Dark Times for Draco Malfoy

Luna Lovegood.
Her blond long unruly hair was a halo of pale moonlight. The white nightgown she wore was billowing softly in the cold air, and in the right light one could see the outline of her female curves. A moon goddess in the night, walking on frozen snow which sparkled with the illusion of a billion diamonds. Luna lovegood shivered uncontrollably. It was cold and she could no longer feel her feet. This was not sleepwalking. She was on the other side of the roofed bridge now, and her feet walked stiffly down towards the river bank. Her anxiety rose as she realised where she was heading. Tears on her cheeks, she glanced upwards just in time to see a figure come running across the bridge. It stopped, directed its wand at her and called: «Finite Incatatem!» She knew that voice. It was a man's voice. She could move her arms again, but slipped on an icy rock and fell into the water. She shrieked and gasped at the sudden shock, flailing and shivering violently. She didn't hear the Stupefy spell, but felt the impact hit her back, and it hurled her into the midst of the river. The strong currents immediately seized her and she felt her entire body freeze up. It was painfull to move, and she quickly realised that she was floating past the point of salvation. The river bank by the foot of the bridge ended abruptly in large, unclimbable rocks before the river floated past Hagrid's cottage and then into the dark woods beyond. She screamed. Somewhere above her, at the base of the bridge, flared a bright yellow light and someone shouted in pain. The noise of the water was ear-deafening. Luna screamed for her life. She saw a slender figure draped in dark clothes come running into the water. The rocks approached fast, but she could no longer move. She saw the hands reaching out for her, but she couldn't reach back! Looking up, she saw the blond hair first, a halo around his narrow chin and chiselled features. Then she saw Draco's face for a brief second before it all blurred and an immense pain flared up in her chest. Everything faded to black, and the last thing she felt, was Draco's strong fingers which grasped her left wrist.


Rubeus Hagrid had been feeling a little peckish, so he'd decided to have himself a midnight snack before going to bed. He'd just cleared away the remains (which basically was to feed Fang the leftovers on the floor). Harry, Ronald and Hermione was getting ready to go back to Hogwarts' dorms, and Ronald hurriedly downed the last of his mead. Rubeus stood as he heard someone shout his name outside, calling for help.

«I know that voice» Harry said, «it's Malfoy!» Hagrid walked over to the door and thrust it open. He remained still for a moment, in shock, before he leapt down the steps to the snow-covered ground. Harry, Ron and Hermione rushed to the door opening to see, now that Hagrid was no longer blocking their view.

«Speak of the devil!» Ron muttered under his breath. Some fifty metres from Hagrid's house lay Malfoy and another person. The white-blond had collapsed for some unknown reason, and the trio watched as Hagrid took one student under each arm and carried them into his house.

«Blimey, it's Luna!» Ron exclaimed, «what's she doing with Malfoy?!»

«They're both soaked and icy cold! Hagrid, this is not good!» Harry exclaimed. They heard Draco wince as he was put down next to Luna in Hagrid's bed. Fang was promptly told to go away as he was trying to get into the bed also, thinking it was nappy time.

«Hagrid, Hagrid...!» Draco slurred, «help her, Hagrid. Is she dead?»

«'elp yerself is more like it, ye're in no better condition tha' little miss Luna 'ere!» Hagrid said, «now she's alive! Off with them wet clothes and into bed with ye!» Hagrid mothered the boy and the girl. Luna was in no condition to do anything for herself, so Hermione helped her, while Hagrid began to strip down Draco. Draco was by far more conscious, and he struggled weakly against Hagrid's timid attempt at undressing him. «Come now, Draco, ye'll catch yer death if ye don't get them freezin cold clothes off!»

«No!» Draco breathlessly protested, «please, don't hurt me, please! Let me go! Please» Draco mumbled. Hagrid disentagled the boy from his jacket, and his sweaters. Beads of shimmering ice clung to platinum strands of hair, and Hagrid gently ruffled them away. He then preceeded to undo Malfoy's pants, but the boy clawed and pushed at his big rough hands. Draco's nose was bleeding from the effort of dragging Luna out of the river and he shivered uncontrolably. He ached all over and his arms were numb from cold and from fatigue, yet he persisted to weakly struggle. Hagrid didn't care that he accidentally dragged down Draco's boxers as well. The half giant had in all a very relaxed relationship to nudity when it came to special cases like students half frozen to death.

«Please» Draco mumbled again, «please don't rape me, please!» he whimpered while Hagrid half guided, half forced him into bed. Hermione had heard every word, and now she stood and watched Draco with a frown as the boy settled in. Draco was tired, pale with a hint of blue complexion, and his eyebrows was drawn up in a plea, expressing fear and vulnerability. «I only wanted to help her, I promise» Draco babbled on as if he thought Hagrid was someone else, «it was St – Sturd and Heiny. They put her under the Imperus curse, I swear. Please, please...., I wouldn't hurt her, not Luna...! Not Luna...!» Draco trailed off as his eyelids grew heavy. He closed his eyes repeatedly, and they stayed closed longer for each time until he failed to open them. His breath grew steady and deep, and a shade of colour slowly returned to his cheeks. Hermione looked at Hagrid and said: «Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say what I thought he said?»

