WARNINGS: Ok, slash is actually starting now. That is your ONLY warning. If you flame me I'll be pissed. Well, now that I've said that there will be mentions and possibly descriptions of child abuse and rape, or both. There will most likely be more drug use, possibly more cutting. I'm not sure, I don't plan these things out ahead of time. (Raven: Don't worry, neither do I.)

DISCLAIMER: Don't sue! I'm too young to go poor! I did not make up Harry and Co, J.K Rowling did. The plot belongs to me, some songs belong to bands, and some characters belong to me as well. The Medicine of the Tales by Clarisaa Pinkola Estes, Ph. D. From the book Tales of the Brothers Grim edited, selected, and introduced by Clarisaa Pinkola Estes, Ph. D. ## Quote directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. Anything else that you encounter that I didn't mention here I will at the end.

A/N: For those of you who I told (Which aren't many) (Raven: Oh! Me, me! You told me! lol.) Mike is doing a lot better, and he's out of the hospital. Hell, he and his boyfriend are even having sex again! Whoot, whoot! Yeah...anyway, you gave us a scare buddy. Glad your ok. Once again this chapter is dedicated to you. Thanks again, Blackraven13 for being my beta...you rock. (Raven: Thank you, thank you Bows)

Chapter 8: The Medicine of the Tales

"BECAUSE I'M SCARED!"

Severus and Draco were shocked by these words. Harry Potter was never one to show his true feelings, especially now. But here he was, The-boy-who-lived standing in front of them, screaming that he's scared, tears in his eyes, and his nose slightly bleeding from snorting the drugs. Harry Potter's walls were finally broken. The question now is how long would it be before he put them back up?

"I'm fucking scared! I'm scared for Remus...where the HELL is he? I'm scared for every person out there who could be hurt by Voldemort because it would be MY fault!" Harry was screaming by now, the veins in his neck bulging slightly. "I've lost almost everyone that means something to me, and now Remus could be gone. And I have Draco now," Harry looked at Draco and whispered, "But how long will it take for me to get you killed?" The other two men gasped and Harry continued, once again yelling,

"I want a fucking life! Don't you understand? I want a goddamn normal life! I'm 17 for fucks sake! BLOODY HELL!" Harry punched the wall for the second time that day, reopening the wound on his right knuckles. "Oh, bugger it! I'm so fucking scared it's not funny! I'm not afraid to die, but I sure as hell don't want to before I graduate!" Then it was as if Harry had had enough, and he began backing up, looking far off and dazed.

Draco took a careful step forward but Harry immediately backed away. The emerald eyes began to darken here and there, sweat forming on his brow, his breath rapidly quickening, almost to the point of hyperventilating. Obviously he wasn't down from his high yet, and it appeared to be a bad trip. (A/N: I don't know entirely too much about drugs, but I've been there when this happened to one of my friends.) (Raven: Sounds right, the same thing happened to my friend once...but it didn't end so good.) Harry's breathing continued to quicken and Draco, noticing this, took another step forwards, grateful that Harry didn't back up.

"Shh, Harry, breath. Calm down, you have to calm down." Draco whispered softly as he took cautious steps towards the now hyperventilating teen, careful not to alarm him. When Harry didn't calm down Draco looked to Sev for help, but he was already coming towards them with what Draco guessed was a calming potion in his hand.

Sev nodded to Harry, motioning for Draco to hold Harry down while he administered the potion. As predicted, as soon as Draco touched Harry he began to panic and resist. So, as careful as possible, Draco pulled Harry down to the ground, in-between his legs so Harry's back was facing him, leaning back into his chest. The blonde wrapped one arm around Harry's toned chest and put the other hand on Harry's forehead, leaning his head back.

Harry once again tried to struggle, but Draco kept a firm grip on him, forcing the raven-haired teen to hold still. Severus pried Harry's resisting mouth opened and tipped the contents of the vial into his mouth, the liquid rushing into his opposing throat. Harry spluttered and coughed some of the potion up but Draco soon moved the hand that was once on his chest on the Gryffindor's throat, massaging it. Harry's throat relaxed and he swallowed every last drop. As soon as the potion was in him Harry began to calm down, breathing normally and relaxing in Draco's grip. Soon Draco found himself holding a sleeping Harry, though Harry's dreams were anything but peaceful.

