Boys on the Radio

Chapter Fifteen

Pretty faces grab the headlines

You leave me nothing but my name

And all the grief keeps multiplying

And I pretend to feel no pain.

Harry woke up on the third day since the siege at Hogwarts ended shaking from a horrible dream he had had the night previous. Harry was quite shaken as he had been shocked the dream had repeated itself once again. Somehow, he knew it was the same dream, but the details were once again absolutely fuzzy. All he could remember was a horrible fire and screams.

He hadn't got a chance to talk to anyone really since he had arrived. Only an hour after he had arrived, he had been taken right back to the hospital and had been forced to stay there for two days. He had only just returned to The Burrow the night before, and everyone had already been in bed. Mrs. Weasley had shown him to bed and he had lied awake until he fell asleep.

Harry jumped out of bed and looked around. Ron wasn't in his room. All Harry saw on the other side of the room was a half-closed drawer with some shiny material coming from it. Curious, Harry walked over to it.

He opened the drawer, feeling guilty, but his curiosity overbearing it.

It was a pensieve.

*****

Draco sat nervously in Dumbledore's office, not really knowing what to expect. He had been the first student to reenter Hogwarts since the siege because Dumbledore had said it was urgent he spoke to him. Draco did not want to speak to anyone, least of all Dumbledore. But he had no real choices. He had learned that the last few days.

'I know it may not quite be your pleasure to visit me today, Mr. Malfoy,' Dumbledore spoke calmly.

'Yes,' Draco responded boldly.

Dumbledore smiled at him. 'The bravery you showed was amazing. You saved a lot of innocent lives, Mr. Malfoy.'

To this, Draco had no real response. He hadn't really taken the time to appreciate his own success at all. He had barely acknowledged it. The entire thing to him had been a simple survival of his own; he hadn't really thought of the others he had saved.

'I know you are questioning some of your own decisions. To do this is to be human, but I can tell you that what you did was ''

'Don't tell me I did nothing wrong!' Draco suddenly said in a tone that sounded dangerous.

'Draco,' Dumbledore said in a very kindly yet prudent tone. 'Would you have been willing to sacrifice Harry's life and possibly Ginny's?'

It was quite obvious Dumbledore knew he had most definitely at the very least befriended Harry and Ginny.

'No,' Draco said quietly. 'I wouldn't.'

'Draco, please listen carefully,' Dumbledore spoke most gravely and most vigilantly. 'I know you loved your father.'

He paused for a moment.

'Your father was absolutely incapable of loving anyone other than Voldemort; he didn't even love himself. I'm sorry,' Dumbledore spoke empathetically.

And somehow Draco knew Dumbledore would say no more. He had made it so simple, so absolutely clear. Draco felt a burn sensation at his eyes most suddenly and looked away from Dumbledore. He hoped he wasn't looking at him. He couldn't control himself.

Draco sat in the Hog's Head a bit later by himself. He didn't want to go to The Three Broomsticks as he didn't want to attract attention to himself. His face was all over the headlines. Everywhere he went he was regarded as some type of tragic hero, and truthfully, Draco was having a hard time relating to the headlines.

Draco actually saw an abandoned magazine titled Wizard Today. He actually had been a subscriber previously. On the cover was Harry looking sideways at Draco who was staring at Harry as well, almost like a mirror reflection. The headline of the magazine read as follows: TWO PREVIOUS RIVALS BECOME HEROES TOGETHER AND FIGHT FOR A NEW LOVE. Not really sure what they were writing of, Draco opened the magazine and went to the article on him and Harry. It went on for several pages about the Hogwarts siege and the horrific happenings which Draco would rather not read. But one part did shock him:

Though it may seem the rival has most definitely ended between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, it has far from ended. A close source to us notes that the only true reason Draco Malfoy went along with Harry Potter for the rescue was because of his dear love for Ginny Weasley, which also explains why he has been staying with her since. However, many others have informed us there have been sparks between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley since the moment she stepped foot in Hogwarts. Many also seem completely convince the disappearances of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy may not be linked at all. Many seem to think Draco Malfoy, who was a son of a Death Eater (At this, Draco felt a chill go through his body.), must have known of future plans and fled but upon knowing his dear Ginny Weasley was in trouble returned.

The article continued on and Draco was quite surprised by the rubbish that they had had the nerve to print. Draco now highly wondered if all the news he had read in this magazine before had a trace of truth in it. Now, the magazine seemed much more like a tabloid then anything. They were most definitely in it for the money at least in such a time when they could make a profit. Draco often forgot he too was well known in the wizarding society through association to the Malfoy family. His attention shifted, though, when a figure in a gray cloak and veil sat down on the other side of the small table he sat at. The figure revealed itself.

Draco was very shocked and didn't believe his eyes at first. It was his mother of all people.

****

Harry watched with haunted eyes.

'Hermione, please don't cry,' said a distressed Ron who looked quite uncomfortable. 'I'm sure Harry is fine.'

