Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Freedom Bound in Chains	By : TaintedSensibly Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 58477 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Harry Potter characters. I did not make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 51
- 52
- 53
Plots
Harry woke feeling raw. Dark despair still oozed from his soul, filling his eyes with tears. Curling into a miserable ball, he cried. Draco wrapped around him from behind, humming softly. They lay like that for a long time until Harry felt numb enough to uncurl and lay on his back. He blinked up at Draco’s blurry face, trying not to feel, trying to remember he was with Draco now.
“What do you need, Harry?” Draco asked softly, hand running tenderly through his hair.
Harry closed his eyes as the darkness rippled in his mind - Don’t deserve things! Ungrateful, evil little Freak! You’re bothering Draco! Nothing but a burden! Should’ve died and saved the world the trouble! - and without realizing it, he whispered tearfully, “I just wanna be your puppy.” He wanted to not think for a while; he wanted the voices to stop!
In the darkness behind his eyelids, he heard Draco’s voice. It was firm, no longer soft and whispery. “You’re a good puppy, aren’t you, Harry?”
Heart suddenly beating fast, he opened his eyes. Draco’s face was right in front of him, close enough that he wasn’t blurry. He looked happy, his grey eyes sparkling.
“Draco’s special little puppy. He can walk on two legs if he wants and sleeps in Draco’s bed, but puppies can’t talk like people. They have to let their owner know in puppy ways what they want. And they can’t sit on the furniture or eat at the table. Puppies have to stay on the floor. Puppies don’t wear clothes, either, do they? Just their collars.”
- nervous disbelief - Was Draco really going to play with him? Hesitantly, afraid Draco would get mad or call him a freak, he made a soft whimpering sound and gave the blond’s chin a very quick lick.
Draco didn’t get mad; he laughed! Harry’s eyes went wide as the blond grinned down at him and ruffled his hair. - joy excited - He watched with bright eyes as Draco rolled off the bed and began to get dressed. He didn’t talk to Harry or look at him. He treated him like he really was a puppy.
Basking in the knowledge that Draco was going to play with him, Harry gave a tentative yip.
Draco walked out of their closet dressed in a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and his favorite sneakers. “What’s the matter, puppy? Do you want to go outside an’ play? Are ya hungry?”
Harry gave a more confident bark and let his tongue hang out of his mouth.
Draco smiled. “Alright. Let me write a quick note to Narcissa and then we’ll go eat and play outside for a bit.”
Not waiting for an acknowledgment, he went out to their small sitting room. He opened the drawer and pulled out some parchment. He didn’t bother with the chair, simply bending over to scribble a quick message: Harry isn’t feeling good, so we are playing a game to make him feel better. Leave us alon. If you see us, don’t say any thing to Harry.
Straightening, he tapped the feather against his chin, debating on whether to say more. A warm weight against his leg made him look down. Harry, naked and grinning, was crouched on the floor next to him with his tongue hanging out and panting softly like a dog. The sickening combination of - despair misery depression - from when Harry had first woken had been replaced by - peace happy trust - . Determined for Harry to have what he needed, he bent over the note once more: I no you don’t get the game, but trust me. I no what Harry needs to be okay agin. We will not play a long time. Please help me make Harry happy today by just leeving us alon. Tell Lucius to.
Finished, he called for Dobby. When the elf appeared, he handed him the paper. “Give this to Narcissa, please.”
“Yes, Master!” Dobby didn’t even blink at Harry crouched naked on the floor.
Draco knelt in front of his boy and rubbed both hands in his hair. “You’re hungry, aren’t you, puppy?” he asked in a baby voice, grinning.
Harry barked again and licked Draco’s cheek and chin several times.
Laughing, Draco stood and strode to the door. He held it open and patted his thigh. Harry chose to stay on all fours. He moved pretty quickly, actually, in a surprisingly easy scamper/hop-type movement with his knees bent and his arms extended. He barked and sat up with his hands in a folded position as he waited for Draco.
Draco pet his head once more and shut the door behind him. “Good boy,” he said, making Harry blush - happy excited.
Draco led the way to the smaller dinning room where they normally had breakfast. He walked slowly, hoping to give Narcissa time to read the note and talk to Lucius. Right before they crossed the threshold, he reached down to grab Harry’s collar. Green eyes looked up at him, squinting slightly as he still didn’t have his glasses on.
