Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
November 17, Sunday
Draco woke up with a splitting headache, the next morning, but he knew he wasn’t hungover. He didn’t drink enough for that. He opened his eyes with effort and looked at the clock on his bedside table. It was 7:15 in the morning and he cursed himself for sleeping in as he made his way to the bathroom and downed a pain potion after brushing his teeth. Theo , Vince and Greg were still sleeping and Blaise was nowhere to be seen as usual. He checked the time again and grabbed his toiletries, and left for a quick shower.
He left for the Great Hall hoping that Theo and Pans were going to wake up before breakfast ended. He saw Blaise sitting at the Slytherin table. He briefly glanced at the Head Table and nodded at Severus. Coming out to his Mother after his vacation and now to his godfather last night and knowing he had their blessing was one of the most liberating feelings Draco had experienced. He sat across from Blaise and wished him a good morning.
“Morning, Draco. You left the party early yesterday.” Blaise replied.
“Yeah, Don’t even get me started about it” he said with an exasperated look.
“Pansy’s set you up on another blind date I see.”He remarked which was met with a raised eyebrow. Blaise chuckled and added, “So who is it this time?”
“Keith.”
Blaise let out an amused laugh and said, “I must let Pansy set me up with someone. Besides, he has been checking you out every chance he gets.”he said motioning towards Keith who was sitting with another Fifth year.
“Yeah, well I am not interested.”Draco stated. Blaise rolled his eyes which earned him a glare from Draco and the two of them went back to their food.
They both were done with their breakfasts soon enough and Blaise broke the silence
“So, are you gonna tell us why professor Snape had called you yesterday?”
“Yeah, it was about the potion. I’ll tell the three of you together.”
“Wanna go and wake their lazy arses up?” Blaise asked with the hint of a challenge in his voice.
“Of course.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The four Slytherins made their way to the back of the library where no one could hear them. It was ten on a Sunday and save a couple Ravenclaws the library was practically empty. Pansy and Theo were originally complaining about being woken up early but they became serious when Draco said what it was he wanted to tell them about. The four of them settled in the Ancient Runes section which was always deserted. Blaise and Pansy sat down next to each other with Theo and Draco across from them. They looked at him expectantly and he started telling them everything Sev had told them about the potion. They remained quiet and relatively expressionless as Draco explained and at the end of it they did have a lot of questions. Draco was glad that for once in their lifetime they decided to ask their questions at a time instead of bombarding him.
“Does it cause any sort of permanent damage?” Theo was the first on to ask.
“I haven’t asked him about that but as far as I know it is a possibility”
“Are you absolutely sure he did not use it on you?” The worry was evident in Pansy’s voice.
“It has to be used in regular intervals and I was here so it does seem unlikely.”
“What do you suppose he was hiding from Narcissa?”Blaise asked.
“Well, he surely had a lot of things to hide. It could be anything.”
“Do you think he was trying to hide what he was doing to you from her? Surely that is something Lucius wouldn’t want her to know.”
“Could be.”Draco didn’t like the direction this conversation was heading. He had never told anybody about the beatings and the hexes until the three of them forced it out of him and even after that he just hated talking about it.
“So when are you going to tell Narcissa?” Blaise asked.
“I was thinking I will tell her when we go home during the Winter Holidays.”
The three of them glanced at each other and then Theo asked if he was okay. Draco answered in the affirmative. He had held himself back from telling them but he decided that it was better that they knew about the incident that led him from admiring his father to loathing him in a matter of hours.
“Um… there is one more thing I have to tell you, guys.”he said and the three of them nodded.
“Last Christmas … um… father found out that I am gay.”
The expressions on their faces clearly showed how shocked they were and the three of them asked how at the same time.
“I got walked in on.” he was going to end it with that but they were clearly expecting an explanation. “After the party, one of his business partners and his son stayed over. I was asked to entertain him until they were done with work. Well, we got up to different kinds of entertainment when he walked in.”
“Draco, what happened and why didn’t you tell us before?”Theo asked from beside him.
“I didn’t want to burden you guys.”
“Dray, the three of you are like brothers to me. I can promise you anything you say will not burden us.”she said as she reached out and held his hand Draco squeezed back and smiled. He knew he didn’t deserve them but he was glad that they were there for him.
“What did Lucius do?”
Draco took a deep breath and said, “He called me a filthy faggot and used the Cruciartus curse on me.”
Judging by their expressions as well as the silence that followed, they did not know what to say to that and after a while Pansy said that he should have told them sooner. He knew he should have but he didn’t want to bother them, but that response will obviously be met with an outrage so he simply shrugged and said “I know.”
The three of them nodded. Blaise spoke up after a while.
“Draco, is that why you readily agreed to not bully mud-Muggleborns anymore. Not that it's bad but we did expect some resistance from you.”
Draco took a deep breath and answered , “I just did not want my beliefs to be associated with those of a man who could crucio his son.”
“Was that the first time he...um……” Pansy did not complete the sentence but they all understood what she meant to say.
