alive

Malfoy struggled to drag Harry's body through the muddy forest. The rain had now only started pouring down harder and harder, beating down on Malfoy's back and soaking through his clothing. He paused, dropping Harry in the mud for a few seconds to wipe his brow, then resumed his task. He knew what his fate would be if he didn't make it to the meeting place in time.

When they reached the open field, shrouded deep, and hidden by a circle of pine trees, Draco was relieved to find that he had shown up early. He propped Harry's body up against one of the pine trees and looked around the area, his wand out, ready to strike at the first sign of The Order.

Malfoy turned back around to face where Harry was still sitting propped up against a tree.

"I guess it's just you and me here." Malfoy sighed, looking over at his glassy green eyes.

Malfoy runs his hands through his hair, slowly realizing that everything he does is just one mistake after another, and that now he's fallen down a rabbit hole of bad mistakes he can never escape.

"I'm sorry." He tells Harry, not looking up from his feet. "I-" Malfoy tried to get the words out, but choked up when he saw a group of shadowy, cloaked figures approaching them. Malfoy stood up, his wand drawn towards the figures.

"Relax, Draco." Lucius spoke, taking the hood of his cloak off. "It's only me." Draco lowered his wand down to his side, but didn't yet put it away. It seemed to him that no one could be trusted in the dark times that were rapidly approaching. As Draco was now learning, a son could trust his father almost as much as he could trust a stranger.

There was once a time when Draco really thought that he could trust his father.

That was before the Death Eaters.

That was before he'd been asked to help kill Harry Potter.

The Dark Lord smirked when he saw the stupefied boy lying just beneath the tree. "You've done well, Draco." Voldemort croaked out, an eerie smile spreading across his already twisted up face. Draco stared back at the Dark Lord, thinking that there were quite a few new wrinkles spreading across his face.

Draco bowed. "Thank you, Dark Lord." He spoke, but said nothing else as the Dark Lord peered behind him, looking down at Harry Potter. Draco turned, staring back at his stunned friend. Harry looked paler than normal, if it was even possible for people who've been stunned to show fear.

"What would you have us do now, my Lord?" a hooded figure near the back of the group asked in a wheezing, hoarse voice.

Draco thought he saw Voldemort nearly crack a smile, across his dry lips. But it was momentary, and gone the moment it appeared, although the Dark Lord did seem to be in a happier mood than usual. After all, he was getting what he wanted.

The only person who could defeat him, gone. Just like that. Draco wanted to turn away, but his father was standing right beside him, watching him. Draco's father put a hand on Draco's shoulder, and in a steady voice whispered. "You've done well, Draco." Draco knew better than  to let the tears fall from his eyes and he watched Voldemort pull his slender white wand out of his pocket.

Draco couldn't help it.

He turned his gaze down to the floor.

🔪

"Hey." Harry greeted Draco, smiling and taking a seat beside him at the now empty Slytherin table. Malfoy gave a weary smile back, thinking of his duty to the Death Eaters.

"Hi." Malfoy gave a small wave. "How are you?" he asked Harry, seeing a more tired look hiding behind his green eyes.

Harry looked back up at him, surprised at the fact that Malfoy, of all people, even cared. Harry had been just about to ask him the exact same question. He knew Malfoy had been having a hard time dealing with things in his life for a while, although Malfoy never quite told him what, and Harry didn't want to pry into Malfoy's privacy.

"Better now." Harry replied with a smile. He saw that Malfoy's eyes lit up with happiness now too. "What about you?" Harry asked, wondering if Malfoy really was okay.

Malfoy let out a long sigh and propped his head up against his hand. Malfoy shrugged. "Alright, I guess." he replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the question, but it was a question he was used to being asked. It was a question he was used to lying about.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't be so mysterious." He complained. "Just give me a couple of details. You don't have to tell me anything personal if you don't want to."

"Well, I don't really want to tell you anything." Malfoy snapped back at him. Lack of sleep was making Malfoy more and more irritable. Soon he would start acting like Snape.

"Malfoy." Harry said, but it was too late, Malfoy had already begun the process of collecting his dusty textbooks from the chair beside him.

Malfoy didn't want to confess anything to Harry, but he knew that if he spent a second longer being interrogated by Harry, he most certainly would spill out about everything that was happening in his life. But Malfoy's life no longer belonged to him. It belonged to the Dark Lord.

And he had to do what the Dark Lord demanded of him.

"Malfoy wait." Harry tried to chase after Draco, but he had already gone through the doors, and Harry had already skipped too many classes to hang out with Malfoy. He had potions next, and he was absolutely certain that if Harry was late he would be given detention for at least two weeks.

