Sapphire (Lazuli Book #3) - Harry Potter Fan Fiction (Draco Malfoy)

Chapter Three

I poured the boiling tea from the plain little teapot the Dursleys had left behind into several cups, and thanks to the neat little charm I placed upon it, the tea never ran out until all of the mugs were full. I watched in satisfaction as sugar sprinkled itself into the cups of those who took it within their tea, and droplets of milk poured from the glass bottle that the milkman must have left upon the doorstep earlier in the day.

Behind me, Harry was being introduced to everyone, shaking hands and kissing the females upon the cheek as if we were at a dinner party, not about to rush off and risk our lives. Mad-Eye sat grumpily in the corner, every few seconds checking the enchanted watch upon his wrist.

"Here, let me help you." Suddenly Harry was beside me, reaching for two of the cups. "It's ok" I mumbled, flashing him a weak smile. I flicked my wand, and the cups began to levitate, floating slowly across the room towards their respective owners. There were various noises of thanks and gratitude as the cups reached the drinkers, and Harry shook his head with a smirk. "You only have a couple more days" I told him with a sympathetic smile, "then you'll be able to use magic to your hearts content."

Suddenly, Harry grabbed me and hugged me tight, wrapping his arms around me. It took me a couple of moments to respond, but slowly I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him back. We hadn't properly seen each other since that night last June, when Dumbledore had been murdered and Draco had gone with them. Although the others knew, Harry was the only one besides Snape who'd seen me perform the Cruciatus curse on Bellatrix Lestrange. He'd seen the power and terror within my eyes, the comfort and sheer relief it had brought my soul to finally be able to commit the act I'd been longing to since I was imprinted with the dark mark. It had been Harry who'd helped me back to the castle - we'd helped each other really - and who'd told me that it wasn't me who wanted to hurt people, it was the dark mark. He'd been the one to actually see it happen, and yet he was the only one who didn't seemed appalled that I'd used one of the three Unforgivable Curses. His silent acceptance meant more than I could explain, and so I hugged him tightly back.

"I hear you've been being reckless" he muttered in my ear, so that only I could hear.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It helps me to forget."

I didn't need to explain to Harry what it was that needed forgetting, for he'd been there too. He'd watched Snape murder Dumbledore, a man betraying somebody who'd trusted him, somebody we loved. We'd both seen Dumbledore's body falling from the Astronomy Tower, we'd both chased after the Death Eaters, and we'd both crouched over Dumbledore's body and wept. And Harry had seen Draco betray me.

"What if he turns up?" Harry whispered.

I pretended to be surprised, although the thought had shot through my head a million times on the flight here. What if we were attacked by Death Eaters, and Draco was among them? They'd be hooded so I would have no way of knowing if I'd struck him down or not. Could I live with myself if I knew that despite everything he'd done to me, I'd killed Draco?

No, I couldn't.

"He's the enemy Harry," I replied, extracting myself from Harry's grasp and reaching for my own cup of tea. "Nothing more."

If Harry knew I was lying, he didn't say anything more, merely grabbed his own cup and followed me back into the living room where the others had congregated.

"Potter, you're still underage, which means you've still got the Trace on you" Mad-Eye snarled at Harry, who stopped in the middle of the room and frowned at him. "What's the Trace?" Harry replied. Mad-Eye rolled his real eye whilst keeping his magical one firmly fixated on Harry. "It means if you sneeze the Ministry will know who wiped your nose. We have to use means of transport the Trace can't detect. Brooms, thestrals and the like - we go in pairs. That way if anyone's out there waiting for us and I reckon there will be, they won't know which Harry Potter is the real one."