Author's Note: Hey everyone. Semi-important! The contest entries are in. The prompt was to write a scene where Harry tells someone about the cancer whose reaction wasn't explored in Recnac. There are some really awesome entries. So everyone...head over and give them all a read through and then vote for your favorite! Remember, the voter identity is hidden so your vote will be completely confidential, meaning those who submitted entries can even vote for their own. So head over to my yahoo group (link on author's page) and let's pick our winner to see who's getting that early chapter! After this there will be a similar contest, so all those who wished they'd entered this one can enter into the next! (Prize is an early chapter) Well, on with the chapter!
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"You traitor!" he yelled furiously, jumping to his feet. "You back-stabbing coward! I trusted you! You couldn't even confront us! You had to trick us like a filthy little snake!"
Callahan flicked his wand and instantly brought Harry down with the Cruciatus. After all he'd been through that night, he couldn't help but scream as he writhed with pain on the ground.
Finally it ended and Harry sat up panting and shaking. Draco helped him to his feet.
"Now Harry, it was really your own fault in trusting me. I mean really, did you seriously believe it was just a coincidence that I was the only healer in all of St. Mungo's who had happened to taken a few quick courses in Muggle illnesses right before you came in? How gullible are you? I studied Muggle illnesses because it was all over the Prophet how you had had Muggle cancer. When we started testing out our connections with your scar, we knew it would be only a matter of time before you had to go to St. Mungo's since the Hogwart's school nurse was out on vacation."
"How did you know that?" Harry asked suspiciously.
"Didn't you hear? Her husband won a trip to the Caribbean and they both dearly needed a vacation," he said with an evil smirk. "Anyway, I needed to convince you it was an unknown side-effect of getting that cancer taken away so I could study the effects of our experiments."
"Your experiments?" Harry choked out, not believing what he was hearing.
"Lucius didn't become our new leader for nothing, Harry. He's done an incredible amount of research into your scar. Whereas our old master thought it was a troublesome connection and tried to cut it off, Lucius theorized it could be a useful weapon. He was also the one to figure out that just because the Dark Lord is now gone, doesn't mean the connection disappeared. You were linked to the Dark Lord and so were we, inadvertently linking everyone with the Dark Mark to you, as luck would have it. Lucius has figured out a way to send you pain through your scar, even though he seems to be keeping the knowledge of how to himself. I guess it won't matter much now. Obviously, as you've experienced though these headaches of yours, our connection differs slightly, but apparently distance plays a factor as to whether you can feel that place the pain is originating from is your scar, as I can see from the lovely scratches on your forehead."
"All that testing" Harry said in disbelief.
"Yes, didn't you find it a little too coincidental that you always got those headaches during our meetings? You know, for a while we didn't think the whole thing was working since you didn't come running the first time. Of course, the second time finally got you and you weren't stupid enough to think it was an attack. Actually, I guess you were right, in a way," Callahan said with an evil grin. "The fainting problem was an inconvenience fixed with the constant ingesting of a potion I designed myself. Of course, we originally hoped to use it as an excuse to get you alone and get to you that way, but your idiotic godfather and Snape wouldn't leave you alone for a second and took my wand whenever they left the damn room. At least we got to keep you under our thumb for a while; keeping our enemies close and all that. I even got to have a little fun on the side, pretending to heal you when you were sick while really making you worse. Of course, I finally had to heal you when Snape was becoming suspicious, but it worked out well enough. We wouldn't want you to have been delusional when news of your friend's kidnap came."
"But Professor Snape tested the potion you gave me!" Harry protested.
"Snape tested a potion, which happened to have been brought in a different vial than the one I gave you first. He was the only one who was suspicious of me, the traitor"
"You're the traitor!" Harry yelled angrily. He was so mad at himself for not seeing this.
"Potter, Potter, Potter," Lucius said evilly, casually walking closer to the two. Harry maneuvered himself in front of Draco, who was desperately not trying to show the terror he felt as his father approached, "how can you condemn Hr. Callahan's actions when you've befriended a traitor yourself?"
"How can you call Draco a traitor when you turned on him?" Harry spat, scooting back a bit to more fully block his friend. "You're supposed to be his father."
"Are you really the one to be spouting family values when, from what I understand, your own uncle tried to kill you?" Lucius sneered maliciously.
Harry glared at him hatefully.
"I thought so. Now Draco, come say hello to your father," he said in a sneering tone.
"You're not my father anymore," Draco said, sounding very confident, though Harry could tell he did not feel that way.
"You made a grave mistake in switching sides, Draco," Lucius said menacingly. "How many times have I told you that those opposed to our cause would fail? You've chosen the losing side."
"I'd rather be on the losing side than fight for your cause!" Draco yelled, his temper rising. "I tried to tell you before that I didn't want to do the things you were making me do! I tried telling you that I didn't want to hurt people or kill them, but you didn't listen! You'd just hit me every time I tried to tell you and now you act so surprised when I did the thing I was trying to tell you I was heading toward in the first place! It's your own fault you didn't see it coming! You're a horrible excuse for a father!" Draco yelled, venting his anger as he came out from behind Harry to stand next to him.
"You're a pitiful excuse for a Malfoy, Draco. You've shamed the family name," Lucius sneered.
