Harry froze, staring in shock at the partially open door leading to Dumbledore's office. Death Eaters had murdered Narcissa Malfoy? What in the world...? Was Malfoy lying again?

But even though it didn't make sense, Harry had to admit that Draco's harsh, choked sobs seemed genuinely grief-stricken. He leaned forward in his chair, straining to hear more clearly. But neither Dumbledore nor Severus spoke. For many long minutes the only sound was Draco's weeping .

Finally a floor board creaked and there was the soft rustle of robes. Harry imagined that one or both of the two men had sat down.

"Explain," Dumbledore said. His voice was quiet, but still very stern.

Draco drew in a deep shaky breath and struggled to bring his voice under control. "I...I went home...at the beginning of summer... and my mother...told me...that her sister Bellatrix had told her that the Dark...that he wanted me to join them, to take the Dark Mark and take my father's place."

There was another silence while Draco apparently tried to gather his composure more fully. "You won't believe it, I know, but I didn't want to! I didn't want to serve him. My father took me to a meeting once, in fifth year, and I saw what he was really like. I wasn't brave enough to tell my father then that I didn't want to be a Death Eater, but I told my mother. She didn't want me to become one either. She said it had ruined our family. She sent me off to Germany, to a resort near the Black Forest, for the summer, to get me away from it all."

"I returned home at the end of August, a couple days before the new term. We'd heard that he was dead, that Potter had killed him, and Bellatrix was in Azkaban, and...and I thought things would be all right." Draco's voice broke and he was quiet for a few minutes before continuing in a low voice.

"But when I came home, Dolohov and some of the others were there, and a werewolf called Greyback. They were...so angry. I don't know how long they'd been there, but they had done...horrible things to my mother. They did...horrible things to me. They said they would teach us that we weren't any better than they were, that we couldn't get away with tricking them. And finally...they killed her. I thought they would kill me too. I hoped they would. But they didn't. They just...left."

"And you did not send for help?" Dumbledore demanded.

Draco's voice was bitter. "Who would help us? The Aurors would be glad my mother was dead. Besides, what could they do then? It was too late for them to do anything. Dolohov and the others were gone, and I don't know where they went. The only person I would have called is Severus, but I didn't know how to get in touch with him. But I thought I would be able to go to him once we were at Hogwarts."

"House elves have powerful magic and they are duty-bound to protect their masters," Dumbledore began.

Draco interrupted. "They killed the elves first of all," he said flatly.

"So what did you do next?" The headmaster asked after a moment.

"I buried my mother, in the woods at the edge of our property, and I hid there until morning. Then I went to London and stayed in a room at the Leaky Cauldron. Then it was September 1st and I went to board the Hogwarts Express."

"And you were able to do all this after being tortured, after seeing your mother killed?" Dumbledore questioned.

Draco sighed and when he spoke, Harry almost didn't recognize his voice. He had never heard the other boy sound so defeated.

"I was...numb. All I could think of was that I needed to make it here, to Severus."

Dumbledore's voice was an odd mixture of anger, disbelief and perhaps a hint of sorrow. "We've been at school for six weeks. Why haven't you spoken to anyone before now?"

"Severus hates me. There's no one else I could tell," Draco answered in a dead hopeless voice.

There was another rustle of robes and Dumbledore spoke again, "Come, Mr. Malfoy."

"Where?" A thread of apprehension ran through Draco's voice.

"To the infirmary. I am inferring that you were tortured by Death Eaters. It might have been six weeks ago, but I would still like for Madame Pomfrey to examine you and be certain that you do not require medical attention."

There was a pause and then Harry could hear shuffling feet and the roar of the Floo. He stood and stepped cautiously to the doorway. Severus was alone in the office now, sitting in an armchair by Dumbledore's desk, his face set and expressionless.

"Dad?" Harry asked.

Severus looked over and his face softened. He held out an arm and Harry went to him. The chair was wide and Harry managed to squish in beside his father. Severus wrapped an arm around his shoulder and bowed his head to touch his lips to Harry's hair.