##Only one pair was still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: he was laughing at her

"Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.

The second jet of light hit him squarely on the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

Harry released Neville, though he was unaware of doing so. He was jumping down the steps again, pulling out his wand, as Dumbledore, too, turned towards the dais.

It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall: his body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backwards through the ragged veil hanging from the arch.

Before Harry's drams could continue all went to blackness.

"Why?" Draco whispered, unconsciously holding Harry closer to his body.

"He has finally snapped, Draco. It was bound to happen at some point." Sev drew in a somewhat shaky breath and continued, "I may not like the boy very much but no one deserves this. No one deserves so much at such a young age." Severus shook his head and told Draco to bring Harry to his bed. But when Draco lay down with him as well he did not say a word, but left another calming potion and left them alone.

Through the darkness that surrounded Harry a faint whisper could be heard. At first he could not decipher what it was being said, only that it was a calm female voice. A wind soon picked up out of nowhere, blowing Harry's hair as Harry sat on the ground, knees brought up to his chest. He was so cold, chilled to the bone, the memory of what happened to Sirius strangely fresh in his mind. Then the voice was right by his ear, whispering soothingly to him, soft lips brushing his ear, as if the woman was standing right next to him.

"Though fairy tales end after ten pages, our lives do not. We are multi-volume sets. In our lives, even though one episode might culminate in a crash and burn, there is always another episode awaiting us, and then another. There are always more opportunities to get it right, to fashion our lives in the ways we soulfully deserve. Do not waste you time hating a failure. Failure is a greater teacher than success. Listen. Learn. Go on. That is every tale's essence. As we listen to these ancient messages, we learn about deteriorative patterns, and we learn to go on with the strength of one who senses traps, cages, and baits before we are upon them, or caught in them."

A soft kiss was descended upon Harry's ice-cold cheek and then it was gone: the wind, the voice, and the darkness. Harry was suddenly engulfed in a bright blinding white light and nothing more. He sat in the middle of nothingness, all alone. Those words were puzzling to Harry, but fresh in his mind, as though he had studied them for a long period of time and had them memorized. Replaying them in his head over and over again warmth spread swiftly across his body and he had the strange inkling that he was being held lovingly, as though someone cared for him.

He kept replaying that women's words in his head and thought about what they meant, but getting no closer to the answer than he had the first time he heard the words. One more question popped into his head: who was the woman?

A/N: I know, I know, it was really short, just about 3 pages. The plot is taking a little twist, and I know the story is going to be pretty long now because of the seriousness it has taken on. Do you like what I wrote? Don't worry, you will find out who the women is someday...though I'm not quite sure who she is yet. I've got some ideas though. Suggestions? Comments? Constructive criticism? If you know of a good fic, share please. Thanks to all of my reviewers! Also, I'll be updating my new story The Other Side soon, I'm actually doing some research for this story.

-Cherry

From: lampshadesrgreat ( )

I dunno about tattoo's, how 'bout an ankh? it would be rather ironic (ankh Egyptian sign of life) he should get a lip piercing, there cool, anyway. great chapter, love the Linkin park, suits perfectly, can't wait for more!

-Hey, thanks! I was actually thinking about an Egyptian sigh. I'm in love with ancient Egypt and Egypt in itself.

From: USAcat ( )

Nose! It's kinda hard to kiss around lip-rings, and we don't want Draco catching his lip on it, now do we? Loved that chapter, by the way.

-Thanks for loving the chapter! I don't think I'm going to do lip or nose anymore. I'm actually thinking about doing an industrial. (Raven: An eyebrow ring would be cool)

Thanks to Beloved, TheHomicidalManiac777, darkangel, Twilight Archer, SpazMcG7, Staryday, Henio41, and TanAlike for your review.

From: SpazMcG7 ( )

YES...FINALLY ANOTHER GHOST FAN...I'VE FOUND ONE, I KNEW I WOULD. I love them, they rock, I got so sad when they broke up, I'm over it though...JUST HAD TO SAY THAT!

ROCK ON

-You officially ROCK! GOTR is by far my favorite band...though they can't really be anymore because they broke up. I don't know anyone else in my school that has even HEARD of them!

Oh bugger it! I have too many reviews! (Don't stop sending them!) I'll get to the rest later. If I didn't mention you I still thank you!

(Raven: Good chappy Cherry! I like it!)