and not James, that he loved.
They had all known, though Remus didn't see it. If there was a person who had met him who had not fallen immediately into adoration, Sirius had yet to meet them. Remus was kind and gentle and so unlike the beast that stalked him. He was passionate and faithful and Sirius lived in awe of his lover - that he got to have him for his own.
When Remus pulled him down onto the mattress, Sirius kissed him softly and swore to himself that he would make sure that Remus knew just how loved he was for whatever time they had left.
**
“We can’t stay here much longer,” Harry said softly as he stared into the fire. “We used this as headquarters and it worked so long as we weren’t using it this much. We’re going to draw too much attention though and we need to find a safer place for Ron. No matter how safe we’ve made it, we’ve always known it could blow up on us. With Snape’s defection, the Death Eaters are looking for anything that could be connected to the Order. Bellatrix is sure to remember the house at Grimmauld Place eventually. We can make it out, but I think we all know how bad that could be for Ron.”
The others were sitting around the kitchen table with him. It was their usual place for meeting. The rest of the house was dark and dour and it was only in the kitchen that they felt the warmth and safety that they all longed for. He knew scowls were being directed his way, but he’d been thinking about it for the past week.
“We need to find something that can’t be traced to any of us, where we can keep Ron -and each other - safe.”
“Harry, there is no place in all of Europe that is safe for us,” Hermione said into the silence. “We can’t walk out the front door without wearing a disguise. We came here because it was the only safe place.”
“For how long Hermione? If we keep Ron here it’s going to be the death of us all. We can’t wait until he’s healed to move him.”
“Why not?” Hermione demanded. “He’s getting stronger Harry. We just need to hold out a little longer.”
“For what?” Remus interrupted. “I’m afraid Harry’s right. Though I would love to wait until Ron is fully recovered before we move, it will be too long. His body is recovering his strength, in that you are right Hermione, but he is no less dependent on Snape, nor is he turning to any of us. His body is healing, but his mind is still far from mended. If we have to run, I fear we will ruin what good we’ve done. If we can find another place that isn’t associated with us then we have a better chance of giving Ron the time he needs.”
Hermione looked up at Snape and they all waited. Snape had never been a friend to any of them, but Harry hated the animosity that seemed to build anytime someone asked him about Ron. There was only one of them that seemed to be able to reach Snape without that level of hate and it wasn’t Hermione. Much to their surprise, it wasn’t Draco either.
Snape let out a deep breath as if he’d been deep in meditation. When he answered, he was talking to Remus alone. “We should prepare a move. The Dark Lord will come looking for me and Harry is right. It won’t be long before Bellatrix remembers this home. It would be better to take Ron to a tent in the middle of nowhere than to have to run with him in a moment of chaos. He was not,” Snape’s mouth grew tight, “always so dependent. Even after I returned he had some of the bravery that you knew in him. He knew what to expect then and it gave him a measure of control. Now, he has no idea who he is and what to do. You all look at him with expectations and for him, unmet expectations mean pain. If we move him and he is unprepared I think it will continue to grow worse and worse. If we must move him, then we need to do it where we are in control and I can prepare him.”
“You can’t prepare him,” Draco interrupted. Harry looked back at Draco and was surprised by the anger there. “You can’t coddle him and hope that he’ll recover. You’re making him worse by allowing him to cling to your robes and hope he remembers himself.”
Snape started to speak but Draco cut him off again. “No, I know what you did and I know what you’ve continue to do. I’m not saying he doesn’t need the safety you give him, but it is exactly what you’ve said. He has no idea of the expectations. His life has become subject to everyone else’s whim and you haven’t changed that since he came here. You all look at him and wonder where the Ron you knew is. He isn’t here. He died and what we have left is a man trying to redefine himself.”
He looked at Harry then. “I know better than most what being a pet of the Death Eaters means and though you still see the boy you once knew, you know that I am not the same as I was when I walked into the tower under Voldemort’s orders.”
