A/N - warning - this chapter contains possibly disturbing imagery.
> > > > > > > > > > >
Chapter 64
"Draco..."
Draco turned, looking over in surprise as Dumbledore approached. Delse grabbed up the bowl he'd been snitching a bit of cookie dough from and smacked his hand playfully, rolling her eyes and moving it over to the other counter where she'd set out the cookie sheets.
He grinned after her, then looked at Dumbledore. "Getting me in trouble again, Alby?" He asked with a smirk, licking the dough off his finger.
Dumbledore smiled. "You are more than capable of doing that without my help." He replied with a mirthful twinkle in his eye. "But actually, I just realized that I have not yet formally given you and Ginevra your wedding present..."
Draco blinked in surprise as Ginny looked over, hearing her name. "Wedding present? You got us a present?"
"After a fashion, yes..." Dumbledore said, moving to the side a bit. Winky was standing there, wide-eyed and trembling slightly.
Hermione jumped up from her chair at the table, her jaw dropping as the apple she had been peeling slipping from her hand and rolled across the floor. "You can't give away Winky!" She said indignantly, "She's free!"
Dumbledore gave a slight nod. "She was. Unfortunately it seems there is a law that states that if a free house elf takes up residence and does not pay or provide services in exchange for their room and board in excess of two months, they become property of the house owner, or in this case, the current headmaster. As you well know, Winky has been residing at Hogwarts in excess of two years, providing no services for the food and shelter we have provided. She has, therefore, been my property for quite some time now. It has become readily apparent that she will serve no useful purpose at Hogwarts, so there is really no reason to retain her presence there any longer. Normally house elves stay in bloodlines, but there are provisions for the giving of house elves to newly married couples, even if they are of no direct blood relation."
Hermione's jaw just hung, her cheeks coloring. Before she could protest further, she felt a tug on her sleeve. She looked down to see Dobby standing beside her, looking up at her with sad eyes. "Please don't be arguing, Miss. Winky is not being like Dobby. Winky is not liking being free. Dobby is asking Professor Dumbledore to be doing this. Dobby is not wanting Winky to die..." he finished softly, his huge eyes looking very watery.
Hermione looked over at the frail, trembling elf. She did indeed look to be little more than a shadow of her former self. She hated to admit it, but it was just this side of a miracle that the elf had even made it this long the way she'd been going. Hermione sighed sadly, then turned and sat back down, going back to peeling apples without another word.
Draco looked from Hermione to Dumbledore, then down at Winky. He walked over to her, then circled around her, looking her over appraisingly. When he completed his circuit, he knelt down before her, reaching out and feeling her thin, wasted arm. "Not much to look at, are you?" He asked speculatively. Winky just dropped her eyes. "Well your little 'vacation' is over as of now. No more of this lying around and pitying yourself shite. If you're my elf, you work or you don't eat. I've seen you in the kitchens before... it was pretty pathetic. From now on, not a drop of butterbeer passes those lips unless I personally ok it for a special occasion. Your clothes will be kept clean and in good repair at all times. If they are damaged beyond repair or worn out, you will get new clothes from my mother's house elf, Diamond."
Winky flinched at the mention of getting clothes.
Draco narrowed his eyes, "You'll accept the clothes from Diamond, or I'll be forced to give them to you myself..."
Winky's eyes bugged fearfully, "Winky is taking them from Diamond." She quickly assured him.
He gave a little nod and rose. "Have you ever taken care of children before?"
"Winky is raising my master's son since he was being a baby, sir." Winky said timidly.
"Your ex-master. You're mine now, and you'll not forget that!" Draco replied sternly.
"Yes master!" she replied immediately.
He nodded again, "Well, Winky... we currently have no less than five babies on the way in this family. If you want to even be considered to help out with them, you had best cut out the moping shite entirely and prove you can be a useful and reliable elf!"
Winky's eyes positively bugged and she nodded her head fervently.
"Your new 'family' now includes a number of bloodlines. Namely Malfoy, Weasley, Black, Zabini, Snape and..." He looked over at Breanna, "What is your maiden name anyway?"
Breanna smirked, "Phelps."
Draco looked back at Winky, "And Phelps. Not all of these are officially blood relations until the babies are born, but they will be treated as such nevertheless, understood?"
Winky nodded so fast her ears flapped slightly.
"Oh, and the snow elf over there is family as well, but snow elves don't have surnames."
Fred and George looked at Kulia. "I thought your last name was Rogue?" Fred asked curiously.
Kulia's eyes darted to Draco, "You little shit!" She growled irritably, folding her arms across her chest.
Draco grinned sheepishly, "That's her pen name. Thanks a lot guys. I might remind you that I told you she didn't like people knowing that. Hell, most people don't even know she's a female!"
"Well we noticed that on our own..." George said playfully, slipping his arm around her.
Fred slipped his arm around her as well. "Don't be upset that we know..." he murmured, nuzzling up to Kulia.
"We're thrilled about it..."
"Absolutely thrilled!"
"We've worshipped the ground you walk on for most of our lives!"
"Ever since we found grandpa's first edition in the attic."
"You inspired us..."
"Without your skilled guidance we never would have even dreamed about the shop..."
Kulia gave a little snort of amusement, "Well keep that little tidbit to yourselves! Think I want your mum finding out who's to blame for that?"
The twins just chuckled, cuddling up to her lovingly.
"Speaking of which," Draco said, remembering something. "Those six house elves I have working at your shop..."
"Ya?" Fred asked, looking up curiously.
"I know you won't be needing them as much now that the holiday rush is over, but four are yours to keep. You can pick which ones. The other two I'd like given to your mother."
Molly, who had just walked in from the other room, stopped in her tracks. "What was that dear?" She asked in surprise.
"Two of the house elves from the shop are yours. I was kind of hoping you could train them up a bit in child care. I can think of no one better to teach them, and I dare say we're going to have quite a task caring for five newborns at once."
