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Darkness Within The Light	By : crimson96 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 8759 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Author's Note: Welcome to another chapter of Darkness Within the Light. This chapter was a lot of fun to write and what started out as a simple idea quickly built into a much larger chapter. Guess that is how it goes. Please do feel free to comment, or review as much as you want on any chapter or about any part of the story. Until the next chapter!

Chapter 16 : My Soul To Keep

"I can see into your heart, Harry Potter!"

The voice intruded on Harry's awareness as he watched his parents, seeing the final joyful minutes of their lives before Voldemort changed everything forever. He stepped forward, observing the small baby crib in the middle of the living room. James bent over the crib, making faces and wiggling his fingers with his thumbs in his ears.

"James, stop it. Harry is going to grow up to be just like you if you don't stop doing that," Lily sassed as she walked by the living room and toward the tiny kitchen. "It's bad enough that Sirius is teaching him his bad manners already," she finished, but with a cheeky smile on her face as she went into the kitchen.

"You know, dear…" James began as he gently picked baby Harry up out of the crib, lightly tossed him into the air and caught him. This playful act elicited a spontaneous grin and a laugh from the baby. "Harry looks more like you with each passing day," he finished as he rounded the corner and walked into the kitchen, only to be met by his wife.

"Oh, James," she replied while lightly kissing him, "no, he looks more like you." She placed a soft kiss upon baby Harry's forehead.

The sound of the front door latch unlocking brought them both out of their loving moment. "He's found us! Lily, take Harry and run, go now!"

"James, no!" Lily cried, desperate for her husband to come with her.

The front door exploded inward, just barely missing Lily as she ran up the stairs toward the second floor of the house. A bright, sickening light filled the bottom floor of the house as Lily Potter slammed the bedroom door shut.

She cradled Harry close to her bosom, holding him tightly, knowing these would be the last precious seconds that she would ever see her baby son. The door behind her exploded as she placed Harry into the bassinet then turned to face her adversary. "You can't have him! I won't let you take him!"

"Out of my way, woman!" The high-pitched voice spoke from behind the cloaked mask.

"No!" Lily stood her ground between the Dark Lord and baby Harry. She looked at Harry one last time with her dark green eyes, saying her love and good-byes to her son.

"Avada Kedavra!" The deathly green light filled the room.

Harry awakened and sat rigid in his bed while gasping as if being choked. His lungs struggled to inhale the air while his hands clutched at his blankets so hard that his fingers ached. His heartbeat began to slow as he closed his eyes. Harry began counting backwards trying to let the images of the nightmare fade away. He pounded his fist into the pillow, furious that he had allowed this nightmare to happen again. Once his anger had cooled, Harry flopped back down in the bed and stared at his glasses, which sat upon the night side table.

The sound of girlish giggling came from a corner of Harry's bedroom. "Stop it, Potter, now you're imagining things," Harry muttered to himself as he closed his eyes and buried his head deeper into the pillow.

Again the sound of small giggles came to Harry from somewhere within the confines of his bedroom. Harry sat upright in his bed, squinting at the darkness as he tried to locate the source of the laughter. He reached for his glasses and wand.

"Lumos." The wand illuminated the bedroom with its soft glow. Harry turned the knob on the oil lamp forward. "Nox." Harry's bedroom glowed in the soft reddish light from the oil lamp as he found the source of the sounds.

Located in the corner of his bedroom were two little girls. Harry tossed back the covers from his bed, standing up in his night robes while never taking his eyes from them. Harry suspected that this might be some trick perpetrated by Draco or even the work of another Death Eater.

From their clothing, he guessed that these were two Muggle girls, probably around the ages of nine or ten. They were both dressed in identical white dresses, laced with pink frills. Small, pink ribbons held the girls' blonde hair back in ponytails. They were both sitting in miniature rocking chairs, each girl cradling a tattered doll. Harry made his way to the end of his bed and sat down, bemused. From this vantage point, Harry could see that the girls were identical twins.

He watched as the twins gently rocked with the tattered dolls snug in the cradles of their arms. As they rocked, they sang a tune in eerie unison.