“I don’t know if Lucius or Narcissa like dogs,” Draco told him. He didn’t want Harry to be unprepared for a negative reaction. “If they don’t, we’ll eat in the kitchen, okay, puppy?”
Harry gave a little whimper - nervous trust.
Mentally bracing himself for their reaction, Draco released Harry’s collar and walked into the room. Harry followed right on his heels. His body language was more hunched and some of his excitement for the game had disappeared, but they needn’t have worried. Lucius and Narcissa remained blank-faced as they entered the room.
Draco took his seat and Harry sat on the floor next to him, slowly relaxing and getting into the game again.
“Good morning, Draco,” Narcissa said with a small smile. She included Harry in the smile, but she didn’t speak to him as the note had instructed her.
“Draco,” Lucius greeted. He folded the newspaper he had been reading and set it aside.
“Good morning, Narcissa, Lucius,” Draco answered as if it were a perfectly normal morning. He dropped his hand to rest on Harry’s head, stroking it softly. “I’m going to play with Harry outside for a bit after breakfast.”
“I think one day from lessons is allowed,” Narcissa answered easily and snapped her fingers.
Lottie walked in at the signal, floating trays of food into the room behind her. Once everything was on the table, Draco made up two plates. He set Harry’s on the floor, giving him no utensils. A giggle slipped from Harry before he began to eat, pressing his mouth to the plate to eat like a puppy.
Draco watched as Narcissa reached over and touched Lucius’s arm, her eyes dark with worry. Draco wasn’t sure if her worry was for Harry or worry that Lucius would say something. The tension in Lucius’s face revealed the man was uncomfortable, but he said nothing. Satisfied with that, Draco began to eat. He was happy that Harry was on the floor and couldn’t see the subtle communication happening between the adults.
“Did Severus get what we need?” Lucius eventually asked. Despite the tension in his face and body language, his tone of voice was perfectly normal. Draco was impressed.
“I got the vial of memories. It’s up in our room,” he answered. “Anything interesting in the paper?” he asked politely.
Lucius’s fingers drummed on the paper beside his plate, telling Draco that he was bothered by something that had been printed. “Not anything that can’t wait until later.”
“Let’s talk after lunch,” Draco offered. He planned on making Harry take a nap, so they’d have some time to talk by themselves.
“Very well. I will see you then.” Standing, Lucius took his cup of coffee and left his breakfast mostly uneaten. “Narcissa, Draco,” he said in polite parting and left the room.
Narcissa let the silence rest for a few moments before she began to tell him about a small tea party the Parkinsons were putting together next week. A few of the kids he’d met at Harry’s birthday would be there and perhaps a few new kids as well.
Draco patted his mouth and mirrored her polite smile. “Sounds interesting. I look forward to it.” Standing, he gave her a shallow bow and patted his thigh again. “Come on, puppy. Time to play!”
Harry gave an excited little jump and bark, loping after Draco as he made his way outside. As soon as Harry felt the sun on his skin, the last of the shadows and worries disappeared from his mind. He was a puppy! He didn’t have to worry about anything. All he had to do was be with his boy. It was the easiest thing to do… Except… He really had to pee. Whining, he curled over his bladder and waited for Draco to tell him what to do.
“Do you have to go pee, puppy?” Draco asked with a laugh, blond hair shinning in the sun. “Come on. Let’s find a good spot in the grass.”
Harry hurried after him.
Draco found nice thick grass that was sheltered partially by bushes. Harry squatted and peed. When he was done, Draco patted his head and told him he was a good boy. Giggling again, Harry gave a happy bark.
They walked around for a little bit, just enjoying the sun, when Draco got an idea. Grinning mischievously, he asked Dobby to fetch them a small ball from their toy closet. The ball he was given was about the size of a tennis ball and pretty light. Harry watched it with anticipation, sitting up on his butt and folding his hands in the begging position.
“Ready, puppy?” Draco asked playfully. Winding his hand back, he threw it as far as he could. “Fetch!”
Harry took off in a sprint, running on two feet. He slid and dropped to all fours to pick it up with his mouth before running back to Draco, crouching and dropping it at the blond’s feet.
“Good boy!” Draco praised and picked it up. He threw it in a new direction. “Go get it!”
Harry giggled, sprinting after the ball as fast as he could.
