A/N: I haven't the time to re-read this chapter. Hopefully I didn't make massive grammar error (and or miss some important points for this chapter).
XXVI. ZENITHDraco didn't know what happened when potter went to see Voldemort. The body-bind spell had been released from him. His mind was in chaos. He couldn't sense potter through their bond.
Horcrux. Harry Potter was a horcrux. Draco remembered the impenetrable void he found in Potter's mind.
"Dragon!" Draco suddenly remembered the dragon dwelling on his arm. He pulled up his sleeve and spoke to the dragon tattoo. "Dragon- no, wait. I named you Emerald. Emerald! Find Harry Potter!"
"Draco? Are…you alright?" Blaise asked as he saw Draco talking to his arm. "You have dragon tattoo? How come I didn't know? When did you make it?"
"I can't find him," said the dragon.
"What do you mean you can't find him? Didn't you—"
"Draco! Are you really alright?" Blaise cut Draco's words. They were outside the Great Hall doors. Blaise found Draco lying on the floor by the Grand Staircase and brought him into the Great Hall where most of the Hogwarts wounded residents rested. He was also the one who released the binding curse from Draco.
Upon seeing the misfortunate students and professors, even ghosts, Draco felt terrible and decided to move outside the hall.
Draco looked at Blaise, furrowed. He then understood. Only him able to hear the dragon's voice. Draco moved his eyes toward the dragon again, silently asking it with his eyes.
"I can smell where his body is, but I cannot smell him in his body," the dragon said.
"What do you mean?" Draco asked again. At this point, Blaise glanced at Draco's head and then gave up and ignored Draco at all.
"His soul, youngling, I cannot scent out his soul."
When he heard that, all blood was drained from Draco's face. In that moment, he felt the turbulence in the bond's connection and a moment later there was nothing. He couldn't fell anything in the connection.
"What- what is it now?" Draco stood up, clenching his chest.
"Hm?" the dragon questioned his host.
"I- I can't feel him," Draco said weakly. Then he looked sharp to the dragon, "Did you take my magic again?"
"No… By this time, it is likely that your magic has returned about seventy percent. Something must have happened to you mate," the dragon said as it began to doze. But in a flash, it opened its eyes wide and stiffened. "Calm down."
How could Draco calm down? Harry was in danger! Even if he wanted to calm down, because really, why would Draco afraid if something terrible hit Harry, his mind and heart was in chaos out of his control. Moreover the bond that bound Draco's being to Harry was also acting in pandemonium.
…He wouldn't worry about Potter, right? ...Right?
Oh, maybe, maybe Draco wasn't worried. But the bond seemed extremely anxious and thus, decided to act on its own accord.
Draco felt everything was slowing down. His breath was slowing down, too. Blaise's voice sounded delayed. His vision tilted and then Draco lost consciousness.
~o~
Draco opened his eyes and feeling so heavy. His surrounding was all black—or dark to be precise, and mute. He stood up and noticed that his movement became lagged. And it was as if the air had no temperature. He couldn't feel anything at all. The atmosphere was so dense. It frightened Draco.
He clenched his hand and realised that he didn't have a wand in his hand!
"Where the hell is this?!" Draco panicked. But there was no use to panic. It would only do nothing to help with his situation. So Draco started to walk ahead, without a care of directions or where would his feet take him.
When he felt that it had been half hour walk, suddenly the gravity dropped and squeezed the air, bringing Draco down and he fell on his knees. Unknown force vacuumed everything, caused Draco to curl into fetal position. His lungs contracted; he painfully trying to suck air as much as he could. And then suddenly everything went back to normal. Gravity worked and he could breathe normally again.
Draco stood up and started to run, hoping he would find an exit. Not a minute passed, he felt so light. His feet didn't feel any solid to step. Draco couldn't see anything in the total darkness, but he could feel his clothes and hair began to float.
"Zero gravity now?" Draco chirped. What kind of place is this? Draco tried to swim in the air. He didn't know if he made movement with that or not because he couldn't feel the air.
This time, after about five minutes, suddenly Draco's body fell down. It felt like he fell into a deep pit. He screamed. After finally his body hit the ground, immediately his body bounced hard and was thrown fast and far somewhere.
"Ouch…!" Draco held his forehead and rubbed it in distress. He looked around and was almost choked to death by the air when he saw two red dots right in front of him. Draco crawled backward in shock.
