Harry Potter and The Beloved Incubus (BP4)
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,983
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,983
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Complementary Opposites
Chapter Number/Total: 32/40
Chapter Title: Complementary Opposites
Words: 2815 Words
A week and a half had passed since Valen had been born. Madam Pomfrey had made another visit to the Manor and had determined both Harry and the baby healthy, as long as Harry carried on with taking the potions he needed. The breastfeeding had come as a surprise to her, but a welcome one, as it was more healthy for Valen than the substitute they had planned on feeding him.
Once Harry and Draco had been assured that everything was safe, no time was wasted in getting back to work, and one thing was definitely for certain, the work of Lily and James Potter was complicated, very, very complicated. Harry had expected it to be, but he could hardly make heads or tails of any of it. The notebooks that he had gotten from the basement were filled with notes; some seemed to be filled in on random pages, not in chronological order. Harry's father's writing was messy and some words were difficult to read. Two of the books he'd grabbed were written completely in Latin and Harry didn't understand a word of any of it. They'd been looking through the materials intently, they meaning Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron. Lupin hadn't been joking when he'd said he wanted to help, and he was there as well.
The library was like their second home again and they barely left it except to do things for the baby, although there were so many volunteers to take him that Harry felt like he and Draco barely saw him at all. Harry had Valen now though and was leaning back in his chair with the baby on his chest and a notebook open in one hand as he tried to decipher his father's writing.
As usual, Draco had a pile of books around him, half a dozen were open to pages and he was taking notes. As the only one of their team who could read Latin, he had those spread out around him along with several texts and some historical books. He had one quill in his hand and he had forgotten the one stuck behind his ear. He even had ink stains on his lips where he had tapped a quill against them while thinking.
Remus had one of James's notebooks. He had the most experience with his friend's handwriting and did a lot of the translating for the team. He looked up at Harry and smiled approvingly.
Harry sighed and gave up on the notebook. "Well, I think it has something to do with the Ministry, but I don't know," he said, passing it to Lupin and shaking his head. Valen hiccoughed and Harry smiled down at him.
"Hiccoughs again?" Draco looked up. "Pat his back, it helps."
"I know," Harry said, looking up at Draco with a raised eyebrow. He grinned a bit and began patting Valen's back gently.
Hermione was smiling at him but then looked back down at the book in her hands. "There is certainly a lot to go through here," she said.
"Themes," Draco said aloud, more to himself than the others. He listed them off. "Love and hate, blood and magic, sex and death."
She nodded.
Harry sighed again. "So what does that tell us?" he asked.
Draco looked up surprised by the question. "What?" he asked, distractedly, tapping the quill against his lip again.
"What do those themes tell us?" Harry asked, still patting Valen.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "That they are all connected. That they both beget and oppose each other. For example, where does life begin, for people at least?"
"Sex," Harry answered, blushing a little and then smiling down at Valen.
"Very good." Draco grinned. "So many people mistakenly say birth. Birth is part of the process but I could feel life inside you before he was born. So sex complements and opposes death. Look at us, look at what happened to me recently."
Harry nodded. "I saved you with it," he said. "But that's because of our bond which would be ... the blood and magic part?"
"Exactly," Draco smiled, "which in part was based on the dual feelings of hate and love that we battled with over the years. Opposites are not separate things. They are related."
Harry nodded again and then let out a little laugh. "So all of this basically sums up our relationship," he said.
"Love is your power, isn't it?" said Hermione.
"That's what I've been told," Harry replied.
"Well, look at it, Harry," said Hermione. "Your magic is the most powerful whenever you seem to be dealing with protecting Draco or someone else you love. I think it's partly why your magic has reacted so much more powerfully since you've been with him. He's the only person you've ever been in love with."
"Love manifested through sex, blood and magic," Draco said, nodding in agreement. "Blood is a metaphor for the material body - for our flesh."
Harry sighed. "But love doesn't have a tangible form, does it?" he asked. "How am I supposed to control the power of something like that."
"That's what we're trying to find," said Hermione. "The tangible form may be in that room, if there is such a thing."
Draco smiled fondly up at his husband. "Magic and love are intangibles in that they are seen by their results," he said. "Except to people who feel them."
"I suppose," said Harry, shaking his head at all the information. "I think Hermione is right though," he said. "I should get in that room, just to see what's in there. Dumbledore was the one who told me it was the force I have that Voldemort doesn't, so I know it's important."
