A/N: 'Kay, this first little section here was actually supposed to be the end of ch

A/N: 'Kay, this first little section here was actually supposed to be the end of ch. 20, but then I felt that Sirius' promise should be the end of ch. 20. So, I just want you guys to tell me if you think I made the right decision. ^_^

Disclaimer: As usual, I did not invent the fabulous world of HP; that was J.K. Rowling. I did, however, create the strange language of the 'revero detinu' spell, and it actually has meaning. *gasp* Well, enjoy.

Chapter 21: Revero Detinu

Harry sat alone in the dormitory for an hour after Sirius left. He probably would have stayed longer, but Neville popped in once, asking if he was coming to dinner. When he reached the Entrance Hall, however, Harry decided he wasn't hungry and headed outside instead. The sun was setting, bathing the world in a golden light and painting the sky various shades of pink, orange, and purple. He looked with unseeing eyes at Hagrid's small hut, a gently whisp of smoke floating from the chimney; at the Forbidden Forest, so dark and lonely; at the Whomping Willow, somehow peaceful in the fading light.

With a sigh, Harry headed for the lake. He didn't know why, but the lake was always comforting, offering a little stability in a world gone wrong. He sat by its shore, listening to the gentle lapping of the water and hugging his knees close to his chest. Though he fought hard to stop them, tears soon began streaming down his cheeks.

"Hello, Harry."

"Go away, Malfoy," Harry muttered, wiping his eyes.

"Why aren't you in there eating?" Draco asked, sitting next to him.

"I'm not hungry."

Draco was silent a moment, finally asking, "What's wrong?"

"I killed someone again, that's what's wrong!" Harry yelled, "People are always dying because of me! My friends, my elders, my peers… even my own parents. They all died because of me…"

Harry buried his head in his arms, shoulders shaking with sobs. Draco reached out, gently putting his hand on Harry's arm.

"Harry, I-"

Harry angrily shrugged Draco's hand away, looking up. "Don't you dare say you understand! You're a Slytherin; your kind creates pain, they don't feel it. You can't possibly understand!"

There was silence a moment, Harry trying to control angry tears. Draco shifted slightly, looking pensively at the lake.

"I am a Slytherin," he said softly, "but are all Slytherins bad? We're never seen as individuals. So what if more dark wizards came out of Slytherin house than any other? A lot of good wizards were Slytherins, too! Sure we're ambitious, but there's a whole lot more to us than just that."

Harry stared at him with nothing less than shock. Those were the most bitter, most sincere, most melancholy words he had ever heard escape the blond boy's mouth. Draco gave a small sigh, dropping his gaze to his knees.

In a voice so helpless that it pained Harry's heart, he said, "Just once, I'd like to be given a chance."

Silence followed, Harry trying to say something but unable to bring the words out. After a few moments, Draco stood up and walked to the castle without another word.

****

Four days later, Harry was elaborating in Divination, and having quite a good time at it, too.

"After his wife leaves him and runs off with his best friend, Ron shall be shot in a bar brawl by his daughter's boyfriend. After spending a month in a coma, he shall die, having never woken up," Harry finished, smiling at Professor Trelawney.

"Very nice, Mr. Potter. Full points, I should say. And next up, we have Ronald Weasley."

Ron swaggered to the front of the room, giving the class a grin that received disdainful looks from Lavender and Paravati.

"Well, as you all know," he said with fake solemnity, "I had the sad task of predicting the future of my dear friend Harry Potter. It was very painful, yes, I'll admit, but I'm determined to tell the truth of what I found."

"Good for you, Mr. Weasley," Professor Trelawney said, "Sad as it may be, the truth is always best.

"But of course," Ron answered so seriously that it was all Harry could do to not burst out laughing, "First I looked to the star charts. The triangulation of Mars to Venus and Neptune indicates that, around June, a loved one will fall down dead, for no apparent reason. Also, Harry shall fly into a wall, breaking his nose, during the summer."

Ron gave a sigh, then took a deep breath before he went on.

"Now, for what I saw in his tea leaves. Just watch out for meteor showers, Harry, because they spell trouble for you. And beware an unknown, four-eyed creature, for it shall lead you to unwelcome areas."

Wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye, Ron continued.

"And finally, for the crystal ball. In this, I saw my poor friend's sad demise. In a robbery gone horribly wrong, a mysterious masked man shall stab him in the back. And that, my dear professor and peers, is what I foresaw for Harry Potter."