They played fetch until Harry’s legs were burning and he couldn’t quite catch his breath. Draco teased him, holding the ball over his head and wiggling it, saying, “Gonna get it? Gonna get it?” Harry flopped onto the ground and refused to be baited. Draco grinned and jumped onto the sweaty boy, tickling him until Harry was breathless with laughter. Soon they were wrestling. Harry growled and bit at him, but Draco was heavier and soon had the smaller boy pinned.
Panting happily, Draco said, “Come on. Let’s play by the lake. I’m hot.” He ruffled Harry’s hair and stood.
Harry loped on all fours after him as they made their way to the small lake on the property. His tongue hung out as he grinned. This was so much fun. He loved being a puppy!
…
Lucius watched the boys swim naked in the shallows of the lake from his study window. Their behavior had been disturbing at breakfast, but from this distance they seemed like perfectly normal children. His mind kept going back to the way Severus had looked yesterday. The man had come out of his session with Harry looking as if he’d been tortured. Eyes red-rimmed, face nearly grey, the man had looked him in the eye and hoarsely stated, “I should have brought them to you when I had the chance. Death is too good for those people, Lucius.”
Lucius hadn’t had the courage to question him after that. He’d let Severus go and waited for the boys to emerge, but when the minutes had passed and no one had come out, he’d called for Lottie. The elf had told him that Harry had been spelled unconscious and taken by Dobby to their room. Draco had followed a few minutes later.
He had expected the boys to stay holed up in their room or for Harry to be dangerously disturbed. The knowledge that the boy had almost become an Obscurus was very much at the front of his mind. So when a happy albeit nervous and naked seven-year-old crawled into the small dinning room pretending to be a dog, Lucius had bit his tongue. It didn’t make sense to him, but he was honest enough to admit he didn’t understand most of what went on in either child’s head. All he knew was that the ‘game’ seemed to work and lift Harry’s spirits. It also helped that Narcissa had shown him the note, which promised this would be over quickly.
Movement caught his eye and he noticed an owl swooping toward his window. A wave of his hand had the window opening outward. The bird landed silently on his desk, dropped a letter, and winged away. Smiling, he lifted the envelope and sliced it open. It was from Severus. Apparently the half-human groundskeeper had known Harry’s address and had divulged that information while drunk at the Hogshead.
According to Severus, several nights prior the groundskeeper had gotten ahold of the newspapers announcing Draco and Harry’s return as well as the fact that Harry had been kidnapped and missing for over a year. (The man apparently did not keep up with news during the summer and had only recently been made aware of events with the return of the excitable and gossipy students.) This had led the groundskeeper to reminisce during a drinking session at the Hogshead about the night he had dropped Harry off at his family’s house and lament over the fact the boy had been forced to endure more tragedy after losing his parents. The barkeep remembered a hooded figure approaching the drunken man, but the person had cast privacy wards so the barkeep couldn’t say for sure what was discussed after that point. Certainly Harry’s former address had been mentioned or they wouldn’t now be in this situation.
Turning from the window and the view of the two boys in the lake, he activated the wards on his door and crossed to the shelving along one wall. With a practiced hand, he chose an old wooden chalice with gold plating around the outside of the rim. Platinum hair falling loose around his shoulders, he sat behind his desk, placed the chalice before him, and began to fold his left sleeve up to his elbow. Lifting his wand, he pressed the tip to his wrist and held it over the chalice. Incanting softly under his breath, he watched with steady grey eyes as blood poured from his unbroken skin. He stopped when the chalice was half-full, spilling about sixteen ounces.
He set his wand aside and watched as circular ripples began to form along the surface of the thick, tacky liquid. Runes etched into the soft gold plating appeared as they glowed a hot orange. He only had to wait a handful of minutes before a voice rose from the depths, the ripples jumping softly with each word.
“Lucius.”
“Huld,” Lucius answered in return, voice neutral. Huld could be a first or last name, male or female. Lucius didn’t know. By his accent, Huld sounded native-born, but a charm could have made him sound as such. None of that mattered except as a passing curiosity. What mattered was that Huld came very highly recommended for his skills.
“I’ve searched three Black properties. None of them possess traces of the Malfoy ward signature. I also did some research.”
With the new clue that Draco had been left with the last name of Black, Lucius had finally managed to convince Huld to take his case. Previously Huld had declared the case impossible. Now it was slightly less impossible. He had charged Lucius an exorbitant amount - but only for every new thing he discovered. This was their first check in. So far he’d earned nothing.
