Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

The End Shall Come, And We Will Dance Forever	By : makochan0217 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 6654 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Disclaimers: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, and Warner Bros. I make nothing from this. In fact, I lose money to write this, so… no suing, ‘kay?

Chapter List
- 15
- 16
- 17
Disclaimers: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Publishing, Warner Bros, and some other companies that are NOT me. I make nothing from this. In fact, I lose money to write this, so… no suing, ‘kay?

Warnings: Angst, language, OOC, 7th year timeline based upon OotP – Disregarding HBP and DH, slash

Author’s Notes: A HUGE number of thanks to Sevfan and Jamie for their help. I shall ply you both with chocolate for further assistance. Luvre!

Chapter Fourteen - I'm Not Brave

Draco followed behind Harry, feeling lost and dazed as he thought through what occurred down in the Headmaster’s office. Blaise, who was his friend, had tried to kill him through Pansy, and there was no doubt in his mind that she’d helped him. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that his only friend as of now was Harry, and that thought scared him. What was he going to do if something happened to him?

‘Are you so weak that you need someone to keep you up? Are you not a Malfoy? Get a hold of yourself, boy,’ his inner voice, which sounded suspiciously like Lucius, snarled. ‘You don’t need anyone as long as you are alive!’ Feeling the effect of those words, Draco stood up as straight as he could and schooled his features into a mask of calm superiority before walking through the doors of the infirmary.

As soon as he entered, he wished he’d gone back to class. In a bed, near the door, was Granger, with Weasel standing at her elbow, hovering uselessly. In the bed next to Granger’s was a plain man that Draco had never seen before, who was deeply unconscious. That was just as well, considering what had happened to his body. There were slash marks that oozed black fluid on his face, hands, arms and chest, his breathing was shallow and labored, there were burn marks that seemed to cover the areas that weren’t cut open, and every once in a while, his arms and legs would shake – signs of prolonged exposure to the Cruciatus.

“Who is that?” Harry asked the two Gryffindors quietly. The Weasel shrugged, but Granger looked over at the unfortunate man before up at Harry.

“Madam Pomfrey told me he’s a member of the Order, but it’s no one we know,” she answered mechanically. “Apparently, he’s the one who saved Tonks from Rabastan’s wand.”

Harry grimaced, and Draco couldn’t blame him. From the looks of the poor man, he’d gotten off rather light, especially if his aunt Bella had been there. He’d learned quickly that outright torture was much more preferable to Bellatrix’s punishments. “Where’re Tonks and her parents?”

“Back behind the curtain,” Weasley said, gesturing stiffly before leaning over his girlfriend and whispering something in her ear that made her glare at him darkly. “What?” he asked, oblivious to whatever had provoked her anger. “What did I say, ‘Mione?”

“Nothing, Ronald,” she sighed. “Please leave me alone.”

Harry and Granger shared a knowing look, one that Draco had seen pass between them numerous times over the years and had to hold back a smirk. That look never meant anything good for Weasel. However, his amusement was short-lived when Harry took one of his hands and headed for the curtain.

“Wotcher, Harry,” a bright, cheery female voice called, and Draco looked up to see a woman with blue hair, yellow eyes and a cute button nose smiling at his ‘friend’. “Um, I don’t mean this as anything bad, but did you know you have a Malfoy behind you?”

Harry, to Draco’s astonishment, blushed and laughed uncomfortably. “Heya, Tonks, um, yeah, I know that Draco’s here. I asked him to come.”

“Why?” another female – this one tall, dark-haired and dark-eyed, and poised – asked. Her face was familiar, but the voice was wrong to his memory. It was saner, more refined, and almost pleasant. ‘This must be my aunt Andromeda. Mother never said that she looked almost identical to aunt Bella,’ Draco thought, making sure to keep constant eye contact with Andromeda Black-Tonks.

“Because he’s my friend, and I thought he’d like to meet members of his family that are actually sane for a change,” Harry replied stiffly.