Molly blushed and smiled, obviously very pleased by the compliment. "Well I suppose I could do that." She said with a little nod.
"Thank you." Draco said with a genuine smile, "They'll help out Kulia and Pansy when the time comes. When we return to school next year Pansy will of course get at least one house elf to help out with her twins, possibly two if the other one gets her act together by then..." He said, glancing down at Winky significantly, then he looked up at Dumbledore, "And I was hoping we'd be able to get one of the Hogwarts elves to help Ginny and I out with our own while we're at classes..."
Dumbledore chuckled softly, "I believe we may have one that has the proper training..." He said, his eyes alighting on Dobby. Dobby grinned sheepishly, looking thrilled. He would be able to see what it would be like working for Draco without having to give up his current position.
Draco looked down at Winky, who was still standing there patiently, "Ok then. Run along and help the others get lunch on the table, then get something to eat. I expect to see some flesh on those bones soon!"
Winky nodded again, then hurried off to help the other elves.
Draco went over and leaned back against the counter, slipping his arm around Ginny. "She'll shape up." he said without a hint of doubt as he watched the frail elf.
Dumbledore smiled at him. Draco had been a bit harsh, but sometimes it's the only way. He moved forward, speaking in a soft voice so the others wouldn't overhear. "Would you like me to go with you this afternoon?"
Draco's smile faded away. He sighed. "No. You've already tried, and that's all I could ask. I wouldn't want it to seem like you're pressuring her. I don't want her to harbor any bad feelings towards you over this."
Dumbledore took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Very well, but if you change your mind, just say the word."
Draco nodded and gave him a little grateful smile.
Molly went over to the counter, picking up a serving tray she needed off the counter, then paused, furrowing her brow. "What's this about then?" She asked curiously.
Draco looked over. There was a newspaper on the counter where the tray had been. One of the house elves all but sprinted over, snatching it up and holding it so as to obscure as much of it as possible with her hands. "I is begging your pardon for such trash being left around. I is getting rid of it for you..." She said, backing towards the back room where the banishing bins were. Her eyes widened fearfully as she came up against Blaise's legs. She looked up at him with wide, anxious eyes.
"What are you hiding?" He asked with a smirk.
"I is not hiding anything master. I is just getting rid of some trash..." She squeaked with a tremor in her voice.
"Well let's just see about that..." He said, reaching down and taking ahold of the newspaper. He lifted it up, but the elf didn't release it. He let out a snort of laughter as the elf clung to it, dangling a good foot off the ground. He gave it a jiggle, but she hung on stubbornly.
"Please master!" She pleaded.
He furrowed his brow, his amusement fading. It had to be something really bad to make the house elf keep holding on when he obviously wanted her to let go.
"Let go." He said softly.
The house elf's ears drooped back, but she let go, unable to disobey a direct command. She dropped to the ground and backed away, looking fearful.
Blaise pulled off the twine, eyeing the elf. "I said bring the paper, not bring it and hide it." He said, then glanced down at the cover page as he unrolled it. "Oh bloody Hell!" He breathed in a horrified voice. He started to roll it back up, but Draco snatched it from his hands, having seen part of the headline. He sat down heavily on a nearby stool as he stared at the paper. Ginny hurried over, looking at it to see what could have shocked them both so.
There was a large picture of Draco on the cover page. The picture was glaring in an obviously angry and irritated fashion. The headline that followed didn't bode well at all.
Malfoy's Malice!
By Rita Skeeter
The horrific exploits of Lucius Malfoy are, by now, well known. What isn't well known,
and indeed appears to have been very carefully covered up, are the even darker and more
sinister endeavors of another Malfoy... Lucius' son, Draco. Trained from birth by his
Death Eater father, Draco, it has recently been discovered, has taken up his father's
work. Though not yet officially confirmed to be in league with He Who Must Not Be Named,
young Draco's actions speak for themselves.
A confidential, but very reliable source recently revealed to this reporter that Draco
Malfoy is, in fact, the master of the demon who recently terrorized Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. This demon's rampage left countless students and Ministry
Aurors grievously wounded, and it was only through the quick actions and expertise of
healers at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies that many of them survived their
encounter with the beast at all. Even the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge himself
narrowly escaped death at the creature's hands on two occasions.
If this was not enough, it has been confirmed that young Draco did indeed used the
demon to torture, control and possibly even mentally cripple The Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter.
Long time rivals, and described by more than a few as outright enemies, Draco
and Harry have feuded since their first meeting upon entering Hogwarts. On a number of
occasions they have even been said to have dueled.
Whether rivalry, You Know Who's orders, or plain vindictive cruelty on the part of
Draco, he went so far as to force Harry Potter onto the grounds, purposely foiling
Ministry attempts to contain the demon and actually trapping the beast within Harry
Potter's body. This reporter can exclusively report that the beast is in fact still residing
within Harry Potter, entrenched beyond hope of dislodging by an unbreakable magical
bond. Even as we speak, the Boy Who Lived is hidden away in some dark Malfoy
stronghold, having Merlin knows what tortures performed on him, perhaps even by You
Know Who himself!
Why has this been allowed to happen? And why has it been covered up? Hogwarts
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore himself has declared the demon contained and the school
safe to resume normal functioning. One has to wonder why Dumbledore, often thought of
as the only wizard You Know Who fears, would cover for young Malfoy. Could Draco have
succeeded where so many have failed in the past and placed even the great and powerful
Albus Dumbledore under the Imperious curse? It is rumored that young Draco had
knowledge of a great many of the darkest spells, including all of the Unforgivables known
to the Ministry before he was even old enough to enter Hogwarts...
Draco let out a disgusted growl, glaring at the paper, "You can bet your arse I know the bloody Unforgivables, and I'm getting the itching desire to try out a couple on this bloody cow!" he snarled. He was snapping his fingers angrily. One of his elves ran up, his ears pressed back and eyes wide at Draco's obvious anger. "Yes, Master?" he squeaked timidly.
