The Dragon Breezes In

We left the feast and went back to our dormitories. I looked around at my dorm mates and wondered when they would find out that I had sided with Potter. I hoped it would be after the Dark Lord fell. Merlin, Crabbe and Goyle, my ex-minions, or maybe still my minions, were training to be Death Eaters! There they were, Muggle wrestling, the only thing they thought was cool about Muggles was the wrestling they had on Telefision or whatever it's called. I never got those weird appliances.

I laughed with the others when Crabbe put his foot on Goyle's chest and raised his fists in the air, claiming victory.

Then the others suddenly stopped laughing. They stared towards where the doorway which was behind me.

There was Severus Snape, he stood gaunt and he looked drunk. As soon as I turned around I was shocked, I had never seen him look this bad. His hair was a mess, his eyes were glassy and bloodshot and his skin was snow white. He opened his mouth - I expected some drunken babble to come tumbling out but -

"Mr Malfoy," he said in a soft low voice.

"Y-yes?" What the hell was going on? It was like... like Snape had been... crying. I looked into his puffy red eyes.

"The Headmaster wishes to see you," he said avoiding my shocked gaze. "Follow me please."

He walked quickly, very quickly through the corridors, his robes billowing behind him. I was struggling to keep up. I was just wondering when he would stop when he beckoned me into what must be Dumbledore's office.

The Headmaster was at his desk and looked up when I entered.

"Draco, sit down." Something was wrong, I knew something was wrong, I could tell by his voice. He wasn't smiling and he was more serious than ever, there was no twinkle in the eye.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news"....

*~*~*~*

I ran from that office, the office of the greatest wizard who lived. I sprinted faster than I had ever done before.

I found myself in a bathroom, panting in front of a mirror. A single tear fell down my cheek, a single tear for the woman who raised me. My mother, who died rather than give information away to my father and the Dark Lord. My mother, who was killed by my very own father.

I stayed in that bathroom for hours; I got little sleep that night, heading back to my dormitory at around five-thirty. I lay in my bed for an hour, I had never heard of anything so cruel that a man could do to his own wife. I know my parents didn't have a perfect marriage; the only person my father had respected was Voldemort, even before he came back.

"So?" asked Blaise excitedly. "Who was it? Please, tell me it wasn't Pansy."

"What?!"

"You didn't come back last night, who was it?"

"None of your fucking business!" I snapped, snatching my timetable. I looked at it and groaned; we had all the worst lessons with the Gryffindors.

I went to all my lessons except Defence against the Dark Arts which was last and the only one with the Gryffindors that day. Instead, I lay by the lake.

I wondered a lot, where my father was, what he and the Dark Lord were planning, who Peter Pettigrew was...and Kreacher......But most of all, I wondered what was running through my mother's mind as she drew her last breath.

It was quite warm that afternoon, I watched as a beautiful green butterfly landed on the grass in from of me; maybe it was an omen. I lay down in the long grass and I must have dozed off because when I woke, Potter was walking towards me.

"What do you want?" I asked yawning as he sat down beside me.

"I heard about your mother," he said. "I'm sorry," he added softly, turning his emerald green eyes towards me.

I nodded. "Were you looking for me here?"

He shrugged, "not really, I sometimes come here to think."

"Does Dumbledore tell you everything?"

"No, actually he avoided me practically all last year."

"Really?"

"Yes." I didn't ask about this, I don't think Potter fully trusted me.

"So how was his class?" I asked.

"Good, definitely better than the others we've had."

"That isn't really much of an achievement,"

"But he's the best teacher we could ever have."

"Except you," I murmured.

"Huh?" he looked at me, confused.

"I heard about Dumbledore's Army, how you taught everyone."

"Oh," he looked away.

"I thought it was a good ideal actually, because of that Umbridge woman,"

"I thought you liked her," he said, I could tell he was surprised.

"Heh, I'm not that bad, apart from Mad-Eye she was my least favourite teacher ever."

"Mine too, of course,"

"Including Snape?"

"Yes, although his detentions are slightly worse than hers."

"Interesting. So what are detentions like with her anyway?"

"Painful. I'd better head up to the castle," he said standing up.

"Bye."

"See you later."