«Abou' Sturd and Heiny? Last year students, right?»

«Yes, but, not that. The thing he said first. Did he just say 'please don't rape me'? What an odd thing to say!» She glanced at Harry and Ron.

«i agree. It's completely out of character for Malfoy to be saying a thing like that. Bu we need to find Sturd and Tiny Heiny. And Dumbledore must be informed. This is serious. It's attempted murder. Thank God Malfoy was there. What was he doing there anyway?» Harry said, producing his wand. It was meant as a rhetorical question, but it was sure as heck a damn good one, Hermione thought to herself.

«He could have been a part of it, you know Malfoy! It would be so typically him, being a Slytherin and all...!» she heard Ron say as the boys left through Hagrid's front door. They disappeared out into the freezing night, the tips of their wands lighting the way as they backtracked Malfoy's snowy footprints. He'd arrived at Hagrid's place with only one shoe. The other one was nowhere to be seen. Hermione glanced down at the two sleeping students. The blond hair made them look almost like siblings. She sighed. For a moment she imagined them to be lovers. It was technically possible. A Slytherin and a Ravenclaw. Not the worst of combinations. But as personalities put together, they wouldn't last a day. That was, of course, unless one of them changed. Now, Hermione couldn't wrap her head around what was going on with Draco. There was something which clearly upset him, but she couldn't see the missing part of the puzzle. Not that she'd ever made an actual effort to get to know Draco. He had always been a bully, a self-sentered sadist and a slithering repulsive snake. It wasn't until he'd asked politely if he could kiss her under the mistletoe at the students' Christmas Party, that she'd realised he'd grown into something else. Or that he was in some kind of process. Draco had been acting funny all year, brooding over something in class, not paying attention, not kissing up to Snape, not bullying or teasing anyone like he used to. He'd kept to himself, and he'd looked so sad he unconsciously had made every girl in his classes swoon over him.

«I'll owl for Dumbledore» Hagrid said, shaking her from her train of thoughts. She nodded, starting to pick up wet clothes which Hagrid had tossed about. Picking up Draco Malfoy's trousers was awkward. It enlightened something in her which she hardly dared to confess to herself what was. She was holding a really personal item of his which he wore around his most intimate parts! She shook her head at herself. She put the clothes out on various pieces of furniture and took out her wand. She cast a drying spell, and the clothes immediately went back to their original dry state, smelling vaguely of fabric softener. She folded Draco's clothes as if they were her own, still feeling strange inside. It was his stuff, like she was learning something new about him, what he liked to wear and how he wore it. Draco always looked posh, even in his school uniform. She didn't know if she wanted to get to know him this intimately. By folding his pants, the size of the waistline ignited a knowledge about his waist, about his skin and she imagined quite involuntarily how it was to be draped around those hips, to feel his body move beneath her touch, uh, fabric. The fabric. Not her. She felt herself blush. She folded the pants and put them nicely next to the sweater. Hermione craved a distraction which would push the embarrassing feelings away. Thank God Draco was asleep so he didn't see her in this state, all swooney and lovesick. Seriously, she was no better than those twittering juvenile Gryffindor girls who attended Potions class now solely to watch Draco Malfoy comb his slender fingers through his platinum hair! Knowing she'd just stooped to their level made her angry at herself.

«Tha's done then. Emergency owl on it's way. Well, this turned out to be an interesting evening. Sure hope Harry and Ron find them boys. Wha' a nasty thing to be doin' to a lovely lass like Ms. Lovegood!» Hagrid said, «do ye fancy another cup o' tea while we wait?»

«Yes please, Hagrid, that sound wonderful» Hermione said. She went to sit next to him by the fire. Occassionaly, she tossed a glance into the other room where Draco and Luna was asleep, oblivious to all other things. Hagrid had wrapped many a pelt over the sleeping blanket, and he put more logs onto the fire. Good and caring old Hagrid, Hermione thought, smiling at him. He had the biggest of hearts.

Draco had disturbing dreams. He was running, keeping up with Melchior as best as he could through the dark woods. Despite his large, feathered wings, the eudaimon had no trouble avoiding the heavy vegetation. The sharp twigs and the thorns didn't seem to hurt Draco either, and as he ran he remembered how it had felt after his very first encounter with Melchior. There was a noise, a brush of wings, and Melchior was suddenly gone. Draco stopped and gazed about, trying to catch his breath. He came to a halt. On his guard, he saw Sturd and Tiny some fifty metres ahead, shrouded by trees. They were discussing, both clearly in a state of panic. Suddenly, Melchior stood in their midst, and the eudaimon lashed out at Tiny Heiny, grabbing him by the throat and throwing him against a tree. Heiny fell limp to the ground, unconsious. Swirling around, Melchior slapped the wand out of Sturd the Turd's hand. Roots exploded from the ground. They came alive and twined themselves around Sturd's feet, quickly winding themselves up along his thighs, then pulling him to the ground. Tiny was coming round, and Melchior walked over to him and picked him up by the neck. He screamed and kicked to get loose. Melchior lunged at him, burying his claw-like fingers deep into Tiny's mid-section. Blood and entrails gushed out as the flesh caved in, and Tiny screamed. Pulling the last year student's neck violently to one side, Melchior bared his fangs and buried his teeth deep in the pulsating vein.