"Good. I'm glad. I hate that family anyway! They're a bunch of selfish cowards who think they're so bloody special. Well you're not. You are no different from any of these others who have the Dark Mark burned into their arm! You've all crawled around on the ground and kissed people's feet and tortured innocent people," Draco continued.
"Muggles and Mudbloods are not people, Draco! How many times do I have to tell you?" Lucius yelled.
"Well, a Mudblood defeated the Dark Lord! And guess what? The Dark Lord was a Mudblood too! His father was a Muggle, or didn't you know?" Draco screamed.
There was a shocked silence.
"Liar!" a Death Eater yelled furiously.
"He told me himself," Harry said. "Or didn't any of you notice that his father's grave was in a Muggle cemetery?"
There was another silence as the Death Eaters tried to grasp this concept.
"Well, we have a pureblood leader now," Lucius said firmly. "But since you both are such good friends with our enemies, I think it's time we had a little chat."
Two Death Eaters marched up and forced the two boys into sitting positions, back-to-back, before Lucius conjured ropes around their torsos, tying them together.
"Are we having fun yet?" he asked with an evil cackle. Harry and Draco glared at him. "Now, if you two cooperate and tell us what we need to know, we'll make your deaths quick and relatively painless. And Draco, if you do this, beg for forgiveness, and pledge your allegiance to me, I'll consider actually letting you live and letting you join our ranks. Of course, you'll be kept under very tight watch, but you'll be alive."
"Never," Draco spat.
"Now, now, Draco, don't make up your mind so quickly. We'll see if we can't persuade you," Lucius said with an evil grin. "Now, I hear you've been staying with your godfather. Severus betrayed us and I want to know how to get to him. I want to know how to get passed his wards or another way we can get to him. I also want to know the exact members of the Order and any other information you two have about this. You could make this easy and tell us now, or we can break you down until you tell us everything you want. What'll it be?"
Neither boy said a word.
Lucius walked up to Harry and grabbed the boy's face in his hand, turning it so the emerald eyes met cold gray. "How about your godfather or those trashy Weasleys you seem to be so close to? They're in it, aren't they? I know Arthur and his wife were in it last time around. Who else, now? Their older sons, perhaps? How many of their sons are in the Order?"
Harry spit in his face with a hateful glare.
Lucius smacked Harry across the cheek before wiping his own face off with a handkerchief. He circled around to his struggling son.
"What about you, Draco? Want to answer the question? You know what I'll do to you if you don't and it's such a simple answer. Or how about my questions about your godfather?"
"I'll never tell you anything," Draco spat.
Lucius stood and pointed his wand at Harry. "We'll see about that. Crucio!"
The spell hit Harry and a scream ripped unwillingly from his throat as his body twitched and writhed, trying to stop the pain or get away from the ropes, anything to free himself from the agony.
When it stopped, Harry shakily reminded himself to breathe. Draco was breathing unevenly and Harry was wondering if the blonde was going to cry as the Death Eaters all around them laughed.
"Now, Draco, is there anything you'd like to tell me?" Lucius asked with a satisfied smirk.
"Draco, don't tell him anything, no matter what," Harry said through clenched teeth.
Draco took a deep breath. "No. I won't," he said, but with less conviction than before.
"Your call," Lucius said with a glint in his eye as he cast the torturous curse on Harry once again. Harry's back arched into Draco's. He tried to bite back a scream but found one wrenching its way out anyway.
He once again found himself collapsing against Draco's back. The blonde was shaking and trying to look over his shoulder at Harry, but couldn't quite see him.
"Draco, whatever he does, don't tell him anything," Harry whispered.
"Draco, do you want your friend to suffer? Are you enjoying this?" Lucius asked evilly.
Draco shook his head vehemently. "No! I don't and I'm not! Just leave him alone. Torture me, instead!"
Harry was about to protest, but stopped himself. He was beginning to catch onto the way the Death Eaters worked, and his protests would only make it more likely that Draco would be tortured.
Predictably, Lucius continued to cast the Cruciatus Curse on Harry and the more Draco begged for him to stop, the longer he left it on Harry. Several times, Harry though Draco was close to blurting out the information out of guilt, but remained strong and didn't. The blonde grasped Harry's hands, giving him any bit of comfort he could as the boy was tortured over and over again.
In any other situation, Harry was ashamed to say he would have been begging and pleading for them to stop, but he forced himself to keep quiet for Draco's sake, biting his bottom lip until it bled to prevent himself from making things that much harder for the two of them.
"You can stop this at any time too, Potter. Just tell me what I want to know and I'll just move on to killing you and end all this pain," Lucius continued to remind him, but that was something Harry was certain would never come out of his mouth, no matter how long he was tortured.
As he was continuously put under the curse, Draco's pleading and the laughter of the Death Eaters faded into the background as his mind buzzed with thoughts. He couldn't help but think of what had happened to Neville's parents, though, and prayed he wouldn't be driven to insanity. That seemed even worse than death. At least in death he'd see his parents and die with dignity, but insanity would give him no one and he would never want his friends to see him like that.
He also thought of Sirius, how he'd never get to truly apologize for doing this. He was finally realizing that they weren't going to make it out of here alive. He would never get to see his friends again. He had fulfilled his promise of returning Ron safely, and Hermione had also made it back, but what about Draco? Draco would never have even considered coming if Harry hadn't gone and the blonde's death would be on Harry's shoulders. Draco had trusted him and in return, Harry had led him to his death just when he had been starting a really good life with Snape.