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray the Lord my soul to keep

If I die before I wake,

I pray the Dark Lord, my soul to take.

"Hey!" Harry spoke up, interrupting the rhyme. Its words had a frightening effect on Harry, as a cold chill had run up his spine when the twins sang it.

"Little girls," Harry said as he got up from his bed, crossing the space between them. He lightly touched the nearest girl on the shoulder, causing both girls to look up at Harry simultaneously.

Harry immediately wanted to vomit at what he saw before him. Both of the girls had no eyes, only black holes. Once more, the light laughter of innocence came from both girls as they stared at Harry with their soulless eyes.

Trying to control the urge and not spew everywhere, Harry sat back down at the foot of his bed and breathed deeply. After a moment of trying to catch his breath and not have the bile rush into his throat, Harry looked up at the twins as they stared back at him. "Why…why are you here?" Harry burped as a bit of the acidic bile tickled the bottom of his esophagus. He forced it back down and continued with his questioning. "Who are you? What are you doing in my bedroom?"

"The Dark Lord's reign is at hand," the twins said together, the combination of their voices producing a flat, monotonous tone that was so unlike a child's voice.

"What?" Harry asked, standing up. "How can he be alive? I killed him!" Neither twin looked away from Harry. Their empty eyes bored into him. "Voldemort's own curse killed him, I saw it! Everyone in the Great Hall saw it!"

"The darkness will rise once again. He sees within all souls," the twins said with their synchronized voice. "He comes for you, Harry Potter. He comes for his revenge."

"Look, tell me who you are! I just told you that Voldemort is dead, he can't come back! We destroyed all of his horcruxes, and then we killed him!" Harry said, bewildered by the twins.

Both girls turned their lifeless faces away from Harry and began the same eerie rhyme.

"Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep-"

Harry grabbed the nearest twin by her shoulder, stopping the chant and causing both girls to stare at him once more. Sensing that he had done something wrong, Harry released the girl and stepped back away from them. Silently, the twins silently stood up and pointed their small index fingers at the bedroom door.

"He's here."

"What? Voldemort is here?" Harry asked.

Neither twin would answer Harry's question. They both sat down in the rockers with their tattered dolls and began the rhyme once more. Harry stood in place, baffled by everything. He thought about asking both twins to leave his bedroom or expelling them from his house with a hex. Yet, some small voice inside of him advised against doing that. Harry walked to his bedroom door and hesitated before reaching for the doorknob. He glanced over again at the two small, twin girls. Completely oblivious to his actions, they remained entranced with the repetition of the haunting rhyme.

Harry held his wand at the ready, in case there was a Death Eater or even though it was impossible, if Voldemort was on the other side of this door. Qucikly, he wrenched the doorknob and opened the door. What he saw before him was worse than a Death Eater or Voldemort standing in front of him.

"No!" This is not happening, it's a dream," Harry mumbled while shaking his head from side to side in disbelief of what was in front of him. He reached for the doorknob that he had just let go of as he walked out of his bedroom and onto the grounds of Hogwarts. His fingers did not feel anything behind him except air, and when Harry turned around, expecting to see the door to his bedroom, there was nothing there.

"Damn it, no! It's all just a dream!" Harry yelled. "Wake up, Potter!" Harry pinched his arm, trying to awaken himself from the dream. "I am not going through this again, I know what happens!" Unsuccessful at waking himself, Harry closed his eyes in hopes that when he opened them, he would be in his own bed and that none of this would ever have happened. He tried to drown out the thunderous rumble that came from overhead as if a thunderstorm filled the sky above. Green and white lightning streaked across the sky, filling the back of Harry's closed eyelids with its luminous glow. Harry opened his eyes again, and cursed.

The scene before him did not change. Just as with Harry's previous dream, the devastation from the battle surrounded him. Knowing that he must again face his nightmares, Harry began to slowly walk between the fallen bodies, completely aware of everything that he was about to come across.