“Lord of the Noble House of Black, Orion Black, died at the early age of fifty in 1979. Ministry documentation stated his cause of death as the Killing Curse. His murderer was never found. This was two years before your son was abducted, so I can rule him out. Lady Walburga Black died in 1985 at age sixty. Her death was ruled accidental. Her magical channels had been singed and her core shredded. She had likely been working some magic that failed and she died of the backlash. She is a possible candidate, however I can think of no motive for her to kidnap her Pureblood, great-nephew. Of their children, Sirius Black and Regulus Black, Regulus died in 1979, causes unknown. He simply disappeared from the bloodline. Sirius Black, however, is suspect. His anti-Pureblood views give him motive. It’s possible he committed the kidnapping before his arrest on November 1st, 1981, for the murder of a dozen Muggles and as an accessory to the Potter murders.”
“Sirius…” Lucius said the name coldly, wondering if he’d finally found the soul who had dared steal his son from him and condemned him to a life of sexual slavery and abuse.
“Lady Walburga’s brother Alphard Black, died in 1977 at age fifty-two from a broom accident and could not be responsible. Her only other sibling, Cygnus Black, Lady Narcissa’s father, is still alive, however he’s been in seclusion since his wife’s death in 1973. His mental state is unknown, therefore it is possible that he committed the kidnapping or hired an agent to do so. Ms. Druella Rosier-Black, Lady Narcissa’s mother, died from magical suicide in 1973. Her mental state had become so unstable that her own magical core slowly poisoned her. The birth of her Half-blood granddaughter and her youngest child Bellatrix forgoing marriage to take the Dark Mark that same year seem to have contributed to her depression.”
“I see.” Lucius drummed his fingers along the desktop, frowning.
He had disapproved of Narcissa’s very unstable mother. Seeing his wife’s distress in her presence had led him to ban her parents from visiting. Narcissa could visit them if she pleased, but he would make the manor a safe haven for her. Had Cygnus gone insane and stolen Draco in revenge? If that were the case, Lucius would bear some responsibility in Draco’s kidnapping. Hands fisting, he ground his teeth, hating that thought with a passion.
“Lady Narcissa’s sisters are both alive, but one did not carry the name Black when the abduction took place and I found no ward residue in the Tonks home. The other is in Azkaban and has no motive, although Bellatrix was capable of committing the kidnapping. I will continue my investigation into Cygnus, Sirius, and Bellatrix Black after I receive three payments from you. Be warned it may take me some time to investigate the remaining suspects as two are in Azkaban and Cygnus’s location has been unknown for fourteen years. It’s also possible that leaving Draco with the name Black was a message that an enemy of the Black family and not an enemy of the Malfoy family is to blame. In that case, the search parameters will have to be significantly widened and you will have to find yourself a new investigator or give me more to go on.”
Lucius glared coldly. “I will award you three payments upon the completion of your investigation of the remaining Blacks and nothing until then. All you have done is recount Black family history.”
“I have cleared three residences of your ward residue, Lord Malfoy. That is not a simple feat. You will pay me three installments of the price you agreed to when you hired me. Or I will disappear now. I highly doubt anyone else will be able to find Cygnus or be able to successfully break into Azkaban without alerting the Ministry.”
“I will pay you one installment,” Lucius countered. “I will hold the other two in trust for after your completed investigation. If you successfully find Cygnus, I will add another payment. If you successfully enter Azkaban and get the information I need, I will add another payment. One payment now, four more at the end of your mission. Is this acceptable?”
There was silence for a heart-stopping minute before Huld answered. “It is acceptable. Pleasure doing business with you, Lord Malfoy. I will have my results to you as soon as I can.”
Lucius watched as the ripples went still. Absentmindedly, he began to clean the chalice and remove all evidence of his conference. Cygnus, Sirius, or Bellatrix… One of those were guilty, he was certain. Standing over his now clean desk, he leaned forward, his hands pressed flat to the surface, his hair falling over his shoulders, and stared into the shadows of his office. A slow crawl of magic crackled around his hands as his eyes glinted a deadly silver. One of them had taken his son and would pay dearly for their crime.
