The Secret of the Malfoy Name

Chapter XV: Blonde Demon

09/24/1996
Lucius stood alone in the dark, not fully aware of where he was or why, but he was unsettled. He knew he wasn’t on the outside, and yet the air was so cold his lungs ached.

A torch lit far away from him, and he saw Hera’s face glow as though the radiance came from within her. Lucius could now see where he was standing, but the Malfoy pantheon wasn’t nearly as terrifying as each step his daughter made in his direction. Her astonishing grey eyes were locked with his, hypnotizing him, talking to him with no words to break the total silence that seemed to be strengthen by the eco of her approaching footsteps.

The hand that wasn’t holding the torch was holding somebody else’s hand. As they walked closer, Lucius could distinct the features of the kid he had murdered all those years before. Even though Hera looked even more alive than Lucius himself, they were all living deads. A dead boy from the past, a dead girl for everyone in the present, and a dead man to be.

There was fairly justified anger in their eyes, and Lucius feared it. He walked backwards and was cornered against his own open coffin.

The boy put his free hand on Lucius’ chest, giving him a cold feeling of despair and void. The light of the torch turned off, but Lucius didn’t need to see to know what was happening. The hand on his chest didn’t feel human anymore and the sadness in him became absolute. He heard the cold breathing of a Dementor, which started sucking out his soul.

The screams of his victims rang in his ears like a great choir from hell, and what had once been satisfactory to him, suddenly turned into his own torture.

The kiss was taking away his strength along with his essence, and he fell into his coffin, tormented by the screams and mixed with them, Hera’s voice spoke the prophecy on and on. He shuddered when the last bit of happiness left his body. The coffin was closed, but he wasn’t in peace. He still heard them all, punishing him for his sins until his body gave up.

The silk from Lucius’ bed felt just like that coffin. He got up sweating, his heart racing and trembling from feet to toe. He looked out the window into the rainy night and wished to be there to feel less trapped. He put on his clothes and went to the hallway. His black umbrella wasn’t there. Lucius stood there, confused, until Hera came into his mind. He didn’t think she’d run away on her own, but it was the only possibility he could think of.

In spite of his fear to see his daughter, Lucius went down to the dungeons. He opened the door to her chambers, wishing she were there, asleep, and not waiting for him with her menacing eyes open right in front of him. But the room was completely empty, and for the first time that night, he felt rage. He would not let her live a happy life now; not after she’d done everything to ruin his.

He didn’t care about Draco, what he might do or what he would feel. He already had a death sentence on his shoulders and he’d do anything to finish what he’d started almost nine years before: kill that little blonde demon before he was killed himself.

***

‘Are you sure this is where you want to spend the night?’, Draco asked with a disgusted tone as he looked at the humidity on the walls and the old carpeting with several cigarette burns. ‘I bet there are better places we can break in.’

‘What are you talking about? This room is wonderful!’, Hera said as she threw herself onto the bed. ‘There’s so much light and furniture…’

Draco had decided that wherever Hera wanted to go that first night of freedom would be fine to him, but the idea of sleeping in a bed that was probably full of fleas wasn’t his concept of fine. Of course, after living her whole life in a dungeon, the biggest pigsty probably looked like a palace.

There was an awkward silence in the room. Hera and Draco were staring at each other, both looking like they wanted to have a conversation but it wasn’t the right time or place to do so.

‘I think I’ll go check out that roof you were talking about’, Harry said uncomfortably.

‘OK, go ahead… we’ll go up in a minute’, Draco said as he took a seat on the bed, trying to hide his repulsion towards the sheets.

Harry picked up his Firebolt and after thinking for a second how to fly out the window without crashing against the ceiling, he took off.

Draco and Hera remained quiet, but it was different from the other silence; it felt nice. Draco was stroking her hair like he did when they were together at the Manor, in that caring way he did that made loving words sound redundant.

‘Do you like him?’, Hera finally asked.

‘I’m not sure… he’s nice, I think he really cares about me, but…’

‘You can like him, you know?’

‘What do you mean?’, Draco asked.

‘I’ve seen the way you look at him. I think you like him but you don’t want to. Like you’re scared of something…’

‘Well, of course I’m scared! I’ve never opened myself to anyone but you. Never. It’s not easy to let someone get in your life from one day to another.’

‘Then, why did you kiss him?’, she asked looking into his eyes. Draco looked away in embarrassment. ‘Come on, I know you knew I knew about it.’

‘See, that’s another thing… I’m not comfortable with you knowing… what I do.’

‘I know too many things I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it! You can’t live your life thinking about what I see or don’t see.’

