Draco Malfoy turned around in his bed, unable to sleep. The words kept on repeating themselves, haunting him to the brink of that he was going mad.
Harry was dead.
Every syllable Granger had uttered, her face-expression, it had burned into his retina and viewed itself every time he closed his eyes.
He kept on wishing that it was he who lay there, that whatever had happened to Harry would be made undone, for he knew what had driven him to the whole thing.
It was his fault, his betrayal. The eternal curse of the Malfoy family.
A groan made its way through his throat but he stopped himself, knowing that it meant no good to keep on blaming himself for the thing - even though it was his fault.
Sitting up in his bed he suddenly realized that he had to see him - just one last time, and thus he stepped out of bed, getting dressed in his clothes and went down into the common-room, just to face the person he least of all wanted to see. This time the groan was harder to quench, but he managed it and walked towards the figure that read a book. Since he already was up he might as well do something useful. Useful that was to the Malfoy family.
"Up late?" He asked with his casual voice, slipping down in the same couch as her to place an arm around her shoulder, drawing her closer to him.
It seemed as if she hadn't noticed him, she kept on reading with that calm face of hers, but he knew better than to trust his eyes.
"You know as well as I that I do not sleep, so why do you even bother to ask the question?" Her voice was as plain as ever, to the untrained eye she was deeply interested in the book. Yet by the way her posture had changed just the slightest when he had entered the room he knew that she had been more affected than she wanted to show.
Shrugging his shoulders he followed on with his act, caressing her upper arm with the one which was placed over her shoulder.
"Just felt like hearing your voice, that's all," he smiled, wiring a strand of raven hair between his fingers with his other hand.
The glance she gave him told him clearly that she didn't buy it. With a sigh she slammed the book shut, and the sudden sharp sound made him jump slightly, even though he saw it all.
"It is about Potter," she said in a soft voice as she completely turned her focus to Draco, giving him a look that went through bone and marrow.
Shivers went down his spine as he felt her eyes walk over him, the slight inhale of air from her nose told him she was up to something. His retreat was more pure instincts than anything else was.
"Yes," he breathed, lowering his eyes as he couldn't bear gazing into those black pools of hers - the eyes that no longer looked at him but to her left side.
"I see him under the weeping willow tree by the lake, pale and listless as Death claims him for his own.
Her voice seemed to come as if from a great distance, and as his head bolted up to look at her he found that her vision had gone out, eyes closed and lips slightly parted as she scented the air. A sudden ice-cold wind went through the room and then her eyes flashed open, a yellow line going straight through her eyes which stared clearly at Draco. Fright was such a lame word to describe what went through him in that moment; she looked as if she would kill him any second, he even closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to see it.
"Passing in shadows, standing on the very brink of life. A choice to be made, one life to take."
With those words her eyes showed only white, then she fell forwards into his lap, him catching her only seconds before that would happen.
"Moranna?" He shook her hard to get her to stirr, and after a few seconds he felt her body stiffen as she came back to her senses. Slowly she sat up, shaking her head and upper body as if to get rid of something. Not until perhaps 30 seconds later did she realize she was not alone, and then she turned to look at him, at first a little surprised but then remembering. The smile she'd have on her face faded as the memories came back to her, and she closed her eyes for a moment to get something painful out of her mind.
"I am not as well trained as the rest of my family is when it comes to searching minds," she explained at his startled face-expression. "However I saw things, amongst them Harry Potter." Here she paused, not sure on how to bring the news.
"What has happened to him?" Draco asked, sounding a little too eager and snappy for it to sound normal.
The raised eyebrow from her was something that made him blush just the slightest, but after that she seemed to oversee with his misuse.
"Something that cannot be cured. A broken heart.
Draco bowed his head in sadness; again the guilt came unbidden to him and caused havoc inside of his normally calm centre.
"But why is he dead?" He managed to say, voice too thick with emotions to utter anything other than a hiss.