'He's just disappeared, and so did Malfoy! Even Dumbledore thought the two connected!' said a weeping Hermione in Ron's arms. 'I can't do this anymore Ron.'

She sounded most contained at the final sentence.

'You're right, Hermione. You know I'm real worried '. I just, I dunno,' said a shaking Ron with fear written all over his face.

'We have to get to Malfoy's house,' Hermione said, wiping her tears. 'Before the battle out there ends.'

'It looks horrible out there ... And with Dumbledore gone,' Ron trailed off a bit, looking as though if he continued it would be too awful.

'I don't think the battle down there has reached the upper levels yet ... Let's go through the One-Eyed Witch,' Hermione said prudently.

****

Draco eyed his mother very carefully. He was absolutely shaken by her sudden influx. He was shaking all over, and he felt beyond nervous. He looked at her warily. She did not look angry, upset, happy, sad ' None of it. She looked indifferent. She looked him straight in the eye.

'Hello, Draco,' she said, lacking sentiment or even human n her voice. 'I must have a word with you.'

Draco did not speak. He could not bring himself to.

'It is very unwise of you to walk around town like this. Do you realize how dangerous it is for you?' She spoke not like a concerned mother, but like a mocking enemy.

Still, Draco refused to speak.

'You have disgraced me and you have killed the most important person in my life. The most essential person to you other than the Dark Lord '. Or so he should have been. You are no longer a Malfoy and you are lower the dirt. I, however, remain your mother.'

She paused.

'I shall grant you one last thing. But after that, there is no more. I shall feel no guilt, have no more obligations. Give me your hand,' she spoke in the once again, indifferent tone.

'What are you going to do?' Draco asked, alarmed and finally speaking. He hadn't an intention of putting his hand on the table that instant, though all the same, he was sure his mother wasn't going to hurt him.

'I'm going to grant you one last thing,' she said, repeating herself. 'I am going to give you The Vow of Luck.'

****

'Wake up. Hermione,' Ron said.

Hermione awoke from the small motel bed.

'You frightened me,' she said in a small voice. 'The Malfoy estate is just a few miles away.'

'Yeah, but we had to rest ' We traveled for too long,' Ron said, trying to make logic of the situation. 'But we should be on our way.'

'I just hope we find Harry and he is all right,' Hermione said, shaken.

'He is, of course he is ... He did write us that note, don't forget,' said Ron, though he wasn't certain of himself at all.

'Yes, but that could mean a number of things,' Hermione said. 'Let's go. I think we'll find answers at the Malfoy Estate.'

****

Draco put his hand on the table. Slowly, Narcissa put her hand on top of his. She looked focused now. She was eying Draco closely, and her eyes were now completely shut. She then spoke to him a small voice. 'Put your other hand on top of mine.'

And Draco did. And then Narcissa put her other hand on top of Draco's. For a moment, she just screwed her eyes shut and looked much focused, and didn't say anything for several moments.

There was then an intense tightening on their hands. The hands combined felt as though on fire, burning, though with no resistance. It would be impossible to let go. The pain did not subside in any way.

'Ask me the questions, now,' Narcissa said in a quick and anxious voice. It was more of a demand then anything.

'Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, wish to transfer forces of positive energy and karma to me, Draco Malfoy?' Draco recited as calmly as possible.

'I do,' she responded.

The burning sensation grew.

'Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, accept responsibility for the fortunate events that I, Draco Malfoy, may encounter?' Draco once again recited.

'I do.'

The burning sensation grew even more. Draco winced horribly.

'Do you, Narcissa Malfoy, accept if you try in any way to rectify this action, only the opposite effect of the charm will incidentally happen to you?' Draco chanted quickly.

'I do.'

'Do you, Draco Malfoy, accept the gift I offer to you?' It was Narcissa speaking now, in a hurried, harsh tone.

'I do.'

And the pain vanished and their hands flew apart from each other like identical magnets. Draco looked at his hands; taking deep breaths feeling so relieved as it had gotten so unbearable towards the end. There was not a trace of a burn but Draco knew there wouldn't be.

And then, a ring appeared on his finger. It looked old and rusty. An identical one appeared on his mother's hand. Draco peered at it and twisted it around his finger to avoid looking at his mother. He was almost sure when he looked up she'd be gone. She was not.

'Keep that ring on, you know why,' She almost smiled, but then she really did vanish.

****

'This is it then,' Hermione spoke mainly to herself as she and Ron approached the iron gates to the Malfoy Estate. 'Harry's probably trapped in there.'

There was an absolute horror yet bravery in her voice.

'How are we to get in, Hermione?' Ron asked carefully, not wanting to upset her more.

'Alohomora,' Hermione whispered, and the iron gates flew open. 'The only way we know.'

She wasn't the Hermione Ron had always known who had all the answers. Now she was desperate to save her best friend,

And Ron heard something coming towards them. It sounded like a group of people or things running towards them ... Not as loud as horses but not as quiet as people. And then Ron saw it and it almost fell over.

