Of Butterflies in a Hurricane

*

Lucius Malfoy moved swiftly and silently through the damp woods. His black cloak swathed him in darkness as he crept around tall trees and thorny brambles. His face was hidden in shadow as he moved on, methodically stalking his prey.

His wand was out as he scoured the landscape, peering into every dark crevice that presented itself. Lucius was furious. He'd been searching everywhere for his son and had found nothing. He wanted to know why Draco had fallen out of the Dark Lord's confidence so quickly, and when he'd been dually punished, he had run away.

Lucius had not raised Draco to fear the Dark Lord. He was to worship him and serve him until the end. What could have happened to cause him to stray from his service? Though, now, it wasn't so much about Draco's disloyalty, it was that Lucius was unable to find him.

He had searched everywhere for his heir. He had gone every single place he could think of where he might be. Though he had never really taken the time to get to know his son, he thought he might have an idea of where Draco would hide.

He had even resorted to asking Narcissa what she thought. She had given a placid answer and gone back to moping around the house. Ever since Draco had been taken prisoner by the Dark Lord, Narcissa had seemingly blamed Lucius for it and refused to speak to him unless necessary.

He had found her in Draco's room several weeks previously, just standing there. She must have been lost in thought because when he had demanded what she had been doing, she had replied in a blank voice, void of any emotion. He had been too furious at the moment to even take the time to contemplate it.

He was sick and tired of tracking Draco through dark forests, always tearing his clothes on thorns from bushes as he traipsed through. Why Draco would think to hide in a forest was beyond him. It was certainly degrading and dirty; far too dirty for a Malfoy.

Lucius stopped suddenly, listening closely. Around him, the leaves on the trees rustled ominously, swishing around his head. He froze as the wind whistled through the branches, sending leaves swirling everywhere.

Then Lucius heard a sound and snapped his head around, staring deep into the black depths of the forest. He pulled his cloak tighter around his body, obscuring it and blending into the forest background.

From a dark archway emerged a dark figure, moving swiftly towards where Lucius stood. Lucius didn't move, staring at the man who was approaching him.

The man was also wearing a long, black cloak that swept the ground. His face was also masked with shadows but Lucius could make out the glitter of dark eyes watching him.

"Lucius," a voice reached his ears and he knew who it was.

He finally moved, now sure it was safe. "Severus, you startled me."

Snape made no offer of apology, only looked at Lucius closely. "The Dark Lord has sent me to check on your progress. Are you any closer to finding Draco?"

"I do not need to be checked up on," Lucius sneered.

"The Dark Lord seems to think so," Snape said coolly. "What have you found?"

"Little," Lucius replied, his tone angry. "Draco seems to be smarter than I thought."

"I have always told you," Snape said. "He shows aptitude in everything he attempts. I doubt you will be able to find him unless he makes a mistake."

"He's bound to," Lucius sneered, looking back around the wooded forest floor.

Snape shook his head but Lucius didn't see, still concentrating on the ground. "Lucius, what will you do if you find him?"

"When I find him, he will find out what it means to have loyalty. And then I shall turn him over to the Dark Lord so he may have his fun."

"Have you no compassion for your son?"

Lucius turned to Snape, a steely glint in his dark silver eyes. "He has no compassion for the Dark Order. I have none for him. He needs to learn that."

Snape said nothing more, letting Lucius glare at him for a moment before returning to his scouring. Finally, Snape spoke up once more.

"He is sending someone to help," he told Lucius.

Lucius looked up at him, an expression of complete fury on his face. "Someone to help? I do not need help. I can find him on my own."

"The Dark Lord doesn't agree," Snape said simply. "He has assigned another tracker to help."

There was a small pop at that moment and a tall man dressed in black appeared next to Snape. Lucius glared at the man, like it was his fault he was failing.

"Macnair will help you find Draco and capture him," Snape said. "He expects it will go faster with two people."

Lucius knew what Snape meant by that. It meant that Voldemort was growing impatient with the amount of time it was taking. Draco should have been captured weeks ago. In fact, he shouldn't have escaped in the first place!

Macnair moved forward, the familiar flash of silver reflecting from the axe in his belt. He stood proudly in front of Lucius. "Don't worry, Lucius. We will find him."

Lucius didn't look at all pleased at the Dark Lord's solution, but as he had no choice, he was forced to accept it. Snape looked between the pair of them and decided his job was finished.

"With two the work goes twice as fast," he said cryptically and vanished in a Pop.

Lucius turned without a word and plunged deeper into the forest, Macnair at his heels. They followed a small footpath until they came to a fork. Here, Lucius stopped, crouching down to the ground. Macnair remained standing, his eyes roving over the dark leaves and deep crevices that surrounded them.

Lucius stood up suddenly and looked to his right. Farther in, he could see remnants of burned bushes. Without a word, he turned off the path and began pushing his way through the underbrush, Macnair struggling along behind him.

He followed this make-shift path until he came to a stop when he nearly ran into a huge tree trunk that sprung up before him. As he looked at it, it wreaked of magic. He moved around cautiously, looking at the solid trunk.

He lifted his wand and sent a spell at the trunk. It did nothing. Another spell and still nothing. Several spells, charms, and curses later, the trunk remained stubbornly solid. Lucius was enraged that he could not access whatever was inside. Obviously, it was something of importance if it was sealed so.

Macnair came up beside Lucius and also attempted a few spells but none were successful. Finally, Lucius had to accept that there was no visible means of breaking the barriers that surrounded the trunk.

Instead, he searched the ground for any trace of his son. He found marks in the ground that indicated someone had stood there some time before. He took out his wand and waved them over the footprint and it emitted a white light for a second, telling Lucius all he needed to know. His eyes lit up as he realized that he had finally found Draco's trail.

