Long Live the Mafia Prince - A Drarry Fanfiction

Part 025

Why doesn't she understand? I mean, I get it, I haven't been the most trustworthy since I ended up on the Mafia team, but this whole situation should excuse me. I am the very reason the Ministry can even attempt to reach the Mafia, and yet, the decision-maker refuses to stop, step back, and really look at what I'm trying to tell her. The things at risk are real human lives, something we can't just let go of lightly. Is that so hard to recognize?

I don't even know why I was sent back to the St. Mungo's Hospital.

"I want to go home." I say.

I didn't expect the auror guarding my room to say anything. They aren't meant to. The only thing they are meant to do is stand next to the door, looking straight ahead at the wall, and ignore everything.

"I can at least have visitors, right?" I say, getting ignored again.

Granger might as well have cursed the guy like Lucius Malfoy did with Theodore.

Giving up, I stare at the clock on the wall.

The stupid mission tells me to go down to Vulpes street in three hours. In those three hours, Granger would gather aurors, give orders, and tell them the success of this mission would make them the hero of our generation. Meanwhile, Draco knows what's coming his way. Through Dean, or whatever other way, he will figure it out and be more prepared than the Ministry could ever be...

"We're all gonna die, you know that?" I say, to the auror, but mostly to the wall, "By this time tomorrow, hundreds of people would have lost their parents, their child, their partner, their friend, all because of their own Ministry. The one thing they thought they could trust would fail them...".

There's a knock at the door. Surprisingly, the auror lets the knocker in.

"How are you holding up?" Ron says, walking into the room.

I shrug. "I was actually talking about how the Ministry is going to kill every auror they send on this mission, and it wouldn't even be by mistake, considering I specifically warned them about the very thing that will end us all.".

Ron frowns, sitting in the chair next to my bed. "You were talking about that to who now?".

"The wall, more or less.".

He scoffs. "Harry, the Ministry isn't killing anyone.".

I scoff, too. "Uh, yeah, they are. Are you sure you're holding up fine? I think you might be in denial.".

"No, I'm not." Ron says, "If anything, you're the one that's given up.".

I roll my eyes. "What do you want me to do? I've already failed, the mission is going to happen, and yes, we're all going to die.".

Ron stares at me, as if he couldn't believe what I said. "What happened to you, mate?".

"To me? What-".

"Draco Malfoy, he changed you." Ron says, "You weren't like this. You were never this negative, you always stressed about there being something you could do, you... You were a good auror and a good person, Harry. What did he do to you?".

I blink. Draco Malfoy... changed me.

There's silence, then it's broken by Ron getting up from his seat. "The Ministry isn't killing anyone. The Mafia is.".

I stare at the wall as Ron leaves.

/////

An hour before game time, I was sent a file to read about the plans for tonight. As simple as my part seemed, it really wasn't.

On the outside, I was meant to talk to Draco, make sure his guard is down, maybe get an idea of how he had prepared for the Ministry's surprise visit. Once I decided the situation was as safe as it was ever going to get, I signal Granger. From then, things are out of my hands, and Granger would lead our aurors into the Mafia lair for a hopefully fair fight.

Then, if you look into it, that meant the whole plan, the lives of dozens, if not hundreds of people would be on my call. If I make the wrong decision, even the slightest mistake, we could really all die in the hands of the Mafia before sunrise.

Perhaps it was a good thing I only had an hour to think on the fact the whole mission is on my shoulders. If I had just an hour more, I might have run away, which would be the worst of the odds in Granger's book.

In what felt like a blink, the time came, and in what felt like half a heart beat, I was at Vulpes street.

"I can't back out now, can I?" I had said to Ron before leaving the hospital.

Ron had chuckled. "I thought you liked Draco more than me now. Aren't you excited to see your new buddy?".

I had laughed. "I don't know if I ever liked you.".

That was the last thing I said before Ron gave me a pat on the back and shoved me out the door.

Now, I stand alone at Vulpes street. Standing in the cold, nearly winter night, I feel numb. Thinking about it, I think I was numb since Draco first sent his note to me. From Ginny to 'La vie', from getting arrested to anything Draco and I said to each other, it all feels like a fever dream, something I barely believed even happened.

It feels wrong, how numb I am. After everything, I should feel in pain, suffering in guilt, swimming in confusion, but I just feel numb. Even if the past doesn't feel like reality, I should at least be scared of what's to come, but I still don't feel anything. No fear of the mission failing, no anger towards the Mafia for what they would do to everyone involved in this plan, no sorrow about my own life possibly coming to an end...

Is this how Draco feels?

He's lost everything, experienced so much weather good or bad, maybe that's why he feels nothing when doing everything he does. Killing his father, kidnapping strangers, manipulating me, I guess all of that doesn't even feel like much to him anymore. After all, having seen him do these things, he's always just seemed entertained, like it was some television show he watched without meaning, just to burn time.

It would explain everything, oddly enough. Choosing a random person to pick on, having them fall deeper and deeper into your trap, giving them no other choice but to keep playing your game...

He chose me for no reason like a child choosing a toy to play with. It's simply just because it looked interesting. It's not who I was that was important to him, it was just that he needed something, anything to make him feel.

Ironically, at the end of his journey of trying to feel something, he's left his experiment subject in exactly the same condition he started out with. Numb, empty, and lost. Then again, to him, what happens to me probably doesn't matter. This massive train of events only occurred for himself, anyway.

So what did he gain from this? Did he end up feeling something? Is that really what he wanted?

Stealing, sending notes, killing, kidnapping, plotting, manipulating, planting himself in my dream, teasing, acting...

Draco, how do you feel? Are you doing better? Did your plan work the way you thought it would? How about me? Are you just going to leave me like this? After spending the last few days of your life on me? Am I nothing to you when you said I'm the only person who ever cared? Is this the end you pictured?

Sling.

A sharp pain zips down my neck.