Hi. I have nothing to say for myself.
Blood. Trickling slowly from the shirt. Fresh blood. Magic blood. He knew. He just knew. It was the wizard's. His mind buzzing, Draco got up from where he unconsciously kneeled. With slightly unsteady legs, he made his way out of the bathroom, still not processing what he just saw. Any doubts that ever developed in his mind abruptly vanished. This wasn't just some pointless, risky mission. This wasn't a useless assignment set by Tom to cure his boredom. This was real. Freakishly real. They had to rescue the wizard at all costs. They couldn't make any mistakes, or it would be deadly for the wizard. He wasn't overreacting. No one could explain that much blood without including some sort of violence. And he was 100% sure that the Dursleys didn't beat their little Duddykins senseless until they drew blood. There had to be someone else. No doubt.
With newfound determination to save the abused being in this household, Draco started making his way downstairs, still feeling the familiar buzz of a potential panic attack at the back of his head. He passed the cupboard under the stairs, and, with a deep breath, he entered the dining room.
The room was filled with quiet chatter and the soft smell of mouth-watering foods placed on the table. Dudley was still stuffing his face, and his parents were conversating with the family.
His father gave him a look, wordlessly asking if he found anything. Draco was a bit ashamed that he didn't have the guts to search for more but still responded with an equally meaningful look that could clearly be read as a 'YES'. He was still sweating and he couldn't breathe properly, but he sat down, not going to ruin the plan just because of some blood he found. Blood that clearly belonged to the wizard held captive, who knows how severely injured and starved, tortured by these minsters that call themselves humans. Not to mention the distressing signs that he only now remembered, like the multiple locks on the spare bedroom door or the cat flap despite the Dursleys not having a cat, or even the bars on the window he saw outside.
Draco snapped out of his rambling mind and tried initiating a conversation with Dudley. He needed an excuse for a sleepover, didn't he? It was vital for their plan to work. He had to find more evidence for later purposes and pinpoint the wizard's identity.
It took slow, agonizing hours for the pig to warm up to him, but he finally did it. Then he had the brilliant idea to mention neighbour bonding to the family.
" I've been thinking, Dudley," he said with a sickly sweet voice "how about you show me some of those horror films of yours? It could be great bonding for us as neighbours, you know ?" there, he added a tiny wandless impulsion charm "We could do a sleepover..." Petunia immediately lighted up at the word 'bonding' and furiously agreed that it would be indeed a great idea.
So it was settled. One small nagging worry had finally been lifted from his poor shoulders. The first two steps were done. Now, the hard part would begin. He had to search for even the tiniest clue without getting caught by the Dursleys. If that succeeded, not that it was overly important, came the part when his parents would step in and take the lead. He hoped his father had a plan B for saving the wizard tomorrow, because, Draco realised, this couldn't be delayed any longer. It could prove to be fatal if they waited until Hogwarts to come to the rescue of the boy.
Around two hours later, his parents started getting ready to leave. He could feel the anxiety starting to sprout back from where it disappeared a few hours ago.
His father pulled him away from the dining room, where his mother was thanking the Dursleys with fake gratitude, and whispered to him with a cold face "This isn't a game, Draco ." he took a deep breath "There is a life at stake. You must not fail ." then he let him go. Draco was having problems breathing, and while his father had gone alongside his mother to say his goodbyes, he stood there, frozen in the hall. His father spoke in such a way that it seemed like he was reading his mind and, after picking his every worry, voiced them in three short sentences.
He snapped out of it when he heard Mrs Dursley say something along the lines 'i'll see you to the door ' and quickly went to hug his mother before she left " It'll be alright, sweetheart. You'll do it. I believe in you." she assured him softly, kissing his hair.
Draco was glad his mother was such a kind soul. She always calmed him just with a few words and a soft touch. He loved her more than anyone in this cruel world. He doesn't think he would've ever made it this far without her.
That made him wonder ... did the child that they had to save have any parents? If so, were they worried about their son's wellbeing? Did they know how his aunt and uncle were treating him? Or did they have no clue?
He needed to stop overthinking everything about him. That was one of his greatest weaknesses. It wasn't worth dwelling on parents right now. He had one goal that must be followed strictly: finding evidence that could be used against the muggles and possibly Dumbledore if he knew about the abuse and allowed it. Draco was fairly sure the old headmaster knew. At the start of every year, they had to go through and obligatory checkup to detect cases of abuse and neglect in any of the student's families.
After his parents finally left, he realised he was alone in this for now. He had to make all the decisions and make sure the Dursleys don't realise what he's up to.
He started making small talk with Dudley after he and the boy settled in the living room. He looked around and saw it very suspicious that not even one of the pictures hanging on the walls had someone else than the Dursleys and some woman that at one point he learnt she was called Marge. He vaguely remembered that neither the pictures on the hall nor the one upstairs did.
He was starting to panic internally. Everything was spotless, how was he supposed to find any clues? It was like the family tried denying completly that there was no one but them residing under the roof of house no 4 . Were they that suspicious? If not for the interrogation a few days ago and the bloodied shirt, Draco would've thought that there was truly no one else. He underestimated these muggles' brains. Or they were getting orders from someone else. That could be an option.
He could feel a headache building up. He was overthinking again. Worse, he hadn't paid any attention to Dudley this whole time, only responding mindlessly with a nod or a short 'mhm' and now the boy was demanding his opinion on a topic that Draco didn't know anything about. He responded with a classic ' I don't really know', which seemed to get him out of the situation.
Then Draco had a bright idea. Why not make the pig squirm a bit, hmm? He coughed to get the pig's attention and asked "Will you show me one of your horror films? I always hear those screams and they seem so realistic! We don't have a TV set at home, so I can't really watch them myself ..." that should do it. The pig was already starting to sweat intensely, eyes wide 'just like a deer caught in the headlights. Oh, this was so fun for Draco.
"W-well you see....." the pig babbled " The TV doesn't really w-work right n-now" his voice wavered at the end, unsure of what to say. It was actually the truth, you see. Not even discs worked at the moment. It was an issue in all the neighbourhood. The pig was desperately trying to get out of the sticky situation, but Draco wouldn't let him go that easily. "Oh? But I heard them just this morning. Did the TV break meanwhile ? " he asked, trying to hide the smugness in his voice ."Y-yeah. Now it doesn't w-work like I s-said " the boy flew right in his trap, like a fly trapped in a spider's net ." But the neighbour from no 8 said that TVs hadn't worked all summer. Was yours an exception ? " the pig looked absolutely terrified. Sweat was falling like a waterfall off of his fat face and he looked ready to piss himself. He quickly excused himself for the bathroom and ran with all of his strength out of the room. Draco has won this round.
Just like I said, I have no absolute reason to not update this sooner. I was just lazy. I've rewritten the rewriting of the first two chapters on AO3 and I'm working on chapter 3 rn. Go check it out owo.
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6 Privet Drive ( rewritten )
Fanfiction*under heavy editing * *first chapter edited * Draco Malfoy's life is drastically changed by his parents' decision to hide in the muggle world as the war between the light and Dumbledore begins and puts everyone in great danger . He discovers he's l...
