Title: Rebellion
Author: Wildecate
Email: wildecate@hotmail.com
Summary: Draco Malfoy rebels.
Notes: Set post BTVS S7 and post ATS S4 and definitely post OOTP.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not none of it. Extract from Numb by Linkin Park.

Caritas was quiet on the night that Dawn took Draco there to meet The Host. Draco shook hands with him, a cautious expression on his face having not met up with any friendly demons before.

Lorne took in the silent young man who reminded him so much of Angel. Perhaps it was the brooding. Or the way his jacket accentuated his broad shoulders. Or perhaps it was the haunted expression on his face. He was giving off some pretty major vibes, probably without even realised it. The spell that Willow cast meant that no one saw Draco’s true self unless he wanted them too. Draco wanted Lorne to see him for what he truly was. Lorne felt a shudder go through him as he shook hands with Draco Malfoy as he matched the feeling Draco gave him with another. The same feeling Angel gave off. It was a real case of still waters running deep with this boy and Lorne didn’t want to be anywhere nearby when his control broke. It wouldn’t be pretty.

Lorne then turned his attention to the kid who had stolen his heart, Dawn Summers. She looked happier than she had done for a long time, her eyes bright and shiny and a smile playing around her lips. She was almost bouncing with delight although Lorne couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He turned back to Draco and raised an eyebrow at him.

Lorne had suddenly worked out what was going on here. The boy had some pretty serious mojo and not all of it good. And he was willing to lay bets that little Summers here didn’t know anything about it. Lorne was well aware that Draco was Giles’ godson and was staying at the Hyperion for his own “protection”. But he guessed that none of the crew apart from Angel and Giles knew anything about Draco and Draco was intent on it staying that way.

He gave Dawn and Draco his most welcoming smile. ”Evening kids. You going to grace me with a song?”

Draco turned to Dawn “You didn’t tell me I have to sing!”

She shrugged innocently but nodded at Lorne “Later though OK?”

“Sure, the mike is always waiting for you honey.”

Lorne watched as the teens made their way to a table, ordering drinks and snacks and then settled down to chat happily. The Host’s attention was diverted then by the Rayok demon who was crucifying some sort of ballad. He focused on him for a moment and then wished he hadn’t. The nausea that washed over him meant he didn’t notice the two humans entering the club, taking a booth in the corner. Dawn and Draco didn’t notice them either, too entranced in each other.

The hours passed and the club began to empty. Dawn decided she had enough courage to sing and she flicked through the list with Draco watching her face. He loved watching her. Her face, never relaxed except in sleep, was so beautiful. The expressions that passed across her features made her incredibly easy to read, especially for him, someone used to watching people’s body language. Eventually she found a song she wanted to sing, something by Britney Spears and pulled herself together and headed towards the stage.

Draco knew the song, he had been subjected to various kinds of muggle music over the previous three weeks but had taken more of a liking to the heavier music, the stuff that Xander and Faith listened to rather than what he privately termed as bubble gum pop – the stuff that Dawn liked listening to.

He jumped a little when a hand brushed his shoulder but relaxed when Lorne took Dawn’s vacated seat. Lorne didn’t need to stress himself out to read Dawn. Half the time the girl didn’t even need to sing. She was pure, sweet natured, compassionate, intense and loving. She was falling for Draco, he could tell although she was trying very hard not to. She was a sensible girl but she didn’t know what she was getting herself into.

“So, when are you going to tell her?” Lorne asked conversationally.

”Tell her what?” Draco answered, not really listening to him, his attention focused on Dawn on the stage.

”About who you really are? You’re probably doing a swell job getting her to talk about herself, telling you about all the fun they had back in Sunnydale. I bet she hasn’t even realised she doesn’t know your Dad’s name.”

At that Draco flicked an ice cold glance at Lorne and Lorne flinched a little. This boy was in a league of his own with glares – even Cordy wouldn’t have been able to compete.

“She doesn’t need to” he answered quietly.

“You know she’s falling for you, right? And I reckon you’re falling just as fast for her. But lies, even lying by omission is no way to start a relationship – especially with this girl.”

Lorne knew he was walking on thin ice here. It hadn’t even occurred to Draco that Dawn might have the same sort of feelings for him that he was beginning to feel for her.

“I’m leaving in a week’s time. I probably won’t ever see her again.”

“Well, I think that depends very much on you doesn’t it?”