Remus stared at Draco like he had never even seen the young man before. He cocked his head. "Did you ever hear the expression 'opposites attract'?" he asked.
Draco looked at him and nodded. "It is drawn from the understanding of magnetics and polarity in magic," he said.
"I think it's true in other things as well," said Harry. "Look at us," he said to Draco. "Even you two," he said to Ron and Hermione. He didn't say anything, but he also thought of Lupin and the people he was attracted to. While Lupin himself was laid back and quiet, he seemed attracted to dangerous, wild people: Sirius and Tonks.
"And your parents," Remus said.
Harry nodded, thinking of the memory of Snape's he had viewed and how much his mother had seemed to hate his father.
"Even Mr & Mrs Weasley," Draco laughed. "It's all around us."
Harry laughed as Ron nodded firmly at Draco's comment.
"So whatever it is that they were studying is all around us," said Hermione. "That must be a good thing, for Harry at least."
Harry shrugged. "I suppose," he said. "I just need to figure out how to use it."
Draco nodded. "You have been using it. You created life in your own body and then fed that life. You have continuously used your friendships, your love of others, to defeat him. And that love is returned to you especially when you have needed it most. Remember what you told me about the battle in the graveyard?"
Remus was wide-eyed and staring at the blond. He stared at the text in front of him, trembling.
Harry nodded. "Yes. What happened there was nearly too coincidental to have just - happened."
Draco was smirking now. "Do you remember what you told me about Cedric?" he asked.
Harry blushed a little and nodded.
"Your ability to love and the love of others for you," Draco continued, "they are a tangible force and one that the Dark Lord continuously underestimates."
"That's basically what Dumbledore said," said Harry. "And Voldemort's terrified of Death. It's his greatest fear. Love and Death."
"But he has it all wrong," Draco said, excitedly. "He is trying to use hate and death to oppose death. That doesn't work. It's the wrong polarity!"
"Exactly!" said Harry and Hermione in unison. Valen jumped.
Draco was so excited that he was gesturing wildly and his stack of books fell over, scattering across the floor. He laughed and reached to pick them up, but stopped when he saw the picture one had fallen open to show. He had marked the page months ago when they were looking for the brooch. Now he picked it up and stared at the drawing of the Hogwarts founders.
"What?" asked Hermione, smiling widely as she leaned over to get a look at what Draco was staring at.
Draco's eyes widened and pointed to the drawing of Godric Gryffindor. "Look at that," he said. "There is the sword but do you see the matching dagger?" Then he was silent for a few moments, thinking hard. "I think I read something about that somewhere ...." Draco handed her the book and began frantically looking through the stacks of other books, trying to remember the reference.
Hermione stared down at the drawing, looking even more excited now.
"I thought Dumbledore said the only surviving relic of Godric Gryffindor was his sword," said Harry, frowning but excited as well.
"The only known surviving relic," said Hermione, eyes wide.
"Here it is," Draco said, pulling out a book bound in uneven leather. "Ron, hand me the small blade on the desk," he said.
Ron reached his long arm over and grabbed the blade Draco had asked for, handing it over to him.
Draco pricked his finger with the blade and smeared it on the cover. The cover shimmered, absorbing the blood. Then he opened it and began turning pages until he found what he was looking for. "Nex Culter," he read.
Harry raised an eyebrow, rocking a squirming Valen. "What's that mean?" he asked.
"Nex is murder, Culter is knife," Draco translated. "This is a book on uses of murder and magic. It says here that a murder knife can absorb part of the soul of both victim and murderer. It has instructions on how to accomplish it. It doesn't actually use the word, but it is essentially a form of Horcrux."
Harry's eyebrows rose. "Godric Gryffindor had one of those?" he asked. "Sounds more like a ... Slytherin thing to me ...."
"No." Draco frowned. "I didn't say that this book was about that knife. I said that a knife can be made into a Horcrux if used to murder someone and the person knows the right incantation."
"Ahhh," Harry said, comprehending. "So you're saying that Gryffindor's dagger would have been easy to make into a Horcrux?"
"Yes," Draco said, setting the book down and searching again through the pile of books until he found Regulus Black's journal. He pulled his wand and cast the Reveal Spell again.
Harry frowned. "What would he have anything to do with this?" he asked, looking at the journal in Draco's hands. The others watched, interested as well.
