Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 21st Chapter ( Chapter 21 )

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.

Chapter 21 - Valentine's Craze

Author's Note (Hancock23): Warning! This chapter will revisit what happened to Draco over the summer and may have triggers for some of us, I apologise, and I won't be offended if you decide to skip the part. You will know you have gotten to that part when Draco goes to Severus' quarters. However, there is a bit more after that so cautiously take a peek.

"Dragon World set to launch Valentine's Product."

In a statement sent to the Daily Prophet yesterday, Dragon World confirmed it is set to launch a Valentine's Day product. According to the statement, the product is a confession without words. "People often lack the words to say exactly what they feel, or feel too embarrassed to say the words; Our new product offers that chance."

"For only five galleons, Dragon World will deliver the words to your beloved on Valentine's Day. You only need to think of what you want to say while you write your name and the recipient's name on a parchment which you will send to us, and Dragon World will do the rest."

We at the Daily Prophet managed to acquire a sample of said product, and all we can advise without spoiling the surprise is to have a copy of 'The language of Flowers' nearby when you receive a Valentine from Dragon World. Dragon World is the way to go this Valentine.

That article ran on the 1st of February and Bill made sure it was printed in many foreign papers, but even he could not have foreseen the influx of orders. Having never been the romantic type, he hadn't expected the product to sell, but the number of orders by the 10th of February had already reached sixty-five thousand, and he had begun to fear that they would not be able to handle it.

They had hired every post owl they could find in Diagon Alley and even went to Hogsmeade for more, but the orders kept coming in. In the end, Dragon World had to lease even more owls from an owl breeder and Hogwarts itself. By midnight of the 13th, Bill was ready to collapse from exhaustion, and there were still thousands of owls to send out. It was almost five in the morning when the last owl left the store, and he was sure he never wanted to see February the 14th again for the rest of his life.

At Hogwarts on the 14th of February, everyone waited expectantly; copies of 'The Language of Flowers' could be seen lying on the tables ready to be opened at a moment's notice. The owls arrived at eight and the first person to open her package was a Hufflepuff girl who squealed in delight, when the long stemmed bud she held in her hand bloomed into a luscious lavender rose.

Quickly, she consulted the book next to her and when she saw that the flower meant 'Love at first Sight' her cheeks turned an attractive shade of pink; and even more so when she looked at the Hufflepuff boy seated diagonally to her. From the moment she had touched the flower, she had known its sender; and the blush on the boy's face only confirmed what she knew.

The scene was repeated hundreds of times around the hall and thousands of times around the world. The buds bloomed into hundreds of species of flowers with different colours, each with its own meaning and Draco watched proudly not expecting anything in return, but he was wrong. His owls arrived late after the others had already left. Nine owls dropped nine packages in front of him, and he opened each to find a bud that bloomed into a freesia.

All nine packages contained a different coloured freesia, and he didn't need to check the book to know what they meant. Although in different forms, they all meant 'I trust you' and Draco never wanted to betray that trust.

"Whoever sent you those must be out of their minds." Granger said, as she pointed at the bouquet of freesias, and Draco wondered why he had to be sitting at the Gryffindor table on this particular day.

"Hopefully, you will repeat that same opinion if the Wizengamot ever decides to prosecute my acquaintances, I will be counting on you, Granger." Draco said, in a dismissive tone and finished his coffee ready to head back to the east tower. Although the holiday had fallen on a Saturday, neither he nor Potter would be able to spend it with other people because of the bond.

Either way, judging by the look on the Weaselette's face and the anemone she held in her hand, Draco rather thought that Potter would appreciate not having to deal with the Weasley girl for the day.

"It also means anticipation and excitement for the future." Granger was saying in a soothing voice, as Potter took the opportunity to drag Draco out of the hall.

Truthfully, Harry had sent the note to Dragon World because it was expected, but everything had become soo messed up lately that he couldn't decide what he felt for Ginny. Without a doubt, things had changed between them, and he no longer felt the desperate love he once felt for her, but he couldn't put a name to the change. Sighing, he decided to think about it later; and turned to speak to Draco for the first time in a while.

