HPNSA - BOOK ONE

CHAPTER SIX
DRACO\'S DILEMMA

TIMELINE: MIDDLE OF 5TH YEAR – AUGUST OF 1997



He was running, running for his life. There was a deep welt across his back and soon there’ll be more. He needed to hide. He was running faster now, running away from home.

Home – a word that meant a large, cold place where the only one that cared for him was a house elf. His tears blurred his eyesight making the trees that loomed before him look the same. He falls to the ground spraining his ankle. He tried to stand but his weight made the sprain worse and the pain was causing veins to strain across his forehead. He leaned against a tree catching his breath when a purple streak of light razed across the trees and hit an inch above him splintering the bark. He screams and falls to the ground and he limps forward only to stumble over a fallen branch; he looses his balance and he slides down a steep ravine.

The moment he opened his eyes a kind face looked at him with deep concern. It belonged to a woman with brown curly hair that was pinned at the sides with black barrettes. Round blue eyes with purple shadow were scanning him now. She had an Irish accent he noticed. She is asking him if he was all right telling him he fell down from quite a height. He couldn’t answer; his head still felt like a ton. He closed his eyes slowly and kind hands brushed off the hair that fell to his face.

He now sat on a soft couch looking out a window with green shutters. Summer had brought in the cardinals and emperor butterflies into the garden that swelled with lilies and white roses. Here and there it was accented with tulips of assorted colours and a marble gnome stood quietly in the middle watching the garden with unseeing eyes. Draco found himself wishing he could stay in this place forever. But the owner was what his family referred to as a “muggle”. He was taught since the day he was born that muggles were loathsome creatures that had no business being on this planet. He was taught from the time he could understand language hateful words like mudblood, muggle-born, muggles and now he realized the falsity of those words and what they meant. He has to unlearn the hatred first before he can live here.

He left the house with not as much as a thank you in fact he has not spoken a word to the woman that tended to him night and day. But there were times when he’d shed tears at her kindness and though no words were spoken, the woman knew how he really felt and so she watched him go with a heavy heart.

***

It has been more than eight years now since Draco last saw Candice Proncier. He has not forgotten her face and the kindness she has shown him, which changed him deeply. Out of fear he puts up a show to convince his father and everyone else that he hated muggles, muggle borns - all the despicable people in the world. He convinced them so well that now he was among the most loathed students at Hogwarts. There was fire in the hearth but he felt the house was colder than the snow-covered yard outside.

“You are summoned for dinner.” His mother called. Summoned – what a word to use to a son, he thought. He follows her downstairs muttering obscenities as she berates him for not reading up on his lessons for the O.W.L.’s.

As they sat almost a mile apart, Draco could hardly understand the food that he desperately tries to swallow because Lucius kept telling him how much a disappointment he was to the family and to the Dark Lord.

“We might as well use you for bait, since you are nearly as useless as you are pathetic.” Lucius places a large piece of ham in his mouth.

“Lucius…”

“No, let him mother, you never gave a damn before why start now?” Draco says sarcastically.

Lucius threw a spoon at him splattering cranberry sauce all over his suit. Draco decides he has had enough of this so-called Christmas dinner, stood and said, “Tastes like rubbish anyway, like the rest of this fucking family!” He then marches back to his room. He shuts the door forcefully then took a vase that was on top of a table in the center of the room and threw it, hitting the walls shattering into pieces – ironically that’s how he felt his life was, one piling heap of shattered pieces.

He then takes a small dagger inside a drawer and cuts his arm. The sight of his blood trickling down seemed to calm him and he shuts his eyes tight. He curses his life and slowly tears started falling down like the snow that was now drifting softly outside his windows. The pain of his existence choked him until sobs shook his body violently. “Happy Christmas, Draco…You fucking fool!” He says to himself laughing a bit at his predicament. He falls asleep sitting against a trunk at the end of his bed crying like a child.

***

There was a loud wailing at the second level dungeon. Draco slowly walks towards the source of the sound and finds his father and several Death Eaters surrounding a creature that looked like a gargoyle except it had six hands. He was bound from the neck down to his waist with large chains and his bat-like wings were clipped at the edge.

“The only reason for an Incubus to travel this far is the Iranna. Do we have a bearer in these parts?” Bellatrix said. “ANSWER ME!” But the creature just hissed. “CRUCIO!” The creature screams for pain and twists violently on the floor.

“Perhaps we should just kill him. It won’t be hard to find a Nymphrodite; we’ll just check the registry. I know someone from the Ministry who has all the records…” Lucius said.

“That would be no good! A Nymphrodite will hide knowing what might befall him should he go public. They are wiser now; blasted creatures! Dumbledore will do everything to keep such a creature out of our reach. You know him, he almost saved the last one by informing the Bureau.” Bellatrix said angrily.