Draco hid behind a tree as he witnessed the bloody event, praying the eudaimon didn't see him. He felt sick to watch the bloody mess, and somehow he knew that this wasn't just a dream. It was happening for real and he was meant to see it. Tiny went limp, and Melchior released the near dead body from his grip. Tiny fell together like a ragdoll at the foot of the tree. Sturd had been busy screaming as he also bore witness to the mayhem, and as Melchior turned to face him, Sturd fell silent, whimpering, wetting his own pants in fear. Melchior grinned at the fat boy who pleaded for his life. His teeth and mouth was covered in fresh red blood, and it poured out of his mouth and down his chin as he displayed his fangs. He had the looks of a vicious killer; A hunter who had cornered its prey, and the malevolent face was the last taunt of the victim. Sturd screamed; His face going red from the exertion. Again, Melchior dug his fist into his victim's belly, and Sturd screamed like a bleeding pig. Extracting his arm forcefully, Melchior held a fistful of entrails. Grinning maliciously again, he continued to pull, enjoying the fear and pain on Sturd's face as he saw his intestines on the outside of his body. Draco knew it was Sturd's moment of insanity. He could see it in the boy's face, in his eyes. The moment of Insanity, before the kill.

«Please! Pleashe, k-kill m-me! Pl-pl-please, stop! K-kh-kill me!» Draco heard Sturd cry. So that's how it was done. Shocked, Draco stumbled backwards. He fell over a root, and continued to backwards. He needed to get away. He didn't want to see anymore. He turned his head one more time before he wanted to run from there, turning his back on it all. Melchior was staring directly at him, smiling through the blood smeared over half his face. This was another side of the eudaimon, Draco knew. It would be the last he'd ever see.

He awoke to the voices of Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Potter, Hagrid, Ron and Hermione. Luna was looking at him while she sipped at a cup of hot tea. She looked incredibly beautiful with roses in her otherwise bluish cheeks. A pale winter queen. She smiled at him, and it warmed him right to his marrow. He wanted to do nothing else. He didn't want to turn his head and face the people he knew waited there.

«I would have been dead had you not helped me» she said to him. Draco felt himself blush, still feeling upset about what he'd just dreamt. I didn't find you at once, though. I'm really sorry it had to go that far, but I thought they had to be joking, they couldn't possibly be wanting to go through with that sick joke to take you down to the river. I searched Hogwarts for two hours! I saw no other option but to go to the river and blimey, there you were. Not sleep-walking at all, I might add.»

«I was. But then I wasn't» Luna simply replied, thinking everybody understood what she meant. He finally had to do it. It couldn't be postponed any longer, especially with the uncomfortable silence which suddenly settled in. Turning his head, he glanced up at the bystanders with his head bowed meekly. He became very conscious about being absolutely naked beneath the furs, and he felt an anxiety attack on the move. He feared they'd rape him. It was Hagrid's height and bulkiness which was unsettling, for out of the corner of Draco's eye, Draco saw Melchior instead of Hagrid. Dumbledore entered and he came to sit at the end of the large bed which Draco shared with Luna. All sorts of thoughts was running through the blond' mind. He felt tired, exposed and vulnerable. He just wanted to go back to his dorm and pretend none of this ever happened.

«Hello again Draco» Dumbledore spoke softly. He had a faint smile on his lips, and his brows wore a concerned expression. «It seems you've had another rough night again, Draco. Luna here's been telling us all about it. You're quite the hero. Without you, Luna would in deed have drowned.»

«I – I should have gotten there sooner. So she wouldn't have to go into the freezing water...!» Draco added.

«What's done is done and what we did or didn't do is of no matter. But Harry and Ron are unable to find Goleiny and Sturd. Do you know where they went?»

Draco simply shook his head, before he said: «Just...into the woods. I deflected Heiny's Fiendfyre curse. Then they both took off.»

«Very well. They must be found and brought to justice. Now, Merlin knows you both need to rest after this exasperating evening. I recommend you both stay here for the remainder of the night. Tell me one thing though, how did you know they were after Ms. Lovegood?»

«On New Year's Eve they bragged about how they were going to mislead her while she was sleep-walking. I thought it was meant as a prank until Heiny started talking about leading her out into the river. Then he and Sturd began discussing how they were going to get her there.»

«Did they say why they were going to do such a thing?»

Draco shook his head in afterthought. «Nothing other than because they wanted to make fun of her. To teach her a lesson about sleepwalking.»