"First I see Ginny, Hermione, and Malfoy over here in the courtyard," Harry spoke as he narrated his every step. "Malfoy killed Hermione or Ginny, and then one of them cursed him, probably after he had injured them internally with some dark magic. Malfoy's body is slumped over by the marble column in the front courtyard," Harry finished as he stepped into the courtyard that he had just spoken about.

Red hair fanned out to frame a pale face with wide, empty eyes. "Ron!" Harry shouted, as he knelt down lightly touching his best friend's face. "This is supposed to be Ginny. Why are you here?" Harry muttered to himself. He gently pushed Ron's eyelids down, and turned around to see the brown curls that connected to Hermione's dead body. "Malfoy, he killed them both!"

Harry rose from the ground, and walked over toward the marble pillar. Slumped against it was a blond haired person. As he drew nearer to the column, Harry was shocked to see that it wasn't Draco Malfoy's corpse, but instead that of Lucius Malfoy.

"Lucius?" Harry asked, as if the dead body would answer his question. "It was Draco before," Harry repeated to himself, confused by what he saw.

A loud rumble of thunder accompanied by a sizzling show of green and white lightning in the sky snapped Harry from his questioning, as in the distance he saw a small group of people and the source of the lightning.

"Voldemort!" He strode toward the group with intentions of killing the dark wizard once and for all, even if it meant his own death in the process. Maybe killing him in the dream would finally end the cycle and allow Harry to sleep without fear. The dream was repeating because each time, he made the wrong choice. He would rectify that this time.

"Yes, that's right, allow him to come closer," Voldemort said as Harry made his way and now stood in front of him. "Harry Potter…not so much afraid to die?"

A shrill scream cracked the air as Harry looked to his left. Ginny Weasley was forced to kneel upon the ground while Bellatrix tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse. Harry stepped toward Ginny, but an invisible shield met him. "Not so fast, Harry, there is more to see," Voldemort taunted.

"Bring him!" The Dark Lord called, pointing toward another Death Eater. Following Voldemort's order, one of the Death Eaters marched Draco Malfoy forward and forced him to kneel beside Ginny Weasley. "Bellatrix, cease your fun for the moment." Bellatrix did as she had been ordered. Ginny's screaming stopped as she swayed while trying to speak to Harry.

"H…Harry, please help!"

"I know Gin, I know," Harry said. He turned and looked into the red eyes of Voldemort.

"You are still so stubborn, Harry Potter, just like your parents."

"At least my parents died protecting me. At least they weren't like you- a sick, freak!"

Voldemort smiled wickedly at Harry. "Yes. You will do very nicely. The anger boils inside; a perfect specimen."

"What are you talking about?"

"It is this, Harry Potter! The day that I gave you that scar was the day that I created my equal. You, Harry, have all of the seeds inside of you to become my successor, the next Dark Lord!"

"You're bloody crazy! I'm a Gryffindor, not a Slytherin! I would never turn my back on the Wizarding World and what Dumbledore has taught me!"

"So naïve, Harry," Voldemort chided. "He used people to attain his status and power. Look at yourself. What have you gained from his knowledge?"

Harry did not answer as he feverishly tried to think of something to say, but nothing would come to mind.

"All that you have gained from him is sorrow and loss. But I can give you a new legacy." Voldemort lowered his hand and gently raised Harry's chin upwards as a parent would do to a beloved child. "You can still be the great Harry Potter, the Chosen One!"

Harry looked up into the sky and whispered to himself. He then brought his gaze back down and coldly looked into the red-slit eyes of Voldemort. "Yes, I will still be the famous Harry Potter."

Harry extended his hand outward toward Voldemort. With his right hand Voldemort grasped Harry's hand as the Dark Mark shot from Voldemort's wand and into the night sky. "Harry, I welcome you," Voldemort said as he released Harry and placed his hand upon Harry's shoulder as a proud father would do to his son. "Now you have one task to complete to show me your true loyalty."

Voldemort waved his wand as Bellatrix moved from Ginny and Draco. Both remained kneeling, held in place as if by a binding spell. "You must sacrifice one. The other will be your horcrux."

