Author: Abacus
Title: Light the Sky Above
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is the property of J.K. Rowling.
Warning: *Slash*
Summary: H/D Harry is reborn into the Malfoy family, into a world where Voldemort has complete control and where Death Eaters are a common sight in the streets. He lives a restricted life due to his illness and is almost always stuck alone, in his room. His only company is an angry, rude ghost that stalks the manor.
***
Dumbledore watched as the savior of the wizarding world, their one and only hope to defeat Voldemort, lie half dead on the ground, surrounded by a dark pool of blood. His first thought was not of Harry in general or anything to do with him specifically. Only he thought of the world and how it would all go down to hell in a hand basket if this boy died. "Oh Lily…" he sighed. He looked down at Harry solemnly and a lone tear trailed down his old, wizened, cheeks.
It was obvious that the boy was murdered. He was far too near death for Dumbledore to bring him back- especially with the phoenix now long gone. The old man went to Harry and knelt down. The boy's eyes were still partially open, the light flecks of green visible although not staring at anything in particular. He caressed Harry's hair soothingly. "It will be alright." he whispered, attempting to reassure the boy.
Dumbledore could feel it. Although the boy was nearly dead, deep inside, where his spirit dwelled, he was still alive and well and fighting fiercely. He could feel that Harry did not want to die. He could feel as well, the anger, the pain, the frustration and also, the fear. "Harry," He said softly, attempting to grab the boys attention. When he was finally sure that it was there he continued on. His voice was now stern, steady and deliberate. He wanted his every word to get through to the boy.
"Child, listen to me. I have to say this quickly because, at any second now, you could be gone. At this point it time, it's far too late for me to bring you back." Dumbledore could feel the panic flaring up inside Harry. He quickly added, to assuage the fear, "Do not panic now, Harry. Listen to me carefully. Yes, I said that at it's too late to bring you back- but it's not
too late for me to give you a second chance. A second chance not only to defeat Voldemort but also a second chance at life. Would you want that Harry, would you?" Dumbledore's expression softened. "Merlin knows you deserve more than this."
Dumbledore took a deep breath.
"What I am doing next, do not get scared," Dumbledore got out his wand, "It's an ancient spell, to sacrifice my life in exchange for your new one." Dumbledore felt another wave of emotion stir in Harry again and he smiled slightly. "No Harry, it's not such a great deed for me to do. I am old. It's only a matter of time before I, myself, expire."
"Do not think I am doing this simply for you. I am doing this for the sake of the entire wizarding world also. If you are gone, our cause will be gone. This spell, it does not come without consequences, and if the situations were not what they are at this moment, then I would never even consider using this kind of magic on you. It is dark magic. Magic that comes with a price. I warn you, the life that I give you will not be yours and you will not be Harry Potter- this life that you are living now will end and another life will begin. It will be a hard life, harder even than that your current life, but at least you will live. You will experience love, happiness, all the things that you will never experience here."
"When I use this spell, you will die and I will die. Do not worry, I will be looking forward to some sleep. Life has been putting a strain on me for a long time now and peace is all I want. You, on the other hand, will be reborn." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in that familiar fashion, "Think of it all as an adventure, okay?"
"Once I say the spell, you and I will just be gone. Poof. It will be as easy as that. Do not be scared. Remember, I will be here for you."
He held Harry's hands tightly and asked, "But before I do anything else, I must ask you, do you want this, Harry? I would not do it without your permission. Life will be hard, very, very hard indeed, boy. I never exaggerate. Think carefully, do you want this, if you do, if you genuinely do, just- just say the word."
Harry, through his pain and obvious discomfort. Using likely his every
ounce of strength, whispered, "Yes."
Dumbledore nodded, smiled and said, "I kind of guessed that, that would be your answer. Okay, Harry. Take a deep breath, I am doing the spell now." With his brow furrowed in deep concentration, he whispered, "Dormio Evigilo"
Within that very second, that very second that determined that fate of not only the entire wizarding community, but the world- Harry let out his last breath. Dumbledore, whose arms were cradling Harry's head at the time, slipped down to the ground with a light thud. His incredibly white hair now reddened with Harry's blood, but his face calm and serene.
Dumbledore's very last thought was this: All is not lost yet. Voldemort will be defeated-
It is only a matter of time.