«Well, prank or no prank, this is a very serious offence. They intentionally cursed her with the Imperius curse. One of the Unforgivable curses. You've done well, Draco. You did very well. I hope this doesn't afflict your...personal situation?» Dumbledore asked him. The question lingered unanswered in the air for a moment, before Draco said: «I don't think so.» The strange question made Hermione and Harry frown as they understood there was something secret between headmaster and student. A secret. As if Draco had suddenly taken to like Dumbledore! That had never happened before.

«Tell me something, Draco» Harry suddenly asked. «How did you deflect that Fiendfyre curse? It's highly advanced. I've only seen Dumbledore do it and he's got ages of experience to rely on.»

«I – I don't know..., I guess it was instinct. Or luck.»

«It's not instinct, nor is it luck, it's a specific counter-curse. And why would Sturd and Tiny run into the woods when they could have run up-hill towards Hogsmeade?»

Draco fell silent. He felt panic's eerie hand slowly close around his lungs, squeezing ever so slightly. «I..., they just did» was all he managed to respond. He didn't want to look at them. The unspoken accusations remained hanging in the air.

«Deflecting Fiendfyre is possible for those who possess the talent, and I believe that Mr. Malfoy is one of those talented ones» Dumbledore slowly said, gazing down at Draco. Harry had to know that Dumbledore was protecting him.

Harry, Hermione and Ron left shortly after together with Dumbledore. Draco had a big knot of insecurity festering in his belly. What if Dumbledore decided to tell Potter about Draco's relation with the eudaimon? If Potter hadn't turned on Draco before, he surely would do it then. He lay down on his back again and pulled the heap of blanket and pelts over his torso again. Luna was breathing steadily. Her eyes were closed, and Draco turned on his side to face her. He closed his eyes and listened to her steady breathing. It was a great comfort to have her so close. She was a someone. Draco feared tomorrow. Tomorrow, Luna would be telling everybody about what happened. Tomorrow, people would start asking questions. They wouldn't understand what Draco barely understood himself. It was as if he'd been someone else fighting those Slytherins by the foot of the bridge. He'd felt invincible, and he'd known exactley what to do. Negating a Fiendfyre? Who was he kidding? Certainly not the glorious Gryffindor trio, that's for sure! Pulling Luna Lovegood out of the icy river? Yes, he did it. Or rather, someone else did it through him. A foreign force had driven him, steadied his hand and enabled him to go with the flow, to follow the river within. He hadn't felt the cold until he'd gotten clear out of the water with Luna in his arms. He hadn't felt how heavy she was or how fatigued he'd been before the force let go off him just as he'd made it to Hagrid's shack. It was like being struck with an Imperius curse, only it was something much stronger. And all the time, he'd been driven by a desire to do good, to bring Luna to safety no matter what it cost him. He wanted redemption for his sins. He wanted it badly. Lying there next to Luna, he slowly drifted away into sleep. He felt her reach out with her hands, wrapping her cold, pale slender fingers around his. He put his left hand on top of hers, and in his half sleep, Draco smiled. Redemption at last. This was his reward. A moment's worth of chaste intimacy. Holding hands, having no other desire but to make the moment last.

Madam Pomfrey brought clothes for Luna to wear, the next day. She escorted the blond boy and girl back to Hogwarts castle, but Draco didn't leave before he'd thanked Hagrid properly for the help. They'd shaken hands.


Redemption.
What a funny word. How fast it can be found when you least expect it. Or how quick it is to elude those who've dreamt for it for years. He'd slept superbly for the first night in months. Draco was back in class first thing that day. He was weary from yesterday's exploitations, yet he drove himself forward and onwards like he had when Luna had been lifeless in his arms. Within, he carried an unspoken hope of redemption, hoping that through hard work at school and by staying on the same narrow path of the Gryffindors, the eudaimon would somehow notice his efforts and exonerate him. A slim hope in deed. And this day, as all previous days, he walked with his head bowed down, afraid to be noticed. Fear wrestled with courage inside his beating heart. He wanted to do so much. He wanted to make it and become somebody. But to be stigmatized as the target of an eudaimon, thinking that everybody automatically knew what the eudaimon put him through at night, kept him shackled. Only in extreme situations where other people's lives depended on him doing the right thing, did he abandon all pretences and jump to the rescue. It wasn't like him, Draco knew. Only a year ago, he'd rather stand by some place hidden and just watch, eaiting for some stupid mophead to be the hero. Yesterday, Draco had become the mophead. It felt weird. And to put the icing on the weirdness he felt, girls everywhere now stuck their heads together, giggling and whispering as he walked by. It couldn't be good. What was even worse was that students he didn't even know existed suddenly nodded at him when they walked past him in the corridors, telling him 'good job'. The Slytherins were somewhat more reserved. They proved more of a challenge as they seemed to expect him to do something, or to explain himself. He avoided them. He knew more trouble awaited. And it had a name today. It's name was Harry Potter. The moment Draco stepped through the door to Potions class, he felt Harry's eyes on him. And Ron's. And Hermione's . And the eyes of every other fellow student. Draco felt mortified. He felt like a whore who'd just gotten back from a ride with a customer, and now the customer's hand prints were all over. Draco winced at the unwanted attention. He felt as if he was being punished. Half the class (Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs) were punishing him for not being honest and telling the truth. The other half, which were Slytherins and Ravenclaws, scolded him for being a meddlesome, heroic know-it-all who'd decided to go and pretend he was something other than a true Slytherin. A traitor. No matter what Draco did, it got him into trouble.

