The Tragic Tale of the Boy Who Lived and the Boy Who Wanted to Die [ON HIATUS]

Draco saw Harry slip into the sixth-floor classroom right as he turned the hallway. As quietly as possible, he followed. Why Harry wanted to meet up tonight out of all possible times was beyond him. Maybe it was because all the prefects would be busy with the first-years.

Draco still couldn’t believe he was sneaking out at night to meet with Harry Potter. The thought alone was illogical; if somebody had told Draco a year ago that he would be friends with Harry Potter, he would’ve called them crazy.

“Hey. You showed up.” Harry said.

“Did you think I wouldn’t?” Draco asked. Harry didn’t say anything, so Draco started talking about their new DADA teacher. “So, what do you think of the new teacher? What's his name, uhm, Moody? I noticed his eye, it's kinda creepy.”

“Yeah. I mean yeah, that's his name. Ron’s dad went to help him out with something this morning, he got an urgent call from the Ministry.” Harry said. “They said he used to be a good Auror.” Harry went on about Aurors and how he didn’t know that wizards had their own police force. He’d occasionally run his hand through his hair, messing it up a bit. Draco wondered how he’d never noticed that before.

“Is it true that there's a whole branch that just goes around and wipes people’s memories?” Harry asked. Draco realised he hadn’t paid attention to a word Harry just said.

“Umm… Oh! You’re talking about Obliviators. Yeah, they go and wipe the memories of muggles who’ve seen magic. We have to stay secret somehow.” He hoped Harry didn’t realise he hadn’t paid any attention, and when Harry started talking again, Draco tried to pay attention, but he couldn’t help it. Harry was just so interesting. The way he talked, the way he stood, it was just so intriguing. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t noticed it before.

The two talked for hours, until they realized how late it was.

“Shit it’s late! We should probably head back to our rooms. Um, same time next Saturday?” Harry asked.

“Yeah, perfect. Sounds good.” Draco couldn’t believe what he’d gotten himself into. Sneaking out to see Harry Potter? If his friends knew- Well, Draco wouldn’t think about that. They wouldn’t find out.

“Where did you go? You didn’t come with us after dinner. It’s been like hours!” Theo said once Draco got back. He was the only one still awake; usually everybody fell asleep instantly after the feast.

“I- I had to go ask McGonagall about her class, and stopped by the library on my way back.” He made up on the spot.

“Oh. Alright then.” Draco could tell it didn’t fully convince Theo.

“No, I swear! I just got sidetracked. You know how I am with books.” Draco hoped Theo believed him, and fell asleep almost the second he laid down.

Theo dropped it by the morning, and classes started right away as per usual. Draco was still taking all the same classes he had been in the previous year, but the class he was most looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everybody was talking about it non-stop. Unfortunately, he didn't have it until Thursday morning. He would just have to wait. 

He already knew Care of Magical Creatures would be bad. It had been last year, and Draco had never dropped the class like he'd originally intended. As Draco, Daphne, and Pansy were making their way down, Pansy was complaining about her boyfriend.

“He just never does anything for me, you know? I'll probably just break up with him soon and get it over with.” Draco rolled his eyes, knowing how Blaise would be hanging on to her every sentence.

Once they got down to Hagrid’s hut, Draco saw Harry sitting with his friends from Gryffindor. They were laughing about something, and were happily waiting for class to start. What Draco wouldn't give for friends like that.

Hagrid then welcomed the students and showed them the creatures they would be taking care of. Draco was appalled; the hippogriffs were scary enough, but these looked downright revolting. They looked like deformed squishy lobsters.

“What are those!” Daphne shrieked.

“Blast-Ended Skrewts! They only just hatched, I thought we'd make a lil project outta ‘em! Y'know, raisin’ ‘em and such.” Hagrid replied joyfully. Draco thought it was an awful idea, and as Hagrid spoke, it only got worse. Occasionally one would blast off, leaving the handler's hand with burns. They were supposed to be feeding them, and after Draco fed one, barely avoiding getting burnt, he decided to just watch. Hagrid was too busy helping students to notice.