Malfoy didn't turn around as he continued to rush through the mostly empty hallways, turning corners and walking as quickly as he could, not letting Harry catch up to him.

"Malfoy!" Harry called as he thought he saw a blonde haired figure briefly run and turn the corner. Harry sighed, slumping against the wall and giving up.

🔪

Malfoy could hardly focus in class. Secrets and dark thoughts swirled inside his mind. He didn't know whether or not he should tell Harry, and if he did, then that meant that he would have to find a way to back out of the plan. Malfoy sunk down on his desk, taking his head in his hands. There was no way he would escape his fate. It was too late already, he had fallen prey to his father's mistakes.

Draco hadn't realized that the Dark Lord could read minds, and in a way it was his fault now that he had to kill Harry.

He couldn't find an escape around it, no matter how hard he tried to rack his mind. Malfoy couldn't find the ending where everyone got out okay. He couldn't even find the ending where he escaped and his family turned out alright. His only option was to do whatever the Dark Lord asked of him, at least, if he wanted to get out of this alive. But what kind of existence was that? One where he ended up being a slave to someone so pure evil that he would take innocent lives and not think twice about it. He would take anyone's life and not think twice about it.

"Malfoy?" Professor Mcgonagal called, making sure he was still awake.

"Yes?" Malfoy asked, although he probably needed to answer a question she had just asked. Malfoy looked around the room to see Hermoine Granger in the front row, waving her hand around frantically. Malfoy wasn't surprised. She always knew the answer.

"Answer the question, Malfoy." Professor Mcgonagal instructed.

"What was the question again?" Malfoy asked, lowering his head in embarrassment.

The professor sighed. "Hermoine." she said. To which Hermoine answered everything with a perfect textbook response.

🔪

Draco looked back at the limp body of the boy he had delivered to the Dark Lord. he hated the sight of the scene before him. He hated the emotions swirling around his heart, threatening to spill out. Harry was the only one who ever actually cared about him. And now, just looking at his stunned body, Malfoy knew that he was already gone. Already dead. Or at least he might as well be.

Malfoy's adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he watched Voldemort point his wand square in the centre of Harry's forehead. "Rennervate." The Dark Lord spoke softly, with a gentle swish of his wand, and a bright flash of red came from the Dark Lord's wand. Malfoy was on the verge of tears, he didn't know if he could bare to let this carry on a moment longer, though he knew that there was nothing he could do to stop the Dark Lord.

"And now, is time for the spectacle, my friends." The Dark Lord announced in his hoarse voice, turning around to face the rest of the Death Eaters. Malfoy shoved his hands deep into his pockets to stop them trembling. A look of fear appeared across Harry's features as the effects of Malfoy's spell slowly became reversed.

The Dark Lord turned to Malfoy. "Of course, we have young Draco here to thank for the lovely scene before us today." The Dark Lord said, a slight sound of joy in his voice.

Harry started to struggle against the ropes, desperately trying to reach into his pocket, where his wand was concealed. Draco saw this attempt and knew that he had to stop it immediately. Draco pulled his own wand out. "Accio, Harry's wand." Malfoy muttered, interrupting Voldemort's speech. The Dark Lord glanced at Draco with disdain, but otherwise ignored him. Draco's father nearly groaned out loud, pleading silently for his son not to do anything stupid before the night was over.

Harry tried to lock eyes with Draco, pleading for him to look up. Pleading for them to both make it out alive. Tears streamed down his cheeks as Malfoy finally met his eyes for a brief moment. Harry couldn't believe that someone he had once referred to as a friend would do this to him. He wondered what had happened to the innocent blonde boy during that first year at Hogwarts. He wondered what could turn a former bully into a killer. But then Harry realized that he already knew someone who could do that.

Voldemort.

Voldemort was the one who had turned his friend into this. Voldemort was the mastermind behind it all. Harry finally realized where Malfoy meant when he suddenly disappeared in the middle of the night, roaming around the hallways of Hogwarts and coming back tired in the morning. This was the secret Malfoy was hiding from him. Harry looked up at Malfoy once again, looking straight into his eyes, he saw that Malfoy was no cold blooded killer.

He saw that Malfoy was just as afraid as he was.

"And now," Draco tried to avoid Harry's look of betrayal, and instead looked around at his fellow Death Eaters. Beatrix Lestrange was nearly bursting with anticipation, as were most of the other Death Eaters that had gathered around with him today. "Let the festivities begin." the Dark Lord announced proudly. The rest of the Death Eaters cheered, egging Voldemort on, but Draco looked down at the ground and trembled with fear, now realizing that once again, he had made the wrong choice.