That was why at 9.15 - fifteen minutes late - standing in Slughorn's potion class, Draco didn't quite know which table to go to. He was unwanted no matter where he turned. At least, that's how he felt. He tightened his grip around his cauldron, grit his teeth and told Slughorn he was sorry for being late, and marched over to an empty desk. Unpacking his stuff and putting the cauldron in place, he proceeded to comb his fingers through his platinum hair in sheer frustration. Get a grip, Malfoy! He told himself. He could do this, he would do this and he wouldn't care about what they thought. Think about the eudaimon! All that matters is to please the eudaimon! Draco thought to himself angrily. He couldn't afford to lose his focus. His grades had improved beyond belief, these last months. Though his mother never wrote of it, he imagined her to be proud of him. As he worked through the steps of making the potion in question, Draco's mind wandered, and he hoped that perhaps graduating at the top of his class would be a modest comfort to the incarcerated Lucius who by now must have been told that his son wouldn't make it as a Death Eater. And there it was, another shameful note in the book: To have failed his father! Draco was a shame, a disgrace to the family. Here he was, chopping away at a sopophorus bean which hopped around on his desk. He was being abused and subdued – and of no help to his father at all. Draco was waiting for the day to come when Dumbledore would call him in and say that Draco had to be leaving because his family withdrew the boarding school fee. In his paranoia a few months back, Draco had gone to the Hogsmeade bank and withdrawn a large sum of his inheritance, fearing his parents would disown him as soon as they discovered he was tied on hands and feet by an eudaimon. It hadn't happened yet. But the day would come, and in the mean time, Draco was teaching himself how to spend as little money as possible. Seizing the hopping bean between his index finger and his thumb, he forced it to lie still while placing the broadside of the knife on top of it. He squeezed and the Sopophorus bean finally gave in. He glanced over to Harry Potter, catching him staring. Potter pretended to go back to studying his books. He did however, often scold Draco, thinking the blond wasn't noticing. But Draco saw. Oh yes. He could see the accusations literally taking shape inside Harry's mind. When the confrontation would come, it would come violently. Harry Potter was just waiting for an excuse to take down Draco Malfoy, wasn't he?


Divination class.
How Draco dreaded those lessons! He had quickly grown afraid of the future and what it could bring. He was tired of dark omens and black wings beating heavily in the air. Staring into the crystal balls, Draco had begun to see many, many things, and most of them induced fear. He sat down by an empty table, closed his eyes and swallowed hard. He had to be brave. Think about the eudaimon. Try harder and he might approve of you, Draco told himself. Maybe he'll let you stay sane just another day longer...!

Professor Trelawney, the forever whimsical and eccentric, cleared her voice and said: «Settle down children, settle down! Today we embark on a journey which will take us the beyond! Today, and three more classes ahead, we shall explore our bonds with the dead by speaking to them!» Upon hearing these news, Draco immediately thought of Sturd and Heiny and what he'd been forced to see in the woods. Draco buried his face in his hands, wishing himself far away. He listened absent-mindedly as Trelawney asked each student to produce an object of a deceased person they'd like to speak to. Suddenly, Harry Potter rose from his seat next to Ronald, and marched up to the podium next to Trelawney, She looked puzzled, but was instantly mesmerized by the wand which Potter produced. He presented it on the stand with a loud bang. Staring directly at Malfoy, he said: «I call Heiny Frances Goleiny.»

«Mr. Potter!» Trelawney objected, «this is not the proper method-»

« - Heiny, if you're out there and listening to me, please step forward and tell me what happened last night. If you don't feel like talking, then that's fine. Cause we've got Malfoy here, who I'm sure will help us clarify some rather woolly details concerning your whereabouts!» Potter was getting angrier by the minute as he spoke, staring at Draco all the time. By the end of his speech, Potter had developed a nice crimson blush to his face, basically growling to Draco. Ron was actually wincing, clearly embarrassed at Harry's outburst, but Draco was too intimidated to see. All his instincts told him to run. Draco fought to stay seated, grasping his seat with both hands as to counteract his own instinct. He said nothing, looking down on his feet. Afraid he'd spill the truth if he opened his mouth, Draco remained silent even though every eye was watching. He could see that Harry's fingers played around his inner pocket, itching to draw out his wand. In an effort to calm the situation, Trelawney picked up Heiny's wand and examined it. She sighed, and muttered: “I see great violence. Blood. Much blood. Great black wings. Ah, they are 'your' black wings, Mister Malfoy, remember, at the beginning of the year when you saw the great wings in your crystal ball? Yes, oh yes, he watches over you at all times...” Trelawney's voice trailed off. She frowned, then she cleared her voice and said: “Insanity and death!” She looked up at Draco, her eyes magnified ten times through her oversized glasses, “ah, you poor boy!” Sympathy plastered itself across her wrinkled features. Could it possibly get any worse?! Not realizing he'd risen, Draco slumped back down on his seat. Trelawney took a few steps towards him while she said with quivering voice: “Dead they both are, yes, I can hear them whisper faintly!” she gestured as if Heiny was shouting at her somewhere behind her big hair. “The tragedy, yes, but their blood are not on your hands, are they, mister Malfoy? No. No, they are on his” she said, her face speaking volumes as if she and Draco shared an enormous secret. And enormous it was.