When he reached a certain distance, he was stopped by a tug from his chest. Draco raised his hand to feel his chest, thinking in fear that maybe a (invincible) hand had grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him forward. But there was nothing on his jacket.
Instead, Draco's eyes started to see again! A gleaming silver thin line started to appear, giving eyes source of light to see. Draco noticed the line was attached to his chest. His eyes trailed the line to search for the other end. He was surprised when the line ended below those two red dots.
The gleaming line dimmed and shone brighter alternatively. And when it shone brighter, Draco's eyes able to see a shape there. Draco braving himself to approach forward. Those two red dots didn't move anyway. When he arrived at the spot, Draco tried to touch the gleaming line. He actually could touch it! So, moving the line left and right up forward and backward over the object to examine it, finally Draco able to recognise it. Lying on the dark ground was Harry Potter.
"Potter!" Draco called. He discovered that the gleaming silver line turned out to be their bond.
Harry was unconscious. Draco reached forward to wake him but he heard a hiss, then he was pushed away by invincible force.
"What…?" Draco was suspicious now. He thought that those two red dots might be a pair of eyes. He focused on the bond, wished its line to grow thicker and glow brighter. He felt a pulse in his chest and a second later the bond's line was actually growing thicker and gleaming even brighter! And finally the whole form of those red dots was revealed.
A disfigured creature as small as a human baby curled against…Draco moved a few steps forward, "Potter?!"
What the fvck?! What's going on? Where is this place?
"Potter!" Draco called, but Potter seemed to not moving. Even, he looked lifeless. Meanwhile the creature kept its eyes on Draco, watching him intently.
Draco walked closer but again, the creature hissed aggressively. Draco stopped. The more he listened to the hiss, the more it sounded similar like Parseltongue. Draco furrowed. He was thinking of many why's regarding to this current situation. He wondered jokingly if that creature was some kind of Voldemort's manifestation, part of his soul left in Harry when the dark wizard tried to kill baby Harry Potter.
Draco felt as if he was drowning into a freezing lake. He stopped breathing.
Could…could it be that it was indeed Voldemort's remain?
Suddenly Draco remembered about the horcrux. And then he remembered the void inside Harry's mind. His face paled.
"No…it can't be…"
Could it be that Draco was currently inside that void? And if that creature was indeed the horcrux soul, how to destroy it? He couldn't summon the Gryffindor's Sword, could he?
Draco moved fast forward, trying to catch Potter and pulled him away from the creature, but again, he was being thrown back. So he was thinking of using the bond's string. He grasped it with both hands and started pulling, hoping Potter would be dragged along with it. It failed, of course.
But,
"Ugh…"
"Potter!" Draco moved one foot forward after he heard Potter. "Potter can you hear me? Can you see me?"
Harry opened his eyes, glancing at Draco but didn't move his head. He only nodded weakly. The creature attached on Harry's body must be suppressing him, Draco though. Suddenly Draco had an idea. He stepped backward few feet and noticed the bond's string lengthened as well. He took a hold of the string and started to walk encircling Potter and the creature from a distant. He walked about ten rounds while gradually pulling tighter in each round until the line bound the creature.
Realising it was being wrapped tightly by the silver string, the creature screeched at Draco. Draco ran toward it and kicked it far away from Potter. Then he picked up the immobilised Harry and ran as fast as his leg could move.
With Harry's thin body, the weight didn't slow Draco's speedrun significantly in traveling through the void. But no matter how long he ran, the surrounding was still dark. He glanced at Potter he was carrying bridal style and saw that Potter made little movement with his head.
"Are you gaining your power?" Draco asked while still running blindly. He hoped the void wasn't an endless labyrinth. He felt tingling sensation in his chest. He looked down and saw Harry was clutching their bond's string. Oh, was he gaining power from the bond? Good!
He didn't know how long had he run, and Draco began to lose energy. He was getting weaker and his magic seemed dimming. Meanwhile, Harry looked more alive than before and he was trying to say something to Draco.
"Following…behind…" Harry spoke haltingly.
Draco turned his head and look behind him. Turned out, the whole time they were running dragging the creature along with them, still bonded with the bond's string. He didn't feel anything because it was really weightless. But he noticed the creature's state was firmer than before.
"Fvck! It's feeding off of the string?!" Draco dreaded. No wonder he felt so weak. Turned out the creature was draining his magic through the string.
