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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
- 23
- 24
- 25
Author's Note: We decided to split this next section of the story up into two chapters, rather than have it continue into a large 10K+ word chapter. Again, Eris and I want to thank you all for reading this story, and we just hope that everyone enjoys it and has thus far had a blast with it. Chapter 25 is being worked on right now and hopefully will be ready very, very soon. Please, do feel free to leave a comment or opinion.

Chapter 24: Strength In Numbers

Harry sprang up from the sofa and started for the stairs only to find himself halted by someone grabbing at his sleeve. He reeled, and when he regained his balance he spun to find Molly clutching a fistful of his robe.

"Let Draco do what he thinks he has to," she said, looking defeated, "but don't throw your own life away, too. Lucius has already tried to kill you once. Don't go to him now."

His temper flaring, Harry jerked his sleeve from her grip. "Or what?"

"What?" Molly took a step back, looking puzzled and hurt.

"I said, 'or what?'. What happens if I go? Am I no longer welcome here? Am I no longer part of the family?"

"I- I would never- Molly's eyes teared up.

"As I thought." Harry pivoted and headed for the stairs again.

He heard Hermione muttering in a low voice and was only able to make out the words, "I'm sorry, Molly, Arthur..." A moment later, he heard her feet on the stairs, and her next words were precise and clear. "You sounded like him just now- absolutely horrible."

"I don't appreciate being ordered around."

"It's what happens when people care about you, Harry. You can't blame Molly and Arthur for wanting to protect you, not after what they've been through."

He felt the prickly heat of shame creep from the back of his neck to the tips of his ears, and he glanced back over his shoulder with a sigh. "I don't blame them, but I'm still going, and if you think you can talk me out of it-"

"No!" Hermione shook her head hard, making her hair spin out in all directions. "I never said you were wrong to help Narcissa, you're just being a prat about it, that's all."

They had reached the upper floor and now stood in front of the door to the twins' room. Hermione paused with her hand on the doorknob, fixing Harry with her version of Molly's guilt-inducing scowl.

The rain had intensified over the past few hours, and now it beat against the window as if begging for entrance. Moisture seeped through the half-rotted wood of the sill, the clean rain scent mingling with the musk of old wood. Draco knelt in front of the window and leaned forward until his head touched the glass, finding the cold strangely soothing. Voices came from the other side of the bedroom door, blending with the noise of the storm.

"So you followed me up here to tell me I'm a prat. Thanks. Good to know." That was Harry, sounding angry.

"I didn't follow you up here! I followed Malfoy. You're not the only one who wants to help him." Hermione Granger's voice grated on Draco's ears, even through the door.

A moment later, she barged into the room, Harry trailing behind her. Draco watched out of the corner of his eye as she sat down on the end of his bed without being invited to do so. The sound of creaking bed springs came from behind him, and he guessed that Harry had also taken a seat. Realizing he wouldn't be rid of Potter or Granger anytime soon, he moved away from the window and sat down beside Harry.

Hermione tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and flashed a sickeningly cheerful smile. "You don't have to go alone, Draco."

Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise. For some reason, the faces of the old codger at the shop and the nosy muggle woman at the hotel flashed through his mind. He had already envisioned all the ways they could have died, and each imagined demise was more gruesome than the last. Whatever had happened to them, the same could happen to Draco and anyone who came with him now. He met Granger's eyes. "You realize my father would probably like to kill you almost as much as he'd like to kill Potter? And Phillipe-"

"I'm aware of the danger." The smug look on Hermione's face made it easier to imagine her as Phillipe's next victim.

"Good. Because I'm not asking either of you-" Draco pointed to Harry, then Hermione "- to come, so whatever happens, it isn't my fault."

"Nothing will happen to any of us." Harry's promise was spoken in a near-whisper.

"Not if we make a good plan and follow it," Hermione agreed. "We need all the information, anything that might be important. Draco, when Arthur gave you the message from your mother, you looked like someone kicked you in the stomach. What did she mean about eleven being your lucky number?"