"Send an owl to my representative. Tell her to get a lawsuit started against Rita Skeeter and the Daily Prophet immediately, and to see today's edition for the reason. Tell her I want them served with papers by nightfall on behalf of... well pretty much everyone mentioned in this bloody article. Tell her she's to be here as soon as she's done with that to work out the details of the suit!"
"Which representative, Master?" The elf asked timorously.
"Which bloody one do you think? My only female representative; Bazentine! Now move!" Draco snapped. The cowed elf let out a little squeak of fright and darted away to its task.
"I'm mentioned..." Ginny said faintly.
Draco's eyes darted back to the paper. He snarled angrily as he read the passage. "The bloody Imperius curse again? It's like a bloody mantra with this woman! And where the bloody Hell does she get off calling you the 'most vulnerable Weasley'? She's obviously never seen that bloody picture!" Indeed, the small picture they had of Ginny was one that was obviously at least a year old. The picture made her look every bit as young and vulnerable as the article described. He fumed, his eyes continuing down the lengthy article. "She makes me out to be worse than father! I don't usually use Bazentine, but this cow deserves it." He glanced over at Ginny, "Bazentine is a bloody vicious little bitch. That's why I keep her on retainer." He said with a wicked smirk.
He looked back at the paper, shaking his head in disgust. After a moment, he finished unrolling it, almost fearing what he would see next. He had reason for his unease. He blinked down at the large, and unsettlingly accurate artist's depiction of the demon that took up about the bottom quarter of the page. The caption read "Draco's demon, as described by eye witnesses." The demon was half crouched, snarling with its eyes glowering hatefully (They had even added touches of blood red to the normally black and white paper). Its huge, wicked talons were poised as well, looking as if it would reach out of the picture at any moment and strike at the reader. Admittedly, the demon wasn't a handsome creature by anyone's reckoning, but this picture made it look like the most vile and ruthless thing that had ever crawled the earth.
"Eye witnesses?" Draco asked incredulously.
Blaise came up beside him, looking at the drawing. "There were no eye witnesses other than a couple dozen Slytherins when it left Nicolaus and the handful when it attacked you in the corridor, and none of them would have talked to her about it! Never heard of it leaving its host any other time..."
"It was that bloody Auror. The one who went to see my father." Tonks and Kingsley looked at eachother in shock at this, then back over at Draco, but remained silent. "He must have provided the description. There's no way they could have gotten this accurate without someone who had seen it close up and more than once. People who are terrified of it don't usually hang around long enough to note so much detail. This even shows its scar." He said, pointing to the jagged mark on the small head near its eye.
"There's a picture of him?" Delse asked, wiping her hands on a towel and hurrying over.
Draco quickly folded up the paper before she could see. "It's really nothing you need to see..."
Delse chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Oh please! How bad could it be? Just give me that!" She said, catching ahold of the paper and wresting it from Draco's resistant grasp. She shook her head at him, smirking, then unfolded the paper. Her smile faded as her eyes fell on the depiction.
Her fingertips strayed to her lips as she stared down at the drawing in shock. "He... actually looks like this?" She asked, stunned.
She looked up as she heard a shoe scrape the stone floor. Harry had just come to a stop, his eyes falling on the paper, the picture of the demon clearly visible. The red glow bloomed behind his eyes as they drifted up to look at her. There was a pain in those eyes so profound it broke her heart just to look at it. Tears started coursing from his eyes as he took a step back, his breath catching in his chest.
She took a step towards him, reaching out to him comfortingly, but he backed up a couple more steps, then turned and dashed back through the doorway he'd just come through and into the dining room. She ran after him, but by the time she got to the dining room he was already going out the door on the other side, slamming it shut after him. She hurried up to it, reaching for the knob when arms suddenly wrapped around her, jerking her back away from the door.
She struggled and twisted around, finding Lupin holding her. "Let go!" She said angrily, then the fight went out of her as she noticed something for the first time. The doorknob had begun to glow a dull red. Now that she was paying attention, she looked the door over in shock. The frame was glowing dully as well and beginning to bubble and smolder in places, even the stonework around it looking slightly molten as the door soldered itself into place.
Lupin released her once he was sure she wouldn't try to touch the door. "We must find him. I doubt we have much time... what's the quickest way into that corridor?"
She was too distraught to speak, but turned, hurrying back into the kitchen. Draco was on his feet and the others were looking over with obvious concern.
"He's sealed that doorway. We need to spread out and locate him." Lupin said briskly.
"Oh bloody Hell..." Draco breathed in horror as he surveyed the smoldering door. The glow was visible even from where he stood.
"Indeed. This does not bode well at all!" Dumbledore said, his voice conveying much more concerned than the soft spoken man usually displayed.
"Go and locate Potter!" Draco called out to the house elves. "If you find him, tell us immediately!" His elves darted out the door without question.
"You heard him!" Delse snapped as the Zabini elves lingered uncertainly. They all looked a bit frightened, never having heard their mistress order them around quite so brusquely. She took deep, calming breaths as they all but dove out the door.
"Why did he freak out just because Delse was looking at the newspaper?" Tonks asked, confused.
"He loathes his true form. For her to have seen it was probably the worst thing imaginable for him." Lupin said grimly.
"It was just a picture!" Delse said, obviously near tears. "Why is he so upset I've seen it?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Because it would change him in your eyes. You know his true appearance now, and I doubt he's going to handle that well."
"But you've seen him! A number of you saw him!" Delse said in frustration.
"Yes, but he's not in love with us." Draco said softly.
Delse's eyes went round.
"If you couldn't tell that he was hopelessly in love with you... then you were probably one of the few who couldn't..." He said, his eyes going to the grim looks on the faces of many of those around him.
Delse was staring at him, stunned. Her eyes went over to Blaise. Blaise just nodded sadly.
Delse let out a pained sound, turning and running out the kitchen door.
