Harry Potter and The Beloved Incubus (BP4)
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,993
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,993
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.
Fractured Soul
Chapter Number/Total: 40/41
Chapter Title: Fractured Soul
Words: 2414 Words
Harry had never wanted to do anything less in his life. He had only gotten himself and Draco safely home a day ago after finding the Horcrux, and now they had to destroy the fucking thing, which was just as dangerous - to Draco at least.
The couple had handed the baby off to Fleur, who was very happy to have him it seemed. She had kept calling him "her little godson" while Harry had been gathering a few of Valen's things for her to take downstairs.
He, Draco, Ron and Hermione were in Harry and Draco's sitting room with the ominous dagger lying on the table in front of the sofa.
"So how do we get this one?" Hermione was thinking out loud. "The locket you had to open and then burn the hair inside, and the cup you had to drink from ...." She looked at the pointy blade of the dagger nervously and cleared her throat.
Harry felt much the same about the dagger - if the feelings were magnified about a million times.
Draco took a deep breath, sighing loudly. "I have had an idea about this one since we figured out what it is," he said.
Harry winced and turned his head to look at Draco. "Please tell me it doesn't involve stabbing anything," he said, his voice cracking a bit on the word "stabbing".
Draco nodded. "Nex Culter," he said. "Murder knife."
Harry's heart sped up a bit. "You can't be serious," he said, going rather pale. "I can't allow you to be stabbed."
"It would appeal to the Dark Lord's sense of humour," Draco said, "that you have to kill someone to destroy it."
"Well, it's not going to be you," Harry said firmly, voice shaking a bit. He let out a slightly hysterical sounding laugh. "Ridiculous."
"It is really quite clever," Draco said in a flat tone. "In order to destroy the piece of his soul, the person has to fracture their own."
Harry's eyes flashed, but he felt a sort of relief that Draco didn't disagree with him.
Hermione was very quiet, a sort of gleam in her eyes.
"I could do it," Draco said. "For you and for Valen."
Harry frowned heavily. "I'll do it," he said.
"No," Hermione said, her head snapping up. Her voice was a bit hard and she sat straighter. "Ron killed Bellatrix, his soul is torn. Draco killed Lucius, his is torn, too. Harry, you can't. I have a very strong feeling that your soul being intact makes you even more powerful against Voldemort. I'll do it." The way she said those last three words made Harry and Ron both frown.
Draco nodded. "And I know who," he whispered, looking her in the eyes.
Hermione looked at him and gave him a Professor McGonagall-like, piercing stare, but didn't say anything.
"Who are you going to bloody kill?" asked Ron, still frowning at Hermione.
Draco held his tongue, waiting for her to speak.
Harry knew exactly where this was going, and frankly, he could not think of any other way to do it.
Hermione was silent for a few moments but then looked from Draco to Ron. "One of the Lestrange brothers," she said, voice scarily calm.
Draco nodded, face grim and determined.
Harry let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. "There's no other way," he said resignedly, nodding.
Hermione's eyes gleamed again.
Ron swallowed and bit his lip. "Hermione, I'll do it - you don't have to, I-"
"I'll do it," she said firmly.
"We have a place," Draco said, eyes staying on Hermione's. "It's call the Room of Offering. It is appropriate for this. I can take you there and bring one of them to you. Do you care which?"
"Whichever you prefer," she said, voice still very, almost unnaturally, calm.
Draco stood.
Hermione got to her feet as well, her posture as stiff as her sudden mood.
Harry and Ron stood too.
"I don't think we need all four of us for this," Hermione said, looking at them. "Draco?"
"You would prefer it without them?" Draco asked.
Harry and Ron frowned.
She walked over to them and bent to pick the dagger up before straightening again. "Just let me do this," she whispered.
Harry was very confused as to why she wanted to do it so badly, and judging by the look on Ron's face, he was as well. Harry turned his head slightly and gave Draco a hard, questioning look.
