Memory Loss (Harry Potter Drarry slash)

39: [Rape 5] Tom's Reason

Trigger warning: There is another strong scene taking place in this chapter that may be difficult for some people to read. As before, the non-con act is not shown explicitly, but there are some descriptions of the victim's emotional state, so please proceed with caution. The scene in question takes place in this chapter's forth part, which starts with "They plunged into a memory of what seemed to be a very dark day [...]".

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It was always tricky to summon their son; he only seemed to come when he felt like it, which was extremely frustrating considering the urgency of each matter they needed to consult him about. This time, though, they found no trouble summoning him at all, thank Merlin.

Timothy arrived in a peach-scented pink cloud of glittering smoke that even gave Piper a run for her money, a huge grin on his face and a set of new, deep-green velvet robes with silver embroideries on sleeves and collar on his slim, pale, Draco-esque body. When he saw their stunned looks of disbelief, he just laughed out loud and shook his head at the sight. "There, there," he said in an almost Snape-like manner that totally grossed Harry out, "don't look so startled. I am free! Free at last! I have never felt this good in my entire life!"

He laughed anew.

Harry felt an uncertain smile twitching in the right corner of his mouth. "Re-really ...? That's good, I s'ppose ..."

"Good?!" Timothy echoed. "It's brilliant!"

"I feel it, too," a small voice said next to Harry, and when he looked down, he found five-year-old Timmy there, and for the first time there was no scowl on his knowing face. He looked like any other normal little boy, his face slightly flustered with the excitement of play and with a new hunger for adventure apparent in his mysterious green eyes. It was wonderful to see him as carefree as a child ought to be, and not troubled with the sorrows of the world that he had been born to protect. No scars of the miseries that he had witnessed during his time travels were visible in his features now; he indeed looked happy and harmonious, just like his older, future self.

Harry patted the top of the boy's head, tears suddenly brimming in his eyes. "I am glad to hear that, Timmy," he said with honesty. But then he turned to the older Timothy with a grave expression. "You probably understand that Draco and I need to talk to you about Joz," he said in a conversational tone of voice, but there was nonetheless a trace of pain and loss in his words.

Regardless of what their daughter had done to their son—and regardless of what she was destined to do to their family in the future—he still loved her. She was his daughter.

Timothy nodded ceremoniously.

Harry showed him to a moderately furnitured room on the second floor, a room they scarcely used anymore and in which they could be alone and undisturbed during their talk. Since Piper believed the room to be unused, it was of no interest to her, and she was unlikely to show up when there was no chance whatsoever of stepping in on a juicy scene. And her interruptions and interventions were the ones Draco despised the most.

Harry did not wish to upset him any more than all the bad news already had. So they sat down in the old armchairs that stood at the far end of the room, by the only window, with the drapes closed and the only light coming from an old lamp standing on the small coffee table between them. Its dim glow gave the room a cosy, yet ghastly air that perfectly suited the topics they were about to discuss.

Draco seemed to have lost some of his will to live lately, for he did not care as much for his appearance anymore. That day, he had not even bothered to fix his hair, but merely splashed some cold water on it in the morning. Nor had he cared for what he was wearing; a set of old, worn and torn black robes that made it perfectly clear that he was mourning. He was not wearing any shoes, and there were holes in his socks. His skin looked oddly grey, as if he was recovering from a serious disease. Dark rings under his eyes betrayed the fact that he had not got much sleep the previous two nights.