Favoring The Strong {Drarry}

- y -

Seeing Robards standing there with such a smug look on his face, Draco wishes he can say he is surprised. The truth of the matter, however, is that his continuous problems with the Ministry are not new and were one of the more prominent reasons he had run away to America for as long as he had.

"Is this the part where I gasp?" Draco drawls, seemingly unaffected, even as his arm falls asleep from the odd position it's still locked in. "Or would tears be more appropriate here? I never know how to act during a kidnapping."

"Of course you would try to make light of this, you dirty Death Eater," says Robards with disdain.

"Oh, was that supposed to hurt?"

"No," Robards says easily. "But this will."

He brandishes his wand with a flourish and Draco's nerves are on fire. This isn't the Cruciatus curse, it feels worse. He feels like he is burning from the inside out.

He thinks he hears Robards laughing, but nothing really exists beyond the feeling of all of his bones breaking. He bites down on his tongue to stop himself from yelling or sobbing and giving Robards the satisfaction. Instead he revels in the pain as his mouth begins to fill with blood from how hard his teeth are pinching down.

The pain recedes slowly, but his body is still shivering from the intensity of it when Robards speaks again.

"We've been hunting down your kind for years. Since the second war ended. A decade of watching you stand proud in front of the same muggles you tried to murder."

"I didn't murder anyone." Draco spat the blood out of his mouth and worked his jaw a bit to loosen the tenseness of it. "And my one attempt," if it could even be called that, he doesn't say, "was feeble at best."

"And I," the older man yells, "didn't tell you to speak."

Before Draco can even attempt to dodge or open his mouth to take a deep breath, another shot of death is sent running through his very being. It's like his own insides are fighting against him.

"With the right resources," continues Robards lazily, "anything is possible."

--:--

"Anything?" Harry asks for maybe the 30th time in as many minutes.

"Harry, mate, we'll tell you if we find anything. There's nothing yet."

"There can't be nothing," Harry growls, his magic whipping around the room of one of the safe-houses owned by the DMLE and the Ministry. A few light bulbs crackle out as the energy spikes.

"Harry!" snaps Ron. "We're doing what we can, alright? You need to relax!"

"Relax!? How am I supposed to relax when—"

"I know it's hard right now, but we can't work with your magic affecting everything. Either you need to relax or you need to leave."

Harry wishes he could argue. He wants to argue and curse and plead and do anything else that will make sure he's first in line to wrap his arms around his husband, but he can't. Not when he's like this. Not when he knows that Ron is right, at least about this.

"Fine, I'll go check on the boys." When he says it, his heart begins to beat an unsteady rhythm in his chest. He knows that Teddy is going to be scared, and James is probably losing his mind about now. Harry's been here hindering the investigation with his unpredictable magical outbursts when his sons are up in the castle panicking.

He starts the trek up to Hogwarts when his ringtone titters from his pocket. Harry pulls out his MRE phone, checking the screen with the intent to stuff it back in his pocket, but it's Val. She might be the only other person who understands why he feels like he's losing his mind. When Draco had run to America, Harry missed him but at least he knew where he was.

He figures now is as good a time as any to let Val know what's going on. He takes a deep breath and answers the phone.

"Hey, Val."

"Hare, why the hell does my phone keep ringing with notifications that you and Draco are in France."

"What?"

"I swear if you guys took a late honeymoon to fucking Paris before Blaise has even asked me on a date I will—"

"I'm— wait how can you... What do mean France?"

"DL Malfoy," she, presumably, reads from her screen. "Lyon, France. 30 minutes ago."

"He has his phone," Harry says in awe. "Of course he has his phone!"

"Harry, wha—"

"Val, thank you, so much! Love you loads! I'll call you in a bit. Promise."

Harry turns, racing back to where Ron and the other Aurors on duty are puttering away with tracking spells and location charms when muggle technology has done the job just as well. He sends his patronus up to the castle with a quick message and watches as it shoots up the mountainous area like a star.

We found him.

--:--

Draco feels like it's been days, weeks, months, years since he's been down here. Years since he's felt his skin peel from his body and his meat peel from his bones. His body is still in one piece when he gets the chance to look down, but he doesn't feel like himself any more. He doesn't feel like anything any more.

Robards has left for the night or the week or the year, Draco doesn't know anymore. He just knows that the pain has stopped until he comes back again. He wishes that he won't come back again even as he hears the sound of thumping steps leading down into wherever he is.

"Malfoy?" says a voice that Draco recognizes but barely understands to be true.

"Draco!" calls another voice. Harry's voice.

He opens his mouth to speak but coughs instead, his throat and body weak from abuse and disuse.

"It's like he's—" The sound of Harry's voice is cut out by the immediate crumbling of wood and stone. Draco squeezes his eyes closed to block out the incoming light. When he opens them again, Harry is standing there with a halo of light glowing behind his dark curly hair.

Harry rushes towards him, and he knows he is safe. Once he feels his husband's warm arms around him, he lets the world fade to black.

-&-

yo futher muckers
its me again

school is officially out for the summer so i am off work!
on the opposite side of that, i do have a few online classes that im taking that wont be over for another month or so.

but! with responsibilities out of the way, that means i was able to finish this fic.

this is the last full length chapter. the next one is more of a epilogue/where are they now kinda thing

as always, hope y'all enjoyed

love yall
blm ✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿
sah 🚫

-- angel janeé xoxo 💋