He looked to Remus then and Harry wondered if Remus understood just how much the Order depended on him. Sirius was the undisputed head of the Order, but it was Remus that made them all work. It was Remus who helped temper Sirius’s passions and who gave him caution.
“Give me Ron. I will not take him from Snape to keep as a pet, but I will put him to work. We need someplace to take him, so be it. You can look for another place while Ron and I make sure no one entering ever knew the Order had been here.”
Harry held his breath because it wasn’t something he’d expected but it was brilliant. They were all so worried about breaking Ron that no one had thought to give him something to do. Ron had never been good at being idle. He’d gotten into plenty of trouble on his own at Hogwarts - much like his brothers - and how could Ron hope to gain himself back when he was left to wallow in the past four years?
“You know what you’re asking for?” Remus said.
Draco nodded. “I’d have never survived if Harry hadn’t given me a cause.”
Remus’s brow turned down but his lips quirked up at the side. “What cause was that?”
When Draco looked at him, there was so much emotion in his eyes that Harry thought he might drown. He never knew for certain if Draco had understood the charge he’d given him or if protecting Hermione had just given him something to do to make up for the horrible thing he’d done, but it was obvious that he’d known and understood just how far gone he’d been back then.
“It doesn’t matter now, but it worked,” he said, turning back to face Remus. “I can help him if you’ll let me.”
“He doesn’t like you,” Snape said.
“He doesn’t like anyone that isn’t you right now,” Draco countered. “He will hate anyone that pulls him away from you. It might as well be me. At least then he’ll be remembering emotions that were actually true once.”
“You aren’t that person, Draco,” Hermione spoke up. “You don’t have to make him hate you.”
“Someone does,” Draco said. “I might not be that person but I was. If you get Ron back, then we can work on getting him to like me. Until then, leave it be.”
Hermione looked away and Harry wanted to agree with her, to tell Draco that he didn’t need to make Ron hate him again, but the words died before he could speak. Draco didn’t need to, but he was offering and it made sense.
Remus looked back at Snape then. “Severus? We can’t force the boy away from you without your help. Will you consent?”
Snape looked at Draco and something seemed to pass between them because Draco nodded his head. Snape looked back at Remus then. “So long as his condition does not deteriorate I will agree to it.”
Remus nodded and Sirius stood from the table. “Then we have a plan. We need to find a new location. Hermione and Harry, if you’ll work together, Remus and I will also begin scouting out new locations. Severus, do you still plan to work with your contacts?”
“I do. There are people I need to contact now that I am no longer hiding under the guise of a Death Eater. It will be easier to do without Ron and I was concerned about leaving him behind. With Draco working with him, it will give me the time I need to do this.”
“Then Draco and Ron will clean the house of any trace of the Order and we will make a new home for the Order.”
**
He wasn’t happy about it. In fact, he hated the idea. He hated the way Harry and Hermione looked at him as he got out of bed and got dressed.
“You’re going to get started today then?” Harry asked.
Draco looked back to see Harry sitting up in bed. Hermione was lying on her stomach, her head resting on her hands as she watched him. One of Harry’s hands was running up and down her spine; a nervous gesture he wasn’t sure Harry was even aware of. Hermione didn’t seem to realize but it calmed her also. Draco often moved closer to them when they were stressed. Harry would start touching and Hermione would lean into him, asking for something she couldn’t voice. It’d taken him a long time to learn to accept their need for him but in the end Harry and Hermione were all he had. He did what he could to keep them safe and happy. Just like this.
“It’s better to start now. The longer he stays in this pattern the harder it will be to break.”
“Draco-”
“You remember how it was, Harry, after you rescued me?” Draco looked into the mirror in front of him, watching his own reflection to remind himself that he was a different man now. “The Death Eaters who held me were just toying with me. They weren’t even really hurting me when you broke into the room.”
“You were bleeding. They were holding you up in the air and they were cutting you.” Hermione never spoke of it and it was all the harder to hear it now.