"Sorry for what? Harry? Sorry for what?" he heard Draco ask in a choked voice, bringing him back to reality.
He realized he had been repeating, "I'm sorry, Draco," over and over again. The Death Eaters were all laughing at him, mocking him, but Draco held his hands tightly with his own trembling hands. Harry started panicking that he'd already started going crazy. He was shaking all over as perspiration clung in little droplets to his face. His breathing was erratic and he was whimpering slightly as he continued to feel the remnants of pain and anticipated the next bout of cursing.
"I'm sorry I got you into this," he whimpered to Draco, hanging his head as his head pounded furiously so he didn't have to watch the world spin around him dizzily.
"Don't you dare blame yourself, Harry, it was my choice," Draco whispered quickly before Harry was hit with the curse again.
After Draco refused to answer him a few more times, Lucius began to get angry.
He undid the ropes and Harry immediately lay down on the floor, shaking. Draco was at his side instantly, checking him over, though there wasn't much he could do.
Harry focused on calming his shivering body and struggled to sit up. He wished he had the hope that they'd be back in safety soon, but Harry couldn't help but think that this was it. This was how he was going to spend the very short rest of his life, with no relief from pain until he died. It wasn't a comforting thought and Harry tried to push it away rather than succumb to despair.
"Fine," Lucius yelled, enraged, "you've made your decision, Draco, and it's time to pay the consequences. You want to be on Potter's side? Let me teach you a thing or two about what it's like to be on the losing side."
He nodded and a few Death Eaters marched up and seized Draco, dragging him struggling and screaming over to his father before dumping him unceremoniously at his feet. Draco scrambled away, but the Death Eaters circled around him and his father, leaving him no escape.
Lucius raised his wand and cast the Cruciatus Curse on his son. The Death Eaters laughed as Draco screamed and writhed on the ground, curling up into a little ball for that insignificant feel of protection.
Harry, meanwhile, backed away slowly. Any of the Death Eaters that glanced over at him saw a horror struck boy, shrinking away in shock as he watched his friend being tortured. A few months ago, Harry would have dived into the crowd and tried to bring down Lucius despite the sure failure of it, but spending so much time with two Slytherins had taught him a thing or two. Now was not the time for senseless bravery, but time for a little Slytherin cunning. He had been intended for that house, after all. He had quickly come up with a crazy idea, but it at least had a better chance of working than just diving in to try to help Draco.
When he felt himself back up into the wall, he reached up and grabbed the swords displayed there, holding them behind his back as he crept back up. They were long, thin, ceremonial swords, but they would do. In fact, they'd work better as they were closer to fencing foils than some of the heavier ones.
As soon as he reached a Death Eater, he swiped his foot underneath the cloaked figure's. The Death Eater was brought to the ground and Harry instantly had the point of one of the swords at his throat.
Lucius stopped the curse as they all turned and looked at him. Most pointed their wands at him out of reflex, but stopped. Expelliarmus was meant for wands, as it sent the weapon flying the way of the caster, and nobody wanted to have sword flying at them. Besides, Harry would have time to drive the sword down if any of them started saying a spell before that spell hit him.
Draco lay on the floor in his ball, crying and shaking in pain. The blonde opened his eyes and saw what was happening. He started to crawl over to where Harry was, but his father reached down and grabbed him by the hair, and Draco was pulled back with a cry, his fingers clawing at his father's hand.
"No one move. Now, let him go," Harry said in a menacing growl. "Let him go or you'll have one less in your ranks and the rest of your followers will know how little you care about them."
The Death Eater below him pleaded with Lucius to follow Harry's orders.
"Oh Potter," Lucius drawled, "you don't have it in you to kill a man."
"I've already killed Voldemort. If it's down to this, Draco or him, I'd do it with a clear conscience. Self-defense, last resort, you know how it is. My loyalty to my friends is far stronger than my reservations in killing a man who has delighted in the tortures of others, including myself," Harry said with a calm he didn't know he possessed. Of course, on the inside his heart was clenching with fear. He knew Lucius wouldn't care about one less follower, but if he carelessly let this one die, he would lose support among the Death Eaters as the role of leader implied a role of protector. "Besides," he continued darkly, "being under the Cruciatus Curse so much in the last hour has really left me feeling less than amicable."
Harry lifted the other sword in his other hand, thanking Merlin it was somewhat light and quickly put it to another's throat.
"Lie down next to him if you don't want your throat slit," Harry threatened and followed the masked figure with the sword until he laid down next to the other. Harry prayed nobody would recognize the emptiness of his threats. Lucius was right, he doubted he could ever kill someone, at least not like this with the other person not even having a chance.
Lucius looked at him with fury and tossed his son forward. Draco scrambled forward to Harry and shakily got to his feet. Harry handed him one of the ends of the swords. Now Harry wished he had thought this through a little more because he hadn't the slightest clue what to do.
"Get to your feet," Draco spat. The two hostages slowly followed orders. Unfortunately, standing the two were bigger than the boys and would be harder to control.
Just as Harry realized this, so did the two Death Eaters. One knocked the sword away, getting himself a slice in the arm, while the other simply dodged forward out of the reach of the blade.
