A Beautiful Beginning

~Chapter 14~

•unedited•

Sorry in advance about the "poem." (You'll understand later)

******

My heart's racing, the surroundings are a blur, but I'm probably just as blurry to the stray passerby, and my knuckle throbs with subtle pain because of how tight I'm holding this blasted note. This should be what I want right? A way to find Harry before it's too late, but all I feel is pure dread. It's like when you're hoping for something and spend forever imagining what it'll be like, but it ends up being something completely different.
I'm racing across the bridge like my life depends on getting to the other side, although I suppose it really did this time; Harry is my life. I've spent so long denying it, and admitting it — if only to myself — feels so good. Like a breath of fresh air. My lungs may be on fire and my legs may feel like they're burning in hell and I may be wheezing like an old man, but at this moment I can feel a sense of clarity wash over me which only strengthens my desire to reach Luna and finally get Harry back — my Harry.
I sprint in the direction of the Forbidden Forest and pray it won't be difficult to find Luna considering how big that fucking creepy forest is. Swerving left and right to avoid the trees, I desperately call out her name and search for her fair colored hair. 30 minutes pass by and I'm just about to give up when a voice speaks up from behind, making me scream — a very manly scream I might add — in fright.
"Oh my, Draco, there's no need to scare the entire forest now is there?" Luna asked jokingly. However, as soon as she saw my abnormally pale and panicked face, her amused expression immediately dropped, turning concerned. "What happened, Draco? You found something didn't you?" Words inconveniently decided to fail me right then and I could only nod weakly. I handed her the "letter" and watched as her eyes ate up the words written in elegant calligraphy, line by agonizing line. By the time Luna was finished, her face was scrunched up, analyzing the note, trying to find the hidden message within.
"Luna? What the fuck does that mean?" I asked feebly, sounding like a scared child. She looked up and scrutinized me for a quiet moment, with the only audible noise being the faint breeze rustling the leaves. Suddenly, she put her arms around me in a hug. I tensed not used to physical contact.
"You love him don't you?"
Only five words, but they meant everything. I broke down sobbing, finally letting the emotions that had been building up for a while now out; the dam crippled, the mask fell. I cried and cried and then cried some more until I felt as if I actually couldn't cry anymore. All the while, Luna held me firmly never uttering a single word. Sometimes the silence speaks volumes. When my sobs had been reduced to hiccups, she softly spoke.
"I've been thinking, and I believe I might know where your father has been keeping Harry." This captured my attention and I nodded to let her know she could continue. "A couple of the lines stuck out to me. 'I know exactly what you yearn, but you have to be willing to learn. However, I feel inclined to warn, it's where hybrids go to be reborn. Caution must be took, wherever you chose to look.' What if he was referring to the Shrieking Shack? Professor Lupin was a werewolf or a 'hybrid' to some, and he went there to transform which could also be what 'reborn' refers to. It might be a long shot, and I might be completely wrong, but we don't have any other leads." What she was saying made perfect sense, but a part of me was still skeptical; what if Harry wasn't there and we were wasting time when he could be off dead somewhere? What if he was there but was already too far gone to be saved? These thoughts honestly scared the living shit out of me but — no. No. I'm done being scared of everything; of my father, of all the what-ifs, of myself. It is this mindset that pulls me away from Luna. I glance down and see the letter that she dropped when she went to comfort me. With my resolve renewed, I look Luna straight in her eyes and decided something for myself.
"When can we start?"

***
"Son of a fuck nugget," I groaned. I got no sleep whatsoever through the night, although there were about 20 minutes somewhere in there that I can't remember anything; no dreams,no recollection of being awake or asleep. It was strange, and almost like I was unknowingly unconscious. My confusion was so strong it took me a very long, painfully slow minute to realize I no longer was adorning a blindfold. I take a good look around and — shit, I'm not in the same room as before, meaning I spent all last night awake worrying and stressing over a desk for literally nothing. Groaning I thoroughly examine my surroundings and am extremely annoyed. I'm the only thing in the room if you don't count the chair my sore ass is sitting in. No furniture, not even a single goddamn window.
"I see you've noticed the change of scenery. It quite suits your personality don't you think? Bland and depressing."
Groaning, I glare at Lucius over my shoulder and sassily reply, "Really? I think it's more like the description of your dick; small and basic. You could've at least put me somewhere where I could get, oh I don't know, natural light. It's great for the skin y'know? I'd even settle for artificial light at this point." In response, he whacks the back of my head with his cane. "If you hit me hard enough, I could die. Then I'd be useless to you," I said while grimacing at the pain shooting through my skull.
"Oh, quiet. I doubt you'll get the privilege of that. Anyway, small talk is not why I came in here for contrary to popular belief. I thought I'd inform you that my son is coming to give himself up to me in exchange for you. I hope that sinks into your inferior brain." With that, I heard him exit but couldn't care less; I was too overwhelmed with a sense of dread and oddly enough defeat. Why would that beautiful, perfectly amazing dipshit want to go back to his abusive father if you could even call him that. I look up at the ceiling while closing my eyes and sigh. Why couldn't life be fucking simple for once? Something or someone always came along to fuck shit up and then I'd be stuck in the middle, fighting too many battles at once. These bitter thoughts run through my head and strangely enough lull me into a restless sleep filled with blonde hair, a raging fire, and a wooden cane.

***********

Hope you enjoyed, and we're really, really, really, really, really, REALLY sorry for not updating since July, so thank you to everyone who's still sticking with ABB and getting this to 3.61 k reads and hopefully there'll be more ✨consistent✨ updates after this. On another note, my birthday's today so this is my (technically our) present to you for not giving up on this story :)))))