The creature set his eyes on Draco and suddenly struck him. Draco in his weak state stumbled forward and fell with Harry. It uttered a harsh abrupt scream while trying to crush Draco's head with its both tiny hands. The hands looked tiny but the power they held was as strong as a giant's muscle.
Draco tried to pull off the hands from his head. But he was powerless against the creature. His head felt so hurt like it was going to explode. Maybe his head was going to explode.
This was the end of his life, Draco thought. Before he succumbed into eternal darkness, Draco saw a movement from his peripheral vision.
~o~
"Salazar! What is wrong with you?"
His eyes opened abruptly.
"Draco?"
He blinked.
"You okay? You blacked out again. Why?" Blaise helped Draco to sit and leant against wall.
"I…" Draco frowned. He…he's…alive? Was it just a dream?
"I felt a turbulence of your magic," the dragon tattoo said.
"Huh?" Draco looked at his tattoo.
"It affected me. Tch, why am I attached to an adolescent human? What an annoyance," the dragon tattoo drawled.
"…What?" Draco protested.
Blaise started to think that maybe Draco had a serious injury on his head. Noticed the strange look Blasé gave to him, Draco made a face at the dragon. Who wanted to be attached with such annoying dragon anyway, Draco wanted to say it to the dragon. But immediately forgetting it as he sensed the dragon's alertness.
The dragon set its eyes at the courtyard direction.
"What is i—" Draco hadn't finished his sentence when a voice blared in the air.
"Harry Potter is dead. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone. The Boy Who Lived is finished. Anybody who continues to resist will be slaughtered, as will every member
of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. And you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
Draco's heart stopped when he heard Voldemort. Everyone in the Great Hall burst out to the courtyard.
"NO!" the scream of McGonagall was heard.
Draco moved his right leg one step. Then his left leg moved. And next he walked fast, rushed into the crowd. When he arrived at the front line of the Hogwarts' crowd, he lost all his strength.
There laid in Hagrid's arms, apparently dead, was Harry Potter.
"NO! HARRY!" Granger's scream was worse than McGonagall's.
"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort. "It's over! You see? Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"
When a moment ago Draco's heart stopped, now the heart that was once bearing the magical silver string connected to Potter was beating frantically. Draco suddenly felt empty.
He saw Voldemort standing a little in front of Potter, stroking his huge snake pet Nagini's head. Rage arose inside Draco and without a thought, he raised his wand. But before he had a chance to throw a curse to Voldemort, the dark wizard noticed him.
"Ahh Draco, my boy! Come, come," Voldemort lifted the corners of his mouth. "Come join us."
"Draco," Narcissa called him. Draco searched for his mother and found her in the crowd of Death Eaters behind Voldemort. Bellatrix was gripping her arm. Her mother must have been forced to come, Draco thought.
Everybody's eyes were on Draco. He had already lost Potter. He couldn't think. His head empty. He needed to save his mother, the only dearest person he had left. Timidly, he began to walk forward. It felt so distant. Then, when he was only a metre away from Voldemort, the dark wizard opened his arms wide, ready to greet Draco in his embrace. At that moment, contempt began to boil inside Draco. His once defeated expression suddenly turned blank and then, his expression turned malicious.
He would kill Voldemort. He didn't care if he was going to die, too. He stopped and said aloud, "You, lunatic wizard! Harry didn't die in vain!"
And then many things happened at the same moment. Screams and roars intensified. Both sides started to launch their attacks. Draco being the closest to Voldemort, became the easy target. The giant snake, a second after receiving its master's order, leaped forward to attack Draco. It was as if the time turned slow and his body freeze. It felt like his heart was being pulled harshly.
"Don't you dare!" came a shout and then Nagini was thrown to the side by a hex.
"HARRY!" Hagrid shouted. "HARRY'S ALIVE!"
It was as if he was falling from his bed into infinitive clouds, Draco turned and saw Harry Potter was standing in the center of chaotic courtyard. The Boy Who Lived (twice?) gave him a small—almost unnoticed smile before he dashed out of sight. Draco's body was hit by electric wave from the connection energy transferred back to his heart by the bond.
Meanwhile, encouraged by the miracle of the Boy Who Lived came back to live again from his second death, all students and professors of Hogwarts roared and full of spirit, charged aggressively. That was a beautiful sight. But they were way outnumbered by the Death Eaters, giants and werewolves.
Meanwhile Voldemort was chasing Potter inside the castle. The giant snake slithered behind its master.
