Work Text
Running and running. That’s all the infamous Draco Malfoy had been doing since that bloody Potter had defeated the Dark lord. He was tired of it. His father had been captured and put in Azkaban and his mother was missing. With his Aunt Bellatrix dead he was alone, even though he preferred that to her alive if he was to be honest. He wished his father dead after what he had done. Lucious Malfoy had pleaded with the Ministry and gained a short sentence at Azkaban by giving detailed accounts of every death eater; even his wife and son. Who in all actuality were forced to perform the terror that had run rampant while Lord Voldemort was alive.Draco scowled as he thought about his father, stopping by a nearby oak to catch his breath. Running and thinking was all his time went towards. He began to run once again as he heard voices and footsteps closing in on him. Taking care not to trip over the many roots below him. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in Azkaban with his terrible excuse of a father.He hated running, and hiding in this dirt-covered forest. Right now Draco hated practically everything, and the worst thing is he knew that if the Dark Lord had won he would still be this miserable. He was screwed either way in his opinion. At least this way he didn’t have to look at the faces of disappointment that were a constant at the Malfoy Manor.Except maybe I would have a decent living. Draco thought to himself. Better miserable in a grand house, than miserable in a tent in the woods.Not fully looking at where he was running Draco tripped on a fairly large root and started to fall to the ground. Just what I need, more dirt on my clothing. He thought to himself as he cascaded downward. He was seconds away from springing back up to run when he suddenly realized he landed on something other than dirt, or ground for that matter. “Oi!” A voice came from underneath him. “What in Merlin?” Draco started, but was cut off by what seemed to be a girl pushing him off of her.“Would you look where your going you nit wit!” The girl exclaimed quite loudly. Draco too surprised at the sudden insult to give a sarcastic reply heard the incoming footsteps, but so did the girl. She was wiping off the added dirt smudges on her green sweater when she looked up at the boy in front of her. She figured it was his lost party coming to his rescue until she saw something hidden in his gray eyes. Something she hadn’t seen in what felt like centuries. It was a plea. A small plea for help, that she was sure the boy didn’t know he was even showing to her. Without another thought the girl took out a very sad excuse for a wand and pointed it at her new acquaintance and spoke a spell Draco couldn’t identify. He grimaced as his vision began to cloud with warm light and his mouth tasted of dirt. His body stiffened and he felt a strange power course through him.Great he thought more dirt. “Excuse me ma’am but have you seen a blonde haired man around here?” The girl turned looking at one of the three official looking men and said, “If you are talking about that arse that pushed me roughly to the ground as he paraded through the glenn then yes I have. He went that way towards the stream north of here.” The black coated men rushed towards where she had pointed. As the woman sat and waited till she couldn’t here the rustling of their footsteps. She then pointed her thin wand towards the tree next to her and out of its core Draco popped out.“Your lucky I don’t kill you!” Draco yelled at her after regaining his senses. He felt like dirt, smelt like dirt, and had the sensation of losing a multitude of limps.“For what? Saving you!” The girl replied sarcastically.“I didn’t need it.” Draco said as he got up to walk away. He put turning into a tree right next to becoming a ferret in worst situations he has ever had to experience. The aftertaste of dirt and the lingering feeling of an invading magic in him was making him sick.“Hey boy were are you going?”“None of your damned business.” He replied as stomped in the opposite direction the men had gone.“You can’t leave you owe me a favor.”“I owe you nothing.” He replied staring straight into her hazel eyes, “Especially after you made me a part of that tree. Do you get some kind of kick out of mutilating people.”“Well, no this would happen to be the first time. Wait, maybe it wasn’t.” She exclaimed. Now looking deep in thought. Draco didn’t know why he just didn’t walk off, but the idiocy of this person and his lose of human contact for over three months had made him stay a few extra moments. “I mean It wasn’t’ like I didn’t know whether you were a muggle or not. I’m not a complete nit wit.” The strange girl stated as she continued to try and pick leaves out of her long braid.“Wait, that makes no bloody sense.” Draco said, he was trying to find a reasonable excuse to stay and argue with this nonsensical girl, but he wasn’t finding any.“Yes it does. I mean look at you. If you’re not a Malfoy then i’m the next Merlin.” She replied staring at his very pale hair. She had always thought that there was something intriguing about the way the Malfoy’s hair was always so void of color. Almost lifeless.“Well if you know about my family then you should have enough commonsense to get away from me.” He countered as he looked down at his left arm that was covered in a long black shirt He had been a tad surprised that she could just identify him so easily. He didn’t know her. He would have remembered her if he had seen her at Hogwarts. Her hair was a deep red, almost a brown. Her accent reminded him of the north. Even if she was a different year or a different house she would still of caught his eye.