Chapter 12

"Let's try to Apparate to Wolf Island first."

"Okay, let me try," Draco nodded. They were standing on the beach, facing the direction that they knew the tiny island was located.

"Wait. What do you think will happen if it's ... blocked or something?" Harry grabbed his arm.

"I think I won't move at all. Or in the worst case, I'll Apparate just outside the shield that has been cast," Draco said after a minute.

"Oh. Well, I'll keep my broom ready then, to pick you up if you end up in the ocean."

"Sounds like a plan," Draco chuckled lightly and prepared himself.

"Wait," Harry grabbed his arm again. "What if it lets you Apparate? There's something on that island, and we've got no idea what. You can't go there unprepared!"

"I have my wand. And if there's something dangerous, I'll Disapparate right away."

"Shouldn't we go together?"

"No, no. You flew up those cliffs, I'll try to get on the island," Draco shook his head vigorously, then shook off Harry's hand. "Don't worry."

Draco spun on the spot and disappeared. After a few seconds his feet slammed back on the sand next to Harry and he stumbled forwards in the other wizard's arms.

"That felt weird! It's like I was spit back out!" he said in a shaky voice. "Let me try again. Maybe I wasn't determined enough."

Before Harry could protest, the blonde disappeared again. Each time he tried, he smashed back on the beach, looking disorientated.

"Take a break Draco," Harry lead him to a flat rock and handed him a drink. "We'll try together next. Maybe that will work."

Draco grudgingly agreed, but the joint effort only resulted in being thrown back with double force. They landed in a big heap of entangled limbs on the warm sand. Draco let out a frustrated groan and slammed his fist to the ground. His whole body shook, shaking Harry as well. The dark-haired wizard managed to push himself up on one arm and turned his head to look at his friend. Seeing the aggravated face of the blonde, he couldn't help laughing. First Draco shot him an even more annoyed look, but then after some seconds he chuckled. Harry didn't laugh like this very often, but when he did, it was very contagious. A few moments later they were both cracking up laughing until their stomachs hurt and they were gasping for air. When they next tried to detangle themselves from eachother, they cracked up laughing again.

"Ouch! Now get off me!" Draco hiccupped when the other man collapsed on top of him.

"Damn. Then lay still!" Harry shot him a grin and finally managed to get to his feet. "Brooms next?"

As they expected, this wasn't successful either. Every time they got so near to the island that they could almost see through the trees, it was like they slammed into an invisible wall. They spent several hours trying to find a weak spot to the shield, but no matter how high or low they flew, they couldn't get in.

"Tomorrow we're going to find out where the path leads. I bet we'll come across a village sooner or later, and we can start asking around," Draco eyed the small path between the cliffs and the rainforest thoughtfully.

"Tomorrow," Harry agreed. "I'm beat. And incredibly hungry. Go fix me something to eat."

Draco shot him an indignant look, but then he lead his friend back to their camp and examined his ankle and the rest of his recently healed injuries.

"Really, I'm fine. Let me – oh that's good though! You know what? I think I'm not totally healed yet. I think you have to massage my leg. The other one too," Harry shot him a cheeky grin when Draco kneaded his ankle in some strategic places with gentle hands.

"Yeah right. I'm not gonna start giving out massages, because -"

"Because what?" Harry grinned.

"I think it's quite enough that I volunteered to make dinner every evening."

"And you have no idea how grateful I am for that," Harry grabbed his friend and pulled him into a hug. Draco grumbled something unintelligible and started gathering the things to start on dinner.


"Are you Mr. Longbottom?" Harry asked politely when they found an old man working in the garden of the house they were heading for.

"Alfred," the old man grunted when he straightened up, obviously suffering from rheumatism.

"I'm Ron," Harry extended his hand, helping the man back up the path. "And this is my friend – Vincent." He'd hesitated for a split second, casting around for a name. It had only come to his mind the last second that they had to stop using their real name.

"Are you by any chance related to Frank and Alice Longbottom?" Draco asked carefully. The old man eyed them suspiciously, then hobbled into his house.

"Are you of them lot? 'Cause if you are ... I might be a Squib, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to trespass into my house!"