Harry and Draco didn't have to wait to be told to run and dashed toward the door, ducking and dodging spells as well as they could. One spell hit the blade of Harry's sword and it was all Harry could do not to drop it as the blade vibrated with the blast. Yet, the metal had apparently reflected the spell, hitting one of the Death Eaters and bringing them down in a screaming mess. Two masked figures blocked their way, now brandishing their own swords.
"You want to play sword fighting boys?" Lucius cackled evilly. "Well, this should be entertaining. Let's see how you fare. Don't kill them yet. We'll see about Potter, but I want the honors of teaching my son his final lesson."
Draco maneuvered himself so Harry and he were back to back, not touching to give them room to work, but close enough to make sure no one could get behind them.
Harry paled. He wasn't sure how much these Death Eaters knew about sword fighting, but he wasn't very confidant about his own sword fighting skills. He always lost to Draco in fencing and he wasn't used to the weight of the sword. He remembered Draco saying he'd practiced with swords before, and was relieved at least his friend should fare well.
Harry didn't have much more time to think as a sword was swung toward him. He blocked it with his own with a loud clink before quickly swinging it to block another's sword. Two Death Eaters were fighting him. Luckily, that's all that could really be allowed in the space or the Death Eaters would risk injuring each other in the close proximity. But two was definitely more than he'd ever fought before and struggled to concentrate on both.
He fought as well as he could but had some very close misses, unsure if the two fighting him would really heed Lucius's words about killing him. Harry cried out as one of the blades caught him in the side of his arm and he nearly dropped his sword. He ignored the pain and continued to defend himself, occasionally trying to get a jab in, but it wasn't working as well with the new weapon and two opponents.
He smirked when he finally swiped one of them across the chest, leaving only a shallow cut, but leaving the Death Eater disabled enough that another had to take his place.
At one point, Harry caught a glimpse of how Draco was doing and was very impressed to see several people on the floor gripping their injuries. Draco was currently fighting two opponents, but to him, it looked easy, his feet moving in graceful patterns. He was definitely in his element.
Harry was brought back to reality in hearing a whooshing sound through the air and swung his sword up to block the one bearing down on him. He put everything Draco had taught him into use, but most of the crowd was filtering over to help fight Draco. Harry continued dropping more people with shallow injuries that merely prevented them from continuing the sword fighting until one lunged at him with his sword. Harry ducked to the side, keeping his sword forward. His blade plunged into the person's stomach.
Harry's stomach fell as the cloaked figure hit the floor and didn't move. He looked at his sword, coated in blood half deep in a stunned horror. He had killed someone.
There was a loud clang by his ear and he looked up to see Draco having barely blocked Harry from someone's sword. The blonde swiped his blade across the man's leg to bring him down.
"Keep going, Harry. Don't give up now," Draco said quickly before maneuvering his blade to block two swords at once.
Harry swallowed heavily and continued to fight with all he had.
Suddenly, the Death Eaters he was fighting backed away and Harry turned confusedly just in time to see Lucius approaching him from the side before the man swiped a sword in one fluid motion across Harry's chest.
Harry dropped his sword as his hands clasped his chest, not quite comprehending what had happened as a burning wave of pain spread through his chest. He pulled his hands away and saw they were drenched in blood. The wound didn't seem too deep, but it sure hurt and bled like hell.
Lucius advanced on him furiously and Harry stumbled backwards. The blonde man drove the butt of his sword into Harry's chest, bringing the raven-haired boy down with a flash of pain.
Harry looked desperately over at Draco, but the blonde was busy, now surrounded by the remaining Death Eaters who were able or skilled enough to try to fight him. Harry groped around on the floor for his sword as best he could lying on his back. Just as his fingers brushed the handle, Lucius had his sword trained on Harry's throat, his cold, gray eyes glinting furiously.
"You're a meddlesome fool, Potter. I told you once it would lead you to the same end as your parents. Today is that day, boy. Of course, they were given a swift death and you'll be granted no such mercy," he hissed, sliding the blade of his sword along Harry's cheek, not cutting him, merely sending chills down his spine as he reached his fingers just a little bit further along the handle of his fallen sword.
"You're going to fail, you know," Harry said with a glare, keeping Lucius focused on his face as his hand closed around the sword handle. "Dumbledore's on to you and he can kick your arse any day."
Harry knocked the sword tip away from his face and swung his own sword up, slicing a deep cut into the blonde man's upper leg.
Lucius cried out in fury and whipped out his wand as he kicked Harry's sword away. He spat a spell Harry didn't know and blue light hit Harry's stomach.
Harry screamed in anguish as his stomach seemed to completely cramp up, sending spikes of pain through his torso and down to his toes.
When the pain ceased he looked up to see gray eyes close to his, but they were filled with concern.
Draco helped Harry sit up, looking worriedly at the emerald-eyed boy's chest. Harry looked down and saw the front of his shirt was now nearly dripping with blood.
"It's not that bad," Harry said quietly with a wince. "It's not that deep, I don't know why it's bleeding so much."
"Play time is over boys," Lucius sneered, obviously incensed that the two, especially his son, had fared so well against his Death Eaters. "I don't know what you hoped to gain with that little charade, but as you can see, you're worse off than you started."
Harry looked around at all the Death Eaters clutching their wounds. It didn't seem to him that they were worse off. If they were going to die, he was glad to at least have kicked some Death Eater ass.