Dawn finished her song and jumped off the stage.

“Well?” she was expectant and Lorne knew she wanted.

”OK hun. Why doesn’t Draco here go up and sing us something and I’ll let you into the secrets of your heart.”

“Do you know what you want to sing?” Dawn asked Draco. He skimmed down the list and a song sprang out at him. He recognised the title, remembering it from one of Faith’s CDs.

“I’ll sing this one” he said, pointing it out to Lorne but not letting Dawn see it.

“How appropriate” Lorne’s tone was dry and he went with Draco on to the stage to set up the machine.

Draco found the view from the stage completely different that he had expected. The spotlights shone in his eyes, blotting out Dawn and Lorne and everyone else in the club. He knew that most people had left which was one of the reasons he had agreed to go through with this. The other reason was that after three weeks with these people he was even less clear in his mind about what he wanted to do.

“Speaking to Lorne would be a good idea” Giles agreed when Draco mentioned where he and Dawn were going that night.

Because of that, and only because of that, Draco was standing on this stage. The version of the song he had picked was an acoustic version of a heavy song. He knew the words, had listened to the CD several times after having borrowed it from Faith. It somehow echoed his feeling at that moment completely perfectly.


I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless
Lost under the surface
I don't know what you're expecting of me
Put under the pressure of walking in your shoes
Every step that I take is another mistake to you

I've become so numb
I can't feel you there
Become so tired
So much more aware
I'm becoming this
All I want to do
Is be more like me
And be less like you


Lorne sat back and listened, extending every sense he had to try and get a full sense of the boy.

Draco’s voice was low and gravelly, and he sang from the heart, meaning every single word he said. His eyes were shut otherwise he would have seen the looks the men in the corner were giving him and each other.

“Our Lord is not going to be impressed by this.”

And the reply. “His father is not going to be impressed with this.”

Lorne, who was sitting quietly in his chair, eyes shut, mind completely open, heard the comment, felt the shiver of terror behind the thought and the menace behind the comment.

“Perhaps he should meet with a small accident?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. This is Draco Malfoy we’re talking about. We’re supposed to be observing him, not making sure he meets with a small accident.”

There was a pause before one of them spoke again

“Why don’t we have a quiet word with Mr Malfoy?”

“Good plan.”

Lorne stayed completely still, not moving a single muscle. Draco finished his song and joined Dawn and Lorne at the table. Dawn hugged him hard, pleased that he had done so well.

“Well?” she asked excitedly.

“What can I say? You’re going to have a tall dark stranger in your life, get married and have four children and live happily ever after.” Lorne said cheerily, lying for all his worth.

Draco quirked an eyebrow at him disbelievingly. He didn’t understand why Lorne was lying to him or why he was so sure he was being lied to.

“It’s late, shouldn’t you two be heading home?” Lorne hinted to them. Draco nodded and he and Dawn made to leave when Lorne called him back.

He whispered in Draco’s ear briefly and Draco stepped back sharply, glaring at the green skinned demon who shrugged as if to say "your choice, mate". Draco returned to Dawn with a set expression on his face.

Minutes after Draco and Dawn had left the club, the men left as well, Lorne watching them leave with an expression of relief on his face. Every man had his path to walk. It was just that Draco Malfoy was a long way from his.

Draco and Dawn were nearly home when two figures stepped in front of them. They were robed in black, hooded, casting a shadow over their features.

“Excuse me” Dawn said politely, making to move around them. One of the men stepped in front of her, blocking her way.

“Can I help you?” she asked sarcastically, taking in their strange attire.

“Actually I believe we can help you.”

“And how is that?” Draco pulled Dawn back behind him.

“We would like to prevent you from making a big mistake. Mr Malfoy.”

Draco’s heart sank. Oh fuck, he thought. And his second thought was for Dawn’s safety. I can’t protect her like this, he thought.

“We would like you to re-think your options. We believe you may have been …. led astray by certain people.” The dark gaze went to Dawn, standing behind Draco, before going back to the boy.

“I’m not entirely sure why you think you have anything to do with my ‘options’ but I can tell you now it’s none of your business.”

The men dropped their hoods and Draco’s heart, if it was possible, sank even lower. There was a perfectly good reason why these men were asking him to re-think his options. Goyle and Crabbe Senior.

“Oh fuck”

Dawn turned to him, confused. “Draco, I don’t understand. What’s going on? Who are these people?”

