010. [voice]

[oncefutureking]

[The communicator clicks on, and it's almost the first of any word from Arthur there has been since the dreams, but there is no sound save for gentle breathing. On the other side, Arthur is holding it in a firm grip, knuckles white. He knows he should say something, that perhaps he should apologize to everyone he'd killed, but what is there to say

Comments

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[Draco doesn't display any of the hesitancy that others have. It's with a distinct sense of betrayal - a feeling that he isn't used to being on the receiving end of - and disgust that he speaks, making his words sharp and spiteful.]

Hmph. You're no better than those filthy halfbreeds, are you?

[Though, perhaps it's more defensive than anything else.]

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

[It surprises the prince just how much the spite of this person bothers him, and his jaw clenches briefly.]

I have never lied to you.

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[Draco is silent for a moment; he certainly can't say the same, as Merlin thought it would be best for the prince to remain oblivious to the fact that they were wizards.]

That's irrelevant. You're nothing but a savage who murders blindly, and I couldn't care less about whether or not you've lied to me before.

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

[Arthur would laugh, if it were anyone else. Instead, he sounds all too sober.]

I have never killed the way that nightmare showed me to, and I have never taken part in something so ruthless.

[And then his voice is low, because in truth, he almost doesn't want Draco to verify what he already knows.]

Can the same be said for you?

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[The pause that follows Arthur's question is much longer than the previous one. Draco's mind jumps all too quickly to the night on the Astronomy Tower, and it is undeniable that his actions were anything but ruthless. No, he was not the one to murder the headmaster, but he was the one who made it possible. He was the one who cornered and disarmed Dumbledore, leaving him defenseless in the face of the Killing Curse.

When Draco answers, it is with a mixture of determination and bitter regret, the latter of which cannot be ignored.]

I've never killed anyone. I've... been responsible for things that have resulted in death, but never for a reason as idiotic as hating people who possess magic.

[Because while Draco's actions may have been ruthless, he had not done so without reason. To refuse the Dark Lord's orders was to condemn himself and his parents to death, and in his eyes, that is more than enough justification.]

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

What makes you think assisting is any better?

[He can't understand the reason behind his tone, but it certainly makes him curious. Still, his own voice remains low.]

I fight a war against magic. A magic that has been trying to tear my kingdom to pieces since before I was born. How is your war against those who cannot use magic, against other sorcerers any different?

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[Arthur's inquiries are beginning to hit much closer to home than Draco would like. He'd been questioning the beliefs of his family, of the Dark Lord's followers long before he arrived in World's End, but the issue seems so irrelevant with the war itself removed. He'd put it in the back of his mind, which was easier said than done with Potter's friends traipsing about the apartment.

Now, though, with Arthur making such a comparison, Draco finds that he can't discern any sort of argument. How is locking wizards in cages to be burned at the stake any different than confiscating the wands of Mudbloods, leaving them defenseless to be hunted down by Snatchers or the Death Eaters themselves? And while Draco truly dislikes Mudbloods and Muggles - and the latter belief has only been reemphasized by the citizens of World's End - he's never been comfortable with the methods that the Death Eaters have used to persecute them.

When Draco answers, he answers carefully, speaking as the realization comes to him.]It isn't. But the reasons that

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

[Arthur has nothing to say to the statement. Many people have been indoctrinated into wars that had started years before their time, but that did not mean they could opt out of fighting. In some way or another you become involved, and you have to agree at least partially with it in some way. Though since his arrival in World's End, any doubts Arthur might have had about the sorcerers in his world and the way his Father thought had only intensified.]

Why would I have to ask him, when you are here right now? You are both part of the same war, regardless of which side you fight on.

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[He doesn't seem too concerned with the fact that Arthur's discovered which side of the war he's on - which, really, hasn't been kept secret.]

Well, if you'd ask him, you'd find that he's much more involved with the reasons behind the war than I am.

[Some of the arrogance has returned to Draco's voice. He can't imagine Arthur understanding the conflict between the Dark Lord and the Boy Who Lived; thinking of attempting to explain it is nearly laughable.]

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

[Arthur takes a slow breath, composing himself the best he can. As hot headed as he can be, this topic of conversations isn't going to mend anything between them. It's quite clear that neither of them are going to give to one another's plights of war.]

Regardless.

I am not about to kill anyone here who does not deserve to fall to my blade.

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[Again, Draco's tone becomes serious. He, like the others that have already interrogated Arthur, is trying to judge how much of a threat the prince truly is. He doesn't believe what Merlin says about Arthur being harmless - that he's capable of terrible things but would never choose to do them.]

Is that so? And how, dare I ask, do you determine whether or not someone deserves it?

[voice]

[oncefutureking]

Yes, it is so. If you would go out of your way to harm an innocent person, then you are my enemy. I could care less if it is by blade or by magic. No, I do not trust magic as far as I can throw it, but I am fully aware this is not Camelot, and there has yet to be a single one of you witches or wizards to do anything I would feel reason to fight you over.

[He pauses, then amends.]

Not outside of nightmare, anyway.

[voice]

[ferretprince]

[He's about to argue, to explain that Potter had reason to attack him, that he was anything but innocent - but he cuts himself as he thinks better of it. He's shared enough with Arthur as it is, and so he settles for turning the warning against the prince as well.]

The same can be said for you.