Dolor Draconum

Dolor Draconum

Prologue

The rumours started at opposite ends of the Hogwarts Express and met in the middle. Harry was sitting with Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom at one end, discussing the summer's events, while at the other end, in the prefect's carriage, Ron was whispering furiously to Hermione while both shot sideways glances as the subject of the gossip.

Draco was sprawled in a seat, oblivious to everything going on around him. His clothes did look a little more unkempt than usual, his bag appeared to be a little lighter, but the aristocratic arrogance still oozed from his every pore.

"It's true, I swear!" Ginny insisted. "I guess Narcissa couldn't bear being shamed by both her blood relatives and her husband."

"Are you sure it's legal?" Neville asked. "I mean, the guy's in prison. He can't exactly have a lawyer."

"She found some ancient law that allowed to her do it without his consent. Like those old adultery laws that meant a woman could be stoned to death if her husband cheated," Ginny said with authority. "'sides, my dad's in the ministry. This is all first hand, as far as it can be."

"It's not first hand if you're telling us, and presumably Mrs Malfoy didn't tell your dad herself," Harry pointed out.

"Ask Ron if you don't believe me! Malfoy's a prefect, isn't he? Maybe they'll have found out more!"

"You think he's just going to tell people?" Harry asked sceptically. "My mother divorced my dad while he was in prison and now lives in the house previously used by the OotP?"

"Ootpee?" Neville asked, mystified.

"Order of the phoenix," Ginny hissed.

"Oh, yeah, right. I think Harry's right, Malfoy won't say anything, not unless he's benefiting from this. He's moving from a huge mansion to a house in London, I doubt he'll want to boast about that."

"No, that's just it," Ron said breathlessly from the door as he and Hermione joined them. "He's not living there! Dad made some excuse with some other Ootpers to go and check we'd left nothing behind, and Draco doesn't live there! He's still back at his father's mansion, on his own!"

"He didn't say a word during the meeting, not even a snide remark directed at Ron and I," Hermione said, a little concerned. "I suppose he's got servants looking after him."

"Loads, I'll bet," Ron enthused. "I must be so great having a huge mansion all to himself for most of the summer. He could hold loads of parties and no one would tell him not to. He could eat what he liked. He could do what he lik-"

"Stop being so insensitive," Hermione snapped abruptly. "Divorce is a terrible thing to put a child through, and consider what he must be going through with his father in prison as it is! I hope he stayed at a friend's house."

"What do you care?" Ron asked. "It's Malfoy. We want him to suffer. Personally, I hope both of his parents forget him and leave him to die on the streets."

"Ron!"

"Well, I do. He'd deserve it."

"It's not a matter of what he deserves. We'd be just as bad as him if we took pleasure in his pain."

Ron squirmed. "When you put it that way..." he murmured.

"Exactly," Hermione said triumphantly, with an air of finality that told the carriage's occupants that the matter was closed.

They discussed mundane miscellany for the rest of the journey, carefully avoiding subjects like Lord Voldemort, their OWL results and the fact that Mrs Malfoy was living in what they all still thought of as Sirius's house.

As the journey was drawing to an end Seamus stuck his head around their door. "Guess what I heard?" he grinned excitedly.

"Thank you, our summers were fine, and yours?" Ron grinned.

"Malfoy tried to kill himself over the summer!"

Unsurprisingly, a stunned silence followed this statement. Ron almost said something along the lines of 'I wish he'd finished the job', but the dirty look Hermione gave him made him think better of it.

"How?" Neville asked eventually.

"Tried to hang himself, I think. I figured you might not have heard, being all the way down this end of the carriage. You suppose it's got something to do with the arrest and divorce?"

"No, I was just bored," a long drawling voice made everyone jump.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny spluttered.

"It's a free country, I can wander up and down the train if I like," Draco said without much feeling. Looking at him the friends could almost believe he had attempted suicide. There were dark rings under his eyes and his skin was almost as sallow as Snape's. His words lacked their usual malice and his sneer had lost its snide twist.

"Is it true?" Ron demanded. "Did you try and hang yourself?"

"I don't see what business of yours that is," Draco snarled, his mood abruptly swinging. "The next person who says a word on the subject is going to be in detention for an entire month!"

"You can't do that!" Hermione protested. "People shouldn't be talking about you like that, but-"

"I don't need you jumping to my defence, little miss perfect!" Draco practically shouted. "I don't need anyone! I can do what I like. I didn't even have to come back, if I didn't want to."

"We're so glad you graced us with your presence," another hated voice intoned, making even Draco jump. "Are these, and I use the word loosely, 'students', bothering you?"

"N, no..." Draco stuttered.

Snape frowned. "Are you sure? I heard shouting."

"I... no, they're not bothering me. I was just checking whether everyone was ready to arrive. As you can see, they're not."

"I would dock ten points from each of you," Snape warned, "but until we arrive I can't do that, as term hasn't officially begun." The bitterness in his voice made it evident what he thought of that. If he had his way, Harry thought wearily, he'd probably like to give detentions and dock house points all year round, turning up at people's houses n the middle of summer. "If you aren't smartly attired on reaching the Great Hall, I warn you, you will all be in detention for a week. Thank you, Draco," he swept away down the corridor.

"Why didn't you tell him we were bothering you?" Ron asked, confused.

"I can deal with things on my own," Draco snapped, but his earlier conviction seemed to be lacking. "I don't need anyone else." He wandered away, head down.

"Do you suppose he's fallen out with Crabbe and Goyle?" Neville asked hopefully. "Their fathers' also got arrested, didn't they? Perhaps they blame him, perhaps that's why they weren't here just now."

"Maybe," Ginny said. "I mean, that's not unlikely. I did wonder where they were, and it would explain the vehement independence."

"So would being left alone in a large mansion for five weeks," Hermione murmured under her breath, but she too wondered where Draco's minions were lurking.