A Boy Named Draco - Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Harry moved carefully under the cover of his father's invisibility cloak. He was heading towards the Restricted Section in the Hogwarts library to learn as much as he could about Nicholas Flamel.
The library was pitch-black and he had to light a lamp to move around. The books that he had been aiming for were soon spread in one of the heavy wooden tables. Harry scanned them as quickly as he could. The languages contained in each book became even more alien as he moved through the tomes. A silver and black volume beckoned to him. He set it on his knee and let it fall open.
A shriek pierced the silence. Harry dropped the book but the sound only got louder. He stumbled and hit the table causing the lamp to fall. The panicked boy stuffed the book back on the shelf and ran out of the library. He passed Filch in the doorway but the caretaker did not see him under the cloak.
In his quest to get away he had not paid attention to where he was going. Harry found himself in front of a suit of armor. He froze for a moment and tried to decipher his whereabouts. He heard Snape as he led Filch down the hallway to where he was standing.
"The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."
Harry held his breath and looked around, He noticed the doorway partly hidden by the suit. Without thinking twiice he slipped around it and opened the door.
It looked like an unused classroom. Shadowy shapes revealed themselves to be tables and chairs after a quick Lumos. Harry's eyes were drawn to a shape propped against the wall facing him. A magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, stood on its clawed feet. There was and inscription carved around the top: "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wahsi."
Harry moved closer to the mirror knowing that he would be invisible under the coat. He stepped in front of the glass and had to bite down a scream as he whirled around. He had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing behind him.
There was no one standing behind him. The boy took a deep breath and tried again.
He saw his reflection, white and frightened, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder again to no avail. He turned back.
A woman was standing right behind his reflection and waving. She had a beautiful smile and familiar green eyes. Behind her a man with glasses was holding on to Harry's shoulder. His smile was warm.
"Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"
They did not answer him but continued smiling. Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror. Many shared his green eyes some had his untidy black hair. Harry understood that he was looking at his family for the first ime in his life.
And there to the side of a tall man wearing a monocle and a pointy hat stood a slight blond boy. Draco.
Harry reached out a hand to his friend. Draco pressed his against the glass. Their hands were aligned through the barrier standing before them. Harry smiled and tears seeped out of his eyes. He could see his mother hug his mirror image to comfort him.
How long he stood there, he did not know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until the first rays of sunlight filtered through gaps in the heavy curtains. He tore his eyes away from the images before him and whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.
Much later in the day Harry was sitting in the dining hall. He told Ron about what he had seen. His friend had no answer as to the purpose of the mirror but wanted to see it for himself. He and Harry would find it after everyone had gone to sleep. In the meantime, Harry considered what he had seen. He worried about Draco and hoped he was safe.
Draco was far from safe and even further from sound. His search for work had proved fruitless for a twelve year old with almost no education and no magic.
He’d slept under bridges and staircases when it got too cold and ate whenever he could find something to put in his aching belly. Sometimes he got lucky and could get a bit of money shoveling out a driveway for muggles but for the most part he went hungry. Tired and lonely, he wandered around and hid as best he could from the authorities.
His situation had little chance of improving in a wizarding neighborhood. He had nothing to offer because everything he did was by hand and that could never compete with magic.
For a few moments, so brief now, his life had seemed worthwhile. He had a friend who seemed not to take care about his status. Harry made it possible for Draco to forget that his parents had rejected him in favor of a boy who loved to make him feel as insignificant as he could.
Master Theodore was right after all. He was rubbish.
Feeling exhausted, Draco slipped inside a narrow alleyway between two buildings. There was a pile of discarded newspapers in a corner so Draco headed there and sank down. He was drained and his head had been pounding non-stop for hours. He wondered briefly why his knees were so shaky and his throat burned.
It was a cold night and he should find better shelter but could not get he wherewithal to rise again.
Draco raised his head slowly to look at the stars. They were brilliant this time of the year and he felt grateful to have their company. He would love to see them as close as Harry could when he flew on his broom. Draco had dreamed that one day he would take him flying but now he knew that his dreams were hopeless.
Life was ebbing away, little by little. Maybe he could rise again tomorrow but eventually exposure and malnourishment would get him at the end.
As his vision faded, he saw the image of the green-eyed boy as he’d seen him last. Draco smiled softly at the memory as his eyes closed and he slipped into unconsciousness.
TBC.
Chapter 16