Harry handled the Skrewts like a professional. Only once did he get burnt, and he fed the most Skrewts out of anybody. Draco couldn't say the same about Daphne and Pansy, the latter had to use her wand to put out her hair after it had caught fire briefly.

“That class was awful. I can't believe we have to raise those- those things. He doesn't even know what they eat!” Pansy said as they were leaving. Draco didn't respond. Yes, the Skrewts were horrifying, but it was definitely an overall better first lesson than he had the previous year. At least this one wasn’t ending in a hospital wing trip- Not for Draco, at least.

All of his other classes were normal, nothing very special happened, other than Neville Longbottom melting yet another cauldron during Potions, causing an uproar.

Wednesday night Draco, Theo, and Blaise were theorizing about how Defense Against the Dark Arts would go the following morning.

“Maybe it'll be about something like non-verbal defense! That would be so cool! Nobody will even tell me what it's about.” Blaise suggested. Draco had tried cornering Harry to ask if he'd had the class yet, but he didn't have it until Thursday afternoon.

“Or maybe it'll be about protection charms. Something like the Fidelius Charm.” Theo added. The three went to bed early that night, although everybody was far too excited to sleep.

The Slytherin students were anxious to get to Defense Against the Dark Art class on Thursday. Many of them scarfed down their breakfast & hurried to wait outside the classroom. Draco and his friends were among them.

“Oh, I can't wait!” Daphne said, “I've heard so much!”

Moody let them all in, and everybody sat down. Even though everybody was usually talking with one another during the start of most classes, everybody was dead silent.

“You won't be needing those books,” Moody said, taking attendance, “Today's just a demonstration.” The class was speechless as Moody ran through the names.

“Malfoy, you'll be Lucius's son then?” Draco nodded. “I know your father rather well.” Moody's voice had a bitter, cold tone to it that put Draco on edge.

“Alright, I got the notes from Lupin on what you've covered so far. But you are all quite behind on curses, very behind indeed. Now, I'm only staying here for a year, special favor to Dumbledore, so I have one year to fill you all in on curses.” Moody's real eye was focused on the class, while his electric blue fake eye spun around in its socket. “Now, the Ministry doesn't want you guys to learn about the Unforgivable Curses until 6th year. They say you're all too young. I say fuck what the Ministry thinks, and I am going to teach you about them anyway. You need to know what you're up against. Dumbledore agrees with me.” Draco and many of his classmates were shocked by his words. Draco had never heard a teacher swear before. “Can anybody tell me how many Unforgivable Curses there are and what happens if you use one?” Millicent Bulstrode raised her hand.

“Three, and you get a lifetime in Azkaban,” she said quietly.

“You're Ms. Bulstrode? Yeah, you'd know about that. I attended your father's trial, you know.” Millicent turned slightly pink and Moody continued. “Can somebody else name one of these curses?” A few hands went up, including Theo's.

“There's the Imperius Curse. Mind control.” He said. Moody nodded and pulled out a spider from his desk.

“Now, watch this. Imperio!” At once, the spider stopped moving. Moody pointed his wand to the back of the room, and the spider immediately obliged, making its way back there so fast it seemed to teleport. He made the spider swing from the ceiling and perform a complex looking acrobatic routine that Draco was sure it would not be capable of if it hadn't been cursed. Some students were laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

“Yes, funny, isn't it? I could make him tap dance! I could make him repaint the Mona Lisa! I could make him kill and torture innocent people.” The laughter and smiles disappeared at once. “Yes, this spell was very popular a few years back. After You-Know-Who was defeated, many people seemed to come out of trances and swear that You-Know-Who had cursed them. The issue is, how do we weed out the liars?” Both of Moody's eyes were glaring at Draco. He was pretty sure he knew why. “Now, can somebody tell me another one?” Fewer hands were raised this time.

“Uhm, there's one, Crucio?” Somebody said.

