𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

Chapter 14

The day after Draco's escape The Daily Prophet screamed the headline:

MALFOY BOY SUSPECTED KIDNAPPED

Distraught Parents Beg For Son

Then it went on to state how the worried Malfoy family were willing to pay any amount to have their precious son returned unharmed, pleading for the kidnappers to contact them with their demands. Lucius also asked the community to come forward with any tips as to the whereabouts of his boy. A huge reward was offered. Beside the article was last years school picture of Draco and below that a picture of Lucius looking very worried holding a weeping Narcissa Malfoy.

"Do you believe this crap?" Harry growled, throwing the paper down on the table. "Yeah," Ron agreed. "Who'd want to kidnap the ferret?"

Harry sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Last night he had pretty well barged into Professor Snape's room demanding that he accompany Harry on a search for the blonde Slytherin. The Gryffindor had only stopped his frustrated ranting when he noticed Snape looked like he was going to burst a blood vessel.

"Don't be so impudent, Mr. Potter," Snape had warned him, stabbing his long finger into Harry's chest. "And just where do you suggest we look for Mr. Malfoy?" he had sneered, looming over the smaller teen.

That had taken the wind out of Harry's sails. He had no idea even where to start. He just wanted to do something to try to push back the fear that Lucius had killed his new friend.

Snape had softened his voice when it looked like Harry was going to start to cry; horrified that he might have to comfort The-Boy-Who-Lived. "I'll keep my ears and eyes open, Mr. Potter. I do have some connections and I might be able to find something out. If I do, I'll tell you," he finished, looking more than relieved that Potter had gained control of his emotions at the utterance of this promise.

Snape had actually been very surprised and then touched at the way he could see that Harry truly cared for Draco. Perhaps he had been wrong in wanting the two of them apart. It certainly would be good for Draco to follow Potter rather than the Dark Lord or his father. Perhaps, just perhaps, he could put aside his distaste for James' son. Just as Draco was not Lucius, Potter was not James either. Severus decided he'd have to at least give it further serious consideration as he shooed the boy out the door so he could check in with those contacts he had mentioned.

Harry came out of his remembrances to look at his two friends that were re-reading the article describing how Draco had disappeared from his family home in Wiltshire, where he had been recuperating from an illness, without a trace.

"I need to tell you guys something," Harry caught the attention of his two friends and then began to inform then of what had really been going on. How Draco had wanted to run away from his abusive father and that he had not, in fact, tried to kill himself. He even told them how much the blonde had changed and that he and the Slytherin had started the beginnings of a friendship. He downplayed the depth of his feelings for the grey eyed teen and kept the fact that he had kissed the boy to himself though.

"Do you still have the book?" Hermione asked when Harry had finished his tale, a bit disappointed that her friend of many years hadn't explained all this before.

"Friends? With Malfoy?" Ron asked, still stuck on that bit of information and impeding Harry from telling their witch friend that he did indeed still have the book.

"Ron," Hermione reprimanded. "Stop interrupting."

Harry took the two up to the dorm room and showed them the book that had been tucked into his trunk. "Why do you want it?" he asked.

"Maybe there's a spell of some kind that could help us find Malfoy. I assume you told us all this so we could help you," she said with a smile. Hermione was also curious as to the spells within it, even if at the same time a chill of excited anxiousness ran though her at what her bespectacled friend had briefly told her of them. The girl could never resist the promise of new information from a book, however, and cast aside her trepidations.