They sat there, for hours, just enjoying each other's presence. Finally Remus whispered. "Suns setting."
"Ain't it pretty?"
Remus smiled. "Isn't it pretty."
"Yeah…Wolfie?"
"Hm…"
"We shouldn't be out after dark." Remmy said getting to his feet.
"Did you have to remind me?"
Up in the astronomy tower Morgan and Sirius were sitting on the roof, Alex had gone to check on Harry. Morgan snuggled closer to Sirius. "I wish we could stay here forever."
"We should head in for dinner." Sirius murmured gently. Morgan shook her head.
"This isn't right, you get you're freedom back only so Mallvorn can take you away."
Sirius looked down her alarmed. "What are you talking about, love? He'll never take me alive."
"Don't say that!" Morgan shrieked. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her eyes glistened like rubies. "He can do that to! I'm sure you'd make a pretty ghost. I get you back just to have to deal with that nut case. I missed you so much. And right after Lily and James…."
"I'm free now. They wouldn't want you to think about the past. What matters is now." Said Sirius, wrapping his arms around her. "C'mon we should head inside."
"I hate this place." Morgan whispered fiercly, pulling away from the ex-convict. Sirius smiled and she roughly brushed the tears from her eyes.
"It was the only home I ever knew. The only place I felt welcome." Sirius mused. "Now…It's dead to me as well. I suppose I do have a family now, my hoe is with Harry, I would give anything for Harry."
Morgan nodded. "I think we all would. He's all we have left of Lily and James. As sad as it sounds, it's true. We wouldn't save his life only for him, but because he's them as well."
"Who cares about the physiological aspects. We'd give our lives for him and that's all that counts."
Harry and Hermione found Draco and Torri in the kitchen. Harry smiled and ran over to them. "I knew I find you two here. What happened?"
"I-Louie-we…Louie tried to get me to use the shadows, I had a breakdown." Torri explained. She took another sip of hot chocolate, her hands still trembling.
Hermione plopped down on the chair next to Torri. "You guys want to get dinner?"
"Can we just get some here?" Torri asked managing a small smile. "I don't think I'm going to move."
"Yeah sure." Harry nodded. "So….Tor, why are you scared of shadows?"
Draco gripped his mug so hard his knuckles turned white. Do you have any tact you idiot! Torri sighed. "Erm…It's kind of hard to explain, but you guys are my friends. When I was little, as far back as I can remember, I hated being in the dark. My dad would tell me that I would never let him and mom leave me alone in a room. The dark began to mean being alone to me, and I hate being alone.
"I think I was….I dunno maybe four I had my first nightmare, I was all alone sitting in a dark room, on one of those freaky wooden chairs…and all around me was the dark, there were shadows everywhere, and my parents came into the room. They were half hidden in shadows, and they left me in there, all alone. So after that I hated shadows and darkness. That was the beginning."
"Oh baby." Draco murmured hugging her tightly. "We're not going away any time soon."
"I know." Torri said, flashing them a hundred watt smile. Hermione and Draco didn't catch the act, but Harry did. He had given people that smile for years.
They ate in the kitchen, and good naturedly tortured the house elves, much to Hermione's dismay. Harry got a wonderfully wicked idea. "Tor, Draco, why don't you come back to Gryffindor tower, we can have a nice party, invite Louie and the vampires….Sirius can get us some booze."
Torri really grinned. "I'll go find him, Draco get everyone else, I'll meet you guys in Gryffindor tower." She dashed off down the corridor without another word.
"How's she gonna find Louie?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged and pulled her away with a wave to Draco.
Torri kept running until she was sure they weren't behind her. She fell against the wall breathing heavily. The brunette slid down the wall and buried her face in her hands. I know you won't go away…but telling myself that isn't helping me!
"Louie this is serious! Don't you dare make jokes at a time like this!"
Torri's head popped up. Stella? She roughly whipped her tears away and carefully followed the voices down the hall.
