Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 32
- 33
- 34
Author's Notes: Another chapter down, and another chapter to go! LOL! This chapter while not extremely long, is a good tense chapter that crackles with anticipation. So Eris and I hope that you all enjoy it as we near another bit event in the story. Many thanks for everyone that continues along this fantastic reading adventure with us. And welcome to the newcomers that are just beginning the story. With good speed, chapter 34 should be out in about 7-10 days. So until then happy readings to you all!

Chapter 33: The Better Man

The words echoed throughout the chamber as Draco felt the cool trickling feeling wash over his body. A glance down showed him his now-visible hands, still tied together with Janus' conjured ropes. Shame surged through him at the thought of his father seeing him bound and humiliated, and rage quickly followed. He thrashed with all of his strength, but his efforts only made Janus squeeze harder on his upper arms. Once the pain became unbearable, he allowed himself to go limp, conserving his strength for any moment of opportunity that might come.

"And here you are, at last." Lucius sneered as he stepped forward, his iron bindings jingling their metallic song with each step.

A silent cry of surprise escaped Draco's throat as he felt Janus release his grip. Hopping on his bound feet, Draco clambered up several steps until he was out of Lucius' reach.

Panting heavily, Draco's narrowed his eyes as he saw Janus laughing. He spat a string of obscenities at the American, but like his earlier calls for help, his insults made no sound.

Janus jerked a thumb in Draco's direction. "Don't worry Luc, he's not going anywhere."

"What's wrong with him, why can't he speak?" Lucius demanded. "What have you done to him? Or is this some trick, a simulacrum-"

"Calm down! That's the bona fide Draco Malfoy, and I haven't done anything to him, other than a silencing spell. Even you have to agree that it's an improvement."

Draco watched as Janus turned to face him and waved his wand. The next breath Draco took came out loud and rasping. He muttered a string of curses directed at both Janus and his father.

"Alright now, Draco, you just stay there while your father and I conduct our business," Janus grinned while pocketing his wand. "Don't go wandering around; we wouldn't want you to have an accident just yet."

Relieved to hear his own voice, Draco narrowed his eyes even more as he felt his cheeks burning with anger. "Bastard!" He watched as Janus smiled.

"Yep, nothing wrong with him," Janus commented as he sat down on the bottom stone step. Draco's eyes found Lucius, and the two shared a brief, intense stare before Lucius focused his attention on Janus.

Draco's mind raced. He scanned the darkness above as his eyes tried to find the doors that led to the exterior of the chamber.

I know of this room. It's the Death Chamber inside the Ministry of Magic. Why would they keep Father here? No matter, I have to find a way out!

Swearing under his breath, the thought dawned upon him that even if he tried to make it to one of the doors, Janus would curse him before he got anywhere close to them. With his first idea scuttled, his brain proceeded onto the next plan of action.

"Father," he whispered to himself. He glanced up to make sure that neither had heard him. "Father wouldn't be a threat to me, not as he is right now. It's Janus. I have to somehow get his wand." He relaxed his wrists and hands, and tried desperately to slide them past each other and through the bonds. If he had a free hand, he could reach into Janus' pocket, but the ropes were too tight, and his efforts only brought him pain.

Accio? No, that's too simple. I'd have to disarm him first before the wand would respond to me.

"Damn!" Draco hoarsely whispered.

Somehow I have to get his wand!

Draco's thoughts ran in circles as he hopped along the cold stone stairs, edging further away from Janus and Lucius. Distance would buy him time, but for what? On his next jump backwards, his heel caught on something, and he fell back, twisting just in time to avoid hitting his head on the floor.

Sitting up, he twisted until his hands touched the object that had tripped him. A loose stone had come partway up, and as he pressed it, the stone moved. He strained to stretch his fingers around it and was able to gain a firm grip and pull. The remaining mortar had held the stone in place crumbled, and the rock came free.

Draco hefted the stone in his hands. It had a satisfying weight to it; if his hands were free, he could throw it at Janus and crack the man's skull. With his hands bound, however, he couldn't swing his arm back far enough to get the necessary momentum. He would have to get close in order to have a chance.

