If he knew anything about anything, Draco Malfoy knew that no one would ever think to look for him here. Spinner’s End was a miserable place - unfit to even be called a town, really - but a safe haven nonetheless. He’d Apparated himself atop of a pile of trash, and tripped over it now as they moved forward, his strides awkward and more gangly than those of the man next to him.
Even as Snape pulled him forward by his elbow, Draco could see why it was the professor lived here. The town was greasy and poor and especially angular, and held a keen sense of despair in its cracks and crumbles. Its personality mirrored Snape’s – he would fit nowhere else.
The house they moved towards was undistinguishable from the others in the row. Like jail cells side-by-side, it too had wrought-iron bars upon its windows, isolating it from the world beyond this barren town-send. They flew through the gate and over the threshold, slamming the door behind them, prisoners now of their own doing, and Draco heaved himself into the nearest chair, intent upon serving out his jail sentence comfortably.
Before him, Snape lit the fireplace, bringing a cauldron to boil without bothering to remove his cloak. ‘There is no time for you to rest.’
Draco rolled his neck and stood, dumping his bag out on the table. A collection of vials fell amongst the items — he grabbed the nearest, containing a translucent green liquid, and moved towards the fire. Snape was ready with a dropper, adding several drops of the vial’s contents to the bubbling cauldron. It hissed and spitted, changing a milky white colour before issuing a steady stream of smoke.
The blonde eyed the potion warily. ‘Are you sure this is going to work?’
‘What other options do you suggest?’
He shook his head grimly. He knew of none. No second chances for traitors, I guess. A bell called out to them from above the window. They’re coming.
Draco gathered his bag as Snape filled the remaining vials full of the potion, holding them out for Draco’s hand. Then he turned to the bookshelf, pulling a leather bound book from the lower-most shelf. He placed it gingerly in the boy’s hands.
‘Page fifty-four,’ he murmured.
Draco shoved it into his bag, pulling the clasp tight before standing to full-height. Suddenly eye-level with the professor, he realized for the first time that he was no longer a boy, no longer his student. Nor Dumbledore’s.
Snape saw the meaning in the look without having to read the boy’s mind. ‘I killed him for you.’
The reply was nothing more than a whisper. ‘You killed him.’
Snape’s mouth tightened, but he said nothing in response. Ducking his head, he stepped away from Malfoy, turning his back to him. He vanished the potion and cauldron, then straightened, his eyes trained on the photo framed on the mantel. ‘They’ll be here momentarily.’
The boy’s eyes narrowed viciously. His wand arm thrust outwards and back, like a crack of lightning, and Snape crumbled. Draco smirked, knelt over the unconscious form, and pulled something from the man’s pocket.
‘Thanks, professor,’ he muttered as he stepped over the body towards the fireplace. Then, with a few muttered words, Draco Malfoy disappeared in a spinning mass of brilliant green flames, leaving Snape alone on the floor.
Embracing the Darkness by laurskii
Story Notes:
Set directly after HPB, this is an AU Book 7 story as one author originally imagined it.
Chapter Notes: A prologue to a longer story - this will be the only chapter from Draco's point of view.