Updated a bit earlier and faster than usual and merely because, well, I had the chapter written and I love this chapter.
Thanks for all the beta apps. I now have more than I can handle. I'll be choosing three by Friday for updates and checking my grammar, at least where applicable. I usually beta my own stuff so there won't be too much to fix. If I don't pick you, please don't be offended. I don't want to make anyone mad. "Hello, I'm Kiara and I don't like to upset people unless they upset me first."
And now to thank the fans because, really, this is my favorite part:
Tine: At first I didn't know if your review was good or bad and you wanted to laugh but I saw it was good and that made me happy. I can't think of Draco as being a heartless bastard. Then again, I see Tom Riddle as this angry, hurt kid who turned purely evil because he had his back turned on him as a child. And Harry? Blind? *snort* Of course. Harry is a silly boy fuckwit. T'is why I love him so much. And you are so much like me! I like the word audacity. And ambiguous. I use them to confuse my sisters. I gave you positive feedback because you deserved it. I loved your story.
Grey Malfoy: Isn't it bothersome to see Draco cower? Just goes to show you a) the power Lucius really does have, and b) the power/fear Lucius has over Draco.
Athena Zandrite: Who in their right mind would trust Lucius? The man is creepy, no doubt about that. I put in the part about the Slytherins avoiding Malfoy because it's Harry Potter, like being with the enemy and breaking that sense of loyalty that the Slytherins (and Death Eaters especially) are so passionate about. Before that, they can't disagree with him. He's a Malfoy and we all know what kind of respect Lucius exudes with the Malfoy name. I'm glad you liked it.
SparkySparkles: Hey, Harry was irritated. He can hold his own with Voldie himself, why not Lucius? Glad you enjoyed it and I hope you like the next chapter.
Ferretgirl1023: You again? Ladies and gentleman, I'd like to present my little sister, JennyPenny, Jenjafer, or Niffer, whichever you'd prefer to call her. I'm glad you love the story still and it was nice of you to point out that you already know how it ends. Tease, much? But still. . .thanks so much. You're crazy messages always brighten up my dreary day.
Random Slytherin 1: Well, someone had to get along, didn't they? God knows Draco and Harry fight every other chapter. I liked the idea of Harry and Lucius getting along, too, even if it was mostly due to the fact that Harry and Lucius were both bitter with Draco. I saw the Lucius/Harry hints in the bookstore scene! And I was like "holy shit, look at that stick!" I need to see the movie again. Badly. It's a shame I'm poorer than the Weasleys.
Kelly: You aren't the only one who feels guilty when reading stories like this. I go hug my mommy and daddy and tell them I love them. Or something to that effect. I, also, was pronouncing Lucius's name wrong and I still do it out of habit. That and I can't say the correct pronunciation for one reason:
[Movies, front row at COS opening. Scene in Hagrid's hut.]
Me: *snicker* His name is Looseus! *snicker*
Girl behind us: I love Ron!
Me: Me too! But Looseus! It sounds so. . .gay!
Girl behind us: Malfoy's gay!
My sister: He's wearing a bow in his hair!
Needless to say, we were a pretty loud theatre.
Everyone else who read or reviewed, thanks for taking the time out to read this crap. I appreciate it.
DISCLAIMER: I am not JK
Rowling and the world of Harry Potter does not belong to me. I wish it did, but
it doesn't. I am making no money off this trifle of a story because as it said
above, I am poorer than the Weasleys.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Awaking Easter morning, Harry and Draco spent most of the day together in bed. Easter dinner was scheduled to take place at around two and they only dragged their bodies out of bed and dressed ten minutes before. Walking down the halls, they strolled into the dining room and Harry was greeted by Draco's parents and a few relatives to the Malfoy family. One particularly large boy with a pink face and blond hair eerily reminded him of Dudley though the boy was nowhere near large enough for Harry to perform a double take. Everyone was apparently waiting on them to eat and Draco motioned for Harry to join him at the table.
They immediately began to eat, everyone making small talk except for the large blond boy who Harry learned was Draco's cousin, Orion. He was too busy eating. Most of Draco's aunts and uncles were engaging him in conversation, asking him questions about anything from school to his plans after Hogwarts to his relationship with Draco. At the end of the table, Draco's aunt Athena was scolding two small children and across from Harry was an empty seat that two of Draco's cousins were using to try and bounce ham off of. Draco seemed appalled.
"So Harry," one of Draco's aunts said, "how long have you and Draco been together."
"Er - just about a month before Christmas," he replied, looking to Draco for help but he was grimacing at the sight of a young boy making a castle out of his filling.
