The Kiss

The Kiss

Draco traveled only by night. He watched as the moon went from new to full--that night he stayed in hiding--and then back to new. He kept moving. He kept finding new places to go, new places to sleep. He felt like an escaped convict.

He refused to stay anywhere he had to spend money or anywhere he knew he would be recognized, leaving very few magical options open to him. After all, how many people didn't know a Malfoy when they saw one?

He had reached a small Muggle town he didn't know the name of and found a small inn and pub. He walked into the rickety building and saw that it was full of patrons. He walked up to the bartender and silently thanked Snape for teaching him about Muggle money--and for having a stash of it in his kitchen. Draco had found that stash while looking for edible food (that search turned up empty). He didn't realize the use of it until this trip.

"I need a room," he said to the bartender.

"You look like you need a better place than this," the bartender said. "Why don't you go on a few more miles? You'll find better hotels and inns out that way. I don't think we can give you the service you desire."

"I asked you for a room," Draco said strongly. "Now either you'll give me that room or I'll make you give me that room."

"Are you threatening me, Sir?" the man asked.

Draco sighed heavily. "Look," he said, "I've been traveling all month long, and I could use an actual bed to sleep in. I've got the money to pay you if that is what you require." I've also got a spell that will make you do exactly what I want you too, Draco thought.

The man shook his head. "You're too young," he said. "You can't be more than seventeen. I can't give you--"

You will give me a room, Draco thought as the Impervious curse took hold on the man. You will give me a room and you will not complain.

"Here," the barman said. He handed Draco a key. "Fourth floor," he said. Draco took the key and turned to the staircase. He left the spell on the man and journeyed up to the fourth floor.

Draco looked at his key. 419.

He came out in the middle of a hallway. To his left he saw nine rooms, to his right he saw nine rooms, and in front of him he saw one. Nineteen rooms. He sighed and began the walk down the hall to room 419. He put the key in the lock and the door opened.

"There you are--"

The girl gasped. "What are you doing here?" she whispered.

Draco stood frozen with shock. What the bloody hell was she doing here?

"Hermione?" called a voice from inside the room. "Are you going to stand in the door all night or what--" the redhead walked out of the bathroom and froze upon seeing Draco in the doorway. "Where's Harry?" he demanded. "What have you done to him?"

Draco heard footsteps coming up the stairs. He turned his head in time to see Potter surface.

The Boy Who Lived looked up as he pulled his key from his pocket and was the fourth person to freeze.

But he didn't stay frozen for long.

Draco saw his eyes harden and was taken by surprise when Harry suddenly charged, knocking him to the ground.

"YOU BASTARD!" he screamed, punching Draco's jaw.

"HARRY!" Hermione screamed.

Harry punched Draco again.

And again.

And again.

Draco let him. He knew he deserved it. He had caused them all more pain than they deserved. He had nearly killed the man they had all loved and served with devotion.

Harry was pulled away from him. Draco stayed where he was, his eyes closed.

Harry was shoved into the room and the door was shut. Draco thought he was alone, until someone said his name.

It was the Mudblood. "Get up," she said softly.

Draco opened his eyes. "What for?" he demanded. "This is the most comfortable I've been in a month."

Her brow furrowed. "What are you talking about?" she asked softly.

Draco sighed. "Give me a reason to trust you," he said softly. "And maybe I'll let you in on the secret."

"We're not the ones trying to kill you," she said softly.

Draco barked out a laugh. "And what do you think Potter just did?" he asked.

"He's under a lot of stress, Malfoy," she said sharply. "And after what you did, who can blame him? But we're not the type to hold a grudge like that, especially since you didn't kill Dumbledore, Snape did. There has to be some good in you," she said softly, holding out her hand. "Come on. We can help you."

"No one can help me," he said softly.

The door to the room opened. "Come on, Hermione," Weasley said. "He's not worth it."

Hermione looked toward the door and then turned back to Draco. She held out her hand again. "Come on," she urged.

Draco sighed, then accepted the hand.

Potter stood in the corner furthest from the door, his arms folded across his chest, fuming. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I came here for a place to sleep," Draco spat. "The man downstairs handed me a key, that key was to this room. I didn't know you were here, if I had I wouldn't be here."

"Why are you here?" Potter asked again. "Are you on some stupid mission for your Dark Lord or something?"

Draco spat out a bitter laugh. "Right," he said. "After I failed with the first one?" he asked. "What makes you think he gives people second chances? What makes you think I would serve that thing after he ordered my death?"

The three of them looked at Draco curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that the Dark Lord sent my father after me to kill me!" Draco yelled. "I mean that if I see another Death Eater, I'd best be running as fast as I can in the other direction! I mean the whole bloody world is against me and you three are the proof!"

Potter closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Do you want one of the beds?" he asked.

Draco looked to his left where two full sized beds stood. He looked back at Potter, Granger, and Weasley. "What?" he asked, clearly confused.

"The whole world isn't against you," Granger said softly.

"Prove it," Draco ordered.

"We just did," Weasley said. "You take a bed, Harry and I will take the floor, and Hermione gets the other bed."

Draco stared at the three of them. "Why?" he asked. "Why would you do this?"

"Because no one else will," Potter said softly. "And I'm sorry."

Draco stared. "Why?" he asked. "What would you be sorry for?"

"Did you know you're bleeding?" Granger asked.

Draco lifted a hand to his face. He found wetness at the corner of his lip. He pulled his hand away to find blood on his dirty fingers. He looked up, glaring at Potter. "Thanks a lot," he spat.

"I'm sorry," he said again. "Go take a shower, you look like you could use one."