…
The boys had just finished lunch with Narcissa, Harry eating on the floor again using his mouth to pick up the food. Narcissa hadn’t said anything, but Draco could tell she wasn’t pleased. Sighing, Draco led Harry to their bedroom. Once they were locked away from prying, judging eyes, he was able to relax fully. He grinned at his puppy, and Harry gave a happy bark, tongue hanging out.
“Come on, puppy,” he called and patted the bed.
Harry leapt up, crawled in a circle, and flopped onto his side.
Draco smiled and stroked his hair. “You’re gonna be a good puppy and take a nap, okay?”
Harry gave a yip and turned his head to lick Draco’s wrist - happy calm peace.
“Good boy.”
Draco pet Harry’s hair a few more minutes, sitting in silence. He basked in the positive emotions softly thrumming through the bond and the scent of the lake and sunshine that still clung to their skin. When Harry was half-asleep, he quietly stood and left him on the bed, shutting the door softly behind him.
“Dobby,” he called quietly. He held a finger to his lips so that the elf knew to be quiet. The creature nodded frantically, signaling he understood. Draco gave him a smile. “When Harry’s good and asleep, please cover him with a blanket, okay?”
“Yes, Master,” the little elf whispered. “I will, Master. Yous take such good care of Master Harry, Master.”
“Thank you, Dobby.” Draco smiled and patted the elf on the head on his way out, making Dobby’s ears flap happily.
It didn’t take him long to make his way to Lucius’s study. The door was shut and wouldn’t open when he tried the knob, so he knocked. A click sounded a few seconds later and the door swung open by itself. Draco entered and found Lucius behind his desk, fingers interlaced and held in front of his mouth. He watched Draco with an impassive expression.
Draco hopped up onto the chair facing his father. “What was in the paper?” he asked, getting to the point.
Lucius sighed and dropped his hands, picking up and passing Draco the folded paper that had rested at his elbow. “The media got ahold of Harry’s story.”
Draco took it and opened it to the front page: Boy-Who-Lived Abused Not Kidnapped? There was another moving photo of them on the stage at the Ministry, but this one was more of a close up and centered on Harry. Draco was still in the picture and so were Andromeda and Narcissa who stood in the background. The article itself wasn’t too long, but Draco couldn’t understand all the words. He looked to Lucius.
“It reports the fact that the Auror Department and Child Services have opened a case investigating Harry’s former guardians and that Andromeda wasn’t his original guardian as we let the public believe. Mr. Cuffe goes on to demand an accounting of who was responsible for ensuring the Boy-Who-Lived went to a safe home. He even suggests that Harry’s placement, abuse, and abduction were Death Eater plots, calling into question your bond and insinuating that the Ministry should look into dissolving it for Harry’s protection.”
Draco frowned. “They can’t do that.”
“No,” Lucius agreed. “As we didn’t have anything to do with Potter before your return, the Ministry has no legal way to interfere.”
“But you’re worried,” Draco pointed out.
Lucius leaned back in his chair, eyes falling half-shut lazily. “Rumors, reputations, and accusations are powerful things. Hate mail and threatening letters have already been destroyed by the wards.”
Draco scowled. He hated Harry’s fame because if Harry had been just a normal kid these people wouldn’t care one whit what happened to him. They wouldn’t blink an eye at child abuse or kidnappings. Because those things happened every day and yet only Harry’s story was in the newspaper. “What are you going to do?”
Lucius smiled. “You trust me to handle this?”
Draco met his father’s eyes and said simply, “Yes.”
Lucius’s smile turned into a grin. He leaned forward, expression bright with enthusiasm. “I’ve already alerted my lawyers and pressed charges against Barnabas Cuffe. Harry is a minor and as such is protected from having any information regarding on-going investigations being made public. Cuffe has been fired and is facing criminal charges. Unfortunately, his words cannot be unseen by the public. We must turn public opinion back in our favor. I suggest giving an exclusive interview. I have an acquaintance in journalism. Such an interview would be a huge boost for her career, so she’ll do exactly as we say.”
Draco sighed. He leaned over, bracing his elbow on the arm of the chair and resting his cheek on his fist. “What’ll we say?”
Lucius laid out his plan. Draco listened, occasionally snorting in humor. It was hard to believe people could be so easily manipulated, but the fact that they were getting hate mail after Cuffe’s illegal article proved that it was true. In the end, they agreed that Lucius would contact his acquaintance and invite her to the manor tomorrow morning.
Draco was just getting ready to rejoin Harry, maybe take a nap, too, when Lucius sat up straight, his expression becoming serious.