Here Moranna seemed unable to answer his question at once; she had to think for a while before looking in Draco's direction again.
"He is not dead - not yet. Did you not listen to the words I spoke earlier?
The stern glance from her made him shrink slightly in his position but he finally nodded, eyes narrowed as he thought about them.
"I listened, though I did not understand it. Something about a choice to be made, death claiming him and to kill someone.
She shook her head mildly at him, then rose from her spot.
"Have you ever dreamt of that you are standing in a tunnel just outside a great door, within which you know there is everything you ever want, no grief ever - just peace? Behind you there is only darkness and the door in front of you there is as if made out of bright light, soothing you with its mere presence.
Draco nodded as he resembled what she spoke about and motioned for her to continue speaking.
"The darkness frightens you yet also strangely attracts you, but you feel like you want to enter that door and escape from the darkness. Though you know that if you enter that door you will never know what the darkness is hiding, if it really is so dark as it seems; as the door will close, never to open again. The weak music playing in the darkness tempts you, wanting to lead you there, but still you remain on that spot between the light and darkness.
She leaned back in her chair after uttering these words and watched him with a slightly curious gleam in her eyes. It looked as if she searched for something special in his reaction and had found it.
"I've had that dream once," he admitted.
"That is rare, for it only comes to a person whom is standing on the very brink of death and life. The person has to choose to go one of the options, either light or darkness.
While saying the last words a flame of dark and light materia appeared in both of her hands, then to disappear as fast as they had come, but the ghost of them remained in Draco's vision for a few seconds, making him shudder visibly.
It was not until now he looked up at her with suspiciousness, wondering why she knew so much about death.
"How come you know all this?
The smile on her lips was more than dangerous; it was something that Draco hoped he'd never had to see again.
"Again you forget what my father passed on to me. A gift that is so rare and dangerous that only a few hundred possesses it and are allowed to walk freely. And you are talking to me in the only hour that the potion I am taking to control the dark side of mine does not work, and thus my powers are way stronger than yours. If I wanted to I could rip you apart limb by limb without even touching you.
At this he palened several shades and a muscle in his throat twitched as if he was struggling to swallow, he even moved further away from her on the couch, but she just laughed silently at him and motioned for him to calm down.
"Yet I do not do that, at this point I have nor need or wish to kill. Only when I am triggered to the point of that I cannot control myself is there a danger to you, which I have told you several times before.
She saw him visibly relax and she closed her eyes for a mere moment to strain that sudden urge to kiss him passionately, which completely uninvited had come to her mind.
"Now then, back to the subject," she said slowly. "There is nothing to be done about Potter's state. Either he will wake up or he will not.
The pertinent voice of hers formed a cold lump of ice in his gut, and at once he knew he had to be there, no matter what the costs were. And as if she had read his mind she shook her head at him, face sterner than ever.
"I was there earlier and I say that there is no way that you could enter the Hospital wing unwounded tonight.
A frantic gleam in his eyes told her he was up to something bad, and she instantly knew that what ever it was, she had to come - just to see that he didn't kill himself at it.
And thus, two persons left the Slytherin house one hour before the break of dawn, up to no good.
AN: Just for the short chapter earlier, I'm posting another chapter so quickly after the last one. Hope you've enjoyed it :) Coming up: Chapter 5 - Meeting again.
Bri: I hate the shortness of the chapters too. I'm working on it. There will be extended versions of the chapters soon. Just give me a little time and I'll announce it all.
Zoomaphonethepirate: Yes, we need Harry back! But will he really come back? - evil taunting laughter -
Ivin Artemis Draconis: Thanks. You'll see soon why Draco broke up with Harry. There's an explanation in chapter 8 I think (don't have the story in front of me)
Oreopet: Thanks a lot. Have updated. Happy now? ;)
Green eyed dragon: I will continue writing as long as my muse is here (she sits upon my shoulder and whips me whenever I try stop writing). You're not the only one who doesn't like Moranna, but I think she's quite funny :)