> > > > > > > > > > >
Harry's head spun wildly as the demon's emotions ravaged his senses like a storm tossed sea. Never had he realized just how separately the demon had managed to keep itself from him, but now it was too distraught to even think to block him out. It was almost frightening. The emotions were too profound, surging around far too fiercely to properly label. It was like a great, violent blend of fear, pain, anger, loss and something deeper that made Harry's whole being ache. It was more than he'd ever felt before, more than any one creature should be capable of feeling, It overwhelmed him and made him feel like he was drowning. He was vaguely aware of passing down corridor after corridor blurringly fast, then his consciousness could handle it no more as the world went black around him...
> > > > > > > > > > >
... Consciousness slowly reasserted itself. He was sitting at a bar, staring at himself in the mirror behind it. The reflection was odd... the background containing trees and an open field with delicate flowers dotting it. The Hall. The one they had held the wedding in. That's where he was.
It was difficult to think straight. Without him even willing it to, his hand lifted a glass to his lips and he took a drink. His senses sharpened a bit at the fluid burned its way down his throat. He managed to shift his eyes, taking in the bottles sitting out on the bar. It was obvious he'd drank at least a glass or two from each. It explained the strange fogginess in his mind.
"Welcome back." he heard his own voice say. He looked back into the mirror. His reflection was looking back at him, smirking. "Have a good nap?"
What happened? Harry asked, his voice going no further than his own head.
"Just had to work out a bit of... frustration." His reflection said, his smirk widening.
Work it out how? Harry asked worriedly.
"Just burning off some excess emotion. I'm not used to being in a body like this all the time. The emotions got a bit pent up... I was bound to blow sooner or later." Pax replied with a chuckle, taking another burning swallow of liquor, draining the glass.
What did you do? Harry had little doubt by now that he wasn't going to like the answer.
"Well, I couldn't let myself go getting attached to a bunch of you ridiculous little mortals with your flash in the pan life spans." He said, getting up and walking casually for the door. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still awful fond of you. You're just about the best little puppet I've ever played with. And so gullible too. Of course they all were..."
'Were'. Harry felt panic rising in him. His insides went cold as ice as he saw the mangled remains of a house elf laying in the corridor. The demon just stepped over it as if were nothing more than a piece of litter.
"It was in the way." Pax said with a definite edge of mirth, noting the way Harry's attention was caught by it. "If it had just gotten out of the way it could have lived, but no... it had to follow their stupid misguided sense of loyalty and defend its master to the end... shame. I don't like killing slaves. Them I can empathize with."
Defend its master? Harry asked dazedly, then his thoughts seemed to freeze, his mind going numb. The demon had obligingly looked down the side corridor. There was a shoe sticking out from around the next corner. The demon started towards it. Harry thrashed, but was locked in his body, unable to escape or even look away as the demon came to a stop, looking down... the shoe's owner was still in it. At least what was left of its owner. Blaise lay there face down on the floor in a pool of congealing blood, several sets of deep gashes obviously made by talons on his back, his throat torn out. His head was turned towards him, his eyes open, but blank... a dull, lifeless sheet white.
Harry felt certain he would be retching if he had control of the body. Then he saw the bloody footprints leading away. They had the tread of his own sneakers. In a bit of a daze he watched as the demon followed them.
As they continued down the corridor, there were dead house elves every couple of yards. The demon passed by them without even paying attention. It paused as the footprints detoured down one hall, though they returned to continue on. The demon looked down the corridor and Harry felt a stab of pain shoot through him. There was a body in the corridor. A very large body. It was facing away but he knew there was really no one else it could possibly be other than Hagrid.
"I was worried about that one." The demon said conversationally. "He went down surprisingly easy though. It seems he didn't want to hurt me... one good slash to the throat and it was all over. Good thing the house elves tamed that bloody beard or I'd never have been able to get to it."
Harry continued trying in vain to free himself, but the demon just moved on, continuing to follow the bloody footprints that had grown darker again, refreshed by Hagrid's blood.
"Same thing that brought down Dumbledore as a matter of fact. They both held back when they should have gone for the kill. Dumbledore was a bit messier in the end... not much recognizable left really... would you like to see?"
Harry shrieked and writhed in his prison, but to no avail.
"Hmm... you don't sound too eager. Maybe later. For now, let's check on lunch..." He said with an evil chuckle. The footprints led down the corridor and into the kitchen door. He could smell something burning before he even reached it. He didn't want to see, but he had no choice in the matter.
The scene that met his eyes was more horrific than dreamt of by even the most demented slasher movie creator. The furniture and appliances had almost all been smash, burnt or otherwise destroyed in what was obviously a pitched battle... and those that lost that battle lay cold and still on the floor. Harry let out a silent cry of anguish as he recognized Hermione's frizzy brown hair, now matted with blood as she lay sprawled in an unnatural position, her body twisted and broken. Harry felt numb shock taking over as the demon looked around more. The flash of white hair made Kulia immediately recognizable, though not much more was visible. There were two charred bodies laying atop her, obviously having been trying to shield her. Only the sameness of the size of the bodies and a few remaining sprigs of unburnt red hair confirmed their identities.
"That one was a pity too... Not many of her kind left. Doubt there's more than a dozen in the whole world... well, eleven now..." He chuckled evilly. "There were too many innocent people between us for her to bring her powers to bear properly. Once I grabbed up precious Ginny as a shield it was all over for her. It was her conscious that killed her in the end."
Several of the other bodies bore red hair as well... Harry felt a vague trickle of relief when the demon remained where he was, not venturing in any further. He couldn't bear to confirm the identities of any more of the bodies. He vaguely saw a number more through the door into the dining room. He could see one charred body slumped against the back door. It was obvious that whomever it had been had tried to open it... to get away through it, but the sealed door had prevented any hope of escape, making the room a deathtrap.
Why? He sobbed, Why? He couldn't think past the question as it echoed around in his head. He wasn't in control of the body, but he could still feel it shaking in response to his mental agony, his emotions so torn up he could sense little more than a very cold, numb feeling inside.