Ron took a deep bow and the class applauded.

"I must say, Mr. Weasley," Professor Trelawney beamed, "that I am most impressed with your unabashed pursuit in retelling what you saw. It is not many people who could see such things about a dear friend and still be able to go on with their lives."

"It's hard, I admit," Ron said, giving a sniff, "but I realize that we must be willing to face the future."

"Well, let's go off on that note. You are all excused."

As soon as Harry and Ron got out of the classroom, they burst out laughing.

"That woman'll believe anything," Ron gasped, wiping tears out of his eyes.

"I've never…seen anything so…funny…in my life," Harry said, unable to stop laughing, "Oh goll, Ron, you were the best. You really should be an actor."

"I know," Ron said with a Lockhart smile, "Hey, I'm going to go meet Hermione outside Arithmacy. Meet you for dinner?"

"Sure thing."

Ron ran off, leaving Harry alone. The halls were empty, the Divination class having been let out early. Harry quickened his steps, wanting to get to Azar's classroom before the bell rang and try to make her laugh while her teacher lectured.

As he turned the corner, Harry stumbled over something in his way and fell hard to the ground. Grumbling, he looked back and then recoiled. There lay Draco Malfoy. Harry's mind flew straight to second year, when he had found Justin Finch-Fletchley, and he feared the basilisk was back.

But wait… Draco was sprawled, not frozen stiff, and there was…blood. Harry drew his knees in close, hugging them tight as he struggled to breathe. The boy looked beaten. Badly beaten. His face was so bruised and bloodied, Harry was surprised he'd recognized him. What would people say if he called for help? After all, it was no secret that he didn't exactly like the boy. Was he even…?

Harry plucked up enough courage to inch closer toward Draco. To his relief, he saw the boy was breathing. There was no avoiding it; he had to do something.

"Help!" he yelled, standing up, "Can anyone hear me? Please, help!"

He looked up and down the halls, not a person to be seen or a footstep to be heard.

"Okay, you stay right there, Malfoy; I'm getting help," Harry said, then shook his head, "What am I saying? It's not like you're going anywhere soon."

With a sigh, Harry headed down the halls. He hoped for someone, anyone, to happen along, but they didn't come. After a while, he stopped, catching his breath, and looked around. The staff room! He was sure to find help there. Eagerly, he opened the door, but his spirits dropped instantly when he saw who was inside.

"Potter! What are you doing out of class?!" Snape said viciously.

Harry almost slammed the door shut and raced toward Dumbledore's office, but thought of Draco and decided that Snape now was better than Dumbledore later. Better for Draco, at least.

"Professor, I need help."

"Finally something we can agree on."

"Professor! This is serious; Malfoy's in bad shape."

"Draco?" Snape asked, his voice softening noticeably, "Where is he?"

"Follow me."

They raced back down the halls without a word, soon finding Draco just as Harry had left him.

"Great Salazar, what did you do to him, Potter?!" Snape exclaimed, bending down to examine the boy.

"Nothing, Professor! I just found him here."

"Yes, and you're my favorite student," Snape sneered, conjuring a stretcher under Draco, "You get back to class, Potter. I'm taking Draco to the hospital wing."

"But, Professor, I'd like to at least-"

"Back-To-Class," Snape said stiffly, heading down the hall.

"Slimy git," Harry muttered to himself, turning in the direction of Dumbledore's office.

"Rest assured, Harry, Madam Pomfrey will have him healthy in no time," Dumbledore smiled as they walked toward the hospital wing, "I'm sure it was quite the shock for you."

"That's an understatement if I ever heard one."

Dumbledore smiled brightly, opening the hospital door and letting Harry in. Draco lay in one of the many beds, staring at his hands with a slight frown. He didn't even look up when they entered. His face was looking much better, though still bruised. Dumbledore quietly walked over to him and touched his arm, causing the boy to jump slightly.

"Oh hi, Professor," he smiled. Then his eyes drifted over Dumbledore's shoulder, looking at Harry. "What's he doing here?"

"Harry found you, Draco, and had you brought to the hospital wing."

The boy nodded slowly, looking back down at his hands.

"Draco," Dumbledore said gently, "who did this?"

Draco opened his mouth as if to answer, but stopped short. He seemed to think over his reply a moment, and then said, "I don't know."

