Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter. They all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Warning: This is SLASH . . . If you don't like it, don't read it. Also, this is a Dark Harry fic. There will be secondary character deaths and violence.
Pairing: Harry/Draco, eventually
Spoilers: Probably for all books 1-4, and a wee bit for book
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The silence emanating from the Gryffindor table hung like a specter over the other three houses, diminishing all possible happiness that would otherwise accompany the return to school. The sorting ceremony had been extremely subdued, with only the most minimal amount of clapping as the new first years had been sorted. Now everyone sat staring at each other and the empty place at the Gryffindor table where he would have been. Periodically a choked sob would punctuate the quiet, but it was quickly smothered.
It seemed that all house divisions had disappeared along with Harry. Occasionally someone would rise and make their way slowly over to the Gryffindor table to offer their condolences to Ron and Hermione, who would nod gratefully and give them a weak smile before returning to gazing numbly at their clasped hands.
Even the Slytherin table sat in awkward stillness. They had all heard of Potter's disappearance and supposed murder over the summer. While a few had celebrated the demise of the Boy-Who-Lived, most mourned the loss of the only one who they felt could liberate them from the expectations of their families.
Draco Malfoy pushed his plate away untouched. He looked up and saw several Slytherins quickly avert their eyes in an attempt to not be noticed staring. He was used to being looked at, but that was usually in fear or lust. This was different. The uncertain expressions on their faces showed their desperation and hope that he would somehow guide them. That he would tell them how to react.
He hated it.
Draco looked down at the table, gritting his teeth and trying to ignore their staring. Stop staring! Draco silently screamed. I'm not your bloody hero, that's Potter's gig…was, anyway.
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Right. That's it." Draco rose abruptly to his feet and glared at his housemates. "Will all of you please st – "
Draco's tirade cut short as gasps were heard from the other tables. Everyone was looking toward the doors of the Great Hall. He turned around, following the gazes of the other students. What he saw made his jaw drop.
It was Harry Potter. Alive.
But it certainly did not look like the Harry Potter he knew.
Draco appraised the dark figure standing in the doorway. He had clearly grown over the summer, as he now appeared several inches taller than he had been at the end of their fifth year. He had also broadened somewhat, gaining lean muscles in place of his previously scrawny physique. Potter had also grown his hair so that it now fell past his ears, curling to frame his face in a dark veil and accenting his piercing green eyes, which were made even more striking due to the absence of his abysmal glasses. What was most noticeable, however, was the pale luminescence of his skin. He was almost white, but seemed to glow, giving him an almost supernatural appearance.
Harry smirked at the stunned faces of his classmates and teachers. "Sorry I'm late," he drawled, gracefully making his way over to the Gryffindor table to take his usual seat between Ron and Hermione.
As he sat down the silence broke, and whispers erupted all over the room.
Draco watched the other boy's entrance with a calculating eye. Draco had always been irritated when Potter shied away from the limelight. He considered the act a contrived attempt at bolstering his reputation by appearing to be humble. This time, however, Draco noticed that Potter seemed to absorb and thrive off the attention in a way he never had before.
Tearing his eyes away from the Gryffindor golden boy, Draco resumed his seat and started to eat his dinner. However, as he raised his fork to his mouth he sensed a pair of eyes on him. Feeling suddenly nauseous, Draco dropped his utensil and quickly exited the room.
There were several murmurs of confusion among the students, but one pair of green eyes watched his exit with a look of knowing amusement.
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Harry was roughly torn away from his observance of the retreating blond by a large, rather oafish hand waving itself in front of his face. Irritated, Harry turned sharply toward the owner of the offending limb and snapped, "What?"
Ron cringed away from Harry's menacing glare. "Sorry, mate. I was worried. It looked like we'd lost you for a moment there. In fact, we seem to be losing you a lot lately."
Harry inwardly groaned. He knew that the questions were inevitable, since he had allowed everyone to presume him dead, but he still loathed having to discuss anything with these…humans. Harry heard Hermione's shrill voice ask the question that everyone had been wanting to ask. He took a deep, unneeded breath and deliberately manipulated his expression into one that would be worn by someone who actually cared.
"Harry, where were you?"
The entire table leaned forward in their chairs, eager to hear Harry's answer.
"I was…around."
"Around?" This question came from Seamus. Harry glared at the boy, his eyes flashing yellow briefly before he managed to reign in his anger at being prodded further.
"Yes. Around. I needed to go away for a while, so I did."
"You went away? That's it?"
Hermione's incredulous inquiry set Harry's teeth on edge. Feeling incredibly irritable due to the interrogation that clearly wasn't going to end any time soon, Harry's reply was sharp. "Yes. Away. What part of away don't you understand?"
