Veritas Vos Liberabit [Drarry Fanfiction]

Let's Get That Cuppa

"It knows..." he whispered, his voice hoarse.

"Oh, you can actually speak for once," she smiled almost gently. A fellow Slytherin on the other side of the law, she found these instances ironic.

"So tell me, Draco, why would you let go of your house's motto and do something so foolishly Griffindorish?"

"I had no choice..." the boy said simply, he finally broke the eye contact and looked down at his cuffed wrists.

"You clearly had one, didn't you? You could have given them all up to the Dark Lord and then your family would have been safe... forgiven."

"You know that's a load of rubbish," he smirked, he looked almost amused by her comments.

Another jolt of memories rushed into her mind. She didn't even use the spell this time. He was letting her see it, the incriminating truth.

She saw Hogwarts... a bathroom floor drenched in water and someone's blood... a boy, pale as a ghost. Crimson streaks slashed over his chest... and another boy, Potter, crouching next to him, his terrified eyes so big behind the round spectacles.

"He hurt you!" she exclaimed, "And yet you refused to tell your parents and your aunt it was him, that day at the manor. Why? Wouldn't you want revenge?"

Draco shook his head, a crooked smile on his lips. She decided to press on some more. Something she had said before made him trust her enough to let her see.That is why she wouldn't let go of the opportunity to finish off a bit earlier today if it all went well enough.

"You're tired... you want to go to the pub afterward," the boy commented. Elize guessed she wasn't the only one using legilimency today.

That brat, she huffed, concentrating on protecting her mind better.

"I guess I am," she mused."So be a champ and let me see the truth, alright? So we both can enjoy our evenings."

"I won't be enjoying mine," Malfoy drawled.

"You could... I can ask them to bring you a cuppa here... You're not allowed anything stronger, I am afraid."

Another flash of colour.... a porcelain cup in his hand, the tea leaves at the bottom are showing the sign of Aries... strong emotion, fire. He looks to the right and sees the unruly mop of dark hair, a smile that briefly lights his face until it turns into a scowl at the sight of another boy looking at him.

"You... oh, you cheeky little," she winked at the exasperated lad in front of her, he was getting more and more flustered at her amusement.

She was trained to pick up subtle hints in the memories. Something, that one might think to be insignificant, could lead her to what she needed to know. And now she knew for sure that Malfoy brat and Potter weren't just classmates or schoolyard rivals.

"Aries... well, well. You didn't know what it meant back then, did you?" she continued, knowing she had finally found the weak spot. "The fire... He saved you didn't he, from the fiendfyre. Mr. Potter said you owed him a life debt. That must have been it. And a strong emotion... we both know what it means..."

The boy winced like he had been slapped. And a rush of memories flooded her consciousness.

...There they are on a quidditch pitch, flying on brooms and chasing after a golden snitch. There is a dressing room, a sneaky glance at the skinny back with visible bruises from the bludger... A flash of anger as he sees a dark-haired boy hugging a freckled girl, bending down to kiss her, tucking the ginger lock behind her ear.

...He glances back and finds that same boy following him in the school corridors, looking at him as he eats in the Great Hall, staring at his notes in class...

...He sees that same boy there in front of him, his face swollen and almost unrecognizable, but it's him . He has looked at this hair and these hands and this neck and this jawline long and often enough to know that it's definitely him. A wave of relief passes through him and he realizes that Potter is, indeed, alive.

...I cannot be sure... He says, schooling his features, trying his best to free his mind of any thoughts connected to him in case aunt Bella would try to use legilimency again. She knew already he was bent... Pathetic... she spat once she saw into his mind. He didn't let her see who it was he had fantasized about but she knew it was a boy...

...There is a struggle, and he sees Potter prying a bunch of wands off his hands, and he lets him... he simply relaxes his grip and lets him escape, armed, with his very wand...

... The white piano keys... they look like teeth of some bizarre animal... He remembers a white school shirt that slides over the bruised back in the changing room after the quidditch match. He managed to sneak a glance and he is thrilled and ashamed at once... He brags about seeing a Gryffindor chaser's cleavage to unimpressed Zabini... We all know you were trying to see Potter's cock, he barks a laugh and shoves him with his shoulder playfully...

Elize suddenly pulled away. It felt like emerging from a long dive underwater. She propped her elbows on the table, studying the kid in front of her. He was trembling: red spots on his cheeks and ears, two streams of tears running down his face, his lower lip pouting.

He was just a child, and he had been just a child back then when all the incriminating activities happened. All these things that would land him in Azkaban for a very long time. She knew that even with all the compelling evidence in the world and all the Saviours of the wizarding world behind him, he wouldn't stand a chance without the whole truth. All the shameful feelings and teenage fantasies laid bare for scrutiny of the old and disgusted honorable witches and wizards of Wizengamot. And she knew that it was her job to unearth all of this from his psyche.

Poor sod, she thought fondly. Auror Baelish unhooked her crimson robes, putting them down on the back of the chair. It would take a while. And she would certainly miss her pub quiz night with her colleagues, so she might as well make herself comfortable.

"Draco Malfoy... The pureblood Slytherin, and the only child in his family... is smitten with Harry Potter?! You are lucky I don't work for the papers. I think it's time we got that cuppa and you can tell me all about it."

She smiled gleefully at the mortified expression on the pale face before her. If it was going to be a long evening she might as well enjoy it.