He was about to relate these thoughts to Lucius, but he was hauled to his feet by a few Death Eaters as other's restrained Draco. Harry winced in pain as the sudden movement caused a streak of pain through the wound on his chest, but remained silent.
"That was a foolish move, Draco," Lucius said, clearly incensed. "Don't you realized that fighting against me will only make your death more painful?"
"I'd rather die fighting you than live kneeling before you," Draco shouted, his adrenaline kicking in and making him feel a bit more courageous.
"Righteous words, Draco," Lucius sneered, "but I don't believe you've really thought about the consequences of fighting me. Traitors are not granted instant or noble deaths. They watch as their friends are tortured before they themselves are only granted death after begging for it, and even then, we'll only grant the request if we get bored. Let's see if you reconsider your place in this war."
Callahan and another Death Eater came forward and roughly grabbed Harry's arms and forced him to the center of the room, where the Death Eaters made a circle around him so they all could see what was going to happen.
Draco ran forward to try to get to his friend, but two Death Eaters grabbed him as well, bringing him to the circle to make sure he would see what was going to happen to Harry.
"Now, Potter, I think you've had enough of the Cruciatus Curse before, and frankly I'm bored of using it on you. So, I thought back to what information my son gave me about you. I heard you're familiar with the effects of a dementor, correct?" Lucius asked with a raised eyebrow.
Harry paled slightly. He didn't have a way to protect himself from dementors without his wand, and he had a feeling that he'd be relieving something more recent than his parents' deaths if they came near him. He'd just gone through living his nightmare about Sirius; he wasn't sure how much more he could take.
"My son told me all about the effect they have on you and I can see by your expression he was speaking the truth."
Harry glanced over at Draco who looked overwhelmed with guilt. Harry tried to silently communicate to him that Harry knew it wasn't his fault. Besides, that had been in third year while they were still enemies.
"You'll be interested to know that there's a little spell that recreates the effects of the Dementors, though magnified. It makes you feel like you are actually reliving your worst memory. Now, they say that if your worst memory involves you getting physically injured, the spell will actually make your body re-experience the injuries and I've always been curious to see if that was true," Lucius said cruelly.
The Death Eaters sniggered as Harry felt as if his heart had stopped. He didn't want to relieve his worst memories. He'd rather have the Cruciatus Curse or be tortured or anything but relive that night at the Stensons.
"Don't! Leave him alone!" Draco yelled.
"Oh don't worry, Draco. You'll get your turn," Lucius said mockingly as he raised his wand. Harry couldn't help but look at the wand with terror. "Iromem el birret!"
Suddenly, Harry felt as if he weren't in the room full of Death Eaters anymore. Instead, he was lying on the floor of the Stensons. He sat up abruptly, but a hand covered his mouth and slammed his head back into the ground. Sure enough, it was Uncle Vernon.
Draco watched as Harry's eyes snapped shut and his body fell to the floor as the Death Eaters let him drop.
"No, no, no, no" Harry whimpered in terror. Suddenly, a large gash appeared on his forehead in the exact place it had that night. "It's not real. It's not real. It's not real," Harry began chanting to himself as he had in the nightmare room.
'Good, Harry. That's right,' Draco silently urged his friend. 'It's not real.'
"No, please! Not again!" Harry suddenly shrieked, eyes shut tight as he tossed and turned on the floor, caught in some horrible nightmare. "Sirius, please help me! Sirius! Don't let him take me there! He's going to hurt me!" Harry called out desperately.
Draco watched in silent horror as Harry's screams suddenly became more desperate and pained and injuries of all sorts began to appear. When the scar on Harry's wrist suddenly started bleeding furiously, Draco had to look away before he was sick. Something caught his eye.
Looking down into his pocket, he saw two wands. He was momentarily confused as he knew the Death Eaters had his and the only other one he remembered having was one of the Weasley's fake wands. Suddenly, it clicked. The Portkey. It was Ron's wand. They had decided to have Draco take it since Harry was going to be searched by the Death Eaters when caught. The extra wand the Death Eaters had found on Harry earlier was not Ron's, but one of the fake ones Draco had grabbed from the twins' room.
Draco quickly averted his eyes, knowing it would look very suspicious if he was staring into his pocket. Harry's pleas brought his attention back to the middle of the circle.
Harry was lying in a pool of his own blood, tears streaming from his eyes. "Stop! Please, make it stop!" he begged, though Draco wasn't sure whom he was talking to. "Just let me die! I can't take it any more! I'm sorry Sirius! I just want it to end! Let me die!" Harry curled into a ball and another streak of blood appeared on the back of his shirt.
The Death Eaters laughed with entertainment.
"I told you I'd have him begging for me to kill him," Lucius said smugly. "How pathetic."
Draco looked at his father with pure hatred. For a brief moment, he imagined himself in his father's position. That's where he would have ended up if he hadn't switched sides. He had never been more thankful for his decision. How could anyone find this entertaining?
Suddenly, Harry's screams ceased and all the injuries and blood disappeared. At first, Draco thought his father was showing mercy toward the young Gryffindor, but quickly realized that the spell had automatically ended when the worst part of the memory ended.
Harry's eyes opened slowly and he looked around at the laughing Death Eaters with a deadened expression. He didn't have the strength to get up.
"You begged for death, Potter, and I'm very willing to oblige," Lucius said with an evil grin. He raised his wand and Harry shut his eyes.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Through his closed lids, Harry saw a flash of green.