Draco wondered what they were talking about. So many new words – Nymphrodite, Incubus, and Iranna – what do they all mean, he thought. Also Dumbledore almost saved the last of those Nymphrodites by informing a Bureau; he wondered if this had something to do with Voldemort. He strained his ears to hear more.

“We’ll do you a deal, Incubus. Tell us your mission and we’ll let you go, on certain conditions that will benefit all of us.” Bellatrix said.

The creature looked at her breathing heavily. “Alright!” It said Draco was shocked to hear that his language was intelligible. “There is a Nymphrodite here, I don’t know who it is yet. Lord Aveddon sent me to look for him and bring him back to New York.”

“Well, Lord Aveddon does not rule these parts. Here you follow Lord Voldemort. We’ll spare your life but you will work for us. Find the Nymphrodite and we’ll take care of the rest, perhaps even give you an Iranna.” Bellatrix said.

“They die after the first!” The Incubus answered.

“Not if I have anything to say about it. I am pretty sure we can come up with something to prolong his life.” She produced a vial. “He’ll produce more than one before he dies.”

Lucius laughed wickedly, “Perfect! I haven’t had good sex for a long time.” The whole dungeon was now filled with their evil laugh.

Draco went upstairs slowly and headed for the book room where banned books were kept. He searched for information on the new words he heard and found a book entitled CURSE OF THE IRANNA that had all of them and more. He felt pity for whoever the Nymphrodite was after reading a few of the accounts. Then he shrugs his shoulders and thanked the fates that it wasn’t him.

***

Spring was just the same as the last one he had and though he was now enjoying himself tormenting Harry and his friends being the right hand of Professor Umbridge, back home Lucius was even more intolerable with his cruelty always forcing him to do something that he was not yet capable of and punishing him when he failed. He takes out his frustration on Harry – the most logical thing for him to do.

One weekend while in the forbidden tower he overhears a strange conversation downstairs. Peter Petigrew was telling him that he has found the Nymphrodite. Draco remembered the book he read about these Nymphrodites and he immediately went downstairs and secretly listened to them.

“You wouldn’t believe who it is!” Peter said.

“Who is it?” Lucius demanded.

“What is all this chatter, the Dark Lord is resting.” Bellatrix said.

“It’s Potter!” Peter announced.

Draco was stunned. Did he hear it right; Harry Potter was a Nymphrodite?

“Are you sure?’ Lucius asked.

“Potter? What about him?” Bellatrix asked.

“Harry Potter is a Nymphrodite! He and Arthur’s youngest were married today! Uriel did it!” Peter said excitedly.

Draco now recounted the many ways a Nymphrodite was tortured for the gift that they carried – the Iranna. He suddenly felt afraid for Harry; though he hated him Draco felt that Harry did not deserve the torture a Nymphrodite undergoes. He was too young.

“Incredible! Let’s tell the Dark Lord.” Bellatrix said and then disappeared to the chambers where Voldemort was.

Draco ran back to the tower. His mind was racing faster than his heart. Something was telling him its just Harry that he shouldn’t worry so much if they rape him and torture him. But the images from the book kept popping into his mind and now he sees Harry’s face in them. He tries to shake it off but it was no use, they were etched in his mind.

Then another thought came to him - Harry had married Ron. Ron knows what Harry was – half man, half woman, able to carry a child. Unbidden, profane thoughts began entering his mind; suddenly Harry looked different to him, appealing, desirable. He shakes his head in disbelief – this was Harry Potter he was fantasizing about. He chuckled to himself but deep inside he knew he would never look at Harry the same way again.

***

“We have a job for you.” Lucius said. Draco was summoned to join them. The Death Eaters were now planning on how to best capture Harry and Draco was going to play a vital part. “We need to get Harry away from Hogwarts, away from Dumbledore’s roving eye.”

“You will lead him to a place in Hogsmeade and we will take it from there.” Bellatrix said.

“When?” Draco said.

“Tomorrow. I think that is a simple enough plan for you to follow, Draco. Don’t fail.” Lucius said, every word dripping with disdain.

But Draco did fail, and as Lucius returned him to the Forbidden tower, he was punished severely.

“CRUCIO!” Cried Lucius “Failure is not an option! You had one simple task! How dare you embarrass me in front of the Dark Lord!”

“No more!” Draco pleaded.

“CRUCIO!” Draco writhed in pain. He couldn’t scream anymore for blood was blocking his airway – he was now choking from it.

Lucius left him there nearly dying. When Draco gained consciousness it was nighttime the next day, he felt sore and cold and the taste of blood was still in his mouth. His disgust with his father has grown to extreme hatred and deep within him, though he was also mortally afraid of him, a desire to kill Lucius began to grow.

