𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

Chapter 2

"What the hell is that on Malfoy's arm?" Ron questioned his two friends as they sat at their table as the new first years were Sorted into the four Houses of Hogwarts.

"It's a cast," Hermione answered. "Muggle doctors put them on when you've broken a bone, to hold it still so it can heal." She, too, gave the Slytherin table a curious look.

Draco was sitting in his normal spot with Crabbe and Goyle on either side of him, but the blond looked like he was barely awake.

"Think he's sick?" Harry asked. This was the second time today he had seen Malfoy and he had been surprised at the sling. He had been even more surprised when the blond had done nothing more than give him a curt nod before heading to the dungeons, a house-elf following with his luggage. "Wonder why he didn't have his arm fixed magically?"

"He's probably just looking for sympathy or attention, same as always," Ron huffed. The redhead gave a cheer with the rest of their table as one of the small first-years was Sorted into Gryffindor. Harry and Hermione joined in and soon forgot about the blond boy sitting across the room.

XXX

Draco's arm was killing him. Stupid Goyle had bumped into him as they were coming into the Great Hall, and the dull throbbing that he had been accustomed to had escalated into a sharp, burning pain that was just now beginning to ebb. To make matters worse, his arm was also itching and he couldn't get anything under the cast to scratch it. He just desperately wished that this could be over soon. He found he didn't have an appetite in the least and all he really wanted to do was crawl into his bed and sleep.

He was embarrassed as well. How did you tell your fellows that your father had broken your arm in a fit of temper and that he couldn't use magic to heal it? If he had to answer one more question about it he was going to scream. His father, in his gracious need to educate and punish Draco, had spelled the cast so that any attempt to use magic to heal the bone, or give him relief from the pain, would instead cause the arm to break again.

Draco gazed around the room as the Sorting continued, trying to take his mind off the throb and itch of his arm. His eyes drifted over all the different tables, seeing many familiar faces and noticing some that were missing. No doubt having either joined with the Dark Lord or been removed by parents that were afraid their children wouldn't be safe.

He only noticed one empty seat in Hufflepuff, and since he figured no one from that House would join with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, that left withdrawal by parents. The Slytherin table had the most missing spots, followed closely by Ravenclaw. Draco knew more would be gone by the time the end of the year rolled around.

Most of the teachers were the same, except for the addition of an older man who was supposed to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts. Draco couldn't remember the man's name, since he hadn't been paying much attention to the same old speech Dumbledore gave every year.

His tour of the room finally ended on the Gryffindor table. He noticed not one seat was empty on the large table and in fact, many of the first-years were getting Sorted into the House, the older students making room for their new fellows.

'Figures,' Draco snorted to himself, 'everyone wants to be a hero.' He let himself stare at a certain green-eyed, dark-haired boy. He watched as a cheer went up, yet again, as another eleven-year old boy with a huge grin was accepted at the table.

Suddenly, green eyes were on him and his first impulse was to look away. 'Fuck it, what does he care if I'm staring? I sure as hell am not looking away first.' That old competitiveness came to the fore and Draco steadily held Harry's gaze, only this time, he kept the sneer off his face that would normally have been there.

Harry felt a prickling at the back of his neck and lifted his eyes to find grey looking back at him. 'What the hell is his problem?' the Gryffindor wondered with some irritation, noticing that Draco continued to stare at him with a completely blank expression on his face.

Harry scowled, but his blond rival didn't react in any way. Finally, feeling awkward, the raven- haired teen dropped his eyes and put his attention back on his two friends who were engaged in a rather animated conversation about the new DADA teacher, Professor Archibald Cox. Nobody seemed to know much about the new professor, other than the fact that he was from Scotland. Harry hoped he at least knew more than Lockhart did.

Finally, the Sorting was finished and the meal started. Famished, Harry dug in with gusto, laughing and joking with his two best friends, not noticing that he was still being watched by a certain Slytherin.

XXX

Draco fell back onto his bed feeling totally drained. He had left the Hall before the others, only managing to pick lightly at the food on his plate before feelings of depression had washed over him. Watching Potter interact with his friends, seeing everyone at the different tables giving the Boy Who Lived happy smiles, and seeing said boy wave and smile back cheerily had made the blond feel such despondency that he had to leave knowing that nobody would ever be glad to see him like that.

Now, lying here alone in his shared room with his bed drapes drawn, all he felt was loneliness. 'Well I can't change anything now; I burned those bridges long ago,' Draco told himself sadly. 'I've only got a few months to figure out how the hell to get away, so it's time to stop this pity party.'

Money would not be a problem since he was planning on taking the monthly allowance he always received and squirreling it away. He was going to have to travel light, so there was no sense in buying more stuff that he would just have to lug around. Now, he was trying to decide how he was going to get out of Hogwarts without making anyone suspicious when the time came, and where he was going to go where his father wouldn't be able to find him. He tried to think of anyone that would be able to help him and he kept coming up totally blank.

A few names flitted though his head as he lay on the bed with his broken arm across his stomach, the other under his head. Severus was the first, but he wasn't sure if he could trust the Potions master. Draco had seen the Dark Mark on his forearm when he had been to the Malfoy mansion for various meetings with his father and the other Death Eaters. He had heard rumours to the fact that Severus could be a spy for Dumbledore, but decided that to entrust his life into the hands of someone who may, or may not be, on the side of the light was not the smartest thing to do.

He had also wondered about putting himself under the protection of the old man himself, but he always had the suspicion that Dumbledore withheld information and was sneakier than he let on, manipulating others to his own ends. There was also the fact that Potter was supposed to be under his protection, but the enigmatic wizard didn't seem to be doing such a good job with the boy everyone considered to be the wizarding world's best bet to beat Voldemort. He also feared that since the Headmaster seemed to favour Harry Potter; his enemy, Draco Malfoy, would be refused any help whatsoever and be cast aside.

Any of his Housemates were out. Many of their parents were Death Eaters, and he also knew that in a pinch they would turn on him quicker than a cat on a mouse if it could garner them favour and keep them out of trouble. An image of Potter quickly popped into his head, but he discarded that idea quickly. Considering the baleful glare he had received in the Great Hall at the opening feast, he was sure that no help would be coming from that direction. 'Probably hex me on the spot for even daring to ask.'

Draco frowned while a hollow ache filled his chest. He really was going to have to do this on his own. The thought scared him to death. To go against his father's wishes with no support was daunting, but the alternative was more frightening. He did not want to take the Dark Mark and become one of Voldemort's followers. He didn't want to have to kill any of his fellow students, and he certainly didn't want his fellow students trying to kill him. Draco's sense of self-preservation was too high for that and he wasn't ashamed to admit it.

'Okay, so I've got to go it on my own, no big deal. Now, where the hell am I going to go where Father won't find me?' Draco's head swam with one idea after another and he soon decided that he was just too exhausted to try and figure it out right now.

'I've got nine months until the end of school. I'll have lots of time to come up with a foolproof plan.' He yawned and closed his eyes, drifting off into a fitful sleep, too tired to even take off his school robes.