“Who?! Who is it?!” Harry wanted to know. Draco could see that Harry thought he was getting close to the truth, close to nailing Draco as an accomplice.

Trelawney hesitated. Her fingers worked the wand up and down and she kept gazing at Draco as if she was considering an appropriate answer. The she finally said: “He who walks in the shadows, treading the paths in Hell. He who punishes the wicked-...!”

“ - and... and tortures their victims into insanity making them commit suicide” Draco sighed hard once he'd said it. “They are expert shape-shifters and natural wizards and cannot be removed by the means of Exorcism. At least, that's what it says in the book.” Draco shut his eyes hard in frustration. Harry Potter stood there as a live question mark. Draco decided he'd had it, gathered his books and left the spot where he'd been sitting. He hurried out of the room and down the winding stair, afraid Harry Potter would follow. He cursed silently as he heard Harry call his name from the top of the stair. Draco hurried a little more, anxious to get away. He stormed out into the hall, threw his books into a corner before he continued through to the courtyard. It couldn't be real, could it? Was it a dream or had it really happened? Glancing over his back, he saw that Harry Potter was gaining on him. Draco began to run. He ran down to the roofed bridge, and onto it, just like he had the night he saved Luna. He thought of her, with her platinum hair draped in a halo on the pillow of her sick-bed. She'd looked so beautiful, like an innocent princess. Draco ran directly into the dark woods where he saw the now deceased Slytherins escape into. Potter was still on his tail, so close now that Draco could hear him breathe.

“Draco! Stop!” he heard Potter shout. But Draco pressed on, dodging trees and twines. Over his shoulder he saw Potter advancing, and very shortly after, Potter's hands closed around Draco's robe, pulling at it to slow him down. Once close enough, Potter threw himself at Draco, locking him between his arms. Gryffindor and Slytherin tumbled to the ground, and just as he managed to turn onto his back, he was staring at the tip of Harry's wand. Harry pointed it at Malfoy's forehead, and said: “No tricks, Malfoy. Don't even think about getting your wand, or it will be the last thing you do!”
That sounded like a death threat, but Draco feared something far worse than death! Harry was straddling him. Draco had nowhere to go, and he was completely in Potter's power. Crumbling on the inside, Draco fought with a big lump in his throat. He tried to check himself, but to no avail. He couldn't hold back the sobs, and tears blurred his vision.

“Please” Draco begged, “please don't hurt me. Please, I beg you, don't rape me, please...!” Draco pleaded between sobs. Harry got off him. But his wand still pointed in Draco's way.

“I've no idea what's happened to you Draco. Frankly I don't care. Whatever it is you've got yourself entangled in, you deserve it! You're a worthless piece of first class shit, you've always been! You'd fit in nice and smug in with my foster family, the Dursleys! You've made great friends with Dudley boy!” Harry snarled, his gaze brimming with contempt. For a long moment, all that could be heard was Draco's sobbing. “You're going to show me where Heiny and Sturd the Bird are, right now! Get to your feet!”

Draco did as he was ordered. They began to walk further in, until Harry commented: “For someone who wasn't there, you sure seem to know the way pretty well. Hang about in these woods often, do you?”

Draco gave no reply. He was dreading the moment they'd come across the bodies. Coming upon the place he'd seen in his dreams, all that was left were signs of struggle. Harry looked around. They both did. Draco wiped the tears from his cheeks. The fading rays of the winter sun shrouded the forest in an eerie light, and fog simmered from the ground. Harry Potter suddenly twitched and gasped, looking shocked. Draco turned his head to see, and nearly fell over in terror.

A tattered and bloody, half torn to bits Heiny Frances Goleiny, was standing to Harry's left. Beneath Heiny's ribs was only a big, red gaping hole in his stomach. There was nothing there but shreds of flesh dangling. The organs were missing, and the white of the backbone was shining sickly through the crimson red gore. His legs were naked, messy, and covered in shreds of black cloth mixed with blood. Heiny was staring at Draco with blood-shed eyes. He opened his mouth to reveal blood-stained teeth: “You bloody whore!” Tiny the very dead Heiny hissed, “you're a dead man walking, Malfoy! I'll be waiting for you in Hell!” Reaching out for Draco, Heiny grinned viciously. Draco and Harry spun on their heels simultaneously and ran for it, though Draco didn't get far. He ran straight into someone big and black, and he screamed at the impact, trying to free himself from the hands which fastened around his upper arms. Looking up, he feared it would be Sturd. Harry came to an abrupt halt, and the size of his wide open eyes matched the size of his glasses for a second.