“Yes, but that was just for fun. The rest … I won’t talk about it, but you know I was barely a shell when you found me. I had only been with them for a few months though. Snape took Ron when he was far worse. He won’t break away from Snape on his own and the longer we let him feel safe with Snape, the harder it will be for Weasley to stand on his own.”
“You’ll be nice to him, won’t you?” Hermione asked.
Draco couldn’t help but laugh at her question. He looked back at her and sighed. “No, I won’t but I won’t be mean either.” He sat on the edge of the bed and let the back of his fingers caress her cheek. “I know what he means to you and I’ll do what I can to help him.”
Hermione sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know you will,” she said before she leaned back to look at him. “You’ll see once Ron is back, that the two of you can be friends now Draco. He’ll see who you are now and he’ll forget the boy you were.”
Draco kissed her gently before he sat up straightened his clothes one last time. “I have no doubt that Ron will see me for who I am now.”
He walked towards the door and Harry caught his eye then. A quick glance at Hermione and a thin smile meant that Harry understood him perfectly well. Ron would get to know him for who he was, but that was no guarantee that he would like him for it. Draco loved Hermione mindlessly and his love for Harry was not far behind it. Ron would see that and only time would tell if he could forgive Draco for usurping his place in their life or if he would hate him even more for it.
When he left the room, Hermione’s eyes followed him and it was only the remembrance of their arms around him that steadied him in the halls of the Black Residence.
He went to the kitchen and found Sirius there. They all took turns cooking but Sirius and Remus seemed to enjoy it the most. Hermione thought it was because it gave them the feeling that they were caring for their family. Harry joked that it was because no one else could make a meal worth eating.
“We’re heading out to the east side to see if there is anything still standing,” Sirius said as Draco took a mug and poured himself some tea.
“The last attacks left most of it rubble,” Draco said as he sat down. Sirius set two plates on the table and pushed one to Draco.
“Yes, but the outer rims might have someplace we could hide in. There would be no one close by to see us and only snatchers roam the destroyed cities any longer.”
“A snatcher is all it would take,” Draco reminded him.
“Yes, but snatchers are everywhere. No place is safe from them and we have to go somewhere.”
Draco nodded as he bit into his toast. No matter what else he thought about Sirius, he was a good cook. He loved his godson like a son and though it was sometimes awkward between them, Sirius had been one of the first to give him a real chance at turning himself around. At first, he had been saved and kept under watch. Sirius, along with Hermione, had been the ones to believe he could change. Sirius understood the Malfoy family though. It was much like the Black family in their pureblood beliefs and the pressures they put on their children to continue the family line in appropriate fashion.
He almost laughed at the thought of what his father would do if he found out about the loves of Draco’s life. His mother, he thought, would be scandalized with it all though a small part of her would be happy that he was alive and had found someone. His father had already disowned him for failing the Dark Lord.
“That wasn’t a happy thought,” Sirius said as he looked up from his plate.
Draco shook his head. “Just wondering what my mother would think of my current life.”
Sirius smiled as Draco had expected him. “Narcissa would have a fine time explaining how her brilliant son had managed to bed a Mud blood and a blood traitor.”
“As fine a time as Walburga would, explaining how a find upstanding Black could bed a werewolf.”
They were both laughing when Remus walked into the kitchen. “What is so amusing this morning?”
Sirius’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at Draco. “Bed time.”
They laughed together again until Remus just sighed fondly and turned to fix his breakfast plate.
**
Ron felt the anxiety in the room as he came down with Master that morning. He was off balance and he was even more upset when Master wouldn’t allow him to be close to him. Since they’d arrived, Master had set firm rules about when Ron could touch him. He was supposed to sit in chairs and could only kneel
at Master’s side when they were alone in their room. The night before Master had told him that he had to see to some things that morning and he’d be left behind with young Master Malfoy. Ron had begged not to be left but Master said he’d be taken care of and his begging had been for naught.
Hermione set a plate in front of him when they joined the others in the kitchen. Master was getting drinks for them and Ron tried not to squirm under the witch’s scrutiny.