Ron and Hermione exchanged a worried glance and Harry rolled his eyes. Honestly. Do they think I can't see them?
They sat in awkward silence for several minutes. Harry sat calmly, seemingly oblivious to the dubious looks people were giving him. He picked up a glass of water and, holding it by the base as one would hold an expensive glass of wine, he swirled it slightly, intently watching the water's cyclical motion around the interior of the glass.
"I'm sorry about your family, Harry."
The silence broken, Harry put down his glass.
Without looking anyone in the eye or verbally responding to Seamus's condolences, Harry smirked, rose to his feet, and left the table.
Everyone's mouths stood agape, watching Harry's abrupt exit from the room. Ron made as if to follow him, but Hermione stopped him.
Hermione shook her head as Ron sat back down, defeated. "Let him go."
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Draco flopped down on his bed, flinging an arm over his tired eyes. A sliver of moonlight shone in through the small window in the Slytherin dorms, casting soft shadows over Draco's pale form.
He knew that his hurried exit from the feast had been unprecedented and would cause a slight stir, but nothing compared to that which Potter's sudden reappearance would cause.
Draco was confused. He didn't know quite how to feel about the Golden Boy's miraculous return. On the one hand, the boy was the bane of existence; there had not been a day since he started at Hogwarts that Potter hadn't been a thorn in his side. Draco had always felt Harry's presence like a cancer eating away at his soul. Harry was the one constant in his life; his fury at the other boy's unwavering nobility and irritatingly good fortune ate away at him, consuming his very being until he was nothing but a hollow shell of hate, designed solely for the purpose of despising the Boy-Who-Lived.
Yet today when Potter had appeared at the door of the Great Hall he had felt…relief? It just didn't make sense. Where had these feelings come from?
Draco rolled over, trying to banish the confusion from his mind. I'm a Malfoy. This is beneath me.
Despite his efforts to rid himself of all thoughts of Harry Potter, he remained plagued by them. Three hours later, sleep still eluded him. Frustrated, Draco threw his pillow away from him and got out of bed. Pulling on his robes, he made for the door. As an afterthought he went back and pulled his curtains closed so as not to arouse suspicion, should any of the other boys wake up while he was gone. Then, satisfied that no one was likely to notice his absence, Draco left the dormitory, softly pulling the door closed behind him.
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Draco moved cautiously through the halls, keeping an eye out for Mrs. Norris or Filch. He didn't know where he was going. It didn't matter. He just knew that he needed to get out of the dorm.
Before he knew it, his feet had carried him up to the astronomy tower. Draco quickly surveying the tower for any stray couples that might possibly intrude upon his solitude and, certain that he was alone, Draco closed the door and cast a quick locking spell. Sighing and running a hand through his unusually messy hair, he approached the north side of the tower and leaned on the wall, reaching a single hand out to allow a few rain drops to run over his fingers.
Draco looked down, smiling, caught in a brief moment of innocent joy. The smile soon vanished from his face when he saw the dark figure below. Standing a short distance away from the lake was Harry Potter. Draco watched as the newly transformed Boy-Who-Lived spun slowly with his arms spread. Harry stopped and turned his face toward the heavens, closing his eyes as the water ran over him, saturating his robes and dripping unceremoniously from his messy black locks.
As Draco watched, he realized that Harry's lips were moving. He strained to hear, but eventually had to resort to an augmentation spell.
"Sonorus" Draco murmured, waving his wand.
Then he heard it. Harry was singing. It wasn't a song he had ever heard before, though. It seemed to be some sort of children's lullaby and, sung in Harry's soft, lilting tenor, it was rather eerie. Draco wrapped his robes tighter around his body, trying to banish the chill that had just come over him while he listened to Harry sing.
It took a moment before Draco realized that the singing had stopped. Draco opened the eyes that he hadn't realized he had closed, and looked down to see Harry staring right back at him. Draco stood frozen, looking back into jade green eyes.
Draco blinked, uncertain of what he had just seen. It looked like Potter's eyes had…flashed.
Shaken, Draco stumbled backward then ran from the tower. Uncaring of who might catch him, he ran all the way back to the Slytherin dorms.
Climbing into bed, Draco pressed a hand to his chest in an attempt to catch his breath. Rolling over onto his stomach, he pulled up his blanket and buried his head into the pillow.
Draco shut his eyes and tried to sleep but his dreams were haunted by a pair of glowing emerald eyes.
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Lyrics by Evanescence
Author's Note: Thanks to Sarah for the amazing beta.