"Sella I'm serious! Draco Malfoy is in possession of the violin! I checked. He plays it as well, his aura is all over it. The violin has chosen him, so has Mallvorn."
Louie, don't you know better then to piss Stella off? Torri thought affectionately. She reached a sharp turn to the right and flattened herself against the wall.
"Mallvorn? What do you mean he's chosen him!"
"Remember the ghost that attacked Draco? It had the word Violin carved into its chest. Lucius did that to Draco!"
"So by joining with Voldemort Mallvorn gets Draco and his violin as his puppet in exchange. But what about Sirius? Mallvorn still obsessed with him. And Torri! That thing tried to take Torri."
Torri glanced quickly around the corner. The brunette pulled her head back quickly and was greeted with Louis' warm laugh.
"Come on Torri, how long have you been here?"
A very red Torri shuffled over to Louie's side. "Since Stella yelled at you for joking."
"Then you heard about Draco's violin." Stella muttered dryly.
"What's so bad about his violin?" Torri asked.
Louie sighed. "Centuries ago, the devil ascended from Hell in the image of a mortal man. He was given…a second chance at mortality. It was a challenge of sorts from the angles, if the devil could do one good deed for all of man kind then he could chose an angel to be his….admiral of Hell. If he failed the angels would take his fiddle. The devil began a violin maker's apprentice. He made a violin, so beautiful and so perfect that it captured men's hearts.
"But he weaved a spell on the violin, a wicked and terrible spell, the spell stated that anyone who played the violin to the devil's satisfaction then they would become the devil's chosen. At first the angels laughed at the devil, and one laughed the loudest, his name was Celice. But they angels realized all to soon that the devil had outsmarted them.
"You see, only twisted souls could become one of the devils chosen. Every man who played the violin went insane. So he ridded the world of them. But before they went insane, then men all were given the thing of their dreams. Their families lived happily ever after. So the spell gave them their hearts desire, but the price was their sanity. The angels realized they had lost and won at the same time. So they stole the Devil's fiddle, and Celice was cast from heaven."
Torri watched him with wide eyes. "What happened to Celice?" Louis sat down on a wooden bench and she sat down next to him. "Louie?"
Stella continued the story in a distant and mournful voice. "Celice scorned heaven as it had scorned him. So he wondered from city to city, until he came to New Orlens, there he found the devil and his haunting violin. The newest owner of the violin was a man named Mallvorn. He had played the violin for eight years, not aging or showing any signs of insanity. He lasted the longest. Celice became obsessed with the violin, when Mallvorn went insane he stole the violin and ran to the ocean. For seven days and seven nights a terrible storm raged over the city, fueled by the violin.
"On the last night a bolt of black lightning struck the violin. The devil rose out of the oceon and led Celice to Hell. Celice flourished in hell, and became the first black angel. Celice, the black angel, visited Mallvorn in his cell at the mental hospital and offered him back his sanity, in exchange for his mortality. Mallvorn gave it without hesitation. But he was tricked, he never again saw the violin which he was so obsessed with. Mallvorn became the first immortal. He wondered aimlessly until he found Syrus Black, the first vampire. Mallvorn drank all of his blood, becoming extremely powerful.
"But he wanted more still. He wanted the violin back. instead he settled for Celice. Celice used Mallvorn's mortality and became human again. Mallvorn stole Celice away we don't know what happened to Celice until he commetited sucide. Mallvorn was shaken by the death of his puppet, he never really understood death."
"And the violin?" Torri asked horasly.
"The violin was passed on through the ages until it reached Narcessa Malfoy. She passed it on to her son, Draco. Now he has become the devil's chosen. He will have ultimate power over it, and weave spell over all who oppose him." Stella finished with a sigh.
"Mallvorn became obsessed with Celice, just as he obsessed over the violin." Torri mused. An idea hit her like a rock. "What did Celice look like?"
It was Louie who answered this time. "Eyes glittering midnight blue, hair black and silky as the night. A perfect body that all angels posses. Once he became the black angel he had the ability to change into the grim, the ultimate sign of death."