"It was a code." Draco forced out each word, hating that he had to explain himself. "She wanted me to use it if I ever needed protection from my father." He glanced at Hermione and felt his face heat with a mixture of shame and anger. "Don't look at me that way, Granger!"

"I wasn't!" Hermione protested, but her eyes had a thick sheen of moisture, and she sniffled loudly.

"Go on," Harry prompted. "Tell us what the code means."

"Fine." Draco stood and resumed his position in front of the window. As he told the story, the night of his eleventh birthday played out in his mind.

Draco made his way down the hall, squaring his shoulders in imitation of his father's authoritative swagger. He refused to sulk, and he forbade himself to cry. He would simply march down the stairs, find his parents, and demand to know why they had forgotten him on this important day. They would realize their error, of course, and then they would order the house elves to prepare a feast. The three of them would spend the rest of the evening together, perhaps playing a game, or Mother would read aloud, and Draco would pretend to enjoy it, even though he was far too old for such childish things. It would be-

He paused at the top of the staircase, his reverie broken by the sound of angry voices.

"- so far away from us, Lucius! How can you even consider sending him to Durmstrang?" His mother's voice sounded thick, as if she had been crying.

Draco crept further down the stairs, moving silently on bare feet. Peering between the wrought iron posts of the banister, he saw his mother clutching an envelope in her hands, holding it to her breast.

"We have discussed this before, Narcissa! The boy is weak. Hogwarts will only exacerbate the deficiencies in his character." Lucius tore the envelope from Narcissa's hand and tossed it into the fire.

Narcissa sobbed into her hands for a moment, and when she raised her face, her cheeks were slick and shiny in the firelight. "At Durmstrang, he will learn only dark magic and cruelty."

"Lessons I had to learn through experience. Better he should begin now."

"What if- What if I do not want him to be like you, Lucius? What if I wish for my son to be something more, to be-"

The silver cane cracked across her face, and Narcissa cried out before falling to her knees. What she said next came out so garbled that Draco could not understand it. Blood flowed from her mouth and into her cupped hands. Draco longed to run to her, to heal her, to cast a spell on his father that would hurt worse than anything, but he remained frozen in place, helpless. His father had magic, spells that could lift Draco off the ground, or throw him across the room, or make him feel like he was being boiled alive. Running to his mother now might make Lucius hurt him in front of her, and that would be worse than any spell or blow.

"Cissy?" Lucius knelt beside his wife and stroked the back of her hair. "Forgive me. I was... excessive."

"I forgot my place," she murmured. "You reminded me."

"Send the boy to Hogwarts if you wish." Lucius waved a hand magnanimously. "But mark my words, Narcissa, if your son ever disappoints me, if he becomes a weak, cringing coward like you, I will kill you both for it." With that, he rose to his feet and strode out of the room.

Draco raced down the spiral staircase. He tripped, plowed into the banister, and felt a nauseating jolt of pain, but he shook it off quickly and continued until he reached his mother's side. She still knelt by the fireplace, and he crouched beside her, holding both of her hands in his.

"I was clumsy-" she began immediately. Her lips trembled, and a fresh trickle of blood started down her chin.

"Don't." He shook his head and looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to see his father looming over them.

"Draco..." She snatched her hands away from his and grabbed him in a chest-crushing embrace. "I didn't want you to see me like this, not today, of all days." She sniffled, and something wet and sticky trickled over the top of his head and down the outside of his ear. He hoped it was a tear and not more blood.

"So you did remember," Draco muttered, feeling foolish and selfish.

"Of course! Always! Your father and I were just discussing how proud we both are of you now that you will be starting school soon." She let him go, stood up, and smoothed the front of her robes, smiling with her rapidly swelling lips. The effect was ghoulish.

He hated it when she lied to him, but he couldn't bring himself to make her tell the truth. He looked down at his toes and said nothing.