“Someone is knocking on our wards.”
Closing his eyes, Lucius concentrated on his connection to the manor’s protections, blocking everything else out. When an image came slowly into focus, he frowned, opening his eyes to see Draco watching him expectantly.
“It is your Unspeakable.”
Draco’s eyes went wide before he turned and hurried from the room. Lucius followed him at a more sedate pace. There was no hurry. It would take time for the woman to cross the half-mile to their front door, Apparating completely blocked. As Lucius predicted, they waited in the foyer for a good ten minutes before there was a knock. Halfway through that time, Narcissa joined them, likely alerted by Lottie, so they were all three standing together when Lucius gestured and the door swung stately open.
The Unspeakable looked paler than before with dark circles ringing her eyes. Her expression was as empty of emotion as a doll and Lucius tensed. It was possible that this wasn’t the Unspeakable at all, but a homunculus sent to gain entry through the wards. Such a thing was hideously complicated and required a significant amount of power to maintain, but he would never underestimate his enemies again.
She bowed her head. “Malfoy. Lady Malfoy. Draco.”
“Come have a seat,” Narcissa offered politely, gesturing toward the sitting room.
The woman didn’t argue and followed them into the sitting room. She sat in an armchair and accepted the cup of tea Narcissa offered her. Draco said nothing, but he was reaching his breaking point. He wanted to know why she’d been gone so long and what she had discovered about the black form attached to Harry’s core. He stared at her unblinking, silently demanding answers. Lucius stood by the small fireplace as was his custom. He’s expression was more patient. Narcissa mirrored him, forever polite and minding her manners.
“Forgive me for my long absence. I was deep into my research,” Pandora finally spoke, setting her tea cup down once it was empty. Some color returned to her cheeks, but her face was still alarmingly pale. “I passed out from magical exhaustion and was unconscious for the last three days.”
“What did you find out?” Draco demanded, unable to wait any longer.
Pandora gave him her complete attention. Her blue eyes were dark from fatigue and piercing. “I found out that there is no current means of breaking the connection between the Black magic and Harry’s core without inflicting damage on Harry. I will have to invent a new spell or create a new magical artifact if such a procedure is to be successful.”
Draco immediately stood, fists clenched and a dark scowl on his face. He shouldn’t have waited this long! He should have just taken care of it himself!
Pandora reached out to him. “Please,” she said softly. “I ask that you do not take action.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she cut him off. “I do not ask this of you lightly. If I could have your parents’ permission, I’d like to take you somewhere to show you just how dangerous it would be for you to attempt such a thing.” Seeing his angry resistance, she pressed harder. “It will only take an hour or so of your time. If you still disagree, you are free to act as you please. Can you risk not seeing what I have to show you? It may effect Harry.”
Lucius and Narcissa were unhappy with this plan. They did not want Draco out from behind the manor’s wards. They also did not know or trust the Unspeakable. Anyone could become corrupt. It was also very coincidental that her return coincided with the article on Harry in the Daily Prophet that called for the separation of Harry from the Malfoys.
“Our permission will be withheld until you can convince us of Draco’s safety and that he will be returned,” Lucius told her, back stiff and eyes narrowed.
“I cannot make a vow. If he were to stumble and hurt himself while in my care, I would suffer,” Pandora returned reasonably. She met Lucius’s eyes before meeting Narcissa’s. Solemnly, she told her, “Draco plans to use the bond to sever the tether between Harry and the Black magic. I assure you that such an action will be disastrous for him. Only seeing what I have to show him will convince him otherwise.”
Worried, Narcissa reached over to put her hand on Draco’s arm, as if she could hold him still or keep him safe with just a touch. She saw in his young face that the Unspeakable spoke the truth. Heart beating fast, she looked to Lucius, eyes wide.
Tone glacial, Lucius came away from the wall and stood in front of the woman. Pandora stood so that they were on more equal footing. A sneer twisted his lips, making it clear that merely standing would never make them equal. He offered the head of his cane, the metal snake head gleaming.
“I will have your vow that you mean him no harm and it is your intent to return him in an hour’s time,” he told her, tone unyielding.
She met his eyes for a moment before nodding and setting her hand on the snake head. She swore the vow and suffered the bite without flinching. Lucius said nothing. He set the cane on the floor and leaned on it, expression coldly threatening. Narcissa’s hands twisted in her skirts, worry clear as day on her features.