"Sirius." Torri whispered. "He believes that Sirius is Celice. Because he could never believe that Celice had died…"
"Yes." Louis agreed. "Torri you should go."
"No, why is this affecting you so strongly?"
"Draco is going to be taken by the violin! He's going to become Mallvorn. History will repeat itself…When he goes insane he'll drag you and Harry down with him. Sirius will be taken by Mallvorn, Remus and Morgan and Oreo and Daniel will be divided between Voldemort and Mallvorn. The vampires will be hunted down and murdered." Louis said, his voice was thick.
"We know how to change it!" Torri said encouragingly. "We won't let the violin take over Draco! Because….We love him, he's going to control the violin, not the other way around."
Tears streamed down the silver haired vampires cheeks. He laughed anyway. Part of Torri wanted to draw back, afraid of the manic vampire and half of her wanted to cry with him. "You're so naïve Torri. So painfully naïve."
Draco walked into the Slytherin tower, his feet pounding on the black stone. He glanced around the common room nervously, it was empty. Everyone must still be at dinner, the blonde thought. He suddenly felt the overpowering urge to flick on the light, but there were no light switches in Hogwarts.
"Come on Draco get a hold of your self. You're not scared of the dark." Draco looked behind him. "Nothing there. what were you expecting you idiot…great now I' talking to myself." The slytherin mumbled as he made his way up the stairs to his dorm.
His nerves were screaming run, run far far away! But a Malfoy doesn't run. "I'm not scared." He said scornfully, glancing behind him again. Draco started to hum softly, but it soon escalated into singing. "I drove for miles and miles and wound up at your door, I've had you so many times but some how I want more, I don't mind spending everyday out on your corner in the pouring ran, look for the girl with the broken smile, ask her if she wants to stay a while…"
Something was definitely wrong. Draco shivered invoulentarily as if someone had just breathed on his neck. Again he glanced behind him, the door to the common room was open. "Shit." Draco cursed. He wanted to leave, but something was pulling him toward his dorm. He opened the door to his room and knelt by his bedside table. Draco pulled his violin out and set it gently on the bed.
He jumped at the loud thunk of the common room door closing on it's own. The blonde wanted to run, but instead he pulled the violin out of the box and gently traced the gleaming black wood with his finger tips. In the light of the red sunset the wood took on a haunting reddish black hue.
"Something's wrong…" Draco whispered. "I should leave. Get up! Get up now Draco…" But he didn't get up. He positioned the violin in his arms and started to play.
The music poured out of his soul, violently, angrily. Waves of red fire rolled off his slended form, standing in the middle of the four beds. He played faster and faster and suddenly the window clattered open, the papers in the room flew into the air around Draco. Outside the sky blackened and someone screamed.
Draco kept on playing oblivious to the world outside his violin.
Down in the hall Stella froze, Louis moaned and Torri jumped. The haunting sound of Draco's violin filled their ears. Torri scooted instincivly closer to her vampire protector. "It's begun." Louis whispered. Suddenly the Slytherin next to him slapped him with such force the vampire nearly fell of the bench.
"Don't say that!" Torri snarled. "We are in control of this! Get up Louie, we have to stop him before the violin takes control of him!"
When he didn't move Torri just yelled angrily. Stella was still frozen. "Fuck you both." She ran down the hall as fast as her legs would carry her. The brunette fell onto her knees and pushed herself up with a snarl. No! I'm not letting that violin take Draco! He will not become Mallvorn! She dashed to the Slytherin common room and ran into the thick doors. They were locked. She bashed against them with her entire body. "No! Draco! Wake up! Draco!"
She sunk to her knees outside the door. "Draco?"
In the Gryffindor tower Hermione sat on her bed wrapped in a comforter. It didn't take away the chill deep in her bones. Harry was starring out the window lifelessly. His black hair escaped from the loose tie the held it away from his face. "Here, Harry I think I knew what we can do with your hair." Hermione said with a light teasing quality in her voice. Harry managed a small smile at sat down at the edge of the bed. Hermione's fingers deftly divided Harry's thick locks into three even sections.