"Mr. Longbottom, we just wanted to ask you some questions. We would never hurt you or force you to anything. We're – the good kind," Harry said kindly, not moving towards the man. It was obvious that the man was related to Neville, and that he knew they were wizards.

"We're friends with Neville, Frank and Alice's son," Draco put on his most charming smile. Harry didn't dare to look at his friend, he was stretching the truth. True, Harry was a good friend with Neville, but Draco never had been.

"I shared a dorm with Neville at highschool, and he helped me win a task in – a tournament a couple of years ago," Harry went on patiently.

"Neville? Augusta's grandson? She's my sister. How is she? I haven't heard from her for a while," the old man frowned.

"Last time we spoke to Neville, she was great. She's a tough woman. Did you hear that -"

The old man cut Harry off. "Oh come on in then. Let's not discuss this outside, you never know who's eavesdropping."

"Thank you Mr. Longbottom," they both chorused when they stepped inside.

"Alfred," he grumbled, but not in an unkind way. He gestured them to take a seat on the couch. They exchanged a look when he rummaged around in the kitchen to pour them both a drink. They'd been asking around carefully in the village for some days, until they found out that there only was one man who was said to have visited Wolf Island. It had seemed too big a coincidence that he was called Longbottom and they'd sought him out immediately.

Harry first told the old man all he knew about Neville and his grandmother, the news and then their heroic deeds during the Second War and the Battle of Hogwarts. Alfred didn't know all about the fights, but he'd heard enough of it to know that it had been serious. He seemed quite proud to hear that his relatives had played a profound role.

When they thought they'd softened the man up enough, they subtly changed the subject to Wolf Island. In a rush of inspiration Draco told the man they were interested in nature and wildlife, especially where there has never been any human contact. Alfred was quite impressed when they described several magical plants, ironically enough, Harry'd only remembered about the plants because Neville had told him about them. Draco surprised Harry with how much he knew about them, especially plants with healing powers. Alfred kept on saying that it would be perfect if they visited Wolf Island, but that it was not possible. As far as he knew.

But every time he said it, they noticed a flick of fear in his eyes. At the end of the afternoon they'd swapped countless stories with the old man, but they were no further than this morning to discovering how they could reach the island.

"We've got to go now, we want to get back to our camp before sunset," Draco stood up. "Thank you for your valuable advice about the plants," he extended his hand friendly.

"No problem laddie. Too bad the plants can never help me with the rheumatics. It's nice to hear about Augusta and her grandson though," he managed to smile when he'd stretched his sore limbs and shook both their hands.

"We'll see what we can do! Maybe we will find a plant that can help," Draco smiled as they said their goodbyes.


"Damn. I hate it. That you did that."

"I had to be cunning," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "And look where it lead us! No way Alfred would have told us about his boat, let alone told us where we could find it!"

They were currently sitting in Alfred's, obviously enchanted, little boat. It was the only way to reach Wolf Island without crashing on the dangerous cliffs that surrounded the island on all sides, a normal boat wouldn't have been able to.

"Yeah, yeah. But it was cunning enough to put some Veritaserum in the potion for his rheumatics. You really shouldn't have modified his memory afterwards," Harry grumbled, anxiously keeping an eye on the sharp rocks that surrounded them.

"It would have done more harm if he knew that we tricked him. Now he still thinks we're nice guys who brought him medicine against the pain. Believe me, he's better off this way."

Harry shot him another dirty look, then decided that it was no good staying angry at his friend. It had all been done, they couldn't turn back time. And besides, Alfred had told them a lot of useful things about the island. "What do you think is on there?"

"I'm not sure. Some magical creature, that's for sure," Draco said thoughtful. "He said that something got inside his head the moment he set foot on the island, right?"

"It was scary enough for him to never go back," Harry shuddered. "We could try Shield Charms, there's nothing else I can think of."

"Maybe there's more – things protecting the dark object. We need to stick together, no matter what."

"At least it's a small island," Harry tried to smile, but it turned out as a pained grimace.