Draco wasn't too sure about being unarmed around these three, but he knew that if he needed it, his wand wouldn't be too far away.

Though the idea of being naked anywhere near them was even less appealing.

But the thought of a shower, something he hadn't had in quite some time...that was worth being vulnerable.

Draco sighed and nodded.

"There's towels in there already," Granger said. "Scourgify your clothes before you put them back on," she ordered.

Draco glared at her, wondering when she thought she was given the right to tell him what to do, but chose not to say anything. They were giving him a chance, a shower, and a bed. Who was he to mess all that up?

Draco nodded silently and walked passed Granger and Weasley to lock himself in the bathroom. He heard their voices as soon as he shut the door and he knew they were fighting on whether or not they were doing the right thing by helping him. Draco found he didn't care what they thought or what they wanted to argue about, all he wanted was that shower.

He turned to the mirror in the bathroom and was shocked at what he saw.

The face looking back at him wasn't like the one he remembered. There was blood, no thanks to Potter, there was dirt, and there was...age. Not in a physical sense, for Draco still looked the seventeen years he was, but in the sense that he had seen and done more in the last few months that had opened his eyes and forced him to grow up.

He shook his head and shrugged off his cloak and robe. Leaving them in a pile on the floor, Draco pulled his black shirt over his head before stripping the rest of his clothes and turning on the water to the shower.

He let the hot water run over him, soaking away the dirt and grime that had collected in the time since his last shower. He turned his face up to the water and let it run over his face and hair. He felt like crying for the pain the water caused him as it passed over the multitude of tiny cuts he had scattered across his body.

"You took long enough," Weasley muttered after Draco had surfaced, his clothes as clean as his body. The redhead rushed into the bathroom and shut the door. Draco heard the lock click behind him.

"Sorry," he said softly.

"Are you alright?" Granger asked. "You don't look good."

Draco attempted a sneer. "Thanks," he said, rolling his eyes. He walked over to the bed not occupied by anyone and sat down after draping his robe and cloak over a chair. He rest his elbows on his knees and held his head in his hands. He felt horrible.

He looked up at Potter and Granger and wondered how they could possibly do this for him.

"What do you want?" he asked wearily.

"Why can't you accept that sometimes people actually want to help?" Granger asked.

Draco shook his head. "That's not the way it works," he said. "You don't do something for someone unless you want something from them in return. That's the way it works. That's the way it always works. What, do you want me to fight for you in exchange for a shower and a bed? Not likely."

"We don't want anything," Potter said, standing from his chair. He walked over to the window and looked out over the black countryside. "We know what it's like for you," he said softly. "We know what it's like to have everyone turn on you, to not be able to find a place to sleep--Merlin knows we've been spending most of our time out of doors this last month, and it's no fun. It took all of us to actually get this room tonight--the landlord down stairs didn't want to give it to us without good reason. We almost didn't get it."

"How did you get it?" Draco asked, remembering that he had to put the man under Impervious just to get him to give out a key.

"We figured out he was a sucker for sob stories," Granger confessed. "So we told him that Ron and I were running away to get married and Harry was the only one we could trust."

"And is that the truth?" Draco asked.

Granger blushed slightly.

"No," Harry answered. "That is not the truth."

"May I ask what is?"

Harry sighed. "Do you expect an answer?" he asked as Weasley finally resurfaced from the bathroom.

Draco shrugged, not entirely sure what to expect anymore.

"Besides, if we told you, you'd be stuck with us because we'd never let you leave," Granger said matter-of-factly. She turned to Harry suddenly. "Do you think there may be a chance that he knows something?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"Right," Weasley scoffed. "Like what? He can't know more than Harry does."

"Is it worth it?" Potter asked. "What if he really hasn't...."

"If you're wondering if I've really left or not, the answer's no," he said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I didn't leave; I'm running for my life because I don't want to die. Believe it or not, I don't serve the people who want to kill me. In fact, I killed the last person that tried to kill me."

"Who?" Weasley demanded.

"My father," Draco answered casually as he lay back on the bed. "Don't ask me how I managed to escape, he was the only person in the locked room, but hey," he shrugged, "when you're in danger, your survival instincts tend to kick in and people can do some amazing things when they're about to crack."

The three Gryffindors sat in silence for a while, giving Draco the impression they were now more afraid of him than before. Draco wasn't sure what to think about this. After a while, he couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"So...how often do you three stay at a hotel?"

"When we come across one," Potter answered.

"And how often is that?"

"Once a week," Granger answered.

"What are you three doing?" Draco asked. "Are you going to go back to school?"

"There is no more Hogwarts," Potter said. "You made sure of that."

"How so?" Draco demanded. "I didn't kill him."

"No but you were going to."

"How would you know?" Draco demanded, standing.

"I WAS THERE!" Potter shouted, also standing. "I SAW THE WHOLE BLOODY THING! HE WAS WEAK! HOW COULD YOU?"

"SNAPE KILLED HIM!" Draco bellowed. "I COULDN'T DO IT!"

"Thank God for that," Potter said softly. "Otherwise I would have killed you out there."

"Why don't you?" Draco asked just as softly as Harry, though without losing any of his anger. "Why don't you just end my miserable life?"

"Because you deserve to live," Potter said dangerously. "Dying would be the easy way out for you and if you really wanted to die you would have done it by now."

Granger yawned and rest her head in her hands. "It's late," she said softly. "Can we save this fight for tomorrow or something?" she asked. "We'll all be on our way then, and perhaps we'll never see each other again."

"That would be a blessing," Potter, Weasley, and Draco all muttered.