But, moments later, he didn't feel dead.
He cautiously opened his eyes and noticed that Lucius wasn't standing above him anymore, but was crumpled on the ground near him. He couldn't comprehend what had just happened until he looked over at Draco who was holding a wand out with a shaky hand and a terrified look on his face.
Draco had killed his father.
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ParanoiaIn2005: hey, better late than never! I know, Harry shouldn't even bother being optimistic, because that's precisely when things go wrong. Well, ironically, the torture chamber might be good for Harry in the long run, now that he can see how much he's worth to Ron and Ron has a better idea of how to help Harry. Yeah, I've always loved Ron. He's a very realistic character. Thank you! Most people are furious at Hermione for leaving, but I see it as her being smart and brave enough to know that the best thing she can do is to get out of the way. She's very loyal, so that must have been a hard thing for her to do. Sometimes the most heroic thing to do is to not try to play hero. Lol, yeah, Draco and Harry are both pretty even on the Big Heroic Deeds scale. Don't worry, I do promise guilt for Mr. Weasley. He's already starting to feel it, one of the reasons he's been a bit quiet the last times we saw him, but I'll make sure everyone gets their vengeful fix of Arthur guilt. Now I'm majorly curious to know what your theory was on Callahan. Was it right? I think Harry and Draco were so desperate in the situation they were in that seeing Callahan, someone Harry trusts, was such a relief, they didn't really have the chance to reflect on the suspicious nature of his presence there. If things had been calmer, at least Draco would have seen through him. Which one was your contest entry?
Wiccan PussyKat: hahaha! Since when did you grow a beard? You're trying to be like Dumbledore, aren't you? Yes, Harry does seem to have a knack for near-death (and just plain death) experiences, so it's no wonder his friends are worried about the kid! Yeah, Harry has the self-worth of an unattractive slug, but maybe this will help him realize he's worth something, and let Ron know that Harry still needs help in that department. The why of the whole Callahan ordeal was explained partially in this chapter. The rest will be explained later if you haven't guessed it already. Harry's going to have major trust issues after thisâeven more so than now! I personally think Hermione taking Ron and leaving was a very brave thing to do. She realized that the best way she could help Harry was to get out of the way, and considering that she's very loyal, that had to be very difficult for her. Don't worry, I went a bit easy on Dracoâat least in comparison to Harry. Ah creating merry hell: one of the things I do best. No, the amulet was not kept in a safe, though many readers suggested it. Sev wanted Draco to wear it at all times so it could save his life if needed. I doubt he intended for his godson to give it to Hermione and Ron, though. Ah, Harry torture, fun stuff. Okay, give your good impression before starting your secret D.A. club. Er, the uncut version of the story is no more. It has merged with this version, sorry!
Marci018: Lol, I know, I'm evil! I can't help it. Lol, I've read fics where I love Lucius and fics where I hate him. But of course, evil! Lucius makes it way nobler of Draco and more dramatic each time he plays hero, so I leaned toward evilâactually, I more leaped toward evil. Yup, Lucius is an egocentric asshole, but he's actually very smartâunfortunately for him, he's too greedy and underestimates his enemies too much (though not as much as good old Voldie), which is his undoing in the end.
Lupin123: I'm glad you liked the nightmare chamber, it was mighty fun to write, let me tell you. I was originally going to have Vernon come in, but then decided that that wasn't Harry's worst nightmare, so I tried to incorporate a lot of stuff into one giant nightmare from hell. You're one of the few to comment on the amulet that Draco gave to Ron and Hermione. I'm glad you picked that up. I'm so happy you were surprised by Callahan; it's so much more fun that way. Hopefully this chapter answered some of your questions about the whole thing.
Luinlothana: Yeah, I didn't feel much like getting into Draco's nightmares, but I'm sure you can probably guess what they are, especially after this chapter of basically living them. I'm glad you caught that little paradox. The torture chamber might actually help Harry in the long run. Nah, not cliffies on the ends of ALL my chapters, but I do happen to be in a cliffie type area of the fic. In the dire situation they were in, Draco and Harry were so thankful to see someone they trusted that they didn't question it as much as they should have and given a bit more time to actually think, Draco, at least, probably would have realized how fishy it all was. But Harry really did trust him and so he didn't question it too much. The Dark Marks are tattoos burnt into the D.E.'s skin and I don't think they would fade. They have magic behind them and that magic would have to be removed, in my opinion. I don't think the mark is powered by psychological aspects, but by magic, and Lucius figured out how to use that magic and that connection to his advantage. He's actually a pretty smart guy, even if he doesn't always seem it. I like the scene ideas, but unfortunately, Harry's wandless magic is very truly gone and not going to make a reappearance, even when he needs it the most, but I do like reading your ideas! But you're right, this fic is soon coming to an end, and this will be the last fic of the series.
