Chapter 1: Darkest before the Dawn

The universe hadn't thought his life bad enough and was doing everything in its power to make it worse. He shook his head, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to curse loud and long but he was too tired to think of anything interesting. He'd spent the last couple of nights wide-awake in a state of minor irritating panic. That's what happened when your way of thinking for your entire life had been challenged and then promptly ripped to shreds in a few moments.

It was making his head hurt. These people weren't supposed to be powerful, or helpful or anything else. They were supposed to be ignorant, stupid, and deserving of death at the hands of his father's Lord. That's how it was supposed to be, that was he was raised to believe. Power was everything, and if you had the power, you were on top. The power came through your bloodline and that had to be pure. It was essential for it to be pure. Now, here was this pureblood, who was powerful, no one could doubt that. He was perhaps the most powerful in existence, maybe even more powerful than his father's Lord. Yet he interacted freely with those…yes they were people, they even had some power. Especially…that girl. He was loathe to even think of her name. All of this was her fault. She was as powerful as any of those who were pureblood, perhaps even more, yet she was the first in her family. How? How could that happen? It shouldn't have been possible and yet it was.

No it wasn't her fault…She didn't like him anymore than he thought that he didn't like her. His father's Lord? He shook his head as if the thought of that creature would bring call his attention. The wording was carefully chosen. It was his father's Lord, not his, not now. He had always been quick to fall into his father's ways. His father…his father tried to control his life and had succeeded for the most part. It hadn't bothered him when he was young, but as he grew older he had found flaws in the thinking. At first he thought that they were his flaws and he tried to get rid of them but it didn't work, the thoughts kept nagging him.

The fact had been haunting him even since he had met them, those three. How could it be that way? Two purebloods and a mudblood so powerful that she could rival any pureblood. How could they all get along? Why did they have to make him question everything he had always believed in? It made his head ache.

And now he was stuck here with him, the Boy Who Lived, the Gryffindor extraordinaire, and a general righteous pain in the ass. The very person he had been taught to hate and yet, by the same creed he had lived by, to respect at the same time. A young man that had power and power was attractive. He shook his head again, sending the normally carefully slicked hair cascading over his eyes. He clutched his broom harder, trying to center on something. A cold, sharp wind picked up and he shivered, now all the more aware that he'd lost the heavy cloak he had been wearing.

Only a few moments ago he had been engaged in one of his normal fights with Harry. In the hopes that something this familiar and supposedly right would clear his head. The fight had gone too far and they had found themselves veering off course. The same wind that was making him shiver now had knocked Harry off his broom and in a fit of something that Draco wasn't sure of, he had saved Harry from falling. Their combined weight was too much in the strange wind and they crash landed. So with one broom that they couldn't fly due to the strange wind and their wands, which were thankfully intact, they were stuck and lost in the Forbidden Forest.

"Did you see anything when we were falling?" Harry's voice made him snap his head up.

He should've responded with some witty retort insulting Harry's intelligence, but he was too tried to even try. "Besides the trees? No, all I saw were the black clouds."

Harry glared. "You got us here, you could've at least seen something!"

Draco stared back at him, unable to even snap back. Anger wasn't working. He couldn't be angry, wasn't this his fault after all? He rubbed his forehead. Damnit this was confusing! He should hate! He should have anger and cutting words, but all he wanted was sleep. Anger and pride had been his strength and now it was his weakness.

Harry noticed the strange silence, but didn't say anything. Of course he was concerned about the dark rings under Draco's eyes, but he thought he could guess their origins. The Slytherin role model was probably up all night planning his pranks. But what really bothered him was that instead of a look of smug satisfaction there was only exhaustion. He just looked downright miserable and that just wasn't a look that you saw on Draco Malfoy's face. Even when his greatest plots failed the young man would often turn to anger and lash out at those around him, now it looked like he was lashing himself and Harry wasn't all that comfortable. It was probably the look of near defeat in Draco's eyes that was getting to him.

"Let's just get out of here alive, Potter." Draco said. His voice was odd in that it lacked malice of any kind. He stared into the darkness, as if trying to see the dangers that would be lurking there. He drew his wand and pointed it at the sky. Red sparks flared up and then promptly died before they rose above the tree line. Draco tried again and this time the sparks barely left the tip of his wand. Draco swore under his breath.