It's my only choice. One strong enough blow to the back of his neck would do the job. At least long enough for me to grab his wand.

Draco thought as his eyes bore into Janus' back while he fingered the stone, pressing against its sharp edges.

But, what about Father? Will he give away the surprise attack, if I can make it behind Janus without being heard?

"It's a chance that I have to take," Draco whispered. In his mind, the whole event played out before him. He envisioned himself quietly sneaking down behind Janus and bludgeoning him on the back of his head with the stone. Then he would take his wand and incapacitate him, before turning the wand on his father. Once that was done, he would find the portkey that Janus used and apparate out of the chamber. The whole plan seemed foolproof and perfect. It would work. It had to work.

Draco sneered as he tightened the grip around the stone in his hands. "I might even give Janus the killing curse that he deserves." Draco's heartbeat increased while his breathing became deeper. He began to make his way down the steps by first lowering his feet and then dragging the rest of his body.

He silently edged closer to Janus. With each step closer, Draco's senses protested that Janus would turn around and see him at the last second. Silently, feet became inches, and Draco gripped the stone as hard as he could, preparing to swing with every ounce of strength that was in his body. He rose to his feet, reeling for a moment as he fought to gain his balance. Gripping the stone in his bound hands, he raised it over his right shoulder and prepared to swing. As he tensed his muscles, his gaze flitted to his father's face, and their eyes met.

Father's seen me!

Draco heard his own voice inside of his head. His eyes focused back to his target as Janus began to move. A yell came from Draco's lungs as he swung with all of his might, and felt the impact of the stone when it crumbled into smaller pieces after smashing down upon the back of Janus' neck.

Draco heard the breath leave Janus' lungs, as his eyes briefly connected with the glazed, hazel eyes. Janus' pupils widened as he slumped to the floor. Draco knelt, reached into the duster jacket and withdrew Janus' wand. Turning on the spot, he pointed the wand at Lucius, holding it in both hands. The tip of the wand sparked as it sensed the anger coursing through Draco's touch.

"Stay right where you are, Father!" Draco shouted. "I knew that if I knocked him out that you would try for his wand, but this time I was a step ahead of you."

Lucius stood in place, studying Draco, before a hint of a sneer crossed his lips. Tilting his head up, and jutting out his chin, Lucius began to clap slowly. "Bravo! Bravo, son!" Lucius said as the sound of his clapping and the accompanying rattle of the manacles ceased. "I must say that I'm somewhat impressed." Draco watched as Lucius gazed at the unconscious form of Janus. "However, real wizards do not resort to smashing other wizards with rocks or stones. That is better left for barbaric Muggles."

"Shut up!" Draco shouted as his grip tightened around the wand. "I did what I had to do."

"And now what are you going to do, hmm?" He raised his hands in front of him, fully exposing the iron manacles. "Are you going to kill an unarmed wizard?"

"Yes." Draco answered, his pale blue eyes staring down the length of the wand, while sweat moistened the palms of his hands. Holding the wand steady, he struggled to his feet and jumped backwards, out of Lucius' reach. Focusing his energy through the wand, he freed his hands and feet with a quick, silent spell.

"Well, go ahead. Kill me," Lucius let his hands drop in front of him. "Speak those two little words and allow the anger to course through your blood. Say them, Draco, and become what it is that you have always been destined to become-a killer!"

Draco edged closer towards Lucius now almost within an arm's length of him, but still far enough away from his father's reach. He hastily wiped a tear away from his face with his left hand, while holding the wand with his right hand. "Father, you tried to kill me the last time that we were together. If anyone is a killer, it would be you!"

"You damned, rotten-"

"I'm damned!" Draco yelled, his voice quickly becoming high pitched. "Just because I try to be something more than you; you say that I'm damned. No! I have a purpose in this existence, and it isn't to kiss up to some Dark Lord's arse, or to do his dirty work."

"How dare you, Draco!" Lucius growled. "Your dirty work involves Potter! You can sink no lower than degrading yourself with the likes of him! You could have had everything in the world, but now you'll only have suffering and disappointment."