Draco remained silent, his gaze locked on Goyle’s, almost daring him. “Go on, try it” he was saying with his eyes but Goyle’s face remained calm.

“We cannot force you, of course, but we would like to remind you of certain….obligations. Your mother, for example, would be in a precarious position should your decision be unacceptable to your father.”

Draco knew what he was being told. He knew then that Dumbledore’s attempt to keep him safe, to give him breathing space, had not worked. He had been under surveillance the entire time. And they were telling him very clearly that should he make the wrong decision that he wouldn’t necessarily be the one paying the penalty.

“Draco?” Dawn’s voice brought him back to reality. Fuck. Dawn. She didn’t know anything about this and he wanted it to stay that way.

“I’ll think about it” he told Goyle and Crabbe and made to move past them, tugging Dawn with him. Goyle’s hand came out with surprising force and slammed into Draco’s shoulder, pushing him against the wall.

“If I were you, I would do substantially more than think about it.” The pressure on his shoulder was released. With a large cracking sound, the two robed figures vanished in thin air, leaving Dawn and Draco alone in the dark street.

Dawn turned to Draco, her face angry in the lamplight.

“What the hell was that about?”

Giles came to the top of the stairs at the rising sound of an argument echoing the hotel lobby. Draco’s, frustrated, defensive and angry, and Dawn’s, absolutely furious. The expression on Dawn’s face mirrored the one he had seen on Buffy’s once. A long time ago, when Giles had tricked her, betrayed her to carry out the Council’s bidding. It had taken a long time for Buffy to regain her trust in Giles. Dawn's face showed full on anger and betrayal. Giles certainly would not ever want to be on the receiving end of that again and felt briefly sorry for Draco. He stayed exactly where he was, out of sight, but within listening distance.

“You lied to me. You sat there and you lied to me.”

“I haven’t lied to you Dawn.” Draco’s voice was insistent.

“No, you’re right. You didn’t lie to me. You just didn’t tell me” Dawn shouted at him. “Didn’t you think it was important to mention that your father is one of the most evil men in England and he’s expecting you to follow in his footsteps?”

“And how exactly was I supposed to do that?” Draco asked sarcastically. “Oh hey Dawn, you’re looking lovely today. By the way, I just wanted to mention the fact that my father is one of the most evil men in England.”

“At least you would have told me!” Dawn yelled back at him. “But no! You didn’t say anything. You’ve managed to dodge every single question I’ve ever asked about your family, your home, your school, your life. I barely know you but you know everything about me. EVERYTHING!” Her tone rose and Giles winced, hearing a few more doors open in the corridor. Buffy and Angel came to join him at the top of the stairs, sitting down on the top step with him. Xander, Faith and Fred joined them a few minutes later, watching the two teens screaming at each other in the lobby.

“I have laid myself open to you in a way I never thought possible. I have shared everything with you and you have shut me out. I thought I was important to you, I thought I mattered!”

“You do matter, Dawn” Draco’s voice was quiet but Dawn carried on, ignoring him.

“I don’t care that you’ve only been here a few weeks. I thought we had something. We were friends.”

“Dawn…..”

“But no. You lied to me. You didn’t bother telling me that you weren’t here for protection at all. You were here to help you decide whether you wanted to join the white hats or to follow your Dad and kill half of England.”

“Dawn you’re being hysterical.” Draco’s voice was patient.

“I don’t care” she yelled at him “I’ve got every right to be hysterical. Don’t you think I have EVERY RIGHT TO BE HYSTERICAL?”

“I think you are overreacting” Draco said calmly.

“I DON’T CARE” she screamed again.

Dawn turned away from him for a moment, trying to regain some kind of control before turning to face him again.

“I hate being lied to. I’ve been lied to by nearly every single person in this hotel. I’ve been lied to by Giles, by Buffy, by Xander and Willow. I’m almost used to it. Being treated as the kid. The child. Don’t tell Dawn, she can’t deal. But I expected more from you.”

“Dawn, I never thought that…” Draco began.

“Did I sound like I had finished?” Dawn snapped. “But I thought we were being honest with each other. And here you are announcing that you’re evil.”

“I’m not evil.”

“Oh no? Sure as hell sounded like it.”

“I’M NOT EVIL” Draco yelled at her “I don’t want to be evil. I don’t want to be like my Dad. But I don’t have a choice now. Or are you deaf as well as hysterical?”