***
He was running now, running for his life. Running away again hopefully this time for good. He failed miserably at the train station, the final task he was assigned after his father and the Death Eaters were captured. It was his mother who told Lucius about what had happened, how he was defeated by a group of DA members who defended Harry. Lucius was able to escape Azkaban along with the other Death Eaters and though he was now in hiding he still managed to find Draco in their Mansion and was prepared to end his pathetic life.

Every now and then a green light would streak across the forest and Draco would dodge it missing it only by several feet. He kept running and the only refuge he could think of was Hogwarts. It was the beginning of August there’ll be no students there yet. He could beg for mercy, convince Dumbledore that he has turned a new leaf. He would help them save Harry, save him from the evil that lay ahead for he knew them all. If he could only reach the borders there was hope of survival. Lucius would not dare follow. He was a felon now and the Ministry of Magic will have his head if he dared crossing the borders.

There it was just within his reach. A few more steps and he’ll be free. Another streak of green light nearly hit him. Then it stopped. He was beyond the borders no one follows him now but he was not out of the woods yet, he needed to get to Hogwarts and since no train leaves platform 9 and ¾ before September, the only other place he could think of was the Leaky Cauldron. He ran for hours not daring to stop, not even to think. He didn’t have any muggle money on him so riding public transport was not an option. Finally, unable to run further he hitched a ride on a passing truck headed straight for the public market right across the Leaky Cauldron. It was filled with vegetables and he was given a place at the back along with two more porters. The ride went on for hours until at last the truck stopped and Draco realized he had dozed off. Alarmed he stood hastily hitting his head on the board that held the onions.

“Fucking shit!” He cried. The two porters laughed at him. He looked at them angrily but decided to let it pass. He then got off the truck and went straight inside the Leaky Cauldron leaving the two porters and the driver wondering where he’d gone.

Once inside, Draco went straight to the entrance to Diagon Alley and sent an owl to Professor Snape begging him to come to the Leaky Cauldron. Then he waited. The only money he was able to escape with was enough to buy him one round of butterbeer and that was it. Luckily he didn’t have to wait long for Professor Snape who arrived within an hour. Though he always showed favor towards Draco during classes he did not appreciate this ‘summoning’ at all.

“This better be worth my time, Malfoy.” He said.

Draco jumped in fright, “Professor Snape!”

“You look all weathered up, problems at home?” Professor Snape said.

“I know about Harry.” Draco said.

“What about Potter?” Professor Snape raised his eyebrows.

“I know he’s a Nymphrodite.” Draco said – there was no sense beating around the bush. He figured if he was to get help he should at least come clean. “They wanted me to help them capture him, but I failed and now they want to kill me!”

Severus’s face changed. “What?”

“They are after him! You have to believe me!” Draco said.

Severus held him tightly by the arms. “How? How did they find out?”

“They got married.” Draco said.

“Who? Draco stop talking in phrases, it’s driving me mad! Who got married?”

Severus was clearly alarmed and Draco realized he knew. Draco spoke slowly, “Harry and Ron Weasley. They got married last May. The priest who did the wedding was an Incubus named Uriel.” Draco said. “He was captured by my father and forced him to work for them. They are coming for Harry.”

The silence that followed was deafening. Draco saw Professor Snape close his eyes tightly and mutter something to himself, this was unnerving since Draco has never seen him act this way before – unsure, and mortally afraid.

“Have you told anyone? Have you mentioned to anyone that Harry is a Nymphrodite?” Professor Snape asked.

“Only you.” Draco said.

“Good.” Professor Snape said. The he made for the door.

Wondering if he should follow Draco called out to him. “Professor, I have nowhere else to go.”

Professor Snape turned around slowly and analyzed this young man before him. “You understand that I am, and always have been working for Professor Dumbledore. You come with me and seek the refuge of the castle you have to pledge your allegiance to the Headmaster.”

Draco bowed his head. “My father wishes to kill me. The castle is the only safe place now. I will pledge allegiance to Professor Dumbledore.”

“And those who he protects.” Professor Snape said.

“I will try to get along with Potter.” Draco said.

“Well, seeing as this is not for me to decide, I can only accommodate you till Professor Dumbledore decides your fate. You can tag along and stay in my quarters. I will speak to the headmaster. Only then shall we know.” Professor Snape said.

Draco felt relieved, at least for the night, he could sleep in safety. And so they both went out of the Leaky Cauldron and ‘flooed’ themselves back to Hogwarts. After taking him to the sleeping quarters where he’ll stay until Professor Dumbledore decides where to put him, Severus immediately set out to inform the Headmaster that the Death Eaters know about Harry and they are coming for him.