Draco's look was expressionless. This was Hermione's decision. One he completely agreed with. He knew Harry well enough to know he wouldn't understand even if he explained it.
Knowing that he would get no answer from Draco, Harry turned back to his friend. "Fine," he said quietly, frowning slightly. "I don't know why you want to do it, but ... you can. Ron and I will stay here if you want."
Ron looked like he was going to protest, but then closed his mouth and sighed quietly, looking at Hermione like she was some strange confusing creature.
She nodded, stepping over to Draco.
Draco held out his arm to her and waited, Apparating them from the room when she took hold.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, both of them silent.
***
Hermione and Draco Apparated into the huge Room of Offering, the crack sounding like a boom almost in the silence. Hermione took a half step away from Draco and looked around, her eyes falling onto the altar in the centre.
Draco turned to her. "You understand what this will do to you?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yes," she said. She looked at Draco again. "You survived."
"I killed to save my life and Harry's," Draco said. "That is easier. If, for any reason, you change your mind, just tell me and I will finish it."
"I don't think that will be a problem," Hermione said quietly, staring off at a wall.
Draco nodded and Apparated to the cell of the two prisoners. He returned a few minutes later with his uncle slung over his shoulder. He laid the man on the altar. Rodolphus was unshaven and unkempt. "He is Stupified," Draco said. "Should I revive him or leave him like this?"
Hermione stared hard at the man lying on the altar. "Wake him," she whispered, but her voice sounded harsh beneath it and her eyes filled with what looked like angry tears.
Draco cast a binding spell first, securing the man's hands and feet to the altar. Then he Rennervated him. He could have killed his uncle without waking him but understood Hermione's need to face him.
Rodolphus woke cursing. "Draco, you fucking shit," he spat. "What the hell is going on here?"
Hermione took a shuddering breath and a very small sign of fear flitted across her face, but she replaced it with cold determination. She took a step towards Rodolphus and held the dagger up for him to see. "This is a Horcrux," she told him, and her voice did not shake.
"What's this Mudblood bitch doing?" Rodolphus sneered.
Hermione's eyes flashed at those words. "The spell used to create it is called Nex Culter, or Murder Knife," she continued. "To destroy the Horcrux, one must kill with the dagger. This dagger is Voldemort's Horcrux, and we have to destroy it."
Draco stood on the other side of the altar but ignored his uncle, keeping his eyes on Hermione. His face was a mask of indifference as he listened.
Rodolphus gasped and scowled at her. "Draco, get this bitch away from me," he snapped. "It's not too late to prove yourself. Our Master would reward you."
Hermione had paused now and shook her head slightly at Rodolphus's words. "You all think exactly alike," she said. "And none of you care about anyone's life." Her voice was finally starting to waver.
"Kill me and you will pay dearly," Rodolphus threatened, finally acknowledging her.
"I have already paid dearly," she said, her grip on the dagger tightening. "Your death will help our side and Voldemort can finally be killed. What can you possibly say that will stop me?"
"Mudblood coward," Rodolphus sneered. "Untie me and fight me. Or are you too weak?"
Where Harry and Ron would have failed, Hermione did not. She actually smiled for a moment. "Coward," she repeated, shaking her head again. "Mudblood coward." She raised the dagger up higher, preparing herself for what she had to do.
Draco allowed himself to look at his uncle then. The man had held a knife to his balls while his aunt had cast Cruciatus on him. He felt nothing but disgust for him now.
"We will destroy all the filth like you," Rodolphus yelled at her, "and blood traitors like Malfoy here."
Hermione grasped the dagger with both hands, breathing heavily through her nose. "Not if we get to you first," she said, and then with a scream like a roar, she brought the dagger down with all of the strength she had and plunged the blade into the man's heart.
Draco watched the dagger enter into the man's body and heard the two of them scream. There was a moment of silence afterwards and then the dagger itself seemed to scream, blood pouring not only from Rodolphus but seeming to well up like a fountain.