"Easier said than done." Harry noted taking of his glasses and cleaning them on the hem of his shirt. "You're assuming that someone can see that. No one's looking for us yet."

"Lumos!" Draco said in a growl ignoring what he guessed to be smugness. The light flickered at the tip of his wand, faltering as if struggling to stay lit. A moment of anger welled up, but then it died down leaving him feeling tired and weak. He was too exhausted to make the magic work, but he wasn't about to tell Harry that.

"We're going to get points taken away." Harry said almost as an afterthought as he put his glasses back on his face, wondering if he could rile Draco. He was more comfortable with a snapping Draco than with the one he had with him right now. He was unnerved by the fact that their magic seemed to not be working. He wanted something familiar.

"Big deal." Draco muttered. "We'll get them back."

"You aren't worried that it would cause you to lose the cup?" Harry prodded.

Draco turned around slowly. "The House Cup or my life?" He scoffed. "Do you want to die for Gryffindor, Potter? Go right ahead, but I'm not going to die for Slytherin." The words fell out of his mouth before he really realized what he was saying, but once they were spoken he was glad that he had said them. Yes. That was right. He valued his life. Not the hopes and dreams of others who would do him a bad turn as fast as look at him. At the moment the House Cup could go and bugger itself for all he cared.

Harry felt a little more comfortable now, but only a little. He trailed a few steps behind Draco as they started walking. "House points aren't worth dying over."

"Then we agree on something at least." Draco muttered, more for saying something than letting the conversation die than for anything the words meant. He didn't want to stop talking. He didn't want to hear the sounds of the forest around them.

"That's a first." Harry noted, drawing his wand when a cracking branch startled him. Draco wasn't far behind, wand already pointed towards the noise. The branch crashed through the trees some distance away and the two looked at each other. "We're going to have to work together to get out of here, you know." Harry said the adrenaline rushing through his body and leaving his legs shaky.

Draco just nodded, that was the typical Harry thing to say. He'd already figured as much, but he didn't want to be the first one to say it, he was sure his voice would sound too hopeful. By his upbringing he should've left Harry to fall to his death, and by the same token he should've taken off running and left Harry to the woods. He had always tried to thwart Harry. Professor Snape was practically his hero for the way he always tried to bring down Gryffindor, especially Harry. Now he was trying to save Harry's life.

Harry was too powerful; he would find a way to survive. He tried to reason that the only reason he was still here was because Harry was powerful and it was safer to be with someone who had a chance of winning against the things that lurked here. He knew what his father would want him to do. Lure Harry into thinking they were allies until they came up against something, then throw Harry to it and run for safety. Once he got there he could claim that Harry was trapped out there thus neatly placing the blame on the monster in the forest. He twisted his face. That idea seemed sour to him and he shook his head again, the headache slowly coming back. Damnit! He just didn't need this now.

"Got any great ideas, Potter?" He said wishing that the other boy would stop dawdling and walk next to him. He didn't like the idea of being alone even if his only company was Potter.

Harry stared up at the fiercely tossing trees. "Fresh out." He mumbled stopping as he thought he caught the sound of horses in the distance. "Malfoy, wait!" He said a bit louder than he would've liked but it was the only way to be heard above the wind.

Draco stopped and turned slowly and Harry wished that he had snapped something, but the other boy just stood there, looking mildly irritated as his hair was tossed around his face. "Do you hear that?"

Draco paused and tried to tune his ears to hear sounds above the screaming wind. He felt the blood drain from his face and his eyes met Harry's. "Centaurs."

"Or unicorns." Harry said turning around trying to see where the threat would be coming from.

A tiny voice, hissing like a snake seemed to breathe words into his ear. Run now. If you run now, he won't catch you and you'll be safe. Draco shook his head to get rid of the sound and he grabbed Harry's billowing cloak. "Don't just stand there, idiot! Run!" He pulled as hard as he could, making Harry stumble, but Draco half hauled him to his feet and they ran.

Even with his heart beating in his ears he could still hear the hoof beats behind them. It was no good, whatever it was would catch them easily, they had to fly. The hissing voice returned, louder this time, it seemed. That's right, get on your broom and leave Harry behind. He'll distract the creatures and you'll get away.

