Chapter Three
Snape strode out of the fireplace, facing Narcissa. The woman watched him over her teacup.
— Narcissa. — he greeted with a slight nod.
— Severus. — she said in return, lowering the cup to the saucer. — To what do I owe the honour? You don't usually come in the middle of the week.
— Indeed. I come as a professor. I would like to talk with you and Lucius about Draco.
— Draco? What did he do? We were never called to talk about him. — Narcissa set the cup down on the coffee table and closed the book on her lap.
— It's more about what happened to him than what he did.
— Is Draco okay!? — Narcissa paled.
— That's what I would like to know. — Snape glanced around the room. — Is Lucius?
— In the study.
Snape left the living room accompanied by Narcissa, walking upstairs towards the study. Snape knocked once on the door, hearing Lucius order him to come in.
— Severus. — Lucius stood up, walking around the table. — What are you doing here?
— He wants to talk about Draco. — Narcissa said nervously, becoming increasingly worried about her son.
— Draco? What happened?
— Well, — Snape began — I and the other teachers have noticed that Draco's performance has dropped significantly.
— What? We're only in the second week of school! — Lucius frowned.
— That's what I'd like to know. He failed every potion he's made so far and nearly exploded the cauldron in class today.
— Draco never messed up a potion! Not even as a child! — Narcissa said hurriedly.
— Exactly. I asked Draco to stay a little after class ended and he informed me that he's been having trouble remembering things. He can barely even remember what he just put in the cauldron. Draco also told me that he has been having a… different perception of time. — Snape didn't miss the brief, discreet glance that Lucius and Narcissa shared. — I took him to the infirmary and Pomfrey detected aftereffects of memory charms. — Lucius and Narcissa stared at Severus in silence. — These spells were used repeatedly. — another pause, the tension in the room becoming palpable. — Draco told me that these “symptoms” started during the holidays. — Snape heard Narcissa choke.
— I told you it would hurt him!
— Cissy!
— That was never a good idea! I knew that sooner or later it would affect him! — Narcissa said in a rush, her words tumbling, her voice becoming more and more out of control.
— Narcissa! — Lucius tried to control her.
Narcissa let out a sob.
Without taking his eyes off Lucius, Snape was silent for a while.
— Lucius, I’ve known you since Hogwarts and I’ve known Narcissa since you two met. I saw Draco born and, more than that, I actively participated in his upbringing. You gave me the honour of being his godfather. I know how you are with him, I know that you would never, ever, in all eternity , hurt him. — Lucius's eyes began to shine with unshed tears. — Not on purpose. You love him and always do what you think is best for him. So tell me, Lucius: what happened? What was so terrible that made you erase Draco's mind so many times, even knowing the consequences?
Lucius sat on the edge of his son's bed, his gaze lost as he watched Draco, who slept under the spell. Tears blurred his vision, and he did his best to keep them from falling. It was hard to believe that something like this had happened to his little boy. He and Narcissa had believed that by fulfilling their Lord's every wish, Draco would be safe from harm.
Lucius never wanted his son to get involved in this. He didn't disagree with Voldemort's ideas, but he truly regretted everything he had done. He no longer wanted to expose his family, and especially Draco, to such danger. His son was just a child; he shouldn't have to live under the weight of fear and apprehension. And now, something even worse had happened. Lucius would give anything to be the one, not Draco, to suffer the consequences. Without hesitation, he would trade places with his son if it meant protecting him from all this misery.
Taking a few deep breaths, Lucius ended the spell, staring at Draco without blinking. It took his son a few minutes to wake up, his eyes still unfocused, his mind slowly returning to the spell. With a careful gesture, Lucius patted his son's shoulder.
It was what he had feared.
Draco immediately flinched, pulling away from the touch, his grey eyes wide with terror as he stared at his father.
— Draco… — he tried to get closer. His son jumped out of bed, backing up against the wall. He stood in a corner, trembling, his shoulders hunched in complete defence.
