by Draco
The minute I saw my father walking through the huge oaken gates I knew that something was terribly wrong.
It was a feeling I couldn't nail down. Father visits Hogwarts once in a while and that doesn't have to mean anything out of the ordinary. He talks to the headmaster, he talks to Professor Snape, he watches me play Quidditch, he plots his little schemes - there are so many things he does, and only few of them concern me. But this time, I knew it was all about me.
"You're in danger, Draco," he said as soon as I entered Professor Snape's office where he was waiting for me. "You'll have to leave Hogwarts, because you're not safe here."
I didn't reply at once, but my thoughts were racing. Would Father finally tell me what all of this was about? I still knew so little of what was going on. I try not to think of the time when the Dark Lord held me and Potter prisoner, but the memories come back to me anyways and I can't get them out of my mind.
During the last weeks and months it felt like I was living a half-life. I was in Hogwarts going to my classes and talking to my friends, but at the same time I was back in the Dark Lord's dungeons. It felt like I had never really left them. Sometimes I even wondered whether Hogwarts was all a dream, a new plan of the Dark Lord to break my will.
There are moments when I feel proud that he didn't manage to break me, not with the Cruciatus Curse, not with his poisons, not with his attempts to break into my mind. But these moments are no more than tiny sparks of light in a never-ending darkness. I can't fool myself, I know that with enough time, he would have broken me. He would not have managed to turn me against Harry, but he would have made me beg for my death, because I wouldn't have been able to stand it anymore.
But it didn't come to that, because he let me go. He let me go and I have absolutely no idea, why.
And I don't know how Potter escaped, either...
"Not safe from whom?" I wanted to know. "The Dark Lord? But why? Why would he let me go and then capture me again? That doesn't make sense at all!"
Father and Professor Snape exchanged a glance as if they were unsure how much they should tell me. "The Dark Lord released you under certain conditions, Draco." Professor Snape said finally. "Now that it has become clear to him that these conditions will not be fulfilled, you are of no further value to him."
"What conditions?" I shouted. "Father, what did you do? What did you promise to him in exchange for my life?"
"Calm yourself, Draco." There was no emotion in my father's voice; it sounded cold and indifferent.
He put something in my hand; it felt like a ring, but I couldn't see it, because he closed my fingers over it. "In ten minutes time, this portkey will take you to safe place. You will stay there until I contact you. Don't leave the house and don't try sending any owls."
He let go of my hand and turned towards the door. "Draco, for once do what you're told. Take care." His voice still sounded indifferent, but there was a small tinge of sadness in it. Or was it just my imagination?
I still stared at the door after he had left, but Professor Snape handed me a small box. "I wanted to talk to you about this, but there is very little time now, so just listen. I was trying to create a potion to break through Potter's memory charm...."
"I don't want to break through Potter's memory charm, I don't want to hear this and I don't want to talk about Potter at all," I started, but my voice broke as Professor Snape drew his wand, cutting me off with a silencing charm. I was so furious that I was close to drawing my own wand and attacking him, but I managed to keep my temper. I felt my fingernails and the Portkey ring dig into my skin as I clenched my hands.
Professor Snape snapped the box open. "These are two different potions. The red one is able to break through a memory charm, even a powerful one and restore all the missing memories. The blue one will do just the opposite, it will locate those missing memories and erase them forever. It is very likely that the Dark Lord will try to use Potter's memories against him, so it is up to you to decide what to do about it."
"But I..." I felt relieved to be able to talk again, but still I didn't get to finish my sentence, because the very same moment I felt the familiar pull below my navel and Professor Snape's office faded into nothingness.
It was a feeling I couldn't nail down. Father visits Hogwarts once in a while and that doesn't have to mean anything out of the ordinary. He talks to the headmaster, he talks to Professor Snape, he watches me play Quidditch, he plots his little schemes - there are so many things he does, and only few of them concern me. But this time, I knew it was all about me.
"You're in danger, Draco," he said as soon as I entered Professor Snape's office where he was waiting for me. "You'll have to leave Hogwarts, because you're not safe here."
I didn't reply at once, but my thoughts were racing. Would Father finally tell me what all of this was about? I still knew so little of what was going on. I try not to think of the time when the Dark Lord held me and Potter prisoner, but the memories come back to me anyways and I can't get them out of my mind.
During the last weeks and months it felt like I was living a half-life. I was in Hogwarts going to my classes and talking to my friends, but at the same time I was back in the Dark Lord's dungeons. It felt like I had never really left them. Sometimes I even wondered whether Hogwarts was all a dream, a new plan of the Dark Lord to break my will.
There are moments when I feel proud that he didn't manage to break me, not with the Cruciatus Curse, not with his poisons, not with his attempts to break into my mind. But these moments are no more than tiny sparks of light in a never-ending darkness. I can't fool myself, I know that with enough time, he would have broken me. He would not have managed to turn me against Harry, but he would have made me beg for my death, because I wouldn't have been able to stand it anymore.
But it didn't come to that, because he let me go. He let me go and I have absolutely no idea, why.
And I don't know how Potter escaped, either...
"Not safe from whom?" I wanted to know. "The Dark Lord? But why? Why would he let me go and then capture me again? That doesn't make sense at all!"
Father and Professor Snape exchanged a glance as if they were unsure how much they should tell me. "The Dark Lord released you under certain conditions, Draco." Professor Snape said finally. "Now that it has become clear to him that these conditions will not be fulfilled, you are of no further value to him."
"What conditions?" I shouted. "Father, what did you do? What did you promise to him in exchange for my life?"
"Calm yourself, Draco." There was no emotion in my father's voice; it sounded cold and indifferent.
He put something in my hand; it felt like a ring, but I couldn't see it, because he closed my fingers over it. "In ten minutes time, this portkey will take you to safe place. You will stay there until I contact you. Don't leave the house and don't try sending any owls."
He let go of my hand and turned towards the door. "Draco, for once do what you're told. Take care." His voice still sounded indifferent, but there was a small tinge of sadness in it. Or was it just my imagination?
I still stared at the door after he had left, but Professor Snape handed me a small box. "I wanted to talk to you about this, but there is very little time now, so just listen. I was trying to create a potion to break through Potter's memory charm...."
"I don't want to break through Potter's memory charm, I don't want to hear this and I don't want to talk about Potter at all," I started, but my voice broke as Professor Snape drew his wand, cutting me off with a silencing charm. I was so furious that I was close to drawing my own wand and attacking him, but I managed to keep my temper. I felt my fingernails and the Portkey ring dig into my skin as I clenched my hands.
Professor Snape snapped the box open. "These are two different potions. The red one is able to break through a memory charm, even a powerful one and restore all the missing memories. The blue one will do just the opposite, it will locate those missing memories and erase them forever. It is very likely that the Dark Lord will try to use Potter's memories against him, so it is up to you to decide what to do about it."
"But I..." I felt relieved to be able to talk again, but still I didn't get to finish my sentence, because the very same moment I felt the familiar pull below my navel and Professor Snape's office faded into nothingness.