Draco flipped back from the end until he found a passage. "I can't believe I didn't see this before," he grumbled. Then read, "Our Lord always carries with him a dagger. When one of the others asked why he would carry a blade when he could kill with magic, he said that it was to kill traitors." He looked up at them. It was a short enough passage to have been easily looked over.
Hermione's eyes were wide. "I can't believe you didn't see that before either, but - then Voldemort must have the dagger!" she said.
"But ... why would he carry a Horcrux around with him?" Harry asked, frowning. "They're meant for back-up if he dies. He wouldn't keep that so close. The snake he keeps close, but Dumbledore said she was a temporary holder for the soul piece."
"But what if he hadn't made it into a Horcrux yet?" Draco said. "Maybe he did, and that is why it hasn't been seen since?"
Harry bit his lip, still rocking Valen and thinking. "Yes," he said. "He would definitely have made it into a Horcrux if it was Gryffindor's. And that means ... that this one would be a really recent one if he hadn't made it yet when Regulus was alive ...." He gulped.
Remus had followed the conversation, seeming impressed. "So how do we find out where it is now?" he asked.
Harry sighed heavily. "That's the hard part," he said.
Hermione nodded. "So far, it's been places that have been important to him during his lifetime. The problem is, there isn't anything about Voldemort we can just look up, unless it's in a recent book that usually talks about Harry as well. That's not what we need. We need things from his early years, or even from when he was still Tom Riddle. But the thing is, most people don't even know that Tom Riddle and Voldemort are the same people."
Harry nodded. "And we're not even sure of that," he said. "He could've hidden it somewhere recently important to him. The point is, we have no idea."
"If a part of a person's soul is taken and they are killed," Draco asked, "where does the rest of their soul go?"
Harry shrugged.
"Wherever the dead go I would imagine," said Hermione.
"So whomever he killed with that knife," Draco said, "is on the other side of that portal in the Ministry?"
"If a portal is what it is," said Hermione.
"They were studying death there, so why couldn't it be?" said Harry. "That seems the most likely to me."
"Yeah, and that's what these notes are about," said Ron, indicating the notebooks.
"I wonder if he can feel the missing piece," Draco said, sounding both frightened and intrigued by the idea.
"Dumbledore said that Voldemort can't really feel his anymore," said Harry. "But he's corrupt. Whoever was killed probably can feel it."
"Then they might know where it is," Draco said. Valentine was starting to cry and fuss louder. Draco looked over and held his hands out. "Let me hold him."
Harry got up from his chair and passed the baby to Draco, sitting on the floor next to him.
"Too bad there's no way to communicate with the dead," said Ron. "They can't be brought back."
Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "He's wet and hungry," Draco said to his husband. He looked his child in the eyes. "Harry is thick, kid, you should yell at him when you need something."
Harry raised his eyebrows and shook his head at Draco. He sighed. "Well, let me go change him and feed him then. I think this is enough research for one day anyway. We got a lot done."
Draco nodded. "I'll clean up here," he said. "Are you going to the room or the parlour?"
"Room," said Harry, taking Valen back from Draco. "I think I want a nap myself."
"I'll be up soon," the blond said, beginning to organise the mess around him into neat piles.
Remus hung back, helping clean up the room.
Harry got to his feet with Valen, held him to his chest and exited. Ron and Hermione followed, going their own ways.
Remus fidgeted a bit and Draco pretended not to notice. Finally the man cleared his throat. "Draco, I have something I wanted to ask you about."
Draco set the books in his hands aside and looked up at Remus, who sat down on the edge of the couch. "Certainly," he said.
“Back at that house, when we found you ...." Remus began.
"Was I dead? Is that what you want to know?" Draco asked.
Remus sucked in a breath and nodded.
Draco paused, looking at the man. "I believe I was and I also believe it wasn't the first time," he answered.
"But a person can't be brought back from the dead," Remus said.
"That's what they teach us," Draco answered. "But I am not sure if I know what that means. I don't think my soul left my body. So my heart and lungs had stopped but I was still in there. Do you understand?"
Remus nodded slowly. "So the soul cannot be reunited with the body once it has left," he said, "but if they were never separated, it may be possible."
Draco smiled. He knew exactly where this was going. "His body went with him," he said. "I don't know what that means, or how one would get it back through, but yes, it does mean that he may not have been separated from it."
Remus took several unsteady breaths and then nodded. "Thank you," he said, and got up.
Draco watched him cross the room to leave. "Remus?" he said, catching his attention. The older man paused by the door. "I'll tell you if I think of anything," Draco said.
