nowhere | dramione

Father Knows Best

"Draco?" leered the voice from the darkness. "What have we here? Found a little pet, have you?"

I noticed Draco's shoulders hunch slightly before he drew himself taller and broader. "Father. I found her lurking and was escorting her back to the manor for questioning."

Lucius made a sound, I suppose it might've been his bitter attempt at laughter. "Why would you not have summoned myself or your aunt to assist you? Mudblood here could easily have run away. Did you search her, Draco? Did you take her wand? Did you ask her where she came from, where she's going, what she's doing, who she's with? You have performed very poorly, child. If the Dark Lord where to hear of this, he would be ashamed," Lucius spat, glaring down at his son. It was horrible to watch, as much as I despised Draco.

"But, Father-"

"Do not interrupt me, boy!" Lucius shrieked. "Who do you think you are? Taking prisoners by yourself? You are a child, Draco. If this Mudblood got away and people found out we would never be forgiven. The Malfoys would remain the laughing stock of the wizarding world. Is that the legacy you want to leave? Is that the legacy you want your sons, my grandsons, to inherit?"

"Father, I'm sorry. I wanted to prove myself-"

"So do I, Draco, that is the point!" Lucius countered. This was a very uncomfortable conversation to witness, but with how angry Lucius was, I didn't dare try to move. "You failed to kill the old bat last year, you couldn't even do that! People are laughing about us. We are being mocked, not only by purebloods, but by scummy half-bloods and even Mudbloods! You are a disappointment, Draco, a disappointment. I married your mother for a strong Malfoy heir and instead... instead I got you."

"STUPEFY!" Draco screeched, and from his suddenly outstretched wand the strongest Stupefy I'd ever seen exploded. Lucius was knocked right off his feet and flew - quite literally flew - into a tree, hitting his head and knocking him out. "Serves you right," he muttered. Then, "Oh, fuck."

He sprinted off, dodging unseen branches and poking roots. Deciding that I'd rather do anything than be there to witness Lucius when he came back around, I followed Draco's meandering path through the gloom.

"Malfoy!" I whispered, on his heels now. I was a faster runner than I thought.

"Fuck off, Mudblood," he whispered back. "Go let my father find you. He knows best after all," his snooty voice was laced with sarcasm.

I nearly laughed. "No way. Slow down, where are you going?"

He ignored me, of course. "Turn around. Leave me alone."

"He'll kill me."

"Don't be so dramatic, he'll only torture you. He'd kill me. I'll kill you."

Draco had eased off his speed a little now, partly from exhaustion and partly because he was peering periodically into the densely packed trees. "Are you still here?" he snarked when I accidentally snapped a twig. "If you're going to hover like a particularly persistent gnome, at least do so quietly. I do not want my father finding me and I don't believe you do either." That stopped any retort I was going to make.

Eventually he veered off the path we had been trekking and ducked around tree trunks. I followed him. Of course I did, did I have any other choice? What else was I going to do, wander aimlessly around woods that I'd never been in before? As much as I hated to admit it, if I lost Draco, I'd be dead, whether from starvation or because one of the Death Eaters would find me.

I stayed a little behind him, he looked like he wanted space. The closer we got to wherever it was he was going, the more I began to see little signs that could be what Draco was following: I spotted a small green ribbon knotted around a branch, a silver something glinting among the carpet of leaves, a scratch in an approximation of an arrow carved into tree bark.

"Malfoy?" I tried.

"Don't distract me, Mudblood," he snarled. "I'm focusing."

"Right," I was quiet for a while. Then, "Where are you going?"

He didn't answer. I noticed him look frantically in the distance, doing an almost double take, and watched as he sped up with me right behind him.

Out of the near endless bleakness rose a small single-storey wooden shack. The windows were single glazed, there were green gingham curtains covering them. Even from a distance I could see the holes in the roof and the layer of furry mould coating the - well, I couldn't even call it a building. There were the remnants of what must have been a porch area which was now rotting into the woods around. Ivy grew into the door and out of the chimney and trees shrouded it.

Confused, I hung back whilst Draco went to the shack and attempted to open the door. The ivy seemed to have stuck the hinges. He ripped up a crumbling porch floor board and hit the door with it until the plank snapped and the door burst open.