"Draco..." Her voice dropped low, losing its false brightness. "My son, I must ask you something. It is about your father. Lately, things have been... difficult for him, and I must ask you if he has... If he ever... Draco, has he ever hurt you?"

Draco raised his eyes and met hers. "No. Never."

"But the bruise on your leg last week-"

"From tripping in the garden."

"And your wrist a month ago-"

"From the stairs, as I told you!" Draco sighed and turned away from her, preferring the sight of the pretty flames in the fireplace to that of her still-bleeding face.

"I need to know you are safe!" she pleaded. "What if we created a- a secret password, a code between us?"

Draco nodded slowly to show he was listening.

"If you ever feel in danger from your father, if you think it's best that we leave the Manor, all you have to say is..." She paused, and he looked over his shoulder to see her frowning and biting her lip in concentration. "How about 'eleven'? Just say anything about the number eleven, and I will know without you having to tell me anymore. Can you remember that?"

"I'll remember," he promised, although at the same time, he promised that he would never use the secret code word. Tattling on his father would surely count as disappointing him, and then both Draco and Narcissa would be dead. He turned and took his mother's hands again. "Mother, I want you to know that I don't care where I go to school. I'll do anything to make you and father happy. I'll become strong and powerful so I can protect you. And I promise-" he swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "I promise I will never disappoint Father."

"So she's using the code to tell you that she isn't safe now," Hermione said when Draco had finished explaining.

"More than that." Draco turned around and sank down into a sitting position. "It's a reminder of that day, the threat my father made, and the promise I made. I've broken that promise, and she's paying the price."

"None of this is your fault!" Hermione shook her head emphatically. "Someone should have protected you and your mother."

Draco waved a hand. "It doesn't matter. After today, he's not going to have a chance to hurt anyone ever again. We can apparate into the garden, sneak through a back window, and unlock the dungeon. The two of you can apparate here with my mother while I take care of unfinished business with my father."

"That's insane!" Hermione exclaimed.

"She's right," Harry agreed. "Hermione can bring Narcissa back here by herself. The two of us will handle Lucius, and Phillipe if he's there."

"That's worse! Then the both of you would get sent to Azkaban for murder. I won't agree to that." Hermione folded her arms across her chest. "We go in together, we come out together with Narcissa. If Lucius tries to follow us, he'll run into the wards around the Burrow."

"Fine." Draco rolled his eyes and shrugged. Granger could think what she wanted to. When the time came, Lucius would answer for his actions.

"I should make you swear an unbreakable vow," Hermione grumbled, glaring at Draco. "I don't trust you not to do something stupid. Harry, talk some sense into him!"

Draco scoffed as he watched Potter puzzling over what to say. Finally, Harry looked toward Hermione instead of Draco and said, "It's Draco's choice. He has to decide how much he has to lose."

The door swung open, causing Draco to jump at the noise and admitting two more uninvited entrants. Ron Weasley sat down beside Hermione. After closing the door behind her, Ginny cast Muffliato. She remained standing, her back against the door, her arms folded across her chest.

Ron slipped his hand into Hermione's. "Gin thinks she can put a sleeping jinx on Mum and Dad. When are we going to leave?"

"Weren't you ordered to stay here and protect your own precious necks?" Draco asked.

"If Hermione goes, I go, too. Besides, it won't be the worst thing any of us have faced. At least your house isn't full of giant spiders."

"Only the kind with two legs," Ginny muttered.

Draco stood up and rested his back against the rear wall of the room, mimicking Ginny's posture. "What's your stake in this, Weasley? You're the last person I would expect to want to help me."

"So I'm not supposed to care that your father is holding an inno- a relatively innocent person against her will and torturing her? Why wouldn't I want to help? Because Harry would rather snog you than me?" She snorted.

"Which one of you-" Draco began angrily, but Hermione cut him off.

"Me. I told her. She has a right to know."