Remus nodded and left the room.
Chapter Title: Complementary Opposites
Words: 2815 Words
A week and a half had passed since Valen had been born. Madam Pomfrey had made another visit to the Manor and had determined both Harry and the baby healthy, as long as Harry carried on with taking the potions he needed. The breastfeeding had come as a surprise to her, but a welcome one, as it was more healthy for Valen than the substitute they had planned on feeding him.
Once Harry and Draco had been assured that everything was safe, no time was wasted in getting back to work, and one thing was definitely for certain, the work of Lily and James Potter was complicated, very, very complicated. Harry had expected it to be, but he could hardly make heads or tails of any of it. The notebooks that he had gotten from the basement were filled with notes; some seemed to be filled in on random pages, not in chronological order. Harry's father's writing was messy and some words were difficult to read. Two of the books he'd grabbed were written completely in Latin and Harry didn't understand a word of any of it. They'd been looking through the materials intently, they meaning Draco, Harry, Hermione and Ron. Lupin hadn't been joking when he'd said he wanted to help, and he was there as well.
The library was like their second home again and they barely left it except to do things for the baby, although there were so many volunteers to take him that Harry felt like he and Draco barely saw him at all. Harry had Valen now though and was leaning back in his chair with the baby on his chest and a notebook open in one hand as he tried to decipher his father's writing.
As usual, Draco had a pile of books around him, half a dozen were open to pages and he was taking notes. As the only one of their team who could read Latin, he had those spread out around him along with several texts and some historical books. He had one quill in his hand and he had forgotten the one stuck behind his ear. He even had ink stains on his lips where he had tapped a quill against them while thinking.
Remus had one of James's notebooks. He had the most experience with his friend's handwriting and did a lot of the translating for the team. He looked up at Harry and smiled approvingly.
Harry sighed and gave up on the notebook. "Well, I think it has something to do with the Ministry, but I don't know," he said, passing it to Lupin and shaking his head. Valen hiccoughed and Harry smiled down at him.
"Hiccoughs again?" Draco looked up. "Pat his back, it helps."
"I know," Harry said, looking up at Draco with a raised eyebrow. He grinned a bit and began patting Valen's back gently.
Hermione was smiling at him but then looked back down at the book in her hands. "There is certainly a lot to go through here," she said.
"Themes," Draco said aloud, more to himself than the others. He listed them off. "Love and hate, blood and magic, sex and death."
She nodded.
Harry sighed again. "So what does that tell us?" he asked.
Draco looked up surprised by the question. "What?" he asked, distractedly, tapping the quill against his lip again.
"What do those themes tell us?" Harry asked, still patting Valen.
Draco raised an eyebrow. "That they are all connected. That they both beget and oppose each other. For example, where does life begin, for people at least?"
"Sex," Harry answered, blushing a little and then smiling down at Valen.
"Very good." Draco grinned. "So many people mistakenly say birth. Birth is part of the process but I could feel life inside you before he was born. So sex complements and opposes death. Look at us, look at what happened to me recently."
Harry nodded. "I saved you with it," he said. "But that's because of our bond which would be ... the blood and magic part?"
"Exactly," Draco smiled, "which in part was based on the dual feelings of hate and love that we battled with over the years. Opposites are not separate things. They are related."
Harry nodded again and then let out a little laugh. "So all of this basically sums up our relationship," he said.
"Love is your power, isn't it?" said Hermione.
"That's what I've been told," Harry replied.
"Well, look at it, Harry," said Hermione. "Your magic is the most powerful whenever you seem to be dealing with protecting Draco or someone else you love. I think it's partly why your magic has reacted so much more powerfully since you've been with him. He's the only person you've ever been in love with."
"Love manifested through sex, blood and magic," Draco said, nodding in agreement. "Blood is a metaphor for the material body - for our flesh."
Harry sighed. "But love doesn't have a tangible form, does it?" he asked. "How am I supposed to control the power of something like that."
"That's what we're trying to find," said Hermione. "The tangible form may be in that room, if there is such a thing."
Draco smiled fondly up at his husband. "Magic and love are intangibles in that they are seen by their results," he said. "Except to people who feel them."
"I suppose," said Harry, shaking his head at all the information. "I think Hermione is right though," he said. "I should get in that room, just to see what's in there. Dumbledore was the one who told me it was the force I have that Voldemort doesn't, so I know it's important."