“Do you need anything else, Ron?” she asked with a small smile.
She tried. Master had explained to him what had happened, how once he had been friends with them and that he’d been strong enough to defy the Dark Lord by forcing himself to forget everyone he had known before. He said Ron was strong enough to remember now, but Ron didn’t think he’d ever be capable of something like that. Ron had never had a thought of defying the Dark Lord that he knew of. He believed Master, he tried to anyway, but the witch always made him uncomfortable. Just like the blond boy always made him slightly angry.
“No, I’m fine,” Ron said, remembering not to lower his eyes or call her by some honorific. She’d cried the first time he did it and Master had to explain to him that they had once been friends, that there might have been more than friendship between them if Ron hadn’t stepped in front of a curse that would have killed Harry Potter. It was unfathomable now to think he could do such a thing but he knew Master wasn’t lying to him. Even when Master had to lie because of the Dark Lord, he’d always warned Ron of the lies when he could.
He ate his toast as he waited for Master to sit beside him. When Master did, Hermione sat a plate in front of him too.
“Thank you Miss Granger.”
“It looks like we’ll all be together for a while, Professor. You might as well call me Hermione.”
It was a peace offering. Ron knew it for that and his master watched her for a minute before he gave her a tight lipped smile. He felt the brush of his master’s hand on his knee under the table before he answered. “Thank you Hermione.”
He didn’t offer his first name in response, but Ron knew how closed his master was to most people. Hermione seemed to also. She took his use of her first name as the peace offering it was as well.
“Do you need anything else, Snape?”
“No,” Master said as he looked at Ron. He knew Master was asking him if he needed anything. When Ron gave him a small smile, he looked back at Hermione. “I think we have everything we need.”
“Good,” Draco said, coming into the room. “It’s about time we all got about our day, isn’t it?”
Ron felt angry just looking at the wizard. He’d never felt such instant disdain for anyone before and yet he knew he was supposed to stay with him while Master was away. He looked away before he could say anything to the other man. Instead he turned to his breakfast.
“What plans have you for the day, Draco?” Master asked.
“I think Ron and I will start on the upper levels. No one has rooms up there but we’ve all been up there searching before. We’ll start up there and work our way down until we’re ready to clean out the living areas.” Draco took a seat across from them and Ron neatly speared a slice of tomato on his plate. Master turned his head minutely and he knew he’d been caught but there was only the small upturn of his lips that meant he’d understood what Ron did.
Harry came in then, carrying a heavy bag that he dropped at the end of the table. Hermione opened it immediately, sorting through it. “Really Harry, how long do you think we’ll be gone?”
“Better safe than sorry,” Harry responded. “It’s not like our plans usually go smoothly.”
Hermione smiled at that and it was the first time Ron had seen her really smile. “You should do that more often,” he said without thinking.
They all turned to look at him and Ron cringed back on himself. “Smile,” he explained. “You have a lovely smile. You should smile more.”
She looked like she was about to cry, but she was smiling more beautifully than before. He wasn’t sure why the moment seemed bittersweet to her, but he could see it in her eyes and in Harry’s.
“He’s right, Hermione,” Remus said as he walked into the room. He must have heard the rest of it and Ron was grateful that he was coming to his aid. “You really do have a lovely smile.”
Hermione lowered her eyes, blushing slightly, and Ron thought he understood why Harry and Draco were so taken with her. They tried to be subtle and he knew it was for him, but just because he was Master’s pet didn’t make him oblivious. Master Snape had often had him listen to others for him. Death Eaters rarely thought a pet was capable of more than simpering and submitting. Master had used him though to gain information and Ron had done his best, even when the others had beat him while Master was gone. He’d kept his ears and eyes open while they’d tortured him. He was no less aware now that he was supposedly safe.
“Where are you off to today, Harry?” Sirius asked as they came in.
“Westside I think,” Harry answered his godfather. “We’ll work our way out to see if there is any place safe there.”
