KURAGE NO UTA, a harry potter fanfic

Author's Note

I love the song Kurage No Uta sang by Clear in DRAMAtical Murder and while listening to it today, a story emerged and I had to write it. Hope you like it.

Disclaimer

I don't own HP, sadly.

TMR POV

Stifling a sign of despair (because that would be quite unbecoming of a dark lord) I looked around the excited faces of Hogwarts students, both young and old and once more, I cursed the Malfoys for my predicament.

It all started this morning when Lucius received a missive from his heir, bragging about how Slytherin was going to beat Gryfindor or specifically Potter at the impromptu ball that Dumbledore had forced upon their throats and if that wasn't enough, there was also going to be a talent show;

'an opportunity for all the houses to make their founders proud' as Dumbledore had so cheerfully said according to mini Malfoy and to make everything more interesting, he had created an object similar to that of the goblet of fire and so the contestants from each house would be chosen randomly.

And because I was inexplicably bored with nothing to do, being a dark lord is such a bore, I was persuaded (read: coerced) by the lady Malfoy to attend in one of my many disguises and seeing the opportunity to watch Potter suffer because knowing the boys luck, he would be chosen, I decided why not?

Perhaps this would lift the cloud of unfathomable boredom I was feeling and that evening, we were on our way to Hogwarts to watch this spectacle and that's where I find myself, surrounded by 'infants' in my opinion who would not stop staring at me.

I knew this form was attractive but still.

If only I could crucio all of them for their insolence!

I decided to ignore them and study the other member at my table.

My eyes moved swiftly, cataloging everything with just one glance and I was disappointed to see that there was nobody that caught my interest, ministry workers!

I was about to retreat into my mind 'till the time came for the 'show', when a whispered conversation from two hufflepuffs caught my attention;

"Do you know what happened to Potter? He seems different somehow this year, distant even" one of them was asking her companion

"So you noticed too? He has distanced himself a lot from his housemates. Maybe something happened during the summer?"

I didn't hear the rest of what they were talking about, too caught up on the idea that Potter, the golden boy himself was somehow distancing himself and perhaps finally getting his independence from everyone who sought to control him.

I practically salivated.

Finally I could get to see Potter under that carefully constructed mask that even I, the greatest dark lord in history couldn't break.

Soon enough, the contest started and it was interesting to say the least, what with so many of the chosen ones not knowing what to perform but nothing extraordinary happened 'till it was only Gryfindor and Slytherin left.

Now this, I had to see and so I started paying more attention than before.

What was most surprising about this whole thing though was that hadn't caught a glimpse of Potter since I arrived some odd hours earlier even though I could see Weasley and Granger sitting among other gryfindors.

So the rumors were true? The golden trio was splitting up? I barely managed to stop myself from cackling loudly.

"Now with only two houses remaining for their performances, I hope you will keep an open mind. This is for both the youngsters and adults to enjoy and I hoped we have achieved that. Please continue"

Why did he have to cast sonorous? I grumbled internally after Dumbledore's voice had violently ejected me from my thoughts.

Slytherin went first, of course and if any of the snakes had known who exactly was sitting next to the Malfoys, they would have been too scared to even perform and that thought relaxed me, the knowledge that I could inspire such fear still left me feeling high like the times after I had just casted a crucio.

Oh, the good times.

"For Slytherin, we have Draco Malfoy performing a love song and to ensure that there is no cheating involved, I placed a detection spell that will immediately inform us if Mr. Malfoy's song isn't his own creation. You have five minutes Mr. Malfoy to come up with new song lyrics and your time starts now!"

That was certainly an unexpected but not an unwelcome surprise.

What would the young Mr. Malfoy have in store for us? Didn't take long for me to find out

Mini Malfoy went up the raised platform without any obvious nerves showing but given that I had spent all my life studying people, I could see the slight shaking of his body, especially when he glanced up and caught my eye.