Draco wanted to scream, but he bit his lip instead as he stuffed his wand back into its holster in his sleeve. He glowed faintly through the cloth, creating barely enough light to see. He flipped his broom under his legs. "Up!" He shouted into the wind, which seemed to howl stronger, trying to drive them backwards. He got a hand around Harry's arm and heaved him sideways, hoping that hey would have enough sense to throw his legs over the broom, which was already moving a few feet above the ground. He wasn't even sure why he was bothering, wrangling with Harry was costing precious time. He could still hear the voice. It would've been easier just to knock Harry out of the way and fly.

"What are you doing?" Harry yelled as he took a hold of Draco's waist. "We can't fly!"

"We can't run either!" Draco shouted back urging the broom forward. "We've got at least half a chance this way." They took off through the forest, branches hitting Draco when he couldn't avoid them. The hoof beats never seemed to slack behind them. Draco tried the moves he knew from being a Seeker, but Seekers were used to wide open skies and maybe another play trying to knock them down, they weren't trained to travel through dense forests with a double load on the broom. Draco didn't want to even begin to think that he was only a Seeker because of his father's donation.

"It's only built for one!" He heard Harry say, even through the howling wind.

"It's faster!" Draco yelled back wishing that Harry would just shut up. He was trying to concentrate on staying alive and not on the fact that his worst enemy was sitting behind him. His face and neck stung where the branches hit him, leaving gashes there and on his arms. The wind rocked the broom underneath him. It was taking all his concentration to keep the broom on its course. The wind stung his eyes and the pain that had started just above his brows now threatened to ally itself with the dark wind and blind him.

"We don't even know which direction we're going!" Harry shouted back.

Draco swore again. He half turned to make himself heard. "Shut up, Potter!" He shouted hurting his throat. He turned back in time to have several large branches hit him hard in the face. He swerved suddenly and their weight shifted the broom. The wind took the chance to blow hard, tipping them further. Draco tried to throw his weight the other way, but it didn't work. He heard Harry yell as they tipped too far to one side. Aided by another well placed blow from a branch Draco lost his grip and tumbled down. His head was spinning and he slowly reached for his wand, but he got a grip on it too late. He landed with a resounding crash hitting his head hard on the ground. The world spun and he closed his eyes a dull ache spreading out from behind them.

He could still feel the wand in his hand and he tried to open eyes to focus on the light that he thought would be there, but he opened his eyes to near blackness. He couldn't hear the hoof beats anymore and he tried to sit up but everything ached and his head throbbed with the effort.

"Malfoy?" Harry's voice was almost incomprehensible in the wind that had only slowed slightly. Draco groaned in response. If Potter was going to take his broom and run now would've been the best time. He wondered why he hadn't tried to run and leave Harry to the forest but it was too late to regret.

"Malfoy!" The voice was closer and Draco opened his eyes to see a small glow of the reflection of a wand light in Harry's glasses. He closed his eyes again. He just wanted to sleep. Everything was too complicated right now. He would go to sleep and wake up to discover that it was all just a bad dream.

"Malfoy!" The shout in his ear made him wince. He opened his eyes and stared into almost snake like green eyes. Panic overwhelmed him for a moment but then subsided as the glasses drifted into view.

Harry was waiting for a scathing remark but Draco stared up at him, first scared and then with calmer almost blank eyes. His face, arms, and neck were covered with bleeding gashes from the trees. He looked horrid. "Malfoy, are you ok?" He asked, even though he expected he knew the answer. He held his wand closer, trying to see in the dim light. Draco's eyes definitely looked wide and dilated.

"Hit my head." Draco murmured, his voice slurred. He had always thought that "seeing stars" was just a saying, but small white lights danced in front of his eyes.

"You fell pretty hard." Harry agreed. He had fallen off when they had tipped to one side, but he had cast a levitation spell as soon as he had fallen and combined with the strange wind, he guessed, he had fallen fairly softly. Draco on the other hand, had fallen like a rag doll, crashing through trees and landing on his back on the ground.

"Can you move?" Harry shone the light around, trying to see if there were any large amounts of blood.

"Sshrm?" Draco murmured, his head swimming. He tried to pull his mind together but every thought made his head hurt more. He had thought he had heard Harry say something, but his head hurt too much to try to make sense of it.