The talk continued as they ate their breakfast. Hermione blushed every time she smiled and everyone seemed intent in making her. It was a far more jovial table than it had been before and he felt that perhaps he had been some small part of that. At least he’d been able to give them all that small happiness after all the trouble he’d caused them.
When it was time for the others to leave, they stood and made to leave together. Hermione took Harry’s arm just as Remus took Sirius’s arm. Ron didn’t pay any attention to them because Master was standing before him. “I’ll be back before night falls, Ron,” he promised. Ron nodded. He tried his best to be strong but it was hard to stand as he was with his Master leaving. He wanted to fall to his knees and beg to be taken with him or ask him to stay but he wouldn’t allow himself either.
To his surprise, Master leaned close and pressed his lips to Ron’s forehead. “Draco will keep you safe in my absence, Ron.”
He took a deep breath and leaned into his Master. He closed his eyes, pretending it wasn’t a good-bye. “I’ll be alright,” he lied for his Master. “Be careful, Master.”
Snape nodded before he turned away. Master gave a quick look at the others who seemed to be startled by his show of affection before he apparated away. Ron saw the surprise in the eyes of the others but he squared his shoulders and faced them. He’d have stared down the Dark Lord if his Master asked it of him. As terrified as he was, he refused to let them think he was ashamed of his Master’s claim on him. Harry seemed horrified and Hermione closed her eyes, but
Remus seemed to almost smile and Sirius watched him carefully for a moment before he nodded. “We’ll be back as soon as possible,” he said before he nodded to Harry and Hermione and apparated with Remus. Harry and Hermione disappeared a moment later and Ron was left alone in the house with Draco Malfoy.
**
Draco let out a deep breath as he watched the others leave. He’d known there would be hell to pay eventually and he was certain Snape had just set himself against the others. Remus seemed to understand what was happening, but Harry and Hermione had not yet come to realize all that had happened to Ron. Draco didn’t want to be the one to explain it - he didn’t want to discuss his own months as a pet of the Death Eaters and he was sure they would make the connection soon enough now - but he saw the recognition in their eyes. They understood one of the reasons Ron clung to Snape now.
Ron was surprising though. He always had been, if Draco were honest with himself. Ron should have cowered away from Draco and the Slytherin - the blood traitor and his muggle friends who came from a family with no money. He never had though. No matter how Draco and his friends had taunted Ron at Hogwarts, the boy had never backed down. He’d always stood his ground and he was doing it again.
“We have work to do, Ron,” Draco said softly. He had no intention of being cruel or mean to Ron. He understood what it meant to be a pet and that Ron was able to stand so firmly already just gave credence to what Snape had told them all. Ron was one of the strongest people Draco had ever met and he hoped that someday they would both be strong enough to be friends. Until then, they had a house to clean out.
“Why are you doing this?” Ron asked. “I know you didn’t like me before this. I can see it in the way they watch you around me. They keep expecting something to happen.”
Draco smiled. “I always thought you were a bit daft at Hogwarts, but they keep telling me I was wrong. Being a Malfoy made me think sideways about a lot of things.”
“Like me?”’
“You aren’t the boy they knew but maybe when all this is done you’ll be the prat I thought you were. Maybe you’ll be the man they thought you were. Guess we’ll see who is right eventually.”
Draco smiled and Ron gave him a small smile in return. “Guess so. Master thinks I should trust you.”
Draco nodded then. His smile faded but Ron just watched him. “I was a pet of the Death Eaters when Harry and Hermione found me and helped me. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, and you used to be one of them when I was too young to understand what a true enemy was. Now I have the chance to repay my debts; to them and to your master.”
Ron nodded then, though Draco wasn’t sure he really understood the depth of his debt. In time, he might. Until then, Draco felt they had a good start. He’d thought he would be able to help Ron by the sheer force of their past animosity but he was beginning to realize how wrong they all were. They wouldn’t help Ron by reminding himself of past grievances. It was the future that would pull him through and maybe their shared horrors would help them forge ahead for something better.
On to Part Three