Draco felt his knees go weak in both relief and horror as he looked into the handsome face of Melchior. His legs buckled beneath him and he drifted down until he was on his knees. Turning his head, he saw Heiny the corpse still standing there.

“My soul!” Heiny cried, “give me back my soul!”

“If you think you'll be able to follow Draco back to Hogwarts, you're wrong, Goleiny! You're to forever wander these woods, and you'll never find your way back!” Melchior growled. He let go off Draco's arms only to seize his white-blond locks in his right fist instead. Expecting pain, Draco tensed, but the grip was strangely loose. He watched Melchior turn his attention to Harry, as he said: “Point your wand at my slave again and I'll make sure Voldemort will get a clear shot at you in a not too distant future, mister Potter!” Melchior snarled, his great black wings heaving, rising up in the air above his head.

“Harry! Please, run!” Draco exclaimed, his breath hitching. In the background, Heiny was still begging for his soul, but he was begging for deaf ears. Harry hesitated, obviously debating with himself whether or not he ought to let his noble Gryffindor out and try to help Malfoy.

“Please Harry, go now while you have the chance!” Draco begged, looking at the Gryffindor with pleading eyes. “Please, go!” He watched Harry begin to move backwards, obviously wary of the danger the winged creature represented. There was regret on his face, and it was the last Draco saw before Harry turned his back at them and ran as fast as he could. A whooshing sound swept past Draco, and the annoying begging of Heiny disappeared along with the apparition. It was just Draco and Melchior the eudaimon left in the winter twilight. Draco held his breath as he gazed up at Melchior, who was gazing down at him.

“You know what's going to happen now, don't you boy?” Melchior told him. Draco cried. He nevertheless nodded despite the fact that his head was immobilized because Melchior was still holding him fast by his hair. “I leave you alone for one minute, and I find you waist-deep in trouble when I return.”

“I-I had to help her! I couldn't let her drown! I couldn't let them go through with it!” Draco sobbed. “Please, forgive me! I, -she's been so nice to me, and I wanted to do something for her in return, -why, -why was that bad of me?! Why?! Was it wrong of me to sit down and have a beer with them?! If I hadn't I wouldn't have learned about Luna!!” Draco pleaded. He ended up shouting out her name, and it echoed through the desolate ghostly lit forest. Draco was desperate to explain himself, and the words kept stumbling out of his mouth for the first time in months. He almost began to hyperventilate out of sheer terror as Melchior came to kneel straight in front of Draco. Draco could feel the warmth from his body, and a part of him was expecting this intimacy, strangely enough. Dismissing the observation, Draco looked up at him with pleading grey eyes. “I- I've done my best at school! I haven't bothered anybody! I – I'm trying to be good! I want to change, I beg you, I want to change! I don't want to go insane...!” Draco sobbed, “I don't want to die...!” He felt the eudaimon's fingers on his chin, gently guiding it upwards. Complying, Draco tried to quiet his own sobs. He was trembling as he felt warm, soft lips connect to his own. It soothed his distress, yet a river within broke, flooding him with emotions. It was an unexpected sign of benevolence. Draco tried to relax his shoulders, bringing them down several inches below his ears.


Harry Potter had decided he couldn't return to Hogwarts just like that. He had to go back and see if there was anything he could do for Draco. When he was close enough to hear what was being said, he hid behind a fallen tree. He held his breath, listening to the unfamiliar words which poured out of Draco. Hearing the blond beg for mercy was unusual. He watched the stranger with the black wings seize Malfoy's wrists and force him to the ground. Malfoy was struggling weakly. The snow beneath them melted away to reveal a circle of green grass and moss.

“Unless you want a replay of Christmas Eve” the ethereal stranger said, “you better shut up and do what I bid”. Draco went silent, and Harry watched in disbelief as the blond grudgingly began to undo his pants. Feeling slightly embarrassed on Draco's behalf, he glanced at the strange couple as Malfoy took off his boxers. Draco was distraught, obviously fighting his tears. He spread his legs, and Harry watched the winged creature bend down over him, reaching in between his layers of clothes. Harry could very well imagine what it was. He watched Draco's face while the boy was mounted. It looked like it hurt, and he saw Malfoy hissing at what could only be pain. Breathlessly, Potter continued to watch as the winged creature began to move on top of Draco, and Harry needed no dictionary to understand what was happening. It was sickening to watch. Draco wasn't enjoying it at all, but it became quite obvious to Harry that Draco had done this before. Hence the pleas, Harry added to himself mentally. It was the reason why Draco had seemed distraught all year, and at Hagrid's the blond must have mistaken Hagrid for whatever the creature was. Draco had grown afraid of everyone, even Potter, thinking everybody would be out to get him. He could bare begin to imagine the horrors Draco had to face every day. And not to mention, how misunderstood Draco now was by everybody. Thinking he was still a hotshot Slytherin brat, no one saw his terror. Harry was considering to throw a Stupefy curse at the stranger, when he heard a twig snap behind him. Turning his head, Harry saw Ron and Hermione slink up to the fallen tree, taking position there on either side of him.