"Mione something's wrong." Harry murmured as she wove the ebony chunks together.
"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.
"I can feel it…How did you see that ghost in the forest?"
"Nommie said that I'm a very sensitive medium," Hermione smiled. "In spite of the fact I think Divinatation is a load of junk, I can see ghosts like that. She said it'll come in handy because Mallvorn relies a lot on his ghosts."
"It's still hard to believe that the vampires are like our personal protectors." Harry murmured. "They'll be great allies in the fight against Voldemort."
"Somehow I have a feeling that Voldemort's not our biggest issue right now, Mallvorn's far more dangerous then Voldemort will ever be. All Voldemort can do is wave around a wand and say Ada Kevarda. Mallvorn can take our blood, make us his slaves for enternity. Not exactly pleasant is it? There all done." She tied Harry's hair back with the dark green silk ribbon.
"Thank's mione." Harry said with a huge grin. "Now it doesn't touch the floor!"
Both of them heard the enraged tune of the violin. It filled the room, despite the closed door. Suddenly the window shattered violently, sending glass pieces everywhere. Hermione wrapped herself in the blanket and Harry dove behind the bed. His head popped up and he ran to the window. The sky was pitch black, even the forbidden forest seemed to shake. The lake swirled violently and Harry could see Sirius and Morgan planted on top of the astronomy tower.
All of the sudden they heard a scream. Hermione shed her protective blanket and dashed to Harry's side at the window. Standing on the top of the tallest tower at Hogwarts was a girl. "Ginny?" Hermione breathed softly. The music increased in speed and Ginny flung her arms out and fell of the tower, Harry could just barely see a smile on her face. She fell wither her back to the ground, her white dress swirling around her.
Harry saw her fall right past the window and saw clearly her manic grin. He watched in horror, unable to look away as she hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Blood stained her white dress crimson, it pooled around her body, her hair floating in it like a halo. Her murky blue eyes spilled out of the sockets and hung by a thread. The bone of her nose had jutted through the skin. Her body lay at un natural angles.
Hermione buried her face in Harry's shoulder sobbing. But the worst part was the violin didn't stop. Draco kept playing manically. Another scream split the sky and Harry registered this one as Torri's voice.
"Torri…" Hermione cried. They ran to out of the common room and through the castle, when suddenly their shadows started to writhe violently against their bonds of attachment. They saw Louie and Stella run down the hall, but they were all too late. The stones in the castle creaked violently. "She's going to destroy the castle! Louie do something!" Hermione screamed.
The silver haired vampire dashed forward his thoughts bent on Torri. Louie found her suspended in the air with the shadows brushing over her body like oil. Silver tears streamed down her cheeks. Louie reached through the shadows. "Torri take my hand now! Killing us all won't help Draco! Listen to me!"
The shadows slowed in their violent track around her body. "Louie?"
"Torri take my hand. We can save Draco if you hold onto me!" Louis shouted.
Torri laced her fingers gently through his and suddenly he pulled her out of the shadows. The Slytherin clung to him for dear life as purple light tinged with silver slammed into the door. She looked behind her to see Remmy and Remus running to them.
"Torri!" Remus shouted. Louie half passed half threw her to Remus and she clung onto him. "Please say something."
"I would kill for a hot chocolate." She sobbed. Then she pulled away sharply. "Draco! We have to get Draco he's going to die!"
"Let Louie and Remmy handle it." Remus said soothingly.
"No!" Torri shouted pulling away violently she ran through the Slytherin common room, followed by Harry, Hermione, Remus, and Stella. Torri knew she looked like a crazy person but she didn't care, the only thing on her mind was Draco. Louie and Alex were frozen standing just inside the door of his room. Draco was in the center, his eyes glowing. "Do something!"
"It's too late. He's been chosen." Louie whispered. Torri snarled and pushed him out of the way. She tried to grab Draco and pulled back clutching her hand. And invisible barrier protected Draco. She tried again and pulled away again, her hand bleeding from the shock of the lightning barrier. "Torri stop!"
