The Little One with Green Eyes

16: The Murder of Harry J. Potter

TW: Child Abuse, Gore

-October 10 1991-
Draco had been sitting in the common room of the Dark Lord's Castle when he heard the scream. His mother had requested he come home for the weekend and attend the Dark Lord's castle with her in an attempt to cheer up Little One. When Draco heard that Little One had been rescued, he'd been so relieved. He missed his little brother so much, and he hadn't been sleeping well from all the worry.

Despite coming to visit Little One, Draco hadn't seen the toddler Inferius once. His mother had reassured him, saying that it wasn't him but the fact that Little One was incredibly weary of everyone. Draco could understand that. Draco supposed that had he been kidnapped, he wouldn't want to see anyone either.

So while his mother and father attended a meeting with the Dark Lord, Draco settled into the comfortable armchair and began to read his school books. Draco wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there reading, but when the high pitched scream rang through the air, Draco had been startled to see that the common room was empty.

Something about the scream set Draco on edge, and he grit his teeth at the feeling. He felt stupid at the way he immediatly felt uneasy at the noise. He was probably overreacting. He stood quickly, his books falling to the floor with a clatter. He was just about to go off and find the origin of the scream when the door to the Dark Lord's personal Meeting Hall slammed open. Draco jumped at the sudden noise and whipped his head around to see a composed, yet clearly enraged Dark Lord storm out of the room, frantic Inner Circle members following close behind.

Suddenly, Draco's bad feeling didn't seem so stupid.

"Find him!" the Dark Lord barked. "Find Little One, now!"

Draco felt ice water wash over him as he realized whose scream that was. Draco's wide eyes found his mother and she nodded discreetly at Draco's silent question. Draco sucked in a harsh breath as the thought of Little One screaming made his blood boil. Determination quickly replaced his rage, though, and Draco quickly ran out of the room in search of Little One.

The scream sounded close by, and Draco figured that it came from one of the halls leading to the back garden. Mother had told Draco that Little One was very weary and isolated, and if Little One were to go anywhere without the Dark Lord, he'd go to the gardens.

Draco quickly raced towards the first hall and for a moment, Draco wished that he hadn't been the one to realize where Little One would go. Draco froze in place when he saw the blood. It was pooling on the ground, and Draco couldn't see where it was coming from as he could only see the blood from around the corner. Heart pounding, Draco turned the corner and fought the urge to vomit.

It was gruesome.

His little brother, the most gentle and kind person Draco had ever met, was sprawled out in a tangle of limbs on the cold ground. He gagged at the sight of Little One's head bent at an awkward angle, and it took Draco a second to understand why.

Someone had ripped his stitches out!

The blood continued to sluggishly exit his neck, adding to the growing crimson wetness staining the ground. Little One's green eyes were wide with terror and pain, his mouth open on a silent scream. The only noise escaping him were wheezes and a soft gurgle as Little One choked on his own blood. Draco's stomach rebelled further.

"Oh Merlin..." he said, tears filling his eyes at the horrific sight. He sucked in a deep breath and screamed for help. He sunk to his knees, his trembling hands stretching out towards Little One. Draco could feel his knees being soaked but he didn't care. All Draco could think of was what kind of a monster could do something like this?