A/N: I didn't like this chapter at all...whatever. Sorry it took so long. My computer was being stupid, and wouldn't upload. But, good news is, I have several chapters of Escaping Darkness now. So I'm not backloaded on writing. :) Refavoment, please!
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The next few months were relatively peaceful, for Hogwarts anyways. There were still rumored sightings of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, but so far the Dark lord had not done anything significant.
Still, it made Harry rather nervous. It was odd, for nothing to be happening. Draco had not been summoned since the first incident, and there had been no more mention of his ordeal. But Harry knew that the danger of a spy was still very much real. And he knew that both he, and Draco, hadn't stopped thinking about the spy, wondering who it was, and wondering what their motives were.
Draco was nervous about the calm as well, though he'd never admit it. It's the calm before the storm, he would think to himself.
Finally, both boys relaxed, thankful for the respite from their torments. Nightmares had dwindled, and all was finally as peaceful as it could get. They could focus on schoolwork, their new friendship (which was quickly growing stronger, even on the parts of Hermione, Ron, and the Slytherin posse), and the upcoming Hogsmeade trip.
The weekend before the trip found the Golden Trio and the Slytherin Circle walking down by the black lake, talking with an ease that had not been seen before, at least between the two rival houses.
"Are you guys as excited for the Hogsmeade trip as I am?" Pansy chattered excitedly. Hermione nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm looking forward to a nice mug of warm butterbeer," she grinned. The two girls proceeded to chat about various shopping activities, wondering whether there would be anything worth mentioning in the various shops, and hoping that their allowances would hold out.
The guys rolled their eyes at the two girls, and turned to each other.
"I definitely could use some new Quidditch supplies," Harry mused. Blaise grinned in agreement.
"I need to get a new broom servicing kit," Draco chuckled. It was Pansy and Hermione's turn to roll their eyes at the guys.
"Boys and their love of Quidditch," Pansy muttered to Hermione. The bushy-haired witch snorted.
"It's all they think about," she sighed dramatically.
Theo, in turn, shot the girls a look of pretend hurt. "That's not true. We guys think of other things..."
"Like what?" Hermione fired back.
Theo glanced at Harry, then Draco, both of whom shrugged and gave him a look saying You're on your own, mate. "Thanks for the help," he grumbled. "Well...we think about...why Snape's hair looks so greasy all the time," he continued, rather weakly.
Pansy shook her head disapprovingly. "Yep. Nothing but air up there," she snickered.
The group continued to fling comments and retorts, as they made their way back up to the Great Hall for dinner, where they would part ways for a short time, then meet up again afterwards, heading towards a certain room with special properties. And in said room, they spent the entire time talking in front of a roaring fire which was provided by the special room, until curfew hours were fast approaching, after which they bid each other goodnight.
A truce had been called, amongst a certain group of Slytherins and Gryffindors. A truce, the likes of which had not been seen since Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin had parted ways. Hogwarts smiled down upon the young truce; everything was finally at peace.
Yet peace, like silence, is easily shattered...
•••
"You're late."
Harry rolled his eyes at Draco's smirking grin. "I am never late," he insisted. The blonde raised an eyebrow. "I arrive precisely when I mean to..."
Draco snorted. "Nice excuse. You really should watch the time, though. We almost left without you." Harry waved him off.
"You know you wouldn't..."
"I would."
"You wouldn't."
"Would too."
"Nuh uh..."
They continued arguing as the two groups merged, until finally Blaise and Ron began mimicking them, after which Draco and Harry shared a look of pure mischief. Immediately, Blaise and Ron found themselves on the receiving end of two Tickling charms, and the group's forward progress paused until both boys were crying uncle.
Draco and Harry smirked as they helped their respective Housemates up. "No fair," Ron complained. "You're supposed to protect your own House, Harry..."
"You deserved it," Harry laughed. Ron spluttered unconvincingly, and Harry shot him a grin, until Ron was forced to grin back.
They arrived in Hogsmeade not too much later, laughing and talking loudly, as they each filed into the small building. "Madame Rosmerta?" Harry called. "Nine butterbeers please!"
The kindly witch brought their drinks quickly, and the mixture of Gryffindors and Slytherins sat around a large wooden table. They nursed their butterbeers while talking and laughing, and Harry found all his worries slipping away with each smile and each joke. In fact, he didn't remember the last time he had laughed this much. It was...relaxing, and rather nice. He could get used to this.
And seeing Draco smile made him smile. The blonde rarely smiled like this...really and truly smiled, with his eyes lighting up and cheeks stretched until the dimples showed. He had a nice laugh, too. Harry blinked, and glanced away, feeling his ears burn. Why was he even thinking about the way Draco laughed or smiled? Better not answer that one.