"You saw her. You saw the disgust and loathing in her eyes. That wretched, deceitful bitch... she made me think she might actually care about me. She made me feel for her! And then she sees my true form and looks at me like that!" He growled furiously, "Well, I taught her what it means to betray a demon." He chuckled his soft, evil and slightly demented laugh, "It's one lesson she won't forget... none of them ever will."
But how is this possible? He asked, praying the demon would look away from the massacre before him.
The air was suddenly filled with the demonic laughter that spilled forth from his mouth, "You don't honestly believe Lucius would leave a copy of the real journal laying around, do you? He left out a copy with a sham binding spell and you fools fell for it. I played you like a fiddle. I was supposed to wait and take you all out in a very public place... like the Ministry of Magic... but he'll have to settle for this. Hell, you even believed the whole line about how that bloody device actually prevents me from leaving you... never even thought to actually check!" He reached up and Harry felt a tug, then the demon held up a twisted bit of filigree that Harry recognized immediately, "It was just a little bit of costume jewelry with a sticking charm on it. Hell, all you'd have had to do was order me to get out and I would have been out of you in a heartbeat...
Harry felt a strange pulling, drawing sensation and felt slightly dizzy. When he blinked his eyes back open, the demon was standing before him. It was terrifyingly huge and beastly as it glared down at him with those little glowing red eyes. Its mouth almost seemed to turn up in a grin, though it was hard to tell for sure amongst the haphazard needle-like teeth.
"Hard to believe it was almost difficult to finish off that treacherous bitch..." He hissed, his true voice vile in Harry's ears. Harry hadn't realize how normal and almost human Pax's voice had become when he spoke in his mind until he was reminded of what it had once sounded like.
"To... to finish..." Despite the numbness of his overloaded senses, he felt his heart catch in his chest.
The demon chuckled nastily, then turned, making its way down the hall, walking using its unnaturally long arms for additional support for its ungainly frame. It reminded Harry bizarrely of the gorillas in the zoo the way it walked half stooped over like that. He found himself following, though his rational mind screamed he should run the other way.
It ducked into a side room and he came to stop in the doorway, forcing his eyes to look in. Delse's body was laying there on the floor. Her clothes were all torn off and her body had obviously been horribly brutalized. Harry found himself approaching her, staring down in disbelief. Her eyes were fixed and glazed, her neck covered in purple bruises.
"Had a bit of fun before finishing her. She owed me. I'm going to get a good beating when they find I've finished them off early. Well, they might take it easy on me since I took out Dumbledore for them." He reached out, brushing the back of one of his long talons against her cheek, "Too bad her bloody neck broke. She was dying nice and slow before that... of course I was still able to capture her soul before it could escape. Now she's finally mine once and for all."
Harry tried to pull his eyes away from her terrified expression. His gaze fell upon her hand. The fingertips were covered with drying blood, bits of skin sticking out from under her nails here and there. He lifted his arms and realized for the first time that they were covered in deep gouges. He staggered back, staring at his arms as it hit him full force. It had been him. He had done all of this...
The demon started towards him stealthily, a look of mirth in its evil eyes. "Yes, it was us... we make a good team, you and I... I think I'll keep you around for a while... Master said I could keep you if I brought you back and got you properly branded and broken in... I'd say it's high time I got you to work doing bigger and grander things. Together, you and I will win this war, and the Dark Lord will reward us beyond our imagining..."
Harry stumbled back. "No!" He breathed, his throat tight with fear and self loathing.
It chuckled, reaching out its long arm and grabbing ahold of him with a grip like steel. "I don't see as you have much of a choice in the matter. You have nowhere to go... no one left to protect you from yourself... you're mine now..." He said, dissolving into shadow and flowing over him.
Harry dropped to the floor, feeling it invading his body once again. It would take over and cause more pain, destruction and death if he let it... but how could he prevent it?
Demonic laughter filled his head once again, "Oh please... you can't stop me... I think it's time to return to Hogwarts..."
"NO!" Harry shrieked, fighting with all his might. He thrashed, feeling it flowing into every pore of his body, filling him with its loathsome presence. "NO! GET OUT! GET OUT!" He shrieked desperately.
His body jerked and spasmed as pain wrenched through him. He writhed and twisted, trying to escape it, but the pain was all around him. "Get out!" He repeated over and over again in desperation.
It seemed like the struggle lasted for hours... then he vaguely heard sound from somewhere... the world had become no more than a dim blur, but suddenly light flared around him. Hands took ahold of him and held onto him, despite the continued thrashing of his body that was by now far beyond his control. There was shouting and more hands but nothing was making much sense as the pain throbbed through his being. Maybe it was Aurors... maybe they were here to kill the demon. He prayed they would succeed. Just kill it... kill them both. He couldn't live with what it had done while within him. He just wanted it to end and go away.
"Potter!"
His mind was so jumbled not even his own name made any sense to him. There was a sharp sound, and an even sharper pain on his cheek. Then the other cheek stung as well.
"Potter!" the voice repeated urgently. The pain within him seemed to be oddly burning itself out, as if it were a fire slowly consuming all that was combustible. More sharp pains followed. "Potter! Shut up!"
Harry became vaguely aware that he was still repeating "Get out" over and over again, his mouth seeming disengaged from his brain, his throat raw. The pain burned down a little more and slowly hints of conscious thought began filtering back in.
> > > > > > > > > > >
"Why won't he stop saying that?" Blaise said with angry frustration as Harry writhed around, making it difficult for even him to hold onto him.
"I don't know but he has to stop!" Draco said urgently, smacking Harry's cheeks soundly again, trying to snap him out of it. He looked up at Ron, "Find Delse."
"Delse? Shouldn't I get...?" Ron began.
"DELSE!" Draco snapped. "And make it quick!"
Ron gave a nod and turned, running off in search of her.
