World's Smallest Violin

Chapter 10: The Education of Draco Malfoy

Then where is he.

Draco laid fully clothed on top of the covers the guest bed amid the torn shreds of a book. He had forgotten its name.

Then where is he.

He could not remember ever feeling so angry in his life, listening to that tattoo rattle against his skull.

Then where is he.

They spun in his head, the words that took him apart.

Then where is he.

It was well past midnight, but Andromeda and Ted were still in the sitting room. Draco could hear their hushed voices, probably discussing him, planning their strategy to deny him the one thing he wanted: to leave this place. He wanted freedom, to prove he could stand on his own feet. He wanted everyone to know that he could look after himself, that there was no need for his mother to send him here.

Then where is he.

Draco suddenly became aware that he was sitting up. His mother! If Draco was in danger while hidden away at his Aunt and Uncle's house, how much danger was his mother in, still in the midst of it all? With both Draco and his father inaccessible, the Dark Lord was sure to turn his anger at her.

Then where is he.

In a flash, Draco was on his feet. In another, he was at his trunk, gathering his possessions and throwing them inside. Half way through, he realized that he needed money and had to dig to the bottom to retrieve his pouch of coins and begin again. Five minutes later he coaxed the trunk closed and dragged it out of the room.

Then where is he.

"Draco," Andromeda said, rising to her feet as he emerged. She and Ted launched into a dialog that bore the marks of long rehearsal and Draco ignored every word of it.

Then where is he.

He dragged his trunk to the front door and turned to a nearby closet. The box with his wand was there. He lifted the heavy box from its high shelf with no plan for how to break into it. He would take the whole box if he had to, but it was not locked, it had never been locked, there was no lock.

Then where is he.

Draco reached inside and retrieved his wand, then brushed past Andromeda and out the door. She and Ted were still talking when he slammed the door behind him.

Then where is he.

Draco dragged his trunk to the curb and flung out his right arm. A moment later the Knight Bus appeared. Draco stepped on board, refused the hot chocolate and the toothbrush, handed over eleven sickles, and gave the conductor an address down the street from his home.

Then where is he.

By the time the Knight Bus arrived at his destination, Draco had spent nearly half an hour with no immediate actions to take, ruminating on all the possible scenarios he might find when he arrived, and fear had crept well into his thoughts. His hands were shaking so severely that he dropped his truck twice during the walk to his house and he finally abandoned it just inside the iron gates.

Then where is he.

The front door opened at Draco's approach and for a moment he thought that Andromeda had guessed his destination and beaten him there, but then he looked again and saw that he was mistaken.

Then where is he.

"Hello, Draco," Bellatrix said. "Come inside. We've been expecting you."