Remus stared at Draco like he had never even seen the young man before. He cocked his head. "Did you ever hear the expression 'opposites attract'?" he asked.
Draco looked at him and nodded. "It is drawn from the understanding of magnetics and polarity in magic," he said.
"I think it's true in other things as well," said Harry. "Look at us," he said to Draco. "Even you two," he said to Ron and Hermione. He didn't say anything, but he also thought of Lupin and the people he was attracted to. While Lupin himself was laid back and quiet, he seemed attracted to dangerous, wild people: Sirius and Tonks.
"And your parents," Remus said.
Harry nodded, thinking of the memory of Snape's he had viewed and how much his mother had seemed to hate his father.
"Even Mr & Mrs Weasley," Draco laughed. "It's all around us."
Harry laughed as Ron nodded firmly at Draco's comment.
"So whatever it is that they were studying is all around us," said Hermione. "That must be a good thing, for Harry at least."
Harry shrugged. "I suppose," he said. "I just need to figure out how to use it."
Draco nodded. "You have been using it. You created life in your own body and then fed that life. You have continuously used your friendships, your love of others, to defeat him. And that love is returned to you especially when you have needed it most. Remember what you told me about the battle in the graveyard?"
Remus was wide-eyed and staring at the blond. He stared at the text in front of him, trembling.
Harry nodded. "Yes. What happened there was nearly too coincidental to have just - happened."
Draco was smirking now. "Do you remember what you told me about Cedric?" he asked.
Harry blushed a little and nodded.
"Your ability to love and the love of others for you," Draco continued, "they are a tangible force and one that the Dark Lord continuously underestimates."
"That's basically what Dumbledore said," said Harry. "And Voldemort's terrified of Death. It's his greatest fear. Love and Death."
"But he has it all wrong," Draco said, excitedly. "He is trying to use hate and death to oppose death. That doesn't work. It's the wrong polarity!"
"Exactly!" said Harry and Hermione in unison. Valen jumped.
Draco was so excited that he was gesturing wildly and his stack of books fell over, scattering across the floor. He laughed and reached to pick them up, but stopped when he saw the picture one had fallen open to show. He had marked the page months ago when they were looking for the brooch. Now he picked it up and stared at the drawing of the Hogwarts founders.
"What?" asked Hermione, smiling widely as she leaned over to get a look at what Draco was staring at.
Draco's eyes widened and pointed to the drawing of Godric Gryffindor. "Look at that," he said. "There is the sword but do you see the matching dagger?" Then he was silent for a few moments, thinking hard. "I think I read something about that somewhere ...." Draco handed her the book and began frantically looking through the stacks of other books, trying to remember the reference.
Hermione stared down at the drawing, looking even more excited now.
"I thought Dumbledore said the only surviving relic of Godric Gryffindor was his sword," said Harry, frowning but excited as well.
"The only known surviving relic," said Hermione, eyes wide.
"Here it is," Draco said, pulling out a book bound in uneven leather. "Ron, hand me the small blade on the desk," he said.
Ron reached his long arm over and grabbed the blade Draco had asked for, handing it over to him.
Draco pricked his finger with the blade and smeared it on the cover. The cover shimmered, absorbing the blood. Then he opened it and began turning pages until he found what he was looking for. "Nex Culter," he read.
Harry raised an eyebrow, rocking a squirming Valen. "What's that mean?" he asked.
"Nex is murder, Culter is knife," Draco translated. "This is a book on uses of murder and magic. It says here that a murder knife can absorb part of the soul of both victim and murderer. It has instructions on how to accomplish it. It doesn't actually use the word, but it is essentially a form of Horcrux."
Harry's eyebrows rose. "Godric Gryffindor had one of those?" he asked. "Sounds more like a ... Slytherin thing to me ...."
"No." Draco frowned. "I didn't say that this book was about that knife. I said that a knife can be made into a Horcrux if used to murder someone and the person knows the right incantation."
"Ahhh," Harry said, comprehending. "So you're saying that Gryffindor's dagger would have been easy to make into a Horcrux?"
"Yes," Draco said, setting the book down and searching again through the pile of books until he found Regulus Black's journal. He pulled his wand and cast the Reveal Spell again.
Harry frowned. "What would he have anything to do with this?" he asked, looking at the journal in Draco's hands. The others watched, interested as well.
Draco flipped back from the end until he found a passage. "I can't believe I didn't see this before," he grumbled. Then read, "Our Lord always carries with him a dagger. When one of the others asked why he would carry a blade when he could kill with magic, he said that it was to kill traitors." He looked up at them. It was a short enough passage to have been easily looked over.