"That's something that you won't have to be concerned about, Father! This isn't about Potter anymore. I'm finished with him!" Draco tightened his stance, and thrust out his own chin. "Just like I'm about to be finished with you."

Draco's fingers twitched as the words flashed repeatedly in his brain, urging his mouth to say them. Draco's tongue whetted his lips in anticipation of saying them. "Farewell, Father!" The words were there. The decision had been made. Regardless of what other people would call him, Draco Malfoy had decided. His lips began to move, his fingers coiled around the wand, he felt the years of anger and hatred billowing up from inside him. Draco Malfoy was going to become a killer.

"Draco! Draco! I can see into your heart!"

Draco flinched as the raspy voice of Voldemort called from beyond the veil. Fear flooded Draco's mind as the voice echoed the statement. "No!" Draco shouted as he backed against the dais, shaking his head violently. "No, you're dead!"

"Draco! You watched as I died in the Room of Requirement! You could have saved me, but you let me burn!"

Draco turned to face the veil, half-expecting to see Crabbe's seared corpse pointing a charred finger of blame. When no specter appeared, he whirled to face Lucius once more and then leaped backward as his father lunged for him.

"You wouldn't even look into my eyes as he killed me!" The dead voice of Charity Burbage whispered from the veil.

"No! No! Stop it! You're dead! You're all dead!" Draco screamed at the veil. Desperate to get away from the voices, he jumped erratically, moving backwards and sideways. Lucius shuffled toward him, chains rattling. Draco's feet landed on something soft, and he fell, slamming hard onto the stone steps. A moment later, he felt a strong arm lift him from the floor of the room. "No, please don't kill me, please! Just make the voices go away!"

"Draco! Draco!" A hard slap across his face brought Draco back from the recesses of his mind and into the present. Janus held Draco's arm with a vice-like grip. Realizing that he had lost control of his plan, Draco scanned for the wand, only to see it in Janus' right hand.

"You stand right there, and don't even think about moving a muscle! Because if you do, so help me, I'll curse you right between your pretty little eyes. And you-" Janus gestured at Lucius with the wand "-you stay back!" He rubbed his free hand across the back of his neck and glared at Draco. "What the hell did you hit me with?"

Draco glanced at a tiny piece of the stone that lay on the ground. "Doesn't matternow."

Janus winced as he touched the back of his neck. "It sure as hell matters to me. You're not the one with a lump on the back on your head. Guess that'll teach me to let you out of my sight." He stared at Draco for a few seconds further before flicking the wand. "Immobulus." He turned back to Lucius. "Now," back to our business."

"Indeed so," Lucius spoke as he sat back down on the steps, his eyes locked with Draco's.

"It's time for you to complete your part of the agreement," Janus said.

"What agreement?" Draco interrupted, struggling to move against the power of the spell. "I knew it! I knew that you couldn't be trusted. You're a liar, just like I said you were!"

Janus glared at Draco, and a small growl escaped his throat. "Another sound from you, and I'll make it so you never speak again!"

Lucius raised his eyebrow at the remark, before speaking up. "Ah, yes, children. A few seconds of joy at birth, but a lifetime of misery after that."

"Focus on the situation at hand, Lucius," Janus said. "Moreaux. Where is he?"

"Business as usual, I see. No time for any chit chat."

"Time, Lucius? You don't have the time, so speak up."

Lucius genuinely smiled. "On the contrary, I have all the time in the world." He spread his hands as far as the chains would allow. "You're the one that's living on borrowed time."

"We had an agreement!" Janus growled as he turned and strode toward Draco. "Break it and I'm gone, along with your only chance to tie up this loose end." He waved his wand releasing Draco from the spell, and grabbed a fistful of his hair. "You tell me what I need to know or we're gone. How much do you want to bet that the person he runs crying to is one Harry Potter?" He shook Draco by his hair for emphasis as the young Slytherin cried out in pain. "Don't even think about lying to me Lucius, or I'll make sure that you never have this opportunity with Draco again!"