Harry looked at him, surprised, because it was evident in Draco's face that he did know.

"You don't know?"

"They-they came up behind me. I didn't get a chance to see them."

Dumbledore nodded, eyes a little sad. "I understand. Well, now that we know you're okay, we'll leave you to your rest."

Dumbledore headed for the door, but Harry didn't follow. "Professor," he said, "would you mind if I spoke with Draco a moment?"

"That is up to Draco."

Draco was looking back down at his hands.

"Draco?"

"Hm?" Draco said, looking up, "Oh, yeah…um, sure."

With a reassuring smile, Dumbledore left. Harry walked over and sat in the chair next to Draco's bed. He stared at him in silence a moment, Draco once again concentrating on his hands.

"Why didn't you tell him who did it?" he finally asked.

"I-I told you," Draco said, not looking up, "I didn't see their faces."

"Oh, c'mon. You didn't fool anyone with that lie. It was Crabbe and Goyle, wasn't it?"

Draco's eyes narrowed as he looked at Harry. "Not all evil deeds are done by Slytherins, you know."

He couldn't have surprised Harry more if he had slapped him. "G-Gryffindors? Gryffindors did this?"

Draco looked away again, but his eyes were hateful.

"Who?"

"That doesn't need to be known."

"You're protecting them? Why are you protecting them?! Crikey, Malfoy, they deserve punishment."

"Do you deserve punishment for fighting Voldemort?"

"What are you talking about? This is completely different; Voldemort's evil."

"And what about me? Who in this school can honestly say they didn't at least once think I was evil? It's all about perspective, Potter. I can't punish people for their beliefs."

Harry was gaping now. He couldn't believe that this was Draco. "Why did they beat you up?" he asked.

"Why didn't they beat me up?" Draco said with an airy laugh, "Besides, I'm sure Ron would agree that no one needs a reason to want to give me a good thrashing."

"Oh, I get it," Harry said, almost laughing, "It's the Solution talking."

"Actually, I never took it."

Harry almost fell off of his chair. "Wh-what?! How do you know about that?!"

"If there's one thing Ron isn't," Draco smiled, "it's discreet. He put it in my pumpkin juice, and I just pretended to drink it. I tested it later, just to see what he was up to."

"You mean, you didn't have it all this time? But, you acted so…well, different."

"I figured if you guys were trying to feed me that stuff, I was being more annoying than nice."

"You figured right. Ron was really that bad, eh?"

"Let's just say Snape's more likely to dress in drag and do the hula than Ron is to successfully slip something into someone's drink."

They both laughed a moment at the mental picture, but quickly stopped when they realized whom they were laughing with.

"I never thought I'd hear you badmouth Snape," Harry remarked after an awkward pause.

"He's been crabby lately; he deserves it," Draco shrugged.

Again, there was a pause in the conversation.

"Well, glad you're not dead," Harry said, getting up.

"Don't you mean 'sorry'?"

Harry rolled his eyes slightly. "Bye, Draco."

"Bye, Harry."

****

When the week was up, the friends met again in an empty classroom.

"Ron, how can you be so pig-headed?" Hermione scowled.

"Easy, since I've had Pig hit into my head so many times."

"Don't twist my words; you know what I mean."

"Ron, we're not asking you to be his friend," Harry explained, "He needs more protection than any of us right now."

"This is more than just protection, Harry. It's connecting us forever, and I don't want to be joined to Malfoy, the Death Eater wa-"

Azar clapped her hand over his mouth. "Don't call him that," she said, "He is not a Death Eater wannabe. He is Draco Malfoy, a unique human being, just like you and me; and he deserves to be given a chance."

Everyone looked at him pleadingly, Ron feeling more and more like this was a battle he wasn't going to win.

"Arg! All right, fine! He's in. But just as long as I don't have to be friends with him."

"You can go on hating him as always," Azar smiled.

Harry went to the door and opened it, letting in a nervous Draco. The boy looked up at all of them, extremely unsure of himself.

"You're in," Harry said simply, "But remember that this doesn't mean we're completely buddy-buddy-"

"Or even on speaking terms," Ron added, frowning slightly.

"It just means," Harry sighed, "that we're going to give you a chance to be our friend."

Draco nodded silently.

"Well, should we do it tonight, or go to sleep?" Harry asked.

