Of Butterflies in a Hurricane

*

The door creaked open, letting a tiny sliver of light fall into the pitch black room. Draco's eyes were fixed on the sliver, watching as a figure stepped through the slit and into the room, closing the door behind.

Draco's stomach gave a loud grumble. It had been two days, or so he guessed, since he'd had any food. At this point he would eat anything, even those candies Harry loved, those chocolate frogs. Draco had never cared for them; the chocolate was just a little too rich.

He heard the door shut with an ominous clang. From behind him, Nagini slithered forward, he head raised in striking position. She hissed at the intruder as he came closer.

Draco squinted through the dark, trying to make out who it was. He could hear the light footsteps of someone approaching. He heard the person stop, a few feet from him, and then there was silence.

Draco gave a sigh and sat back in the chair, waiting for something to happen. He hoped it wasn't Voldemort come to carry out his punishment already. Nagini moved forward, flicking out her tongue to taste the air. She backed away once she was done, having deemed the person acceptable. She did, however, curl up next to Draco and kept her eyes on the intruder.

Draco blinked as a light suddenly flared off to the side of him. One of the torches had been illuminated. Draco caught sight of a wand as it was stowed back in the pocket of the person in front of him.

Draco looked up and cast an appraising look over the man. "Blaise," he said in a pleasant, yet cold, voice. "You're back."

"I am here on the Dark Lord's orders," Blaise replied indifferently. "Do not think I desire to see you."

Draco said nothing. Beside him, Blaise's words seemed to have successfully pacified Nagini, who lowered her head and didn't pay them as much attention.

"What does He want?" Draco drawled.

"He wants what you're keeping from him," Blaise said coldly. He glanced down at Nagini, who had laid her head down on the floor and closed her eyes.

"I'm not keeping anything. He would do better to believe me and I could rejoin him and fight at his side," Draco lied smoothly.

Blaise was silent for a moment. Draco saw his hand slide covertly down to his pocket and grasp the handle of his wand. Nagini noticed nothing, her eyes still closed as she rested on the floor. He took it out and gave it a barely visible flick then stowed it back in his pocket.

The snake noticed nothing, still resting quite contently. Blaise watched her for a moment to make sure his spell had worked then leaned in closer to Draco.

"You might be able to fool the Dark Lord, Drake, but you can't fool me," he whispered in a dangerous voice.

"What would I be fooling you with?" Draco asked, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"I know you did something, Draco. Last year, you weren't the same, and it wasn't because of your mission. You're hiding something... from everyone."

"We all have our secrets," Draco replied coldly, looking Blaise straight in the eye.

Blaise didn't flicker as Draco stared at him. "Yes, but some secrets can get you killed."

Draco desperately wanted to retort with, "Better dead than alive and serving the Dark Lord," but he knew it could cost him his life. Instead, he said nothing, holding Blaise's gaze until Blaise shook his head and looked away.

"You're too reckless, Draco," he told him. "The Dark Lord is not forgiving and never gives up. He's ruthless and won't stop to let you beg for forgiveness."

"I have done nothing to deserve this punishment," Draco retorted haughtily, never losing his true Malfoy manner.

"You haven't given him what he wants."

"I have given all that I have. There is nothing more," Draco said coldly, looking at Blaise.

Blaise looked down at Draco, his expression calculating. He leaned down, running his finger over Draco's cheek and Draco pulled away as best he could, glaring at Blaise.

"Your emotions might get the best of you someday," Blaise murmured. "Anger is best kept and used when truly needed."

Draco’s eyebrows came together as he pondered Blaise's words. Blaise glanced down at Nagini, who appeared to have fallen asleep. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and came out with piece of bread and some cheese. He slipped it into Draco's hands but said nothing.

Draco looked down at it and quickly hid it under his robes in case Nagini smelled it. He looked back up to see that Blaise was already halfway back across the room. He saw him brandish his wand once more. Draco felt the metal around his wrists grow warm for a second then cease.

Beside him, Nagini twitched in her sleep; unaware of anything that was occurring. Blaise sent Draco a dark smirk then opened the door and closed it with a bang. Draco was left in darkness as the light from the torch extinguished with the door.

He sighed quietly, glancing down at the sleeping snake. He took the food Blaise had given him and ate it quickly and quietly. He felt much better now that he'd eaten.