“What is that thing?!” Ron wailed quietly, watching as the eudaimon got off Malfoy, putting his clothing back in order. Frowning, Ron watched as Draco quickly closed his legs again and hid his naked flesh beneath his robe.

“Your efforts haven't gone unnoticed, Malfoy” the winged stranger spoke softly. Draco didn't respond. He was staring into the ground, brimming with shame and despair.

“Why did you have to go and kill Heiny and Sturd? Now, everybody thinks I helped them in trying to kill Luna! There is no one who believes me! They think I helped them get away!” Draco wailed, ignoring Melchior's initial comment.

“Hm, yes, tricky situation, that one. I noticed you had a hard time explaining away the sudden knowledge about blocking that pathetic excuse for a Fiendyre he hurled at you. Honestly though, they did deserve to die.”

“Not like that!” Draco exclaimed, “they should have been brought to justice! For Luna's sake.”

“But my dear dragon, they 'have' been brought to justice. Can you think of anything worse than to be lost for all eternity, wandering through the thicket of a scary forest and never find your way out?! A brilliant punishment which fits the crime, don't you think?”

“I wish you had....!” Draco began to retort, but his voice trailed off as he realized what he was saying.

“You now wish that I had ripped your entrails as well and fed on your blood, is that it? You envy them the prerogative to die. Instead you're made to linger, to be terrorized, raped and threatened every single day!” the eudaimon gloated at him. “If you wanted to die, I don't see why you didn't just let yourself float by in the river along with that precious lass of yours!” To this Draco didn't reply. The answer was evident. He didn't have the guts to finish it off himself.

“It's an eudaimon!” Hermione whispered.

“A what?” Harry replied back. Hermione didn't reply as they watched the stranger disappear into thin air, leaving Draco alone on the patch of green grass. Draco put on his clothes again while he wiped away his tears. He then proceeded to make his way back to Hogwarts, looking sad and brooding.

Once he was out of sight, Hermione, Ron and Harry came out of hiding, following him at a safe distance.

“Come on, Hermione, talk to us, what was that thing?!” Harry wanted to know.

“An eudaimon! There are two sorts of demons: Your regular demon who possesses people, and eudaimons. The eudaimons are also known as Good Demons, for they target only the wicked, the murderers and so on. People who actually are guilty of great crimes against humanity. The regular demons usually possess innocent people and take over their bodies, feeding on their souls. Eudaimons target a victim whom they torture into insanity. When the victim cannot take it any more, they snap and commit suicide, and the eudaimon moves on to his next target.”

“Crimes against humanity? Bloody hell. What do you suppose Draco did, except for being a total git, that is?”

“I think he's a Death Eater” Harry blurted out.

“A Death Eater? Draco Malfoy? Honestly, Harry! My theory is that since eudaimons believe in hereditary sin, it's likely that Draco is paying for someone else's sins.”

“Lucius Malfoy's?” Harry suggested.

“Possibly. The question is, do we tell Draco that we saw him with the eudaimon?”

“Yeah it'll work nicely as point for a future blackmail. Come on, it's Draco we're talking about. The git probably deserves it.” Ron said, half serious. It made Harry stop, holding Ron back.

“You know, I told Draco that, back in the woods! I said that whatever he'd gotten himself entangled in, he deserved it. But that was before I saw that thing rape him. That was before you guys showed up. And I can tell you, that what he had to undergo back there, wasn't pretty.”

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks. She looked disbelievingly at Harry. “Draco was raped? Actually raped?! Oh God how terrible!” She turned and looked at Ron, then back at Harry again. “This must have been going on for some time. Remember his outburst at Hagrid's? How frightened he looked? And how strangely he's been behaving?”

“Yeah, he's been way too nice to us lately” Ron added. The comment did not lift the mood as planned.

“It must be how he's tortured” she said. Guilt overcame her and she sat down on a rock, contemplating Draco's fate. “He must know he's going to die soon. It's the only explanation for his changed behaviour.” Hermione said with sympathy in her voice. “Like a death sentence with no possibility for a pardon. Or a terminal disease.” She got up and they trudged off towards Hogwarts again.

“Is there like, no way to expel the, uh, eudaimon?” Ronald wanted to know.

“He said so in Divination class, right?” Harry reminded Ron, “that they cannot be removed by the means of exorcism.”

“It's because they work externally and are integrated with a body from birth. Even if Draco succeeded in slaying the eudaimon's body, the eudaimon's soul would linger and just wait around to be reborn.”

“Bloody hell” was all Ron could think of replying. He actually sympathized with Draco for once, but he couldn't deny the fact that it felt just a little good to know that Draco Malfoy suffered.