never let me go

brace

Lewis Capaldi – Someone You Loved

"I'm going under, and this time

I fear there's no one to save me."

Draco was apparated to the outside of an old stone castle perched on the edge of a cliff. Far below, waves crashed relentlessly against the rocks and the air tasted of salt. The building looked like it was crumbling under the weight of time and Draco was weary to go inside, but he was led in by the Death Eaters, Snyde and the other two Slytherin seventh years. He was taken to a cavernous room with a high ceiling that was open on one side, a metal railing the only thing between him and the drop to the ocean. He kept away from the edge.

Snyde had his arms crossed and looked immensely smug. Draco glared at him. The Death Eaters drew back their hoods and removed their masks, and Draco instantly saw a resemblance in one of them. He looked back to Snyde.

"I thought you said your father was in Azkaban."

"He was," came a voice from behind Draco, and his blood turned to ice. He had thought he would never hear that voice outside of his nightmares again. But as he turned, he saw him standing there looking just like he had before the war.

Lucius Malfoy. His father.

"Hello, son."

Draco swallowed. "How?"

"How did Snyde and I escape?" He tapped his cane on the stone and took a step towards the ledge. "An effort made by the Death Eaters who managed to stay free. That's more than I can say for you."

"Why doesn't everyone know?"

"That's your ministry's doing, not ours. I assume they don't want panic."

His father looked to the others in the room and with a wave of his hand they left. He beckoned to Draco to join him at the railing overlooking the ocean. Draco tried to unclench his hands at his sides and slowly walked over, careful not to stand too close.

"Do you know what's out there, Draco?" He didn't answer. "The North Sea. Azkaban. We have great plans, my son, and I want you to be a part of them."

The names and faces of all the Death Eaters Draco knew of, terrifying witches and wizards, flashed in his mind. His father wanted to free them.

"I know you were always somewhat... reluctant." His father stepped up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. Draco tensed in an effort not to flinch away. "But I know you'll make me proud."

Lucius left him standing at the railing, and Draco finally closed his eyes and let the tears he had been holding in fall. He wished Harry was there to hold him, to keep him in one piece, but he had destroyed even that. He would never forgive himself for what he'd done, but the alternative had been letting them kill him. It had been all he could think of to save him, even though it hurt so much that Draco felt like he was being ripped apart. He was lost without him.

But Harry didn't remember him at all. And knowing that hurt the most.