“Yes, the Cruciatus Curse. This one was also quite popular. You don't need anything to torture people if you know this spell.” Moody grabbed the spider and enlarged it with his wand. “Needs to be a bit bigger for you to get an idea. Crucio!” The spider recoiled in pain. It twitched and although it couldn't make sound, Draco could tell he was in immense pain. He was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with every word Moody said, and it didn't help that Moody clearly hated him.

“That's enough.” Moody lifted the curse, and the spider looked relieved. “Now, what is the final curse?” Draco knew it, everybody knew it, but nobody raised their hands. “Nobody? Maybe it's best if I demonstrate it.” Moody pointed his wand at the spider. “Avada Kedavra!” The spider fell, clearly dead, and the room was silent. “Instant death. Only one person ever has survived it, and he’s in my next class.” Draco knew he was talking about Harry. “Now I'll let you know that these are highly illegal. The Ministry does not want me to teach you these. I'd like it if you didn't go around flaunting your new-found knowledge. Now, that's all I have for you today, so you are free to go.”

Draco's friends seemed to think that Moody's lesson was one of the best they had in ages. He really couldn’t say he agreed with them. Moody was cool, sure, but he was also pretty creepy, with his weird eye and his clear disdain for Draco and his father. Nobody else seemed to have this problem.

On Saturday, Draco went back to the empty classroom and waited. It didn’t take long for Harry to arrive, looking slightly concerned.

“Is something wrong?” Draco asked.

“My godfather, Sirius, is coming back up here because of something that happened over the summer. I sent him a letter about it with a rental owl, and he responded yesterday. I sent him a response this morning and told him not to worry about it, but I think he probably came back anyway. He said something about Dumbledore reading signs of something, but I dunno…” Harry replied.

“What happened this summer? Are you talking about the World Cup thing?” Draco asked.

“No, it happened before that. It- it’s stupid, honestly. I had a- well, it was a dream, more of a nightmare, but it felt real, and I woke up with my scar hurting. It wasn’t a big deal, but I wrote to Sirius anyway and now he’s endangering himself and coming back. He mentioned Lupin in his letter, I think they came back here together or something. It’s still dangerous.” Harry said.

“Oh, I see. Why would he do that? Kind of stupid. Not that I’m saying your issue is stupid, but just that it isn’t worth imprisonment over-”

“No, I agree. It is stupid. He’s the only real family I have left, if you don’t count the Weasley’s, and now he might get arrested.” Harry said bitterly.

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Draco said softly. “I’d be upset if that happened to me.” Draco didn’t know what else to say. Half the time he’d be glad to see his father carted off to Azkaban, but he’d also hate to see anything bad happen to him. Even if he deserved it, he was still Draco’s father.

“What would you do? You know, if your dad got arrested?” Harry asked. Draco hesitated. He didn’t know.

“I- He’d deserve it.” Draco said before he could stop himself. “I’d hate to see it, but he’d really probably deserve it.” He turned slightly pink, and Harry seemed confused.

“Why? Well, other than being a Death Eater? Isn’t that a bit harsh? I mean, he is your dad.” Harry seemed to immediately regret what he’d said. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to intrude.”

“No, it’s fine. He’s just not a very good- Well, It doesn’t really matter.” Draco was eager to change the subject. “Moody really seems to hate my father. And me.”

“He’s kinda creepy, in my opinion.” Harry said, also seemingly glad about the subject change.

“I know right! All my other friends think he’s cool; and I guess he is, but he’s still off putting.”

The two talked and talked,and made a plan for their next meet up. They talked at least once a week over the next few weeks, their meeting always private and lasting for a few hours. Theo had noticed a few times, but Draco was getting better at sneaking out without him noticing.

They grew closer during their meetings, talking about things they couldn’t with their other friends, like Draco complaining about Blaise pining over Pansy, or Harry venting about Ron and Hermione’s occasional bickering. It was more than just conversation, it was a place where they were free from everything else, and where they could be themselves. It was beautiful.