Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Reassignment: Project Amshas ❯ Slight Situation ( Chapter 4 )

Reassignment Project Amshas

 

By Amerise M. A. Rei

 

Chapter 3: Slight Situation

 

 

“Draco Malfoy!” Percy practically spat his name like a horrid flavored Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Beans.

 

“The one and only in the flesh.” Draco superciliously announced with his trademark smirk.

 

“Why you little ingrate! I ought to-”

 

“Now, now, my cover's been blown and we are both mature adults. I think we can work something out, but before that, I'd advise a better place to negotiate than what looks to be a third rate motel room with ears probably growing in every crevice. And by the way, why are you here? I know keeping towards the Weasley traditions of second rate everything is fine among your lot but I am pretty sure the Ministry pays you well enough to do better. I guess old habits die hard.”

 

“That's enough of that! Aren't you wanted or association with Death Eaters?”

 

“Among other things, but I won't go into detail in this squalor.”

 

Percy clenched his fist before answering, “Fair enough.” Through clenched teeth and turned towards the brightly blazed fireplace reaching for some Floo Powder.

 

“Not by Floo!” Draco stopped him short and suddenly. “As you said, I am a `wanted' person.” Draco crooned angelically trying to cover up his urgency with an innocent grin. “The networks are, after all, diligently monitored as you know, being a Ministry member yourself. Wouldn't want them to connect me to you just because we used the same travel system within your room.”

 

Percy raised an eyebrow and thought that that was a logical answer but this was Malfoy we are talking about here. There is something that is amiss, but for now…he'll leave it be as he turned away from the fireplace and turned to Draco in a huffy, yanking him by the collar and apparating the both of them to a new location.

 

Draco landed roughly on the ground and Percy just glowered at this sprawled figure.

 

“Oy, easy on the landing, jeez!”

 

“Now tell me what you were doing using me face as a guise earlier?” Percy yanked Draco up again and then held him firmly almost nose to nose.

 

“Well…I think that landing may have impeded my ability to remember so far behind me.” Draco, not intimidated one bit, answered cheekily.

 

“Well, I'm sure the Ministry can procure something to jog that memory of yours!”

 

“No, wait!” Draco almost pleaded with him before slumping in resignation. I'll tell you, but only under one condition!”

 

“I'm not here to negot-”

 

“Do not let my father know about my wear-abouts!” Draco desperately interjected to get his attention.

 

Attention granted.

 

“What?”

 

“No one is to know about where I am, especially my father!”

 

Percy's eyebrows shot up as Draco's whole arrogant demeanor then turned dejected and his voice soft with his last comment. He could almost empathize with him as it looked like they both were in the same boat.

 

“Go on.”

 

“…I've been on the run and in hiding since Dumbledore's assignation, even from my own father. When I realized I couldn't complete the Dark Lord's task, I went for help. Dumbledore tried to help me little by little as he helped…others.”

 

` `others?' I'll ask him about whom later'

 

“After I failed, I fled for my life and resided in Knockturn Alley these past few months, preying on others like a lowly parasite just to get by.” Draco spat, looking disgusted as he seemed to relive his last few months, pausing as he unconsciously cringed.

 

“So you posed as a poltergeist in order to get the hair you needed for the Polyjuice potion, which explains why you have been able to travel freely and gone unnoticed. That's pretty ingenious, except for the fact that you tried to pose as me. Why did you pose as me?”

 

“ `freely'. Hardly. But you were just incidental and Lady Luck smiled upon me when I was “harvesting”. As `Percy Weasley', the Minister's Assistant, I would be a beacon with my flaming red hair and if the “Perfect Percy” did something so dastardly as injury someone, let alone kill, my existence would be forgotten, for a moment to act `freely'.

 

Needles to say, Percy didn't like the implications of Draco's use of Polyjuice in his own case particularly but listened on anyway.

