Stuck with Me [Harry Potter]

Chapter 12 - Back to Malfoy Manor

The setting has shifted, and things have become serious...

PS: In this and the following chapters, there are elements from the actual story, by JK Rowling. She owns them, not me.

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Setting: Malfoy Manor during the Battle of Hogwarts, spring, 1998.

"Draco!"

Narcissa Malfoy flung her arms around her son's neck after him and Greyback apparated to the drawing room in the manor and squeezed him until he couldn't breathe. She looked back at his face and placed each of her boney, yet soft hands on each of his cheeks. Tears gathered in her blue eyes. "Are you alright, Draco? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Mother," he said, walking out of his mother's handle and looked around the room briefly. His heart sunk. No Luna. Where was she?!

"Quite the stunt you pulled, Draco," Lucius Malfoy said cooly and stood next to him. "The Dark Lord is not at all happy with you."

"I know," Draco said. "I knew that the moment I left the room."

"Then why did you?"

Draco pursed his lips together, not answering.

"You coward," Lucius spat and walked a few steps away. "The Dark Lord will deal with you later. There is another matter that needs addressing."

Draco's gut twisted into knots. "What?"

As an answer, he heard, "Draco!" in a screechy female voice, which echoed through the massive room. Draco saw his aunt Bellatrix walking up to him, an evil smile on her face, and her dark hair curling in every direction.

"Finally, back from our vacation, are we?" she cackled. "You came just in time. Bring them in!"

Doors flew open and in came a few rough men who Draco recognized as the Snatchers who roam around the nearby forest. They were holding back three struggling people in their grips. He sucked in air through his teeth when he recognized two as Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The third he couldn't recognize at first glance, but who else would be with Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley?

"They came snooping through the wood near the manor," Bellatrix said to him. "We were hoping you could do us a little favor, Draco."

One of the Snatchers brought the unfamiliar boy in front of Draco and forced him to kneel on the floor before him. Draco felt his shoulder being pushed down, and he had no choice but to kneel himself. His knees hit the wooden floor, shooting pain up both legs.

"Identify him," Lucius commanded, squeezing his son's shoulder to a painful degree. "Is this Harry Potter?"

Feeling sick to his stomach, Draco stared at the horribly deformed face in front of him. "What happened to his face?" he muttered without thinking, but truly curious.

"Indeed," said Bellatrix. "What did happen to his face?"

"He probably got bit by something in the forest," Lucius said. "Answer, Draco."

Draco looked at the face again and noticed a faint lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. This was indeed Harry Potter.

His teeth gritted together as Harry pleaded with him with his green eyes. Draco's heart began to sink further. Should he reveal Harry? Should he reveal him and have him be tortured? Or killed? Sure, he didn't like the guy, but did he deserve to die.

"No," Draco finally said. "It's not him."

Tears noticeably formed in Harry's eyes, and Draco stood up out of his father's grip. He glanced at Ron and Hermione, who stared at him with shocked looks on their faces. They knew that he lied through his teeth.

"Throw them in the dungeon with the others!" Lucius ordered, and the Snatchers forced the three through the doors.

Bellatrix stopped the Snatcher who had Hermione. "Not this one." She was in Hermione's face. "I want to have a talk with her, girl to girl."

She grabbed the girl's arm and threw her to the floor. Hermione wailed, and tears streamed down her cheeks. Draco watched in agony as his aunt tortured her. The girl's sobs and screams filled the room, which chilled his blood to ice. She was his enemy, but he hated watching her being tortured. It repulsed him. Disgusted him. She didn't deserve it, even if she was a mudblood.

Hermione became quiet and Draco feared that his aunt killed her. But his pulse decreased when he saw her chest moving up and down slowly. On her arm, etched into her skin, was mudblood. It dripped blood. Draco wanted to vomit.

He eyed the doors. The way was clear for him to escape the room, but Death Eaters and his parents would see him run. They would think him more of a coward if he did. But he didn't care. He wanted to run. He wanted to run and find Luna.

He took one step, but the doors suddenly flew open. Wands raised and spells fired as Harry, Ron, the wand maker Ollivander, the goblin Griphook, the house elf Dobby, and—Draco gasped when the last person ran into the room, and he shouted her name...

"LUNA!"

The room erupted in more chaos as wands spouted more spells and curses, and people ran all over the room, dueling each other. Several wands dropped on the floor in front of Draco, and his father demanded he pick them up.

Nearly in tears, he picked them up. His adrenaline rushed and in a quick motion, he pointed a wand at his own father, as if blaming him for his horrible life. They glared at one another as chaos ensued around them. Confusion etched his father's features.

"Draco, no!" his mother begged him, and he lowered his wand slowly.

More curses fired, mainly from Harry to another Death Eater.

"Stop it!" Bellatrix screamed, and Draco turned and saw in horror his aunt walk up to the bunch with Hermione in her grasp and a knife to her neck.

"I said stop, or your friend gets it," she screeched to Harry, who had his wand pointed at her.

Draco darted his eyes to Luna. His heart lifted only a little at seeing her standing there, wand out. She got her wand back!

Luna's gaze met his. She smiled, and he could have sworn she said his name. He was about to run to her when someone cast a spell that caused the chandelier directly above Bellatrix and Hermione to fall and crash to the floor. He had to run behind a sofa as to not be hit by the shattering glass. He looked around the sofa and saw Hermione and Harry disapparate, along with Ron, Ollivander and Griphook. Luna probably already went in.

"Luna," he muttered and stood up, then noticed his aunt throwing a dagger into the swirling vortex, and it disapparated along with the others.

Draco dropped to his knees, tears coming to his eyes as he imagined that dagger plunging itself into...

"NO!" he hollered, and about bolted out of there, but someone took a hold of his shoulder, stopping him. It was his father.