The Prince and the Slave
Part 18
By Shinri
The Prince and the Slave
Part 18
By Shinri
Draco heard Harry confirm his worst nightmare. He knew that he was a Prince. The first emotion to course through him was fear. They would send him back. He couldn’t go back. He balled his hand into a fist so tight that he could feel his nails cutting into his palm. That was when the anger hit him. Who cared what they tried to do? He wasn’t going back. He turned around and glared at three people in front of him. They all took a step back upon seeing Draco’s angry gaze. He looked straight into Harry’s eyes and spoke in a deadly whisper. “I will not go back. I will kill myself before that happens.”
Harry was shocked. He could only stare at Draco for a moment. Draco had not shown this much anger since Draco and he had spoken the first time. But this anger was worse. He could see by the look in Draco’s eyes that he was serious. He would really rather kill himself than go back. A part of Harry wondered what it was that Draco had found out for him to react so badly. But then Draco did not know that his parents were dead. At that thought, Harry felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured on him. Draco didn’t know. His voice came out in a gasp. “Draco-”
Harry stopped himself from saying anything else in front of Hermione and Ron. He turned to them. “Hermione, Ron, could you leave us for a few moments? I think I need to talk to Draco alone for a moment. I need to tell him some things and I will let him know of the situation.”
Hermione did not like this idea and was going to voice her opinion, but was stopped by a hand on her arm. She turned to look at Ron. “What?”
Ron looked in her eyes for a moment before adverting them. “Come on, let’s wait out side.” Not giving her a chance to speak again, Ron half dragged her out of the room.
Once out of the room, Hermione yanked her arm out of his grip. “What do you think you are doing?”
Ron was quiet a moment before speaking. “Let Harry tell Draco about his parents. During his short time here he and Harry have formed a sort of friendship. Actually, I am sure both wish it was more than that, though.”
Hermione brought her hand up to cover her mouth. “You mean-”
Ron cut her off. “Yeah, I think they are falling in love, but they both know it can lead nowhere. Even though Draco is also a Prince, it makes no difference. There could not be an heir.” He looked back at Hermione for a moment.
Hermione stood there shocked for a moment. She was a little shocked that Draco was gay, although come to think of it, he never was around any men, so there was no way for her to pick up on it. Maybe that was the reason Lucius hid his heir. No, that didn’t make any sense. Draco was always hidden from others. She didn’t care if he was gay. She would always support him, no matter what. But this was going to be so hard on him. He was the only living heir to the Slytherin throne. He would have to marry to produce an heir. She felt sorry for him. Tears started to form in her eyes.
Ron watched Hermione reaction. At first she seemed shocked. But after a few moments her shock dissolved into sadness, and then he saw the tears in her eyes. On instinct, he walked up and placed his arms around her and let her head fall onto his shoulder as she sobbed quietly. He brought his hand up to rub her back. “What’s the matter?”
Hermione sniffled a few more moments before speaking. “I’m sorry, it’s just that he has been through so much and to find someone who he may love and never be able to do anything about it… I just feel so sorry for him.” Ron response was only to hug her closer.
While the episode was playing out in the hallway, another of a different nature was taking place inside Harry’s room. After Ron and Hermione had left the room, Harry had turned back to face Draco. He took a big breath before speaking. He figured the best place to start was at Draco’s fears of being sent back. “Draco, we won’t send you back.”
Draco froze at this. He couldn’t understand why they would not send him back. It would give his father an excuse to invade Gryffindor if they gave him sanctuary. Many people on both sides would die. When he had told them that he would not go back he meant it as he would run away again or die trying. He never thought they would actually let him stay. His emotions where overpowering him and he took a seat on the bed. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt someone take a seat next to him. He turned to Harry and spoke softly. “Why?”
Harry looked at Draco for a moment, steeling himself for what he had to tell Draco. He took Draco’s hand in his. “Draco, there are some things you need to know. I am here for you, ok?”
Fear gripped Draco’s heart. What had happened? Why was Harry looking at him with such a somber look? Part of him warmed, though, when he had told him that he would be there for him. Few people in his life would do that for him. He took a few deep breaths, preparing him for anything that Harry might say and squeezed the hand holding his. His voice cracked when he spoke. “Go on.”
Harry looked from Draco’s eyes down to the comforter on the bed. “Hermione came with some very bad news.” He felt Draco’s hand tense in his and looked into Draco’s eyes. “Draco, your parents have been assassinated.”
Draco could not move. He could not see. He could not hear. He felt as if his body was falling down a long deep hole. Words kept going through his mind. They were dead. His mother was dead. One of the few people that loved him. He could hear someone screaming and sounds of fists hitting something in the distance. It took him a few moments to realize that it was him making the noises, and then he felt himself pulled into a hug, and he sobbed out his loss.
After Harry told Draco the news, he braced himself. He did not know how Draco would react. Draco had sat there for a moment before he had started screaming and pounding his fists against Harry’s chest. He kept screaming the same word over and over again. “Liar.” After a moment, Harry grabbed onto Draco’s wrists and forced him into a hug. He held Draco tightly as he sobbed and screamed. After a moment all motion stopped as if Draco had run completely out of energy. The only thing he did was cry silently. Harry did not let him loose. He kept telling Draco, in what he hoped was a calming voice, that everything was going to be alright.
It took several moments for Draco to pull himself together. He just sat there in Harry’s arms for a few moments, not wanting to move away from the sense of safety he felt. He knew that things would never be the same now. His mother was dead. His father too, though he hardly knew him. But his mother had always been there for him. He knew that right now was not the time for grieving. There were many things that needed to happen. As much as wanted to just crawl in a bed and die he knew that his people needed him now. Though he had never met anyone else besides Hermione and Peter he knew that there were millions out there that depended on his family.
He let out a huge sigh and pushed all of his emotions back into the recess of his mind. He would deal with them later. Right now he needed to know what happened. He pulled his head off Harry’s shoulder and looked up at him. “What happened?”
The question threw Harry off guard for a moment, but he eventually answered. “We don’t know much. But right after you parents were killed, your country broke out into a civil war, and we have just found out that the Dark Kingdom invaded it.”
Draco tensed at hearing this. Only one thought went through his mind and he spoke it out loud. “It’s all my fault.”
Harry looked at Draco with shock. “W-what do you mean?”
A few tears made there way down Draco’s checks and Harry used his thumbs to wipe them away. Draco looked at him again. “This has all happened because of me. If I hadn’t run, my parents would still be alive.” He let out a sob. “Oh god, I killed them.”
Harry pulled him back into a hug. “Draco, I am sure that it wasn’t your fault. Listen, my father and a few others are waiting for us. You need to tell us what all happened. I am sure there is something that we can do. Will you tell us?”
Draco nodded his head against Harry’s shoulder. “I will tell you everything.”
TBC…
A/N: Please review. I am really looking forward to posting the next few chapters. Big things happening.
Now for the dreaded teaser:
James was thinking everything through. So the dark kingdom and Slytherin’s were trying to form a permanent alliance. No doubt so that they could combine their forces to invade the other kingdoms. But what Draco was saying was almost unbelievable. He turned towards Sirius. “Sirius, can you go get Albus? I think we are going to need him before we leave here.”