Charlie/Draco: A Response In Verse by Slytherin Brand Baby Oil
TITLE: A Response in Verse
AUTHOR NAME: Slytherin Brand Baby Oil
PAIRING: Charlie Weasley/Draco Malfoy
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations
created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but
not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast
Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no
copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
1st Song: Craig's Brother, Sorry. Unedited
2nd Song: Tracy Chapman, Remember the Tinman. Edited. One stanza
removed:
And remember the tinman
Found he had what he thought he lacked
Remember the tinman
Go find your heart and take it back
3rd Song: Goo Goo Dolls, Acoustic #3. Edited. Original as follows:
They press their lips against you
And you love the lies they say
And I tried so hard to reach you
But you're falling anyway
And you know I see right through you
Cos' the world gets in your way
What's the point in all the screaming?
You're not listening anyway
Archive: My own site, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MusicisMagic/
FQF INFO: HP_RarePairs Challenge: Charlie/Draco.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HP_Rarepairs/
"Parkinson, I don't want to talk to you."
"You didn't write during summer. You hardly talked to anyone first
term, and now.Something happened during the Christmas holidays."
"It's none of your business Parkinson."
Charlie Weasley was not a person to eavesdrop, unlike some twins he
could name, but if you work for The Order -the name Malfoy invoked
certain images. If he were to hear anything important, well
important things needed to get to the right people. If even
Malfoy's friends thought he was acting shifty.
"Would you just let me help!"
"I doubt you could help yourself off a cliff. You want to know
what's wrong, really? `He misses his father, of course. The brat
is used to being spoiled at Christmas.' You see, I've been acting
petulant because I didn't get an overly full stocking. Actually, I
didn't get a stocking at all, but broken traditions are the least of
my problems."
"So, you've had problems with your mother."
"No. I've had problems with my father. She's just a cow who's
gotten in the way."
There were footsteps farther down the hall, and Charlie had to move
into the shadows. He didn't get to hear Parkinson's response, but
he had enough to mull over. So Malfoy was a teensy bit upset about
his father. The `tradition' comment didn't seem to far off from
what he knew about the boy. But altogether, he didn't seem so very
suspicious any longer. He really just seemed sad. Perhaps he
wasn't dark. And as painful as it was to be missing his father,
without him, maybe he wouldn't *turn* dark.
He wanted to go back to eavesdropping, uncharacteristic as it was,
but whoever had come down the hall was stopped in the doorway. Of
all the times to envy the twins and their inventions.He'd just have
to wait for the friend to enter or continue on.
Thinking on it, it would have to be very upsetting to lose your
father, even an evil one like Lucius Malfoy. Which lead to other
thoughts. Lucius Malfoy had *raised* a child. And no one thought
there was anything wrong with blaming the young man that child had
turned into. If someone would just take the time to help him.
Charlie had a new sympathy for Severus Snape. One man in the middle
of a school, struggling to help his house when no one else seemed to
care. Well, now he had Charlie Weasley behind him.
What was taking that person so dratted long! Moving out of his
hiding spot slightly, he noticed a girl with red hair. A particular
girl with red hair, which should have been in the prefect car. He
moved close enough to hear, because if Malfoy was bothering his
sister, then it could easily be made a teacher's situation. There
would be minimal point loss though, because he hadn't had time to
reason with the boy.
"Well Malfoy? What do you have to say for yourself now? Now that
*you're* the one without proper parents. At least Harry lost his
for a noble reason. You're `father' is just a common criminal,
rotting in Azkaban. I heard he started crying when he was sentence
to the dementors."
.Was that absolute filth coming out of little Ginny's mouth.?
Daughter of Arthur and Molly Weasley? Fifth year, Gryffindor
prefect? She was taunting Draco Malfoy, about his family. After
all of her complaints about Malfoy's jokes about Harry's parents.
"Oh." A soft acknowledgement. Nothing excused her, but at least he
could understand the venom in her words. She had always felt so
helpless for Harry, but now that Malfoy had fallen so low, it was
easy to kick him about.
Ginny looked over at the sound, and her face froze. Now was as good
as anytime for Charlie to start giving his support to Slytherin-
even if it meant starting with his own family. That might make it
easier in the end. `Start as you mean to go on' and all of that.
He was momentarily stunned when he swung around and saw Malfoy's
reaction. Cheeks pink, but Charlie had anticipated that Malfoy
would be red with anger. It just didn't seem to be anger.despite
the glare. The overall effect was lost with the wobbling bottom lip
and tear-blurred eyes. He wasn't crying, but a few more rounds with
Ginny, and he would have been. Malfoy really *was* upset. It was
clear- he needed Charlie Weasley.
"It's all right to miss him, Draco. It's all right to be upset.
Don't be ashamed to cry."
