Harry pointed to his forehead again.
"I had Dumbledore and someone else help me remove the thing inside it. Something that belonged to Voldemort.
"The process was agonizing. It hurt so much I felt like I was dying. But after the pain was over, for the first time, I felt that this was my body, that my life was complete. It didn't belong to anyone else. It belonged only to me, to Harry Potter."
Draco's eyes widened slightly. There had been countless rumors around school about Harry taking leave, but no one knew the truth.
He was the first... or perhaps the second person to know it.
"Potter, why are you telling me this?"
Harry's smile faded. "Because you need to make a choice too."
Draco's throat tightened, and his face grew even paler.
"Voldemort is in your home, in your life, in your fears. He forcibly defined you as 'the Malfoy heir,' 'a future Death Eater,' and 'his servant.'"
Harry pointed to his forehead for the third time. "That definition, just like whether there's a scar on your forehead or not, can be rejected. I'm not telling you to stand up and fight him. I know how dangerous that is."
His tone was calm, the sort of calm that only came after facing life and death. "You are you, and he is he. You are Draco Malfoy. Before you become anyone's 'son,' 'heir,' or 'servant,' you are first and foremost Draco Malfoy."
Draco's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to sneer, to retort, to say, "What do you know?"
But every word stuck in his throat, because there was no pity in Harry's eyes. They were exceptionally clear, and somehow made him calm down.
"My parents..." At last, he forced out the words, his voice so low it was nearly