Seeming unable to let go, Hermione stood shaking, clutching the handle of the dagger still and watching all of the blood. With tears spilling from her eyes, she whispered, "That is for my father," and then let the bleeding knife go, sinking slowly to the ground to hold her own knees to her chest.
Blood welled up and out, dripping off the altar and down to pool on the floor. For a minute, Draco was frozen, remembering the last time this floor was covered in blood - his father's. When Hermione let go, he shook himself and strode around the altar to find her on the floor. Draco looked down at the brave young woman for a moment, unsure what her reactions would be to anything he could offer. Finally, he sunk to his knees beside her.
Hermione's face was buried in her knees and she was crying, trying to keep the sobs as quiet as she could, her hands covered in blood and her robes slowly absorbing it as it pooled on the floor.
Draco had no words to offer yet, so he stayed beside her. He was close enough to be there if she wanted support but not touching in case she needed time.
Hermione wept and sniffed and didn't bring her face out of hiding for several minutes. When she did, it was thoroughly tear-streaked, her eyes were puffy and red and yet the tears still fell. "I killed someone," she choked out with a gasping sob, staring at Draco. "I killed him."
"Good," Draco said. "He needed killing."
Hermione let out another sob and covered her face with her hands, but she quickly drew them away, looking disgusted with their state. She stared at them, going silent except for her gasping breaths, even though the tears wouldn't seem to stop. "Yes," she whispered in agreement with Draco.
Draco stood up again and held out his hand to her.
She sat on the floor for a few more moments and then looked up at Draco, taking his hand with her slightly shaking, blood-covered one. She stood and, surprised by herself even, stared at the body still dripping crimson. "Yes," she said again.
"Yes, look at him," Draco said. "This man would cheerfully have sliced open any one of us, including Valen. His death is no loss to the world."
Hermione looked disgusted and she clenched her teeth and her hands. She nodded very decisively, her eyes fierce.
Draco walked forward and pulled the blade from the corpse. He turned and held it pommel first to her. "This was Godric Gryffindor's," he said. "Now it is yours."
Hermione looked at Draco, her brows pulled together in a frown of confusion before it turned into a look of slight wonder. She nodded once and took the dagger from Draco, holding it firmly in her hand.
Draco pulled his wand again and did a Cleaning Charm on himself and then raised an eyebrow, silently asking her permission to do one for her.
She gave him a very small smile and another nod.
He performed the charm. "I will clean this mess later," he said, referring to the body and blood. "We should return before Harry works himself into a fit. Are you ready?"
Her smile grew slightly at the comment about Harry. "I'm ready," she said, and she moved closer to Draco. Instead of grabbing his arm stiffly, she grabbed and held his hand. Looking at him intently with eyes brimmed with tears, she whispered, "Thank you for understanding."
"I am privileged to know you," he said.
She let out a small laugh, a single tear falling that she quickly wiped away.
Draco smiled and nodded, Apparating them both back to the sitting room where their partners waited.
Ron was sitting on the couch, staring at the table where the dagger had been with a sort of sick-looking face. He jumped up when Hermione and Draco arrived.
Harry, who had been pacing, spun around wildly.
"Did you do it?" Ron demanded quickly, rushing over to Hermione.
She gave Draco one last smile and nodded to Ron.
"Blimey," Ron said weakly, and he pulled Hermione into his arms and gave her a tight hug, for which Hermione seemed thankful.
Draco stood quietly, waiting. He watched Harry to see how he was handling this.
Harry took in a breath and let it out slowly, relieved that Hermione seemed to be okay. "What happened?" he asked quietly.
Hermione turned her face to Harry, but didn't pull away from Ron. "I killed him," she said simply.
Harry raised his eyebrows, slightly worried.
Hermione pulled back from Ron and stood up on tip-toe to press her lips to his right in front of Harry and Draco, something they very rarely did. "Let's go," she said to the stunned red-head.
Harry's eyebrows rose further and he looked over at Draco.