‘I know, but I keep on thinking that you are and I don’t want you to see everything. And about the kiss… I don’t know why I did it, alright? I knew he liked me, so I just did. I didn’t think.’

‘Look, why don’t you go up there and tell him the truth. He deserves it.’

‘But I thought you wanted to go to the roof, too’, Draco said to avoid having to face the situation right away.

‘We can go back tomorrow, before we leave. Beside, I’m really tired…’, she said with an innocent voice. ‘Go.’ she smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

Draco smiled back and, after tucking her up in the bed, he took his broom and flew to the roof. When he landed, he found Harry lying on the still wet floor, staring blankly at the cloudy sky. Draco took out his wand, dried the floor and the sat next to him.

‘In about two hours everyone will notice we’re gone’, Harry said without tearing his eyes of the sky. ‘What do you suggest we do about that?’

‘Well, we can’t just go back to Hogwarts with Hera. Maybe we could go with you to Hogsmeade and then you could go back on your own’, Draco said, tapping his fingertips against the floor.

‘But what about you? Will you just drop school?!’

‘I don’t know… I could buy a small house with the money I have in Gringotts and maybe also get a job.’

‘Are you crazy?! If you ask Dumbledore, he’ll let you stay with Hera. You just…’

‘I am not asking Dumbledore for help. Besides, after all these years, I can’t come back saying “oh, remember that sister I had and died?”. There’s a murder involved, remember? And even if it was my Father who did it, Mother and I covered him.’

‘So, that’s what you’ll do? Drop school to keep her locked somewhere else? I thought I was helping you save her, not move to Hogsmeade!’

‘Alright, maybe I didn’t think it through… but what other choices do we have? I felt lonely so I adopted a little girl? Tell the whole world my Father was threatening to kill us both if we said anything?’

‘Why not? They’re already after him, so he doesn’t have much to lose, but Hera, your mother and you do. What matters here is that she can have the life she deserves! I’ll talk to Dumbledore, if that’s what you’re so worried about.’

‘No… it’s fine, I’ll do it…’, Draco said with a sigh. He got up and walked towards the edge of the roof.

He heard Harry’s slow steps behind him. Felt his hand going around his waist and heard his name whispered in his ear. Harry was using the Malfoy bloody move on him! It was the first time anyone ever did and Draco suddenly realized why it always worked. Harry started kissing his neck tenderly making Draco panic.

‘Harry…’, he whispered, his nails digging into the edge. Harry seemed to be encouraged by the way Draco had said his name, since he was now sucking a sensitive spot he had found in that pale neck and was holding him much tighter. ‘Merlin!’, Draco gasped. ‘Stop, Harry, please…’

‘Why?’, Harry asked crushed.

‘Because I can’t do this… not with you’, he tried to explain, but couldn’t find the words to do it.

‘Then why the fuck did you kiss me before?! Believe me, I’ve been wrecking my brains to understand you, but I don’t. One minute you’re all friendly and spontaneous, and the other you turn away and act like nothing ever happened. And what do you mean, not with me?’

‘OK, here’s the thing… I’ve never been close to anyone. I’ve only been with girls I don’t give a shit about just for fun, but they knew fully well what they were getting into. You don’t. You proved it when we were out on the street and you started to cry because of me. I’m not the bloke you think I am.’

‘Yes, you are… I saw how you are with Hera…’

‘But you’re not her! You can’t expect me to be all caring from one day to the other.’

‘I don’t… but just tell me, do you like me?’, Harry asked uncertainly.

‘I think I might’, Draco snorted. ‘Just give me time to think about it…’

‘Funny’, Harry laughed bitterly. ‘That’s what Hera said when she gave me the flower… “give him time…”’

‘Did she? She really likes you, you know?’

‘Do I get extra points for that?’, Harry joked.

Draco didn’t answer. They both stared into the horizon blankly. Hera had been right about the view from up there. Beyond the unkempt houses and dark streets, the whole picture was marvellous. The sun would be rising in any minute, but the grey clouds would probably hide it, turning that one into Draco’s longest nights.

‘What do you say if we go back to the room and sleep for a while?’, Harry asked. He seemed exhausted.

‘Are you crazy? The moment we close our eyes we sleep all the way till noon! We have to go back to Hogwarts before anyone notices we’re gone. At least, that goes for you, because when they see me with a little girl beside me, I think they’ll know I left the castle.’

‘Alright. Let’s go wake Hera, then.’

‘Harry?’, he asked when he walked away from him.

‘Yes?’

‘I do like you. But now is just…’

‘It’s OK, Draco. I get it’, Harry smiled and threw himself from the roof. He fell a few feet and then flew back into the room.

Draco looked at the spot where the window was for a moment and then followed him in.