Draco intended to help Potter. But before, he raised his right arm.
"Emerald, assist us!" Draco unleashed the dragon rested on his forearm.
The forest green dragon tattoo coiled around Draco's arm and then detached itself from Draco, flying upward. As it flew toward the sky, its size increased to its real form.
Draco felt like a great savior to Hogwarts. He could boast this later to Potter. Draco's mind felt so light, like a breeze in the flower field. Harry Potter is alive!
"You pudding head. Do you want me to roast every single soul down there including you?" the dragon brawled.
The wild flowers in Draco's flower field withered.
"…"
True that. It was chaotic here in the courtyard. Students and Death Eaters, professors and werewolves, all completely mixed in one too crowded space.
Draco could see the dragon rolled its eyes before it flew away to enjoy the free air in the gloomy sky.
"…"
Draco didn't dare look anywhere, afraid that everyone might give him pity look. He felt ashamed that he was abandoned by the dragon he had just unleashed. Argh Salazar! He's definitely going to find a way to get rid of that good-for-nothing green creature as soon as this battle ended.
Draco ran into the castle to find Potter. But he didn't need to search any further. He saw Voldemort in the Great Hall, firing curses toward Potter while screaming instructions to his followers. Then he spotted the giant snake not far from its master.
"Kill that snake!" Draco screamed to no one in particular. Suddenly a Gryffindor student, Neville Longbottom, struck the snake with a sword –it was the Sword of Gryffindor, Draco recognized—the last horcrux was finally destroyed.
Draco was genuinely amazed, he nodded to Longbottom.
But the dark wizard wasn't amazed at all. Voldemort, furious at the fall of his –apparently— last, best horcrux, directed his fury toward Draco. He turned, raised his wand and directed it at Draco by the Great Hall's entrance. He immediately threw wordless curse toward Draco. Draco, wasn't fast enough to block the attack, was about to collide with the dark curse.
"Protego!" roared Potter, and the shield charm engulfed Draco. Before Draco had a chance to say thank you, Potter ran outside.
"Don't you dare run away from me, Harry!" Voldemort yelled, and then he growled and ran chasing Potter.
Draco started to move to catch Potter, too. But he bounced back. The shield charm prevented him from stepping out of its bubble.
"Shite! Now what?" Draco tried to break the shield but failed. Potter must have intended on putting Draco in this cage! Draco got upset. So upset he almost pull out his silky blond hair.
"AAAGH POTTER!" Draco screamed.
And then Draco felt his body being catapulted forward in light speed and a blink later he hit the ground.
"Ugh…" Draco writhed, shook his head to get rid of the dizziness. What had just happened? His heart twitched and he felt vibration on the bond's connection. "Oh!" So it was the work of the bond? Finally! Another function of the bond!
Draco stood up and looked around. He was in the courtyard. Not far behind him were students and professors giving him disbelief look.
What were they doing standing there? Draco thought. But instantly he realised something. He turned around and looked at the center of the courtyard. Harry Potter and Voldemort were dueling.
"Potter!" Draco called.
"I don't want anyone else to try to help!" Harry said loudly without turning his eyes from Voldemort, and in the total silence his voice carried like a trumpet call. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."
Voldemort hissed.
"There are no more Horcruxes," Potter said to Voldemort, "It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."
"No you won't!" Draco spoke. As soon as his words came out of his mouth, someone grabbed him and pulled him back toward the students crowd. Draco looked at the owners of the hands that were imprisoning him in place.
"Don't you dare do something to Harry!" Weasley hissed.
"He said it must be done by himself!" Granger warned Draco.
But, but Harry might die! Draco gritted but could do nothing.
"If it is not love that will save you this time," said Voldemort, "you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"
"I believe both," said Potter, and shock flitted across Voldemort's face. His hand was trembling on the Elder Wand, and Potter gripped Draco's very tightly.
"That wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore." Potter said.
Severus died? Draco paled.
"He killed—"
"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore!"
Voldemort's voice shook with malicious pleasure. "I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"
"You still don't get it, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours. Didn't you listen to Ollivander? The wand chooses the wizard. The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance." Potter raised Draco's wand in his hand slowly, ready.
"No," Voldemort denied. His chest rose and fell rapidly. His eyes red with anger. His hand gripped tighter on the Elder Wand, pointed at Potter's face. Draco, and perhaps everyone present could feel the curse building inside the wand was about to be unleashed.