Lucius deeply inhaled, his blue eyes staring daggers into both Janus and Draco. "Very well, you might find Moreaux in his place somewhere up north."

"The name of the location, Lucius!" Janus shouted as his grip tightened on Draco's hair, forcing the Slytherin's neck to stretch and stiffen.

"The name of the village is Kettlewell. Moreaux had some unfinished, personal business there not too long ago."

"Spare me the details," Janus snapped. "Anything else?"

"I believe that he sometimes stays in London, and has frequently stayed in Knockturn Alley, for a bit of fun and games." Lucius' eyes narrowed, and a small grin toyed with his lips.

"I already know about Knockturn Alley, and he's not there," Janus spat. "Tell me something useful, before I run out of patience! Where is he, Lucius?"

Still holding onto Draco's hair, Janus moved close to Lucius. Each step elicited an onslaught of obscenities from Draco. "Are you going to make me get creative? I can curse you in ways that will make the Cruciatus curse seem like a hangnail, and I can make the pain last long after I'm out of here. Are you telling me that Moreaux means that much to you? You'd martyr yourself for him?"

"Don't try your little tricks on me!" Lucius hissed at him. "I've told you what you needed to know about him."

Janus continued to bore a hole through Lucius' cold, blue eyes for a moment longer before finally nodding his head and agreeing with Lucius. "Very well then." Janus waved his wand and cast a sleek, leopard Patronus that encircled him before striding through the air and disappearing through the wall of the chamber.

Lucius cocked his eyebrow as the Patronus vanished. "Our pact said nothing about a patronus."

Janus tilted his neck toward Lucius. "It's an insurance policy. I just gave the word to my inside man to make sure you don't send any more little notes out of here. If you even think about double crossing me-"

"That would never occur to me. Now, what of our agreement?" Lucius asked as he pointed his finger toward Draco.

Janus turned to gaze at Draco, before turning back to Lucius. "He's here isn't he? Just as I said he would be."

"You bastard!" Lucius spat.

"As I said earlier, I always keep my promises, so here you go." Janus released Draco and then knocked his feet from under him with a swift kick to the ankles. "Now, our agreement is complete."

"And just how am I supposed to do this without a wand, and with these bloody irons shackled around my feet and hands?"

Janus sighed. "So pitiful aren't you? It must be dreadful for you knowing that you're having to depend upon others to help you."

"Spare me your rubbish, and hand me your wand," Lucius growled.

"Not a chance!" Janus chuckled. "Our deal was for me to give you the opportunity to finish things with Draco." He walked over and nudged Draco with his foot. "What better opportunity to do that than with the veil. You just slip him right in, and it's farewell and adieu!" Janus waved mockingly as he turned his gaze from the veil to Draco, and then to Lucius.

"How?" Lucius asked raising his hands and manacles up in front of him.

"Like this." Janus waved his wand and the manacles fell from Lucius' hands and ankles. "Wait!" Janus said stepping in front of Lucius. "You want to kill Draco, and Draco wants to kill you." He glanced over his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Draco?"

Draco nodded and Janus turned back around. "So let's make this an even contest. The loser gets the veil, while the winner gets to live."

"And what about you?" Draco asked.

"What about me?" Janus answered. "I could care less who wins. I'd be happy if you both threw each other through the veil."

"This wasn't our agreement!" Lucius snarled, barreling toward Janus with his fist raised.

Janus yawned theatrically as Lucius struck an invisible shield and staggered backwards, cursing. Draco rose to his feet and backed away from both of them. Lucius dove for Janus' feet, perhaps thinking he could slide under the magical shield, but once again, he was stopped. Janus pocketed his wand, raised his left arm, and glanced at his watch.

"My job here is finished. I'll leave the two of you to one another." Janus' eyes narrowed as his lips parted into a leering smile. He withdrew his right hand from his pocket, holding the small and bright yellow rubber duck as he walked up the stone steps and into the darkness.

Draco and Lucius hurled insults and verbal curses at one another as the distance between the two shrank each time they circled the platform. Lucius had managed to avoid the tiny pieces of rock that Draco had been able to throw across the space toward his father. Now, his ammunition was depleted.