Six wolves were going after them. Hermione screamed and almost fell over. Ron couldn't stop shaking. He didn't know whether to run or prepare to try to stun them. But the wolves were much too fast to run away from...

And they were twenty feet away. Ron tried to prepare himself aiming his wand at them. But he couldn't stop shaking. 'Impedimenta!' Ron screamed nervously and two of the wolves slowed down. But it wasn't enough to stop the other four.

Hermione yelled a stunning spell at one of them but another literally leaped on top of her while the other two headed for Ron. Hermione screamed, using her arms to push away the face (and therefore the teeth) of the wolf. It was fierce and she could no longer take it...

And the wolf cried out in pain. Hermione rolled over. Ron had stuck a knife into it. His lips and face were bleeding. It was not horrible, but not too mild either.

'Ron, you're all right,' Hermione said. 'You saved me.'

'He prolonged you,' said a harsh voice and they turned to see Narcissa Malfoy.

And then everything went black.

****

Draco knew he should go back to the Burrow but he didn't want to. He sought to be alone. He was very surprised even now by his mother's sudden appearance out of nowhere. He wasn't really surprised of the charm she had placed on him. It was an honor code thing. Now, she was in complete peace with herself. It all went back to the pretentious nature of the Malfoy family.

Draco was in a complete blur. Everything was happening so fast and everything was changing on him so drastically. He didn't know how to handle it. He had known it was going to happen, but he had chosen to put a mental block on it for obvious reasons. And he was now facing all of it.

Draco felt much more secure, however, now having the charm that would protect him. It would not permit you to stop using common sense such as simple procedures and such, but it gave you an amazing sense of luck. It barely mattered to him, somehow.

All the sudden he felt the need to be with people. He hadn't wanted that before, but as he had just lost his family, he somehow needed to be around people to not feel so absolutely lost of people. The solitude was beginning to get to him to a degree Draco didn't like.

Draco thought about it for a moment. He could return to the Burrow, obviously. He had a desire to get very drunk, though. But it was no fun without Harry anyway.

****

'STOP!' Ron was crying, actually crying. He couldn't believe what was happening. Nothing this horrible had ever even come to him in nightmares '. Not in that sense, anyway. He couldn't believe their rotten luck; He had been so damn foolish.

He didn't believe what Narcissa Malfoy had done '. Taking them into a little dungeon and locking them up. And then two Death Eaters had come in.

'Nowhere to hide anymore, kids,' One of them said, laughing heartedly. 'And look ... This one is pretty.'

And the other slapped Hermione across the face. Ron had yelled out. But it had gotten so much worse. He couldn't believe it was happening. And then the two of them had torn off her clothing.

They wouldn't stop hitting her, hurting her ... Ron heard her screaming and yelping for help. There was nothing he could do. Magic had him sealed to the wall.

Ron closed his eyes not being able to watch as the men forcibly and unwillingly embraced Hermione crudely.

They were going to die.

****

Draco hurriedly got the floo powder ready. He was leaving. He didn't want to attract much attention. He was leaving directly from The Three Broomsticks to the Burrow. He would have left from the Hog's Head, but the crowd was fishy there, and he didn't want to possibly attract attention to himself and possibly allow his location to be tracked.

He was leaving all the misery behind. Harry would be waiting for him '.

'Hermione You're alive,' Ron said, waking up. He was no longer in the dungeon. Somehow he was outside of the Malfoy Manor again. He briefly remembered being knocked out by one of the Death Eaters.

'I knew there was only one way ... A form of sympathetic defensive magic against ... Well, rape. I was unleashed from the chains and was able to save you. You have to be an extremely powerful and focused witch or wizard to perform it without a wand. It left me feeling so weak, but we had to get out of there,' Hermione explained, but she was crying horribly now.

'Hermione, it's all right. It's over now. I'm going to kill those bloody bastards,' Ron said. He hugged her affectionately.

'Oh, Ron,' Hermione said, whimpering. 'Let's get out of here, please.'

'We will, Hermione. We're going to survive. And I don't think Harry was in there,' Ron said, patting her on the back.

'No, he wasn't. I threatened those Death Eaters as I held the charm on them. Granted, I couldn't have possibly held it any longer, I would have likely passed out, but had I held it much longer, it would have done them much more damage. Anyway, they told me no one knew where Harry was or ... Even Malfoy ... they have no idea,' Hermione explained quickly. 'We should go.'

'Hogwarts ... I wonder what's going on,' Ron said.

'I don't think it is safe to go back right now. Let's go to Diagon Alley,' Hermione said, snapping back into a prudent and contained mood.

'All right, Hermione, but one thing,' Ron began in a soft voice.

'Yes, Ron?' she asked him.

'I love you.'

Harry flew out of the pensieve suddenly.

'Niiiiiice, Harry.'