Everything Remains

Chapter 24- Should Have Known Better

TW for some anti-LGBTQ language? It's not going to be heavy, just wanted to put this as a precaution!

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Lucius and Narcissa stared at Draco with their mouths agape, foreheads crinkled. 
"Draco, it's hardly appropriate to joke around like that right now." Lucius finally scoffed, adjusting his cloak around him once more. 
"I'm not joking, Lucius. I have never been more serious about something in my life." Draco sneered, licking his lips in concentration. 
"Darling, this is silly. You are to meet Astoria tonight and we will get the marriage process started. Hopefully by this time next year, we will have an heir to the Malfoy name." Narcissa took a swig from the chalice in front of her, avoiding Draco's stare. 

"I am not going to entertain this further. I am in love with Harry Potter and I will not be taking Astoria as a wife. I am not concerned with heirs and continuing this dreadful Malfoy name. You cannot control me anymore. I've grown a backbone, unlike the two of you." Draco nearly spat, anger rolling through his veins. 
"STOP saying that ridiculous buffoonery. You are NOT in love with a man, let alone Harry Bloody Potter. You WILL appear tonight and start this journey with the Greengrasses." Lucius stood from the table, slamming his hands onto the dark, hardwood table in anger. 

"WHY DO YOU THINK YOU CAN CONTROL ME ANYMORE? HAVEN'T I SHOWN YOU THAT I NO LONGER WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR SICK GAMES?" Draco practically screamed, his pale face flushing with crimson as his voice carried throughout the hall. 
At this point, Draco turned and began to ran towards the front door, grasping it with both hands to pull it open. 
No matter how much Draco pulled, the doors did not budge or open in the slightest. 
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Draco swirled around in the spot, glaring at his parents. 
"A simple precaution, Draco. We didn't want you to leave without permission after all your delusions and defiance lately." Lucius smirked, causing Draco to snap once more. 
"YOU CAN'T HOLD ME PRISONER. I'M A GROWN ADULT!!" Draco yelled again, closing his eyes and trying to apparate. 
He concentrated hard, envisioning the black lake, Hogsmeade, anywhere but this godforsaken manor. 
Nothing happened.

Lucius chuckled under his breath, "You won't find anything that works, Draco. We have not let down the protections that were placed upon here since last year. And we even added new ones, in anticipation of your arrival." 
Draco ran through the foyer and up the stairs to his room to devise a plan. There was no way he was going to go through with this arrangement of marriage. 
Draco slammed the door behind him, casting some locking spells of his own. He needed quiet and calm to think of how to get out of this. 

Draco kicked the side of his trunk that the house elves had brought up to his room with a loud THUNK. 
'I need to warn Harry. He always knows what to do in situations like this. I'd bet my life on it he has some sort of solution...' 
Draco crossed the room and opened his window, whistling as loudly as he can so his owl might hear him. 
After a few minutes, Draco saw one of the Malfoy's owls making his way to the window, his brown-striped wings fluttering in the slight breeze. As soon as the owl reached the periphery of the window, he hit an invisible barrier, hard. This knocked him off course, causing the owl to sink down to the ground. 
'THEY EVEN HAVE INVISIBLE BLOCKADES ON THE WINDOWS?' Draco cried out, throwing the closest thing to him out the window. The random coaster bounced back into the room, hitting the barrier before rebounding. 

'I'm going to LOSE IT.' Draco began pacing, thinking hard. 

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After a few hours of pondering, Draco had his solution that might work. Draco was going to play along, play the game of potential husband and father this evening. He would win back his parents trust, act as though he had 'come to his senses'. That way, Draco could have more free reign on the manor. He would be able to go down to the dungeons where his parents kept the house elves without them questioning. There, he would convince one of the elves to apparate him out of this hell hole. 

'Now, to act as though I'm excited about this dinner. It's not like I haven't been acting for my whole life, right?' Draco smiled uncomfortably to himself, preparing to put on the show of his life.

"DRACO. Your guests will be here in an hour. MAKE YOURSELF PRESENTABLE." Lucius boomed from the first floor. 
"I WILL FATHER." Draco planted the first seed of deception. Draco stepped out of his room to look down at Lucius. 
"Do you think the Greengrasses prefer green or silver? I have outfit options in both." 
"Hmph, well, green I suppose." Lucius leveled his eyes, squinting deeply in confusion at Draco. 
"I've thought about it, Father. I think I acted to brashly earlier. I know you and Mother are just trying to set me up with a good future." Draco lied through his teeth, working his manipulation skills overtime. 
"Well, *cough* um, good. I'm glad you have come to your senses. Make sure to tidy up and come down." 
"I will, Father." Draco turned on his best smile, turning to change into a dinner suit. 

Draco looked at himself in the mirror. The black suit with emerald green details looked great with his complexion. The silk accents mirrored his slicked back hair, highlighting his high cheekbones and sharp jaw line. The more that he stared, the sadder Draco became. 
'I know I'm just acting, just pretending. But it hurts me to think that I'm betraying Harry...' 
Before departing down the stairs, Draco stuffed a few loose socks into his pants' pockets for later...

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*Back at Hogwarts*

Harry was pacing around the Gryffindor common room so quickly, he might just leave a worn down path in the carpet. 
"Mate, it's going to be okay. It's hardly even been a day and you're already stressed!" Ron exhaled, exasperated at Harry being this anxious. 
"I know that, Ron. But you also know that the Malfoys are still bad people after everything. We have no idea what could be going on." 
"Harry, do you really think something that bad is happening? I mean, he just got healed for Merlin's sake! Surely they would let him rest like they said." Hermione chimed in, looking up from her text book on Arithmancy. 

"I don't know. I just have a really bad feeling about all this. Plus, he hasn't owled me. He said he would as soon as he got home." Harry bit his lip, chewing to ease some of his stress. 
"Send him one?" Ron suggested, his eyebrows perked up on his forehead. 
"Sometimes, you are so effortlessly brilliant, you know that?" Harry tousled Ron's hair, calling for Sirius. 

'Draco, 
I wanted to know if everything was alright at home. I can't help but worry about you. Do you know when you will be returning? 
If there is anything I can do, just let me know. 
Love, 
Harry' 

Harry quickly attached the small parchment to Sirius' leg and let him fly off towards Malfoy Manor. 
"Now, let him do his thing and come study!" Hermione scolded, bringing Harry back to reality.

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About an hour later, there was a clicking sound at the Gryffindor common room window. Sirius hovered, waiting for someone to open the window. 
Harry about sprinted over, opening it up and allowing Sirius to come in. Sirius held out his ankle for Harry to take the parchment. 
Harry unrolled it, seeing his own handwriting staring back up at him. 
"It's... it's just my note? Does this mean that Sirius couldn't get to the manor to deliver?" Harry pondered out loud, worry furrowing his brow. 

"That is strange... normally Sirius would be able to reach him, surely...." Hermione grabbed the parchment to see for herself. 
"Something is definitely wrong... and my guess would be that the Manor is protected under as many charms and defenses as it was a year ago. His parents haven't changed much..." Harry wondered, trying to hatch some sort of plan. 
"We can't be rash, Harry. Let's think this through. We don't want to barge into the Manor, wands up, when we don't know anything for sure." Hermione said, ever being the rational one. 
"Fine, but let's think of something soon..." 

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