"Have you really gone ahead and started a grey faction?" He asked, the moment they were back in their room.

"Yeah." Draco answered.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"What do you mean why?" Draco remarked.

"I mean; Why have you started it?" Harry prodded.

"Because I am tired of this Wizarding World. Because I am tired of your attitudes and self-righteousness. Because I want people to have choices." Draco saw no reason to lie, not to Potter at least. "Because I do not want my children to grow up in this world as it is now."

"What can you do?" Harry didn't even know why he was asking these things; He just knew that he had spent an entire month mulling over the situation Malfoy found himself in, and still had not come any closer to the answers that he needed. What had happened in Dumbledore's office deeply disturbed him, and truthfully; he was not at all comfortable with the murder of another human being, so that he can be half of the poster married couple for the next generation.

He didn't want to be bonded to Malfoy, but he didn't want to kill him to be happy either; He couldn't live with that if it came to pass.

"Whatever needs to be done."
"Even killing people?"
"No. If I can't win them over with reason, I will find another way, but killing is not going to become a Modus Operandi for the Grey Faction."

"Does Voldemort love you?" The question was so random, that Draco didn't know how to answer, and only deigned to, because he saw that Potter was also surprised, by what had come out of his mouth.

"I am not sure love is the right word. He has a weird fascination with me; Maybe it's my face or my blood purity. I really couldn't tell you precisely." Draco said, trying to keep the bitterness from his voice.

"He and I are connected you see." Harry hadn't had the Voldemort visions since his fifth year, and with the Occlumency and Legilimency bolstering and blocking spells that he had bought from Dragon World, he hadn't even felt a twinge of the dark lord's rage or killing intent for weeks now, but that was beside the point.

"I see." Draco said, although he had no idea what one thing had to do with the other. He couldn't say he was shocked, considering all he knew about Voldemort, but he was surprised that Potter had brought it up.

"He must be really obsessed with you." Harry said.

"He is." This was said with a slight frown, as Draco tried to figure out what Potter was getting at.

"I think, that must be why you know?; Why I keep wanting to fuck you senseless, even though you are a disgusting whore that's no better than Voldemort himself."

Draco just stood there frozen, unable to say anything. Was there even anything he could say to that? He could say that he was not a whore, but the desperate look on Harry's face told Draco that the Gryffindor was desperate for an anchor. Potter could not forgive himself for desiring someone he considered repulsive, and Draco felt sick to his stomach as he watched in silent horror as though going through an out of body experience, as Potter brought their bodies and lips together.

He wanted to get away from Potter, but to his horror, his body sought the comfort he knew could be found in Harry's embrace. Harry could hurt him badly, but he was also able to soothe his hurt and the conflicting emotions tore at him even as he placed his arms around Potter's neck and kissed him back.

They never made it to the bedroom, and they didn't say a word when everything was done. Harry knew that he had only wanted to justify his desire by saying those things to Draco, but he could not apologise. Draco, on the other hand, was just numb and without thinking, he went to the bathroom and had a steaming shower. It was not until he found himself in Snape's personal quarters without Potter by his side, that he realised that the bond had somehow let up completely.

He began to cry then, deep heart-breaking sobs that made Severus look worriedly at Remus Lupin who had been in his quarters for his vial of wolfsbane potion. He had never in his life personally been present when his godson had cried; and he was at a loss on what to do, even though he could tell that Draco was in pain. Cautiously, Severus pulled the boy into his arms and took him to the couch as Remus indicated, and then he let him cry on his chest while Remus rubbed Draco's back in confusion. He cried for a good thirty minutes, before he calmed down.

"Draco, what happened?" Severus asked. He wondered if he should ask Remus to leave, but he was also afraid to be left alone with an emotionally distraught teenager when he didn't know what to do.

"Sex happened." Draco said.

"What?" Severus asked, now completely confused.