"Dad? What will happen to him?" Harry wanted to know.

He could feel Severus tense.

"Tragic though they are, Draco's circumstances do not excuse his behavior towards you," Severus replied.

"He's your godson, isn't he?" Harry asked softly.

"Yes." Severus cupped Harry's chin with his hand and tilted his head so they looked into each other's eyes. "But you are my son. You are everything to me."

Harry leaned against him and they were silent until the Floo came to life again. Harry jumped slightly and started to stand. He didn't want to see Draco Malfoy, but then he realized that it was too late. He didn't have time to cross the room and escape back into Dumbledore's sitting room.

But only the headmaser stepped from the fireplace.

"Sir, where is he?" Harry asked.

"Draco is still in the infirmary," the old wizard replied. "Madame Pomfrey insisted on a thorough exam, not entirely to the boy's liking."

He went over to his desk and laid a slender stick of wood on it. "Mr. Malfoy's wand," Dumbledore explained. "I confiscated it. Again, he was not at all happy to give it up, but he'd better get used to that. The Aurors won't allow him to keep it."

The headmaster returned to the fireplace and took some Floo powder from a small jar on the mantel.

"Sir?" Harry asked again.

Dumbledore glanced at him. "Yes, Harry?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I need to contact the Ministry, Harry. Aurors will need to go to Malfoy Manor and see if they can confirm Draco's story, and we'll need one or two to come here and take him into custody," Dumbledore explained.

"You're going to have him arrested then?" Harry wanted to know.

Dumbledore nodded wearily. "He did commit an illegal act against you, Harry. And what else are we to do with him? He needs to learn that his actions have consequences and to be held responsible for them."

Harry bowed his head and studied the floor. He certainly had no love for Draco Malfoy, not even much sympathy. But he could still hear the other boy's broken sobs as he described his mother's murder. He could hear the guilt and defeat in Draco's voice.

And Harry knew how it felt to watch someone you love die, to watch them be murdered. He knew what it was to blame oneself for it. Harry knew all about the soul-ripping pain and crushing guilt.

He tried not to let it, but an image of Sirius falling through the veil flashed through his mind, and then an image of Sirius when Harry had first seen him, gaunt to the point of emaciation, his grey eyes wild with the despair and horror of years in Azkaban. Sirius had never spoken of it, but Harry knew he had been haunted by those horrible memories. Remus had said once that Sirius had never been the same since.

Harry took a deep breath. "I don't want him to go to Azkaban."

There was a long silence as both his father and Dumbledore stared at him. Harry could feel their eyes on him, though he kept his own gaze trained on the rug covering the stone floor.

Severus finally spoke. "Harry, you have always been a very compassionate person, but Draco does deserve some punishment. He even needs to be punished."

"Yeah," Harry agreed. "But isn't there something else? In the Muggle world, they have places for kids with problems. They can get counseling or something. Doesn't the wizarding world have anything like that?"

"Unfortunately not." Dumbledore glanced at the Floo powder in his hand and then dropped it back into the jar on the mantel. He went to his chair behind his desk and sat down. "I wish we did, but in some ways, Harry, the wizarding world is not as advanced as the Muggle one. We only have Azkaban."

"But Azkaban won't help him. He won't learn anything from there," Harry said.

"You want to help Draco Malfoy?" Severus asked quietly, fixing him with a sharp gaze.

Conflicting emotions swelled up in Harry's chest. He thought of Draco Malfoy casting the enslavement curse against him. He thought of how everyone in the wizarding world would be reading and talking about that article. But then he thought of Draco being held captive by Death Eaters, tortured, and watching his mother die. He thought of Draco weeping and broken in the office just a few minutes earlier, and he remembered suddenly how Draco had tried to approach Severus so often at the beginning of the year and how lost and hurt he had seemed when Severus had brushed him off.

Harry shook his head wildly. "I don't know! I...I don't know." Tears came to his eyes and his throat closed up. He turned to press his face against Severus' shoulder.

His father held him close. "Shh, Harry."