He settled back in the chair, once more failing to find a comfortable position in the hard wood of the chair. He crossed his legs out in front of him, wondering how much longer he would be forced to stay in the dark room alone. He wasn't sure whether facing Voldemort would be better or worse than dying of hunger.

He knew that Voldemort would be much worse. He was far more advanced in dark magic than Draco could ever hope, or want, to be. Draco knew he needed to escape from his prison. It was his only chance of staying alive. Even if Harry was looking for him, he would probably never find him. The only way to find Harry, to feel safe once more, was to escape somehow.

Draco thought it must be impossible to escape. He was guarded by the snake, and no doubt there were more guards on the outside of the only door in the room. He eyed Nagini, who was still asleep, taking in her long fangs, wondering exactly how poisonous she was.

He didn't have a wand either. The only way he could even have a fighting chance would be to acquire a wand, and how would he do that?

Draco sighed again in the silence of the room. It looked even more dismal the more he thought about it. There were so many obstacles. Even if he did manage to get a wand, subdue the snake, and get out of the chair, how would he get out of the room?

Clearly, there was only one entrance; the door across the room through which everyone came. Draco laid his head back and shut his eyes, trying to concentrate on figuring a way out. He breathed in deeply, and then opened his eyes suddenly.

The air he was breathing was not stale but fresh. It was not air that had been trapped inside a room for several days. It felt cool and breezy as he sat in the chair. He looked around, as if trying to figure out where it was coming from. After all, it could be just magic.

He was stymied for a moment as he glanced around the darkness. There was no way to see anything. He was about to give up and chock it up to magic when he remembered something.

This place could do with a window.

Blaise's words from his previous visit echoed in his ears. He snapped his head around to the direction Blaise had nodded. He wondered if there wasn't a window there, concealed by magical means. He breathed in deeply, smelling the scent of grass and trees. There had to be a window.

Draco felt his heart leap in his chest as the thought completed in his head. There was a window! A way to escape! But then it sunk once more. He still had no way of finding the window or even getting out of his bonds.

He hung his head once more, the sinking feeling washing through his body. He desperately needed to get out of there. He was worried; worried for himself, for Harry. He could only imagine what Harry was doing. He wanted to know that Harry was safe at least.

Draco's head snapped up as he heard the door creak open for the second time that day. The light fell across the opening once more and a torch flared into light as soon as the man walked into the room.

Draco looked at the man closely. He recognized him. His name was Antonin Dolohov. He had met him once, two years ago during the Christmas break; his father had brought him to their home.

Dolohov had dark circles under his eyes but they were shining with malice as he moved closer to Draco, his wand held tightly in his hand. He had a heavy-set body, Draco noticed, as he came closer. He was leering at Draco, his yellow teeth gleaming in the light from the singular torch.

"Zabini says you aren't talking," the man leered, coming within a foot of Draco. Draco quickly retracted his feet underneath himself.

"Well, he's right," Draco sneered back. "I have nothing to say. The Dark Lord already knows."

Dolohov sneered at Draco; his hand tightened around the handle of his wand as he glared down at him. "You should watch your tongue, little one. You may be an adult in the wizarding world, but you are still a child in your ways of thinking."

Draco said nothing, glaring at the man in front of him. He noticed how close he was standing, invading his personal space, nearly suffocating him with his reeking smell. Dolohov's hand tensed around his wand as Draco sat up straighter again. He was not going to be intimidated by a man who never seemed to shower.

"The Dark Lord knows what I am. He would not have given me my task if he hadn't."

"But you failed," Dolohov breathed, his eyes alight with malice. "The Dark Lord does not prize you any more than anyone else. You have lost your place."

"I will regain it," said Draco in a confident and dangerous voice. "He knows what he can expect from me."

"He doesn't trust you," Dolohov sneered. "You can't regain your place after what you've done."

Draco's eyes narrowed as he glared at the Death Eater. "You want know what I've been hiding?" he asked him. "Come here."

Dolohov appeared to be hesitating, but the opportunity to find out what Draco had been hiding was too tempting. He would be able to tell his master and be rewarded greatly. He leaned in closer, shuffling his feet forward.

