NOVEL WEB Chapter 44: CH 44
Harry was silent, hearing the anger and passion in Draco's voice. Not knowing what to say, Harry simply shook his head negatively in reply. "The worst part was... my father… was RIGHT THERE!" Draco slammed a hand down on the cushion beside him, standing up as he tried to give vent to his anger. "He just… just… stood by and watched Voldemort KILL me. Because he would rather Voldemort killed me than risk more anger being directed at him."
Draco took a breath, and turned to face Harry. "That's when I knew."
Harry stood there with his arms crossed watching Malfoy with raised eyebrows. His face expressionless otherwise. He didn't ask the obvious follow-up question.
If Draco had expected to see curiosity reflected on Harry's face, he was disappointed. Harry's face remained expressionless, but Draco continued on anyway. "I realized that you were the lucky one." That provoked a reaction of surprise, as Harry snorted in disbelief.
Draco didn't give Harry room to express that disbelief, beyond the snort as he barreled on. "Your parents both loved you. They both sacrificed their lives for you. Mine didn't even risk theirs for mine. Oh sure, they were upset afterwards, in private. Mother even cried. But neither of them ever said that it should have been them. They stood by and watched as the person they followed killed their son because he was upset."
That shut Harry's mouth. That was one thing he couldn't refute. His parents both had died trying to protect him. He began to look at Draco with an appraising expression, but Draco wasn't finished.
Draco was looking down at his hands, and when he spoke it was like he was talking to himself. "It's amazing the blinders that hindsight and death rip away from you." His grey eyes flicked up to meet Harry's emerald eyes. "I once told you that you ought to choose your company more carefully. I was wrong... at least about your friends. That's why the loyalty oath. The Draco in this world was headed down that very same path before we melded… souls or whatever you want to call it. Last time I chose the wrong lord to follow. This time I'm not going to make the same mistake. I'm choosing my own path. I'm choosing to follow you."
This was enough for Harry to respond, his voice rising in irritation "In case you didn't notice... Every one of my friends and family around me all ended up the same way you did. Dead. Because of me. Hardly seems like good odds for you. "
Draco shook his head, his expression undeterred "Maybe… but can you look me in the eye and tell me that you wouldn't trade your life for all of theirs? Or for any single one of theirs?"
Harry frowned in confusion. "I would trade places with any of them in a heartbeat."
Draco pointed at Harry emphatically, "That! That right there is my point. At least this time if I die, it won't be because you had a bad day. I will trade a lord who executes his followers because he's having a temper tantrum for one who value's the life of all his followers. No matter how you may feel about me personally." Draco replied, matter-of-factly.
"I'm not a lord, Malfoy." Harry replied with a wave of his hand, his tone distracted as he turned over what Draco had said in his mind. Draco frowned at that, shaking his head slightly. "You may deny it, but it's what you are."
"Malfoy, have you ever heard me go about demanding titles? I had enough trouble with the one I was stuck with before I was old enough to walk. The same one that followed me everywhere I went, the instant I stepped into the wizarding world at age 11, I was the 'Boy-Who-Lived.' It was a title I despised. I always wanted to be nothing more than just Harry." He replied his voice getting somewhat heated.
Draco shook his head in disagreement. "You don't understand, Lord is not some smacked on title that's just bandied about to anyone. It's only applicable to a very select number of people."
Harry frowned. "Look, Voldemort may have wanted everyone to think he was some pureblood lord, but he was a half-blood. And only in the loosest sense of the word. He was the son of a squib and a non-magical. He liked to think himself clever and used an anagram of his name to create the persona of Lord Voldemort."
Draco shook his head again, his eyes narrowing a little bit, "You know an awful lot about his history. But that isn't what I was talking about. A Lord… has no bearing on someone's blood. Voldemort, Grindelwald, Dumbledore. All of them referred to as lords. None of them exactly ancient wizarding names. Some of it is about sheer magical power. But it's also about their ability to shape the world. It's about their ability gather followers. All of which you have to admit they had in spades. As much as may have been loathe to admit it, even back in school you were the same way." Harry frowned. "I don't have followers. I've never had followers… unless you count the sheeple of the wizarding world. They follow and believe whatever they're told. More often than not they were against me, rather than for me. I'll do without the hassle."
Draco gestured toward the rest of the train. "I'm not talking about whether people in the general public like you or not. You had people follow you all the time. You had Weasel and Granger joined at your hip from the first year. You got five school children, four of which had been raised fearing Voldemort and the death eaters, to follow you into battle believing Voldemort would be there. A whole group of school children revolting against the ministry by teaching that group despite Umbridge. So please, tell me again how you didn't have followers." "Those weren't followers, those were friends, Malfoy. And they all died because of me. Don't forget that part." Harry shot at him.
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