"I didn't need to be told. You two couldn't be more obvious!" Ginny rolled her eyes. "As revolting as it is, Harry's insanity is his problem. It has nothing to do with rescuing your mother. And if it were my mum, no one could stop me. You're doing the right thing. That makes you... I don't know what it makes you, but I'm going to help."

Draco nodded, not sure what to say. He indulged in a brief fantasy of cursing everyone in this house to oblivion, thus erasing any evidence of Potter's sick obsession with him.

"Thanks, Ginny," Harry said.

"We should go find something else to do," Hermione said. "Molly and Arthur will get suspicious if we're all holed up in here for too much longer. The five of us will meet back here after dark, as soon as Ginny can cast the sleeping spell on Molly and Arthur."

The others mumbled agreement and a moment later only Draco and Harry were left in the room.

"I can leave, too," Harry offered.

"You should. I hate the way that ginger slag looked at us, and I can only imagine what she thinks is going on in here."

"And since when do you care what Ginny Weasley thinks?"

"I don't. It's just—" Draco scowled, angry at being caught in a trap. "I thought it was hard being your enemy. It's even worse being your friend."

"I could say the same." Harry stood, exited, and closed the door softly behind him.

The night air was damp and humid from the day's rain showers. It created a dense mist that hung in the air as Draco and the others apparated just outside the west garden wall. As they regained their balance, the displaced fog swirled around them like a half-formed Patronus.

"Lumos," a voice whispered into the darkness. Harry's wand tip faintly glowed, giving the group a bit of light to see with.

"I'll never get used to apparition," Ron commented as he caught himself against the stone wall. "Bloody hell, I thought we were supposed to be inside your mum's garden, Malfoy."

Draco twisted around and gave Hermione a condescending look. "I didn't bring us here, Weasley. Ask your girlfriend about that." Not bad though, Granger. "Better than Potter's apparition attempts. Maybe he could learn a little bit from you after all."

"Alright, Draco, you've made your point," Harry said. "But you're the one who could learn a few things about apparition. Now, where exactly are we?"

Draco nodded his head toward a wooden door that was built into the stone wall. "That's the door leading into Mother's garden. We can go in through there and then use a kitchen window to get inside. The entrance to the dungeon is down the corridor from the living room."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione shared a look of dread, and Draco remembered the last time the four of them had been at the manor together. Harry and the others had been locked in the dungeon, and Draco had lied when asked to identify Harry, not that anyone had ever thanked him for it.

"Look, I promise you it won't be like last time. We go in and find my mother, and then get out of there. Hopefully, we won't come across Father or Phillipe, but if we do, I'll be ready," Draco said, his voice dropping to a growl at the mention of Lucius.

"Come on," Harry said. "Draco, you lead the way."

Draco paused, his hand on the wooden door. He had always loathed wizard's chess, but his father had made him learn the game and one of the lessons was coming back to him. Attacking different squares at the same time was generally more effective than concentrating the attack on one square. "Alright, when we are inside, Granger and the Weasleys can wait in the living room. That way they'll have a clear view if Father or Phillipe is coming from either corridor or from upstairs. Potter, you and I will go down into the dungeon and find Mother. Once we have her, we can apparate back to the Burrow and be safe from any attacks."

"Really brilliant, Malfoy!" Ginny interjected, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "We're just going to split up and let your father, and Merlin knows who else, pick us off? Haven't you ever heard of strength in numbers?"

Draco opened and closed his fists, trying to keep his anger from boiling over. "Alright, Weasley, let's say we do stay together and that Father and Phillipe somehow capture us. Then what? At least in two separate groups, if one is caught, then the other has a chance to get away and come back with help."

"The only way that they can capture us is if you lead us right into a trap. She turned her nose upward, imitating Draco. "'You lot wait in the living room while I take Harry to the dungeon.'Alright, a dungeon. That doesn't sound suspicious at all!"

"How dare you, Weasley!" Draco seethed. "I'm trying to make sure all that all of us, including my mother, get out of here alive!"