Father and son stared at each other for a moment until tears began to stream down Draco's face again. The younger one crouched down, bringing his hands to his hair, gripping it tightly as he lowered his head and rested his forehead on his knees. Draco pulled his hair so hard that his scalp began to hurt.
— Son! — Lucius went to the younger one, kneeling beside him and holding his shoulder.
— DON'T TOUCH ME! — Draco screamed, raising his head. His eyes were filled with despair, tears staining his face, and his dishevelled hair gave him an almost manic appearance.
His son's scream made Lucius stand up and quickly retreat. Draco lowered his head again, anguished screams echoing through the room mixed with uncontrollable sobs.
— Draco! Draco, stop it! — Lucius snapped at his son again as he began to beat his head with his fists. He gripped his son's wrists firmly. — Stop it, Draco, you're going to hurt yourself!
— NO! LET ME GO! I DON'T WANT IT! I DON'T WANT THIS AGAIN! LET ME GO! — Draco turned his body to the wall, hiding his face in the corner and sobbing loudly, trying desperately to free his wrists from his father's hands. When he managed to free himself, he wrapped his arms around himself, curling up as much as possible and repeating "I don't want this" in a desperate whisper, like a mantra.
Lucius felt his chest tighten and his stomach churn. Trembling, he took out his wand and pointed it at his son, his fingers trembling as he whispered the spell under his shaky breath. Within seconds, Draco's sobs had stopped, his body had stopped shaking, and he had drifted back into a deep, magical sleep. Lucius let out a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.
His body froze as he stared at his bewitched son.
Good Heavens, what was he going to do? His son couldn't even stand his presence.
Carefully, he picked up the boy, laying his head on his shoulder as he placed him back on the bed. Gently, he covered him and sat down next to him again. His trembling fingers went back to stroking Draco's blond hair.
Tears streamed down Lucius' face, as did Narcissa. He no longer cared about hiding his emotions.
He had tried to wake his son twice more that day, but both times Draco had gone completely out of control again. In one of his fits of hysteria, Draco had seriously injured himself, crashing into the window and breaking the glass, resulting in a deep cut on his arm, which was bleeding uncontrollably.
Snape's eyes remained wide, his body rigid and tense. He had always known of His Lord's cruelty, but even so, the shock hit him hard. Voldemort, in addition to being a ruthless sadist, was also a pedophile and a rapist. Perhaps Snape's shock was not at the act itself, but at the fact that it had happened to Draco.
— I begged him to leave Draco alone… Good Heavens, D raco begged to be left alone! — Lucius said with a choked voice. — I couldn't calm him down and I was afraid he would try something stupid, the best I could do was erase his memory!
— How many times has this happened? — Snape knew that to have an effect like that the spell would need to be used several times and in short spaces of time, indicating that this did not happen once, not twice, not three times, but several times.
Lucius faltered, needing a few seconds to find his voice again.
— Every day since the start of the holidays.
— Shit ! — Snape whispered, running his hand over his face. — It’s been two months…
— But there is something to be done, isn't there, Severus? — Narcissa approached, desperation evident in her voice and expression. — This can be cured, right? Draco will be fine, won't he?
Snape met her eyes, but his voice wavered.
— The best we could do would be to reverse the forgetfulness spell. But that wouldn’t change much, other than bringing back the trauma. His mind is already too damaged to be completely healed.
Narcissa broke down, burying her face in her hands and crying loudly. Lucius hugged her tightly, trying to offer some comfort, but he was as broken as she was.
— Why is this happening to our son? Why is this happening to my baby? — she cried in her husband's arms.
Snape took a deep breath, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.
— Let's keep the spells and try to work with him like that. There's no point in bringing it back into his mind. The trauma will only make it worse.
— Severus…, is he going to be okay? — Lucius asked.
Snape looked into her eyes for long seconds.
— All I can promise is that I will do everything in my power.
ANOTHER FANFICTION(S):
The Phoenix Fire - Harry Potter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/60382195
Ao Amanhecer - Avatar: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47670538
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