Draco looked down hopefully as Harry's muttering started falling away. "Potter!" He called again loudly. Was it wishful thinking, or were his eyes looking a bit clearer? "Potter? Can you understand me?" He asked in a loud, clear voice. Harry blinked up at him with a dazed expression, his breath panting in his chest.
"Shhh..." Blaise said soothingly, "It's ok now... calm down..."
Harry's eyes slowly tracked over to him, then stared at him for a minute. He reached up, touching Blaise's face in disbelief. "But... you're dead..." He said uncomprehendingly in a soft, hoarse voice. Blaise looked up at Draco in surprise as Draco groaned.
Draco took Harry's head in his hands and turned it towards him. "I want you to listen to me very carefully... the demon was just fucking with your head. I don't know what you think you saw, but you need to countermand your order. Now!"
Harry blinked, looking puzzled.
"Listen to me." Draco said, making sure Harry was following him, "You can't tell it to get out. It can't get out. If you command it to, you are giving it an unachievable task... demons only have to say they will do their best to keep those from being fatal... but it's not going to say that."
Harry blinked at him again.
Draco growled in frustration, "You're killing it! Clear enough? I can't tell it to ignore your command without it just disobeying my order, and that would kill it even faster! It has to be you!"
Harry shook his head to try to clear it. He could see people moving in the doorway. He let out a little sob as he saw Hermione amongst them. She was watching worriedly, but they were staying back to give Draco room. Slowly it was sinking in that what he had just seen was another figment of the demon's imagination... "But why?"
Draco sighed sadly, dropping his voice, "Isn't it obvious, Potter? It fell in love with Delse... it saw the look on her face when she saw its true form... it's try to commit suicide..."
"Please, Harry..." Blaise said, tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched him with opalescent eyes, "He's dying..."
Comprehension seemed to be seeping through Harry's mind, "Demon... don't..." He trailed off, his eyes losing focus and drifting shut.
"Finish it Potter!" Draco said impatiently.
"Leave me be, master..." Pax said in a soft whisper.
Draco's eyes widened, "Demon..." He said, noting the way Harry's body had started trembling, the muscles tensing and jerking slightly as spasms of pain flowed through him. "Please... this isn't a command... it's a request... please don't do this..."
"It's better this way..." Pax breathed softly, wincing as another wave of pain hit him, "It won't be long now and you'll all be safe... and he'll be free... like he wants..."
"You tricked him into telling you to leave and you know it! He would have canceled the order by now if you hadn't taken over to prevent it! He never asked you to leave on his own."
"Let me go or you'll regret it, trust me..." Pax gasped, "I told you before... if you ever found a way to be rid of me... well here's your chance on a silver platter, so just sit back and shut up for a minute... and Zabini... you might want to leave the room..." He shuddered in pain, "Soon..." he added in a hoarse whisper.
Blaise just kept holding on to him,
"How about if I ever do regret it, I let you kill yourself then?" Draco asked in exasperation.
Pax opened his eyes, reaching up and clutching the front of Draco's shirt convulsively. "Please master..." he said, tears spilling from his eyes as his emotionless mask slipped away, his voice becoming pleading, "I was never meant to feel this way..." he sobbed in anguish, "Demons aren't supposed to... were never meant to..." He convulsed. When the convulsion had passed he sagged down limply, looking very weak. Then he tensed and with great effort shifted his head around, pressing his forehead to Blaise's stomach. "No..." He breathed in anguish, "Please... make her leave..."
Blaise and Draco looked over and spotted Delse standing in the doorway, her hands clasped over her mouth in shock as she stared down at them. She hurried over, then paused uncertainly beside them, dropping down to her knees.
"Talk to him..." Draco said quickly, "The demon... he's trying to kill himself... he's nearly gone..."
Blaise let out a gasp as he felt something cool and tingling flutter into him. His eyes darted down and he saw little flecks of blue light starting to drift out from the demon. The tiny glimmers started to coalesce, floating up on the air currents like a strange kind of smoke, then they drifted over, flowing up against his chest. He felt pinpricks of tingling and his head began to swim.
"What the bloody Hell...?" Draco asked. He reached out to try to feel the 'smoke', but it flowed away from his hand and on as if that was all it really was.
Comprehension came to Blaise in a rush, "Fragments from the souls that sustain him... he's starting to lose his hold..."
Delse let out a frightened sound and pulled Harry's body into her arms, ignoring the swirling fragments. "Why are you doing this?" She asked in anguish, stroking her hand down his cheek as his head lulled limply against her.
"It's ok... honestly... it's nearly done..." He gasped softly, a red glow sparking behind his eyes, then slowly starting to fade as tears slid down his cheeks, "You're both free now... he'll make you happy... goodbye my love..."
She pulled him to her, clutching him tightly. "No... don't leave..." She sobbed softly, "I don't care what you look like... you're part of him... part of the man I love..." She held him tighter, bringing her mouth up to his ear, whispering softly to him, "Don't leave me... live, Pax... please... for me..."
He trembled at her words, letting out a sob and pressing his face to her. The flow of glimmering blue tapered off and then stopped altogether. She looked up at Blaise with wide, frightened eyes as Harry sagged in her arms like a dead weight.
"He's still there... but only just..." Blaise said, then waved his hand to try to disburse the small cloud of glimmering particles that had now begun swirling around him irritatingly. It did nothing but make them move faster, his arm tingling as the particles that hit it latched on and sank in.
"Bloody Hell..." Blaise muttered, getting up. He tried to move away from the particles, disconcerted, but they followed him, spiraling ever closer like water swirling around a drain, the innermost particles starting to tingle against him as the cloud closed in on him.
Suddenly he felt the strangest sensation blossom in the very center of his being... it was like a brilliant spark... a flame... almost frighteningly fierce and powerful, and yet at the same time cool and utterly calm. The reaction of the particles was almost instantaneous. Like metal filings to a lode stone, they were all suddenly drawn into him.
The next thing he knew he was flat on his back, staring up dazedly. Ron was peering down at him worriedly, and Blaise realized that he was holding him. "Wha... what happened?"
