Chapter XXIV: Light
Darkness could hold a man for all eternity.
But sometimes, a man needs a guide to escape the darkness.
Sometimes, he needs a second chance.
But the man in question doubted that he would even survive his second chance in life for you see, the man was following Death.
Was freedom from a God forsaken place such as Azkaban worth the fate he was walking into? Or was death a release from his anguished soul?
Draco Malfoy did not know which.
"Into the lion's den huh?" he muttered as he watched his companion slowly walked towards Hogwarts.
"For you maybe," the man Draco knew was Death said. "But there are worst things that entering a lion's den."
"Really?" Draco sarcastically said as he sneered. "Like what?"
"A Dragon's lair," Death suggested. "Then there's the gates of hell. Then there's... me." Death's cold voice sent shivers down Draco's spine. Not even Voldemort scared him like that.
"And what would you do?" Draco asked in half haughtiness and full curiosity. Death paused and turned towards him, immediately, Draco regretted the question. Looking into the eyes of Death, he felt fear he never felt before. And he realized one thing he did not before.
"You're blind," Draco gasped.
"But I still could see," he said darkly making the young man swallow. "In one way or another. Just as I saw your soul in Azkaban."
"I do not have a soul," Draco said in sadness. "What you saw was nothing but a creation of my parent's expectations."
"You do have a soul," Death said as he blankly looked at the silhouette of Hogwarts from a distance. "You merely did not wish to acknowledge it."
"Do not make a saint out of a sinner. You should have left me back there to rot," Draco said. Suddenly, to his surprise and fear, Death grabbed his cloak and lifted him up until he could see the empty eyes of his benefactor.
"Believe me, if I dispose of you know, Azkaban is the least of your worries." Slowly, Death lowered him and strangely straightened Draco's clothes. "No more talk of being a burdened soul," Draco blinked at his tone. It was like a light reprimand of a parent to a child. A reprimand of love. Something he never felt from anyone.
"Yes sir," Draco said shyly. He felt something for the man who freed him that he did not feel for anyone else before.
Respect.
But there was one nagging question he needed Death to answer.
"Why me?"
"Aside that you have potential?" the black cloaked man asked. "You have nothing to lose."
"That's it?" Draco asked incredulously. "Because I have nothing to lose?"
"You have no family left, save for your mother who is in good hands from what I heardi. Your so-called friends all deserted you and most of them are either in hiding or on prison or even dead. You no longer have the need to prove yourself to others. And to the world you no longer exist.
"The perfect operative."
"Operative?" Draco asked. "Am I being recruited by the Ministry?"
"Sod those in the Ministry," Death said, much to Draco's amusement. "We work outside the system thus giving us more leverage on our activities. The downside is, if we get caught or killed, no one cares."
"We?" Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You mean you and I? The two of us? And what are we doing exactly?"
"We're going to fight evil," Death said calmly. "And it will be the two of us for a while. I'm still scouting for operatives."
"Exactly why?" Draco asked out of curiosity. "You seem like a person who could get things done by himself." Once again, Death's eyes were fixed on him."
"This is why," Death blinked to Draco's understanding. "And also, it's been a while so I do not know the people or customs. And I made a mistake causing my lost of sight. In battle, you have to know your enemy, know the conditions of the field, and know basically everything."
"Must have hurt your pride," Draco sneered in sarcasm. But his companion merely smiled and patted Draco's head as if he were a child.
"Shattered it really," he said. "Never thought I was vulnerable. I got careless."
"What is this? Death makes mistakes?" Draco joked automatically. He made it out of habit that he didn't think before he had blurted it out. He feared that he may had gone to far but when he looked at him, he was smiling.
"We all do," he said. "I had mistaken one man for his evil twin and killed him. Fortunately, I found this out before his body decomposed and revived him using the Philosopher's stone. Erased his memory and killed the twin."
"You acknowledge your mistakes?" Draco asked.
"I am not Death per se but one of Death's Familiar so I am human, more or less," he admitted this.
"You're not making sense," Draco grumbled as he sat on the ground. "And why are we headed towards Hogwarts? I'm not everyone's favorite person, you know."
"One, I do know. Why did you think I chose you?" Draco glared at him but, strangely, it amused Death. "Two, we are not going to Hogwarts. I have something to pick up. Three, we are staying at the Shrieking Shack for a while."
"That dump?" Draco said without thinking. "There must be rats and insects in it. Not to mention mildew and other disgusting stuff." Then, he looked at Death warily. "Is there a bed?"
Death nodded and smiled. "And real food," he added.
"You sold me," Draco sighed. "Not even Azkaban have a straw bed to lay."
"I saw. Although, I could do worse."
"How?" Draco asked but his companion gave a smile that could rival the devil's. "Never mind, I don't want to know."
"As you wish," Death said slightly disappointed. "Although you may have to see some of those sooner or later."
"How long have you been killing people?" Draco asked. There was ice in his voice that suggested that he had killed mercilessly. And any person could kill in cold blood was dangerous.
But somehow, his father was scarier that Death.
Long since did he look for death for he thought that eternal sleep would be better than the life he lived.
Now, he was having second thoughts.
If an angel of death is giving him a second chance then his life should have some meaning.
"I'm going to die, aren't I?" Draco asked.
"We control our lives and sometimes our deaths. We could control our destiny and sometimes our fate," Death looked at Draco with a smile. "Whether we die or not depends entirely on you."
"If I have nothing to lose, then what will I gain?" Draco asked. "What is there to live for?"
"Search for it," he said. "Even if it seems useless, search for something to live for."
"Have you found it?" Draco asked.
"I have found joy and sorrow in loving a woman with a strong spirit," he declared. "My only regret is that I have not seen her face."
"And why not tell her?" Draco frowned in annoyance. If the guy pined for the girl he should tell her what he feels. But the man's next words surprised him to sullenness.
"What are feeling to a dead man?"
i See story Entombed although not yet finished.