His father closed the distance between them, lunging forward and then darting back, just out of reach. Lucius threw a punch, which Draco dodged, and then retreated up the stairs. His father's back was to the veil, presenting Draco with an opportunity too tempting to ignore. Draco moved closer, his eyes scanning for an opening, a chance to strike and send Lucius into the realm of phantom voices.

"Who's going to save you now, Draco?" Lucius asked aloud. "Potter? Your mother?" Lucius snarled as a finger briefly touched the fabric of Draco's robes. "You do know that once I kill you, she will be next." Draco's eyes widened with anger and horror. "Oh, yes," Lucius continued, "she will get what is coming to her."

Draco shouted as he charged Lucius, taking his father down with a shoulder tackle. The two rolled around on the cold stone, both wizards exchanging punches like Muggle fighters. The fight continued like this for several minutes before Lucius gained the advantage as he scored a punch to Draco's stomach and a left cross right to his son's nose, breaking it. Draco curled himself into a fetal position as the pain ravaged throughout his body.

"Get up!" Lucius snarled as he hoisted Draco up, slamming the younger Slytherin's back into the stone archway of the veil. "I believe you said something earlier to me. 'Farewell, father', was it?" Grabbing Draco by his hair, Lucius shoved Draco to the floor a few short feet away from the veil.

"It looks as though you were not the better man today!" Lucius vehemently spat as he brought his foot back to kick Draco into the veil. He stepped forward, bringing his foot closer to its target.

Draco rolled out of the way and struggled to his feet, realizing too late that he now stood directly in front of the veil with Lucius blocking his escape. His eyes darted, scanning the chamber for any sign of help. Behind Lucius, Janus was coming toward them both, his wand raised.

Before Draco could choose between warning Lucius and trying to tackle him, a red beam of light came from the tip of Janus' wand, knocking Lucius away from Draco and the veil.

"Not today, Lucius. Today, I'm the better man." Janus turned his gaze upon Draco and the veil.

Janus pocketed his wand and seized Draco's wrist, jerking him away from the veil with enough force to make Draco cry out in pain. Before Draco could catch his breath to protest, his stomach lurched with the sickening sensation of portkey travel. When the journey ended, Draco snatched his hand away and turned to run only to find himself bound once more with the conjured ropes.

"What now?" he demanded, not bothering to turn to face Janus. Pain from his broken nose stabbed into his brain. He wondered if this was what Harry had felt after Draco had broken his nose.

Janus took Draco by the shoulders and rotated him until they faced each other in the near darkness of where ever they were now. His fingers probed at Draco's face, bringing fresh waves of agony. After drawing his wand, he said, "Episkey," and Draco heard an unpleasant pop as his nose snapped back into place. "You handled yourself well in there," Janus remarked.

"Don't patronize me!" Draco snapped.

"Is there anywhere else you're injured?" Janus asked, his voice oozing a false concern that made Draco nauseous.

"What do you think?" Janus raised a hand, but Draco hopped backwards, narrowly avoiding contact. "Don't you dare touch me! I'd rather heal on my own than have your filthy hands on me."

"Look, I'm sorry." Janus lowered his hand. His shoulders slumped, and he looked down at the ground for a moment before meeting Draco's eyes. "It had to be real, you had to think I was going to let you die, or Lucius would have known I was double crossing him."

"And if I had died?" Draco demanded, struggling futilely with the conjured ropes. He looked around, hoping for a familiar setting, but all he saw were moonlit trees. The air had the same loamy smell as it did in the woods behind Janus' house, but he could hear a stream running nearby, which meant they were someplace else.

Janus stepped forward, took Draco by the shoulders, and squeezed in a way that was perhaps meant to be reassuring. His touch made Draco's skin crawl. "I wouldn't have let you-"

"If I had?"

"You weren't going to!" Janus growled.

"You let him loose on me and told him to throw me into the veil! It was pure luck you were able to get me away in time. Or were you hoping you would fail?"

