"Potter?" Draco asked after over a minute of silence and completely lack of movement, clearly worried when Harry didn't say anything.
"I'm trying to decide whether to try and obliviate you or to simply kill you." Harry responded matter-of-factly.
Harry was running through the pros and cons of each option. If he obliviated Malfoy, there wouldn't be any chance of him being able to tell anyone. However, while he was very good at Legilimancy at this point, Harry wasn't at all skilled with memory charms beyond a time period of a few minutes of someone's life. Charming a non-magical to forget they'd seen him or that he hadn't paid for the meal he'd just eaten was one thing, this was something completely different. He wouldn't even begin to know where to obliviate a whole life time from someone. He was far more likely to leave Draco a vegetable than he was to get the desired results.
On the other hand, Harry knew he could kill Draco right now, transfigure his body into a rock and banish him out the train window. No one would know or see. The problem with that was two-fold, both Crabbe and Goyle had last seen Draco here, and though those two might be too thick for obliviating to be a challenge, Harry was also aware that anyone could have seen Malfoy walking down the hallway of the train. That might point to him immediately. There were other things Harry could do to prevent Malfoy from sharing the information, but nothing he could do to stop him from acting on it.
Draco's reaction was shocked and he jerked backward, into the doorframe behind him "Wait, wait. Don't! I can help you!"
"Help me what?" Harry asked, his wand still pointed at Draco and watching his every move, really only half listening to what Draco was saying. His frustration was mounting, though he was mostly on his own at this point; almost seven days of planning with two people with unique insight into this world and its history might be out the window before Harry had really had a chance to do anything.
Draco blinked in surprise at Harry, his consternation over the wand pointed at his face, momentarily forgotten. "Help you stop the Dark Lord of course." Draco said as if the answer was obvious.
Harry blinked, that not having been an answer he expected to ever hear from Draco's mouth.
Seeing Harry's surprise and hesitation, Draco pressed forward, "Look, I have insight on how all the dark families work. I know how they play politics, I know where their skeletons are buried, and I know how they get their influence. I can help you."
It finally seemed like Draco said something to crack Harry, as his voice was whip-like in reply. "Do you honestly think I'm stupid? You followed your Daddy's footsteps and would have licked Voldemort's boots if he told you to. You'd betray me and turn me over to him as soon as I let you out of my sight." Draco slowly and deliberately pointed his wand up at the ceiling of the cabin they were in. "I, Draco Lucius Malfoy do hereby swear, on my magic and my life that I will never betray Harry Potter or his secrets to any party through any means. Further I swear allegiance and faithfulness to Harry Potter with a promise of aid and complete support until such time as he releases me from my oath."
A spiral of white lines shot out of Malfoy's wand, like the other oaths that Harry had witnessed the past few days. However, unlike those oaths, which were merely oaths of truth and non-betrayal, this was a powerful loyalty oath. The spiral of magic was far brighter, bathing the entire cabin in a bright light.
It was enough for Harry to take a step back and stare aghast at Draco. Though it did cause him to lower his wand. "What the hell was that?" Harry demanded immediately, his voice rising.
Draco was relieved that Harry no longer had a wand pointed at his face, so his reply was a large part relief and a small part condescension. "That was a loyalty oath."
"I know what a loyalty oath is Malfoy." Harry spat, "Why the hell would you do that? Do you know what you've done?" Once more he was irritated, and Harry could feel his power inside him, urging him to release his magic on that which had angered him.
Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry, standing up straight to stare defiantly at Harry, despite the anger that reflected in Harry's luminescent eyes. "I know exactly what I've done."
Harry stepped forward, his eyes practically glowing in anger. "You side with Voldemort now, and you lose your magic! Not that losing your magic is a big deal of course. Why? Oh, because you also lose your life… again. Of anyone to swear not to follow Voldemort… You! Draco Malfoy. The same arse who spouted pureblood idiocy at me from the very moment we met, before you even knew who I was! The same git who did everything he could to torment me and anyone whose blood you felt was anything less than one hundred percent 'pure'. You travel through a mirror, and, now I'm supposed to believe you've just miraculously seen the light? Why? Answer me that!"
Harry had turned his question into a mini rant. He didn't often lose his composure like this, but someone he felt he should be planning to kill or the very least neutralize, had just sworn fealty to him, without warning. His magic was surging just under the surface and he was a hairs breadth from blasting Malfoy with it no matter what the consequences.
Harry's rant seemed to drain all of the anger and defiance from Malfoy, as he slumped his shoulders and slid into one of the seats in the cabin. Draco buried his face in his hands. To Harry it was like someone popped Draco like a balloon. The silence dragged on for almost a minute before Draco finally spoke. "I died."
As Harry already knew that from Draco telling him that a few minutes earlier so it was hardly a surprise. "It was a war. Nearly everyone died." Harry replied harshly
However when Draco looked up, Harry was surprised to see the combination of hurt and anger on Draco's face.
"You don't know what it's like Potter." Draco said, his voice filled with anger, seeing the lack of comprehension on Harry's face. "I didn't die in a war. I died because the… thing… I followed was irritated. I bloody died because Voldemort woke up on the wrong side of the bed that morning and wanted to pitch a fit. And do you know what the worst part was?"
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