"I had sex with Potter again, after he'd called me Voldemort's disgusting whore." Now even Remus was not making sense of what was being said. "I need to stop having sex with him, or I can't keep everything separate anymore."

"What does that mean Draco?" Severus pressed Draco; who was yawning with exhaustion now.

"If I let Potter into my life, I can't keep everything else away. I can't compartmentalize it all in my head."

"I can't handle this. I think perhaps, it'd be better; if I don't have anything left to remember. I don't need to remember anything at all, godfather." He fell asleep then, and Severus thought he looked like a lost child. He carried him to his spare bedroom and came back to find that Remus was still there.

"What is going on Severus?" The werewolf asked. The potions master didn't know whether to say anything at first, but then he thought that Remus was the nurturing type and if anyone knew how to help Draco, it would be him.

"Narcissa and Lucius, they drugged Draco, blocked his magic, and gave him to Voldemort. Draco woke up to rape, and he couldn't do anything." Remus looked at the man in horror and then remembered all that had happened and been said in the past few months and felt sick.

"Draco didn't show any signs of depression, and I thought he had somehow dealt with it, but it seems like he has merely repressed everything. Maybe what happened with Harry has triggered something in him."

"He needs to deal with it, Severus. If he doesn't, it could destroy him; It could cause him to make an undoable mistake someday." Remus said solemnly.

"Normally, I would agree with you, but Draco, he doesn't have many happy memories from his childhood. If he opens that can of worms, he might not have something to anchor him to reality, and then, I fear all will be truly lost."

"What do you mean he doesn't have happy memories?" Remus asked sceptically. This was Draco Malfoy after all; He knew of no one else in a more ideal position to be happy.

"He means that Draco has had a very painful and traumatic life." Pansy said, and Severus turned to see Draco's friends walk into the room. With all that had happened, he had forgotten that they were meant to be brewing.

"What has happened?" Blaise asked, without any attempt to hide his worry.

"Draco has had some sort of breakdown after sex with Potter." Severus said and if it hadn't been dark in the room, they would have seen the slight pinkening of his ears.

It was awkward to talk about sex with his students, but Zabini and Parkinson knew Draco better than anyone; they needed to know what was going on.

"I see." Pansy said. "It was bound to happen sooner or later I suppose."

"Why do you say that Miss Parkinson?" Remus asked. It really wasn't his place to ask, but Remus felt like he had to. There was so much heartbreak and pain in the way Malfoy had cried, and it made him worry for the boy.

"After that article in September, Draco told us everything; but it felt like he was telling a story; Like he was speaking of things that had happened to someone else." Blaise said.

"When he heard Professor Snape talk with Potter that one time; he said that he needed to get over it all. He used to love Potter before that moment, yet the next thing we knew, he was indifferent to him. It's easy to see an act eventually, as even the most experienced actors slip up eventually, but for Draco, it wasn't an act. His feelings for Potter really disappeared; even when they were fucking like bunnies after their bond acted up, he still felt nothing for him."

"What? Are you saying that their relationship has been sexual for a while?" Severus asked. He remembered that time during Christmas break, but he hadn't spared it much thought.

"It's an on and off thing." Pansy said. "If I am not mistaken, they have stayed away from each other since the Grey Faction incident in the hall."

They must have been talking louder than they thought, because the door of the room Draco had been placed in to rest, opened much sooner than it should have and Draco exited it looking considerably more put together.

"You keep quite a keen eye on my sex life don't you Pansy?" He asked with a mischevious smile.

"It's because he keeps marking you up." She said, and they gave each other a knowing smile.

"Are you doing better now Draco?' Severus asked, as Draco took a seat. He nodded once to Remus before asking Blaise and Pansy to sit down.

"I am not well; I am nowhere near even breaching, "fine" nevermind anything beyond that." He answered.

"No, darling, you most certainly are not." Pansy said. "Your father has been casting the Cruciatus on you since you were a baby, and your mother somehow didn't love you enough to stop him."

