War for Peace

9

Draco couldn't think, panic spread throughout his body as he saw his dad. Harry reached for his wand. Dyanna didn't reach for her's at all. Her fear evident as Lucius strode into the room. He looked rather tired. He walked with a slight limp and Harry could tell from the care of his robes that he'd been on the run.

"Please, lower your wand Mr. Potter. I assure you, if it was my goal to attack you, I'd have done it already." Lucius words were smooth and soft, devoid of particular emotion. Harry realized that Draco's father's logic was true and lowered his wand. "Good," He smirked just like Harry had seen Draco do a hundred times. "Now," He motioned behind Harry with his hand. "Draco, stand up please." Harry turned and watched Draco rise limply to his feet. "I am disappointed son, we have discussed how important it is to move in secret. I do not care that you brought companions with you, but you were very sloppy in covering your movement." Draco didn't look up, he just stared at his feet. "You had better grow up, all of you." Lucius looked at all of them.

Harry felt very upset by Draco's seemed weakness in front of his father. He couldn't help the stabs of pity he felt for his rival. He wanted to say something to Draco, but he couldn't think of anything useful.

"Potter, come with me, I need to speak to you in private." Lucius Malfoy spoke in an even and icy tone. Harry followed him to another room, hand gripped tightly on his wand, now realizing that Lucius had the locket swinging from his left hand as they approached and empty room. Harry didn't take in any of his surroundings this time as he kept his eyes completely focused on Draco's father, making sure he would not be surprised if the man had changed his mind.

"I assume you know what this is?" Lucius finally said, holding up the locket.

"I do," Harry nodded, but how is it that you came into possesion of it Mr. Malfoy?" Harry asked calmly. He found his eyes deepily fixated on the object that he and dumbledore had pursued months back and discovered to be fake. He felt a stab of pain as he remembered the tower again, he had lost dumbledore, his only guide.

"Ah, now that is a story indeed, but to make it short, I will say that Regulas Black left it in my care." Lucius raised an eyebrow at Harry's confused expression. "Potter, if I told you something, you must promise to not tell my son, not now atleast." Harry's expression changed to confusion mixed with surprise.

"I promise." Harry said, suddenly aware of how childish he seemed to sound in front of Lucius Malfoy.

"You see Potter, shortly after my son was born, I knew I had made a terrible mistake." Lucius breathed out and Harry could tell from his body language that he was being honest. "The Dark Lord was gone, but I knew that it was not for good." Harry watched the man's eyes travel the room as if searching for the most important memory. "Regulas had told me of the Dark Lord's secret, he brought me the locket and then disappeared a week later." He looked at Harry. "You know what that secret was?" Lucius asked.

"The horcruxes." Harry said sharply.

"Percisely, well, you can imagine, knowing what I knew and having a horcrux in my possesion, it wasn't an easy task to try and rid myself of them without causing myself undue trouble." Harry looked at Lucius as the man squeezed the locket in his hand. "When I'd guessed what the Journal was. I tried to rid myself of it. Draco was too vunerable, I was afraid he might be able to be possesed by it. So I did the only thing I knew I could do that might rid me of it-"

"You meant it to be detected by Dumbledore." Harry said, realization crossing his features.

"Precisely." Lucius said with a slight smirk. "I was disheartened to learn that my plan had not worked however. I almost took Draco from school that year. The consequences of my actions were...regretable." He said with a slight sigh.

"Regretable? Ginny nearly died you-"

"Yes, yes, I am aware of it all." Lucius said. "Well, after the events that happened that year and your amazing resourcefullness," He seemed to shiver in disgust at his own words. "My goal had been achieved. However, I still had the locket, I could not risk another object leading back to me. I had to bide my time." He breathed and Harry had the distinct impression that the man in front of him was in terrible physical pain. "Potter, you must take this locket, you must destroy it." Lucius said in an agonized breath. "But I have one favor to ask of you." Harry looked shocked. "Please, protect my son." He said it so quietly that Harry had tried to deny that he had heard it.

"Why can't you do it?" Harry said a little too hoarse for his liking.

"My past has caught up to me." Lucius said, now clearly showing the signs of some terrible injury. Harry began to panic inside. "They are coming for me, I intend to exchange my life for my son's but, I am sure it will not be good enough." Then Harry saw his eyes, all agony and pleading. "Will you please protect him?" The man's words tugged at Harry in a way that made his chest burn.

"I will." Harry said finally. He extended his hand and took the locket as Lucius handed it to him.

"Thank you." Lucius said, folding Harry's hand over the locket. Harry turned to leave. "Please, tell Draco I wish to see him." Lucius said softly to the back of Harry's head. Harry nodded and left.

A few moments later Lucius watched as his son walked into the room. He couldn't help the way he wanted to reach out and hug him, but he knew of Draco's dislike of being touched. Ever since Narcissa had sent him that letter, he wanted to see what his sins had wrought. Draco stood a couple of feet in front of him, his face down at his feet. Lucius was glad of it, he didn't know if he could look his son in the face now. He felt the fire of deep guilt radiate throughout him. Draco just stood there.