Well, the glare was effective enough then. Giving up on comforting
the distraught boy, Charlie turned to lecture Ginny. A bit of a
crowd had developed by then, which must have been what upset Malfoy
even more, but it couldn't be helped.
"Ginny. I cannot believe you said those things. They were
horrible! Ten points from Gryffindor. You're a prefect now; you
need to set an example. Harassing other students and making them
cry is not acceptable."
"He isn't crying!" Parkinson sounded very upset at the mere
suggestion.
"That's the kind of attitude that's making him bottle all of his
emotions up inside, Miss Parkinson. Whether he is crying now or was
going to cry at any moment is not the point. Ginny's cruel taunting
was wrong."
There was a loud crack, and Charlie was left to look at the
compartment's door, wondering if he should take away points for
disrespect towards a teacher. He decided against it when Ginny
glared at him before flouncing away. Turning towards the gossiping
bystanders, he shooed them away. Perhaps he had made a bit of a
mistake announcing Malfoy's tearful state.
"You bloody thick Weasley! What were you thinking? `I think that
everyone is too hard on the Slytherins. He's upset about his
father. She was rude. I'll save him, because I'm the big brave
Gryffindor.'"
That was unfair.
Before he could say as much, Snape continued on.
"The whole school is natting on about how Malfoy had a nervous
breakdown because Little Miss Weasley made a face at him. One rumor
has him as your illicit lover, who went running to you for help when
your sister viciously attacked him! I heard other *Slytherins*
talking about how soft in the head Malfoy has become. A first year
offered him a doll to sleep with. He very nearly killed her. Pansy
Parkinson had to step in and lock him in his dorm. Are you aware of
what you've done? You might as well tattoo `crybaby' onto his left
arm and toss him naked to a pride of lions.Of course, that's what
got him into this mess to begin with."
"I've.started to realize that. I'm going to apologize of course."
"Apologize? That will make everything better. Of course. If you
say that you're sorry to Draco Malfoy, the whole school will stop
talking about him, his father will come back from Azkaban with a
love for muggles, and Draco will defeat Lord Voldemort with Care of
Magical Creatures textbook."
"I know it won't make everything better, but it's a start. I'll
just have to make it up to him."
"Why don't you just be a teacher for the rest of the school, and
when it comes to Draco Malfoy-leave him be. You've done more than
enough damage."
Charlie thought that was as good a time as any to make a strategic
retreat. Even the most Gryffindor of men would have run. Though,
if you thought about it, it wasn't really running away, because he
was going to make his apology. He was defying Snape, truth be told,
so he was brave. That settled, he made his way from Snape's
Slytherin office, through the common room, and to the Sixth year
boy's dormitory- where he met with an expertly locked door. To give
Parkinson credit, she was nothing if not thorough. There was no way
that Malfoy was getting out of that room. Of course, that kept
Charlie from getting in also, which was a distinct problem.
Apologizing through a door never left a very good impression.
Charlie took a moment to assess the situation. He had his wand, but
since none of his standard unlocking spells had worked, that was
very much useless. He could burn a whole in the door.and he was in
the middle of Slytherin House. Snape would be there in seconds,
robes sweeping and nose in the air. It was better to keep things
quieter. That left slipping a message under the door. It wasn't
nearly as heartfelt as speaking face-to-face, but there was only so
much he could do at the moment. So a note it was, though, what to
say? Charlie's recent conversational skills had proved less than
spectacular. For the second time that day, he fell to doing things
the twins way, `When in doubt, copy someone else's sentiments. They
probably put it better anyway.' It only took moments to pen a song
that never seemed very popular with the muggles he'd met in travel.
/Spoken word has lost its way again
Wondering through silenced apology
An untamed mouth has not held words not meant
And condescending eyes made shame to see
The stress to succeed has broken trust
My flooding waters wash you out to sea
You're drowning now as my forgiveness rusts
To stiff to rescue what's dear to me
Could I be sorry
Enough to make you not be sorry?
For goodness sakes I'm sure you're sorry
You met up with the likes of one who can't be sorry for his . . .
Imperfection driving battery
The lingering spirit begins to fold
Spoiled angst rots the adult in me
As childish antics now are growing old
Could I be sorry
Enough to make you not be sorry?
For goodness sakes I'm sure you're sorry
You met up with the likes of one who can't be sorry for . . ./
It wasn't much, but the next day Draco Malfoy left his dorm room,
and when he saw the girl he'd threatened.he made his own apology.
Charlie rather thought that it was a good beginning, now he only
needed to convince Malfoy that everything he'd ever been taught was
wrong.
It was three days later that Charlie took his next opportunity to
speak with Draco. Well, speak was a relative term, since the boy
refused to see him- going so far as to duck into cross hallways to
avoid a confrontation. Draco had obviously read the last note that
Charlie had written him, so it was back to parchment and quill.
