Bond (Drarry)

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

October 21 - October 22

Day 23, Wednesday, continued

"This is impossible. They are impossible," Snape could be heard saying, several hours later.

The merry band was together again, discussing their 'case', but this time Draco and Potter were not invited to the party. Legally of age or not, the rest of them had decided they were too bond-addled to be trusted to make any decisions for themselves. Instead they'd had their wands confiscated, been patched up, and given calming potions. And now, here they were, cooling their heels in a small sitting room outside Dumbledore's office while the discussion went on inside, Draco on a sofa and Potter pacing the room restlessly, both trying to ignore the portraits moving from frame to frame whispering about them.

"Malfoy," Potter said hesitantly, breaking the silence in the room. Draco looked up. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"Brilliant powers of observation, Potter," Draco replied tiredly. "What was your first hint?" He flicked his eyes at the blood still staining Potter's white shirt, knowing his own was blood-spattered too. Pomfrey had been too disgusted with them to give them time to change or clean up after healing their injuries.

"What-" Potter stopped, cleared his throat. "What do you think they'll decide?"

"No clue."

"I... I have a feeling I won't like it."

"I doubt I will either," Draco said. "I'm not sure they can decide anything, though. We are both adults."

"They may not be able to force us to do anything, but they can make things difficult for us if we don't obey. We could be expelled. Or disowned or something, in your case."

"My father wouldn't disown me."

"Really? What would he do instead?"

Draco frowned.

"Malfoy... what could he do to you, that makes you so afraid of him?" Potter asked hesitantly.

"I'm not afraid of him."

"Bollocks," Potter replied bluntly. "You are. You're not all that concerned about what Dumbledore or anybody else at school might do, but you're terrified of the fact that your father is in there with them."

"Does the bond now include Legilimency for you? No? Then don't presume to tell me how I'm feeling and why."

"I don't need Legilimency. I know how you feel, and it's the same way you felt that day in the hospital when you contradicted him in public. You nearly had a heart attack."

"We'd just been through a lot of stress-"

"Nothing to do with it. You were afraid of him." Potter's gaze was direct and uncompromising.

Draco bit his lip. Yes, he'd realized years ago that his feelings for his father, his respect and admiration and love, were also tinged with an unhealthy amount of fear. He'd noticed that none of his friends seemed to feel that same bone-deep terror of their fathers that Draco felt for his. Maybe their fathers didn't regularly threaten them with expulsion from the family, or remind them that not living up to their family's expectations would result in a life of misery, or viciously hex them as part of a 'disciplined upbringing'.

Yes, he bloody well was afraid of his father, and had good reason to be. But there was no way he would admit anything like that to Potter, of all people.

On the other hand, it was stupid to pretend there was no basis to what Potter was saying. Because he was right; Lucius' presence in that office was terrifying him right now. He didn't have any idea what his father would do to him, because he'd long ago given up imagining for himself what Lucius could come up with. His worst fears sometimes paled next to the real thing.