Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 1st Chapter ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize is property of JK Rowling. Additionally this is not my story. I am uploading this to my own account in support of the author the story belongs to who has been struggling with hackers.

The thing I've most been dreading as a fan is that the story would be removed from the site by the hackers and the author wouldn't have access to their old chapters when the situation was eventually brought under control in the event the site moderators wouldn't be able to give the author their account back.

For anyone interested the author goes by Hancock23 on Fanfiction -dot- net. I will remove the story from my account when Hancock23 has gotten the story safely uploaded elsewhere or has been safely given their account back on Fanfiction -dot- net. Without further ado I give you a backup upload of: Behind the Fog by Hancock23.

PS: This Backup Upload contains minor edits for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Plus some rewording/restructuring of sentences so they make better sense and flow better. Hope you don't mind me becoming something of a Beta Reader for this Backup Upload Hancock23.

Uploader's Note: As of 4/20/21 I have obtained express permission to keep this Backup Upload of Behind the Fog up for good from Hancock23. I do not however intend to upload anything beyond the 43rd chapter that was uploaded on FanFiction(dot)Net when I made the choice to create an account here to post this Backup Upload. Eventually Hancock23 will be able to continue the story and I will inform you of where you can find the continuation.

Chapter One - Undeserving

"His Blood May Be Pure, But His Soul Is Tainted Black!"

That was the headline that met everyone's eye when they glanced at the first page of their copy of the daily prophet. What followed was a sordid account of Draco Malfoy's apparent sexual relationship with the dark lord, and a final paragraph that implored the headmaster of Hogwarts to expel this 'dangerous' character from the school where innocent children attended. It hurt, and yet Draco had had to keep his head up and pretend that none of it mattered to him. He ignored the not so subtle looks, finished his breakfast like he always had, and left for class with Pansy and Blaise who had not said anything about the article.

The day was unbearable, what with the constant insults and snide remarks, but his world did not fall apart until later that evening; when he happened upon a conversation that tore everything inside of him into pieces. It was between two people, the last two he would have ever expected. Draco had been suffering from a headache, so he decided to go get some potions from Severus, but he got a lot more than potions when he discovered Potter already in the classroom with his godfather. The air was different from the usual, and his suspicions were confirmed when he heard Potter speak.

"He is tainted Severus." The boy who lived said.

"But he is your mate Harry." The potions master said to the boy, a regretful tone in his voice. "The dark lord grows more powerful with each day, and you are the only chance we have of defeating him. I know we are asking a lot from you, but to defeat him, you must accept that Draco is your mate, and form the bond. Only then can you fully come into your elemental magic."

"He will be my only spouse, there will be no breaking the bond. How can I live with him knowing what he is? Knowing that the dark lord has touched him in that manner. I can't even look at him."

"I am sorry Harry. I wish there were another option."

Draco left the classroom as quietly as he could. His heart breaking into more pieces than it ever had before. Not even when he realised that parents aren't meant to punish their kids with the Cruciatus Curse had he felt such misery. Draco had known betrayal in his life; his parents were supposed to love him, his godfather Severus Snape was supposed to protect him, and Harry Potter was supposed to be noble.

The Harry Potter he loved was supposed to look below the surface, but the boy in there with Severus was just as blinded as the rest of them. He felt anger at himself for daring to hope, and he felt pain as all his hope and illusions were destroyed. He went straight to his room instead of lingering in the common room, and not unexpectedly he found Blaise and Pansy there. They were all that anchored him to this reality. They were all that he really had.

"I want to take a shower." He said and proceeded to place his bag on his desk, before removing his clothes. Unsurprisingly again, Blaise and Pansy also stripped their clothes and followed him to the en-suite bath, and Draco could not be more grateful that he had been made a prefect this year with his own room and bath. He set the shower to the temperature he liked and stood under its spray for a few minutes before he finally spoke. "I am terribly hurt." The tears streaming down his face mixed with the shower water preventing anyone from realizing that he was crying.

"We know." Pansy said, and went to stand with him under the water.

"That article…," He began, but his voice broke before he could say another word.

"You don't have to speak about it now." Blaise said.

"Yes, I do." Draco argued, holding Pansy's hand tightly for support.

"You know that my father failed the dark lord towards the beginning of summer right?" He began; Blaise and Pansy nodded at this. They had been terribly afraid for Draco over the entirety of the summer holidays; afraid of what Lucius would do to his son.

They had been friends pretty much since the year they were born, and even though no one else seemed to notice, they knew that the Malfoy family wasn't the happy family they showed to the world. It took them years of gentle and careful prodding, but Draco had finally confessed that Lucius put him under the Cruciatus Curse since he was a baby. He was torture cursed before he could even learn to speak, and faster than any child should ever have to learn, he learnt not to cry. Lucius did not stop there. He conditioned his son not to show emotion, never to ask for anything, and never to expect anything.