What can I do? Torri thought despondently. I'm helpless. The shadows…No! They'll leave you alone, they'll take everyone you love away. She shoved that voice away violently. I don't care! They can leave me for all I care, but I have to help him! I have to do something! She pulled the shadows to her, and found they were more then willing. Torri shivered and the shadows covered her body like a blanket. Like the warmth of hot chocolate or a hug. Nice shadows aren't they? Now cover my hand so I can feel Draco! The shadows did what she asked.
Torri tenderly touched a finger to the barrier and felt an electric shock fill her entire body. Behind her she felt Harry and Hermione. She stayed back while Harry climbed closer to them. Suddenly Draco dropped the violin, but the barrier didn't go away, neither did the storm. He turned and looked at her.
"Shadow against the thunder of hell." Draco whispered. "You can't win…"
Torri pulled back. "Draco?"
"He's gone my dear, trapped in the darkness of his own mind. He's my chosen one. He bares my mark." Draco, who was not really Draco said, in a throaty voice, that at the same time was deep and rich.
Behind them Louie was furious, Hermione was scared, Remmy was frozen, and Harry was upset. "Louie do something!" the Gryffindor growled.
"I can't! The devil's taken possession of Draco! God knows where Draco is in his own mind but it's not a good place! Damn it! I should've stopped her! God knows what she's created now!"
"What did she do?" Harry asked quietly.
"She's challenged the devil by taking possession of the shadows. There's no way Torri can win this! Damn it I should have stopped her."
"What's that?" Hermione asked pointing to the crackleing shield of black lightning that engulfed Draco. Torri was also shielded, but by something pure white, it looked almost like white shadows. At the point where the shadows touched the lightning it crackled violently.
"What?" Louie asked. "Do you see something?"
"There are shields around them both, black around Draco and…the one around Torri used to be white, but now it's turning black…it was white before…"
"No it was never white." Remmy whispered. "Always black like shadows…I saw Torri's shield as pitch black like Draco's…The fact that you saw it as white must have been a…vision or something."
"White as in an angel." Louie growled. "Great we need a miracle to stop this."
Harry glanced out the broken window. It still stormed violently outside, the sky was growing darker, he could still see Ginny's shattered body. The pool of blood around her had grown to an unnatural size.
"Let Draco go now!" Torri shouted. As empathis the shadows writhed.
"Make me! He belongs to me now!" Draco snarled reveling sharp pointed teeth. "He is my chosen one, the one who will go beyond all others!"
"Fuck you! Go away now!"
"You have no power over me! You are a half breed who is able to fling some shadows around, big deal. Only an angel can save you now…"
"Angels…I'm sorry to say I don't believe in angels…" Torri scoffed.
"Then you are a fool."
Harry's head jerked up. He looked at the devil that possessed Draco's body. There was a small X burned into the skin of Draco's cheek. His eyes met the devil's and for a moment time stood still. Memories came crashing into him.
There as a man, who looked exactly like Sirius. He was wondering down a dirt road and next to him was a younger boy with tousled black hair and emerald green eyes. The boy fell to his knees, the man screamed for him to get up, the boy fainted.
Suddenly there was a girl, a pretty girl spoon feeding him soup. The man was leaving him, another man with silver hair was playing the violin on a stage, the man who looked like Sirius watched him. Someone screamed Celice. The silver haired man was covered in blood and laughing, Celice was screaming.
The devil's piercing laugh shook Harry to the core. "You have an angel…An angel reborn…How quaint." Sirius, Morgan, and Remus stepped into the room, Sirius caught sight of the new Draco and shivered. "Celice…I never expected to see you here, tell me how is mortality?"
"What are you talking about?" Sirius whispered. He fell back against the wall. "I'm not Celice…"
"Oh come now Celice…Don't say you've forgotten me, after all I gave you everything, a home, a life, a purpose. But all you wanted was that beautiful violin."
