Draco Malfoy, Broken

Chapter 37 - Crumple-Horned Snorkacks

Chapter 37 – Crumple-Horned Snorkacks

Published: 1/15/2019   

Updated: 1/16/2019

Hermione watched helplessly as her two best friends faced-off in the wake of Malfoy's departure to his room. Harry watched his progress and didn't relax until they heard Draco's door close. Harry then went to staring at Ron, who had point-blank refused to help him find Draco.

"What?" Ron growled, breaking the silence.

"You could have helped me," Harry said, his voice steady, for now at least.

"I'm not helping Malfoy, Harry. It is not happening. I'll help you, but not him."

"Your sense of logic is fucked up, Ron."

"Your sense of forgiving people that have made our lives hell is fucked up," Ron retorted.

"I disagree. It's better than all this hate. Who's benefiting by this... who's winning here?"

"Malfoy's getti-"

"Don't even say it, Ron!" Harry spat.

"I'm just saying that I don't owe him anything."

"And you owe me?" Harry retorted.

"You're my friend. He's not."

Hermione did not want to interrupt them. This was the first real conversation Ron and Harry had had since the train. They were on a roll. Their idiotic impasse of "not talking about it" was unbelievably stupid.

"So, if a random Hufflepuff was getting jumped by six people, you wouldn't help them?"

"Hufflepuffs aren't Slytherins... or a Death Eater."

"He's not a...."

"Former Death Eater, who's at least partially responsible for Dumbledore's murder."

"Snape and Dumbledore were working together."

"That Dumbledore somewhat voluntarily agreed to be murdered... doesn't change the fact that Malfoy made it happen."

Harry looked away, pained. Hermione wanted so much to reach out and hug him, but she instead touched Ron, pleading with him to stop. He gave her a look, but did not respond to her wordless request.

"He thought he was trapped, that he and his mom would be slowly tortured and killed," Harry whispered.

"I heard."

"What would you have done?" Harry asked, looking back at him.

"Not been buddies with the Lord of Darkness to begin with," Ron grunted.

"His father was Voldemort's man," Harry growled. Ron still flinched at the name. "He didn't have a choice. Death or obey."

"I'd choose death."

"And your mother's death?"

Ron brought his head up and stepped closer to Harry. "I lost my brother and if I could go back in time and choose to kneel, I wouldn't. I'd do the same thing. Because it's the right choice. Malfoy put his family before everyone else. We didn't."

"And what would he have done, Ron? At what point did D-Malfoy have a chance to defect? Oh, when he didn't kill Dumbledore? When he refused to identify me at the mansion? When he removed his father's wards to let us escape? When he helped fight against...."

"Alright! I get the point!"

"Do you? He was on our side, but he was trapped, surrounded by enemies who were torturing him every day."