"That's precious," she cooed.
"Draco," Harry hissed, smiling at the aunt in question. Draco didn't seem to hear him.
"So you go to Hogwarts as well? Gryffindor house, correct?"
"Yeah."
"You work hard? Get good marks?"
"Er-" Harry said again. He didn't get bad marks but he surly wasn't about to top his class any time soon. "I do well enough."
"That's good," she answered, smacking Orion's hand and taking a roll from the basket he had been hoarding. "And what's your favorite class?"
"Care of Magical Creatures," he answered without hesitation. His eyes darted again to Draco who was rolling his eyes and forcing a smile as a he drawled a response to something another one of his aunt's had asked.
"I see. I was always rather fond of Potions. Most of the Malfoys are."
"How are you related to Draco?"
"Narcissa is my sister," she answered, smacking Orion's hand once again as she took another roll. "Honestly, child, knock that off. You're getting far too heavy. I can't believe Demeter has allowed you to go for so long eating like that. If you were my son-"
"Have you tried the carrots, Circe?" interrupted Narcissa offering a bowl to her sister giving Harry the time to grab Draco.
"Draco," he hissed and this time Draco turned to look at him.
"What?"
"Is all of your family like this?"
He looked confused as he scanned around the table and back to Harry. "Basically. Who were you talking to?"
"Your aunt, Circe."
"Sorry about that."
Harry shrugged, continuing his dinner and trying to avoid making conversation.
It wasn't long that they sat there before the French doors to the dining room flew back and Harry gasped as Lord Voldemort walked in and sat across from him in the empty seat. Draco's cousins murmured hellos and continued their game behind his back. Harry winced at the pain from his scar and his hand clapped over it, rubbing furiously at the wound and wishing like hell he had his wand with him.
"Do you always entertain Voldemort on the holidays?" Harry snapped at Draco who was looking even more stunned than he was.
"I swear to you, I knew nothing of this."
"Hello all," Voldemort said. "Thank you for inviting me, Lucius. I had no plans for the holiday and I do always enjoy the company of my faithful servants, not to mention a good and hearty meal before I commit murder. Pass the filling, will you?"
Harry and Draco stared, jaw slack and eyes wide as Lucius passed a bowl of filling. Draco's cousin Orion hugged the basket of rolls closer to his body.
"Murder?" Draco asked. Harry thought he looked like he was going to faint. Now that he thought about it, Harry felt like he was going to faint.
"Yes, yes, but let's not bother with that now," Voldemort replied. "I hope you will forgive me for this, Harry, but I'm rather hungry at the moment. I haven't had a good home cooked meal in what feels like ages. Since I have my body back I quite enjoy the art of eating again. I'll kill you after dinner. I'm sure you'll want to eat first, won't you? Have a last meal? The house elves have put so much work into it, after all."
Harry tried to close his mouth but it didn't seem to work. All control he had over his body seemed lost. He looked back to Draco, searching for help but Draco seemed just as lost and just as out of control as Harry had been rendered. His scar was burning even more intensely now, the pain beginning to get blinding and he could only faintly hear Draco's voice as he rubbed at the scorching flesh.
"Murder?" Draco said again. "You can't murder Harry." He looked to his father, frowning and feeling hopeless at seeing him unmoved. He cursed himself, thinking of Hermione back at Hogwarts and warning him that he had been blinding. Draco felt like a fool, sitting there opening and closing his mouth and looking like a strange fish out of water. If only he would have listened to Hermione, hadn't fallen for the trap, he wouldn't be sitting here at Easter dinner with the Dark Lord of all people, if Voldemort was human enough anymore to be called a person. He fell into the trap that Lucius so carefully concocted and because of his weakness, Harry was sitting next to him in front of what was to be his last meal. His voice was distant even to his own ears when he spoke but Voldemort seemed to be ignoring anything that was coming out of his mouth.
"Harry?" he spoke again. "You can't kill Harry. I can't believe this." He dropped his head into his hands and rubbed at his temples. From somewhere at the end of the table Draco heard his younger cousins laugh. Pounding the table with his fists, everyone sitting at the long table turned their eyes to him. "Doesn't anyone give a fuck about what's going on here?"
"Calm down, Draco," Lucius hissed at him. "Don't cause a scene."
"Cause a scene? Cause a scene!" Draco's voice was now shrill and his hands clutched to the edge of the tabletop. "Did you hear him? He said not to cause a scene. Don't you think you're causing a scene enough by inviting Voldemort to our Easter dinner to kill my boyfriend?"