 

“I was desperate for a way out but more so by the time you got in the picture. The first few months, I had help and devised a plan to live as I mentioned with the use of Polyjuice, but the only problem is I'd have to rely on a new supply of hair as well as other people to walk `freely' in the streets, but I wasn't free. I was trapped in someone else's body anytime I was out in the streets and had to tread cautiously just in case I run in to one of their acquaintances or into my actual victims - like your case. I had no one to turn to and the help that I did get was limited at best.”

 

“By why not turn to your precious father and crawl back for forgiveness?”

 

“You don't understand. My father is where he is today because he was ruthless and made not exception to failure. Not for himself, nor his colleagues and especially not for me! He would rather I died than tarnish the Malfoy name and legacy with failure! You say it as if I can just go and waltz right up to him with my sob-story and he'll kiss it away and make it all better. No, sorry. Malfoy's do not work that way, especially not Lucius Malfoy! You get off with either this,” and Draco lifted his shirt to reveal on his back smooth, faint but definite scars from lashing, “Or unforgivable but never forgiveness without a price!”

 

Draco was almost hysterical and looked eerily frightened as his haunted memories flooded him again.

 

“I had finally given up hope of things ending sooner and take my own destiny in my own hands for a change, even if I did something that I vowed I would never do: Taking the life of an individual for selfish reasons or plain ignorance but having to resort to that as a means to live or a final remedy is just as bad if not worse. You startled me when you appeared in that alley and I thought you were my father. 100 hours of no sleep make it very simple for such delusions of grandeur to seem plausible: thinking that one's life is better than another's, let alone coming up with a cockamamie idea to pose as a Weasley to get out of my current situation and live a better life.'

 

Draco stopped at this point and was contemplating all that he said; as if it were the first time he actually sat there and realized where his actions would have led him. His eyes were calmer now and he finally seemed to relax for what looked like months.

 

`Jeez, and I thought I had repressed issues. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to think that those were your only options left in the world. Then again, I didn't just betray a very influential group of Death Eater which then translates into betraying the Dark Lord, himself just by association.' Percy started to brood over the Draco's situation, wondering all the variables that could have led to such actions that he briefly touched upon until his thoughts were interrupted by Draco continuing with what he was saying.

 

“…Then again, me thinking that you were my father dressed that way you were earlier today was the worst delusion of all. My father would rather me put him out of his our misery for wearing such a hideous thing, or kill me for mistaking you in that as him.” Draco said deadpanned, his features mirroring Percy's just a minute ago but looked up with a rye smirk masking all his bottled up emotions once again.

 

“Okay, I get it! The robe was a big mistake but you must admit, if I never wore it when I chased you down, you wouldn't have been so stunned to stop in your tracks while attacking that tourist.” Percy reflected that smirk in this game of mirroring each other as he pushed back his prior feelings and actually felt comfortable enough to poke fun at the younger gentleman, granted at his own - or rather his father's - expense; if not out of compassion or empathy, then for the sake of getting Draco's spirits higher than they've been in a while.

 

“Touché, but you could have used a stunning spell instead.”

 

“And miss you calling me `Father' with the look of awe in your eyes. NEVER!”

 

The two gentlemen had a good chuckle, which turned into a healthy laugh but as soon as they sobered up, Percy turned to Draco with a determined look in his eyes.

 

“Okay, I think we've established that something needs to be done and you need some help getting out of your predicament but I think I might have a possible solution for you or the both of us.”

 

 

 

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Thanks for reading! I'm sorry it's especially short this chapter but I promise that the next chapter will be much longer and a lot of ground will be covered then. If you have any questions, comments just e-mail me but PLEASE review and let me know what you think with any kind of feed back.

 

I'm aware that some of the characters are a bit OC but I kind of made them that way to fit the storyline so I apologize to all you die hard cannon fans.

 

I hope to have the next chapter next week sometime but Orientation is starting and I might not be able to guarantee that it will be out for sure but I'll definitely have it out by the following week. Thanks again for reading.

~ Amerise M. A. Rei