Potter also raised Draco's wand in his hand and pointed it at Voldemort.
"The true master of the Elder Wand was Draco Malfoy."
Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face for a moment, but then it was gone. Draco heard the high voice shriek as Voldemort yelled the forbidden curse. At the same time, Potter swished Draco's wand.
"Avada Kedavra!"
"Expelliarmus!
The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them marked the point where the spells collided. Draco saw Voldemort's green jet meet Potter's spell. The Elder Wand flew high, dark against the sunrise, and Potter, with the unerring skill of a Seeker, caught the wand in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward.
One shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspend; and then Voldemort petrified. Cold wind blew and he was blasted into ashes.
The courtyard was in an uproar as the screams and the cheers of Hogwarts' residents filled the air.
Without wasting a second, everyone shouted and began to throw curses toward the Death Eaters who were running away in haste. Seeing this, Draco immediately ran toward his defenseless mother to protect her from the attacks. It's as if he was running in the mud; the students and professors all moving forward, making it difficult for Draco to break and pass the crowds. He was terrified as he ran with much difficulty toward his mother. He hoped nobody threw curses to her. And when finally Draco arrived, he choked in relief and confusion, then a relief as he saw that his mother was safe and sound inside a bubble of Shield charm.
Draco turned his head to see Potter but the teen was surrounded by everyone, couldn't meet his eyes. He also noticed that no one attempted to attack his mother. So Draco walked her to an empty, safe spot not far. After her mother had a wall to lean on, Draco looked at Potter's direction again and this time, their eyes met. They stared at each other for a time before the contact broke by the arrival of Aurors and they brought Potter inside the castle.
~o~
"Malfoy, why don't you bring Mistress Malfoy to the Great Hall? The St. Mungo nurses are here to aid everyone healing their wounds," Luna Lovegood told Draco with his dreamy smile. She just came so sudden, making him and his mother jumped in surprise. "Oh, Harry's over there with Ron and Hermione. But I think Ron and Hermione have returned to the Great Hall first… Come on, Mrs. Malfoy."
Luna, with the audacity of an innocent girl, grasped Narcissa's hand and pulled her into the Great Hall. Her mother was hesitant at first, but followed reluctantly after they heard a nurse yelled at them to hurry and go inside to get treatment.
It was at that moment that Draco noticed trail of dried blood adorned Luna's temple.
"I'll be there in a moment, mother," Draco told her mother before he returned her wand. He wanted to meet Potter first.
He walked toward the Hogwarts viaduct. Half of it had been destroyed during the Battle of Hogwarts. He saw Harry Potter on the center of the viaduct, watching the blue sky in serene.
Draco walked slowly.
"You really are one of a kind, Potter," Draco said a metre away from Potter. He, too facing the calm forest, enjoying the landscape.
There was no reply from Potter. They continued enjoying the landscape in comfortable silence.
"The…Elder Wand," Draco asked timidly.
"Bet you were surprised," Potter said. He was playing with Draco's wand in his hand.
Indeed Draco was fairly surprised by the knowledge. But even though the powerful wand was his now, Draco didn't feel enthusiast at the very least. Seriously, who would want to possess a cursed wand? He wouldn't live peacefully if he had a hold of the Elder Wand. That wand was just a magnet for lunatic wizards.
"Well, I don't want it anyway," Draco told him.
"Good. 'Coz I've thrown it somewhere down there."
"WHAT?! Why did you do that?! Why throw it when you can use it? Did you forget that you don't have wand now?" Draco said in disbelief. He approached Potter and snatched his wand from Potter. "Give me that! Ha! See? Now you don't have a wand! Stupid head!"
"Well…I'll buy a new one." Potter shrugged.
Draco was staring at him in utter disbelief.
"What if there's another lunatic wizard looks after you? Even stronger maybe. Huh, how would you protect yourself? You could use the Elder Wand to beat them easily! You don't have a wand now, tch, you'll only get ordinary wand at wand shops!"
"Well, what can I say," Potter replied. He turned his body toward Draco, "I'd have my knight come and save me again."
Potter smirked. A heartbeat later, Draco was pulled forward by an invisible force and landed into Potter's arms.
"What-"
"I've found out how to control the bond," Potter grinned proudly. Then, he kissed Draco. And Draco let him.
-The End-
~o~o~o~
A/N: Thank you for reading this story. Thank you for all your reviews! See you in Extra chapter! (I don't remember where I saved the files ToT )