Here all of you are. I know that these are probably horrendously choppy chapters and I sincerely apologize. It is that part of the story that I put together the clips I've written and I'm having a spot of trouble when it comes to making them flow together easily. Not to mention I'm having to redo some of them because, in the original version, Draco gets kidnapped and I decided to scrap that idea, so I'm fighting with that and the necessary alterations. So, sorry again.

Disclaimer: Nope.

Chapter Fourteen

Draco. His twin had stayed on his mind ever since his suicide attempt. Not even Aunt Bella had been able to move him from his grief. Val sat outside on a stone ledge protruding from the rough wall of the garden, letting the pouring rain drench him. He didn't know how long he had been there but it had been quite some time. He imagined that Tom would be very put out when he realized that he wasn't coming to class. In fact, he had not been inside all day. Not to eat, not to watch over Draco in the medical wing. His eyes focused solely on the tender jasmine flowers his brother loved so much. The cold had devoured his small, weak body some time ago and left him shaking uncontrollably. His skin was icy and numb. A sound from behind him went ignored until a warm, heavy cloak fell around his shoulders.

"Val…" Tom whispered, picking him up and cradling him in his arms.

His suitor carried him to the house but it wasn't until he was placed in their bed that Tom's worry hit.

"Val! Your lips are blue! Oh, Merlin! Were you out there all this time?!"

He finally realized himself how cold he really was.

"All…this time?" He managed to get out in between his teeth chattering.

Tom seemed more concerned than angry, but the anger was there still. It burned in his eyes.

"Val, you've been missing for six hours! We've been looking all over for you!"

Six hours? Even he was surprised. He had just lost track of time.

Tom took his sopping clothes off and wrapped him in several large blankets gently but his hands jerked in anger every so often. Once he was safely tucked away, the irate Dark Lord stalked over to the fireplace to firecall his parents. Just a few seconds later, Severus and Lucius rushed through the door with the potion's master's large black bag in hand. They both hurried to his side and Val felt guilty for causing them such distress. It had been foolish of him to wander off on his own when they had just almost lost Draco. His brother had nearly died.

'Stop!!' He yelled at himself.

He would not think about that! Too think about it would be admitting that something was wrong with Draco...There was nothing wrong with him. Draco was perfect.



"Val…"Lucius sighed, checking his temperature.

The hand jerked back almost instantly.

"Severus, he's burning up."

His father turned to talk to Tom while his Dad crammed different potions down his throat. The speech just turned to buzzing in his ears as if everything were blurring together. His mind swam and the potions all came up in one foul gush of black bile. He couldn't stop heaving. He was sobbing, heaving and shaking from cold all at once and couldn't draw breath. Before he could think of how to stop on his own, Tom's soothing presence filled his mind.

'Breathe.'

That single demand conquered his whole body, bringing it all to a halt. Val still couldn't understand the speech around him but his stomach spasms had stopped and he was left to gasp the precious air. Tom's arms encircled him and Severus banished the ruined mess. He was so hot, he felt cold, now. He clung to him, desperately whispering a prayer but all that came out was a jumble of hisses. Blackness met him like a tender lover. When he was asleep, he saw Draco.

The blonde smiled slightly, weakly.

"We're dreaming, aren't we?" He asked, looking around the garden that he had just been found in, the rain still coming down in steady buckets.

Dray nodded, taking his hand gently.

'I'm sorry, Val. I was so…stupid. I hurt you-" His brother began but Val jerked him into a crushing embrace.

"I don't care about that!! I don't care! I care about you Draco Malfoy!" He yelled angrily while tears fell freely.

Draco pulled him down for a long, lingering kiss, pulling the boy into his lap. Val blushed, smiling a little. His face fell at exactly the same moment that Draco's did. The rain turned into a steady black ooze.

"I can't be a Death Eater, Valraven. I can't. It-" He paused and his bottom lip trembled, "It'll kill me. I would rather kill myself than face that. And I don't feel like I deserve you. I feel so…sad. It seems as if Tom is taking you from me and there is nothing that I can do about it. Promise me, Val. Promise me that you won't say yes to any proposal he makes. Say that you will stay mine." He begged.

Val was struck by the desperation in his voice. What else could he do? If he said he couldn't, it would destroy Draco just as soon as being a Death Eater would. It was the first time that Val realized that he had to be the strong one now. He had to be strong for Draco this time. He had to protect him.

"I promise… I'll always be yours. No matter what. No matter what happens between Tom and I." He whispered but inside, he knew that he would give himself up to keep Draco safe.



He knew it was an empty promise because if Tom offered protection for his brother, there wasn't anything that he wouldn't do.

Tom sat in his empty bedroom, thinking over his proposition and the coming night that he had been waiting so long for. Valraven was becoming a beautiful young man. He deserved to be seen in public with his lover. That was why the Dark Lord sat, a small grin on his lips, fashioning himself a new identity. He would get it done before Thursday, his and Val's first date together. He couldn't wait to see the look on Val's face when he saw all of the work he had put into it. Family histories, birth certificates, altered memories. The works. No stone would be left unturned. He had even found a man, dead now, obviously, that was so close to Tom's own looks that it was disturbing. He would become him, taking his identity and making it his own. Nothing was too good for Val. He wanted to give him everything, after all. His heart, his mind, his empire and his soul.

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