"Here we go," Draco scrambled up when the boat bumped into solid land. They both jumped out, crouching low on the rocky beach, wands at the ready. Just like Alfred had described, the moment their feet touched the ground, a voice sounded inside their heads. It was a lot of shouting and threatening, words stringing together in no particular order, making it all the more scary. Harry managed to cast a Shield Charm, but it only held for mere minutes. It was enough to throw eachother a terrified look and realize that they were both hearing the same voice. Or was it a voice? It was more like alien thoughts going through their minds, thoughts that weren't their own. Parts of phrases tumbling over eachother, not making sense at all, but at the same time quite clear. They were supposed to leave the island and never come back.

Harry fell down on his knees, his hands clamped over his ears to stop the loud voice. It was like having a particularly lively déjà-vu. He'd had his mind invaded on too many previous occasions, and it had always lead him into dangerous situations. It had lead to deaths of people he cared about.

The moment he realized that, he jumped up.

Draco! Draco was here with him, and he wouldn't let him die!

But Draco was staring in the distance, a blank look on his face. When Harry grabbed his arm, he seemed to come back to his senses and turned towards his friend. "Occlumency. Occlumency works Harry. Try it!"

"I can't!" Harry said through gritted teeth. "I've never been able to!"

The blonde grabbed both Harry's arms and dragged him back to the boat. Harry breathed out relieved when the voice in his head stopped.

"What the hell is that!"

"I don't know."

"You're really good at Occlumency then, aren't you?" Harry looked at his friend astonished.

"Told you so. I can't believe you never believed me!"

They stared at eachother for a few seconds. "I'm gonna get back. I need to find out what's hiding there," Draco said.

"I'm coming with you. Voice or no voice, you're not going there alone."

Draco looked at his friend, but decided it would be a waste of energy to try and convince Harry to let him go by himself. He shrugged and jumped back onto the island.

It turned out to be quite exhausting to keep focusing on Occlumency and explore the surroundings carefully at the same time. After less than ten minutes he felt a major headache coming up, and one look at Harry's ashen face made him decide to turn back to the boat. Just when he turned around, a movement caught his eye. He took Harry's hand and made him look in the same direction.

They both gasped for air when they saw the creature. It was a dragon-like snake. And it was swallowing his own tail. It was shaped in a perfect circle.

"Who are you?" Harry said astonished, without knowing switching to Parseltongue.

"It's no use talking to me in snake language. As you can see, I'm not able to answer. Neither can I hear, or see," the voice resounded in Harry's head. For the first time it made whole sentences, and made sense.

"Sorry. Who are you?" Harry thought the question, rather than say it out loud.

"I'm eternity. I'm immortality. I'm everlastingness."

Thoughts were tumbling over eachother in Harry's mind, his mind was racing.

"You're not making any sense. But you are very brave, coming here. Why did you come here?" the snake-like creature said in Harry's head.

Immediately the warnings in the runes sprang to the wizard's mind. 'He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die.'

"So you did not come here ... accidentally. You came here to seek for the Means to No End," the creature sounded in a harsh tone.

"Yes."

"You wish to get the knowledge? You want to rise to immortality?"

"No."

"Do not attempt to lie to me. I can see your every thought, if I wish to. I can uncover your deepest desires. I don't even have to look far to see that you wish to destroy everything that can give power to Dark Wizards. Why do you call them Dark? Aren't they full of greatness? Full of talents?"

"We call them Dark because they wish to rule. Over everything. No matter what cost. They wish to conquer death, because it will give them control over everything. There will be nothing left for them to fear if they conquer their last enemy." The look on Harry's face was grim, determined.

"You know ... you might have all the qualities to be great. I see that you have conquered the greatest Dark Wizard of your time."

"Of my time? There have been others? In other times?"

"Of course there have been."

"How old are you?" Harry looked at the scaly skin, the head with the closed eyes. There was no way of determining how old this creature was.

"I have been since the beginning of time. I was never born. A circle has no end and no beginning."

"I do not wish to be immortal. I do not wish to be great."

"You think greatness and success are something dirty? Something you should stay away from?"

"Yes."

"So your purpose ... you wish to destroy the way to immortality." It was a statement, not a question.

"No! No, no I do not wish to ..." but Harry wasn't able to finish the thought. He knew that his deepest desire was to destroy whatever this creature was protecting. Every fiber in his body was determined to destroy the dark object that could do so much damage if it fell into the wrong hands. And the creature knew it too.