***
"Lucius," a woman screamed, "I am going to kill you!"
It was precisely a month after the death of Harry Potter, a woman, at a place not so far from the scene of Harry's death, was on her bed shouting out a string of profanity.
This was the voice of Narcissa Malfoy- the woman who single handily presided over the functions of the vast Malfoy estate she was Known for her calm, cool exterior and her penchant for all things lavender.
She loved to read, loved to write and looked at distain to those beneath her station. At this point in time she looked as if she was ready to murder. Her normally calm, collected appearance, was now in complete disarray.
She closed her eyes, "Please let the baby live..." she whispered.
She felt like crying, sobbing and screaming all at the same time. It hurt, it hurt a lot. However, after seven pregnancies this was not something new to her. She knew the procedures, knew what she had to do to the very last step, knew that in simply a couple of minutes that this would all be over.
Seven pregnancies she had. Really, this was nothing new for her. Seven. Pregnancies. Oh, Merlin…
"Push!" the midwife yelled. Narcissa nearly cried. Push! Yes, it was easy for her to say.
Seven pregnancies and only one, one baby had survived through the delivery. Generations of inbreeding had left the Malfoy line struggling and dead babies even with the best modern healers at hand, were not a rarity. She thought of Draco, her first baby, how happy she had been to have him in her arms. He was the perfect child, with ten fingers and ten toes, and she took pride in him. There was no nanny. She alone cared for him from infancy to nearly adulthood. She loved him.
Last summer however, he died. Her baby, her beautiful, beautiful baby- gone. She did not think of this a lot and never, from the instant he was torn away from her, did she speak of it. If she did then she would go insane. Right now she wanted another child to fill that void. Another child, any child. Anything to ease the pain.
In all honesty, Narcissa Malfoy was not a lot of things. She was not kind to others. She was not selfless and not very pleasant to be around if she did not care for you. She treated her servants like dirt. She fed Death Eaters when they stopped by her house but let out her dogs out when a Muggle or Mudblood got too close to her estate. But one thing that no one, not even her enemies could deny, was that she was not a good mother. She loved babies of all sorts, even, heaven forbid, Muggle babies.
Jezebel Parkinson, her "best friend" sat beside her whispering into her ear that it would be all right, it would be okay. Soothing Narcissa's hair as if they had no animosity for one another.
As if they had no hatred. But oh, oh did Narcissa hate Jezebel. She hated Jezebel with a passion. It was this woman who was able to give birth to five healthy babies and at the same time, and then ignore them so completely. Jezebel Parkinson, who would purposely and "accidentally" let it slip that yet again, that she was going to have another baby. She would tell Narcissa that she was buying new accessories and adding another room to her estate to accommodate the incoming newborn.
Whereas Narcissa would, being pregnant as well, simply unlock the door and stare mournfully into a large, dusty room, untouched for ages. Toys would be set neatly and left in unnaturally perfect condition, still shining new as if just taken out from their wrappers. The golden plaque in front of the crib would be left without being engraved because Lucius Jr., Serpentinia, Lathenia, Jordan and Cornelius had not survived to make it into their painstakingly made bed.
"Please let this baby live…" She prayed again. She did not know what she would do, if another tiny tombstone was added to the other six in the cemetery. She could not mourn for her lost children nor her recently deceased Draco, the Malfoy line needed an heir.
"Okay, one more push Mrs. Malfoy, one more and this will all be over," the midwife assured.
Narcissa gave one last push, feeling as if her insides were being torn into shreds, but also feeling as if this was her last chance to get the baby out alive and well.
Then, finally, it was over. Narcissa was done.
Normally at this point a woman would fall back into her bed, exhausted, but the first thing Narcissa did was look to the midwife frantically and yet out, "Tell me the baby's alive!"
"He's alive." the midwife said, her voice oddly strained. Narcissa however, failed to notice this. Seeing the baby's tiny hands waving through the air was the happiest sight she had ever witnessed and upon seeing it, all the world seemed to have stopped right there and she was lost in her moment of ecstasy. She fell back into her bed crying joyous tears, and mumbling over and over, "He's alive…He's alive… He's alive…"
So absorbed she was, in her moment of content that she did not notice the midwife and her assistant whispering frantically to one another, they were gesturing to the baby with horrified expressions on their faces.