"Can you stand up?" Harry decided to be more specific. He looked around, the wind seemed to be dying down and he couldn't hear the hoof beats anymore, but he could still feel something watching them. If it were the centaurs they seemed to be just watching them and despite his earlier words, Harry was almost sure that it wasn't unicorns, since they didn't like boys. It could have even been a hippogriff.

Draco rolled to one side, head swimming and various lacerations burning with every movement. He struggled to get to his feet. He felt Harry take his arm to help him to his feet and he normally would've shaken off the hands with a growl, but he didn't, he accepted the aid and rose to his feet. His pride howled at him to stand on his own, but he was too tired and too weak to care. He tried not to stagger as pain exploded in his head. He gripped his forehead, unable to see for several moments.

"We've got to get out of here." He said trying to look around for his broom, shivering in the cold wind. "Where's my broom?"

"You're not flying." Harry said taking a quick look around and pulled the broom out of the underbrush. It looked mostly undamaged, although there were several scratches in the finish and some twigs missing from the tail. "It's too dark and our magic isn't working right. We might as well wait for morning."

"Don't be a git, Potter." Draco said without opening his eyes. "We'll be killed if we stay here."

"We'll be killed if you try flying again. Let me fly, we both know I'm better."

Draco felt some of the old anger that he'd always known flare back. It was familiar and safe, but it was also somehow strange. He whirled around, ready to lash back with cutting words, but the motion made the pain in his head worse and his stomach flipped. Harry was right, he was the better flyer, he was loathe to admit it, but it was true. He staggered but remained on his feet. He could barely see through the pain in his head. Harry was right if he tried flying again he was sure to kill them both and he didn't feel like dying tonight.

"Fine." He said trying to summon up the anger that had washed through him a moment ago, but it had all vanished, leaving only confusion in its wake. He wondered why he was still here and wondered why he couldn't even think up one insult. What was wrong with him?

"I don't want your broom if that's what you're worried about." Harry said, his voice exasperated.

"You fly us out of here." Draco said not even bothering to grace Harry's statement with a reply. It what he hoped was not a desperate and scared voice.

"Let's see where we are." He held out the broom to Draco who took it slowly. Harry put is wand in the flat of his hand. "Please work." He whispered. "Point me." He ordered. The wand spun frantically at first and then slowed, wavering back and forth as if unsure, it finally settled, pointing vaguely in the direction that Draco had been flying, then suddenly it snapped around and pointed in the opposite direction. It wavered again and pointed in a third direction.

Draco stared at the wand, his own still gripped tightly in his hand. The magic was being interfered with, as if someone wanted them to stay lost. He didn't know who or what was doing it, but when he found out they were going to be very sorry. Harry's eyes met his and Draco blinked several times trying to keep the double images at bay.

"We can't stay here." Draco said, words still a bit slurred. He surrendered the broom when Harry reached for it.

"No." Harry agreed. "Up." He told the broom. It rose slowly into the air. Harry climbed on and Draco followed behind, every step and movement a challenge. He climbed on behind Harry, hands only lightly clasping Harry's robe."Hold on." Harry warned and Draco reluctantly tightened his grip. The broom began to move slowly forward. Draco bowed his head and closed his eyes, trying to ease the pain. He was starting to feel the wounds on his arms and face and the cold wind was slowly numbing his skin. He started to shiver again.

What was he doing? He was actually helping Potter and now he was relying on Potter to get him safely out. He leaned forward, head hitting Harry's back. He didn't have the energy to raise it again. If his father knew he would be furious. Draco wasn't sure he could explain himself. He shifted on the back of the broom, trying to remove his head from Potter's back.

"Malfoy?" Harry's voice drifted back and then a hand closed over his arm.

Draco felt his heart jump and he swallowed hard. "Shut up and watch where you're going, Potter." He growled, words still slurring a little. What the hell was that? He wondered. Harry was sitting right in front of him, why had he jumped like that?

"Merlin's beard!" Harry swore, using Ron's favorite oath. "Malfoy, you're freezing!" Draco's skin was almost as cold as ice.

"I have a headache too." Draco said tersely trying not the shiver.

"What happened to your cloak?" Harry demanded, turning the broom as he tried to find the path.

"Lost it when you went down." He said. "Kind of you to notice so soon." His voice dripped with sarcasm. He felt a bit better now that they were back to doing something so normal.

Harry bristled and half turned. "I was more interested in not dying than in your robes."

"Watch where you're going." Draco retorted half heartedly pushing Harry's face forward.