“Hold on, Harry. No need to get your knickers in a twist,” the room’s final occupant, a male who could only be Ted Tonks, the reason his aunt was disowned in the first place, said. “My ‘Dromie didn’t mean no harm to Mr. Malfoy, but you know things is tense between our families.”

“Ted!” Andromeda gasped. “Please show some manners. The last thing I need is for word to get back to Lucius and Narcissa that I defiled their precious heir.” She shot a nasty look at Draco, but all he did was shrug.

“Aunt, you can say whatever you like about Lucius Malfoy,” he drawled, feeling more comfortable now that he had a feel for the people he was meeting. “As I happen to think he’s a worthless excuse for a husband and father, nothing you say will offend me or make its way back to him through me.”

The Tonks family looked at him as if he’d grown a second head, and Harry flashed him a breathtaking smile. However, it was his cousin’s peals of laughter that caught his attention. “Oh, oh, Cousin, that is absolutely wonderful. We’ll have to have a sit down, you and me, and talk about what a bastard Old Lucius is,” she said between guffaws.

“Nymphadora, really, you’re as bad as your father,” Andromeda said fondly, her smile making her seem at least ten years younger and accentuating her high cheekbones – which were definitely like those of Narcissa.

“So, what happened, Tonks?” Harry asked as one of his hands brushed against Draco’s hip. The Slytherin sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out, hoping that no one else noticed his reaction and very grateful for the fact that he’d worn his looser robes that morning.

“Well, thanks to you, backup arrived in time when the Lestrange brothers and my dear aunt Bellatrix came to call, at two o’clock in the morning, mind you. Mum dealt with her sister while I was introduced to my uncle through marriage rather rudely.”

“I’m sorry to say that his manners don’t improve upon intimacy, Cousin,” Draco added.

“I kinda figured he was that kinda bloke, but one can hope, right?” Tonks winked, and it was then that he noticed her eyes had turned the most stunning shade of green – almost like Harry’s. “Well, Dad was dealing with Rodolphus, until Rabastan nearly took my head off. Next thing I know, Dad is fighting both of them with help from poor Phil over there, I’m flat on my arse, and Mum is smashing Bellatrix’s head through the glass coffee table.” Her grin widened as she looked at her mother. “Nice show, that. You really should perform an encore sometime.”

“I’m sure your aunt will be willing to oblige you, whenever her master lets her out of her gilded cage again,” Andromeda sneered. Oh, yes, this woman was definitely his mother’s sister. But the gleam in her dark eyes was just too much like Bellatrix’s and it made his skin crawl. Soon, it was all he could do to back away slowly, trying not to draw attention to him. There was no need to embarrass himself in front of these strangers.

He’d made it out into the hallway before he began hyperventilating. The stress was just too much. He was ready to go back to bed. A part of him wished that he hadn’t woken up that morning. And he couldn’t control his breathing. He felt like he was about to suffocate. He began clawing at his throat, trying to find a way to get air into his screaming lungs and failing miserably.

‘You’re so pathetic, Draco,’ his inner-Lucius voice spat. ‘Look at you! You’re a failure. You can’t even keep your precious Potter contented enough to do more than kiss you the one time. Did you really think you could keep the half-blood interested? Did you? Don’t make me laugh.’

He whimpered with the last of his breath, before his vision began to swim and then blacken. He couldn’t hear Harry calling his name and then shouting for help. He didn’t see the panic in those beautiful green eyes he dreamed about nightly before he passed out.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry had noticed Draco sneaking off into the hall, but he figured that the blond needed time to absorb everything that had happened that morning by himself for a few minutes. However, when Draco failed to return after five minutes, Harry grew concerned and excused himself to find his friend. What he found was an obviously panicking Draco, clawing viciously at his throat, as if he couldn’t breathe, with an alarmingly blue face. “Draco!”

