Pink is the Deadliest Color
-December 6, 1991-
Draco woke up in the morning with the overwhelming feeling that something was wrong. He wasn’t sure why he felt that way, especially since everything had been going so well lately. His grades were doing fantastic, he hadn’t had a fight with any of his friends recently and his mother wanted him to come visit over the weekend. Nothing pointed to misfortune, so when he woke up in the morning with a foreboding feeling and anxiety bubbling in his stomach, Draco didn’t know what to do.
He knew that he was acting weird since his friends kept giving him weird looks as he went through the motions of getting ready for the day. Theo actually stopped him on the way to the Great Hall with a concerned look in his eyes. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Draco shrugged---something so uncouth would have made his mother purse her lips, but Draco was too bothered to care. The motion, though, only made Theo more concerned. “It’s… It’s probably nothing…” Draco said to appease his best friend.
“What is?” Theo asked as they made their way through the halls of Hogwarts.
“I just have a weird feeling, is all,” Draco said, his grey eyes scanning the stone walls and portraits for any sign of trouble. “Has something happened lately? Something bad, I mean.”
“I don’t think so,” Theo frowned. “You think something is wrong?”
“I don’t really know,” Draco responded glumly. “I’m probably just being paranoid. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
Theo eyed him dubiously for a few seconds before he nodded. “If you’re sure.” he said, but Draco could tell he didn’t believe him. That was just fine seeing as Draco didn’t believe himself either.
The pair continued their venture to the Great Hall in silence after that, the comfortable and familiar noises of Hogwarts doing nothing to ease Draco’s anxiety. When Draco arrived in the Great Hall he was surprised to see the Headmaster missing. It was odd for the students to arrive before him.
The food was already laid out on the table when they sat down, the delicious smell momentarily distracting Draco from his ominous feeling as he filled his plate. Beside him, Theo eyed him for a few moments before he followed suit. Draco ate silently, half paying attention to Pansy and Blaise as they argued over schoolwork.
“I’m telling you that it’s due today! Not next week!” Pansy exclaimed, throwing a dangerous glare at Blaise who continued to scoff.
“No, it’s not!” he refuted, jamming a forkful of eggs into his mouth. “Crabbe and Goyle both agree with me. It’s due next week.”
“You’d listen to those buffoons?” Pansy scoffed. “They were sleeping in Charms, so how would they know?”
Draco slowly ate his breakfast, watching with mild disinterest as the argument between the pair escalated until it began to involve some of the other students sitting around them. Beside him, Theo shook his head fondly at the pair. “Pansy’s right,” he whispered so that only Draco would hear. “Blaise knows it too. He’s just making a big deal out of it to get a rise out of her.”
“I know.” Draco said with a conspiring smirk. Watching the pair dance around each other was getting old. Draco knew that they’d eventually get together, but waiting for them to pull their heads out of the sand was getting tiring.
Just as Pansy was about to storm off in a fit of anger, the pair’s argument was interrupted by the arrival of the morning mail. Hundreds of owls flew into the Great Hall, dropping off letters to the students and teachers alike. Draco’s stomach dropped, however, when he spotted his mother’s owl flying towards him with a letter.
His mother had sent him a letter a few days ago, and it was odd for her to send two letters in one week. Suddenly, the eggs he’d been chewing tasted like ash in his mouth. He saw Theo give him a concerned glance as his mother’s owl dropped off a heavy letter by his plate. Draco nervously handed the owl a few strips of bacon before he picked up the letter.
My Dearest Dragon, it read. I am writing to inform you that there’s been an incident. Your father was injured in the New Ministry two days ago, I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the attack. Though it is not public knowledge, the Dark Lord believes Albus Dumbledore attacked your father, blew up the New Ministry building and kidnapped Little One. Please be careful, Dragon. I don’t know what that man is planning, but it can’t be good. I’m afraid that with the recent news, it would be prudent for you to remain at Hogwarts instead of coming to visit. I will keep you informed, but my priority is to keep you safe. I love you, and please, don’t do anything rash.
Draco’s face had steadily grown paler as he read the letter, his well-crafted mask breaking at the shocking news. His head snapped up when his mother mentioned the Headmaster, his silver eyes locking on the empty seat at the teacher’s table where the Headmaster should sit.
“Draco?” Draco turned his head to meet Theo’s worried gaze. “Are you alright? What is it?”