Draco had been staring at Harry and the snake silently. He didn't dare to open his mind to the creature's voice, because he was sure that's where the voice came from. It had seemed relatively harmless though, up until this moment. Harry's face screwed up in pain, his whole body started to tremble and shake uncontrollably. Draco half dragged, half carried his friend back to the boat, tears streaming down both their faces. Draco couldn't even start to imagine what horrible things were going on inside the dark-haired man's mind, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing Harry.

The blonde couldn't stop thinking about the last line of runes they found in the sea in Spain. 'He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die.'

He knew that it was Harry's greatest desire to destroy whatever was out here. He just knew it. He shouldn't have allowed Harry to come here with him. Now he was going to die. He just knew it, and at the same time he didn't believe that Harry would die. Not after all he did. Not after he destroyed Voldemort. Because what was here that could be worse, could be more lethal than the Dark Lord? It was impossible!

Draco heaved his friend into the small boat and wrapped his arms around the shaking body. Neither of them noticed when the boat took off and brought them back to the main island, where they'd set up their camp so many weeks ago.

"It's gonna be okay Harry. You're gonna be okay," Draco kept on chanting,

"I'm not. I don't deserve it!" Harry yelled at the top of his voice.

"Of course you don't deserve this agony. You don't deserve to – die."

"No! I don't deserve to be okay! Ever again! I just don't deserve it!" Harry howled. Draco hauled him out of the boat when they hit the sandy beach, carefully laying him on the warm sand. He couldn't be sure if Harry was in physical pain, or if it was all in his head. His face was screwed up in agony, a tortured, haunted look in his green eyes.

"Harry, listen to me. You're a good man. You're better than anyone I know. You defeated the Dark Lord. You saved the wizarding world from all this evil. You saved the whole world from a lot of misery. You deserve all the happiness in the world. I don't know what that damned snake tried to make you believe, but you'd better believe me. You're gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay."

"Don't. Don't say that. It's not true," Harry said in an agonized voice, but he was calmer already.

"Yes it is. You're a good man," Draco kept on telling Harry until he stopped howling and shaking. The haunted look didn't leave the green eyes though, and Draco eyed him worriedly when they stumbled back to their camp together. They were both exhausted beyond belief, but too tired and shook-up to even think of going to sleep.

"I should have learned Occlumency," Harry mumbled, breaking the silence after a long time.

"You – spoke with the snake?"

"He was talking in my mind," Harry nodded and told Draco all he could remember. He stopped when the agony had started, his body starting to shake all over again. Draco didn't hesitate, but rummaged in his backpack for a few seconds until he found the vial with the potion he was looking for. Without a word he made Harry drink it all, and the dark-haired man sank into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.


The next few days all passed in the same, slow, dreadful way. Harry didn't do anything by himself, Draco sent him to wash up, told him to eat, told him to go to sleep, told him to come with him for a walk. The blonde kept on talking, talking about anything he could think of. Stories about Hogwarts, about their encounters in Quidditch, about his holidays with his parents. When he was out of stories, he'd switch back to an endless stream of encouragements and summed up everything that Harry had done for the wizarding world and anything that he could do with his life if he wanted. He could learn any job he wanted, he'd get a job anywhere. He could stay in England, or go abroad if he wanted. Anything, just anything he wanted to do.

But Harry didn't react.

The only reaction that Draco got to his neverending talking, was that Harry seemed calm and his eyes were clear. The moment Draco stopped talking, Harry would shudder and tremble, his eyes unfocused, his face twisted in agony. In the evening Draco would give him the potion for a dreamless sleep, but unfortunately it worked only for four or five hours and he was scared of side-effects if he would give his friend a double dose. The remaining hours of the night Draco wrapped himself around the rocking and trembling body as if to physically stop him.

Only twice they'd managed to have a conversation. Draco had pressed that the Death Eaters could be hot on their heels by now, but Harry clearly wasn't in any shape to go back to Wolf Island, and Draco didn't want to leave him behind alone either. Draco had suggested that they'd call for help of their friends, but Harry'd refused to use his DA-galleon to call Hermione and Ron.

