What If? - Drarry - Chapter 47: Chapter 47

The train clattered rhythmically over the tracks, a soft whirr emitting from the wheels as they sped towards Hogwarts. Harry, hidden under the invisibility cloak, tried to keep his balance as he moved quickly through the shaking carriages, following Blaise Zabini. They had both just left Professor Slughorn's compartment, having been called there with several other students who seemed to have potential in various subjects. Hoping to find Draco, Harry had followed Blaise when he'd left the dull meeting. Blaise eventually stopped and dipped into a compartment, and Harry just managed to slide in before the doors closed.
Draco was slouching on the seat next to Pansy, while in the corner, Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing themselves with sweets off the trolley. As Blaise took the seat opposite Draco, Harry backed into the luggage storage, almost displacing a trunk as he did so and freezing, barely daring to breathe. Draco, catching the movement in the corner of his eye, looked straight through Harry at the bag, staring intently for a moment. A flash of surprise crossed his face, and then, as if nothing had happened, he slowly turned away. Heart beat normalising, Harry relaxed a little. He leant against the trunk, and stared at Draco.
If he had seemed broken in Madam Malkin's, it was nothing compared to now. A cut across Draco's cheek, from by his ear almost to his mouth, seemed to emphasize the sunken cheeks and thin skin of his face; he'd clearly abandoned the pick-me-up spells he'd told Harry about, as the skin under his eyes was as purple and blotchy as a stormy sky. His hair drooped, his clothes hung off his body, and his eyes flitted around constantly, nervously, as though he thought something was hunting him. Apart from his eyes, the only part of him that moved was his leg, which jiggled up and down constantly.
"How was Slug Club, Blaisy?" Pansy asked, sounding bored.
"How'd'you think?" Blaise smirked. "Tear-jerkingly boring."
"Who else was there?" Draco asked, not looking at Blaise for long but continuing to look around the carriage. It was the first thing Draco had said since Harry had been in the carriage. His voice matched his appearance.
"A few of our lot. Noticeably few Hufflepuffs, but that isn't surprising. The Weasley girl was there, and Granger," Blaise looked at Draco closely, "And Potter."
Draco's knee momentarily stopped moving. His gaze flickered to the spot where Harry stood for a snatched second, then continued to roam the compartment.
"But of course Potter got invited, he's the bloody saviour of the wizarding world," Pansy spat.
"He's not looking too good," Blaise continued, eyes never leaving Draco's face. "Bags under his eyes rival yours."
"Great."
The train sped on, and Harry barely blinked for the whole journey. All he could do was drink in every detail of Draco's face, and listen intently to every word that was spoken. Draco spoke rarely, but the conversations were intriguing. Though the Slytherins all spoke in what amounted to code, one thing was clear: they were all preparing for the same war as Harry was - but their lot fell on the opposite side.
As the train pulled in at the station, Harry quickly moved out of the way of the Slytherins collecting their trunks. As the group began to head out of the door, Pansy and Blaise hung back.
"You coming?" Prompted Blaise to Draco, who had remained exactly where he had been sitting for the whole journey.
"You guys go on. I want to check something."
Blaise and Pansy exchanged a look before Pansy shrugged and, together, they left the compartment. Harry's heart was in his throat. Neither he nor Draco moved until the door closed behind the pair. Draco then got up, and pulled the blind down over the glass.
"Harry? Are you here?" He asked, turning around and looking over the compartment. Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off, letting it drop to the floor. It took no time at all to close the distance between them, and pull Draco into a desperate embrace. It felt like hugging a bag of bones.
After a moment, Harry realised that Draco wasn't returning the hug. Confused, he took a step back, still holding Draco's sides, and looked at him.
"What happened to you?" He whispered, placing a hand on Draco's cheek.
Draco blinked and looked down at the floor.
"Draco," Harry's voice was intense. "A few weeks ago I felt this awful sadness from the ring, and then this horrible pain. I know something happened to you, something really bad."
Draco breathed a sudden, shaking breath and shook Harry's hands off his arms, walking to where the window showed the deserted platform and looking out, hugging himself as if the chill air from outside had blown into the train.
"Please, you have to let me help," Harry pleaded.  He reached out to touch Draco's shoulder, "Draco-"
Draco whisked around and met Harry's gaze, lip trembling slightly. "Please don't hate me," his voice barely more than a whisper.
"Why would I hate you?" Harry asked, "Please, just tell me what's going on,"
Closing his eyes, Draco took a deep breath. "Father found the- the letters. He found your letters."
Harry's heart had stopped beating.
"No, no, he didn't-"
"He was so angry," Draco's eyes swam, and Harry could tell that he wasn't seeing the carriage, or Harry, but that he was back in the Manor with his father, reliving the events of that day. "He was so angry that he didn't even hit me, didn't even use crucio. At first."
"What?" Harry whispered, "What did he do?"
Draco made a sound halfway between a gasp and a sob, squeezing his eyes shut. Instinctively, Harry moved towards him, to protect him, to hold him- but Draco pushed him away.
"Draco-"
"HE KILLED MANIMI!"
The silence following Draco's shout pounded Harry's ears.
"I- No, he-"
"He made me bring her to him, used imperio," Draco suddenly began to speak very fast, "Made me hand her over to him to die!" He looked at Harry, eyes pleading with him to understand, "I tried to escape but I couldn't, he locked the door to my room, he kept us in like rats in a cage. And when I tried to get away he used crucio." Draco shuddered. "When I couldn't fight anymore-" Draco's words caught in his mouth. "And she was... gone," He whispered. "Dead."
Suddenly, Draco slid down the wall to the floor, hugging his knees to his chest as a sob racked his thin body. As Harry put his arms around him, Draco finally leant into him, for the first time allowing the contact between them.
Manimi was dead.
Harry couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it. He felt his lips tremble as silent tears burnt his cheeks. It was all he could do not to fall apart himself as he held Draco tight, trying to keep him from breaking. Finally, he whispered;
"We'll get through this," He nodded, then swallowed. "together, we always get through."
"Don't you understand?" Draco's voice came out in a broken croak, and it seemed that he had no tears left to cry. "We can't do this together."
A hand of fear clutched at Harry's throat, and he could barely breathe. He drew away from Draco.
"You're not saying-"
Draco looked at him, his face that of utter despair. "Please don't hate me, please,"
Harry was shaking his head. "No, no, Draco, you can't,"
"The Dark Lord can read minds. If I'm with you, he'll find out and he'll torture me for information about you, he'll use it to hurt you," Draco shook his head, "If you were killed because of me," the words caught in his mouth. "And if my father finds out, he'll murder me. My own father will actually kill me."
"You can't leave," Harry sobbed, "Please-"
In a sudden, desperate movement, Draco pulled Harry towards him and smashed their lips together, kissing him as though his life depended on it, as though he only had minutes left to live.
When they broke apart, Draco pushed something into Harry's hand, then stood up.
"No!" Harry shouted, scrambling to his feet. "Please-"
Draco took Harry's face in his hands. "Harry, listen to me. I love you. I'll never love anyone else." His voice broke as he spoke. "But you have a destiny, and so do I."
"Please-"
But Draco was gone, the glass door to the compartment sliding closed behind him.
Through a haze of tears, Harry looked down at what Draco had pushed into his hand. It was a plain silver ring.
And that was the moment that Harry's heart broke.