Disclaimer- punches you

Well this came out quicker than usual. I was going to upload this on Saturday but I might not have the internet for awhile. I'll try to update every Saturday my time though since I now have the whole summer to work on this. Hopefully this is longer than the last chapter and not as forced. And thank you for the reviews!

Also to answer Ravenfrog's question I did sorta get it from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I was looking for a "majestic" Latin name when I suddenly remembered about "Aurelius". I looked around and found that it meant "the golden one" which is true in a sense in this fic- Draco's son is "the golden one" in his life. Cool, huh? Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy!

Abstulo Chapter 5

By Tol Morwen

The first thing Aurelius heard when he opened his eyes were the screams that filled the air. And when he heard those piercing screams that filled his tiny frame with dread, he knew just where he was. Terror shot up threw his spine that caused him to hyperventilate until he remembered that this was a nightmare. This wasn't real. This couldn't hurt him in any way, shape, or form. But somehow, everything in this place seemed real. The screams and the ground felt real enough.

He was in a forest. Tall, dark trees surrounded him and without thinking, he began to walk forward, barefoot and in his pajamas. Soon, after what he felt was like an eternity walking, he reached a clearing in the woods. In the middle, he could see a group of people wearing masks and cloaks standing in a circle. They were laughing gleefully as they tortured a gnarled man, no older than his dad.

His body was twisted beyond belief as he convulsed on the floor in pain. And loudly, his bones were clearly heard crunching. Tears began to silently stream across Aurelius' face as he silently wept and wished for home. 'I want to go home,' he thought fervently, 'I want papa.' He shut his eyes tightly and began to whisper, hoping that it would help, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home."

Soon the noises stopped and in one brief moment, Aurelius thought that he was back in his bed. He opened his eyes and almost screamed when he saw the bad man again. "My Lord!" one of the cloaked men approached him and bowed low to show his allegiance. "We have prepared him for you."

The bad man let out a low, deep chuckle and said, "Well done. But now, put him out of his misery. There's a more pressing issue at hand." At the silence that followed, the man gave out a sound of exasperation. "Fine! Avada Kedavra!" He pointed a long stick which spurted out a bright green light at the weeping and broken man. In an instant, the man fell over, silent and still.

Aurelius let out a shrill cry and suddenly the bad man turned towards him! He went still with shock and fear. 'He never noticed me before!' the child thought in his mind. Fortunately, the cloaked men didn't see him. In fact, they seemed confused when the bad man ignored them for a spot a few yards away from them. "My Lord?" the Deatheater asked cautiously.

"Shh," the bad man whispered as he glanced over to his subject. Slowly, he turned his eyes to the trembling boy. "You'll scare him away..."

His mind told him to run but now his feet felt like lead. But when the bad man began to walk towards him, he ran in the opposite direction. But before he left earshot, he could hear the other mutter, "A chase then."

Aurelius ran as fast as his small legs could carry him. The bottom of his feet kept impacting harshly with pebbles and sticks and he knew that he would get some bruises there. But right now he didn't really care. When he was a good distance away from the clearing, Aurelius started to slow down and catch his breath. He thought he was safe when suddenly the bad man came out slowly from behind a tree and stopped him. Slowly he began to back away when the bad man yelled for him to stop. He stilled and felt his green eyes began to water. Aurelius looked down to try and hide his tears.

The man walked over to him and kneeled down to face him. His right hand lifted the boy's face to study him. "Amazing," the man whispered out in what Aurelius imagined as awe. "Still the same but much better fed." His red eyes looked into his green ones and he shivered slightly. He released him but still stayed crouched on the ground. "I am Tom, Aurelius and I am your friend," he announced.

"What?" he asked in disbelief.

"It may not seem like it boy, but I am. I'll be there when you truly need me," Tom said. "Especially when that sorry excuse of a man abandons you." Here Aurelius tried to run but Voldemort grabbed his arm. But that didn't stop the scared child from struggling. "Enough!" Tom commanded. "No wonder Draco will leave you!"

Aurelius stopped struggling and stared at Tom in disbelief. Draco? His papa? Why would he abandon him? His papa had been taking care of him for six years. Why would he stop now? "It's true boy," Tom muttered taking advantage of the shock the child felt. "You're a monster. You might not be one now, but you were a very long time ago. A monster that enjoyed killing and torturing innocent people. And when he finds out what you really are, he'll leave. And the thing is, no one would blame him."