“Dobby!” Draco called, watching all this nonsense through a hot glare.
“Yes, Master!” the elf cried, popping into the room.
“Tell Harry I went with the Unspeakable for a bit. I’ll be back soon.”
Dobby bowed at the waist, saying, “Yes, Master.”
Draco hardly paid any attention, instead following Pandora from the room as she strode toward the door. The half-mile walk cleared his head a little and he frowned, wondering what had made Pandora so certain of Harry’s doom if the tether were to be broken. They walked over grassy hills and around the edge of the lake, skirting the woods. They stopped without much warning or change in scenery. She silently offered Draco her hand. He took it and suddenly they were mashed together and flung through space.
Draco collapsed to his knees as soon as they landed, his system reeling from his first time side-Apparating. Through blurry eyes, he saw that they were in a shaded alley in what looked like London. Pandora said nothing, her hands folded into her sleeves as she waited for him to recover. Pale and shaking, Draco climbed to his feet and gave a nod.
She strode from the alley, went down the street, turned the corner and stopped in front of a red phone booth. Draco squeezed inside with her and watched as she pulled the hood over her head, her features disappearing in shadow and cast a Disillusionment Charm on him. With a mighty jerk, the booth dropped. Draco felt his stomach do a slow roll and closed his eyes. They landed with a jarring impact. Pandora took his hand, leading him through the Ministry lobby.
Draco studied her back curiously. She walked with quick purpose, as if something urgent drove her. How much of that was an act so that no one questioned them? How much was truth? He began to worry about his boy. What had she found out? What could make her this tense?
They breezed by the security check point, and when they got on an elevator, no one would share it with her, deciding to wait for the next one, so they had it to themselves. Flying sideways and up and down, they arrived at the second-lowest level of the Ministry of Magic, Level Nine. The black-tiled walls were bare with no windows and no doors, apart from a plain black one at the end of the corridor. Light was provided only by torches, which glowed a blue-white.Pandora guided him down the narrow corridor without pause. She opened the door and they walked into the Department proper.
“Stay close to me,” she told him, squeezing his hand to emphasis her point. “There are things down here designed to disorient any unauthorized personnel who enter.”
Draco nodded and looked around curiously. The room was circular with a dark marble floor that looked almost like standing water. Candles emitting a cool blue light hung along the rounded walls; twelve identical, handleless doors were placed equal distant apart around them. As soon as the exit door shut, the wall began to spin, spinning the doors before coming to a stop. Pandora strode toward one of the doors on the left without hesitation.
They stepped into a long, rectangular room filled with beautiful, dancing light that sparkled like diamonds. All kinds of golden devices filled the chamber, lining the walls on the floor-to-ceiling shelves and standing like sculptures around the room. Most of them had clock faces and make soft ticking sounds. It also contained a large crystal bell jar at its far end. It was as tall as an adult and as wide as Draco’s king sized bed at home. The sparking light seemed to come from there. Whatever was giving off that light flickered and spun in no discernible pattern within the glass dome.
“Inside the jar, anything will grow increasingly younger, to its pre-life state, be reborn to grow older, and cycle through endlessly,” Pandora explained.
Draco said nothing, overwhelmed. This was the most blatantly magical place he’d ever been in. His eyes darted here and there, trying to take in all the strangeness.
Pandora led him to an area that looked like small offices just off the main chamber. She entered one and he stood in the doorway, watching as she grabbed a bag and shoved a few things into it. Pictures sat on the desk of a blond man with long hair and a goofy smile and a little girl about Draco’s age. She turned and he backed up to give her room. She led him straight back to the bell jar. Draco stared at her as she finally came to a stop and faced him properly.
“We use this special key to open up a space within Time. We perform experiments there.” Her blue eyes seemed to pierce him. “What you see here today, you can never tell another soul. It is one of the Great Mysteries of the Department. Many would use this for evil purposes. Others would try to have it destroyed.”
Draco nodded solemnly. “I won’t say anything.”
“After you see what I show you and you refuse to swear a Vow of Silence, I will have to Obliviate you. If you understand and still wish to proceed, take my hand.”
Draco stared at her pale hand for only a second before accepting it. He hadn’t forgotten for a second that all of this was about Harry. Nothing would stop him from protecting his boy.
Chapter end.
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Freedom Bound in Chains