"What did we talk about yesterday, Draco? You've already talked out of line once this weekend. Hold your tongue."
"No. Sod off, father. You can just go to hell. How dare you do this to me? You used me to get him here."
"If you don't hold your tongue, Mister Potter won't be the only one to expire after dinner."
"So kill me," said Draco. "You may as well. If you kill Harry I've got nothing left to live for."
"Would you shut up that son of yours, Lucius," said Voldemort, coolly. "He's ruining my dumplings."
"You poor darling," drawled Draco.
"Draco," snapped Lucius but Draco ignored him.
"You aren't going to murder Harry," Draco shouted at Voldemort. "I love him. You aren't going to take him from me."
Carelessly, Voldemort waved his wand in the air. "Crucio," he said as he took a bite of filling.
Draco's body crumpled, falling from his chair with pain filling his entire body as if every bit of him had just been lit aflame. He got the distinct impression that his body was being ripped limb from limb and each part was scorching, slowly burning in a torturous flame until becoming ash. Feeling that this must surely be what its like for one to die, Draco waited for the blackness to come that would end his life. He anticipated it, wanting nothing more than for the immense pain filling his frame to be gone. When the pain was gone, he felt numb and he only knew that Harry was leaning over him, saying his name and pulling Draco's twitching body into his arms.
On shaky legs, Draco pulled himself to his feet, grabbing onto Harry for support. All the pain he had felt and weakness his body was experiencing seemed to be nothing compared to his anger at seeing the scene hadn't changed much since the spell. Voldemort was still eating, Orion was now managing to collect every dish at his end of the table so that each food option would be within an arm's length, his cousins were still conducting the bouncing ham game with their wands. Lucius was glaring at him, Narcissa engaged in a conversation with her sisters, Circe and Demeter, and at the end of the table, Lucius's sister was once again reprimanding the five-year-old twins. No one seemed to notice or care that Draco had just experienced the Cruciatus curse and only a few seconds ago had been screaming until his throat was sore.
"Why'd you do that?" asked Harry.
"I won't him kill you," Draco whispered, still being supported by his boyfriend's arms. "I told you that I can't stand by and let him kill you."
"Don't be a stupid git, Draco. Don't try and be a hero. You'll only get yourself killed."
"If he kills you, I don't want to live. I love you, Harry. I swear I knew nothing of this. I'm not going to let them do this to you or to us."
"I know you didn't know but Draco, there isn't anything you can do."
"That's sweet," Voldemort cut in. "I'd listen to your boyfriend if I were you, Draco. Mister Potter and I have met far more times than you and I have. He has a much clearer picture of what he's talking about."
"I'm not letting you kill him," replied Draco, defiantly. "And if I have to die defending him, so be it."
"You were right, Lucius," Voldemort commented, wiping his face with a napkin. "I mean, you were right when you said your son was pathetic. Never should have been a Slytherin. He has that disgusting bravery trait. No wonder he gravitated to Mister Potter. Ares we could have used but this mess should have been destroyed a long time ago."
"We tried to raise him right," replied Lucius.
"He just won't grow up," Narcissa added.
"Pity. You mustn't blame yourselves. You can only do so much for a child. If they're bad at the core, you can't do anything to fix it. Ah well, no use worrying about that now." Pushing away his plate, he snatched up his wand from its place by his plate and rounded the table to stand facing Harry and Draco, who had now regained his stance, feet firmly planted beneath him. "Any last words before I kill you? Requests? Would you like to do a song and dance or go out in the same honorable, brave manner that I killed your parents in?" He rubbed at a fingerprint on his wand with his cloak.
Harry opened his mouth, about to speak, but Draco cut in with, "Take me instead." He moved in front of Harry, his face set, jaw tight, and Harry tried to shove him out of the way but Draco wouldn't budge.
Voldemort's face scrunched up and he shook his head. "No, I don't think so, Mister Malfoy. I've played this game with Harry Potter before. I am not about to embark down that particular road a second time."
"What are you doing?" Harry hissed, still trying to get Draco out of the way.
"I told you already that I'm not letting him kill you as long as I'm alive."
"How very noble of you," Voldemort sneered, waving his wand. "Crucio," he said and Draco dropped for a second time, screaming and body twitching. Harry had to look away, forcing himself not to vomit upon hearing Draco's cries from pain. Pointing his wand at Harry, Voldemort smirked, his red eyes glowering. Harry was wishing even more now that he had his wand on him. "I'd like to be fair about this but since you don't have your wand on you, and after that insufferable brat. . ." he said above Draco's screaming as he motioned to where he lay writhing on the floor. "I don't have the time or the patience to wait for you to go get it. You've slipped through my fingers too many times, Harry Potter. You aren't going to escape this time."