A sharp slap echoed through the hotel and the voyeurs at the top of the hotel winced as Dawn’s hand cracked across Draco’s face.

There was silence for a moment, the only sound was Dawn’s hard breathing. She looked like she wanted to apologise but instead folded her arms and stuck her chin out. Draco ran his fingers over the red mark on his face before grabbing hold of Dawn’s arms and shaking her hard.

“I don’t have a choice Dawn. Didn’t you hear what they said? My mother is in a precarious position. It means that if I don’t do what I’m supposed to, then people will suffer. People I love.”

“You don’t know what love is.” Dawn’s voice was scornful.

Draco let go of Dawn and turned away from her, folding his arms around himself defensively.

“You don’t understand. You couldn’t ever understand.”

“You didn’t even give me the chance.”

With that Dawn turned on her heel and began to walk towards the stairs. There was a mass scramble at the top of the stairs as the group headed into the nearest room and shut the door quietly.

Dawn stalked past and they heard her door slam at the end of the corridor.

“I better make sure she’s OK” Buffy said but Giles laid a hand on her arm.

“I think I better go. I have some explaining to do.”

Buffy’s face was incredulous. “You knew about this?”

His face was inscrutable but he nodded. Buffy rolled her eyes and glared at him.

“Great. Just great.”

“Buffy….” but she held her hand up at him and he knew that he had seriously overstepped the mark with her.

“I don’t want to know” she said “I guess you had your reasons though.”

“I can only say that you have to trust me on this. I had my reasons.”

“OK” she nodded. “You better go to Dawn. I’ll go to Draco.”

Draco stood alone in the moonlit garden of the Hyperion Hotel. He was so angry. He didn’t know who he was the most angry with, himself, Dawn, his father, Dumbledore or Voldemort. He settled for himself and swung at a pillar, cracking his fist hard against the stone.

“It won’t make you feel any better” Buffy’s voice sounded behind him but he didn’t bother turning round.

“Couldn’t make me feel any worse” he answered dryly, inspecting the chips embedding in his knuckles and blood which was beginning to flow from the wounds.

“I heard what happened” she said hesitantly.

Draco gave a mirthless laugh “What? And you’ve come to give me a hard time too? It’s ok, thanks. I already feel like shit. I might as well go back to Malfoy Mansion right now and take the Dark Mark.”

“Would it be worth it?” Buffy settled herself on the ground near the fountain and he sat down beside her. She took his hand in hers and began to tug the shrapnel from his flesh, him wincing every time.

“I don’t know.”

They sat in silence for a while, Buffy dipping Draco’s hand in the pool to wash the blood from his hand.

“She’s really angry with me” he said flatly.

“Yep. But I don’t think you can blame her.”

“I don’t blame her. She’s got every right to be angry.” Draco sighed “But she doesn’t understand. And I couldn’t ever explain.”

“Giles has gone to explain to her.” Buffy told him but Draco just shook his head.

“It won’t help.”

“It’s going to take a while before she can forgive or trust you again. I’m speaking from experience here.”

“I’m going to go home, Buffy. Back to Hogwarts. I can’t stay here any more.”

“That’s the coward’s way out” Buffy’s tone was disapproving.

“I don’t want to be here anymore.”

“Running away won’t help either. I have experience there too.”

Draco stood up and brushed the dirt from his clothes before looking down at the Slayer.

“It’s strange. For a while I was beginning to think there was a way out of this. But there isn’t. They found me, even with Willow’s spell. I think I must have wanted to be found otherwise how else would they have seen the real me and not the Xander me? I think that it would be best all round. I’ll go back to what I’m supposed to be. Prince of Slytherin. Typical Malfoy. I’ll do what is expected of me.”

“You don’t have to do that” Buffy argued “Stay here. Help us. You’re good at what you do. We can keep you safe.”

Draco smiled at her sadly. “You can’t protect me. I don’t want to be protected. I have people of my own to look after. People who will get hurt if I stay here.”

He walked out of the garden, through the lobby, up the stairs, along the corridor and into his room. Almost on autopilot he repacked his trunk, his bag and picked up his broomstick.

He headed back down the stairs and into the office. With a handful of powder in his hand he stepped into the fireplace, dropped it at his feet and said quietly “Professor Dumbledore’s Chambers”. The green flames flared up and licked around him before dying down, leaving the fireplace empty.