The blond didn’t look in his direction and swayed, as if his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore. Keeping his cool, Harry dashed forward to catch the Slytherin. “Draco, calm down, breathe, please. Don’t do this.” He tried to snatch at the blond’s hands, but the damage was already done. Long, thin red lines of blood were decorating that pale throat he longed to kiss again. “SOMEONE HELP!”

Before anyone arrived, Draco had passed out, his chest not rising, making his pale face even more discolored. “No, come on, wake up, Draco. HELP!”

Heavily pounding feet sounded behind him, making Harry look up to see Madam Pomfrey and Kingsley Shacklebolt standing there. The mediwitch took one look at the unconscious boy in his arms, shoved Harry out of the way and began casting a series of spells that left the Gryffindor stunned at their succession. “Is he alright?” he asked quietly.

“It appears that Mr. Malfoy suffered a panic attack,” Pomfrey answered. “He should wake up in a few minutes, but I’d like to move him into the infirmary.” She narrowed her eyes before sighing. “I was seriously hoping that he could avoid any more time in any of the beds, but it can’t be helped now.” She cast a quick Mobilicorpus and levitated the blond back into her domain.

“What happened out here, Harry?” Kingsley asked in his deep voice. Harry looked up at the black man, trying to figure out what he was really asking.

“I’m not sure. We were inside, visiting Tonks and her parents. He left – I assumed that he needed some alone time – but when he didn’t come back, I got worried.” Harry shook his head, trying to get the memory of Draco’s face out of his brain. “He was out here, clawing at his neck, like he couldn’t breathe. Then, he swayed. I caught him before he hit the ground, but he’d passed out by then and wasn’t breathing. That’s when I called for help.”

“Hm,” the Auror said, his dark eyes holding a look that Harry didn’t quite understand. “Why was he here in the first place?”

Then it dawned on Harry. The Order didn’t know. Dumbledore hadn’t told them about Draco. And Shacklebolt was suspicious of Lucius Malfoy’s son being anywhere near him. Suddenly, Harry narrowed his green eyes at the older man and stood up, making sure to keep perfect eye contact at all times. “He was here, visiting Tonks with me, Kingsley.”

“And since when are you and Draco Malfoy friends?”

“Since the beginning of the school year,” Harry said through gritted teeth. “Is there a point to this?”

“Why, when all of his other Housemates didn’t return, did he?”

“That’s something you’ll have to ask Dumbledore. I’m afraid that I can’t tell you that.” The Auror fixed him with a penetrating glare before he nodded.

“I intend to do that, but watch your back, Harry. It wouldn’t do to have you murdered before you’re needed.” And then, he left.

“What the fuck…” Harry watched the man disappear, a prickling of sweat slowly making its way down his back, leaving a patch of cool skin in its wake. Before he could think of anything else, Ron’s shout drew his attention back to the infirmary, and the sight of Draco as he fainted faded into the background.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Voices woke him up. They were familiar, but they were angry. ‘Please don’t let Father get me,’ he thought quietly, keeping his eyes closed and his breathing even so as not to draw any attention to himself. ‘I don’t know what I did, but it’s never good when Father is upset.’ One voice said something sharply, but it was too high to belong to his father, so Draco calmed his racing thoughts and allowed himself to actually hear what was being said.

“It’s an act, Harry! There’s no way that Malfoy would do anything but turn you over to V-v-You Know Who once your guard is down!” Ah, that was the Weasel.

“Oh, do shut up, Ron,” a female voice, probably that of Granger if he had the inflection down correctly in his muddled brain. “Perhaps you should trust Harry enough to know what he’s doing, hm?”

“You’re a fine one to talk! You’ve been second guessing him since first year!”

“Shut up, both of you,” a third voice, which could only belong to Harry, said calmly. “In case you haven’t noticed, this is the infirmary, and there are people resting here. Why don’t you just go away, Ron?”

“Fine, but when you’re dead, don’t come crying to me!” Heavy footsteps and a slammed door marked the exit of one Ronald Weasley.