Myr Halcyon: lol, if you predicted the Callahan thing, you are very entitled to your happy dance. The Nightmare Chamber sort of banked on the whole "the only thing you have to fear is fear itself" sort of deal, where the only way they could master it was to master their fears. It was fun stuff, let me tell you, lol. I'm still a bit unsure of what to do about Ron's knowledge of what happened in the Nightmare Chamber. On the one hand, telling some of the adults might help them help Harry, but on the other hand, Harry could take that as a serious breach of trust. Lol, well I'm glad you could find symbolism in the broken clock, even if it was unintentional symbolism, but hey, it makes me feel smarter to think I have symbolism. Actually, closets in Flawed are a symbol, but I won't get into that right now. Thank you for the great review!
acciodanrad9: thank you! I'm so happy you liked it! I'm not sure what to do about Ron's knowledge of Harry's nightmare because though telling some adults about it could help them help Harry, Harry might also consider it a major breach of trust. The glass table is more of a symbol of all the abuse that went on at the Dursleys, but I'm sure that particular event had a big impact on Harry, especially as it was what led to the discovery of the abuse by Snape. Your many suspicions and predictions will be addressed soon, never fear.
Laterose: Lol. That's a very good reaction to have for the end of some of these chapters, lol. I'm so glad you've just rediscovered the story! Thank you so much for the compliments on my writing style; it means a whole lot. Lol, you're allowed to read fanfiction in trig class? That's awesome! Except I would never pay attention and get kicked out, but that's not the point. I'm glad you liked the movie prank scene. That was a whole lot of fun to write. Lol, I'm glad you liked Callahan up until he was revealed as evil! It makes the whole thing a whole lot more fun. I loved lulling everyone into a false sense of security about him. See, in all my English classes I've taken, we've been told not to use the same names for things over and over. I can't keep saying Draco over and over so I have to think of other ways to say it so it keeps making sense, especially when you have to be specific in order to keep from having confusion as to who I'm referring to. Sorry it annoys you, but at least it's better than having no idea who I'm talking about. Thanks for the wonderfully long review.
Lorie1101 (Lol, I'm glad you liked the chapter! It was definitely a bit crazy, but I guess you could say that about a lot of my chapters. I guess you'll see what happens soon enough! And thank you for the hug! Sometimes, an author just needs a good cuddle, lol), Clo Veridian, from the silent planet, HaRrYrOxMuhSoX, lost angel92 (you got it! Callahan was a bad cookie), Lady Pallas, tati1, Bu (Harry bashing galore! Even more so in this chapter! Doesn't it just give you a warm fuzzy feeling? Or maybe that's just me.), Von (well, Mr. Weasleyâwhat can I say about him? I feel sorry for him. He's gotten his son back, which he's mighty relieved about, and the guilt has started settling in, even if you might not see it on the surface as much.), Earthmom (evil grin, we'll see!), Babylon for Life (Yay! It's the most fun when I catch people by surprise with these things. Of course you can join my yahoo group! Just set up a yahoo email address, which is easy and absolutely free and then click on the link. There aren't too many unedited chapters, but there are deleted scenes and a wicked cool contest going on right now, lol. If you need any help getting in, just email me.), cherry8914 (I'm so happy to catch you by surprise then! It's much more fun that way! Lol, if you reread the fic, you'll find many, many clues, many that I point out in this chapter. I'm so happy you like the story!!),Velith (Well, I'm so glad you've been reading the chapters despite your busy schedule and am happy you finally got a chance to put in a review. I'm glad you suspected Laura, it actually means you're an observant reader as I put a couple questionable things about her in the fic that I was surprised that not many people caught, lol. I'm really glad you like my O.C.s though!), Dakana Warrior (lol, glad to take you by surprise), lyss33, AutumnBreeze (Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your questions, others will be answered a bit later. Another year with David? Try less than two more weeks, I'm going to college on the 18th. We wouldn't be able to start up something strong enough to do the long distance relationship thing. But it's okay, hopefully some of the college guys will measure up. But that's great with you and your boyfriend!), MissLilyStar (lol, um anger management classes might be in order. Lol. But yeah, Callahan deserves the anger, the filthy traitor), ThreeToedSloth (thank you! Yeah, Callahan was too good to be true. Don't worry, I'll make Arthur feel as guilty as all hell. Lol, go Draco! Don't tell him he acted like a Gryff though, or he'd be afraid. I guess hanging around with Harry has influenced him more than he thought.), Whispyraven (as much as I love your compliments, please don't feel obligated to praise me just because I mistakenly thought you didn't like the story! Criticism's perfectly fine! I'm pretty skeptical about your whole grade reading this fic, but thanks for that anyways, lol. Thank you for the compliments!), parts-of-a-fish-girl, Rosealinde (always trust your instincts!), mysticXesperanza (no, they didn't use Voldie's old wand. Lucius found a way to just use his own to do it.), DreamersDisease (lol, well if it were illegal, then I would have been arrested and I wouldn't be able to write another chapter!), TheSerpentAndTheLion (ooh! I'm so glad you caught onto that little tidbit of Harry calling Callahan a D.E. when he was sick. I was so afraid that would give it away right there, but just had to take the risk. I'm happy you liked the nightmare chamber. It was mighty fun. Hopefully this chapter