Janus shook his head. "You were never in any danger. For reasons I can't begin to fathom, Harry wants you alive."

"And Harry always gets what he wants?" Draco sneered.

"When I can give it to him," Janus said earnestly. He let his hands fall from Draco's shoulders and leaned back against one of the nearby trees.

"Did you ask his permission before you took me on this little field trip?" Draco demanded.

"No. I asked him if he loves you."

Draco bit his tongue to keep from asking the obvious question. He didn't care what the answer was. It didn't matter what Harry had said to Janus, and besides, Draco wasn't going to let Janus manipulate his curiosity that way. "If you're really sorry about what you did, you'll untie me, and you'll take me back to the Death Chamber and let me have another go at Father! You've gotten your precious information, you're done with him-"

"Can't." Janus reached into his pocket and pulled out the yellow duck. "It was a one-time port key. Now, all it does is this." He squeezed the toy, and it made a high-pitched squeak.

"You're useless!" Draco snapped. He threw up his hands and let them fall to his sides. He then walked in a circle around the small, moonlit clearing, muttering curses. After his third lap around the tiny open area, he realized that Janus' incarcero spell had worn off or been lifted. He rubbed furiously at his wrists and bent to massage his ankles, suddenly aware of the pain flooding his extremities as the blood rushed back in. He could run now, if he knew where to go. "Where are we?" he asked, trying to sound casual.

"That's what I asked when my parents brought me here." Janus raised his hands in an expansive gesture and lit the tip of his wand, illuminating the clearing so that Draco could see a wooden picnic table, a stone firepit, and a narrow gravel road leading off into the trees. "I wasn't thrilled to be here. When we traveled, Dad always liked to spend some time in the country, so we rented camping gear and came out here. Me, I just wanted to see the Tower of London, where they beheaded people."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Draco muttered. "I don't care about your stupid family stories!"

Janus knelt by the fire pit and gestured with his lit wand, illuminating a patch of low grass nearby. "Mom and Dad were pitching the tent there, and I was gathering firewood. I heard someone in the trees, then voices at the campsite, and finally screaming. I think it was my dad who screamed the loudest, or maybe I just remember it that way because he lasted the longest.

"I dropped my firewood, all but this one stick about so long." Janus used his hands to indicate a branch the length of a man's arm. "I thought whoever it was, I could fight him off if I surprised him-"

"I know how the story ends! You were too late. The murderer took your little stick and probably broke it over your thick head. He left you for dead-" Draco paused, contemplating, and decided to revise his story. "No, he left you alive because you were too pathetic to kill."

Janus' jaw twitched, and his wand swiveled to point in Draco's direction so that even that small point of light became blinding. "You know how the story goes, but that's not how it ends! It ends with me killing Phillipe Moreaux three days from now. This is where I first met Moreaux, where he asked me a question- 'What are you going to do about it?'. And this is where he gets his answer. This is where I'm going to burn his corpse to ashes."

"Why are you telling me this?" Draco groaned. "Am I supposed to forgive you for risking my life just so you could end his? What happened to you doesn't give you the right to make me your pawn."

"I need to know if I can trust you." Janus edged toward Draco, forcing him to back up until he slammed into a tree. He brought the wand close to Draco's face, shining the light in his eyes and making him flinch.

"Yes, you can trust me!" Draco shouted, hoping the volume of his voice hurt Janus' ears. "Even if I wanted to thwart your little revenge scheme, I wouldn't know how to!"

Janus sighed and lowered the wand. "I sure wish I believed that."

"I want Moreaux dead, too! He tried to kill me and Potter. He worked for my father, and he hurt my mother. I hope you do kill him!" Draco met Janus' eyes, mentally daring the man to read his emotions. He had meant every word he had said. When Janus continued to frown, Draco continued, "It doesn't matter whether you trust me. You have my wand, and you have leverage over me-"

Janus burst out laughing. "You're still worried about that? I kidnapped you, broke into the Death Chamber, and tampered with a high-profile prisoner awaiting trial. You? You were caught having special alone time on my couch. If one of us has leverage..."

"It was embarrassing!" Draco protested.