***

"Why did you do that?"

"What?"

"Sneak in here. You know it's not safe. Anyone could wake up and find you. They would probably kill you and then me, too."

Draco rolled over in the bed, sighing deeply and propping himself up on his elbow and looking down at Harry. "Then they'll kill me," he said simply.

Harry frowned. "Draco, that's not funny. Ron probably would and then we'd have to tell them something."

Draco reached down, running a hand through Harry's unruly hair, stroking it softly. "And what would we tell them?"

Harry paused, looking up at Draco apprehensively. Draco gave him a soft smile and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Harry's lips. Harry's eyes drifted shut as the kiss deepened and Draco slipped his tongue into the hot mouth, gently caressing Harry's tongue.

Harry gave a satisfied sigh when Draco pulled away and pressed kisses down his neck and collarbone. "You know what I'd tell them?" Draco whispered against Harry's neck.

"Hmmm," was Harry's only response. His whole body was relaxing under Draco's touch.

"I'd tell them that I get to fuck the hottest guy in the school, and if they don't like it, they can go fuck themselves."

Despite himself, Harry couldn't help laughing. He grinned and could feel Draco smirking against his neck. Harry took hold of Draco's neck and steered him back so he could see him, pulling him in close to his lips.

"That would make them like you," Harry said simply.

Draco smirked. "Wouldn't it, though?" he asked rhetorically before crashing his lips onto Harry's in an explosion of passion.

Harry groaned loudly and ran his hand into Draco's silky locks, tugging him closer as the kiss went on. Draco slid his tongue into Harry's mouth skillfully, coercing Harry's tongue into a passionate battle. He pulled on Harry's lower lip with his teeth, nibbling on the lip with his teeth.

Harry moaned and shifted on the bed, settling himself underneath Draco's body that now lay neatly on top of his. Suddenly, he felt Draco's erection brush against his.

"Draco-- wait," he gasped, breaking the kiss and looking up at Draco, who looked winded and flushed.

"What?" he asked in a breathless voice. "What's wrong, Harry?"

"Nothing," Harry said quietly. "I just-- can we not do it tonight? Can we just stay here, together?"

Draco paused for a moment as he looked down at Harry, contemplating the raven-haired boy. After a bit, Draco ran his hand behind Harry's neck and leaned in close, kissing him softly.

"Of course," he told him quietly. He slid down into the bed next to Harry, wrapping his hands around Harry's waist and pulling him closer. He breathed in Harry's scent and closed his eyes, feeling content for the first time in a long time. He knew this was what he wanted.

Draco awoke with a start, the feeling of warm comfort immediately gone. He found he was cold and sleeping on the hard ground. He shivered and pulled his jacket tighter around his body, almost wishing he had brought a cloak with him.

He pushed himself off the ground, wincing as his muscles screamed in stiffness for sleeping on the ground. He looked around him, taking in the lush greenery and the low mist that hung over the stretching expanse of grass. The grass was wet with dew drops as Draco stretched and grabbed his pack from the ground, wiping the water off it.

He slung the pack over his back and glanced around quickly, checking to see if he was being followed. He doubted it since he had placed an Anti-Tracking Spell around himself. Even so, there was always the possibility that someone might spot him and report back to the Dark Lord.

Once he was sure he was alone, he moved quickly out of the small overhang under which he had camped the night before. He went carefully into the shade of some damp trees that stood on the edge of the field. He followed the path along a winding stream and past where it diverted.

At length, he came to a small cottage-like house, covered in vines that wound around up the sides and over the roof. The white flowers were blooming, opening up for the water to drip into them. Draco looked around again, making absolutely sure that he was alone. He didn't like feeling so vulnerable.

He went to the front door and pushed it open cautiously then stepped inside. The first room was small, Draco saw. In the corner, a ruined table stood, blackened and burned, barely a stump. Shards of wood scattered the floor, and Draco crunched over them as he moved further into the room. It was obvious there had been a battle there.

He was about to go into the next room when he noticed something on the floor; a scarlet stain. Draco's stomach gave a lurch as he stared at the bloodstain that adorned the floor. He forced himself to look away, though, and continued on to the kitchen. In here, too, were remnants of a battle. Old, broken kitchen tools were scattered about the floor. Another ruined table stood in this room. It looked like something very heavy had landed on it and cracked it in two.

Draco backed away from the battle-ridden items and stared around him. He knew Harry had been there; he could tell. He stood in the kitchen, desperately hoping that it wasn’t Harry's blood that had seeped into the wooden floor out into the living room.

***

"My lord, they've captured him."

"Who?"

"Macnair, my lord, he was with Malfoy searching for the boy but Aurors showed up and took them. Malfoy escaped through dark magic, but Macnair was taken. We believe he may be dead already."

"Tell me, Rookwood, how do these Aurors continue to know the whereabouts of my followers?"

"Perhaps there is a spy in the ranks, my lord."

"He would have to be high up to know that sort of thing."

"They might have been passing information for some time. Aurors and members of the Order always seem to know what we're going to do."

"You're right, Rookwood. Passing information for a long time, and they always seem to know. How did you come by this information?"

"I-it was in the Daily Prophet, my lord."

"The Prophet? You didn't hear this directly?"

"M-my lord, no, I can't have. I have been busy serving you."

"Rookwood, you are trying my patience."

"No, my lord! I did not! It was not m--"

"Avada Kedavra!" And there was silence.


~~**~~

A/N: So apparently I've fallen off the face of the earth? I know, it's been over a month! I'm sorry. I got sucked into bandslash and working on original fics and NaNoWriMo is soon... ahem, please review!