“I honestly wonder what I see in him,” Granger said sadly. “Sometimes.”

“Temporary insanity,” Draco whispered, slowly opening his eyes to a hazy, darkened ceiling. His remark was met with a tittering giggle and a sharp bark of a laugh that sounded remotely hysterical.

“Hey, you’re awake,” Harry said, looking down at Draco with his beautiful green eyes. “You scared me out there.”

“What happened?” he asked, noticing that he felt no pain except when he tried to talk or breathe too deeply.

“Madam Pomfrey told us that you had a panic attack,” Granger answered in a kind, soft voice. He looked over and noticed that her eyes were red and puffy. Then, he remembered the horrible meeting in the Headmaster’s office that morning.

“How… how long was I…?” He couldn’t continue. He wouldn’t allow himself to finish that sentence. It was weak, and Malfoys were not weak.

“A few hours,” Harry replied, handing Draco a glass of water. “That should help you.” Draco nodded and drank the entire glass down, feeling instantly better.

“Have you heard anything?” he asked, looking over the two Gryffindors carefully. “Where is Neville?”

“Neville?” Granger asked hesitantly. “Well, his Gran ordered him back to class and he said he’d try to take enough notes so that you would have them when you return tomorrow.” Draco smiled softly before turning to Harry.

“What else, Harry?”

“The Greengrass girls, they’ve been kidnapped by Death Eaters,” the black-haired boy said uncomfortably. “Their uncle confirmed that Snape returned them to him two days ago, but while he was meeting with the solicitor about the funerals, they were taken.”

“What about… Pansy and Blaise?” He couldn’t help the fact that he sounded upset, could he? It was only reasonable when your friends from childhood tried to kill you, wasn’t it?

“Madame Maxine said that Parkinson and Zabini had mysteriously disappeared by the time she went to find them,” Harry said calmly, but the hand that was gripping Draco’s tightened and his right eye twitched for a second. “She said that the French Ministry has been alerted and is willing to help apprehend them, but there’s been no word from Durmstrang or the Polish Ministry.”

“I doubt they’ll help,” Draco said cynically. “Durmstrang has been a great recruiting ground for Dark Lords for a few centuries now and the Polish Ministry likes to think they have no idea what happens at the school.”

“Malfoy,” Granger butted in carefully, “what was that about your mum? Is she in trouble?”

The blond looked at the girl for a long moment before looking at Harry, who shrugged and gave him a small smile. Draco sighed as he thought things over. ‘I don’t know if I trust her, but Harry seems to believe that it’s my decision to tell her, and I guess it is. But…’

“My mother is a prisoner in one of our estates. My father and aunt have been taking turns torturing her since the summer to keep me in line.”

The girl gasped; her face was a perfect mixture of outrage and shock. “That’s terrible!”

Draco only shrugged and turned his face to the side. “I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thank you, Malfoy,” she replied softly before sniffling loudly. “I’ll… I’ll leave you be now, Harry. If… If I see Mrs. Weasley, what do you want me to say?”

“Tell her… that I’m sorry Percy was hurt and that…” Harry stopped, seeming at a loss for words. “That I’ll contact her later.”

“Of course,” Granger answered with a small smile before leaving them alone.

But neither said a word, and the silence soon felt deafening. Draco was determined to keep his cool and plan for every eventuality, but the touch of the other boy’s hand still grasping his own made his head a little fuzzy. Besides, he needed more information. He was sitting here, practically blind, while Harry had nearly all the data and had given up very little.

“I suppose that now would be a good time that we had a real talk,” Harry said, pulling Draco from his thoughts. He looked over to see an odd, blank look on the Gryffindor’s face.

“About which problem?” Draco asked calmly, hoping that his voice didn’t betray his swirling thoughts.

“I think you know which one I’m talking about, Draco.”

TBC

Aff.net review replies can be found here - http://makochanupdates.livejournal.com/23318.html
- 15
- 16
- 17
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The End Shall Come, And We Will Dance Forever