"Or you're trying to get Harry into the dungeon so your dad will have what he wants. Why else would you try to separate Harry from us?" Ginny demanded. She had pulled her wand from her pocket and now aimed it at Draco.

"Well, so much for being here to help me. You're not here to do the right thing, you're here because you're a jealous little vixen, and you can't let Potter out of your sight." Draco scoffed, drawing his own wand, his muscles tightening in anticipation, his eyes fixed on Ginny Weasley's face. The first twitch of her mouth would give him all the warning he needed to deflect her curse and retaliate.

Before Ginny could answer, Harry stepped in front of Draco, blocking his shot, but also shielding him from whatever Ginny had planned to throw at him. Moving slowly, Ron placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder, and Draco felt one of Hermione's cold hands coil around his wrist.

"That's enough!" Harry hissed, glaring at Draco with eyes of green flame. "Draco, put your wand down! Ginny, just back off, now!" Harry pinched her wand between his thumb and forefinger and guided it down until it pointed at the ground.

"How can you trust him enough to follow him into a dungeon?" Ginny asked. "If' he's really trying to save his mum, he deserves our help, but that doesn't mean he's earned our trust. Don't forget, Harry, just a short time ago, he was trying to capture you for his twisted version of the greater good."

"Fine!" Draco shouted, not waiting for Harry to respond. "Is that what the rest of you think as well? Answer me! Do you, Granger, and you, Weasley, think I would turn Potter over to my father?" Draco's voiced cracked as he finished the question.

Hermione released Draco's wrist and stepped away from him, shaking her head. "No, of course not. I believe everything that you and Harry have said. I am here, with you, to help get your mother to a safe place."

Draco huffed, turned on his heels, and glared at Ron. "And you, Weasley?"

"Well, yeah, exactly what Hermione said," Ron muttered as he shuffled his feet. "Harry's my best friend. If he and Hermione believe what you say, then that's good enough for me. Besides, splitting up the group, to look in two different places, it's like a double attack maneuver in wizards' chess. It makes sense." He glanced briefly at his sister. "I'm sorry, Gin. A good idea's a good idea, no matter…well, you know."

Harry put a hand on Draco's shoulder while facing Ginny. "You want to know how I can trust Draco? It's the same reason I can trust you. I care for him, and I know what he's capable of. I also know how dangerous Lucius is, and right now he might be killing Narcissa while we're out here arguing!"

Draco turned and stared at Ginny who stood with, her arms folded across her chest. "Well?"

Ginny glared at Draco. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice. If I go home, you will call me a snitch and a coward. And I am neither of those." She turned at looked at Ron. "Mum will scream bloody murder if she finds out that we are here."

Ron snorted as if the remark were humorous, but quickly cleared his throat, trying to be serious. "It will be twenty times worse than the Howler she sent me at Hogwarts."

"Fine! Do we all agree on this, now?" Draco asked as he walked past them and over to the door that led inside to Narcissa's garden. He reached forward and felt the cold metal of the handle slide into the palm of his hand. Draco slowly pulled on the door handle and felt the lock in place. "That's odd. This door is usually unlocked. I wonder…" He hesitated as a memory came flooding back to him.

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Ginny snapped.

"I've sneaked in this way before," Draco explained. "Father caught me then. Maybe he expects me to do the same now."

Ginny groaned. "Open the door, or I will blast it open myself."

"You do that, and Father will know for sure that we are here, and exactly where we are!" Draco hissed.

"Can't one of us levitate and see if there is a trap waiting on the other side?" Hermione asked, biting the top of her lower lip.

"Too risky," Harry answered before Draco could reply. "Lucius may have a Caterwauling Charm set over the entire garden. Any type of unauthorized presence would set the alarm off." Harry watched as Draco released the handle and backed away from the door. "Is there another way into the grounds that we can use?"

"Yes. If Father truly wants me to come home, then I won't disappoint him." The four of them stared at Draco, their mouths slightly agape. "Wewill go in the front door and say hello to him."