Another week passed, and Draco was sure of two things. First; that Harry was slowly going insane. This was how the snake would kill the person who wanted to destroy the Magical Object. Drive him insane until he killed himself. The second thing Draco was sure of, was that he could not, would not let this happen.

During all his babbling, his mind was working at top speed, coming up with all kinds of risky plans to go back to Wolf Island. He had to talk to the snake. Find out what exactly he was protecting. And then find out how he could destroy it.


"Harry, we need to talk," he said to his friend, who was sitting on the edge of their camp, his back resting to a tree. The lifeless green eyes moved in his direction, so Draco knew he was listening.

"I'm going back to Wolf Island tomorrow."

"No," Harry said in a flat tone.

"Yes. You can either ask Hermione and Ron to come here –"

Harry cut him off. "No! They're not gonna be dragged into this! They deserve a happy and peaceful life. I'm not gonna use my DA galleon!"

"What if I use it?" Draco said calmly. Harry immediately shook his head and his hand shot to his left pocket unconsciously.

"Then I'm gonna take you to Alfred Longbottom. You can stay with him when I ..."

"No. No, Draco. He – the snake's gonna kill you! You can't use Occlumency if you want to find out what it is he's hiding! And once his voice gets in your head -" Harry's voice broke off in a violent shudder that went through his whole body.

"I have to do something. I can't just sit here and watch you – watch you like this."

"You can't go to that horrible island alone," Harry said softly, shaking his head slowly as he stared at the floor. "You can't. You can't destroy it. It's not possible."

"What are you suggesting then? Go back home? I can take you to St. Mungo's, and they can –"

"I'm not worth the trouble Draco. You can ... just ... leave me."

Draco had to bend closer to hear the last words, but he wished he hadn't heard them. Harry was in a worse state than he feared. He hadn't just given up hope of destroying the dark object, but he didn't want to go home anymore either. He'd just given up everything!

Draco's heart broke, but at the same time a determination that he'd never felt before in his life came over him. He sprang to his feet and grabbed Harry's upper arms, forcing him to stand up and slammed him with his back to the tree.

Their faces were very close when the blonde snarled, "You are gonna tell me everything again that the snake said to you. In detail. And then I'm going to Wolf Island, whether you want it or not. You can't stop me!"

"Bravo! I don't know how you beat us here, but I'm impressed!" a male voice sounded a short distance behind Draco. Harry's eyes opened wide as the blond spun around, his wand in his hand instantly. He pointed it at the two men who were facing them.

"Don't point that at us, but at him," the second man spoke. "Malfoy, isn't it? Impressed indeed. I thought you and your family switched to the other side when the Dark Lord fell."

"Draco Malfoy," Draco nodded as he stepped a bit closer to the two men, who were obviously Death Eaters. "You are just with two?"

"We initially started out with a lot more, but yes, just two of us now. Well, three if we count you in. How did you get Potter?"

"And how the hell did bloody Potter find out about 'the Means to No End'?" the other man grumbled. "Always the same idiots in our way. I guess it's time to finish him off once and for all."

"No! He's mine!" Draco pulled a threatening face. It was obvious that they thought Draco was on their side, and that he'd been threatening Harry the moment they reached their camp. "I caught him, so he's mine. I get to decide what to do with him."

Draco turned around to look at Harry, shielding him from the Death Eaters' looks. Harry's eyes seemed more alive than they'd been in days.

"Draco? What -"

The blonde silenced him with an almost invisible shake of his head. "Do you trust me?" he said as quietly as possible. He held his breath when he waited for his friend's answer. Did Harry really trust him? Now that his mind was haunted by voices, now that both their lives were at stake?

Harry looked into the grey eyes, then realized that Draco was really waiting for an answer. "Of course," he whispered. He could see the blonde's jaws clench together when he shoved him forcefully to another tree, a bigger one. He thought he felt something in his pocket for a second, but then his back made contact with the trunk and all air was knocked out of him.

"Sit down. And tell me exactly what that snake told you," Draco said in a harsh voice, towering over him.

"Everything?" Harry looked up into the grey eyes. He couldn't want the two Death Eaters to hear it all too, could he?