"So, Crabbe...how's that Potions homework coming?" Ron asked innocently. The entire group cracked up, as Crabbe spluttered, turning red.
"It's good," he stammered, and Draco shot Harry an amused look.
"Oh yes, accidentally mixing hippogriff tongue with frozen dragon blood, blowing up your cauldron, and accidentally turning yourself into a rooster qualifies as 'good'," Draco drawled. A fresh round of laughter broke out.
Crabbe shrugged off the laughter. "I'll get it right next time," he said with a firm nod. Draco shook his head with a grin, as the group stood to leave. After paying for the drinks, they left, still ribbing Crabbe for his disastrous potion skills.
•••
It was a few hours later that the once happy afternoon went downhill.
The group - well, Pansy and Hermione - had managed to wrench themselves away from the Quidditch store, the girls utterly bored of the place, and the boys fairly bursting with stories to exchange.
It was Harry who first heard the screams, and he stopped, his eyes wide. "Listen," he said, shushing his friends. All talking ceased, and Harry and Draco looked at each other.
"It's him," Draco whispered fearfully. Blaise looked at him.
"Him?"
"Voldemort," Harry spat. Ron flinched, and Hermione looked frightened.
"Now?" she asked. To her credit, her fear did not reflect in her calm tone of voice.
Draco grabbed Harry's arm. "He's come for me," he hissed fearfully, trembling slightly. "He's come because I haven't reported back..."
Harry drew his wand. "He won't touch you," he said through clenched teeth.
"Even you can't stop him from taking what he wants, Harry..."
Their conversation was interrupted as a jet of light came speeding out of nowhere, narrowly missing Pansy's ear. She shrieked and drew her wand, rapidly firing a random spell in the same direction as the caster.
With that, all chaos broke out. Black figures, hooded and masked, appeared from every direction, and the group found themselves surrounded.
Draco watched with awe as Harry went from being, well, Harry, to being the hero he was famed for. The slender boy drew himself up, his Gryffindor courage showing in his defiant stance and his firmly grasped wand. "Head for Hogwarts!" he shouted, grabbing onto Draco and dragging him forward.
"Stupefy!"
Hermione, Ron, and Harry glanced at each other and grinned. Their previous experience with Death Eaters led them to cast their spells like it was second nature, Stupefy being the first they thought of. Ron smirked as three different Death Eaters fell, stunned by the jinxes.
With that, the group rushed forward, casting curses, jinxes, and hexes at whichever targets presented themselves.
Draco ran like he'd never run before, casting without a second thought. His only thought was Get back...gotta get back to Hogwarts...can't let them get me...
Suddenly, he felt himself falling, stunned by a spell that came hurtling out of nowhere. His father's face appeared as the Disillusionment charm fell away. "Draco, your behavior has been disappointing as of late," Lucius smirked. Draco couldn't move, couldn't cry out in fear, as his father reached out for him. His hand moved closer, as his other hand produced a Portkey...
"Flipendo!"
Harry's voice roared out of nowhere, and Draco saw him leaping to his rescue. Lucius went flying backwards, until he crashed into a large boulder and fell to the ground. Draco felt the effects of the Immobulus charm fall away as his father was knocked unconscious, and he staggered to his feet. Harry gripped his arm to steady him, giving him a once over. "You okay?" he asked. Draco nodded, meeting his brilliant green eyes.
"I'm fine," he gasped, as they continued running.
Hogwart's gates were coming up fast, but they were too closely pursued. They wouldn't be able to get in without letting the whole of Voldemort's army in with them. Harry glanced around, his eyes darting to find another escape route. Behind him, he could hear Ron and Hermione still casting curses, as well as the other Slytherins.
Suddenly, Pansy cried out, "Vincent! No!"
Harry glanced over his shoulder in time to see Crabbe leap forward and shove Hermione out of the way, to intercept a jet of green light. Time slowed down, and he could hear Draco cry out as well, as Crabbe's face took on a shocked look. Then he fell forward, his body crumpling. All Harry could see was the blank look of Cedric Diggory, as Crabbe lay there, motionless. Then he saw red.
That curse had been meant for Hermione...they were trying to kill his friend, and ended up killing Crabbe instead. This had to end. Harry stopped his headlong pace, and turned. "Show me the bastard who fired that curse!" he roared. Behind him, he could hear Draco stop, and race back, yelling for him to ignore it and keep going.
But Harry ignored him in turn. A single figure detached itself from the rest of the shadowy figures, and removed its mask. Bellatrix laughed at Harry's look of rage, and she pointed her wand at him. "Too bad Crabbe there was foolish enough to jump in the way," she cackled. "Otherwise, we might have rid this world of another abomination, namely your mudblood friend over there..."