The midwife handed the baby to her assistant and went out of the room to break the news to the father. As she stepped out the room, she saw Lucius Malfoy lying on his couch, with his hands covering his face as if stressed. The dog, Theodore Malfoy, lay fast asleep on the couch, with his face peaceful and calm, totally unaware of the turmoil that was about to brew.
The midwife cleared her throat, "Mr. Malfoy."
Lucius head sprang up, he stared at her almost desperately, with feverish eyes, "The baby! Is the baby alive? Okay?"
The midwife looked at Lucius wearily and replied, "Yes..."
A rare smile graced the cold man's face and he whooped with laughter, "Alive! Another Malfoy?" He jumped out of his seat as if rushing to embrace her but the pale, scared look on the midwife's face seemed to stop him in his tracks. He stared at her, perplexed, his smile still fixed on his expression. Slowly he said, "The child's alive, correct?"
The midwife answered nervously, "Y-yes."
"Well...It's breathing, right?" He prodded anxiously, noticing now the sweat accumulating above her brow.
"Yes...but…" She stared at him with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights.
At that moment, it dawned on him that all might not be right in the world. He rushed on, "Then that must mean he's okay, yes?"
She paused then, hesitant. For that brief second Lucius' worst fears were confirmed. She looked at him morosely.
"No, no, he's not okay. There's- there's something wrong with him."
Lucius' smile fell.
***
In another room, the midwife's assistance bustled around searching rather unsuccessfully, for something that she had apparently lost. The baby was currently where she laid him, in the soft folds of a small crib that, with the help of magic, was labeled, "Salazar."
The baby was crying loudly, staring at the toy figures of a rabbit and a bear hanging rather ominously from a string attached on a circular wire which hung over his crib.
However, as a shimmering of white, almost luminescent light began to appear at the side of the crib, the baby's sobs abruptly ceased. He peeked curiously at the hardening figure that begun to take shape. Within seconds, the transparent object was completely visible.
It was a boy.
Around sixteen or seventeen with finger length hair that fell over his almost mercury eyes. He had stern, hard features and an unsmiling face reminding Salazar very much of a something familiar, although how, in his one hour of life, he could possibly have found anything at all familiar was perplexing. If Salazar had been a bit more knowledgeable of the history of Malfoy Manor, he would have realized that this was none other than the ghost of the late Draco Malfoy.
The figure stared hard at Salazar and then scowled.
He hit the toy off of it's string and it snapped, falling and hitting Salazar on the head.
The baby began crying again.
"Why are you here, Potter?" The apparition asked. His jaws still clenched tightly but as Salazar continued to cry, his anger slowly dissipated. Replace with another sort of emotion.
"You idiot. You shouldn't be here."
With that, he disappeared.
***
To be continued...
Review Please.
Heh. Thus far this is only the prologue but for those of you who are confused:
*********
-Dumbledore finds Harry dead
-It's too late for him to bring Harry back but Dumbledore has another idea.
-He cast a spell so that Harry gets to be reborn because a) Harry can't be revived and b) He also can't leave Harry to actually *die* (in terms of *poof* gone-nonexistence) because if that happens, then Harry will not be able to fulfilled the prophecy and therefore, Voldemort wins.
-After the spell is cast Harry dies (in order to be reborn again) and Dumbledore dies because this is just part of the spell (Dormio Eviglo- It allows Harry to be reborn but only in exchange for someone else's life i.e. Dumbledore's)
(scene two)
-Narcissa is going through Labor. We discover Draco is dead and Narcissa wants another child.
-She has a baby.
(scene three)
-Lucius is told that the baby is alive, but not completely healthy.
(scene four)
-Salazar (aka "Harry") is in his crib
-He sees a ghost and this ghost is none other than Draco Malfoy.
-Draco is angry.
*************
So in essence, Harry dies and is reborn into the Malfoy family. Once again, this is a prologue.
Things that I will address in future chapters:
-*How* Harry had died in the first place. Yes, Draco and Harry's death are intertwined.
-Why Draco is mad at Harry.
-A world where Voldemort has absolute control.
That's all the plot that I will give away for now. A thousand thanks to Spark, my beta reader and those who reviewed so far! :D