"I was hoping you could tell me." Draco said as he helped Blaise sit up. "You just dropped like a rock. How do you feel?"
There was no way Blaise was answering that one truthfully. At the moment, as he looked at Draco, he had an overwhelming desire to touch him... and yet that wasn't quite it... there was just this strong pulling sensation when he looked at him... like he wanted to do something, but he wasn't sure what. He slid his arm out of Draco's grasp. He was relieved when breaking physical contact made the pulling ease considerably. He shook his head to clear it. "Guess I should have listened to the demon. He told me to get out..." Blaise said, slipping his arms around Ron and hugging him. He felt a bit shaken, and grateful that at least touching Ron wasn't making him feel odd. He gave Ron a quick kiss before releasing him, letting him go over to check on Harry.
Draco looked over thoughtfully at where Harry still lay limply in Delse's grasped. "He did, didn't he? He must have known it would do something to you... but how did he know that? And what did it do?"
"You know what? I'm just fine. Let's just focus on taking care of the demon right now..." Blaise said, quickly changing the subject, staring at Harry's body. Oddly, he could 'see' his essence slightly. It was just a vague shadow, but he'd never had the wraith vision mixed with his regular vision at all before except when he was pissed as a newt.
"What's with your eyes?" Draco asked in surprise, peering closer.
Blaise looked over at him, shifting away unconsciously. He could see Draco's essence as well, and it was even stronger. "What? Do they look off or something?" He asked worriedly.
"There's a bit of that wraith coloring in them... it's not on the irises, but you can definitely see it in the whites."
"Oh..." Blaise shrugged, trying to hide his discomfort with the subject, "Well, I'm fine. Let's get going. I don't know how much longer the demon can survive without help."
"How do you 'help' a demon?" Hermione asked pensively. She was now standing near Delse, peering down at Harry worriedly.
Ron, who was now crouched beside Harry, reached out and felt his forehead. It was almost cool to the touch. He looked him over worriedly, then brightened, looking over at Draco. "Hey, the demon is like a soul right now while it's in Harry, right?"
"Closer to a spirit." Draco amended.
"Whatever. Soul or spirit, the bloke that patched you and Darien up should be able to help it, shouldn't he?"
Draco blinked, surprised he hadn't thought of that himself. "Maybe. Worth a try. We were planning that trip to the hospital anyway. Looks like we're just going to make an early start of it."
Blaise nodded. "Let's get him up then. I'll get him." He said, moving over to Harry's side. He was the strongest by far at the moment, so it was only logical that he should be the one to do the carrying.
The moment he touched Harry, he felt a pull so strong it felt like he'd set off a portkey. He gasped, jerking his hand away. His mother looked up at him, wide eyed. "Blaise? You ok?"
Blaise nodded quickly, but he didn't feel ok. There was definitely something wrong with him, but he didn't want to worry her any more than she already was. Still, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to handle being in direct contact with Harry again. He stifled a sigh of relief as Harry stirred.
Harry blinked his eyes open, looking confused, frightened and utterly exhausted. He didn't say anything for a minute, he just stared up, trying to get his bearings and focus his eyes properly. They all waited tensely. His eyes focused on Delse and he let out a little pained sound, struggling to pull her down to him. She held him tightly, looking up questioningly at Draco as Harry sobbed against her in relief.
"It messed with his head to get him to order it out. I don't think it was very pretty..." He said gently.
Delse's eyes widened and she held him tighter, stroking his hair soothingly. Harry had eventually told her what Pax had done to him before, so she could well imagine whatever had gotten Harry to order Pax out had to have been traumatic. "It's ok, Harry. I'm fine. Everything's going to be ok."
"Is the demon... is he...?" Harry asked softly, looking up at her and blinking away the tears.
"He's badly hurt. We have to get him help if he is to survive..." She said gently, "We're going to take you to the hospital..."
"We are. You're not coming, mother." Blaise said gently as he got to his feet.
She looked up at him sharply. "I most certainly am!"
"Mother, we can't all go. You know very well the port key won't carry that many, and besides, we'll need to keep a low profile and that's hard to do with over a dozen people in tow!"
"I didn't say everyone had to come..." Delse started, but Blaise cut her off.
"We can't leave guests here alone. What if something happens? They won't have any idea how to work the grounds defenses." Blaise said reasonably.
"Well you can just stay then."
Blaise sighed. He hadn't told his mother about his continued problems, not wanting to alarm her. "Mum... I... I'm not just going for moral support. I need to go. It's not a matter that can be debated."
Her eyes widened, "What...?"
"Not now, mum. There's no time." Blaise said quickly, cutting her off once again. He looked over at one of the house elves, "Go get the emergency port key, two pairs of dark glasses and some cloaks with hoods. Not black ones!" He amended quickly. Once the elf had scurried out, he glanced over, seeing Draco's curious look. "What? You want to show up looking like a bunch of Death Eaters? We wouldn't make it past the Apparation room! And after that article, I don't suggest you let anyone spot you or Harry!"
"Can you stand?" Ron asked Harry gently.
With a great deal of help from Ron, Harry was able to struggle to his feet. He leaned heavily against Ron. "I feel like I'm made of lead..." He said, his breath a bit labored from even that little exertion.
"I'll go with you." Ron said.
"No. No Weasleys off the grounds without the proper safety precautions, and I don't have time to get my men into place on such short notice." Draco said in a no nonsense tone.
"Don't worry, Ron." Lupin said quickly as Ron looked about to object, "I'll go with him. I truly doubt if anyone cares about an insignificant werewolf." He flashed Ron a grin.
Ron sighed, but nodded grudgingly. At least Harry would have one person who was close to him there to comfort him.
"Very well." Snape sighed, leading Narcissa in through the gathered Weasleys and other guests. "Let's get going then."
