A Beautiful Beginning

*Chapter Twelve*

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(Draco)
Luna rambled on incessantly, but it filled the stiff silence in the greenhouse. It was a relief, in a way, to just sit and listen to her wild theories about likely non-existent creatures, though it would have been more of a relief to break free of the spell and run to the forest where I was supposed to be at the moment. At least it was Luna Harry had left me with; she was, quite possibly, the least threatening or scary person at Hogwarts, though I was, as usual, still a bit on-edge.
As the moments ticked by I turned the events of the evening thus far over and over in my mind. I had trusted Harry! I couldn't believe he'd used magic on me. I thought I was safe with him, but as soon as I'd done something he didn't like he got his way by spelling me. I knew he thought he was protecting me, but he didn't understand that he was only making everything worse for both of us. I'd failed. All I wanted to do was keep Harry safe and I'd failed. Now Father would be furious and my punishment would be more severe once I returned to him, but if there was any chance I could still go back and avoid bringing him, the boy who was trying his best to save me, into the mix, I would jump at it. I was angry at Harry, but that didn't mean that I wouldn't still do anything for him. He cared. He was patient with me. It was the closest to safe I'd ever felt when I was with him. I would do what I could for him, but because of his own actions, that wasn't very much at all.
Luna and I waited and waited, but Harry didn't return. It had been about an hour since he'd set off to talk to Hagrid, which meant it must be somewhere near 6:00 p.m., and I was getting anxious. Even the normally calm and dreamy girl beside me seemed concerned. I wanted to beg her to release me from the spell that still held me in its clutches, but I stayed silent. Fortunately, the same thought came to her and she voiced it.
"Perhaps I should take the spell off now. Harry's been gone for quite a long time now. We should go look for him, shouldn't we?"
I nodded enthusiastically and she muttered the countercurse. My body relaxed immediately, slumping limply against the wall, my limbs stiff and sore from holding the same position for so long. I was hardly able to move and yet I stood, leaning heavily against the glass of the greenhouse wall for support. Luna reached out to help but drew her hand back when I flinched away instinctively. Eventually my legs were able to hold my weight and I straightened up, stretching my arms.
"Should we split up? We could cover a larger area more quickly that way." I nodded again. "Alright. I'll go down to Hagrid's. Perhaps you should try the forest. Maybe he just needed to clear his head." She wandered towards the door, and as she left, I heard her muse, "I hope Hagrid's skrewts are awake."
The moment she was gone I bolted outside, well, as well as I could bolt in my current state. It was past six by now, I was sure of it, but maybe Father would still be at the meeting place. Maybe I could still get to him in time, before he did anything to Harry, though with Harry's absence I doubted I still had a chance.
Before long I was stumbling into the clearing that was supposed to be the location of the meeting, but I saw, with a feeling of dread settling deep into my chest, that it was empty but for a scrap of parchment pinned to a tree.
I warned you of the repercussions should you fail to appear here tonight. I have faith that this note will find you in any case. A friend of yours was kind enough to. . . drop by. He is with me now. You knew what would happen, and yet you sacrificed his safety for your's. Perhaps I did something right while raising you, to make you so self-serving. I'm almost proud.
Sinking to my knees, I buried my head in my hands. This was my fault. If I hadn't stopped at the greenhouse then Harry wouldn't have stopped me and he'd be here now, instead of wherever he was, alone with Father. This was my problem to deal with. If he'd only stayed out of it, if he'd only let me go. Why didn't he understand that I had to go? What would happen if I didn't find him? There was no telling what Father could do to him given a few minutes, let alone a day or more. I had to find Harry, but I hadn't a clue where to look. They could have apparated anywhere. I looked back over the note, searching and scanning for answers in every line, for some kind of sign of where they could be. There was nothing. Not a single bolder word or hidden riddle. Nothing gave away where he was. I'd never felt so helpless.