Paradise Found

Soul Dust

Disclaimer: see before!

Summary: see before!

A/N: My muse died today! Hopefully the next proper chapter will be written soon if Cafal ever gets his arse back in gear!

I resent that, woman!

Tough luck, cos I just said it!

Anyway, this is just an interlude...

Chapter 10/Interlude: Reaching-A Sinner's Soliloquy

I am reaching, but I fall.

And the night is closing in,

And I stare into the void-

To the whirlpool of my sin.

I'll escape now from the world

From the world of Jean Valjean.

Jean Valjean is nothing now,

Another story must begin!

-Les Miserablés, Valjean's soliloquy "What have I done?"

Silence, the night murmurs her soft blessing into the world below, and the full moon shone with the usual ethereal light. The Veils of the Worlds thinned and otherworldly light crisscrossed the midnight sky, dimming even the stars in their silver blaze. In the distant woods, a lonely wolf howled in its solitary rambles, calling to its brothers and sisters to come and find it. And behind the tall window of a particularly grand manor, a pale boy looked out into the world around him, drowning in its tides of darkness. He struggles to find light in the end of the tunnel, but everywhere he turns to, he find only more shrouds of darkness. Reaching out of the window with a slim hand, only to let it fall once again...

In trying to make sense of the world around him, he only found it to be surrounded by so many more other mysteries, shrouded in uncountable uncertainty. The world isn't just black and white, not like in fairytales. The people are not simply evil, or good. Nothing is wrong, yet nothing can ever be right either. Not anymore. The Light, when taken further than ought to, crosses that barely visible thin line of Barricade. In front of it, will be the lands of the Dark. So are they really that different? The world is a dangerous place; Temptation roams every corner of it in broad day light, clothed in dignified righteousness. What is right? Which things are right to do? Are there any things that are right to do?

Happily ever after doesn't exist, fairytales lie. Good will not necessarily conquer the Evil, the reality is grey.

Flashback

"Ah, Draco, here you are my son." Glancing up from the polished mahogany desk, Malfoy Senior observed his son and Heir coldly as the boy sat straight backed on the armchair.

"What did you wish to see me for, Father?"

"I, my son, am taking you to our Lord." A dissatisfied frown graced the hard, thin lips as Lucius Malfoy detected a small crack in his son's mask of indifference. Not up to the Malfoy standard. A couple of Cruciatus will do the tricks.

"I...I shall be...Marked?" Draco Malfoy, the sole Heir of the Malfoy fortunes and estates, Hogwarts student, and its resident Bearer of the Standard of Evil, gulped audibly.

"Stupid boy, don't get too full of yourself." Idly, the blond man flicked his wand and screams of pain was heard from the younger boy. Taking an old quill impatiently, he stood up from behind his desk and crossed over to where his still panting son lay trembling on the floor, and grabbed his arm with the other arm. "No, we are going to your initialisation, where you will participate in your first raid Party boy. Oh and Draco, I expect better from a Malfoy." With that, the Portkey activated, and air replaced where two people stood once.

Entering upon the Dark Lord's personal Manor, the Riddle House, for the first time was unnerving to say the least. Draco was given a cold glance-over before being ushered into a side chamber, where, to his horror, was a tiny dark haired girl chained to the ground by her wrists, stripped bare of any clothes, and lined with countless bruises and cuts. A Muggle girl. Someone nearby him laughed. Cackling maniacally, the Dark Lord threw a slicing curse combined with Cruciatus at the little girl. Draco's inside churned as her screams of pain and terror reverberated around the stone walls. The curse lifted as his future master issued Draco's first order. The words froze him from the inside; all he could do though is staring at the scared, helpless little figure curled around on the cold stone floor, weeping her heart out at the words spoken.

"Rape her."

Draco did what he had to do and left, but he was merciful enough to put her under imperio all that while. He was the first, and the others weren't so merciful. Her screams of terror penetrated the thick walls and reached his ears, making him want to cry out in pain and sorrow.

The last sight he saw of her was just before it all Ended. Just as his father was about to take him home, the Dark Lord held them back, insisting on showing them the perfect scene.

The broken body of the girl, lying drenched in her own blood. Her large dark eyes bored into Draco's grey ones, and he saw within, her last dull rays of innocence, so rare and deeply treasured in his crazy cold world. The red eyed monster smiled at the girl, and said: "Kill her."

Thankful that the little girl will have peace at least, Draco walked to the girl and crouched beside her head. He pointed his wand onto her temple, and looked into her innocent eyes.

"Avada Kedavra..."

As the emerald green light rushed out of his wand, he thought he heard the words "thank you". But the light behind those dark orbs flickered as the green light faded, taking another life with it.

She had a peaceful smile on her face.

End Flashback

What have I done?

Draco Malfoy cradled his left arm tightly onto his body, peering at his own yet unblemished skin. Does he really want to see the condemning Mark carved eternally into his pale flesh?

Does he really want to become nothing more than snivelling slave to an insane hypocrite for the rest of his life?

Today, in the bookstore at Diagon Alley, he met a dark haired, dark eyed girl. For a moment his heart constricted as he thought the girl was alive and grown up, staring at him with open curiosity and friendliness. But it was not her. It was Aeolia, his Head of House's daughter, in Florish and Botts today forced him to make a decision much sooner than he might have needed to before. The Dark Lord will be expecting this new piece of information, his father would as well.

The thing is, does he really want to be like...his father?

Did he really want to give Professor Snape away? The man he loved and respected? The man who cared for him when no other did? The man who has been looking out for him for the entirety of his life? Did he really want to give away his own godfather and his daughter? Did he really want to condemn her into a life of darkness that was undoubtedly laid out in front her if Voldemort ever found her out.

Not really.

Maybe one of the reasons for his reluctance was because: maybe, maybe he has fallen from destiny, fighting to find a crossroad to turn to.

In his head, ran the famous age old question......

......To be, or not to be.

All he could think about now is, that little girl will be eight tomorrow.

Asha Ice: Year End exams period in October!?? But they are horrid aren't they!?? Harry as Voldemort? Ooh nice twist, I see wot u mean...Mwahahahahahaha......lol

Egastin77: thanks! Review again!!

Japanese Jew: I'm not quite sure what u mean about the 1st chappie being screwed up, do you mean there's lots of grammar and punctuation mistakes or sumthing?? Well I'll do my best to improve it as much as I can! Thanks! Please read on!

tbc

Soul-Dust

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