Harry looked at Ginny, who was crying and pleading with Harry not to kill her, mouthing the words even though no sound would come from her throat. Draco Malfoy did not even bother to look at Harry or Voldemort. He chose to keep his head bowed down, as if studying the ground below his knees.

"Sacrifice part of your past, Harry Potter. Destroy either the love of your life, or the one that you call your arch nemesis. The one who you pick to live will become your vessel for the rest of your lives."

Slowly Harry raised his wand while still studying both Ginny and Draco."Avada Kedavra!" Harry hissed as the green glow reflected in his eyes.

Ginny Weasley was dead before she fell to the ground.

Harry pocketed his wand as he stepped in front of Draco Malfoy and tipped the Slytherin's chin upward. He then reached down and laced his fingers around Draco's fingers, helping to pull the Slytherin to his feet.

"Draco! I choose you, Draco Malfoy, as my lifelong partner. You are my rock, and you have my soul," Harry said as cupped Draco's face and kissed his soft, pink lips. Gently, their lips parted as Draco stood in place, not saying a word to Harry, but speaking to him with his eyes. After a moment of gazing into those beautiful grey-blue eyes, Harry turned to Voldemort. "He is my vessel."

"A wise choice, Harry Potter. He will serve you well. Now, there is one last act. Hold out your left arm, my prince."

Harry braced himself as the tip of Voldemort's wand began to glow and the Dark Mark began to touch Harry's skin. Harry struggled to maintain consciousness and began to scream as the pain of the Dark Mark tainted his body and soul.

Harry's screams subsided as he found himself inside the living room of Lily and James' house at Godric's Hollow. The door exploded inward as James handed the baby to Lily and told her to run. Harry looked around for the source of the explosion and saw Voldemort walking through the rubble.

"Stop, wait!" Harry screamed as he tried in vain to divert the dark wizard's attention. "No, don't!"

James Potter flew through the air as the killing curse hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to land at the foot of the stairs. Harry ran to the stairwell, leaping over the dead body of his young father.

"I command you to stop, I am your equal!" Harry screamed at the Dark Lord, but there was no response from him. Voldemort glided past Harry as he made his way upstairs. "Crucio!" Harry shouted as he held his wand, aiming it at Voldemort's back.

No light or spell came from the wand. Quickly, Harry hurdled up the rest of the stairs as Voldemort reached the bedroom door. "Protego!" Harry shouted. "What's going on? Why won't it work?"

He quickly pounded the wand against the palm of his hand before pointing it at Voldemort once more. "Expelleriamus!" Once more, the wand failed. "No, come on, work damn it!"

Harry ran down the hallway, pointing his wand until he was standing right beside the dark wizard. "Avada Kedavra!"

A bright flash filled the hallway as the door to the bedroom exploded. Lily Potter screamed as she placed the baby in the crib and stood between it and Voldemort. Harry ran over to the crib and looked at the baby inside, expecting to see his younger self.

"What? That's not me!" Harry gasped. "Teddy!"

The green death light filled the room as Harry turned to watch his mother collapse to the floor. Voldemort moved closer to the crib, wand extended outward. Teddy sat in the crib as he stared at the end of the green glowing wand.

"No!" Harry yelled as he tried to grab the hand of Voldemort only to see and feel his hands pass through air. The green light filled the room once more as Harry screamed.

"Potter! Potter! What's happening?" Harry opened his eyes at the sound of someone screaming his name. Seconds later his bedroom door was flung open, and Draco Malfoy rushed into the bedroom.

Draco's cheeks had a deep red tint against his pale skin. His blond hair was in disarray and he held his wand as if ready to attack someone. The tip of the wand glowed, illuminating his bare chest and black pajama bottoms. "What is your bloody problem?" Draco demanded.

"What?" Harry asked, still hazy from his dreams.

"Your problem, what is your problem? Why are you screaming like a bloody banshee?"

"Was I screaming?"

"Yes, you were screaming. You called for me, and then for someone named, Teddy. I'm surprised every person in London didn't hear you this morning," Draco explained as he tossed his hands in exasperation.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," Harry replied. "It was a nightmare."