He wanted to scream that he wasn't a monster and that Tom was a liar but the man in front of him beat him to it. "It's true," his eyes took on a hidden emotion, "You've killed and reveled in blood. You have..."

"No!" Aurelius screamed with tears in his eyes. "You... you're lying! Papa wouldn't leave! And even if he does, Harry wouldn't. He promised that," here his tone became pitiful, "he'd be there for me."

Tom recoiled in disgust and fear. "Potter!" he hissed. "He got out of his coma? Damn!" He stood up and his fists clenched in anger so hard that blood dripped from his fists to the floor. But soon he looked at his hands and to Aurelius' surprise, he started to fade. Tom angrily yelled out, "Damn!" He crouched down quickly and took Aurelius' shoulders firmly. "Remember a diamond. A diamond!"

Aurelius didn't know what he was happening. He just stared at the intense, blood red eyes until he felt someone shaking him hard. It was only when he opened his eyes to find Harry did he realize that it had been a dream all along. Maybe...

It was a little after midnight when Harry woke up disoriented on the couch. For a few moments, he panicked slightly before remembering that he was supposed to be in Malfoy's living room, for the night at least. Things were different now in Harry's mind. Pansy and Ron had finally gotten married and had a daughter while Severus Snape, out of all people, was headmaster and intimate with Hermione (insert shudder from Harry here). 'Really!' Harry thought in his mind. 'There are more than a billion people on this planet and she chooses him!'

But the biggest change was that the war was over. It was finally over. No more looking over your shoulder. No more mourning the death of a friend or colleague. And no more worrying about dying young. But thinking about the war ending and all the possibilities opened to him now, made him think about Malfoy and Aurelius.

Malfoy was different now. He was a father to a six year old boy and was nicer than before. 'Still a slight prat,' Harry thought, 'But definitely nicer. And maybe cuter.' Just before sleeping, Draco divulged some key facts about the past six years. He had worked for four years as a professor in Arthurian legend in the local community college and had seemed happy with his life. Draco's son himself didn't know about his father's past, and Draco seemed content with that. When asked whether Aurelius would find out about his father's past or not, he said that he'd tell when the time came; maybe when Aurelius received his acceptance letter to Hogwarts.

And after having a decent conversation with the so called Ice Prince, Harry fell asleep on the couch until loud moans came from the direction of Aurelius' room. Throwing the blankets off, Harry ran to the door and found it stuck. "Damn!" Harry muttered. "Fuck it!" He tried to ram the door open with his shoulder but stopped when his shoulder began to throb painfully. He thought of wakening up Draco but decided against it. He could handle himself fine.

When Harry heard a loud whimper coming from the room, Harry began to get frustrated. He refused to get help and pity, but at the same time someone he liked very much could be in danger. The frustration began to build and in no time it would become anger. But before it happened, the door opened with a slight creak revealing a boy sweating heavily against the sheets as he convulsed in what seemed like pain.

Rushing over, Harry grabbed a hold of the little boy and gently shook him awake. When Aurelius opened his eyes, they flashed bright red before changing into a vivid green. Alarmed, Harry recoiled before rubbing his eyes to try and make sense of the situation. He looked back at the little boy who was silently staring at him with tears streaming down his face. 'I'm just tired,' Harry thought. 'It's late.' He stepped forward and engulfed Aurelius who was now sobbing onto his chest. Aurelius' tiny fists grabbed tightly on wads of his shirt and he could feel moisture seeping through, but he didn't care.

He made soothing noises every now and then to calm the boy and soon the sobs grew softer and softer until only gasps remained. "Nightmare?" Harry asked and felt the boy nod his head against his chest. He tightened his hold on him but then noticed something odd. Aurelius' pjs seemed too ruffed up. Now that was fine until he noticed that some parts had dirt caked on it. Looking closer he found some rips on the left sleeve and when he pulled the blanket away from Aurelius, he found that the boy's feet were covered in small wounds and dried blood.

The lights opened and momentarily the two were blinded. When their eyes had adjusted to the sudden brightness, they saw Draco staring at both of them. "Aurelius?" Draco asked, his voice laced with panic as he made his way to the bed. Aurelius released his hold on Potter to clutch his father and sobs began to emerge again.

"Don't leave me!" he pleaded. "Don't leave me like Tom had said." Shocked and at a total loss on what to do, he rubbed Aurelius' back gently.

'Tom?' Draco thought. 'Voldemort? But, but how?' He continued rubbing his son's back as he looked at Harry intently. And for the first time in his life, he willingly asked for help.

TBC