Draco's face was impassive. He nodded to the two as they left.
Chapter Title: Fractured Soul
Words: 2414 Words
Harry had never wanted to do anything less in his life. He had only gotten himself and Draco safely home a day ago after finding the Horcrux, and now they had to destroy the fucking thing, which was just as dangerous - to Draco at least.
The couple had handed the baby off to Fleur, who was very happy to have him it seemed. She had kept calling him "her little godson" while Harry had been gathering a few of Valen's things for her to take downstairs.
He, Draco, Ron and Hermione were in Harry and Draco's sitting room with the ominous dagger lying on the table in front of the sofa.
"So how do we get this one?" Hermione was thinking out loud. "The locket you had to open and then burn the hair inside, and the cup you had to drink from ...." She looked at the pointy blade of the dagger nervously and cleared her throat.
Harry felt much the same about the dagger - if the feelings were magnified about a million times.
Draco took a deep breath, sighing loudly. "I have had an idea about this one since we figured out what it is," he said.
Harry winced and turned his head to look at Draco. "Please tell me it doesn't involve stabbing anything," he said, his voice cracking a bit on the word "stabbing".
Draco nodded. "Nex Culter," he said. "Murder knife."
Harry's heart sped up a bit. "You can't be serious," he said, going rather pale. "I can't allow you to be stabbed."
"It would appeal to the Dark Lord's sense of humour," Draco said, "that you have to kill someone to destroy it."
"Well, it's not going to be you," Harry said firmly, voice shaking a bit. He let out a slightly hysterical sounding laugh. "Ridiculous."
"It is really quite clever," Draco said in a flat tone. "In order to destroy the piece of his soul, the person has to fracture their own."
Harry's eyes flashed, but he felt a sort of relief that Draco didn't disagree with him.
Hermione was very quiet, a sort of gleam in her eyes.
"I could do it," Draco said. "For you and for Valen."
Harry frowned heavily. "I'll do it," he said.
"No," Hermione said, her head snapping up. Her voice was a bit hard and she sat straighter. "Ron killed Bellatrix, his soul is torn. Draco killed Lucius, his is torn, too. Harry, you can't. I have a very strong feeling that your soul being intact makes you even more powerful against Voldemort. I'll do it." The way she said those last three words made Harry and Ron both frown.
Draco nodded. "And I know who," he whispered, looking her in the eyes.
Hermione looked at him and gave him a Professor McGonagall-like, piercing stare, but didn't say anything.
"Who are you going to bloody kill?" asked Ron, still frowning at Hermione.
Draco held his tongue, waiting for her to speak.
Harry knew exactly where this was going, and frankly, he could not think of any other way to do it.
Hermione was silent for a few moments but then looked from Draco to Ron. "One of the Lestrange brothers," she said, voice scarily calm.
Draco nodded, face grim and determined.
Harry let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. "There's no other way," he said resignedly, nodding.
Hermione's eyes gleamed again.
Ron swallowed and bit his lip. "Hermione, I'll do it - you don't have to, I-"
"I'll do it," she said firmly.
"We have a place," Draco said, eyes staying on Hermione's. "It's call the Room of Offering. It is appropriate for this. I can take you there and bring one of them to you. Do you care which?"
"Whichever you prefer," she said, voice still very, almost unnaturally, calm.
Draco stood.
Hermione got to her feet as well, her posture as stiff as her sudden mood.
Harry and Ron stood too.
"I don't think we need all four of us for this," Hermione said, looking at them. "Draco?"
"You would prefer it without them?" Draco asked.
Harry and Ron frowned.
She walked over to them and bent to pick the dagger up before straightening again. "Just let me do this," she whispered.
Harry was very confused as to why she wanted to do it so badly, and judging by the look on Ron's face, he was as well. Harry turned his head slightly and gave Draco a hard, questioning look.
Draco's look was expressionless. This was Hermione's decision. One he completely agreed with. He knew Harry well enough to know he wouldn't understand even if he explained it.