"Or maybe you couldn't live for a whole night without anyone paying attention to you!" Draco scoffed as he paced in front of the bed. "Harry Potter has to go and make a fuss so someone will come running to save him."

"So that's what this is? You thought I was in danger and you're here to..." Harry paused, rubbed at his eyes with the backs of his hands, and studied Draco. The Slytherin's face was set in its usual expression of contempt, but when he had stormed through the door, he had worn a different expression. Could it have been concern? "You're here to rescue me?" Harry asked as he sat up on the edge of the bed.

Draco snorted. "Who said I was coming in here because I cared? I was coming in here to place a Silencing Charm on you so that I could go back to sleep!"

Harry jumped out of the bed, his temper flaring. He took a step toward Draco, and to his surprise, Draco stayed in place, tilting his head slightly downward and looking Harry in the eyes. Their faces were inches apart, and if either of them were to lean forward, they would touch. Harry could smell the fragrance of Draco's hair mousse and cologne. The scent was intoxicating to Harry, as was being this close to the object of his fantasies. Looking into those grey-blue eyes and not being able to kiss Draco as he had in his dream was maddening. The fact that Draco was half-undressed made Harry suddenly aware of the fact that he wore only a pair of boxer shorts. Everything he wanted was within reach. In his dream, he had invoked two Unforgivable Curses, and the third was tempting him now. One word, Imperio, and Draco would be his.

Both young men stood still for a few seconds more before Harry took a step back. "I apologize, Malfoy, if my nightmares woke you up and caused you to lose sleep," Harry said as he breathed deeply, resisting the urge to hex and kiss Draco. "I will place a Silencing Charm over the door at night so that it won't bother you again."

"See that you do that, if you can even manage a spell that complex without Granger to help you."

"I can manage," Harry promised. "And you're not needed here, so you might as well go back to sleep."

Draco shook his head. "I'm awake now anyway, thanks to you. Have your house elf make our breakfast." He turned on his heel and began walking back toward the door. When he reached the door, he glanced back over his shoulder and ran his eyes over Harry. "One more thing, Potter, for the love of Merlin, put some bloody clothes on!"

The morning hours had passed by without much conversation between the two young men. Harry had grown weary of Draco's glancing remarks over the last three days, and all that he wanted now was to be left alone with his own thoughts. He made his way into the library and sat behind the desk, twirling the ink quill with his fingers. No book could hold his attention, and even the prospect of practicing spells seemed unappealing. Words and images from his dreams swirled in his head, and he struggled to understand them. After an amount of time that could have been a minute, an hour, or more, the door to the library opened. Harry glanced up and watched Draco enter the room.

The Slytherin briefly looked at Harry before walking across the room, choosing to focus his attention on the Black family tree rather than on Harry's brooding. Harry dropped the quill and lazily opened a book that was on the desk. He feigned interest in the words on the page while stealing occasional looks at Draco. Every so often Harry would look down at the book as he pretended to be reading, but he knew that Draco was watching him, too.

"I wish you could see yourself right now, Potter. You always do have the audacity to talk about my sulking," Draco said as he looked at the wall.

"I'm not sulking, Malfoy," Harry replied. "I'm thinking."

Draco snorted again as if trying not to laugh. "Alright Potter, but don't strain your brain while you are trying to think about whatever it is. You only have so many brain cells to use. What is it that has you so bothered this time?"

"It's none of your concern, Malfoy," Harry said as he slammed the book shut and threw it down on the desk.

Draco's eyebrows rose slightly, as if he was mildly impressed by the outburst from Harry. "Someone should warn Weasley and Granger about your temper. I ask a simple question and you bite my head off."

"You bring out the worst in me, Draco. And I think you enjoy it too much." Harry smiled as he said that, his anger evaporating. He rubbed at his temples with his fingertips. "It's the dream I had last night, I can't stop thinking about it."

"They say thinking too much about your dreams is a sign of dementia."

"Don't you ever have nightmares?" Harry asked, suddenly curious about Draco's dreams.