Draco bit his lip, the letter crinkling in his hands as he clenched them. “Not here.” he whispered, his eyes darting around to see if anyone had noticed his lapse of control. Thankfully, no one had noticed save for Theo, Blaise and Pansy. Said people were looking at him with nervousness, unsure of what was going on. “Come with me.”
Draco stood, making sure to remain calm and poised so as not to raise any suspicion, and he began to walk out of the Great Hall, subtly glancing behind him to make sure his friends were following. They walked in tense silence for a few minutes before they reached the empty Slytherin Common Room.
Once they were situated, Draco cast a quick muffling charm before he pulled out his mother’s letter. “Mother wrote me,” he said. “She said that father had been attacked by the Headmaster.”
“What?” Pansy gasped. “But why would he do such a thing?”
“Little One was taken again,” Draco said, his eyebrows drawing together with rage at the thought of his pseudo little brother being kidnapped by the Headmaster again. Beside him, Pansy let out a harsh gasp while Theo and Blaise hardened with anger. “The Dark Lord is looking for him, but the Headmaster is missing.”
“Oh, poor Little One!” Pansy cried. “He must be so scared! How could this happen? Is there another traitor?”
“I don’t know,” Draco sighed. “Mother said that Headmaster Dumbledore attacked father and blew up the New Ministry. How have we not heard about it?”
“It must have been covered up to avoid a panic,” Theo said with a frown. “But why would he blow up the building? And attack your father? What could he possibly gain from that?”
“Maybe he was the one who took Little one,” Blaise proposed. “The explosion must have been a distraction.”
“And they say he’s a Light Lord.” Theo scoffed, bitterly shaking his head before he turned to address Draco. “Do you think this is why you’ve been feeling weird?”
“Weird? What do you mean?” Blaise asked.
“I woke up with a weird feeling this morning,” Draco explained. “I felt like something bad was going to happen.” he frowned before he answered Theo. “I don’t know, maybe? I keep having these weird dreams, too---”
“Dreams? What are they about?” Theo asked.
“I… I don’t really know,” Draco said honestly, his mind flashing back to the strange encounters he’d had. “I’m just in a void of nothingness, I suppose, and I feel someone talking to me. A presence. It calls me a ‘guardian’.”
“A guardian?”
Draco nodded. “The last dream I had, the voice told me that I had to protect the Master. Whoever that is,” Draco sighed. “The voice was really urgent. It kept telling me that I had to hurry.”
“What do you think it means?” Theo asked.
“Honestly, I have no idea,” Draco said with a slight shake of his head. “I thought they were just dreams but I wonder…”
“Do you think it's about Little One?” Pansy asked, causing Draco’s head to snap up. “I mean, Little One is missing and you’ve always guarded him so…”
“But if the Master is Little One…” Draco frowned. “How am I supposed to protect him? I don’t even know where he is?”
Draco felt a slight chill run down his spine, his head rising in confusion. The dorms were chilly, yes, but never this cold. He sighed, burying his face in his hands. Of course, he’d think about something as silly as a draft when his little brother needed saving! He didn’t know what to do! Draco had never felt so useless before, and the feeling was practically drowning him.
Draco let out another sad sigh and he felt a cold hand gently touch his back.
The inferius child was starting to devolve faster, and Gellert didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He was completely helpless with the damned magic-canceling cuffs on his wrists, and the chains prevented him from getting close to the boy. Not that the child would appreciate his closeness, Gellert supposed. From what he could see of the boy, Harry had curled up into a ball in the corner, gently rocking himself back and forth to soothe himself as his hands picked at the stitches on his neck and tore roughly at his hair.
There wasn’t much time left, at all.
The Inferius was steadily getting closer and closer to feral, and Gellert knew that the second that happened, the boy would be lost for good. Gellert had never heard of a wizard being able to bring a feral Inferius back to functional. Said Inferius let out another barely audible whine and hugged himself tighter as a cold breeze flew through the cell.
“Do you want a blanket?” Gellert asked, his voice hoarse and cracked. The Inferius didn’t respond, but Gellert didn’t expect him to. “Here, there’s a blanket right here. It’s not much, but it should keep you warm.”
He really wished the Inferius would let him help him, but Harry was as uncooperative as ever. It was moments like these that made Geller wonder about the boy. How did he die? How did the Dark Lord find him? Why was Albus so obsessed with him? From what he had noticed in the two days that the Inferius had been trapped here, something terrible had happened to the boy. Gellert was no fool, and he was also no stranger to the signs of abuse.
Someone had hurt the child, and Gellert could only hope that it wasn’t the Dark Lord.