answered some of your questions.), Dana (mp), sou85a, Opal Rain Dragon, Ms Hobgoblin (hahaha! I wish, but thank you so much for the fantastic compliment!), stahchild (you are very right. Without at least some mandatory Harry suffering in every chapter, the fic would simply implode.), shadow-phoenix1502, kamahpfan, Rhiain, Siri Kat, Catti (yes, I'm pretty mean to the poor kid, it's a personality flaw that I'm trying to deal with, lol), Shawn Pickett (you're definitely right. Sure they weren't fond of the Nightmare Chamber, but really, it was ultimately a good thing. Glad to surprise you with Callahan's arrival), angel74 (thanks! I'm glad you liked it! I'm so happy Callahan's Death Eater status caught you by surpriseâit just makes things so much better. Lol, well thank you, but now it's time for you to get another chapter out!), Painted Fire (lol, glad to render you comatose), Istalksiriusonweekends (yup, he's a baddie, hopefully the chapter answered your questions!), blink gurl017, Jenn the Freak (yup, you got it. Me? Love Harry torture? What would give you that idea? Lol, um, I'll give some cliffie-less chapters eventually, promise.), A-Brighter-Dawn, GhostMagic19 (come on! Cliffies are fun! Lol.), Nicole (thanks! Glad to take you by surprise! Lol), The Black Quill (Thank you so much for the wonderful compliment. Being compared to the great JKR is the ultimate compliment.), KkareBear, Catiechan (Yeah, Siri and Arthur aren't going to be getting along too famously after this whole episode. Lol, no, this fic isn't slash, though my beta insists this chapter has major slashy undertones. He thinks the little slasher in me is surfacing. I didn't mean to do it, I swear! They're just good friends, who, yes, were sort of holding hands, but that was solely because Harry was being tortured, scout's honor, lol.), Charlie Quill, Musicstarlover (you always have to be suspicious of those too good to be true, especially when they're my creations, muahahaha, lol.), ChildOfDarkness (hahaha, quick! Hide from the frilly pink! Well, hopefully you enjoyed the lovely Harry pain from the chapter! Don't worry, Harry's my favorite, so he's always first in line for torture), Amy Da Great (Lol!), maya100 (Yeah, Snape will probably gloat about his rightness for awhile, or berate himself for not trusting his instincts and realizing Callahan was a Death Eater.), fantagal, torifire126, lilynjamesAAF, Colleen, azntgr01, texasjeanette (Don't feel bad about being lulled into security about Callahan, that was my intentions after all. Cheers! Unfortunately, I don't think they can do that with the Portkey, but you'll just have to see what happens!), Leena7 (deep bow, why thank you.), Lourdes (Well, Draco's been through a lot of life-changing stuff lately and Harry's been rubbing off on him a bit. Yes, I know what you mean about Hermione. All I can say for her is that she's in a bit of shock right now. She's already lost Harry once and now she had to leave him to the D.E.s and is feeling very guilty. She wants the comfort of Ron's presence, even if it's not the sensible thing to do at the moment.), Impish Delight (hahaha! I'd like to see you try to soften up these cliffs, muahahaha!), Xaralai (yeah, I guess that sort of is what the chamber was like), Magic Marauder, UnlimitedUnknown (erâthanks, perhaps. I've hired some bodyguards named Crabbe and Goyle. They're very menacing and will do anything for a cookie.), curlybean (thank you! Lol, tell me about it with the whole "Sirius is such a typical man, not being able to share his feelings". You're very, very right. Lol), sami1010220, shadowarwen (yup, it's really Callahan. And he only seemed like he was helping Harry. You'll find out a bit more about it next chapter), the girl of the shadows (don't worry, I update once a week. I too feel quite homicidal toward those that stop their story in the middle and then take eons to update or just never do again! So I don't do that.), Harryandginnyforever (Lol!), Rubberduckie713 (I've added you to my email alert list and never fear, I will not comment on the lovely email address lol), Benevolence (I know, I do enjoy torturing the kid, but only because I love him so much. He is definitely, as you said, the perfect little victim, because you just want to do stuff to him to give you more reason to coddle him afterward!), Venus4280 (lol, I know I'm sadistic. That's my job, really. For my Hermione defense thing, look at Lourdes review above. Alright, alright, we can kill Lucius, lol.), Tiggerle (wow, good job on the quick read! I hope you continue to enjoy!), LuvaboyDanHesmyman (lol, well I hope you enjoy the fics I sent you, and you'll just have to see about your questions for my fic!), m, gizachick (glad to take you by surprise!), hpfanchrissy1502, SiriusWolf (Thanks! I'm so glad you like!), Jemma Blackwell (I'll try to do the link thing in my yahoo email, but I'm a bit computer illiterate, so if all else fails, in the link section of my yahoo group, there's a link to my author's page.), MissPanther (aw, okay, for old times sakes I'll add in a little torture. Btw, I loved both of your entries and, once again, am sorry that "Illusion" had to be disqualified. I truly enjoyed it.), Jessikat (wow, you read Recnac in one sitting? You must have gone numb, lol.), elmephant/therese (lol, damn healersâor at least the Death Eater ones. Grrâ), BlackHeartBroken, japanese-jew, slytherin forever, kneh13, mickeymoose, Stephanie (I update once a week, usually around the weekends), Mango, Fraggle-Rock-Chick, Velith (lol, I'm glad you are suspicious of my OC's. You knew I wouldn't make all of them good.), James Potter's Lily Flowe (the story will probably be around 26-27 chapters? That's just an estimation of course, but it'll probably be around that much. It's coming to an end soon.), Lourdes1 (thanks!), sven (thank you so much! Mr. Weasley does feel remorse, he just hasn't outwardly showed it yet), vire, FaeRhapsody (lol, well I hope this chapter can ease the pain of school a bit.), americanpie