“Well, sure he had beat me up and hexed me before but it was the first time he used the Cruciatus. Apparently only me being gay can disgust him enough for that.” he explained bitterly.
The silence that followed was thick with tension and to his surprise Draco was at a loss of words. So when Blaise checked the time and suggested that they head for lunch he was met with silent agreement and the four of them left for the great hall.
_______________
Same Day, Evening.
Harry was heading towards Remus’ chambers. Remus came back this afternoon but Harry hadn’t got a chance to speak to him until now. That morning he had meant to tell Ron and Hermione about his talk with Dumbledore last night but when he went to the common room in the morning he saw the two of them sleeping on the couch he figured they fell asleep waiting for him. He was going to tell them but he himself didn’t know much and he knew how Hermione could get with her questions. Instead they had talked about how Hermione and Ron had gotten together. He had mentioned, not too subtly that he had walked in on them snogging and a lot of blushing later when they finally spilled the beans it was nothing he had expected. Ron was upset about losing the Quidditch game and ‘Mione was comforting him and soon enough they were apparently snogging the hell out of each other. Ugh… after all the pinning in the last five years someone would think that them getting together would be a grand occasion. Not that Harry is not happy for them but he was looking for some teasing material.
He knocked before he entered Remus’s room. It was looking exactly like how it did back in their third year and he welcomed the familiarity.He had another second to take in his surroundings before he saw Remus emerge from his room and the both of them sat down on the couch across from each other. Talking with Remus has always been easy and this time was no different. They talked for a while and Remus told how he was doing and Harry decided that he had no reason to beat around the bush with Remus.
“Remus, Dumbledore told me about Sirius. Have you been to see him recently?” Remus wasn’t surprised at the question so Harry assumed that he knew beforehand why Harry was here.
“Yes, Harry. I went to see him at St. Mungo’s right after I found out two days ago.”
“How is he? He is not hurt, right? When can I see him?” Remus took a deep breath before answering and that made Harry anxious but he relaxed a little after he spoke.
“He is fine, Harry. But all those years in Azkaban had weakened him but Siri is the strongest man I have ever known and I am sure he will make it to the other side.” The slight hint of worry in Remus’ voice did not go unnoticed by Harry but Remus did sound confident so Harry considered that a good sign.
“When can I see him?”he asked with anticipation.
“The Healers told me that they will keep him under observation until they can be sure that he can handle himself. It could be around three weeks”
“But if he is okay why would they keep him in observation?”
“He is still recovering and he needs someone to take care of him even though he may deny it. I am here now and he won’t speak to anybody else in the Black family, so that leaves him under a healer’s care until they are certain that he can manage on his own.”
“Can I come to visit him the next time you go?”he pleaded
Remus’ expression softened as he started , “Harry, —”
“Remus please I just want to see him. I-I miss him.”
“I know. But he will be back by the time your vacations begin and I will be leaving two days earlier than all of you. Besides, he would want to see you once he is out of the hospital, don’t you think?”
He knew Remus had a point but he really wanted to see for himself that his godfather is okay. He was going to argue but a sudden thought hit him.
“Uh ….Remus,um..... What about the ministry…. will they…. Will they, you know , um...send him back..” Harry didn’t complete his question but Remus understood what he was saying.
“He has been cleared of all charges.”Remus said with a small smile and Harry let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in and smiled back at Remus. They sat in comfortable silence for a minute or two.
“Harry, there is also one more thing i think you should know.” Remus started to speak and this sudden shift in his tone had Harry on the edge of his seat.
“I and Sirius, we were in a relationship before he was sent to Azkaban. I can assure you this won’t affect you in any way but i thought you deserved to know.” there was hesitation in Remus’ voice as he spoke and Harry smiled.
“I had no idea but Hermione suspected as much.”he replied and Remus chuckled.
“She really is the brightest witch of her age, isn’t she?”
“Can I ask you something, if you don’t mind?”
“Yes, Harry. Of course.”
“Um….. why didn't you get back together after third year?”Harry felt a little awkward asking this question. It was not really his business after all but he was definitely curious. But, it seemed as though Remus didn’t mind. He was about to just apologize for interfering but Remus answered before he could.
“After coming back from Azkaban, he was not quite himself and he told me he needed time and I wanted to respect that but now I almost lost him again and…..well, I don’t want to repeat that mistake. And Harry, I think that may be why I told you that now rather than later, now that I think of it.” Harry was glad that Remus didn’t mind. They talked for a while longer and then Harry left for Gryffindor.
When he entered the Common room he saw Ron and Hermione sitting on the couch near the fireplace and he made his way to them. He told them about his talk with Dumbledore and Remus and as he had expected they both were extremely happy and Hermione had A LOT of questions about everything and Harry answered her to the best of his ability. She inquired them about their homework and when they both said that they were up to date for tomorrow she decided that they can all head to bed. That night was one of the most peaceful nights Harry had in a long time.