"DON'T CALL HER THAT!" Harry leaped forward, yelling, "Durerea!"
Bellatrix's smirk disappeared as the spell hit her square in the chest, and she looked down at herself for a moment. Then her smirk reappeared, and she laughed at him. "Fool! What was that supposed to-" Her words ended abruptly, as she clutched at her chest, and screamed. The witch collapsed, writhing, as she screamed in agony.
"What does it do?" Draco's voice was next to Harry's ear, and he felt the blonde's trembling hand rest on his shoulder for a moment.
"It inflicts great pain on the victim. Very similar to the Cruciatus, but not Unforgiveable." Harry's smirk sent chills down Draco spine, as he looked at his friend. This was a dangerous Harry...this was the Harry the Wizarding World adored. The one who would defeat Voldemort. Draco suddenly realized how fortunate that was. Here was the boy, no, man, who had the power to save them all...if they would only treat him as normal...
Bellatrix's screams subsided, as Harry's spell ended, and she lay there for a moment, shuddering in the aftereffects of the curse. Finally, a wheezing sound issued from her, and Harry realized it was laughter. "I never thought you had it in you, Potter," she spat. "But we'll make you a Dark wizard yet!" Harry felt Draco grip him tightly, then pull his hand away, tugging on Harry slightly. But he did not turn around. He was too busy focusing on Bellatrix.
"I am not like you," Harry snarled. "I do what I do for my friends. And you just happened to kill one of them. I am not the person to mess with, Bellatrix..."
"Nor am I."
The cold, slithering voice rang out, silencing everyone. Harry turned to see the face of his most dreaded enemy. "Hello, Voldemort," he said in a hate filled tone.
The Dark lord chuckled. "Greetings, young Potter. I trust everything is going well?"
"Like you care," Harry retorted, his wand at the ready. Voldemort waved a thin hand.
"Oh, that won't be necessary, Potter, if you don't want to lose another from your ranks..."
Harry blanched, as the Dark lord swept aside his robes to reveal Draco, who was held by the now revived Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy Sr. held his hand over his son's mouth, and Draco struggled to get loose. Suddenly, Lucius let out a hiss of pain; Draco had bitten him.
"Get out of here, Harry," Draco pleaded, still struggling. "Don't you dare bargain yourself for me..." Harry had taken a step forward, but stopped, instead fixing his smoldering gaze on Voldemort.
"What do you want?" he asked in a dangerous tone.
Voldemort chuckled menacingly. "Your agony," he sneered. "I want you to suffer for every moment you made me suffer in that bodiless form. For every moment you've delayed my rise to power."
"Yeah? Well I want you to die and burn in hell." Harry's wand shook with his rage, and a fierce wind had sprung up, whipping dead leaves and dirt around the gathering.
Voldemort fixed his red gaze on Harry for a moment, then it shifted to Draco, who paled under the chilling scrutiny. "Yes, you would like that wouldn't you," the Dark lord murmured, distractedly. Unexpectedly, a smile worked its way upon his face, but it didn't give Harry a warm fuzzy feeling inside. Instead, it made him want to take a step back, away from the maniac in front of him.
"I think I'll let you live for now," Voldemort decided, with a dark chuckle. "And I'll let you live with the knowledge that Draco suffers because of you. Unless, of course, you agree to surrender yourself to me?"
"No, Harry, don-mph!" Draco's cry was interrupted by Lucius' hand once more, muffling his words. Behind him, Harry heard footsteps, and he tensed, until he realized the hand on his shoulder was Theo's.
"Harry...we can rescue him later...but you can't give yourself up," the Slytherin hissed in his ear. Harry shrugged his shoulder, removing Theo's hand, as he stepped forward.
"I'll never surrender," he said in a low voice, eyes flicking to Draco's with sorrow written in them. Draco blinked slowly, as if in understanding, then closed, accepting his fate. With that, Voldemort laughed.
"So be it. You send him to his doom."
Harry stood there as the Death Eaters Disapparated, Draco along with them. He fell to his knees once they had left, and he screamed his frustration to the sky. He had failed him...had failed Draco...
He dimly felt Hermione's arms wrap around him, comforting him. Her voice was soft, as she said, "We'll get him back, Harry...we'll get him back...don't worry."
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Chapter End Notes: So, the spell Harry uses, Durerea, is Romanian for pain. It is a spell of my own concoction, as Harry doesn't really hate enough to use the Cruciatus, as evidence in the fifth book. Anyhoo...I know it isn't Latin (most spells are), but I couldn't find a decent Latin translator. So...you're going to find that I, being the Romanian obsessed freak I am, tend to use Romanian words. You'll see what I mean in later chapters. :) Refavoment!