Hermione's eyes were wide. "I can't believe you didn't see that before either, but - then Voldemort must have the dagger!" she said.
"But ... why would he carry a Horcrux around with him?" Harry asked, frowning. "They're meant for back-up if he dies. He wouldn't keep that so close. The snake he keeps close, but Dumbledore said she was a temporary holder for the soul piece."
"But what if he hadn't made it into a Horcrux yet?" Draco said. "Maybe he did, and that is why it hasn't been seen since?"
Harry bit his lip, still rocking Valen and thinking. "Yes," he said. "He would definitely have made it into a Horcrux if it was Gryffindor's. And that means ... that this one would be a really recent one if he hadn't made it yet when Regulus was alive ...." He gulped.
Remus had followed the conversation, seeming impressed. "So how do we find out where it is now?" he asked.
Harry sighed heavily. "That's the hard part," he said.
Hermione nodded. "So far, it's been places that have been important to him during his lifetime. The problem is, there isn't anything about Voldemort we can just look up, unless it's in a recent book that usually talks about Harry as well. That's not what we need. We need things from his early years, or even from when he was still Tom Riddle. But the thing is, most people don't even know that Tom Riddle and Voldemort are the same people."
Harry nodded. "And we're not even sure of that," he said. "He could've hidden it somewhere recently important to him. The point is, we have no idea."
"If a part of a person's soul is taken and they are killed," Draco asked, "where does the rest of their soul go?"
Harry shrugged.
"Wherever the dead go I would imagine," said Hermione.
"So whomever he killed with that knife," Draco said, "is on the other side of that portal in the Ministry?"
"If a portal is what it is," said Hermione.
"They were studying death there, so why couldn't it be?" said Harry. "That seems the most likely to me."
"Yeah, and that's what these notes are about," said Ron, indicating the notebooks.
"I wonder if he can feel the missing piece," Draco said, sounding both frightened and intrigued by the idea.
"Dumbledore said that Voldemort can't really feel his anymore," said Harry. "But he's corrupt. Whoever was killed probably can feel it."
"Then they might know where it is," Draco said. Valentine was starting to cry and fuss louder. Draco looked over and held his hands out. "Let me hold him."
Harry got up from his chair and passed the baby to Draco, sitting on the floor next to him.
"Too bad there's no way to communicate with the dead," said Ron. "They can't be brought back."
Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "He's wet and hungry," Draco said to his husband. He looked his child in the eyes. "Harry is thick, kid, you should yell at him when you need something."
Harry raised his eyebrows and shook his head at Draco. He sighed. "Well, let me go change him and feed him then. I think this is enough research for one day anyway. We got a lot done."
Draco nodded. "I'll clean up here," he said. "Are you going to the room or the parlour?"
"Room," said Harry, taking Valen back from Draco. "I think I want a nap myself."
"I'll be up soon," the blond said, beginning to organise the mess around him into neat piles.
Remus hung back, helping clean up the room.
Harry got to his feet with Valen, held him to his chest and exited. Ron and Hermione followed, going their own ways.
Remus fidgeted a bit and Draco pretended not to notice. Finally the man cleared his throat. "Draco, I have something I wanted to ask you about."
Draco set the books in his hands aside and looked up at Remus, who sat down on the edge of the couch. "Certainly," he said.
“Back at that house, when we found you ...." Remus began.
"Was I dead? Is that what you want to know?" Draco asked.
Remus sucked in a breath and nodded.
Draco paused, looking at the man. "I believe I was and I also believe it wasn't the first time," he answered.
"But a person can't be brought back from the dead," Remus said.
"That's what they teach us," Draco answered. "But I am not sure if I know what that means. I don't think my soul left my body. So my heart and lungs had stopped but I was still in there. Do you understand?"
Remus nodded slowly. "So the soul cannot be reunited with the body once it has left," he said, "but if they were never separated, it may be possible."
Draco smiled. He knew exactly where this was going. "His body went with him," he said. "I don't know what that means, or how one would get it back through, but yes, it does mean that he may not have been separated from it."
Remus took several unsteady breaths and then nodded. "Thank you," he said, and got up.
Draco watched him cross the room to leave. "Remus?" he said, catching his attention. The older man paused by the door. "I'll tell you if I think of anything," Draco said.
Remus nodded and left the room.