Knowing that he would get no answer from Draco, Harry turned back to his friend. "Fine," he said quietly, frowning slightly. "I don't know why you want to do it, but ... you can. Ron and I will stay here if you want."
Ron looked like he was going to protest, but then closed his mouth and sighed quietly, looking at Hermione like she was some strange confusing creature.
She nodded, stepping over to Draco.
Draco held out his arm to her and waited, Apparating them from the room when she took hold.
Harry and Ron exchanged looks, both of them silent.
***
Hermione and Draco Apparated into the huge Room of Offering, the crack sounding like a boom almost in the silence. Hermione took a half step away from Draco and looked around, her eyes falling onto the altar in the centre.
Draco turned to her. "You understand what this will do to you?" he asked.
Hermione nodded. "Yes," she said. She looked at Draco again. "You survived."
"I killed to save my life and Harry's," Draco said. "That is easier. If, for any reason, you change your mind, just tell me and I will finish it."
"I don't think that will be a problem," Hermione said quietly, staring off at a wall.
Draco nodded and Apparated to the cell of the two prisoners. He returned a few minutes later with his uncle slung over his shoulder. He laid the man on the altar. Rodolphus was unshaven and unkempt. "He is Stupified," Draco said. "Should I revive him or leave him like this?"
Hermione stared hard at the man lying on the altar. "Wake him," she whispered, but her voice sounded harsh beneath it and her eyes filled with what looked like angry tears.
Draco cast a binding spell first, securing the man's hands and feet to the altar. Then he Rennervated him. He could have killed his uncle without waking him but understood Hermione's need to face him.
Rodolphus woke cursing. "Draco, you fucking shit," he spat. "What the hell is going on here?"
Hermione took a shuddering breath and a very small sign of fear flitted across her face, but she replaced it with cold determination. She took a step towards Rodolphus and held the dagger up for him to see. "This is a Horcrux," she told him, and her voice did not shake.
"What's this Mudblood bitch doing?" Rodolphus sneered.
Hermione's eyes flashed at those words. "The spell used to create it is called Nex Culter, or Murder Knife," she continued. "To destroy the Horcrux, one must kill with the dagger. This dagger is Voldemort's Horcrux, and we have to destroy it."
Draco stood on the other side of the altar but ignored his uncle, keeping his eyes on Hermione. His face was a mask of indifference as he listened.
Rodolphus gasped and scowled at her. "Draco, get this bitch away from me," he snapped. "It's not too late to prove yourself. Our Master would reward you."
Hermione had paused now and shook her head slightly at Rodolphus's words. "You all think exactly alike," she said. "And none of you care about anyone's life." Her voice was finally starting to waver.
"Kill me and you will pay dearly," Rodolphus threatened, finally acknowledging her.
"I have already paid dearly," she said, her grip on the dagger tightening. "Your death will help our side and Voldemort can finally be killed. What can you possibly say that will stop me?"
"Mudblood coward," Rodolphus sneered. "Untie me and fight me. Or are you too weak?"
Where Harry and Ron would have failed, Hermione did not. She actually smiled for a moment. "Coward," she repeated, shaking her head again. "Mudblood coward." She raised the dagger up higher, preparing herself for what she had to do.
Draco allowed himself to look at his uncle then. The man had held a knife to his balls while his aunt had cast Cruciatus on him. He felt nothing but disgust for him now.
"We will destroy all the filth like you," Rodolphus yelled at her, "and blood traitors like Malfoy here."
Hermione grasped the dagger with both hands, breathing heavily through her nose. "Not if we get to you first," she said, and then with a scream like a roar, she brought the dagger down with all of the strength she had and plunged the blade into the man's heart.
Draco watched the dagger enter into the man's body and heard the two of them scream. There was a moment of silence afterwards and then the dagger itself seemed to scream, blood pouring not only from Rodolphus but seeming to well up like a fountain.