Ginny cleared her throat very loudly, as she stood with her arms folded and her foot slowly tapping in place. "Are you sure you trust him, Harry?"

"Ginny, don't start that again. For the last time, yes!" Harry growled as they quickly set off toward the front gate of Malfoy Manor.

Draco led them around the wall and through the thicket of trees that surrounded Malfoy Manor until they reached the tall, black, metal gate of the front entrance. They paused shortly as the black ironwork towered over them glistening from the wetness of the raindrops.

"You Malfoys always have to do everything bigger and better than anybody else, don't you?" Ron said jokingly. "So what do we do? Just knock on the gate?"

"Ugh, Ronald!" Hermione scolded as she stamped her foot on the ground and slapped the back of Ron's head, splaying his red hair.

"Ouch, 'Mione!" Ron gasped reaching for the back of his head and ducking out of Hermione's reach. "I was only kidding."

"Ron, please now is not the time for one of your jokes," Hermione said.

Draco felt a smile creep across his lips before he remembered that Harry's friends were irritating rather than amusing. The smile faded. "Weasley is right. I have to knock on the gate, but there is also a secret password that has to be said."

Draco reached for his wand and lightly tapped on the gate twice. He closed his eyes and non-verbally said his secret password while touching the gate with his wand. Several silent seconds passed before he opened his eyes and stepped back away from the gate.

Slowly and silently, the large gate opened inward. Carefully, Draco stepped past the gate, anticipating a Caterwauling Charm to alert Lucius of his presence. Assured that there was no alarm, he motioned for the others to join him as the front gate began to close.

"Alright, here is what we will do," Draco began. "First, we go through the front door, and then we quietly ease down the corridor and into the living room. From there, Granger and the Weasley's will stay and be our lookouts."

"I still say it's a bad idea to split up," Ginny muttered. "None of us should be alone with Malfoy."

"Then I'll go with Harry and Draco," Hermione said. "You and Ron can be the lookouts, and I can heal Narcissa if she needs it."

A loud cry echoed from the sky above, and Draco looked up to see a white bird against the black sky. The bird glided in slow circles as it descended toward them. "Orion!" Draco called, holding out his arm.

A moment later, the eagle's strong talons gripped his forearm, but instead of stretching out his head to be petted, Orion continued flapping his wings, pulling upward.

"That hurts! Stop it!" Draco ordered.

Orion continued flapping and turned his head so that his beak pointed up and toward the manor. After Draco shook him loose, several powerful strokes of his wings took him up near the roof, where he disappeared into a west-facing window.

"Stupid bird!" Draco grumbled.

"Strange," Hermione muttered, frowning up at the window.

Draco began to walk away from the group and across the grounds toward the front door. "Wait, Draco, before you go any further." Harry tugged on the back of Draco's robe to stop him and then turned to face the others. "Hermione, if something happens to Draco and me, or if we are attacked, I want you to take Ron and Ginny back to the Burrow. Bring Mr. Weasley here as quickly as you can."

"But, Harry, I…I can help...I can do-" Hermione started.

"No, Hermione. Just do as I ask, please. Take Ron and Ginny to safety."

"Alright, Harry. I'll do as you ask," she said as a tear rolled down her face.

"Thank you," Harry said as he turned back to face Draco. "Alright, let's go."

The latch on the front door smoothly unlocked as Draco stepped inside the foyer corridor followed by Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. The inside of Malfoy Manor was brightly lit as candles magically hovered in midair, giving the green carpet and walls a fiery glow.

"Draco Malfoy!" A voice boomed from beside the group. "You've decided to return back to the manor once again."

Draco's blood raced, and he heard startled gasps from Harry and the others. Wand drawn, he spun in place, looking for the source of the voice. When he found it, he sighed with relief, put a finger to his lips and shushed at the old man in the portrait. "Quiet!"