The familiar sound of footsteps echoed off the frozen stone walls, forcing Gellert to abandon his dark thoughts and look up to see his former lover walking into the cell. He had heavy bags under his eyes that showed that he hadn’t been sleeping. Good, Gellert thought vindictively.
“You’ll be pleased to know my plan is working perfectly,” the man said in lieu of a greeting. Gellert just scoffed. “Voldemort is completely unhinged at the loss of Harry Potter, which will make defeating him much easier.”
“The boy is sick, Albus,” Gellert hissed, gesturing towards the poor child huddled up in the corner. “Take him back to his father. Now.”
Albus’ eyes darted over to the Inferius, briefly glancing over him before he returned his gaze to Gellert. Gellert was disappointed but unsurprised to see no regret in his eyes. “A necessary evil, I’m afraid,” Albus said with a shake of his head. “Due to the tether between the boy and Voldemort, the Dark Lord can feel Harry’s control slipping, which only aids my plans.”
“You will lose him if you keep this up,” Gellert warned. “You can’t bring a feral Inferius back. You just can’t.”
“Harry Potter will not be harmed, Gellert, you have my word.” Albus promised, his twinkling blue eyes firm with determination.
Gellert just shook his head with disbelief. “He’s already been harmed,” he argued. “You kidnapped an abused toddler from his father. And for what? Your own selfish bigotry? When will it end, Albus?”
“It will end with Voldemort’s death,” Albus said, his voice grave. “I’m afraid I have to leave now, old friend, I was merely stopping by.” Albus turned on his heel and began to walk out.
“You can’t do this, Albus!” Gellert shouted after him. “This is madness!”
“I’ll be sending someone to watch after you once I’m gone,” Albus responded as he closed the cell door, completely ignoring Gellert’s protests. “I’m going to go fight another Dark Lord, and I’m afraid I’ll be much too busy to come and check up on you.”
“Albus, you bloody---” but it was too late. With a loud crack of apparition, Albus had disappeared, leaving a traumatized Inferius huddled in the corner, and an enraged Dark Lord, plotting, not for the first time, his ex-lover’s glorious demise.
There was a warrant out for his arrest, which made his life slightly more difficult, but it was nothing Albus wasn’t prepared for. Tom had an incredibly unhealthy relationship with Harry Potter, one that fostered too much dependency on each other. Albus was honestly surprised when he discovered his old student turned dark had made an attachment in the first place. Albus knew that boy could not love, didn’t know how to experience such an emotion, but what he did know how to feel was obsession.
Lord Voldemort, formerly Tom Riddle was obsessed with Harry Potter.
Though it was incredibly unhealthy, Albus was rather grateful for the emotion because it made defeating him much easier. Now that Voldemort was unhinged, due to the loss of Harry, it would be simple to challenge him to a duel and win, much like he did with Gellert.
Speaking of, Albus needed someone to watch over Gellert and Harry while he dealt with Voldemort. He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but one could never be too sure when it came to taking care of living people.
Albus had the perfect person in mind for the job, as well. Someone who would not report back to Voldemort because she too had been slighted by the man. It was simply too perfect. Albus had arrived outside her home, his identity covered by a thick cloak and the evening dusk. He quietly knocked on her door.
“What do you want?” she snarled, glancing over Albus’ scraggly appearance. “I don’t give handouts to halfbreeds.”
“Would you like to become powerful again?” Albus asked, knowing instantly that he’d asked the right thing when her eyes lit up with greed. “I heard you were fired from office. How disrespectful! After everything you’ve done for the New Ministry!”
“I know,” she agreed, her eyes hardened with righteous anger. “It was a grave offense.”
“I’m sure,” Albus nodded. “How would you like to become Minister?”
The woman sputtered, her eyes wide with faked humility as the greed overtook her once more. “Why I’d be honored!” she cried. “But how would one go about such a thing?”
“Times are changing, my dear,” Albus said. “Soon the position will be open and I believe you are the best one suited for the job.”
“Naturally,” she nodded. She then frowned. “What’s the catch?”
Albus grinned underneath his cloak. “I need you to watch someone for me. Just for a few days while I take care of some things. Do this, and I swear you will regain your seat of power.”
“I suppose I could…” she said with a grin, stepping out into the light. The warm glow from the nearby candles cast a light shadow over her hideous pink dress, and as she opened the door further, a loud meowing could be heard from a plain white kitten behind her foot. Madame Umbridge held a sinister smile on her face as she shook hands with Albus. “This should prove to be interesting.”