Draco sneered up at him, and in the second Dolohov neared him, he shot out his legs, clamping them down around Dolohov's and twisting. The heavy man fell to the floor as his feet were torn out from under him. Draco used his feet to angle one under Dolohov's legs and the other on top of his ankle.

He slammed down hard, hearing a satisfying crack as Dolohov's ankle broke. Dolohov let out a scream of agony and dropped his wand. Draco watched as it clattered a little ways away. He knew he had to get it if he had any chance of his plan succeeding.

He concentrated for a moment, the wails of Dolohov in his ears. He only hoped someone would not hear and come running. He closed his eyes, focusing all his energy on the chains that bound his arms. He gave an almighty tug and was quite surprised when the chains gave way easily.

He was taken aback for a moment, and then he remembered the warmth that had glowed for a moment before Blaise had left. Silently praising his friend, Draco leapt from the chair, snatching up the wand. Dolohov attempted to grab Draco as he sailed over him but couldn't quite reach.

"Come back here you--!" Dolohov shrieked as Draco scooped up the wand. He hastily put a Silencing Charm around the room, praying no one had heard anything.

The intensity of the sound seemed to have finally awoken Nagini from her sleep. She shook her head slowly and raised it up, catching sight of Draco. Her eyes widened and she let out a loud hiss.

"Oh, fuck," Draco said before jumping out of the way, just barely missing being punctured by Nagini's dripping fangs.

He sent spell after spell at the snake, none being successful. He assumed that Voldemort had put protection spells around her.

"Stupefy!" he yelled, sending a jet of red light at the snake. It merely bounced off and Nagini slithered forward, hissing madly and angrily as Draco darted away from her advancing fangs.

What do I do? What do I do?! he thought hysterically. I have to get out of here! I can't do that with this stupid snake alive! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

He backed away into a wall behind him and bounced off it. He looked at it, confused. He had no time to wonder about it, though, as the snake came forward, her fangs bared angrily.

"Sectumsempra!" he shouted. The spell just barely sliced the snake's scales. Draco could see a small cut in the snake's skin.

Nagini hissed in pain as the spell hit her. Her only response was to become more aggressive in her attack.

She lunged for Draco, and he just barely got out of the way, flinging himself to the side, praying to Merlin he would make it out alive. He jumped to his feet and fled from the snake as she slithered toward him at breakneck speed.

He took aim, the wand pointing at the tiny streak he had made in Nagini's skin. "Electricito!" he yelled. A bolt of blue light zigzagged out of his wand and directly into the cut on Nagini's body.

The snake began to curl and writhe on the floor as the electric shock ran through her body, singeing her insides. Draco was sure that if she could speak, her screams would be deafening.

He watched as her body began to convulse, shaking uncontrollably. In the background, Draco heard Dolohov shrieking something, probably hoping someone might hear through the door. Draco paid him no mind, his attention on the jerking snake.

Suddenly, the shaking stopped and the snake laid still, wisps of smoke drifting out of her mouth. Draco stared at the snake, moving forward cautiously. He tapped her limp body with his foot and saw that she was dead.

He breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to Dolohov, who was dragging his body toward the door. Draco wielded the wand over his head and brought it down with incredible force.

"Stupefy!" The red light flashed through the room, hitting the crawling man in the chest and he keeled over motionless.

Draco took a moment to steady himself and calm down his heart which had been beating painfully against his ribcage. Now, he had to get out of there.

He moved carefully over to the wall and began feeling along it, searching for some kind of evidence of magical concealment. He moved past where the snake lay and to the spot where he had bounced off the wall.

He pressed his hand against the spot carefully, feeling the remnants of magic settled there. He raised his stolen wand and prodded at the wall. It sprung back at him. He took his wand, waving it over the spot repeatedly, whispering spells under his breath.

Finally, he felt the magic recede and a tiny speck of light shone through. He did a little more magic until the whole window was visible. The bottom ledge of the window was even with his shoulders as he stared at it. He knew he had to leave soon. Someone would realize that Dolohov had not returned soon and they would come looking for him.

Draco conjured a step stool and climbed up on it, pushing the window open. It remained stubbornly closed and it took even more magic to release it. Finally, he managed to push it open just enough to slip his slim body through.

He pushed himself out the window, climbing through the small opening and outside.


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A/N: I'm trying to get this out before July, hopefully it will happen >.< Please review!