"Embarrassing, sure. Criminal? No. I hate this part, but I have some clean-up work to do." Janus' smile faded. He snatched Draco's upper arm in his left hand, gripping like a Devil's Snare.

Draco slapped his free hand over Janus' and clawed frantically while shaking his arm and trying to kick Janus. A few of his kicks hit something solid, but none elicited more than a soft grunt. Janus raised his wand and let the light die out before whispering, "Obliviate."

Draco blinked at the cobblestone walkway outside Andromeda's house. He wondered why he felt ill and what he was doing on his hands and knees. A hand dangled in front of his face, sticking out of the sleeve of a baggy coat. He raised his chin and followed the sleeve with his eyes, finding that it connected to a pair of shoulders upon which sat a head in a ludicrous round hat with a wide, floppy brim. The hand moved up and pushed the hat back away from the face underneath it. Draco frowned, trying to think of how he knew that face. It had a narrow nose and a pointy chin that made it somewhat fox-like, and he was quite certain it belonged to someone he loathed. After a moment's contemplation, he latched upon a name to go with the face. "Janus!"

"How much do you remember?" Janus prompted.

"How much of what?" Draco scrambled to his feet and brushed the dust from the front of his robes. His balance was off, and he staggered as if he had just had a bottle of firewhiskey. His brain had a sluggish, just-awake feeling, and his thoughts raced, grasping at the vanishing tails of some fading dream. "You said Potter wanted to see me, I came with you and then... I fell?" He looked up at Janus for confirmation.

"Good. It worked." Janus breathed a loud sigh of relief and grinned.

"What worked?" Draco demanded. "I don't understand. Are we going to see Potter or not?" He held out his hand for Janus to take so that they could apparate.

"We've already been." Janus held up a hand for silence. "You saw each other, and I could tell right away that I wasn't needed, if you know what I mean. I went for a walk, and when I came back, you told me Harry was asleep. None of this is ringing any bells?"

"None of that ever happened!" Draco shook his head vehemently.

"Good, good," Janus murmured. "Anyway, you asked me about a memory charm, I told you 'no,' you begged, you pleaded-"

"The last time I asked you to- the only time I remember asking you to do a memory charm, you refused!" Draco folded his arms across his chest and looked into Janus' eyes. "You're trying to tell me you changed your mind?"

"That was different!" Janus waved a hand. "The other time, you asked me to a do a memory charm on Harry. This time, all you wanted was a memory charm on yourself. You said something about things getting out of hand, getting lost in the moment, doing something that made you sick remembering it..."

"I wouldn't have! Not again!" Draco flushed and looked down at the cobblestones.

"I got the impression this was something new for both of you."

"But I wouldn't!" Draco protested. "Not after I told him we were through. It doesn't make sense!"

"Really?" Janus raised an eyebrow. "When you imagine seeing him again, you don't think about what it would be like to let go and forget all the reasons you couldn't, wouldn't, or shouldn't? You don't imagine what he looks like with his clothes off, ready for you-"

"It's not that impressive!" Draco snapped. His face heated as all of his most secret thoughts flooded his mind. "Alright, yes! It's possible that I might have..." He felt a sudden need to take a very long shower. "I think I'm glad I don't remember tonight."

"I don't understand you, Malfoy." Janus shook his head. "If I took you back to Harry right now, he'd welcome you with open arms, and you'd rather be here?" He pointed to the house, where Narcissa and Andromeda stood silhouetted against the white lace curtains.

"I'd rather that the next time my name is in the Daily Prophet, it's not because of him!" Draco countered. "I want to have my own bloody life! Besides, Potter and I, all we do is hurt each other."

"Everyone is going to hurt you. You have to find the ones worth suffering for."

Draco snorted. "I think I hate you less when you're threatening me." Janus turned and raised his wand, probably in preparation to apparate, but Draco stopped him with a hand on his arm. "About the trial..."

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Janus shrugged off Draco's hand. "Just show up. Harry will be there, and he'll do the right thing."
- 32
- 33
- 34
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

Darkness Within The Light