“I should?” She questioned as Draco just gave her an unforgiving glare. She chuckled, “Of course. Sorry to offend your fragile disposition.” A smile spread across Draco's face as he felt he had an appropriate amount of blackmail ready.“Who in bloody hell are you anyway? Some half-assed witch from one of those crock pot poor magic schools. Disgusting.” At that remark the girl broke out into a fit of laughter. Draco looked at the pale girl with dark auburn hair and thought her loonier than that Lovegood girl.“What a stereotypical pureblood you are. Your insults really do have a bite to them. None of what you said had any truth in them, but you really shouldn’t be such a prejudice arse.” She said with a very uncaring voice. She didn’t seemed phased at all by Draco’s bad mouthed comments and that made him even more annoyed. He hated being ignored.A cold chill ran through the forest causing the conversation to a halt. The strange girl Draco had stumbled upon looked out to the setting sun and gave a sad smile that made small creases on her forehead. That one action made the girl seem ancient to him and he decided he didn’t want to stick around to find out why. She then looked straight at Draco, without any fear of his returning stare.“My name is Chloe.” Chloe stated. “How about yours?"“Malfoy.” Was all Draco said and Chloe just chuckled and turned to the catch the last glimpse of the remaining sun. “Alright Malfoy we should start a fire then, its getting dark.”“I have no plans to stay anywhere near you.”“Suit yourself but I still want that favor repaid!” Chloe answered.She didn’t know whether he heard her or not over the loud CRACK he made when appareling. It had been a long day for Chloe. A day full of events unlike the past years had been. She couldn't remember running around so much and she had a feeling that more eventful days were to come. Every part of her ached but she relished in it. She was free and was ready to live her life, without the chains she once had. So then Chloe lit a fire and looked up to the stars that were as bright as moons in the forest skies and she wondered about her new life and kept trying to forget about her old one.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Draco had been using his daily routine of hiding in one place and moving to the next ever since he had met that Chloe girl. He never spent time thinking of her, because to him that would be time wasted. He did however have strange dreams since the encounter. The dreams started one night when Draco was setting up camp and decided to sleep under the stars instead of in his tent. So he set up his protective barrier and fell asleep watching the graceful stares dance throughout the sky. He always new right before one of these dreams was happening because his mouth tasted like dirt and he felt this uncomfortably warm sensation run through him.He was always in places that seemed familiar but he couldn't ever place them. One of the dreams he remembered quite vividly was with a man cast in shadows in an office. The office was full of an eclectic array of wizard items and a multitude of moving pictures throughout its walls. It was like Hogwarts, but not. He was sitting down across from the man that sighed and said, "You're a mess." Draco didn't know what he meant, but when he moved a pain shot up his right side. As he inspected himself he saw that he was bruised, battered and bleeding. “So do you agree to this?” The man asked. Draco didn't know why he said, “I do.” or why he followed up with a defeated, "You knew he would do this." The man sighed as he took in Draco's appearance and leaned his face against his hands. The long wood desk he sat at creaked with the weight."I had a feeling" He stated. "No go clean yourself up." That statement always stung the most. Another dream he recalled was one where he was looking at the stars and it seemed as if the stars were silently whispering, but what they were trying to tell him he ever understand.They’re just dreams. Draco would remind himself as he awoke with harsh breaths and the feeling of running in snow.These different dreams went on every night until Draco noticed a storm heading in his direction and new that he wouldn’t be able to sleep outside. He was both happy and disappointed to not have the company of the stars with him.The rain began to pour around 4:30 P.M. and Draco was stuck with himself. He at first busied himself with trivial things like flipping through old newspapers and reading about how great everything turned out because of Harry Bloody Potter. Draco would love to punch that git in his self righteous face. He would also love to meet someone that wasn’t in love with him. He smirked to himself that would be the one for me.Sure Draco had had some relationships with girls; he was the prince of Slytherin after all. But he knew they were only after his name and title and that made them less attractive to him. Once he became a 5th year the idea of sharing anything personal with another person was too foreign of a concept.He heard the rain let up a bit and went out of his tent to try and waste time walking around. Draco stared skyward. It seemed the only things that didn’t look at him like he was scum nowadays were the twinkling stars above. He was unaware of the sound of crunching leaves until they were too close for comfort. He looked down to meet the eyes of Chloe whose red hair, blue long sleeve shirt and tan trousers were drenched. Draco looked at her in surprise as his heart sped up and adrenaline ran throughout his body.She can’t see me Draco encouraged himself. But she looked right at him and asked, “Well aren’t you going to let a soaked girl in?”Draco was dumbfounded and whenever he was faced with something unknown he became defensive. “Why should I? You’ll just get my tent wet.”Chloe looked tired and her expression resembled one he so often saw in the mirror. Draco didn’t realize he was letting her in until she had a towel and was sitting comfortably on a couch.