/Draco,
I realize that the things I said were taken in entirely the wrong
light by the rest of Hogwarts. I was only trying to say that it was
all right to be upset about your father's absence over the
holidays. I truly wasn't trying to set the school to talking about
you so horribly. Once again, I apologize. I was hoping that you
and I could talk in my office some time this week. Just owl me with
a time.
Charlie Weasley/
Charlie waited for two weeks to pass before deciding that the direct
approach was not going to be accepted from Draco. The only thing
that made sense to Charlie was that Draco had known the other note
was a song. As long as Charlie kept all messages cryptic and
tortuous, then perhaps he could `converse' with the younger man.
But he knew that he needed to do something. The rumors had stopped
of course, as soon as a new rumor could take it's place. But
something was bothering Draco, very much, to the point that he had
started looking hollow eyed and sickly. Charlie watched each day as
the Slytherin ate less and less, and his weight dropped. The
Quidditch season had started, but this year Draco wasn't on it. And
Charlie had to wonder, `Why?' He intended to find out.
/ There are locks on the doors
And chains stretched across all the entries to the inside
There's a gate and a fence
And bars to protect from only God knows what lurks outside
Who stole your heart left you with a space
That no one and nothing can fill
Who stole your heart who took it away?
Knowing that without it you can't live
Who took away the part so essential to the whole?
Left you a hollow body
Skin and bone
What robber what thief who stole your heart and the key
Who stole your heart?
The smile from your face
The innocence the light from your eyes
Who stole your heart or did you give it away
And if so then when and why
Who took away the part so essential to the whole?
Left you a hollow body
Skin and bone
What robber, what thief
Who stole your heart and the key?
Now all sentiment is gone
Now you have no trust in no one
Who stole your heart?
Did you know but forget the method and moment in time
Was it a trickster using mirrors and sleight of hand?
A strong elixir or a potion that you drank
Who hurt your heart?
Bruised it in a place
That no one and nothing can heal
You've gone to wizards, princes, and magic men
You've gone to witches, the good, the bad, the indifferent
But still all sentiment is gone
But still you have no trust in no one
If you can tear down the walls
Throw your armor away remove all roadblocks barricades
If you can forget there are bandits and dragons to slay
And don't forget that you defend an empty space
Who stole your heart?
Maybe no one can say
One day you will find it I pray.
-You can trust me./
For a person who had once been rumored to be the worst type of
Slytherin ever, Draco Malfoy had rather quickly attached himself to
a Gryffindor. While Charlie liked to think it had something to do
with his own powers of persuasion, he was forced to agree that Draco
had just *needed* someone by that time. It had been nearly a year
since his father's arrest, with all of the dark publicity that went
with. While Draco hadn't actually `grown' in that time, he had
dropped much of his arrogance. And without his mother supporting
him emotionally- With each note Charlie sent, he saw Draco become a
bit more confident, but not in the superior way he had once acted.
It was to be his last letter before leaving. He had only been
invited for a two month study on Dragons with the Seventh Year,
Advanced Magic Creatures class. He fully intended to continue his
notes after leaving, but he had hoped that Draco would actually
acknowledge him before then. The first letter he had received back
had been wonderful. He recognized the sonnet as Shakespeare's,
though he had had to look it up to see where it had come from
specifically. A lyric here, a poem there, and he understood
something about Draco Malfoy that no one else had ever realized; he
craved acceptance. His father had provided it at a cost, but his
mother didn't even bother to pretend. With his way of life
crumbling, he had needed someone to love him unconditionally.
At first, Charlie had thought his reactions were general. That if
any person had come to him needing this, and then he would have
given himself fully. And perhaps he would have, but with Draco, it
had become something more. He didn't know the other man's favorite
color, but he knew that he favored iambic pentameter, and he rather
thought the one more important than the other. With time, maybe he
would know both. If only his last message was met in the way he
hoped. It was a rather forceful message, but optimistically
thinking, Draco could be ready for it. Charlie hoped he was ready
for it. Only time could tell.
/They painted up your secrets
With the lies they told to you
And the least they ever gave you
Was the most you ever knew
And I wonder where these dreams go
When the world got in your way
What's the point in all this screaming?
No one's listening anyway
Your voice is small and fading
And you hide in here unknown
And your mother loves your father
'Cause she's got nowhere to go
And she wonders where these dreams go
Cos' the world got in her way
What's the point in ever trying?
Nothing's changing anyway
They pressed their lips against you
And you loved the lies they say
And I've tried so hard to reach you
Are you falling anyway?
And you know I see right through you
Cos' the world gets in your way
Is there a point to all the screaming?
Are you listening anway?/
Only time would tell.
~Fin
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