So his parents had informed him who was going to be here? Interesting

Slowly and softly, a sound began emitting from all around us and it gradually grew and that's when Malfoy junior dropped a bombshell on us when he opened his mouth and started spouting lyrics;

Hold on, what's the rush, what's the rush we're not done are we
Cause I don't need to change this atmosphere we've made if
You can stay one more hour, can you stay one more hour

I could hardly believe that he wrote this in under five minutes and that he could write a love song but didn't have time to contemplate it more for more when he continued singing;

You know I'm gonna find a way to let you have your way with me
You know I'm gonna find a time to catch your hand and make you stay

Hold on, I'll be here when it's all done you know
Cause what's the point in chasing if I can't enjoy your face and
We can't be wrong tonight, can we be wrong tonight

You know I'm gonna find a way to let you have your way with me
You know I'm gonna find a time to catch your hand and make you stay
I don't care what clothes you wear, it's time to love and I don't care
You know I'm gonna find a way to let you have your way with me

And if I was running, you'd be the one who I would be running to
And if I was crying, you would be lining the cloud that would pull me through
And if I was scared, then I would be glad to tell you and walk away
But I am not lying, I am just trying to find my way in to you

If I was running
If I was crying
If I was scared
You know I'm gonna find a way to let you have your way with me

The song ended on a low note and the entire great hall was silent, many if not all the people staring at Malfoy as if seeing him for the first time.

If I had to take a guess, I would say that most were amazed that Malfoy could come up with those lyrics and sing them with such heart and that he had an adequate (read: beautiful) voice. Even his parents were looking at him in wonder which was an expression you don't get to see on a Malfoy everyday

Clapping from the Slytherin side finally broke the stupor people had fallen in and claps overpowered the hall for a minute before Dumbledore stood to take the name of the final contest and from his expression when he opened the small piece of paper, it was Potter's name on it.

"Our last contestant of the night is Harry Potter who will be performing a song also but there's somewhat of a twist with this one. He has to perform it in a Japanese and it must be about someone close who we will have the liberty of seeing as the song progresses through his memories" during all that, Potter was nowhere to be found and as if summoned by my thoughts alone, he appeared on the entrance on the hall with a positively murderous expression on his face.

"I was sleeping you know?" to anybody else, that may have sounded like a joke but from what I could detect through our bond, he was not amused.

"I'm sorry my boy but rules are rules. Now do you know what you need to do?"

"Your voice is very loud" was his short answer, clearly feeling as I did about Dumbledore's sonorous.

He was given the same amount of time as Malfoy junior and when his time was up, he walked very slowly towards the raised platform without even once glancing at his 'so called' friends.

When he was finally up, he briefly glanced at our table and I saw recognition in his eyes and I shot him a challenging smirk;

'What are you going to do?' I asked

He just shrugged his shoulders as if saying;

'What do I care?' before the melody to his song started and he closed his eyes.

The melody conveyed so much. There was so much melancholy, sadness and hope in just one beat and I could see that everyone in the hall was feeling it too.

I was enraptured and for the first time in my life, I thanked Dumbledore for the translation spell he had casted so we could all understand what he was singing about.

He started singed and it was mesmerizing to watch;

yurayura yurameku nami no ma ni
kirakira kagayaku koe wa tada yure kanata e to

A photography of a young male with clear Japanese features appeared behind him, he was so pale with pale white hair and two moles near his mouth. He looked happy.

yume miru KURAGE wa uta utau yo
yasashii umibe de nemuru

The photographs kept changing. Showing the same person but in different places with different expressions but they moved too quickly for me to analyze them. Through all this, Potter's eyes were still closed and he was gently swaying, like his song.

yurayura yurameku hikari no tsubu
kirakira kagayaki koe wa tada yure anata e to

donna toki demo kono uta hibiki watareba
donna iro demo sunda sore ni tarete yuku yo

The next two verses went through me like silk, a lover's caress.

yurayura yurameku nami no ma ni
kirakira kagayaku koe wa tada yure kanata e to

That all changed though when the images began changing. Instead of the happy and smiling young man we were seeing before, he wasn't smiling in this, how could he when he looked on the brink of death?

yume miru KURAGE wa uta kanade
kirakira kagayaku koe wa tada yure anata e to

The last verse left everyone quite emotional, especially when we all saw him die in Potter's arms.

The abrupt end of the song seemed to have brought Potter out of whatever trance he had fallen in and he left without saying a word to anyone and no one made any attempts to follow him.

I couldn't do that though because no matter how much Potter had foiled my plans in the past, he didn't deserve to grieve alone and that decision was the best I have ever made in my immortal life.

Translation for the song

Sway, sway, swaying between the waves
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkling, their voices drift into the distance

The dreaming jellyfish sing their song
and sleep on the gentle shore

Sway, sway, swaying, a ray of light
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkling, their voices drift to you

No matter when, as long as this song echoes out
In many colors, they hang in the clear sky

Sway, sway, swaying between the waves
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkling, their voices drift into the distance

The dreaming jellyfish play their song
Sparkle, sparkle, sparkling, their voices drift to you

The songs are Find A Way by SafetySuit and Kurage no uta by Clear.