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "A thought has occurred to me, though I don't know how the two of you will feel about it. But what if we made Draco serve as Harry's slave?"

Harry raised his head. He and Severus both stared at Dumbledore in shock.

"What?" They spoke together.

Dumbledore slowly nodded. "As Harry said, Azkaban would punish Draco for his misdeeds, but he would not learn anything from the experience. It is likely that he would one day come out of Azkaban as an even more hardened and dangerous person. Draco needs to be punished, yes, but even more he needs to learn empathy for others. He needs to learn exactly how he has hurt Harry. Perhaps he needs to feel what is like to be a slave."

Severus shook his head in incredulous amazement. "You've finally gone mental, Albus!"

"Oh, I think I went mental a long time ago, Severus," the headmaster replied easily.

"You're seriously suggesting that I bring Draco Malfoy to our home, after all that he has done to hurt my son!" Severus demanded, his arm tightening about Harry's shoulders protectively.

"It might be good for Harry, too," Dumbledore looked at Harry and his blue eyes softened. "I am not at all worried about Harry abusing his power and I think it might help him to have some control over Draco Malfoy, at least for a time."

Harry and Severus looked at one another. Harry gave a small uncertain shrug and Severus turned back to Dumbledore.

"For a time? For how long do you think this would go on, Albus?"

"We could re-evaluate the situation at the end of the school year, or sooner if necessary." Dumbledore frowned slightly. "However, if you and Harry agree to this, I think it might be better not to inform Draco of any time limit. Let him live with the uncertainty that Harry does."

"Well, I certainly have not agreed to it," Severus flared. He turned to his son. "Harry? What do you think of this...idea of Albus'?"

Harry really wasn't sure at all how he felt about it. Part of him was horrified at the idea of bringing Draco Malfoy to Prince Hall, but at the same time he could see the logic in Dumbledore's arguments. But would it even be right to make the other boy act as his slave? But if Azkaban was the other choice, well, that would be even more horrible...probably.

Harry wasn't sure what he wanted. He felt so confused, and bruised inside. It was still hard to even believe that all this had happened, that people knew of the slavery spell and that he and Severus were leaving Hogwarts.

None of this was supposed to have happened. He was supposed to be wandering around Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione right now, nibbling on sweets from Honeydukes, joking with Ron and listening to Hermione scold them for not having completed their Charms homework.

He was supposed to be having a safe, happy year. Instead it had all gone to hell.

His father and Dumbledore were still waiting for his answer, but all Harry could do was look back down at the floor and mumble, "I don't know."

Severus abruptly shook his head. "No, Albus. I'm not doing it. Prince Hall is Harry's home. He does not have to share it with Draco Malfoy."

In spite of everything, Harry felt a small warm spark inside at his father's words. Severus really did love him, more than anything.

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand. It was a crazy idea as you said, Severus. Harry, I'm sorry again that this has happened and I'm sorry if I upset you with my suggestion. Severus is absolutely correct that you are our top priority. I hope that you will feel happier at home, and perhaps one day you might even feel like returning to Hogwarts."

"You're going to send Malfoy to Azkaban then?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Dumbledore sighed. "I don't think he needs to stay at school and simply carry on as if nothing has happened, not after what he has done to you."

Harry turned to look at Severus. "Do you want him to go to Azkaban?"

"What I want is for you to have some peace and joy in your life," Severus answered softly. He looked down at his son, and though his face was carefully neutral, Harry could see a terrible sorrow hidden in his father's dark eyes.

Harry knew that Severus loved him, that his father's first loyalty was to him, but he thought that it was probably still painful for Severus to know that his godson would be in Azkaban.

And even though Harry was furious with the other boy, so furious that he even thought he might hate him, there was still something inside him that didn't want Draco Malfoy to go to prison.

He wasn't at all sure what he did want and even as he spoke the words, Harry couldn't believe he was saying them. But he took a deep breath and and said quietly, "I don't want him to go to Azkaban. I guess...I guess we could try Professor Dumbledore's idea."