"Draco, turn around and take off your shirt." Lucius said softly. "And remove any glamours you have placed on you." Draco didn't protest. He simply turned and unbuttoned his black dress shirt and let it slide off onto the floor. He removed the glamour and silently held his breath when his father let out a frightend gasp. "Draco, I am so sorry, this is all my fault." Draco didn't want to turn around, but he felt compelled to. He tried to pick up his head, but it refused to leave his feet. "I know you know this already Draco, but this is the last time we will see eachother." Lucius stopped. "My apologies won't change the life I have inevitably doomed you to. I am so sorry." Draco finally met his gaze, his eyes were all in rage.

"You let her die!" Draco barked. He drew his wand, he was so full of fury that it took a moment to realize that as soon as he had done it, his father had disarmed him. He bent down to pick up his wand, but stuck it back in his robes, cursing himself for being such an idiot.

"I wish we had time for this now son, but we don't." Lucius said evenly. "The death eaters are on the way here. Look at me." Draco did. "Take the port key in my office, get your campanions out of here." Draco just stood there a moment. "NOW DRACO!" Lucius barked angrily, startling both himself and his son. This time Draco did as instructed and left the room, knowing he was leaving his father to die.

He didn't say a word, but directed to his two companions that it was time to leave. The port key pulled them all away, to freedom for two, to an unknown future for one. Draco closed his eyes and resisted the urge to vomit. He felt sick, not because of the port key, but because of all the emotions he'd felt in such violent succession. Draco heaved and fell to his knees.

"Don't-" He barked to the two, who both made to touch him.

"Touch you?" Dyanna asked, annoyance clearly in her voice. "Yeah yeah, whatever."

~~~~~~~~

Lucius made his way to his chair in the study. He sat down in extreme pain and discomfort. They'd be here any second. He could feel it, then they were there, ten or so wizards, all wearing death eaters' masks.

"You're slightly late." Lucius smiled. "Timeliness was never your strong suit Parkinson." Some of the other wizards chuckled.

"Wisecracks to the end eh Lucius?" This was Crabbe. Lucius need only guess who the rest of them were.

"I don't suppose I should bother asking an exchange for my son's life?" He said, never breaking his smile.

"You're not exactly in a position to ask to exchange anything Lucius." Said a familiar voice. Lucius' expression faded quickly. "Lord Voldemort does not take pleas from failures, or traitors!" Lucius closed his eyes and green was the last tint that flashed over his eyelids before his eyes could see nothing.

~~~~~~~

Draco and Harry sat in Reamus' cottage in the dark at Draco's request. Harry was unable to bring himself out of the thoughts of how Malfoy's dad had looked, what he had asked of him, what he had seen in the man's memories, or the fact that he had probably just been killed. Harry looked at Draco, the boy was an orphan now. Draco had said atleast that much in the time that they had been sitting here. He thought he should feel accomplished, having taken the next step toward completing his quest. He couldn't, not when he knew Draco was upset. He almost felt like, he could feel the boy's sadness move between them.

He got up and collected a blanket, Malfoy was hunched over on the sofa. He shivered in agony. Perhaps from the cold, perhaps not. Harry swung the blanket over his shoulders and tucked it around his chest without thinking about Malfoy's aversion to touch. However, this time, he did not object to it, but made a non-committed cough as if to say thank you. Harry sat down across from him on another sofa and observed his old enemy, who had now become his charge to protect.

"I'm sorry." Said Harry finally, after hours of fighting the words.

"Don't pity me Potter, I don't want, nor do I need your pity." Draco tried to sound superior, but he only succeeded in sounding terribly cold. Harry got up again.

"Malfoy, you're shivering!" Harry said annoyed that the boy refused to say anything. Draco shrugged.

"I've survived worse." Draco said it so even that Harry knew that it was true. He lit the fireplace and looked at Malfoy's face with pure curiosity. It was perfectly unreadable, but that only made him want to know more. Draco it seemed was much more complicated than just a stuck up pureblood. He looked and nearly got lost with all the thoughts that rushed through his mind.

"Please stop staring at me." Draco said softly. There were tears in his eyes. "Just-Please, I don't-" Malfoy closed his eyes in frustration at his emotional outburst. "I-I-Just don't leave me alone." Draco's voice cracked. Harry approached cautiously.

"I won't leave you alone Malfoy." Harry sat down next to him, unsure of what he should do. He touched the boy's neck in an attempt to rub it to relax him.

"Don't-" Malfoy said so weakily. Harry's hand recoiled as if burned.

"Sorry." Harry whispered softly. He was caught in a confusion of making this advance and the way Malfoy responded when he had given him the blanket. He put the thoughts aside and they spent the rest of the night providing eachother with their presence.

End Chapter 9
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A/N: I am looking to rewrite my story so at some point even as I update my story, I may go back and change the early chapters
Are the last two chapters very good? I am not too sure. I hope to explain the main plot here in the next few chapters.