Harry Potter One-shots

Every Step of the Way (Draco)

You had always been there. Ever since the Dark Lord had returned, you had been there. You would see him change, fall apart. You had been there when the Dark Lord had entrusted the mission to kill Dumbledore to him, you had been there to watch his first failed attempts to fix the Vanishing Cabinet. You had been there when Snape had reprimanded him. You had been there, beside him, on the bed of the Hospital Wing after Harry Potter had attacked him in the bathroom.

You had followed him when he had left to open the now fixed cabinet for the Death Eaters to infiltrate the school. You had followed him up the Astronomy tower, heard the last words of Albus Dumbledore, seen Snape kill him. You had followed him out of the school, you had apparated with him to Malfoy Manor.

You are right here now as he is standing in his room, looking outside at the gardens with an unreadable expression on his face. Sitting on his bed, it hadn't been needed to invite yourself in. After some time of sitting there in silence, Draco finally acknowledged your presence.

"What do you want, Avery?"

"Nothing at all, Draco," you said softly as you raised your eyes to his back. "I'm just sitting. In silence. In case you need anything."

"I don't need anything."

"Are you sure about that?" you pressed.

"Nothing you can give me."

It was always the same conversation. You always asked him if there was anything you could do to help him and everytime he would answer that there was nothing you could give him that would be of help. Still, you kept being near, letting him know that in case he needed you, you were there for him. You hadn't stopped trying to make him feel better or help him and you certainly wouldn't stop now.

Your father was a Death Eater and at the Dark Lord's command, you were to be present in every meeting. Even though you weren't a Death Eater, he had asked you to supervise Draco and write back letters so they knew of his progress. You sent letters back frequently, never once mentioning his failures. You couldn't think of what would happen if they learnt about them.

While you tried your best to be there for Draco, he didn't do the same for you. He hardly ever asked about you or even talked to you. It seemed like you existed for him just in case he wanted someone to remind him of his work for the Death Eaters. When he did talk to you, it was usually about what he had to do. You didn't blame him, though. You couldn't begin to think how it must have felt for him.

You waited some more in his room, watching him as he kept staring at the gardens, motionless. But after some time, you just couldn't wait doing nothing any longer. With a heavy sigh, you stood up and walked to the door, but before you could reach it, he called for you.

"Avery."

You turned your head slightly so as to look at him only to realise he was still staring at the gardens. "What is it?"

"Stay for a while longer."

You didn't move. "Why?"

Finally, he turned to face you. With a sigh, you didn't even wait for an answer as you headed over to him and stopped beside him. As he said nothing, though, you turned away and looked down at the gardens. After some time, he finally spoke up.

"What do you think will happen now?"

"It depends on how the Dark Lord will view your mission," you mumbled. "I hope he is pleased. I don't want to think what will happen if he's not."

You thought you heard him gulp. "He won't be pleased. I didn't kill Dumbledore. Snape did."

"But you did fix the cabinet," you said softly as you turned to face him. "You let the Death Eaters in the school, that has got to mean something. And Dumbledore is dead. Even if it wasn't by your hand."