"Yes," the grey eyes bored into the green ones. "Every single word Potter!"

So Harry told everything once again.

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten to tell anything?"

"I told you everything. Now please leave me alone," Harry sobbed, unable to stop himself. The horrors in his head were too lively, too real. He deserved to die. If only they would leave him alone, so that he could –

"You're such a pussy! Get a grip man! Are you the one who killed the Dark Lord? You, this little sobbing boy?" the Death Eater spat at him.

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head tiredly. He was just so tired. If only they would leave him in peace.

"We'd better go. It will get dark in just a few hours," Draco stood up and turned around at the two other men.

"No! Don't go with them!" Harry suddenly realized that Draco was gonna go with the two Death Eaters.

"Of course I'm going Potter! Who doesn't want to reach immortality? Who would be foolish enough to stay behind?" the grey eyes turned cold, colder than Harry ever remembered seeing them.

"Shouldn't we take him with us?"

"He'd only be in the way," Draco shook his head at the elder man. "Look at him. I'll just tie him up and then we can go." The blonde flicked his wand and ropes tied themselves around Harry and the tree trunk.

"No, no. Not you! Don't go with them!" Harry sobbed, watching the silvery blonde head disappear together with the two Death Eaters.

Draco didn't even look back.


Harry sat there, bound to the tree by the ropes, but even if he wouldn't have been tied up he wouldn't have had the strength to move. All hope was gone.

His best friend was gone.

A violent shiver ran up his spine when a new thought settled in his brain. Was he really a friend? How could the Death Eaters have turned up at exactly this moment? Was it just a coincidence that Draco arranged the holiday to Spain where they happened to stumble across the ancient runes? How could his best friend look at him with those eyes cold as stone? Was he really his friend, or had it all been set up from the very beginning?

Had Draco used him? He got a private teacher so that he excelled in Potions. Had Draco maybe known that somewhere along the way of following this ancient trail, he'd come across a snake? Had he pretended to be Harry's friend just because he thought he needed someone who spoke Parseltongue?

Harry closed his eyes tightly, tears squeezing from the corners. He couldn't believe it. Draco had told him everything. He really was his best friend. Nobody could keep up a charade while being so close to someone. While living with that person. Sleeping with that person. Getting drunk with that person. Draco had really poured his heart out on several occasions. It just wasn't possible that he'd deceived Harry. Was it?

But he was a Slytherin and a Malfoy after all. He was good at Occlumency. He probably could do Legilimency also. He knew where to find information about Dark Magic. His father, the cruel, vile man had helped, told them where to get more information. That couldn't be right. It had all been set up from the beginning by those cursed blondes.

Harry couldn't believe that he'd fallen for it. That he'd almost fallen for Draco, fallen in love with him. Almost. Almost. But not quite. No. Not totally. Not at all. Not completely. Just a little bit. Just ... he hadn't fallen in love with him. No. But he loved him nonetheless. He loved him more than life itself. It wouldn't matter if Harry died right here and now, as long as Draco survived and was okay. That was all that mattered.

He definitely wasn't in love with Draco. Right?

But what if ... Draco had been on the Dark side all along? If he actually achieved his goal? Discovered the way to immortality? Used it? Then it wouldn't be okay if Draco lived. Because he'd ... No. No. No. That could notbe true. Draco was his best friend. Draco was a good man. He had only been a Death Eater because of his father. His father who had helped them to get here.

For hours on end Harry's mind reeled. One moment he was convinced that Draco had been on the Dark side all along, the next moment he was sure that he was his best friend and loyal. That he was finding a way to get rid of the Death Eaters and destroy the magical object that would lead to immortality. But even when he thought that, he knew deep down inside that it was not possible to destroy it. Because whoever stepped up to destroy it, would do that only if it was their greatest desire. And that was exactly what the snake would play at ... he'd drive that person insane. Just as Harry was going insane at this moment. Harry knew it was happening, but he just couldn't stop it. He was fighting it, but it was a lost battle.

Long after it had gotten dark, he sank into unconsciousness out of mental and physical exhaustion. He smiled and welcomed the darkness that engulfed him.