Harry sighed. "It's too dark to fly, we might as well stop and try to get some sleep." The broom slowed.

Draco decided not to argue. The idea of sleep was very attractive at the moment. He was just so cold. He felt the broom slow to a stop. The exhaustion, cold, and the pain closed over him and he felt himself slipping sideways. He tried to correct and stop himself from falling, but his hands were too cold and wouldn't close. His hands slipped from Harry's robes and he tumbled to the ground cracking his head against it.

"Malfoy!" He heard Harry's voice and he tried to open his eyes.

Harry leapt off the broom. "This is no time for lolling about, Malfoy!" He growled. "Save it for the teachers!" He waited for the scathing response, but received none. He bent over the other boy and held his wand close to his face. "Lumos!" The wand's light flickered and just barely remained lit. Draco's face seemed paler than usual and his lips were almost blue. Draco's eyes flickered and tried to open but kept closing.

Harry began to feel panicked. Draco wasn't faking it. It was too dark to even begin to tell how serious he was injured. "Malfoy? Can you get up?" He almost pleaded. "Just get up so we can get under the those plants." He gestured to a large bush that looked like it would be able to shelter both of them. It was minimal protection, but it was something. They couldn't stay out in the open all night.

Draco heard him, and again slowly managed to push himself up. Harry hauled him up the rest of the way and they stumbled towards the bush, falling into the thick foliage. They landed tangled together and under normal circumstances Draco would have let lose a stream of insults. Harry was troubled with all Draco did was roll away and try to curl into a ball. Draco put one hand up to his head trying to stop the pounding. It seemed like the pain was getting worse.

"Nox." The wand light vanished. Harry took off his outer cloak and rolled onto his side and backed into Draco.

"Potter?" The voice was almost pitifully weak.

"I'm not going to let you freeze to death out here. You did save my life." Harry said testily as they lay back to back. He tossed their cloak over the two of them and then used a small spell to cover them both in leaves. The large plant blocked most of the cold wind.

Finally beginning to get warm again, Draco didn't argue. He was too exhausted and quickly fell asleep.

He awoke the next morning his body aching and stiff. The pain in his head settled to a dull ache. He opened his eyes to the dim light of pre dawn. He sat up slowly dislodging a carpet of dry leaves. He looked around, noting that Harry was still asleep next to him.

You could kill him now. The voice in his head returned and seemed louder and more insistent now that there was no wind to drown it out. He shook his head and stared down at the still sleeping Harry. The voice continued to hiss suggestions in his ear and he did his best to ignore it. He shifted and shook Harry's shoulder almost roughly.

"Wake up, Potter." He said as loudly as he dared. The sky was quickly becoming overcast, blocking the small amounts of sun that had been creeping over the horizons and through the thick trees.

Harry made some sleepy noises before his eyes fluttered open. He sat up yawning, leaves clinging to his always unruly hair. He turned, still half asleep, to face Draco.

"You still look like hell." He noted. Draco's face was covered with dried blood and bruises. His uniform was torn in several places and small amounts of blood stained most of those edges. He looked like he had been at the bad end of a bar fight.

"You look like a rubbish bin." Draco noted as he pulled a dry leaf out of Harry's hair with an uncustomary smile.

Harry stared at him for a moment wondering at Draco's smile, shook his head, brushing his hand through his hair to remove the leaves. "Let's get out of here." Harry stood up and retrieved his cloak. Draco rose more slowly and stared into the forest. He stared at his hands as if they had betrayed him. What the hell was going on?

They managed to find the path and shortly thereafter, Hagrid, who took them both back to the castle. They were both met with the promise detention and immediate deduction of points, although Draco's was to be served once he was released from Madame Pomfrey's care.

"You can do whatever you want with him tomorrow morning." She said sternly, applying the purple stinging salve to Draco's various cuts. Draco did his best to keep his face in his usual stony mask. "He fell from his broom and hit his head rather hard according Mr. Potter, not to mention some of this cuts are rather severe. He will spend the night to make sure there's no further damage." She looked sternly at the assembled teachers. "You should be happy they both survived a night in the Forbidden Forest. Punishment enough in my opinion."

Professor McGonagall looked a bit put out, but she nodded anyway. "I'll leave Mr. Potter here for you to take a good look at, please send him up to my office when you are finished."