"Yes, when I was a kid. I wore diapers once, too, but I grew out of both." Draco leaned back against the wall and folded his arms across his chest. "You called for me in your dream. Why?"

"You were being held by the Death Eaters," Harry replied with little emotion in his voice. "Your father was dead, as were many others. Voldemort gave me a choice. I had to kill Ginny, or else I could kill you."

Draco crossed the room and sat on the edge of the desk, any slight bit of humor gone from his face. "Weasley or me? And what did you choose?" Draco asked while lowering his head to look more closely into Harry's eyes.

"I didn't," Harry lied, "the dream changed on me and before I knew it, I was at my parent's house, and Voldemort was there as well. I saw him kill them. I saw him…" Harry's words trailed off.

"Who, Potter? Who did you see?" Draco asked.

"Teddy," Harry said as he stared ahead, his eyes unfocused. He blinked and turned to look up at Draco. Their faces were close to touching once more. "I saw Teddy."

"Who is he?" Draco asked as he stood up from the desk, obviously disappointed in the answer.

"My godson," Harry answered. He got up and walked over to the Black family tree. "Lupin and Tonks' baby boy."

Draco's face looked as if he had a vomit flavored Bertie Bott's Jelly Bean in his mouth. "You mean that were-" Draco started but changed his words when Harry looked at him, daring him to call Lupin a werewolf or some other slur. "You mean that Professor Lupin had a son?"

"He married your cousin, Nymphadora Tonks." Harry reached up to touch one of the burned parts of the Black family tree. "She was the daughter of Ted Tonks, and your aunt, Andromeda Black."

"She isn't my aunt," Draco said as he walked across the room and stood beside Harry. "Mother always said she had one sister, and that was Aunt Bella. My grandparents disowned Andromeda when she married that Muggle-born. If that weren't bad enough, her daughter had to bring one of Lupin's kind into the family. It's no wonder my mother was glad to be a Malfoy."

Frustrated by Draco's lingering prejudice, Harry elbowed him in the ribs. "It's a shame that you can't be more open and understanding of members of your own family. Not everyone cares about pureblood status, like you apparently still do!"

Harry walked to the door of the library before turning back to face Draco, who was rubbing his side. "I applaud Andromeda for getting away from your family. I can just imagine what it must have been like having to be the middle sister between your mother and Bellatrix."

"Watch what you say about my mother, Potter!" Draco spat, reaching for his wand.

"Watch what I say?" Harry laughed. "Coming from you, that's rich. You show up at my door, tell me a sob story about needing a place to say, live under my roof, eat my food, and insult me every bloody chance you get." He opened up the door of the library and turned back to face Draco, who was shuffling his feed and glaring at the carpet. "I think I'll go visit Andromeda today and see my godson. If you're still here when I get back, you had better have a different attitude, because if not, I'll drag you back to Malfoy Manor and Lucius can curse you, beat you, or do anything else he damn well pleases. I don't care anymore!"

He slammed the door behind him and started toward his room, but before he was halfway there, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Draco wearing his best injured expression.

"You can't mean that!" Draco pleaded. "I'll go with you-"

"I don't want you with me."

"What if my Father comes looking for me and you're gone? Whatever happens, it'll be your fault."

Harry smiled wryly. "I think I can live with the guilt."

Draco's eyes appeared to have doubled in size. "Look, you hate my sense of humor, fine. And we don't see eye-to-eye on politics, but we're friends! When you called for me this morning, I came running to help you—"

"Oh? I thought you were running to put a silencing spell on me. Forgive me if I was a bit confused by the words that came directly out of your mouth."

"Not even you can be that stupid, Potter!" Draco groaned. "You know why I came. I thought it was my father, and I thought the two of us together would stand a better chance than each of us alone."

"The two of us together," Harry repeated. You are my rock. You have my soul. The words from the dream floated back to him, and he nodded. "Can you be civil to your aunt?"

"I know how to behave, Potter. Can you apparate us both there?"

Harry held out his arm for Draco to take and felt a pang as he recalled Dumbledore making the same gesture to him. "Hold on," he warned Draco.
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Darkness Within The Light