Draco nodded, and Remus just watched in horror; wondering what kind of father would do that, and why Parkinson was saying it so bluntly.

"Severus was too busy with the world to care about you; and Blaise and I couldn't do much to help you even though we tried. You couldn't leave because your father exacted the filial magic." Draco nodded at her words again.

"At the beginning of last summer, Narcissa and Lucius drugged you, and bound your magic, then gave you to Voldemort. He raped you. Repeatedly. You could do nothing." She spoke on; Again he nodded.

"You got pregnant." There was a gasp from both adults in the room; even Severus had not gotten this far into Lucius' memories to know that truth.

"They made you abort. They must have used a fertility potion though, because you got pregnant two more times and they forced abortions on you two more times. You lost three babies over the course of a summer Draco." Pansy's voice finally wavered away from its blunt delivery.

"Miss Parkinson, are you sure this is-" Remus started trying to stop the girl, but she powered through. Severus was trembling, but Blaise stepped in and stopped the wolf from saying anything more to try deteering Pansy.

"Someone broadcasted your horror and shame for the world to gape at." Pansy continued, and Draco nodded again.

"Then you heard Potter speak about you being tainted; and Severus agreeing. The bond was your way out of your personal hell; but you couldn't allow yourself to be in love with Potter when things were so convoluted. So you buried those feelings for him; compartmenalized them into neat little mental boxes like everything else you couldn't handle in your harsh life. And now, this is where you stand." She finished.

"I see; All that happened to me." He sounded out of sorts; not quite right yet.
"It did." She affirmed. "It did Draco, and I am so sorry!"
"I feel, a bit hurt." The tears had started again.
"As you should, darling; and not just a bit." Pansy told him, but her eyes were completely dry; She could cry for him later, right now he needed to be weak enough to allow himself to simply greive over the wrongs the world had put him through, and she needed to be strong for him, to be his anchor through it.
"I need to be weak and think about this for a little bit." He declared.
"Exactly. You don't need to be strong until tomorrow Draco." She encouraged.
"It might take a bit longer than a day to feel better from all this." He said.
"Then the day after tomorrow or the one after that is good too." Blaise was the who assured him this time; and with just a brief nod to his friends, Draco went back to the other room, and fell asleep immediately.

"Why did you do such a thing?" Lupin asked the moment he was sure that the other Slytherin was not listening. "Shouldn't you have been more delicate considering the situation?" He argued, his voice full of disapproval.

"No." Pansy said. "Draco doesn't know how to deal with emotions correctly, not really. What he needed, what he always needs at times like these; is someone to state the facts to him in a logical manner, not someone to pity him."

"He will take his time deciding what being raped by a monster and having to abort three children means to him. He doesn't need anyone to tell him how to feel about that. He also needs to figure out what Potter is to him."

"But still..." Lupin protested.

"Draco is strong." Blaise said. "It's no use trying to understand how he processes things. If any of us had to go through what he has, we probably wouldn't be able to keep our sanity, but Draco will. He won't be fine right away, he may never truly be fine, but he will be better eventually. Enough to function. Enough to keep on living, inspite of the pain. Trust us on this."

"And Severus, lift your head right now." Pansy commanded, and the man did as he was told. "I know it was shocking to hear things stated like that, but you need to get over it soon in your own way soon. There is no use looking back, just don't betray his trust again, or I will show you horrors you can't even fathom."

"I would heed that warning, but; Anyway, we have to work." Blaise said, ready to get the show on the road so to speak. "Have you explained the potion to Professor Lupin?"

"What potion?" Remus asked in confusion. He had been a werewolf for too long to still not know about the Wolfsbane potion.

"The Lycanthropy Cure of course." Pansy said matter of factly, and the two older men just stared at her in shock.

"Excuse me?" Severus asked, and Pansy and Blaise looked at each other; before comprehension dawned on their faces.

"Congratulations Professor Lupin. You have been chosen to be the first werewolf to take the Lycanthropy Cure developed by Dragon World." They said together; Remus promptly fainted.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 21 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.