Seeming unable to let go, Hermione stood shaking, clutching the handle of the dagger still and watching all of the blood. With tears spilling from her eyes, she whispered, "That is for my father," and then let the bleeding knife go, sinking slowly to the ground to hold her own knees to her chest.
Blood welled up and out, dripping off the altar and down to pool on the floor. For a minute, Draco was frozen, remembering the last time this floor was covered in blood - his father's. When Hermione let go, he shook himself and strode around the altar to find her on the floor. Draco looked down at the brave young woman for a moment, unsure what her reactions would be to anything he could offer. Finally, he sunk to his knees beside her.
Hermione's face was buried in her knees and she was crying, trying to keep the sobs as quiet as she could, her hands covered in blood and her robes slowly absorbing it as it pooled on the floor.
Draco had no words to offer yet, so he stayed beside her. He was close enough to be there if she wanted support but not touching in case she needed time.
Hermione wept and sniffed and didn't bring her face out of hiding for several minutes. When she did, it was thoroughly tear-streaked, her eyes were puffy and red and yet the tears still fell. "I killed someone," she choked out with a gasping sob, staring at Draco. "I killed him."
"Good," Draco said. "He needed killing."
Hermione let out another sob and covered her face with her hands, but she quickly drew them away, looking disgusted with their state. She stared at them, going silent except for her gasping breaths, even though the tears wouldn't seem to stop. "Yes," she whispered in agreement with Draco.
Draco stood up again and held out his hand to her.
She sat on the floor for a few more moments and then looked up at Draco, taking his hand with her slightly shaking, blood-covered one. She stood and, surprised by herself even, stared at the body still dripping crimson. "Yes," she said again.
"Yes, look at him," Draco said. "This man would cheerfully have sliced open any one of us, including Valen. His death is no loss to the world."
Hermione looked disgusted and she clenched her teeth and her hands. She nodded very decisively, her eyes fierce.
Draco walked forward and pulled the blade from the corpse. He turned and held it pommel first to her. "This was Godric Gryffindor's," he said. "Now it is yours."
Hermione looked at Draco, her brows pulled together in a frown of confusion before it turned into a look of slight wonder. She nodded once and took the dagger from Draco, holding it firmly in her hand.
Draco pulled his wand again and did a Cleaning Charm on himself and then raised an eyebrow, silently asking her permission to do one for her.
She gave him a very small smile and another nod.
He performed the charm. "I will clean this mess later," he said, referring to the body and blood. "We should return before Harry works himself into a fit. Are you ready?"
Her smile grew slightly at the comment about Harry. "I'm ready," she said, and she moved closer to Draco. Instead of grabbing his arm stiffly, she grabbed and held his hand. Looking at him intently with eyes brimmed with tears, she whispered, "Thank you for understanding."
"I am privileged to know you," he said.
She let out a small laugh, a single tear falling that she quickly wiped away.
Draco smiled and nodded, Apparating them both back to the sitting room where their partners waited.
Ron was sitting on the couch, staring at the table where the dagger had been with a sort of sick-looking face. He jumped up when Hermione and Draco arrived.
Harry, who had been pacing, spun around wildly.
"Did you do it?" Ron demanded quickly, rushing over to Hermione.
She gave Draco one last smile and nodded to Ron.
"Blimey," Ron said weakly, and he pulled Hermione into his arms and gave her a tight hug, for which Hermione seemed thankful.
Draco stood quietly, waiting. He watched Harry to see how he was handling this.
Harry took in a breath and let it out slowly, relieved that Hermione seemed to be okay. "What happened?" he asked quietly.
Hermione turned her face to Harry, but didn't pull away from Ron. "I killed him," she said simply.
Harry raised his eyebrows, slightly worried.
Hermione pulled back from Ron and stood up on tip-toe to press her lips to his right in front of Harry and Draco, something they very rarely did. "Let's go," she said to the stunned red-head.
Harry's eyebrows rose further and he looked over at Draco.
Draco's face was impassive. He nodded to the two as they left.