Empty Spaces

Chapter 28

Draco waited until the room was still once more; he closed the window and sank down to the ground again, crushed by guilt and grief and the reality of what he was about to do. It felt a bit like diving off a cliff into an ocean far below: If he managed to survive the fall, he would still have to make it through the pounding waves. But if there was any chance at loosening the iron fist Lucius held over him and his life, this was it.

At five to midnight, Draco donned a disillusionment charm and quietly crept through the halls and out the door. Shivering in the cold, he waited at the iron gates.

"Potter, you there?" he whispered into the darkness.

"I'm here," Potter's voice whispered back. "I can't see you..."

"Good," Draco whispered back, "Sorry, can you hold out your hand for me? Once I've got you, you can put the cloak back..."

Potter's disembodied hand appeared out of nowhere; Draco took it as if it were a lifeline and then it once more disappeared into the darkness.

"Come on," Draco whispered, leading Potter through the barrier, back into the house, through the corridors and back into Draco's room.

"Do you have them?" Draco asked, lifting his disillusionment charm as Potter reappeared at his side.

"Yeah," Potter said, taking all three items out of his schoolbag. "Care to tell me what's going on now?"

"It's his money," Draco explained, "Supposedly it's my money, but really, it's his. Well, it's family money. My inheritance so far."

"Oh...kay...?" Potter replied, not yet catching on.

"As long as I'm living off of his money, he holds the upper hand," Draco explained, "Lucius is right, no one gives anything away for free. So I'm giving it all back. Clearing my debt, well, as much of it as I can. And then, hopefully... hopefully I won't have to listen to the fucker anymore..."

"Why...?"

"Potter, nobody gives anything away for free! It's how Lucius lives and operates, it's how he's able to get all this special treatment. He's received a life sentence in Azkaban, and yet he's able to convince the justice system to let him out to spend the holidays with his family!? He pays people, gets them to owe him and owe him deep, and then he pulls his strings and has them repay their debts to him with all these favors nobody in their right mind would ever dream of granting him."

"People give shit away for free all the time!"

"No they don't," Draco shook his head, "There is always something to be received in return. Lucius just... has very specific terms of repayment..."

"I just treated all of you to dinner," Potter retorted, "You owe me nothing. I did it because I wanted to."

"That's just it!" Draco explained, "You wanted to do it, and it probably made you happy! Your happiness! That was what you received in exchange! Lucius, on the other hand, doesn't accept happiness as a form of currency! Favors and money and coming out on top. That's what he's after."

"Fucker," Potter shook his head in disbelief.

"Exactly," Draco replied darkly.

"Now what?" Potter asked.

"Now... now we wait until morning," Draco said, the terrifying reality of what he was about to do hanging over him.

"Alright," Potter nodded. "Come on, come here..."

Potter led Draco to the bed, wrapping his arms protectively around him, a piece of warmth and safety in an otherwise cold and empty world.

"Why are you still here...?" Draco whispered. Who on earth would do this... and why...? The Malfoy family tree is a toxic one, poison dripping from its branches and seeping through its leaves... why would you stay...?