Barely a minute had passed before the House elf scurried back in with a stack of cloaks of various colors, placing them on one of the chairs. There was another elf right behind it carrying a small box containing sunglasses and the port key. Blaise handed Narcissa a soft lavender robe, and a dark brown one to Lupin. Lupin looked down at it.
"I hardly think I need one. I wasn't mentioned, was I?" He asked, surprised.
"No, but it'll look odd if only a couple of our number are wearing robes." Blaise said, holding out a blue robe to Snape.
Snape waved it off. "I'll stick to my own thanks. I'll just keep the hood down. Death Eaters don't show their faces in public."
Blaise just rolled his eyes and handed the blue robe to Ron. "Get this one on Potter. His doesn't have a hood."
Ron nodded and Delse and Molly helped him get Harry changed.
Blaise picked up a white robe and held it out to Draco. Draco snorted in amusement and snagged up the remaining green one and a pair of glasses. "White? With my coloring? I think not. I'd look like a bloody ghost."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "Why do I get stuck with the white one?" He asked, seeing it was the last one.
"I'll trade you if you'd like." Narcissa offered with a smirk.
Blaise looked at the lavender robe, then rolled his eyes and pulled on the white one.
Pansy came over, slipping her arms around him. "Don't worry, you look wonderful in any color." She said, kissing him.
He grinned. "You're biased."
"You bet your cute little arse I am." She said, giving him another, longer kiss. Then she sighed and hugged him tight before releasing him. "Be careful." She said softly, moving back to stand with the others, hugging herself as she watched him worriedly.
Delse finished pulling Harry's robe shut and pressed herself gently against him, holding him tightly. "He... he didn't mean to hurt you, Harry..." She said softly.
He rested his head on her shoulder. "I know..." He said, his voice aching. "I'd like to kick his bloody arse for what he did to me... but... I can't bring myself to blame him. I love you with all my heart and soul... you know that..."
Delse quickly nodded, holding him tighter, "I know..."
"But... I felt it, Delse. I felt how he feels about you..." He said softly. He let out a shuddering sigh. "I don't think I could ever love that deeply... I don't think any human could. He did this so you would be happy and safe... he was willing to die for you. How could I hold that against him?"
She just held him in silence, at a loss for what to say. He gently kissed her neck. "I'll bring him back." He whispered softly before shifting himself laboriously away from her. Ron helped him over to where the others were gathering for their departure.
Dumbledore came over, looking at Draco sadly. "Are you certain you do not wish for me to come along?" He asked gently.
Draco flashed him a little smile, then dropped his eyes. "This is my issue to deal with." He said sadly, then a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, you're not likely to go unrecognized, and since I have you under the Imperious curse you'd be a dead giveaway." He said with a soft chuckle.
Dumbledore afforded him a smile, then nodded. "Probably right."
"Where's my robe?" Ginny asked, coming up beside Draco.
He sighed deeply and took her in his arms. "You heard me, love. No Weasleys. Sorry." He said, kissing her gently. He broke away and looked over as Ron brought Harry over. He glanced around for Blaise, but Blaise had moved over, positioning himself between Snape and Narcissa and was pointedly not making eye contact. Draco looked over at Lupin, who was on the other side of Harry, and sighed. It was obvious he was far too weak right now to hold Harry up on his own. Draco rolled his eyes and slipped a supportive arm around Harry under his robes, taking most of his weight. "Don't get used to this, Potter." He grumbled.
Harry just rolled his eyes. There was no use trying to refuse Draco's help. He knew very well if Draco's arm weren't around him, he'd be on the floor by now.
"This is the only way in and out of the grounds by magic, and it's only used for emergencies, so the trip might not be completely smooth. Just so you know." Blaise said, holding an old hand-tooled leather belt and fastening the silver buckle so it formed a large loop. He donned his glasses and held the belt out in the middle of the small group. "Ok, hoods up those who need it, and everyone grab ahold."
The belt was big enough that it wasn't too crowded to get everyone close enough to reach. Lupin reached over, raising Harry's hood as Draco donned his glasses and he and Narcissa raised their own hoods, then they all grabbed onto the belt. When Blaise was sure all six of them were ready, he placed his thumb on the slight depression in the center of the belt buckle.
Draco felt a hand grab ahold of his shoulder, followed almost instantly by a sudden jerking sensation behind his navel.
> > > > > > > > > > >
A/N - Since several of you have mentioned it, I just wanted to say that yes, I do know you can disable anonymous reviews... problem is, some of my regular reviewers that I actually want to hear the opinions of also review anonymously. I'm not willing to trust that they will want to review so badly that they will actually get accounts here strictly for my benefit. It would be easier for them to just go to being lurkers and I'd rather not make them choose.
Kazhdu - The Draco/Pax relationship... as you can probably tell from this chapter, he was already starting to get emotionally unstable when he told Draco that he would kill him in a heartbeat given half the chance. I assume that's the mistrust you are referring to. You've also got to understand that kindness is something completely alien to him. Lies, betrayal, violence and subterfuge are all things he understands well... almost his 'element'. They are as natural to him as breathing... but caring, affection and love are so foreign he undoubtedly finds them confusing and not a little frightening. They just aren't emotions he is equipped to deal with properly. When he said those things to Draco, he was most likely almost hoping Draco would lash out at him or betray him in some way, because it would be familiar territory. But he didn't. He showed nothing more than sympathy, which was very disconcerting for Pax. By the time they got to this chapter, he had started getting more acclimated to the lack of what he was used to... so when he saw Delse and the paper... well it probably felt ten times as bad as it would have before, because he was just starting to open up properly and for once actually wasn't expecting to be hurt... and especially not by her. As for your other comments, they will soon be addressed, as I'm sure you figured out ;P
Fiby - Just so you know... that 'up the nose' thing? Getting there again. Like mum always used to say - if you can't say something nice (or at least constructive) don't say anything at all. I'm actually in a decent mood at the moment, so I thought I should respond to this now before you give me a review like that when I'm in a bad mood... that wouldn't be a good thing...