"I don't want it anymore!" Sirius cried. Morgan knelt by his side, but they could all tell she was completely helpless.
"Do you want Mallvorn to take you? As I remember he quiet liked you…"
"Stop! Please!" Sirius moaned clutching his head. Suddenly every window in the room broke. Wind filled the room and Harry's hair came free of the braid, it swirled around him like a cloak.
"Don't torture Sirius." Harry growled. Every head in the room turned his direction. His voice had a power it hadn't had before. The Gryffindor faced the devil down with his emerald eyes. "Get out of Draco Malfoy now! He is not concerned in this!"
"Aw contraire he is everything in this." The devil stated with a crazed grin. "He is my chosen one…He will make the difference in this war…You know the one of which I speak."
"Mallvorn and Voldemort against us." Harry snarled. "We will win, now leave! You have no power here!"
"Actually I do. You're not a real angel, however you do look like Auron, you are not."
"Shut up!" Harry screamed. "Leave Draco alone and get out of here!"
"My, my," The devil smiled. "You even have his temper, but not his wings…No…He gave up his beautiful wings so he could be with that girl, Kathy? Karrie? It doesn't really matter she was just a girl."
"Katherine," Harry snarled. "You murderer."
"She was practically begging for death, to bad though. I suppose her reincarnation is here too."
Harry surveyed Draco. He wasn't Draco anymore…But he couldn't help believing it was. The Slytherin's eyes glowed even brighter, the X on his cheek started to leak black blood. Torri would have fallen if the shadows didn't prop her up. The devil was enjoying tormenting them, getting angry would only make him happier. So the black haired boy shut his eyes and threw on is most offensive smirk. "Yes I suppose she is. Tell me, do you enjoy not having a physical form of your own?"
"It's better to have any form I want." The devil snapped, his eyes dimmed a little.
"Well you do look nice in Draco's….Will he start to spider walk up and down stairs as well?"
"I don't think they got my voice correct in that movie, but I appreciated the effort." Harry smirked. Getting angry now Mr. Devil?
"Is someone getting angry?"
"I'm not angry!" The devil fired back hotly.
"Calm down there's no need to shout." Harry starred down Draco glowing unnatural eyes. "You will leave now, and you shall never harm Draco again"
"Even if I did leave, he still belongs to me, or did you not see the large bleeding X on his pretty cheek."
The wind got even stronger, and they knew this wasn't the devil's power. Harry seemed to grow taller and he almost glowed in the darkness. "We'll deal with that later. If you don't want a fight you should go. Quickly."
"A mere human versus the devil? I think not." Draco's hand came up in a deliberate dance, black lightning bolts wound around his arm. The blonde's arm lowered until it was in line with Harry's chest. "Good bye, Auron."
Harry didn't have time to even think before it hit him. He fell to the ground writhing with pain. His blood curling scream split the black sky, and it started to lighten. Rays of sunlight poured into the room illuminating Harry's twisted form. He screamed louder and louder as two huge wings lifted themselves from his back.
The sick tearing of flesh filled the room, for a moment nobody breathed. Harry pushed himself to his feet angrily. The wind howled even more violently, Harry's ebony locks swirled around him like a cloak. "Leave now, devil! I am an angel, now if you don't want a fight I suggest you leave and never harm Draco Malfoy again."
"He is my chosen one! He belongs to me. He holds my divine power." The devil snarled.
"And he will choose how to use that power." Harry said evenly. "Now go!"
The devil smirked. "In that case farewell Celice, I do hope you look a bit better when we meet again." He laughed cruelly at his own joke. "I would take care of the half breed, she looks a little faint. And you Auron…What can I say, perhaps you will join me in Celice's steed. I trust you'll enjoy Hell." Draco fell to the floor as the devil's spirit fled his body.
Harry sat down hard on his knees. The sky began to lighten, the wind ceased howling. He heard Morgan come up behind him and whisper soothingly in his ear. The Gryffindor didn't know what she said. He didn't really care. As sweet darkness washed over him, the boy who lived's mind was only on that girl Katherine.