"Sleep?" Azar asked, "Bah, who needs sleep?"

"Better now than later."

"Yeah, let's get it over with."

Draco just nodded again. Harry had a strong suspicion that he was still speechless at being let in. He grabbed the book, opening it to a page he had dog-tagged.

"Revero Detinu," he murmured, "The Forever Spell."

They read over the spell, Harry's assigning parts. After a while, he put the book on the floor, standing up.

"Okay, we need to make a circle. 'Hold your wand in your right hand, and your neighbor's wrist in your left.'"

They did this, Harry holding onto Azar's wrist, Ron at his right. Hermione was at Ron's other side and Draco stood between the two girls.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Let's go."

"You go after me, Ron." Harry took a deep breath. "Well, here it goes. Retego ebot siwew!"

With a sudden burst, a red light streamed from Harry. It floated in the air a while, then began to take shape. In a few moments, the group found themselves looking a red, spirit copy of Harry.

"E-erom revero dawon!" Ron said, trying to concentrate on the spell again.

From him came an orange light, which soon became Ron's double.

"Enoera strah ruo!" Hermione cried, her glowing purple copy coming into view.

"Enoera s-stirops ruo!" Draco said, a little nervously. His green self joined the other four.

"Sutarapes nac ginhon!" Azar said forcefully. Her blue figure completed the group.

The five glowing specters came near to each other, each holding up one hand. The five hands connected and there was a pause. Harry's specter glanced back at him with a smile, and the boy realized he still needed to finish the spell.

"Revero detinu!" Harry cried.

A white light flashed from where the spirits' hands connected. The group watched in amazement as the white light slowly spread down the arms of their 'selves' until they were looking at five white phantoms. The specters separated, each turning to their owner. Harry's ghostly self floated to him and gave him a smile. And then it leaned forward and Harry felt a sudden warmth enter him with the spirit.

A sensation unlike any he'd ever felt before swept over Harry, like a wave of water. He felt as though he were suspended in midair. Before him flashed everything, yet nothing at all, as though it was memories that lived only in the mind. It was so remarkable, it frightened him. Yet he felt Ron's hand grip his wrist tighter, and he knew everything was fine. And then he was back in the dark room. Slowly, in a daze, the five released hands.

"We…we did it," Hermione whispered.

Harry looked at his hands. He didn't see anything different, but how he felt… It was something beyond words…

He nodded, a smile coming to his face. "We did it."

~*~*~

A/N: Well, there we go. Golly, I've got so much I want to put in, and it takes up too much room! I don't know how I'm going to get it into the last chapters… Well, please review.

And here are my thank yous for my wonderful reviews! Love you guys!

Lucky Woods: I liked them, too, but as they say, "kill your darlings". I'm glad that part came out right, 'cause it's important. ^_^

Jona: Thanks! ^-^ Er…I swear, there's gonna be action. In fact, I don't even know the half of it yet. But I just have to get there… *sigh*

Kelly: I do kill a lot of people, don't I? Well, better to do so in writing than real life. ^_^

Allison: Yes, I caught the dreaded Allisonitis. ^-^ By golly, I am NOT liking these chapters right now. I think my head swelled so much, that it popped. *sigh* I will elaborate on the Snape scene, but not really until fic 7. ^_^ If you feel bad for Draco now…oh, shutting up, shutting up. Ah, sorry! I'll make a note next time never to kill nice people! Thank you; come again! ^_^

Vmr: Thanks, I will.

Sweets: Thank you. Funny how that just popped into my head…

Herm: Here ya go!

Berkeley Halperin: Oh, they had to die… I'm sorry. Yeah, Snape is kind of messed up. More on that later. Thanks!

Moon Warrior: Yep, made it up all by myself. ^_^ Wow, thanks. You're an awesome writer, and definitely as good as me, if not more!

007: Oh, thanks! I love it when people tell me they read it in one night, 'cause that means it's somewhat interesting! I hope to see more of Sirius too, but… you never know with that one. ^_^

Dilandra: Oh wow, thanks… Tears in your eyes? Oh wow… ^-^

Lady Grizabella: Thanks! I know, poor Harry. We fanfic writer's really put him through a lot… And who said anything about supersweet Draco? ^_^ I plan for him to keep a bit of his nastiness…^-^

Swim Angel: Thanks!

Well, be excellent to each other.

-Ady (the noble one)