"I am sorry, Draco," the old man apologized. "I was only glad to see that you had…" The man in the portrait stopped in mid-sentence. He stamped his silver cane into the ground of the portrait and thrust out his chest in a perfect imitation of Lucius Malfoy. "What in the name of Brutus Malfoy are they doing here?" The man asked as he repeatedly pointed his finger at Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny. "More disgraceful, traitorous wizards and witches! A half-blood and a Muggle-born! More pollution that is here to soil the very foundation of Malfoy Manor. Your father would-"

"What about my father? Where is he? Is he here?" Draco asked, while grabbing the edges of the picture frame and shaking it.

"Draco? Who the bloody hell is that?" Ron asked.

Draco irritably sighed, turning to face Ron. "That's my grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy," he said while pointing over his shoulder with his thumb. Draco turned back to the portrait and growled, "Now where is my father?"

Abraxas puffed out his chest, and pointed his nose as high into the air as possible. "I wouldn't know. It is not my responsibility for me to keep tabs on where my son is at all times."

Draco pulled his wand and held it against the fabric of the picture, directly in front of Abraxas. "You had better make it your responsibility, before I make it mine to see that you can never leave your portrait frame again," Draco threatened.

"The nerve of you! Such rudeness! Such disrespect, such-" Abraxas began but stopped as Draco began burning the picture with his wand. "Alright, alright, don't burn my picture! I will go and see if I can find Lucius."

"And don't forget about Phillipe," Draco reminded him.

"I can say for certain that he left earlier today and has not been back," Abraxas said as he stormed out of the portrait.

Minutes later Abraxas Malfoy returned to the portrait as Draco stood waiting, and rhythmically spinning his wand with his fingers like a seasoned drummer.

"Draco, your father is not in his study nor is he in the living room," Abraxas stated as he sat down in a chair.

"Good," Draco said as he aimed his wand at the portrait. "Silencio."

"Draco, what did you do that for?" Hermione asked as she stepped forward looking into the picture frame.

"Just to make sure that he doesn't alert Father. Come on, everything is this way."

They walked down the long corridor and into the large living room. The fireplace roared as the heat from the fire filled the room, making it uncomfortably hot.

"Alright," Harry started as Draco walked toward the corridor that led past the stairs and toward the dungeon. "Ron, you and Ginny stay here while Hermione, Draco, and I go and find Narcissa. If there is any trouble, cast your Patronus immediately. With any luck we'll get out of here before your parents know you've been gone."

"Come on. We have to go now," Draco urgently whispered as Harry and Hermione walked past. Draco gave Ginny one last cold stare before turning to lead Harry and Hermione.

They walked past the stairs as Draco whispered and pointed toward an open doorway up ahead. "Father's study." Sneaking up to the edge of the door, Draco cautiously peeked through the crack between the door and the wall.

"It's clear. No sign of him," he said as he cautiously stepped around the door and into Lucius' study. Draco walked over toward the desk, holding his hand out toward the fireplace. "Still warm," he said as Harry and Hermione came into the room. "Someone has been here recently." Draco looked and sniffed the wine glass that sat upon the desk. "It's fresh." He finished walking around the room and signaled for Harry and Hermione to follow him out, but not before glancing back down the corridor.

Further down the hallway, the trio came to another door. "This is it," Draco whispered. He tried to turn the silver knob, only to find that it was locked.

"Alohomora," Hermione whispered as she waved her wand with the incantation.

"I could have managed that, Granger," Draco softly hissed as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"Alright, you two, let's just go," Harry said as he whispered, "Lumos." The steep stairwell circled downward, and the walls were made of cold, hard rock.

"Draco," Hermione whispered, "You do realize that if this is a trap-"

"That there will be three of us against one," Draco spoke louder, cutting Hermione off.

