Hiraeth // draco malfoy

THIRTY EIGHT

an awkward untimely reunion

Draco stood in the cold alleyway of the building where him and the others were capture by the PA. His heart was racing. If he lost the potion, that meant it had to have been here. This building was his last and only hope left for getting Dru's memories back. If that potion isn't here, he knew it was a lost cause. And he wouldn't be ready to accept that as their fate. Not after how far she's come. She deserved to know her life before all of this, and he was determined to give it to her.

Stepping in through the unlocked door, he approached the center of the room, wand in hand. "Lumos." He muttered to it, watching as it lit up the area. The scattered newspapers and broken pieces of glass from the window were all he saw at first.

He looked harder, examining every inch of the floor until he reached a large pillar where a glimmer of dried substance stuck to the floor. The glass around it was in pieces and the potion was dried out, and ruined. Dropping to his knees, he stuck his finger out, touching it lightly, before realizing it absolutely had perished. The tears left his eyes before he could even comprehend all that this meant. Nobody knew what this potion was made of, only Dru's mother. And she was long gone. This was the worst possible outcome that he had expected, but it didn't make it any less painful. Picking up the remaining pieces of glass of the vial, he tried to see if there was even just a single drop of liquid left, but coming up with nothing. His anger grew more intense as his fists clenched around the shards of glass, ignoring the fact that it was cutting deep into him and blood was beginning to drip down his palms. It was hopeless. He felt hopeless. And now, he was angry.

— — —

"So, you helped me gain control of my powers?" Dru asked Severus as she sat across the small tea table from him. He nodded slightly, before continuing to stare at her. She felt flustered at this. She'd grown accustomed to the wizards and witches staring at her constantly, but his look was different. She genuinely felt like he had a desire to protect her and that in a fatherly kind of way, he had been happy to see her. Even if Severus Snape wasn't one to look happy. "How is it that you noticed me when you saw me with Draco? Aunt Annie had told Draco that everyone close to me had been obliviated."

"It would take an immense amount of magic for my memories to be taken from me." His slow tone of voice spoke solemnly. She found a sense of comfort within it.

"So you must be pretty powerful then?" She asked, eager to hear all about the mysterious man she owed a lot too. He chuckled at this. The first time she had seem just a glimmer of a smile from him.

"No. It just takes a lot of practice and focus. Many wizards can achieve the ability to not have their mind penetrated by spells, it's time consuming and one has to have a lot of patience." He told her.

"Well, sure wish you would have taught me that when I was training with you." She joked and he smirked once more.

"My focus was on getting you to use your powers when needed. You had moments where you bottled it up and it came out in rage, rather than what you needed."

"That explains my mishap with Daphne, I guess." She sighed, feeling for the first time since meeting any of them, a sense of comfort in knowing who she was. Severus made her feel eager to know her past, rather than scared like everyone else did. Which was quite ironic considering most students from Hogwarts were terrified of the man.

"You had come very far along by the time the war began. And we continued our sessions until you were gone." He told her.

"Why did you decide to help me?" She asked.