His mother was little more than a stranger to him. She loved Lucius so completely that she somehow had no love to spare for her son. Draco had been conditioned not to interact with the house elves unless he absolutely needed to as well, so he was always alone in the Malfoy manor, but he could relax with his two friends. For some reason, he had known instinctively that he could trust them, that they would be loyal to him even if everyone else turned their backs on him. He let them be there for him, and he let them comfort him when he had no other outlet for his pain except crying in the shower where no one could see the traitorous tears.

Getting back to his tale, he continued. "The dark lord, he has a weird fascination with me for some reason. To earn his forgiveness, father offered me to him." Blaise gasped in horror and Pansy let out a pained whimper.

"I didn't know anything until it was too late. They put something in my food and bound my magic. I woke up in the dark lord's bed...and he was touching me." Draco shivered even though his voice was hollow, and that more than anything scared his friends. It was like he was retelling the story of someone else, someone who had experienced something horrific, and someone he sympathized with, but not someone he acknowledged as himself.

"There was nothing I could do." He continued. "He was stronger and bigger, and my magic wouldn't come to me. I think, it was probably a house elf that returned me to the manor, I was in such horrible pain. I had to stay in bed for a few days. Three weeks later or so, mother and father found out I had conceived, but not even father wanted a monster's child to be a future Malfoy heir, so they gave me an abortion potion."

The more Draco talked, the calmer he became; Meanwhile his friends were overcome with horror and trepidation. They had not been able to contact Draco all summer, their firecalls rejected and their letters being returned unopened no matter how much they insisted on calling or how often they wrote, and they were having trouble stomaching the reason why now that they knew.

Pansy's father was a death eater, but their family was close-knit and full of love. Blaise's mother had been married nine times now, on account of killing all her previous husbands, but she adored Blaise. For the two of them, it was inconceivable that a parent would do this to their only child and heir. To their living legacy on this planet. They ached terribly for him, and at the same time realized that there was no way they could ever understand his pain, and a whole lot they could do to help his situation. All they could do was be there for him.

Draco was bound to Lucius by an ancient spell of filial obedience so that no matter what he tried, Lucius had the last word until Draco came of age. As the registered godfather, Severus could have done something, but their potions professor was not someone who really took interest in his godson despite the blatant favouritism he seemed to show him in class.

As he talked, Draco separated his thoughts and placed them in different mental boxes. He pushed all the painful memories to a compartment in the deepest recesses of his mind, and marked it boldly 'Do Not Open' so that he would not accidentally open it in the future.

"I think I might have a way out." He said slowly, recapturing the attention of his best friends, who had become absorbed in their own thoughts.

"How?" Pansy asked cautiously. Draco had never in his life thought of suicide, and while she wouldn't blame him if he started considering it now, she could never encourage it.

"I just overheard Potter and Snape speaking," Blaise raised an eyebrow at this, but Draco continued on, "Apparently, Potter is an elemental wizard, and I am the unfortunate soul who has been identified as his mate." He said, and his two friends tried to supress the sinking feeling they had.

"He thinks I am tainted and dirty, and even though Snape agrees with him, he has managed to convince Potter that he needs me if he is to gain the power he needs to defeat the dark lord." Draco said, his voice wavering slightly as he temporarily choked on a sob.

"As you know, bonding with a magical creature or elemental can be done even without parental consent." Pansy's heart bled in pain, and she could not stop the hot tears that fell down her cheeks as she embraced her friend.

She understood what he was not saying. Potter hated him and thought of him as filthy, but being bound to him was better than waiting for his coming of age which was almost a year away. The situation was urgent for him. Although Draco had not said it, Blaise and Pansy knew that the rape had not been a one-time occurrence. The dark lord was obsessed with Draco and he also wanted an heir; their friend would not be safe if things kept going as they were.

They did not need to ask if he'd had to have more than the one abortion over the summer, they were certain he had. And as sixth years, Draco wouldn't be safe even at Hogwarts. They were allowed to go to Hogsmeade every weekend and Lucius had no doubt asked that Draco meet him there without fail throughout the year. The first weekend since school began was almost here, and a fear that had not been present in them was born.

Draco deserved so much better from life. No person of their age, no person period really, deserved to suffer as much as he had. Pansy and Blaise recognized that they could not protect him from his father and the dark lord, but they sure as hell could make sure that Potter did not hurt him more than he already had.

"We should research everything about elemental wizards before he asks you." Pansy said and Blaise nodded in agreement. Inevitable though it was, they'd have the best chance at controling how things unfolded if they had an expansive amount of information to draw on.

"Be careful though, I don't want anyone to find out." Draco said, as he turned off the hot water. As he left the bathroom, he collected all his thoughts and feelings for Potter, the part of him that was desperately in love with Potter, and locked them away in another compartment.

He had to forget this love he held because it would never be returned, and he didn't think he could survive another heartbreak. Despite everything, Draco Malfoy wanted to live. He wanted to live so badly he would grin and bear it, even though it meant enduring the pain of being bound to someone he loved, and who abhorred him in return. He just wanted to live, but even he could not say why he wanted to so badly.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 1 of Behind The Fog by Hancock23.