“Nice tent.” She said more to herself then Draco, as she looked around at the appliances and doorways that lead to other rooms. Draco took a seat across from the couch and started to analyze Chloe like she was a giant that somehow had wandered into a muggle mall.“What?”“How did you see through my barrier?” A surprised look came over her face and she let it stay there as she contemplated her answer. “Didn’t you learn how to see through them at your fancy school full of fancy purebloods?”“Are you daft?”“I’ll take that as a no then.” Chloe replied as she tried to warm herself up with the towel. A loud roar of thunder cracked outside and they both looked at each other. “Guess I’m staying here tonight”“Like bloody hell you ar-” Draco stopped himself and gave Chloe the most devilish grin he could muster with his unkept appearance. It gave Chloe’s arms goose bumps.“Fine but then you’ll promise to leave me alone, and my so called favor will be paid.”“Deal, I will leave as soon as the sun is in view.” Chloe replied and stuck out her hand.“I’m not going to touch you.” Draco commented as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen to collect some water for himself. Chloe looked at her dirt covered hand and then scowled at him. “such a baby” she whispered to herself.“Well then goodnight.” Draco stated.“Wait its probably not even seven who goes to sleep that early.” Chloe grinned. Draco stopped and glared at the uninvited guest on his couch. He didn’t know why he had let her stay. It was dangerous, he had no idea who she was, or why she was living in the woods. His curiosity out won his dislike and he sat back down.“Then what do you purpose we do? Watch the floorboards all night.”“Yes that is exactly what I purpose.” She replied sarcastically.“You are really annoying” Draco was already getting up from his seat.“Wait, seriously you can’t even sit for a moment can you. How about a pleasant chat? People do that, you know talk about the weather and what not.”“Well I am not one of those people nor am I pleasant, and the weather is clearly horrid out. Stop being such a ridiculously lousy guest.” Draco challenged again sitting back down.Chloe chuckled to herself. “I wouldn’t say that you're not pleasant. You just believe yourself to be above everyone and everything else. Which doesn’t make you the most social of butterflies now does it. The only thing keeping you in that seat is my mysterious background. Well go ahead ask away." she stated and then lowered her voice an octave. "just beware the consequences.”Draco rolled his eyes at her dramatics and stared at the girl in front of him. His opinion of her kept changing. It ranged from hate, dislike, curious, interest, to dislike once more. She was interesting in a way, but he chalked that up to her being the only other talking being within miles. He wouldn’t give her a glance anywhere else. “Are you following me?” He asked.Chloe could now tell what she had seen on Draco’s face that she couldn’t place. He had been wary of her. She had figured out that he was running from something. ”No, I could care less about you to be honest. Who owns the wand shop in Diagon Alley?”“What? Who said you could ask questions?” Draco replied.“I did. Just answer it.”“Ollivander did but I believe he has retired since the war and one of his apprentices is now the main owners.” Draco stated seeming bored by the question, “Why are you traveling through these woods?”“I've got nothing better to do.”"That's not an answer.""Well it's not a lie either." Chloe said, she could see that Draco didn’t believe her, “What is today’s date?”“August 11th, 2000 and you didn't answer the bloody question.”“Well I am not asking you why you are living in a tent and from the looks of it you’ve been doing this for a while, so lets just both accept that we like to run from things and move on. So who killed Voldemort?”“Harry Potter.” Draco spat the words. “This is idiotic. I’m going to bed.”“Wait, one more. Who killed Albus Dumbledore?” At this Draco thought the girl was trying to hurt him, but he still said the words “Severus Snape.” Then he vanished to his bed leaving Chloe with new things to think about.That night Draco dreamed about a peaceful place where he didn’t have to run anymore and after a long day would go to a beautiful house with a family inside that looked at him like he was worth it. They would hug him and ask how his day was and he would look down at his left arm and see nothing. “It was a great day.”Chloe dreamt of things she would never let herself forget. “Are you ready?”“Yes. You promise this won't kill me."“It won’t kill you Miss Gryndor, but it won't be pleasant."“It was nice knowing you Professor.” She then raised the goblet of silver liquid and wished it would take away more than just time, but she knew that was only a wish. She fell into a pool of water and felt nothing. She then awoke to pain from her right side and wondered how many times she would have to wake up from nothingness.When morning came around Draco was unusually happy until he saw Chloe standing by the sink drinking tea.“You said you would be gone by morning, which means now.” It was Chloe’s turn to put on her best devilish smile.“No I said I would leave once the sun is in view and it’s still raining outside.” Draco almost lunged at her, but a small very small part of him that he would never admit, was impressed at her cunningness.“You almost shook on it.” She replied.“I did.” Draco said in his small defeat. Realizing that until the rain stopped his routine was screwed.