Pointing his wand, Voldemort cried, "Avada Kedavra," and a jet of green light came streaming from his wand.
Harry clenched his eyelids shut, waiting for it to hit, but it never came and he opened his eyes again to see only a table of Malfoys staring at him. He felt no different and Harry wrapped his arms around his torso, noticing that Voldemort was gone, nowhere in sight at least. Nothing was where the Dark Lord had stood and for a brief second, Harry thought that it might have been all a dream. He caught sight of Lucius sitting at his spot at the table, his horrified gaze turned down and Harry followed it to land on Draco's body, crumpled at Harry's feet.
"Draco," he whispered, dropping to his knees and pulling Draco's body into his arms. He ran his fingers through Draco's hair, lightly running a finger over the planes of his face.
Standing, he lifted Draco from the ground to pick him up in his arms. It was a struggle to get him off the ground but once he was up, Draco was light and surprisingly easy to carry. Under the eyes of all-present for the Easter meal, Harry left the dining room and wandered in the direction of Draco's bedroom. He made it back to the room, gathered their things, and left Draco lying on the bed as he lugged their trunks outside the manor. Everytime he passed the dining room, the eyes of Draco's family followed him passing the doorway. It was getting dark by the time Harry went back for Draco's body.
"He's dead," Lucius said to him, lurking in the doorway of the dining room, Narcissa standing just behind him. "If you really want to carry a corpse around with you, I won't stop you. I don't want that fool here but he's dead. He was foolish enough to step in the way of the killing curse, Harry. Don't fool yourself. He's dead."
"I know," Harry whispered, cradling Draco's body closer to his own. "What happened to Voldemort?"
"How should I know?" Lucius sneered at him. "Get out of my home now and take that with you." He motioned to Draco.
~*~
Harry walked outside with Draco and wandered to the road where both his trunk and Draco's were sitting. He didn't know why he brought Draco's things. He supposed that part of him just didn't want Draco's belongings to stay in the house. Sitting on his trunk, Harry stared down the barren road with Draco's trunk beside him and Draco's dead body curled up in his arms. The scene from dinner kept playing out in his head and Harry could feel a lone tear slipping out from the corner of his eye. Lucius's words continued to come back to him, flowing repeatedly through his head as he stared at the fading light of the night sky as the sun was setting just below the horizon off in the distance.
What had even happened in there? Harry wasn't even fully sure. All he could remember was dodging the most annoying questions from Draco's equally irritating family while just trying not to shout at them for being so boring. The food was quite good, at least what he had eaten between answering questions, hissing at Draco, and losing his appetite from watching Orion eat. He remembered thinking that after Dudley, he should be able to take anything, but even though Dudley was piggish, this Orion was a downright slob. A bitter taste came into his mouth as he pictured the doors swinging open, feeling the intense pain in his scar, and Draco mumbling to himself about not letting Voldemort murder Harry.
It was like watching the whole scene play out again in his head from outside of his own body. Harry could see himself gaping, looking to an equally flustered Draco for help, and then glancing back at Voldemort. When it got to the Cruciatus curse, Harry shut his eyes but that only intensified the image of Draco twitching on the ground, howling in pain. He had dropped next to him, afraid to touch him for fear of causing him any more pain than he was already experiencing. Then it had happened again, Voldemort had turned to him, and Harry should have been hit. He should have died but instead it was Draco who got hit and it was Draco that now lay in his arms, life wiped from him.
What had happened? A part of Harry whispered out to him, told him that Draco had jumped in the way in a valiant effort to save his life, and Harry knew it was true. Despite Harry trying to discourage him, Draco had tried to be a hero, he had tried to save him, and Harry had lived because Draco got hit instead. Voldemort was gone. That was the mystery. If he killed Draco, certainly Voldemort would have gone for Harry next but Harry was still alive. Alive and sitting on the side of the road, cold and wondering what he was going to do with two trunks and his boyfriend's corpse. He needed to get away from the manor. He needed to find out what happened. Most of all, he needed to be alone, needed to cry because Draco was dead and Harry had never so desperately needed to mourn. The Avada Kedavra curse had stolen yet another life that Harry loved.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*breathes deeply* Ah. Le sigh. So….yeah. *runs and hides*
Loved something. Hated something.
Tell me in a REVIEW or email me at angeldlsm00@hotmail.com