They reached the bottom of the stairs only to be greeted by an old iron gate that stood outside of the wooden door that opened into the dungeon. Vivid memories plagued Draco's thoughts as he quickly remembered forcing Luna Lovegood and Ollivander to spend endless days and nights in this black hole, hearing their screams of pain and their cries for help. It was probably be one of the things he would have to answer for at the trial, assuming he survived that long.

"Open it, Potter," Draco's stood close behind Harry and spoke into his ear. The iron gate gave a loud, rusty squeak as Harry pulled the latch up and heaved backwards, opening the gate.

"The moment of truth," Harry said as he lightly touched the doorknob with the tips of his fingers. "Wands at the ready, you two, and be prepared for anything," Harry whispered as Draco heard the metallic creak of the knob turning.

Sweat dripped down from his forehead onto his nose, as Draco could feel every muscle in his body tense with expectation. The knob gave way as Harry pushed open the door. Harry's momentum carried him forward, and he fell onto the hard dirt floor.

Draco bent, grabbed Harry's arm, and jerked him to his feet. Hermione lit the tip of her wand, as Harry and Draco did the same. The three glowing lights illuminated every corner of the small room, which was empty. The only signs that the room had been used were some shreds of rope clinging to the hook that hung from the ceiling and several dark stains on the floor.

"She's not here!" Draco screamed. "Mother? Mother!"

Wherever she was, Narcissa did not answer, but Harry grabbed Draco by the shoulders, squeezing hard. "Stop that! If Lucius is home, it will tell him exactly where we are."

"What if he's already killed her, Potter?" Draco snarled. "Then I want him to find us, and when he does, I'll make him pay for everything he's ever done to her!" Hot tears began to flow down Draco's cheeks, and he kicked the dirt wall in frustration.

Harry put away his wand and embraced Draco in a smothering hug. One of his hands went to the back of Draco's head, pulling until Draco's cheek rested on his shoulder. "Draco, we'll find her!" Harry promised.

Draco tucked his chin over Harry's shoulder and wrapped an arm around his waist, needing this moment of contact so badly that he couldn't bring himself to end it. He raised his head and let his cheek brush Harry's. His eyes flew open when he remembered Granger's presence, and he fixed her with a look that dared her to say something about him and Potter.

Instead of making fun of them, or worse, saying something saccharine about the two of them getting along, Hermione ignored them, focusing instead on one of the larger stains on the floor. "I don't think whoever was in here lost enough blood to die because of it. Assuming Kraven was-" Her face lit up. "That's it! Kraven! Draco, call him here. If anyone knows where your mother is, it will be him."

Draco disengaged from Harry and wiped his cheeks dry with the back of one hand. "Kraven!" he rasped, his voice still thick from crying. He cleared his throat, making sure to speak deeply. "Kraven!"

Several seconds passed as the trio continually shined their wand tips around the cell, waiting to see a house elf appear. "Something's wrong," Draco said. "Even if Kraven were running an errand, one of the other house elves should have answered."

"I'm going to check on Ron and Ginny!" Hermione announced. She ran for the stairs, Harry following behind her and pulling Draco by the hand.

Once Hermione had reached the bottom step, the iron gate slammed itself, the lock clicking into place, trapping Harry and Draco in the room. Hermione pivoted, ran back to the gate, and immediately began blasting it with a variety of different spells.

"Don't bother with that, just go! Run!" Harry shouted.

"Look around you!" Hermione cried, gesturing with her empty hand as ineffectual magic continued to spew from her wand.

Draco turned in a circle and saw a black fog spreading from one corner of the room.

"I don't know what that is, but it's not good! You have to get out of there before it spreads!" Hermione wrapped her hands around one of the bars of the gate, jerking on it as she tried another series of spells.

"You're not helping, Granger!" Draco snapped. "Go get someone who can!"

Draco could now barely see through the miasma. When the fog became so thick that even Potter's face was obscured, a red burst of light shot through the darkness, and he heard Hermione scream.

"Welcome home, Draco!" Lucius Malfoy's voice came from the darkness. "And now the hunter has his prey."
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Darkness Within The Light