Sectumsempra

12

Just some months, Draco had thought, musn't take too long to go by. And man was he wrong.

Those couple of months before the beginning of Hogwarts new term seemed to take forever to pass. Each week was like a whole year, especially being stuck in a home with Draco's father. His relation with his father had always been complicated, but now it was something else. Draco had always let his head down and obeyed his father, but during the time of Voldemort's return more than that was expected from Draco. He had to be enthusiastic about being his father's son, about being in the path of becoming Voldemort's follower. That, of course, was not the case, and everyone noticed it. Draco knew his father was ashamed of the son he had, even if he didn't say anything to Draco.

That was another thing – he didn't say anything to Draco. Anything at all. If it weren't for the resemblance and the fact that the whole British wizarding community knew the Malfoy family, you wouldn't grasp that they were father and son just by looking at them together. Lucius treated Draco with a formality that was coldness, treating only about what was necessary. Draco sensed that his father couldn't stand be in the same place as him, being reminded by Draco's sight that he didn't have a prodigy son to be proud of and to brag about to others.

On top of that, you had the terrible state in which Lucius's reputation was amongst the Death Eaters after being a coward when Voldemort disappeared. Lucius wanted so bad to have a prodigy for a son, a son that would enter headfirst in Voldemort's ideology and help Lucius's reputation, that he ended up blaming Draco for his own failure, even if he himself wasn't totally aware of doing so.

So there you have it; not a very pleasing household to live in. Lucius treated Draco with coldness, as if he was no more than an associate. Not that Draco wanted him to act affectionate or anything. Draco, too, wasn't too fond of that man. A coward, a horrible person, a person that complied with a wicked ideology.

Draco's mother, too, wasn't very affectionate. Not because she didn't want to, but because she was too submissive of her husband to displease him, and raising his son like a sissy would certainly displease him. Draco was kind of angry with her for being so submissive, but he understood deep down that it was less her fault than other things. What did he expect from her after her living a lifetime of being conditioned to live like this? He grew used to their coldness and now he was almost thankful for it. In the end his parents' coldness made it easier for him to distance himself from them. Now he was almost brave enough to defy his father. What would he do, after all? Lucius was a nobody now that Voldemort was gone for good; every last tiny bit of menace he held toward the wizarding community was gone. They were still rich alright, but no one was going to do business with the Malfoys any longer and their fortune would eventually fade. Seeing his father as a miserable coward made it easier to think that he didn't need to live with his head down around him anymore. Draco almost wanted to write to Harry saying that it was ok, that he could send as many owls as he likes, and Draco would make sure his father saw the letters and whom they were from. What would his father do? Punish him? Draco was skilled enough to defend himself.

But no, not yet. He would uphold his decision to not have correspondence as long as he was home. He would wait until classes began to communicate with Harry again.

Ah, communicating with Harry. Draco didn't stop thinking about Harry even for a minute. Harry represented warmth amidst the coldness of his house and parents, that's why it was so easy to forget any hurt. Once again Draco had the scary thought that there was nothing Harry could do to make him stop wanting Harry.

That was scary but was the truth.

*

Those months of break had Harry with mixed feelings. For the first time he left Harry and didn't need to go to the Dursleys', he went straight to the Burrow, something he dreamed of doing for all of the six years of his studies. Not going back to the Dursleys' was happiness enough, but he still had more reasons for cheerfulness – he was with his best friend Ron and his family, the Weasleys, that always welcomed him wholeheartedly and made him feel part of the family. On top of that, the whole country was in a festive climate because Voldemort had finally been defeated for good. Even though the reasons to be happy seemed endless, Harry caught himself being wistful and sad.

The cause of that was no other than Draco, of course. He understood what Draco told him, about Draco's father, but it was hard not to write to Draco every day. He caught himself grabbing a sheet of parchment to begin writing a letter that he'd keep and deliver to Draco in Hogwarts. But he always gave up, because he wouldn't know what to write anyway. He thought of the relation between Draco and his father and of how horrible that must be. Harry was surrounded by love, he shivered to think of how Draco must be feeling, being surrounded by darkness and hatred. Of course Draco's father wouldn't like one bit to know of their relation.

Hermione arrived at the Burrow as scheduled, her parents with her. It was funny to see two muggles amidst so many enchanted devices.

As soon as she arrived, in the first opportunity alone – even apart from Ron, who was showing his in laws to their room – she asked Harry about whether he had written to Draco.

"I did, yes," said Harry timidly.

"And?" Hermione inquired further. "Did he write you back?"

"He did..."

"Harry! What did he say?"

Harry felt his face getting red – he was embarrassed. "To not write anymore." He saw Hermione's face fall before turning to sit on the bed. Before she could ask "What?" he told her what Draco said in the letter, about his father, etc.

"Oh," Hermione said. "Ok. At least he did like it that you wrote him, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," said Harry.

Hermione sat at the bed, too. "I never thought I'd say this," said her, "but poor Draco."

Harry laughed. Hermione joined in.

*

With the time seemingly slowing down and every day taking longer to pass than the previous one, finally the break ended. Harry and Draco would see each other again.